Chapter 12
twelve
CIELO
My Dante departs in the morning to go to work, leaving me alone in the apartment.
I watch some more ASL videos that I got at the Book Nest…
which they call a library. It does not make sense—these English words—but many human things confuse me.
I am getting better at understanding, though.
It will take years, but I am motivated to become more like them.
If I have to live here for the rest of my life, I will adapt.
But even though I enjoy my time with Dante and have made friends, I miss home.
I miss my family. I would like to see them once more, to say goodbye.
The dream I had sits heavily with me, even still.
I can’t stop picturing the Eretharian sky in the moments I do sleep, or the looks on my brothers’ faces as they’re condemned to work and starve.
I don’t know if it’s real, or if it’s a fear, but knowing I can’t make sure myself is killing me.
I fiddle with my torn earlobes, and my hand falls away from them. Last night, in my head, I vividly saw Dante piercing them, marking me as his.
I do not know why this appeared in my mind, but I liked it.
I have been too afraid to ask him to do this, though. It’s an intimate ceremony—an adornment I was stripped of when I was banished, and I don’t know if I have the strength to hear him tell me it means nothing to him.
I would not survive that.
I barely survived being stripped of everything I had earned, and the feeling of it now is crushing. My grief is never gone, but it has felt smaller lately. Until now.
Suddenly, the walls of his apartment seem too close, and I need to breathe fresh air—as fresh as Earth can be with the pollution rotting their skies. I put on my pink coat and make my way outside, unsure where to go.
Dante’s shop is across the street. I can see it from where I stand, but I do not wish to burden him with my pain.
He has done enough for me already, and I can tell he is just as tired as I am.
The other option is the gym, which sounds a lot better than wandering aimlessly or rotting away on Dante’s couch.
The walk is long, and perhaps by the time I arrive, my head will feel clear.
And I do have friends there. They said they come often, and that I am always welcome to join them.
And maybe this time, Prince Quilliyn will be there as well.
As soon as I reach the building of the gym and slip inside, I see Quilliyn behind the counter, and I feel something unknot in my chest. I do not mind humans, but having a connection to Erethar, being able to use my language, eases some of that ache inside me that sits heavy in my gut.
He grins at me and greets me in Eretharian. “Nice to see you. Breanna told me you stopped by yesterday, looking for me.”
“Yes.” I bow my head slightly, but a noise from Quilliyn’s throat has me peering up.
“No deference, remember. Here I am, just another Vyastil.”
I don’t know how he can think that, but I obey all the same.
“Are you here to speak to me?” he asks. “Or to meet your new friends?”
My ears flutter. I did not realize he knew about them. “They were kind to me.”
“Most humans are.” He glances down at my painted nails, and his lips turn up in a wide smile. “I like that color on you. It suits you.”
I feel my skin heating, and I bow my head once more.
“Come on. I’ll walk you over to them. They’re on the court playing basketball.” That last word is not Eretharian, so it is foreign to my tongue.
“Beeesketbuhllll.”
“Yes. It is an odd human sport.” He nods at a few humans who are working on the heavy machines.
“Tell me the rules of the game,” I say, and he nods.
“Well, there are two tall nets fixed high in the air, like the Seymosi nests. And the humans must feed them an orange orb—a ball they call it. They do this by repeatedly striking it against the ground. It does not harm the orb, though when I first saw this game, I was worried.” He taps his lips and then adds, “The humans divide themselves into two opposing packs, and they take turns putting the orb through the nest. Running is allowed, but holding the orb too long causes distress.”
“What is the point of the game?” I ask as we approach two double doors.
Quilliyn shrugs. “There is no point, really. It is for fun, but as a Vyastil observer, it seems to be all about jumping high and trusting the orb to come back when it is thrown.”
I nod as he pushes the doors open, and it’s there that I see Brody, Tyler, and Chadwick running around the court with Zane. He’s Everest’s friend who does not like the Vyastil, so it makes me nervous that maybe he’s turned my new friends against me.
When they see us, they stop, the ball held in Zane’s hand. Brody waves, and Chadwick and Tyler do the same.
But my eyes are focused on the orange ball, my mind harkening back to the words Quilliyn just told me. He is holding it too long. It will cause too much distress. I must feed the orb to the nest.
Without a word, I take off toward Zane. He shrinks back as I approach, almost as if he is going to run, which is not allowed.
So I take the ball from him and turn, bouncing it on the slick ground before throwing it toward the nest. My aim is always accurate, and the orb is fed into the net without any issue.
I watch as it hits the ground with a loud bounce, my ears fluttering in relief.
There, Everest’s friend will not be distressed now.
Only when I turn, I see that his cheeks are red, his eyes wide. Quilliyn is laughing softly from the sidelines. My three human friends are talking in hushed tones.
“What the fuck, dude?” Zane finally asks, flipping Quilliyn off as he says this. “You can’t just steal the ball.”
“Balll. Nesssst,” I say, feeling suddenly ashamed. Did I do the wrong thing? Was I not supposed to intervene? I did not want anyone harmed.
Quilliyn approaches, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I was explaining the rules to him before we entered. He did not want to cause you distress, which is why he took the ball from you.”
I nod, and Brody moves up to me, his fist held out, an odd human ritual, but one that signals friendship. I bump mine to his.
“Well, whatever that was, it was so fucking cool. You wanna play a round, and then we can work out?”
Zane huffs, but then nods. “Yeah, fine. You should play a round with us. But I want you on my team.”
Quilliyn reaches out and touches his shoulder gently. I expect Zane to move out of the way eagerly, for he does not like us, but he only stiffens and does not step aside. His ears are now the color of his cheeks.
“Thank you, Zane,” Quilliyn says, and Zane just rolls his eyes and points to the ball.
“Wait, wait,” Brody says. “Why does C get to be on your team? That’s not fair. He’s like the best of all of us.”
I feel my chest expand at the human compliment. I am much better than them. Humans are very weak and frail. But I do not say this, not that I could. My tongue does not work the way it should.
“How about C and me against you three,” Zane says as he peers over at Quilliyn.
“Fucking not fair, but fine,” Brody says with a grin. He always seems so happy. He will make a good mate for someone one day. “Next time, we each get a turn with him.”
“Alright, deal. Now, Cielo,” Zane says. “Get that ball and let’s get started.”
So I do.
By the time I am done putting the ball through the nest many times, we call it quits, and Brody offers to buy me a latte for being ‘awesome’. I like this word. It makes me feel proud.
I am quite good at basketball.
I am also good at lifting those irons, which I have learned are called weights.
It’s odd to be fitting in so well. It’s odd to want to. But it also makes the pain of missing home a lot less, and it’s harder to think about the last time I was on Erethar, which brings me some measure of comfort.
Zane has disappeared, stating he needs to go to work, but I did not miss the way he looked over at Quilliyn often, as if assessing him. I thought perhaps it was flirting, but the way Zane looks is nothing like the way Dante looks at me.
My hearts beat wildly in my chest at the thought of my human. I think he is still working, but I miss him.
I cannot wait to go home and see him again. Earlier, I felt suffocated by the small abode, but now I just want to go back there and wait for him.
“See you tomorrow?” Brody asks, his skin glowing with sweat.
“Yes.”
Chadwick appears with a latte in his hand and holds it out to me. I take it gladly, nodding in thanks.
He grins, and then I bump each of their fists, moving out of the gym, feeling light on my feet.
The walk home is cold, but I feel warm. Happy even. Perhaps my life here on Earth will not be so bad.
When I get closer to Dante’s abode, I see him across the street, locking up his store. My cock twitches within me at the thought of what he sells there. Will he use those toys on me, too? I would very much like him to play with me.
Something nags at the back of my mind, but it is forgotten when he approaches, a smile on his face.
“Hey, baby,” he says, and my claws appear, shredding the empty latte cup in my hand.
“Baybeeee.”
“Yeah,” he says, pulling his pink bottom lip between his teeth. He looks up at me, and I want nothing more than to kiss him.
Instead, he turns his head down and reaches into his satchel.
“I have something for you. Well, I asked Everest to get it for you. It’s so we can talk during the day.” He holds a white box out to me, and I take it in my palm. “I miss you when I don’t get to see you.”
My ears flutter so wildly that I fear I may fly off the ground like the skyrr on Erethar.
“It’s a cell phone,” he signs and says at the same time, linking his arm through mine and pulling me toward his apartment. “So you can text me when you’re going somewhere, or call me and send me pictures.”