14. Chapter 14

Vox walked in, seeing a shaking Ava sitting wrapped in a colorful blanket.

His features softened looking at her. She looked so small curled up on the edge of the bed. Even without touching her mind he could sense her distress. Vorbax females became catatonic when emotionally overwhelmed.

The tears Ava produced and noises that she was making in the back of her throat evoked the same protective response even though the distress looked different. The compulsion to comfort her was overwhelming. He didn’t have it in him to resist that instinct.

Vox put down the plate of sustenance he brought her from the mess hall on the counter next to the bed. It rattled as he put it down in haste. The program had what she was eating before so he replicated it to bring to her.

He sat on the bed next to her and reached over to where she was in the blanket. She was a light thing to scoop up and hold. So light and delicate. Vox was not wrong in comparing her to a bird before; she hardly weighed anything.

Even though she asked him not to touch her mind, he couldn’t help tapping in a little, not to read her thoughts, but to project calm and help her to relax. She is so conflicted and stressed. Later, she could complain if it was too much. Her distress was hard to bear and left Vox with a feeling he did not have very often. Being helpless was not something Vorbax males tolerated easily.

Holding her this close, even with the blanket between them, felt much more solid than anything Vox had experienced before. A part of his mind felt guilty thinking of Orla, whom he was meant to be rescuing, but it was becoming easier to push that thought away. Ava”s smell was intoxicating this close.

He put his nose down close to breathe it in, feeling his body respond under him, his shaft already ready to extrude. He shifted himself to tamp down that thought, knowing it would not be welcome by her right now.

Her cries began to slack off after a few moments, leaving red-rimmed eyes. He could have stayed there all cycle holding her. Her tears were replaced with almost a jerking, hiccuping motion that startled him for a minute. So much so that he shifted his arms to put his hand over her racing, fluttering heartbeat. Her heart was in the same location as his, only she had one instead of two, and was in between two small mounds that called to him to explore further. Her heart made a steady pattern but was weaker than his own.

She is really so similar. More similarities than differences. His arms contracted around her with the thought.

She reached an arm out of the blanket and moved to grab his, holding his arm and then sliding it down to hold his hand for a minute.

Vox was hesitant to move and break the contact. It seemed Ava felt the same way, until she shifted further against his arms.

Vox reluctantly let his arms go slack for her to sit back slightly but kept them still looped around her and the blanket.

Ava stared at him a minute. Her eyes refilled with that strange water that he had seen before and tasted. The salt. He refrained from sampling it again and just watched it bead up and then run down her cheek, leaving a trail behind.

Salt could be synthesized in labs, and was in the waters around Xai, but how did her body manage the chemical process to create it?

He stopped contemplating her tears a second later when Ava let out a whimper and shoved her blanket down for both her arms to be exposed. She then leaned forward and hugged Vox back, gripping him tightly on either side, rubbing her salted cheek into his front.

He felt shocked for a minute to be held so freely. His heart ached at this female reaching to him for comfort. Vorbax females usually were not so forward with their touches. It only took a second for his reflexes to kick in and to hug her back. She rested her head right on his chest above his two hearts.

He hummed with satisfaction, intensifying the calming waves he was putting off. Neither felt the need to talk. Ava was exhausted, that much was certain. Vox could also probably do with a resting cycle, but he needed to be alert now with the ship being taken over, despite the dregs of tiredness pulling at his consciousness.

He didn’t like the actions of the past cycle, the brutality with which they had to act. But they needed to prove they were not weak in order to keep further attacks away from their people. Sitting back and being passive only resulted in more pain at home. It was better this way, for word to spread and for them to be feared. To strike first and to strike hard meant more peace for them long term.

The first com check-in with Torga was due to happen in the next cycle. Soon, very soon, they would need to break the Tuxa’s minds for them to answer and give the all clear to keep up the ruse. Rhutg could handle that though. There was no urgency in these matters now that the crew and Tuxa had been subdued.

Even so, he should check in and continue to prepare. The part of his mind that remembered Orla, the one he was meant to be rescuing, was becoming stronger as Ava nuzzled against him. As much as he was enjoying this, he needed to keep his primary objective in focus. The rescue needed to happen, but that contract with Orla did not. It will not.

What do I do with Ava? She was quickly becoming dear to him. No that wasn”t right. She already was dear.

Leaving her to the whims of the Phor crew when they vacated the ship once their mission was complete was turning into a nonstarter. She could become lost and a servant again if that were the case. Also not sitting right with him was the idea of bringing her into the battle itself. The Tuxa could capture her or she could die easily. She was so, so fragile.

They would not fail in the mission, that much was certain, but Vox could not be distracted thinking of her safety on the Phor ship while completing it. And if the Tuxa found her? Bile filled his mouth at the thought.

No, he concluded as he raised one of his hands to play with the strands of hair on her head. Vorbax did not have hair like she did. The texture and structure fascinated him. No, she would need to get to safety before they got to Torga. His twin hearts panged as she breathed against him at the thought of being separated from her even temporarily. Of not being there to ensure her safety.

He pulled his finger down from her hair to trace the path the saltwater had taken earlier. It was still wet beneath his fingertips. Her breathing was slowing down now as she held him.

With the medical scan showing compatibility, she was now valuable to them. Even Rhutg would put his life on the line to defend her now. Vox would find a way to keep her safe.

He put his head on top of hers and pressed down a little with his chin.

Yes, he would make arrangements for his little bird.