Lindsay blinked awake; it took a moment to realize it was the sound of shuffling over by the other side of the room that had woken her up. "Good evening, Indsayee," Donil said, turning from her counter with a tender smile, her long white hair glowing in the late-day sunlight.
Why was it when she said Indsayee it made Lindsay's stomach suddenly jump? Was this what they called a girl crush? Of course, sometimes, when a girl was especially beautiful, she'd found herself tongue-tied around them. But that wasn't because of attraction, just aesthetic admiration, she told herself. And Donil was very aesthetically admirable.
Donil held a plate of unappealing mush in front of her. "You must eat something if you want to get your strength back."
Lindsay took the plate, staring at it dubiously as she poked at the grey-brown matter within. "What is it?"
"It's mashed tiktik and flaxa root. It's very nutritious. Just try it."
"Ok." Lindsay took up the odd bamboo-like half-tube and scooped the mush up like a spoon. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for what was likely to be awful, and ate it. She took another scoopful, moving it around her mouth as she chewed. It tasted a bit like teriyaki beef jerky. "It's actually pretty good," she said, pausing to look at Donil, before taking another bite and another. She hadn't realized how hungry she was. She quickly finished the plate.
"Would you like some more?" Donil said with that same smile.
"Yes, please." Please? When had she started saying please again? It was that smile! She felt the sudden need to impress the stunning woman taking care of her. Besides that, she was being so nice! Wasn't it only natural when someone was being nice, to be nice back?
Donil filled her plate and she devoured it all in moments. Donil laughed. "I imagine you could easily eat two more platefuls, but that will have to be all for now. Your stomach has to get used to food and besides, Sirix will be coming by shortly so we'll want to make you presentable."
Donil had barely finished combing the snags and tangles and branches out of Lindsay's hair when there was a slight rap at the door. "Is she awake?" a low voice growled.
"Yes, you can come in," Donil called back.
The door opened revealing the blue skinned man she had seen in the woods. He was dressed in a long blue coat that looked like something from the American Revolutionary War, she was pretty sure it was given how old and tattered it looked. Beneath it, he wore dark green clothes belted in a brown leather harness like the aliens outside. She couldn't get a sense of his build because of the coat, but it looked muscular.
He sauntered over to Lindsay and looked her over. She returned his appraising stare. The scars and hair were like she remembered them, especially the large scar that split his lip, but she hadn't had much of a chance to take in his face. It had a rugged quality to it, not exactly handsome, but not ugly. He had high cheekbones on a wide face and slightly large eyes with indigo pupils bordered in a line of gold. Above them were bushy white eyebrows on pronounced brows that moved as he studied her, suggesting thoughts he wasn't voicing.
It was his nose that gave his odd face a slightly familiar appearance. It was a bit oversized with a bridge that looked like it'd been broken and set a few times and was slightly bulbous at the end. She studied that nose a moment. She almost laughed when she placed it! It made him look a bit like an alien pirate version of the actor, Ed O'Neill - not exactly, of course, really not even that close, but it was something vaguely familiar in a crazy alien world and she clung to it.
He turned to Donil. "How is she?"
He could ask her! She was literally right there!
"She's doing well as far as I can tell. She's able to walk and talk and eat."
Yes! I'm a real girl! She thought sarcastically in a Pinocchio voice.
"How is her brain?"
"Her cognitive function doesn't seem to be impaired." Ugh! Lindsay was very quickly starting to feel like this was a meeting that could have been an email, though it was nice to know Donil didn't think she had brain damage - not that the alien would know what a brain-damaged human acted like.
He turned to Lindsay. "My name is Sirix, the Bona Serat Corsar of the Bonat. Donil tells me your name is Indsayee."
"Lindsay, yes." She said, coldly. She might not have the heart to correct Donil, but Sirix had not exactly tried to get himself off on the best foot with her.
"Well, Indsayee, we can get you home, but it's going to take some time."
"How long?"
"Hopefully a couple of skells, but it could be a few iuna."
"What the hell is an iuna or a skell?" When it was Sirix she almost couldn't help being rude.
"I'm sorry," Donil said. She was always apologizing. It would be irritating if her face wasn't so cute when she did it. "A skell is ten bils. And an iuna is five skell."
"And what's a bil?"
Sirix answered, "The period of a single day and night."
Lindsay did some groggy calculations in her head. "That'll be months! What would stop it from being weeks?"
"The Bonat's portal is in the north, across the Vyykyer strait, we need a ship to cross it and ours was damaged some time ago. It shouldn't take long to fix if there aren't many attacks."
"Attacks?"
"From the Nobillo. We have to move every time they find us. Sometimes that's months, sometimes it's weeks. And I can't put getting you home before the lives of my people. I'm sure you can understand."
Just because she could didn't make her happy about it, but she nodded.
"Good. Until then, you'll be issued a tent in the healer unit so we can keep an eye on your recovery once Donil gives the word you're healthy enough to release. You'll be free to move about the camp, of course. Just avoid the training grounds unless you want to find yourself on the wrong end of a harpoon. Donil, I leave her to you." He stood and walked out without even so much as a goodbye.
"What a jerk!" Lindsay muttered.
"He's not so bad, he just isn't sure how to handle you."
"Like a human being."
"Yes, but we don't know anything about what that means! Give him time. I promise you, he is a very good leader who cares for all of his people."
