Page 21 of Purring, Presents, and Parties

Ari determinedly stared at the birds. “I don’t know. I’m sure he’s doing something important.”

Was that bitterness in her voice? Maybe a hint of anger?

It felt good to feel, even if it was a negative mix!

“I can speak to Bazium after he’s done with his current project,” Rossimun offered, her rumble of concern getting louder. Only then did she step a little closer and place a comforting hand on Ari’s shoulder. “From what I gathered during our meeting earlier, the two of you haven’t been communicating. I checked the logs, and you’ve been in the infirmary many times, but Kasium didn’t notice your issue. I might have missed it also if Human Daniella hadn’t brought my attention to it. Something to note is that all those visits were because Bazium cared about you. His busy schedule doesn’t reflect on his dedication to you.”

Guilt made Ari wince. “I guess I should’ve told Kasium more about what was going on in my head. I don’t know why I didn’t.”

“We all become trapped in ourselves occasionally,” Rossimun said. “That’s why—”

A war rattle made both of them startle. Looking up, Ari saw Baz sprinting up the path to the cottage. His quills were up and claws exposed, the picture of an enraged Talin.

“Remove your hand from my Ari!” he roared, lips pulled back in a snarl.

“Calm down!” Ari shouted. Tossing aside her tea, she jumped in front of Rossimun to keep Baz from attacking her. The healer took several steps away and rumbled out a loud, soothing purr.

“Be at ease, Bazium. Ari was distressed, and I was trying to comfort her,” Rossimun explained. “She had no one else to turn to since you weren’t available.”

Sliding to a stop, Bazium flinched back as if Rossimun had struck him. He rumbled out a mournful sound that Ari had only heard once before. It made her think of mournful wail from far away. It was one of the saddest sounds she’d ever heard, and she lunged to embrace Bazium.

His gaze dropped to her. “You were distressed and didn’t contact me?”

“Please stop making that sound,” she begged, feeling tears gathering in her eyes. “If you keep making that rumble, I’m going to start crying, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop for a long time.”

Her anger at Bazium was the first strong emotion she’d felt for months, and it was causing the dam to crack. It felt like massive amounts of emotions, good and bad, were suddenly pushing to get out.

“She started a new medication today,” Rossimun explained with a concerned rumble.

“New medication?” Bazium questioned, enveloping Ari in a hug. The strong smell of hazelnut helped hold back the tears and calm the maelstrom of feelings.

“Daniella convinced her to talk to us, and once she was honest about what she was feeling and thinking, we were able to run the correct tests and create appropriate medication.”

Bazium made the desolate rumble again. “This is my fault. I should’ve made you talk to Kasium or Rossimun sooner.”

“No, I had to hear it from Daniella,” Ari argued. “I was in denial too, but Daniella bossed me around so much when we were children that it was easier for her to make me talk. Sometimes things have to get pretty bad before you realize there's something wrong.”

“I’ll leave the two of you to talk,” Rossimun said, walking away. “I’ll see you at the infirmary tomorrow, Ari.”

“We’ll be there,” Bazium promised, then he drew away far enough to meet her gaze. “If you talked to Rossimun earlier, does that mean you can talk to me now?”

Blinking back tears, Ari nodded her head. “I think I’m ready. Let’s go inside and get comfortable first. This might be a long conversation.”

Chapter 9

Bazium

Taking to heart Ari’s warning about the conversation being lengthy, Bazium gathered food, drink, and a few other items he thought might be important. He took a little extra time to prepare a carafe of tea so Ari could enjoy the drink she’d discarded in defense of Rossimun.

With everything close at hand, he settled them both in their nest-bed. One side of the nest was against a wall, so he rested his back against the wall and arranged Ari between his splayed legs. She was silent through the whole process but finally let out a long sigh as she relaxed against him.

“I’m not sure where to start,” she admitted.

“May I speak?” he asked. “I would like to share some insights Rain gave me.”

Ari tilted her head to look up at him, eyebrows lifted in interest. “When were you talking to Rain?”

“I had a request for Hesarium, and they were together. My request led to a conversation and a revelation I’m not comfortable with.”

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