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Perhaps this strange creature and I can find a way to understand each other. Or at least, to coexist. I can’t let zha leave my hoard, so I must figure it out. There's a fragile peace here, a tentative balance that could be shattered by a single wrong move. But for now, that is enough. The cave around us seems to hold its breath as if waiting for what comes next, and I wonder if maybe, just maybe, there is a way forward from this strange place we find ourselves in.

The rippling water continues its silent dance, the glowing rocks beneath casting their soft light into the darkness. The patterns they create shift and swirl, ever-changing, like the thoughts that swirl in my mind. I watch the light move, my eyes tracing the lines and shapes, and I think about all that has led us here. How much has changed in such a short time, and how much more is yet to come.

There is a moment of stillness, a calm that settles over the cavern like a blanket. I breathe it in, feeling the cool air fill my lungs, and for the first time in a long while, I feel a strange sense of peace. It is fragile, yes, but it is there, and for now, that is enough.

10

Olivia

Ikeepmygazefixed on the rippling water as I continue to wash, trying to focus on the coolness against my skin rather than the unnerving presence of Kroaicho behind me. At least my throat is no longer raw with thirst.

The dim, bluish light from the glowing rocks beneath the water casts an ethereal glow on the cave walls, creating dancing shadows that almost distract me from the weight of the creature's stare. Almost.

I need to think. There has to be a way out of this mess. Maybe, just maybe, I can convince this… creature… to let me go. I pause at that thought, scrubbing my arm absently as I mull it over. The way it moves, the way it speaks—everything about it is so… alien. It’s so fucking huge and scary it just screams male, but I’m too angry with it to let it turn into a person.

My mind lands back onitwith satisfaction and anger.

Then I feel guilty for some reason. Then angry. Frustration bubbles up, and I let out a huff, letting that line of thought die a natural death. It's a waste of time trying to pin it down with human concepts.

Instead, I go back to my original idea. Maybe I can reason with it. I've seen hints of rationality behind those unnerving eyes, those oddly hooked, slitted pupils that narrow and widen with each passing emotion. It can speak. It understands.

I still don’t know what it wants, which has me on edge. Humans are confusing as hell, but one constant remains. Everyone always wants something. Homework, taxes, someone to admit they are lesser than them. Someone to torment or someone to make them feel better about themselves because they are trying to “fix” you.

I just need to figure out what it wants.

Surely that means there's some logic buried in there somewhere, right? But then I remember the way it referred to me as its property, and I grimace. I catch myself rubbing my arm a bit too hard, the skin turning red under my nails.

My gaze drifts toward Kroaicho for a moment, and I catch it watching me. Its eyes—those strange, unblinking, almost-too-large eyes—are tracing my curves. I can't help but roll my eyes. Typical. At least that much I recognize. "Enjoying getting an eyeful?" I snap, sarcasm dripping from every word.

So much for pulling out logic. I roll my eyes at myself, but I’m still too angry to push past the snark.

Kroaicho blinks slowly, its bioluminescent skin shifting to a soft shade of blue. The color pulses, faint and almost pretty in the low light—a thought I immediately stomp down with a mental boot. I don't have time to find anything about this thing “pretty.” It shifts its gaze to my face, looking genuinely puzzled. "Eyeful?" it repeats, voice a low, rumbling growl that echoes slightly in the cavern. "I do not understand. How can one's eyes be full? Is that why you rotate them?”

It shudders for some unknown reason when it says it.

I feel an eyebrow twitch in frustration. So much for my attempt at teasing. "You know, for supposedly intelligent sentient life, you're pretty slow on the uptake. Ever heard of wit? The holy grail for your species, I’m sure."

I look around for a sharp rock and start hacking off the long green hair, taking out my frustration on it.

Kroaicho’s blue deepens to a darker shade, and I see its brow furrow slightly. "Wit," it says slowly, testing the word like it's tasting it for the first time. "I know this. But you speak of it as if it is…somehow precious?" It tilts its head, genuinely perplexed. "What does wit have to do with treasure?"

I blink, my mouth opening and closing for a second as I process that. Holy crap, it actually knows what wit is? Then I realize it must have picked up the term from me or somewhere else, but doesn't understand the reference. It's hard to remember sometimes that I'm talking to an alien, not another human.

It’s still blowing my mind that its speaking English, and getting better and better at it. It’s unsettling.

I let out a breath, trying to stay patient. "It's just a saying we have back on Earth. 'Holy grail' means something treasured, something everyone wants."

Kroaicho's eyes widen slightly, and its skin glows a more vibrant blue. "Treasure…" it murmurs, the word rolling off its tongue like it's savoring it.

Then it switches to its own language. "How does one acquire this treasure of wit?"

I pause, a new thought forming in the back of my mind. This thing values treasure? That makes sense with all of the “hoard” mutterings. Maybe there's a way to exploit that. But for now, I play it off.

When I open my mouth to reply, there is a sharp pain for a moment and then I’m making the same odd chittering sound it does. "Well—”

Its skin flares a brilliant orange after the first word of its language. “You also learn languages like zhasie do?”

“Not before I was taken,” I admit, mind still fucked that these clicks and chitters actually mean something.