Page 12 of Invasion of Sorority Z

I’m inside a real life, no-shit spaceship. It’s a huge hunk of metal that glows purple and apparently can take off of the ground at any time. The super computers and all of the supplies seem normal if the movies we have here can be considered a source in the typicality of space travel equipment. None of the amazing inhuman inventions are all that surprising since science fiction has shown me similar things for years and years.

What I am not expecting in the slightest however, is the tiny brown cat meowing in delight as it sees the pair of us. Marrec sets me down on a cushioned bench toward the middle of the craft, not sparing the little creature a glance. Not me though. I drop to my knees in front of it, and start clicking my tongue.

“Hey, little guy,” I coo, reaching a hand out slowly. “Who are you?”

He mewls happily, licking at my thumb as I brush it against his face. He’s a soft little thing, and very enthusiastic. I used to have a cat before college. Chicken Nugget was the most patient of all ginger cats in existence. He not only put up with the six-year-old who named him after the only food she would demand night after night, but her obsession with dressing him as a princess as well.

I get two more soft pets in before Marrec harrumphs and picks me back up. He sets me down on the bench again, grunting the wordstay—as if I’m a naughty child. For a second, I wonder if he thinks that I’m a kid. His people aresobig, but would that alone make him see the girls and me as adolescents?

“I just wanted to pet it,” I complain, not helping my childishness in his eyes, I’m sure. “Is it yours? Or did it just climb onto the ship?”

“He is Rem’s pet,” Marrec tells me, tapping the side of the wall. A hidden cabinet appears with a computer that sparkles with blue light. “He is not kind to strangers.”

The pet in question jumps from the ground onto two legs to brush its face against my leg, purring softly. I snort, shaking my head at Marrec. “Seems friendly to me. What’s his name?” His, because he is so gracefully showing me his backside.

“He is called Ch’ta.”

“Chi-ta?” I ask, trying to sound it out.

“Cha-ta,” he corrects, sounding a little stressed out.

“Well,” I address the little guy. “Aren’t you just the cutest?”

He meows happily, petting himself against my legs again. Gosh he’s soft. I have definitely missed seeing pets around. Obviously, we weren’t allowed to have a sorority house cat, but I knew people with pets and I saw them on breaks. I don’t even want to think about where all the dogs and cats have gone during this time. I don’t think I can handle the possibilities.

“Run along Ch’ta,” Marrec tells him, softly ushering the cat away with his booted foot. “It is not time for snuggling the hu-nim.”

“So you’ll let me hold him after we’re done?” I ask hopefully. “We haven’t seen any pets since… well, you know.”

He nods. “You may pet him after I fix your head.”

“I really think I’m okay, you know?”

His head shakes disapprovingly. “Let us be sure.”

“You know that we’re adults, right?” I blurt. “Like the girls and me, we’re not kids.”

He gives me a confused look. “I am aware that you and yoursistersare not children.”

“Sororitysisters,” I remind him. “We’re not actually related.”

“Right,” he agrees. “Chosen family. Like Terum and Drak.”

My eyebrows bounce up, lips parting in surprise. “They’re family?”

“Mm,” he agrees, putting a stretchy band around my head. “Terum is much like a father to Drak. Terum is much like a father to many Aprixian.”

“To you?”

“No.” A little chirping noise comes from the band, and a computer screen flashes on behind Marrec. “I had a father.” I don’t miss the past tense in the sentence.

The soft band around my head lights up blue. “Is that good?” I wonder, pointing to the illumination.

He breathes out. “It is good.”

“So I’m not going to die in my sleep then?”

He carefully takes the band from my head, his fingers just barely grazing my skin. “You will not.”

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