Otter woke with a headache and a grogginess that refused to shake from her brain meats. Consciousness was slow to return, and she groaned, grabbing a pillow and jamming it over her head. There was resistance, as if there’d been a weight on top of it, but Otter didn’t particurly care given the circumstances.

  Somewhere, someone was making noise, and Otter didn’t care for it. It sounded like cttering and cnking. Why would someone do that to her. She was clearly hung over.

  “Pillow,” someone mumbled, and Otter realized it was Rua.

  A synapse fired somewhere in her broken head, and she concluded that the weight on top of it must’ve been Rua’s head. She’d stolen Rua’s pillow. That seemed mean.

  Her brain stuttered and stopped, then flickered to life again, and she pulled the pillow off her head and handed the pillow back to Rua, who was sleeping next to her in the bed. Her eyes weren’t open, and she seemed to be in a state of mostly asleep, but partly awake. Rua grabbed the pillow, and hugged it to her chest, before turning over and softly snoring.

  There was a bang from outside the bedroom, probably from the kitchen, followed by a surprised noise. Rua was making a lot of noise in there for someone who also happened to be sleeping in bed with her.

  Wait.

  The hamster in Otter’s head ran a little faster on its wheel, chugging along and turning gears for her. If Rua was in bed with her, then it stood to reason that the person in the kitchen was not Rua. And since Otter was in bed with Rua, then she wasn’t having an out of body experience and was in fact also not in the kitchen.

  That meant it was someone else. A third party, if you would. Which meant a third person. Was there a third person? Otter remembered herself being in the cabin. And Rua. And sex with Rua. She really remembered sex with Rua. Was there a third person who existed?

  Thinking hurt.

  Wait.

  How did she get in bed?

  Otter’s st memory was of passing out, next to the Vexurian. Some kind of psychic backsh from using the Thread of Fate. Rua must have carried her back. Carried them back? The third person, the one in the kitchen, she was the redhead they’d gone to free from the Vexurian.

  There was a stranger banging around in their kitchen. Was she cooking? Seemed rude. Unless she was cooking for all of them. Then less rude. Unless she was secretly plotting to poison them and usurp the cabin as her own. Then it went back to rude.

  She should probably do something about that. But her head was pounding. Just thinking thoughts made everything ache.

  “Rua,” she said, poking her in the back. “Wake up. We’re being poisoned.”

  Rua made a fussy groan, but didn’t move. So Otter poked her again. There was some filing, followed by more noises.

  “Your turn,” Rua said. “I dealt with st poisoning.”

  “This is our first poisoning.”

  But Rua was already back to snoring.

  Otter tried to go back to sleep in protest. It was so easy. Her body just wanted to sink into oblivion. But every time she came close, there was another cng or smash from the kitchen. Schroedinger’s Assassin was apparently very clumsy.

  Otter finally threw off the bnket covering her. She was still dressed, and still very muddy. It had all dried and caked to her, and chunks of it had fallen off and been smeared into the bedspread and sheets. Rua was going to be annoyed about that. But maybe also grateful that a stranger hadn’t decided to strip her naked and wash her down as well.

  Otter began to sit up when the door swung open with a thud, and in marched something she had not at all expected.

  “Weren’t you… taller?” Otter said.

  The redhead carrying a pair of ptes had been a full grown adult. Otter was pretty sure about that. She’d had tits and everything. The person who walked in did not, nor did she have the height of an adult. She was very much a child, maybe eight years old. Maybe less.

  The only thing that was recognizable from the person they’d rescued from the armor was a mop of very unruly red hair, and a light smattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks. Her eyes were still green, but they did not glow like they briefly had, and she was now wearing Otter’s old grey smock, which was comically rge on her. The thing had come down to Otter’s knees before. This looked like an oversized dress – or maybe a tarp – on a, well, child.

  The redhead smiled at her, beaming with some kind of inner joy that Otter could not understand, not with her head pounding the way it was.

  She held out a pte, which was covered in what appeared to be a stack of pancakes, lightly sprinkled with dried fruit and a light drizzling of syrup, and a side of some kind of grilled meat. Where she’d gotten the food, Otter had no honest idea, but it smelled delicious.

  hankfully, there were no banana chips in sight. Rua had separated them out from the rest of the dried fruit and hidden them somewhere. Hopefully, they stayed in exile.

  “Is… is that for me?” Otter asked.

  The redhead shyly nodded. She looked nervous, unable to completely meet Otter’s eyes. Otter took the proffered meal, and though there were no utensils, she began to eat, going at it by hand. The syrup tasted odd, and was very warm, as if it’d been heated, and the texture of the pancakes was a little softer than she’d expected. The dried fruit was also an odd but welcome touch.

  “Thank you,” Otter said with her mouth full.

  As far as hangover food went, it wasn’t bad, especially since her stomach was actually welcoming of it. She made a noise of appreciation.

  The redhead looked at Rua, who was still sleeping, and to the second pte she was holding, and then put it on top of the nightstand.

  “M’Otter. What’s your name?”

  The redhead looked away.

  Okay, so, not a great conversationalist. Was she just shy, or was it some kind of side effect of freeing her? Was the reason she was so… little…. some kind of side effect as well? Otter’s brain might currently be a little messed up, but she was definitely sure they’d rescued an adult. So unless there was some other random Criobani redhead on the isnd, she must’ve shrunk. Or de-aged. Or something.

  “That’s fine,” Otter said. “If you don’t wanna talk, I mean. I can do it enough for the both of us.”

  She leaned forward and patted the girl’s head, and she practically preened under the attention, even letting out a small giggle.

  Okay. Yeah. That was kind of cute.

  “Did you eat?”

  The girl shook her head, coppery ringlets flying in all directions.

  “Are you hungry?”

  A brief pause, and then a shy nod.

  “You made all this food, but didn’t have any?”

  A small shrug.

  “Do you want some?”

  There was a long pause, and then a very small nod.

  Otter patted the bed next to her, and after a moment of careful consideration, she climbed up. There was such a hesitance to everything she did.

  tter briefly probed at their link. She didn’t like using it. It always felt like an intrusion, even doing it with Rua, who actively got off on the sensation.

  The little girl was afraid. It wasn’t terror, or panic, just more of a general anxiety. An apprehension that she’d done something wrong. Right. She’d been a sve. Probably wanted to please her new ‘owner.’

  God, that made Otter feel sick.

  She tore one of the pancakes in half, and rolled it up, handing it to the redhead. She looked unsure at first, and then thought better of it after a second and grabbed it, wolfing it down.

  “So, what do I call you?” Otter asked.

  A small shrug. The link transmitted confusion. Fear, that she didn’t seem to have an answer to the question. Or maybe…

  “Can you talk?”

  Another shrug, smaller.

  “You’re allowed to talk.”

  A small smile, barely visible under that mess of red hair and syrup smeared face. Wow, how had she gotten so messy so fast?

  “Uh oh,” Otter said. “Now I’m going to have to clean you.”

  The girl flinched.

  “Oh, sorry, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not mad. Be as messy as you want. Do you want some of this meat? It looks good.”

  Another hesitation, followed by a very emphatic nod. Otter tore a piece of meat in two, and handed one half to the girl. She didn’t even pause, she just grabbed it and threw the whole thing in her mouth and swallowed, as if afraid it would be taken back. Otter chuckled and ruffled her hair again.

  “Chew your food.”

  Otter ate hers, and then tore another piece in two, offering it once more. The girl looked between it and Otter, and then took this one, pausing to actually chew this time. A little bit of grease dripped down from the corner of her mouth, to join all the other mess.

  “Definitely going to need to clean you. You are very messy, but that’s okay.”

  Rua made a groaning noise, blearily looking about the room. Her eyes settled on the girl, and she sat up, throwing herself against the wall.

  “Why is there a child in my house,” she said, her voice confused, surprised, and maybe a little afraid.

  The girl’s composure dropped entirely, the food being offered forgotten. Her arms outstretched, and she positively yeeted herself across the bed, shouting, “Mama!”

  She nded on top of Rua, hugging her tightly. Rua cast a bewildered look at Otter.

  “The fuck?”

  Otter wasn’t sure which of them said it, but it was clear they were both thinking it. Still, Otter decided to take it in stride, even grinning at Rua.

  “Wow, you have a kid. I didn’t know.”

  “I do not have a…” she looked down at the redhead attempting to squeeze the life out of her. “Is this the woman from the Vexurian?”

  “I have no idea what’s going on. But I think so.”

  “Why does she…” Rua paused, and then directed her questioning at the child. “Why do you think I’m your ‘mama’?”

  The girl didn’t answer, content with burying her face into Rua’s chest.

  “Ugh. I feel like I have a hangover. How did we even get home?”

  “You mean you didn’t carry us?” Otter asked.

  “No. I passed out seconds after you did, I think. Why is she a kid now?”

  “Dunno. She made food.”

  Rua looked at the pte in Otter’s hands, and then at the one on the nightstand. Otter grabbed it and handed it over.

  “Make sure to share some with the kid. She hasn’t had anything to eat, and I have no idea how long we’ve been out.”

  “She didn’t have anything to eat for ten years in that armour,” Rua said. “She can probably stand to wait a little longer.”

  Otter narrowed her eyes at that. “Fine. I’ll share with her. Never mind that she probably carried us both to safety, got us in bed, and then made us food.”

  “What even is this,” Rua said, pointing at the pancakes. “It looks awful.”

  “You shut your mouth, she made pancakes, the most delicious of foods. She even made syrup to go with it, I think.”

  Rua dipped her finger into the syrup, sniffed it, and then licked her finger. She made a face, but the link didn’t lie. She liked it, even if it was maple syrup.

  “Where did she even get it?” Rua asked.

  “You have something that looks like flour in your pantry, and I dunno. Maybe she harvested some sap or syrup from the trees? I might be Canadian, but I only get my syrup from the grocery store.”

  “This is tree sap?” Rua said, her voice disgusted. “You can’t eat tree sap.”

  “You can, and it is delicious, and if you disparage my nation’s food of choice, I’ll…. Wait. You guys don’t have pancakes. Or maple syrup. But she… she made both.”

  Rua looked confused, and then it seemed to dawn on her as well. “How does she know how to make something from your world?”

  “Hey, runt, how did you know how to make pancakes?”

  The girl pointedly ignored them both, content to remain hugging Rua. If anything, she might’ve fallen asleep. Otter reached over, and tickled the sole of one of her feet. The girl squealed, kicking her legs, and gave Otter an adorable pout.

  She shrugged.

  “Oh, no you don’t. You’re going to answer…” Otter grinned, giving Rua a devilish grin. “... your dad when she asks you a question.”

  “You aren’t her father.”

  “Well, she seems to think you’re her mother.”

  “I am not her mother. I’m not anyone’s mother.”

  “Mama!” the girl said, smiling wide and happy and apparently oblivious to the deeper meaning of their conversation. Or maybe she did understand, and this was her way of protesting.

  “Hey, just because you won’t let me put a kid into you…”

  Rua sputtered, and then looked down at the girl in annoyance. “This is your fault. I didn’t even want you, you know. This was entirely her idea.”

  “Just what any bad parent would say. Don’t listen, my child, I’ll be the good parent. I’ll spoil you rotten, don’t you worry.”

  “This isn’t funny.”

  “I never said it was.” Although she was certainly thinking it. “Come on, look at her. She is, as the people in my world would say, totes adorbs. Don’t you want to pinch those cheeks and ruffle that hair?”

  “I’d rather throw her in a ke,” Rua growled. “What’s the little cretin’s name?”

  “No idea. She hasn’t said anything beyond ‘mama.’”

  “Well, I’m not calling her that, and she shouldn’t be calling me that.”

  “Ignore her, my sunny little girl. Come here, I’ll give you more food.”

  The girl looked between Rua and the pte of food, leaned up and gave Rua a quick, sticky kiss on the cheek, and then threw herself back to Otter’s side.

  “Gross,” Rua said, wiping syrup from her face.

  “You love it.” Otter handed the girl another piece of meat. She nearly bit Otter’s fingers in her haste to get it inside of her. “There’s my good girl.”

  “Hey,” Rua said. “Do not call her that. You can call her anything else, but not that.”

  “Oh. Right. Guess that one has a different meaning in this house. Well, what do we call her?”

  “Vex. To remind us she’s a Vexurian.”

  Otter wrinkled her nose at that. “No. I’m going to call her ‘Sunny,’ because she’s my sunny little girl. Do you like that? How do you feel about being called ‘Sunny’?”

  The girl nodded frantically, but her gaze was entirely fixated on the pte in Otter’s hands. She would probably agree to anything if it meant there was food in it for her.

  “Sunny it is, then,” Otter said. “But if you want to change it ter, that’s fine. I’m not the boss of you, even if I am now apparently your dad.”

  “Not her dad.”

  “Don’t mind her,” Otter said conspiratorially to Sunny. “She’s just upset I didn’t put you into her.”

  “Food,” Sunny said, still staring at the pte.

  “Should’ve named you ‘Hungry.’ Fine, let’s eat. And then, we’re going to wash up. And then, maybe solve the mystery that is you. How does that sound?”

  “Food!”

  Rua grumbled, “Still not too te to throw her in a ke.”

  DorenWinslowe