Page 17 of The Death Striker's Partner
“Ah you’re aw-ah.” A new Ucfeni pulled the wider green curtain aside andhadbeen wearing a creepily large smile on his yellow scally face. His yellow eyes dropped to see Tumva at my side and he seemed startled. He slithered immediately to the end of my bed and found it difficult to focus on me. His eyes kept darting back to Tumva and I swear I saw him gulping nervously.“I-ah-I am Doctor Chada. I have come to review your recovery and see if you are ready to be discharged. My human colleague Doctor Hatherway has already checked in on you earlier. She never mentioned you had a visitor…?”
“I am Peacekeeper Tumva of the 21st Pit.” Big dark and scary lifted up from the chaise to ‘stand’ and was even bigger and scarier than before. As we talked I became used to his appearance, but now he was staring down at the doctor like hereallydidn’t like the guy. I could make out that he was scowling from the tugging of his glossy black scales around his mouth. Then again, the doctor was behaving weirdly. He kept glancing at Tumva like he thought the officer was going to lash out or something. “I am Hannah Blac’s Sponsor.” Chada’s eyes widened and I saw his gums as he opened his mouth in shock. “Conduct your examination doctor. I am eager to escort my charge to my nest to finish resting.”
“O-Of course.” I narrowed my eyes on the yellow snake and smelt a rat. What was with that reaction? Did…he know something I didn’t? He swung his weight forward and came to my other side. I was now sat on a bed between two massive snake aliens.Oh goodie.
He checked my blood pressure, listened to my pulse, checked my reflexes and pupil responses. He asked me a series of questions about my name, age, date of birth and things that were clearly designed to test my memory. He finally decreed I could be discharged and then warily looked to Tumva. “I…suggest she takes things easy. I wouldn’t rely on her strength at the moment to hold onto you so…she will need to be carried.”
“No one is carrying me.” I declared and swung my legs out of the bed to stand. My traitorous knees buckled and I fell back on my ass. I pouted and looked up at Tumva who smirked and waited for me to say it. “…fine. On thisoneoccasion, I willallowyou to carry me back to your place.”
“Yes Hannah.” I grimaced as I was lifted off the bed in both of his arms like I weighed nothing. I felt dwarfed in his arms, like I was a child or something. Most of their bulk was their tail, I guess, but still. I didn’t like it. I’ve never liked being vulnerable, and I felt pretty damn helpless as Tumva held me to his chest. I folded my arms and pouted some more. At least I was getting out of hospital and would be able to relax soon. In the house of a total stranger...who seems to freakeveryoneout?
Chapter 15
Alien man-pad
Hannah.
No, seriously. People on tails or legs all seemed to get out of dodge at the sight of him. Alarm bells were seriously going off in my head when even bustling streets of people bolted into the nearest doorway the second they looked at us. No, the second they looked atTumva.I narrowed my eyes up at him with suspicion.Oh you’re going to answer some serious questions when we get to your nest mister. Are people here terrified of the police? Or is it you specifically? And if so, why?
I had many questions for him when I next go the chance. For now, I felt that in the open where anyone could hear me wasn’t the best way to get the truth out of him. There was also the fact that he was a giant black snake alien and I was currently helpless in his arms. That caused me to put a pin in my interrogation…for now…
I squealed when he suddenly careered around a pole the same width as a tree.
“OH MY GOD DON’T YOU DARE FUCKING DROP MEEEEEEE!” I screamed and shut my eyes as he moved so fast my world didn’t only spin, but it blurred too. I begged my stomach not to hit the eject button as I would only end up barfing all over myself. And my new sponsor. “Oh thank God.” I grumbled as he finally slid forward and lifted us upright once more. My mood didn’t improve when I realised he was trying,and failing, to stop himself from lauhging. I pouted up at his big black eyes and pointed up at his scaly face. “Hey there laughing boy. I will vomit on you if youeverdo that again. I don’t’ care if you have to grow wings. Never again. Nu uh.”
He did the creepiest thing.
He smiled at me like I’d just said the sweetest thing.
“I can’t grow wings, but we can arrange an alternative method of transport moving forward.” Tumva smirked and nodded towards the building ahead of us. “Welcome to our nest Hannah.” He pushed a circular door with his tail and it slid to the right into the wall. I tensed with anticipation and seeing my first alien home.
Only see the equivalent of a giant snake’s man-pad. The walls and floors were made of smooth yellow stone, like all the pathways. It seemed to be the most abundant rock on Thelia. He slithered forward and I sawnofurniture. There was a wooden statue that looked like an enraged Ucfeni. Both arms out by its sides aggressively, one higher than the other, with its mouth open wide with its fangs bared and a long tail whipping around. The statue was to the left and there were scattered articles of clothing about the place. Kevlar armour. A helmet. Holy crap I even saw some knives and tasers scattered about the floor. “Like I said?” He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t planning on being a sponsor so my nest isn’t modified for a human. But I put in the request when I registered us.” I raised a brow and looked at him warily.
“Aaaaand all the weapons and armour about the place are for what? Decoration?” He stared at me and gummed his lips together. I think if his scales weren’t so dark, he might have blushed. Too bloody right too. “Oh my God. I’ve travelled across space and moved in with a grown man child with scales.” I had to laugh. “Okay. Put me down so we can make this room a littlelesslethal, okay?”
“Yes Hannah.” He lowered me and I wobbled on my feet, still feeling a bit faint. He flicked his tongue at my face, which I thought was pretty rude to just lick me without asking, but he nodded like he was happy with however I tasted. “Wait a moment.” I moved his bulk with far more grace than a creature his size should be capable of. I gawked as he reared up on his tail and took hold of something in a hole in the roof of this massive room. In mere seconds he had vanished through the hole.
“Well, that happened.” I shook my head and looked around. I couldn’t see any other doorways or rooms. I saw a few round windows slanted upward to make soft spotlights on the floor, but it was getting pretty late in the afternoon now, so it was getting dim in here. I carefully started to walkaroundthe peacekeeper paraphernalia, to find no other evidence that this place was even lived in. I was just wondering if this was a combat room and nothing else, when Tumva hung his upper body down through the hole. With a soft thud a large brown leather bean bag landed in the middle of the floor. Without any warning of furniture being dropped from a hole in the ceiling, I was startled by the noise.
“Here. So you may sit when on this level. Come, Hannah.” Just when I thought this guy couldn’t get creepier, he hangs upside down with a grin on his face and hands reaching for me to approach him. “I will need to lift you up to the second and third levels. At least until the engineers install a method for you to use independently.” I took a deep breath and started to shuffle towards him.
I didn’t like the sudden thought of how Billie would be coping if this was the kind of reception she’d received in her new ‘nest’.No. Izule is a Prince. That has to mean a fancy home maintained to be fit for royalty…right?I had to hope that Billie didn’t walk into a home with weapons on the floor.
Tumva’s smile fell, another odd sight considering he was upside down, and he gestured with his hands as he spoke. “I will clearallof this up. Right away. Let me get you settled upstairs and I’ll get right on it.” I nodded with a polite smile and raised my arms to let him put his hands on my hips. How he did it I don’t know, but he reeled us both up through the hole. My jaw dropped at the next level of his home. It was a swimming pool! Imagine a massive crescent shape swimming pool where the two points were rounded with reclining walls to rest against, and that was the kind of bathtub I was looking at. “This is the hygiene room. The waste chute behind us is currently outfitted for Ucfeni use. I believe as a matter of priority, the engineers will install a human version for you.”
“Oh good.” I turned around to inspect this ‘waste chute’, and was not impressed when I saw what looked like a metal hole in the far side of the room. What was he expecting me to do? Squat and pray? “Yeah,good,because I’m going to need a proper toilet. I can live with having baths instead of showers? But a toilet is a none negotiable.”
“You will have one. I promise.” I raised a brow to look at him and couldn’t believe how nervous he sounded.
“Relax big guy. I’m not going to walk out just yet. I need you, remember?” I found myself going into autopilot and trying to reassure my timid companion. Like I would with Billie, I was gentle and reassuring in my patience. He held his hands together and I could see his black gums as his smile opened.
“And I need you.” He turned his head, averting his gaze. “As my partner. At work.” I folded my arms and raised a brow at him.
“Yeah. I know?” He turned on his tail to show me his back, hands on his hips like he was giving himself a mental pep talk.Man this guy is weird.“Tumva?”
“You need to rest.” The dark spectre turned back around on his tail and pointed up to a hole in the second floor ceiling. “Let me get you settled in the main nest room. I will then slide right out to buy you some human food, and the engineers will be here in no time.” He took hold of my hips again without asking me and I flung my hands onto his shoulders to steady myself. I was getting pretty tired of these massive snake men manhandling me like it was okay. Just when I was about to snarl at him, he lifted me up to rest against his front and wrapped my legs around his hips. “Are you more comfortable like this? This is how we carry our younglings. Though, they wind their tails around our hips, not their legs.”
“Erm… yeah this is okay.” I blushed, way closer to his face than I was mentally prepared for. I couldn’t help but stare at his face. He didn’t have a nose, and from a distance, it looked like he had two nostrils on the flat of his face above his wide mouth. This close though? I could see he actually had two large holes and another two smaller ones parallel to make six in total. He parted his lips and his black tongue flicked at my nose. His eyes were still pure black, even at this distance, but the scales around them were so expressive. “Tumva?”
