Chapter 32: Princess Treatment (1)
Nova stared at the huge fish laid out before her as she sat cross-legged by the fire. Yoa sat beside her, somehow his large limbs looked magnificently elegant even as the space was a little cramped for him. Yoa was probably used to eating by himself in this cave and now there was Atia and herself eating with him.
"Careful. Hot," Yoa warned as he used a smooth stick the length of a small ruler to open the fish so it lay flat on the clean leaves before her legs. Steam rose from the meal, and although Nova had mostly just had sushi or prepackaged, sliced salmon, her stomach rumbled with the need to eat, even if there were bones.
Yes, it turns out she’s a bit of a child and can’t stand eating from the bone. That clearly had to change here. But she could deal with fish bones; that was fine. This looked delicious and well-cooked, even if she didn’t know what type of fish it was.
"Thank you," Nova murmured as Yoa handed her the small stick that she could now see intricately carved patterns on. She glanced up at him, silently questioning whether it is Yoa who has made all these little tools, and carving into wood.
Yoa’s focus had returned to the meat. He, too, was hungry, especially after chasing after Vulcan and trying to ensure Nova’s safety. He glared at Atia again across the fire. His friend looked at him questionably, wondering what he’d done now. Instead, he shifted a little closer to Nova with a small smirk, watching Yoa’s reaction.
Yoa’s eyes narrowed on him, and he couldn’t help the low rumbling of his chest. Nova paused, stuffing some of the fish meat in her mouth. She felt like a complete savage, but she followed what the other two were doing until she heard Yoa growl. Bringing her messy fingers away from her lips, she looked up at him. "What’s wrong?"
Her wide, expressive eyes calmed the storm brewing in Yoa’s chest and cupped Nova’s face. "Nothing."
Nova almost spat out the meat right then at the touch of his hand on her skin. Instead, she choked on it, swallowing it down quickly, along with a smaller bone and started to cough. Her eyes watered, and her throat burned at trying not to choke to death— okay, that was a little dramatic.
It was all so very demure and very ladylike—not. Nova wanted to hide her face. It burned such a bright red now both from choking and in embarrassment. Atia handed her a small cup of water and she tried not to gulp it down greedily.