“I think things are calm there for the moment,” I said. V’x was grooming herself and trilling softly. W’x’tl was silent, her face buried in battered feathers.
‘The one is violent,’ said the grey. ‘It fights to escape.’ I felt despair. No, this was what the grey felt.
“Why don’t you just let her go?”
‘The one is injured. We do not think it will survive.’
“Waxtel? She seems ok. Sort of.”
‘The one is injured. It cannot fly.’
“Can she walk?”
Despair again.
“So what happened? Vix said Waxtel flew up and was captured.”
‘Our craft hit the one. It was trapped. We took it back for care.’
“What about others? There are others that you’ve captured.”
Despair. ‘They must stay far from us. They must stay in their homes.’
“Why?”
W’x’tl screeched. V’x cooed. Silence.
“Why can’t they venture out at night? Why can’t they see you?”
‘They hurt us. They cannot talk.’ Despair again. ‘We have made such mistakes.’
“Why did you bring them to this place? Why would you help them?”
‘They are happy. They are free. Mobile. Strong. And yet helpless against the universe.’
“Waxtel has been here for a very long time,” I muttered. “Why don’t you let her and Vix go back?”
‘We are fearful.’
“If they know the truth, that might not be the worst thing. Maybe you can work together.”
W’x’tl squawked. V’x resumed her song.
“They’re friends, you know. Good friends.” The grey look back at W’x’tl and V’x. “Maybe you can arrange a space where they can be together and unrestrained?” The grey didn’t like that idea, so I tried to sweeten the pot. “Let them feel safe and free, and you and I can work toward a real solution.”
‘Perhaps.’
The grey released me and stepped out of the room. The door shut abruptly, leaving me locked in the darkened space with the two Vr’a’kl. V’x’s cooing filled my head.
Read Chapter 38.
Go back to the beginning.
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist 