[sup][h1][center][img]https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/602bd63e3ba5033eb8646dc7/1624034052565-LHOU7LTV7YQT3YDJVFRZ/Title_06_Banner.jpg[[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] I S S U E #005[/color]
[color=F5276C]I S S U E #005[/color][/center]
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Koriand’r felt a swell of pride that Sir Midnight seemed to greet her favourably. She found herself immediately enamoured with the petite predator, but as with so many creatures of that sort, its interest waned and it wandered off. It was a sort of comfort to be around a pet like that again. Though the High Evolutionary had never stooped to that level of sentimentality, he never explicitly discouraged it when Kori had grown fond of a carnivorous dog-like hybrid experiment that had turned out to be a failure by his standards. It had turned out rather dull-but-excitable and despised to be left alone, so much so that it would yip and cry until someone came to get it. He allowed her to take responsibility for it knowing that its life would be tragically short due to the mess of genetic complications, but believed it to be a valuable lesson about attachment or death or self-sufficiency or something. She couldn’t really remember; she was still young and too busy mourning the loss of her companion. Kori had always been a bit soft, and that hadn’t changed much with age. 

[color=F5276C] “I’m honoured he warmed to me so quickly, then. One can learn a lot about a person by the way animals act around them,”[/color] she proclaimed. [color=F5276C]“I trust the opinions of beasts over the words of men. Men lie and cheat and steal; they can be blackmailed and bribed, but a beast suffers no greed or shame. Even a beast well-fed knows to duck the raised hand of a cruel master.”[/color]

When Donald reminded her that it wasn’t necessary to use his full name, Kori’s expression turned sheepish, [color=F5276C]”I am sorry - it’s the custom on Tamaran as a sign of respect; greetings and introductions can get quite wordy if a person has many honours or accomplishments. Shortened names are for more familiar companions. Even the High Evolutionary was always Dr. Wyndham to me, never Herbert and Goddess forbid I ever call him Herb.”[/color] She punctuated her sentence with a small, humourless laugh at the thought of calling her captor by a nickname. [color=F5276C]”I think I will stick to Donald for not if it is not some great disrespect to do so.”[/color]

She watched him move through the space until he was further away from her before she pulled her gaze away to look around the apartment more. It seemed nice enough - comfortable at least, if not a bit dusty in a few corners from neglect. She wondered why he kept such a large space for only the small cat, but she knew so little about them that perhaps they simply required living accommodations that seemed far too spacious for their small stature. 

Koriand’r snapped her attention back to Donald as soon as he spoke again, brandishing the small card he’d picked up from the table. She didn’t even try to make out the tiny print of the minimalist design. What really caught her attention was his communication device. It seemed some things were universal; the design of it was quite familiar. Perhaps not everything on Earth would be new and foreign to her after all. She waited quietly while he spoke with the people on the other end of the call, drifting over toward a seat and settling down. She did still lean in a bit, trying to hear the other side of the conversation with little success. As he sat there, she realised she might not have made the best first impression by starting her time on Earth with a temper tantrum, but she needed somewhere safe to call home at least while she figured out what to do about the displacement of Tamaraneans from their home world, and Earth was as good a place as any to do just that. Koriand’r just hoped she could overwrite her first impression with a better one now that she was calm. There would be time enough for grief later when she was alone. For now, she needed to put on a brave face until she was officially granted permission to stay.