Page 39 of Life-Debt

“Okay, you can tell me your name now.” I took my time enjoying the view. “As this is my ship, anything that boards without my permission becomes mine.” As I’d made up a lot of rules since joining the Veloc clan, I said, “It’s a new rule. I just made it up, but I’ll have it registered onto my list of rules guests must abide by.”

Delta grinned. “And here I thought I’d have to rescue you.”

I blinked. “Why do I need to be rescued?”

“You have been on Veloci Minor for a month, Viva.”

“Well, yes.” I eyed my hands, which had gotten a rather displeasing amount of blood on them. “I foolishly decided to stay for the trial, and the Veloc are utterly convinced the world will end if they can’t shower me with general appreciation. I just had to mercy kill some idiot who thought it was a good idea to kidnap a Veloc hatchling.”

“Yes, there are videos of you cuddling with the hatchling, which is making the rounds through every Veloc clan in the universe. It’s become insanity. If it hadn’t been for the hatchling’s clan having first rights to claim you for their clan, there would be a planet-wide brawl to have you right now.”

“They take their hatchlings seriously. I’m just pissed off I’d just gotten to unload most of my damned life-debts to end up with an entire fucking planet worth of them. It’s completely unfair.”

Delta chuckled. “My name is Lucas, but I’ve found myself growing rather fond of you calling me Delta.”

I foresaw myself becoming rather confused on what to call the man in the future. “Lucas? That’s it? It’s just Lucas?”

“I have a family name, and I have two middle names because my parents couldn’t decide which collection of bland Earth names to give me. It’s a tradition. Lucas Alexander William Davenport is my complete name. My family likes trying to keep some Earth traditions alive, mostly through how they name us. Lucas came from a list of common Earth names before the generational ships departed the planet. Alexander and William are the names of world leaders from Earth. Davenport is our original family name. As I have a life-debt owed to you, my family kicked me out, along with my cousins, so we’re here to pick a fight with your clan.”

I foresaw a great deal of posturing. As I’d accepted the Veloc lived to posture, I heaved a sigh. “Wait here, charm my foxes, and let me get cleaned up. I’m inappropriately dressed—and I’m wearing the blood of an asshole kidnapper, which isn’t a good look on anyone. For the moment, I’m still calling you Delta. You just don’t feel like a Lucas to me right now.”

“Call me anything you’d like. Also, that blood is an excellent look on you. He deserved his fate. And frankly, you gave him a lot more mercy than he deserved.”

“Perhaps so, but I would rather be merciful than cruel, and I know just how many angry Veloc all wanted a pound of flesh. He wouldn’t have had enough flesh to go around, so they would have gone the paper cut before dismemberment route, I’m sure. Wait here unless one of the other clans asks you nicely to go to the visitor center, in which case, go to the visitor center. They’ll provide one of those bastard mounts to get you there unless they really hate you, in which case, good luck. It’s a long walk.”

THIRTEEN

Their life-debt claim trumped everything else

I should have known I would become a doll for the amusement of my clan. As one of the nosy Veloc with overly good hearing had heard me claim Delta as my property, they’d decided there was one acceptable resolution: the clans would wage war over who got to keep him, and my clan would encourage the fireworks.

My clan refused to give up ownership of my person, and their life-debt claim trumped everything else. Delta, on the other hand, classified as loose property, free to be captured and dressed up by the victorious clan. As a general rule, Veloc engaged in rather rough battles over loose property while the source of their interest observed. In Delta’s case, he basked in the attention while Veloc parents attempted to charm him into their clan through the ruthless use of wretchedly adorable hatchlings.

As I’d called property rights first, I got a dose of the hatchling love, too. For the most part, Miracle of a Lost Crimson Star owned my lap, although she’d permit other hatchlings to join her for a nap. Her favorite young suitor, a yellow crested male, pitched a fit whenever his parents tried to separate them.

According to his mother, he’d been inconsolable when she’d disappeared, and everyone expected they would become a pair upon reaching adulthood, although knowing both hatchlings, they’d draw out the chase to annoy everyone around them.

“So, how is your no-name policy working out for you?” Delta asked.

“Miserably, apparently.” I scratched Miracle Star along her stubby crest, and she melted into a purring puddle. “I tried not to name you, but then I named you something utterly stupid, and you’re fine with it. Now you’re named, and you’re not going away anytime soon, are you?”

“I’m not, and I’ll admit I’m relieved you realized this. I was brought up from a young age to understand romancing is serious business. Of course, no one bothered to stop and explain how the hell to actually go about it, so I’m taking it a day at a time. So far, it’s been seven days, the Veloc are still fighting over property rights, and Mystoran’s father called my father because it’s looking like they’re going to turn this nonsense into a planet-wide festival. What did you do?”

“Why are you blaming me?”

“Well, they’re fighting over me so they get to claim relations with you. Every damned Veloc on this planet has claimed they owe you a life-debt at this point.”

“All I did was play transport, Delta. That’s it. A black market operator told me they had a Veloc hatchling who needed to go home, and I volunteered. I speak Veloci, and speaking Veloci is really important when you don’t want the Veloc to eat you alive for having their hatchling.”

“First, most Veloc understand they tend to eat those who take their hatchlings. Not only did you willingly agree to transport their hatchling, you fixed her feathers, fed her properly, and comforted her. She’s not terrified of space travel unlike most Veloc. It takes them twice as long to adapt to space compared to homo sapiens.”

“Like her parents. They were terrified. Their guardian took a lot of coaxing to get to make the short trip between ships. Some species just don’t adapt well.”

“Yeah. To complicate matters, frightened Veloc tend to become violent, so you’re considered to be either the bravest human to ever explore space or the dumbest. After how you tricked the Veloc out of their kill, they’re going with brave and ridiculously clever. You shocked them.”

“I cheated.” The tracker had become common knowledge after a few hours, as I’d gotten tired of the posturing and told them I hated to lose and how else was I supposed to beat a bunch of living, breathing murder machines? “Calling them living, breathing murder machines hadn’t been my best moment.”

“But accurate. Hilarious, too. You’d gotten so flustered. You don’t handle praise well.” Delta reached over and moved one of the many crystals away from my eyes so I wouldn’t bat at it and get yet another scrape on my knuckles fighting with my jewelry. “At least Mystandor’s clan canceled the bounty after learning what was going on here. It’d become a literal bloodbath if they were fighting over the bounty on top of my property rights. Worse, my father will probably bring my mother and my birth certificate and tell them to take me. I’m a rather large source of stress for them right now. I’m supposed to be training to help govern the planet, and I’m off on Veloci Minor, being told I need to start making attempts to romance you. Frankly, they’re fighting because they understand I’m the definition of hopeless.”