Chapter 12

What happened between last night and now?

Maybe she didn't want my hand on her, even though she leaned on me first.

I follow Hoge and Irenen out of the food area and down the corridor. I just don't understand.

Now... They say that we'll meet here in ten minutes so we can finish whatever is on hand and gather our stuff. I suppose that means I should get my coat. Irene wasn't with her staff, so she is going to take that.

I pat my head. I hope it doesn't mean she will be smacking me with it.

Why though? She seems to hate me now.

Not that I care about how she feels about me. I'm just here trying to fit in a bit more since they saved me and provided for me. It is only fair and honorable to do something in return.

I get into my room and pick up the thick coat. I stare at it and the fur on the inside of the coat... Now, all I can see is her soft body leaning on me.

We were fine when that happened. If she didn't want to, she didn't have to lean on me.

But... Maybe after we spent time together, she gave it more thought and decided that she didn't want to spend time with me and wanted to keep her distance.

My horns buzz and they ache. Something doesn't feel right, but at the same time, I'm not sure what's wrong.

That... I'm upset she doesn't want me?

But we barely meet and get to know each other. Before that night, we barely agreed to stop shouting and sneering at each other, but somehow...

I shake my head. This isn't the time to think about that. I should focus on work and being a good part of the team.

The corridor is brightly lit for the day. I take a breath, trying to pretend everything's going right and this is the life that I want. Except...

This really isn't what I want and what I chose for myself.

What are other uzains doing? Are they having fun? Fighting the Empire?

Irene is in front of the lift with her coat and staff. She stares at the lift as she waits for it. I remain at the corner of the corridor, not turning and not wanting to catch her attention.

After breakfast, I ran into her. I didn't plan for that to happen, but... She must think that I was there to ambush her or something when I didn't plan that far ahead.

"Who's there?"

Oh fuck...

I turn the corner and she glares at me. Before I can explain myself, she hisses. "Why are you hiding behind the wall? I can hear your steps."

Oh... I suppose that's to be expected when she is a good fighter.

I shrug. "I wasn't planning to scare you or pull a stunt. It feels like you don't want to see me and won't want to be in the lift with me, so I figured I'd wait for the next one."

She looks away from me. She doesn't admit it, but she doesn't tell me to leave. I suppose that's a good sign.

The lift arrives and she gets inside. I follow. She knows I'm here, there's no reason to hide from her anymore.

The lift is quiet, with only the two of us there, and she seems to be mad at me. I've never cared about others this much and I doubt I have to care this much about her. But... it feels like I should.

If I hug her, will I comfort her or annoy her even more?

She asks, "So, just a yes-no question. Are you trying to go home? I don't even need your reason."

I don't understand, but it feels like if I want a chance to right things, I have to tell her. "No."

She takes a deep breath, obvious when her shoulders lift. "I see."

Like... Just that? She isn't asking for more?

"Um... I don't know what changed between last night and now, but you seem to be mad at me. Sorry if I did something wrong."

She glances at me. "No, it's not you. Just don't mention it ever again. I'm not pissed, but just... forget about it."

"Okay..." The door of the lift opens and there are other beings out there, so I keep quiet and follow her out of the lift despite that I have tons of questions to ask.

She said she isn't pissed, but at the same time... she doesn't look like she is fine either. So... Do I believe that we're fine? Or does that mean I'm not identifying how I pissed her off?

We join with Hoge and he brings us over to a spaceship. This one looks like a rectangle tube.

Hoge gets into the driving seat and we stand behind him when there are no passenger seats there, not even a single chair.

Not to mention the driving area is so tiny that Irene and I are standing right next to each other, so close that, if I'm not careful enough, our bodies will touch and she is going to be mad at me.

Hoge says, "We'll head to the ham factory first. This lot is very nice with the weather being perfect. At this rate, we'll have nice stuff for the market."

Market? I thought this village was the only one on the planet. Where's the market? Or, does he mean traders from other planets?

Irene puts up a tight smile. "Glad to know that."

Hoge taps his fingers on the controller. "And... You'll see when we get there."

I wonder. Ham sounds tasty. I'm not expecting the inspection will include tasting, but I won't complain, either.

Looking from the window and beyond, there are a few tiny houses down there, which may be the factories. This place seems a lot more organized than I expected for a newly settled village. Someone, or say, there has to be more beings involved in this than just a bunch of beings deciding to leave their planet. When they settled in this place, it was almost impossible for them to have rushed it. Yet...

The factory is bigger than I expected. There are some livestock walking around on the ground in front of it. These have thick brown fur and four legs. They have cute tiny round ears and are almost taller than me. They all look peaceful and enjoy their lives.

Inside the factory, the machines are at the sides. There are rows and rows of metal pillars that go along the width of the place, with sticks of ham hanging from them. Those are fresh from an animal, the whole hind legs are up there. I can almost smell them in my mind and that makes me hungry, even though I've just finished breakfast. Those look well-aged and smoked, the perfect way I'd like them.

This place is a bit too cold for my liking; maybe it is the ventilation system at work to make sure the hams are aging well. A low humming noise of the machines echoes through the room, which can drive me to sleep.

We get close to the machines, which are larger than me. There is a window on the machine, which has a blinking green light. So I guess everything's alright, even though I don't know what it is doing. I'm standing a bit too far away to look into the window.

Hoge points at the ham hanging up there. "The ones closest to us are already prime for harvesting. And these are all paced out two months away from each other. I'd say we are doing very fine even when... Like... Even if we'll be on our own for a bit longer."

Are they not supposed to be on their own when they settle into a new place?

I glance at Irene, whose face is steel but she forces a smile, regardless.

She says, "Sounds good. It is always for the best if we can sustain ourselves. How's the storage?"

"We have it prepared in the warehouse. All temperature and moisture controlled, so we are perfectly set up."

That sounds like ham will be on the menu soon. I took some from a village a long time ago and it's amazing with fruit.

Hoge continues, "And if we can expand trading routes... Well, that's an if for sure, not that if we have a surplus, we must sell them."

The tension in Irene spikes, my horns hum for me to hug her and pat her, and to tell her that everything is fine. Can Hoge feel that? It feels like... weirdly, has Irene been lying about something? or... hiding something?

It is normal for me to not know a lot when I'm new, but for some reason, it looks like these other beings are guessing something when Irene doesn't want to talk about certain topics.

Irene says, "We can look into the possibility for sure."

"Sounds good. Let me show you the cheese. They are in the room over there."

They start heading there and I get close to the machine, peeking into the window. Inside, there are racks and rows, too, maybe that's how the machine does the preliminary steps to get the thigh ready to become ham.

Before they can catch me, I follow the two of them. I ask, "So, if I'm on this team, what will I be doing?"

Hoge says, "We have a small team size and we don't need a lot of hands on the regular, so, as you can see, there's only me in the factory today. And since the animals we keep here are far from the forest, we don't even need a lot of beings to keep watch. The daily work is mostly about making sure everything is kept in the right condition and checking to see whether the machines are working well."

That doesn't sound like something I'll be good at. I can break things, but not repair them.

He continues, "When the products are ready, we will need a few more to move them to the storage. And when we're getting the meat to get the process started, we'll need more help too. Maybe you can help with that. Most of the time, our half of the team will work with the other teams."

So... There's no sitting around.

Irene says, "We'll be able to find you a job, don't worry."

I'd rather be smashing things and beings with my battleaxe, but it is what it is.

We get into a room with tall shelves that hold bricks and bricks of cheese. On every shelf, there's a board with dates on it. One for when the cheese starts sitting on the shelf, and one for when it should be ready.

There is a lot of cheese, which looks like great news.

Hoge starts telling Irene what everything's up to, but... I can't focus on what he is saying when it feels like Irene needs help. She is a bit too tense for my liking, and her breathing is turning shallow. I watch her and she doesn't even glare at me or tell me off, something has to be wrong.

But... Do I ask about it? Maybe I should wait until Hoge isn't around before I ask. Or maybe she doesn't want to tell me about it? Maybe I'm the reason, and she would have told Hoge?

Maybe the air in this place is a bit too still for her that it gets suffocating.

But... The cheese is supposed to be in a good place, with good airflow, so...

She and Hoge are talking, maybe I'm overthinking that.

"Melzul... Are you listening?" Now, she is rolling her eyes at me.

I blink and pull my thoughts together. "Yeah, what?"

"Looks like you are definitely not listening. Hoge asked whether you can handle animals, then you can milk them. It will be a daily task, or you can be with the farming team, which you tried a bit yesterday."

Um...

Hoge chuckles. "You have to make sure you won't be tempted by milk. Otherwise, we won't get nice cheese and other dairy products. The ones working at the barn find it tough to resist at times."

I fight to resist a huff. I suppose he doesn't know a lot about what happened with me and Acea and the whole food thing. I should try to make a joke and be nice to him.

I say, "What if I scare the animals?"

Irene smiles, which is the first time she seems to be relaxed here. "Yeah, that's what I've been saying. At least plants won't scream and kick your ass when you scare them."

Ha-ha... She is so funny.

Hoge also chuckles. "Sometimes, being gentle enough with the animals while making them listen to you is tough. But half of the farming team comes over to harvest cheese and ham when the time comes, so I think we'll meet each other again soon."

So... There's no cheese tasting included, such a bummer.

Hoge seems to see my thoughts. He glances at the shelves with cheese, which my eyes are glued to.

He picks up a dagger that's on the shelf and slices off the corner, dividing the piece into three and giving each of us a bit. "Here, have a try."

It is a soft piece of cheese that's thick and smooth. I like it. It is going to be great with... anything, I suppose. I'm not an expert in food anyway, I'm just there to eat and enjoy.

Irene nods. "This has aged well, Good job."

"Thank you, boss. Oh, I mean, thanks."

Boss?

I know she's the leader of the settlement, but calling her boss seems to imply something else.

Did I run into a company?

Or...

No way she kidnapped all these beings and made them work here. She's just a tiny human and that can't work. Everyone seems to respect her and they are happy, so...

Irene glances at me. I pretend to be oblivious.

She says, "It will be great when we can share these with the rest of the village."

Yes, that'll obviously be the case.

But the tension in her is back again, and I don't like that. Maybe if she tells me or Hoge what she's not telling or hiding, she won't be this tense.

We say farewell to Hoge and Irene says she is going to bring me over to join the farming team. Maybe this is her attempt to get away from both Hoge and me so that she can... keep hiding something away from everyone.

While I may be the newest one here, and it's normal for me not to understand everything from the get-go, something has to be wrong. I may be new, but I'm not dumb. Yet... these beings all seem to be playing along and don't press hard enough for the answer.

Or... Is that... Are these beings all hiding something from me?

But for what?

Because they are nice and think that they should keep me around, instead of tossing me into the forest?