She stops abruptly and when I look at her face there is shock and anger there.
"What the fornicate, Drasuk? I can't believe you just..."
She lets out a strange growl and then picks up her pace, tromping through the forest in a rage.
I watch her go, confused by her reaction. I twitch my spines and follow her, my mind turning over the strange human's behavior.
Weren't we just having a philosophical debate? Where facts drive conversation?
A chilling thought worms its way into my mind: is she so sensitive to the deplorable social progress of her species she can't even bear simple comparisons? I contemplate catching up to apologize, hoping to put this awkwardness behind us. My pride holds me in place for a moment before I decide it is best.
I tip forward onto all fours and bound after her.
When I try to speak, however, she ignores me. We settle into a tense silence.
For a tenth of this world's sun cycle, Kira keeps up her brisk pace, her defiance fueling her steps. I fall behind again, hoping she'll burn through her anger so we can talk again.
She might speak utter nonsense most of the time, but she is still intelligent, clever even. I enjoy each exchange, I realize, even when it frustrates me.
I marvel at her stamina, wondering how such an aggressive species hasn't grown to join the league of planet-conqueringraces. Currency greed is a powerful motivator of technological progress, after all, even if it doesn't make sense to me.
There's no time to mull it over, though.
My nose twitches as I catch a stronger concentration of dry, acerbic scent. Braceaaer, and a lot of them.
Their stench has been all over the region and so I assumed we would encounter them soon enough.
I rush forward to catch up with Kira, my eyes scanning the surroundings. She's frozen mid step, her gaze fixed ahead. I follow her line of sight and see them—short, gray-green aliens with spindly limbs and aggressive facial features. The braceaaer see us, too, their expressions shifting to one of hostile intent.
Kira not-so-stealthily pulls out her gun and checks her clip, cussing under her breath.
"I'm low on ammo," she mutters.
"Stay back and cover me with whatever you have," I instruct, my voice a low growl. "I'll handle the rest."
38
Drasuk
"Now that's a plan I can get behind," she replies, her voice tight with her battle hormones.
They mix into her already delectable scent in a way that drives me mad. This disgraceful obsession has moved past occasional twitches to making my member swell against its confines. Not the best development when you are about to go into battle.
This female...
With a feral hiss, startling Kira as she watches my features sharpen, I drop to all fours and charge.
The first two braceaaer barely have time to react before I slam into them, sending them flying with a powerful sweep of my tail. They scream, while others belatedly grab at weapons and shoot at me, their projectiles grazing my tough hide as I close the distance.
The fight is a blur of motion.
I tear into them with savage joy, laughing as my bloodlust rises to the surface. Kira fires from a distance. Her shots are precise, dropping any alien attempting to shoot at me so none have a chance to take more than a few shots. More emerge from the undergrowth, seemingly part of a large hunting party.
The braceaaer are fast, but it isn't enough. I dodge their attacks with ease, my claws slicing through their thin bodies with little resistance.
One of them manages to land a strike on my more sensitive underbelly, a searing pain that shoots up my side, but I ignore it. My focus is on the thrill of the fight.
Kira's gunfire echoes through the forest. Each shot a reminder that she is watching out for me. I glance her way, seeing her kill another one of them with a headshot.
