12. Farr’vye
As the night slipped away and dawn approached, I sensed thick humidity in the air. Heavy rain would fall today. A brewing storm, perhaps.
A light knock came at the door.
“Greetings,” I said.
“Yes. He had an… intense evening.”
Linn’ar understood my meaning and did not pry. “Wonderful! In any case, I came to inform you both about the storm. It’s going to be a bad one.”
My feelers blinked in confirmation. It hung in the air, dense as honey.
“Zat’tor and I are making sure all the humans stay indoors until the storm passes,” Linn’ar said. “Please tell Assistant 23 he should not go outside.”
“Thank you. I will.”
I would have kept Assistant 23 safe no matter what, but I appreciated the input from my Maeleon sibling. It was comforting to know that others cared for him, too.
“Oh, Linn’ar, there you are.”
The voice belonged to Jaeyoung, the human doctor. He carried young Kii’ran in one arm, and a basket of fruit in the other. The Maeleon youngling, deep pink and light blue, blinked curiously at me. I smiled back.
“Here, Farr’vye,” Jaeyoung said, offering me the basket.
It was brimming with ripe fruit and a package of human food called tteokbokki, a meal consisting of chewy flour tubes glazed in spicy sauce. I accepted it graciously.
“I thought humans were staying indoors today,” I teased.
“Aside from Assistant 23, I’m the only one with a functioning brain,” Jaeyoung said, deadpan but with a hint of humor. “Anyway, we’re going home after this. We just wanted to make sure you two were warned and fed.”
“Are we a known pair now?” I asked, amused.
“Well, you’ve been glued at the hip for a couple days now, so yes, pretty much.”
After saying goodbye and wishing each other well for the storm, I headed back inside. Assistant 23 was freshly awake. His legs were curled beneath him on the blanket, and he rubbed his eyes sleepily.
“I heard voices,” he mumbled. “Was that Jaeyoung and Linn’ar?”
“Yes. They came to drop off food and warn us about the storm.”
Immediately, Assistant 23’s eyes widened in fear. “A storm?”
I wondered if he could not feel the pressure and humidity in the air.
“Do not worry,” I said. “We are safe indoors.”
But he didn’t look appeased. As the seconds passed, a shadow fell across his face, darker than the clouds outside.
“Okay,” he said, not sounding like he believed me.
Something was wrong. He was not telling me the truth. I sat beside him and put an arm around his frail shoulders.
“Tell me your thoughts,” I encouraged.
He glanced up with bleak green eyes. Fear lurked within them. Was he nervous about the incoming storm?
“You are safe with me,” I said, stroking his face. “Never forget this.”
The fear in his expression wavered. He leaned into my touch, closed his eyes, and sighed.
“I know,” he murmured. “Sorry. I’ll try not to freak out.” He forced a smile, then asked, “What kind of food did they bring?”
Hunger was a good sign. If he was curious about food, it meant anxiety did not have a tight grip on his stomach.
I showed him the basket. “Shall I feed you?”
His eyes lit up. “Sure.”
I picked out the fruit he had eyed, a small yellow one with dry flesh, and offered it to him between my claws. He took a tentative bite, then a few more until he was satisfied.
“Thanks,” he said shyly. His smile appeared more genuine than before. “So, when’s this storm gonna break?”
My feelers flowed upward, sensing tiny vibrations in the air. “It will be an hour or two,” I estimated.
A visible shudder rolled over Assistant 23.
Suddenly, he stood up. “Jaeyoung was still out there, right? It must be fine for a little while.”
An irrational surge of protection made my feelers pulse. It was safe for the moment, yes. But that did not mean I wanted him to go outside.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
To my shock, he was getting dressed. He already had one foot in his coverings. “I need my machine. If there’s a storm, my place might flood.”
His words came out clipped. Almost terse.
My scales prickled. I stood up and offered, “I will get it for you.”
“Thanks, Farr’vye, but it’s an old machine. It’s delicate,” Assistant 23 said, avoiding eye contact with me. He closed the hood around his head so only a small section of his face was exposed. “I can get it by myself.”
The irrational feelings in my chest flared. He was acting strangely. If he went outside now, the villagers would see his real face. Since when has he been accepting of being exposed?
“If you leave now, your face will be seen,” I pointed out.
Assistant 23’s jaw was as tight as his reply. “It’s fine.”
It was not. Why was he lying to me?
I barely swallowed a worried growl as I stepped closer to him. “Little human—”
“Please, just let me do this, okay?” Assistant 23 snapped.
I was taken aback by his outburst. His expression was plastered with anger, but it was off. Like his earlier smile, it seemed forced.
I was not upset with him. I was deeply concerned.
“I swear, I’ll be right back,” Assistant 23 said quickly, moving away from me. “I just need some air, okay?”
My eyes narrowed. “I thought you needed your machine.”
Assistant 23 noticed his error but did not pause to unravel the mess. “Yeah, that too.”
“I will accompany you,” I said.
“No.”
His reply was too fast. Too sharp.
“I promise I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t follow me. Please.”
He stumbled toward the front door.
A feeling of rage swelled within me. None of it was directed at him. Instead, it was aimed at myself. His unwillingness to be honest with me meant that I had failed to cultivate his comfort. Failed to earn his trust.
I could have stopped him by force. I could have wrapped my tentacles around his scrawny human body and pinned him against my chest, holding him safely in my line of sight until the danger had passed.
It was extremely difficult not to impose my will on him. But I held on with the barest thread of control.
Perhaps he needed this moment of defiance. There was something he would not tell me, and it drove him to act irrationally. Just as I was acting.
“You will return,” I said. It had the edge of a question, but truthfully, it was a command.
For a fleeting second, honesty returned to Assistant 23’s voice. “Of course I will.”
And then he was out the door.