Page 96 of Thexan

His gaze took in my face, my hair, the room behind me, and probably everything I hoped he would politely ignore. To his credit, he didn’t comment.

Mostly.

“You look rested,” he said.

“You look like you’re about to be annoying.”

“That’s fair.”

I opened the door wider and stepped back. “What happened?”

Tanner’s expression sobered quickly. “Nothing yet. That’s the problem. People are nervous, and nervous people start doing stupid things if they don’t have something useful to do.”

I glanced toward the back room as Thexan stepped into the infirmary behind me, fully dressed, composed, and impossible to pretend away. Tanner’s attention shifted to him, and though some of the tension from yesterday returned to his posture, it wasn’t as sharp as before.

Progress, maybe.

Or exhaustion.

“What do you need?” I asked.

Tanner kept his gaze on Thexan for another moment before answering. “If he really means to stay, then we need to figure out what that looks like before the settlement decides for us.”

Thexan moved to my side, not in front of me. I noticed that, and so did Tanner.

“What are you proposing?” Thexan asked.

Tanner’s mouth tightened slightly, probably at being addressed so directly, but he answered. “You know defenses.”

“Yes.”

“Then you can help us fix what’s weak.”

I looked at Tanner, surprised despite myself. “You want him on the perimeter?”

“I want people to see him doing something that helps them,” Tanner said. “And I want the ones most afraid of him to be standing close enough to realize he isn’t here to rip their throats out.”

“That is an inefficient method of reassurance,” Thexan said.

Tanner blinked once. “It’s how people work.”

Thexan considered him. “Then it is a necessary inefficiency.”

I had to press my lips together to keep from smiling.

Tanner saw it anyway. “You think that’s funny?”

“A little.”

“It’s not.”

“I know.”

But it was, and the fact that Tanner didn’t entirely disagree told me the ground beneath us was shifting again. Not easily. Not without resistance. But shifting.

Thexan looked toward me. “This matters to you.”

“Yes,” I said.