Page 35 of Cozy Prisons (Human Pets of Talin: Origins #4)

Nataly

It turned out that everything she’d packed was designed not to catch fire. In most situations, that would be a desirable quality. This was a rare instance where catching fire was the point.

It was annoying that the one opportunity she had to experience fire in the Old Earth style, she couldn’t figure out a way to make it happen!

She ended up opening every bag and had piles of items all over their camp area by the time Daxus was done building a fire circle with stones and gathering wood. He joined her in trying to figure it out, but he was quickly stumped.

It took almost a mark before they figured out they could take an information square apart and short-circuit the power source while touching it to old, dry leaves and create fire.

They smothered the first fire by adding wood right away. After that, they built a bigger pile of dried leaves and gathered smaller pieces of wood. It took two information squares and a lot of cussing, but they were finally successful.

“We have fire!” Nataly said, dancing around the rock circle.

Daxus sounded an amused rumble. “That was far harder than I expected.”

Nataly stopped dancing and gave him a small shrug.

“It makes sense, though. Fire is usually bad.

It gives off noxious fumes, and it destroys things.

Everything we use would be designed with that in mind.

It's only because of my weird impulse that we were even trying to set something on fire. No one else would want to do that.”

Daxus sounded a negative rattle. “Now that I’m experiencing controlled fire, I think it’s worth doing more often.

I feel closer to my ancestors and yours.

There were times in most species' history when their main source of power was fire. I can’t imagine having to cook, heat my domicile, or light an area using such a hard-to-control thermal reaction, and yet they did.

It’s a good reminder of how far we’ve come. ”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Nataly said, settling down in the spot next to Daxus.

The sun would be setting, and the air was cooling.

Even though she could put her omni back on to keep her temperature regulated, she was going to put it off for as long as she could.

The warmth of the fire felt good on her skin and was an interesting contrast to the cold at her back.

“It makes me feel alive,” she murmured.

“Yes,” he agreed, even though she didn’t explain her statement further.

Another bug tried to sneak into her nose. Snorting violently, she dislodged the bug and batted at the air to try to keep it away.

“What’s wrong?” Daxus asked, leaning in close.

“Bug!” Nataly growled, eyeing Daxus. Nothing was flying around his head. Why was she a bug magnet? “Death to all bugs!”

“Why did you say that?”

She pointed to her face. “They’re trying to claim my nose as their new home!”

He jumped up. “I can fix that.”

She watched him rummage around in one of the bags. He pulled out a wilderness kit. She’d taken three even though she had no idea what was inside; they just sounded good. Who wouldn’t want plenty of wilderness kits?

Sitting down next to her with the wilderness kit, he set it on his legs and cracked it open.

It was full of items she didn’t recognize.

He pulled out a cylinder about the size of her middle finger and cracked it in the center, giving it a ninety-degree angle.

She heard a faint hum for a few seconds, then silence.

She leaned in closer to look at it more closely. “Is it broken?”

He sounded a rumble of amusement. “Check your nose.”

“Huh?” she said, looking up at him and touching her nose with a hand. Then she noticed that there were no bugs on her face or anywhere around them. Looking around, she saw that there weren’t any bugs within the ring of firelight.

She snatched the cylinder from Daxus and clutched it to her chest with a happy cry. “Best invention ever!”

Daxus plucked it from her and set it on the ground next to them. “As much as the repeller probably likes being held close to your chest, it’ll work better if it’s out in the open instead of clutched to your body.”

“At least someone likes my chest,” she mumbled, thinking of all the times they’d cuddled and Daxus never did anything.

“What?” Daxus asked, closing the wilderness kit.

“Nothing,” she said, probably a little too brightly. “Are you hungry?”

“Famished,” he replied.

That made her feel horribly guilty. He was the one who’d done most of the hard labor of carrying all the heavy, cumbersome bags out from the forest to their current spot.

He’d cleared the spot and gathered the rocks.

He’d made sure she ate snacks throughout the day, but he didn’t pause to eat himself.

“I’ll get some food!” she said, jumping up to open one of the bags full of food packs.

“While you do that, I’ll erect our temporary domicile,” he said. “We’ll need to rise early and travel far tomorrow.”

“Good point,” she said. She wasn’t looking forward to the long hike around the crevasse.

Pulling out a few packs, she also grabbed a medi-box and then returned to the spot next to the fire.

She set the box between their seat and the fire to act as a table, then balanced the food packs and activated them.

It was fun to watch the packs puff out as the chemical reaction in the lining warmed the food inside.

By the time she was gingerly opening the packs, Daxus resumed his seat next to her. He was quick to take over opening the hot food packs and laying them out for both of them. She handed him a piece of flat bread and took one herself, then started eating.

They ate in silence until the food was gone. Without comment, Daxus fetched several more packs to heat and consume. Sitting back, she watched him eat, entranced by the way the firelight made his silver plates gleam and sparkle.

He was gorgeous.

All sorts of questions filled her head. Now that she wasn’t feeling the anxiety any longer and they’d all survived the doom her intuition had warned them about, would he stay close?

Or had this whole relationship thing been predicated on helping her?

If she didn’t need help, would he go off to find someone else who needed his attention more?

The thought made her inextricably sad.

It made sense. The first time they’d spent any time together was the night she’d passed out from a panic attack, and he’d caught her before she hit the ground. It hadn’t even been that long ago, but it felt like she’d had Daxus’s sole attention for years instead of less than a month.

Now that she thought about it, that explained why he never even suggested they become more intimate.

He didn’t want a partner; he wanted a project.

“Nataly?”

She was so lost in her thoughts and staring at Daxus’s chest that she didn’t realize he’d stopped eating.

Blinking rapidly, she kept her eyes down. “Yes?”

“What’s wrong?”

She forced a scoff out. “Everyone’s alive, so nothing’s wrong.”

Of course, he didn’t leave it there. “Your expression seemed profoundly sad.”

That was an easy lie. “I was thinking about all the tools and stuff I lost. I wish I could’ve packed more.”

“I don’t think you’re telling me the truth,” he said, turning to straddle the log so he could face her.

She mimicked his move, crossed her arms across her chest, and tried to look annoyed. “I’m not some criminal you need to interrogate.”

“I don’t understand why you're trying to prevaricate. I thought you trusted me.”

His quiet, stoic tone swamped Nataly with guilt. She should probably just be honest with him. It would hurt less when he left.

Dropping her hands to the log, she ran a finger over the swirling bark pattern.

“I was thinking you should hang out with Hale,” she said.

Daxus sounded a surprised rattle. “Hale?”

“Well, it’s obvious that they’re struggling.” She kept her eyes on the log. Why was she doing this to herself? She could’ve kept Daxus to herself a little longer.

“Do you want me to spend time with Hale?”

“Only if you want to,” she answered honestly. Maybe there was something else he wanted as the next project, although she couldn’t think of anyone who needed help more than Hale.

“Hale doesn’t like me,” he said. “Or any of the Talins.”

“I don’t think they dislike you,” she said.

“Fine, they don’t trust me or any other Talin,” Daxus said. “And they aren’t friendly with any of the humans except you. Do you think my connection with you will help Hale learn to trust me and then the other Talins?”

Her eyes burned, and her face felt hot. If they kept talking, she was going to cry. She didn’t want to do that and make Daxus feel obligated to stay with her.

This might be their last night together, and she didn’t want it to include negative feelings.

“I thought you might want to do for Hale what you did for me,” she said. She had to force the words out of a tightening throat.

She was still staring at her hands. Daxus’s hand moved into her field of vision and covered one of hers. “Nataly, will you look up, please?”

Working hard on making her expression pleasantly neutral, she reluctantly raised her eyes to meet his. Despite the lack of facial expression on his Talin face, she got the sense he was confused.

“Why would you think I could help Hale?”

That was an easy answer. “Because you were able to help me.”

Daxus was silent for a moment before sounding a quiet, negative rattle. “I didn’t do anything to help. If anything, I made you worse.”

“That’s not true!” Nataly denied vehemently. “Without you I wouldn’t have been able to go outside. I was getting a lot worse before you and everyone staged the musical. You don’t know how much I needed you back.”

“If I hadn’t acted with false superiority, our separation wouldn’t have happened,” he countered.

She tried to grin. “But it was such a great reconciliation.” The thoughts of the musical made it impossible to keep the tears back. “That was the most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for me. Except I guess it wasn’t romantic. I should say it was the kindest thing!”

Daxus sounded a loud, confused rumble. “If it was romantic, kind, and you liked it, why is water leaking from your eyes? Why are you talking about Hale? Help me understand!"

Reaching up, she wiped off the two tears that escaped. “I’m sorry, I’m doing this all wrong. I’m trying to explain that you’re free.”

“Free? Free of what?”

Another tear escaped. “Of me.”

Daxus sounded a loud, negative rattle. “I don’t want to be free of you!”

Nataly blinked. “You don’t?”

“Why would I want that? I’ve never been as happy in my life as I am with you. Nothing has given me more satisfaction than spending time with you. Even when we’re doing simple tasks, I experience more joy than during my entire childhood. By the ancestors, why would I want to be free of that?”

Hope flared in Nataly's chest. “But you didn’t start hanging out with me until I fainted that first time.”

“That was the opening for me to be allowed to stay close to you,” he said. “I’d been looking for an excuse to spend time with you long before that. I asked Riff almost every rotation if she had any bots for me to take to you.”

“Really?”

“I noticed you the day I arrived. You came down with everyone else to meet the ship. It was early morning, and you looked sleepy, but happy. You had a mug of tea in your hand and your hair was mussed, as if you’d only just rolled out of your nest. I wanted to pick you up right then and snuggle you to my chest. I wanted to hold you and rumble until you fell back asleep.

I’d never had that impulse with any other human.

Not the humans I traveled with, not the other humans here on Arise, no one. ”

She wanted it all to be true. “I thought you felt responsible, nothing more.”

“I feel responsible and so much more! As I learned about you, I went from interested to intrigued. Your intelligence, steadfastness, and humor all made me want to be near you. Except you didn’t seem equally interested in me.

Whenever I tried to have a conversation with you, there was suddenly something important you needed to do.

I worried that I’d never get to spend time alone with you. ”

“I was embarrassed," she admitted. “You’re so handsome, I would get flustered when you talked to me. I ran off because I was scared I’d say something stupid.”

He moved his other hand so both of hers were covered by his much larger ones.

“I never want to be free of you, Nataly. It’s been nearly impossible to keep from rubbing my scent glands on you.

They ache constantly. I told myself I needed to let you decide the pace, that I shouldn’t do anything to make you feel pushed or pressured.

” He sounded a frustrated rattle. “In trying to do that, I went too far to the other extreme, and you didn’t know how I felt. ”

“That you like me?” Nataly suggested.

“That I want to be with you as much as I want my next breath of air.”

A nervous chuckle escaped. “That’s a lot.”

Daxus hunched his back to put his face closer to hers. “Do you feel the same?”

“I do,” she whispered. The scent of sweet lemon candy was almost overwhelming.

“After we fought, I kept one of the pillows you used in a bag to try to keep the scent. Sometimes, when I was feeling like I wanted to rip out of my skin, I’d pull the pillow out and bury my face in it.

I’d breathe you in and I’d feel better. I felt like an addict. "

“I spent our entire separation standing outside your domicile, watching your door,” he told her.

“I didn’t sleep or eat, I was afraid I’d miss even a glimpse of you.

When Decard, Cassius, and Kiran suggested the play, I didn’t even consider refusing.

If nothing else, I’d get to see you and know you saw me. ”

“What if I hadn’t forgiven you?” she asked, feeling a little shaky with relief and happiness.

“Then I would’ve returned to my post near your domicile and waited for another opportunity to see you.”

“How long?” she asked, her voice hushed. “How long would you have waited?”

“Forever,” he stated without hesitation.

She couldn’t hold back. Pulling her hands out from under his, she grabbed his face with both hands and pressed her lips to his.