Scarletra yawned as she gradually woke up the following day. Her eyes dragged open from a deep, needed sleep. Ever since she had started living alone, she had not slept nearly as soundly as the past two days. She did not have to set traps, sleep with one eye open, or stay awake all night to defend her food stocks from opportunistic animals.

　　Being inside the man from the Gu`s home was nothing like that. She could let her guard down, stretch out, and let dreamlands fully envelop her. There were no threats, not even from her old tribe; it was terrific.

　　 Too bad the man didn`t want to cuddle last night; that would have made the night better in every way. Having someone close she could share warmth with was exactly what she needed. She grew up with someone always nearby when she slept, at least until she was deemed a grown woman. That was when the tribe`s treatment of her drastically shifted to how they would treat her until her escape—like used meat, a tool, an animal.

　　The thought and unconscious attempt to pull the man closer to her warmth made Scarletra realize she wasn`t in the bed. She reached up and rubbed the last remnants of sleep from her eyes, pushing away the last of her dreams of lush forests, green pastures, and warm summer breezes.

　　The man came into focus along with the necklace and the rest of his work area. He was still fiddling with the broken gift. But unlike before she had fallen asleep, the necklace was nearly in a single piece. There were only two of the large green pieces left. He was currently taking small pieces of copper and fusing them together. Next to the pieces of green material was a large box, nearly as big as his fist; attached were colorful wires leading the parts he was fusing together.

　　Had he not slept at all?

　　Scarletra glanced at where he had left the food from last night; the packets were precisely where they were when she passed out. She wondered why he had not eaten. Having worked all day and night, he undoubtedly must be hungry.

　　 By the looks of it, the only thing he had for any sustenance was some steaming liquid in a cup next to him, along with him smoking several of those tubes. Scarletra could only guess that because he had formed a small pile on the ground where he had tossed the remnants once he was done with them.

　　 She started to shift and felt something dragging across her shoulders. Reaching up, she pulled a blanket heavy down that had been draped over her shoulders. It was green in color and very rough. But she did enjoy that the smell of his smoke clung tightly to the fabric.

　　When did this end up on her? Did he give her the blanket while she slept? If that was the case, how in the great mother`s name did he move without her noticing? She was nearly blocking the entire door of the minuscule room. Even though she could not figure out how he could have done that, the gesture was sweet and warmed her heart.

　　"Did you not sleep?" Scarletra questioned, scooting closer to get a better look at his project.

　　He did not say anything; he was clearly incredibly lost in thought. Scarletra looked over the drawings he had plastered on the wall above the necklace. The artwork was highly detailed, and the attention and care he put into it was evident; it showed a new necklace that was different from the original, that much she could tell. However, the majority of it she could not understand.

　　The drawing showed the box attached to the necklace`s center, with several long lines running along the surface. Each part had extensive notes written and mathematical calculations nestled neatly next to each drawing component.

　　It was so complex a design she did not even attempt to grasp what it all said. Even if they could speak The Galactic Union`s language, an explanation likely would have taken her hours, if not days, to relatively understand it.

　　She peered over at him. His eyes were groggy and glasslike, with heavy dark bags hanging low beneath them. His dry, cracked lips were wording words as he worked but did not make any noise. His heart rate seemed unusually slow like he was in a trance, but a calm one far different from the bloody, violent trance she and others trained as warriors could fall into.

　　 The sight of him so tired caused Scarletra to pause, a knot of choking her as she nearly gasped. She appreciated that he was putting in so much work to repair what she damaged, but this was ridiculous.

　　He should not hurt himself to fix the gift. If anything, he should make her repair it. After all, Scarletra caused the damage.

　　"Hey, can you look at me," Scarletra quietly said, resting her large soft hand on his bare shoulder.

　　The man nearly jumped out of his skin when she pulled him out of his trance. He quickly turned his head in her direction, the sound of his heart rate jumping into orbit, sounding like drums in her ears.

　　In a panic, he gasped a few things to her, clutching his chest, making no effort to sign his intentions. He realized his folly after she confusedly tilted her head and fluttered her ears. The furless man brought his hand to his mouth and mimicked chewing.

　　"No, I`m not hungry. Well, I am, but that`s not what this is about." Scarletra complained before she scooped his hand into hers.

　　He looked so tired that he had hardly even noticed that she had grabbed his hand and pulled it to her bosom.

　　"I`m worried about you," Scarletra said, squeezing his hand tightly. "You need to sleep and eat."

　　The man hardly even moved. He just tried to gently move his hand out from her grip while trying to explain something about the necklace; his other hand was gesturing between it and her.

　　Scarletra had no idea what he was trying to explain to her. His language was difficult to comprehend. She could piece together some patterns, but she had nowhere near enough exposure to guess the words.

　　She reached over with her free hand and grabbed one of the now cold bags of food, placing it in front of him on the desk.

　　"Eat," she said flatly.

　　He languidly gazed over at the meal and grumbled. But he did pull it closer to him before sighing and holding his head low. Scarletta let his hand go when he reached across her to grab his spoon.

　　At least he was doing as she asked. She knew he likely did not need her to watch after him, but she felt somewhat obligated. He let her stay here; that little aid was the least she could do.

　　As the man started to eat, Scarletra leaned her large head against him, and the odor of having worked all night and day assaulted her nose. She scrunched her face and nearly gagged. He smelled like a vile combination of sex, sweat, rotting meat, and smoke. The combination was probably the most disgusting thing she had ever smelled.

　　"We both also need to wash," Scarletra gagged, pinching her nose shut.

　　He noticed that and smelled himself, having a similar reaction to her. At least he realized that much. After he finishes eating, they could quickly go to a nearby river to bathe.

　　Scarletra sighed contently and nuzzled into his shoulder as he continued to eat. Not that she doubted he finished eating. He seemed to understand that it worried her and willingly complied. She just wanted to be closer to him; he was the only living being she had the chance to be close to in years, and she might be overdoing it, but that did not matter for now.

　　After the meal, he surprised Scartletra by rubbing his rough fingers gently behind her ears, tickling her slightly. He gently said a few calm words as she shifted her focus to look back into his tired eyes. Though they had a little bit more luster, it was not much. Either way, his gently caressing her was terrific. Was he more comfortable with her touch now?Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

　　She rubbed her hand on his lap and smiled, given some confidence now that he was willingly interacting back. That pushed some more life into his eyes, but it was not what she expected. Instead of filling with that calm, gentle care, he looked at her the other night while they cuddled. He looked almost in pain.

　　But why?

　　Scarletra had not scratched him or anything. She was attentive and cautious with how she touched him, ensuring she did not injure him. Without thick fur, he could easily be carved up by her claws.

　　He brushed her hand off him and stopped letting her lean into his touch.

　　"Hey, what`s wrong?" Scarletra asked while he groaned and stood to move past her, gesturing for her to follow.

　　—

　　The GU-man led Scarletra to an odd room. Unlike the rest of his home, there was no furniture. The entire location was clad with small white tiling and had rows of metal tubes placed above more metal dials to which he was drawing her attention.

　　He twisted the handle on the lower part, and water flowed from the upper tube. How in the great mother`s name did this work?

　　He gently grabbed Scarltras` hand, guiding it to the water. It was warm, no, that`s not right, it was hot. Hotter than she expected. The man slowly moved the handle while speaking, and the water`s temperature changed. How? This was unbelievable. Scarletra never had warm water available. She had to travel to the hot springs if she wanted it, But he had it whenever he wanted it.

　　Scarletra looked at him, dumbfounded at the realization. She had planned on dragging him to the nearby lake and washing.

　　"You have fresh water?" she said, longingly ruining her hand through the warm water. Unable to believe that hot water was at their fingertips in the GU facility.

　　The man blew her mind this morning for the second time when he pulled out a small loaf-like item. She initially thought it was food, but he wetted it and showed her it was soap. The material frothed with bubbles as the water enveloped his moving fingers.

　　 She took the bar and sniffed it. The odor was blissful and perfect, briefly transporting her to the southernmost reaches of her territory. It smelled like the most luscious flowers, as fresh and vibrant as the summer flowers she had ever gathered. Why could her soaps not smell this good? Hers were unscented fat-based bars she filled with grit to scrub blood and guts from her hands.

　　The man showed Scarletra how to use the soap.

　　"I know what soap is, but this smells far nicer than anything I`ve made," Scarletra chuckled.

　　The man nodded, seeming to understand her before trying to leave. But she had other ideas. Scarletra grabbed his hand and guided him close.

　　"Are you ready to bathe?" she asked, nestling him between her breasts.

　　The man blushed and commented harshly, trying to push out of her arms. Clearly, he did not wish to join her.

　　"Why not?" Scarletra pouted, holding him slightly tighter, just strong enough to make her protests evident but not harm her new companion.

　　Bathing was little more than cleaning themselves, and besides, they could deeply clean the other`s fur and make sure nowhere was missed; in his case, she could clean his skin, but the intent was the same.

　　 She was more than glad to do so. Bathing was another thing the tribe was communal about and something she had been missing for years. While she did her best to keep clean, regularly bathing in the hot springs. Having someone help would be pleasurable. She could hardly imagine how well the man`s nimble fingers and lack of claws could massage her skin and deeply clean her thick fur.

　　He slipped from her grasp and shook his head. He said a few words to her, sounding almost angry. For the briefest moment, he started to raise his voice but paused, taking a breath before calmly finishing whatever he was saying.

　　"Why not?" Scarletra protested, halfway stamping her foot. Annoyed by how he had been avoiding her over the last day.

　　The man growled another statement and gestured to the side, drawing her attention to a towel. He quickly demonstrated its use and handed it to her.

　　"That didn`t answer my question," Scarletra grumbled, crossing her arms.

　　 Scarletra was able to smell his arousal and hear his heart stammering. That he was trying to resist her was odd; she could not understand why. They already had sex and were closer than she had ever been to anyone. At least he was someone she wanted to be around, unlike the warriors her mother tossed her at and insisted she keep them satisfied.

　　He obviously cared about her in some manner. He laid a blanket over her and did what Scarletra insisted, even if it took her being more forceful than she wanted.

　　He clearly was letting her take a position as a bit of a Matriarch of his home, even if the idea of her being a true matriarch made her feel sick. She did not want to be her mother.

　　 Why were things that would keep them close different? She just wanted to bathe together.

　　 "Please let me wash you; it`s the least I can do after you let me stay here," Scarletra insisted, stepping closer to him.

　　He apparently did not care about her protests and arguments. He said a few more words, gesturing at the faucet before quickly leaving her in the room to clean herself.

　　Scarletra grumbled and sighed.

　　Why not?

　　 She could not think of any reason. It was perfectly normal to bathe together. Mainly because this was his home. Her cleaning him seemed right, but he would not let her show her appreciation. She tried to feed him, wanted to wash him, tried to help. No matter what, he just did not let her.

　　What was she doing wrong? It`s not like he had a mate. They were alone here. Their tending to each other was natural.

　　Scarletra thought about dragging him back into the room and forcing him to bathe but decided against it. She pressed herself to have him lay with her the other night. Now, he was avoiding her. She did not want to pressure the handsome man more since that seemed to be why he was not staying with her.

　　Scarletra tossed her clothes on a bench beside the towels and stepped into the flowing water. Though the spigot it was pouring out only reached her neck. So, she had to squat slightly to wash her hair.

　　The warm water was pleasant enough, but she did not like bathing alone when someone nearby could join her. She had been alone long enough. Why should she wash herself alone now? But he refused to be here.

　　The warm water flowed over her body. Seeping into her fur. This was almost as amazing as the hot springs north of here—Almost. She preferred them because she could engulf herself in the water. Whereas this only offered half of her warmth.

　　The slick soap was also enjoyable. Scarletra could easily smell the beautiful scent that clung tightly to her. It was marvelous and beyond anything she had ever used. She wondered if there were other scents. The fresh flowers were lovely, but she wanted to smell more natural. Maybe a scent that resembled the smoke that clung to him? Or perhaps something close to the pine buds that grew outside?

　　Scarletra continued to wash herself, taking an extremely long time, hoping he would change his mind.; But the man never returned, no matter how many small prayers to the great mother she made.

　　 Scarletra dejectedly slipped back into her clothes and returned to the workshop he had been in all night, expecting him to work on the necklace again. But he was not there. Even the mug he was drinking out of was gone.

　　Scarletra looked around the area. Where did he go?

　　He was not in the storage room, bed, or the kitchen. Scarletra tried to follow his scent, but the entire place reeked of him, and the fresh soap smell oozed off her, so she frustratingly could not track him.

　　Scarletra went to the main room and plopped onto the broken sofa, waiting for him to return. At this point, she was annoyed, not quite angry, but was nearing that point.

　　 They were not bonded mates, but how much he ignored her was perturbing. The fact she could smell arousal on him and that he tried to ignore it was wrong. If he wanted sex, all he had to do was try; she was willing.

　　Was something wrong? Did she do too much? She could not think of any reason he was acting this way. Were all aliens like this? Cold, distant, and vapid. She didn`t want to believe he was like that; he comforted her after yelling at her and obviously thought of her as more than just a stranger.

　　All of it was frustrating. He could at least acknowledge Scarletra`s desires and existence or try to explain what he thought by doing something other than shoving her away and growling.

　　Scarletra sniffled.

　　His home was starting to feel like her last years in the village. She was alone, but not. She just wanted someone to be hers, to be with her. Hell, she could live without sex or a caring embrace; just being treated like someone worth more than dirt would be nice.

　　Scarletra sniffled, and tears began to flow freely from her.

　　Dwelling in years of anxiety and doubt, coupled with what she thought was her only way out of crippling loneliness, treating her just like the tribe ultimately pushed her over the edge.

　　Why? Why? Why? What did she do wrong?

　　She was nice and tried to help, but he just ignored her. Maybe she should just leave? She was clearly just an annoyance anyway.

　　She rested her head in her palms and started to bawl before lying on the crushed sofa.

　　"What did I do wrong?" She sobbed. "I just wanted to be close. Great Mother, what am I doing wrong? Why am I broken?"

　　Being alone in the cave was better than this. At least there, Scarletra knew she had no one. Here, he was right there. But kept pushing her away. After she lost track of time, the door outside opened, and he called out. His voice carried in with the welcoming ice-cold breeze.