I Was An Alien Cat Toy (12 page)

sheft away.

Silence, but still Gredar didn’t let him go. Waiting for him to calm down, Temin realised. But Temin

couldn’t—the shivering was getting worse, and he was glad his face was hidden because he’d already shown

enough weakness to these people.

After a bit, he heard a quiet, “T’meen?”

He looked up as Gredar loosened his hold a little. “Temin good,” he lied.

“T’meen tir-ed.”

“Yeah. Yes.” He pulled away, though Gredar kept his tail curled around him, and rubbed his eyes.

“What?”

Gredar patted him, then got up. Without his thick, superheated fur, Temin felt rather cold, but Gredar

was only fetching something from the doorway.
Great,
Temin thought.
Having a freakout because of a

delivery.

The freakout was forgotten in seconds as he realised what Gredar was carrying. “My pack!” He made

‘gimme gimme’ motions, and Gredar put it in his lap, before settling down next to him again and winding his

tail around Temin’s waist. Temin appreciated the gesture but he only had eyes for his belongings—scanner,

handheld, even the food, everything was there, including some spare underwear, the weapons and the knife.

“Good?” Gredar asked.

“Good. Very good!”

“Vaaaary?”

That was the limitation of the book and gestures. Adjectives and verbs, anything remotely abstract

were almost impossible to convey. “Good, good, good.
Very
good,” he repeated, holding his hands out wide

to denote a vast amount.

Gredar nodded solemnly. “Vaaary,” he said. “Meni.”

“Meni? Many?” They had the same word? Wow.

Gredar touched the scanner. “Whaat?”

“Um.”

“Ummm,” Gredar repeated solemnly.

“No, no....” Temin sighed as Gredar cocked his head in puzzlement. They just weren’t up to that level

of conversation yet. He switched the scanner on and crowed as the screen powered up—and the symbol for

the podpod showed up a mere ten clicks away. Suddenly escape was possible!

“T’meen good?”

“Temin happy. Happy!” He pointed to his grin and waved his arms around excitedly. “Happy!”

Gredar patted his head, lingering a little over the jagged end of his hair where the braid used to be.

“Gredar haapy T’meen haapy. Good.”

“Thank you,” Temin said, hugging him again. “Thank you, Temin happy.”

Gredar began to purr as Temin stared down at the scanner screen, and the tiny white mark that

represented hope—and possibly freedom. He really might get out of here after all.

~~~~~~~~

Karwa whined a little when Gredar found him and sent him up to stand guard at his door. “How long

do I have to do this for, Uncle Gredar?”

“As long as I say, kitling.” Karwa swiped at his ear, pouting. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise. We

shall hunt together after snow melt. Just you and me.”

His nephew perked up immediately. “Really? To hunt big game?”

“Yes, big game. So guard him well.”

“I will!”

Gredar smiled to himself as he went down the stairs. Karwa would never completely be happy living

in the house. He belonged on the plains, hunting and exploring. He would never be tamed as Gredar was.

“Gredar.”

Gredar paused on the stairs and looked down. “Yes, Mother?”

She didn’t look very pleased with him. “I wish to speak to you. My room.”

He followed her to her workroom, and sat as she bid him. Her hands were folded neatly on the desk in

front of her, the claws hidden—for now. “Jilen tells me the jopa is recovered, more or less.”

“More or less,” Gredar agreed. “He still tires easily, and isn’t completely healed. But he’ll live.”

“I should hope so, since he’s tied up so many of my household for so long,” she said, sounding less

than happy. “But that’s not why I asked to speak to you. I wish to convene the surat tomorrow to deal with

Buhi and Filwui. You will attend?”

“Yes. But T’meen should too, since....”

“Who?”

“Uh...Kirin. His real name is T’meen.”

Her ears twitched. “There’s no need for it to be there.”

“Mother, the offence was against T’meen as well as me.”

“It’s an animal, Gredar. You may as well bring one of your pots to sit in judgement.”

“He’s not an animal. He’s a huu-mun. Huu-man.”

She hissed a little in irritation. “I’m tired of it, whatever it is. The surat will also decide its fate. It’s

already caused far more disruption than it’s worth, however elsart it is, or was. My feeling is that it should

probably be destroyed.”

“Mother, no!”

She flattened her ears at him. “Gredar, remember your place.”

“I’m sorry...but he’s not a thing. He has a name, feelings—a home, somewhere. Please...I beg you, as

your kit, don’t kill him.” He bowed low in submission. He’d never begged his mother for anything in his life,

but he’d never wanted anything before as much as he wanted this.

“Get up, dear. I’m prepared to listen to argument, but what I’m not prepared to do is have this house

run to its beck and call.”

“He was injured in this house, Mother. We brought him here. He’s done nothing wrong.”

“I never said he had,” she said crossly. She got to her feet. “I wish to see him.”

“Uh...he’s asleep.”

“Then wake him up. I’m busy, and he and you work to my convenience, not your own. Don’t forget

that, Gredar. You’re both only males.”

He bowed again. “My apologies.”

She curled her tail over his shoulders in forgiveness. “Let’s go.”

At the doorway, he asked her to wait, which didn’t please her. “He gets startled very easily, Mother.

It’s not his fault.”

“Go on,” she said, tail flicking in impatience. Karwa, wise kit, kept silent and away from the two

adults. Gredar hurried—it was T’meen’s life hanging in the balance and he couldn’t afford to make her

angry.

There was no easy way to wake T’meen these days and Gredar had his assurances ready as T’meen

thrashed and forced himself to remember where he was—it always made Gredar so ashamed, seeing this,

knowing he was responsible. “Shhh, shhh, T’meen. You’re safe.”

The huu-man understood the sentiment, if not the words, and calmed. “Whaat?” he asked, blinking

slowly. He looked so weary, Gredar couldn’t resist stroking him under the chin. T’meen leaned into his

touch. “Whaat?” he asked again.

And that was where Gredar was stuck because he had no words to explain to T’meen what his mother

wanted. He sat down and put his arm around T’meen, coiling his tail in the little huu-man’s lap. “Good,” he

said, meaninglessly.

“Whaat?” Then a string of words, obviously asking him what was going on. Gredar could only pat

him and hope T’meen would show the good sense Gredar had come to expect from him.

“Mother? Come in, but slowly, please?” He tightened his grip on T’meen, but flicked his tail against

his chin, hoping he would send a message that there was no danger.

T’meen tensed like a strung wire as Gredar’s mother came in. “No,” he said quietly.

“Ye-esss. T’meen good.” The look he got at those words didn’t seem happy, but at least T’meen

wasn’t struggling.

His mother knelt in front of them both. “Paznitl!” she swore, looking at the ruin of T’meen’s

appearance. “Did Filwui cut its hair like that?”

“No, T’meen did that—he wasn’t in his right mind. Buhi said...Filwui used it against him. As a gag.”

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “And now it’s torgu. I don’t really want it in my house.”

“Mother, please—he’ll heal, and it’s not his fault. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Tell him your name.”

“It’s a....” But she looked at Gredar’s expression, and stopped. “This is such a waste of my time.”

“Please, Mother?” Gredar stroked T’meen’s cheek with his tail tip. “T’meen good,” he said, hoping

his friend would understand the need to cooperate.

“Ye-ess,” T’meen said, to Gredar’s relief. He seemed to be waiting for further instructions.

Gredar nodded to his mother, who sighed. “I’m Kadit.”

Gredar pointed at his mother. “Kadit,” he repeated for T’meen’s benefit.

“Kadit. Daiyne.” Gredar nodded. T’meen pointed at himself as he faced her. “T’meen. Huu-man.

Kadit Gredar mother?”

Gredar blinked. “Yes, I’m his mother,” she said, looking surprised. “How much does he speak?”

“Not much, but see—he’s writing it down.” He showed her the notes the two of them have been

making, and without prompting, T’meen correctly identified the words ‘female’, ‘mother’, and hovered over

‘clan head’, looking up for his mother to confirm.

“Yes,” she said. “Clan head.”

T’meen repeated the words, and then pushed Gredar’s arm and tail off him, struggling to his feet. To

Gredar and his mother’s astonishment, he bowed from the waist, saying something neither of them

understood, before he added, “Thank you,” in the daiyne tongue.

“Thank you? For what?”

“For letting him live, I suspect,” Gredar said. His mother flicked her tail at him, but she didn’t seem

annoyed.

She reached out to touch T’meen, and though he flinched, he allowed it. “What are these things?” she

asked, fingering the material that T’meen had on his body.

“Cloze,” T’meen said, guessing her question.

“‘Cloze’?”

“Jilen and I think the huu-man make them, to compensate for the lack of fur.” Gredar showed her the

rest of the things that he had retrieved from Martek, though he decided the other mysterious sack could wait

until later. “We could learn a lot from him.”

“If he learned our language.” She sat back on her haunches. “Very well. He can come to the surat, and

he can stay in your room
if
he causes no trouble, and there’s no more disruption. If there is...then he’ll have

to leave.”

“I understand.”

She stood, and T’meen bowed again. “He certainly has learned manners.” She patted him on the head.

“A pity about the hair. You think he feels ashamed of what was done to him?”

“I think he was just very angry, Mother. I don’t blame him.”

“No. Filwui will answer for that, I promise you. Now, I’m sending Karwa off to his duties. No more

special arrangements to be made. T’meen can walk and fend for himself, and you are all he needs. He’ll have

to get used to us, or leave.”

“Yes, Mother. Thank you.”

She nodded and left without another word. Gredar put his arm around T’meen’s waist. “Oh, my little

friend, you have no idea how close that was.”

T’meen turned and peered into his eyes. “Good? Haapy?”

“Ye-ess. Vaaary.”

T’meen rubbed his head along Gredar’s jaw, a habit he surely picked up from the daiyne. Gredar

wished he knew how huu-man expressed affection and happiness, so he could reciprocate, but he had only

his own ways. So he just wrapped his tail around T’meen’s waist and held him carefully close, and after a

little bit, put him back to bed and watched over him until he fell asleep again.

They had only won a reprieve tonight. His mother could change her mind at any time, and she would

always put the clan before T’meen, her own interests and that of her daughters and granddaughters before

any male creature, as was only right. There had to be a permanent answer to the problem of his strange

former pet that didn’t involve banishment or death.

~~~~~~~~

Temin was getting sick of waking up terrified, but it didn’t look as if it was going to stop anytime

soon. At least he knew what to do now, which was to lie still and wait for his heart to stop pounding. Gredar,

lying next to him as he’d started to do once more, was a reassuring, warm bulk Temin needed this morning.

He felt heavy, as if he’d slept nearly a whole day—thinking about it, he realised he’d slept at least sixteen

hours, and hadn’t eaten for nearly twenty.

He burrowed into Gredar’s thick fur, and under the generous coverings he’d finally been given. What

the sheft had that all been about last night? It had been something important to Gredar, that was for sure—the

big guy had been vibrating with stress, and all those repeated requests for him to be ‘good’, weren’t normal.

His mother...she was the big boss around here. Was she upset with Gredar? With him? Gredar had been

spending almost all his time with Temin the last few days—maybe she didn’t like that, but wasn’t he old

enough to organise his own time?

He yawned. He needed a piss and he needed something to eat. He’d have to wait until Gredar woke

up before he could get any food—he had no shefting idea what the day-neh in the kitchen would do if Temin

just turned up and asked for stuff, but he suspected it wouldn’t be friendly.

He relieved himself and washed his face—Gredar had not only arranged private toilet facilities in the

closet where Gredar’s own were set up, but also placed a small basin, jug and cleaning leather inside his

bathroom just for Temin’s use. Temin was still a pet of sorts, but that was probably inevitable until he found

a way back to the podpod.

Gredar was awake and looking for him when he returned, chirruping happily at the sight of him.

“Happy to see you too, big guy,” Temin said, and rubbed his face against Gredar’s arm because Gredar liked

it.

“T’meen good?”

“Yes.” He rubbed his stomach and pointed to his mouth. “Hungry.” He pretended to pick up

something and put it in his mouth. “Food?”

“Foood? Harsa.”

“Yeah, harsa. Food. Temin hungry.” Now everything was a language lesson, but it was a lot better