Page 11 of Riv's Sanctuary

The door opened and Geblit stepped back out, his form slightly bent as he bowed to his wife. There was just enough of a gap between the door closing and his exit for Lauren to lay eyes on the offensive wife and it only made her face scrunch up more in annoyance.

Heh.

She was no prize but the wife wasn't either! She was at least five times the size of Geblit, who was skinny, but still. The big bubble on the back of Geblit’s head had looked enormous to her but his wife's was even larger. And where he had four round kind eyes at the front of his head, she had six enormous, fire-spitting ones.

With a huff, Geblit came over to her box, which he'd left in the middle of the floor of his dwelling.

"Now I have to return you," he said, tiredness in his eyes. She guessed this wasn't the first time he'd had to do such biddings.

But return her?

Back to that creature market?

Images of the tall, dark aliens who’d wanted to buy her came right back.

Shit. She couldn’t go back there.

Geblit’s four arms extended and grasped the underside of the box. He lifted her quite easily as he headed out of his mushroom-shaped dwelling to where he'd left his hovercar.

A soft wind blew as they made the trek in silence.

Lauren bit her lip.

She needed to do something about this or she was going to be in deep poop.

“To travel all the way back to the exchange,” Geblit mumbled.

“You don’t have to take me to the exchange, you know,” Lauren said and Geblit’s eyes widened a little.

“I forgot you can understand me,” he said.

"You seem to forget a lot of things." Lauren sighed and crossed her arms. “Yep, I heard every word.”

Geblit looked at her, his gaze lingering on her arms as if he was indeed a bit turned off by her lack of extra limbs.

"It is rude to listen to private conversations,” he said.

"Trust me, bud, there was nothing private about your conversation. I'm sure your neighbors and the rest of your estate heard every word of your private conversation."

She could swear his splotchy green skin became a little slack with embarrassment.

Geblit's eyes darted to the other mushroom houses along the street and his skin grew slacker.

"I must get you out of here as soon as possible," he said, activating the key control of his hovercar.

The vehicle was a large round thing in a cheerful teal color with seats in the front and the back. There was a transparent dome that covered the top that, upon Geblit activating the vehicle, rolled right back, leaving the vehicle open.

With a heave, Geblit popped her box on the passenger seat of the ride.

"So you're taking me back to the zoo?"

"Zoo?" Geblit replied. “I’m taking you back to the exchange.”

No.

That wouldn’t do.

That wouldn’t do at all.