Kindred Souls

Chapter 9

The four adults were assigned to their own rooms. Nina roomed with Mitri and Cyril, after dropping into their own room briefly, followed them into theirs. The room was small, not meant for much more than sleeping during their short stay.

He reprogramed his holo-tablet to be a pop-up picture book and sat on Mitri's bad to read it with her. Mitri sat down on the bed with his own tablet but elected to watch the news instead. That was the goal anyway. He was having trouble tearing his eyes away from the pair.

Cyril didn't seem to notice, their attention fixated on Nina and the story they were reading. Quite a bit time passed, time where Cyril cycled through stories and toys with her before Cyril looked directly at him. By the point, Nina was dosing in Cyril's lap while Cyril sat comfortably against the bed's headboard.

"I do feel like there are things that I'm missing," Cyril stated suddenly. They watched Mitri, serene but, at the same time, too solemn. Cyril knew as well as Mitri did that this wasn't going to be a fun conversation. "The captain seems to understand why you're," Cyril paused, searching for the word. "Adamant," they settled on, "On finding someone more qualified to take care of Nina."

Mitri replied tightly, "She doesn't understand. That's why we argue about it so much."

"I would like to respectfully disagree," Cyril said conclusively, leaving no room for argument there. They continued, "But I'm hoping to learn why you're so convinced that you're not qualified."

"Because I'm obviously not? I've never had children, no nieces or nephews or experience with children. My area is mechanical engineering, which is about as far from child-rearing as can be."

Cyril wasn't convinced. They asked, "Do you have siblings?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm fairly sure part of learning how to take care of children comes from taking care of younger siblings."

Mitri stayed stubbornly silent.

Cyril concluded, "So you do."

"He has nothing to do with this."

"Is it safe to say he has affected your attitude towards children?"

Mitri glared at Cyril.

Cyril smiled at him. "You don't have to tell me anything. I just wish to learn more about you."

Mitri... knew Cyril deserved a little information. Cyril wasn't the type he usually encountered during his intergalactic travels. The being was kind. 'Unflinchingly good' was actually a term that came to mind. They were almost too patient with Mitri and his short temper, but it wasn't patronizing, it was just their disposition. Never angry, never pushy, never unwilling to listen.

So Mitri sighed and said, "I did have a little brother, but I wasn't exactly a great older brother."

"What makes you think that?" It wasn't blatant disagreement but something incredibly similar. Like saying, 'I know your perception is wrong but I'm not going to challenge it.'

Mitri, determined to prove them wrong, admitted, "I didn't look out for him the way I should have after my parents were gone. I was so focused on going to System Elites Academy that I wasn't there when he needed me, and I lost him because of that."

Cyril touched his arm sympathetically. "He died?"

"I hope not." God, he hoped not. The one thing that kept him going some days was believing his brother was still out there. "He got caught up with some bad people. Now he's a fugitive with a bounty on his head. Worth more dead than alive, actually."