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Untitled Part 22

Ray cleared her throat nervously when the messenger's scrutinizing gaze lingered on her longer than she could bear, she glanced back at him, his hide was light copper, lined with black stripe markings on his four limbs, he looked like a beast, hence she decided to call him Tiger, it was the only way she could discern his kind - colors and markings. The casually dressed messenger finally shifted his eyes to Bau'jah, "follow me," he said to him and he led the way.

"Red, can I hold your hand?" She asked him in a whisper, feeling nervous and a bit insecure.

"No, we need to keep our distance in public," he murmured softly.

"How long do we have to stay here?" She whispered to him again as they followed the messenger in behind. Her heart skipped a beat after noticing what she just said, not you or I, it was a we, it just blurted out naturally from her mouth like they were in a long-term relationship. Fuck, this isn't good, she cursed, scowling deeply to clear away the disconcerting thought.

"Three weeks," he replied, once the mating season is over, there is no need for him to stay here.

Three weeks, twenty-one days, should be plenty of time to see the entire vessel, I can do this. She looked around the crew deck in wonder, ignoring others stares at her, she couldn't resist the urge to glance from side to side at each room as they passed, some were entering their quarters with skulls to decorate their trophy walls, allowed her catching occasional glimpses of ordinary yautja living their everyday lives when their doors opened briefly before closing.

In that distracted moment, Bau'jah's voice brought her back as he stood waiting for her to catch up, she skittered to his side. The messenger remained the same pace, walking with powerful, long strides ahead of them, each stride added a slight distance between them.

"Um, Tiger," shit, she blurted out again, it was too late before it left her lips, it'd been a very emotional day for her, and being nervous wasn't helpful either, she could only pray he didn't hear that, "would you mind slow down a bit?" She asked politely as she ran up to close the distance. This stark size difference reminded her again how small she was compared to his kind.

Well, that caught his attention to stop in mid-stride, giving her a chance to get closer. The messenger whirled around to face her, "that is not my name, nor is my problem if you're too slow, hooman." He turned back and resumed his normal walking.

Sloppy move, she wished she hadn't called him that, first day onboard she already made an enemy, but it didn't seem like she had any real friends here anyway, there was nothing to lose.

"You're moving too fast, you better carry me if you don't feel like slowing down, because I will fall behind and get lost." She countered sarcastically, she had no intention of skittering all the way to wherever the place he's taking them, that'd be rude and ridiculous. Red always waited for her, even right now.

She was still jogging when she heard both of them growling at her. Bau'jah took her by the arm and lowered to her ear, "you let that male touch you, I will break him," he gritted out, fighting hard to keep his rage in control.

"Relax, I was only joking to provoke him, he slowed down, see?" She jerked her chin at the messenger. "I thought you said we should keep our distance," she eyed his big hand on her arm.

"I mean what I said," he let go of her arm and straightened. It was more likely she'd provoked him, the thought of her pursuing another male was enough to make him burn with anger.

She shrugged and said nothing, enjoying the regular walk to the elevator as the messenger slowed down his pace a bit. After they boarded the elevator, Tiger pressed on the screen and it started ascending, leaving the crew deck behind them. The entire ride was quiet and awkward, she could sense their intense brooding permeating the air in the locked space, each one of them definitely got something on their minds. When they reached to the designated level, Ray braced herself for the final time as the elevator door opened to a bright, spacious hallway that ended at the feet of two huge doors.