[?]

  He could practically see the poor girl break in front of him.

  Urissa weren’t nearly as empathetic as the more social races like the Crova, but he had grown up conscious of the difference in size. He had always needed to be careful of his bulk and he had developed a sense of how people were feeling. Nothing precise, but enough to know if someone was uncomfortable.

  The Canirean before him was almost radiating a broken feeling.

  It made his heart ache.

  He wasn’t dumb. He knew he didn’t have the whole story and wouldn’t be able to save the girl in the long term. That didn’t mean he had to ignore the gang members that had rushed out of the alley the girl had come from. He had done what he could to shield her with his bulk, cutting off the line of sight.

  ‘It was still impressive though. I have seen Canirean speed before, but this girl must be blessed with it.’

  The girl haltingly reached out and gave him her hand. She seemed pretty obedient, despite her circumstances.

  ‘She must be young then. Most older members of her race would throw up a fuss and make a scene.’

  “Come on then. You were going this direction, right? Let’s get you home.”

  All he got back was a nod and a miserable looking girl following him.

  ‘This won’t do. I hope she lives close by. What do young girls like nowadays?’

  “Tell me young one, do you enjoy that new story stream? I hear it is quite popular with the youth and I thought to get a present for someone I know.”

  He saw an ear flick, but his attempt otherwise seemed to fall flat.

  “What’s a story stream?”

  ‘Oh, dear.’

  He seemed to have stepped into something worse than he thought. For a girl her age to know nothing about common entertainment or at least have friends that could tell her about it was a massive red flag.

  “Oh. I guess your parents don’t let you watch stories then. I have heard that is something of a cycle going around. What do they let you do for fun then?”

  The confused look he got made him regret the question.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “What’s ‘for fun’ mean?”

  He nearly fell over, even with the slow pace they had.

  “Ah, still learning your words I see. Good, good. Learning will help you go far. I guess ‘for fun’ would mean enjoyment. Do you know what ‘enjoyment’ means?”

  He hoped he had drastically misread the girl’s age.

  He didn’t want to consider alternatives.

  “Why use so many words for one word? Just say enjoy. It is easier.”

  He didn’t really have a response for that one.

  “I don’t know. Does enjoyment feel good? If so, I guess cleaning? No, maybe sleeping. I like bedtime. Is that enjoyment?”

  ‘Best to stop while I’m ahead. This clearly requires a professional.’

  He would contact a service as soon as he dropped her off and got an address. This just screamed neglect.

  He could afford that much.

  “I like to sleep as well, so I guess? It is not really a present I can give though. Now, which way do we go to get you home?”

  He watched the girl look around. She seemed uncertain but eventually chose. He continued that pattern, meaningless small talk as the girl slowly led them, until the girl brought him to the luxury docks.

  ‘This girl is clearly severely neglected, why would she try to bring me to the high-end docks?’

  He grew even more confused as the girl brought him to a docking collar. She seemed to grow more insistent as they got closer.

  “Young lady, this is the area for luxury ships. You can’t be going up there without permission from the crew.”

  That at least seemed to stop her and put a thoughtful look on her face.

  “Now come. Let us find your parents, yes?”

  The girl seemed to snap out of whatever had gripped her and seemed about to give him a fiery retort.

  “There you are. Why are you back here?”

  At least until she got interrupted.

  And by a voice he didn’t expect to hear. Not at this place at least.

  “Ah, as blue and beautiful as always. I do apologize for my lateness, but I ran into a bit of a thorny patch.”

  “And you’re as brown and huggable as I remember. Silvered words won’t get you anywhere this time though. I’m not the client and they don’t care much for flattery. I can question why you’re here later though. Pup, why are you alone? I got the alert.”

  He welcomed the verbal spar but was quite taken by surprise at the quick dismissal.

  Looking back at the young girl, she appeared to be contemplating something, her eyes and ears flicking back and forth between him and his meeting.

  “It doesn’t matter I guess. I can worry all I want, but it won’t change anything. Did you at least leave Kitty with him? I haven’t seen her around.”

  His old friend seemed stressed.

  “I don’t know. This is the person, the meeting?”

  And his new charge did not. She seemed to have completely relaxed now that they were here.

  He gave a cough.

  “Young lady, am I to take it you live on this ship?”

  He looked at Christy for confirmation, as he waited for a response.

  Unfortunately, his question seemed to confuse the girl again.

  “I live with Moose. Why would I live on a ship? That sounds difficult.”

  The answer confused him just as much.

  ‘Where do you even take a conversation from there?’

  “Best to get on the ship, the both of you, and stop with the word games. We can have the meeting here instead. The conference room we used the first time should work fine.”

  It seemed the girl was as unhappy about the new suggestion as she had been broken by his. But she followed all the same. Actually taking to the front as they stepped off the docking tunnel into the ship.

  “What is going on here Christy? You know I would help you with a lot, but abused children is a hard line.”

  His friend shook her head.

  “You have no idea. I can tell you what I know, but best to wait till we aren’t being listened too.”

  He looked forward and saw the girls’ ears pinned back still.

  No doubt catching every word.