A Fallen HomeKin

PART XXVIII

Dawn came in peaceful pastel blue and purple hues, lighting his room with just enough diffuse light that it woke him. Fralith yawned and stretched his limbs as far as they would go before popping upright. His chest ached in protest of the sudden movement, and the black bird pecked at a sore spot in protest, but he brushed it aside with a wince. Sleep had been very good — this bed was softer and warmer than the one with the tray — and now he was very much awake and ready for anything — black bird or not.

Releasing another yawn he threw off the soft blanket and got to his feet. Cool air rushed to steal his heat, swirling around his body and making him shiver. What should he do now? Was anyone else awake?

He flicked his gaze around the vague shapes of the items in the room, gently pressing a hand to his chest. Back in the huge building Tim would come soon after he woke and give him break-fast. Maybe he was supposed to wait for Tim? But this place...this place was different from the big building and last time he had to go down the stairs to find everyone. Maybe here he needed to go down instead of staying put?

Would anyone mind if he did that? Tim didn't want him to go wandering in the big building; it was dangerous. Was here dangerous? The sound of roaring echoed back to him and he shivered again, this time not because of the cool air. There was a monster down there.

But...Tim and BlueShirt were here, too, and if the monster was dangerous, they would have killed it already. It was probably safe to wander around. He'd be careful, too. If only I had my knife. Then I'd be even more safe. He wrinkled his nose and stuck out his tongue. Pesky RedShirts.

Shaking his shoulders, he padded across the FloorMoss and eased open the door. The hall was dark, lit only by a small light near the floor and the faint light of dawn seeping through the bottoms of the doors, and expanded into stairs further down to his left. More stairs? He hadn't seen those last night.

Flicking his thumbs at the new stairs, he stole away from his room and down the other stairs, pausing at the flat part. A bright, steady light like the one that RuthMom had turned on and off in his room shone from the place they had eaten last night. A quiet rustling of cloth and the sizzle of cooking food drifted to him, and his stomach muttered.

Muttering a beep under his breath, he skittered down the rest of the stairs and approached the light with silent feet. He peeked around the corner and into the cooking room, the smell of simmering meat and eggs filling his nose.

RuthMom stood with her back to him, poking at something he couldn't see. On the counter beside her were plates full of what looked to be eggs and slices of bread, and beside one of those was a cup of water with some bottles standing next to it.

He drifted closer, studying the bottles. They looked to be the ones that Tim had put into a bag for BlueShirt back in the big building, with their round and squat shape, stark white and blue colors, and weirdly bumpy lids. Reaching out, he picked up the closest one — a particularly squat one with the most blue on it — and brought it close to his face. It rattled as he did, and a sharp gasp sounded to his left.

"Goodness, gracious!" RuthMom put a hand to her heart. "Zander! How did you sneak up on me like that?"

Fralith blinked at her, head tilted. Huh? "Beep?" Had he startled her? How? He hadn't been that sneaky. But the people here weren't very sneaky—their footsteps were so heavy!—so maybe his not-sneaky was sneaky to them? How do they get past sleeping MetalEaters all the time, then? They're everywhere!

RuthMom shook her head and patted his shoulder. "No, no. I'm just startled, that's all." She gave a little laugh and smiled at him. "What do you have there?" She made a small hand gesture at the bottle in his hand.