16 /Kur’tok
We spentone more night in my territory. No—my current home. If I wanted to integrate back with Maeleon society, I had to stop thinking like that. ‘Territory’ was a word Unit 44 taught me, along with many other things. It was time to let it go.
After we all returned from the old village, I felt melancholic and uneasy. Change was scary. I hated it. When things stayed the same, I knew exactly what to expect. Day in, day out.
But change felt less scary with Paz beside me. He gave me the courage to crawl out of my spiked shell. If it weren’t for him, I’d be shouting orders at my ‘underlings’ and stewing in misplaced rage.
It still felt strange. I’d beenmefor eight long cycles. Was it really okay to choose to be something else?
While everybody spoke about the next steps, I slumped into my ‘throne’. The smooth tree roots were comfortable in their familiarity, but I was exhausted. Everything weighed on me like an adult pandar slumped across my chest. I shut my eyes and sighed.
Something damp nuzzled my hand. I glanced at Kookee, who inspected my closed fist for treats. I still couldn’t believe its transformation. It looked like a completely different beast;its fur was glossy and clean. The coarse knots and thick oily texture were gone. It even looked happier. All because Paz had convinced me to change its diet to the correct one.
I clenched my eyes shut, sinking deeper into my seat. Unit 44 had drilled the importance of eating meat into me. He’d said the strong ate flesh. Only pathetic weaklings survived without it. And I’d trusted him without a single doubt...
Wasanythinghe said true?
Kookee rumbled. Its velvety lips grazed my hand, wanting attention. I stroked its fuzzy chin.
“Don’t worry,” I murmured. “You’re coming with us, too. I would never leave you behind.”
“Hey, Kur’tok!”
Paz’s voice filled me with a ribbon of relief. It didn’t matter how disastrous my mood was—hearing him always made me feel better.
He ran up, panting. His arms were full of a peculiar yet familiar fruit, its shape oblong and suggestive. Seeingthatkind caught me by surprise.
“You know what those are, right?” I asked.
Paz huffed. “Of course I know! I ate them before, remember?”
“Right. The fruit that makes you horny.” I smirked. “As if you need help with that.”
Paz rolled his eyes as he sidled up closer to me. “Well, I thought it’d be fun if we had a night to ourselves. Y’know, like to celebrate our time here in yourterritory.”
I grimaced. “Don’t call it that.”
He chuckled. “Fine. This beautiful temporary home.” He gestured to the waterfall, the grass, the den—and dropped a couple fruits in the process. “Whoa!”
I snatched them with my tentacles before they hit the ground. “You know, this is a lot of fruit,” I teased in a low growl. “It’s like youwantto get aroused out of your mind.”
Paz blushed. “Maybe I do.”
A flicker of pleasure licked my insides. I looped my arm around his lower back and pulled him towards me. “Don’t tease me, flesh-bag.”
“I’m not teasing you. I’m horny, and I want you to fuck me nasty style,” Paz declared. “Have I made myself—”
Before he finished, I crushed our mouths together. The words melted on his tongue as he moaned. He went limp in my grip, letting me grasp his hips with both hands. He was soft and pliable as always, but his body felt slightly different in my hands.
I didn’t think about it too hard. Kissing him felt so good that my mind instantly fogged with lust.
Paz leaned his weight into me in a silent display of trust. Even in my crazed arousal, I held his tiny body with great care. He was mine to care for, to protect. I’d do anything for him. My clawed fingers dug into his plush skin, possessive yet tender.
He felt... bigger.
Paz moaned as he kissed me. He sounded dazed already. “Damn, I haven’t even eaten any of these fruits yet.”
I was half tempted to smack the fruits away with my tail, but if my filum wanted sex while intoxicated by the fruit, that was fine by me.
