Body Language

Arriving at work, you no longer were required to use the warehouse entrance. Your new managerial position afforded you a modest office in the central part of the building. You had dressed business casual with a simple polo and pants.

You had worked on developing control over your charm magic over the past three months, which meant you were no longer attracting the eye of every monster girl in your radius. Actually, given the amount of attention you got at home, you were glad for down time when you weren’t being aggressively pursued.

Looking around, everyone was simply going about their routine. Everyone except Kiri, the receptionist. The typical person wouldn’t have noticed the insect girl’s intense gaze, but you had gotten to know her a bit more since starting your new job.

Cerena had initially told you that insect girls didn’t show much emotion or have well developed social skills. Many people avoided them for various prejudices or were simply put off by their apparent icy demeanors. You had made it a point to talk to her every chance you could get to help build her social skills.

While Kiri was not obvious, you had begun to get better at reading her the more you interacted. Your conclusion was not that insect girls were emotionless, but rather that their emotional tells were just much more subtle than humans or other monsters. Kiri might cover her mouth when amused, twitch an antenna when angry, or raise an eyebrow slightly when interested in something. Even if she didn’t always maintain eye contact, you could tell when she was engaged and in a good mood.

There was one thing that bothered you about her.

Sometimes, amidst all the small talk and greetings, the serious woman would steal a glance at you. The fact that she generally didn’t have good social eye contact meant that when she did lock her ruby-colored eyes on you, the hairs on your neck stood on end. The feeling lasted only a moment, but usually occurred when you first approached her and when you said goodbye. It felt like your base instincts were screaming that you were in danger. For that reason, you had decided to keep a healthy amount of caution.

Today too you felt the surge of instincts when you approached Kiri to sign in. She was intently watching you, though she was pretending to look at her monitor.

“Good morning, Ms. Kiri.” You greeted her with your newfound bravado.

“Good morning Mr. Holt. Please sign in using the correct employee code.” Her tone was business, but you had become more sensitive to her nature.

“Is something wrong this morning, Ms. Kiri? You seem a bit anxious.” She flinched ever so slightly. To the uninitiated, it was almost imperceivable.

“No, Mr. Holt. Thank you for asking.” Kiri continued to act as if she was wrapped up in work. You decided to push a bit more today, determined to break down some of her walls.

Reaching out, you set a hand gently on the sleeve of her green kimono. Though you could not see the beautiful emerald chitin of her arms, you could feel their hardened form through the cloth.

“Are you sure? I know things can be tough in the new world. If you’re having any difficulties, you can always tell me.”

Kiri flinched at your touch, but never pulled away. The insect girl looked at you directly with her red eyes shining through her glasses. Her face looked like it was carved from stone, but the little changes and variations were still there. Something was wrong. You could tell. There again, you felt your fight or flight instincts well up, but you suppressed them down. You refused to let yourself be thrown off just because Kiri was a bit intense.

“I’m fine.” She said with a flat tone, though you noticed a hint of tremble in her voice. “You should be careful though, Mr. Holt. An outsider might think you were making a sexual advance if you behave like that.”

“Oh! Sorry, Ms. Kiri! I didn’t mean to offend you.” You pulled your hand off her arm quickly. She stared at the place where you removed your hand for a moment and shifted ever-so-slightly.

“It’s fine. I was not offended. You should be more wary about the signals you send. You may find someone not so receptive and get into trouble.”

“Thank you for looking out for me. Wait. Are you saying you are receptive?” In her own way, you felt like Kiri was being friendly, and you decided to be a bit playful.

“If you’re finished clocking in, you should head to your office.” Kiri had suddenly shifted back into business mode. That tone, you noticed, was one she used when she was getting uncomfortable. You didn’t want to bother her too much, so you said your goodbyes, and headed to your office to get some work done.