Page 23 of Heart’s Prisoner

Xerus didn't move right away. He watched her eat hers for a moment then decidedly made his way over to the box. He took up the fruit with his claws and Lana imagined if he cared to, he could easily crush it with his hand, seed and all. Instead, he held it with surprising gentleness and lifted it to his mouth where he sniffed at it.

After a long pause, he opened his jaws and, with one whole bite, devoured the fruit completely. Lana froze with mango raised to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock as she just watched the alien eat the fruit without even savoring it, noticing his sharp teeth only clamp down once, like some kind of shark eating its meal whole. His long tongue came out and licked around his jaws and mouth where some of the juice had slipped through his teeth.

Lana lowered her mango. "Ah...um...you weren't really supposed to eat the seed."

"What seed?" Xerus asked.

Lana's mouth thinned. "Nevermind. So what did you think?"

"Mmm...texture is strange." He thought about it some more. "But the taste was...nice."

"Nice? really?" Lana couldn't help smiling a little, feeling relieved. She figured he was going to hate it. "Do you have sweet fruit where you come from?"

"If by fruit you mean the edible growths from the ground then, yes, there are some but they are uncommon. And they are not...sweet as you call it. They taste more like the earth from which they come from and they are darker in color."

Interesting. She would have to make a note of that later.

Lana set her mango aside. "I will bring you another fruit when I get a chance." Lana took up the next item. "This is another sweet food but it's also one of my favorites." Lana turned and showed him the bar of chocolate in her hands. "It's called chocolate."

Xerus leaned closer to the glass. "It looks awful."

"Maybe it doesn't look appetizing but it's a big hit among humans." Lana went over to the box and broke off a piece of the bar then tossed it inside. Xerus took the piece between two claws and sniffed.

"They use it in a lot of different items too, to make different kinds of treats." Lana bit off a piece, letting the chocolate melt on her tongue. Xerus watched her with acute interest. He opened his mouth and, this time, let it slide in. He clamped down and Lana saw his mouth work and his throat move as he swallowed.

"And what did you think of that?"

Xerus' tongue flicked out and he blinked. "A little too sweet for my taste but the texture was better. Not sure about the aftertaste."

"It's a little bitter I admit but that's because it's dark chocolate."

Xerus' head tilted. "Dark?"

"It's... just got more flavor than the regular kind."

"Hm..."

Lana went back to the table again and this time picked up items that were not edible.

"This is soap and a scrubber. I'm not sure how you clean but considering you've mentioned bathing..."

Xerus bared his teeth in an odd grin and she had a feeling it was because he remembered she was going to have to 'serve' him in the endeavor eventually. "Yes," he said.

"...I assume your skin doesn't just magically clean itself or that you use your tongue to do it. And since you have yet to be provided with anything, I thought...well, here." Lana placed the bar of soap and cloth in the box along with a canister of water.

When Lana turned back to the glass she was caught off guard by seeing Xerus pressed close to it, looking at her. His tail swaying calmly from side to side.

Lana cleared her throat. She went over to her laptop and signed in. "Anyways. Something else I want to show you." Lana pulled up a playlist and synced it to the speakers within the room. She pressed start and music began to play.

Lana turned to the glass and saw the Xerus still hadn't moved. That he had been watching her. Though once the music began, his head tilted back and his eyes flickered upward.

The piano music was soft and delicate, filling the room with its sweet sound. Lana put her hands behind her back and swayed a little. She observed Xerus as he turned from the glass and stood in the middle of the room, listening.

"It's Clair de Lune."

When Xerus looked back at her, confused, Lana pointed up. "The music. This piece. That's what it's called."

"Is this what most humans listen to?" he asked.

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