[center][h1][color=gold]Kailani[/color][/h1][/center]

The reaction from the other inmate was odd, not quite in line with the other humans Kailani has interacted with so far. She [i]looked[/i] human, even if the woman’s proximity caused a spark across her face that still stung, but in that moment’s pause between the shock and response it struck the alien that she was a little different from the others.

Of course, then Min-Ji offered her a smile which just caused Kailani’s own grin to grow in tandem, and further her chest to almost puff at the compliment. ‘Cute’. There was even a polite thank you! No one said thank you here!

Then the other woman leaned in, as though about to whisper a secret between them. Kai tilted her head akin to a puppy, meeting the swirling vortex in her gaze with nothing but earnest curiosity.

[color=powderblue]"It isn't a good idea to get too close to strangers. People here will try and kill you for less."[/color]

That… made sense, in a way. Almost everyone here was biting words of glass shattering in her teeth, of the way metal tried to stand strong before the break. Even getting close to [i]this[/i] stranger caused the shock - even if she smelled delicious, the sparkle of a broken wire sharp and warm against the roof of Kai’s mouth.

Another bowl was slid in front of her, immediately and effectively breaking the Devourer’s train of thought. She was already picking up the spoon to begin eating before even looking to who gave it to her, offering a loud and bright thanks to the white haired woman, as well as a comment.

[color=gold]“Monty doesn’t sound as good as your end name. Montressor! It’s much more fun!”[/color] Admittedly, Kailani only knew of her a bit since the woman liked to talk with Randolph, and Randolph was full of words but smelled delicious. Marina was strange too, since she smelled of fur yet had none to show. But she gave her food to Kailani sometimes, and therefore she was the best fur-smelling human in the entire Borehole.

Speaking of, there was someone staring at her. There was no reason to stare at Kailani though, so [i]she must’ve been staring at her food.[/i]

With the cafeteria filling up it was no surprise this small person came and sat beside her, Kai’s grin never so much as twitching even as she wrapped an arm around the bowl protectively. She hadn’t seen this woman before, but it was often new inmates who came to sit next to her - the alien’s human guise was small and non-threatening until you saw her eat. It was only after studying this new addition did she relax. The gloved inmate had the coloration of a forest, greens and browns that should’ve complimented each other, but instead wilted in on itself in dying vegetation, rot on Kailani’s tongue and in her breath.

She still wasn’t sharing her food though.

Instead, she would share words. It was not a guarantee that she would like the words, like the metal man who fled the table at Kai’s mere greeting.

[color=gold]“Hi! Your gloves are strange, but I like the green light. They’re much better than mine.”[/color] To emphasize she held up her hands - as much as she could with one arm wrapped around the bowl - to show the cuffs still attached to her wrist.

Actually, the man who had approached Rue and Ameliya nearby said something odd that had Kailani staring at her cuffs ponderously. [color=00a99d]“Lock, it’s a pleasure.”[/color]

… Maybe speaking politely to the lock would do something? She brought the cuffs closer to her face.

[color=gold]“Lock, I won’t eat you today.”[/color] A heartbeat past. Then another. Nothing happened.

That man was just strange, then. Maybe he was an alien too? That’d be nice, she should talk to him-

Wait - strange. Strangers. Greeting. Kailani whipped her head around to Min-Ji, eyes bright and excited and lips parting behind the muzzle.

[color=gold]“Oh! I get it now! You were saying - hold on, I have to eat this before someone else does.”[/color] She returned to her bowl of nutrition paste, enthusiastically wolfing it down within seconds, the spoon joining it in her mouth once the contents of the entire bowl were scraped away. Even as it crunched in her teeth she was already turning back to her first conversation partner, sticking out her cuffed hands. Careful not to touch though, merely in offering as a human handshake greeting.

[color=gold]“So since you didn’t try to kill me, that means we shouldn’t be strangers, right? I’m Kailani, what’s your name?”[/color]