Heirot

Havi turned on him as if he'd caught him mid-crime. "So then, is that what you intend to offer when you go to meet that professor and negotiate with him?" He loomed over Laurius, into his personal space. "You may have Tenara and her family convinced, but you are not the selfish opportunist you like ...

Havi crossed his arms. "I asked what is the fastest. Not what is the most savory."

Havi snapped to his feet. "No," he said a bit too sternly to the girl. His glare flashed to Laurius and reiterated, "No. We are not giving her back." He paced the length of the room like a caged beast. "I will protect her precisely because I intend to see her again. Otherwise, even if we achieve our ...

"A game..." Havi repeated slowly. He was trying to imagine what game would put an expression like that on the normally blasé man's face. Instead, he said, "Graduating must have been very important to you." Earning a credential here seemed to be a grueling and exclusive process. Enough to make him ...

Havi leaned back in his chair and studied Laurius like he was a counterfeit painting. Abandoning a child was obviously not an option. Havi had not gotten through his life thus far by compromising on his values, and his stubbornness applied here as well. But the look on Laurius's face bothered him ...

Havi sat across from Laurius and crossed his arms. "You literally just told me how awful this place is. Who could be trusted to care for her?" It wasn't as though he intended to raise the child. He didn't even have the first idea how.

Havi sat against the wall outside the bathroom, as if guarding the young child inside. His half-dozing eyes flashed up when Laurius entered. He took in the man's state and was instantly on his feet, looking for the threat. "What happened?"

Havi crossed his arms, not quite sure what she was thinking. If she said she hadn't been attacked, then he should believe her. He listened to the water running, deep in thought. Laurius had said to draw her a bath, but she seemed fine by herself. Or was he supposed to help, and she was just too ...

Havi frowned at the child's reaction. Something about her response reminded him of Tenara's when she had come to him in the middle of the night on his world, desperate to be clean and afraid to face what had happened to her. What if.... Ice crept into his gaze. "Did that male attack you?" he asked.

He reached up and grazed his hand past his chipped horn. "I gave this piece to my Yurivis," he told her matter-of-factly. Havi tilted his head, pondering the tiny creature he was now alone with. He had never spent time with children. On his world, males had no role in childrearing. He wasn't sure ...

Havi seemed oblivious to the accusation in Laurius's words. He didn't like the idea of splitting up, but he also didn't know enough about raising children on this world to question the man's insistence on getting supplies. "Alright. I will remain with the child."

Havi looked back at him sharply. "Alone?" He drifted off meaningfully. Take the sword, and Havi would be pulled to it when it grew too far. Leave it, and they would have no way of communicating if something happened.

Havi's heart lurched into his stomach. "No," he said, hoping he was hiding his anger. "It won't."

How could they? How dared they? He breathed, forcing his fury back down. "However, you will never go through something like this again. Do you understand?"

Havi studied the vial and turned his back to them. This was their best option. He placed the vial in his mouth, just behind his front teeth, and pressed his tongue firmly to roof of his mouth. A small bead of clear liquid squeezed loose into the vial. He immediately turned to Laurius and thrust it ...

Havi looked at the girl then, watching her gaze flinch when his alien yellow eyes met hers. "I did not bring you here to eat you. And if I asked, you should not let me."