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“Precisely.”
“And you would emulate them?”
“Sure. Because they live in an enlightened future where their main goal is to go where no human has gone before in order to gain knowledge and garner peace in the universe.”
“This play sounds boring.”
“It is not. There’s plenty of trouble for the crew to get into. Harrowing escapes and space battles and such. You might actually enjoy it.”
Behind them, the sound of the other’s boots crunching on the ground suddenly stopped. “Oh, no,” his mother sounded vexed. “I forgot the gift I brought for the Faieara queen. I must return to the ship to retrieve it.” When Tristan indicated he would return with her, she insisted, “No, no. Orik and Belinda will escort me. You two go on ahead. Show June around a little.”
With that she turned to leave, Belinda in tow. Orik waited for his directive, however. Tristan nodded and Orik followed behind the two women.
Chewing on her lower lip, June glanced between Tristan and the disappearing party. “I, uh, I think I’ll go with them.”
An eddy of disappointment swirled in Tristan’s mind. Surprisingly, he’d been enjoying the human’s conversation.
As she turned to head after the group, another woodland beast cried out…and then streaked across her path so fast it was but a blur, even to Tristan’s eyes. She stumbled back in a rush, nearly crashing into Tristan. He lightly gripped her by the shoulders to prevent it, but then suddenly had the impulse to tug her against him the rest of the way. Strange.
Instead, he turned her around to face him. Her eyes had gone stark again, and her skin had drastically paled.
“Come now, explorer. You’re not frightened of a tiny woodland creature, are you?”
“You callthattiny? We have animals smaller than that on Earth that can rip your throat out in a single chomp.” She created the visual with her hand on her throat.
This Earth did not sound safe. “Nothing will get you while you’re with me.”
“How can you be so confident? Didn’t you see how fast that thing moved? It was like a cheetah…if cheetahs had learned the forbidden art of Sonic the Hedgehog.”
Her references were lost on him, but he caught the gist. “Just stick close to me and you’ll be fine.”
She glanced over her shoulder.Still hoping to follow Orik?For some reason that grated. She sighed when she saw the others were out of sight. “I don’t really have a choice.”
He released her. “Then you’d better keep up.”
She rushed to match pace with him, standing much closer now, gaze darting as if she expected the sonic-cheetah-hedgehog to double back and attack any second. The heat of her body brushed his skin. Another of those impulses came over him, the urge to place his arm around her in reassurance, but he squashed it.
“Most of the animals here are benign,” he told her.
“Most, but not all? It only takes one raptor to open your belly with the flick of his talons.”
By the gods, what sort of predators resided on her home world? “Every planet has its beasts of prey, but I would know if any were near.”
He’d meant to reassure her, but she only grew more anxious. He could transform into his dragon form and fly her to where she felt safe, but the encompassing forest hindered him…and she’d likely become panic-stricken if she did. She spoke of talons. His were the size of her head. He could imagine her running from him into the woods, even more terrified of him than the forest.
He decided it best to try to distract her. “What else did my mother tell you about us?”
She put her finger on her chin. “Well, you’re from a planet called…Lego-something.
“Legura.”
“You’re the king of your people.” She slanted a glance at him in disbelief. “Your kind practically live forever. Like a thousand times longer than humans. Is that right?”
He nodded. “We are what’s known as a long-lived race.”
“How old are you? Uh, if you don’t mind my asking. Is that a rude question?”
“Not at all. I’ve lived about half a century or so.”
