WIP Wednesday - Clan Beginnings: Clan and Commit

The cute bartender has a big, nasty problem...

Vax finished waiting on the other patron and checking on others. He strolled back to Bacoj. “Finish the food, or I’ll think you were lying about how good it is.”

In an instant, the worst of the darkness lifted again. Bacoj chuckled and had another bite. Whomever Vax was promised to, the food alone would make him a lucky bastard.

He said as much. Vax leaned toward him, settling his elbow on the bar. “Thanks. To be honest, I don’t—”

He froze. Vax straightened, his attention riveted on the bar’s entrance. Bacoj glanced over his shoulder to see what had chased the Imdiko’s cheerful mood away.

A man who unmistakably belonged to the warrior Nobek breed glared at Vax from the door. His demeanor was as fierce as any of his kind, but Bacoj immediately discerned there were a few unusual details about him.

He was as muscled as most Kalquorians, maybe even a touch more. Perhaps twenty years older than Bacoj, he was still a young man. Yet there was something debilitated about the Nobek. His face was gaunt, with deep shadows under his eyes. His hair, black as most of their kind, was thin and lusterless. There was a sense of great desperation that clung to him. The sort of desperation that had turned to a nasty disposition.

At that moment, that ugly nature was focused on Vax. Bacoj bristled at the unspoken threat.

“Who’s the asshole who wants a punch?” he asked.

Releasing Summer 2020.