Starfish

32.2

Nina roused from sleep when Ardus's weight finally settled in beside her. "Could you get through?" she asked, figuring that was why he'd spent the last three hours pacing his apartment instead of curling up next to her. She watched the Dreen spread out on his back and heard him sigh. 

"Eventually. There have been two more cases, nearly identical to Boda."

Nina sat up. "Two?" If she had pores, she knew she would be glowing orange from the way her heart stumbled. "Does that mean it's spreading?"

"I do not know, but the Port authorities have asked me to remain quiet about it until they have looked further into it. I suggest you do the same."

"Of course." It would be the best plan of action until they knew more. Nina wondered if Boda was just one of many affected, and worried what an epidemic or chemical attack would mean for her and the other humans. Three...there are only three of us. If the Federation decided to evacuate them there was little she could do to stop it. Briefly she considered heading up the coast to the isolated beach, hiding and waiting until the cause was found and the threat of withdrawal subsided, then shook the thought away. No good would come of it if she tried to run, and she knew Ardus wouldn't allow it. 

As though he sensed her thoughts Ardus rolled towards her and curled an arm around her body. "Starfish, there is nothing to worry about yet. I am concerned for Boda, obviously, but for now there is no reason to jump to any conclusions." He rubbed his cheek on her knee and Nina threaded her fingers into his barbels. "I know, big guy, I just can't help but worry."

"I understand, but fear makes even the most intelligent creatures act irrationally."

"Evolution takes practice, huh?"

Ardus rolled his big head in her lap, looking up at her with his lips curled in a tired smile. "Some aspects of it, yes." He raised a hand and ran his claws through her hair. Then he grinned. "It has suddenly occurred to me that we are finally alone, and it is too late in the evening to expect any last-minute invitations." There was a twinkle in his blue eyes as well as on his skin, a mix of purple and pink.

Nina laughed aloud, "I should've known! What's this, the second or third time today?"

"With luck it will not be the last," Ardus curled his arms and pulled her down next to him, drawing her close to kiss her. Nina let him, reveling again in the Dreen's massive body and incredible power. He moved her as easily as he would a leaf, hardly needing any force at all to slide her body across the sleeping niche's mat to him. Face-to-face with him, her legs could wrap around his waist and she rested her head on his outstretched arm. 

"You big beast," she commented, "must be nice to be able to haul me around however you want."

"When I was younger I could do the same with Timam."

"Did she like that?"

"She pretended not to," Ardus rolled his head on the mat. "She would always demand that I put her down immediately, though her pores told me otherwise. Do you enjoy it?"

"I love it. It makes me feel small, but in a good way."

"Perhaps you have not noticed," he used his shiny black claws to flick some of Nina's hair away from her eyes. The gesture was an affectionate one, and Nina didn't feel any concern about those inch-long blades near her face. "But you are small."

"Maybe to you. The last time anyone picked me up as easily as you do, I was five or six." She placed her hand on top of his and let his palm rest on the side of her face. Ardus rumbled, his chest vibrating with pleasure. Nina felt it in her breastbone, recognizing the thrum as that unusual feeling of vastness, the vertigo of being suspended in a dark space with no visible limits. She recognized it now as a side-effect of infrasound, an evolutionary leftover from their past as sea-based predators. Though not used as much now that they had developed language, all Dreen were still capable of it and Nina liked the warm, tingly sensation Ardus's particularly deep voice created in her bones. She cuddled up to his chest, her skin pressing on his, and let his warmth sink into her flesh. Ardus tucked his chin down and laid the bridge of his flat nose against her forehead, nostrils flaring as he took in her scent.