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Someone’s watchingme.
The thought came, more instinct than anything, as I bent to the ancient human-style lock, jiggling the large brass key inside to lock up for the evening. I was used to people watching me, staring, often in shock and fear. But something about this felt... A little different. An extra alertness pinched at my spine, telling me to straighten up and find out just who, or what, had me in their sights.
Finished with the lock, I thrust the key into my pocket and straightened to my full height, turning and surveying the evening shoppers and staff members wandering around this level of Elora Station. I scanned everything around me quickly, my predatory senses kicking in, ready to weed out whatever threat was awaiting me. Although, it was pretty unlikely I’d be encountering any legitimate threat here, in the middle of the station. Even less likely that that threat would actually be able to do anything against me. But still, it put me on a slight edge.
I narrowed my gaze, letting it sweep back and forth, stretching my clawed fingers, feeling the knuckles crack. I had excellent vision, and I could see the faces of everyone on this level with relative ease, no matter how far away from me they were located. And yet I still couldn’t see who had inspired this feeling of being watched. A spy? But to what end? I had no unfinished business with the Galkor Empire. I had no enemies that remained alive. So who, then?
Ah! There! A flash of a pale face, darting behind a Christmas tree on the other side of the aisle, close to the bars and the hover-vator cars in the centre of this level’s giant ring.
From the brief flash of the face I’d seen, it looked to be human. I heaved a sigh, trying to force myself to let this go. People stared at me all the time, and mostly I just ignored it. But after the news of the new coworker starting tomorrow, I was in a foul mood. And it made me want to pick at things that normally I’d let lie.
I crossed the aisle quickly, people darting out of my way and allowing me quick access to the Christmas tree. I still didn’t have the human in my sights yet, but I breathed deeply, awakening my sharp senses. This tree wasn’t a naturally-grown one, so there was no overpowering scent of pine to work through. No, there was the scent of the chocolaterie, the lingering scents of coffee and tea and cocoa on my own clothing, the myriad threads of shoppers’ scents streaming behind me. But beneath all of that, I found it. The slight tang of Elora Station’s disinfectants for new arrivals, and further beneath that, a distinctly human scent. Surprisingly, almost shockingly sweet. But tinged with a hot streak of fear.
Not enough fear to keep the human from leaning around the tree to get another look at me though, apparently. When their little human nose nearly smashed itself against my chest, the human reeled backwards, almost toppling, but righting themselves at the last second. Righting herself. It was a female, a human woman.
I let my eyes roam her face and form, trying to suss out just what her purpose was in hiding here to watch me. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me, but then they immediately scrunched up, as if waiting for me to deliver a death blow upon her head. And, in all fairness, I’d delivered many such blows in my time. But I’d never had reason to do it to a human.
“Can I help you?” I asked, crossing my arms. I forced my annoyance down. This was a harmless creature, a soft woman. There was no reason for me to be as irritated as I was over this.
At my words, the woman squeezed one eye open, then the other. They were fringed with thick dark lashes, and were an unusual colour for humans - shifting gold and brown, with flecks of green glimmering at the centre.
She gulped, and my gaze fell to the visible pulse of her pale throat. I could see a red flush creeping up her neck. It reached her face just as my eyes did, throwing a watercolour crimson streak across round, dimpled cheeks. Black hair framed her soft jaw in waves, and I could see the round curve of her breasts and generous hips beneath her human clothing. Clothing that told me, even more than my own senses, just how much anxiety was coursing through her now. Her holo-top was almost as green as the Christmas tree beside us, the fabric sinking deeper in colour where heat emanated from her body.
There was no denying it. She was a lovely-looking woman. But that didn’t give her a pass for whatever the hell it was she was doing. I waited for her to answer my question, trying to ignore the way her increased heart rate and body heat made her scent thicker in the air.
“No. Nope, no help required. Thanks,” she finally squeaked, shaking her head so that her hair wafted around her, throwing yet more of her rich scent my way. I bit down a growl, that scent drawing itself through my body in an irritatingly arousing way.
“So then what are you doing back here, watching me? Do you have business with me?” I forced myself to uncross my arms and assume a more neutral position. I remembered, probably too late, to relax my brow, too. It tended to fall downward heavily over my eyes, whether I was actually angry or just focused on something. And humans seemed to be dismayed by that expression. Besides, more and more, I had to admit that the anger was dimming in me. Though, as I watched the woman’s pulse flicker at the sides of her neck, I did have to admit that I was very focused while looking at her, if no longer angry.
“Um...” A soft wet tongue darted out to wet the woman’s lips. But then, in a surprising move considering her obvious fear, she raised her chin and met my gaze.
“Do you work there? At Hallowed be thy Bean?”
I cocked my head at her, trying to figure out just what she wanted from me. Might as well answer her question.
“Yes. Why?”
“Oh,” she said, so softly I barely heard it, even with my genetically modified hearing.
But she still hadn’t answered the second half of my question. And I found, more and more, I wanted to understand just who this woman was and what she wanted.
“Why?” I asked again, my voice lowering to a hiss that made her flinch. I sighed, seeing her reaction. I was pushing this too hard. I was scaring her for no damn good reason. Tamping down my pride the way I did all day long with espresso grounds, I took a breath, preparing to apologise. “Look, I-”
“I’m Sophie! Nice to meet you!”
The words fell out in a tumble. I gawked at the young woman, letting the meaning of her words filter through my brain.
Sophie. My new coworker...
She raised a little hand out in front of her. I’d been around humans long enough to understand what she expected of me. Grunting, I reached forward and took her hand to shake it in the customary greeting.
It was... so small. And so soft. And warm. I was cold-blooded, and was amazed by the heat pouring off of her skin, flooding into mine. As if her body was overflowing with it, and couldn’t help but be generous to anyone within range. A visceral urge to pull her closer, absorb more of that heat, rose inside me with shocking aggression. Breathing in sharply, I released her hand, as if that gentle heat had burned me. And maybe it had. Because that heat was coursing through me, now. Under my hide and into my veins. Coiling at the base of my tail and slipping low in my gut.
Sophie blinked her large, wet eyes at me, a new flash of crimson rising under her skin. I wonder how warm her cheeks would feel right now...
I realized I hadn’t said anything in response to her yet. I wasn’t known to be much of a talker, but this was an awkwardly long silence, even for me.
