Page 65 of May the Stars Have Mercy
Text filled her screen.
The Vrozian equivalent of ‘fuck it’.
Aphrodite raised her chunk to the other scientists. “Etic!”
They all cheered the word loudly as she popped it in her mouth. The flavor wasn’tterrible. It was earthy, could have been washed better. But there was a strange tanginess mixed with the dirt taste that left her baffled. She chewed it slowly, chasing the light sting of a citrus flavor on her tongue. Her teeth fought with the spongey, almost gummy bear texture until finally, she was able to swallow it.
…That’s when she realized why the Orv were so…Orv.
Chapter Thirty- Seven:
Xexis
Heavy-footed,tired,andsweaty,the pack headed back toward the ship. Xexis was ready to expire, legs and back aching. Grooug grunted as the group stomped down the dusty earth. “Nothing, the scans were useless.”
“Not useless,” Reevar panted for air with all four of his hands behind his head. “The area is safe; that’s something to celebrate.”
“Ah, yes, not useless, just a complete waste of my muscle and time,” Grooug sneered, jabbing Reevar teasingly in the ribs.
“Well, I had fun!” Kiefgr cheered from beside Xexis as the four hungry and spent hunters trudged back toward their ship. Xexis’ only solace was they were still in good spirits. That, and that he’d not received any notifications from Aphrodite other than clearing the area of weird readings. After investigation, everything that came up with that reading showed massive growth of theZhaba Muscaria.They’d brought some back to the ship, according to Aphrodite’s notes, but nothing since. No readings or alerts from Buddy either. That was comforting. However, returning to the ship to find all the lights on, sounds blaring from inside, and all the Vroz on the ramp dancing? That wasn’t comforting.
“Kannatch?” Kiefgr whispered, pointing a finger toward the only human in the group. “Is the Mphronatch okay?”
Xexis knew that dancing was a uniquely human thing. Bodies like Vroz were not meant for swinging hips or spinning in circles. However, that did not seem to stop three of his researchers, his best engineer, and his favorite pilot from wiggling strangely beside Aphrodite.Now, Aphrodite seemed to be able to dance.Her hands were in the air, her long yellow hair flowing behind her, hips swaying.
From a mate point of view, he enjoyed it. She was smiling and swaying and making his trunk swell.
From a Kannatch point of view, however, fury licked up inside him as Kern, his well-honored and professional pilot, waddled toward them with three Orv on his tail. “Where did they come from?”
“Kannatch,” Reevar tried to stifle a snort but was unsuccessful. “I think the locals welcomed our crew; the only way the locals know how to have a good time.”
“I will stuff them in tanks,” Xexis snarled. “Kern!”
“Yes! My Kannatch!” Kern snapped to attention, smacked his fist to his chest and bowed. Only, as he dipped, he dropped face-first into the dirt. The Orv waddled behind him, hands in the air, before they mimicked his face down, rear end up position.
Xexis slapped a palm to his face before dragging it down his skin.Excellent.Xexis turned his attention to Reevar, who looked away, clearly hiding his smug expression. Then to Grooug, who watched the scientific team with a twinkle of bemusement. Finally, he eyed Kiefgr who immediately beamed and waved furiously at him. “Kannatch, will we be joining the Mphronatch in the Orvian tradition of getting intoxicated on flora?”
“No!” He huffed before pointing to the trees. “I want a full search of the trees; Reevar, Kiefgr, ensure our surroundings are secure.Grooug, return the Orv to their homes or the nearest patch of flora.”
“And what will you be doing, my Kannatch?” Reevar snickered, trotting toward the trees.
“Attempting to wrangle my mate, it seems.” He stepped up to Kern, picked his intoxicated pilot under his arm and carried him luggage style toward the ship.
Xexis wasn’t trained to deal with Orvian hallucinogenic or intoxicated pilots. He was trained to keep his people safe. How does one do that if they ingest the problem? Xexis loved science, he loved how elated it made Aphrodite. He didn’t understand a sentence coming out of her beautiful lips, but he enjoyed the look on her face while she spoke. That being said, he despised how unorganized and lacking discipline the scientists were. His hunters would never ingest something the Orv gave them. Only scientists would take a strange, foreign flora and eat it…And no doubt, they would claim it was for scientific discovery.
Aphrodite caught him carrying the pilot over and gasped. Flinging her arms in the air, she danced rapidly from foot to foot as if she were charging up. “Xexis!” she squealed.
He immediately dropped his pilot into the dusty earth as his mate came flying at him. She flung herself into his arms and wrapped herself around him like wet parchment. “Oh, I missed you! You shouldtotallytry the Zhaba Muscaria! It’sfabulous!”
Her Anglo-saxis was slurred and she was unable to focus on his face as she swayed in his arms.She’s intoxicated, very intoxicated.He groaned, “Mymate, why did you ingest it?”
“Etic!” She cheered, tossing her arms over her head. The entire crew cheered with her, throwing their hands into the air again. He watched them sway like leaves in the wind.
Xexis took a deep breath in. “Who taught you that word?”
“Shhhh, don’t tell Xexis,” she giggled cutely, smashing an armored finger to her plush lips.At least she kept the armor on, or do I have Buddy to thank for that?Putting a weak hand to his shoulder to steady herself, she laughed harder. “He hates when I learn naughty words.”
“Yes, because my mate should never use naughty words,” he growled, cupping her tighter against him. “It’s bad manners.”
