"I agree. It's the best plan overall," he says. "We can start tomorrow, but for now we should rest so we can heal."
Him saying it makes me realize just how exhausted I am.
It's just as cold as the night before, but the difference between shivering on a cold floor and lying circled by a furred body is stark.
"May I lean against you, Thivoll? My back is killing me from sitting like this."
"Of course, please do what you need in order to be comfortable."
I lean back, and the relief is instant.
As a bonus, I'm even warmer. I can't help myself from letting my hands sink into his soft fur and I enjoy the feeling of the smooth scales in between the many tufts of soft orange hair.
"How's your arm?"
"It's not bad, actually."
His purr picks up again and with the pain and adrenaline diminished, I'm even more aware of my body's reaction to him. It reminds me I need to talk to him about how my nanites are affecting him. I think of several ways to start the conversation, then shut them down.
While he continues to purr, I get more and more self-conscious and anxious.
"Is something wrong?" he asks, and I realize I'm clutching his fur, my neck is tense, and my breathing has turned shallow.
I just make myself blurt it out. "If you happen to maybe possibly be attracted to me it's because of what they did to me."
My face is on fire and my heart hurts for some inexplicable reason, but at least it's said.
Maybe not using the best grammar, but it's out there.
"Ree," he says, then starts chuffing.
Luckily he doesn't make me wait long to say what's funny. "They would never work on me, or at least only for a short time. I amattracted to you, but because of who you are, not because of the pheromone cocktail your body has been producing."
"Really?"
I'm relieved, but also embarrassed. Pleased, and also terrified of the idea of talking about attraction after just meeting. Just meeting an alienno less.
"Yes, really," he assures me. "I won't deny that the program has done an admirable job of creating an appropriate mix for my species, but it just makes you smell better, nothing more."
My body melts in relief, then I realize I haven't reciprocated and figure I might as well just get the embarrassing statements out of the way.
"I'm attracted to you, too," I say, then keep talking faster, "and not just because of this stupid nanite lust, but also because you are beautiful and funny and smart and . . ." I trail off, not because I don't have more to add, but because I sound like an idiot.
"Sorry," I say, once again mortified.
"No need to be," he purrs, "I like these words you say."
To underline his point, he runs a hand through my hair, then I feel his tail wrapping around me.
Once it's tightly around me he pulls me closer to him. "How do humans position themselves for sleep?"
"Ideally laying down, but we can sleep sitting up if we have too. It just usually means pain in the morning."
He responds by moving me again, this time with my back tight up against his chest and belly. I pull my knees up as I move so I don't invade his space.
When I'm fully laid out I feel his tail tighten more and then it rocks me for a moment before it stops moving.
"What was that?" I ask him, since I can't see anything in the deep cover of the leaves where moonlight can't enter.
