Not my mate, he reminded himself.
The dragon chuckled.
Noxx shook his head to clear it.
Sol whacked him on the ear, as if to help.
“I know, whelp,” he said. “She’s kind of crazy.”
But the branches were rustling again, signifying her return.
Noxx and Sol watched as Luna scrambled back up to the nest with a small bundle in her hands.
“Okay,” she said, climbing back down a moment later. “Hopefully, she’ll come back.”
“What did you put up there?” Noxx asked.
“Fruit and some of those frosted cakes I found in the cupboard,” she said.
“Those are from Cymbaline-12,” Noxx moaned. “They’re delicacies.”
“Perfect,” she replied with a pert smile. “That should give the eggs a better shot at survival.”
He scowled at her and she laughed at him.
He was a warrior of the Invicta, and no laughingstock for a very silly Terran woman.
But the sound of her laughter was like rain on a desert planet and he felt something inside him softening, in spite of himself.
10
Luna
Luna sat back on the branch in satisfaction.
It had been a couple of hours of hard work, but the wires were all run to the antenna.
The forest of Clotho spread out beneath her. She could see the lake sparkling in what was probably the last of the light, and even the little town with its terra cotta style rooftops.
It was hard to believe that as soon as the sun went down, the entire forest would belong to the beasts of the underground.
She turned back to her handiwork.
The transmitter would be operational as soon as she ran the ground wires down tomorrow.
She pictured Noxx’s handsome face lighting up when she told him.
Luna took one last look at the beautiful landscape and then began her descent.
The tree was huge with large, gnarled branches, making it easier to climb than she could have imagined. And she wasn’t as nervous as she’d first been about climbing. She’d never climbed a tree before, but once she got hold of those wires, the whole thing started to feel more like climbing around in the rigging of the communications array back home, and it all just kind of clicked into place for her.
She decided to take a slight detour on her way back down and check on the monkey’s nest.
If the mother hadn’t come back, she was pretty sure the right thing to do was bring the eggs back to the treehouse and try her best to keep them warm.
Noxx will definitely want to eat them.
Well, she just wouldn’t let him, if that was the case.
But when she peeked around the thick branch that sheltered the nest from view, she saw the mother had returned after all.
Her soft green fur rippled slightly in the breeze as she curled protectively around the two eggs, fast asleep.
There was no trace of the food Luna had left for her.
Luna smiled to herself.
Important as the transmitter was to Noxx, Luna had no interest in the world outside this tree anymore. For her, reuniting the monkey family was the biggest victory she could have imagined.
That, and winning over little Sol. He wasn’t afraid of her anymore, and that was a big step.
The thought of him made her hurry down the tree. She couldn’t wait to see that sweet little blue face.
“All done?” Noxx called up to her.
“Yes,” she called back. “We’re hooked into the antenna now. I just have to—”
He was reaching for the power switch.
“No,” she cried.
But it was too late.
She felt the surge in the air, pressure building.
There was a loud pop and a crackle of sparks.
Then the noxious smell of the switch burning.
“Zanthy balls,” Noxx cursed, scrambling back inside.
He reappeared a moment later with one of the furs from the treehouse floor.
Luna watched as he managed to extinguish the flames.
“Damn it, woman,” he said, turning to her. “I thought you said you were done.”
“I was trying to tell you that the antenna was linked, but I still needed to run the ground wires,” she retorted. “You’re always in such a hurry. You’re lucky you got that out before the wire ignited. You could have taken down the whole tree.”
Noxx got a stormy look on his face, but he didn’t argue.
She wanted to ask him what message was so important that he had to burn down their home in order to send it.
But she had a feeling he wouldn’t tell her anyway.
Things were so strange with the big blue alien. He blew hot and cold with her. It was impossible to keep up.
But knowing that their living arrangement wasn’t going to change anytime soon, she was determined to make the best of it.
She took a deep breath, and vowed to control her temper.
Scrambling down the tree, she didn’t notice until the last moment that he hadn’t moved from the branch at the tree house’s front door. But her momentum made it impossible to stop. She landed at his feet, inches from that big blue body.
His scent encircled her and she felt almost woozy with sudden desire.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to ruin your work.”
The apology caught her off guard, and she fought the urge to place her hands against his muscular chest, go up on her toes and brush her lips to his.
“Let me make you dinner,” he offered.
She nodded, looking down to avoid his dark eyes.
Inside the tree house, Sol began to cry.
“Let me get him,” she said. It was a question, though she hadn’t phrased it that way.
He seemed to sense her hesitation and nodded.
She slipped past him and headed inside.
Sol was in his little cradle, wailing his head off.
“Hi, baby,” she said gently, hoping he would be glad to see her.
His cries stopped for a moment, and he eyed her suspiciously, lower lip still wobbling.
“Do you want to come out?” she asked, putting her arms out to him.
He kicked his legs and wiggled his little fingers.
“Okay, I’m going to get you out,” she told him with a smile.
He allowed himself to be picked up.
Once his warm weight was settled in her arms, she felt those little fists grab onto her - one on her arm, one in her hair.
“Is that better?” she whispered.
He let his little head bump her shoulder.
“He’s hungry,” Noxx said softly from behind her.
“How can you tell?” she asked, turning to him.
“He bangs his head on you to tell you,” Noxx said, shrugging.
“Can I feed him?” she asked.
“Of course,” Noxx said, heading to the refrigerator and pulling out a cell of milk. “Here, you can just use the warmer to bring it up to temp.”
She watched him, making note of what he had done so she could be sure to feed the baby herself next time.
“Why don’t you two get comfortable?” he asked, handing her the warmed cell. “I’ll make dinner.”
“Thanks,” she said, taking the milk from him.
Sol tried to yank it out of her hand and she laughed.
“You really are a hungry little guy, aren’t you?” she asked him. “Let’s sit down first.”