watching the screen. He's got a cigar box in his other hand and he taps it gently on the table until he notices me looking at him.
"Cigar?" He extends his hand out and I lean over and take the little gray box, shake out the stogie, and light it up.
"Thank you."
He hands me an ashtray and I prop myself up in bed and set it on my stomach. He's watching a screen about a girl who is being chased by some psycho murderer on an abandoned habitat. Despite myself, I get into the drama. I can see the draw of mindless entertainment, even though I can count on one hand the number of screens I've seen all the way through in my lifetime.
We sit in silence until the credits roll and then he speaks. "I'm sorry for saying that shit, Junco. I don't want to kill you. And we all like you, we don't wish you never came home."
I stare at him until he looks me in the eyes. "You need to butt out of my life when it comes to Tier, Ashur. It's over. He sent me a message" – I hesitate – "and like I said, he never told you to tell me anything, did he?"
He shakes his head. "No. He didn't. But it doesn't make sense, I watched him put you under in the morph, and you two weren't fighting."
"It doesn't matter, does it? It's over."
We sit in silence and watch the screen as another show comes on. "I've seen this one," Ashur says when it starts. "It's not bad."
We watch it and chat some. After a little bit I fall back asleep and when I wake in the morning he's gone.
Layla and Lucan are standing over me, talking in avian. I squint up at them and try to string the words together. "I'm right here, you know."
Both sets of eyebrows go up.
"Yeah, I understand too, so that shit you just talked about me is not going over well." I push up and extract myself from the bed to go take a shower and when I'm finished, I find a closet full of clothes. It has five identical outfits to the one I was just wearing.
And one that makes me smile.
I tug on the camo fatigues and button them up. They are looser than they were when I put them on last and I make a mental note to try and eat more. Then I wrestle the shirt over my back and stretch and rip at the arm holes of the sniper shirt until I can jam my wings and arms through. I realize I look ridiculous, but I don't care. My old field boots are in there too, but there's no way they will fit on my new hulking feet. Besides, I'm feeling Moju's affinity for going barefoot.
When I walk out of the bathroom Lucan and Braun are at the table talking and Layla is in the lab clanking glassware around.
Braun laughs. "Snipers do it from behind? They saved that for you?"
"I knew you'd appreciate my shirt, Braun." His eyes dance as he laughs again and I catch myself wondering how long I'll have to wait until we can play cards.
Lucan interrupts my daydream. "Layla, Braun. Junco and I need some private time, please."
Braun winks at me as he passes. "Beer's in the fridge, Juncs." I absently wonder if I'm old enough to drink on this habitat or if Lucan will frown on that, but he stays seated and points to the chair Braun just vacated.
"Layla has some interesting developments from the tests yesterday. Do you know what it means?"
I shake my head, but keep silent.
"You're not human."
He waits for my reaction, but I hold it in.
"You're not avian."
Nothing.
"You're not machine."
I laugh now. "OK. So what am I?"
"All three, apparently. It's highly unusual."
I squint, but do not avert my eyes. "Will you kill me now?"
It's his turn to stay silent. We stare, willing the other to speak. I have nothing to say so I am patient until he gives in. "That will be entirely up to you, Junco."
"How's that work, then?"
"We have a strict, structured society here. A lot of people must share space in the hundreds of habitats we have scattered throughout the Band, but habitats are not easily made and resources are precious. Do you understand this?"
"Yeah, of course."
"When we create the clutches of children we do so with the entire
"Cigar?" He extends his hand out and I lean over and take the little gray box, shake out the stogie, and light it up.
"Thank you."
He hands me an ashtray and I prop myself up in bed and set it on my stomach. He's watching a screen about a girl who is being chased by some psycho murderer on an abandoned habitat. Despite myself, I get into the drama. I can see the draw of mindless entertainment, even though I can count on one hand the number of screens I've seen all the way through in my lifetime.
We sit in silence until the credits roll and then he speaks. "I'm sorry for saying that shit, Junco. I don't want to kill you. And we all like you, we don't wish you never came home."
I stare at him until he looks me in the eyes. "You need to butt out of my life when it comes to Tier, Ashur. It's over. He sent me a message" – I hesitate – "and like I said, he never told you to tell me anything, did he?"
He shakes his head. "No. He didn't. But it doesn't make sense, I watched him put you under in the morph, and you two weren't fighting."
"It doesn't matter, does it? It's over."
We sit in silence and watch the screen as another show comes on. "I've seen this one," Ashur says when it starts. "It's not bad."
We watch it and chat some. After a little bit I fall back asleep and when I wake in the morning he's gone.
Layla and Lucan are standing over me, talking in avian. I squint up at them and try to string the words together. "I'm right here, you know."
Both sets of eyebrows go up.
"Yeah, I understand too, so that shit you just talked about me is not going over well." I push up and extract myself from the bed to go take a shower and when I'm finished, I find a closet full of clothes. It has five identical outfits to the one I was just wearing.
And one that makes me smile.
I tug on the camo fatigues and button them up. They are looser than they were when I put them on last and I make a mental note to try and eat more. Then I wrestle the shirt over my back and stretch and rip at the arm holes of the sniper shirt until I can jam my wings and arms through. I realize I look ridiculous, but I don't care. My old field boots are in there too, but there's no way they will fit on my new hulking feet. Besides, I'm feeling Moju's affinity for going barefoot.
When I walk out of the bathroom Lucan and Braun are at the table talking and Layla is in the lab clanking glassware around.
Braun laughs. "Snipers do it from behind? They saved that for you?"
"I knew you'd appreciate my shirt, Braun." His eyes dance as he laughs again and I catch myself wondering how long I'll have to wait until we can play cards.
Lucan interrupts my daydream. "Layla, Braun. Junco and I need some private time, please."
Braun winks at me as he passes. "Beer's in the fridge, Juncs." I absently wonder if I'm old enough to drink on this habitat or if Lucan will frown on that, but he stays seated and points to the chair Braun just vacated.
"Layla has some interesting developments from the tests yesterday. Do you know what it means?"
I shake my head, but keep silent.
"You're not human."
He waits for my reaction, but I hold it in.
"You're not avian."
Nothing.
"You're not machine."
I laugh now. "OK. So what am I?"
"All three, apparently. It's highly unusual."
I squint, but do not avert my eyes. "Will you kill me now?"
It's his turn to stay silent. We stare, willing the other to speak. I have nothing to say so I am patient until he gives in. "That will be entirely up to you, Junco."
"How's that work, then?"
"We have a strict, structured society here. A lot of people must share space in the hundreds of habitats we have scattered throughout the Band, but habitats are not easily made and resources are precious. Do you understand this?"
"Yeah, of course."
"When we create the clutches of children we do so with the entire
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