After getting used to the weight of the brush in my hand, I circled around Kookee’s front while combing the thick strands of fur. The beast carried the sweet smell of straw. Something about its huge stature and gentleness reminded me of a horse.
I peeked at Kookee’s long snout. Was its nose as soft as it looked? When I lightly brushed my fingers against it, I was instantly rewarded by that velvety feeling.
Kookee let out a relaxed puff from its nostrils, then followed it up with a great big inhale to fill its lungs.
Suddenly, Kookee jolted. Its head reared up and its eyes went wide.
Kur’tok rushed forward, throwing his arm protectively over my chest. “What did you do, flesh-bag?”
“I just touched its nose,” I explained.
Kookee thrust its snout closer to me, sniffing wildly. Its nostrils twitched faster than a hummingbird’s wings.
“What are you doing?” Kur’tok asked the pandar.
The beast snorted. It tossed its snout, then inched forward, like it was trying to bury its nose in the crook of my arm.
“Oh!” I cried, suddenly realizing why. I raised the fruit I’d picked up earlier. “Is this what you want?”
Kur’tok’s eyes flashed. He snatched the fruit from my hand. “What? Why do you have this?” he demanded angrily. “Kookee can’t eat fruit!”
“How do you know?” I asked.
Kur’tok furrowed his brow and curled his lip. He lifted the fruit high out of my reach so I couldn’t jump and grab it. “Don’t argue with me, human. I know my own pet better than you.”
I crossed my arms, nodding up at the fruit. “Well, Kookee seems to want it.”
“No, it—hey!” Kur’tok yoinked the fruit out of Kookee’s path at the last second as the great beast’s flat teeth clamped down on empty air. “Don’t do that.”
Kookee bellowed in frustration.
“No, you can’t have it,” Kur’tok argued with the beast. “It’s bad for you.”
I had my doubts about that. I knew Eukaria was a different planet and all, but Kookee resembled herbivores back on Earth with its blunt teeth and hooves. I had a hunch it was perfectly safe for it to eat fruit.
“Kur’tok,” I began, “do you only feed Kookee meat?”
He puffed out his broad chest. “Only the bloodiest,” he stated proudly.
While we talked, Kookee gazed longingly at the fruit in Kur’tok’s clutches. I’d only been here for a day, but it was the most animated I’d seen Kookee.
“You said pandar are supposed to have silky fur, right?” I said. “Is it possible... the meat’s making Kookee sick?”
“What?” Kur’tok roared. Horror and outrage blazed in his ruby eyes. “I would never harm Kookee!”
The intensity of his reaction caught me off guard. He looked terrified at the implication. I felt bad for making him feel that way, so I put my hand on his arm to reassure him.
“I know you’d never do it on purpose,” I pointed out gently. “But sometimes people make mistakes.”
Kur’tok curled his lip high enough to reveal an entire row of fangs. “No. I don’t make mistakes.”
“Ever?”
Baring all his teeth, he exclaimed, “No!”
Why was he getting so defensive? It was out of character for a Maeleon, but then again, Kur’tok wasn’t like other Maeleons.
He almost acted like... a human.
