Page 41 of Kryxis

She rolled a shoulder in an odd gesture. She said many things very quickly, but he gathered enough to understand that she thought it odd to rest next to the same person who she had just fought with not long ago. They were “strangars” as she put it. And practically “advaseeries.” And she did not lie with those who were labeled as such.

He wasn’t sure how to respond. But he knew enough already that she was still partially afraid of him.

Fighting his instincts to be close while wanting her to trust, he climbed out of the pit, trying to hide his disappointment. “I will…not lie by you then.” He didn’t dare look at her. “I will…come check on you later.” He went for the door.

“Wait, Kryxis.”

He turned to see her standing by the pit. “Thaynk yu,” she said.

She said those words to him before, after helping her take some of the plants. They were words of gratitude.

He bowed his head and left her.

He rifled through the shelves and the boxes, searching his collection for useful materials. Items that might help make things easier for taking care of pests. They would have to take the tunnels, and to get through them quickly, they needed something more than just his tail and talons.

He collected scrap metal and wiring and a few cannisters of flammable chemicals, setting them down on his workstation and getting to work. He fired up his flare and began to meld pieces of metal together. As he set to his task, the storm raged on above him.

He hadn’t lied. He had seen storms take days to pass. But, in truth, it could just as easily pass by daybreak. Even so, he didn’t think their ship would be ready by then. He’d played with broken down ships, some no more than husks, others with power but no engines or rockets to see him take off. He’d learned a thing or two about power from what still ran within the city and knew it would take some time to fix that ship. Not a lot, but still…

Maybe she would warm up to him then.

Once the scrap metal formed a ball, he poured a small amount of the chemicals inside a hole, stuck the wire inside, then used a special sealant to cover it up. He worked on several more pieces until he had a handful of firebombs. When he felt that was enough, he set his tools aside and placed the bombs into a pouch.

He went looking for armor next.

It had occurred to him more than once that he should go alone and bring the pair back. But they all seemed to scare so easily. And if they got injured in their fright, Dani wouldn’t like that.

As he set the gear in a pile, he tried to think of more that he could do. In reality, he was just stalling. Looking around, he caught his reflection in a shiny metal sheet that sat against one wall.

He never thought much about how he looked. He could tell by the way other creatures reacted that he looked scary without even having to try. Everything was afraid of him. And he’d always relished that fact. He’d thrilled in Dani’s fear. Now hebadly wanted her to like him. He’d never cared about being liked before.

He started to scrutinize his appearance in the slate. He was all sharp edges and wicked aggression. He couldn’t do anything about his eyes. And he needed his teeth. He didn’t have fur or hair, but he could file down his horns to look…cuteas Dani would put it. Only he didn’t know exactly how to make them look like that except maybe less intimidating.

He glanced down at his arms. Dani only had two. A lot of things did. Having four was really convenient but he didn’tneedthem and could tell how much they unnerved her. Maybe if he got rid of his blue ones…

He felt an ache in his chest. No, that didn’t feel right. And even so, he doubted it would help. He was so different from her that changing parts of him wouldn’t matter. He was what he was.

But maybe there was another way. He noticed his scales were looking less than nice. Though he tried to keep himself clean, they’d gotten a bit dull-looking. He’d seen other creatures preen themselves to look as good as possible for potential mates…to look asprettyas possible.

He was not pretty. He knew that.

But it couldn’t hurt to try.

He turned away from the slate and pulled open one of the cabinets where he’d gotten the armor from. He had an idea. Maybe he didn’t feel right taking parts of him off. But he could always add something.

He closed the cabinet. First, to check on Dani. For all he knew, she’d decided to stay up and watch the monitors, and he would need to convince her to lie down again.

He climbed up to the second room, cracking the door to make sure he didn’t scare her. “Dani, it’s me.” He peered inside, but she wasn’t sitting at the monitors. Her suit was draped overa chair and the healing box was open. He snuck inside and went over to the center.

Down in the shallow pit, he saw her curled up, clutching his blanket in her fists. She wore very little under the suit, a thin shirt and bottoms that barely covered her. He stood frozen, peering down at her, and his hearts began to beat a little faster. He caught her scent again and felt his mouth watering.

How badly he wanted to sink down by her. A powerful, primal urge took over, and he desperately wanted to rub against her, to have her scent on him, everywhere. But also to have his scent on her. A warning to others that he had some claim to her, and they would die if they touched her.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself not to mark her. Not yet, not until she accepted him.

A soft whimper came from the pit. He peered back down and saw she was trembling, her muscles tensing, brow furrowed. Little cries rose from her throat. Beads of sweat dampened her hair.

Concern was what drew him down to her, brushing the damp hair away from her face. Poor thing, she was having a nightmare. He too knew of those, having them for many cycles, though they had begun to lessen as time went on.

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