Sang the Stray (Completed)

67. Welcome

I blinked awake with two message-waiting alerts popping up in my right field of vision. I checked the time before the messages and since it was already third shift, I must have slept almost three kasse. I stretched out the achiness in my back muscles as I opened the first message from Sean.

S: @Pookie - did not want to wake you...you looked too beautiful sleeping...I will be in Ista Phillips office if you need me.

The next was from North:

N: Come to the roof.

I was torn. Of course, I wanted to spend more time with Sean. I always wanted to spend time with each of them. However, he was probably busy doing doctor things and I really missed North. I hadn't seen much of him since Victor's concert at the Taren new year. I sent a quick thanks to Sean and had the attending purple-suit remove my IV. I headed to the roof to meet my North Star.

The night air was cool and crisp with a mild breeze coming off the ocean waters below. I climbed up to my usual perch when Tare's weather was nice enough to be outside, like tonight. North sat on the edge looking off into the distance.

"Hey," I said.

He turned and returned my greeting, "Hey. Come sit with me."

As I was bending down to sit next to him I heard...purring...North was purring? Suddenly, Ghost phased into visibility on North's lap with a loud "Meow!"

"Ghost!" I exclaimed. I stared in wonder at the sight of my grumpy North gently stroking the very pleased feline. "She came back." But then my joy at seeing her dampened. "Will you take her again?"

"Hmmpf. It won't stay away. I've brought it back to Maze Space three times and it keeps showing up on my pillow," he grumbled. The shadow of a smile belied his harsh tone.

"So that's where you've been my sweet girl," I cooed to Ghost as I reached out and scratched under her chin. I was still in awe of North's willingness to let Ghost rub back and forth against his chest. Who would ever have guessed that North was a cat-person?

"So she can stay?" I asked, hesitant to believe I could really keep her.

"Yeah, it can stay," he replied.

"She," I corrected him.

He leveled me a perturbed gaze. I met it with equal intensity.

He snorted and said, "Fine. She can stay." I smiled in approval and he continued, "I would say we should make sure she doesn't wander too far Fourth Squad's living quarters. Unfortunately, I don't know how we would manage that and she seems to get along just fine on her own."

I pulled her into my lap and took over petting her.

"Are the others okay with this?" I asked, worried about the previous reactions I had seen from the Setari over my stealthy Ionoth.

"Silas is good. His family kept a female capra back on South Kolar for the milk it produced. His mother used to make cheese....uhm...before she died," North said, his voice going quiet at the end.

"Oh. I didn't know. What happened?" I asked.

North caught my gaze and said, "Silas should tell you. It isn't my story to tell."

I could understand that. But I wondered, "Did you know her well?"

North looked back out at the Unara lights across the bay. "Yeah, she was my mother's cousin."

"So you and Silas are ...," I started to say 'second cousins' but North finished my sentence.

"...related? Yes. Our mothers spent time together when we were very young," he said.