Page 43 of Emerald

Kroaicho tilts its head, its glowing eyes narrowing slightly. "There are no poisonous compounds in the air," it says in its deep, rumbling voice, calm and measured as if I hadn't just screamed in its face. "If there were, I would have sensed them long ago."

Its indifference only fuels my anger. "Yeah, well, maybe it's not poisonous to you," I snap, crossing my arms. "But I'm not exactly built like you, am I?"

Kroaicho's skin flashes a dark shade of purple, a sign of... frustration, I think? It’s that color a lot too.

It towers over me, eyes glowing slightly brighter. "You shine like a treasure just the same as always and there is no danger here. Your body may be adjusting, but it is not under threat."

I grit my teeth, fighting the urge to scream at its calm, detached tone. "Oh, so my body just coughing up blood is normal? Right. That makes perfect sense. And what about these?" I gesture wildly to my ears. "Are these supposed to be normal, too? Am I going to wake up tomorrow with spikes all over me?"

The alien huffs, its glowing skin flaring. "Your demands are redundant. Your biology is…"

"Your stupid face is redundant!" I snap back, not even thinking before the words leave my mouth.

Kroaicho stops mid-sentence, its glowing eyes widening in what I can only describe as shock. For a moment, the cave is silent as it processes what I just said.

"My… face?" Kroaicho repeats slowly as if trying to understand the insult. It draws itself up to its full height, skin flickering with a sharper light now. "My face," it continues, with rising indignation, "is a product of millions of years of zhasie evolution, perfectly suited to the environment of our home planet. Every feature, from the contours of my jaw to the ridges on my brow, is an adaptation for survival. To call it redundant is scientifically inaccurate!"

I stare at it, dumbfounded. The sheer passion with which it defends its face—its evolutionary masterpiece—is almost comical. I can't help it. The corners of my mouth twitch, and before I know it, I'm snorting. The sound echoes off the cave walls, loud and absurd in the silence.

The swings in my emotion in this place are even worse than when I was a kid. I thought I had outgrown that. I pinch my nose, then think of the indignation and snort out a laugh.

Kroaicho watches me, eyes narrowed and skin dimming to a confused, muted shade of blue. "You find this amusing?" it asks, its voice tinged with wariness.

“All of this is either the worst thing that ever happened to me and I am going to fall apart, or it’s comical. Only one of those seems wise right now,” I tell it.

Kroaicho remains silent for a moment, its head tilted as it observes me. I can tell it's trying to make sense of my reaction, but its alien mind clearly isn't equipped to understand why I'm laughing.

Eventually, I manage to calm down, wiping tears from my eyes as I straighten up. "Sorry," I say, still smiling. "You're just… you're the strangest alien I've ever met." I pause, then add, "Not that I've met a lot of aliens, to be fair. And the rest of them I killed before we got to know each other.”

I moan when I remember the elation that caused and Kroaicho’s skin lights up again with confusion.

“Killed which aliens?” it asks, clicks betraying deep interest.

“Well, the bugs, of course. They died with the most lovely cracking sound.” I mimic it as I chop the air with one hand. “And the genali explode in a rain of goo when you shoot them.”

I close my eyes for a moment to savor the memory, then open them. “And then there’s you. Stabbing didn’t work, and so now I’m stuck with the conversation trap.”

Kroaicho's eyes narrow further, and it huffs again, its skin flashing with faint amusement, though I doubt it fully understands the joke.

But as the last echoes of laughter die down, I realize something else—something that hits me like a punch to the gut. I feel… strange. My body, already more sensitive than usual, now feels like it's buzzing with something else. Something… more.

Damn. I shouldn’t have thought about killing. It makes the stupid arousal worse.

I swallow hard, forcing myself to ignore the warmth spreading through me and fight down the blush creeping up my cheeks.

I turn away from Kroaicho quickly, trying to regain control. Great. Just great. As if everything else wasn't bad enough, now I'm full-on horny? Fantastic.

Kroaicho flicks a funny look my way, its bioluminescent skin flashing between a light blue to orange, to white as if it can't decide which color to settle on. Finally, with a huff, it sticks to its normal shade, the steady blue glow fading into the cave's dim light.

"You're strange," it mutters, still watching me like it can't quite figure out what to make of me.

I let out a sigh. I’ve heard that before, but for some reason it hurts even more coming from someone as odd as Kroaicho. "That's nothing new,” I tell it.

Kroaicho disagrees vehemently, leaning in slightly as it chitters, "No. You are particularly strange. One moment you seem angry, the next you are calm, then playful. I cannot predict what you will do." It tilts its head, genuinely perplexed. "Are all humans like this?"

I chuckle, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation at its confusion. "You don't even know the half of it."

At this, Kroaicho's skin flares dark purple, the rapid change of color disorienting me for a bit before it grumbles deep in its chest. "That sounds like a wholly inefficient way to live."

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