Page 4 of Stripped to the Scales

Teddy and Sunny were the youngest of the Medwin 2’s crew. They were almost night and day to each other but had become fast friends in some athletic league back home on Earthside. Teddy was softer, more emotionally intelligent, more like his carrier, now deceased. Sunny was loud, boisterous, and everything you’d expect a child of our flight leaders to be.

I didn’t speak again until Teddy turned to join the conversation.

“Thank you both for coming to check on me,” I said, keeping my tone level despite how badly I wanted to crash through the dressing room door back to Axlin. “We had a little cultural misunderstanding, and he was, at first, wearing their form of pheromone blocker spray. That shit’s really good. Teddy, you ask around and find out how they do it or where it comes from. Sunny, I’d prefer if this stayed between us. There’s no reason for the world to know what transpired here this evening.”

“Why aren’t you telling him that?” Sunny smirked and jerked his thumb in Teddy’s direction.

“He has his mother’s grace. You have your sire’s affection for knowing the story first. You may inform the crew that I have met my true-mate and may be absent some days. All the rules are still in effect.”

“So, only the captain can break them and let’s say come to a strip club in the purple district?” Sunny arched a brow.

“We will discuss the rules further upon my return. Casimir is in charge while I’m away.”

Sunny wrinkled his nose at me. Casimir and Sunny grated each other the wrong way sometimes and I knew why, but that was a problem for another day. Once upon a time Casimir was Sunny – full of life and the idea that nothing bad would ever happen to him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I shook my head. “Get home. No stops.”

“We will,” Teddy said.

“He doesn’t want to have any fun,” Sunny rolled his eyes at us both.

Teddy didn’t argue about not wanting to have fun. He liked to have fun as much as the next guy. The purple district just wasn’t his scene.

“I’m sorry for the false alarm, Teddy,” I said, ignoring Sunny instead of feeding into the dramatic discussion he wanted.

“No problem, Castor. I’d rather fly out here for a false alarm than have something happen to you. You have your phone in case something happens with the link, right?” Teddy asked, forever, the mother hen of the group.

“I do.”

“Do I need to send Izora with anything for you?”

“Why would I need---” I stopped midsentence realizing he was attempting to politely ask me if I needed or wanted Izora to tend to my birth control needs.

“Thanks, but I’m fine. If something comes up, I’ll let you all know. I hate to put it on you, but don’t let him fall, slip, and land with someone on his dick on the way home. Not here. If he wants to date, he can use an app or something.”

“How long are you gonna play daddy?” Sunny asked.

“Long enough to keep you from repopulating the world with tiny baby Clarence Moonscales,” I said and clapped Sunny on the shoulder. “Remember what I said. You can date. Just not in this district. We don’t know enough.”

“Hey,” Teddy said as Sunny turned to leave.

“Yeah, Teddy?” I asked, trying not to sound as if impatience thrummed in my veins.

“How’d your meeting with Hush go?” Teddy asked.

“He’s neutral, I think,” I shrugged. “He says if someone wants to help with the Other World gateway mission they could. He didn’t put limits on who we might ask as Clarance would’ve. He just doesn’t want to have anything to do with it apparently.”

“Since Elio got us here maybe he doesn’t want to take the spotlight away from his nephew.”

“I hope that’s what it is. An indifferent leader can’t be easy to live under,” I sighed. “You guys get home before dark.”

“Do I tell Casimir he’s nice? You know he’s going to ask.”

“Tell Casimir the truth. Only Casimir and only Teddy,” I said as Sunny looked back over his shoulder at me. “I don’t need him having one of his days.”

“You got it,” Teddy grinned at me and looped his arm through Sunny’s to tug him away.

Chapter Two

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