Be myself.Be myself. Suddenly, I had no idea what I liked or wanted. My mind went completely blank. What did I even like to do? Who was I? Sweat dripped down my spine, soaking the back of my shirt, and I desperately hoped no one noticed.
People talked around me, and I nodded along, not really hearing them. Kal squeezed my hand as he talked with one of his older brothers. A soft smile pulled at my lips. Kal. He was the reason I was doing this. He loved me exactly how I was, no questions, no trying to ‘fix’ me, nothing. He simply loved me.
Kal’s head tilted to the side and made one of his long earrings brush his neck. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah.” I could do this because I wanted Kal.
Zoltil-something, who was three years older than Kal, watched us. He and Kal didn’t look much alike in terms of color—he had deep black scales and silver-white hair—but they shared the same long nose and strong chin.
“What hobbies do you have?” Zoltil-something asked, taking a sip of a bright pink liquid.
“Reading. I like to read. Watch shows from my planet. Play with my cat. Kal and I started an experience on the Admiral Ven, and I enjoyed that. We’ll finish it eventually.”
“Kal?” he asked, tail thrashing.
“I call him that.” I peeked at Kal. “He doesn’t mind.”
“Interesting,” his brother said.
Kal’s tail coiled around my ankle. “It doesn’t bother me.”
“It’s a rather short name,” Zoltil-something teased, lifting an eyebrow. “Much like you, Pest.”
I frowned. “He’s not short.”
“I meant no offense.” He looked at Kal. “Protective, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Kal said, tail squeezing my ankle.
“So what do you do?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Your occupation,” I explained. It was a normal enough question.
He smiled quizzically. “What all of us do. Meet with the Cohort, though we, besides Hallonnixmin, cannot vote yet, run royal charities, and care for our own personal properties. Though Dontilvynsan has duties with the navy, and Serlotminden has races.”
“Ah.” I floundered for a moment before asking, “What are your hobbies?”
“Hand-to-hand fighting, target practice, and growing flowers.”
“You like flowers?”
“I breed hybrids. I can show you my garden sometime if you’d like.”
“I would like that.”
“His plants are lovely,” Kal commented, beaming.
“I also took combat classes as well as firearm training on the Admiral Ven,” I said, trying to keep the conversation going. “Kal couldn’t train with me, though, because he got upset when I was thrown.”
Kal crossed his arms. “I refuse to apologize. I do not like watching my mate being injured in front of me.”
“I wasn’t injured,” I said. “I got thrown over Monty’s shoulder once and you panicked.”
He growled. “You’re mine to protect.”
“And I wasn’t in danger.”
