Kara didn't speak as we idly picked at the quite tasty pre-meal treats the waitress had dropped off. I took a sip of water to wash one down and used Presence to let the coolness of the liquid permeate and refresh my body. She blinked her eyes at my very subtle use of Presence and still didn't say anything. A short while later, the waitress returned with our meals of steak and rice, then she picked up the almost empty plate of treats.
“They were quite tasty.” I complimented her. “Thank you.”
The waitress smiled and gave me a nod, then left without a word.
I dug into the food and it tasted fine. I would have added a different spice to bring out the flavor of the meat and perhaps would have added a nice brown sauce for the rice. Not necessarily for the flavor, for the color contrast.
Kara kept eyeing me as we ate and I would raise my eyes from my plate to look at her. She would divert her gaze as soon as I did and still wouldn't speak. Of course, I didn't try to engage her in idle conversation either.
What would our small talk be about? I asked myself, then my mind started to create that conversation.
'Oh, I didn't know I had killed quite that many people.' I could say.
'Don't worry, you're facing justice for them anyway. What does it matter that you killed a few million more than you planned?' Kara would probably respond.
I chuckled at the thought and she looked at me. “Sorry, I'm just amusing myself.”
“You're not planning any more pranks, are you?” Kara asked.
I smiled. “Heard about that, did you?”
Kara rolled her eyes. “I thought you had outgrown that kind of behavior.”
“So did I.” I said with a laugh. “I'm still a kid at heart, I guess.”
“A really immature kid.” Kara responded.
“Hey, there's only so many things I have access to on a station without getting caught.”
Kara shook her head. “You shouldn't be playing tricks at all, Hunter.”
“I was just passing time until you showed up.” I said. “It was almost nostalgic, actually.”
“What do you mean?”
“I did the same thing back on The Order's home planet. I was doing pranks to keep busy and to pass the time, until you showed up.”
Kara thought about that and nodded. “I think it really is similar.” She said. “I took you into custody then, too.”
I laughed. “Remember my first and only prank on you?”
Kara sighed. “You've never let me forget it.”
“It was great! You had everyone running around looking for me and I never left my room! Ha ha!”
“Let's just finish eating and go.” Kara said and ate the last of the rice on her plate and drank the last of her second glass of water.
“Do you have a room yet?” I asked and did the same thing.
“They have standing rooms reserved at the hotel for Order members.”
“Oh? Then I guess it's good I made other arrangements.” I said and waved at the waitress to get her attention.
“Hunter, you're not really going to...” Kara stopped talking as the waitress came over.
“Are you all done?” The waitress asked happily.
“Yes, and it was okay.” I said and she took in a quick breath. “If you talk to the cooks, tell them to ease off on the hirshall spice and add a bit of grinsaki. A light brown sauce for the rice will really make it pop on the plate.”
The waitress gave me a look that said she couldn't believe my words, and yet, she knew I had been honest. “I'll let them know.”
“Thank you very much.” I said and took out a thousand credit chip and handed it to her.
The waitress caught her breath. “Yes!” She exclaimed. “Um, I mean... I'll come back with...”
“Keep the rest as a tip.” I chuckled and stood up, then I leaned close to whisper in her ear. “I'll see you tonight.” Then I chirped.
Her hairnet expanded out a little as her feathers fluffed and she nodded. I stepped around her to stand at Kara's side, then she stood as well and we left the restaurant together.
“Hunter, are you seriously going to sleep with a strange woman tonight?” Kara asked.
“It should be fun, not serious.” I said and Kara gave me a glare. “Yes. I haven't had sex in a while. She seemed to be really receptive, and I doubted that you would want me to sleep in your tiny bed.”
“It's a normal sized bed. There's plenty of room for you.” Kara responded, then realized what she said.
I reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. “I knew what you meant and I won't tease you over it.”
Kara frowned at me. “Who are you and what did you do with the old Hunter?”
I chuckled and let her shoulder go. “I killed him and ate him! Ha ha!”
Kara sighed and shook her head and we went to the hotel. “Reservation for Moor.”
“That sounds familiar.” I said with a smile, because that was what I had said at the restaurant.
“Here we are. A single room for two nights.” The man said and handed her a room pass key. “And for the gentleman?”
“I've made other arrangements for tonight, and depending on how it goes, possibly for tomorrow night as well.” I said and Kara let out a huff. “I should book a room anyway, just in case. Is the one next to Master Moor's available?”
Kara caught her breath and trembled slightly, then she stopped her reaction.
“It just happens to be.” The man said. He had seen Kara's reaction as well. “Both nights?”
“Please.” I said and took out a credit chip.
The man waved it away. “I assume The Order will cover it.”
I gave Kara a smirk and looked back at the clerk. “I better pay, just in case they decide not to.”
The man chuckled. “I won't turn down immediate credits over submitting a bill at the end of the month and waiting for payment.” He said and took the credit chip, deducted what the room cost for both nights, then started to hand it back.
“Tip for services?” I asked.
“You can tip when you check out.” The man said and handed me a room key and the credit chip back. “Thank you for staying with us.”
I nodded and he told us where the rooms were located. Kara led the way and I followed her to her room. She opened her door and waved me inside, then closed and locked it. I looked around the room and saw that the bed was a single bed, just enough for someone to roll from side to side and sleep comfortably in. If two people shared it, it would be... cozy.
“I'm thinking you were a little off on the normal bed size.” I commented.
Kara came over to look and sighed. “I asked for a normal room, dammit.”
I looked through the wall and saw that the bed in my room was a normal size and could easily fit two people. “Well, mine is.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Kara turned and looked and sighed again. “I don't suppose you want to switch?”
“I don't plan on staying here, so sure.” I said and handed her my room pass key and she gave me hers.
“Thank you.” Kara said.
“Shall we go next door to meditate?” I asked. “The room itself is a little bigger, too.”
Kara nodded and we went next door to her new room, then climbed onto the bed and sat in the lotus position. “I want you to tell me everything; but, I don't want you to influence me with your words. We have to wait until we return to The Order's home planet and talk to The Wise One.”
“Really?” I asked, a little surprised. “I thought you would try to interrogate me right away.”
“I want to.” Kara said and closed her eyes. “I just know it's kind of dangerous to listen to how reasonably you can justify all the killing you do.”
I chuckled. “Okay, I have to admit that I've killed quite a lot more than you have, even before this latest thing.” I said and closed my own eyes. I felt a few very light mental touches on my mental barriers and chuckled again. “You know, you could just ask.”
“I'm just making sure your protection is intact.” Kara said and took in a deep breath and let it out. “You can test mine if you want.”
“Are you sure?” I asked with a teasing tone.
“Go ahead.” Kara said and her thoughts were adamant that my mental probes would only bounce off of her barrier because it was so strong.
I smiled and used the trick Hailey taught me about hugging with Presence.
Kara took in a sharp breath and her mental barriers wavered for a second. “What was that?” She asked, because she hadn't been prepared for feeling something that was both very odd and comforting at the same time.
“A distraction.” I said and rather than use a mental probe like she expected, I used Presence to surround her mental barriers and she shivered at the 'touch'. “Are you ready?”
Kara reinforced her mental barriers and braced for me to forcefully enter her mind.
That's a mistake. I thought to her, then used my ability to merge energies and eased my Presence into her mental barriers like water soaking into a sponge. It didn't change the shape or what it did, it just added to the weight and slowly flowed through.
“S-stop.” Kara whispered and I slowly pulled my Presence back and away from her. It took her a minute to open her eyes and look at me. “How did you do that?”
“There's a lot of things I can do.” I said and opened my own eyes. “That was just one of them.”
“You didn't do anything like that back on Relique.”
“I did... just not with you.” I said and she nodded when the Presence didn't waver.
“What else can you show me?”
I smiled and started to open my robes.
“No! I didn't mean that!” Kara exclaimed and rolled off the bed to stand beside it.
I laughed and put my robes back into place. “I didn't even intend to tease you and you took it that way, anyway.” I said. “I have embedded scars on my chest, created with Presence.”
“I know. I saw them before.” Kara said.
“I have new ones.” I said and her eyes looked at my chest, then she quickly turned her head away.
“No, I won't let you tempt me.” Kara said.
“Yes, showing you my chest is how I would tempt you.” I said sarcastically. “But, that's okay. You'll see them eventually.”
Kara took another sharp breath, because the Presence didn't waver.
“I'm going to meditate until I need to meet my date.” I said and closed my eyes again. “Don't be upset if I'm quiet for the rest of the day.”
Kara opened her mouth to say that it wouldn't bother her, then she realized that she wanted to hear my voice.
“I can hear your surface thoughts, by the way.” I said and entered a half-meditative state.
“How? I can't feel anything.” Kara asked.
“Even thoughts carry Presence.” I said and slowed my breathing down to one long breath every ten minutes. Stray thoughts are easy to grasp if you know how to see them. I thought to her.
“You can see my stray thoughts?” Kara asked, surprised.
Like planets around a star. I thought, because that was a good description. I slowed my mind down and entered a fully meditative state and let my senses go while still remaining alert.
*
Kara stood there and used her Presence Detection technique. She looked over Hunter and his Presence wasn't any stronger than it had been since the last time she had seen him. Yet, she knew there was something different about him. She didn't know what it was and she knew she wasn't going to find out without actually talking to him about it. She stood there for half an hour before she gave in to her curiosity and looked at the scars above his heart.
Kara gasped as she saw two consecutive rings of angular scars and not the single ring that she expected to see. He also had a distinct 'H' shape in the middle of them and she couldn't understand why he would brand himself with his own name's initial. It made no sense to her, and then she remembered the significance of the first ring of scars.
No. Kara thought as she climbed back onto the bed and sat down. He lost someone else dear to his heart? She asked herself. Two someones? She managed to not reach out to rub the spot through his robes and then entered her own meditative state. She needed to recover after her long trip through space and also to digest the hearty food she had ingested.
The rest of the day passed and neither of them moved, except for the occasional breath. It was quiet and it was like there wasn't anyone at all in the room.
*
The Order members had gathered in the office with the lieutenant of the guards.
“Our orders are clear. He should be subdued and restrained.” One of the alien Order members said.
“He should also be in our custody.” The shocked woman said. “I only just fixed my Light sword!”
“We can't go against The Wise One, even if the council ordered it, which they never would.” The other woman said. “He's The Wise One.”
“So what do we do?” The other alien asked.
“We keep them under observation and report their activities.” The lieutenant said. “So far, they haven't left the room all day.”
“Stay on them and keep us informed.” The first alien said. “If they step out of line, I want them handled immediately!”
The other Order members gave him a look as if he was crazy for even thinking they could handle him on their own. Their last encounter hadn't turned out so well and their targets had been outnumbered twelve to one.
The lieutenant gave him a salute and left the office at a crisp walk.
*
The waitress was filled with a feeling like euphoria as she worked the rest of her shift. She had never met anyone, even someone of her own species, that had been able to do to her what a random stranger had done with casual flirting. She didn't care if he was married, if had a hundred women scattered over a dozen systems, or even if he was a fraud. It didn't matter at all to her.
Her hips swayed a bit more as she beamed a smile at the next customer she gave the bill to. When her shift ended, she was surprised that she had made more in tips that evening than she ever had, not counting the completely outrageous tip her date had given her.
Maybe they can tell how happy I am? The waitress asked herself, shrugged, and went to deliver the last customer's meal payment to the manager. Oh, I can't wait! I can't WAIT! She thought excitedly and left the restaurant and headed over to the living section on the station. Please be there, please be there, pleasebethere! She thought furiously and forced herself not to run, because that would draw too much attention.
*
When the appropriate time arrived, Hunter started to stir. It took a minute for his body to come out of its near comatose state. He used Presence to speed up the process and reached out to touch Kara's forehead. She didn't gasp or react physically, because she was in a similar state. Mentally? She nearly had a seizure of pleasure as Hunter's pervasive energy touched hers.
Kara's Presence tried to flow out and follow it to its source, then the energy was gone and she was filled with sadness. My Prince! Come back! She thought loudly before she could stop herself and she started to stir physically as well.
You're still holding on to that old fantasy? Hunter asked her with amusement and unfolded himself from the lotus position. “You do know how unrealistic it is to want to change someone into your ideal mate, don't you?”
Kara didn't say anything as she unfolded herself.
“Kara, I'm going to give you a piece of advice.” Hunter said. “It's okay if you want to change and improve yourself to become happy. It's not okay to diminish someone else and form them into what you want them to be.”
Kara tried her best to glare at him, then she sighed. “I know you're talking from experience.”
Hunter nodded. “All those Elven women being influenced by that Dryad to see men as useless objects that can only give them children, then made all the males into exactly that, really puts a man's self worth into perspective.”
Kara stood up and pulled her robes straight. “I was only a young girl at the time, you know.”
“You still are.” Hunter said, almost cryptically, and walked to the door. “Do you want to go together, or do you want to meet me there?”
“I'll wait at the end of the hallway, so if anything happens, you'll have time to put your clothes on.” Kara said sarcastically.
“I don't need clothes to fight.” Hunter said and covered himself in Presence, used Stealth and faded from her perception, then he used Presence Run. He was at the living section less than a minute later and found the waitress' apartment easily, rode the lift to the right floor, and went inside. He also put his detection range at just the size of the hallway and the edge of the lift.
Hunter quickly looked around and saw that the apartment was a bit of a mess, with small feathers everywhere, then he went into the bedroom. He let out a bark of laughter as he saw a large round bed with a dozen blankets all wrapped around each other in the shape of a nest. He felt someone come out of the lift and took off his robes to leave himself in just the tight-like pants and the long sleeved t-shirt.
The waitress stopped at the door and realized that she had no way to open it, because she had given her key to her date. Hunter chuckled and walked over to the door and opened it.
“You're really here.” The waitress whispered.
Hunter took her hand and gave it a kiss, then he warbled his throat in greeting. The woman shivered and stepped into her apartment.
“Let me see what you really look like.” Hunter said and carefully eased her black hairnet off of her head and didn't damage the feathers. “Wonderful.” He whispered and made a set of claws on his hand, like a bird's feet, then gently scraped the claws through her bright and colorful plumage as if he was grooming her.
The waitress stood there in shock and let him do something that no one had ever done to her before. “Wh-what... what's your name?”
“I don't think you can take me saying it.” Hunter said with a smile and absorbed the Presence claws. “Not with your clothes on, anyway.”
The waitress shook with anticipation as she quickly pulled off her waitress uniform, then she was picked up and carried into her bedroom and laid in the middle of her nest. She stared at him as he took off his clothes and tucked them somewhere she couldn't see, then he spoke.
“My name is...” Hunter started in common and switched to her native language and chirped and whistled, then used Presence to make his four inch hair stand up on the top of his head.
“OOHHHHH!!!” The waitress yelled in pleasure and her body bucked and shook as she had a huge orgasm. She rolled from side to side and hugged herself as she tried to hold on to the feeling.
“We're just getting started.” Hunter said in warning and climbed onto the bed with her, then he whispered sweet nothings to her as he chirped and whistled a mating call and made her finish over and over as they had wild sex that the both of them really needed after so long.