Ortai Legacy: Descent

8.2 - Drykon Ranch (M)

As Mar'kost paced up and down the hall, he cursed his slow thinking. Why hadn't he said 'no?' Of course he wasn't attracted to Liza in the manner she'd implied. The glow of her arkegy was certainly beautiful, she had a nice odor even when overexherted or covered in ash, and she didn't have a single micro-animal living on her—aside from the graxi, which acted more like a single large organism anyway. All that contributed to the reasons why he found her company more pleasant than the average person's, but it didn't mean he wanted to have intercourse with her. He should've said as much when she asked.

Except... it was a tiny lie to say he had absolutely no interest in a partner of such impressive weight. It was a nonsensical fantasy, caused in part by his father's description of shifter mating habits. Apparently, it was in a shifter's nature to enjoy loosening their shape and having weight placed on them. Mar'kost had once experimented with a barbell when younger, but he gave it up after accidentally dusting his bed with spores. Washing bright blue linens was humiliating enough, but the fact that his adopted sister, Baliko, tried to steal some of his spores for use in procreating immediately quashed any desire he had to use touch the weights again.

He didn't want to touch Liza either—at least, not in that particular manner. Whatever his occasional fantasies might indicate about his desires, he had no real intention of propositioning her. Even if she hadn't been opposed to the idea, it was completely absurd for a Knight to proposition their Ortai.

"You gonna keep pacing all day or eat?" Cadmus's voice made him jump.

Mar'kost turned toward the dining room, bewildered that he hadn't sensed the moderately large scalewing sneaking up on him. Usually, he maintained a general idea of his surroundings in all directions, even if he only sensed the details in one particular area. He must've been so focused on his own thoughts that he disregarded his environment.

"Hey, Mar'kost-"

He startled again. "Yes, I'll eat." He looked to the living room table, but the tray Raeve had brought was gone.

"In here." Brows furrowed, Cadmus led him into the dining room. He sat at the head of the table, to the right of Raeve.

Mar'kost reluctantly sat across from Raeve. He put his hand in his bowl to start absorbing the stew. He usually mimicked their eating style using utensils, but he wanted to finish as quickly as possible. Liza might finish her bath soon and need help moving around. Though, she could likely rely on her graxi now that she was inside.

Cadmus and Raeve exchanged worried looks. The latter spoke up first.

"So... you know how my hearing is-"

"Infuriatingly keen? Yes." Mar'kost reached the halfway mark of his stew.

"Well, I may have stopped to tie my shoes out by the dungeon, and I happened to overhear..." She faltered beneath his glare. "Okay, yes, I was eavesdropping. I thought it was necessary. Anyway, what I heard was kinda crazy, but I figured it just meant you two were soul-tied lovers who went through a lot on your first night together, and you weren't thinking straight today."

"We're not lo-"

"Yeah, I got that." She winced. "She sounded terrified when she asked if you fancied her."

"I don't fancy her. We're simply friends." He finished the stew and stuck his hand in his glass to absorb the fruit punch.

"That's what she wants, but what do you-"

His feathers slicked back. "Don't look at me like I've been condemned to the inferno of friendship. I'll do everything in my power to safely take her home once it's possible to do so. That will be the end of any physical relationship between us, but I'll be content with the long-distance relationship we've had so far."