“Sorry if it’s not to your taste,” she says. “But it’s all I’ve got left. You’ve been here for six days, and I haven’t had a chance to go back to Cydonia for more supplies. Drink it anyway. You need to get your strength back.”
The softness in her voice, the kindness in her demeanor—it slowly starts to put me at ease.
I don’t think this Human means me harm.
“Neela? You in there?” calls a man from another room.
“Yeah, I’m in the bedroom!” the little brunette answers.
Wait—Neela?
I thought Neela was, like… twelve.
A guy steps into the room, clearly a little on edge.
“Oh, so the kitty’s awake,” he comments.
“Be nice,” Neela scolds. “He’s still weak.”
At the word weak, I can’t help letting out a low growl.
“Easy now, it’s alright,” Neela soothes, placing her tiny hand on my forearm. “That’s just my brother, Kiran.”
Then she decides to introduce us the universal way.
“Kiran,” she says, pointing to him.
“Neela,” she adds, pointing to herself.
She goes through it again, then raises an eyebrow at me expectantly.
“Prax,” I rasp out, my voice hoarse and feeble.
“Prax?” she repeats to confirm.
I nod and go back to my meal.
To my shame, I can feel my strength draining fast.
I won’t last much longer without rest.
“Now that he’s awake,” Kiran says, “I’m going to tie him up.”
“Oh, give it a rest,” Neela snaps. “Why are you so sure he’s a threat?”
“Look, little sister. You’re too soft and way too trusting. We know the Regent’s been doing shady deals with species from other planets. And in case it wasn’t obvious, this guy isn’t from around here. So yeah—I say we tie him up and get him to spill everything he knows about whatever’s going down in the palace corridors.”
Interesting.
So, there are things going on here—just as I suspected. Sounds like classic Bully tactics.
But if I go by what Kiran’s saying, he and his sister don’t seem to be on board with those backroom dealings.
Once I’ve finished my bowl, the little brunette grabs it and shoves it into her brother’s hands.
“Here, clean that up, will you? I’m going to help him lie back down.”
“Neela, now that this guy’s not unconscious anymore, you can’t just leave him lying naked in your bed. That’s... not appropriate!”
