Page 7 of Accounting for Drakes

“She was brought here?”

“Yes. I introduced herself and the cousins who were here, and her education began. Knowledge comes easily, but social behaviours are the most difficult. Give her protocols, but don’t laugh at her. She really hates that. She spends her life not fitting in, and she knows it.”

“What is on that board she clutches?”

“Ask her. Once she has rested.”

“You are leaving her on her own after that?”

“She is near heat but not in it, and she is my blood. I have no choice but to leave her to her new situation.” Mbrak shrugged.

“But... you were going to give her to me.” Yorath frowned.

“I was. Now, she is a living drake on her own. You will have to court her and lure her off this station before she considers everyone on it as her possession.”

“You said she wasn’t one of those.”

“Not yet. She’s working toward that goal. Once she gains a foothold, she will guard her hoard with everything she has. That will include her mate.”

Mbrak nodded. “I will allow you to remain on the station for four days while you try to persuade her to come with you. If she does not go with you, she will be out on her own. I cannot allow another adult drake to reside on this station.”

Yorath frowned. “What if she will not have me?”

“Well, I would definitely untangle my mind from hers before she takes off. That might hurt.”

“What?”

“Well, as she said, you made contact with her first, so she is under no requirement to release you. You should work on that, but after you do, get uncoupled, she will cease speaking again. Communication is a social behaviour.”

“Oh, so when she was awkward in the simulation...”

“That is her trying to find the words or the right thing to do. What did she do, by the way?” Mbrak tilted his head.

“I had been trapped under rock, so she brushed me off, and when I mocked her for it, she started doing the same to my front. That is when I insulted her.”

“People like to be clean. She knows that. If you can give her examples of behaviour, she will mimic it.”

“So, imperial protocols?”

“Yes, but as we stated, if you laugh at her, she will leave. Her cousins were tolerant, but she is different. There is no doubt of it, and they were not always kind.”

“How did she remain stable until now?”

“She linked to one of her cousin’s injuries and has been using pain to keep her language operating. She knows the words, but arranging them so they won’t hurt people’s feelings is tricky.” He sighed. “She is blunt to a startling degree.”

“Her beast is gorgeous.” Yorath smiled slowly.

“I noticed, but she is also dangerous. Do not forget the mind behind the beast.”

“Protocols are stringent, and from what you are describing, she could work with those as long as she has the ability to cling to my mind.”

“You don’t mind that?”

“From a mate? No. I have waited to find a proper mate for centuries. Now, you have presented me with one, and while I am fumbling, I do see the potential.”

Mbrak chuckled. “Your beast is threatening to split you in half if you try and leave without her.”

He sighed ruefully. “Yes. That.”

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