Page 2 of Cozy Prisons (Human Pets of Talin: Origins #4)

Nataly

A split second before she was going to impact the dirt, strong arms grabbed and lifted her into the air. Soft dark blue sky filled her vision as purring hit her ears.

Blinking, she looked into the face of the Talin who’d saved her from a nasty fall.

It was Daxus. He had the same basic build as all Talins, tall, muscular, with keratin plates covering his body.

Talins didn’t really have noses. Instead there were two nose slits above their thin-lipped mouths.

It took some getting used to, but Talins didn't have facial mobility, so they never smiled, smirked, or frowned.

To show their emotions they rumbled and rattled, like the purr he was sounding now.

The purring was meant to be a comforting sound for her.

Unlike any other Talin on Arise, Daxus was blue. Most Talins were some shade of red, orange, or gray-silver. Daxus’s color made him stand out, but so did his soft nature. She’d never heard him raise his voice, even when alarmed. He had to be the calmest Talin she’d ever met.

“Thanks for the save,” she murmured. With him present, her heartbeat slowed and the panic attack retreated. “You can put me down. Were you heading to the party? We could walk together.”

Daxus sounded a negative rattle with the overlapping armor plates that ran down his back. This rattle was quick and sounded like someone slapping a hand on their thigh. She’d heard it a lot since coming to Arise.

“You don’t seem well,” he said, purring again. “I’m taking you to the healer.”

She tried for a laugh, but it came out sounding sharp, so she gave up. “I tripped, that’s all. You know us humans, we can be clumsy sometimes.”

“I was moving toward you and saw everything,” he replied and started walking.

She gave him a sharp look, afraid he’d seen her crazy out on full display. “Exactly what did you see?”

“You stood there, swaying, and then fell. I almost didn’t make it to you in time.”

At least he hadn’t caught her abusing herself, she thought with relief. That would’ve been impossible to explain. What could she possibly say? I was beating my legs into submission?

They’d slap a deranged label on her and medicate her into oblivion. No, thank you! She saw that happen to her uncle. After they were done with his “treatments” all the guy could do was stare off into the distance and drool.

She’d rather cover her legs in bruises and take a few falls than live like that.

“It was only a little dizziness,” she insisted. “I might not have drunk enough water today. It’s nothing, please put me down. Or at least take me to the communal building.”

All the Talins she’d met so far were sweethearts and quick to coddle the humans around them. She constantly saw tasks being taken away from a human by a well-meaning or worried Talin.

They’d all only arrived on Arise a little less than a year ago.

The place didn’t have any infrastructure before them, so they’d all been working hard.

A second wave of carefully vetted Talins arrived a few months ago.

Daxus had been one of them. She’d been intrigued by the dark blue, soft-spoken Talin the moment she met him.

Unfortunately, that was about the same time her issues had gotten bad enough to start limiting her movement.

Tonight was the first party they’d thrown since moving to Arise. It was one of the reasons she was so determined to attend.

The problem was that once a Talin decided a human needed to see a healer, it was damn near impossible to talk them out of it.

“Maybe I could see the healer after the party,” she suggested as Daxus walked past the communal building.

“I know Healer Falkilm is still in the medical building,” Daxus said. “After he makes sure you’re well, we can all go to the party together.”

Daxus’s voice was gentle, but intractable.

She didn’t think her ploy would work, but at least he made it sound like he expected her to leave the medical building instead of having to spend the night there.

That was a good sign. When Cassius had suffered an allergy attack, the Talins were so upset at his sneezing they insisted that he stay in medical for an entire day.

Nataly and all the humans tried to explain pollen allergies, but it was such a foreign concept that even Healer Falkilm struggled to understand an overactive immune system.

Must be nice to be part of a species that never had that issue!

On the positive side, Healer Falkilm created a fancy medication, and Cassius didn’t have any allergy complaints from then on. All he had to do was trade an entire day lying in the medical building for it. It was a sacrifice that the rest of the humans with allergies thanked him for!

The medical building wasn’t far past the communal building. Soon Daxus carried her through the sliding door and right into Healer Falkilm’s space.

“Daxus, these are his private quarters!” she hissed.

Falkilm was sitting at a table watching something on an information square. Standing up, he came to them while sounding a worried rumble. This rumble sounded like a sliding hatch whooshing open and closed rapidly.

Both of them ignored her words. The Talins on Arise didn’t care about privacy when a human’s health or safety was at risk. At first, she thought it would be nice, but more often than not, they were overreaching.

“I’m fine,” she told Falkilm, even though she knew it wouldn’t do any good. “It was nothing, I swear.”

“She was standing, then swayed and fell,” Daxus said. “When I got to her she was breathing rapidly and damp from perspiration.”

“That’s worrisome,” Falkilm said. “Bring her through.”

Abandoning whatever he was watching, Falkilm led them through a couple of doors and into the medical building. So far only the bottom floor was furnished, but Falkilm had plans for a maternity ward upstairs and equipment fit for both humans and Talins.

Despite the strict laws against Talin women birthing and raising their children, things were different here on the colony and everyone on Arise looked forward to the day they could welcome the first Talin baby.

They’d ordered artificial wombs, so everyone could have a choice, but some of the Talins were still excited about going back to the “old ways.”

Nataly was sure it would only take witnessing a few painful births for Talin women to decide artificial wombs were preferred. Several of the human women were already talking about using them when they decided to have kids.

Nataly couldn’t blame them. At some point, every human colony was challenged by the lack of money for medical care. The first to be sacrificed to poverty were the elderly and pregnant individuals.

“Set her here,” Falkilm said, pointing to one of the smaller exam tables. Unlike the larger ones, this one was covered with a soft blanket and had several pillows stacked up at one end.

Daxus carefully set her on the table, purring the entire time. She crossed her legs and grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was feeling a little shaky.

Even though the Talin government had decided that humans should all be wearing wrap garments, the Arise Colony let them wear what they wanted. Some of the humans adopted the wrap outfits, but Nataly had stuck with her familiar cargo pants and bulky shirt.

When an inspector eventually visited, they’d all have to put on their collars and wrap garments and pretend to be perfect little pets. But that was far in the future.

“Have you eaten anything today?” Falkilm asked as he pulled a scanner arm from the wall and positioned it over the bed.

“I had a full and appropriate human portioned meal twice today,” she answered. She’d learned quickly how to answer Falkilm in a way he would best understand.

“Only twice?” he asked.

“I was going to take my third meal at the communal building," she explained. Talins were constantly worried that the humans didn’t rest or eat enough. It was sweet, if a little annoying.

“Oh yes, it’s Maeve’s celebration day,” he said, sounding a short, excited rattle that sounded like wind chimes. “I should attend that.”

Nataly gave Falkilm a big, encouraging smile and started scooting toward the edge of the table. “That’s a great idea. Everyone would love to see you. We could go right now!”

Daxus sounded a rumble of amusement even as Falkilm let go of the scanner to block her from getting off the table while purring loudly.

“No, no, Nataly,” Falkilm said, sounding a concerned rumble. “I need to check on you first.”

“She knows that,” Daxus said. “I think she’s teasing us.”

“Oh, I see,” Falkilm said. He sounded an amused rumble but it was short and forced. That was the first time Nataly ever heard a Talin feign a sound like that.

She crossed her legs again with a little sigh. “There’s nothing wrong, I promise.”

“I certainly hope so,” Falkilm said and finished moving the scanner into place. It was a bulky, wall-mounted unit, but it was one of the most sophisticated body scanners she’d ever seen.

“Please lie back,” Falkilm requested. “If you’re not comfortable I can get you more pillows.”

Talins had this idea that humans liked to sleep in nests built of pillows and soft blankets. It was cute, and if she was honest, after always having to make do with whatever was available, she and the rest of the humans enjoyed the way the Talins prioritized getting mounds of bedding for them.

It was nice to be surrounded by softness. The universe wasn’t a friendly place, especially for species without a homeworld like humans. Nataly never expected to find herself in a place that not only wasn’t hostile, but was downright easy!

It made her feel a little guilty for being annoyed at Daxus and Falkilm’s concerns.

Tucking the pillow behind her head, she lay back with her arms at her sides. “I don’t need any more pillows, these are perfect.”