A long-suffering sigh from the small blonde woman drew my attention to her. “I wish you’d stop calling me that, andannouncing my business like that to everyone,” the woman muttered under her breath.
“‘Pologies, Candy-ass, Rek not tell everybody you have no friends ‘sides my Jo, her Rosa and Mal, and Doodie’s Carr-rie,” Rek said quickly, which had Odix and Gofur shaking their heads at him, and Celuk shooting him a look over his shoulder that had Rek throwing his hands up and shutting up.
Even their Jo was puckering her lips to hold in whatever it was she wanted to say.
The blonde woman rubbed at her forehead like she was getting a monster of a headache, like the one I already had.
“Low blow, Karen,” I muttered in return, in the woman’s defense. “Snitches get stitches.”
“Hah!” Jo pointed at me and grinned.
This earned me a dirty look from Rek, a round of laughter from Celuk, Odix and Gofur, a big guffaw from behind them, and a snorted round of giggles from the blonde woman.
“She called you Karen,” the woman he called Candy-ass spluttered out between piggy-like snort giggles.
Rek let out a laugh to mock hers. “She say I have snots eyes too. Kehlly-Roo female hits head. She no know better. Forgets. Poo thinks Rek name Karen. She get it wrong. Not nice make funs of her, Vurhg beats her up, hurts her head and makes her hairs fall off, Crazy Face.”
“Is any of that craziness my Rekkie poo just spouted true, Kehlro?” Jo or Jojo or whatever her name actually was, asked as she glanced at Kehl and me.
“Kehlor,” I blurtingly corrected. Looking to Rek, I shook my head. “I never said Vurhg is the reason my hair fell out. I lost it as a child.” There was going to be an echo around here with that one.
Celuk’s smile widened and he glanced over his shoulder at his female, who blinked at my soft rebuke, her mouth opening and closing in surprise.
“You mean I’ve been saying it wrong all this time?” Jo burst out. Glancing around at the males, she gave them all dirty looks. “And you guys just let me?”
“Kehlro lets my Jo— it why we say it wrong. It funny,” Rek admitted, earning a snicker from Odix and Gofur.
“Luk Jo no mean to,” Kehlor grunted out. “No mind, she not know better.” With a look Rek’s way that said he more than knew better, he met Celuk’s smiling gaze and gave a curt nod.
“Only let her say you Kehlro, Kehlly-Roo, ‘cause you scared of Luk,” Rek mumbled petulantly.
“Kehlor ‘spect Luk,” Kehlor admitted.
Celuk dipped his head respectfully at Kehlor, an action the male returned in kind.
“Oh, you friends now,” Rek grumbled. Huffing and puffing, Rek crossed his arms over his chest.
Jo leaned into him, nuzzling her face into his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Rektal, you’re still Celuk’s number one princess bridegroom.”
“Yeah. Fine,” Rek muttered, his arms starting to loosen at his sides, but then her words registered and he looked at her sharply.
Jo let out a cackle she quickly muffled, grinning from ear to ear in the face of Rek’s wrath.
“Are they all… like that?” I leaned in to very softly whisper in Kehlor’s ear.
“Only fun ones,” Celuk whispered back just as softly, so the three of us were the only ones in the know.
My face pinkened in a blush. Kehlor began to rub his hand up and down my back comfortingly. My hand lifted to scrub at my face but I remembered the gash covered in mashon my head too late and hissed as I knocked it. With a groan, I squeezed my eyes shut tight.
“Rek not think him being funny… she really no have no hair,” the biggun named Odix garbled out.
“Odix! Rude, buns of fun!” Jo chimed in quickly.
Odix grunted and rushed out, “No mean no ‘fenses.”
With a sigh as curious gazes lifted my way, I slowly lowered my hood. I didn’t have to nor did I particularly want to. It was just easier, I felt, to get it all out of the damn way now.
With a rumble, Kehlor lifted his hand to cup the back of my head, like he was protecting it from all the surprised stares.
