The human scoffed. “Only because I wouldn’t have let you. I saw the intent. If my new friend hadn’t acted so quickly, I would’ve done something.” Ignoring the way the Hulg tried to protest his innocence, the human dropped the packets in her other hand on the counter. “I’m going to buy these at full price, and you’re going to give me all the gilgon soup starters for free.”
The Hulg’s eyes bugged out. “For free? Never!”
“That’s fine,” she said. “I guess I’ll have to report this to the station’s food and drinks commission. I heard they’re offering rewards for turning in unscrupulous food providers.”
The shopkeeper went perfectly still, his face going bright chartreuse with rage. “You are never welcome here again.”
Myrum was about to protest—even if the bug-pucks were expired he needed them. They were going to be Ruby’s primary food source, and she wouldn’t care if they were stale. Before he could get any words out, the human spoke up.
“That’s fine,” she said cheerfully, then pulled out a disposable credit block.
The Hulg tapped on his information square then presented it to her. She pressed the small payment device to it until the payment was complete. The moment the credits were transferred, the Hulg stepped away and pointed to the items.
“Take your things and get out.”
Still grinning, she grabbed the bags off the counter and shoved them into various giant pockets in her jacket and pants.
“You better grab the disks,” she said.
Myrum grabbed them and shoved them into his belt pouch then rushed to follow the human out of the shop.
He thought he’d have to ask her to stop so they could talk, but the moment they were past the shop’s door, she stepped aside and gestured for him to stand next to her.
“Are the disks for the little lizard?” she asked.
He was surprised she’d seen Ruby. She didn’t like coming out when it was crowded. He reached for the scarf and gently drew her out to present to this human.
“This is Ruby,” he explained. “She’s a good friend.”
“She’s gorgeous!” Amina exclaimed, putting her face close to the jeweled lizard. “Hello, Ruby, my name is Amina. If you like bugs, I think I can get you better food than those old soup starters.”
Amina. The name was as lovely as the human it belonged to.
Instead of turning away and scrambling up his arm to snuggle against his neck, Ruby jumped from his hand onto the top of Amina’s head, where her hair was piled up in a loose bun. It was then he noticed the sides of her head were shorn very short, but her hair was so thick the bun was large.
Ruby wiggled around until most of her body was buried inside Amina’s bun with only her head and front feet poking out. Maybe it was the enticement of Amina’s thick hair that drew Ruby to her.
“Oh!” Amina laughed and reached up to touch the lizard with tentative fingers. It occurred to Myrum that Amina and Lena were slightly similar in build. Ruby must’ve mistaken this stranger for the more familiar human, despite their very different coloring.
Ruby pushed her head under Amina’s finger. With a delighted expression, Amina petted her. “Aww, she’s so friendly.”
“Not usually,” Myrum said. “She hisses at almost everyone.”
“You're only saying that to make me feel special,” Amina said with a laugh. “But I bet I can make us best friends. I know where the best bugs are kept.”
“You do? When I was doing research these dried and pressed bug cakes were the only thing I could find.”
“That’s probably because you were looking for dead bugs,” she answered. “I know where they raise and sell live ones.”
She stopped petting Ruby and pulled a small information square out of one of her many pockets. After some quick tapping, she put it away then went back to petting Ruby.
“I have enough food,” he said. “Let me take you to the docks and buy you a ticket away from here. I’m sure you’re very smart and capable, but this isn’t a good place for you to be. I’ve heard the Ilgorian Federation is a safe place for humans. I know it can be hard to get citizenship, but if you live on a station for a while it might be easier.”
He fumbled with his Ident and pulled it off his belt. “Give me that credit block. I can load it with enough wealth for you to live comfortably. I can also give you my Ident code so you can contact me if you need more wealth.”
Instead of pulling the credit block out of whichever pocket she’d tucked it into, she stared up at him with a combination of amusement and surprise.
“You want to give me wealth and send me off to live far away?” she asked.
