Chapter 23
?rim
With the list he’d procured from Eleri, and some cross checking on the intelewaves, he’d done his best to prepare his home for a human occupant.
He’d moved his seeding pool to his personal office.
It was cramped, but Cassie would need access to a standard cleansing unit and toilet.
He’d acquired soft things: pillows, blankets, an extra rug for her to set herself up in the main room of their living space.
Human food had been another challenge. Teosians didn’t eat, so he had no idea what to expect.
Eleri assured him she’d be on nutritional fluids through her feeding port for a few weeks at least, but he would have to figure something out eventually.
?rim didn’t feel ready. Even after Eleri had come over herself and deemed his setup appropriate, he still worried he’d missed something essential.
S’samph brought Cassie over himself on his levibike since she was still hooked up to considerable medical equipment, at least for the next standard week.
“You pick her up. I’ll move all the devices.
” S’samph had Cassie in a passenger trailer at the back of his bike.
She was holding on to a few beeping machines while the others were neatly tucked around her.
?rim had gone through the protocols with Eleri several times, even going so far as to record her on his wrist interface so he could review her instructions as needed.
One of the healers would be by twice a week to check on her, but ?rim couldn’t fathom erring with this responsibility.
Cassie did not seem like she was in the mood to be carried though, because she ignored S’samph’s instructions entirely and carried herself and her bags of fluid into the domicile on her own, walking straight past S’samph and ?rim without so much as a glance.
“Cassie?” ?rim called after her, but she ignored him.
“Humans dislike being carried against their wishes. I may have carried her out of the clinic because Eleri recommended avoiding physical exertion. She was displeased.”
Cassie turned around in the doorway, glared at S’samph, and then slammed the door behind her.
“Noted. No carrying humans without their express and enthusiastic permission.” ?rim examined the kit of medical equipment remaining in the passenger wagon.
He recognized most of it from Eleri’s detailed instructions.
Bags of fluid to keep Cassie hydrated. Bags of liquid nutrition to keep Cassie nourished.
Rolls of bandages and pouches of antiseptic for Cassie’s injuries.
“Let me help you get everything inside.” S’samph hefted one of the heavier devices meant to monitor Cassie’s blood pressure and heart rhythm onto his shoulder.
“Yes, we should go check on Cassie.” With S’samph behind him, ?rim led the way into his home.
“Why are all the lights off?” S’samph held the door open with his tail, letting in a stream of light from outside.
“Right.” ?rim had completely forgotten about the lighting situation.
He usually kept it dark so he didn’t have to wear his eyestones, but Cassie would need light to see.
“My people mostly live underground. We’re evolved to see in darkness.
” ?rim discovered Cassie on the ground next to one of his workbenches holding her foot with a grimace on her face.
He adjusted his eyestones and turned on the aggressive overhead lights before hurrying over to her.
She’d only been here for a few moments, and he was already failing her.
I fell, she said. Too dark. Her hands formed her statement.
“That’s my fault.” ?rim helped her to her feet. “I forgot humans need light to see.”
“Not just humans,” S’samph grumbled as he finished bringing in the rest of the supplies. “Try to keep her in one piece. My mate will have my tail if anything happens to her, especially since I’m the one who sanctioned this.”
“Cassie is safe with me.” The promise was more of a reassurance to himself than anything for S’samph. “I’ve done all the research on taking care of a human. I am fully versed in her medical protocols and environmental requirements. I will be more mindful of the lights.”
I can hear you. Her face was twisted in a mask of annoyance although ?rim suspected some of it was from pain.
“Good luck.” S’samph’s tail swished as he exited the room, leaving ?rim alone with a very frustrated Cassie.
When he turned back to her, he noticed she had dragged her bags of fluids over to the bench where he fiddled with wires in his spare time.
It was where he had designed her pichari.
He had a few projects he was tinkering with at the moment, but he didn’t mind if she disturbed them out of curiosity.
Instead of going to her immediately, ?rim simply watched.
He realized he hadn’t seen her exist in a home space before.
He’d only ever been with her in the schoolhouse or the clinic or outside in the town, but this felt different.
She was gentle with his work, her fingers exploring, but only with the faintest touches.
Finally, she turned to him and signed something, but he was missing the crucial verb.
?rim made the sign back to her. “What does this mean?”
Cassie reached for her datapad. S-H-O-M-E. she typed and then repeated the sign.
?rim copied her. “Show? Demonstrate?”
Cassie nodded and then signed the whole sentence again. Show me how to make these.
“You want to learn?” ?rim had no problem teaching her, but he was surprised at her interest. It was something he’d hidden from people on Teos. Art wasn’t exactly a respected pursuit. It did nothing to forward the glory of the Empire.
Everything. I want to learn everything. Her jaw was set.
?rim reached to brush a strand of hair away from her face.
He discovered he liked touching her. It stirred something in him, feelings he didn’t know what to do with.
Teosians didn’t touch. Even copulation was considered a barbaric one-time act to procure the necessary genetic material to maintain population levels, and it had long since been replaced with mechanical manipulation.
There was no emotional attachment involved.
One male, one female, selected by the Imperial Match Bureau to produce an optimally meritorious offspring.
“First, we have to get your medical equipment organized.” ?rim clasped the bracket around her waist. It used magtech to suspend her bags of fluid so she could move around more easily.
Cassie stared up at him as he did. They were close enough for him to almost see the color of her eyes, even with the bright light overhead.
He’d never been this close to her, and he found he wanted to stay there.
“Ok, let me show you the rest of our home, and you can make some decisions about what you want to do with the space.” ?rim offered Cassie his arm to help support her. He suspected after her morning with S’samph, she would be resistant to being carried around again.
However, she accepted his offered appendage, and from the way she leaned against him, he realized S’samph had good reason to insist on trying to carry her.
?rim, however, wasn’t about to risk pushing her beyond her comfort.
She was here and giving him another chance.
He could compromise to the best of his ability despite his preferences.
“Are you ok to walk, Cassie?”
She nodded. Slowly.
First, he showed her the plasma shield security system he had installed. Originally, it was to protect his data from being hacked. He knew there were researchers still interested in his work, perhaps even more so since he’d gone dark in academic spaces.
“Just ignore this button. It activates my security system. I don’t want you to accidentally lock yourself inside.”
Then he showed her the lavatory. “This should have all the basic amenities. There are towels and cleansing products in the cabinet.”
Cassie pulled it open to look. Did Eleri help you with this?
His mouth nodes came together with amusement as he noted the sign for Eleri’s name was actually not phonetic at all. It was a combination of the signs for the colors yellow and blue. “She did. I admit I knew little about requirements for human cohabitation before speaking with her.”
Cassie smiled and pointed to the products labeled for hair care. She uses the same ones.
“Are they acceptable?”
She nodded, pausing to catch her breath as they exited the lavatory.
“Do you need to take a break?”
Her eyes fixed on him, considering. Then she lifted her arms to him.
If you carry me, we can see the rest. ?rim froze.
She wanted him to carry her. Their contact up until now had been fleeting, mostly accidental.
He hadn’t carried her since he brought her lifeless body to the clinic.
But he wanted to. He wanted to feel the softness of her against him.
He wanted her in his arms when she wasn’t near death.
It was probably wrong, but he couldn’t quell the desire.
“Are you sure?” he asked. Cassie bridged the gap between them, taking an unsteady step forward until she was holding onto his shoulders.
?rim bent down to slot his arms under her legs, under her hips, until she was in his arms. Not dead weight.
She clung around his shoulders, keeping herself upright.
It was so very different than the last time.
?rim fixated on her, the curve of her lips.
The pale green of her eyes that almost matched his eyestones.
Am I too heavy? she asked.
“You’re tiny, Cassie. You should weigh more than you do. Even small humans are larger than you on average.”
She laughed. I never grew taller, even though I tried to stretch myself as a youngling.
?rim shifted her slightly as he carried her into the kitchen area. He showed her the cold box, which was empty but would eventually store food. “We’ll figure out a system for food once Eleri gives us the go-ahead.”
Cassie nodded. ?rim worried about being able to help her prepare human-safe comestibles, but Eleri assured him there were workarounds. Finally, he showed her to the last room in their domicile. His office and bedroom, although he had little use for a bed.
For you? Cassie asked.
“Yes, these are my things. But this room is open to you as well. You can come in any time. You don’t need my permission. I don’t have anything to hide.”
She pointed at his seeding pool in the far corner. For swimming?
?rim clicked his mouth nodes with humor. “No, I’m afraid I can’t swim. It’s a seeding pool. I don’t eat, so my body restores itself with a seeding solution.”
Can I see? Cassie asked.
A strange sensation ran through his body. Seeding wasn’t a private thing, per se. It was often quite social, and done in groups back on Teos, but the idea of Cassie watching him without clothing on did something strange to his mating node. “If you’re curious, I’m sure we can arrange something.”
The awkwardness of her request was broken when she yawned widely. Tired.
“Do you want to use the bed in my room? Or should we set up a place for you to sleep out here?”
Your room? she asked.
“I don’t mind if you’re in there, only you might be disturbed by my work.”
Cassie was quiet while she considered. Then she pointed to the space ?rim had intended for her to put together a comfortable sleeping space.
He’d brought in a thick carpet and several blankets and pillows for her to organize at her leisure.
It wasn’t precisely what a human would sleep on, but a human-grade mattress would take weeks to arrive, and he hadn’t had weeks to prepare for Cassie.
?rim set her down on the ground to give her room to organize her sleeping space.
He retreated to his workbench to try and give his mating node a moment to cool.
Finally, back in control of his impulses, he returned to her.
“Cassie, do you need more pain medication?” When she didn’t respond, he found her asleep in a pile of pillows.
Quietly, he covered her with a blanket before returning to his own room.
He wanted to give her privacy to sleep, but he left his door ajar in case she needed anything in the night.
He noticed a notification from Raptor had pinged onto the forum.
?rim closed it. That was a door he wasn’t opening again.