Case Study: Interspecies Mating, page 11
After they left, she returned to finishing her report.
The clock hit nine, and not even ten seconds later, Rizor was in her doorway.
She looked up, unable to contain her smile. She rather appreciated the enthusiasm. She couldn’t remember anyone being so excited to see her before.
It was just some weird trick of biology.
That harsh reminder stole some of the warmth as she turned her chair, facing him.
“Morning, Rizor,” she greeted.
He didn’t return the words. He was frowning at the flowers on her desk. “Did you not like your flowers? Did they not taste good?”
She snickered. “I’m pretty sure a couple of them are poisonous.”
The look of wide-eyed horror was the first she had no issues reading. It made her laugh as she reclined in her chair.
“Flowers aren’t for eating anyway,” she said, putting him out of his misery.
“Then, what is the point of giving them?”
“They look nice. They smell nice. They’re indicative of your thoughtfulness and affections.”
The horror faded, replaced by understanding. “They’re gifts. Not food.”
“Not food. I appreciate them regardless though,” she chuckled. “Are you going to ask me to lunch again?”
“As a matter of fact, I am,” he said, and she realized he could smile. In a sense. The corners of his lips, at the back of his muzzle, could turn up a bit. It was so subtle, if she hadn’t been actively looking for some change in his features, she might not have seen it.
She grinned back at him. “All right. My office again?”
“Unless you’d like to take one of the tables in the dome.”
That seemed too romantic. She was maintaining her boundaries.
“Office is fine.”
His tail was sweeping across the floor again, making her think her answer amused him. But he didn’t argue as he turned to go fetch a tray.
She could handle daily lunch breaks. And the occasional flowers.
If he could just stop doing whatever that bellowing thing was that made her pussy tingle.
Chapter 7
Rizor
Shoshana was incredible.
The schedule for studying the humans was based upon their seven day long week, and it involved six days of work and one day of rest. Shoshana worked all seven.
She was constantly available for her fellow humans, doing whatever they needed. No task was too small or too large for her, and she didn’t appear afraid of anything. More than that, within only a couple days, she knew every human by name. By the end of the week, she knew every alien by name. She talked to all of them like an old friend.
Rizor brought her food for second meal every day. He stopped grabbing everything as he got more familiar with how much, and what, she ate. He didn’t take his meals with her, only taking a few bites here and there, because he rather doubted his prim mate would approve of the way he ate.
Humans didn’t just cook their food, they were incredibly creative with it. There seemed to be no end to the various ways they prepared their meals. Rizor could taste his food, but his species didn’t really have much in the way of taste buds, so the flavor wasn’t really important. Food was just something you ate to satisfy a need.
But eating with Shoshana made him consider the benefits of such a thing. Especially the first time she insisted he try something because she liked it. Or, even better, because she thought he might like it.
She was thoughtful, his mate. Hard working. Confident. Determined.
And softening towards him.
He could see it every time he brought her a new flower from the dome. Not full bouquets, as he didn’t want to overwhelm her, but he would pick her a new bloom whenever he spotted one starting to wilt in the little cup she kept on her desk, so she was always getting replacements. She smiled every time she saw it waiting for her on her desk. She told him not to ask her to join him for lunch anymore, to just show up, and she gave him that same smile when he appeared with her food.
During the day, when she required him to be distant and professional, he sat in his office and watched for the tiny glimpses of her that he could see from around the door. And he bellowed.
Not his full, audible bellow, but the low one. The deep one that none but the most hearing sensitive species could hear. But he knew it was there because he could feel it vibrating in his chest. If he stood in a pool of water, it would make visible ripples.
Shoshana couldn’t hear it, but she definitely felt it. Sometimes, he would do it just to watch her suddenly shift her weight, rubbing her thighs together. He did it occasionally when she was around the corner, but he did it most when she stepped into his line of sight.
He didn’t think she knew what he was doing yet. She always looked a bit startled and, as days passed, he saw it affecting her more and more. By the end of the first week, not only was she shifting her thighs together, but she would gasp or, if he did it suddenly enough, even jump. If she wore one of her tight dresses, he could see the peaks of her breasts harden. It only took a couple tries to realize that meant she was feeling aroused.
And she was definitely aroused. He could smell it across the hall. If he suddenly scented it during the day, he would make his subsonic bellow just to encourage it.
It was a fun game he played with himself. He was pretty sure that Shoshana was starting to guess what was happening judging by the looks she started giving him, but he acted innocent, and she never brought it up.
When he showed up for the human day of rest – security did not get to rest – he was planning on asking one of his team to take his place in the office, but she was already hard at work. Since it was their first day off, the humans were taking full advantage to bring their problems to her.
He went into his own office, releasing a subsonic bellow as she was in the middle of a conversation with a female he didn’t recognize.
She covered her sudden gasp with a cough. The other female stiffened as her own body reacted to the sound as well – it wasn’t mate specific. Remembering that only after seeing the unknown female react, he quickly cut off the bellow as he went to his own desk chair.
Unlike Shoshana, he didn’t have a great deal of work to do throughout the day. People needed her more than him. Which was as it should be. If he was busy in his position, something had gone very wrong.
He set schedules for his team, kept track of all the people on the base, and kept in contact with the border guard ships that maintained a presence beyond the orbit of the moon.
Earth was a protectorate under the co-sponsorship of the domini and the ratchi. It opened Earth to limited trade, access to the Standard, and, most importantly, protection. The exact location of the solar system was given to as few people as possible. No one was permitted to go to Earth without permission from both Earth’s government and the Coalition embassy, and no one was permitted to fly near Earth.
To that end, there were two ships constantly patrolling the space beyond the moon – right outside of the legal borders of humanity’s territory. There wasn’t anything going on to be worried about right now, but keeping open communication between the Lunar Base and the patrols would make things easier in case something went wrong. He was sure to establish communication with Tzomei, the Coalition ambassador to Earth.
The male was a ratchi, like him, and he responded quickly to Rizor’s message. It was mostly professional, except for the part where he chastised him for being late. It sounded so much like Shoshana, he actually found himself liking the other male.
He asked for a minute to have a proper conversation with him and was surprised when it was granted immediately.
In minutes, his comm was connecting to a male with very dazzling, emerald green scales. The kind most males would kill for. His white quills were perfectly slicked back, and his purple eyes flashed with concealed emotions.
“Rizor Arhass,” he greeted immediately. “A pleasure to finally meet you.”
Rizor sat back in his chair, fully comfortable despite the vast difference between the two of them. Tzomei was a fine male specimen. There was no doubt Rizor was inferior as far as looks went. But he rather thought Tzomei looked unhappy and constipated and uncomfortable in the human style suit he’d forced himself to wear.
“Hello, ambassador,” he hissed in polite greeting. “I was just checking in with the border ships. With you. Sorry I was late. I had things to settle for my clavas. You understand.”
Tzomei made some kind of grunt in the back of his throat, like he was acknowledging the words but not really agreeing.
“I hear you mated someone,” he said instead, surprising Rizor.
“Er, yes. Why were you informed of that?”
“I’m the ambassador. Of course, I was informed. If she leaves Earth to follow you, who do you think has to switch her citizenship? And I have to keep an eye on her, because yours is the first mating under the treaty. We need to make sure things go well. That there are no problems.”
Rizor scoffed. “You’ve clearly never met my mate. There will be no problems.”
“I certainly hope not. Now, you wanted to discuss the border patrols and safety precautions, correct?”
Rizor grunted his confirmation. It was just a precaution, probably unnecessary, but chasing after Sazz for the majority of his life made him careful and inclined to constantly prepare for anything. Tzomei didn’t seem concerned about telling him about the border ships, their scanning capabilities for everything beyond the border itself, and a vague detail about their action plans in case of any incidents that might occur.
It was informative, but he got the impression that Tzomei had been judging him through the conversation and came away finding him lacking. Which annoyed Rizor. It was one thing to get that look from his mate, he didn’t care for it coming from random males.
Around midday, he was messaging the kitchen his order so he could bring Shoshana second meal when the scent of a female at the door was proceeded by a gentle knock. Scenting someone wasn’t unusual, this was the human wing after all, and he was right near the exit, but it was the first time one of the humans had come to visit him.
He lifted his eyes from his wrist comm – already missing his combot, which was tucked in his pocket, so no humans interacted with it – to look at her. She was a pretty female, but that wasn’t very meaningful as all the human females had a certain unabashed sexuality that made them lovely to look at. Even human males were surprisingly feminine and delicate and sexual. She had very short brown hair, carefully styled, and was wearing the blue pants humans enjoyed – jeans, he believed they were called.
“Hi,” she greeted, nervous fear pouring off her. Despite that, she smiled as she hovered near his doorway. “Sorry. Are you busy?”
“No, female. And if I was, it wouldn’t matter. What do you need?”
She hesitated again, biting her lip. Seeming to argue with herself before stepping inside. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I just…”
“What?”
She flinched. Was his voice overly harsh? He hadn’t meant it to be.
“Rizor?” Shoshana appeared suddenly, giving him a hard look that told him he had, in fact, been overly harsh, as she stepped into his office, putting a hand on the female’s arm. “Hey, Kelly. What’s wrong?”
“Shoshana,” she seemed to relax the moment she looked at her instead. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother, er, him. Sorry, it’s Rizor, right?”
“Yes.” Oops. Too hard again, Shoshana flashed him a hard look. He made efforts to soften it as he continued, “What did you need, female?”
She flashed him a quick smile, but it was tense. “I’m sure it’s just, like, a misunderstanding. Or something. I feel so stupid even coming here.”
“It’s okay,” Shoshana smiled, coming around Rizor’s desk. Standing beside his chair. No doubt trying to soften him with her presence. “We’re here for you. No matter what. Just tell us.”
The female, Kelly, took in a breath, and stepped in closer. “Okay, so I have this pretty necklace. Like, I wear it all the time. My husband gave it to me as a gift before coming here. Just as a sentimental kind of thing, you know. But it’s made of black opal. It was super expensive. I mean, that’s not why I like it, I’m just saying, it’s not cheap.”
“Of course,” Shoshana smiled, encouraging her. Rizor couldn’t help but notice that there wasn’t a necklace around her neck right now.
“The only times I take it off are to sleep, right? I don’t want to break it. Anyway, a couple days ago, I woke up late and I rushed through getting dressed. It wasn’t until I was already in the group room that I realized I forgot to put it on. I wasn’t worried because it was in my room, right? But when I got back and I went to get it, it wasn’t there. I keep it by my bed, and it was just gone.”
Shoshana frowned. “Are you sure you didn’t drop it somewhere?”
“I thought that, but I swear I forgot to grab it. I mean, I looked. Retraced my steps and everything. I even asked that lady who runs the cleaning bots if they found anything, but she said no. Just the usual dirt and trash. I asked everyone else, too. Like, everyone. I even offered a reward for it, but no one has given it up.”
Rizor tilted his head curiously. “You think someone stole it?”
“No. I mean, I’m not accusing anyone,” she rushed to say. “I’m sure it’s just lost. I only wanted to ask if maybe someone had turned it into you or something?”
“I haven’t been given anything.”
Shoshana turned to him. “No one should be able to get into a bedroom that isn’t theirs. Not even the cleaning bots. Can they?”
“The locks on these doors aren’t advanced technology. It’s possible to break into them without much difficulty if someone knows how.”
“I’m not saying someone stole it,” Kelly rushed to say. “But just maybe if you can ask people? Or maybe put out a notice or something. I-I’m not sure what else I can do…”
Lunar Base wasn’t big. It was a finite area. No way in or out – the ships docked in place were all locked and absolutely would not open for the humans. And that was advanced technology. The necklace had to be somewhere here.
“You wear that necklace daily, female?” Rizor asked, standing.
“Er, yeah.”
“What’s it made of?”
“It’s silver.”
“Do you wash it before sleeping?”
“No.”
“All right. Take me to your room.”
The female gave Shoshana a look, as if asking her if it was okay. Shoshana smiled.
“Rizor is excellent at his job. You can trust him. Do as he says.”
“Sure. Okay. This way,” she nodded quickly, stepping back and leading them.
Rizor stared at Shoshana, surprised, as she walked in front of him.
“You think I’m excellent at my job?” He asked, whispering the question so Kelly didn’t hear it.
She gave him a look over her shoulder. “Don’t get a big head about it. You dress like a bum, but I haven’t caught you slacking yet.”
Dressed like a bum? He looked down at himself, at his usual clothes. The recent conversation with the very well dressed and polished Tzomei made him more aware of how old and worn they were. That had never mattered to him before but…
He pondered his mate’s words as Kelly took them down the long, straight hall. Doors on either side led to each of the human rooms. A rare few were open, but most were closed. The humans were protective and private about their dens and nests. He could relate to that.
Kelly stopped in front of her door and scanned her bracelet, opening the door.
“May I?” He asked, not wanting to barge into her den without permission.
“Sure. But I already looked everywhere.”
He believed her, but that wasn’t what he was about. He stepped inside and sniffed. Her scent was already heavy in the air despite only being here for seven days. But hers wasn’t the only scent.
“Do you have guests?” He asked as Shoshana looked around the corners, as though expecting to find the necklace hidden there.
“No,” she assured him quickly. “I’m married, you know. Mated, right? I’m not messing around like the others. And my friends here aren’t really that close yet.”
There was only one other person’s scent in the room. Definitely male and definitely human.
He turned and followed it back out and down the hall. Shoshana made a surprised sound at his sudden exit but walked quickly after him, Kelly a step behind her.
“Rizor?” Shoshana called. “Where are you going?”
“Tracking the scent.”
“What scent?”
“The scent of the male that was in her room.”
“You… Wait, you can track scents?”
Scenting was how his species hunted. And it was incredibly easy here. The hall was perfectly straight, and the humans only had so many places they could go. Following the scent a few doors down was an exercise a hatchling could do.
Rizor pounded his fist against the door. It took a moment to open. This was definitely the male. He had black hair all over his head from forehead to chin and a soft body. He was tiny compared to Rizor and looked confused and surprised that they were there.
“Er, yeah?”
“Where’s the necklace?” Rizor asked immediately.
“Huh? What necklace?”
“I smelled you in this female’s room. She states she invited no one inside and now her necklace is missing. Where is her necklace?”
“Rizor.” Shoshana cut him a castigating look as she stepped closer. Upon facing the male, she immediately smiled again, aggravating Rizor. “Hi, Will.”
“Hey, Shoshana. Er, what’s up?” his eyes darted from her to Rizor and back again, uneasy.
“Kelly lost her necklace. We’re just trying to find out if anyone has seen it. It’s a silver necklace with an opal. Know anything?”
He frowned, shaking his head. “No. Sorry.”
Hissing in frustration, Rizor pushed past him.
