In Alien Hands: Meeting Merle

Day 3, Video Chat -Merle

I was happy that Holli came out with me. I was worried she'd be angry for longer, disrupting the video chat I had scheduled with my family. They'd get to see Holli and talk to me about her progress. She seemed happy enough to follow me to the couch and take a seat on her cushion next to me. I took the beacon out of the drawer.

It wasn't really fragile, but I acted like it might break any moment. This would prevent her from trying to play with it, potentially breaking it. I gingerly lifted it, placing it on the table with great care. She didn't make a move towards it, which told me she wasn't interested in trying to touch it. I turned it on, watching it boot up and tell My family's beacon it was ready for them to answer.

They were ready too, answering just moments after it turned on. Holli seemed startled by the light, they must not have anything like this on earth. She seemed amazed, looking at the image of my family sitting on the couch back home.

We exchanged greetings, happy to see each other. I had never lived on my own, so it was strange to not see family every day. They all told me how their humans were doing, they were playing off camera. Their attention quickly turned to Holli, who was still transfixed on the display.

They asked all sorts of questions, her age, temperament, and personality type. My father scolded me when I told them I wasn't sure of the last two, only knowing she was non-aggressive.

"You have got to find out, son." He insisted. My father was a human trainer, having all kinds of experience with these sorts of things. I had been putting off testing her temperament and personality, as it can lead to a human distrusting their owner. It basically consisted of touching a human before they're tamed, the way they react said a lot about how they'd react to certain stimuli in the future.

I agreed to do that after we ate lunch. We chatted for while longer, enjoying each other's company. Holli started getting bored, so I handed her a game to play. She quickly became enthralled, keeping her within view of my family and me. I promised my father I'd text my oldest brother, Grene, how she reacted to the test after lunch.

We hung up, leaving me in a good mood. I had really missed them. I happily went to make Holli and me some lunch, leaving her on the couch with the game. I always enjoyed cooking. I learned my lesson yesterday with the water, so I poured her some juice. I'd give her the electrolytes after the meal.

Mother had asked me about her eating habits, so I watched her eat a bit closer. She wasn't a messy eater, despite struggling with the slow feeding fork. She took a sip of her drink after every two or three bites. She also ate one thing at a time, finishing each item before moving on to the next. Judging by her facial expressions, she ate her favorite thing last.

Once we both finished, I took the dishes to the kitchen. The dishes from breakfast still sat there, so I washed them too. I wasn't excited to come back out and upset Holli, but a braved forward, ensuring my ears stayed upright and didn't scare her off before I got a chance to pet her.

I decided to read to her. Humans tended to like being read to, even if they didn't understand it. She took her seat, leaving her game on the coffee table. I started at the beginning of one of my favorite books. It was about a dog-man who got lost on an alien planet, one where the main form of life appeared to be rocks. A few pages in, we came to the first illustration. It was of the main character, Granyte, meeting the first native (it called itself igneous to the area, which made me chuckle the first time I read the book). Holli came closer to inspect the image, she was right next to me. I cringed internally, it was time. After showing her the image again, I read the rest of the page.

She had closed her eyes, and I took the opportunity to touch her. I touched her cheek, watching her freeze. I was concerned to see she sat still for the entire time, letting me pet her. I had never heard of this reaction, Grene told me his human had shrieked and ran. My sister, Vyelet, said hers hit her before locking himself in his room. I had never heard of this reaction. She seemed to be trying to seem comfortable with the experience, but it was clear she wasn't. She didn't seem scared, just wildly uncomfortable.

I decided to finish the first chapter. I was very concerned, this was not normal, unheard of. Was she sick? I really hoped not. I hadn't had her for long, but I was already growing fond of her. She seemed like she needed to use the bathroom, so I led her up stairs.

She reacted to the bathroom in a more predictable way. Holli clearly was scared of having another bath, which made sense. Her bath last night had seemed traumatic to her, she didn't want it to happen again. She had figured out the door wasn't operable by herself, so she just knocked. I was careful not to do anything she may misconstrue as suspicious, but she still stood just outside the doorway before she'd allow me to clean her hands. She seemed upset about something now, frowning after I wiped her hands. I resolved to call a human psychologist to come see her.

Published 11/17/18