Cosmic (18+)

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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Charlie woke up the next morning to Archie—still with his little tree piranha—teaching Tük'hala swear words in German.

Oh, boy.

Mariah was sitting behind Eli, braiding his bleach blonde hair while he cooked something over the fire. Hopefully not green eggs and ham. There was a basket beside him filled to the brim with oval shaped red and yellow fruits with a bumpy texture. When she peeked at what he was cooking, she saw oval slices of the fruit sizzling on the surface. The steamy smell that wafted up was like maple syrup and strawberries. Her stomach grumbled.

Apparently the alien had super hearing—or her stomach was really that loud—because his eyes snapped to her at the noise. Like an attentive mother hen, he had a large leaf plate placed in front of her piled high with hot slices of fruit in no time. He grunted, indicating she was to eat it.

She blinked up at him, then looked down at the plate filled with too much food for one person. "Thank you," she said, warily picking up a slice. She blew on it then took a small bite. Whoa. She chewed and swallowed, savoring the sweet, unique flavor. "That was like a unicorn ate a fruit salad then crossed a rainbow to come and defecate magic glitter shit into my mouth before exploding into a cloud of confetti."

Mariah snorted and Archie guffawed at her strange description while Eli just smiled, looking curiously at the food with his new braid draped over one shoulder. The alien didn't even try to understand what he just heard.

"Now I need to try this," the burly man said, coming over to pick a slice from her plate—which had all the slices cooked so far. No one else had tried it yet.

Tük'hala growled and stepped between them.

Charlie's brows raised. "It's fine, he can have some. There's more than enough."

"No. For you... only," the alien snarled.

She laughed. "I can't eat all of this by myself. I'd hurt myself if I tried. Come here, Archie," she invited the German man over.

Tük'hala's tail lashed, displeased. But eventually he huffed and stepped aside, letting the man pass. Still he remained close.

Archie didn't comment on this strange behavior. After he took a piece, Mariah and Eli were brave enough to take a few, too. They did seem more cautious around her. Mariah gave her a private look then glanced outside. Message received loud and clear.

Charlie finished a couple delicious slices then stood up with a stretch of her arms above her head. Her joints popped, causing an alarmed look to cross the alien's features—which she ignored. Her hands dropped to her sides and she headed towards the exit. Mariah got up and followed.

"Not alone. We'll just be right outside," she said before the lizard man could stop them. She barely heard his huff in response.

Once a good few steps away from the hollow, Mariah stopped her, talking quietly, "I don't like how he's acting around you."

Charlie leaned against a tree, glancing back where they came from. "I don't know why he's suddenly so attached to me. Ever since last night..."

"Last night? What happened last night?" the redhead prodded, her brows furrowing.

Charlie sighed, running her fingers through her dark hair free from the bun she'd arrived with. "I don't know. After we kind of talked a little, I suddenly felt... attraction towards him," she admitted, blushing.

Mariah blinked but didn't seem to judge her. "Do you think he can smell that shit?"

She grimaced. "Fuck, I hope not. But speaking of smelling... well, not shit," she chuckled dryly, "There was this really—I don't know how to describe it—amazing smell that came out of nowhere. It made me... feel things. To be honest, I don't know what would have happened if Archie hadn't interrupted."