They stood facing each other at a stand still, she was panting with the exertion of the last hour's sparing. And while he was not nearly as fatigued as her, she could tell by the rise and fall of his chest that she had made at least a little dent. It made her want to smile, preen and be proud of herself.
They were done for today.
She moved to walk past him and quit the room. It was not dismissive nor disrespectful, but just. There was a barely contained bounced to her step that betrayed her pride at finally having matched him.
"Female," he didn't shout but the call demanded her attention. It halted in her tracks right before the door. She swallowed and turned her head ever so slightly to peer him in her peripheral over her shoulder. Never had he address her as female; always it had been by her name or at the very least her species.
He stood half facing as if he had turned to watch her leave as she passed him. "You reek of the mating musk."
Her eyes went wide with shock. She felt her cheeks reddened and heat at the accusation with the implications of it. Then her eyes narrowed on him, was he mocking her because she actually matched him? Was he so poor a loser that he sought to humiliate her by her sex? As her thoughts heated she turned to face him. "You are mistaken. Your senses betray you like an untried young blood." She spat the insult at him.
He stalked forward, calm and seemingly unperturbed by the low blow. Regardless of her knowledge that he would never harm her, could not for the sake of honor, she instinctively moved backwards to match his advance and keep the distance between them. He was still a predator, it set off her survival instincts when he stalked her because he had taught her well the capabilities of their kind.
"I have known many successful seasons, I am not mistaken," he stated as they moved in concert until her back hit the wall next to the door. A moment later he was baring down on her personal space, his head dipping to maintain her gaze in that unnerving stare. His species's eyes sparkled with intelligence and emotion, they seemed almost human and were set of starkly by the alienness of their faces.
Her breathing hitched in her throat as panic seized her, "Even if you were not, you cannot act on it unless I command it." To her credit her voice was steady as she grasped for the upper hand in this now verbal spar. She knew little about their females and less about their mating practices but she did know this. Despite the posturing of the males and the fact that most of their explorer ships were manned by males, theirs was a matriarchal society. The females were hunters and ran the core of their society. To disrespect a female was death. He was triling in her face and she raised her chin and caught the mocking mirth in his eyes. He was baiting her.
It worked. The tension finally snapped as she was desperate for their normal accord, "Oh Yeyinde stop it!" She shoved at him with all her might.
He roared at her, the next moment she found herself lifted and slammed against the wall at her back. She could feel his purring against her chest and his hardness pressed between her legs that she had brought up to give her some purchase from dangling on the wall. "You just did."
She realized two things: the hardness pressed against her meant he was not uninterested and that regardless of what had transpired, he had stopped. It had been a … warning? Notification? He was willing, if she meant it, but he was giving her a chance to realize it and consent. She finally took a breath and relaxed the grip on his shoulders, he would not press it. "Put me down," she said quietly, please implied. Fatigue hit her like a brick wall.
He stepped back barely letting her find her feet and she left without looking at him. She needed time to gather her thoughts, after sleep.
He watched her leave then turned back to the kathrite. Ahh, he needed a soak, he thought rolling his shoulders as he walked towards the bathing pool, stripping his loincloth as he went.