“How are you today, Cassie?” Örim asked as he pushed open the curtain around her bed. He was carrying a small box that heoffered to her. “I brought this for you. You don’t have to keep it if you don’t like it, but I made it with you in mind.”
You made it?Cassie signed her question.
“You had said you wanted to see the crafting I do.”
She opened the box and found a tiny wire sculpture. It looked just like Kalai. Cassie smiled.It’s a pichari.
“It’s not my best work. I made it quickly, but I hope you like it. I know you like to visit the pichari, and obviously you can’t while you’re recovering.” Örim rubbed at his wrist nodes while Cassie examined the little figure.
Thank you. I love it.
“That means you like it, right? Sorry, I’m still trying to add more of your hand signs to my functional lexicon. Would you let me record your signing at some point? I learn better when I can refer back to material.”
She nodded.I like it a lot. I can teach you more signs whenever you want.
“Oh, good. I’m so glad you like it. I can make you more if you want when, or if… I should probably ask you first.” Örim paused. “Maybe this is a strange question. You can say no. Only, S’samph and everyone have agreed that it’s best if you aren’t alone for security reasons. I have extra space in my home. You will also require help with your medical needs. Otherwise, we can find another family in Laurus willing to help you until you are more stable. I think S’kasia, S’samph’s clutch sister, would be willing.”
Cassie regarded him with a head tilt. She was somewhat certain she understood the subtext of what he was trying to say, but she wanted to wait for him to finish. She didn’t want to stay with a stranger. The last thing she needed was to unravel herself in front of someone she didn’t know, someone who didn’t know her.
W-I-T-H-Y-U. She typed it into her datapad.
“Are you certain?” Örim seemed surprised because he knocked his finger nodes together. “You don’t have to consider my feelings in your answer. I just want you to be well.”
She shook her head. When Örim didn’t say anything, she typed again. Y-E-S-W-I-T-H-Y-U. Because he asked. No one ever asked. But Örim asked.
“Thank you.” Gently, almost timidly, he placed his hand on top of hers. “Thank you for giving me another chance. Whatever you need, I’ll make sure you have it.”
Her eyes stung. Partially from the pain mounting in her throat and her raw arms but also from the weight of everything. She knew about the Aviarist. She knew he was coming back for her. Even though no one had told her directly, she could hear hushed conversations between S’samph and Eleri. She could hear people making plans for her life without asking her. She shuddered around herself, pulling knees into chest and tucking herself so tightly she hoped she might disappear for a brief moment.
“Cassie… I don’t. I don’t know what to do. How do I help you?”
Tell me the truth always. Don’t ever treat me like I’m small or less.But she was too tired to write it down, and he wouldn’t know most of the hand signs involved in a statement that complicated. Eventually, Örim placed a hand on her wrist and soothed her skin with his cool fingers until she exhausted herself. And somehow that was all she needed. Someone to sit with her through the silence of her own sobbing.
“Do you want me to leave?” Örim asked.
Need to sleep. Please stay.
“I’ll stay then. Until you’re sleeping.” He rubbed his thumb against her palm until her eyes closed. “I’m going to get everything ready for you at my home. I’ll reinforce the security system and make sure you can be comfortable. Anything I miss,we’ll get after you arrive. Some things might have to be ordered from Abwele or Brasnia Prime, but I can pay extra for express shipping…” He was talking to himself more than to her. She was starting to drift off anyway. Her eyes grew heavy with the low gravel of Örim’s voice in the background and the weight of his hand against hers.
CHAPTER 23
Örim
With the list he’d procured from Eleri, and some cross checking on the intelewaves, he’d done his best to prepare his home for a human occupant. He’d moved his seeding pool to his personal office. It was cramped, but Cassie would need access to a standard cleansing unit and toilet. He’d acquired soft things: pillows, blankets, an extra rug for her to set herself up in the main room of their living space. Human food had been another challenge. Teösians didn’t eat, so he had no idea what to expect. Eleri assured him she’d be on nutritional fluids through her feeding port for a few weeks at least, but he would have to figure something out eventually.
Örim didn’t feel ready. Even after Eleri had come over herself and deemed his setup appropriate, he still worried he’d missed something essential. S’samph brought Cassie over himself on his levibike since she was still hooked up to considerable medical equipment, at least for the next standard week.
“You pick her up. I’ll move all the devices.” S’samph had Cassie in a passenger trailer at the back of his bike. She washolding on to a few beeping machines while the others were neatly tucked around her. Örim had gone through the protocols with Eleri several times, even going so far as to record her on his wrist interface so he could review her instructions as needed. One of the healers would be by twice a week to check on her, but Örim couldn’t fathom erring with this responsibility.
Cassie did not seem like she was in the mood to be carried though, because she ignored S’samph’s instructions entirely and carried herself and her bags of fluid into the domicile on her own, walking straight past S’samph and Örim without so much as a glance.
“Cassie?” Örim called after her, but she ignored him.
“Humans dislike being carried against their wishes. I may have carried her out of the clinic because Eleri recommended avoiding physical exertion. She was displeased.”
Cassie turned around in the doorway, glared at S’samph, and then slammed the door behind her.
“Noted. No carrying humans without their express and enthusiastic permission.” Örim examined the kit of medical equipment remaining in the passenger wagon. He recognized most of it from Eleri’s detailed instructions. Bags of fluid to keep Cassie hydrated. Bags of liquid nutrition to keep Cassie nourished. Rolls of bandages and pouches of antiseptic for Cassie’s injuries.
