As we began the walk I had the foresight to start preparing myself and Cece as well. Esayr walked ahead of us, navigating so that we could meander and focus on our conversation. "You're probably going to get a lot of attention."

"I'm prepared for it."

"You are?"

She nodded, "I'm not unused to having attention on me. On top of that, I assumed being one of only two human women on the ship."

"And you're un—" I hadn't even finished the last ord when she uttered it herself.

"Unmated? Yes, I'd imagine that would only make me that more of a person of interest." She was silent for a spell before she inclined her head in my direction, more so an afterthought from our earlier conversations, "Should I be concerned?"

"For your safety? No. If you dislike unabashed friendliness and overall nosiness? Maybe. I want to believe the guys here will be...if not reasonable then hopefully at least subtle."

They were not.

But the one thing I'd come to realize in my time was that the Val'Dornn were unfailingly the equivalent of an overexcited puppy when it came to finding their soul bind or pleasing their mates.

Esayr chatted nearby with two other males that had flagged him down for a conversation, or something that at least appeared to be a conversation...muddled with quick glances our way. It inspired questions of how quickly bonds were felt and at what distance and I resolved to quiz Esayr later on once we were alone.

"The like to preen," Cece mentioned it more as an afterthought, but I had to swallow down the laughter that immediately threatened to burst out of me.

She was right. They absolutely did like to preen whenever there were females about. "It's getting a little ridiculous, isn't it?" We hadn't even made it in the media area of the ship and already we'd been stopped no less than four times.

"I imagine it will only get worse. A ship this size can easily hold a country's worth of people and I'd imagine there are areas of it that are densely populated." She glanced toward the speckling of doors that had just begun to crop up, leading into businesses that I wasn't familiar with.

The shit was certainly large, big enough to be noticeable in the night sky with the naked eye, though I'd imagine there were fewer males on it than her estimation. They liked their airy accommodations and high ceilings. The ship was large, but a lot of that footprint went into inefficient --but lovely--architecture. "It'll..." I wouldn't say it would get worse just more prevalent, "It won't be worse than exactly this," I pointed to the males, "a few longing looks from a distance and some casual man stances. I'd imagine they'll maintain their distance because they're afraid of frightening you."

"They think they'll frighten me?"

"These males are certainly intense. And I probably made them a little bit more hesitant when I first came here."

"You were unwilling."

It wasn't a question, but the silence after the statement was waiting to be filled. "Initially yes, though I'd imagine you probably saw the footage of me being carted off into the genetics lab like a crying sack of flour."

There was a flick of a smile that was hinted at the corner of her mouth when her head bobbed. I used it as a good sign. I knew Cece had mentioned she was on our side, but I didn't want to say anything that might taint that, but I wanted to be truthful as well. It was a fine line.

"I wasn't much better once I finally came up here, only instead of tears I was just...angry...vicious really."

"Are we ready?" Esayr returned to us, having deftly sent the males away in the same way he had the last three groups. His hand lingered on my side by my hip, for just long enough that I could lean into him. He settled more firmly against me, feeding me comfort and reassurance that I never would have believed I'd need.

"We were just talking about your mate's viciousness when she first got here." No subtlety. No deception. Cece was nothing if not straightforward, though I could have done without reliving my poor manners.

Esayr laughed his hand disappeared from my side only to reappear with a tug on my ponytail, pulling my head back just enough that he could glance down at my mouth, "She's got a sword for a tongue when she feels like it, but I've found I like the sting of it."

He held me there, in that position, for a moment too long, letting the seconds tick closer and closer to an intimate moment my eyes strayed down to his mouth. I happened to like it a lot too if we were being honest. At the last second the mouth of his ticked up into a half-smile, the picture of male pride, and he released me.

"I'd imagine the others will settle around you, especially if you continue with your outings," I was relieved to note that --whether intentionally or not-- Cece had given us our space, turning a bit to look further down the hall and into the beginnings of the central hub of the Aarond Form's city district. Even though she turned away from us, I couldn't stop the hint of the blush, a holdover of a life unused to these moments.

Esayr's warm hand was at my cheek. He looked nothing less than perfectly amused. His thumb brushed along the ridge of my cheekbone. I saw the gears turn in his head too late and didn't have a second to prepare before that thumb landed just under my lip, pulling it free from where I'd bitten it. As soon as he had my mouth open his lips were on mine, quick and desperate like some errant fling behind the heavy curtains of a window. The slide of his tongue carried just the hinted taste of something illicit and it made me crave more of him. When he pulled away I followed after him and the smug chuckle he let out as he only backed away farther. "Would we like to take bets if we'll make it to Kayle's without interruption this time?" He passed in front of Cece, garnering her attention as she absently followed after him, but his look was all for me.

Another episode like that and I'd be the one interrupting. I told myself I was still upset with him, but I'd grumble about it later once I didn't feel overheated and attuned to every sensation around me.

We made it to Kayle's with only mild interruptions, most of which were of the "walk and talk" variety. I was brought back to my first moments on the ship on my own. I'd felt like an oddity. You had no idea, Addison.

Now we were a full-fledged spectacle. Males stopped in the walkways and left shops to catch a glimpse of us. I was grateful for the reprieve once we stepped into the interior of Kayle's media hall.

It was populated, but not downright busy. Kayle was fussing behind the bar to the backdrop of the muted noise of the vid screens around him. He glanced up as we entered his eyes flicked through us and stuttered on Cece for a moment. His surprise was evident in the nearly comical widening of his eyes, then it morphed to some kind of emotion that was a mingle of amusement and joy that tasted like a candied orange peel in my mouth.

The sensation staggered me, left me reeling in the doorway while Esayr and Cece approached Kayle in conversation.

I watched the glint of silver in Cece's hand and Kayle's look of recognition.

She wasn't his mate. I knew it intrinsically despite having no idea how. Somehow, someway, I knew that sensation that had hit me in this doorway was something, and in that same ephemeral way I knew what wasn't.

There was a tangle of sensation in the room around me and if I focused on it, it blended into some phantom that lingered on my shoulders and made my skin like it was pulled tight across my bones.

I shoved back at it, yanking back those vining tendrils of myself that reached out into the space past the limits of what was me and into the outside --that interstitial stretch we as social creatures we always trying to bridge between ourselves and others.

My breath didn't fill my lungs and yet I still shook with the force of it. I needed comfort. I needed something that was safe; something that felt like home.

The steps to him felt like a blur, but the moment my fingers wiggled under his arm and he lifted it, allowing me to find shelter under it, the sensation faded. It muted itself, disappearing back into the cracks and recesses of the walls around us. I dragged in the scent of him that I could never give a proper description to, only a feeling. It was warm, like the air in the kitchen of your home heavy with the heat of a stovetop, spiced with the scent of sanctuary, a scent that settled my soul.

Kayle flipped the little coin in the air before returning it to Cece who leaned so heavily on the tall bar that her tiptoes were only just barely on the floor, "My brother made it. He's good with small technologies. If you wanted, I could call him down here to talk to you about it."

"If he isn't busy," Cece nodded, tracking the path of the coin as she rolled it along the smoothed countertop.

"I'm sure he'll find time," there was that devious smile that all of the males on this ship seemed to know. It only ever showed up in conversation about females, though, and since we were few and far between I rarely got to see it. Kayle turned back to myself and Esayr, "I should thank you. Not only have I gotten to meet someone new and intriguing, but by the Gods, have you blessed me."

I felt my brow crinkle. Something in my chest twisted. She's not his mate. I know she's not. Am I wrong? I didn't feel wrong, though.

Kayle laughed then as he pulled open the cabinet beneath the bar.

The faint scent of citrus hit me, no doubt the same sensation trying to creep back in.

"I'm going to do amazing business today." Kayle's eyes were always bright, though you tended not to notice by the way he avoided eye contact with people. Today it was nearly overwhelming, sparkling with the hint of a challenge and the sense of accomplishment from a productive workday --even one that's yet to come.

"You'll find yourself on the popular halls readout by the end of the night, I'd wager." Esayr pulled me tighter to his side and I relished in it.

Kayle wiggled his eyebrows, meeting Esayr's gaze with the comfort of longtime friendship, "That's the plan."

*****A/N*****

My power went off in the middle of writing this --not from the storm for some literally unknown reason because the sky is stunningly blue right now-- and I have never been more grateful for the fact that I choose to write on the Wattpad browser than ever because I would have lost probably....like 1000 words.

Save your work, y'all. You'd think I'd know better by now since I studied English and wrote a lot of papers in college, but I guess not.

Anyway, there's not too much to update today at least in regards to my life. I've been playing a lot of games of late, taking time for myself until the new Sims 4 expansion comes out and I can have the farm of my dreams. I think I'll do a facemask today too. Make it a full-fledged self-care day and treat myself gently.

Tenderness isn't just something to expect of other people.

Be tender with yourself as well,

~Layla