Her face turns a deep shade of red-brown, which clashes with her bright pink hair, and she erupts in a slew of nonsense words in my language. "Fornicate until finished, scale face. What the fiery pit in the ground… excrement. Fornicate."
She lets out an exasperated sound. "Your language is terrible."
Her attempt at cussing in Drakonid is both hilarious and endearing.
I can't hold back my laugh, the sound echoing around us.
"Fornicate until finished? This really isn't the place," I tease. "First we would have to start, which I haven't agreed to, of course, but then it would be a very long time until I was done. This isn't the time for that."
She grabs a stick from the ground and flings it at me, but I dodge easily. "No. I saidfuck off. Fornicate until finished. Excrement."
Her frustration is evident, and it only makes me want to keep prodding at her. Before I can, she throws her little arms up in the air, raises a single dainty digit, and stalks away from me.
"That's enough rest for now," she growls as she heads deeper into the forest.
I follow her from a distance. I've never been so entertained.
As we move through the dense foliage, I can't help but feel a growing companionship with this tiny, fiercehuman. Her spirit is indomitable, and it draws me to her.
I watch her closely, my amusement gradually giving way to a grudging respect.
I call out to her after a while, my tone softer than before. "Why do you fight so hard? What drives you?"
She glances back at me, her eyes still blazing with anger, but there's a hint of something else there, too.
"I fight because I have to," she says, her voice also lower. "Because if I don't, they'll win. And I can't let that happen."
Her words resonate with me, stirring something deep within my chest. I let out a rumble of agreement, understanding her more than she might realize.
"We are more alike than you think,human," I say. "I too fight because I have no other choice."
She stops walking and turns to face me, her expression thoughtful. "Maybe we are," she admits. "But that doesn't mean you get to treat me like a lesser being."
"You must admit, you are rather pet-like when you're angry."
Her earlier annoyance returns as an exciting glare on her face, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're impossible."
"And you are delightful," I counter, enjoying the banter. "Perhaps this alliance won't be so bad after all."
She rolls her eyes, but there's a hint of amusement on her face, I think. I might be misinterpreting. Her fur doesn't communicate like my spines do, but the movements of her face seem like they might be the equivalent.
"Just don't get any ideas,iguanabrain. I'm not here for your entertainment."
"A preposterous assertion, little thing," I say, my tone serious now, despite the amused cant of my spines. "We have a common goal, and I respect that. But that doesn't mean I can't have fun along the way."
She sighs, shaking her head. "You're unbelievable."
"I've been called worse. Though I did say my name was Drasuk. Now, let's keep moving. We don't want to disturb the local fauna with our pet play."
She raises her middle digits at me again with lowered eye fur and turns away, leaving me blinking at the mysterious gesture.
An odd creature, this one.
We continue our journey through the dense forest, the canopy above casting a dappled shadow on the path. She is agile, weaving through the underbrush with ease, her movements graceful and precise.
I follow her lead, my larger frame making the journey slightly more cumbersome, but manageable.
As we walk, the silence between us becomes less tense. I find myself watching her, and not just out of curiosity. Her determination and resilience are qualities I respect, and her fierce independence is a refreshing change from the submissiveness I've encountered in civilians.
