Page 20 of Across the Stars (Cosmic Threads of Fate #1)

“Weze,” she muttered, nodding to herself as she turned to face Watai. She’d forgotten he had been watching her the entire time.

Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his tail twitching, he pursed his lips as his piercing teal eyes traced her body.

Mae stilled, unsure whether what had just occurred was common between mates or others among his people. He didn’t seem to care, which was how she felt about biological needs. As a pilot, she didn’t always have the luxury of privacy outside the cleansing pods in the community lavatory hall.

If he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it, she wouldn’t either.

They were co-existing in his hut, and she was already sleeping in his hammock. It was too late to start demanding space, especially since he was going out of his way to care for her and attend to her needs without expecting anything in return.

If she wanted her personal mission to go as smoothly as possible, she needed to adapt to the world—even if it meant using a flower as a toilet.

Watai nodded and moved over to a nearby vine, where he began to pluck a few leaves. Mae was intrigued and approached him to see what he was up to.

Watai motioned to the leaves he’d picked, then acted out washing his hands with them. The teal glow of the leaves faded to black as his hands glistened with a pale blue substance.

He walked over to the flower they’d just used, dropping the now-wrinkled leaves into it, then opened his hands to reveal they were clean—free of the leaf liquid from just a few moments before.

Mae released a surprised huff. This must be how Watai washed his hands. Just as she began to wonder if the leaves could clean anything else, he picked another leaf and popped it into his mouth.

“ Weyu, ” he said, pointing to his mouth and opening it to show her the leaf on his tongue. “ Weyu. ”

Mae was more interested in his sharp fangs, which were feline-like. She wondered what else about his species was similar to felines, like their long tails and amazing ability to balance on tree limbs.

“We-You.” She nodded, giving him a soft smile to let him know she understood, and grabbed a couple of leaves to rub together.

He closed his mouth, grinned, and began chewing his leaf, never taking his inquisitive gaze away from her as she cleaned her hands.

She rubbed the pale blue substance into her skin, it felt strangely soft and smooth. Mae held it up to her nose and sniffed it, inhaling the scent of citrus and mint.

She tentatively stuck her tongue out and licked her fingertip, surprised by the explosion of flavor. It reminded her of the buttercream frosting her great-grandmother used to make.

Mae grabbed another leaf and aggressively chewed it while she dropped the blackened bits left over into the flower. The bold, sweet citrus-mint flavor made her moan in delight as her eyes rolled back.

If this was a sample of what the food on the moon tasted like, Mae knew she wouldn’t mind eating whatever was served to her. Chewing the last of the remnants, Mae was sad for the teeth cleaning session to end.

Mae was surprised at how clean her hands and teeth felt and impressed by the natives’ ingenuity.

She was curious as to how they had discovered that they could naturally fertilize the plant by using its flower as a toilet, and that the leaves from the privacy vine curtain could be used in place of soap and toothpaste.

Their worlds were so different. Earth had lost the majority of its plant and animal life due to human overpopulation.

Watai’s people, like humans, were adaptable and resourceful, but their respect for living beings in nature made Mae ashamed of what humans had done to Earth. Her home planet was decimated and slowly being rehabilitated thanks to alien technology obtained through trades.

A loud bugle echoed through the walls as sounds of multiple flapping wings neared.

Watai mimicked the loud animal call and flashed her a wide toothy grin, his teal eyes beaming with joy. He indicated his stomach, then his mouth. “ Yusum. Yev. ” He extended his hand to her and jerked his head toward the source of the commotion. “ Iskzo sywa qun’kiyaw. ”

“Yes-sum Yev?”

She assumed he was trying to tell her it was time to eat, because they’d already used the toilet flower and washed up, and she was relieved to see him willing to use hand gestures to help her understand.

She reached out to grab his hand, feeling the strength of his grip on hers.

“ Yusum. Yev. ”

Watai grabbed his saddle and led her through both vine curtains and outside onto the framed net balcony. He took his time as they walked around the outside of the hut, carefully leading her along the beams. His tail was wrapped loosely around her leg as a secondary precaution.

Watai’s dragon was perched on top of the two thick tree limbs where she’d last seen him, and he extended his wings in greeting.

Watai pressed her hand against his dragon’s head, between the green and blue swirly eyes that held hers.

“Hello, cordrider. I’ve been hoping to speak with you again.”