Chapter Twenty-Nine Zann
“You want me to come to your chambers and watch a movie with you?” Corrina asks the following day at lunch. She is staring at me curiously.
“Yes,” I nod. “When you are done working.” I lean forward across the table. “There will not be others there.”
“Um, okay,” she replies hesitantly.
“I know that it can be hard for you to relax around others,” I continue, “so we thought you might be more interested in spending time together if there are not others around.”
“But it won’t be just you?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Davix and Krish will be there, of course. And you. If you will come.”
Corrina smiles, and I cannot help smiling back at her.
I know before she answers that she will come to visit us.
I am glad that we will be able to spend more time together.
I find myself wishing that she didn’t have to work so that we could have more days like the day we spent at the lake.
Perhaps I will have to ask her if she will take us there again.
I know that we could find our own way there, but I want her to join us.
I smile to myself. Next time, she will have to come swimming with us.
???
“Oh,” Corrina says when I open the door to let her into our quarters later. She steps in quickly and triggers the door closed behind her. “You’re not dressed,” she states, glancing at me and my brood brothers.
“We prefer not to wear clothes if we can,” Krish says. “Does this bother you?”
“Uh, no. It’s fine. I was more surprised than anything else. Besides, this is your place. You should be comfortable.” She glances around the room and pulls up a chair. “What are we watching?”
“We thought we would let you pick,” I tell her, settling into the nest. “Is there something you enjoy?”
“Well,” she replies. “Honestly, I really enjoy wildlife documentaries. There are some really good ones about old Earth, but there are also some interesting ones that are more recent that have been filmed on other planets. But we don’t have to watch one of those.”
“I would be interested in seeing wildlife on other planets,” Krish says enthusiastically.
“This would be a video about being outdoors?” Davix signs. I translate and Corrina nods. “That would be good,” Davix says.
“Then we all agree. We will watch a wildlife documentary,” I tell Corrina. “Pick one that you enjoy.”
I watch as she scrolls through the options before settling on something. “Oh, this is a migration one,” she says before settling back onto her chair. “It follows the herd as they traverse half the planet. And I haven’t seen it yet.”
As Krish, Davix, and I settle into the nest to watch the documentary that Corrina selected, I find myself oddly comforted by the combination of her scent and ours. It would be more comfortable to have her in the nest with us, though. “Do you want to join us?” I ask, patting an open spot next to me.
Corrina glances at me. “No, it’s fine,” she replies, but she keeps shifting in her chair.
“It is far more comfortable in the nest,” Krish offers. “We do not mind.”
“That's okay,” Corrina replies. “It looks kind of crowded.”
“That is the point of a nest,” Davix signs. I nod and translate for him.
“Right. Maybe some other time,” she says, and then we are quiet as we become engrossed in the story unfolding on the screen.
“This was nice,” Corrina says with a yawn as the documentary ends. “Thank you for inviting me.”
“I am glad you wanted to come,” I tell her honestly. “Maybe we could do something together again tomorrow after you are done working.”
“That would be nice,” Corrina says.
“And the next time you have a day off, we should go swimming together,” Krish adds, as if he was able to hear my earlier thoughts.
Corrina chuckles. “You know, I’m not even sure that I have a swimsuit. But maybe I will see if I can find one.”
“You could swim without clothes like we do,” I offer.
“Yeah, that’s not a good idea,” Corrina says anxiously. “Like I said, humans generally aren’t naked in front of other humans in public.”
“Is there somewhere we could swim that is private?” Davix asks.
“That’s a good question,” I say before repeating the question to Corrina.
“Not that I know of, but I’m sure the lake will be fine. I’ll find something to wear,” she replies.
I grin at her. “I would like that,” I tell her.
“Well, good night,” Corrina says. “Thanks again for inviting me.”
“Good night,” Krish and I say. Davix signs the words, and Corrina disappears through the door.