38. Drasuk

38

Drasuk

"Now that's a plan I can get behind," she replies, her voice tight with her battle hormones.

They mix into her already delectable scent in a way that drives me mad. This disgraceful obsession has moved past occasional twitches to making my member swell against its confines. Not the best development when you are about to go into battle.

This female...

With a feral hiss, startling Kira as she watches my features sharpen, I drop to all fours and charge.

The first two braceaaer barely have time to react before I slam into them, sending them flying with a powerful sweep of my tail. They scream, while others belatedly grab at weapons and shoot at me, their projectiles grazing my tough hide as I close the distance.

The fight is a blur of motion.

I tear into them with savage joy, laughing as my bloodlust rises to the surface. Kira fires from a distance. Her shots are precise, dropping any alien attempting to shoot at me so none have a chance to take more than a few shots. More emerge from the undergrowth, seemingly part of a large hunting party.

The braceaaer are fast, but it isn't enough. I dodge their attacks with ease, my claws slicing through their thin bodies with little resistance.

One of them manages to land a strike on my more sensitive underbelly, a searing pain that shoots up my side, but I ignore it. My focus is on the thrill of the fight.

Kira's gunfire echoes through the forest. Each shot a reminder that she is watching out for me. I glance her way, seeing her kill another one of them with a headshot.

Her ferocity mirrors my own, and pride surges through me.

More braceaaer rush at me, and I revel in the challenge.

I leap onto a low-hanging branch and launch myself at them from above. My claws sink into their flesh, and I roar in triumph. The taste of their blood is metallic, mingling with the bioluminescent slime from the earlier fight.

The camp environment works to my advantage. I use the trees and underbrush to my benefit, ambushing them from unexpected angles. My tail whips out, sending two more crashing into a nearby boulder.

Their screams are utterly delightful.

Kira continues to provide cover fire. I see her take down another braceaaer, her expression one of grim satisfaction. Her presence is a steadying force, grounding me even as my bloodlust threatens to consume me.

The fight rages on, but we are relentless. I rip through them with a savage glee, my laughter echoing through the forest. Kira's bullets find their marks, each shot a testament to her skill. The braceaaer begin to falter, their numbers dwindling under our combined assault.

Finally, Kira lands the last shot, dropping the final braceaaer with a clean shot to its small chest. I take a moment to compose myself, letting the savagery wane. My muscles ache, and I feel the sting of multiple wounds, but we won.

Kira gives me a wry smirk, her eyes glinting with triumph and a glimmer of something else. I feel self-conscious under her gaze, the battle hormones still pumping through my veins.

"What is it?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

She looks away, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Nothing," she says, turning to the braceaaer camp. "Let's gather whatever we can from here."

I watch her walk off; my eyes drawn to her oddly enthralling backside.

I rub my face, smacking myself lightly to stave off the embarrassing influx of emotions, then deliver a sharp whack to my midsection to stop the infuriating swelling. With a resigned sigh, I lumber off to help her gather anything of value.

The acrid stench of flesh and braceaaer innards hangs heavy in the air, a lingering reminder of the brutal fight. Stepping over a mangled corpse, I huff out a breath through my nose.

The camp is a disaster. Scorch marks mar the ground where blasts from where Kira's archaic firearm connected, and the remnants of their crude tents lay in shredded tatters.

"Looks like someone went a little overboard with the decorating," Kira quips, her voice laced with wry humor.

She gestures around at the carnage. "Though, seriously, who divides their enemies into quite so many... pieces?"

I snort. "It is no fault of mine that they're built like overripe fruit. Besides, who wouldn't want to relieve some stress after staring at your perpetually grumpy face for hours?"

She grumbles under her breath, wiping ichor off with her sleeve. My amusement abates a little. Seeing her frustration prickles at me in a way I don't quite understand.

But then, most things about Kira leave me perplexed.

We continue picking through the wreckage. The only sounds are our heavy breathing and the occasional squelch of feet sinking into the gore. My keen eyes scan the debris, searching for anything salvageable. Most of their equipment is collateral damage from our fight, but hopefully there are a couple of weapons I didn't destroy.

Plus, of course, the clips Kira is pulling from the crushed barrels of the others. Many of them intact.

My claws snag on a piece of metal partially buried in the dirt. I pull it free, brushing off the grime to reveal a battered but intact braceaaer gun. It should be a better option for her, since their hands are more similar to humans than a genali.

Relief washes over me.

From the scowl, I'd say she's about to point out my wanton destruction and start threatening me again. Hopefully a better gun is enough to distract her.

Beside me, Kira lets out a frustrated sigh. "I would have liked to gather more," she mutters, kicking a mangled hunk of metal.

"Here is this," I say, tossing the gun toward her. She catches it reflexively, surprise flickering in her eyes.

"Well, well," she says, a smile playing on her lips for the first time since the fight. "I would never say no to this little beauty. Looks like even a lizard with anger management issues can be useful sometimes."

My spikes shift at her tone. "Is that a compliment, human?"

"Don't push your luck, Drasuk," she retorts, but her tone is playful.

Further searching reveals a few more nutrient bars and I hear Kira cursing behind me and turn around just in time to swear out loud.

She's rubbing an ankle, and I assume she must have just hit it against something.

"Maternal copulator," she hisses, her voice filled with frustration.

I give her my deadpan stare. "So you are a mother?" I rib.

"What? No," she snaps back, noticing my attention on her.

"Then I don't understand how that relates to me making you scream out my name in pleasure," I quip back, my tone dry.

She glares at me, her cheeks flushing. "You wish," she shoots back, her voice tight with annoyance.

I chuckle, enjoying our banter. "I think I found a weak spot," I say, my spines twitching in amusement.

"You hit something, all right," she mutters, turning back to her search and gesturing around. "Lots of somethings. It looks like you fornicating rolled all over the camp, Drasuk. Just keep your eyes to yourself."

I can't help but shift my spines to show my amusement. She must not have been paying very close attention. It was more like pouncing and landing on my belly.

I couldn't help it. Braceaaer are just so delightfully squishy. And now she wants me to stop looking at her?

I don't think so.

"I'll try," I lie, my voice low as I keep my gaze glued to her form.

She rolls her eyes. "Just focus on finding something useful," she says, shaking her head.

I growl out my agreement, then return to my search. Despite the carnage, there are a few items worth salvaging. I find a small medkit, its contents still intact, and toss it to Kira. She catches it.

"Thanks," she says, her tone softer.

I don't reply as I savor the surge of warmth at her appreciation.

We continue our search in silence, the air between us charged with a mix of tension and unspoken understanding. Despite our differences, I know there's a bond forming between us, forged in the heat of battle and the shared struggle for survival.

As we finish gathering what we can, I glance at Kira, my mind turning over the events of the day. She's a mystery to me, this strange, foul-mouthed human with a sharp tongue and a fierceness that rivals my own.

"Ready to move on?" she asks, breaking into my thoughts.

That's when I see it.

Half-buried under a pile of braceaaer cloth, a glint of dark metal catches my eye. I crouch down and brush away the debris, revealing a long dagger with a blade the color of darkened zeltium.

It is more like a short sword at her scale, I suppose, the hilt intricately printed with what I assume to be some sort of braceaaer symbols.

Despite its obvious deadliness, there is an undeniable beauty to it.

Picking it up, I feel a surge of appreciation course through me. The metal feels warm in my hand, perfectly balanced. This wasn't some crude weapon these hapless braceaaer used to hack away at vines.

This was something special.

"What've you got there?" Kira asks, her voice closer now. I turn, the dagger held aloft, and my breath hitches.

She is bent over, rummaging through a braceaaer pouch, the top half of her body tilted forward. The movement offers a new view of her backside, encased in the tight black suit she wears.

Heat flares, fizzling along my spine and rendering me incapable of speech. My heart hammers against my ribs, and my mouth feels suddenly dry.

This fixation on a specific part of her anatomy is a new development.

A troubling one.

I know I've been staring for far too long, but the sight holds me captive. Memories of the countless battles I've fought, the countless lives I've taken, all seem to fade away, replaced by this... yearning.

It's incredibly unsettling.

Finally, snapping out of my trance, I quickly lower the dagger. "Just a little thorn, but made out of a very hard alloy," I mumble, my voice rough. "You can have it."

The little bit of fur above one eye twitches upwards when she looks at me, and I wonder how much of my feelings she can read in my spines. They ignore my attempts to shift them to something more neutral.

She takes the knife and runs a finger along the sharp end, not minding the line of blood that flows down the edge. "Pretty nice for a 'little thorn'. You sure you want me to have it, Drasuk?"

I grunt, not bothering to respond when I've already said as much, moving to continue our trek. My spines are shivering as I try to trample all these useless thoughts and feelings.

I look back when she makes a sound of triumph. She located the sheathe and is unsuccessfully trying to loop the too-small belt around her waist.

I swing my body back around and start walking away from the camp, Kira not far behind me as she makes annoyed grunts.

The sun is finally sinking below the horizon, having given us a day that felt longer than it had any right to. With it comes a shift in weather; a chill wind blows from the desert, making me bristle. It has a more profound effect on Kira and her teeth audibly chatter.

"Enough dawdling," I rumble at her. "Night is almost upon us, and I have a feeling that we want to be nowhere near the desert when it happens."

***

Kira sighs in relief when I tell her we can finally stop.

We are currently right in front of a large waterfall, having broken off the desert forest divide some time back to evade a swarm of pointy-looking desert beasts. I managed to snag one as we ran.

It smelled nice. Much-needed protein, all things considered.

I turn and Kira's face is slack as she stares at the waterfall with wide eyes. Something tells me that if it weren't for the situation she was currently in, she would stand for a long time admiring the nice view in front of her.

"Let's go," I tell her.

Then, I stride into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, heading toward it.

"What are you doing?" she asks, confused.

I pause and turn. "There is a small cave behind the waterfall. We will use that for the night."

She looks like she might balk.

I suppose if I was her size I might too. The waterfall looks turbulent; she'll take a beating trying to swim through it into the cave behind, but she doesn't seem comfortable being out in the open, either.

After a huff, she carefully makes her way down the large slippery rocks into the pool. I continue on before glancing back to ensure she hasn't broken anything. Something about what I'm doing must be amusing to her, judging by the look she has on her face.

The water line comes up to my chest as I wade through it. Meanwhile, she must swim through the water to reach me, which is choppy from the violent pounding. She's an excellent swimmer but also tired, so she takes a while to reach me.

I wait off to the side by an area where the falling water isn't coming down as hard.

When Kira meets me there, I push through the cascade. She takes a deep breath and goes under the water. She kicks her legs and throws out her arms, going as far in as she can, trying to clear the roiling water, but it simply spits her back out.

I thought she gained newfound strength?

She pops back up, sputtering and cursing, then tries again. She might eventually succeed on her own, or drown, but I'm too impatient to find out. When she gets close enough, I reach out my tail, wrap it around her small waist, and pull her through the plunge pool.

She breaks the surface with a deep inhale and looks around. "Thanks," she coughs out.