Chapter 6: Differing Opinions

It felt like a huge weight had been removed off his chest and Trazu felt he could truly move on from that horrible incident at last. He continued to visit Tzosha over the next couple of months and with her help, soon felt safe enough to start actually staying the night on occasion, usually on weekends when she was off. However he would always slept on the couch, despite Tzosha's insistence that since he was the guest she should be the one sleeping on the couch.

He'd also been having what he considered to be odd dreams the past couple weeks. Dreams where he and Tzosha were doing things other then just chatting. They were odd to him because as far as he knew, Trandoshan's just didn't do things like that: the fact he considered Tzosha a close friend was rare in on itself. Trazu didn't tell Tzosha he was having these dreams, because they were just silly dreams and meant nothing. Besides in his dreams he was taller then her and that pretty much invalidated any worth of the dreams by itself in his opinion.

Trazu was in the middle of one of those dreams now as he dozed on the couch. He and Tzosha were out in one of the many plains on Talus, Tzosha asleep with her head on his chest while he was leaning back against a tree. She was wearing a tank top with a simple pair of shorts while he just had his pants. It was one of those 'lazy day' type dreams and he was simply enjoying being close to her, stroking her arm lightly with his claws and prompting soft 'mers' from her in her sleep. Why did his chest suddenly feel cold and wet? It wasn't just cold either, it was very cold. It was enough to snap him out of his little dream and back to reality.

Opening his eyes, he saw Tzosha standing beside the couch holding an ice cube over him and allowing the cold water to drip from it right onto his bare chest.

"GAH!" Trazu cried as he sat up with a start.

"Wakey wakey ya lazy bum." Tzosha said playfully, giggling slightly.

"That was down right cruel." Trazu grumbled as he wiped the water off his chest.

"If you didn't sleep in so late I wouldn't be tempted." Tzosha said smiling. "Besides it was funny. You should have seen the look on your face."

"Funny eh? Let's see how you like it." Trazu jumped up and tried to snatch the ice cube from her. Tzosha however used her height advantage over him and easily kept it out of his reach. "That's not fair!"

Tzosha just laughed and dripped the water over his head teasingly. Trazu, getting frustrated, swept her feet out from under her. Tzosha yelped in surprise, nearly dropping the cube. Trazu immediately grabbed her hand and tried to pry it open. The pair wrestled a bit, until Tzosha managed to wrest her hand free of Trazu's grasp and slip the cube down the back of his pants.

"YIPE!" Trazu jumped up and danced erratically as he tried to get the cube out, only to cause it to sink even deeper into his pants until it finally slid out through a pants leg. Tzosha was rolling on the floor laughing all the while. With a faint snarl, Trazu picked it up and looked at Tzosha with a sly grin on his face.

"Oh no…" Tzosha said, scrambling to her feet. "Not after where it's just been."

"You shouldn't have stuck it there then." Trazu said with a grin as he rushed toward her. Tzosha bolted and slipped behind a table. There was a brief merry-go-round as she kept the table firmly between herself and Trazu, hoping the cube would melt completely before he managed to reach her. It didn't remain a stand off for long though, for Trazu finally just climbed up on top of the table. From his high perch he was able to tackle her as she attempted to run away and a second wrestling match ensued as Tzosha frantically tried to keep Trazu from placing the cube against her skin. He won however and she squirmed as he held the cube against her skin. There wasn't much left of the cube by this time though, so Tzosha didn't have to suffer long. When it was melted completely the pair sat on the floor leaning against each other, both panting faintly.

"What the hell were we just doing?" Trazu said suddenly, pulling away abruptly and causing Tzosha to fall over.

"Playing." Tzosha replied as she picked herself up.

"'Playing?" Trazu echoed, sounding mildly disgusted. "Since when did our people act like that? It's...unnatural."

"It's not unnatural." Tzosha said, looking a bit confused at his reaction.

"We are warriors...hunters...we don't...do...things like that." Trazu insisted.

"So says the T'Doshok that ran away from home before he could learn everything about his own people." Tzosha said a bit harshly. "Hasn't your time with me taught you anything? We are not all warriors and hunters Trazu. There are many of us that don't live the way of the hunt: doctors, merchants,...tailors. The brutal hunter and warrior you came to know out here is most other species know because that's all we want them to know."

"Oh please...I am not that ignorant about our people." Trazu said with a faint snarl. "I know we often rely on our own talents for everyday services but we are primarily a hunter and warrior species. I also know that females like you aren't usually even allowed off planet, unless they are hunters themselves which is rare: usually only sterile females become hunters. Any other time females are nothing but breeding stock."

Tzosha hissed, obviously offended by his words. Then without warning she smacked him across the snout, sending him tumbling. "'Nothing but breeding stock'?" She growled. "Are you that stupid and ignorant? Yes we rarely become hunters and it's usually the sterile ones that do become hunters, but we are far from just being breeding stock. We fulfill the roles on our homeworld that you males think are below your standards of worth. Who fixes your ships? Who mends your wounds? Who sells you that expensive weapon you've been looking for? Not many males do those things themselves, it's mostly us females that do them. If you ask me...if it wasn't for us girls our people wouldn't have advanced to the stage we are at now. Who knows, maybe it would have been us that became the slaves instead of the Wookiees."

He barely heard her words, his anger at her for slapping him overriding nearly all reason. Her finally comment about slaves was the final straw and he leapt at her with a hiss. The two scuffled a bit before Tzosha managed to flip him over her, Trazu landing hard on his back, leaving him stunned briefly. After he righted himself the pair glared at each other a moment then, both a little bloodied but not hurt seriously, but neither seemed willing to go for each other's throats again.

"I'm leaving." Trazu said abruptly, moving to gather the few things he had. "And I won't be coming back."

"Fine with me." Tzosha hissed. "I'd rather not associate myself with someone that's so closed minded."

Trazu gave her a final glare and slammed the door behind him as he left.