An hour later, theturochs’ nasty brew had gone straight to my head and Sal started to get squirmy in my arms, so Tovis and I skirted the edge of the celebration and found a spot near a patch of dirt.I set Sal down, waiting long enough to be sure he wouldn’t bolt and then plopped down on what looked like a seat torn out of a school bus.
The baby percer snuffled around in the dirt, his chunky body and short legs making him look like a bald, deformed bulldog puppy.Tovis laid his arm over my shoulders and tugged me against his side.
On the horizon, the sun was lighting the clouds on fire as it set.Streaks of orange and red glowed in a vibrant bursts between the buildings.If you didn’t look too close, you barely noticed the crumbling state of the once bustling city.
“I don’t think I’ve sat down and just looked at things,” I realized.My face was hot, my head a little swimmy from the booze and I let myself sink into Tovis’ sturdy body.
“Your planet is beautiful,” Tovis said quietly, his eyes half closed against the bold sunset.
“It is.”Back before everything went sideways, I wasn’t an outdoorsy person.I worked a lot, spent a lot of time at home, doom scrolling and watching shows to stave off the boredom.After, I’d hidden away in the spa, keeping my life as close to normal as I could, which meant nevereverlooking outside.
I couldn’t risk my bubble breaking, seeing the proof that everything had changed.How many sunsets had I missed?
“What was your planet like?”I wondered.Trying to picture a backdrop that would hit with his alien features.I wasn’t much of a nature person, but his brilliant coloring didn’t fit with what I knew of predators or prey.Everything was trying to blend into their surroundings, camouflage against grass or trees.
Except for the toxic animals.Turochs weren’t toxic as far as I could tell though.No fangs, or poison skin, and personality wise they seemed a little football/hockey player with a touch of good-natured frat boy thrown in.
“Dry, windy,” he said wistfully.“We lived on the plains, grass and hills for as far as you could travel.Bands of males hunted and searched for things to build our mate hoards, and we visited every mother band we found, trading meat and looking for females to claim.”
It sounded very different than Earth.Primitive, but he clearly missed it.
“You didn’t have cities?”I asked, painting a picture of a prairie-like world with bands of big red males roaming around.
He shook his head.“The mother bands rarely moved, but unmated males were nomads.We leave our mother bands when we mature and go out seeking mates.”Tovis gestured at the looming buildings in the distance.“We had nothing like this, we lived in tents, or on the backs of eskines.”
“Eskines?”
“Big grass eating animals, it was a right of passage to tame one.They were very loyal once you gained their trust.”
Something rumbled nearby, the foreign sound of a big engine shaking the seat beneath us and I turned to see a sleek metal ship drift past the strip mall and land behind the tents.
“What is that?”I knew the answer, it was a spaceship.I was looking at alien aircraft.
Tovis glanced over at it as a small ramp lowered from its flat belly.“Uriish has been scouting for more sytos, Adak sent him out this morning.”
I’d met Gigi earlier, but the cheerful blue male, who walked around dressed in a loincloth and a big sun hat looked nothing like the straight backed syto striding down the ramp.
He wore one of the grey uniforms I’d seen on the Kwin’s guards, and he was a darker shade of blue than any of the sytos I’d seen so far.
“You guys trust him that much?”I asked, feeling guilty for my suspicion.This Uriish had been with the turochs months longer than me.“You’re not worried he’ll go back to the Kwin?”
Tovis laughed.“He was a captain, a real captain.Jiith was a low level male who was promoted because they had no officers.Uriish had much more authority.The Kwin would make an even worse example of him if he tried to go back.”
A dark haired woman skipped through the tents and greeted Uriish with a jaunty wave, offering him a cup that he didn’t take.
“That’s Lena,” Tovis whispered, rubbing his nose against my head, his breath tickling at my ear.“One of Penny’s sisters.She’s been following the captain around since she arrived in hopes of winning his attention.”
“Really?”I watched as Uriish kept walking, leaving the pretty woman behind.She seemed undaunted as she tagged along after him, gesturing and talking while he ignored her.It didn’t look like he returned her interest, and I couldn’t help but wonder why she bothered.
If she was lonely, there were more than enough turochs for her to pick from, and after spending just a day in camp, it was obvious any of the males would jump at the chance for a mate.
Besides, the tentacles wigged me out.
“She’s very determined.”
He pressed a soft kiss to the side of my neck and I shivered, skin prickling as he trailed his hand up and down my arm.
“Seems like it,” I managed to squeak out.My eyes closed and I let my head fall back on his shoulder as he nibbled and kissed along my throat.
