But while he was struggling with the language, Thariinye was chattily giving him the benefit of Thariinye’s spectacularly successful career (according to the young male) as a wooer of females. Aari had not had the heart to ask him to be quiet, as he knew that the loss of the tip of Thariinye’s horn had made him feel disfigured and the younger fellow was relating his past exploits simply to bolster his own confidence.
But in that estimation, Aari was using the projection of his own feelings about the loss of his horn and empathy for Tharii nye’s distress, not thought-reading, which he found impossible to do -while he was trying to unravel Shakespeare’s thees and thous. So he was taken aback when Thariinye suddenly rolled over on his own pallet and poked Aari playfully in the ribs.
“That Khornya is quite a reed, isn’t she?” Thariinye said with a wink.
“A—reed?” Aari asked, looking up from his book at the mention of Khornya’s name.
“A-slender and succulent desirable mate, to old-timers like you,” Thariinye translated with a tolerant wave of his hand.
“I-yes. Maati mentioned that you had considered yourself pledged to her. Is that-still true?” His voice was steady and controlled.
“Me? No! No, no, no. By the ancestors, no! Oh, I was smitten, of course. She is beautiful-quite a reed, as I said. But, well, it really was just that I was the first Linyaari male she met and she -was so dewy eyed and innocent I felt protective, so I -wanted to warn off other males lest they not … appreciate her finer qualities … properly. No, now that I know her better, she is not for me.”
“No? And -why not?” Aari asked, suddenly feeling protective himself, and rather angry at Thariinye dismissing Khornya. Who wouldn’t want Khornya?
“Frankly?” Thariinye said. “She’s too smart for me. And well, a bit too idealistic. And a little too strange, being raised by humans and all. She has peculiar ideas about things so I can’t begin to guess what she’s going to do next. That makes me nervous around her.”
“I admit I am nervous around her, too,” Aari said thoughtfully.
“I noticed. But you’re crazy about her, aren’t you?” Thariinye’s voice was insinuating and his eyes sly. “You want her, don’t you?”
“I … have no right,” Aari said. “She deserves a mate who is whole in mind and body. And horn,” he said, a bit cruelly, since Thariinye was being cruel and discourteously invasive, to his way of thinking.
“Ouch,” Thariinye said. “I guess I deserved that. But I’m told mine will grow back, in time.”
Aari was quiet. Thariinye had responded to cruelty with cruelty of his own. That was one reason why the Linyaari usually eschewed cruelty. It was not only unkind, it was unwise to start the spiraling descent that would lead with all parties having fallen to a lower level.
“Sony,” Thariinye said again. “I’m trying to tell you something here and I keep on upsetting you. You’re pretty touchy, you know that, don’t you?”
“Perhaps it is because for so long, when anyone touched me, it was to cause pain,” Aari said through gritted and bared teeth. Then he relaxed, “I am sony too. I have begun to think of you as a friend. Grandam says friends come together to teach each other. I sense you are trying to teach me something. Proceed.”
“What I’m saying,” Thariinye said, “Is no matter what YOU think she deserves, the females I know seem to feel that what they deserve is whatever their little female hearts decide they want. I think it’s pretty clear she wants you.”
“No,” he said. “She is a kind and loving person. She feels sympathy for my injury, for what happened with the Khieevi. When she is sure I am as healed as possible, for she is a healer above all, she will return to her human people for good as our ambassador-stopping by narhiiVhiliinyar to communicate with the government perhaps. By then Joh and I will be far away so I -” <)o I will not have to watch her leave again, he thought to himself.“You’re just making that assumption!” Thariinye said “Why don’t you ask her? Talk to her? Take her some of these beautiful, delicious flowers! Recite Linyaari love poetry to her!