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CHAPTER ELEVEN

Kryxis

He did not like the idea of taking her to the labs. They were occupied by others. Not just the great one with her webs, but others who would dare to harm her. And he would not react well to anything trying to take her.

A part of him wanted to say no. To keep her safe in his den. It had not been very long, and she was ready to leave so soon.

He understood her urgency to an extent. She was anxious to find her companions. Something he didn’t have.

Still, he had hoped his den would have enticed her enough to want to rest for a while. He was proud of it. Of the things he had collected. She appeared curious, and he found he wanted to impress her by showing his possessions. He had seen other creatures here gather things to show potential mates. Create nests to entice them, to show they could provide. He had more than any creature here, everything and anything to provide for her.

And yet, she only seemed slightly intrigued. Even when he thought he had her with the plant library, seeing her face light up, he was certain she would want to stay.

But then she requested a bag with more items and started to prepare them as if to leave.

Out of desperation, he went hunting. It seemed instinctual that a mate would want to make sure he could hunt. And he was a master at that game. The furry beasts with tusks were known to be especially hard to catch as they kept themselves in burrows. But he was determined and so snuffed one out before presenting it. They tasted the best out of anything he’d tried by far. Surely that would be enough.

It wasn’t.

He started to suspect that her kind were not as easily impressed by what he had to offer. He also understood that she was very wary of him, which factored into her approval.

Clearly, hunting and chasing her in the beginning did not thrill her into finding him a worthy male. Despite that, she had fought him, and that had certainly done it for him.

What little he knew about companionship was not enough. But she liked when he was “nice” as she called it. The food and gifts had helped as did the plants. He could tell she was warming to him.

Perhaps he was being impatient. He had held himself back in touching her as much as he could, which was hard. But he didn’t want to scare her or disgust her more, and he wasn’t entirely sure he was failing at that.

She didn’t run from him, at least, and wanted more of his help. That was something.

He just wished it wasn’t to go to the labs.

Not that he thought he couldn’t protect her. That was no issue. But something about that place, he didn’t like. Something that made his brain fuzzy with the beginnings of a headache. And he didn’t like the idea of her near it. It was dangerous in a way he couldn’t explain.

Still, he wanted her approval, and her pleading eyes had warmed his black hearts. If they didn’t linger inside for a long time, maybe there wouldn’t be an issue.

That didn’t mean he was going to take her right away. She was still injured, and she looked drained of life. She was tired, he knew, from what she’d gone through.

He tried his best not to sneak up on her while she was going through her pack again for the second time. When she noticed him however, she still flinched. She tried to hide it, but it still stung. He ignored the ache and reached around her, taking the bag.

“No,” he said in his tongue. “We can’t leave yet.”

Her mouth turned upside down and he understood that meant she was either confused or not happy. “No wat?” She replied in her tongue.

“No leaving.” He pointed to the doors.

She glanced at the doors then back at him, giving him a little grimace. “Yu wonnt tayke me?”

Her language was simple enough most times that he was learning quickly. Repeating at her appeared to help.

“No leaving yet. Wait,” he tried to explain. He went over to the desk and tapped on one of the marks he had made. “ Arisa .” Soon.

“Areesa,” she repeated in his language.

“Yes.”

Her face twisted. Her mouth moved, and she waved her hand in an aggressive gesture toward the doors. She wanted to go and get her companion now.

He shook his head which he’d learned was a gesture for no. “Slevas.” Rest, he ordered. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his hand to try to make her understand.

“Rest?” She sounded offended by the very idea.

He grunted.

She spoke quickly at him, and he put up a hand. “We will go soon. But it is… dangeriisss .” He said the strange word in her tongue. “You are injured.” He pointed at her leg. “And tired.” He rested his face in his hand again. “Rest a little.”

She crossed her arms, a fire sparking in her gaze like she was ready to fight. Oh, he wouldn’t mind, but she would succumb to this request.

“I will take you. I will help you get your companion back, but you will rest first if only for a small time.” He tapped on the mark again.

She appeared to be thinking over his words. She mumbled something and pointed to the ceiling. He gathered she realized they couldn’t leave anyway because of the storm. He bowed his head to affirm that, and she sighed. “I rest. But only fer an ow-er.”

“Good.” Though he suspected an ‘ow-er’ meant very little time.

“Then find a wey in. The tunneels?” She pointed to the doorway leading to the plant library. “Yu no tunneels?” She pointed below her feet.

The path underground. “Dangeriss,” he iterated.

“Beecaws infesstid?”

“In-fest…?”

She went over to the husk of the insect creature. “Manee of theese?”

Ah. “Yes. Possibly. Or others.”

She mumbled something about time and a plan then asked a question. “Dew yu have whepons?”

That word seemed familiar. “Whepons?”

She touched the device at her hip. The thing that had attempted to shock him several times but was never able to stop him.

He snorted. “I’m whepon enough.” He tapped at his chest.

Her furry brows rose. “O?”

“Yes.”

“I still wuld lyke sahmting.”

She still wanted a weapon to defend herself just in case. She didn’t expect him to be able to protect her. Another sting.

Without a word, he went to a cabinet and pulled out a small weapon he had found on a dead corpse many cycles ago. Hopefully it still worked. He put it on the table, and when she went to grab for it, he stopped her.

“Rest first. Then I will give.”

She huffed. “Allrite, allrite. Rest.” She started to bend down as if to lay right there at his feet and he growled, stopping her.

“Not the ground. Much better place nearby.”

“Somware else?”

“Yes.”

“Ware?”

Without answering, he took the box of healing items in one blue hand then picked her up like the times before, watching her face grow red and her body tense up. She didn’t feel comfortable being in his grasp, but she didn’t protest which was a start. He carried her through the hidden passage and turned for the first door on the right. Kicking it open, he took a stairway going straight up before breaking out into a single circular room. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as the room below full of his things, which could be seen through a dark window to one side. It was more open here with less clutter. There were machines attached to screens along two walls with a half-circle console at the back.

Dani made some kind of sound like the one she made in the plant room. A cry of delight. He set her down and she rushed over to one of the machines with its screen. “Sekuritee monitoors,” she said. “Du they werk?” She pressed a few buttons and the machine sprang to life, one screen turning on.

She wanted to see outside. He moved beside her and pressed a few keys on the console to bring up more images. He’d figured out the system some time ago, realizing it used mechanical eyes to watch over various parts of the city. He used it sparingly. One, because he knew the city by heart and two, because it was a much more thrilling challenge not to know what was lurking nearby. He preferred to use his other senses to track things than watch them on the screens.

“Reesurch sekter!” Dani cried when he showed the various districts. He tapped on the keys and brought up the labs.

Right away he saw one passage infested with insects. In another a looming shadow walked past, and he could only guess whether it was one of the rogue bots that was keeping the area secure or something else that liked to call that place home.

To him, it would be a delightful game to destroy the bots or hunt whatever creature lurked down there and make it wish it had never set eyes on him. But he had to think of her. His feisty little companion. She would be vulnerable there.

Dani made another sound of surprise and pointed at the screen.

Two of her crewmen were inside a room not unlike the one he and Dani were in now, only it had a central monitor and several other odd machines. A room he didn’t recognize. One was checking their weapon while sitting near a barricaded door, the other was drinking from a canteen. They appeared to be in good condition and didn’t look frantic. If anything, they seemed to be waiting. He was willing to bet they knew about the storm and what they may encounter outside.

Dani whispered something and he caught her wiping her eyes. Did all of her kind have watery eyes when they were stressed? Poor thing.

“Thay arr o-kay,” she said. “But shood go soon. Yes?”

He went over to the room’s center. Crouching down, he flipped a switch on the ground, and the floor opened, revealing a shallow pit below. The pit was empty save for a blanket piled up in one corner.

Kryxis set the healing kit down and jumped inside to rearrange the blanket so that it lay covering most of the ground. “Come, Dani.”

Dani looked over as he gestured to the pit. She made a funny face. Then she made that giggling sound that he understood to be laughter.

“No,” she said in her sweet little voice. “No wey.”

He sighed. Why must she refuse him? One moment she seemed to trust and then the next…

“Safe in here,” he hissed.

She didn’t look too convinced. “With yu?”

He tapped his tail impatiently. “Yessss, with me,” he said in her tongue.

She crossed her arms and looked worried again. Then mumbled something he almost didn’t catch but knew he heard the word “eat” and “me” in there followed by a question.

Now he was annoyed. “I swore I wouldn’t.”

Her brows rose. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. She tapped at her head then said something followed by “Yu change miined?”

She thought he would go back on his word. So suspicious of him.

“I will not. I will be nice.”

Her eyes flicked down to the pit. She shuffled closer and peered down. “Thiss ware yu sleep?” She laid her face on her hand. “Yu rest here?”

“Yes,” he answered. “It is nice. See?”

Her mouth perked up to one side. “Wood be weerd.”

He stared at her. “Weeerd?”

She rolled a shoulder in an odd gesture. She said many things very quickly, but he gathered enough to understand that she thought it odd to rest next to the same person who she had just fought with not long ago. They were “strangars” as she put it. And practically “advaseeries.” And she did not lie with those who were labeled as such.

He wasn’t sure how to respond. But he knew enough already that she was still partially afraid of him.

Fighting his instincts to be close while wanting her to trust, he climbed out of the pit, trying to hide his disappointment. “I will…not lie by you then.” He didn’t dare look at her. “I will…come check on you later.” He went for the door.

“Wait, Kryxis.”

He turned to see her standing by the pit. “Thaynk yu,” she said.

She said those words to him before, after helping her take some of the plants. They were words of gratitude.

He bowed his head and left her.

He rifled through the shelves and the boxes, searching his collection for useful materials. Items that might help make things easier for taking care of pests. They would have to take the tunnels, and to get through them quickly, they needed something more than just his tail and talons.

He collected scrap metal and wiring and a few cannisters of flammable chemicals, setting them down on his workstation and getting to work. He fired up his flare and began to meld pieces of metal together. As he set to his task, the storm raged on above him.

He hadn’t lied. He had seen storms take days to pass. But, in truth, it could just as easily pass by daybreak. Even so, he didn’t think their ship would be ready by then. He’d played with broken down ships, some no more than husks, others with power but no engines or rockets to see him take off. He’d learned a thing or two about power from what still ran within the city and knew it would take some time to fix that ship. Not a lot, but still…

Maybe she would warm up to him then.

Once the scrap metal formed a ball, he poured a small amount of the chemicals inside a hole, stuck the wire inside, then used a special sealant to cover it up. He worked on several more pieces until he had a handful of firebombs. When he felt that was enough, he set his tools aside and placed the bombs into a pouch.

He went looking for armor next.

It had occurred to him more than once that he should go alone and bring the pair back. But they all seemed to scare so easily. And if they got injured in their fright, Dani wouldn’t like that.

As he set the gear in a pile, he tried to think of more that he could do. In reality, he was just stalling. Looking around, he caught his reflection in a shiny metal sheet that sat against one wall.

He never thought much about how he looked. He could tell by the way other creatures reacted that he looked scary without even having to try. Everything was afraid of him. And he’d always relished that fact. He’d thrilled in Dani’s fear. Now he badly wanted her to like him. He’d never cared about being liked before.

He started to scrutinize his appearance in the slate. He was all sharp edges and wicked aggression. He couldn’t do anything about his eyes. And he needed his teeth. He didn’t have fur or hair, but he could file down his horns to look… cute as Dani would put it. Only he didn’t know exactly how to make them look like that except maybe less intimidating.

He glanced down at his arms. Dani only had two. A lot of things did. Having four was really convenient but he didn’t need them and could tell how much they unnerved her. Maybe if he got rid of his blue ones…

He felt an ache in his chest. No, that didn’t feel right. And even so, he doubted it would help. He was so different from her that changing parts of him wouldn’t matter. He was what he was.

But maybe there was another way. He noticed his scales were looking less than nice. Though he tried to keep himself clean, they’d gotten a bit dull-looking. He’d seen other creatures preen themselves to look as good as possible for potential mates…to look as pretty as possible.

He was not pretty. He knew that.

But it couldn’t hurt to try.

He turned away from the slate and pulled open one of the cabinets where he’d gotten the armor from. He had an idea. Maybe he didn’t feel right taking parts of him off. But he could always add something.

He closed the cabinet. First, to check on Dani. For all he knew, she’d decided to stay up and watch the monitors, and he would need to convince her to lie down again.

He climbed up to the second room, cracking the door to make sure he didn’t scare her. “Dani, it’s me.” He peered inside, but she wasn’t sitting at the monitors. Her suit was draped over a chair and the healing box was open. He snuck inside and went over to the center.

Down in the shallow pit, he saw her curled up, clutching his blanket in her fists. She wore very little under the suit, a thin shirt and bottoms that barely covered her. He stood frozen, peering down at her, and his hearts began to beat a little faster. He caught her scent again and felt his mouth watering.

How badly he wanted to sink down by her. A powerful, primal urge took over, and he desperately wanted to rub against her, to have her scent on him, everywhere. But also to have his scent on her. A warning to others that he had some claim to her, and they would die if they touched her.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself not to mark her. Not yet, not until she accepted him.

A soft whimper came from the pit. He peered back down and saw she was trembling, her muscles tensing, brow furrowed. Little cries rose from her throat. Beads of sweat dampened her hair.

Concern was what drew him down to her, brushing the damp hair away from her face. Poor thing, she was having a nightmare. He too knew of those, having them for many cycles, though they had begun to lessen as time went on.

Laying down, he curled himself around her. She was smaller than him, so it was easy to cover all of her. He trailed a hand across her arm, wanting to comfort but afraid to wake her.

Her chest rose and fell, her heart beating in a fast rhythmic pump, like his own. Shallow breaths turned to quiet whimpers then into cries. Her legs jerked every so often like she was trying to move.

“It’s all right, Dani. You are safe,” he said quietly. “Safe.”

“S-st…d-don…” she spoke in her sleep.

He petted her silky hair. This place must have taken its toll on her at last.

“St…Stop,” she said. “H-hurt.”

He understood enough. Stop…no….hurt…pain. Something harmed her in her dreams. He thought about waking her. What good was rest when plagued by bad dreams? Still, he tried to comfort her, seeing if they might pass.

“C-Cry…” she whispered.

“No one will hurt you, Dani.”

“Kry…Kryxis.” Her legs jerked again.

He stilled. She was dreaming of him? Perhaps she’d heard him. Maybe she saw him now and he’d come to save her in her dream?

“Kryxis,” she whimpered. Her body shuddered. “St-stop.”

He tensed, hearts sinking to his stomach. Did he hear her right?

“P-please, Kryx…don’t. Hurt…hurt…” she cried, her face burying closer to the blanket.

He lay there listening, too shocked at first to move. He was about to shake her awake but stopped himself, afraid he would only make things worse if she saw him over her. Instead, he covered her in his arms and let her ride out the nightmare of him. His eyes narrowed, staring at nothing. But in his mind’s eye, he saw her face lighting up in the plant room.

He would see that again. This time for him.

Somehow, he would.