Chapter 10

I follow the farming team into the central building. This coat tickles, but it is a lot warmer than I expected. Compared to the cold outside, I'll take the itch.

Maybe... The annoying human female comes to mind again.

When I was done with a bundle of dry grass, I thought she was there to mock me or laugh at me for something that I did. But... She brought me the coat. Maybe she did care about me a tiny bit.

I shake my head. I don't care about her, though. She can do whatever she wants and I won't be impressed, not at all.

I was going to sneer at her, but I couldn't when she showed up.

That was weird.

I follow everyone else and get my food. It is a bowl of soup with something floating there, these are white ones with a light hint of green. It looks like a piece of bread wrapping up meat and vegetables. Then there are noodles, which look a lot more familiar. There is a bowl of baked vegetables to the side too. Everything looks a bit too plain to my liking, but food is food, I'm not complaining.

The team I worked with disperses into different corners of the food area, where they meet family or someone else. So...

Where do I sit? I don't want to be at a table with other beings, but every table is partially filled.

There's one table where only... the human female is there, I guess I can go there. I'll only get annoyed by her alone, not more beings, that's not too bad.

More importantly, I have to get out of this coat. It is good to stay warm outside, but the indoors is temperature controlled, so I don't need a coat. It is making me sweat now.

I head over to the table. She is eating there, and she glances at me. I ask, "Can I sit here?"

"No."

Huh?

She gives a weak smile. "Go ahead. I don't think you are good at making friends with other tables, anyway."

I set my tray and get out of my coat. "Yeah, I figured you'd be so bored and lonely to be the only one here. Maybe you smell bad or something."

She lifts her brows at me and that's satisfying. I smirk. "What? Come up with a comeback."

She swallows her food. "Should've let you freeze."

"Nah, you won't. You care a bit too much about me."

She is scooping up the soup, but her hand stops in the middle of the air. "What did you just say?"

"Are you..." also deaf?

I pause before I finish my sentence. I said...

I clear my throat and start with my food. If she stopped me over it, maybe... Does she care about me? Or... do I care about her?

She also goes back to her food, seemingly wanting to dodge the topic.

This food is interesting. It really is meat and vegetables wrapped up in a thin layer of noodles. It tastes good. The soup is a simple vegetable soup, probably what the food is cooked in.

I ask, "What's this called?"

"Dumplings, apparently, fitting for you as a dumbling."

I scowl at her. Is she messing with me? Is that a joke? "Really?"

"Yeah, dumplings. Human food for you."

I take another one, it is nice that I can put the whole thing in my mouth in one go. "This is an interesting food."

"I think so. We have meat this time. Sometimes, we put shrimp inside, or other seafood. But we aren't close to a sea here, so seafood isn't an option."

I nod and enjoy my food. Maybe she isn't always annoying.

After she finishes her food, she gets up and leaves, not saying a word. My heart skips a beat as I watch her back. Did I say something wrong?

Do I care about whether I've said something wrong?

I shrug and ignore the nudge in my stomach. It's not my problem. She can think and feel whatever she wants.

I stare at the ceiling as I roll around in bed, can't make myself fall asleep.

Something doesn't feel right, but I don't know what that's about. Maybe I need to get out of this room to clear my thoughts.

I get up. My arms are slightly sore from moving things around on the farm, but overall, I'm good and a bit too energetic for bedtime. I don't think there's a rule stating that I must stay here, anyway.

As I get out of the door, I bring the coat with me. I'm not expecting the human will come out of nowhere to give it to me. Maybe it is going to be really cold out there.

Outside the building, I shiver and shove my hands into the pocket of the coat. I've never been in a colder place before. Day and night are so different here.

I take a breath, letting the fur on the inner lining of the coat tickle me. Maybe I should wear a T-shirt or something the other beings have, that may help.

Anyway, I walk to the plaza in front of the tall building. There's no street light. The only light is from the stars far above. It feels like the whole village is sleeping. A strong wind blows against me. Maybe heading outside in the night isn't a good idea. But the air is a lot clearer here.

I take a seat on the ground. It is cold, but not cold enough that I'd rather be back in the room.

No one is around. Others are asleep and no lights are on.

I'm the only one here. I sit back and support myself with my arms, staring at the sky. The sky is clear and there are a lot of stars. Where's base camp?

I think I won. They didn't manage to catch me and probably have given up by now. But... I'm never heading back...

It's different from being deployed on a battleship. There's always a chance I won't be back and would die in a mission, but... It's not like I couldn't go back.

I suppose I can go back if I want to, but the punishment for fleeing the ice castle would be...

I wince, don't even want to think about that.

It's all Zil's fault... If he didn't stop me from punishing that human female, none of this would happen.

Will anyone back in base camp miss me?

Will my crew miss me? Or had they forgotten about me the moment I was suspended and they got a new captain?

I let out a breath and sit up straight again. Maybe nothing matters.

Maybe it's the same as how it would be when I die. That... no one will care and remember.

"You're here."

I jolt my head up at... it's the human female again. She is also in a coat. Her face is cold and gives away nothing. There's no reason she gets to be angry at me for being here, but female, huh?

I scowl at her. "Why are you here?"

She sits by my side without saying a word. She can't be missing home, right?

Um... Maybe she does. I think this is a newly settled village, so she has to come from somewhere.

She remains quiet. There's only the sound of wind between us and my breathing noise. When she shuts up, it's not that unpleasant to be with her. I'll let her stay.

I resume staring at the sky even though that won't change or help anything.

I hope base camp isn't still looking for me. I'm just a single uzain, so it's probably not worth their time.

But they sent uzains to look for Zil and managed to find him...

It's probably different. They trust Zil and treasure him. While for me...

I'm just a uzain who's trying to make a name for myself and do something great.

But I won't have a chance anymore.

No place will take a uzain like me and trust me with important things. Maybe the rest of my life will be spent on this planet and moving stacks of grass and farm produce.

If I didn't...

There's a sob by my side. I steal a glance at the human. She rubs her eyes, looking away from me. I'm curious, but why would she talk to me?

She gasps even though she tries to lower her voice.

I clear my throat. "Um... Is everything alright?"

She flinches. "It's... fine." Her voice cracks at the end of her sentence, so...

I shrug. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I understand."

"You haven't told me anything about your past, anyway."

So, is this a trade? "Are you going to tell me if I tell you?"

She pauses and takes a deep breath. "I suppose I can tell you, but... Say, didn't you miss home? You crashed your spaceship. But you don't seem to care about that. I thought you'd want to repair it soon or find out a way to go home."

I'm not ready to tell her, even though she won't have a way to contact base camp and send me back. "It has nothing to do with you."

"As the leader of this place, I think I can ask. Are you planning to go home?"

I hate it when she uses that against me. I'm about to growl at her when...

Even though it is dark here, the stars light her face enough for me to catch a glimmer in her eyes. Is she... sobbing?

I gulp, swallowing the growl. Maybe she meant to ask why I didn't miss home like she does. Does she?

But... I don't have a home anymore...

She looks away. "I guess it means you don't want to head back there. Why?"

Do I tell her? But why should I? Because she will shout how she is the leader and she can starve me? She promised not to mention food anymore though.

I say, "Aren't you happy here? You're leading all these beings and they all look up to you."

She sighs. "I... That's not the point. If..." She takes a breath. "Don't tell others. But if I can, I'd bring everyone home. I don't care about being leader whatsoever."

I frown. "I thought... You're here to settle on a new planet. Is it that tough to stay alive here?"

She shakes her head and rubs her eyes with the back of her hand. "No... I... You don't understand."

Of course, I don't understand. I don't read mind and she hasn't made it clear to me. How am I supposed to understand? That's quite some expectation on me.

But... She is crying by now, so it doesn't feel right to be rude or too blunt.

I look around, but she and I are the only beings around here. So... Do I comfort her?

Like... What do I do to comfort her? What if someone runs into us, will they think I'm the reason she's crying?

Now, I don't even know where to put my hands.

Her tiny body shakes and... it lights a fire in me, urging me to do something to make her feel better.

Crap... What do I even do? I'm trained to fight, not to comfort someone. No one on a uzain battleship cries. Maybe they do, but I've never seen one.

Like...

She wraps her arms around her knees and cries into that. So...

I put my hand on her shoulder. Is this what beings do to comfort others??

She doesn't move away, so I guess I didn't do the wrong thing. She is still sobbing. But... the moment I put my hand on her... It sparks something in me that I can't explain.

Maybe I don't know how to comfort her, but I know enough about myself that... I want to hold her in my arms and pat her side. But... What if she doesn't want that?

She... leans onto me and almost sends me jumping into the air. What does that mean?

I halt my breath and watch for a second. Is she sick? Is it too cold for her to be outside that she's fainting? Is she dead?

But... she is moving. She is still crying and it hurts to see her upset.

I move my hand to her shoulder that's on the far side. I hold her closer. She is the one who started it, so she can't blame me.

She leans onto me and I sit in the wind with her. She warms me, somehow. Now, I want to hold her even closer. Say, put her on my lap and...

I silently growl at myself. This isn't the time to think about that.

Maybe I should be happy enough to enjoy her warmth for now. Her soft body is comfortable to have by my side.

It takes a while, even though I don't mind spending time with her.

She could have cried to someone else, though. For example, the annoying four-arm guy. But...

Maybe she saw me and thought I was missing my home, so... she is missing her home now, and how...

Are these beings not meant to be here?

But they have buildings and working teams, so...

There's no way these are like me. They can't all be fleeing from something. Now that I think about it. Maybe... are these from the Empire? Maybe they were trying to get out of there, but she still misses home.

I miss base camp too, even though they mistreated me. Home is still home no matter what happened to that place.

Or... Maybe she was in the Alliance and had to flee the planet because of the Empire or other military groups that attacked the place. Therefore... Her home is gone and she can't be back.

Do I ask her for confirmation? But...

She is still crying, but her sobs are weaker and more controlled. Maybe she is feeling better.

I pat her side. She still doesn't move away. Maybe she doesn't hate me as much as I thought.

And... Maybe I don't really hate her.

No way...

I still hate human females. I guess I barely tolerate her.

But my cock twitches and I can only hope she isn't focusing on me and won't find out about it. The coat will probably hide it or me.

She is still leaning on me. The coats between us are annoying, but I'd rather be clothed when it is cold here.

Though... If I weren't in this coat, I could feel her soft body a lot more.

Hm...

I know the coat isn't a good idea.

She sits up and I hate losing her warmth.

She fixes her hair, even though it is pretty tidy when she has a ponytail.

I'm about to ask her how she's feeling when she gets up on her own.

She doesn't even look at me before she starts off heading back to the building. "Don't stay out for too long. Don't get sick."

Okay...?

She walks off with her hands in her pockets and her head low as if she is looking for something on the ground.

What does that mean?

Is that a female thing? That she likes to remain mysterious?

I rub my horns, letting out a breath. I guess it is time for me to head back, too. It is getting late and I better get some sleep before I have to work tomorrow. More importantly, I better not miss breakfast when there won't be lunch.

But...

Part of me worries about her. Is she fine?

Maybe she is just missing home and it has nothing to do with me. If she wants to talk about it, she will let me know. Even though she leaned on me, I doubt that means we are close enough for her to share her thoughts with me.

It's only fair when I'm not planning to share a lot about myself with her.

Or... Maybe I should? Maybe I can?

I'm so far away from base camp now. It should be safe to talk to her about it.

I get up from the ground. My legs are tired from sitting at a weird angle.

She's going to be around anyway, there'll be time and place to talk to her.