Nami's Territory - Erotic

Cha 34: Chase Begins

"You've been tapping your foot for a good hour, Kyne," Dr. Wells said with some irritation dragging through his voice. "You're restless."

The call out made the wolf-anthro's leg come to a halt, but within the same breath, instead his paw tapped lightly on his desk. "Of course I'm restless," Kyne huffed.

"I'm surprised you haven't already gone out to find her." Dr. Wells clicked through pages on his computer. "She's likely going to try and make it far from your nose's reach before her heat begins. You know that she's been gone for at least 4 hours since you found that note when you woke up." Wells picked up his mouse and gestured toward a paper near Kyne. One that stated that Nami had gone off to prepare for The Mating Law. "She's a fast swimmer."

"I'm not worried about that." Kyne reached for the paper and speedily folded it up. "I'll find her. I already have a good idea how far out she's willing to go."

"But you are worried about something? Aaaand that something is...?"

"That she may get kidnapped again and napped even better than before where I can't find her."

"Ah.. yeah, that's valid." Wells shrugged.

"That's reassuring..." Kyne's eyes narrowed and flicked toward his boss. 

"So, go after her." 

"She just left. You're good at numbers." Kyne pushed away from his desk on his rolling chair to face Wells. "What is the likelihood that she has gone into heat from this morning to now?"

"Unlikely," and before Kyne could say anything else, Dr. Wells continued, "but you also don't know when her heat will start. She doesn't even know now. Stress from the whole situation pushed off her schedule. She's guessing. So are you. Go find her."

"If she isn't in heat yet, that would just be stalking," Kyne grumbled. 

With a hard sigh, Dr. Wells turned about in his own chair to get a better look at the wolf-anthro himself. "You don't get it, do you? I have studied history of just about every single anthro on this planet. Everything from their culture to the mechanics of their body. I don't have multiple phds for nothing." Wells adjusted his tie and gave a quirky smile as he tooted his own horn, but seeing as Kyne wasn't smiling back, he dropped his. "Dragons who live off the Mainland follow their law. They're prepared for those consequences. Why do you think she left before you woke up? Because she figured you'd be searching for her, right, now." He tapped his finger against the armrest of the chair. I know you are legitimately worried that something bad will happen to her again, rightfully so. I know you wouldn't use it as an excuse to search for her, but that's the thing, you don't need an excuse. Just go find her."

"Okay, sure, it's her culture. Her laws. Her understandings." Kyne gestured toward the same direction to period each sentence, to which Dr. Wells figured that Kyne already knew where her scent went off to. He decided to not bring that up to him though. Kyne continued, "it isn't mine though. My brain goes through all of these 'what-ifs' if I find her. What if she thinks it's creepy that I already found her? What if I win and she decides to never talk to me again? What if I'm-" 

"Kyne." Dr. Wells interrupted. "Do you know why I chose you for this task?"

"Because I'm your right-hand assistant?" Kyne knitted his brows, raised his arms, and turned back and forth in his chair to show that they were the only two in the main office. 

"I mean...honestly, no. I trust you more than you even know, but it wasn't initially my plan to put you up to the task. I set up interviews with the staff. A sign up sheet that detailed everything that may be expected out of them if they want to onboard for the task. I figured that some of the researchers and office workers here were up for an odd adventure. And, unexpectedly, you signed up. You wanted to interview. That still didn't sway me." 

Dr. Wells leaned back in his chair and sighed again. "What swayed me was the lack of pack you began to openly talk about. I didn't know about your past, not to that detail. You seemed uninterested in building a new one though. In finding a partner too. I figured, 'well, he's actually the least person to gain feelings for the orcadragon and he seems adamant to participate.' I already trusted you and well, I chose you for the task. You were learnable, observant, and oddly more cunning than I took you for. And now, it looks like I chose wrong, you did fall in love."

"Wells," Kyne almost gasped out. "I didn't... or at least I didn't plan to... it's"

Wells raised his hand, interrupting him again. "In the end, I do not think it is a bad thing. Rather, the opposite seems more true. I've seen mostly positives, one of which being your own happiness. The only downside is this right now. All your worries are in harmony with someone in love and concerned that he'll lose her." 

Kyne blinked. He had nothing to say now. How did this only just occur to him. All this worry he garnered began stacking itself the more his feelings attached to her. It wasn't just research anymore, it was a relationship.

Dr. Wells let out the slightest huff of a laugh as he witnessed the young male-anthro come into his ah-hah moment. "Can I relieve your worries? I'll remind you again, this is her culture. This is her fun. Think back to the sphinxes on the island and all through history. Riddle-giving anthros who do so for their own pleasure and fun. Even if they lose, they still had fun. Dragons are a betting species. They take pride in winning and gaining treasure through bets, battles, and contests. Surely those days with her in your house proved that to be true."

Kyne didn't even need to say it out loud. Of course it was true. Nami had always been reeled in by any kind of bet. Even one being a dare on whether or not he could catch her, similar to the Mating Laws rules. She worked hard to win and even when she didn't, she still seemed to always have a good time. 

"This is...a game to her then?" Kyne pondered.

"Essentially, but one with stakes." Dr. Wells turned back to his computer. "She won't lose her land, she'll gain a partner. And that's the last thing you need to understand. Whether or not she likes you back becomes debatable for a dragon, as she may only choose you if you win. I can't say for certain, but it is a factor."

The chair behind Dr. Wells rolled abruptly and a flurry of rustling paper shoved into a bag sounded soon after. When it went quiet, Kyne said, "Doctor, I'm taking a leave off work. I don't know how long I'll be--"

"This is your job, you're not taking a leave. Go find her." And with a paused, the doctor followed up with, "and go have fun."