Page 11 of Finding Her
Oomph.I felt my body collide into something dense but soft. Fluff tickled into the corners of my lips, and I used the tip of my tongue to push it out of my mouth. Stumbling back, I caught my balance on Mykie’s chilled arm and looked up to see a large humanoid beast. It towered above me, covered head to toe with brown fur. The hairs were long and dense in tufts on its shoulders and chest, forming a thick collar around its neck. Large fangs hung over a thin bottom lip, and its eyes were yellow with pinpoint pupils looking down at me. It opened its mouth with a puff of hot breath. My heart stopped. Was this hairy beast about to take a bite out of my exposed throat?
“Excuse me,” it said with a nod and continued walking.
In shock—and feeling some embarrassment over once again being disgruntled by another sentient being’s mere existence—I forced my eyes ahead and continued walking in silence until we were out of earshot. “Mykie,” I whispered as quietly as I could. “What was that man?”
“The person you ran into?” She snorted out a laugh at my expense, not bothering to match my hushed tone.
“Right,” I conceded begrudgingly.
“That, my friend, was a Lychan. And it was a female.” She flashed a grin at someone who waved at her from a distance.
“Lychans arerealhere?” My earthly monster education must have covered that one, since the name was familiar. I’d expected more of a long canine maw than asomewhathuman face. That said, I had no reason to assume my planet’s folklore applied here. The other two species I met were completely foreign to any legend I was familiar with. This had fascinating implications for what—who—else I might be encountering as I immersed myself into Trebianna.
“Very real, and very proud, so be more careful when labeling them with a gender.” She nodded at another Lychan as we passed them.
I averted my eyes from the Lychan’s stare. “How do I know what gender they are?” I asked when this one was at a safe distance. “They’re covered in clothing and fur. There aren’t any hints.”
Genuine amusement washed away her sharp edges. “I don’t recommend looking between their hips if that’s what you mean by‘hints’. That is, unless you want to get bought a few drinks and taken home by one.” She chuckled. “Females havesmaller ears and hands and generally have darker fur than males.”
“How can I compare them if I’ve never seen a male?”
“Stay gender neutral, babe.”
My eyes traveled up to the cool purple sky, where two large planets sat—one purple and one green—peering between the clouds. “Is it daytime?”
Her chin tilted up. “The two stars are in the sky,” she said bluntly, as if that answer made it obvious. After seeing my confused expression remain she elaborated, “Yes, it’s daytime.”
“Why isn’t the Lychan a man then?”
“Because it’s a female.” Her tone became sharper, as if she thought I was being purposely dense.
“No, like a human. Human by day, wolf by night.” That was the thing about Lychan, right? The term was basically synonymous with Werewolf.
“I don’t know what a wolf is, but they are neverhuman.” She opened the swinging door of a gray concrete building with a sign reading “Theo Octavian’s Pub”. The delicate chime of a bell announced our entry.
“Aye, darlin’,” a Thornian in the closest booth to the door greeted us when we walked in. “Who’s the female?” He pointed his long talon at me.
I remembered this species based on its inherently predatory features. As with the one I had seen yesterday, he had human skin and dragon-like brown horns decorating his face and body, the largest of which were located on either cheekbone, angling back towards his tussled orange hair. The small spikes that covered his forearms were shaped like crocodilian osteoderms. He had the same ridged talons and sharp teeth that I’d seen before. I noted that as a consistent feature across thespecies. I had never seen a being more capable of devouring my flesh.
“This is Faeryn,” Mykie stated. “Faeryn, this is Lorne. He’s a regular here.”
“Hi there.” I smiled, reminding myself to look at his eyes and not his unfamiliar, somewhat terrifying, biological enhancements.
I was grateful when we didn’t stop to chat, instead heading straight to the U-shaped bar ahead. Mykie veered to the left side, notably sparing me from having my back to the door. At this angle, I could turn my head right to watch patrons as they flooded in. It was an ideal vantage point for my people-watching goals. Plus, I felt more comfortable.
“What’ll it be?” A man withfourmuscular arms approached us from behind the bar. The extra limbs branching from his back were so distracting, I barely noticed the small, dark horns on his forehead. I was gettingused to seeing horns.I had to tilt my chin to an uncomfortable angle to make eye contact as he towered over us from across the bar. This man washuge. He tilted his head to the side to reveal large ropes of muscle flexing around his tattooed neck. His beige skin looked rather human, decorated with elaborate inky designs twisting across his arms and chest like black dye spreading through water. The brown hair on his head was buzzed, revealing a long white scar running several inches back from the top of his ear.
“Give us two Droolers, Theo,” Mykie said, seating herself and leaning into me. “He’s a Quadmos. They’re the strongest species on Trebianna.Also not bad looking.” She whispered up until the last line, at which point she seemed to purposely raise her voice, biting her tongue playfully in the man’s direction. He wiggled his hips at her in response while wiping down a glass with his top arms, his stoic expression unchanging. I crackeda smile at his playfulness. She certainly wasn’t wrong; he was attractive in a rugged and imposing way. The rough edges didn’t match the little dance he’d given her.
The clanks of glasses and chit chat filled the musky air, and if I closed my eyes, I could imagine I was in a familiar place with normal people. I could almost picture my own friends with me.Almost. Even though details were constantly on the tip of my tongue, I didn’t know who to picture. A brother? Roommate? Coworker? Hell, maybe I even had a husband and child. For all I knew, they were sitting at home wondering when I’d be home. As the hours ticked by, I’d finally ruled out that I was dreaming. This dream was too involved. I hadn’tcompletelyruled out coma. I blinked hard a few times, but my vision was clear, my senses true.
“Here you go, ladies.” Theo slid two large tin mugs to us that bubbled over the edges and streamed down the sides of the cup, evaporating before hitting the table.
“Thanks, Theo!” Mykie sang cheerfully and raised her drink to her lips. “Take it slow,” she muttered to me before taking a large swig herself.
She watched the back of Theo’s jeans while he walked away.She’s shameless. I almost respected it. Compared to how on edge she’d been in the house, she was practically melting into society, comfortable talking to every person and taking up space in every environment. Shecouldbe a sleazy bar crawler, but I didn’t necessarily think this version was more authentic than what I’d seen in the living room.
The drink tasted like motor oil smelled. My first sip nearly forced a choke out of me, but given that these seemed to be popular amongst the crowd in here, I was reluctant to make a scene. Who was I to disrespect a beloved drink? Everyone else with a frothing tin mug seemed to be glugging it down with ease.I held my breath and dug my nails into my thigh to distract my senses, tipped the mug back, and swallowed as much as my mouth could handle. The sooner I made a dent in this, the better. Sipping is for savoring, chugging is goal-oriented. The mission at hand was to be normal at all costs. And I wasn’t about to pass up liquid courage, especially since it seemed like Mykie knew everybody here. It was a matter of time before I was up to bat with chatting.
