When Samuel agreed to answer Scarletra`s questions and sat in his chair with her firmly planted in front of him, he expected the ordeal to take a few minutes, maybe a half hour. How wrong he was about her; She was a boundless ocean of swirling questions and curiosities and had far more energy and enthusiasm than he had seen in a long time. Somewhat to his dismay, Samuel knew he would be stuck here trying not to stare at her cleavage for hours.

　　 It had only taken a few minutes of idle and straightforward conversation for Samuell to cover the bare basics of things she was wondering about. The Who, what, when, where, and why of his job, the outpost, himself, and the names of items she had already seen and used. Yet no matter what answer he gave, each question answered only branched out into another series of follow-ups. She was hungry for knowledge. No, that was not quite right; utterly ravenous was more like it.

　　Samuel did have to admit that seeing the passion in her bright eyes was refreshing and certainly had him enjoying the conversation. Her constant plucking at answers reminded him of when he was a young engineer out to change the world. Although Samuel had never known someone to have a burning intensity, fill their eyes from learning that the drink she had been enjoying was beer.

　　Scarletra was about to drag him to the kitchen and have her help make some of it when Samuel told her he used to brew beer. If she knew how to make that ambrosia, she would never have to worry about drinking all of Samuel`s reserves. However, she deflated when he told her that he would have to request the supplies to be delivered so they could make anything similar. Scarletra choked that up to the Great Mother, only granting her one boon for the day.

　　For the most part, Samuel earnestly answered the machine gun`s speed questions for her. Although he did avoid telling her a few details of his life that she had no business knowing, like how he initially took this job, hoping to essentially die out here.

　　With how much Scarletra seemed to care about his well-being, telling her that would likely not go over well with her.

　　 Many of Scarletra`s follow-on questions focused on technical details around the outpost. Such as how the electric kettle warmed water? How did the plumbing in the bathroom bring them hot water, and the translator let her speak? She even asked about the flame thrower he used against her. Surprisingly, she was more curious about the tool than furious about him using it on her. Even when he explained how the biodiesel it used clings to and burns what it latches to.

　　For most of the technical answers, Samuel initially tried to satiate her by explaining that getting her to understand those things would take months, if not years, of classwork. And that if she did not have a solid foundation of how electricity, programming, metallurgy, and fabrication all worked together, she would not be able to even get close to grasping the technological depths.

　　That worked for the first few dozen times. But, each time he gave a near copy-paste answer of "you won`t be able to understand it," her frustration visibly grew, evident in her shifting legs and grumbling tone. The pestering way she started to ask "Why" reminded him of his kids when they were no higher than his knee—Even his iced heart had to admit it was adorable.

　　Samuel could say many things about Scarletra, some good and some bad. One he had yet to decide where it belonged in that classification was her unyielding persistence. After a few too many times being told no, Scarletra was done taking his non-answers as acceptable.

　　"Alright, genius, try me. Tell me how that light works," Scarletra huffed, pointing at the lamp mounted to the workstation.

　　To humor the massive Varintol, Samuel decided to break out some high school class knowledge. Specifically the absolute basics of how electricity works. Scarletra shocked him over the next twenty minutes, being easily able to reply with almost exactly what he explained. She even described the basics of Ohm`s law, even though he only told it to her once. How Smart is she?

　　"See, I can do it," Scarletra boasted proudly.

　　"Alright, hold on, hotshot. Now let`s learn about its components," Samuel replied.

　　Samuel then began to explain what electrons were, resistances, capacitors, and various other components that went into making the light. Scarletra did her best to try to understand, but Samuel might as well be speaking another language again. What in the ice abyss was a motherboard? Or a transistor?

　　"Fine, I understand& I`m not smart enough for that," Scarletra grumbled, crossing her arms in disappointment.

　　"Nah, don`t take it that way. Your world is low-tech, and my job before moving out here was to understand how technology worked," Samuel assured. "So long as you know how stuff is used, you will be fine in the outpost."

　　"But, I want to know. Can you try and teach me?" Scarletra asked, leaning in and fluttering her eyes to hope and butter him up.

　　"Ha, you think I can teach you. Hate to break it to you, but you would have to know how to read, write, and speak Galactic Standard before I could do any of that," Samuel replied, hoping she would end that train of thought.

　　He was no teacher and knew it. That and if Samuel did end up teaching her, that was just more time they had to interact, and she would temp his resolve more.

　　"Then teach me how to do that," Scarletra said with a smile, squeezing his hand.

　　"I doubt you have time for that. The GU rep will be here to meet you in a few months," Samuel emphasized.

　　"Then help me learn," Scarletra said, practically begging.

　　Samuel sighed and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. Why the hell does she have to be so resolute? It`s not like she would be here long, and they have the translator anyway.

　　"Why do you want to learn Galactic Standard?" Samuel sighed, somewhat acquiescing.

　　"You just said why. I need to learn Galactic Standard to understand the other stuff," Scarletra smiled.

　　Samuel rubbed his hand over his face and down his beard. Who the hell just agrees to learn a language so they can have questions answered? Where the hell would he even start teaching her? Could he get kid`s textbooks or something? He would have to after teaching her the basics of the alphabet and a few words. He was in no way a linguistics expert, after all.

　　Samuel paused, realizing he had done it again. He was already agreeing to this. What is with this woman? Why—-no, how does she do that! Samuel clicked his tongue; if he was going to teach her Standard, she had to agree to help him with the report he needed to make for the representative. At least then, he wasn`t just agreeing because he wanted to. That`s what he would tell himself; It made his weak will for her sting less.

　　"If I teach you how to understand Standard, would you answer some questions for me? The representative for this planet wanted some things answered about you because your species aren`t exactly social to the GU," Samuel bargained.

　　"Of course," Scarletra said without any hesitation.

　　 Scarletra did not tell Samuel that she would have answered pretty much any questions he had anyway. Anyone as gentle as him and willing to take her in was someone more than deserving of her trust. Although Scarletra would have to be careful to save him from the more intimate details of how her mother used her and the details of her clan`s favorite methods to spur her to fight for them.

　　"So we have a deal?" Scarletra beamed her bright smile and golden gems crushing any reservation Samuel thought he had left.

　　"Yeah, we have a deal. So why are you not with your tribe, and why here?" Samuel asked.

　　"Alright, so get ready for a long story," Scarletra stated confidently.

　　Scarletra then went on and roughly explained how she escaped her mother and the clan`s treatment. But skipping how she was a warrior and regularly was forced to fight in her Mother`s precious wars or was used to satisfy visiting male dignitaries. She had used her cunning, wit, and a few overly drunk guards to slip off into a heavily shadowed night with nothing but a small backpack with some tools inside.

　　Next, Scarletra detailed her first year alone, how she struggled to locate shelter for weeks, sleeping in little snow shelters she dug each night.

　　Samuel raised a brow at that; small was relative, especially if Scarletra was involved. Small to her was likely the size of a sedan.

　　Scarletra glowed with pride when regaling him with tales of avoiding her old clan`s scouts and hunters, nipping at her heels every night. She painted painfully detailed pictures of how she learned to hunt, all by trial and error, with many a hopeful meal slipping from the traps she crafted.

　　 Scarletra went into great fervor detailing her feelings when the hunters stopped tracking her after nearly a year, and she found the first cave she called home. She then roughly told him about all the other caves she had in her territory as a Matriarch of a clan of one. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

　　Samuel resided the urge to chuckle, seeing her counting them off on her claws and telling him what was nearby them that she enjoyed. He did note the word Matriarch, wanting to ask her about it later. If she truly meant that word and it was not just an odd side effect of the out-of-date translator. How she views herself in the outpost might be very different than he does.

　　Samuel listened intently as her tale neared its conclusion. Samuel became increasingly surprised, horrified, and amazed by the extraordinary woman with each month and year she described.

　　Her life over the last few years sounded like an adventure straight out of a fantasy novel written by someone with a far more vibrant imagination than Samuel could dream of having. She told tales of bravely fending off megafauna in the darkest of nights. She stood like a bastion against packs of lesser beasts attempting to raid her meager food stocks with nothing but her claws and teeth. And being warmer than any bonfire when she nestled into hot springs to rest.

　　Scarletra was a gran woman, and Samuel could not deny that he liked knowing she was capable. That one thing he always found extremely attractive in women.

　　Samuel knew that Scareltra`s persistence and cunning were likely some of the things that made her so inquisitive. If one could not be stubborn yet able to learn, one would definitely die alone in the wilderness. Baritin`s wilderness was anything but average; only the most hardy and creative people could survive in its austere, hostile environment with support.

　　Even now, Scarletra was likely trying to adapt to her new environment, life, and situation. Although being in the outpost with Sameul was a far safer option than the moon`s surface and weather, held at bay by the walls.

　　That many years literally on the run, traveling from cave to cave, scrounging off the land, sounded horrible. Samuel could certainly understand why she wanted to escape like that and why she clung to him so much. Maybe he needed to lighten up on her when it came to cuddling? Hell, if he had been through a decim of what she had, he would cling to the nearest person like they were life itself.

　　"So that`s everything?" Samuel said, sipping out of his now cold cup of coffee.

　　"For the most part, a few things here and there I don`t remember fully," Scarletra lied. She knew every step of her life before and after leaving her tribe; she couldn`t forget a single breath even if she wanted to; each second might as well be burned into her soul.

　　"OK, I think I understand why you want to stay here. The outpost isn`t much, but it`s likely better than your caves or running from your old tribe," Samuel said, scratching at his beard, trying to piece together a few details that did not add up to him.

　　Scarletra explained she ran away sure, and fought megafauna. But none of that matched the woman he saw the first day, giddy, happy, and afraid of him yelling at her. She was holding back on him. There had to be something else. Possibly, the tribe abused her, and she just did not mention it. Samuel wanted to press her on the subject, but everything she said seemed so earnest and truthful that he doubted she would have not omitted it on purpose without reason. Maybe he was just being paranoid and reading into the situation too much.

　　"My turn," Scarltra purred, rubbing her palms together.

　　"What do you mean your turn?" Samuel asked, his train of thought being derailed.

　　"My turn to ask another question," Scarletra said, propping her elbows on her crossed legs and resting her chin in her palms. Her soft face squished against her furry hands.

　　Samuel did not even have a chance to respond before Scarletra blurted out what she wanted to, genuinely wearing her heart on her sleeve once again.

　　"What did I do wrong?" Scarletra said.

　　"I`m not following?" Samuel said, puzzled.

　　Scarletra looked at him like he was stupid. As if he had just decided to wilfully be coy. She narrowed her gaze and paused, scanning his face like she was searching for answers. Her golden eyes were as sharp as her claws for those few moments.

　　"When I first arrived, you were open, nice, and seemed to care more about me. We drank, had sex, and then you changed," Scarletra started.

　　Samuel grimaced, knowing where this was going to go. This was the part where she was about to put his sins on trial and demand an explanation for essentially using her to satisfy his repressed sex life. She was likely pissed at him about it, especially after all her advances and how many times he nearly reciprocated them.

　　"Now you are trying to avoid me. You won`t cuddle, stay in bed, kiss me, anything." Scarletra counted on black razor-sharp claws before pointing a claw at him. "I can smell your attraction. I see you staring out the corner of my eye and know you like me at least somewhat. I like you too, and find you attractive. But by the Great Mother, I can`t understand why you are resisting how you feel."

　　Scarletra paused and sniffed the air, her eyes burning into him again. She could easily pick up on the sharp odor he gave off whenever he was uncomfortable. She knew pressing him too much was something she told herself she would not do. But she needed this answer. Not having it was eating her alive.

　　 Samuel hung his head, grabbed hold of his ring, and started to nervously fiddle with it, which brought those fresh memories to her mind.

　　"And that thing," Scarletra lightly growled, gesturing at the ring. "I know it has something to do with that, especially after this morning. I thought you were warming up to me and wanted to get closer, but then you saw that ring. What changed?"

　　Well, that was a sharp change in tone for Samuel, each of her words felt like a sharp knife. For one thing, he did not know she could literally smell that he was attracted to her. God literally put the only woman he could not lie to in his lap when he tried to get away from everyone. What kind of joke was this? He sighed and looked up at her, pain filling his eyes.

　　"That`s something complicat—" Samuel started hoping to just push it off and not have to answer her.

　　But seeing Scarletra`s bright eyes staring at him crushed that idea. He couldn`t lie to her if he wanted to. That and if she could smell arousal, who knows what else she could pick out of the pheromones and scents that oozed off him when he felt guilty. Why did life have to be complicated? This moon was meant to be his grave, not a trial by emotional combat.

　　"I am married, and the ring is a symbol of that. When we had sex, it was an error in my judgment. We should not have done that in the first place," Samuel sighed.

　　"Wait, you already have a wife? Who is she? Where is she? Why are you out here alone, then? You said this was your home earlier and that you weren`t planning on leaving," Sacreltra questioned, tilting her head in confusion.

　　Scarletra wondered why that he was married would be a massive issue. If he was married, so long as she asked for permission from his wife and matriarch and got it, there would be no issues. That`s how every clan she knew of treated the matter. Marriage was a dedication to a partner, but if you wanted to sleep with someone else, so long as who you were married to was alright with it, no one really cared. Why was he upset about it? Was he afraid of his wife punishing him? If Samuel`s wife tried to punish him for that, Scarletra would take the beating; it was her fault for initiating it anyway.

　　Samuel paused and pulled, and pulled the picture of him and Sarah out of his shirt pocket. He showed it to Scarletra. "That`s her. Her name is Sarah. To answer your other question, she is not here because she died a few years ago," Samuel struggled to squeeze out, each word burning his throat.

　　Scarletra shifted and looked at the woman in the picture. Sarah looked gorgeous in the white dress she was wearing; it showed off her lithe, athletic figure well. A bit odd she was that scrawny. Scarletra had assumed Humans would have a physique close to Samuel; Varintol were generally similar in build; they mainly varied in fur and eye color.

　　Next to her was Samuel, although far younger. He still looked handsome and nearly as attractive as he was now. Save for that, he had no age in his hair and beard nor wise wrinkles on his face.

　　"How was our being intimate wrong then? If she is dead, then how are you still married? She would not be your home`s or clan`s matriarch anymore," Scarletra asked, even more confused than when she had first asked the question.

　　Samuel paused for a moment, not because he was going to rebuke her on the matriarch statement; Sarah was not a matriarch; she was his partner, his love, and his best friend. No, he paused because he did not want to answer that question. No matter what he said, it would be the wrong answer.

　　 Samuel`s wife was gone, long dead and gone. Nothing he could do would change that. He hadn`t been married in years and hated that he knew it. But doing anything with others felt like he was betraying Sarah and her memory.

　　Scarletra evidently picked up on how he was uncomfortable. Another thing the Varintol woman had in common with Sarah was that they could see right through him like a plane of glass.

　　Scarletra scooted closer and gently lifted Samuel`s chin so he would look at her, giving him a soothing smile filled with understanding, glistening fangs shimmering in the equally gentle lights of the workshop. Her soft touch pulled at his iced heart, cracking its frozen shell—not much, but some.

　　"It`s alright, you can tell me," Scarletra urged. Her husky voice and warm breath lured the words out of Samuel.

　　"I miss her More than I have anyone. Then, when we had sex —I know I wanted it—but—but—I don`t know. I feel like she is slipping away," Samuel twined.

　　"She was your fire? warm and comforting?" Scarletra coaxed.

　　"I don`t know what that means," Samuel replied, looking back at her with a fuzzy curiosity.

　　"It`s what the Varintol call those we love and care about. Someone to wake up with in the coldest winter and push away the cold for," Scarltra professed.

　　 Samuel nodded.

　　"I understand, just like when a fire burns out. Someone like that leaves marks: soot, coals, and an empty fire pit. But that pit is ready to be lit again. Do you see what I mean?" Scarletra soothed.

　　Samuel stayed silent for nearly a minute and almost started to sniffle. He clenched his fists like he was about to go ten rounds with his old, festering wounds. Why? Why did an alien`s analogy for letting go and starting again feel like a million pounds of guilt? It was the same drivel he had heard before. Go live again. Would she want you to suffer? Gone but not forgotten. Celebrate the times you had.

　　"Yeah, I think I do." Samuel sighed.

　　"I`m sorry I was opening wounds," Scarletra breathed.

　　"Don`t be. I suppose hearing something like that was what I needed. Honestly, you`re not the first person to tell me something along those lines. Before here, I was told that regularly," Samuel wished, recalling the hundreds if not thousands of times his kids, friends, and coworkers told him he needed to let go.

　　"Well, those people seem to be quite wise. I agree with them. Hurting yourself because of someone`s absence helps no one and does not cast their memory in a good light," Scarletra said, rubbing her soft-furred thumb on his cheek.

　　Samuel reached up and gently guided SScarletra`shand from his face to his beard. He returned her proclaimed gaze.

　　"Can we move on from that topic for now? I still do have some things I have to ask you for the Representative" Samuel asked, in a desperate tone.

　　Scarletra nodded and gently sat back, giving the Human some space. Scarletra felt a massive weight off her shoulders. That entire interaction was as emotionally violent a change as fighting a Murialin. Where you are resting and hopeful for the night one moment, the next, a creature thrice her size divebombs you, eager to carry you off to be pecked apart.

　　Scarletra was glad that the tart scent of regret and longing was less prominent on him. Although it was still there. Knowing why he gave that off only spurred her resolve. She would keep up her luring tactics. She will draw Samuel out of his defensive shell, one small gesture at a time. He does not deserve to wallow in pain like this.

　　"Afterward—I suppose we can try to start teaching you some Standard," Samuel crooned.