CHAPTER 16 #2
If he was as reliable as he claimed to be, if he wanted her the way he claimed to, then it would be more than she deserved.
But she couldn’t stop the yearning. Even if she was foolish for it, she couldn’t bring herself to quash the smallest hope sparking in her.
Maybe he was the mate she’d been hoping for in earnest when she’d sent those messages through the interface in her loneliness on the voyage over.
Before she closed up the clinic for the afternoon, it occurred to her to check the credit balance Aglao had provided her as a stipend.
She tapped the interface on her wrist and stared at the number.
It was a modest amount, a few months’ wages and nothing more, but it was hers.
No one would try to take it from her. She wasn’t expecting the tears, but they came fat and wet, dripping down her chin.
Soon, tears were falling faster than she could catch them.
These were her credits. Hers. Not to give away.
Not to save her brother from another bender.
Not to use to bail her mother out of whatever pyramid scheme they’d invested in.
When she considered the numbers objectively, they would barely cover the cost of a year’s tuition at the medical academy, but Eleri couldn’t remember the last time she’d had something for herself beyond the barest essentials.
She clutched at her wrist, the feeling of overwhelming relief replaced with anxiety.
What business did she have with spare credits?
She wouldn’t even know where to begin with using them.
No, better to save them. If she spent them, they’d be gone, and there was something comforting about knowing they were there.
Her stomach rumbled with a day’s worth of forgotten hunger.
She contemplated eating something down in the hospital rations fridge to save on credits, but she wasn’t sure how much more recombined nutrient mix she could stomach.
The credits Aglao had transferred to her weighed heavy on her wrist interface.
Maybe she could allow herself the luxury of a meal at the one dining establishment in Laurus.
It might be good for her to get out; she spent so much time holed up studying for her exams. It would be good to meet some other people in town and get a change of scenery.
Eleri pressed the activation on her wrist interface and gawked at the credit balance again.
A small meal. Maybe just a drink. Something different.
Something she could do with the overly generous gift from Aglao.
She found herself at the door to The Eon, the only dining establishment in town.
Although she’d walked by it nearly every day, she’d never had cause to enter.
At night, it usually buzzed with loud music and the noise of conversation, but in late afternoon, things were quiet.
Eleri pushed at the door as if afraid she wasn’t welcome inside.
It was cool and dim inside. A brown-speckled urtazi male glanced at her as she entered.
His eyes lingered long enough to make it impossible to disguise his curiosity.
She averted her own gaze, not wanting to give any opening for unwanted conversation.
“Hi, um, I was hoping to get something to eat.”
“Sit anywhere.” The urtazi waved a dismissive arm and made a low gurgling in his throat. “Daily menus are coded into the tabletops.”
“Thanks.” Eleri glanced at the tables and relief flooded through her when she noticed S’kasia tucked into one of the tables in a back corner. When S’kasia noticed her, she waved her over.
“I am surprised to see you here, Eleri.”
“I was getting tired of the meal rations at the clinic,” she admitted as she slipped into the slightly sticky booth seat across from S’kasia.
“Today is a good day to eat here. It seems like Gavor decided not to drink too much last night, so the food is good quality.” S’kasia tapped on the tabletop and pulled up a holoscreen.
Eleri poked at the interface, scanning through the minimal list of options.
They were mostly unfamiliar, but she picked a pastry at random from the list of bakery items scrawled on an old school holoboard and then ordered a mug of brewed tepsi root to drink with it.
She flicked her wrist at the interface to pay with an odd feeling of panic that she quickly clawed back down.
Aglao had given her plenty of credits to be able to afford something this small.
It was important to learn how to spend credits like a normal person.
She couldn’t spend the rest of her life hoarding every last one like she was preparing for galactic meltdown.
“I am surprised to find you not working in the middle of the day.” S’kasia accepted control of the interface again once Eleri finished making her selection.
“Aglao went into hibernation this afternoon, so I closed down the clinic until the morning unless there’s an emergency.
” Eleri wasn’t sure if she should admit this, but she doubted S’kasia would begrudge her an afternoon off.
S’kasia merely nodded and took a thoughtful sip of her own neon pink drink.
“Good. Tell me truthfully, how is my brother’s recovery going? He only snaps at me any time I ask him”
Eleri laughed. “S’samph is recovering just fine, but he’s a miserable patient.”
“This sounds honest.” S’kasia reached across the table to press a glowing compartment. Eleri’s order slid out of an opening in the wall, the hot drink sloshing a bit as it skidded to a halt in front of her. “And you?” S’kasia asked. “You are well?”
“Oh,” Eleri stared down into the murky contents of her mug. It was far too hot to drink yet, but she cupped her hands around the warmth. It wasn’t a question she was used to answering. “I’m well enough.”
“My brother is not mistreating you? If he is, I will personally sacrifice him to the maw.”
“I’ve had much worse patients than S’samph. He might be miserable, but at least he’s compliant.” The pastry arrived through a slot in the wall. She took a bite. It was more sour than sweet, but at least it was something different than her usual clinic meal packs.
S’kasia’s tail arched high overhead. “I mean beyond healthcare. My hope is that he is courting you properly so we can put all the mess when you first arrived behind us. But my brother has a brain filled with sand at the best of times, so if he gives you any further trouble, you must come speak to me.”
“S’samph isn’t the one giving me trouble,” she muttered into her steaming mug, not sure what had come over her as soon as she registered that she’d said the words aloud.
Sheepishly, she waved a hand in front of her face.
“That was rude of me. I appreciate your offer. If S’samph gives me trouble about doing his recovery exercises, you’ll be the first to know. ”
What Eleri had considered a steep arch of S’kasia’s tail only peaked higher. “Who is bothering you?”
“Forget I said anything.” Eleri took a sip of the scalding liquid and winced. Her troubles with Myla and Minio were her own problem to solve.
“I can make a guess.” S’kasia slugged back the remainder of her drink. “Myla has intentions for you."
"She might," Eleri admitted.
S’kasia’s tail thudded hard against the floor, thumping twice as the frill around her neck lifted. “Myla and her f’fret brother have done nothing but cause problems since he arrived here.”
“I’m sure they mean well.” The words were as hollow as the sentiment. She doubted they meant well, but she would rather not stir up trouble.
“They do not.” S’kasia leaned in closer across the table. “I will tell you how Minio came to join his sister in Laurus. You will not give them such kindness when you know the truth.”
Eleri pressed the tip of her burnt tongue to the roof of her mouth as she waited for S’kasia to continue. The latil’e pressed a button on the holoscreen to order another drink. This one was pale blue and smelled sharply of peppercorns.
“Myla wants it to be a secret, but nothing is a secret very long in a small place. I also am very good at learning secrets.” She traced the tip of one of her claws around the frosted rim of the glass. “I know she has told you of her wealthy family on Brasnia Prime.”
“She has,” Eleri said.
S’kasia’s tail twitched with amusement. “She cannot help but tell everyone. Minio is from the same family, but he dishonored them, so they sent him here.”
“Dishonored how?”
“It is only rumors, but I know there is truth somewhere in the grains of sand.” She paused to take a sip of the new drink before flicking out her tongue and pushing the glass away.
“I am always disappointed by the p’feri here.
” S’kasia’s gaze focused back on Eleri. “He harmed a female who was intended to be his mate. She was from an important family on Brasnia Prime. They called for his death, but his kin were able to negotiate an exile instead. Myla wishes to make a respectable male of him here. I think it is impossible.”
“It sounds serious.”
“Kyrot do not tolerate violence toward their females, but to call for death implies something beyond a mild conflict.”
“He’s never struck me as dangerous.” Eleri stared down into the pool of her cooling drink, stomach too twisted to drink it now.
“Anyone can be dangerous.” S’kasia dragged the tip of one of her claws across the table. “In my time serving the temple, I learned the biggest danger was to underestimate anyone. Our males are smaller than our females on Latilla, but danger comes from intentions, not from size.”
“I’m not exactly a stranger to violent males.” Eleri swallowed her explanation. She’d rather not talk about Rhys unless pressed. “But I’ll keep my eyes open.”
“Humans do not have strong instincts against predators, so I’m glad I’ve been able to warn you properly. K’kaen and S’samph will also be aware for you.” S’kasia’s frill ruffled. “He will not harm you under our watch. But it is still wise to be cautious.”
“I appreciate it,” Eleri said and then glanced at the digital display on her wrist. Even if the clinic was technically closed, she still had a full evening of studying to do for her qualifying exams. “I have to get back to work.” It took all her effort to stifle a yawn.
A nap sounded appealing, but if she let herself sleep now, she’d never get to sleep at night.
“Before you go. This is for you.” S’kasia pressed a fabric-wrapped package into her hand. “It will help you sleep. I know you’re a medic, but S’samph mentioned you struggle to sleep most nights. This is made from a plant we brought over from Latilla.”
On instinct, Eleri brought it to her nose and inhaled a sharp, peppery aroma. She coughed. She wouldn’t offend S’kasia by asking whether it was toxic for humans or not. That was a question best answered on her own time. “What is it called?”
“There isn’t a name for it in Universal,” the other female mused. “We call it y’yeli. It’s the flower of the same plant used to make p’feri.” S’kasia gestured to the drink in front of her, and Eleri leaned forward to smell similar peppery notes.
“Thank you. I’ll try it.”
“You need to sleep, human. S’samph is concerned about you.”
“I hope I can.”
“Try the y’yeli and let me know if you sleep. I will ask you when you come visit me next.”
Eleri smiled. Her relationship with S’samph was one thing, but she was forever grateful that S’kasia had decided to offer her friendship. She’d had enough loneliness on Gaia to last a lifetime.