Litue 6 (Patreon)

Okay, one more short one and we'll call it a weekend...

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“What?”

Voo’leath didn’t seem to believe me any more than his mate had, but at least they hadn’t blown me off entirely. When I told her about the danger, she’d scampered away and brought her mate directly back to my room.

“Your lives are in danger,” I explained again. “You know the governor’s secret, and he must know that you do. He’s never tried to hide the mess he leaves behind when he visits. If you ever told anyone, it would scuttle his career.”

Voo’s ears hung in a worried frown. “But I wouldn’t—”

“Does E’e know that?” I crossed my arms.

He shrugged.

“He’s the most powerful person on this planet,” I explained. “And you could destroy him—either of you could. How far would he go to stop you?”

He looked at his mate. “I … don’t know.”

“I don’t either,” I admitted. “Personally? I’m low-hanging fruit. Killing me off is a smart move for him and rather simple to do. Threatening you or hiring someone to make you disappear would be riskier and take more effort. I don’t know if that’s the sort of thing he would stoop to, but you’ve got to admit that there’s some risk, right? I didn’t say he would try to kill you, only that you’re in danger.”

Voo’leath stepped behind his mate and wrapped his arms protectively around her shoulders. “I suppose.”

“Look,” I said with a sigh, “you know that I used to be a terrible person, right? I was a pirate. I did awful things that I truly regret now, okay?”

With some hesitation, the two geroo nodded.

I took a deep breath, summoning my courage. “What I’m trying to say is that … back then? Back when I was a pirate? I would have killed you for less. I… I have killed for less.”

They recoiled away from me, and I can’t really say that I blame them. I was a monster. Or at least, I had been. Was I still? I didn’t know. Though perhaps it didn’t much matter. In all likelihood, I’d only ever leave this room once, and I was pretty certain that day was drawing near.

But Voo’leath and Deti were my friends. Regardless of what happened to me, I wanted them to be safe.

“So, what should we do?” asked Deti. Her voice wavered some, but for someone who’d only ever known peace and security, she sounded quite brave to me.

“Honestly?” I said. “I’m not sure. Leave town, perhaps? I have no way of knowing how malicious E’e is—what lengths he would go to to silence you or search for you if you disappeared.”

“Yeah, but you said it yourself,” Deti replied, “he’s the most powerful geroo on the planet. Would leaving town be far enough?”

I could only shrug. “Dunno how much farther you could go. It’s not like this planet has a shuttle to the nearest space station.”

The two shared a look before turning back to me. “But you could take us off-world, couldn’t you?” Voo’leath asked.

I stared at them. “What?”

Deti lit up. “Yeah, you’re a pirate! Or you were, at least. You’re good at going where you’re not supposed to go and taking what you’re not supposed to take, right?”

I blinked. This conversation was turning ridiculous. On my fingers, I counted off the first few problems that came to mind. “One, I’m a prisoner here. Two, no ship. Three, no crew,” I said. “I really appreciate you guys thinking of me, but the most important thing is for you two to be safe. And the safest place for you is far away from me.”

Deti took my paw. “But your safety is important to us,” she said in hushed tones. “Besides, we’re just janitors. We don’t have the money to move and try to stay hidden. If E’e wanted to find us, moving wouldn’t make it any harder for him. We’d be more likely to starve to death and do his work for him.”

Voo’leath grabbed the door handle and pulled it open a smidge. “One, the door’s unlocked. Two, we could steal a ship. Three, we could be your crew. If you don’t mind teaching us, that is.”

“Not to be a pirate,” I said.

The geroo shook their heads. “No, not a pirate,” said Deti. “Yeah, I know, stealing a ship is wrong, but we could take it somewhere and get legitimate jobs, couldn’t we?”

A grin was slowly forming across my ears. I cleared my throat. “You guys want me to come along because the sex was so great. Admit it.”

The two looked away. They stared at their paws, at the ceiling, anywhere but back at me.

At last, Deti whispered, “It was really good.”

Feeling proud, I polished my claws against my chest and then studied them a moment before pursing my lips and blowing away a couple errant hairs.

I said, “You better fucking believe it was.”

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Reviewer's link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l5gSzcWfZosyiVFbSSY3rfnaeNDEC4p1iseVuuSPlxU/edit?usp=sharing

Thoughts?