They walked through the cluster of buildings and out into the green area beyond. There was soft ground cover and clusters of tall, narrow trees. She didn’t see anyone until they were past several sets of trees. There were children sedately walking in groups of two and three around the perimeter of the cresh.
Similar to the school she’d attended on Inneeko, there were only polite markers to denote school grounds. Unlike Inneeko, the children were much too quiet and reserved. She could hear a few muted conversations, but no rumbles or rattles. Everyone also walked at a slow, measured pace.
There was only one adult walking on their own but keeping a sweeping gaze on all the students.
The silent reserve ended the moment the first students noticed her. Surprised rattles filled the air as little bodies ran at her.
Between one breath and the next, she was surrounded by Talin children all rattling, rumbling, and talking at once.
“It’s a human!”
“She’s barely bigger than us!”
“Do you think she needs to clutch or cling?”
“I have long arms. I’d be very good at returning a cling!”
“Citizen children!” the adult with them called out as she hurried over. “That is not how we act!”
The sixteen children all went silent and took a step back. With less than ten words, the Talin had snuffed out all the joy these children had.
It took a lot of effort to keep her anger in check.
“Greetings, Instructor Kolsum,” her escort said. “This is Han. Her owner is visiting, and she requested to meet his children, Rishmun and Lirsum.”
Han was watching closely and saw two of the children react slightly to their names.
“I know all these children are amazing, but I’m so excited to meet Rennie’s children! I bet I can even pick them out.”
She pretended to survey them and pointed to the two who reacted. “There you are!”
The two children stepped forward, purring.
“You’re correct!” Lirsum said.
“You’re a very smart human,” Rishmun said.
“Do you want to interact with the rest of us also?” one of the other children asked. They sounded so sad, Han had to fight a frown.
“I know a game we can all play,” Han said. “It’s my favorite.”
While she talked with the kids, her escort and Instructor Kolsum spoke quietly. They decided to let them all remain out here longer than the normal exercise period. The escort’s Ident chimed, calling him away.
That was a relief. One less set of adult eyes would make it easier if Plan A didn’t work.
With the escort gone, Kolsum addressed the children. “Because it’s so rare to find humans, this might be our only experience with one. I’m going to combine both exercise times together so you can study Han. It’s important to be gentlewith her; humans are extremely fragile. They are also a low-intelligence species, so you might need to speak slowly or repeat yourself with simpler words. Be patient and never reprimand a human unless they put themselves in danger. Do we all understand?”
The children sounded simultaneous rumbles of agreement.
Kolsum looked at Han. “You wanted to teach us a game humans play?”
Han was working hard on not hitting Kolsum with a dose of sarcasm.
Forcing a pleasant expression on her face, she knelt next to Lirsum and Rishmun. “No matter what game we play, I’d feel better if both of you stayed close to me. I’ve never been here before and strange places can make me anxious.”
They both pressed close and purred.
“We’ll keep you safe,” Lirsum said.
