Finally, with aching slowness, she allowed him to take her in his arms.I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to live while you were gone.
Örim clutched her close, feeling the rhythm of her heart against him as she wept. “I don’t need you to be anything. I justneed you to be.” He carried her over to her unused pillow nest, but finding it musty, brought her over to his bed instead. Once she was settled on the mattress, he tucked himself around her. They stayed like that with her heartbeat soft and steady against his chest.
“Let’s get you something to eat.” Örim finally spoke again when it became impossible to ignore the rumble of her digestive system.
Not hungry.
“Not negotiable, aöseria.” He released his hold on her. “Either I’m cooking, or you can find something that doesn’t require knives.”
Cassie rolled her eyes.Eating your cooking might actually kill me.I don’t know if there’s much here.
“Eleri said she restocked the cold box and pantry.”
Fine.
She made her way into the kitchen, and he watched as she rifled through the cold box first, producing a bowl ofywesberries and some fermented dairy product. Then she opened the pantry and burst into tears.
Keeping one hand on her, Örim moved past her to the pantry to try and see what had caused the outburst. He found the pantry full of the chocolate he’d ordered several months back. It had taken a while to arrive. An Earth product, it was hard to find outside of a big hub like Prime Central, but he’d managed. Eleri must have put it here for Cassie.
Did you get this for me?
“I put in the order several months ago when you said you wanted it.”
Cassie grabbed one of the bricks alongside her other foods and carried them all back to the kitchen table. She ate like she hadn’t seen food in weeks. Perhaps she hadn’t.
“Slowly. Eleri said you might get sick if you ate too much too quickly.”
She lifted her brows, ignoring him as she shoved another square of chocolate into her mouth.Worth it.
Örim found himself clicking his mouth nodes together in amusement. She was still there, his aöseria, buried under all the hurt. Cassie leaned back in her chair, placing her hands on her rounded belly. She turned to him then.You’re supposed to reseed again tonight.
“I am. Do you want to watch? You said you were curious.” It was just as much an excuse to keep her by his side, as he wasn’t supposed to leave her unsupervised for the time being. Cassie nodded.
Örim had to do a full triple flush of his seeding pool before he could use it. It had accrued dust and mold, sitting stagnant for so long. Cassie perched on their bed, watching as he finally filled it and added the seeding solution. She poked a finger into the water and shivered.
Cold.
“Cold isn’t a problem for me like it is for you. We do have some hot mineral pools on Teös.” Örim stripped out of his clothing and stepped inside the pool. Bubbles started to form around him as the mineral solution worked to fill in gaps in his exterior.
Do you miss Teös?
“It would be a lie to say I don’t miss anything. I spent most of my life there.” Örim considered. “But there’s nothing I want there anymore. Everything I need is here.”
Cassie sat on the bed with her knees tucked into her chest, quiet and contemplative.Are we going to stay in Laurus forever?
“If that’s what you want.” Örim stood from the seeding solution, letting the water roll off him. “I just want you to find a way to be happy, so whatever that looks like is what we’ll do.”
What if I’m never happy again?Cassie asked.
It wasn’t the question he was expecting, but given Cassie’s fragile state of being, he wasn’t entirely surprised. Örim paused, trying to give the proper gravity to his answer. “Never is a long time. I don’t really believe in impossibility, for the most part. I know you can be happy, at least sometimes. I’ve seen it. So, we’ll work toward that. As long as you’re willing to participate.”
She nodded. As long as you’re here, I’m willing to try.
“Are you ready to sleep? I know your blankets are probably a bit musty, but we’ll work with what we have. I can start washing things tomorrow.”
Cassie frowned.I’ll do it. You’re supposed to be resting.She left the room for a moment while Örim dried off and returned with an armful of blankets and a pillow for herself.
As they settled into bed together, Örim placed his hand on Cassie’s head. “What should we do tomorrow?”
