"Alright. Now again. What came over you?" I interrogated the little devil while sitting on the edge of the bed and buttoning my shirt.
"It's that time, what's so unclear?" Vessira muttered from under the blanket, mortified—so much so that goosebumps ran down my spine. "We have a period like that, when hormones override your head, and it lasts about half a takedu. And I already liked you, and you even admitted you like my company, and you've been teasing me for a long time, and… and… well, I couldn't hold back."
"Mmm…"
"You could call it a species trait."
"What the kriff kind of 'trait' is that. That means you can lo—khah…" I don't manage to finish before I catch a light elbow to the gut, and a red-faced—yet furious—Ves peeks out from under the blanket.
"No, it doesn't. We get very strongly attached to our life partners. When one spouse dies, the other doesn't rush to build new relationships."
"What?!"
"Bantha-brained genius—one of the best in the cohort, and sometimes you're so stupid," she fumed. "Are all those hints really that hard to understand? We have high moral values, you know. That's why I watched you at first, and what I saw… I loved. And then I played. And you were no better—always handing out compliments and showing attention. By the way, if you didn't notice, you're the only one who gives compliments like that at all. The only one. At first I thought that since you do it to other girls in our group too, you must be with one of them, but still—more attention goes to me. So I decided to try my luck. And, by the way, among my people, licking your partner means recognizing them as an equal. It's also a sign that the one who licks you is showing care and love," and then she got very quiet, "and if a young Cathar does that to someone… it's a direct proposal for… intimacy."
"Sorry. Didn't know," I spread my hands. At least now it's clear why some of the older guys started grinning lewdly and even winking at times.
"Yeah. Though… we've got a small problem in that regard."
"Hm?"
"I… don't need much to enjoy myself. Unlike a male. So… sometimes Cathar take several girls. And I was really afraid I wouldn't be able to satisfy you. As a woman. And since you compliment other girls, I thought…" She got completely embarrassed and wrapped herself in the blanket.
"Mmm," so that's where the fear came from. And here I was thinking… "What's so bad about it? Is it really wrong to tell a girl she's beautiful?"
"Usually you say that to your (!) girl," she peeked out. "No one does that except you. Literally no one. The girls and I even talked about it once. But we agreed it's just your manner."
"So you were jealous?"
"That too. But I can understand it, because, like I said, we don't need much, and we get… well, that… you know. So I could understand if you were keeping an eye out for someone else. But judging by your face, you didn't know about any of that…"
I didn't answer—just looked at her like, How would I even know that?!
"So… did I succeed?"
"Hm?"
"Well… satisfying you. You."
And that look—like the fate of the galaxy depends on it. No, if you look at it from another angle, it really is a big problem, but…
"You did," I smile, remembering how I rolled her over pretty quickly, and then just took pity and didn't keep going. Well… Ves handled one round, yeah, but the second was already too much for her. Still, that drawback was more than compensated by her looks and her cuteness—enough to just sit there and melt.
"Yeah?" I got a suspicious once-over.
"Yeah."
"Really?" She didn't believe it.
"Really."
"Really-really?"
"Ves…"
The stare got even more intent.
"Ves, calm down. It's fine. And anyway, for a first time it was great."
"Mm-hm."
"But so you know, I have absolutely no idea how to handle girls!"
"I figured," she nodded seriously.
"I can barely talk about random stuff—only what's there."
"And I know that," nod.
"And I'm always disappearing somewhere."
"You're telling me?" she lifted her eyes at me.
"Ahem. Basically, yes. And that's not even counting my manners. Which I can't say I have a lot of," I lean toward the Cathar.
"And don't," she snorted. "I still remember our first meeting, when you called me beautiful in front of everyone. Cathar aren't exactly considered the beauty standard. And anyway—who says things like that so freely, to what is basically a stranger… being?!" She sounded either outraged or impressed.
"Exactly, that's what I'm saying. Do you really need this?"
"I do!" she answered at once, confidently—and grabbing me by the neck, pulled me onto the bed, kissing me.
"Mmm… you learn fast."
"I'm more interested in where you learned it," and the look was like I was under interrogation.
"Well… there was experience. In the past," I dodge the answer as hard as I can. "Doesn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore."
"Sure?"
"Absolutely. So what now?"
"Nothing." She lay down on my stomach and, unbuttoning a couple buttons, traced the pigment lines on my chest with a clawed finger. Ves's claws are very sharp—she keeps them filed, and they can retract, too. My back felt them perfectly well, but thank the Force. "I just couldn't keep myself in hand. And I didn't want to. I really liked you, after all. If you were around more, you'd know how sick I already made the girls with my talk about you."
"Yeah. And they both stayed quiet."
"They didn't stay quiet. You just didn't listen," she poked me accusingly.
"Mmm. Can't argue," I nod, remembering how I got carried out of training a couple times. In moments like that, there was only one desire—someone finish me off.
"You'd better not," she snorted softly into my chest.
"Ves."
"Hm?" Big, big pupils looked up at me. Another one of her specialties: copying Puss in Boots. Literally.
"Oh," unable to resist, I scratch that darling behind the ear.
"Mrrr…"
"And still—you acted very recklessly."
"Why?" blink-blink. And then it hit me.
"You… you sly devil, you planned everything! You calculated me, and prepared yourself," she smiled back, full of cunning. "So what does that make you?"
"Your kitty, mrrr," she answered impishly, licking my lips and purring, "who just decided to take matters into her own paws."
"Hm. Agreed. Completely agreed. But! It's still not fair. Charging in that brazenly, head-on… even I don't do that. When I'm supposed to!"
"Would you have come to me first?"
"Given how busy I am, it's more no than yes," I weigh that option. And then I got scared. Trading training for girls at my age? Something is definitely wrong with me. Where's the nearest therapist?
"Exactly. And where are your hormones when they're actually needed? I tried this way, that way, the tail, the ears—I even learned to walk from the hip—and you still wouldn't budge! You didn't catch a single hint. So what does that make you?"
"A very busy Togruta half-blood," I snort, lightly flicking her nose and returning my hand to her head for more scratching. Bliss. "So busy that I'm just happy to crawl to the bed, let alone think about girls."
"Yeeah, Shade, you can't drive yourself like that."
"I have to, Ves. I just have to," I tell her, and reassure myself. Great. Just great, Shade. Look how far we've sunk.
"Why?!"
"I'm not going to yield to anyone anything that I rightfully consider mine," I hug the little devil tighter, "but to have that option, I need power. And I definitely don't consider myself someone who has it…"
"Yeah-yeah, tell me that," the Cathar snorted.
"You haven't seen my mother. Between us, there's a huge abyss—and I dream of at least shrinking it. You know, like an obsessive goal that appeared in my head and won't go away."
"You're an idiot. Yes-yes, and you don't deny it," she waved it off. "And what a shameless one."
"Well, what can I say? Nerve is the second happiness."
"For you, it's the first."
"Mmm. If you say so."
"There!"
Then the bell rang.
"Looks like it's time for class."
"And that's coming from the temple's most notorious rule-breaker."
"What rules?" I was genuinely surprised.
"Back in Padawan Kesh… ah, right. You stood out there too—spitting on the rules and staying on home instruction," she smiled. "Anyway, every temple has a code of rules: what, how, and when to do things, and what you can't do. And even though you're considered the most notorious offender, that's only because there haven't been any truly serious offenses behind you. You just don't act like the others. More… competently, or something."
"Oh. Mom explained the basics and the boundaries of what's allowed."
"Then that explains it. By the way, what we did is forbidden, and it only becomes allowed once we become Travelers," she thought something over. "Well—meaning in a few takedus."
"Yeah. Should read up on it sometime."
"Pha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…" she exploded into hysterical laughter.
"Ves?"
"Ha-ha-ha…"
"Ves!"
"Oh… I'm fine. It's just, the guys in the group were asking: did you deliberately set a goal to break the entire list of rules? And it turns out you just never even remembered them."
"At least I feel alive and free," I spread my hands. "No, I get it—ignorance of the rules doesn't exempt you from responsibility, but I know the approximate boundaries."
"Heh."
"Alright, let's go. Though yeah—reading up is definitely worth it."
She rose to her knees, finishing off my confusion about her completely. She's Cathar, but a half-blood. Soft, short, silky fur covered almost her entire body, and it was so short and gentle that if you didn't look closely, you couldn't tell it from skin. The only thing that gave it away was the colored pigments, adding patterning.
And the curves on her, mmm… a refined waist, tender hands that make you melt, and that "mrrr" of hers—oof. Unable to resist, I put my hands on the waist of that sly devil, and she isn't against it—on the contrary, she catches my hand and guides it higher. And the playful look of those vertical pupils gave away the mistress's intentions without any empathy at all.
"And you don't mind this is Ramira's room too?"
"I have an arrangement," she whispered, leaning in and pressing her chest right to me, "and full carte blanche."
"Everything's clear with you."
"Well, what? Catching you in your own room is a feat, and negotiating with Ramira is way easier than with Gris…" she said with sincere indignation, that sly mug. "Female solidarity and insight—such a thing."
"And where's Rami?" In response she just looked at me like… well, it's obvious who. "Ah. Right. Question withdrawn."
"Shh. Want to be late?" she shot me a look, drawing closer to my face.
"Hm… I don't know. We've got a lesson with… mmm… mmm!"