Page 85 of Mated on Live

In seeing Serval, he beamed, holding out his mechanical arms, one of those mouthpieces leading into his own smoking machine in one heavy hand. A combot, display out, hovered in front of him.

“Serval, old friend,” he said in a rounded, mucousy voice. “Been a while since you came this way. And what’s this sweet little thing?”

“My mate,” Serval said shortly, voice hard, making the other guy throw back his head and laugh, his entire chest and belly jiggling.

“I get it, I get it,” he said, waving a hand. “Let one of my ladies show her to a private booth so we can talk. She’ll be safe.”

“Does that mean I can try the golden smoke?” Sophie asked, wishing she could stay. But she understood that this guy might not want to discuss sensitive information in front of a stranger, even one mated to a ‘friend’.”

“You want the gold stuff?” He asked, eyes gleaming.

“Er…” Sophie hesitated. She had mostly been joking. She trusted Serval when he said she shouldn’t be trying something, but that look made her absolutely sure she didn’t want to. She wasn’t sure how to say that politely, however.

“She’ll have the Prism Daydream,” Serval interjected before she could flounder.

The guy shrugged, not quite able to hide his disappointment. But he nodded and waved forward a slender female with four arms, covered in white fur, wearing all black. He gave her Serval’s order, and she guided Sophie to a table that was close enough that Serval could still see her, but far enough that she couldn’t hear the males talking.

Sophie sat down, frowning at the cheap, fake leather. The table was just a bit too high, and she felt uncomfortably like a kid at the grown up’s table. The furry female left but returned quickly with a cartridge and a mouthpiece. Before she could leave, Sophie asked for instructions. The female was stone faced but patient as she showed her how to put both into the machine, then told her how to breathe in the smoke.

Sophie didn’t know what Prism Daydream was, but it definitely sounded like something she’d name a fun vape flavor.

As the furry lady walked away, Sophie took her first gulp of smoke.

And as she blew it out, every color was suddenly brighter. Sparkling. Spinning. Prism was a great name for it, because Sophie was suddenly absolutely certain she was floating inside one, seeing the rainbows of light fragmenting all around her.

She was also still too acutely aware of the sticky, fake leather seat, the too high table, the soft, distant music thumping through the air. Nothing else had changed. Her mind remained clear, the only difference was that every color was fuller and more vibrant. She could swear she was seeing more shades than she ever knew existed, even a color she’d never seen before somewhere past red in the spectrum.

It was incredible, and as it started to fade, she took in another breath.

She definitely understood the fun of a smoke bar now. She wanted Serval here with her, experiencing this awesome explosion of color.

She was also fairly certain that this had to be the tamest thing on the menu. Some people who were smoking looked like they had gone to heaven or just been put through the wringer. What she had, just made colors incredible.

But she was pretty sure that Serval had done that on purpose. She could still see him in his booth with his informant, his mouth moving up and down. She was aware of his eyes darting towards her, keeping track of her. Of the fact that their conversation was serious based on his expression. She didn’t lose track of her thoughts. She was curious about what caused the change without affecting her mentally, but she was also too busy enjoying it to care.

She sat back, puffing on the smoke, enjoying the colors, when a shadow fell over the table.

And that was cool too, because even simple black looked different. She was seeing all the shades of black at once. She had no idea how varied they were. Oh, there were rainbows in it! Rainbows in the black! Dark, like an oil slick. How was that possible? White was supposed to be the rainbow. Or maybe she was seeing the prisms of the light being broken by his shadow thrown into-

Oh, right, there was a guy standing by her table. He was the one casting the shadow.

Sophie tilted her head back and up. There was a guy with some serious scaleage. All black and scary, like a demon from below.

“Hello, pretty female,” he said, leaning over her table, both hands down, taking a deep breath of the white smoke leaking steadily from her mouth.

“No thanks,” Sophie said, firmly but politely. “I’m here with someone.”

He chuckled, the sound deep and unsettling. “I saw you sit down alone. I saw you need to be told how to use that machine. You’re alone, but you don’t have to be. I’d be more than happy to show you around the station. I can get you smoke that makes you feel a lot better than this color trip.”

Sophie blew smoke into his face, hoping it would deter him. He just growled, excited. Her belly dropped, hoping that wasn’t some alien way of flirting.

“My mate is here,” she told him, gesturing behind him. “So, no, thank you.”

Scaley didn’t even turn. He just leaned closer. A little too close. Sophie held her ground though she wanted to pull back. She kept her eyes on him, glaring as he licked his lips.

“Nice try, little thing. But that’s not enough to deter me.”

“Back up before my mate sees you,” she said, trying to cover her discomfort.

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