Page 15 of Mazorium Buys a Human

“There,” he said, straightening up and staring down at it. “That should do until we visit a Talin station and can buy better blankets and pillows for you.”

Better? That looked like the softest, fluffiest bed I’d ever seen!

Fatigue washed over me. Even with the sleep I’d gotten in the medical bay, I was still tired. I had a lot of sleep to make up for, and Nadia would probably wake up soon wanting another feeding.

“Thank you,” I said, standing up from his bed and stepping into the nest. I didn’t have any shoes; I'd lost those when the auctioneer had grabbed me and Mazorium hadn’t replaced them. It wasn't a problem yet because he carried me everywhere. I’d need to figure something out, but later.

Right now the nest was calling to me.

He was still purring as I settled into the nest. I moved a few things around to give Nadia some space where she couldn’t pull a pillow over her head by accident. Then I tugged one of the soft blankets over myself and arranged a few pillows.

“This is nice,” I mumbled.

The purring got louder and the scent of sweet ginger got stronger. Mazorium was leaning over me. I should’ve opened my eyes and interacted with my owner, but I couldn’t get my lids to lift.

“Rest, my human,” he whispered, tucking the blanket around me. “I’m going to keep the ship’s comms open, so if you wake and I’m not here, all you need to do is call out for me. As soon as the ship is on course, I’ll come back to check on you.”

I had the urge to reach out and tuck his hand against me instead of the pillow I was hugging.

I tried to tell him I understood but sleep claimed me. I didn’t even hear him leave the room.

Mazorium

I couldn’t believe how adorable my human was. She had to be the best human ever! She was calm, sweet, and a wonderful dam to her cub. She liked the nest I’d built her, even though the blankets weren’t as soft as they should be.

Unclipping my Ident, I took a few image captures. These images would do for now, until I could get a better image capture device. Leaning in close, I got a few of Nadia’s adorable face too. She looked so peaceful in sleep. Both of them did.

It was hard, but I fought the urge to join the two of them in the nest. If I curled my larger body around Mika, between her and the pillowed edge of the nest, I could’ve fit. Maybe later, if she was in distress, I could join her.

I was taking a few more image captures when my Ident chimed. My ship’s launch window was open. I needed to get the ship moving now or wait for the next window.

Reclipping my Ident, I rushed from the room, moving with care to keep from making noise. Once in the corridor, I sprinted to the command room. I’d never felt so impatient as I did waitingfor the automated system to move the ship out of the docks and into the exit corridor outside the station.

“You’re outside the interior zone,” one of the ship coordinators told me over the comm. “You can open your engine ports and begin your exit burn. You have seven standard units to distance yourself from the station. We wish you a good journey and thank you for docking at our station.”

I responded with a polite reply, tapping on the display attached to the command chair. Because the room doubled as a coordination room for when I deployed the survey bots, there were massive displays on two of the four walls. I didn’t bother to turn any of them on. I wasn’t interested in seeing the space outside the ship or watching the station grow smaller as we moved further away.

All I wanted was to get back to my humans.

The moment the ship was outside the control zone of the station and set on course to the nearest Talin station, I rushed back to my sleeping quarters. Actually, that was our sleeping quarters now!

Mika and Nadia were still sound asleep. Seeing them made my heart calm and a wave of contentment washed over me.

I sank down to sit on the floor next to their nest. There were more chores to do, but they could wait. Watching my humans sleep was more important.

No, I wasn’t watching Mika and her cub sleep, that would be illogical. I was stationing myself in a place where I could comfort her if she woke up disoriented or panicked. It was my duty to care for these humans, and I was determined to be the best owner possible.

No humans would ever be as content and happy as mine!

Chapter 6

Mazorium

We’d been traveling for two days, and poor Mika looked as tired today as the day I bought her. I urged her to eat and sleep, but nothing seemed to help when little Nadia woke up every few hours with the need to eat or be comforted.

The odd part was that every time Nadia cried, Mika seemed to panic. I watched her try to soothe the infant, but not in a calm, soft way. It was almost as if Mika was worried the crying cub would bring predators to them.

It had to be some instinct that was driving her. I observed her for a full rotation and determined she wasn’t coping well. It didn’t make sense. She should be calmer now that she was on my ship and away from the station, but if anything, she was growing more agitated.