Page 12 of Enzo

"Why?"

"Because females are scared of males bigger than them when they don't know who they are. We can't go around scaring them. Enzo wouldn't like it if I scared you, besides you don't know me."

"True, I don't know you, but I know you work for the boss just like me. I know he would get mad at you if I don't show up tonight, so I'm not scared of you, which means you can come in."

He gave her a happy smile as she moved further back before he finally moved forward to come in.

"You're nice." He was standing in the small entryway with the kitchen on his right and the bathroom on his left.

"We're all nice," that lie almost caused her to choke.

He shook his head slowly. "I met a pretty Earthling, but she wasn't nice. She laughed at me because her friends did."

The frown on his face that said he didn't understand touched her heart. She was going to like Ven whether she wanted to or not.

"Follow me." She led him a few short steps into her living room/dining room combo. "Take a seat. Tell me, Ven, how old are you in umm Earth years?"

He stiffened and looked towards the door.

"It's alright. It'll just be our secret."

He nodded, still wary, looking at her to see if she was trustworthy.

"Sixteen?" she threw a number out there, but by the look on his face, she was off, and he was offended.

"Enzo said I'm like nineteen or twenty in Earth years." He looked so proud of himself when he said it. "I was like ten whenwe first got here, but I've grown since then. Sometimes I miss the fighting and the noise."

"You miss your parents?" She took a seat on the other side of the couch.

"Nah," he shook his head, a sad look coming over his face. "They didn't want me. That's why they sent me to the battalion."

"The battalion? Is that what you meant by missing the fighting?"

He brightened up. "Yes, they were one of the best groups. Declyn and Enzo let me into their battalion. I was way too young, but I would have either been killed by the enemy or starved if they didn't let me in. The other groups just laughed at me and made bets that I wouldn't make it long on my own."

Her eyes were blinking fast because she could see him as a kid trying to be tough as nails after his parents threw him away.

"Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to take a shower and get changed. Then I'm going to make breakfast, and we're going to talk about this girl, okay?"

He gave her a shrug that said knock yourself out. "That would be nice." His eyes, on the other hand, were suspiciously bright like no one ever took the time to mother him.

She gave him a quick smile, got up, and collected her clothes before going to the bathroom.

Do we have time for him?

We can barely take care of ourselves. Now you're trying to mother a whole different species.

I just wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be okay.

The last voice was caring and compassion. It was the last voice Deja expected to speak. They both had been used and abused. C&C now liked to keep her head down and her heart covered. All the voices in her head were silent as they looked at C&C; they missed her as much as Deja had.

So yeah, they would be mothering Ven as much as possible. If only to give caring and compassion something to do.

She peeked deep inside like all her voices were doing, but love was still huddled up in a dark corner, refusing to come out. With a sigh, she turned on the shower. It didn't take her long to get ready. Ven sat slumped against the couch with his eyes closed like he hadn't gotten much sleep. She gave him an hour before she started cooking.

"Ven, wake up. It's time to eat."

"Is it?" His voice was groggy. One look at him and she could see his youth as plain as day.

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