(Lisa's POV)
Valin returned home looking exhausted.
I decided to work from home today on my laptop so that I could stay productive, and it also helped the time pass faster as I waited for him.
Valin approached me, kissed my forehead, then released a sigh.
He sat next to me, leaning against my shoulder.
This caused my body to tense up and made it impossible to remain focused on my work.
"What are you doing?" he murmured into my ear, and I jolted, then screamed,
"Working!" while squeezing my eyes closed. My reply elicited a chuckle from him, and then he moved his right hand onto my left one, pulling it away from my laptop keyboard and intertwining our fingers.
"We... need to talk."
If he wasn't being so gentle and affectionate with me, I would be worried about the sentence that had just left his lips.
"I'm here to listen," I replied instead, feeling mostly calm but still mildly aroused by his presence.
"I... may be gone for a while... It's some crazy stuff going down in my hometown, and my family needs me..."
His voice was a bit unsteady, which is unlike Valin; he always seems so confident in everything he's saying, even when it's nonsense.
"What's going on?"
He moved away from me with a downcast expression.
I scooted over, immediately closing the gap between us. Valin turned to me to meet my eyes.
"It's cold..." I reasoned as my excuse, and he laughed, putting his arm over my shoulder.
"Sure it is. Sadly... you might not want to touch me after I tell you this..." My heart started panicking,
"What? I don't think you're cheating on me, but... I also can't imagine any other reason I wouldn't want to touch you..."
In response, he snorted from trying to hold in his laughter while saying,
"You're good at ruining a serious atmosphere." This comment made me pout,
"I'm not joking!" I retorted, making him quiver and laugh louder and reply,
"That just makes it funnier!"
"I just... I always feel like I'm not doing enough for you, physically. It seems like you're never fully satisfied, and it makes me... aware of why you had so many casual relationships before," I explained.
He paused in his laughter, then hugged me against him,
"It's nothing like that... I'm never satisfied because it's you... Do you think I get like this about every woman?! If that were true, I wouldn't be able to function; nothing would get done. You're an anomaly... I've never felt this way towards anyone else."
I blushed brightly, and then he sighed.
"It's nothing like that... no one can turn me on the way you do," he added for clarity.
My face grew even hotter!
"The truth is... I'm an Afarion."
His confession made me freeze... Valin? My sweet Valin... is one of those evil creatures I've only seen on the news or in horror movies?
This beautiful man... is one of them?
When I looked up at him, I saw tears forming in his eyes. Then he quickly wiped them and moved a few feet away from me.
"I... That's hard to believe... you're so sweet and good."
My words caused him to scoff.
"Well, it's true... I just... I'm serious about you, I want you to meet my family, and I want to meet yours... I don't want to be separated but... It would be wrong to take things further without being honest about what I am," he admitted.
Fear filled my chest.
Not fear that he'd hurt me, for some reason I still don't believe he would do that, but fear that if I said the wrong thing...
I'd never see him again.
"I... care, of course, that matters, but I still want you. I want to be with you, no matter what you are," I declared.
He was silent for several seconds, leading me to believe I may have answered wrong.
"No... Think about it. Truly think about what it means to be with me and give me your answer when I get back." He stood up from the couch and headed towards the door.
I rushed after him and hugged him from behind,
"Are you doing something dangerous?"
He didn't reply.
"I'll let you go if you promise to return safely," I muttered.
He gently pried my arms away and said,
"I can't promise that but..." He sighed again, "Fine, I'll stay safe..."
After that, he opened the door but somehow vanished before taking a step outside... He was telling the truth... That explains some things... but the only things I know about Afarions are negative...
After coming back to my senses, I got on my computer and searched:
"How do you know if you have encountered an Afarion?"
I found a forum that listed all the warning signs.
Number one, you'll feel exhausted every time you interact with them. That's not true at all... in fact, I feel like I have more energy every time Valin touches me.
Secondly, you'll lose your vigor and seem to be aging more quickly than usual.
That's also false; my skin has never been smoother.
Third, even though you feel negative, it's hard to stay away from them. That's partially wrong; I feel positive about him.
Lastly, Afarions look down on humans and will treat all relationships as casual; your feelings will always be ignored, you are just food to them, so get out while you can.
This all sounds awful, but... none of it seems to fit my experience with Valin... Wait, things are crazy right now, but weren't the Afarions and Infaniyans essentially the same at one point? I altered my original search and entered Infaniyan in place of Afarion.
They never seem to age, they can see through lies easily, they eat very little, recover from injuries very quickly, don't have periods, and are very attractive...
I revised my search again: "How would you know you're dating an Infaniyan?" I found a forum, and it said
"Warning, just because your partner is hot does not mean they are an Infaniyan! An Infaniyan rarely chooses a human as their partner, so don't get your hopes up unless all of this applies to you!
Okay, firstly, Infaniyans become sure of their feelings sooner than most humans, so they may know if they want to marry you very soon in the relationship.
Within the first few months, now this isn't a clear sign, but it's worth noting at least. You will never see them get sick or drunk normally.
Infaniyans don't need to eat often, the government provides their housing, and they don't need transportation, so 9/10 they have hefty savings which they'll use to pay for extravagant gifts, if gift giving is their love language, of course.
One of the more concrete signs is that they share their energy with human lovers so that they can somewhat match them in terms of stamina... so it seems like you've suddenly become a beast in bed, it could be due to this.
They might opt for just healing you so you recover faster because sharing their energy will slowly transform your body into one that is closer to theirs.
An Infaniyan sharing energy with you is the same as declaring they want you to be with them forever. Another clear sign is their eyes light up when feeling intense emotion (i.e., arousal). 9/10 They'll hide this by covering their face or closing their eyes when those feelings hit them, but if you are with one long-term, you'll see this trait a few times.
This... fits Valin a whole lot better, and it confirms the fact that he's been cherishing me properly.
It didn't even take an hour for me to be assured that my initial answer was the right one... I just hope he comes home soon... He... should still be able to text me.
I'll contact him now and see if we can have a proper goodbye.
(Tana's POV)
Insinz's clone sat watching me as I struggled to control the shape of the Smoke flowing into my palm.
The real Insinz made it look so simple, but it's hard to keep it from mixing into the air and dispersing.
The documents I've studied claimed this was an expert-level skill, but it was still hard to imagine the difficulty.
My brow furrowed.
That's when the clone laid his forehead on mine and said,
"You're doing well... you've improved so much in no time," he complimented.
I've been practicing ever since we had our meeting earlier, so it's only been a few hours.
"It's not enough," I insisted.
He placed his hands under mine, then the smoke seemed to move as I willed it, forming a perfect sphere.
"I need to be able to do this on my own," I chastened.
He laughed.
"You are... I haven't done anything but boost your confidence."
When he moved his hand away, I realized he was right... I made a sphere of pure poison!
The gas was still less concentrated than Insinz's was, and I think the only effect it would have is mild dizziness.
"If you want to become stronger faster, there is one way..." I looked up at him, and then I accidentally pecked his lips because of how close we were and backed away until my head bumped the bedpost.
"H-how?" I asked in a shaky voice.
"Poison intake. My power gets weak if I don't consume poison, and eventually that affects my health... you're not Chosen by Smoke, so you shouldn't have to worry about getting sick without the poison, but... if you want to grow stronger, it might be smart to eat some."
I thought hard.
"Like acid... ink... or nightshade?"
Insinz laughed.
"Yeah... that would work, but a more potent poison is sitting right in front of you," he remarked.
I looked around, and then the clone closed the gap between us, placed his fingers under my chin, and forced me to look at him.
"I'm talking about me," Insinz's clone informed.
"What?! You want me to eat you?!"
He shook his head.
"Just kiss me... the longer you can stand it, the better," he suggested.
Heat rushed into my face.
It should be illegal for him to say that with Insinz's face and body.
"I'd rather not."
My reply made him pout.
"Fine... I can get you another poison, but I promise you, this is the fastest way. We might need to leave tomorrow.
I'm created from a mixture of powerful toxins, you won't find anything on this planet that compares to me..." he commented.
I bit my lip... that feels unfair to Insinz... he's out there fighting while I'm making out with his clone? Plus, he's so far away from the main body that this clone is acting autonomously right now. I shouldn't trust him so easily.
"If you're that opposed... There is one more way..." he offered.
"Oh, tell me!" I stated eagerly,
"You can let me go down on you and intake the poison that way," his clone suggested with his eyes drifting down my torso.
"I'll try the kissing!" I retorted; he pouted.
"Are you sure?"
As he asked this, he slowly moved his hand up my thigh, grazing the hem of my dress.
I slapped his hand away and said,
"I am completely sure!"