Page 4 of Who Did This To You?

Sure, I didn't have a degree from a university, or any real work experience to speak of other than a slew of customer service jobs on my resume, but I was in outer space. If there was any moment in my life to embrace my inner fool and to throw myself at my goals no matter my lack of experience or talent, this was it.

That meant I needed to be a professional and handle this assignment like a real diplomat that I always thought I could be, and not tell the hot alien that I was giggling because my libido had decided that now was the moment to get laid.

"It means that I am enjoying myself," I said. "That I find your company enjoyable. I am not offended by your smell, but it is quite strong, and as we now know, it does bother Norratar. It is a good idea to wash before I show you the location of the gym where many of them spar."

We continued down the hallway, and I realized that taking him through the alien quarters instead of the human ones was definitely a different sort of problem when every male we passed reacted visibly flinched when they caught the scent.

"You used your name, Exlith-Orvanis, as if it were an action you were taking," I asked, focusing on my job instead of another Norratar that stopped mid-hallway in front of us, let out a hiss, and then fled back the way he came. The smell had to be extremely bad for their species. "Names for my kind don't usually operate as actions as well as names. Would you explain that?"

"My name is Zandaor," he said. "My found niches are Exlith, Orvanis, and Orkith. My current title is Zandaor Exlith-Orvanis-Orkith, but it will grow longer if I find additional niches, for example, finding a mate or starting a family. Which I haven't done, or it would be a part of my title. Which it isn't."

His last few sentences came out a bit quickly, and for the life of me it felt like he was deliberately making sure I knew he was single. But I could also just be making that assumption. I was so turned on by just being enveloped in the miasma of his smell that I could be interpreting things in that direction.

"What do those niches mean?" I asked, barely stopping myself from adding in that I was also single.

"Exlith means one who walks beyond the structure; it is a niche for those who explore new things, such as new areas of knowledge or unknown locations. Orvanis means edge seeker, which is a niche for those who push boundaries of what is possible physically. Exlith and Orvanis together, in my case and how I use it, refer to exploring new areas of space by taking long voyages in uncharted directions." He paused for a moment before continuing, as if he needed to give the next words more weight. "Orkith means external shield, given to those who build up Oame's defenses. Exlith-Orvanis-Orkith means that my niche is one who builds up our defenses by exploring new territories and seeking other, like minded species who we can strengthen through sharing knowledge. Strength is found in prepared and knowledgeable allies."

"Wow," I exhaled. "What a wonderful job."

When he called me an Exlith earlier, he was saying I was one who walked beyond the structure. I never really saw myself as doing anything that could earn such a description until I signed up for this cruise. My whole life up until this point had been trying to be the woman my boyfriend wanted me to be.

"It is a purpose," he said. "What is your purpose?"

The question struck me like a blow.

"I don't know if I've ever found it," I said, the brutal honesty of my words spilling out of me with the wind that had been knocked out of me. I realized my mistake a moment later. Here he was, a decorated explorer, a person who held importance for the advancement of his species, and I was telling him again that I was nothing much at all.

A Scrangie male I hadn't seen before stepped out of his room, his feathers a rich ombre of red and blue. He turned to head down the hallway to the dining area, then stopped suddenly and sniffed the air. He made a soft retching sound and then rushed down the hallway away from us.

"Your latent potential must be great indeed," he said. "Not finding your purpose is something to celebrate, because of all the experiences you get to explore while you seek it. Your home world is called Earth, yes? In my culture, your name would be Róisín-Earth. If you were one of my kind, you would be called Róisín-Oame. If you took many more actions of walking beyond the structures that others set for you, then you would become Róisín-Exlith."

Even as he broke things down to explain them to me, he raised more questions.

"But you have used the term Oame in another way," I said. "You said 'Let us be Oame'. What did that mean?"

"Oame isn't just the name of our home world," I said. "It is the concept of us as a single being. All Oamelithica are Oame. All niches serve Oame. Let us be Oame is a phrase that means, let us acknowledge that we are one and speak together from a space of oneness."

I couldn't help myself; I giggled again.

"It pleases me as well to think of being one with you," he said in response, his voice as chocolaty as his delicious scent.

I was not mature enough to handle this.

"Oh my god, stop," I said, and I lifted my hands and covered my face, stopping for a moment as I let out a groan that carried the full weight of my intense scent-triggered physical agitation.

I dropped my hands from my face to see that he had stopped in front of me and was staring at me intently.

"You have turned pink again," he said. Then he lifted his hands to cover his face briefly. "What does this action mean?"

"It is an acknowledgment of the desire to hide from the moment because it is overwhelming. It can also indicate the intention to stay in the moment rather than run, despite wishing to run and hide," I said, giving my best explanation.

"I have frightened you?" he asked. "I did not intend to come across as threatening."

"No, not threatening; it isn't an expression of fear, as that would be accompanied by screaming or other more dramatic actions. In this context, it means a request for the moment to pause because of overwhelming embarrassment," I said. "As does my skin turning a pink color, mostly."

"You were embarrassed by me declaring a desire to be one with you?" he asked.

I fucking giggled again.