Page 52 of Sloane

Phial yawns and stretches. His talons scrape against the dome's glass as he rolls onto his back and then back into a ball on top of the dome.

"You came," he says with a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes as his tail wraps down along the side of the dome. "Avery's still in the nest."

Phial crawls toward me on top of the nest until his hand is over the entrance to it and gives it two quick raps with his talons. The sound is loud in the room since everything else is so quiet. Before Avery has a chance to answer, he curls back up on top of the nest and yawns again.

"You sleep in this?" I ask.

"Normally, but now I sleep on top of it," Phial speaks slowly like he's still waking up for the morning. It makes me wonder how poorly he must be sleeping since it's late in the morning according to the time we keep on the ship. "Avery feels safe in it. It's a space just for her. I doubt she'll come out, but I was hoping she'd speak with you."

"You gave up your bed?" I cock a brow at him, wanting to ask more questions. I have no doubt that Phial can be sweet, but he hasn't really shown me or any of the other crew any of it. He's a good friend, but he's also the friend you should never trust with your food.

"You don't question the mother when she tells you to do something," is his answer.

I have to force myself not to laugh. I can see him watching me for my reaction, but he makes no comment about not beingserious, even though he's using the same excuse he uses for trying to get away with anything he does, ever.

"You'll need to kneel. She may have all the glass frosted on the inside except for the door."

I want to ask what he means by having the glass frosted on the inside, but I tell myself it's something I can ask him about when I'm not trying to introduce myself to a traumatized woman.

Avery's now part of the crew by default until we know what to do with her, which means I need to make her feel as safe and comfortable here as Essa tried to do for me when I first arrived. Sure, different circumstances and all that, but I can be friendly still. Even if my hands are moist and my brain is telling me how I'm going to make this worse.

I take a step closer to the entrance of the nest and then kneel so I'm small enough to fit through if I'm invited inside. I don't know how the whole nest thing works. I'm assuming it's like her bedroom, so I don't know if she'll want me in there.

Phial motions that I'm in a good spot with a thumb up and then settles his head back against his arms.

The entrance turns a more opaque color, much to my surprise, and on the other side is a woman with dirty blond hair pulled back into a messy bun. Her dark eyes look alive even though the dark circles underneath show how little sleep she's been getting. Her gaze narrows on me, but my eyes are more drawn to the metal encircling her throat and causing my stomach to roll.

I know she was treated horribly by the aliens that took her. I know she's still wearing the implements they used to hurt her since we don't have the technology to get it off her on our ship. I wasn't ready to see it, though.

"Who are you?" Avery asks and then narrows her eyes more. "And I know you all can understand me, but unless you speak the common tongue from Earth, I can't understand you."

"I'm Sloane," I answer with a smile, hoping it's comforting for her that we can speak with one another. "I understand you, and I'm pretty sure you can understand me."

The glass goes cloudy just as a horrified expression crosses Avery's face. I keep a smile on my lips, mainly because I'm confused by the interaction. Also, I want her to know I'm still her friend, even if she needs time to adjust. Plus, the dampness of my hands is now taunting me as I tell myself that I one-hundred percent somehow managed to make things worse.

"I'm sorry," Avery says. Her words sound strangled, like she's trying to force them out without letting me know she's crying. "I can't do this. I can't talk about it. I know that's what you want, but I just can't yet."

Phial rolls his shoulders and then lays his head on his folded arms. He nods his head in reassurance, like hearing Avery cry is something he's used to. With how much he's been around her, I bet he's listened to her sobs too often.

Jovi told me that Phial's been staying cooped up in here to take care of Avery. He's the only male she seems to trust because he doesn't resemble any of the males that hurt her. The main person who hurt her was someone from the same species as Holoth, and he's been punishing himself for even resembling the abuser since she joined the crew.

We haven't attempted to see if she's scared of Jovi or Alik. The risk isn't worth the knowledge of if she can be around them. Right now, she's not ready to be around anyone, and that's okay.

"Hey, I just want to be your friend," I say, hoping she can hear me through the glass.

I place my palm against the entrance, which is still a solid sheet of glass, and let the warmth of my hand warm the cool glass. I try not to think about the wet handprint I'm going to leave when I move.

"I think they put my comm info into the one they gave you, so if you ever want to talk, just send me a message. I'm about to go hang out with the other female, Essa, in the kitchen while we eat. I know it's probably a lot right now, but if you're ever interested, you're more than welcome to join us."

I pause, looking up at Phial before I say the next part. I haven't exactly cleared it with anyone, but since I know everyone on this ship are really good people, I know they'll be fine with it. "If you ever want to come out onto the ship, everyone else can make themselves scarce. We can pretend it's just you and me. Maybe Essa, too, because she'll want to be there if you're okay with it, but yeah. We're here for you, anything you need."

I keep my hand on the glass for another moment, waiting to see if Avery will say anything in response. When she doesn't answer after a few breaths, I stand and offer a last look at Phial. I want to ask him if I did okay, if I just undid all the work he's put into making her feel safe here, or if there's anything else I can do. The words are too thick in my throat, so I end up just looking up at him, begging him silently to tell me this is going to be okay.

"She's strong, she's a fighter, and she'll heal from this," Phial says, not keeping his voice low, as though he wants her to hear the words even if she won't understand them.

"Do you want me to bring you any food?" I ask as I head for the door. Phial shakes his head and returns it to his arms before closing his eyes and ruffling his feathers once. I pat the doorframe as I walk through, feeling like I wasn't very successful in making the other woman feel comfortable.

"Are you staying awake?" I hear Avery ask as I go to slide the door closed.