Perdition's Child

Chapter 21

Mehk went downstairs first to find Quara while Irika got permission to take him outside. He checked the common room and kitchen, then her room, Vegas', then the kitchen again. She was there the second time, perched mostly on a countertop with a few tentacles clutching a nearby chair for balance. She paused from devouring a box of cereal with Sharons' name scribbled on it in black marker to look at him guiltily. "Hey."

"Hey. Me and Irika are going out, will you come?"

She grabbed one last scoop of the brightly colored stuff and shoved the box of cereal back in the cupboard with Sharons' name facing away from him. "Eh? You're inviting a third wheel?"

A what? "Are you coming..?"

"Huh." She looked far too thoughtful for his peace of mind as she regarded him. "I don't think so. You two have fun. Oh, hey! You finally changed clothes! They look good on you."

Vega strolled in to get to the garage and Quara waved him over, "Hey, don't Irikas' shorts totally show off Mehks' sexy hips?"

Vega paused uncertainly. "Sure, Quara. Whatever you say." Then he fled to the garage before he could become the target of the skithtiris' attention.

Mehk tried not to cringe. "You don't even have hips, how in hell can you tell if mine are attractive or not?"

"Low blow, Mehk." She finished the last of her stolen snack and swiped her tentacles across her face briefly. "I'm a woman, mostly anyway, with feelings and needs too, aren't I? I don't need to have hips to be able to appreciate them."

Despite her grieving tone, Mehk was less than convinced that he had actually hit any nerves. "Is that sort of thing common?"

She tapped the counter uncertainly. "Hip fetishes? I doubt it, it'd probably be pretty uncomfortable if you actually think about it, what with all that weird moving around-"

"Thank you, that's not what I meant!" Ugh. Mehk forced his ruffled fur to lay flat.

"Oh, you mean different species in general? Uh... Not common, but not taboo either. It makes people uncomfortable," she said. Then she cackled sinisterly. He edged away from her a little bit, cautiously. "So," she continued once she'd caught her breath again, "Why the sudden interest?"

"Not for whatever you're thinking," he said and retreated to the garage where she followed him. Vega, looking harassed, glared at them.

Mehk bee-lined towards the truck he was sitting in, hopeful that Quara could be scraped off onto a new target. Vega, unfortunately, saw through his ploy and slid out of his seat and out the opposite side door to get away from them. Quara didn't pay the human any attention though, apparently Mehk had managed to catch her full attention. "Oh come on, you can ask me anything."

He did his best to sound sincere, but even he could tell if fell flat. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."