Kitten splashed the water a few more times, laughing, before she sat back against the wall of the pool, soaking further.  Eventually, she figured that she should wash up.  She’d needed to learn how to use water to be clean when she’d been on Thors Hammer.  But this was as different as a Rinan and a Terran.  Here, she wasn’t standing in a tiny cramped cubicle that barely gave her the room to stretch her arms out, recycled water raining down on her head, astringent soap stinging her skin.  HERE, the water was warm, all around her, she could sit for as long as she wanted, and judging by the smell of the bottles, the soap would feel divine.  Here, she wasn’t on a timer.  She sat there, for what felt like forever, just soaking, enjoying everything.

Getting up, she grabbed a washcloth, noting how the water seemed to run off the cuffs on her ankles and wrists, and figured that they were water-repellent or something.  Surely, with all she’s seen, the Affini would’ve thought of making their cuffs water resistant.  Pouring out some of the liquid onto a washcloth, she sniffed, smiling at the scent.  Lathering up, she cleaned herself slowly, relishing in the feel of the cloth.  Abrasive in the best way, she closed her eyes as she cleaned her lower part, not wanting to see herself.  Done, she let the washcloth float away, before she grabbed it, and put it on the lip of the pool.  Grabbing what she hoped was shampoo, she poured some on her head, and began to scrub.  

Head covered in suds, she looked around, and realized that she’d have to actually dunk her head underwater.  Like, under the water, which she’d never done before.  Taking a deep breath, she held her nose shut, an irrational fear that water would fall into her lungs from her nose and she’d drown.  She knew it was irrational…and yet.   Dunking her head underwater was quite an experience.  It was like warmth all over, and pressure, even as she held her breath and scrubbed her head with the other hand.  After what felt like a lifetime, her lungs began to ache, and she surfaced, taking a deep breath, an inhale.  Shaking her head, brushing the water out of her eyes, she blinked and looked around, waiting for something..  Then she figured out what it was.  Or wasn’t, in this case.  She realized that she didn’t hear the alarm, there was nobody knocking on the door, demanding she get out.  Or worse, opening the door and bodily throwing her out.  She decided to relax in the pool a bit longer, noticing that her fingertips had shriveled.  Another oddity.  She’d look that up later, figure out what caused it.   

Sitting in the tub a bit longer, she sighed and turned to get up, realizing that walking in the water was difficult in a nice way.  The sloshing of the water, making waves…it was all fun.  Hoisting herself out of the tub, she grabbed a towel that was there, and stepped out.  Toweling herself off was another pleasure.  The towel was soft, fluffy, and literally everything she could have hoped for in a towel.  All dry, she quickly got dressed, the clothing soft and fitting well.  The shirt was oddly long, but it covered her almost to her knees.  But it was comfy, and oddly enough, the flowing thing was kind of cool.  Turning, she saw a small bin to the side of the rub and put the used towels into it, then ignored the steps and climbed up onto the sink to brush her teeth and wash her hands.  With a grin, she jumped down.

Gladialis was reading in the living room when she heard the thump.  Groaning, she put her book, and her tablet down.  “What was that?”, she yelled, and a few seconds later she heard Kitten yell back “It’s just me!!!”  “You know, I have steps there for a reason!!!”, she yelled back, enjoying the exchange for some reason.

“Yea, but that’s boring!!”, Kitten said as she walked into the living room.  She smiled at Gladialis, but didn’t come any closer than the couch.  Blushing, hiding, feeling oddly…she wasn’t sure how to describe it.  She knew that she was covered from neck to knees, but there was something about this that felt oddly not covered.  

Gladialis was wondering why Kitten didn’t come any closer, but was hovering near the edge of the couch.  She could see that the Terran was blushing, so she figured that it was some Terran thing, and she’d find out later when the little Terran wasn’t so embarrassed about it.  “You know, you need to be careful.  If you’re jumping down and the floor is wet, you’re going to fall and get hurt.”

“I’m careful, nothing to worry about.  But thanks for…umm…thinking about that.”  She smiled and fidgeted, then nodded.  “I’m gonna go to bed now.  Ummm…thanks for dinner and…and everything else.”

“You’re most welcome, little one”, Gladialis said kindly.  She watched as Kitten left, and a few moments later heard her door close.  She let out a soft breath, thinking about the events of the day.  Well, regardless of what happened, having a Terran living in your hab was certainly not a dull experience, she thought to herself.

Kitten grabbed her plushie as she crawled into bed, truly exhausted.  Between the activities of the day, and the bath, she was just plain tuckered out.  She nestled into the blankets, and took a long blink as she yawned.  She was asleep within a minute.

The ship had fallen mostly silent, the only sounds distant gunshots.  The alarm lights were lit, red strobes illuminating the pink fog that filled the air.  A miasma that promised death, it swirled and curled in the air currents.  Breath sounding harshly in her ears, the weight of the helmet and its filtration pack were comforting.  The hum of the filter keeping her safe was almost a whisper, and a quick look down showed that her battery was full.  She'd been careful, making sure that it was always charged, and the filters cleaned and ready for use.  And she'd been lucky, the alarm had sounded while she was close enough to don her gear, grab her sidearm, and prepare with shaking hands.  This was it.  Game time.  The weeds were here to eat the weak, and ship the strong to the mines.

She waited, the sounds of her fellow soldiers falling prey to the attacking xenos as loud as thunder through the comms.  It began to quiet, the last soldier moaning, obviously in pain, as he begged for his life.  She could hear the xenos, their voices speaking some oddly trilling language that she didn't understand.  They sounded…she wasn't sure if gleeful was the word, but certainly happy.  The fear of being captured nearly made her knees buckle, and then she remembered the escape pods.  They were a combination of escape and cryo pod, but that didn't matter.  They were orbiting some planet that had Terrans on it.  That was all she needed.

She turned a corner, and nearly shrieked as she came face to face with another Terran.  And what was worse?  It was the Captain.  She saw him raise his gun, a reproduction of some "famous" weapon, and then lower it, a look of disgust on his face.  Visible through his mask, and very obvious on his voice as he spoke.  "Well, fuck me.  I needed a soldier, and I have…you.  Great.  We're all going to die.  Fuck."  He sighed, a muffled sound that was also seen in the settling of his shoulders, and he shrugged.  "Well, at least you can die like a soldier.  Lets go hunt weeds."

They moved through the deserted hallways, distant gunfire fading.  Checking the corners as they moved, the captain suddenly stopped, a splatter of some blue-green goo on the wall.  "How exactly did you get your gear on so fast?", he asked suspiciously, pointing his weapon at her.

"I…I was..umm..I was in the ICU, and…and the alarm went off, and I got into my gear."

"So you abandoned your post?  Left the hospital unguarded?!?!  Are you crazy?!?", the Captain hissed, and turned, weapon up and pointing in their direction.  

"What?  No!!  The ward was empty!!  I didn't abandon anyone, I swear!!', was the reply.  The gun still swung towards them, the Captains face twisted in rage.

"I knew that taking you on was a mistake.  I might not be able to take out all the fucking weeds, but at least I can take care of one incompetent, traitor waste of space.  What kind of man becomes a nurse, and an incompetent fool at that?"

"I didn't…I promise!!  It was empty, there was nobody there!!", she cried out, to no avail.  She turned and tried to run, the weapon dropping from nerveless hands.  She made it a few steps before a massive blow pushed her forward, throwing her to the ground.  Her visor crashed into the deck, but bounced, somehow not shattering.  Ears ringing, she wasn't sure if she heard the loud explosion or it was her head hitting the deck.  Struggling, she felt something wet cover her clothing, as she tried to crawl away, she found herself unable to move or feel her legs.  'My spine..he hurt my spine', she thought as she tried to flee, pulling herself with her arms.  

"Useless piece of shit!  You probably helped the weeds find us!!", the Captain snarled, standing over the traitor.  Another loud explosion preceded another hammer-blow, this time to her upper back.  Suddenly it was harder to breathe, her chest feeling warm but oddly wet.  Before she could be hurt again, there was an odd sighing sound from further away, and a thud from behind her.

"Good shot!!", a musical voice called from further down the hall.  "Tagged that cutie but good."

"Yea, but I couldn't miss, with him standing there with such a silly pose.  Didn't even fire that silly gun anywhere near me", came another.  The deep thud of heavy footsteps shook the deck as she struggled, and then they stopped.  "Looks like he was too busy shooting into that one.  Still have no idea why."

"Why do ferals do anything?  Sheer idiocy.  Domestication is the best thing for them all."

"Well, you can take that one.  I'll keep going, see if I can round up a cutie of my own", the first voice said.  "But first, I'm a bit hungry.  I'll see you in a minute."

Suddenly, she was pulled up, and she watched in horror as the deck beneath her was covered in blood.  Her blood.  She tried to scream, to beg for mercy, but her voice wouldn't work.  What felt like steel cables held her, moved her like she weighed nothing.  With horror, as her vision began to dim, what looked like thorns or massive teeth closed around her.  As the light faded, she found the energy to scream once.  "Please don't eat me!!!  I'm not dead!!!!"

Gladialis had been reading in the living room, her vines sitting in a bowl of ice water when the tablet began to alarm.  Kittens vital signs were haycord, and she jumped up, spilling the bowl over in her haste.  Horrific screams came from Kittens room, and Gladialis moved faster than she ever had, bursting through the door as Kitten shrieked, "Please don't eat me!!  I'm not dead!!!"  

Kitten screamed again as a loud BANG filled the room, the door burst open and an Affini ran in to eat her.  "Nooooooooo!!!!!", she shrieked, eyes wide with fear as she scrambled to the end of whatever surface she was on.  The Affini stopped, sighing and holding up a hand.  "Kitten…it's ok.  You’re safe, there's no danger here.  You're safe now", it said in melodious tones that were almost unnoticed under her screaming.

Gladialis cursed herself for the way she handled this.  She shouldn't have ran in, but Kitten sounded so scared, she panicked herself.  "You're safe now, little one.  I promise", she said, trying to sound calm and soothing as Kitten kept crying and pressed herself against the wall.  "You're not there.  You're here, in my hab.  And you're safe."  She kept repeating it, her voice low and soothing until Kittens sobs slowed, becoming hiccups.  Soothed by her voice, but also, she realized, because she hadn't made a move towards her.  "Good girl", she praised, smiling.  "Can you breathe with me, little one?", she asked, and smiled wider when Kitten hesitantly nodded.  

"Good!!", she said, and began to breathe in the same rhythm as the last time Kitten was panicking.  Kitten fell into it easier this time, less halting, and soon was breathing easier.  Gladialis watched as she leaned forward, grabbing the beeple plushie and hugged it, closing her eyes.  'Trying to ground herself.'   Can you tell me who I am?"

She sniffled, tears drying on her face to leave sticky trails, and rubbed her face, then frowned as her runny nose ended up on a sleeve.  "Umm..you're…you're Gla..Gladialis.  Gladialis Dulcisa.  Fourth root."

"That's right, Kitten", she said, not caring to correct the Terran at this point.   "You're here after we saved you from those Feralists.  Can you tell me your name?"

"It's…umm…y'all call me Kitten."  She wasn't sure she'd ever willingly tell anyone the name she'd been given at birth, but Kitten seemed to fit and everyone liked it.  She sniffled, heart still racing.

"Yup.  That's what we call you.  I'm sorry for scaring you like that, but I was so worried when I heard you screaming like that."

"I'm sorry for…umm…scaring you",  she said.  She was a bit calmer, recognizing the nightmare for what it was.

"Oh no, Kitten.  Don't be sorry, I'm happy to be able to help.  In fact…I asked around and I heard about something that can help.  Here, follow me and we'll take care of that right now, ok?"  She watched as Kitten debated, clearly still on edge, and then gave a quick nod.  

Jumping off the bed, she landed easily, the carpet muting the sound of her landing.  Walking after Gladialis, she followed her to the kitchen, and climbed up into the chair that she'd claimed.  "What…ummm…what is it?", she quietly asked as Gladialis took out a small pan and put it on the stove, then poured a white liquid into it and began to stir it with a vine.

"Well, Kitten, this is an old, old recipe.  Going back some three thousand years, to the Olmecs who taught it to the Aztecs and then the Mayans.  It traveled across the continent, across the ocean, to the European continent.  It became extremely popular as a restorative, and a drink for wealthy socialites.  Someone famously said that a single cup would allow someone to walk for a whole day with no other food."  She hummed as she began to add some powders, a white and a brown one, stirring the pan.

Kitten sniffed, smelling something…warm.  Sweet.  "That smells…umm..good."

"Doesn't it?  It's delicious, by the way.  I seem to have lost my vine of thought, Kitten.  Where was I?", she asked as she began to break up bits of a bar of brown something, two vines shredding it as another stirred.  She heard Kitten squeak at the display, and smiled.  Eventually she'd get used to it, Gladialis figured.

"Ummm…something about it..umm…walking all day?", Kitten asked, now curious as a semi-familiar smell began to fill the air.

"Oh yes!!  It was considered medicinal, a tonic, and in some places was considered currency.  Well, as history has it, some enterprising Terran found a way to remove the bitterness, added milk, and sugar.  And a whole host of unnecessary and harmful chemicals but that's neither there nor there."

"Here.  Here nor there", Kitten corrected, and Gladialis looked at her, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Here where?", she asked.

"Here here", Kitten said, now confused herself.

"But I hear just fine", Gladialis said, wondering if she put her ears on wrong today.

"No, not hear hear with your ear.  Here here as in the place here here."

"Kitten, there's no place on Terra called Here Here.  There was a place with the ridiculous name of Chugwater, which makes me wonder if they actually were hydrated.  But not Here Here."  Gladialis kept stirring, and the brown something began to melt, turning the white liquid a milky brown as she stirred.

"Nooooo!!!", Kitten whined, throwing up her hands. "Not a place on Terra.  Here means here, where you're standing", she said, her earlier panic forgotten in all this.  "Neither here nor there means that whatever you said is important but inconsequential to the rest of the conversation."

"But here isn't there and it happened there.  So it should be there nor there", Gladialis insisted, still stirring, now adding some sugar and a hint of some red powder.

"You know what…fine", Kitten huffed, throwing her hands up.  Missing the small smile on Gladialis's face as she turned for a moment to get something.  The smell was now irresistible, something that prickled at her hindbrain and made her want to jump onto the counter and see what it was.  Gladialis turned, plopping two small white things as she spoke.

"Anyways", she said, grinning, "a cheaper, easier to produce drink was created, mostly with drying the original and powderizing the results.  And they became synonymous with each other, even though one is…one is a pizza crust, one is breadcrumbs.  Both are bread, but they're as different as can be.  See?", she asked, and smiled when Kitten nodded.

Kitten had no idea what she was agreeing to, just that she wanted whatever was smelling so good.  "Yup.  Makes sense", she said, nodding.

"Good.  This is…I hope you like it", Gladialis said, suddenly nervous.  She put one of her clay mugs full of a steaming, frothy brown liquid in front of Kitten, with a warning that it was hot.  Two small white blobs floated inside, each sprinkled with shavings of some dark material.  "This is hot chocolate, and supposedly a remedy for anything that makes you feel bad.  I hope you enjoy it."

Kitten leaned forward, sniffing once, and then again.  Her face broke out in a shy but wide smile, and she looked up at Gladialis.  "Ummm…tha…thank you.  I'll..umm..I'll find a way to–", and Gladialis cut her off.

"Kitten", she sighed, and smiled gently.  "There is nothing to repay.  I did this because I wanted to.  Because you needed a pick-you-up and I enjoy doing that for you.  There's nothing you need to repay, nothing I want other than for you to be yourself and be happy.  There will never be anything you need to repay me for.  EVER."  

"You're..umm…you're sure?", Kitten asked, and nodded slowly as Gladialis smiled widely and nodded.  Leaning forward, Kitten blew on the drink, the two bobbing things moving, the froth shifting.  The smell got better, and she cradled the mug in both her hands, the heat a pleasant warmth that seeped into her even as she blew over and over on the drink.  

When she judged it cool enough, she lifted it up and hesitantly sipped.  The first bit of the froth on her tongue made her look up, an amazed smile blossoming to life on her face.  "This is amazing!!!"

Gladialis smiled as Kitten kept drinking.  "I hope you enjoy the marshmallows.  Its a Terran candy that was first made in Egypt around two thousand B.C.E.  So about four thousand years ago, it was a sweet paste made from the sap of the mallow plant.  Which grew…?  Care to hazard a guess?", Gladialis asked, smiling as Kitten took the most adorably loud slurp.

"Ummm…a marsh?", she asked, looking up from the mug.  This was possibly the sweetest drink, with a tiny hint of spice underneath.  This was soothing and delicious and possibly the best thing she’d ever drank.

"That's right!!", Gladialis said, smiling.  Heroically holding back from calling Kitten a good girl.  'Not that kind of dynamic', she kept on reminding herself.  "They'd harvest the sap, mix it with nuts and honey, and serve it to the Pharaoh and their family."  She stopped talking, smiling as Kitten clearly decided that it was cool enough to drink, as she took the handles in each hand and lifted the mug to her face.  Another loud slurp, and then Kitten lowered it, a smear of drink on her upper lip and the tip of her nose.  She cooed, unable to help herself, then blushed and squeaked as Kitten stared at her.

Kitten didn't understand why all of Gladialis's flowers suddenly closed, but figured it had to do with the weird strangled sound she made.  "You..ok over there?", she asked, a bit concerned.  Maybe….were Affini allergic to things?  Or maybe the chili powder was caustic to her flowers and hurt her??

"N..no, I'm good.  Thanks for asking, Kitten', Gladialis said with a smile.  Kitten nodded and went back to slurping her drink.  "Try dunking one of the marshmallows inside and then eating it", Gladialis offered with a smile.

Kitten nodded, and stuck her fingers in the hot chocolate, smiling at the texture.  Warm, thicker than water but pleasant.  The marshmallow had a firm but soft texture, kinda squishy in the best way.  Popping it into her mouth, she was hit with a blast of sweet goo covered in divinely inspired flavor.  That was the best way she had to describe it, when she was able to speak again.  She opened her eyes and blushed as she saw Gladialis watching her raptly.  "You..umm…you…umm…you're…you're staring."

"Sorry, Kitten", she said, not sounding very sorry at all.  "But it's very gratifying to see a sophont enjoy something so intensely.  Especially when it's something that I made."  

"Oh.  That…umm..it's really good", she said, taking another large slurp.  "So…umm…do you like to cook?  You certainly have a lot of cooking tools and you know the history of all these things."

"I do", Gladialis said.  "Some of my Affini friends sometimes come over with their florets, and I enjoy cooking for them.  And I host the occasional independent sophont.  You adorable Terrans have some amazing culinary traditions and styles, I can’t help but learn all about them.  Like brisket, which is a cut of meat that is traditionally smoked or braised.  Braised, Kitten, means that it's cooked in a type of liquid at lower temperatures but for longer time periods.  Usually used for tough cuts of meat, brisket was made popular by Terrans of a particular religion called Judaism."  Gladialis thought for a moment.  "I'm not too knowledgeable about the particulars of it, but I do know that it was the first of the major Monotheistic religions of Terra.  And that the more orthodox of its adherents had fairly strict dietary restrictions."  She chuckled as Kitten nodded, slurping again from the mug.  "Or recipes from certain regions noted for simplicity, like Italy.  Which is what we ate yesterday, Kitten."

Because of the shape, Kitten had to drink while holding it with both hands.  She also had to be carefull or she’d tip the whole thing onto herself.  But the fun thing was that it felt like she was sticking her face into it.  Like immersing her face underwater, but better.  She soon finished the drink, slurping the last of the hot chocolate from the mug before putting it down.  She ran a finger along the inside of the cup, trying to get as much of the residue as she could.  Licking her finger clean, she looked up and blushed as she saw Gladialis standing there, just watching with an odd expression on her face.  “What?”, she asked.

"Oh, nothing.  It just reminds me of what Sarthusea said.  How you reminded her of a–"

"Kitten.  Yea, I'm getting that", she huffed, and blushed as Gladialis giggled.  

"Feeling a bit better, Kitten?", Gladialis said as Kitten yawned, and she, successfully, held in her sighs of delight.  Think what she wanted to, the Terran WAS cute, even if she didn't see it herself.  Maybe because she couldn't see herself.  Kitten nodded, and yawned again.  Gladialis hoped that the little Terran would be able to get some uninterrupted sleep now.  Sedrendira Invuclata, Eight Bloom, had told her that "hot chocolate puts Harry to sleep faster than a Class-Z, and makes my darling feel better."

Kitten nodded, and yawned again.  "Ummm….I need to…umm…clean the mug", she said, but before she could move, a vine had already pulled it off the table.  

"Nope nope.  You, little Kitten, are going to go to bed."  Gladialis smiled, and nearly fawned over the little Terran as the Kitten glared up up her pugnaciously.

"I am?  You know I can…", and her tirade was interrupted by an even bigger yawn.  Blushing, she reconsidered.  "Yea…that…umm…thanks for the hot chocolate."

"You're most welcome, little one.  Sleep well."  Gladialis waved as her vines began to rinse the cup.  "Lena, set an alarm for 8 am local system time, please", as she heard the door to Kittens room close.

Kitten looked at the closed door, and debated locking the door.  Gladialis HAD honored her privacy, except for when she thought she was in danger.  And she still had the choice.  Turning the lock, she let out another yawn, wondered for a second as she looked at the bed, and decided.  Holding her plushie, she clambered back into the closet, closed the door and settled in.  She could hear Lena begin to play some soft music, and she smiled in the dark.  "Thanks, guys", she whispered, and closed her eyes.

Pulling out her book, Gladialis considered, and then grabbed the tablet.  Pulling up a search engine, she typed in a query and began to read as Lena played soft music overhead.  Three hours later, she smiled, an idea hatched, and she sent in the requisition paperwork.  Then went back to her book, keeping the monitor open and within view.