Page 32 of Moon Tamed

To keep them from waiting long, I blitzed through cleaning, disposed of the soiled litter in the bin down the hall, packed my purse, and grabbed the carrier. “I’ll go home long enough to eat and get some sleep. As my new home has a great kitchen, I am expecting to eat better than usual.” I considered my new neighbor, wondering if inviting him over would send a wrong message. Considering how busy we’d both be, I decided to take the risk. “Calden, as there’s no difference between cooking for one or two beyond the quantity, would you like to have dinner at my place before you head home and pass out?”

Like me, he’d been swamped up to his eyebrows in work.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded, lugged the cheetahs out of my office, grabbed the bird feeder so the nectar wouldn’t rot in my office overnight, and whistled for the hummingbirds. I waited for my feathered friends to head down the hall to the reception entrance before doing a check of the room for any stray birds and closing the door. “One day, I’ll understand how those little birds understand when someone whistles and is trying to leave that it’s time for them to go to the lobby.”

Calden laughed and took the feeder from me. “Training and habit. We all do it, so they learned it’s time to go to their nests near the elevators if the person they’re hanging out with is leaving. For a while, we had to chase down stray birds, but the parents teach the babies to go back to the lobby now. It might look like magic, but it’s not. They’re smart, and they know the only place with nectar after hours is the lobby. I’ll go get this rinsed and meet you at the elevators.”

“Thanks.”

We followed the hummingbirds to the elevators, where the entire flock flitted around.

Calden joined us a few minutes later, and he sighed at the birds. “There were more hummingbirds among the evacuees. We might need some literal magic to integrate the flocks at this stage. Hummingbirds can get really territorial, so we have to convince them that they have to share. The new birds will be in quarantine, and then we’ll gradually start releasing them.”

I expected chaos, as the Hunters already had hundreds of winged co-workers making frequent messes we cleaned. All in all, they’d done an excellent job of recruiting humans to be their personal servants. “Can any of them be released into the wilds?”

Calden shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. It turns out we love having them around, so every time someone suggests we find out, we protest, because how dare they suggest we release our babies into the wild?”

I laughed. “It’s true, though. They’re just so charming.”

“Are they as charming as a peacock screaming at you while dropping a dead mouse on your foot?” my father asked in a wry tone.

“I can’t just ignore a proposal like that, Dad. Lucky was so proud of himself.”

“Perhaps you should try accepting some attention from human males. Right idea, wrong species, Coraline,” my father teased, heading for the button to summon an elevator.

I waved my fist at his back. “If you’re worried about me getting you sick, you don’t have to come over unless you want to,” I informed Calden in a hushed tone so my father wouldn’t overhear me.

“You’re fine. Dad makes me vaccinate every ten years for Earth along with a few other planets, so I’ll be fine. You’re among the most likely to get sick, though. If you have any symptoms, let me know. I’ll give you my number. I’ll also make sure Dad’s number is in your phone, too. In good news, the second group of refugees included several vets. They’ll take over the care of our cats, and you’ll be trained to handle your cheetahs. Dad found some time to talk with them about their needs. Mine will be socialized with other cats and join a pride. Your cheetahs are the safest to be trained to live among people, so they’ll be brought up accordingly.”

“The plan for the cheetahs to live here is going to go ahead?” I hoped so. Both furballs worked hard to sink their claws into my heart with disturbing success.

“That’s still the plan.”

I stared into his eyes and announced, “I’m at the stage I’ll fight you for them.”

Calden laughed. “That’s what I told my father about mine, and he suggested I get into shape and prepare to be defeated. He’s received offers for all the cats to have permanent homes after the quarantine is over except for your cheetahs. They’ll be going to a large cat breeding and conservation program. It’s a done deal since they’ll have a good habitat. I’ll have to let mine go once the quarantine lifts.”

My father cleared his throat from the elevator, and to my amusement, he hadn’t pressed the button yet. “Come on, kids. We’re leaving.” He snapped his fingers and continued to do so until we got on the move. “If you forgot something, you’ll have to come back for it after you’ve gotten some rest.”

As arguing would accomplish nothing, I pressed the button to summon the elevator and waited for it to open. “I hope you like rabbit, Calden. It seems my new home has been stocked with my favorite food.”

“I eat it from time to time without complaint.”

I grinned, as I said the same thing whenever asked. In reality, I meant whenever possible. “How do you like yours?”

“Hot and edible is all I’m willing to hope for today. If you handle the rabbit, I’ll take care of the sides. We’ll be useless if we don’t eat properly. Make sure you drink a lot of water before bed, too. It’ll help with the vaccinations and give you a better chance to fight off any illnesses.”

The only reason I’d stopped to eat lunch had been thanks to Leita swinging by my office and feeding me. “That reminds me. I need to thank Leita for bringing lunch.”

“We all need to thank her,” Calden admitted. “I don’t think anyone on our floor would have eaten a bite if she hadn’t realized we’d focused a little too much on our work. She’d tried to send us home at the end of our shift, but she gave up after the first few refused. I bet she’s why we’re leaving now. After twelve hours, things get sketchy on the legal front for work.”

“Your father was the driving force behind making sure everyone is leaving and taking a break, and he’s already issued emergency protocols,” Dad said, waiting for the elevator to release us on the ground floor before holding the door open for us. “Employers will have the option to have staff be paid overtime beyond the normal limits to make up for those who will inevitably get sick. The refugees will also be given everything they need to begin working as quickly as possible. Other city-states are working on releasing their refugee admission figures, which will be based on a mix of open housing and their local economy. Moonriver will be receiving aid from elsewhere while we deal with the initial illnesses and settling of refugees.”

Once he had us on the move, my father marched us out the doors, clearing his throat whenever Calden appeared to want to take a detour to talk with someone. “I was warned about you, Calden. If I let you join any of the lobby conversations, I will not get you home for at least an hour. Allasandro let me into your place, by the way, Coraline. I’ve stocked your kitchen, and there’s some soup in the fridge if you don’t feel well tomorrow.”

“Are any of us going to feel well tomorrow?” From what I’d read about the incoming illnesses, the most worrisome of the lot needed twenty-four to thirty-six hours to incubate, and once it hit, it lasted for one to two weeks as a general rule.

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