For a moment, it looked like Zara didn't know how to respond. Then she put a few steps of distance between them. "I appreciate that you are being honest in your intentions, Hector."

His heart dropped. "But?"

"I found your confession entirely lacking." She crossed her arms imperiously. "Your sentiments may be complimentary to my character, but I do not feel flattered by them."

Hector stared at her. "Would you like me to try again?"

"Not at the moment. You've killed the mood." Zara gestured at the sun setting over the waves. "Oceania itself conspired to assist your efforts, Hector. This is on top of my father praising your devotion. Yet you chose to confess like this? I'm not convinced you understand the concept of romance." Zara went so far as to wag her finger at him.

"I'm sorry. I should have said –"

She cut him off. "Not tonight. When – if – you profess your intentions again, I expect to be properly wooed, Hector. I'm not a young girl who can be swept off her feet by a man agreeing to have her. I've lived long and achieved much. Despite my current exile, it is my contention that I am a prize. I won't settle for someone who thinks my best trait is that I refrain from taking men against their will."

Hector realized his mouth was hanging open. He had no idea how to respond to Zara's accusations. It was true that he wasn't gifted with a charming nature, but had his words really been so objectionable? Zara seemed serious in her ultimatum, so maybe they had been?

"You may remain with us if you choose to. Dorian hasn't been staying in his tent, so it is available for your use. Be aware that we are currently hunting a level nine kraken while a level ten orca hunts us. We don't harvest from the immediate area to keep our campsite hidden."

Dinner was a silent affair after that. The others were exhausted and disheartened from their hunt while Hector was still trying to figure out what kind of dramatic gesture Zara expected of him. He still couldn't decide if her request was reasonable. Admittedly he hadn't been smooth during their talk, but he was far from being a ladies' man. An argument could be made that she was asking him to behave out of character.

On the other hand, there was the virtue of respect to consider. Though he considered complimenting someone's moral convictions to be the highest praise, Zara hadn't taken it that way. If he intended to enter into a relationship, then he should respect her needs no matter how annoying jumping through arbitrary hoops might be.

As he ate a bowl of rice garnished with coconut flakes, Hector reviewed what he knew of romance. That body of knowledge was mostly cliches from popular media. Dinner at fancy restaurants. Red roses. Chocolate. Poetry. Dancing. Public gestures. Those weren't really his style. Nor did cultural touchstones from Earth seem likely to woo a Xian Lord.

If he was to extrapolate… maybe a gift of an expensive elixir? Come to think of it, he'd already done that by providing Zara both the Mother and the secret of claiming a layer for herself. Perhaps he could save her life? While a nice thought, Hector couldn't help but wonder what kind of contrived circumstance would be necessary for a Lord to need his protection.

What had he done successfully in past courtships? In high school he dated a girl who had been part of his friend group for years. One of the other girls told him she wanted to go out with him, so he asked. Then they cycled through the normal date activities like they were crossing things off a list. See a movie together. Go to the go-kart park all the other couples raved about. Visit the carnival. Every date mimicked what the other teens around them were doing. As he analyzed the relationship, it was clear there had never been anything romantic about their time together. It was a practice courtship for both of them.

His college girlfriend? They'd started going out because they were in the same classes. Things progressed quickly because they were young and horny. Hector wasn't sure if they'd even done any traditional dating activities. As he thought it over, he came to the conclusion that – despite how they referred to one another – they were not actually a couple. They were more like casual hookups. Lots of sex and little else.

Then he started his career and everything else in life faded away for him until Jen. How the hell had the two of them gotten started? She was his cute neighbor in the cheap apartment complex who couldn't figure out how to use the stove top without setting off a smoke alarm. Hector had made a few jokes when they were taking out the trash at the same time about always knowing when she was eating dinner. Which she responded to by imitating the beeping of the fire alarm and laughing even while her face turned bright red.

They'd been on the same schedule for trash removal. Well, he'd been on a strict schedule. Jen was more of a 'get to it when I need to' type. She obviously had been waiting for him every day with the intention of flirting. That went on for weeks until Hector began to look forward to taking out the trash and seeing the cute and friendly neighbor.

All the notable escalations of their relationship weren't hard to remember. She asked him for help moving a couch in her apartment, noting that he looked strong. Then she insisted on ordering pizza to thank him. During that meal she told him all about the shows she was watching on television and explained some of the drama happening at her work, switching topics rapidly until she finally found something that caught his attention: she wanted to get into better shape.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

So they became gym buddies. Hector coached Jen through basic weightlifting and explained the macros he tried to hit for his diet. Without any real effort, that turned into them carpooling to the gym and cooking meals together. Everyone assumed the two of them were together long before they started dating. It was effortless and everything just fell into place. Though the first time he brought her home she'd made a unique impression when she enthusiastically greeted the dog and cat before the parents of her boyfriend.

His mother loved Jen. Everyone had. She was bubbly and cheerful and reflexively offered emotional support to anyone in need. A part of Hector would always be grateful that his mom wasn't around when he separated from his wife. Cindy Thoreaux always maintained that her son married someone who was the yin to his yang. His cold ambition needed to be balanced, in her opinion.

And his mother had been right – for a while. He'd developed an active social life for a period of time in his life. The two of them found other couples to do things with. They went on hikes and tried line dancing and ran local races. Everything seemed perfect, so they moved in together. Then he met her mother and step-father, almost went to jail when certain things came to light, and decided he was going to protect her forever.

After the wedding, he insisted she get a college degree so that she could get a real career instead of waiting tables. That had not been a great idea. Jen chose accounting because she thought it would make him happy. She wasn't good with numbers. Completing the degree did not lead to a career as he'd expected. Jen was happy waiting tables because she had regulars that were like family to her. Which, given her home life growing up….

The conclusion Hector had to make, considering his past relationships, was that he had never done a single romantic thing in his entire life. He didn't even need to consider more recent history. His brief dalliances with Evelyn, Rosa, Jasmine, and Mila weren't anything to emulate. Nor had the flirting with Esther or Purification gone anywhere.

The challenge issued by Zara might prove to be more than he could handle.

Faced with his inadequacies, Hector wondered if he was truly interested in Zara. There were a lot of things about her that gave him pause. Who her father was, her status as a Lord, the fact that she'd held Riley hostage for a time, her lack of involvement in humanity's war for survival.

Hearing her explain the reasoning behind her restraint had felt right. Yet now he questioned his snap decision. Was congruence on a single moral stance sufficient foundation for a lasting relationship? Zara was an amazing woman and someone to admire, but that did not make them instant soul mates.

Once he finished his bowl of coconut rice, Dorian took Hector aside.

"Lord Zara asked me to train you in veiling techniques. We follow strict stealth discipline away from camp. As much as it helps us sneak up on prey, it's even more important for safety reasons. We ran afoul of a pod of orcas before realizing they were led by a level ten bull."

Hector's mood soured when he heard what sounded like a euphemism for slaughtering a pod of intelligent marine mammals. "How smart are these orcas?"

Dorian shrugged. "Smart enough to cultivate to Lord level, obviously. Also strong enough to trouble all of us. Now pay attention while I demonstrate the technique. I have other business I'd like to attend to this evening."

The man explained his veiling technique while moving his cosmic energy in slow and exaggerated fashion. The aura was extended, hardened, and then energy circulated in a cyclone that redirected emanations from the body back inwards. It reminded him a little of the method he developed during the tournament to enhance his intestines without letting them leak energy to the rest of his body.

Hector picked up on the basics of the technique quickly. Owing to the cylindrical shape of his expanded aura, bending the radiating energy back from the sides was far easier than from the top and bottom, where the cyclone didn't naturally reach. As Dorian began to discuss the need to clench the domain to avoid leakage, Hector investigated ways to minimize the cyclone's weak spots. He began by tilting the cyclone's flows so they slipped over the top and bottom. That disturbed the pattern and created leaks.

Dorian paused his demonstration. "Hector, your veil just slipped. You need to keep up the aura cyclone at the same time you clench your domain."

Hector nodded to mollify his instructor while figuring out how to minimize the turbulence he'd introduced. The solution seemed to be changing the curvature of each end to minimize sharp angles. It was a little like proper cable formation. He tapered the gradients, felt out the proper degree to tilt his cyclone without destabilizing it, and then smoothed out some of the natural leaks in the pattern by creating another cyclone layer slightly out of phase with the first.

"Do you know what I mean when I say domain clench?"

He blinked at Dorian's intense attention. "Clench my domain?"

"Yes please. Oh, good. You've got it figured out. Now I know you think you have the aura part down already, but there is actually a problem with the head and feet. If I float up here and look down, I'll spot you glowing like… huh." Dorian, flying above Hector, scratched his head. "Did you already know a veiling technique?"

"Not before today. How does it look?"

Dorian blinked a couple of times. "Like you've been veiling for years. What the hell are you doing to smooth out the ends?" Hector dropped the second layer of his technique and spaced out the flows of his cyclone to let his actions be seen.

"That's… over-complicated. I was just going to have you make hemisphere caps top and bottom. Let me see the finished product again." Dorian shrugged. "Well, I'm satisfied. I will leave you to practice that now. My lady love awaits."

"Actually," Hector said, "I wonder if you can share any advice on romance."

Dorian winced. "Hector… the classic advice is to 'be yourself' to attract the right person who will appreciate you for yourself. I'm not really sure what to say to you, though. You have my aunt's attention already. That's a good start. But her second husband was a musician who serenaded her with songs he wrote himself. I'm not sure what you can do to live up to that standard.

"Honestly, I don't get the impression you even know how to enjoy yourself…. Tell you what, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I really need get back to Mei. We're living while we can in case the damn orca takes one of us out tomorrow."

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