105

--The Enclave--

The two wandered just out of earshot as they talked. Dassah’s eyes moved with them, wondering just how much of the story Grim was telling. Aside from what she had already told him, was it possible that he knew more? Would he tell Sathuren those things? And what would Sav think of all of that? What would he think of her?

The purple and white garule’s tail was lashing back and forth with a great deal of agitation, even for him. Grim said something, and the garuli man’s expression went from annoyed to angry, with him baring his teeth and stretching his neck out. From Dassah’s point of view, it looked less like they were discussing something, and more like they were about to fight. If she hadn’t known they were friends, she would have assumed Sav was resisting arrest in this situation.

And it was probably all about her, though she sincerely hoped that it wasn’t. She didn’t want to have anything to do with it — and she certainly didn’t want anybody getting in trouble for, or because of, her.

Grim gripped Sathuren’s shoulder and they finally parted. With a heavy sigh, Sav walked over till he was about four feet in front of her before sitting on his haunches. He curled his tail around himself, and stared out into the crowd.

Tears filled her eyes as she felt a pang of guilt and humiliation knock against her chest.

“Where’s Bahena?” Dassah asked with a shaky voice.

“Still with the officers,” he told her.

“Is she alright?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good.”

He cocked his head over at her for a moment, then looked away. “Why didn’t you say something?”

She looked down. “What should I have said?”

“Anything, for a start,” said Sav, tartly. The feathers around his head lifted nearly to a full crest, but he shook until they were flat again.

Admonished, she could only sniffle in response. After a few moments, she said, “The ground is dirty.”

“Yeah, well,” he grunted, flipping his tail to wrap around the opposite way as he shifted his weight. “There are worse things.”

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“I was talking to Bahena.”

“About me?”

He was silent.

People around them started to relax. A few of them were laughing and playing games. Some had taken to things like chess, while others relied on more traditional activities like computer games — but with the lockdown, it was likely there was no web connection. The few children in the area were grouped, and given jump ropes, chalk, or allowed to play tag under the watchful eye of parents and officers.

“The phone call earlier,” Dassah started, hugging her knees to her chest. “I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

“I thought it was because of Bahena,” Sav told her, his voice breaking a little. “But it wasn’t, was it? None of it was.”

Quiet tears fell down her face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve dragged everyone into my mess…”

“I don’t want your apology!” he snapped, glaring through narrowed pupils. “I just… Look, just… for a bit… Can I be Ibraxis? Can I be the guy who doesn’t care about what everyone else here thinks of me or who I am without… scaring the shit out of you because I’m a stupid dinosaur?” He asked, sounding hurt as he struggled with his words.

Dassah blinked several times before laughing. “If you are Ibraxis, then get up off the ground,” she told him, patting the space next to her on the ledge. His tail wiggled as he eyed the space with uncertainty. “Would Ibraxis hesitate?” she mused.

Rubbing his muzzle with the back of his wrist, he went and sat next to her, legs outstretched and shoulders hunched.

He tucked his hands between his knees and said, “I wish you had told me. I know you and Bahena and I don’t see eye to eye all the time, and sometimes, it's not just because we're garuli. I know that it’s hard to ask you to come to us for help. I understand that you were probably scared and confused — but that’s just it,” Sav told her. His voice had gone from calm and controlled to almost hysterical as he went on. “What is the point of you trusting me if I’m just…” Trailing off, he scratched the back of his head. “And I know. I know I’m frustrated because I’m sure that even if I knew, there wasn’t anything I could, do. But at least if I knew something else was going on then…” He stopped and rubbed the palm of his hand with his thumb.

“Then?” Dassah asked.

“...It would have been different,” he finished.

We really are the same after all, she realized. So what if he was smart, or kind, or confident. So what if he were a garuli and so what if she was human. At the end of the day, they were both just people.

“Hey,” she sniffled looking over at him with a compressed smile. “If you’re Ibraxis right now, is it okay for me to Guin? Brave, fearless Guin who can be at your side without worrying or overthinking things?”

He glanced at her, confused, for a moment, then went, “... Do as you like.”

Gently, she let her shoulder lean into his arm . At first, she felt him tense up at the contact, but as she let her face rest against his shoulder, he relaxed. The firm denseness of his feathers cushioned her head, and closed her eyes.

“H-Hey, now,” Sav went with a nervous chuckle. Then, in his sheepish, half-joking manner, he leaned into her and teased, “I don’t recall you being quite so lax with personal boundaries, Ms ‘Guin’”

Chuckling, she said, “You know in the game, that was just you. Tea always clung to me. Even Miko never shied away like you do.”

“‘Miko’?” he questioned.

She laughed, then her face courted into an ugly thing as she began to cry. Tears streamed down her face, and she buried it in his shirt to hide her sobs from the world. He tensed up again for a moment, and she could feel him fumbling around as he tried to decide how to approach her. Sighing, he nuzzled her hair, then took his arm from her and instead pulled her into his chest. She grasped his shirt as if it were a lifeline, and he started trying to wipe her tears away. Giving up on that gesture, he instead just rested his chin on her head.

“It’ll be alright,” he told her, his usual calm and soothing voice cracking just a bit.

He didn’t say anything else. He just held her, and pet her hair, and let her cry. And for the first time that day, in the arms of a stupid, purple and white dinosaur who had caused her the end of no grief since first they’d met, she felt safe.