Miana slept on her stomach for an entire week to make sure she didn't irritate the wounds on her back. Twice a day, Abba would change her bandages and make sure no infections occurred.
None did, but it took a while for the pain to subside enough to even think about laying on her back. Even then, she waited a few more days just in case.
She used the aloe religiously on the rest of her skin, red or not. The inflammation died down after a few days as well.
Her sun poisoning remained ever constant. Somehow, she convinced Abba to take her off the IV with a load of promises to rest and drink plenty of water. She did, of course. But, her fevers were off and on. She woke Abba up several times complaining about how chilled she felt, but there wasn't much the Yautja male could do. He gave her the medicine as prescribed and couldn't do any more.
Miana's dizziness remained a constant as a week passed by. She preferred to remain seated or lying down at all times and even short breaks to the bathroom left the room spinning at times.
Abba refrained from landing anywhere, the acceleration and deceleration of the ship enough to make her dizzy even when sitting.
She did watch him train in the kehrite, listening to him explain different creatures and their weaknesses. He showed her previous videos of fights, either of himself or of others. She tried her best to remember it all.
While Miana hadn't vomited yet, she refrained from being in the kitchen when he cooked and stuck to fruits and vegetables, some bread as well, just not toasted. The meat's smell made her stomach turn.
Speaking of smells, Abba took charge of cleaning up Beanie's waste. A small room sat in the back of the ship where he housed the creatures and where Beanie had a small mat to relieve himself should he need to. Like a dog having a newspaper.
It did require someone to clean up any feces left behind and dispose of in the trash compactor. A quick stop on a planet to empty it was all that was required.
"Have you tested those rocks yet?" Abba stood by the control module in the kehrite, setting another round of enemies to fight.
"Rocks? Oh!" Miana's face lit up at the mention of them. "No, I haven't yet."
"Why don't you go grab them?" He stopped, waiting for her to run to her room and back with the items. "So, what exactly do you do with them?" He set the program to start and gave her his back.
"Oh, well… Let me see what this kit has." She tossed it aside, startling Abba for a moment and almost allowing the hologram to land a hit. "That one's just rocks, so it doesn't have a hardness test or anything. Just a stupid magnifying glass. Like I know minerals are things they use for this, but come on…"
Miana dug through her duffel bag, finding another box of similar style but this time with the word 'mineral' in the title.
"This one is way better."
"How so?" He threw the creature off of him, only mildly paying attention to the threats.
"Well, this kit has a hardness and streak tester. Not very good, though. Should have read this stuff before buying…" She opened up the box, pulling out a tray of rocks - minerals, a tan slate, and a nail.
Unable to really focus and hold a conversation, Abba ended the simulation and sat down in front of her to watch.
"What is this?" He picked up the nail, recognizing its similarities to the bolts he's seen, but it looked too small and skinny.
"A nail. Just smaller than what you guys generally use."
"And its use?" His people used something more akin to bolts and only for large projects. He doubted she would be building anything.
"Just to test its hardness. So, like here..." She grabbed yet another box from her bag and opened it to reveal another tray of rocks. This time, they were accompanied by a nail, knife, and five plates.
Miana handed him a manual to read. She set the rocks in order and picked the first one in line.
"I still don't understand the point of this."
"Watch." She scrapped her fingernail across the rock. To Abba, it didn't look to do anything.
Next, she found a coin and scratched the rock. This time, it did look to do a bit of damage.
"See how my fingernail did nothing, but this coin did?" He nodded. "In the manual, I handed to you, there's a chart of minerals listed with numbers. My fingernail is around 2 or so on the scale and did nothing to rock, so it's got a hardness level greater than my fingernail, so we can say its "harder" than-" she took a peek at the pages,-"gypsum."
"But, the coin scratched it."
"Yeah, so it's not as hard as-" she took another peek - "calcite."
"So, you are identifying it by comparison." Abba set the manual down.
"Exactly." Miana identified the rest of them and placed them in order from softest to hardest.
"The sample you collected would fall where?" Miana did the test and placed the rock close to a hardness level of seven.
"Of course, its a rock. It could be a mineral if composed of one definite structure, but rocks are usually composed of multiple and contain organic material." He cocked his head at her in confusion.
"Then, why do the test?"
"For fun." She smiled his way and grabbed the slates. "Let's look at the color."
Abba watched in complete fascination as she played with the kits and showed him how to do the tests. She said these were for human children, not someone who had gone through university. Nevertheless, she looked to be amusing herself for the time being.
He returned to training while she played around.
Another week passed and Miana's dizzy spells eventually tapered off. She moved more freely around the ship and when her bandages officially came off, joined him for training.
Abba kept her strictly to light fighting. Opponents were easy to beat without much rolling around on the floor and never too large or too many.
"We're landing?!" Miana sprinted down the hall to the control room where Abba already sat.
"Sei-i." He trilled his strange laughter, turning in his chair to greet her.
Abba had taken notice of how confident she became. She had no qualms plopping herself down next to him in the kitchen or speaking up when she had questions. Before, he could always tell when she wanted to speak but would wait several minutes or even not speak up at all. Sometimes, Abba would prompt her, but usually, he waited. She would have to find the words on her own.
"What for?"
"I'm sure Beanie wants out." Her eyes widened before a large grin spread across her face and she raced back down the hall to find her beloved pet.
Abba chose a planet filled to the brim with life and warm climates. The air would be suitable for Miana and Beanie, but the large pockets of carbon in the atmosphere could prove a problem. Thankfully, Beanie's collar never came off and Miana already equipped her mask that would filter her air.
He led them out but otherwise, let Miana decide the path they should take.
She gravitated to the beach, playing in the water and finding little fossils along the shore.
Abba's gauntlet lit up, notifying him of an incoming call. He lengthened the distance between Miana and him before answering.
"Tell me, how in Paya's name did she manage to get burned so badly?" Elder Va'rak sat on the other side of the screen, mandibles spread wide.
"On my last hunt, I allowed her out of the ship to explore a bit. She wasn't out very long, but the sun did more damage than I expected in such a short amount of time." His explanation did not please the elder.
"You should have kept her inside. Where is she now?" Abba switched the camera around to show Miana not too far off with Beanie beside her.
"She had healed and enjoys exploring the life of the planets. You have received the other videos I sent?"
"Changing the subject will not help you, Ic'weii." The elder growled. "Sei-i. I have received them. She is well-rounded in her interests. She will be a valuable asset to the clan." That seemed to please the elder.
"Sei-i." Ic'weii turned the camera back around.
"Return to the mothership immediately. Elder K'ash will discipline you on your carelessness and confirm your bounties." Elder Va'rak cut the transmission.
Abba sighed. If they left now, they would make it just in time for mating season. Something he wanted to avoid completely.
"Miana." He stood over her as she read something from her gauntlet.
"Abba! Look! They want samples! The people on the ship with Lex sent me a message asking for them with a reward!" Abba already knew about that, having sent word of the samples she had for them in advance. It was the reason he chose the planet to begin with.
"Sei-i, I see that." They only wanted soil and water samples for a small experiment. Not a large reward, though. "Lead the way." He'd tell her of the change in plans later.
Miana raced back to the ship, Beanie hot on her heels, to find spare jars to store the samples. She gathered them near the beach, following a creek further inland for more diverse samples.
Abba eventually herded the two back to the ship. If he didn't arrive when Elder K'ash expected him to, another punishment would be added.
"We seem in a hurry."
"Sei-i. Elder Va'rak demands we meet with the mothership and Elder K'ash earlier than expected."
"Oh? Why?" He thought she'd be ecstatic to meet up with Lex, but her cool demeanor threw him for a loop.
"Elder Va'rak demands it." Miana pursed her lips at the curt response and kept her mouth shut as they lifted off. Abba, however, didn't let her as he prompted, "you may speak your mind. I don't care."
"You don't seem happy by the change."
Abba growled low, "no. I am not."
Miana petted Beanie's head, pausing to find her words before she asked, "why not?"
"We will arrive shortly after mating season begins." He tightened his hands on the wheel.
"Is it okay if I ask why that's a problem for you?" Miana had been well informed by Lex what mating season entailed. "Is it because you have to watch me?"
"H'ko, Lar'dha. It is… difficult for me."
"I feel like I shouldn't ask, but why is it difficult…" She trailed off, eyes darting down before looking back up again. "Oh… do you have-"
"H'ko!" Miana raised her hands, hiding her laughter and avoiding his gaze. "I have several pups already."
"Oh, okay. Good, I guess." She kept her gaze firmly away from him and on the star chart in front of her.
"I am not always welcomed, but that is a story for another time."
Miana didn't ask any more questions.
.
.
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So, Abba's name is Ic'weii! What do you think it means? You'll learn in the next chapter or two, but feel free to take a guess in the comments :D