Chapter 120: Officially Not Nesting
I got Sha Shou 2.0 to dock in my private bay and let all the Nightmares out to go do whatever it was that they did. Grabbing all of the furs into my arms, I disembarked the X94 and headed from the hanger bay to my room. I needed a few minutes to wrap my brain around everything that was just dumped on me, and I needed to be alone to do it.
"You still good?" asked Jun Li as I walked toward my room. I let out a massive yawn and awkwardly waved my hand into the air. "Yeah, yeah," I said with a grin, looking up into the lens over top of my door. "It is nice that you care so much about me, but honestly, I am good."
"You sure?" he pressed, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Yes, I am sure. Now, if you want to be a dear and erase every last bit of information you have regarding me and the Ethawainian royalty, then I would love you forever," I replied. I waved my hand over the sensor, my arms still full, and the door to my private room opened.
"I’ll talk to you in a bit, okay? I am going to arrange my furs, take a shower, and then maybe a nap," I continued, not sure if Jun Li would be able to hear me or not, but I wanted to show how ’unconcerned’ I really was. "I’ll let you know when I am back. Okay?"
"Sounds good. As long as you are sure that you are okay," said Jun Li, and after dumping the furs onto the ground, I shook my closed fist up at the lens across the hall.
"I will be much better when you stop asking me if I am okay or not," I said with a smile. The door slid slowly closed in front of me, and I took a breath. "Jun Li, all audio off in my room and on me, please, and thank you," I called out, wanting to make sure that I had a bit of privacy. I found with AIs, you had to be very specific about your expectations. Otherwise, it left a lot of room for interpretation, and not necessarily in your favor.
"All audio is off in your room and on your person," said Jun Li reassuringly. "When you want it back on, just go out into the hall and let me know."
"Sounds perfect," I said. I waited for a few seconds to make sure that everything was off before I got to work.
Taking off my boots, I tossed them across the room. I would put them back in their place later, but for right now, I needed them gone. I took off the leather jacket and leather pants, leaving me in nothing more than a grey T-shirt and granny panties. Pulling my hair up into a messy bun, I looked around the room.
I might not agree with Jun Li that I was nesting right now, but I wanted and needed to completely redecorate my room. I went to the largest open area of my room, the space between my bed and the mini living room, and started to lay one fur after another down. I started with the furs that I didn’t care that much about and then slowly started to pile them up and around until I had built myself... well, a nest.
Once I was happy with the basic shape of the thing, I then laid down the enormous black fur that I had just stolen on top, along with the white fur in a corner, ready to be my blanket.
I walked around a few times before jumping into the middle of the pile. The furs compressed beneath me and then held firm like the softest mattress ever. I then reached over and grabbed the white fur, pulling it over top of me. I didn’t need a pillow, thanks to some perfectly placed furs (if I do say so myself). And everything was just how I dreamed for an afternoon nap. Or evening nap. Or whatever time it was... nap.
Fighting back another yawn, I turned over onto my stomach, and wiggled into the perfect position with the white fur covering me just so, I fell asleep.
The world would still be there when I woke up; I had no doubt about that.
----
Au’dtair watched as his pet built her nest, and he wished that he could have helped. However, he still wasn’t sure how she would take his appearance or his presence in her room and decided not to press matters that were not to his advantage.
He was a patient hunter. He would wait for his prey... pet to come to him.
Besides, something was clearly wrong with his pet if she decided to build a nest and go to sleep. Maybe he should have gone onto the space station with her and protected her from whatever was upsetting her. However, his biggest concern was losing sight of her and not making it back to the ship on time.
The last thing he wanted to do was to be stranded on a space station with no idea how to get to his pet.
So, instead, he chose to stay on the ship, waiting for her to come back to him.
Seeing that she was asleep, he removed his camouflage and crept towards her on silent feet. He had never dared to get this close to her without her knowledge before, but this was also the first time in a while that she had slept this peacefully.
Curling his finger so that his knuckle and not his claw was extended, he gently brushed a stray piece of her mane off of her face and back with all the others. He marveled at the softness of her skin in comparison to his own, enjoying the silky feeling that was better than any fabric or fur that he had ever come across.
Leaning forward, he took a deep breath, her pheromones invading every inch of his body. He could practically taste her scent on his tongue. He leaned back, opening both his outer and inner mandibles, and stuck out his tongue to taste the air.
His mandibles quivered in delight as her essence danced across all of his senses. Her body called to him in a way that he had never experienced before.
Not willing to alert her to his presence, he closed his jaws and took a step back. Taking in a steading breath, he never knew that he wasn’t alone until that very moment.
"Au’dtair?"
