When Nalia and Derani had picked him up on Kalor, they’d done their best to make him feel safe and secure in the cargo bay of their ship, Bountiful. The bed had been a ship-standard bunk, there’d been lightboxes that simulated firelight, and even a few potted plants.
They’d also taken turns visiting with him, unbothered by the way he’d sometimes freeze in place and get lost in his traumatic memories. Talin healers called it a memory episode; he called it torture.
Unlike his short time on the Bountiful, he would mostly be left alone on this ship.
He tossed his bags on the floor. Because the cot was bare, he busied himself unpacking his sleeping roll. It was the first time he’d used the bedding since leaving Kalor. Unrolling the bright red, high-grade sleeping mat and attached blankets was a familiar and welcoming activity.
It was only when the bedding was almost entirely unrolled that he found Ruby.
“No!” With a cry of distress, he scooped up the still, emaciated jeweled lizard and held her gently in both hands. “Please don’t be dead. Please, Ruby!”
One eye opened with painful slowness then closed again.
“You’re alive,” he whispered, relief rushing through him. It didn’t last long. He needed to get her food and water.
There was nothing to eat in the bay; he was going to need to get her to the galley. Cradling her against his chest, he sprinted from the bay. The ship vibrated slightly, telling him it had launched. A few crew members moved through the corridors, purposely ignoring him. It seemed information of his disability had already made it through the ship.
He didn’t care.
Ducking into the small galley, he rushed to the storage cabinet and used the display built into the door to access the list of available items. There wasn’t much diversity, but that was common on freighters like this. Meals were meant to be nutritious, not gourmet.
Nothing was fit for Ruby. She was a bug eater, and the items on this list wouldn’t give her the sustenance she needed and might even give her weakened system a fatal dose of something she couldn’t tolerate.
He was about to rush to the control room and demand they turn around and redock when he saw a second supply cabinet. That list was more of the same until he got almost to the end.
A cry of relief came out of him when he saw carpolt pellets listed. Noting the cubby the pellets were stored in, he almost tore the door off the cabinet to get it open. Carpolt pellets were made of ground up bugs. They were rarely consumed, but if a Talin was having issues growing their plates back after an injury, it was believed these pellets would help.
He knew from his time on Kalor that jeweled lizards didn’t drink water, they got everything they needed from the bugs they ate. That meant he needed to soak the pellets and then grind them into a bug paste.
Holding Ruby against his chest, he tore open the packet with his teeth and poured the contents into a pile on the counter. Heseparated a few of the pellets then carefully crushed them by rolling his knuckles over them. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but he ignored the discomfort.
It was hard with only one hand, but he was able to hold the bowl against the counter with his body to brush the pellet meal into it.
After adding a little water, he mixed it then added a little more until it seemed like a good consistency.
Taking the bowl to a nearby table, he sat down and scooped some of the mash up on a finger and pressed it to Ruby’s mouth.
She didn’t react.
He dropped the food back into the bowl and focused on extending the claw on one of his fingers a little bit. With that he scooped up some of the mash again, then pressed the small tip of his claw into her mouth, careful not to nick her.
When the bug meal was spread across her tongue, she revived slightly. Her eyes didn’t open again, but her mouth worked and she swallowed.
He did it again and again. One little scoop from the tip of his claw at a time, he fed her until she perked up enough to open her mouth for the food. When she did that he was able to give her a bit more. They kept that up until she closed her mouth and didn’t open it again. He hoped it was her way of saying she was full.
He wiped his fingers off on his pants and cradled her against his neck, the warmest part of a Talin’s body.
“You must’ve accidentally gotten wrapped up in my things when I was packing on Kalor,” he said, feeling horribly guilty. He’d been so full of anxiety over leaving that he hadn’t even noticed.
“You were trapped in the tight darkness for so long,” he murmured. “I know how that feels. It happened to me. Like you, I wasn’t discovered until I was close to death. I had to lie there,barely able to move, and wait to see if I’d suffocate or die of dehydration first. That isn’t something anyone should suffer.”
Thinking about that time of his life threatened to send him into another debilitating memory episode, so he forced his thoughts back to caring for Ruby.
She needed to eat as often as she wanted, and it was important he kept her warm. It was unlikely there were any personal heating elements on this ship. As the crewmember had made a point of telling him, this was a cargo ship, not a personal transport. There would be no luxuries for him to purchase. And he had no friends here to borrow from.
Using one finger, he gently petted her square head. “Don’t worry, Ruby. I’ll figure something out.” He pulled in a deep breath. “There’re two of us on this mission now, and all the better for it.”
Myrum spent the rest of the journey catering to Ruby. For the first three solars he rarely slept more than a few marks at a time. He was scared she’d pass away if he didn’t have his eyes on her.
