Chapter 16 #2
They walked through the cluster of buildings and out into the green area beyond.
There was soft ground cover and clusters of tall, narrow trees.
She didn’t see anyone until they were past several sets of trees.
There were children sedately walking in groups of two and three around the perimeter of the cresh.
Similar to the school she’d attended on Inneeko, there were only polite markers to denote school grounds. Unlike Inneeko, the children were much too quiet and reserved. She could hear a few muted conversations, but no rumbles or rattles. Everyone also walked at a slow, measured pace.
There was only one adult walking on their own but keeping a sweeping gaze on all the students.
The silent reserve ended the moment the first students noticed her. Surprised rattles filled the air as little bodies ran at her.
Between one breath and the next, she was surrounded by Talin children all rattling, rumbling, and talking at once.
“It’s a human!”
“She’s barely bigger than us!”
“Do you think she needs to clutch or cling?”
“I have long arms. I’d be very good at returning a cling!”
“Citizen children!” the adult with them called out as she hurried over. “That is not how we act!”
The sixteen children all went silent and took a step back. With less than ten words, the Talin had snuffed out all the joy these children had.
It took a lot of effort to keep her anger in check.
“Greetings, Instructor Kolsum,” her escort said. “This is Han. Her owner is visiting, and she requested to meet his children, Rishmun and Lirsum.”
Han was watching closely and saw two of the children react slightly to their names.
“I know all these children are amazing, but I’m so excited to meet Rennie’s children! I bet I can even pick them out.”
She pretended to survey them and pointed to the two who reacted. “There you are!”
The two children stepped forward, purring.
“You’re correct!” Lirsum said.
“You’re a very smart human,” Rishmun said.
“Do you want to interact with the rest of us also?” one of the other children asked. They sounded so sad, Han had to fight a frown.
“I know a game we can all play,” Han said. “It’s my favorite.”
While she talked with the kids, her escort and Instructor Kolsum spoke quietly. They decided to let them all remain out here longer than the normal exercise period. The escort’s Ident chimed, calling him away.
That was a relief. One less set of adult eyes would make it easier if Plan A didn’t work.
With the escort gone, Kolsum addressed the children.
“Because it’s so rare to find humans, this might be our only experience with one.
I’m going to combine both exercise times together so you can study Han.
It’s important to be gentle with her; humans are extremely fragile.
They are also a low-intelligence species, so you might need to speak slowly or repeat yourself with simpler words.
Be patient and never reprimand a human unless they put themselves in danger. Do we all understand?”
The children sounded simultaneous rumbles of agreement.
Kolsum looked at Han. “You wanted to teach us a game humans play?”
Han was working hard on not hitting Kolsum with a dose of sarcasm.
Forcing a pleasant expression on her face, she knelt next to Lirsum and Rishmun. “No matter what game we play, I’d feel better if both of you stayed close to me. I’ve never been here before and strange places can make me anxious.”
They both pressed close and purred.
“We’ll keep you safe,” Lirsum said.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Rishmun said.
“What game do you want us to play with you?” one of the other children asked. “Does it involve running?”
That started a flurry of questions.
“Do we need to be stealthy or loud?”
“Can humans run?”
“Should we go slower if she can’t keep up?”
Kolsum stepped closer to speak, but Han held up her hands and the children quieted.
“I want to play a game called, um, hunters. We divide everyone into two groups. Everyone in one group hides, then the other group needs to find them. Once you find one person, you are done for the game. The last one to be found wins!”
“But the finders don’t have a chance to win,” one of the kids objected.
“We switch sides and do it again,” she explained. “There are always at least two rounds in hunters.”
“The three of us will count as one,” Rishmun reminded everyone.
They all agreed, and Han was quick to divide the kids into two groups. One group huddled together and closed their eyes as she counted down. The other one ran off in all different directions.
“Ready or not, here we come!” she called out when she finished counting. No one moved, so she looked at the children. “Go find someone!”
They all scrambled off, except for Rishmun and Lirsum. The two stuck to her side as if they’d be attacked by vicious beasts at any moment.
Han set off at a sedate pace.
“It’s okay if you can’t go any faster,” Rishmun said.
“No one expects you to win,” Lirsum assured her.
Han almost laughed at the children's attempts to reassure her. “Thank you. I feel very confident with the two of you here. Could we maybe hold hands?”
She held out a hand to each of them. The children looked at each other as if silently debating and then seemed to come to a conclusion.
Han was about to drop her hands when Lirsum took her left hand and Rishmun took her right one. Then they started purring, and Han absolutely fell in love with them.
They strolled as kids sprinted around them. Some were rattling and rumbling loudly, all the earlier staunch decorum gone. It made Han ecstatic to see.
The moment they were out of sight of Kolsum, Han stopped and drew the children nearer to her. It was risky to bring them into her confidence so soon, but she had a strong sense that these two were trustworthy.
“I have something very important to tell the two of you,” she said. “With your help, we can save a baby.”