Whispers from my Muse - "Popular"

     "You have 5 seconds to get out of my sight.  After that your own mother
will have trouble recognizing you."  I stared at the idiot standing in the
doorway and growled softly.  When I started to count, he turned and ran like
the demons of hell were on his tail.  If he hadn't have ran, they would have
been.  I watched until he was out of sight, then closed the door and tried
to cool off.  After a while, I headed towards Kal's main workroom where she
had spent most of the last few days working.

     "That is two now, correct?"  She had looked up from the experiment she
was running as I had leaned against the door and snorted in disgust.

     "Three.  You missed one while you were working with Penny in the lab."
I leaned against the door and thought quiet thoughts.  Mountains in winter,
spring rain showers, lemon cookies...  "Can you tell me something?"

     "I can try" she answered while she measured some chemical from a jar
she was holding.

     "Are you pretty?"  She spilled whatever she had been holding all over
the workbench.  Then she looked at me with a puzzled look on her face.

     "Could you be a little more specific.  I'd like to know why I'm going to
ruin your dinner tonight."

     It was my turn to cook anyway, so I just snickered.  "I mean, would you
be considered beautiful by Velan male's?  I could see one idiot being stupid
enough to make an offer like that, but three?  I'm missing something here."

     "Oh..."  She put the containers away and pushed her work to the side.
"In that case, I would have to say no.  By the standards of my race I am not
ugly, but neither would I have male's throwing themselves at my feet."

     It just didn't make any sense.  Three times now in the last week, I had
been approached by complete strangers.  They had all wanted to know if the
family nas Kan was considering expanding.  A couple of quick questions, and
a scan of their surface thoughts had shown them all to have the same insane
idea.  Under the assumption that our family would wish to have kids, they were
all hoping to be the biological father to Kalindra's children.  I slammed the
door on the first one, and scared the shit out of the last two.  "Uh, your not
like...  Hummm...  Your not in 'heat' or something?"

     She started laughing so hard she couldn't answer me.  "I'll take that as
a no."  How the hell was I suppose to know how Velan biology worked?  It wasn't
a subject that was taught in school when I was growing up.  "So, you have any
idea why you've become so popular all of the sudden?"

     "They like me for my mind?"

     "Could be.  It was good enough for me.  Of course I'm not known for being
real picky."

     "Your sense of humor isn't worth much either.  When I find out where you
hide it.  I'm going to remove it and have Penny install something that manages
to be funny at least once a year."

     I lifted my arm and poked around.  "I know it's around here someplace."
She laughed and I felt better.  How ever the God's had managed it, I had ended
up the mate of someone who's sense of humor matched my own.  Except for the
times when we were pissed at each other.  The two of us could always cheer
each other out of the worst funk.  This business with the moron's wanting
to play house was starting to get to both of us though.

     "All they can do is ask, right?  I don't have to fight for you or some
crazy thing like that?"

     "Unless they are really stupid, no.  It is my right to choose who I
wish for my mate.  It is the way it has been throughout our history.  That
is not to say that you do not have to defend my honor."  She looked at me
with an expectant look on her face.  Then nodded to herself and went back
to work.  That was one question she would never have to ask aloud, and one
I never expected to have to prove.  The next morning I found out that I
wasn't to be that lucky.

     "Hello, what can I..." then I recoqnized the Velan on the doorstep.
"What part of 'Get out of my sight' did you not understand?"

     "I would speak with the Klizan" he said and started to brush past me.

     "Over my dead body!" I yelled as I tried to block him.  I didn't have
much luck given his strength.  Not for the first time I cursed the fact that
Velans have several times a normal Humans strength.  He got by me with almost
ridicules ease and my temper boiled over.  "Stop or die" I said as I gathered
the power to carry out my threat.  Two steps later I caught him in the center
of the back with enough energy to vaporise him.