Page 8 of Entranced By the Nakken
“Would you like some, Stare Bear?” Casey’s tone was friendly, but the green in his otherwise amber eyes twinkled. The tingling in Tsunis’ ears trailed down their neck, shooting straight to the hidden glands between their legs.
“Pass,” Tsunis gritted out.
“Your loss.” Why did this human constantly sound amused? Was he not taking this seriously? Despite being trapped in this realm for a decade, Tsunis was ignorant about the fascinating ways of humans. The ones they’d fed from weren’t a fair comparison, but even those they’d observed from a distance were nothing like Casey.
Casey lifted the water to his pink lips, which parted like a lily in bloom. Tsunis looked away so quickly they had whiplash, but they couldn’t tune out the sounds of his swallowing. They glared at the foaming water and sent a prayer to Glacia for goddessly might to help them through this contract.
“So, about this blood contract.” Another gulp of water descended Casey’s throat. Only when they heard the lid screw back on could Tsunis meet Casey’s gaze. “It’s supposed to teach me to be as good of a musician as you, right?”
“You will surpass me.”
Casey laughed but sobered at Tsunis’ deepening glare. “No way.”
“You doubt me?” Tsunis growled.
“Not you.” Casey bumped their shoulder with his. Tsunis stiffened, their gaze snapping to the spot of impact. “I’ve never heard a single song like yours. It’s me that I doubt.”
“But my song is not your song.” Something about the sentence felt untrue, but Tsunis wasn’t lying.
Casey shrugged. “I’ll never play as well as you, and that’s okay. But I’m curious how these lessons are supposed to help me improve when you’re not teaching me anything.”
How utterly offensive! Tsunis rounded on the infuriating human, bending one knee flat on the blanket. “It’s you who does not know how to learn!”
Casey’s eyes widened a fraction, then sparkled as he laughed. Laughed!
“You’re fuckin’ right,” Casey conceded. He waved his hands, palms out. “Also, I think you’ve solved a huge mental block I’ve had since leaving school, so, thank you, my wise professor. Please forgive me.”
Tsunis’ muscles relaxed a fraction. “All is forgiven.”
“Besides, I enjoy spending time with you. Even if I’m doing all the work.”
There it was. Comments that made Tsunis’ chest tighten, and their sensitive glands loosen.
Thankfully, Casey didn’t linger in the silence. He cleared his throat and flooded the woods with music. Subsequently, Tsunis was awash in the sensations of his seamless controlbetween gritty rasp and powerful falsettos, accompanied by a subtle bass from skillful fingers.
After quite some time of the pleasurable torture, Casey paused. This time, he didn’t try to make conversation, and Tsunis found themself wishing for any reason to fill the silence.
“My home is called Glacis, after the goddess, Glacia.” Tsunis forced the words through a lump of seaweed in their throat. Manifesting their violin, they stroked the smooth bone stem. “I was almost named Glacianic after her as well.”
“Glacianic is a pretty name.”
“It’s a strong name,” Tsunis agreed. “I revere the goddess, though I’m glad to have a name of my own.”
“I prefer Tsunis, too, but maybe I’m bias.” The human proffered a lopsided grin, but Tsunis wasn’t sure what he would be bias about. “My name, on the other hand, is problematic to say the least.”
“How so?”
“I go by Casey, but my birth name is Casimir. Which literally means 'destroyer of peace', for fuck's sake.” He snorted and rolled his pretty eyes, but Tsunis didn’t understand this either. “What the fuck were my parents thinking, right? To be fair, they weren’t far off. I’m a world-class wrecking ball.”
Tsunis’ brow knitted. They sounded the name out in their mind. Kah-sih-meer, destroyer of peace. Based on the limited time they’d spent with the human, this was the perfect name for him. It described the turmoil of emotions his presence brought up in Tsunis.
“No.” Slowly, they shook their head. “You are wrong. To destroy peace is to bring revolution.” Unbidden, their volume grew as passion took hold, their violin retreating in a splash of magic. “Peace disruptors are necessary. Equality, freedom, change—none of it is possible without you.”
“Oh.”
Casey—no, Casimir—was flushed nice and pink. Tsunis could make out every fleck of green in otherwise brown eyes, like fossilized tree resin among emerald pebbles. They should pull away. Should drop the subject and move on with the lesson.
“Status quo is not true peace,” Tsunis implored. “It is control. It must be destroyed.” The song was so hot inside their chest, they were a passenger in their own body as their hand landed on Casimir’s knee and squeezed. “You are not a wreck. You are hope. You are everything.”
