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They turned back to her and barred their long black fangs. “Yeesssss.”

She was never going to get used to the mimicking, but somehow it helped them understand, so she tried to let it go.

She held out her hand again. “And if you be nice, I won’t try to kill you again. Got it?”

They reached out and gripped her wrist, turning it one way then the other. “Like this,” she said, readjusting her hand so it settled firmly in theirs. Their hand was so big it encased hers like a warm mitt. The talons unnerved her a little, afraid they would slice her skin clean open, but she didn’t want to offend them, so she kept her face blank even as her heart skipped and a chill ran down her spine.

They circled their thumb over her skin, and that only made her shiver even more, goosebumps forming over the skin. She pulled away and they thankfully released her.

She cleared her throat, rubbing her arm to make the goosebumps go away. “Good,” she said. “Let’s start over.”

CHAPTER TEN

Dani

The vrisha was definitely a hoarder.

There was much more she had missed just from her spot by the door. And the vrisha was ecstatic to show her everything she had yet to see. Trinkets, toys, a skull or two, insect shells and wings, some strange tentacle thing all twisted up in a jar. Sometimes he just pointed at things and said words, other times he placed things in her hands to examine for herself. Things they were clearly proud of. She didn’t complain, just watched and listened, sometimes responding with yes or no as they were able to determine at least that in each other’s language. The vrisha would show her something, she would name it in her language, and then they would respond in theirs. They went around the room pointing at and naming things. A lot of the stuff was junk but not everything. They had a few cryo-batteries, a couple of large gems, and a strange orb that showed a map of an unknown galaxy.

“You found all this here?” she said, waving to everything and then pointing to a map of the city.

“Xa.”

She was beginning to suspect the vrisha had been here a long time. She wondered when they had crashed here and if it had been before the planet had been decommissioned. If that was the case, then she wondered why they hadn’t snuck on a ship and left with everyone else or why they hadn’t tried to fix their ship. She hadn’t seen a single sign of a ship, no parts at all.

Even if she could find a way to ask, she doubted they would tell her. Instead, she kept silent as they showed her one of the slot machines. They pulled the lever, and it landed on several stars in a row, making the machine light up.

“Sifa xir tisara.” They gestured to the lever.

She pursed her lips, then drifted over to the machine and took hold of the lever, pulling it down. Stars and planets popped on the screen and the machine lit up once more.

“Cute,” she said.

The vrisha pointed to the slot. “Kissa.”

“Er, no, this is a slot machine. Cute means pretty or appealing.” She pointed to the colorful twinkling lights which they had already established a word for. “Lights are cute.”

The vrisha pointed and repeated her words. “Lights. Cute.”

“Yes.”

The vrisha looked around then pointed at a dead husk of a large insect. “Cute.”

She giggled. “No. Not that.” She searched around then pointed to a cat figurine sitting on top of a metal shelf, with big eyes wearing a little scarf. “Cute.”

The vrisha blinked then pointed at a shiny ring with little gems sitting below the cat. “Cute.”

“Yes. And pretty.”

“Pretttyyy.”

“That’s right.”

“Pretty.” They pointed to a bedazzled watch next to the ring.

“Yes.”

He looked at her and traced a claw across her shoulder. “Pretty,” they purred.