In Alien Hands: Meeting Merle

Day two, dinner and a bath -Merle

I continued to watch Holli sleep while I thumbed through my book. I hadn't seen her so peaceful before. I found myself watching her breathing, steady and even, listening to her heartbeat (I needed to concentrate, but I could just make out the soft thumping) and endearing her to myself. I knew she'd soon awake, back into a skittish human, with no reason to trust me. I was beginning to regret my lifting her earlier, it could've easily spoiled our fun and caused her to lose the shaky trust we had managed to form.

I was dreading what I would have to do that night. Her clothes were caked in dirt and her skin wasn't much better. She could easily become ill, it wasn't safe. She needed a bath. My entire family had warned me this was a tipping point. She was going to be upset no matter what, but if she forgave me, we were on track. If she remained upset the morning after, it was a sign that she was going to be difficult.

Baths were important to help tame a human. They fight and struggle because they are afraid we will harm them, their judgment clouding and making them view us as something that would mate with them. I shuddered at the thought. Humans were not sexual objects, no more than a dog is to a human. We think them beautiful, but not attractive in that way.

Once Holli began to trust me, I'd allow her to bathe herself. First under supervision, then without once I was sure she was doing it properly. It was widely agreed to be the best way to teach humans we are only interested in their health and happiness. I made a plan: after she awoke, we'd eat dinner. Afterwards, she'll be taken up and allowed to use the toilet, then bathed. I had purchased an oil designed to relax humans to put in the water, the steam causes it to release into the air and sedate her. The sedative would remain in her system long enough to redress her and return her to bed for the night.

After an hour and a half of rest, she awoke. As usual, I made it seem like in was uninterested in her waking up and panicking for a moment as she realized she had fallen asleep in such a vulnerable place. she visibly checked herself over for any signs I had touched her, then relaxed when the search yielded no signs that I had. Returning to slow and steady movements, I placed the book back and led her out through the play set and into the house.

I immediately got to heating her up a meal. I desperately wanted this whole thing over with, I was struggling to hide the guilt of what was to come. I just grabbed a frozen meal for each of us and popped it in the microwave.

I couldn't help but watch her eagerly eat. She stopped several times to watch me when she noticed, but quickly started up again once I took another bite. She happily let me take her plate and didn't hesitate when I called her to the stairs. I felt like a monster.

Like I said before, I let her use the toilet before the bath. She remembered the routine from before and calmly went inside. I heard her struggle with the stool again, then the door again. she finally knocked for me to enter and clean her hands. My ears had slowly began to tuck as I turned the knob. I was betraying all the trust she had afforded me.

After I grabbed a wet nap to wipe her hands, I slowly reached over to shut the door, in hopes she wouldn't notice. She definitely did. Her heart immediately raced, and she began to panic. My ears were way back now, the guilt clearly visible on my face. I sighed and started. I pulled all the products out from under the sink and lined them up. The sooner I could clean her, the sooner she'd be out.I

She was cowering in the corner, shaking from fear. As much as I didn't want to, I reached for her. she immediately began crying, kicking me and trying to hit me. Humans are weak, so it wasn't difficult to hold her still. As gently as I could, I peeled the grungy clothing off of her, watching in sadness as she became more and more fearful as clothing was removed.

She started to reach for the removed clothing, so I quickly snatched them up and tore them. I knew she wanted to put the clothing back on, and tearing the m was the best way to stop her. I didn't want her to wear that clothing anyways, they were cheap and looked uncomfortable.

While the tub filled with the perfect temperature water, I read the bottle of oil. I was designed to have a pleasant smell to humans. I poured it into the warm water. The room immediately filled with a smell which I could only assume was pleasant for her.

When I reached to lift her into the bath, she began fighting me again. I needed to hold her still in the water for the sedative to kick in, so I decided to restrain her limbs. Like with Rown, she quickly stopped struggling once she realized she was fully restrained. I lowered her into the warm water of the tub, watching a small cloud of dirt float off her into the water. I held her still for ten seconds, counting in my head, gently releasing her into the water. She slowly sat upright shortly after I released her, but she didn't get far. I gently laid her back down into the water and She didn't do it again.

She remained mostly still and calm, her breathing much like when she slept. It was up to me to keep her head above water now. I had placed her head on the back of the tub, so she could feasibly fall asleep without going under. He eye lids drifted slowly open and closed, but she remained largely unresponsive to her current situation.

With another audible sigh, I went to work. I was still as gentle as possible, both because she was still conscious (and able to remember her treatment) and because I'd grown to care for her deeply. She'd been with me for a single day, but it felt like weeks to me. Grene, my brother, had warned me of such things. Humans were incredibly easy to bond with, especially your own human.

It took me considerably longer to clean her than I had expected. Most of the dirt was caked in mud, dried and more mud piled on top. Her hair was greasy, filled with mud (like she'd used it for hair gel) and clearly hadn't been brushed in some time. Pet stores focused so much on profit that their humans suffered. i used the shampoo and conditioner each 3 times before I was somewhat satisfied with the result. Her hair was no where near what I'd present her to the family with, but it would take several baths for that to happen.

She was still konked out by the sedative when I let the water drain. She'd come to wakefulness (or some semblance of it) several times through out the bath, she'd calmly observe around her before closing her eyes once more. I grabbed a towel, meant for dogmen, so it was giant compared to her. I wrapped her up completely in the towel while she vainly struggled, unable to do much in her state. I carried her down the stairs, around the corner, and into her room.

After gently placing her into the bed, I riddled through the clothes out in the living room. I found some loose fitting pajamas for her to wear. She was still far too sedated to dress her self, so I gently helped her into her clothing. She didn't put up a fight at all. I gently dried her hair as much as possible before placing the blanket over her and leaving her to rest for the night.

Published 10/27/18

Thanks for reading!I hope this helped shed some light on Merle. Hope you guys like the new cover art~