Farr’vye
But I did not resist my impulses either.
After he told me to leave, I kept my distance from his hut. It never left my line of sight, but I remained far enough away that he could not see me watching.
Staring.
Wanting.
After hours had passed, his front door quietly cracked open, and he crept outside into the darkness. I remained still and silent. I did not want him to know I was still watching him. As Assistant 23 walked in the opposite direction, I battled the urge to follow him.
It was exceedingly difficult.
But then I heard his terrified scream, and it awakened something within me.
The sound of his fear drove my instincts out of control. My body moved without my input, propelled toward the weak little human. The moment his cry hit my ears, I dropped to the ground on all fours and bolted toward his voice. My mind emptied except for the singular thought of him.
It was deep into the night. Predators lurked under the cover of darkness, and Assistant 23 was as fragile as a scrap of seed fluff. He would not stand a chance against any potential threats.
The thought of losing him hollowed out my core.
It was a mistake to let him out of my sight, I thought, angry with myself. I should have kept a better watch over him.
Moments later, I crashed through the dense foliage surrounding the waterfall. That was the source of his scream. He must be nearby.
I leaped into the clearing—right into Assistant 23.
At the same time, he shrieked in fear and smacked the side of my face with a stick.
It was painless. Actually, it felt good. Getting hit by Assistant 23 meant he was alive and safe. Relief pulsed through my entire body.
“Farr’vye!” Assistant 23 blurted. He was shaking and still clutching the stick to his chest. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you scream.”
“M-me?”
I searched his face, but as usual, the tinted shield made him unreadable. Meanwhile, his loosened posture and sighs of relief told me he was relieved, too.
Is he happy to see me?
“Oh, right. I screamed when I ran into Kookee,” Assistant 23 said. “I don’t know how it got out, but it scared the crap out of me.”
The glossy-furred Pandar stood next to Assistant 23. It was unbothered as it munched on the leaves of a nearby tree.
“What are you doing out here alone?” I asked the human.
He grunted; a cute little sound of frustration. “Why’s that any of your business?”
“I need to know.”
He made the grunt sound again, this time higher. I liked how his voice pitched up when he was flustered.
“Excuse me?” he demanded.
“It is not safe for a weak human to be alone at night in the wilds.”
A series of short, cut-off sounds escaped Assistant 23. Finally, he snapped, “Listen, pal! I survived alone on this planet for eight fucking years!”
I did not understand why the number and the years had engaged in sexual intercourse, but I thought it best not to interrupt his rant.
“So I don’t need a lecture, got it?” he barked.
“You said you screamed when you saw Kookee,” I pointed out. “A Pandar is the least threatening creature you could have encountered.”
“I screamed because I was surprised, not because—okay, fine, I was scared.”
“As you should be. It is dangerous for a lone human in the wilds.”
Assistant 23 gripped the stick harder. His next question came out as a confused growl. “You—you want me to be scared?”
“Fear helps us avoid harm.” I tilted my head at him. “That is what I am told.”
“What, you don’t know?”
I pondered his inquiry for a few moments before responding. “When I heard you scream, my entire body felt cold and unwell. It was uncomfortable, and I wished for it to end quickly. Is that what fear is?”
He shifted his weight back and forth on his feet. “Well… yeah.”
“Then, yes. I felt fear in that moment. But never before.”
His face shield was tipped in my direction as he stood unmoving. I assumed he was staring at me.
“That’s, um… different,” he finally said.
That was not the first time I had been described that way. I did not mind, though, especially since it was coming from him.
“Enough about me. Are you all right?” I asked.
Assistant 23 let out a shaky breath. “Yeah. I’m fine. I was just bathing and washing up before my imagination got the best of me, and I freaked out over nothing.”
“You bathe with the covering on?”
Adorable frustration entered his voice once again. “No, obviously! I take the suit off.”
The tips of my feelers tingled with curiosity. The other three humans on Eukaria shared physical similarities but each had distinct differences. I could not imagine what Assistant 23 looked like beneath the suit, and I desperately wanted to know.
“Can I see?” I asked.
He yelped, springing back a step. “What? No!”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to show you!”
I accepted his answer. Even though I did not like it, he had sated my immediate curiosity. I was not about to pin him down and remove his exterior shell.
“All right,” I said.
“I said I’m not gonna strip, okay? So stop—” He paused mid-shout. “Oh. Sorry.”
He sounded embarrassed, though I did not know why. I did not mind when he raised his voice at me. I liked all facets of him; every rise and fall of his words, each annoyed grunt, flustered whimper, and shrieked word.
Desire stirred in my belly. I ignored it.
“I will escort you back to the village, so I know you are safe,” I told him.
He huffed, crossing his arms. The stick poked out of the crook of his elbow. “Since when are you my self-appointed babysitter?”
“You are not a baby, and I am not sitting on you.”
He groaned, then corrected, “Chaperone. Didn’t I encode that in the damned translation program?”
Before I could ask what he meant by that, a deep bellow vibrated through the clearing.
My ears pricked. I recognized it as a Gulgin—a large, amphibious creature that asserted its territory with its booming cry.
They were harmless, but I realized Assistant 23 did not know this by the way he leaped into the air with a sharp squeal.
When he landed back on the ground, he shuffled closer to me, almost close enough to touch my chest.
“What was that?” he cried. “It sounds enormous!”
“Nothing to worry about,” I told him. Then, unable to contain my amusement, I added, “I thought you lived alone for eight fucking years.”
He sharply raised his head. “I did! I never heard that!”
“That is difficult to believe. Gulgin live everywhere on Eukaria.”
He grumbled as if irritated with me but for some reason refused to disengage.
“Sorry that I don’t know the name of every terrifying beast on this planet,” he muttered. “I’m still getting used to the whole living-with-aliens thing. And yes, I know that I’m an alien in this situation. By the way, why were you awake? Don’t tell me I screamed loudly enough to wake you up…”
There was no point in lying.
“I do not think anyone else heard you. I did because I was awake, staring at your hut,” I explained.
Assistant 23 stilled. “Oh,” he said in a high, tight voice. “That’s really creepy.”
“Yes,” I agreed.
Then Assistant 23 did something unexpected. He laughed.
The musical sound sent a trill of sensation through my spine, all the way down the length of my tail. Feelings swarmed in my chest, and I could not suppress my outward fascination. I felt my pupils dilate as I stared at him.
“W-what?” he asked.
“I liked that sound you made.”
He seemed incredulous. “My laugh?”
I continued to stare, utterly fixated on him. If only I could watch him laugh without the tinted screen hiding his face. If I were bolder and more callous, I would have ripped it off without a second thought, but Assistant 23 would not enjoy that. I did not want him to be frightened of me.
“You, uh… you are pretty creepy, aren’t you?” Assistant 23 mused.
“I have been informed of this.”
“Even by other Maeleons?” he asked, surprised.
“Yes. They are honest. And apparently, I am creepy.”
Assistant 23’s hand flew to his face shield as he tried to hold back another laugh. It came out as a choked sound, as if he were biting back his amusement.
“Then this is normal for you? Staring at people?” He paused. “Who else do you stare at?”
Was that simple curiosity in his voice? Or was it the slightest hint of jealousy?
“You seem unaware of this fact, but you have been the object of my fascination for many moons,” I admitted. “Did you not notice that I sit next to you at every feast?”
Assistant 23 did not reply, and his body went still, as if he had frozen to the ground. Then he rubbed his arms and said, “Hey, uh, can we walk and talk? We should get back to the village.”
“Did my comment make you uncomfortable?” I asked.
“N-no. Well, a little. But…”
“But?”
He waved his gloved hands. “Forget I said anything. Let’s just go.”
A hint of hesitation lingered in his voice, as if he had more to say but held himself back.
A distant Gulgin released another well-timed bellow. Assistant 23’s shoulders jerked at the booming sound, and he shrank in on himself, as if he were not small enough.
After shaking it off with a sigh, he turned to Kookee and patted the beast’s fur.
“Come on, Kookee,” he mumbled.
I watched the interaction with a sharp jolt of envy. It probably felt nice to be patted by him. If only I were a fluffy Pandar instead of a scaly Maeleon.
Scaly and creepy.
I led the way back to the village, ensuring that Assistant 23 was following close behind me.
I would not allow him to get lost or hurt under my supervision.
The village was not far, but under the veil of night, the world was different.
Darker and colder. Not even an adult Maeleon would wander off on their own at night.
In that way, I highly respected Assistant 23’s bravery.
But I was selfish, and the village was not far enough away. Soon, we would arrive, and our time together would end until our next interaction. The idea made my scales itch with dread.
I needed more time with him. I wanted him all to myself. But unless Assistant 23 shared my desires, it would be inappropriate to act on my urges.
Perhaps I should tell him the truth. I doubt his opinion of me could get any lower.
I stopped walking and turned to face him, but he had been walking so close behind me that I accidentally smacked him in the face with my spiked tail.
“Ack!” he cried.
Panic surged through my feelers, and they pulsed a sickly neon yellow. Instinctively, I leaned down to examine Assistant 23’s face for injury, but the frustrating faceplate remained in the way. I could not discern his condition.
“Are you all right?” I asked urgently.
He made a sound like a laugh, except it was breathy and short. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s my fault for following so close, anyway.”
He lifted a gloved hand to rub the shield. His thumb moved back and forth across the strange reflective material.
And then he paused.
“Um… Farr’vye?” he said.
“I am here.”
“Is there… a crack in my face shield?”
Leaning closer to examine the material, I scanned the area where his thumb lay.
It was blocking my view. I gently pushed it aside, which earned a small squeak of surprise from the human.
Once the view was clear, I saw the crack.
It arced from the top corner of his dark shield like a bolt of lightning.
“There is a crack, and it is large,” I confirmed.
A hoarse, strangled cry tore from Assistant 23’s throat. He stumbled backward, clutching his face. He continued to wail as he turned his back on me and crumpled into the grass.
“What happened?” I asked.
“D-don’t come near me!”
The claws on my feet dug into the soil. It took a painstaking effort not to approach him. I wished he would not put so much distance between us while I was concerned for his safety. My tail lashed from side to side in frustration.
“Are you hurt? Please respond,” I called.
Assistant 23 was silent as he cowered and trembled in the grass. Even Kookee seemed worried. It bent its head lower and sniffed the top of the human’s head with its wide nostrils.
“If you do not answer, I will disobey you,” I warned.
“No, no, no…”
Assistant 23’s words came out in a cracked moan. He did not seem to hear me. He was balled up on the ground with his face buried in his knees, and his arms surrounding them. I had never seen him look quite so upset.
Frustration swelled in my chest, so hot and bright that it nearly choked me. My human was hurting, and I could do nothing to help him.
I could only barricade my feelings for so long. Unable to keep my distance, I rushed to his side. But before I could offer to help him to his feet, Assistant 23 wailed and collapsed on his side as though my presence had physically knocked him over.
“Let me help you,” I insisted.
“You can’t help me!” he shrieked. “Please, just leave me alone!”
I was going to argue that he was wrong, so I bit my tongue hard enough to taste blood. The pain was barely a distraction from my burning frustration.
“Tell me what I can do,” I demanded.
“Nothing. It’s over. My life is over…”
He trailed off with a pained moan.
I did not understand his disproportionate reaction. He said he was unharmed. Was the face shield part of his body? Did he somehow feel its pain?
Then a jolt of inspiration hit me. Maeleon feelers were direct links for communication. If Assistant 23 was in pain, I could divide it among us. Sharing it with him would lessen his load.
He was in no state to respond, so I made the decision for him.
I lowered the tip of a feeler against his shoulders.
It was covered in fabric, like the rest of his body, but the material was dotted with tiny rips.
One was just big enough to slip the malleable tip of my feeler against Assistant 23’s skin.
Instantly, I was plunged into a different world. Assistant 23’s world.
Pure icy terror assaulted me. Fear was a cold blade that gutted me from the inside, and dread crawled into the hollowed space it left behind. I felt sick with anxiety.
Gasping sharply, I withdrew my feeler. I was rattled by the experience and took a few rapid breaths to come back to my senses.
But these were Assistant 23’s feelings, and unlike me, he could not escape them.
“What the hell was that?” he asked, high and strained. “Did—did you just probe me?”
I could not respond immediately. I was still shaken by the crushing weight of his emotions.
“Yes,” I breathed. “I wished to—”
Assistant 23 yelped as if stung. He scrambled to his feet and bolted like I was a predator about to swallow him whole.
Dark feelings swirled in my chest. I only wished to alleviate his pain, but I hurt him instead. And now he was running away from me.
Unfortunately, I was too distracted by my flash of self-loathing to realize Assistant 23 was running in a direction he should not have been.
A moment later, the pale shape of his suit abruptly disappeared, and a thin squeal of surprise floated up from a sudden depth. Next came a sharper, louder scream—the scream of a trapped and terrified creature.
I knew with a cold lurch in my stomach that he had fallen into the pit of thorns.