Page 27 of Mazorium Buys a Human

After the way I’d been grabbed, I didn’t trust any of these Talins with Nadia. Well, except Mazorium, but he was special.

“Humans don’t like strangers touching their offspring,” Mazorium said, putting an arm back as if to make me feel more shielded. “They’re very protective.”

“Of course, that only makes sense,” Ithorum agreed. “I’ve read they’re good caretakers of their pups, especially the females.”

“Mika is a wonderful dam and her pup is perfect,” Mazorium said with obvious pride. “I’m convinced they are the best humans.”

“You’ve been blessed by the ancestors to have found them,” Ithorum said, then gestured in a direction. “If you follow me, I’ll escort you to the healers. I’ll walk slowly so Mika can match my speed. Inform me if we need to stop.”

With that, Ithorum set off at a speed that a crippled hilk turtle could keep up with. I didn’t care, it gave me the ability to take in the station. Now that we were moving and all the loud sounds were over, Nadia had gone from fussing to looking around. Her eyes were big, taking in all the different shapes around her.

I saw a few shops that, if I’d been on my own, I might’ve gone into. Mazorium must’ve noticed me looking because he leaned over to speak.

“We’ll be shopping here later,” he murmured. “This is a Talin station, so every merchant here will offer the best of any product you might want. This is the place to purchase items before we reach my next assignment.”

As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice that every Talin we passed stopped to stare at me. Many of them started purring also. A few tried to walk up, but Ithorum stopped them with a warning rattle.

“I’m speaking outside my place,” Ithorum said when we were passing an area where we were mostly shielded by decorative columns. “The station director is going to invite you to join her for a meal. You should go. She’s powerful and would potentially take offense if you turned her down. She’s going to want you to bring the humans. I’d advise you to comply. She has sway with the Committee of Pet Welfare and could possibly have an investigation opened on you.”

Mazorium let out a startled rattle, telling me Ithorum’s words were as bad as they sounded.

“Thank you for your advice,” Mazorium said. “I’ll be cautious when dealing with the station director.”

We were past the columns now and in full view of the Talins who’d started lining the corridor to watch us go by. Damn, they really found us humans fascinating. It’d be flattering if they didn’t consider us pets!

The air was full of excited rattles and voices. I pressed close to Mazorium. He wrapped an arm around me, tucking me against his side.

Ithorum must’ve noticed my move because she pointed to the large double doors ahead of us. “We’re almost there.”

Not surprisingly, we walked into the medical suite to find a dozen Talins standing there waiting for us. They were all wearing green tunics, some dark green and some light green. One of them wearing a dark green tunic stepped forward.

“I’m Healer Slorium,” she said, slapping a hand to her chest. Mazorium did the same as they all introduced themselves including family and clan.

The moment the formalities were done, Slorium sank to her knees in front of me with a purr.

“Hello, Human Mika,” she said, speaking in a quiet voice. “I’m going to care for you while you're here. Please don’t be scared. We won’t hurt you or try to take your pup from you. We’ll make sure to keep your pup close when we need to examine or treat her.”

I took a risk and spoke my mind. “Mazorium has to stay too.”

Next to me, Mazorium purred loudly. “I know it's scary to be in a place like this again after your last experience, but this place is different. You’re surrounded by trustworthy Talins.”

I almost laughed at the way he made it sound like I’d been kidnapped right out of the medical suite instead of sneaking off and getting snatched outside it.

“Thanks, Mazorium,” I said and rested my head on his side.

Everyone in the room purred when I did that, making me jump a little. Then there was a flurry of conversation.

“She’s so affectionate!”

“I’ve heard females are like that.”

“I hope to find a human of my own, but I want a female so she can have a pup. How amazing would it be to raise a pup?”

“They are in the most demand. It’ll be almost impossible to find one.”

“Do you think she’ll let us hold her pup?”

“Probably not, the dams are protective.”