Page 8 of Vexing Valmir
"Specifics?" The thought is oddly appealing. Talking to April again, seeing her movements as she responds. The way she brushes stray strands of her black mane from her face. The flash of her eyes when she gets angry. Drinking in her scent. Drifting towards her door and marking her as my territory...
Chalath waves me forward. "Come. Let us get answers from the females or we will be left wondering."
"I know the answer," Skarr says as we follow Chalath. "It is a form of mind control. They will deny it, because they do not want us to know their secrets."
Again with the mind control. Skarr really has no clue what is going on. How does Vivi put up with him, I wonder. Perhaps the same way April will learn to fall for me... My leather pantsfeel tight in the groin. It is resonance, the constant throbbing drumbeat in my chest that is making me react like this. I should be furious, as April is, but I am more curious than anything. Curious, and aroused. Anger is very, very far down the list of reactions. Do I want a child? Not at all. Do I want to be tied to April for the rest of my days, like all the resonating couples seem to be? Not particularly.
Do I want to drink in her scent again?
More than I can imagine.
I don't like that Chalath approaches the hut that smells like her. It makes me walk faster, determined to get in between her and the other praxiian. It feels like he's encroaching on my territory, and I growl.
Skarr slaps my back again. "It'll be fine. He's just asking questions."
"I know." But the reminder makes me realize that I'm growling audibly. I swallow and force myself to seem nonchalant, crossing my arms over my chest and waiting for him to find out what he can. I don't care if he approaches April.
I don't.
I don't.
I don't.
But when there's a lot of angry yelling and Chalath storms away from the hut with a disgruntled look on his face, I can't hide my pleasure at the response. The females have rebuffed him magnificently, and it soothes the cranky, angry part of my soul that hates to see Chalath get ahead of me. "Well?" I prompt as he returns to where we wait a short distance away. "How did it go?"
"It went badly," he says. "They thought I was you."
I scoff. "We look nothing alike."
"I know." He rubs his muzzle, smoothing the nonexistent whiskers. "I asked how you'd impressed your female and theymade outraged noises. They seemed surprised at the suggestion that it was a conscious decision."
Mm. Interesting. If it is not conscious, then the horror April felt was real. I wonder if she is suffering from the same mix of annoyance and arousal that I am? Or is she handling this unexpected resonance better?
Skarr makes a dismissive sound. "They might not think it was prompted, but all I'm saying is that I was showing my elite skills when I resonated to Vivi. I'm convinced my prowess had something to do with it."
"If you say so." Chalath's dry tone indicates he's not buying what Skarr is selling.
I'm not entirely convinced either, but it's an idea worth exploring. "Do you think Jason would know?"
"The human male?" Chalath's tone is utterly dismissive. "I doubt he knows anything at all. He was never a gladiator. He was aprize."
"Still, he might know how human females think." I stroke my chin, considering. "He is human, after all."
"Really?" Chalath crosses his arms over his chest. "How much do you know about praxiian females? You're praxiian, yes? So you should know as much as Jason knows about human females."
An excellent point. I don't like Chalath's attitude, though. He's only part of this conversation because Skarr brought him in. "It was just a thought. You can lower your tail...oh, that's right. You don't have one." I give him my most condescending stare. "Flatten your fur instead."
The withering look Chalath sends my way tells me that my barb hit home. Good. It's another tidbit I file away — Chalath is sensitive about his not-praxiian-enough appearance. The other male shoots me a glare and storms away toward the Ding-Ding Feast. "Enjoy reveling in your ignorance," he calls. "I'm done."
I watch him leave. Ever the loyal friend, Skarr remains at my side, even though he no doubt wants to go stand near his mate, Vivi, and feed her tidbits or drink in her scent.
Instead, the ssethri splice nudges me towards April's now quiet hut. "Go flatter her," he says. "Human females are very susceptible to flattery. Vivi smiles and blushes whenever I compliment her on her obvious strengths. I'd wager that yours would enjoy some pleasant words...if you can find anything agreeable about her."
Taking a step forward, I pause. Skarr is not normally who I turn to for information. For easy conversation, yes. For advice about females...not so much. "She does not care for me. Do you think approaching and telling her the things I find appealing will work?"
"Worth a try." He slaps me on the back in encouragement. "Go on. I must go find my mate. Vivi will want me to tell the others what a grand job she did cooking for the feast."
"I'll catch up," I tell him, and stare at April's hut, my thoughts in turmoil. Worth a try, he said. I suppose that's true. It's not as if we can dislike each other more. I try to think of things that I find appealing about her but...so far, all I've got is her scent.
