Wavelength

Wolf was gone by the time I woke up. I tamped down my disappointment and stretched out across the empty space. The bed was a little bigger than a king-size back on Earth, so even if I spread out as much as I could, there was still tons of space left.

It took me a hot minute to work myself up to get out of bed, but I'd have to since Wolf said when we woke he'd take us to the clanship. Oh, but the furs were soft and warm, I was comfortable and content . . . It would have been nice to just be lazy for a little while, but there were things to do.

Like take a nice, warm bath. I was a little sore in places I'd never been before and I wanted to wash all the dried sweat off my skin.

With a bit of wincing, I finally crawled out and shivered in the cold; The room was about fifteen degrees cooler than the rest of the ship to facilitate better sleep. Without the warmth of the furs around me, it was actually a bit chilly.

I was about to put my glorified shirt on but figured there was no point, and no one would care if I was out wandering around in the nude. I just left it on the floor, but I at least picked up my leg braces and set them down on a table where they'd be safe. I'd put them back in the armory later.

As soon as I stepped out of the room, Critter dropped down from the ceiling and scared the living out of me.

"You!" he declared as he did.

"Shit!" I gasped in surprise, almost stumbling back into the room in my fright.

Not too long ago, I might have kicked the poor guy in the gut or something. I didn't feel so wound up any more, though, not so on-edge or stressed out. Even though I didn't really like space, I still felt more at ease on Wolf's ship than I had back on Earth.

"Yes, me," I growled once my heartbeat stabilized somewhat. "Do not startle me like that."

"Apology, Ast'ni. Has master done harm?"

"What . . . ? No—"

He disregarded my answer and fussed over me for a moment, bombarding me with frantic ministrations from his forelimbs. His antennae swiped across my face, neck, and shoulders in gentle sweeps.

"Critter, stop it!" I reprimanded, swatting at and shying away from him. "What are you doing?"

The big baby backed up and ducked his head, his antennae drooping. "Master was angry."

I sighed. This could have been avoided if I'd explained everything to him earlier, but there just hadn't been a chance.

"No, Critter, he was not. It was a misunderstanding," I told him as nicely as I could.

Unconvinced, he studied me from a socially acceptable distance.

His 'kicked puppy' expression softened some of my edges. Would he even understand what had really gone on if I explained? I didn't really feel the need to, though. It wasn't his business.

"Everything is fine. We were playing a game and it . . . heated up. He was never mad," I assured him. "I did not mean to . . . |uh| . . . trick you. I only wanted to, |um|, slow Wolf down. I hope he was not mean to you."

God, having a full-blown conversation exclusively in Yaut'ja was hard. I really wished Critter and Creature knew more English, but it couldn't be helped. It had only been the better part of a year, so really I should have been glad that I knew as much as I did.

Critter rubbed his face with one claw—chagrin. "No, was normal. But Ast'ni injured?"

"No, I'm fine. You want to see for yourself?" I asked.

At first, he seemed somewhat hesitant, but he lifted a forelimb and canted his head to the side, asking permission this time to touch me. I appreciated his request and lifted my arms to give him my consent to examine me. I didn't normally mind his friendliness, but he also didn't normally ambush and accost me when I least expected it.

He made a scooping motion to pick up my left arm and showed me a mottling of deep bruises on my bicep, then pointed out the distinct tracing of claw marks down my side, red and inflamed. I was left a bit dumb-struck as he turned me around and described more bruising down my back.

When he started to gravitate away from my torso and down to my legs, I pushed him away and took a few steps back, holding up my hand to stop him.

"I get the picture," I huffed.

Critter's antenna quivered and he pawed at me in concern. "Ast'ni injured."

I shook my head. "It is fine, Critter. I promise. He is not mad at me. This was an accident. We were sparring so it is normal to get hurt."

Even though I said that I knew several of them were definitely not from our fight.

He stared at me for an uncomfortably long time. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, trying to figure out what to say to him. Anything to get him to just stop looking at me with those big, bug eyes.

"Hey," I said when I couldn't handle it anymore.

His mouthparts twitched, letting me know he heard me.

"I am okay. Wolf is not mad at me and he did not actually attack me," I assured him, reaching up to set my hand atop his head.

Critter made a pleased hissing noise and finally relented, moving out of my way. I gave him one last look to make sure he really believed me—which I thought he did—before swiftly moving on down the hall. I supposed that it was nice that Critter cared enough to check up on me, even if his concern had been misplaced.

The washroom was a hop, skip, and a jump away. Not quite directly across from the room, but adjacent to it. I slipped inside and closed the door.

Now I just had to remember how to fill the basin.

It was basically a big metal tub built into the floor. I'd only used it on my own a few times before, and usually, Critter drew the bath. However, I'd made him show me so I could be more independent, especially since I wasn't a barely-functioning invalid anymore.

Still, it reminded me of my sleepover days. Staying over at a new friend's house, trying to figure out how to use their shower.

Naked and afraid.

Eventually, I remembered which button to push and water started bubbling up from the bottom. Steam wafted from the surface of the piping-hot bath and I slipped in, sighing with content. After taking a minute to just soak, I grabbed the scrub stone and gently rubbed it across my skin, taking some time to examine myself while I cleaned and figure out what had Critter all up in his feelings.

I skipped past what Critter had already pointed out and took a closer look at my hips, thighs, and anything else I could see without a mirror. My back was pretty sore, but I attributed that to being thrown across a room during our sparring match, as well as a few of the other bruises and scrapes.

However, the raised skin on my neck—tender even to the most tender of touches—as well as the distinct, finger-shaped blotches on my hips could only have come from our coupling. There was a spattering of nicks from when he'd drawn his tusks across my skin, where he'd dug his clawed hands into me . . . holding me tightly.

I shivered at the memory, heating up from the inside out and I smiled to myself. So what if he liked it a little rough? I remembered enjoying myself, too. They were superficial wounds that would heal, but the time we shared, the way it felt to have him against me, inside me . . .

Well, that was anything but superficial.

Just a short while later, Wolf entered and pulled me from my fantasies.

"|Oh, hey|," I greeted him unceremoniously, sitting up. A strange sort of embarrassment flashed down the back of my neck, elicited by being 'caught' having those thoughts.

Without saying anything, Wolf walked over and helped himself to my bath, drawing a squeak of surprise out of me. His added mass caused water to slosh over the edges of the basin and flood across the tiled floor.

"|This is my bath|," I complained as he heaved me up with one arm. "|We can't both fit|! Go get your own."

However, he proved me wrong by sitting me atop his lap. Face flushed, I slouched down a bit to hide my figure beneath the water's surface. I wasn't really sure how to feel about sharing a bath, though we'd just shared a lot more than that.

Bath time was my time.

"Now we both fit." He sounded smug.

Before I could come up with a witty retort, Wolf sank deeper into the water, taking me with him. I had to adjust to keep my head from slipping under, propped against his chest with an arm hooked over the edge of the tub.

"Was I so bad that you are trying to drown me?" I huffed, baiting him into a conversation.

Wolf just rumbled with amusement. "As with all things, there is room for improvement, but no. You were not so bad that I am trying to drown you."

Though I was sure it was supposed to be a compliment, I took it as a challenge. "I will improve," I intoned.

"You always do," he purred.

For maybe the first time in quite a few years, I was feeling at ease, though maybe somewhat awkward, sitting there on his lap in the warm water. It was somewhat surreal, like I was going to wake up from a dream.

Of course, I couldn't just let myself have something nice without overthinking it.

Were we supposed to talk at length about it? Just carry on like normal? I wasn't entirely sure how I was supposed to act. At least for the moment, I could allow myself to feel as carefree as I could.

Instead of letting my thoughts fester, however, I came clean.

"How does this work?" I asked.

"How does what work?" he rumbled.

On a whim, I fished one of his hands out from the water and looked it over, marveling at just how big it was compared to mine. I couldn't believe I'd come out the other end of our coupling without more injuries to show for it.

How much had he been holding back?

"Do we have to hide our relationship?" I asked once I was done stalling.

Wolf took my wrist and pulled my arm straight, rattling thoughtfully as he traced the markings left on my skin with his free hand. I squirmed and snatched my limb back, not wanting him to worry.

"|It's nothing|," I said with a shrug.

When he didn't say anything, I finally looked at him over my shoulder and flashed a smile. "Really, I am okay. I am . . . happy." It took me an extra beat to find the right Yaut'ja word for 'happy'.

"I am glad," he purred, nuzzling me. "To answer your question: only sometimes."

I responded with a knowing nod. "|It depends on whose company we're in|."

"Correct."

"The clan we are visiting?"

He thought about it, then said, "We should not be overt but we do not need to pretend."

I rolled my eyes at his non-answer but accepted it anyway. "|Okay.|"

We lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then, quite abruptly, he heaved me up and out of the tub. I squawked and caught myself from falling on my face and slipped on some of the water as I tried to stand.

"|What was that for?|" I whined. "|I wasn't done with my bath!|"

"We cannot sit here forever," he announced, climbing out after me.

"Why? Am I tempting you?" I teased.

His tusks clacked together and he didn't reply right away.

"That is a yes," I giggled, plucking my 'towel' up where it was folded on a table. Really it was just a square piece of cloth as tall as I was.

Wolf always just air-dried, leaving water trailing everywhere that either Creature or Critter would have to clean up.

'They're really gonna have something a mess to clean now', I thought, carefully avoiding the puddles of water.

"I am not some young blood lacking control of his impulses," he snorted.

"|Mm, if you say so|." I hit the button that caused the water to drain.

He growled a playful warning at me and I flippantly ignored it, focusing on drying off.

"We are taxiing outside their ship. They will wonder why we have not tried to dock yet," he finally explained as he followed me out of the washroom—I left the towel behind.

I stopped short in my surprise and he brushed right past me. "What? Already?"

Pausing ahead, he nodded. "Yes. I will go request our clearance to dock, then meet you in the armory. Wear your normal hunting gear, as that is most polite."

"|Sure thing|," I said, splitting off to get my gear while he communicated. I hoped that having a few minutes to myself would give me the time I needed to mentally prepare for this next step in my integration to life with Wolf.

Halfway there, though, an inescapable curiosity consumed me. I struggled to ignore it and gave in, changing course to one of the hallways with a viewport. Maybe I'd catch a glimpse of the ship or the planet where this Clan was hanging out and see what I had to look forward to.

Sure enough, I saw the clanship outside. Most of it.

The thing was so huge I could only make out a small portion of it from the small window. My memories from when I was a teenager were a bit hazy after all this time, but I couldn't help but think that the ship was even larger than Wolf's clanship—it had to house thousands of yautja.

And I was going to have to go on it and interact with these strangers. With these aliens that spent the better part of their lives hunting and killing people like me.

I was going to have to learn how to live with them, how to be like them.

Swallowing hard, I moved away from the window and put a hand to my head, trying to force myself to calm down. If I had been nervous before, I was downright apprehensive now. I had to remind myself that I had technically already been on the ship before, that I wasn't technically a stranger.

That I would have Wolf there with me. That I'd dealt with scarier things than being social with a bunch of people I didn't know.

Somewhat calmer, I took a deep breath and continued toward the armory. This was going to be my life for a while. New experiences, new learning opportunities, and plenty of adjustment periods. I just had to take them one step at a time.