His Starbound Claim

POLOMA

“Starbound! Starbound! Starbound!” my godsound repeats in my head like a mantra as our eyes stay locked on each other. The three men behind him look at each other, but he never takes his eyes off mine.

“Hey, babe, did you forget about me already?” the annoying blond man from earlier asks. I grab the vodka off the shelf and pour it into the glass in a haze, never taking my eyes off of my starbound.

I slide the drink across the bar to him. “Why don’t you let me show you a good time after you get off work tonight?” he persists.

“No,” I say, never taking my eyes off my starbound. “Oh, I see. What’s your price? All bitches like you have a price.”

My starbound, who has been standing silently, steps forward in a flash. Before I know it, he has the man by the throat and is dragging him out of the bar.

“Wait—” I call out. That guy might be a scumbag, but he’s a lot smaller than my starbound.

I chase my starbound into the alleyway outside the bar as the man screams bloody murder in his grasp. I watch as my starbound throws him harshly against the hard brick wall and starts to throw one punch after another into the man’s anguished face.

“Stop!” I scream out. “Stop it!” He doesn’t. He keeps beating the living shit out of him.

I would be an idiot to try to get between them. But I can’t stand here and watch this man die.

“Stop,” I scream again, this time throwing my body at my starbound, wrapping my arms around the one that has the man pinned by the throat. My starbound's eyes turn to face mine, and by the murderous look in his eyes, I think that he’s about to throw his next punch at me.

He lets go of the man’s neck, and the bleeding idiot drops to the floor, before scampering off and leaving me alone with my starbound in the alleyway. I tremble with fear as my starbound puts a hand to my chest and pushes me against the cold brick wall.

The feeling of his touch against my skin matched with the aggression of the action sends a jolt down my spine. “Who the hell are you?” he asks.

“I’m your starbound,” I say back, with all the courage I can muster. “What’s your name?”

“Polo,” I say. “What’s your name?” He doesn’t respond, just turns his back on me.

Without his eyes on me, I finally have a chance to observe him for a moment. His knuckles are bloody and his hair disheveled.

My instincts kick in with the need to care for my starbound. “Wait here,” I say to him as I head back into the bar. He doesn’t stop me.

Once inside, I grab a clean cloth and wet it in the sink. Then I walk back out to where my starbound is still standing there.

I approach him slowly and take his hands into mine. Intense sparks shoot up through my fingers and up my arms as soon as I touch him.

He pulls his hands back a little, startled, but soon lets me clean him up. He still doesn’t say anything.

Okay, so he isn’t a man of many words. I can deal with that. I mean, after all, I have finally found my starbound.

“What is your name?” I ask again when all the blood has been washed from his knuckles. “Nat’ani Ahuli, from the Mountain tribe,” he states coldly.

I drop his hands. He can’t be… My body goes rigid and my breathing stutters.

All the stories I have heard of the nat’ani from Mountain tribe come flooding into my mind. Rumors have circulated in my tribe of how he killed his father to gain the title of nat’ani and how he will punish anyone for disobeying him.

“So, I take it you’ve heard of me,” he continues. He’s looking at me so coldly I can’t speak.

But behind the glare, I see a flicker of emotion pass through his eyes. Then it’s gone so quick I doubt I ever saw it.

“Everything you’ve heard is true,” he says darkly. “So you would be wise to stay the hell away from me.”