Cerebus || Book 2

Chapter 2: Second Sunset

"Are you sure we're safe here?" Iris flinched yet again as a foreign sound broke through the forest's silence.

The two of them were cooped up in a tiny cavern, its small opening only covered by some bushel Niklaus had collected some moments ago. To say that the human girl was out of her comfort zone was an understatement, and that was coming from someone who actually enjoyed the outdoors and nature.

But in this situation, she was on an alien planet, relying on an alien for protection, with a dead alien predator a stone throw's away from where she was meant to be sleeping.

Iris had tried to convince Niklaus to keep the Setai outside of the rock enclosed cave, but he had adamantly refused. Apparently, the prey would be eaten by other animals that roamed at night and he could not have that. Iris, however, didn't see an issue.

"No."

The girl's head whipped to the right when he spoke, her brown tendrils sticking to her skin as the back of her neck grew clammy to reflect her nervousness.

"No? What do you mean no? You said it would be best to stay here after the second sun set." She whispered in panic.

The tall man didn't even glance her way as she spoke; instead, he was making himself comfortable on the hard ground, his long legs stretching out in front of him as he took the spot nearest to the entrance.

"Yes, but I didn't say this dwelling would be safe. It's an acceptable resting spot for the night, but we are in the middle of the geíosi forest."

Iris's eyes were drawn to the long spear-like weapon he had in his lap, and she swallowed as his forearms flexed as he used a rock to sharpen it.

Stop it. She chastised herself.

"You can sleep. I will keep watch."

The girl hummed absentmindedly, not having heard what he said. She was too distracted by the way his tanned skin shone flawlessly in the moonlight, and how his voice sounded even more hypnotic with its slightly fatigued gravel.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

The question made Iris jump in surprise, and her eyes immediately drew away from the extremely attractive stranger. Her cheeks were already warm from the heat, but the sudden embarrassment had them blazing.

"I-I wasn't" She stuttered, all while staring at a shiny rock to her left.

Niklaus tilted his head slightly, intrigued by the change in the girl's behaviour. It was evasive...bashful even. She was embarrassed—why?

"You're lying." He murmured.

His eyes followed her hand as she tucked a curly strand behind her ear. She seemed to do it often, most times appearing to not even notice that she was. The alien found it endearing.

"What are your people like?" He asked as he wondered if all of her kind behaved the same way.

Iris was grateful for the subject change and her muscles relaxed against the hard surface of the wall as she considered his question.

"Um...humans are.... complicated. We're all very different from one another. We love, we hate, we build, we destroy..."

Niklaus watched as her voice trailed off, her mind seeming to be somewhere else in that moment. Instinctively, he felt the need to move closer to her. He wanted to touch her, embrace her. It was strange for him to feel so strongly about a female. It confused him. He had found women attractive in the past, but somehow this was different.

"But what about your people? What are you called?"

"My people? We are called dasáki. We are an old species, and very powerful. My people have a strong connection to geíosi, our planet. We can control its elements and communicate with all life."