Page 24 of Mazorium Buys a Human

Mika lowered Nadia and moved her garment back in place. I noticed that her nipple looked irritated to the point of almost bleeding. I didn’t like that! I’d need to find a balm she could use to keep her nipples from being injured by Nadia’s feeding.

She picked up a cloth I’d left on the table earlier and tossed it over her shoulder. Then I watched her arrange Nadia and start patting her back until she belched up some air and a portion of the food she’d consumed.

It was no wonder humans struggled to survive; their young couldn’t even keep down the nutrients vital for their survival.

Nadia woke up briefly, let out an unhappy sound, then fell right back to sleep as Mika cradled her again.

“Rest is probably best for you,” I said, plucking the soiled cloth from her shoulder and tossing it in a corner until I could put it in a cleansing unit later. “Can I carry you back to your nest?”

“I want to walk,” she said, standing up with Nadia cradled in her arms. I was pleased that she didn’t argue about resting more.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To my sleeping quarters,” I answered, sounding a questioning rumble. “We just discussed it. You need to rest and that’s where the nest is.”

She chuckled. “No, I meant where is our destination, as in traveling through space.”

“Oh,” I said and almost sounded a rumble of amusement, but I remembered in time and stifled the urge. I needed my chestbox to recover in case Nadia needed me to soothe her again. “We will be arriving at the station in roughly twenty-seven marks.”

“That’s right,” she said with a little nod. “You said that already. I remember Mom forgetting a lot of things when she was pregnant and right after. She called it mom-brain. I thought she was exaggerating, but now I understand.”

She yawned again. I really wished she’d let me carry her. Thankfully we were soon entering my sleeping quarters. She started for the nest, but I stopped her. The nest was a disorganized mess, I couldn't let her lay down in that!

“Please sit while I fix this,” I said and got to work.

Mika

Bemused, I watched as Mazorium took great pains to rearrange my bed. I had knocked a few pillows around in my panic, but, really, it wasn't that bad. Still, Mazorium pulled it all apart and reassembled it layer by layer.

I shifted Nadia in my arms a little and remembered that her everclean suit needed to be changed. I spotted a stack of items on a table that included a few everclean onesies. I got up to get one and Mazorium straightened with two pillows clutched in his hands.

“What are you doing?”

“I need to change Nadia’s everclean outfit.”

He sounded a rumble that made me think of feet wearing stockings running across a floor. It took me a moment toremember that was the sound of agreement. I really needed my mom-brain to start catching on faster!

“Please wait until I’m done here,” he requested. “I wish to see how it’s done.”

“Sure,” I said, sitting back down. I couldn’t remember any male in my life ever helping my mom as much as Mazorium wanted to assist me. Dad wasn’t mean or neglectful, but he worked long hours and didn’t seem particularly interested in doing much after he got home. Mom worked too, but because of us kids, her hours at the pod processing plant were limited.

The two things I remember the most were Mom always moving, even while Dad rested, and our constant struggle to afford the basics.

Not only did Mazorium seem rich and successful, but he treated Nadia as if she was a precious life that he wanted to nurture above all else, even when she was being messy or fussy. Most other species only tolerated humans, but this Talin acted as if we were special and valuable.

After watching the way Mazorium treated Nadia when no one was around to watch, I trusted him to care for her.

Once the bed was to his standards, he led me into it. When I was sitting comfortably among many fluffy pillows, he fetched an everclean suit and knelt on the edge of the nest.

“It’s not complicated,” I said, laying Nadia out. She fussed a little but settled quickly. I showed him how to release the hidden closures down the center of the suit. He watched closely as I worked Nadia’s little arms and legs out of the suit, then tugged it out from under her.

“She doesn’t want to help you,” he commented when Nadia pulled her hand away and made it hard for me to get the new suit on.

“It’s a baby’s job,” I said with a laugh.

“Their job is to be difficult?” he asked.

“Their job is to learn how to fight,” I answered. “Humans have to fight to survive, so it’s important we learn the skill early.”