To Hell and Back (Hellworlder pirates)

Ch22 Blood

Blood

As it turned out Alice had followed Alwen into the restroom discreetly and ambushed her as she was washing up. "So, what do you think of him?" she asked coyly.

Alwen thought for a moment, she looked into the mirror and gazed into her own eyes, searching for an answer she already knew "I think if he had asked my mother for my hand back on Torwen I wouldn't have objected. I think a year ago I would have settled for him and continued on as a glorified nurse back home. And if he had asked me out when I first joined the ship I would have been alright with him."

"But..." she said when Alwen paused again.

Alwen cringed "But I am a different person from then. He is everything I wanted from a partner and now those qualities sort of... grate on me now."

Alice stared at her, "So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know, how do you let a human down gently? I doubt giving him a fish hook would send the same message."

"Fish hook?" Alice's eyebrows shot up in confusion.

"It's a polite and traditional way to let someone down, its like that fish in the sea metaphor Terrans use. I know some people who like to collect them as badges of honor."

"And that works?"

"No, but it's a common literary trope in trashy romance novels. It's hard to explain." Alwen sighed.

Alice excepted what Alwen said as alien strangeness and plowed on "Well if you ask me straight forward is the best way through. Just go out and say this was fun, but I'd like to stay friends." Her tale was flicking back and forth mischievously.

"And that's how humans do it?"

"Oh saints no, us Terran females are notoriously cagey and hard to understand. Which is why he'll never expect the straight forward and honest approach, he'll just think this is how its done on Torwen and leave it at that." Her grin broadened. "Hopefully, and if not you've got a pub full of marine friends who can tell him where exactly he can shove his hurt feelings."

"You sound too experienced at this." Alwen challenged.

"Not me personally, I've only ever been with one guy and that breakup was hard and messy." Her tail settled around her waist; a sign Alice was growing uncomfortable. Alwen mentally marked the behaviors down for later.

"Alright, I'll try it your way" Alwen finished washing her hands and walked out of the restroom, and nearly died as a knife flung past her head.

The knife in question passed only a fingers width in front of her eyes before it thudded into a small crack within the flagstone wall. Alwen let out a sharp "Eeep" as she stopped dead in her tracks and backed up a step, though backing up now was completely pointless. She grabbed the knife out of the wall and examined it. It had a wicked edge and a finely polished wooden handle; looping waves of rippling Damascus steel drew her eye. A shadow fell over her shoulder from a tall and humanoid figure.

"Sorry Bones" said the mysterious figure behind her. Alwen jumped and turned to see Wraith had snuck up on her, his bronzed figure dwarfing her. He could always move through any environment without a sound or sign. Today he wore his usually dark blue armor mixed with his casual robes, a strange mix that somehow worked for him.

"It's alright, I shouldn't have gotten so caught up in my own head." she blushed as she stared through the open folds of his ocean patterned robes. She had never been this close to him before, she could just make out the scarred outline of the ship's mark on his pectoral muscle, his very solid pectoral muscle.