foot outside without so much separating them. The Tak’sinii were naturally armored, having bony plating that covered vital organs. The a’sankh possessed even greater protection so there were few vulnerable places where his kind could be injured.
The one that walked toward him was a soft-chested one. He assumed female.
Although a Tak’sin female’s chest plates would separate to allow the passage of nursing buds to emerge for the term in which she might feed an infant until they no longer relied on her milk, it was only temporary. Due to the separated plates, the milking solars were dangerous, and the vulnerable female would be protected within her home by the males of her family. This offworlder, like a few others he had made note of, had milking buds continuously displayed.
A female.
His gaze tracked her, his orb making detailed observations of her skeletal structure and musculature as well as noting fat deposits and heat signature. Unlike the males, she seemed to possess more fat deposits, which gave her a softer appearance. He wondered what evolutionary advantage that could possibly have. Among his species, males and females were virtually indistinguishable from each other outside of some slight dimorphism in their facial features and the heavier muscle on males compared to females.
Why would a female be allowed near anything or anyone dangerous? No Tak’sinii female would be allowed to take up any duties in such an unsafe abode as this. Her mate, or male relatives if she were mate-less, would never allow it.
He eyed the female as she cut a quick glance his way before turning away and walking over to the an’dangal containment. She didn’t look toward him again as she pressed her fingers in a sequence on a metal panel. A mist slowly descended. When it dissipated, the pack was asleep, each animal having collapsed where it had stood only moments before.
He growled, feeling the sound vibrating aggressively in his throat. His tail flicked menacingly behind him as he continued to watch her as she slipped within the enclosure. Operating a small handheld tube, she waved it over the ground—he could only guess that it was to remove the feces of the animals—before she tapped a watering unit like the one he had in his own enclosure. He allowed his scope to narrow in and he could see debris had polluted the basin where the water had collected. With a movement of her hand, the water in the basin drained away. She made quick work of cleaning it, and then with another tap to the unit, a gush of fresh water refilled the fountain.
No doubt this was his fate now too: To be rendered unconscious so that his cage could be cleaned. His growl grew louder, his hackles rising as she turned to face his enclosure. Though her skin paled in reaction to his hostility, she pinched her lips together as she returned his regard.
“Ohkay, hw’r wii goin’to do’this?” she spoke as she approached the glass.
Though he could not understand the words, the inflection at the end made him think she was asking a question. Was she asking him or speaking to someone else?
He stilled, his eyes roving around as far as he could see of the hall. There was no one; she was alone. He paced a little closer. She was the only offworlder who spoke loud enough that he could clearly hear her voice through the barrier. He attentively watched her, his gaze following her movements as she paced in front of him, the fingers of one hand pulled at the soft tissue of her bottom lip. She needed to speak more if he had any hope of decoding the language soon.
Raising his upper fists, he struck the glass in a single swift movement. The piercing sound the female released sent pain shooting through his head, and he immediately brought up his lower hands to cover his sensitive ears.
“Stop!” he bellowed back, teeth bared.
She stilled, her eyes wide as she watched him. He knew that she had reacted instinctively to his shout rather than with any true understanding of his command. As insulting as it was to be watched as if he were an unpredictable animal rather than a male to be obeyed, at least it had silenced that horrible noise. He could not fault the results.
“Ya your’not goin’to liek this,” this female said with a grimace. “Ie told’em your’not en anmal. Id lai’dwn if Ie wer yu. Ur bieg, ur goin’to fall ard.”