A bright pink color erupted across Levi’s cheeks. That surprised me. I didn’t know he could change colors.
“W-what are you doing?” Levi asked.
“You looked unwell,” I explained.
Levi blinked his wide green eyes. They shone bright above the pink bloom on his cheeks. “Oh, um, thank you. I’m fine. I was bowing. I guess it’s a human thing.”
“Human,” I repeated slowly. “Is that what you are?”
He nodded. “Yes. What are you, Zat’tor?”
“I am a Maeleon. My kind lives on this beautiful world we call Eukaria.”
“Eukaria,” Jaeyoung mused, still poking his device. “Almost like the English word eukaryote.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” Levi said. He sounded honest, but there was a wariness in his tone. “I can’t say I’ve met a Maeleon before, or even heard of them.”
“Then I am glad to be the first,” I said.
Levi held out his small, pink hand expectantly. Was this like ‘bowing’?
Eager to meet him halfway, I extended my tentacles. Levi yelped in surprise as my second pair of limbs floated towards him. I placed the tips of my suction-cup pads around his hand. The inner side was softer and squishier than the outside.
As I gripped Levi’s hand, I felt him shiver. The pink color on his cheeks flared deeper.
“Ah,” he said lightly. “I didn’t realize you had... tentacles.”
“And you do not,” I noted.
How did humans do anything without tentacles? Or feelers? What a strange species.
Levi slowly pulled his hand back. “You can, er, let go now. Human handshakes usually only last a few seconds.”
That was what he said, but he didn’t sound entirely confident. Nevertheless, I released his doughy little appendage. I was a bit saddened by its loss.
“Hey, Zat’tor?” Paz asked, pointing at the shipwreck. “You said you needed to tell ‘the others’ what happened here. Does that mean we’re in trouble?”
“Yes,” I said. “Very much so.”
All three humans’ face’s blanched.
“What kind of trouble?” Paz asked.
I flicked my tail towards the charred plants beneath the ship. “Setting the Sweetfields ablaze is our ultimate taboo. It is rare that a Maeleon would ever commit such a crime, but the punishment ranges from exile to sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice?” Paz squeaked.
“Yes. In exchange for the lost lives of plants, the perpetrator is killed in honor of the Soul of Eukaria, so their corpse may dissolve into fertilizer to feed new germinations.”
Paz whimpered as his knees buckled. Levi caught him, hauling the other human to his feet to keep him from collapsing. Then he thrust Paz’s half-limp body at Jaeyoung and stepped towards me.
“Wait, Zat’tor,” Levi said urgently. The rosy hue was gone from his cheeks. Now they were as pale as a withered leaf. “The crash landing was an accident. We meant no harm to you, or your plants. Let’s work something out, okay?”
His offer intrigued me. I had no intention of letting anything bad happen to Levi—I still wanted to wrap my feelers around his little body and keep him to myself forever. But it boded well for our future that he was willing to help resolve this conflict.
“Yes. We shall work out a solution. This pleases me,” I said. To help guide Levi, I laid a tentacle across his shoulders. It made his cheeks change color again. “Come with me. Let us discuss your judgment, humans.”
3Levi
