He paused at her words, looking down at his hands again, deep in thought. Ferals are antisocial by default; unlike other species that care for their young, most ferals don't. As a result of their violent nature and lack of emotional stimulus, they abandon their young soon after they are born, just to continue the cycle.
"I don't know." Reluctantly, raising his hand to shield his eyes, he replied. Unaware that not only his cheeks but his entire face blushed, it was even more evident due to the stark contrast between his bluish skin and his flushed face. "I don't think it would be so bad."
Liss found it cute but was sincerely confused as to why he was acting so bashful; his answer, too, was unexpected.
"Haha, and why is that, dear?" As she chuckled, the orc peeked through the gaps in his fingers and saw Liss. She rested her cheeks on the palms of her hands, looking at him in a way no one had before. Liss's voice was filled with tenderness, and her gaze seemed to behold something utterly endearing, making his heart skip a beat.
"I I I-i" In astonishment, his movements slowed down as his hand moved aside to uncover his eyes, and his curved back straightened up. He panicked, feeling his mind become a mess, blurting out what he was embarrassed to say before. "I would like not to be alone."
"Oh, good God," Liss, who was beginning to worry, saw his abrupt shift in mood and melted with his honest confession and loveliness, grumbling while pressing the side of her hand over her eyebrows, restraining herself.
'Too cute, too cute, too cute, too cute, too cute, too cute, too cute, too cute.'
But the orc's assumption, seeing Liss hunch forward and cover her face, was far from positive, believing that he had made her mad, growing anxious again. He was working hard to befriend Liss, who was the first to show him kindness and warmth, but his awkwardness and insecurity made him afraid and overthink. After Liss replayed that moment in her head a few more times, she looked back up, letting out a long, satisfied sigh, but while doing so, she saw that the orc's eyes welled with tears.
"What, wait?" Liss became serious in an instant, moving closer in a hurry, kneeling next to him with her arms up, hovering close to his head, unsure if she should reach and touch him. "Are you sad? Oh no, you poor thing..."
It wasn't like she had never comforted anyone, but at that moment her mind went blank, unsure as to what to do.
She wasn't an idiot. Liss was a professional at acting to lower others' guard around her. She knew that ferals were dangerous, but... not why.
'Do they eat people?'
The thought passed through her head as she cooed softly, trying to calm him down, seeing him tilt his head up, flashing a regretful look while clearly fighting back his tears.
"Talk to me, dear." Liss cooed softly, her hands lingering reluctantly near his head. It was clear that Liss didn't realize how unnecessary her reluctance was, given their proximity.
"Don't be angry." The tall orc pitifully cried, making it hard to understand because his voice was way too deep, but in contrast, his expressions were easy to read. With his head tilted back, Liss could see the purple of his eyes sparkling from the tears he refused to let go.
"Don't what?" Liss said, abandoning her cautiousness and cupping his face in her hands, forcing their eyes to meet.
"You were angry." He held her wrists, his hands reacting to her touch before his mind could even compute, answering like a child caught doing something wrong.
"No, I wasn't."
"You looked angry."
"You misunderstood."
"Liar, you were covering your face, you're lying because I'm a feral."
The tears he fought so hard to hold back slowly escaped his eyes.
The ends of Liss's mouth twitched upwards while trying to hold back a grin from showing on her face. One half felt bad seeing him weep; the other felt bad for thinking like a pervert.
"If that were the case, I wouldn't be so close to you right now, right?"
"Then why?"
He wept, talking in a whining, childlike manner, while looking at the alien as if she had wronged him and was expecting compensation.
'Haa, so cute.'
"Haa, so cute." His crying face was so bewitching that in the brief moment. Liss allowed herself to appreciate the view, and forgot to manage her expressions, and even her words. A satisfied grin formed on the lips that slipped what was filling her mind.
Her praise felt warm like sunbathing after swimming for hours on a hot day, and he could feel bubbles on his belly.
"I'm cute?" The orc tried to confirm what he heard and noticed that Liss flinched, blinking a few times, making his body tense up with anxiety at the change of her expression.
"Did I say that out loud?"
Liss said, straightening her back, letting his face go, kneeling in front of him with her back straight and hands on the ground, completely embarrassed. Her eyes wandered from her open palms pressed on the rough ground and looked up at his pitifully cute face before she smiled, embarrassed.
And just with that smile, the orc's mood improved, forgetting why he started to feel bad as well.
He grew more anxious, stressing over her every reaction.
He groaned out a "Yeah," feeling his shoulders relax after he went from heaven to hell just to learn that he never left paradise. The feral relaxed amid all the emotional undulations and leaned forward, leaning his face back in her hands, avoiding eye contact but still pouting.
Innocently.
Instinctly.
Naturally.
"Are you feeling better?" Liss caressed his skin without hesitation as the orc buried his face in her palms.
"Mhmm." He hummed with a nod, now glancing at her face with half-lidded eyes to check her reactions. But his fun was cut short when, after confirming his well-being, Liss let his face go and moved away.
"I'm glad." She exhaled, sitting on the makeshift cushion again.
But her companion was far from pleased. He wanted more, more affection, more attention, more of her gentle touch.
"Why?"
"Even if you are pretty when you cry, I don't wish for you to be sad," Liss said softly, misunderstanding his question.
"If I don't cry." The orc, still acting in a childlike submissive manner, moved to copy Liss's previous position, kneeling like her. " And you don't get sad."
His tentative words and reluctant movements didn't pass unnoticed. Much like a child trying to convince their parents, the orc moved slowly and glanced up to see Liss's reactions every time he did something.
"We can stay together?"
"Oh," She muttered softly, her brain working at full capacity in that small gap of time. The strategies from her world held no weight in that place: money, influence, and culture. All her weapons, everything she had in her arsenal, and what made Liss rise to the top were irrelevant. There she was, powerless. "Stay together?"
A guess, Liss gambled that initially FengHuang wouldn't ask for help, and Liss hoped that as he was a phoenix, he wouldn't be able to track her smell.... And since she was carried, there were no footprints, buying Liss time.
The feral, whose mind was distorted by isolation, watched the aliens' every move. The way her eyebrows furred, and her lips pursed into a thin line.
Liss wasn't sure if she had the guts to bring this beautiful and innocent child into her mess. Not when her made-up story was about fleeing from ferals.