Page 71 of Dealing With Drak

Footsteps make my ears twitch, and I smell him before I see him.

I should not be surprised by his presence, but it is still a bit unsettling. I do not know what he wants from me or if he is angry with me. I guess I shall find out.

“Hello, brother Cay-leb,” I greet, continuing to watch the navigation system with L’ore. “Do you need something?”

From the corner of my eye, I watch as he takes the third captain’s seat. “Just bored,” he replies. His voice is even, and his tone does not give away his mood. “Thought we could talk for a bit.”

I am wary of this talk, but I will share words with my mate’s family. It is clear they care for each other greatly. He is my brother now—my apo. This is important to me.

“So, this is a spaceship, huh? One of the bigger ones, according to Anna, right?”

“The biggest one we brought to Urth,” I confirm, giving him a glance and a nod before turning back to the controls and the view of space in front of me.

He makes a surprised sound. “There are bigger ones?”

“War ships,” I answer with a nod. “I possess one, Marrec does as well. He is Stee-vee’s mate and is already on Aprix.”

“Megan filled me in on that,” he says thoughtfully. “She said you two saved your planet a while back. You’re both warriors?”

“We were,” I confirm. “There is no need for warriors now. Our home is at peace.”

I do not like to think of the time when we were not. When enemies took over our planet and enslaved our people. Marrec was lucky enough to escape with his family as a child before the takeover. He did not forget about us, growing up and growing an army to come back for us. Like a wise male, he did not pick a fight he could not win.

Instead, he fought bravely for other small planets, freeing them and working his way up. He gained enough favors, warriors, weapons, and currency to return, and then he ensured that something like that would never happen again. I only helped him once he came back, and gave me the ability to do so.

“I can’t imagine being in a human war, let alone a galactic one,” Cay-leb tells me. “Don’t get me wrong, I know how to hunt just like Anna, but I’m not a fan. Conflict is one of my least favorite things.”

I do not relate to the notion, but I understand it. Many Aprixians do not share my affinity for hunting and weaponry.

“There is violence that is fun, and there is disaster that is not, brother Cay-leb.”

I can see his head dip in a nod even though I do not directly look at him.

“Makes sense,” he responds with a hum. “Megan called you a bloodthirsty golden retriever, so I assume that means you’re pretty into the hunting for sport thing?”

“What is a golden retriever?” I ask, mimicking his words. They translate separately but not together.

“A type of dog that people love,” he explains, and I frown.

“Meg-ham calls me a puppy?”

Cay-leb chuckles, shaking his head. “People call other people golden retrievers when they like them. It means you’re good-natured and loyal. She doesn’t actually think you’re a dog. It’s a compliment.”

Well, that is a relief. I should not like to be thought of as a pet.

“I enjoy hunting,” I agree now that the confusion is cleared up. “I am a weapons collector. I enjoy the tools more than the task, I think.”

“You and Anna have that in common, then,” he muses. “She likes the weapons more than the actual hunting, too.”

I grunt in agreement. “She says that you do not prefer either.”

He shrugs. “Growing up, hunting wasn’t an option. It wasn’t something done for fun. I hated it, but I had to pick my battles. I’m really more of a builder than a destroyer. I was a contractor before the world went to shit.”

“Con-tractor?”

“Construction, like building houses, barns, fencing, fixing roofs and shit.”

“A creator,” I summarize, smiling softly. “A noble job, brother Cay-leb.”

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