Steph's Outcast

"Stay close to me, Pak," I say, holding my hand out.

Pak moves to my side, and we head toward Devi. She's been all over the creatures—which she swears aren't dangerous unless we get squashed—and she's been non-stop excitement. Even today, she looks thrilled, though she has to be tired at this point. I don't think she's slept a wink since the creatures arrived. She's been too busy studying them.

"Hey Devi," I call out as we approach. "What's up?"

"Oh Steph! This is so exciting!" Devi bounces, gesturing at the creature near the water. "There's one that's sick and needs help getting back into the water. And if it dies on the shore, I'm going to dissect it!" Her eyes are wide with enthusiasm. "So I'm kinda torn. I want it to live but I also want to get a good look at their insides."

Pak tilts his head. "What's dye-sek mean?"

"It means Devi's going to help the thing feel better," I say with a warning look. The kids here have a better grasp on life and death than kids their age back home, but I still think dissection might be too much for little Pak. "Isn't that right?"

"Yup! So will you help us try and move it into the water?" She thumbs a gesture at the shore. "There's a few people already there, and if it dies farther up on the sand, it's going to be hell to get rid of."

She's got a point. I can only imagine a rotting, fishy carcass the size of a house stinking up the shore. "Say no more. What do you need?"

"We've got some spears and we're using those to dig out some of the sand underneath the tentacles. I'll show you." When I hesitate, gesturing at Pak, she just bounds away. "Daisy's there. She can watch him."

Right. Because I'd be more help digging out a dead creature than Daisy, who'd probably break a nail. Poor Daisy. She'd have so much to offer if she thought higher of herself. I shake my head at the thought. "I can help with the digging, I think. Who do you have helping?"

"N'dek's with me, of course," Devi says, affection in her tone. Not surprising, given that she and her mate are rarely a few steps apart. "Sam. And Daisy, but she's not being all that helpful. O'jek's there, too."

Hopefully that should be more than enough to give the creature the shove it needs into the water.

I follow behind Devi as she leads us forward, and as we get closer to the water's edge, I can see the others gathered around the far side of the creature. Daisy stands next to O'jek while Sam and N'dek busily dig into the sand with their spears. "I brought help," Devi calls out. "We have a spear for Steph, right?"

"Miss Waiting-For-Resonance?" Daisy teases, making me blush. "I'm surprised we could pull the two of them apart long enough for Steph to join us."

I smile, because it's true, we haven't been the most secretive about what we're doing. Since the guys are all alien, they have far better olfactory senses than we do, and it's blatantly obvious that we're fooling around under the furs at night. Or in the daytime. Or anytime, really.

"Waiting for resonance?" O'jek asks, frowning in my direction.

I shrug, still smiling. "Guess I changed my mind." I squeeze Pak's tiny hand. "Will you go stand by Daisy, sweetie? I'm going to help them move this thing."

Daisy drops to her knees and beams at Pak. "Come here, you cutie. You can stand with me off to the side and we can critique their technique."

Pak races over to her, tail wiggling. "What's a crit-eek?"

"Nothing that we want," Sam mutters, wiping her brow as she leans on her spear. "Are we sure this thing isn't dead already?" She eyes the shell-beast critically. "It hasn't moved in a while."

"It's still alive," Devi says, rushing over to our sides. She puts a hand on the creature's shell, and then kneels in the sandy, freshly dug trench next to it. "Look at the tentacles. They're dried out but not discolored, so it'll probably recover once it gets in the water." She sighs at the sight of the tide, farther down the beach. "It's just getting it to the water."

"Will the tide come in this far?" I ask, taking the spear that N'dek hands to me.

"Not quite," Devi says. "If we can get her in the water, we'll save her. If not, well…" She rubs her hands. "Science project!"

Sam looks at me and we both wrinkle our noses at the same time. For someone that loves animals, Devi should not be so excited to cut them apart and stare at their innards.

"Well, I'm here," I say to Devi. "Where do you want me?"

N'dek flicks his long braid off his shoulder and gestures at the sand in front of the creature. "If we dig a trench, the waves might roll in and fill it with water. Would that help?"