Paz paused, then asked, “You don’t know?”
I glared at him.
He was unaffected. “You’ve never tried feeding Kookee fruit?” he asked.
“No. It will make Kookee weak, like the rest of those fruit-eaters,” I explained. “I want my pets to be strong and healthy. Including you.”
He smiled. “I’m pretty healthy, as far as humans go. Although the strength of my species can never rival a Maeleon.”
“That is fine. I will take care of you,” I asserted.
Paz’s cheeks changed color. “You will?” he asked, his voice rising.
“Is it not obvious?” I growled. “Look how well I treat Kookee. If you are my pet, I will also treat you well. Unless one day I tire of you, and decide to eat you.”
The threat was meaningless. In my private mind, I already knew I liked Paz enough to keep him alive.
In any case, he wasn’t intimidated by my words. “Aw, that’s nice of you, Kur’tok. I’m pretty low maintenance, I think. I just need food, sleep, and...” He coughed, then mumbled, “Sex once in a while.” His voice rose to its usual volume. “Although, I guess I need companionship, too.”
I whirled on him. “Is my companionship not enough?”
He blinked, like my words shocked him. “Well... sure, I like you, Kur’tok. But you can’t be myonlyfriend.”
“Why not?” I demanded.
His smile turned slightly sad. “I’ve got friends back home. I miss them,” he admitted.
An uncomfortable feeling swirled in my chest, like an inescapable pool of sticky sap. I didn’t want Paz to be sad, but I didn’t want him to go back home, wherever that was. The thought of him leaving chilled my blood and filled me with dread.
I clutched the leash tighter. “Your home is with me now. Get used to it.”
He sighed. “Sure, all right.”
“Don’t do that thing with your face.”
“Do what?”
“Your smile is facing the wrong way,” I grumbled.
“That’s called a frown,” Paz said. “And I appreciate the sentiment, but you can’t go around telling people how tofeel, Kur’tok.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, people can’t control their feelings on command,” Paz explained. “Like, if I snapped my fingers and ordered you to be happy, could you?”
I squinted suspiciously at his small, twig-like fingers. “Does snapping your fingers hold some mystical power?”
He snorted in amusement. “No.”
I mulled over his thought experiment. If anybody else on Eukaria ordered me to do anything, I’d rip their head off. But if Paz did it, maybe I wouldn’t mind so much.
I puffed out my chest. “Yes, I could do it,” I declared.
“Really?” Paz asked, then raised his hand and performed a loud, rapidclickwith his fingers. In an emphatic voice, he said, “Kur’tok, I order you to be happy right now.”
A growl rumbled in my throat. I liked Paz, but no, I did not like being commanded how to feel.
“All right, fine, I see your point,” I conceded. “Then I will... persuade your emotions instead.”
