Page 55 of Cozy Prisons
“Hale, I’m fine. Daxus isn’t forcing me to do anything,” she said.
“Are you sure?” Hale asked, tapping the butt of their weapon on the ground. “I know he’s bigger than me, but I’m not afraid.”
“You’re a great friend to check on me. I promise, if I didn’t feel safe, I’d use the orb system,” she reminded them. Daxus liked the way she didn’t try to get close to the human. She stayed in front of him and leaned her back against his front.
Hale’s eyes went wide for a moment. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” They tucked the information square under their weapon arm and patted the pockets of their filthy wrap. Their expression changed to one of relief. They gave her a big smile and pulled it out to show her. “Here it is!”
“That makes me happy,” she said. It was clear they were carrying the orb around because she’d given it to them, not because they planned to use it. They were much more likely to start using their weapon. He could only hope Hale didn’t pick a fight with one of the humans. He didn’t want them to end up ostracized.
A loud, familiar ring sounded from the center of the village. It was a signal that the evening meal was ready. Because Talins only needed to eat once a day, the humans had decided that their last meal of the day should be a communal one where everyone gathered and talked about their day. Although it wasn’t a Talin tradition, they were all quick to adopt it.
“I guess it’s dinner time, want to join us?” Nataly asked.
Hale hesitated, looking unsure. “Do you want me to join you?”
“Uh, sure?”
Daxus almost rumbled with amusement at Nataly’s uncertain tone.
Hale seemed to debate for a moment, then nodded their head. “Okay. But I won’t spend the entire evening there, like everyone seems to do.”
This time, Nataly laughed. “There’s no requirement that you have to play one of Decard’s games. Half the time, we don't want to play them, but he loves making them up, and no one wants to hurt his feelings.”
For a brief moment, Daxus almost thought Hale was about to smile, then their jaw tightened. “I won’t hurt his feelings, but I won’t stay.”
Now that they were talking about eating, Daxus realized Nataly hadn’t had much all day. It was suddenly important that he feed her.
Nataly turned to look up at him. “Everything okay? You suddenly started purring.”
“I was only concerned for you,” he said. “You should eat now.”
He tried to pick her up, but she stepped away and took his hand instead. She pulled him along and headed for the center of the village. “Then let’s go.”
Hale silently followed.
Nataly
Hale didn’t talk to anyone except her. It was rude, but at least it wasn’t abrasive and argumentative. They made it through most of the meal with Hale ignoring everyone else, and everyone pretending that was normal.
Unfortunately, Cassius wasn’t paying attention to the clear indicators that Hale wasn’t interested in casual conversation.
“Why is your wrap so dirty?” Cassius asked.
Hale grunted and put more food in their mouth.
Cassius kept talking as if Hale had answered him. “It looks like you’ve been wearing it for days. I can show you where the sanitizing units are, and there are more wraps you can have. You don’t have to keep wearing the same one.”
Nataly knew Cassius was trying to be helpful, but she could tell Hale was getting more annoyed, even as they shoved a hunk of flat bread into their mouth.
“I don’t think Hale is concerned about their clothing right now,” Nataly said, hoping that would be the end of it.
Cassius ignored her and leaned over the table to get a little closer to Hale. “You shouldn’t be shy about supplies, we’ve got plenty. You won’t get in trouble for taking stuff, I promise. All you need to do is make sure to change the log numbers so we know when to order more.”
Cassius’s words made Nataly wince. She’d caused a lot of problems by not changing the logs back when the colony first started. Some day, she’d need to confess and apologize to Palathum.
Looking over at Hale, she noticed they were gripping a canister of sopa tight enough to make their knuckles white. She needed to intercede before Hale’s short temper showed up.
She waved a hand to get Cassius’s attention. “Hey, Cassius. Leave Hale alone.”
