I was confused. Romantic? I wasn't told anything about romance or what it was as a concept.
"What does it mean to have those?" I asked her.
"Um..." she began, thinking about how to answer my question. "I guess it's like when you feel powerful feelings for someone, but it's not anger or fear. More like an excessive level of joy. It's hard to explain; everyone has a different variant of love. In one case, it can be like you have love aggression. You smother the person you like with things like gifts or actions to show you care. Then there is platonic, with no romantic actions like kisses or anything past that. Or, being close just because and finding any reason to be close, even just to be around each other. Then there are versions of it, like possessive actions, like you want them to yourself alone. It's complicated."
"Does that make any sense?" Alexis asked. I stared at her. So romantic feelings can vary, from just being close to being possessive. I think... I want to know what it's like to feel this with Alexis.
"Sort of," I answered her. "But it's still confusing."
"Yeah, I figured. I have never had a girlfriend before, so."
"Girlfriend?" I asked her.
"Like a few steps from a life partner, who just so happens to be a woman." She explained.
"A female?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm attracted to females, not males, to explain it that way." She explained. This made me really, really happy to hear.
"So, you would want to be with a female Yautja then?" I asked before I could stop myself. Alexis let out a bunch of flustered noises.
"Well!" she managed to say: her face bright red. Her reaction confused me until I remembered her explanation of blushing. Seeing her like this, I felt gratification in seeing it. I walked closer.
"Did you like that idea?" I asked her. She got even redder in the face. That's when a loud blade fighter's engine went off outside, except significantly smaller. "Seo-ah,"
"Who?" Alexis asked.
"A friend of mine," I answered her, and went to the wall beside my nest, and pushed it, revealing a doorway. Alexis was surprised, but followed me in. I was met in a big room with tech and medical technology. Inside, a human woman was standing in the room with a box big enough for a Yautja to lie in, and another female Yautja.
"Seo-ah, Uaketh." I nodded to them, then I stopped when I saw Uaketh's face. She was fighting tears, a rare sight for Yautja. "Dthi'kat?"
"Ja'kwei, mei-de'cha…" Uaketh could barely speak. My eyes widened, and I rushed to the box and opened it. Kwei, my younger brother, was in the box, his head and right arm no longer attached.
"... Aida..." Alexis asked while behind me. "Who is he?"
"... my younger brother... Kwei..." I told her as I lifted my younger brother's body from the box and set him out on a table in the center of the room. Uaketh carried over Kwei's head. She carefully put the head in place and moved the dreadlocks out of the way. I picked up a device and began to repair his neck's bone first, and worked my way along the clean cut. Then Uaketh brought over his severed arm. I went to reattach it, but at best, it only cauterized the wound from losing his arm. I set aside the severed arm, went through the tech, took out a small device, and put it on Kwei's temple.
"Dotah'tu kwei't." Uaketh asked. I looked at her.
"Ja'tai k'cho. Da'kcei vot Seo-ah; ja'tai vot Kwei." I told her as the device powered up. The device flashed green, and Kwei's body jolted. Nothing at first. The device flashed green again, and Kwei's body jolted again. This time, Kwei shot up with a harsh gasp.
"Kwei!" Uaketh Called, rushing to his side, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his face. I stepped back, letting them have a moment. Kwei shook his head, disoriented and confused for a moment.
"Kei, dte ku'cti?" I asked him, while Uaketh helped him stand.
"Dek ya'kcha-dei'ta pu'ka thwei-de k'kta, dei'ta ja'din-de thwei-ka," Kwei said to me. He looked down at his missing arm.
"Trei'ct na'kthu ka'du?" I asked Kwei.
"Dek'kan va'kalisk," Kwei said, and I ALMOST threw the table at him.
"Du'ktra vah'nai?!" I screamed at him.
"K'yt-dei'k-pa,'dtei ja'dak-kwei tsun-dei kwei'cha!" Kwei responded, while Uaketh Held up Kwei.
"Oht'mai-" I began, then roared, very angry and frustrated. Alexis put her hand on my arm. Looking down at her, I took a breath to calm down. "Ki'cti-de h'nit Kwei ka'tei Dek?"
"Ka'tei-de sa'ka," Uaketh said.
"T'kon sha'kti dra'ul." I said to them. "Kwei, dra'kcha ha'nit ka'cha. Dra'kcha do Uaketh."
I turned to Seo-ah, knowing she had a daughter on Genna.
"Ki'cti-de Ru ka'dt-dei ja'din'tu." I asked her.
"I don't know," Seo-ah said honestly. "Let's hope so."
I turned to Alexis. "We should get back to my room."
She nodded and followed me up to my room. Kwei and his mate stayed in the room while Seo-ah went to her room, also hidden. I brought Alexis out to my room and closed the wall. The light outside was getting dark, so I settled in my nest to sleep. I looked up and saw Alexis standing over me, unsure if she should join.
"You coming down?" I asked her.
"I uh, don't know how to go about this," Alexis said.
"Just lie in the nest with me," I told her, moving over a little, my arm lay out my arm for her to lie on. She hesitated, then lay in my nest with me, resting her head on my arm. I watched her face as she closed her eyes to sleep; her cheeks were a soft red.
My eyes traced her features, watching her. She's so much smaller than I am, and she seems fragile compared to Yautja females. I placed my free arm on her and pressed my forehead against hers. I listened to her breathing, every small hitch, every caught breath, everything so close to her heartbeat. As sleep overtook me, I held her in my arms, and my instincts remained on high alert. My mind wasn't dark like always this time; instead, I saw Alexis with me, she and I were living on a safe planet, raising mixed-blood beings from young to adult. The dream continued, playing a life I had never imagined possible.
Before I could see more, the dream ended. My eyes blinked open, Alexis still asleep in my arms, her head still on my arm. I watched her sleeping face. She was still, calm, and it made my heart jump and grow warm. These feelings aren't ordinary for my kind. And... I don't mind it with her around.
She moved around, waking up. I closed my eyes so she wouldn't know I was watching her sleep. She shifted in my arms, and I didn't look. She felt warmer in my arms; she must have that red face that I enjoyed seeing. Without waking me, even though I'm already awake, she moved to get out of my arms. Instinctively, I held onto her tighter. She let out this little squeak. I opened my eyes and looked down at her. She looked up at me with wide eyes and a bright red face.
"Sleep well?" I asked, tracing her face with my claw, careful not to cut her as I brushed away some hair from her face.
"Uh, yeah," she said. I sat up and smiled at her. She sat up as well in my nest; she still looked red. The light came in through my window, showing that a new day had started.
"Was the nest pleasant?" I asked her.
"It is..." She began, "different, not bad, just different for me."
I nodded, understanding it must differ from the strange way she sleeps. I stood up and stretched, cracking stiff joints and my back. I glanced at her. She was looking over my body, then looked away, very red when she saw me looking at her. I let out a laugh, watching her.
"Okay, anyway, what do we eat for breakfast?" She asked, I'll assume she means the first meal.
"Depends on what I can hunt," I told her. She looked at me, confused as she stood up.
"Do you not have anything on hand in storage in the kitchen?" She asked me.
"No?" I responded, confused. "At least not that I'm aware of."
"Huh," She looked confused still.