Suri's eye drifted from the bickering bartenders to the Vox beside him. He cradled a Sui Dream, that sickly sweet garish green-blue, the kind of thing that made his feathers puff and his tail curl. The ice had long since melted, diluting the syrupy concoction into something almost palatable, but he nursed it anyway, letting the familiar taste ground him in the noise of the bar.
The first time I saw a human.
He let out a soft, breathy laugh, not quite humor, not quite anything else.
"I was terrified."
He set the drink down, his talons tracing the rim of the glass, leaving faint smudges on the condensation. His voice was quiet, almost lost beneath the hum of the bar.
"I had stolen a skiff from my tribe. Left everything behind. Didn't know the language, didn't know the customs, didn't know anything except that I couldn't stay. I flew for days, maybe longer?" He shrugged, "Time moved differently back then. I was running on fumes and desperation, following coordinates I had been hoping they would lead me to a better life."
He paused, his eye going distant.
"When I finally arrived, I was lost. Completely, utterly lost. I couldn't speak. Couldn't understand. Couldn't even breathe the air without a mask. And then someone approached me. A human… I think they were... may have been a felinid now that I think about it, her face is fuzzy. They asked for my identification, and I didn't have any. I didn't even know what that was at the time."
He glanced at Teki, a faint, wry smile tugging at his beak.
"I stood there, in this bright, clean ship bay, and I had no idea what to do. I couldn't even understand what she was saying. I just nodded and said 'thank you' because it was the only word I knew."
He shook his head, a soft, rueful sound escaping him.
"Now, I work with them every day. I've learned their language, their customs, their strange, complicated ways of being. Wild how pervasive their culture is."
He yawned, taking another sip of his drink.
"But I still remember that feeling. The fear. The confusion. The desperate, overwhelming certainty that I had made a terrible mistake."
He looked back at Teki, his eye soft, almost fond.
"And I remember the relief, too. When the human didn't attack me. When they didn't turn me away. When they just... talked to me, even though I couldn't understand. Even though now I realize she was just some tired dock keeper that didn't want to have to deal with some asylum seeker, I don't blame her."
He shrugged, a small, helpless gesture.
"I think that's what I think of them. Humans, I mean. They're strange. Complicated. Sometimes frustrating. But they're also... kind. In their own way. They'll help you, even when they don't have to. They'll talk to you, even when you can't talk back."
He picked up his Sui Dream, took a long sip, and set it down again.
"That's more than my tribe ever did."
