10. Chapter 10 #2
I looked over at Mazorium and heard him sound a rumble of amusement before speaking to Ithorum. “She is beautiful, but she can be rather loud about her unhappiness on occasion.”
We continued to the shop, followed by a crowd at enough distance to keep Ithorum content. When we entered the shop, three Talins rushed to greet us.
“I’m overwhelmed with the honor you bring to our shop!” the one in the middle said to Mazorium, although her eyes kept jumping to me. “I’m Pumlura." She pointed to the Talins on her right and left. “This is Relson and Famorum. We’re deeply pleased to serve you today.”
Mazorium greeted them and introduced himself. The moment he said my name, all three moved in close and purred. A little startled, I stepped back, and Mazorium was quick to move in front of me.
“Do not touch,” he warned.
“We weren’t going to!” Relson said.
“I only wanted to see the baby,” Famorum said. “She’s tucked away, and I can only see the very top of her head.”
Pumlura opened her hand to show Mazorium what she was holding. “I was going to offer Mika a sweet. I’ve read that humans like sweet things.”
I stepped around Mazorium with a pat on his arm. “I do like sweets, thank you,” I said, taking Pumlura’s candy and popping it into my mouth. I was prepared to swallow it whole if it was nasty, but it tasted a little like berries.
Pumlura sounded a happy rattle. “She likes it!”
I looked up at Mazorium and pointed to my mouth. “Can we buy some of this if she has more?”
Before he could answer, Pumlura sounded a negative rattle. “Absolutely not.” For a half second, I was mildly devastated, then Pumlura kept talking. “We have an entire box of it for you as a gift.”
“And I have this for you!” Famorum said, thrusting a blanket at me. I automatically took it, then had to touch it to my face. It was that soft.
“Look, she’s rubbing her scent on it!” Famorum declared with an excited rattle. “That must mean she likes it.”
“Wait, I have this for you,” Relson said and held out an oddly shaped ball.
I lowered the blanket and stared at it. “Um, thank you.”
Relson set it on the floor and tapped the top. It lit up and started to jiggle and move in an unpredictable pattern. “I know Nadia can’t play with it yet, but she might find it entertaining when she’s a little older.”
“That’ll be a great toy!” I agreed, already seeing the benefits.
I knew from my siblings that something that lit up and moved was highly entertaining for toddlers.
I tried to crouch down to get a closer look.
It was hard with Nadia’s weight, and I only made it halfway before Relson scooped it up.
He presented it to me on the palm of his hand, where it kept moving and changing its light pattern.
“Nadia will like that,” Mazorium said with an approving rumble. “Where did you get it?”
“Rostori use them to train their hunting animals,” Relson said, tapping the top to turn it off. “Normally, they’re much faster, but I was able to program this one to move and blink slower.”
Mazorium complimented Relson as Pumlura took the toy and stepped away.
I watched her tuck it into a bag along with a box and several other items. The bag caught my eye.
It was a tomer bag, designed to be fed into a reclamater and turned into cloth that could be put into a tailor machine.
It was a pretty blue, and I knew from experience that the bag was big enough to make a top.
If we had two bags, I could have matching pants.
“You should probably put the toy in a separate bag so it doesn't rub on anything,” I said to Pumlura as Mazorium and Relson talked. I know that didn’t make any sense, but I really wanted two bags!
Pumlura must’ve caught me eyeing the bag because she crinkled it a little in one hand. “Do you like this color? I’ve read that humans like to collect colorful things. I’ll include several bags in here for you.”
I felt my face get hot at the same time I nodded my head. “Yes please, and thank you!”
“Do humans bobble their heads as a sign of gratitude? How adorable you are!” Pumlura said and filled the bag with purple, gold, orange, and more blue bags. She put so many in there the top didn’t want to close. I could make an entire wardrobe with all those bags!
“There, now you have several of each color,” she announced, setting the bag aside. I would give her a hug, but having Nadia strapped to my chest made that problematic. Instead, I walked up and took one of Pumlura’s hands in both of mine.
“You’ve made me very happy.”
Pumlura purred loudly. “Oh, this is affection. You’re feeling affectionate toward me!”
It took so little to make these Talins feel special that I decided to go a step further. “Do you want to meet Nadia?”
Pumlura sounded a rumble of agreement. I let go of her hand and carefully peeled back the top of the carrier so she could see more of Nadia’s sleeping face. One of her hands was in front of her mouth, her little fingers loose now from where she’d been gripping my top before falling asleep.
“She’s so very tiny,” Pumlura breathed, putting her face close to Nadia. “Look at her miniature fingers. I’ve never seen blunt claws before.”
“Fingernails,” I corrected. “We don’t have claws.”
By now, Relson and Famorum had noticed and rushed to stand next to Pumlura so they could admire Nadia. I could tell they were all desperate to touch her, so I let them pet the top of her head with a finger.
When Nadia made a little sound, stretched an arm, and went back to sleep, you would’ve thought she’d done some kind of amazing feat of strength by the way the Talins reacted.
I thought my child was adorable and special because she was mine. These people thought she was adorable and special too, and she wasn’t even their species. It made my heart swell with pride!
“I’m going to find a human of my own,” Relson said with absolute conviction.
“They’re hard to find,” Mazorium said, coming up behind me. “I was blessed by the ancestors to have come across these two up for auction.”
“I’ve lived an honorable life,” Relson replied without taking his eyes off Nadia. “I’m sure the ancestors will bless me.”
Pumlura and Famorum said something similar.
I could only be thankful that most humans lived deep in the Ilgorian Federation, far from the Talin Empire.
As far as I knew, the Ilgorians and Talins didn’t even have trade relations, so unless I said something, those humans wouldn’t be found and enslaved.
A small part of me wondered if they wouldn’t be better off among these Talins, but the larger part of me hated the lack of choice.
If I thought the Talins could go to them and make a reasonable offer, I’d talk, but I knew better.
This species felt superior to everyone and wouldn’t think anything of enslaving a bunch of humans without even saying hi first.
Nope, I was keeping my mouth firmly shut. If anyone ever asked, I’d say that as far as I knew, Nadia and I were the last humans left alive in the universe!