In Alien Hands: Meeting Merle

GoodBye Grene!

Holli was absolutely exhausted. She let me carry her home. Normally she would only let me hold her for a few seconds at most, usually with consistent struggle and frustration on both our parts. Her face was still red from crying, even as she leaned her head against my should on the way home. I was almost scared she'd blow her nose on my shirt.

"That went well." Grene said, grinning. I shot him a dirty look. "No, really. Look at her, Merlin. She loves you." He said those last three words in a taunting tone, as if I should've been embarrassed.

"She was scared to death." I said.

"Scared of losing you. She didn't want you to leave her. That's a good thing." He said, walking alongside me. His tail was visibly swishing form the intense thought it must have taken for him to put together a coherent sentence. "She's almost ready."

"Ready?" I resisted the urge to tilt my head towards him, I'd have bumped Holli and disturbed her. These were rare moments and i wasn't sure if an when I'd get to hold her again. "What do you mean?"

"Ready to come home? Y'know, the whole reason you're both here on this dumpster fire of a planet." Grene skipped along the path ahead of me. He looked particularly excited, a sentiment i immediately matched.

"Wait, really? I didn't think she was nearly close enough." My tail started a slow wag behind me, as if it didn't truly believe Grene was telling the truth.

"Honestly, Merlin. She's not that far off. Socialize her a bit more, let her see new things." Grene said, having retuned to my side and resisting the urge to touch Holli. He didn't dare, thanks to a warning glance from yours truly.

My brother opened the doors to the house for me, my arms were full and neither of us wanted Holli disturbed. I suppose she didnt want to be held much longer than what it took to get us home. As soon as i had stepped into the living room with her, she pointed towards the ground. Easy enough to translate.

"I'll go up and pack. Flight's at nine." Grene shrugged. He turned to the stairs immediately.

"Wait, how are you getting there? I can't leave Holli alone all night." My ears tucked back. I felt bad enough leaving her in the upstairs room for a couple hours, all night would be cruel.

"I'll call a taxi." Grene charged up the stairs to the guest bedroom.

I turned to Holli. She had made her way to the couch. Her eyes were still a bit puffy, but her breath had long since normalized and she mostly looked bored.

"Do you want to play a game?" I walked over to the locked drawer. It was full of things I didn't want her getting into, like the communication device and her game.

As curious as any human, she made her way over and peered inside the drawer. I slid it closed before she got any ideas and locked it shut. Her disappointment was immeasurable, but quickly faded into excitement when I offered her the game.

I usually avoided giving it to her, she was meant to move on from that sort of thing, but i needed to get cooking and felt bad leaving her alone.

My brother came down just as i was finishing the food. Holli was absolutely glued to the game, even as i set down the plates for our meal. I had to snatch it away from her.

"You said i was almost ready. How close exactly?" I cut straight to the point, Grene wasn't one to dance around things with me, so i returned the favor.

"Not sure, but soon. Everyone is different. Lyndsey took a month, but mom told me Grae took three."

I nodded. "Soon" is a relative term. Even if she were ready today, flights that accepted humans were few and far between on this planet. I missed the dozens of vacations we would take with our humans, just hopping on the next flight with everyone in tow.

"I'd shoot for two more weeks, maybe? I think thats when the next flight taking humans is scheduled, anyways." Grene took a huge bite out of his food.

Once everyone was nearly done eating, Grene rushed upstairs to grab his bag. He called the taxi as he went. Taxi's were a fairly quick affair, our vehicles went so fast that one could make it across town in a matter of minutes.

Holli picked up that something was off very fast. She watched him going upstairs with curiosity, even more so when he came back down with his suitcase. A soft ding came from his phone to signify the Taxi's arrival. My brother didn't seem as excited to go home as i would have been.

"Do you wanna say 'bye' to Grene?" I motioned towards my brother. She followed my arm and looked at him, looking upset to see him wave. She rushed to him and hugged him. It certainly shocked me, but if it surprised Grene, he didn't show it. He knelt down and hugged her back. She mumbled a few things to him and even let him pet her.

"What's she saying?" I asked, head cocked.

"She just said 'Goodbye'" He shrugged. Just then, the taxi driver slammed on his horn. Holli jumped at the sound but didn't run back. Really, she held onto him until i came up and pried her off of him.

My brother wasn't much for sentimentalism. That is, unless it involves a human. Holli waved to him from my arms, which he returned before slipping out the door.

"See you later, Merlin."

Published 9/2/20
A/N: Sorry this update took an entire year (almost to the hour). I'm sorry about the writing inconsistencies, I've been practicing so the difference may be jarring. I hope any differences are for the better and that you enjoyed the new chapter. I know Merle's perspective is less popular than Holli's so ill try and have the next chapter out soon.