Page 55 of Lorran
“I’m wearing a smile,” he replied, which earned him a snort.
When he returned to their room late the previous night, Wyn was already asleep. Determined not to disturb her, he grabbed a pillow and slept on the floor. If his position at the foot of the bed was a touch like a guard fretti, so be it.
“Do you like companion animals?” He had a sudden need to know if she would enjoy her own fretti. “When I was young, we had a fretti. They are fiercely loyal. Barco followed me everywhere,” he said.
“You had a dog namedBarco?”
“Not a dog. A fretti. Quite different. About this tall, with a tail and floppy ears. Licks a lot.”
“Sounds like a dog. I never had a pet growing up, and Sonia is allergic to anything fluffy. Oh,” she added quickly, “Sonia is my friend and roommate.”
He nodded, having decided that when they settled comfortably, they would find a companion animal. “I have wanted a companion animal, but I feared that on my own, I would be a poor guardian. I was away too often.”
“Well, I’m open to the idea so long as a fretti is fluffy and cute and not, you know, secretly a giant spider.”
“Would you be agreeable to a fluffy spider?”
She shuddered, but her grin conveyed a playful mood. “No. Too many eyes.”
“What a narrow and dull aesthetic you have.”
“You’re questioning my tastes? I’ve seen Mahdfel design. Big fan of brutalism, are you?”
Brutality was an unpleasant truth, but he believed her use of the word conveyed some other meaning. He said, “Multiple eyes allow you to see your foes approach from many directions, which is clearly a superior evolutionary trait.”
“Superior or not, I’m not having fluffy spiders in our home.”
Our home.
He had never heard sweeter words.
“Join me.” Lorran rose to his feet and lifted his arms in a slow stretch. The morning air held a bracing chill. He tilted his face to the sun.
“Out of curiosity, what are you doing?” Wyn set down her mug and ventured onto the patio.
“The warrior’s forms. This is a child’s stance.” He planted his feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. He then dropped to his knees, hands flat on the ground, and brought his bottom to his heels. The muscles in his hips and lower back burned as they stretched, telling him he had reached the age when sleeping on the floor was best avoided.
In a smooth motion, he raised his hips and rolled back upright. One foot lunged forward, he twisted his torso and extended his arms.
“Every warrior trains in the forms. The exercise keeps me flexible.” He learned the forms at a young age and could go through the motion in his sleep. In fact, after a rowdy night out with friends, he did.
“Hmm. I mean, what are you doing butt-naked? It’s too damn cold out here to be parading about in your birthday suit.”
“I want to feel the sun. I miss it,” he said, honestly.
Wyn cast a doubtful eye at the sky. The sun poked through a cloudy sky, but it was still sunshine.
“There is no weather onboard theJudgment. It is the same temperature and the same lighting, always.”
“That makes sense. Luckily, I don’t think the neighbors will complain.” She stood next to him, feet shoulder-width apart. “Show me again. Slowly, please.”
He demonstrated again, moving at a controlled pace. She copied his movements, squeaking as she attempted to rest her hands flat on the ground.
“This is very difficult with boobs,” she said.
“Yes, but I am enjoying the aesthetic.”
She straightened and gave him a playful swat. As much as he longed to linger here in their private oasis, surrounded by greenery and nearly alone on an abandoned world, the mission would not wait. Any moment, Mylomon would beat on the door and bark orders.
