Page 12 of Purring, Presents, and Parties

“The only thing contagious about you is drunkenness,” Jalin teased. “No one leaves your place sober.”

She grimaced. “Don’t remind me. I might have consumed a bit too much last night.”

Jalin pretended to gasp. “You overindulged and I wasn’t invited?”

“If you lived with me, you’d always be invited,” she pointed out.

“Then I guess I don’t have a choice,” Jalin declared. “You’ve got a new roomie, Bootlegger Zuri. I’m claiming the bed, the nests Talins put together are way too soft for me.”

“I’ll even throw in a rock for a pillow at no extra charge,” Zuri said with a watery laugh, relief making her feel light. “Let’s go move your stuff.”

Kasium

The screen of text in front of Kasium kept blurring, forcing him to blink rapidly and move his head back and forth until he could bring the words back into focus. He should try to rest again, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw Zuri. His mind would swirl with memories of her, his chest would tighten, and he’d feel short of breath.

No, sleep was impossible. He needed to work himself into exhaustion, so he’d drop into slumber the moment he lay down.

“Kasium?”

Pivoting on his stool, Kasium found Rossimun standing behind him. “Yes?”

The other healer sounded a concerned rumble. “I called your name several times, but you didn’t respond to me until I was right behind you. It’s quiet in here. How did you not hear me?”

He reached for the most plausible explanation. “I was engrossed in my research.”

Rossimun glanced at the screen he’d been struggling to read. It was a comparison chart from Aubrey’s tests over the last solar, including markers indicating medication changes. He’d been trying to overlay it with Zuri’s chart, but the simple action had proved impossible in his current state.

Perhaps he should think about using a mild sedative to initiate sleep. His current state wasn’t safe for anyone who might need his skills.

“Has Aubrey declined recently?” Rossimun asked, still staring at the data.

“She is perfectly fine. I’m attempting a long-term study.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. He’d been studying Aubrey’s condition since meeting her, but what he hoped was to find some correlation between her and Zuri. That would give him a reason she’d suddenly decided to reject him, and it could be fixed with medication.

“Excellent research topic,” Rossimun said, moving to another workstation in their infirmary. The two of them were the primary healers for all the humans. Normally a place like this would have two or three healers-in-training assigned to each healer, but he and Rossimun made do without. They had to be careful who they let spend large amounts of time in the compound or risk being found out.

Sitting at the workstation, Rossimun started reviewing tests and charts. There was no one in the infirmary at the moment, but there were several appointments for later in the day. The load was light enough that Kasium might claim eye fatigue and retire to the small living quarters.

“I noticed Zuri and Jalin walking toward your cottage,” Rossimun commented as she got up and walked to a cabinet.

Kasium’s heart sped up at the sound of Zuri’s name. “They are good friends. They both came from the farming planet Omanal. That’s the one that suffered from unstable terraforming.”

“That explains why they were carrying Jalin’s possessions to your cabin,” Rossimun said, opening up one of the cabinets to inspect their supplies. “We should order more numbing medications. I also think we should special order beds with removable side plates. Some of the humans are very active in their sleep.”

Her words were registering in his earholes, but he couldn’t understand what she was saying. Not after the revelation that Zuri had invited Jalin to live with her.

“Are you sure they were moving his things?” he asked. He couldn’t even make any sounds, his backplates felt frozen in place, and his chest was too tight to rumble.

“When I crossed paths with them, we spoke for a few submarks,” Rossimun said without turning around. “Zuri looked fatigued and perhaps a little pale. Has she been ill recently?”

“Alcohol.” The one-word explanation came out hoarse.

“Ah,” Rossimun murmured, moving a few things around to look at the back of the cabinet. “That explains it. Humans are their own worst enemies. It’s a good thing they have us now.”

Clearing his throat, he tried to think of how to ask questions without making Rossimun suspicious. “Has Jalin been suffering from loneliness?”

Rossimun sounded a rumble of amusement. “The opposite, I believe. He’s sharing his enclosure with two other males, so it’s rather crowded. With Zuri being alone most of the time because you’re here, Jalin moving in will no doubt serve two purposes. It will reduce crowding in the enclosures and give Zuri a friend and potential mate close by.”

Kasium stood so abruptly his stool toppled loudly to the floor. “Mate?”

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