Quozl (29 page)

“He made me promise never to try and find his home. I wouldn't even know where to start, which direction to take. I don't think he trusted me that much.”

“Maybe it was for your own good,” a high, breathy voice said by way of interruption. “Aren't you going to offer us something to drink?” Brother and sister whirled in the direction of the unexpected greeting.

“Runs!” Chad moved to greet his friend, halted when he saw that he wasn't alone.

Three other Quozl accompanied him, another male and two females. All wore subdued clothing with a minimum of jewelry and flash scarves. They were clad as inconspicuously as it was possible for a Quozl to be without feeling naked.

It was easy to tell male from female. Besides subtle differences in attire, the suits of the females had slits marking the location of their pouches. Both were shut, indicating that neither was carrying an infant. They also had slightly more muscular legs, necessary for supporting the weight of a maturing youngster for a full year or more.

Runs wasted no time introducing his companions, who studied the two tall humans with undisguised interest.

“I don't understand,” said Chad. “I thought your secret was …”

“Found out,” Runs informed him. “After careful consideration of all alternatives it was determined that not only should contact be maintained with you and Mindy, but that it should be expanded to include members of the colony's scientific staff. This in no way mitigates the need for continued secrecy on your part.”

“We understand,” said Mindy.

“I think that's great.” Chad stepped forward and reached for the face of the nearest Quozl. She instinctively brought her left hand up as if to strike at his throat. Anticipating as Runs had instructed him, Chad twisted his arm as if to knock hers aside without invading her Sama straight on.

Her eyes widened. Turning to her colleagues she chattered excitedly in Quozl as they discussed this sophisticated reaction on the part of a clumsy, ignorant native. Chad watched them debate, until finally she turned back to face him afresh.

If anything, her English was more polished than that of Runs, though her voice was no less whispery. “Where did you learn that?”

“From my friend.” He indicated Runs, who looked properly humble.

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Mindy stepped up alongside her brother. Her sketchbook hung from her left hand.

“So you're going to study us?” The female's ears bobbed in a gesture Mindy had learned to identify. “Great! Let's all sit down and get to know each other.”

It wasn't how Chad would have handled it, but he deferred to his sister. She'd always been the one with the instinct for the social graces.

It must have translated well because the Quozl readily complied, taking seats as best they could manage around the fold-up plastic picnic table. The cold fruit juice was passed around and eagerly sampled.

Runs downed his without hesitation, having enjoyed such delights previously. He took care not to try and dominate the exchange. It would have cost him status, and his was so low it could not survive further damage. Expeditions such as this one would never exonerate him, but they would go a long way toward making his presence acceptable to his peers.

With Runs to help explain, the encounter went smoothly, except that Chad and Mindy managed very little sleep since the three newcomers kept them awake long into the night with endless questions about everything from human foods to international relations. The time passed all too quickly, with Chad and Mindy promising to return to the campsite for a longer visit in one week.

When they returned, after restocking their packs and reassuring their parents, they found the Quozl already camped by the river awaiting them. On the basis of what they'd learned from the previous encounter, the Quozl scientists were able to prepare their questions beforehand. Composing suitable replies kept brother and sister busy every waking hour. In many ways it was akin to meeting Runs-red-Talking for the first time, Chad mused, only multiplied by three.

The Quozl sometimes seemed guarded in their response to his own questions, though he always received an answer. He supposed some suspicion on their part was understandable. Mindy disagreed, finding them always open and trusting.

Though offered the use of the tent, the Quozl chose to sleep outside beneath their thin wraps. Their fur protected them against the early morning chill, though it was not thick enough to cope with an Idaho winter. While they could stand and indeed preferred cooler temperatures than humans, they still had their limits.

The Indian summer was drawing to a close the day they looked on in amazement as Chad frolicked in the deep pool where Runs-red-Talking had nearly drowned. Runs was brave enough to wade out in the water up to his high waist, but his companions would advance no farther than ankle-deep.

“We are not aquatic by nature or inclination.” The senior female in the party spoke as Chad emerged to dry himself. “We utilize water for grooming and cleansing, but the idea of immersing oneself totally in deep liquid for purposes of recreation is utterly alien to us. Your ability to ‘swim' is one we do not possess and, frankly, do not envy.” With her ears she indicated the depths of her revulsion.

Chad toweled away recalcitrant droplets. “Runs and I have spent a lot of time discussing our different tastes. I wouldn't find squatting in a small dark room very relaxing. Like many humans I suffer from something called claustrophobia.” He tried to explain.

The Quozl was dubious. “But you know that the walls aren't going to close in around you.”

“I'm just telling you what it feels like. For a clinical explanation you'd have to talk to a …”

A scream interrupted him, made the four of them turn toward the tent. The noise came from beyond, from the edge of the forest.

“My God.” Chad fumbled frantically with his sandals. “That sounded like Mindy!”

“Something has frightened her,” said Runs worriedly. He thought of the stuffed monster moldering in the surface study museum. “Perhaps a bear. What do we do if it is a bear?”

“We run out into …” Chad caught himself. The Quozl couldn't swim. “Can you climb trees?”

“Climb a tree?” The senior female sounded doubtful. “We can do many things with trees, but climb? What a novel concept.”

Their ancestors were not primates, Chad reminded himself. Their fingers were designed for delicate manipulation, not strong gripping. And their legs were impossible.

His sister emerged from the forest, followed by a rapidly moving bipedal shape. It wasn't a bear. All of them recognized the other male Quozl. He was running alongside Mindy, paralleling her sprint without breathing hard, and apparently talking rapidly.

She stumbled to a halt and to Chad's immense surprise, clutched at him for protection.

“What's the matter, what's wrong?” he was thoroughly confused.

“He …” she gulped air, “that animal—I was sketching in the woods and he attacked me!”

“He attacked you?” Her words still made no sense. “What do you mean, he ‘attacked' you? Are you telling us that he tried to hurt you?” Chad was not alone in his disbelief. He was flanked by a trio of dumbfounded Quozl.

Mindy was calming down. “Well, no. Not exactly, I guess.”

“Not exactly? You
guess
? Mindy, we're not characters in one of your stories.” She was avoiding his eyes. “Say what you mean.”

“All right.” Her face came up and she stared hard at the Quozl. “He tried to put the make on me.”

“Say what?”

“Do I have to act it out?” Sarcasm had replaced the anger in her voice.

The Quozl under scrutiny, Turns-theme-Over, was a respected member of the surface studies staff. As he responded he was careful to stand well clear of what he perceived to be Mindy's Sama. His voice was controlled and devoid of emotion, but his ears were frantic.

“I fear I have been the progenitor of a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding mild!” Runs had to recite his very favorite stanzas to keep himself under control. “If you have violated Sama …”

“Wait a minute, everybody slow down!” Chad considered the words of the Quozl and of his sister. They involved a subject which the Quozl dealt with much more openly than humans. It was something he'd been reluctant to discuss with Mindy. After all, she was his sister. Now he saw that he'd been remiss.

All of which notwithstanding there was something peculiar about what had or had not happened. Turns-theme-Over was an alien, for crissakes.

The Quozl tried to explain himself, but in Quozl fashion it took him an hour just to get past the requisite preliminary apologies. Chad could sense his bewilderment. He had no idea what if anything he'd done wrong. When he had finally calmed down some, Chad took over for him.

“What exactly,” he asked his sister, “did Turns-theme-Over do?”

Now that the initial shock had faded, Mindy sounded uncertain. “Well, he touched me.”

“Touched you where?”

She bugged her eyes at him, then replied. “Here, and here.”

“What makes you so sure the contact was of a sexual nature?” Chad was surprised at his own openness. All those conversations with Runs-red-Talking had done some good. No therapist could have achieved more with a gangly, shy teenager. “Turns-theme-Over is a specialist in human affairs. He might simply have been trying to obtain information of a statistical nature.”

“This may come as a surprise to you, little brother, but that's a line I've heard before.”

Turns-theme-Over was anxious to defend himself, grateful as he was for Chad's intercession. “Again let me plead misunderstanding.” He sounded honestly hurt and concerned. “I don't see what I did to cause the human to react in such a fashion.”

Runs allowed a touch of sternness to creep into his tone. “Are you not, after all your studies, familiar with the strange human taboos in this area?”

“Forgive me.” Chad knew what it took for the senior scientist to request forgiveness of Runs, a Quozl inferior in status to himself. Turns was truly apologetic. “I had grown so relaxed in their company I had forgotten. That is why research into this matter is so important, so that we may come to fully understand each other.”

“That doesn't mean your studies can be carried out on a personal level,” Chad admonished him.

Green-by-Shadow spoke up. “We have firsthand knowledge of male human anatomy.” Chad was familiar with the story of the unfortunate first encounter between human and Quozl. “No similar opportunity has henceforth presented itself for examination of the other gender. Turns-theme-Over's actions may be explained if not excused by his professional enthusiasm.”

“He was enthusiastic, all right.” Mindy stepped away from her brother, hands on hips. “I'm not taking my clothes off for him or anyone else.”

It was growing more and more difficult for Chad to treat the situation seriously, now that it was clear that his sister had not been injured.

“Why not? Don't tell me you're embarrassed to undress in front of a Quozl?” He indicated Theme-turns-Over. “He's interested in you as a specimen, not a partner.”

It was Chad's turn to be surprised.

“I must confess to more than mere objective curiosity.” Theme-turns-Over kept his gaze averted from Mindy. “We are both warm-blooded, fur-bearing species, though humans only marginally. Interest in this subject among the Quozl extends to all relevant fauna. It is our nature.”

“I'm not one of your fauna,” Mindy protested. “You can try jumping all the deer and elk and porcupines you want, but keep away from me.”

Cheese and crackers, Chad thought dazedly. Theme-turns-Over
was
sexually interested in his sister. What an absurd notion.

Wasn't it?

“It will be as you wish.” Theme dipped both ears apologetically. “I will not transit your Sama again.” He sounded so pitiful Mindy relented.

“Hey, don't feel singled out. I would've reacted the same way to a guy.”

When Runs had taken his colleagues to hunt for amphibians, Chad confronted his sister.

“I'm sorry he upset you, but don't you think you overdid it? You embarrassed him so severely in front of his peers he'll probably never show his face outside the colony again. Nothing could have happened. The Quozl are a completely different species. They're not like us at all, even if you want to throw in theories about convergent evolution.”

“Turns-theme-Over is no bug-eyed monster, either,” his sister shot back. “Have you ever stood back and taken a good, look at them? They're almost our size; two legs, two arms, two ears.”

“Bilateral diffusion. So what?” His gaze narrowed and he stared hard at her. “Don't tell me that now
you're
curious?”

“Aren't you? Don't you ever look at the Quozl females and wonder?”

“I look at a Quozl female and all I see are feet the size of baseball bats and a pouch big enough to hold the rest of the team's equipment.”

“That's what I'm talking about: equipment.”

“No, I'm not curious. They don't look even faintly human.”

“I know,” she agreed. “That's what's so strange about it.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Just like when they were kids, she'd managed to take over the conversation.

“That's because you're only eighteen.”

“Maybe I am only eighteen, but I'm the one who knew about convergent evolution!”

They went on arguing among themselves, ignoring the wading Quozl while the Quozl politely ignored them. Turns-theme-Over never repeated his actions and they were not alluded to again. That did not mean the subject never crossed anyone's mind.

Thoughts were no offense to courtesy.

XIV.

I
T WAS RAINING
but not heavily. It only rained hard in Los Angeles in January and February. A March shower was to be savored.