Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,43
dangerous.”
“You miss out on a lot though,” Terri said quietly.
The female beside her snorted. “And what would that be? Someone hoarding all of the bedding? A male who snores so loudly that it is impossible to sleep? Or would it be the bossy male who demands that you follow his every whim—all for your own good of course? No. By myself is far preferable.”
“What of someone to love you? To be strong so that sometimes you can be allowed to feel weak and remind yourself that you need someone other than yourself? A companion in life, someone who’ll bring you the heads of your enemies as love tokens,” she threw out there, recalling Veral’s attempt to do just that when he was courting her.
“Then I will save my credits to purchase a great northern vingnol,” Azan snorted mirthfully.
“Do I want to know what that is?” Terri asked, amusement creeping into her voice.
The pirate leaned in close, her eyes sparkling with laughter. “It is a domesticated companion animal for hunting and other tasks. It has eight legs, and its body stands as high as my waist. They have huge squared heads with three eyes and four prominent fangs among a great many sharp teeth. Generally, they possess nasty dispositions to everyone including their masters. But they are loyal and make excellent bedwarmers once you get past the drool. Absolutely lovely breed,” she chuckled.
Terri slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle to unexpected laughter that bubbled out of her. “That sounds absolutely horrific,” she chortled around her fingers.
Azan smirked. “Says the female who has a rabid monster trying to chew its way through the metal door of her quarters.”
“Krono is great… He just doesn’t deal well with being locked in—or locked out, for that matter.”
She tried to think of an intimate moment that she and Veral had that didn’t involve Krono lying somewhere in the room. Not one came to mind, except when the dorashnal had be put out at night while strangers were on the ship. Even then, he hated being shut out and had snarled and attempted to get through the door more than once when he got tired of sniffing through the corridors.
“Maybe he needs a mate,” Terri muttered to herself.
“Ah, you want two insane males on your salvager then—or are you hoping that regular fucking will calm him down? I hate to tell you, but it is rarely the case in males who I have personally know,” Azan observed.
“The males in the crew talk about needing to fuck all the time,” Garswal piped up from where he sat at Azan’s other side, steadily devouring his rations.
Terri nearly choked on her food. She hadn’t seen him there and had forgotten that he was there, likely listening as they talked.
“You are right,” Azan agreed, casting the boy a grin. “Most grown males have only one thing on their mind and little sense besides. Those who have brains tend to be pretty awful. Not you, though. You will be too intelligent for all of that,” she said, patting him on the head.
His smile in reply was so wide it nearly split his face as he devoured the last of his rations. He then proceeded to eat half a ration that Azan and Terri each gave him. Seeing him in such good spirits, and obviously not bothered by the bite on his hand, eased her concerns.
She still hated that Egbor had put him in that situation and was likely going to do it again tomorrow.
Brushing the crumbs from her hands, Terri pulled out her ponytail to finger comb the unwashed length. Although the quarters provided for her on the pirate ship had a cleansing unit, she missed her own soaps and cleansers, not to mention the relaxation tub that could be summoned up from the floor and filled with hot water perfumed with whatever scent she had filled and programmed. The pirate ship didn’t have the little luxuries that Veral painstakingly provided for her, like basic cleansers, but the hard spray had at least got her clean. Marching through the bogs left her desperately in need of a bath and made her think fondly on even that basic unit.
She frowned as she thought of all the credits that they were losing on this trip. She was going to have to trim the luxuries down until they got another assignment.
Though she didn’t really understand how the tech worked, especially not the replicators, she understood that everything cost credits. Even Veral’s salvaging served