Page 9 of An Alien for the Farm

Another soft huff of a laugh brushes through my nose.

This little female is…entertaining. But who is this Xarion? Her mate? I snarl before I can catch myself and the sound momentarily brings me to my senses. This female is unknown to me. Why should her having a mate cause any reaction? But it does. Again. Right there. The simple thought makes me want to snarl once more.

I run a claw through my mane, brushing the filaments away from my face. Clearly, I have not had enough mealbars today. I only growl and snarl for no obvious reason when I’m hungry. I make a mental note to take a few extra bars with me next time. Meanwhile, my gaze still tracks the female. If she has a mate, why is he not guarding her? Helping her? Tending to the things she needs? Why has he left her here to deal with all this when he knew I’d be arriving soon? Is he so careless as to leave a Kari alone with his little soft liora?

I chuckle at the thought. ‘Tis only in jest. We Kari only care about what is ours.

When the female reaches one end of the perimeter and begins making her way back up, I force myself to continue my survey. She’ll be able to see me now and her impression must already be shaky. No need to make it worse by staring at her as she approaches. I feign intense focus on one part of the roof, even though I’m only listening to her movements. I hear when she comes through the broken-down gate because it creaks and then struggles before it slams shut. She’ll need someone to help with that too and I can already tell that with this many holes on her roof, her flooring must be damaged inside. Plus, there’s her field and all the other work this farm needs. That’s a lot of labor, and it’s more than one person can handle alone.

This Xarion, or whatever his name is, needs to do better.

A shiver goes through my scales as I sense her close. When I turn she’s directly below, squinting as she looks up at me. My attention heightens on her face.

“Hey, everything alright up there, um, Zynar? Hope I got that right. I’m not good with names so pardon me if I’ve butchered yours.”

Intriguing. Her phrasing is strange.

She said my name perfectly. Better than some other species can. And still, like the brute I am, the mischievous part of me responds instead of the part that’s supposed to be an upstanding citizen. “Say it again for me, so I can know if you said it correctly?”

“Zynar.”

Gods. I’ve never heard my name as a song before.

When I don’t reply she blinks, a slight furrow on her brow as she adjusts the lenses on her face. “Did I get it right?”

“Perfectly,” I purr, unable to stop my voice from dropping lower. Frakk me, this is unexpected.

Her cheeks warm a peculiar red and I wonder if I’m mistaken and she has scales that change color too. There’s a sound she makes in her throat as her eyes drop from mine for a moment before they pierce me again. “Is everything going well with the roof? Do you think you’ll be able to fix it over the next few days?”

The next few sols? Ha. I’m almost insulted. I open my mouth to tell her it will only take me a single sol to finish work like this, but something stops me. Something holds my tongue and the upstanding citizen is gagged as that other part of me responds again.

“A few sols…perhaps.” Where the frakk am I going with this? Why lengthen a job that won’t take me much time? I have no clue.

“Great!” She perks up. A soft early wind blows across her face, playing in the golden strands that have escaped to frame her face beneath her headgear. “Well, please let me know if you need anything. I haven’t made breakfast yet. Actually, I’m about to make it. If you’d like a cup of tea…”

Tee? What is this tee? I’m tempted to ask her, but it’s unusual to be offered sustenance on jobs. As a matter of fact, it never happens.

“Or coffee?” But then she mutters something about probably not having any of this thing called koh-fee. “Either way I can give you something hot to drink. Sound good?”

No, it doesn’t, but I hesitate to say this. The star is rising. The dawn is not cold. My gaze shifts to her form. Possibly her thin skin does little to keep her warm despite the heat Hudo’s star brings. And, perhaps if I reject her offer, I will offend her despite that a hot drink sounds like torture.

I should decline.

“I appreciate your kindness,” I say.

Fool.

“Okay, great.” She smiles at me, fine lines framing her eyes that make me want to lean closer to soak in the warmth of her truly genuine joy. Suddenly, that hot drink doesn’t sound like torture at all if she will smile like that again. She pauses, her skin getting redder and I realize she must be waiting for another response. Perhaps I wasn’t clear.

Lifting two fingers, I give her the Kari salute, tapping my fingers over my core-beat that’s thrumming in my chest. She must take it as enough because she makes that sound in her throat again before she disappears into the little abode.

I stand there frozen, a tingle going over my spine. The lodge falls silent, save for the distant hums of the creatures in the grass. I’m almost tempted to slink over to that hole and spy on her again. But even I have boundaries I know not to cross.

With a confused growl in my throat, my gaze sweeps over the roof once more, assessing the task ahead. It’s a big job, but not impossible. For this pretty Liora, I will make sure it’s done right.

5

ELEANOR

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