Page 95 of Sohut's Protection

“We have visitors!” Senrit announced and that made the aliens who hadn’t noticed their arrival till then turn to take a look.

“One female, a Merssi, and a…a slizz,” one of the other guards said and the chatter around the circle of light suddenly hushed. Even the music stopped.

“A WHAT?!” someone in the circle exclaimed.

That exclamation was suddenly followed by a chorus of other exclamations and some of the aliens stood hurriedly, their four eyes darting to the huts at the sides as if they wanted to run to them.

“He won’t hurt you,” Sohut spoke up and several eyes focused on him. “The slizz is tame.”

“TAME! ABSURD!”

Senrit glanced at Wawa again. “To be honest, I’m beginning to wonder if it really is a slizz. It is…loving to the female.” The corners of Senrit’s mouth turned down and Cleo almost chuckled at the absolute disgust on his face.

Wawa continued to ignore them as he rubbed his head against her neck.

“I guess it would have attacked already if it was going to kill us…” said someone. “I’ve never heard of a slizz waiting that long to attack anything.”

There was a collective pause.

“You’re right as usual…but I might have urinated a little from just looking at it,” said another alien.

“Me too.”

“Me too.”

“Yep, me too.”

Another pause.

“So, it’s safe you think?” asked someone else.

“I mean…we’re alive.”

There was another pause and just like that, what looked like a collective shrug of the shoulders occurred before the aliens began chattering again.

“Music!” Senrit exclaimed and the music got louder. “Let us welcome our guests in true Torian fashion!”

Before she could protest, several arms circled her waist and arms and Cleo was pulled away from Sohut.

Her mouth fell open in alarm before she realized she was being carried by two of the bubble-headed aliens.

There was no malice on their faces, only stupid little smiles.

As the music flowed through the clearing, the two aliens holding her took each of her arms and began spinning her from left to right in rhythm with the music, doing the same with their own bodies.

“Dance!” someone exclaimed.

They were…dancing with her.

Horrified eyes found Sohut’s green ones and she found him tracking her movement around the circle.

He seemed amused. Even from the distance between them now, she could see his eyes twinkle. That was, before several arms grabbed him too and he was also forced to dance with the aliens as well.

The utter mortification on his face made a bubble of laughter rise within her and Cleo chuckled. Her laughter only seemed to spur the aliens on and before she knew it, they’d let her go and she was doing their dance on her own.

She would have stopped if the entire clearing wasn’t suddenly dancing too.

It felt…good.

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