Page 94 of Cozy Prisons
“Can I simply call you Hulmun?” Nataly asked.
“Of course, Human Nataly!” Hulmun agreed. Then she sounded a questioning rumble. “Why ever were you two in here? Did you get lost?”
“Nataly wanted to walk around, so we were exploring,” Daxus explained.
Hulmun sounded an excited rattle. “There are many more interesting things to see. Will you allow me to be your guide?”
She wasn’t trying to get Nataly to “clutch” or “cling” to her, and Hulmun was also being polite and not talking over Nataly’s headto Daxus. So far, this was the only crew member Nataly met who didn’t do something inappropriate within the first few seconds of their meeting.
“Daxus has to come,” Nataly said.
“Of course, your owner must stay with you,” Hulmun said, turning to lead them out of the room and down a hall they hadn’t explored yet. “If I were your owner, I’d do the same.”
Nataly ignored the word owner and let herself take in the change of equipment lining the hall as they walked.
She wasn’t prepared for the room that Hulmun led them into. It was full of cages!
“These are all going to a collector on Simk Colony,” Hulmun explained. “The family spent a lot of time and wealth to have all these specimens bought and transported in such a way that they’d all arrive at the same time.”
Nataly let go of Daxus’s hand so she could rush over to a shelving unit full of cages. She expected to see furry creatures, but everything had scales instead of fur or feathers. One of them hissed at her and jumped at the glass separating them.
With a gasp, Nataly jumped back. “Oh, you’re an angry little guy!”
Hulmun quickly stepped between Nataly and the creature. “Don’t be afraid. None of them can break out of their terrariums.”
“I was only startled, not scared,” Nataly said, stepping to the side to look at the next terrarium. Most of the inhabitants weren’t interested in her. They basked next to a heat source or hunted down something skittering around in the dirt and leaves of their environment. The one at the very end caught her eye. The lizard looked like it was covered in jewels!
She leaned in close, almost putting her nose to the glass. The light over the cage made the little creature glitter.
“That’s a jeweled lizard,” Hulmun said. “She was the most expensive because the buyer had to get special permission from Admirus Citizen Palathum for us to go on Kalor to capture her.”
“How do you know it’s a female?” Nataly asked, unable to take her eyes off the beautiful lizard.
“The males are much smaller and not as colorful,” Hulmun said and reached over Nataly to lift the top of the terrarium. “Would you like to hold her? Jeweled lizards are very docile and enjoy being near warmth.”
“Absolutely!”
Hulmun gently lifted the lizard out and deposited it into Nataly’s hands. She was heavier than Nataly expected, but as Hulmun said, the little creature didn’t fight or try to get away. If anything, she looked half asleep. Then she nuzzled her head between two of Nataly’s fingers and closed her eyes all the way.
Nataly got one of her feelings, but it wasn’t fear or anxiety; it was rightness.
She put her face close to the lizard. She looked up at Nataly with half-lidded eyes.
After they’d stared into each other’s eyes for several minutes, she looked up at Daxus. She didn’t need to say anything.
He sounded a rumble of agreement. “I’ll see what it’ll take to purchase her for you.”
Hulmun sounded a questioning rumble. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re from Kalor, and that’s where we’re going,” Nataly whispered to the creature as Daxus and Hulmun talked. “You need to come with me. We’re both going home.”
Chapter 29
Hale
Hale was lost. Again.
It wasn’t their fault. Talins enjoyed confusing architecture. Would it hurt them to color-code the corridors like the Fulmons? They could shape code the corridors like the Leemrons did. Hallways with a square cross section ran the length of the station or ship, and a triangular cross section ran the width. But no, these Talins made every damn corridor look the same. It was annoying, especially since they’d been on the ship for two days and still couldn’t find their way around.
