Page 7 of The Twelve Nights of Halloheen

‘I think this is exactly what we’ve been missing,’ Palforma added with the clinking-marbles rumble. In this context he wasn’t expressing amusement but happiness. Even though Zia couldn’t hear the rumbles and rattles the Talins made, she had special implants in her eyes that used visual cues to keep her informed about the sounds going on around her.

‘You think we’ve been missing a room full of decorations where everyone is dressed in green clothing?’ Zia asked with a teasing expression.

‘No,’ Palforma answered. ‘We’ve been missing a community.’

‘Palforma gets it,’ Isla tapped triumphantly as she beamed at the Talin in question.

Before Zia could respond, several others joined their little group and claimed the couple’s attention. Stepping back to make room, Isla bumped into something behind her.

“Oh!” she gasped and bounced forward, worried she’d hurt someone. The rapid change in direction caused her to lose her balance. The ground was rushing up to meet her, but strong Talin arms encircled her and pulled her flush against a hard, keratin-plated chest.

“Easy,” Tisuran breathed into her neck as he sounded a purring rumble. The moment she was stable on her feet and before she could get upset, he dropped his arms from around her. He wasn’t holding her, but he remained with his front pressed against her back. “I’m sorry, little Isla. That was my fault. I was in your way. I meant to speak before you stepped, but I was worried I’d startle you.”

“It’s the night to be startled and tickled,” Isla said. She relaxed against Tisuran, letting herself have a moment of physical contact before stepping away. Turning to face Tisuran, Isla fought to keep her smile in place when her body seemed to have heated up out of nowhere.

“Are we supposed to scare each other on the Green Night?” he asked.

“Not scare, but you’re supposed to tickle someone if they aren’t wearing green,” she explained, still slightly breathless from his closeness.

Tisuran examined the humans and Talins in the room, then sounded an amused rumble. “I believe everyone is wearing green.”

Isla shrugged and snickered. “Yeah, everyone remembered this year. Or were told by those who knew.”

“Interesting,” Tisuran mused. “When you sent out the messages to everyone’s information squares and Ident Cubes, you didn’t mention wearing green. Were you hoping people would have forgotten that part of the tradition?”

“Maybe?”

Tisuran sounded a rumble of amusement loud enough to have been several bags of clinking-marbles all being shaken at once. His version of a Talin laugh made Isla chuckle. Feelings of gentle intimacy filled her, pushing her to take his hand. He tangled his fingers with hers, but she didn’t feel the need to pull away. Ignoring the strange feeling in her stomach at the sight of their linked fingers, she forced her eyes to focus on the table practically buckling under so many heaping containers of food.

“You did most of the work yesterday, and you were super busy today helping others finish their tasks, so no one missed Green Night. You must be starving.”

“I’m hungry,” he admitted. “Will you eat with me?”

Knowing Talins liked to feed humans by hand, she ignored the implication of his question.

“We could share a plate,” she offered.

“That would….” His voice trailed off as something caught his attention. “What are they doing?”

Following his gaze, she saw Palforma holding Zia high against his chest, her legs wrapped around his waist. On Sorana, Talins and humans were free to show affection, unlike the rest of the Talin empire where these relationships weren’t simply taboo, they were illegal.

It took Isla a moment to figure out that it wasn’t the couple’s intimate tangle Tisuran was questioning. It was that they were doing it under a decorated arch with some of the greenery almost touching the top of Palforma’s head.

They were also engaged in a heated kiss that made Isla blush to watch. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they’d forgotten they were in a room full of people. But she did know better because Zia and Palforma weren’t shy with their affection on Sorana.

“Oh, that’s one of the Green Night traditions,” she explained. “But they’re not doing it right.”

“Demonstrate how it’s supposed to be done,” Tisuran insisted. “With me.”

“Um, okay,” Isla agreed and walked with him to stand under a different arch. Pointing up at some of the leafy plants they’d hung the night before, she explained the action first. “When two people find themselves under this, they’re supposed to rub cheeks.”

Without warning, Tisuran dropped to his knees in front of her and presented the side of his face.

“Show me,” he requested. “Please.”

Isla startled at his sudden movement, then giggled. Leaning closer to his warmth, she slid her cheek against his. Tisuran could have been a statue; he remained perfectly still as her silken cheek stroked his for the first time. The scent of sweet maple hit Isla’s nose as warmth remained on her skin even after she moved back.

Tisuran’s hand became rigid in hers. A deep, thrumming rumble rolled from his chestbox, very different from his normal soothing purr. The lower pitch of this new rumble bypassed her ears and tugged at something deep inside her.

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