“I… I don’t understand.”That was Vrayl, with the way Asher could feel the Dresht’s speech reverberate through his body.“He has to be starving. The planet where we found himwas completely inhospitable for Humans. And he’s… he’s so thin…”
“I’ll reach out to the Match agency.”Trenet, slightly farther away, spoke next.“They’ll know if there’s something more we can do for him, if he’s too stressed to eat.”
“It’s okay, Asher,”Vrayl said next, clawtips carding gently through Asher’s hair, which was probably a tangled mess by now.“It’s okay. We know you’re scared. But we promise you’re safe here. All we want is to make sure you’re happy and healthy and pleasured.”
There was a scraping sound followed by heavy footsteps, and then a second pair of hands landed on Asher’s body, carefully cradling his ankles.
Asher’s eyes popped open to see Trenet there, kneeling at his feet to look up at him. Trenet was so large that he wasn’t looking up very far at all, and Asher tried to catch hold of the scared sound that threatened to escape.
“Please Asher?”Trenet growls were his usual deep rumble, though his speech was softer, like he was making an effort to speak more quietly.“We’re here for anything you may need or want, and we’ll prove it to you as the days pass. But you need to eat, little love. Doesn’t anything look good?”
Asher looked from Trenet’s gaze to the table and back again. He knew that they had to be insisting that he eat.
He didn’t know what they might do to force him, if he continued to refuse to open his mouth.
“Oh!”Trenet growled suddenly, the loud outburst startling Asher, who shrank back against Vrayl. Which was so stupid, because it wasn’t as thoughVraylwould be any protection from Trenet. Asher was… pretty sure Vrayl and Trenet were married, or whatever the equivalent was to the Dresht. It would make sense, based on how affectionate they seemed to be with each other, and how this was clearly their shared home. Asher’smoms were married, on a planet that only had female couples. Maybe here on the Dreshtinian planet there were only male couples.
Asher still didn’t know what they wanted with some scrawny, outcast Human.
Trenet stood, and Asher watched nervously as the Dresht headed back to the table, plucking something up and then turning around to come back to kneel at Asher’s feet.
“This is oiyer,”Trenet said, holding up what… what looked like a bowl of berries. Much larger than the kinds Asher was used to, but it was hard to mistake the fruits for anything except for something that grew from a plant.“We grow it in gardens here. These were picked right at ripe harvest, and are juicy and sweet. Won’t you try some?”
Asher licked his lips. Berries—those seemed safe. If they were poisonous to Humans, well, Asher would find out, but they were something Asher couldeat.
He looked from the bowl to Trenet’s intense face and back again. Then he took a deep breath and opened his mouth, allowing Trenet to pop a berry inside.
“Oh what a good little yshain you are,”Vrayl crooned, watching as Asher chewed.“Such a perfect treasure.”
Asher had to swallow the rush of saliva as his mouth spasmed after not eating for so long, but once he got past that initial discomfort, he was able to genuinely enjoy the flavors of the berry. It had a much less tough consistency than the berries on Journey-5, but was also so ripe and sweet it almost tasted like candy.
He swallowed the last of his mouthful and met eyes with Trenet again, who held up the bowl he was holding a little higher.
Asher opened his mouth again.
Chapter 4
“How did you think of offering the oiyer?”Vryal’s growls had a lilt at the end that might have denoted a question, but he was looking at Trenet when he said it, stroking Asher’s hair as Asher accepted the last berry in the bowl. Vrayl seemed to really like playing with Asher’s hair. Asher had no ideawhy.His hair was dirty and probably looked a mess. He was overdue to wash and braid it, but…
He didn’t exactly know what was going to happen to him next.
“Well, we found him on Journey-5,”Trenet replied. He nuzzled at Asher’s leg before getting up to set the empty bowl back on the table.“I thought oiyer might look familiar to him, since they resemble a berry that’s one of the few Human-safe foods on that planet.”
“My smart mate!”Vrayl made an interesting purring sound in his chest that Asher felt through his whole body. It was alarming how pleasant it felt, especially now that he had something in his stomach. Berries wouldn’t keep him going forever, but he’d gotten by on much less than a full bowl of those large, delicious Dreshtian fruits.
For the first time in what was possibly too long, he didn’t feel sick or weak from hunger.
Maybe they fed you to prepare you for whatever comes next.He couldn’t help thinking it. Something else was coming for him. It was as obvious as thesenchrinside him, making itself known with every shift, and the mitts on his hands, and the gag that Vrayl had placed on an empty plate on the table, within easy reach.
Something was coming that he had to be ready for.
“There now,”Trenet said, voice still soft.“You see? Our food is good for you, Asher. You can eat everything here. Won’t it be nice to try something else?”
“How about some klitaz?”Vrayl plucked up a small round patty, brown in color, and just from sight and smell, Asher could tell it was savory. Some sort of meat.“These are made of a synth meat that has a fragrant, bold flavor. It’s spiced, but very mildly. Will you try some?”
Asher shrank back as far as he could get away from the patty, going so far as to turn his head into Vrayl’s chest, hiding his face against the Dresht’s smooth scales.
I won’t eat it and you can’t make me,he thought mutinously.
