Page 43 of Tis the Season for Tentacles
Her eyes sharpen with interest. “Oh, do tell me all about it.”
Felix coughs. “It’s like some kind of alien sex dungeon meets porn set.”
“Say what?”
Felix starts regaling her with a detailed description of the room, and within moments, Luna is slapping the table and howling with laughter.
“Oh, my galactic gods,” she wheezes, “that’s epic. You’ve got to show it to me.”
I scowl at her. “Hell no.”
“Party pooper. You’re no fun.” She shrugs it off and rubs several tentacles together. “Whatever. I’ve got a whole bevy of beautiful ladies to talk to in the dormitory tonight. If I’m lucky, I’ll be getting lucky, if you catch my drift.”
I send her a withering glare and then deadpan, “We have plenty of sex toys we could lend you if you need them.”
Luna bares her teeth. “Honey, my tentacles and my tongue are all I need to make the ladies scream.”
Felix snickers and shakes his head. “Oh, my God. You and my sister might be meant for each other. A match made in intergalactic heaven.”
Luna rests her elbows on the table and cups her chin in her hands, eyes sparkling. “Tell me more about your sister. I liked what I saw. She’s absolutely luscious and lovely.”
Felix considers this for a moment. “Well, she’s super smart. Graduated top of her class from med school. She’s tough as hell and way more adventurous than me. Hasn’t had a steady girlfriend in a couple of years. Her work schedule makes it pretty hard to maintain a romantic relationship.” He sighs. “I don’t have it much better. As a veterinarian, I work insane hours, and there are parts of the job that can get really depressing.”
I cock my head, a twinge of worry in my gut. “Like what?”
“Well, I work primarily with exotic animals. Species that, in general, ought not to be held in captivity, but for a wide range of reasons, some of them end up there. Sometimes, animals can’t survive on their own in the wild due to injury, abandonment, or health complications, and need to be kept in captivity for their own safety. Some wildlife refuges, sanctuaries, and zoos can also provide critical interventions with regard to breeding and rebuilding populations of animals that might have otherwise been leaning toward extinction. There are lots of places doing good work for the animals.”
“But not all places are like that?” Luna asks.
He frowns and stares into his mug of ice ale. “No. Some exotic animals have been acquired for use as human entertainment in circuses and other shows. Vegas has a lot of them. The conditions for the animals can vary greatly, and some situations are not always ideal, let alone humane.” He shakes his head. “It can be hard to see, and there aren’t always simpleor easy answers for what to do instead since these animals have been raised in captivity and can’t be released back into the wild.”
“Human encroachment on natural habitats probably further complicates matters,” I muse.
Felix nods. “That’s a major problem for sure. Humanity is destroying the planet at an alarming rate, and wildlife are some of the first casualties of such widespread environmental and ecological devastation.”
Luna’s expression turns serious. “Unfortunately, humanity is far too reliant on fossil fuels and other energy sources that cause pollution. Developing clean energy sources, as most other species in the universe already have, will be critical to humanity’s long-term survival.”
“Politicians and lobbyists with less than ethical agendas dictate much of what goes on in that arena,” Felix replies, looking into his ale glass. “It’s frustrating. I just want to help animals, you know? When I started out, I was so enthusiastic and optimistic, but these days, I feel conflicted. I’m not always able to reconcile my ethical beliefs with the circumstances I’m called into and asked to treat animals in. On top of that, sometimes I can’t save them. Animals die, and it takes a toll that gets harder to deal with over time.” He looks up and flashes a faint smile. “When you all picked me up, I was at a bit of a crossroads in my life, trying to figure out what I want to do—if I want to continue being a veterinarian or pursue something else entirely.”
Luna studies him for a moment. “Didn’t you study for a long time to become an expert in this field? Could you really leave it?”
“I did. And I’m not sure if I could leave the whole field behind. I’ve considered looking for positions with wildlife refuges or sanctuaries, but most of those would require me to move far away, maybe even to another country. Not sure I couldleave Gemma behind, and I certainly wouldn’t want to make her feel like she had to follow me.”
“Families are complicated,” Luna agrees. “I’m the misfit in my household. My two older siblings followed the traditional Dravethian path, but I wanted something different. I wasn’t going to be a housewife to a Dravethian warrior, even if she ended up being smoking hot. I want adventure and excitement in my life, not domestic monotony.”
Felix studies me. “You mentioned you aren’t like most warriors on your home world either.”
I drain the last of my ice ale. “No. I was trained in the same way all those in my cohort were, but I didn’t feel the sense of duty to protect the planet that most do. For me, I always considered what I was learning to be intended for protecting those few, precious friends in my life that I care about.”
“In other words, me and Kheph,” Luna says with a grin. “And now Sasha.”
A wistful smile plays on Felix’s lips. “You all are incredibly close. Found family at its finest. Honestly, I’m rather envious.”
Luna’s brow scrunches up. “Don’t you have friends back home?”
To my surprise, Felix shrugs. “No one I keep in regular contact with these days. Because I was raised by my grandparents, a lot of my free time over the last few years of their lives was spent helping them out as they got older. While my peers were out partying and dating, I was taking care of Gramps and Nana, as well as Gemma before she went to college.” His lips quirk into a wry grin. “It didn’t exactly lend itself to a bustling social life. And school was really demanding on top of the part-time jobs I worked. I ended up in my own little bubble for a really long time. When I went to grad school, I did make a few friends, but after graduating, we all went off to whereverwe could find jobs. Some moved far away, others I simply lost contact with.”
Luna bites her bottom lip, her eyes sad. “Sounds really lonely.”
