Souvenirs From Dead Worlds | ✓

Chapter 8

Sam felt restless from the moment he woke up the next morning, and it quickly became clear that he wouldn't be able to simply laze around their room with Kias all day without getting grumpy. He needed to get some proper exercise.

The only real issue was what he would do with Kias while he got it. Taking Kias with him was an option, but Sam couldn't really imagine Kias being anything but a frustrating and distracting hindrance. Sam wanted to lose himself in physical exertion and, for just a few hours, not have to worry about Kias.

Sam glanced over to Kias who was sitting on his bed and busying himself with braiding his hair, the reddish golden strands sliding smoothing through his fingers as he twined them together. Kias’ slender hands had a grace and dexterity to them that Sam’s lacked.

"I have some things I need to do today,” Sam said. “Would you mind if I left you with a friend of mine for a while?"

"That's fine," Kias said, but Sam didn’t fail to notice that his normally confident hands had stumbled and ruined the braid he was working on at the mention of being sent to stay with someone else, nor the tension in his voice.

Sam probably should have paid attention to what Kias was communicating to him nonverbally and either figured out what the issue was and resolved it or thought of another option. He didn't. Despite all his good intentions, Sam hadn't suddenly stopped being selfish and it was much easier to simply take Kias at his word. It wasn't like anything terrible would happen to him, and perhaps Kias would learn that he really was safe by spending a little time away from Sam and seeing that things weren't really as threatening as he thought.

Sam sent a message to a friend of his, Jay, who lived in the compound and had the same job as Sam did. He was presently on leave and he was a nice, easy going guy. Hopefully he'd be able to handle Kias for a few hours without incident.

Jay sent a message back saying he didn't mind watching Kias at all, and told Sam to bring him round whenever he was ready. As Jay’s job involved interacting with people from other worlds, just as Sam's did, he was interested to meet someone who had come from one of those worlds to theirs.

Kias was still on edge as they left their room, but Sam was determined not to let it bother him. Jay would do a great job, and perhaps this would be a baby step towards some kind of independence for Kias. He'd have to learn to manage on his own at least for short periods eventually.

Sam pressed the buzzer on Jay's door, and a moment later the door slid open.

"Hey, man," Jay said to Sam, smiling openly. His hair was black and long enough that he was forever shoving it out of his eyes, and his olive skin was smooth. He was handsome and, unfortunately, completely straight. Jay waggled his fingers at Kias, and Kias waved back uncertainly in response.

Jay's grin widened. "You taught him that?"

Sam shook his head. "Laura did."

"Well, little by little, you know? It's great he's learning to communicate. I bet he has loads of great things to say."

When Jay moved aside Sam entered, leading Kias with him. "He doesn't really say much at all, honestly. His speciality is looking anxious."

"Kinda like right now, huh?" Jay asked. He was watching Kias, who was in turn looking to Sam for instruction.

Sam switched languages to speak to Kias. "This is Jay, he's a really friendly guy. The bathroom’s through that door, and I'll be back before lunch so you don't have to worry about food. Okay?"

Kias nodded, though he looked no less tense.

Sam patted Kias on the back and addressed Jay again. "I'll be at the gym so I might not have my communicator on, but I doubt you'll need me. If he gets upset for some reason, just give him some space for a while. I'll be back by twelve."