Page 37 of Mated on Live

“About three thousands credz a night.”

She hesitated, finger over the screen, thinking. “I don’t have any frame of reference for that. Is that a lot of credz?”

“It’s not insignificant,” he said, unconcerned.

“Erm,” she stood straight, looking at him. “Not to be rude or anything, but I feel like maybe I should ask: Just how much money do you have, Serval?”

“My payment varies based on the popularity of my segments.”

“Yeah, my compensation model is the same. That’s not what I asked. Are you rich?”

“I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

“I have an accountant who handles my money for me. It’s too much of a hassle to bother. I assure you, staying in the hotel isn’t going to stress my funds. We have a budget for things like this. We’re posing as normal guests to a royal party – we have to act the part.”

“So, if it weren’t for the story, you wouldn’t stay there?”

He didn't answer, which she took to mean he would have stayed there regardless. The fancy ship, which was essentially a massive pool with underwater rooms, the nice clothes, the hotel room – her mate was a bit of a snob.

She snickered, earning a look from him.

“What?” He asked, frowning.

“Nothing. You’re sure it’s okay for us to stay in a place this nice?”

“Of course,” he cocked a confused brow. “They’re my credz. I can spend them however I want. Besides, this hotel is close to the shopping district we need to go to in order to buy clothes. I’ve already booked an appointment at a dress maker for you.”

Sophie beamed, excited. “Yeah? This is turning more into a vacation than a story.”

“It’s both,” he grinned back at her. “You are my beautiful distraction. Be distracting.”

Sophie beamed. “Careful what you ask for.”

Chapter 14

Serval

Sophie was perfect.

Loud, but not obnoxious. Attention grabbing, but not annoying. Friendly, but not pushy. She played to the crowds like she was on stage without them even realizing that she was performing. And she did it with the exact right amount of awe and delight of meeting a new species.

The shinuk were an industrious, busy people. Always buzzing here and there. They enjoyed opening their planet to visitors and guests and encouraged the tourism of mining for gems on their planet. They were easy to find and, thus, inexpensive on the planet, which prompted people to come digging for them, which the shinuk encouraged to earn more credz. They weren’t worried about digging up their planet. In a decade, the ground would be shifted, and it would all change again.

They were also one of the rare, chitinous species of the Coalition.

The shinuk people were black in color, with skin the consistency of firm leather – more like that of a firm mushroom than flesh. They were among the softer of the chitinous species. Their leathery skin was black, but had undertones of blue, purple, or red. They had five eyes, a long, forked tongue, and long, dexterous tails. They were adept at moving over uneven terrain, despite having only three fingers and two toes. Their large ears were highly adept at hearing, especially lower tones – those that might indicate the ground was moving again most of all.

They also tended to prefer bright, eye-popping colors in beautiful, geometric patterns. Their textiles were stunningly bright thanks to the abundance of dark flowers on their planet. They were black, like most things that lived on Holivair, but the undertone colors were still visible. And the dyes that were made from those flowers tended to be extremely bright as a result.

Sophie’s appreciation for their style and culture was enthusiastic and, for all he could tell, genuine. She marveled over the hotel. Complimented everyone she saw. Adored their suite. For some reason, she made a face when she discovered she had her own room, but when he asked what was wrong, she assured him that it was nothing. She just laughed, patted his arm, and told him it was fine as she brought her luggage in.

They hadn’t used his landing pods to come onto the planet. He only used those when he was landing somewhere either in secret or in a place that didn't have a proper port. He didn't like bringing his ship down planetside, but he could, and did, summon a landing shuttle from the planet that took them down in comfort.

They switched from the shuttle to a hover and took the hover to the hotel. There, they got comfortable before going out for the night. Sophie wore a bright, shapeless, sparkling pink dress that only reached her thighs. She brought her phone and one of his combots and took tons of pictures of her, him, the restaurant, the food. She was careful not to capture anyone else in the photos, but she showed such appreciation and joy, people might not even notice she was being so courteous.

After dinner, they returned to the hotel to sleep. Now, it was early morning, and after having breakfast in their suite, he took her out shopping. She wore the blue human pants her people liked tucked into a pair of white, fuzzy boots with a loose, white top that showed her belly. She took more pictures of them together and posted them as they were walking to the clothing store.

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