Chapter 14

Serval

Sophie was perfect.

Loud, but not obnoxious. Attention grabbing, but not annoying. Friendly, but not pushy. She played to the crowds like she was on stage without them even realizing that she was performing. And she did it with the exact right amount of awe and delight of meeting a new species.

The shinuk were an industrious, busy people. Always buzzing here and there. They enjoyed opening their planet to visitors and guests and encouraged the tourism of mining for gems on their planet. They were easy to find and, thus, inexpensive on the planet, which prompted people to come digging for them, which the shinuk encouraged to earn more credz. They weren't worried about digging up their planet. In a decade, the ground would be shifted, and it would all change again.

They were also one of the rare, chitinous species of the Coalition.

The shinuk people were black in color, with skin the consistency of firm leather – more like that of a firm mushroom than flesh. They were among the softer of the chitinous species. Their leathery skin was black, but had undertones of blue, purple, or red. They had five eyes, a long, forked tongue, and long, dexterous tails. They were adept at moving over uneven terrain, despite having only three fingers and two toes. Their large ears were highly adept at hearing, especially lower tones – those that might indicate the ground was moving again most of all.

They also tended to prefer bright, eye-popping colors in beautiful, geometric patterns. Their textiles were stunningly bright thanks to the abundance of dark flowers on their planet. They were black, like most things that lived on Holivair, but the undertone colors were still visible. And the dyes that were made from those flowers tended to be extremely bright as a result.

Sophie's appreciation for their style and culture was enthusiastic and, for all he could tell, genuine. She marveled over the hotel. Complimented everyone she saw. Adored their suite. For some reason, she made a face when she discovered she had her own room, but when he asked what was wrong, she assured him that it was nothing. She just laughed, patted his arm, and told him it was fine as she brought her luggage in.

They hadn't used his landing pods to come onto the planet. He only used those when he was landing somewhere either in secret or in a place that didn't have a proper port. He didn't like bringing his ship down planetside, but he could, and did, summon a landing shuttle from the planet that took them down in comfort.

They switched from the shuttle to a hover and took the hover to the hotel. There, they got comfortable before going out for the night. Sophie wore a bright, shapeless, sparkling pink dress that only reached her thighs. She brought her phone and one of his combots and took tons of pictures of her, him, the restaurant, the food. She was careful not to capture anyone else in the photos, but she showed such appreciation and joy, people might not even notice she was being so courteous.

After dinner, they returned to the hotel to sleep. Now, it was early morning, and after having breakfast in their suite, he took her out shopping. She wore the blue human pants her people liked tucked into a pair of white, fuzzy boots with a loose, white top that showed her belly. She took more pictures of them together and posted them as they were walking to the clothing store.

She absolutely charmed the staff of the store so much that the designer herself came out from the back. She then proceeded to charm her as well, admiring her designs and patterns and beautiful garments. She was so genuine and darling, everyone couldn't help but fall into her spell.

Watching her, Serval thought he understood the allure of her channel a little more.

It wasn't that people were so interested in sweets or cooking or things like that. They came for her personality. They enjoyed her. She was marketing herself, and it just so happened that she liked sweet things. If she built things or painted or solved puzzles instead, he was sure that her viewership would still be there, because it wasn't about what she did, it was about who she was.

He left her there with an assurance that she could buy anything she needed for the night as he went to get his own suit. Like her, he would be wearing traditional shinuk styles. He tried to keep at least a few formal outfits on his ship, but they were all either allowee in style or in the broader Standard style that was worn on Holotulle – capital of the Coalition and thereby a gathering place for all species.

But he was pretending that he was taking his new mate on a tour of the galaxy. It would make more sense, therefore, to dress as the locals did.

He thought he was quick, however, when he returned to the dress store, it was to find Sophie sitting in the front, chatting with the staff like they were old friends, back in her own clothes. She had a shopping bag beside her, but he couldn't see inside.

"Finished already, lov'alel?" He asked when he stopped at her side.

Sophie turned to him, her entire face brightening, making his heart quiver delightedly in his chest. Her unabashed happiness in him brought him joy.

His mate.

"Serval, you're back," she declared, standing. "We were waiting for you."

"I thought you'd take longer. You could have picked any dress."

"I did," she assured him. "I asked Kiseck what her favorite design was."

"Kiseck?"

"Oh, she's the designer here. These are all her clothes. I can't believe that she was right here. I feel like I'm on a TV show or something. But anyway, I asked her what her favorite was, and so she brought me this. And she already had an idea of what shoes and jewelry would go best with it, and since she is the expert, I deferred to her expertise. She even gave us a discount since we're going to be at Prince Qui'tal's party and she's going to have her design displayed there. But don't get excited. I gave her a huge tip to thank her."

She spoke so quickly, so happily. He could only nod along. But it just cemented in his head that Sophie really was perfect. She knew that she wouldn't be able to know shinuk fashion this soon, so she had found someone who did, and leaned on them. Then, not only did she promise her exposure for more business, she also made sure to compensate her completely, even when being offered otherwise. That kind of thing was what earned loyal friends.

"Bye, everyone," she said, waving at the staff who all smiled back at her. Like they were friends. Like they might be meeting again tomorrow. Sophie just had that sort of power. She gathered people around her and made them like her.

And Korvii really thought his Hela would be able to compete with her? Ha!

"What dress did you get?" Serval asked as he walked with her back to the hotel.

"Not telling," she smiled. "You can wait for the big reveal tomorrow."

"Tease."

"That's the best part of dressing up! Showing off." She laughed, leaning into his side, putting her arm around his waist as he put his over her shoulders. "Do we need anything else?"

"Yes, actually. I'm buying you a present."

"The dress and shoes and accessories aren't a present?"

"I'm buying you another present."

She laughed. "You know, you don't have to get me things."

He scoffed. Of course, he would buy her things. She was a beauty, and image was important. He needed to give her beautiful things to match her. Things she could show off to her world, so that they could see how much he spoiled her. His mate deserved no less.

And besides, the dress was necessary for work. He needed her to look her best so she distracted the other people at Prince Qui'tal's party. This present was something just for her.

"A combot?" She asked, surprised when he took her into the electronics store. "You gave me one already."

"True. We're upgrading yours."

He had ordered her one when he found out his mate was human and, therefore, wouldn't have one. But he had made that purchase without knowing her. Now that he had gotten to know her, he wanted her to see the options they had available. Combots had a standard set of features, but they could also be customized for the user.

His combot fleet, for example, was not typical. He had to pay extra for the programing that went into all of them to make them function as a hive and coordinate together. Then, there was his main combot, the one he used daily for communications and work. That one was a bit more classic, but it had an enhanced camera in case he came upon a story. It also had a dark mode where the lights that usually sparkled off combots could turn off completely, and it would also go invisible to detection. A very expensive feature that would hide it from most common scans. While it wasn't completely effective, it had enabled him to sneak it into various places throughout his career.

What his Sophie needed in her combot would be unique to her, and he wanted to let her choose whatever features she desired to upgrade her current, basic model.

The moment they stepped inside, her entire face lit up with excitement. She sent him a broad smile, practically squealing in delight.

"Really? I get to add whatever I want?" She asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Your human phone thing is ancient technology. And most of its features are Earth dependent. Your cameras are also outdated and clunky. With advanced video upgrades, your combot will be better. We'll talk to the salesperson, and you can pick whatever you want."

"Oh, Serval!" She hugged him enthusiastically as one such salesperson, drawn by her loud joy, came sauntering over to see how she could help them.

Half a mark later, they were leaving the store with Sophie's new combot perched in her hands. She had chosen upgrades that, like his, had advanced camera abilities, installed software for video editing, and made sure it was connected to his ship in orbit so it could download all the programs she needed in order to get back to Earth's communication relays and transform her videos into a format that could be uploaded to the Earth net. She had set its colors to white and red, telling him that the little lines on the floating device made her think of peppermint candy which, on Earth, apparently was traditionally red and white striped.

She played with it their entire walk back to the hotel, but by the time they were leaving for dinner, she was focused back on him. Her eyes sparkling with light and happiness.

"Thank you for my presents today," she said as they stepped out of the hotel.

"Thank you for wearing that dress," he returned, enraptured by the teal colored, short, tight dress with short, capped sleeves that she had chosen for tonight. It was obscene how well it showcased every flawless curve of her body, and nearly left him stupid and drooling.

But that dress was nothing compared to the shinuk designed one she presented to him the next night.

They had an early second meal, then returned to their rooms to dress for the party. He had to watch a tutorial on the subnet for the proper way to tie the thick, beautifully patterned belt around his waist. It was made of two layers of fabric, one a seagreen that complimented the blue of his olules, the other was a pattern of blue stripes and lines of circles in various shades, interwoven with silver and white, that reminded him of the sea. The belt was meant to be the highlight of the outfit, as his pants were black, tight on his skin, and tucked into a pair of black, leather boots adorned with silver chains on the heels that clicked with each step. The top, however, was white. It was as tight as his pants, with a deep ‘V' on the neck. The sleeves were meant to go to his wrists, under silver chains around his wrists, but he had pushed them up over his arm fins for his own comfort. He pulled his olules back in a silver ribbon and slid another chain around his neck. Chain jewelry was all the rage on this planet right now, so he made sure his were expensive and enviable.

Serval believed in getting and giving the best. He would do the most in his job, getting dirty and hurt if necessary, but he would also demand the best in his private life. Such as never allowing himself to be dressed in fake jewelry. Call him high maintenance, call him a snob, but if he was going to be wearing silver chains, they would be the best silver chains.

He added some scent oil to his neck and wrists before stepping out of his room. Sophie's door was still closed, so he took that time to answer some messages. Get some work done. Their hover driver messaged him that they were downstairs and waiting.

"Sophie, it's time!" He called to her.

"One minute!" She yelled back through the door.

He waited. And waited. More time passed. He frowned, checking the time.

"Sophie, we have to go."

"In a minute!"

He frowned, crossing his arms. And waited. And kept waiting.

"What is taking you so long, female?"

"You can leave without me if it's so important to you," she returned coolly, a threat hidden in the sweetly spoken words. Practically daring him to continue rushing her or leave without her.

He groaned, dropping onto the sofa. And waited.

What in the name of the spirits of the sea was taking her so long? How long did it take to put on clothing and get her hair set? He was tempted to tell her to just come out already, but that hidden threat stilled his tongue.

The waiting seriously tested his patience, however. And right when he was about to break and demand she just come out already, even if she was only half dressed, her door finally slid apart.

He groaned, head dropping back as he stood. "Finally. What took you so-"

His tongue was suddenly too fat and uncoordinated to move. Not that it mattered, because he couldn't think of a single thing to say.

Sophie stepped from her room elegantly, an absolute vision. An illusion in the waters, trying to tempt him into a dangerous current that would carry him away. And he didn't think he'd mind.

The dress was in two pieces. The skirt was similarly in two pieces, with a layer of black fabric on the front and, wrapping around from behind, a patterned layer. The stripes were primarily orange in color, but also came in smaller lines of dark purple, white rings, and yellow chains. The patterned portion joined together at the front in a golden pin that kept it all together, though it was set so low that he was teased with the skin of her lower belly. A long slit up one side between the two pieces showed her legs as she walked forward, dark, high heeled shoes wrapped around her ankles.

The top was solid orange, matching the primary color of the stripes, covering her breasts in a band that left her belly bare, gold glinting at her belly button. A sheer, dark purple wrap covered it and her arms, joining together at a golden pin between her breasts.

Gold bangles clinked around her wrists, circled her long neck, and dangled from her cute, cup shaped human ears. Her hair wasn't down now, but instead had been twisted up in a complicated knot with another gold band around the base. Her lips were stained dark purple, but her eyelids had been enhanced with gold, yellow, and orange, making her eyes practically glow, as long, dark lashes swept across them with every blink.

Beautiful. Too beautiful for words. For thoughts. Serval was struck totally dumb as the vision walked towards him.

And she smiled. Posing for him. One arm under her breasts, pushing them up further, the other sweeping up as though granting him permission to look. Her fingernails had similarly been painted purple, and there was a golden ring around one of her fingers.

For a brief instant, he was irrationally angry. Because humans wore rings to signify that they were mated, and he had yet to mate his female – at least not physically – and he certainly hadn't given her a claiming ring. But then enough thought returned for him to remember that it was only a ring on a specific finger that made that claim, and he was fairly certain the middle one on her right hand wasn't it.

Sophie giggled, bringing his attention back to her face. And he was struck dumb again, not even really remembering what he had just been thinking about.

By the embracing abyss, she was gorgeous.