Chapter 14

Floran is enjoying sleeping, and even more since this couch is so comfortable. It's like the softest fur a hunter could get, and Floran has slept in many furs, but none of them compares to this. Floran would have continued to enjoy the wonderful couch, but a smell in the air got Floran's attention. Floran sniffs the air, and whatever the food is, it smells delicious, but nothing like meat. Floran sits up on the couch, with eyes closed, but sniffing the air, trying to find where it's coming from. Floran gets up from the couch, keeps sniffing the air, and follows the scent. Floran has eyes closed, so Floran doesn't see where Floran is going, but can guess that it would be the kitchen. Floran can tell that Floran entered the kitchen because the smell was very strong. Floran can hear someone in the kitchen, moving things, and something making a clanking noise.

"Yuki?" Says Floran while rubbing an eye.

"Good mor–" says Yuki before Floran hears her yelp. Floran opens an eye, and sees Yuki wearing a shirt, and very small pants. Floran doesn't know if those are pants, they only cover up to mid-thigh. She has something on her hand, but Floran doesn't know what it is. It has a handle, and the top is flat with three holes in the shape of lines. She looks surprised about something.

"Is something wrong?"

"You're naked." Floran looks down, and she was right. Floran wasn't wearing her leaves, Floran forgot to put them back on because the smell was too good to ignore.

"Oh, yeah." Floran starts to wake up, and Yuki still looks surprised. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…I mean, I know Floran physiology, so I know you don't have 'certain things'. Even your breasts aren't really breasts, they're mostly a sexual dimorphism. Although, your race is unisex, so their purpose is still–"

"Yuki, Floran doesn't know what 'physiology' is, or 'sexual dimorphism'. Did Floran do something bad?" Floran doesn't like causing problems for Yuki, or make her feel bad.

"No no no, you didn't do anything I just…" Yuki looks away from Floran. "I feel awkward, looking at you, knowing that you're naked." Yuki looks back at Floran, but her face looks a little red. "Not that you look bad or anything, you have a very nice body." Yuki gets more red. "Scientifically speaking."

"Oh, thank you. You look nice too, and sorry about making you feel awkward." She smiles at Floran.

"Thanks, and don't worry about it too much. Our cultures are very different, I should have expected something like this. If you need clothes I think I might have something your size."

"Don't worry, Floran has clothes, Floran will go and get them." Floran starts to walk out of the kitchen.

"Alright, wash your hands in the bathroom. I'll have breakfast ready."

"Okay." Floran goes back to the living room, and gets her leaves. With that done, Floran goes to the bathroom, and tries to find how to wash hands. Floran can see a toilet, a bathtub, and a bowl with a pipe over it. Floran knows that bathtub is to take baths, and the toilet is for nasty things, which leaves the bowl to wash hands. Floran tries to use it, but Floran doesn't know how to use it. Floran sees two handles, one on each side of the pipe over the bowl. Floran grabs one and tries to pull it, but nothing happens. Floran tries to turn it, and it does turn, which makes water come out of the pipe thing. Floran wash hands with the water, and Floran turns the handle the other way to make water stop coming out. Floran learned a new thing, and that makes Floran feel proud. Floran leaves the bathroom and goes back to the kitchen.

Floran enters the kitchen, and Floran can see was already eating. She was drinking something from a cup, but the moment she sees Floran, she spits it out. She also starts coughing, and Floran quickly moves closer to her.

"Yuki, are you okay?" Asks Floran with concern. Yuki coughs one more time before she answers.

"Yeah, you just surprised me," says Yuki.

"Really? Floran wasn't even trying to sneak on you." Floran takes a seat in front of her.

"It's not that you sneaked up on me, it's just…" Yuki doesn't say anything, and that confuses Floran.

"What is it?" Yuki's face turns a bit red again. "I'm not naked, see?"

"I know, you did put something on."

"Then, what is it? Does Floran smell?"

"Of course not, I just thought you would put more than just a couple of leaves."

"It's that bad?"

"No, just surprising, I thought you would put on a shirt and pants, not just leaves that barely cover you."

"Floran's home was a bit hot, so Floran only put these."

"It was summer when we met."

"But if you prefer, Floran wouldn't mind putting something else."

"I appreciate that, and don't worry. I'll get you something nice, you'll see."

"Okay."

"Now, I'm a little curious about your thoughts on some Hylotl cuisine."

"Is cuisine food?"

"Yes."

"Great!" Floran checks food, and Floran can see some unique types of food. Floran can see two bowls, one with white seeds, and the other one has water with white squares in it. In one plate, there's this yellow rectangle-shaped thing, which looks soft. In another plate there's a whole cooked fish, which was cut open in half. Finally, Floran can see some seeds in a little bowl. Floran can also see some sticks, but Floran doesn't know for what.

"I'll be honest, this is pretty much the basic stuff. I made rice, miso soup, an egg omelet, and fish." She pointed at each thing in front of Floran, but Floran starts eating anyways. Floran is too hungry to care what it is, and Floran trusts Yuki. Floran grabs a bit of rice, and eats it. Somehow, the rice tastes good, but it could be better if it had some meat in it.

"This rice is good."

"Um, Seba." Floran grabs a piece of fish and bites it. The fish tastes like any other fish, and is not as good as meat, but it's still good.

"Yeah?"

"Did Florans in your village used utensils?"

"What's that?" Floran finish the fish in two bites.

"Depending on the place, utensils are little tools used to prepare or to eat food. Like these ones." Yuki shows Floran a pair of sticks, just like the ones in front of Floran.

"You need those to eat?"

"Not really, but that's just how we eat."

"So, you want Floran to eat with sticks?"

"I have forks and spoons if you prefer." Floran can see how she manages to eat with a pair of sticks.

"Floran prefers fork and spoon, whatever those are." Yuki nods, gets up from the table, and goes to a drawer. She grabs what she needs, and comes back to the table. "Here you go, this one is the fork, and this one is the spoon." She puts it in front of Floran, and takes the sticks away.

"Thank you." Floran grabs the fork, and sticks it on the yellow rectangle. Floran tries to lift the whole thing, but it's so soft, that only a piece of it comes off it. Floran puts the yellow thing in Floran's mouth, and Floran likes it. Floran hears Yuki giggle, and it confuses Floran.

"What?"

"Sorry, you just remind me of a kid."

"Well, this is something new to Floran."

"I know, I just couldn't help it." Floran shrugs and continues to eat. Everything is tasty, but Yuki finishes before Floran does. "Seba, I need you to pay close attention to me." Yuki sounds serious, so Floran pays attention.

"What is it?"

"As you know, I'm a doctor, or a healer if you prefer, and I have a job in the city."

"Okay." Floran nods, Floran probably doesn't fully understand, but Floran can understand the basics.

"So, I'm about to go and change."

"Change what?"

"Clothes, these aren't exactly appropriate where I work, but that's not the point."

"Okay?"

"The point is that I have to leave my apartment to go to work."

"You're leaving Floran?" Floran doesn't want that.

"Don't worry, it's just for a couple of hours, I'll be back before you notice." At least she's coming back.

"That's good."

"So, I need you to stay in the apartment, and never leave it. Don't open the door to any stranger, don't answer the phone, and don't make too much noise."

"That's a lot of rules, but Floran will follow them."

"Good, there's food in the fridge, and don't worry about the dishes. I'll deal with them when I get home."

"Floran can clean them."

"I know you can, but a lot of the stuff in the apartment uses science, so I rather be here to teach you how everything works in here." That sounds reasonable. Yuki picks up her dishes, and puts them inside some metal box. "Well then, I'm going to change."

"Okay." Yuki leaves the kitchen. Floran still doesn't understand why Yuki needs to change to heal people, or why she has to leave if they can come to her, but Hylotl things already sound a bit weird. Oh well, Floran is still hungry, and continues eating food.

Still, Floran doesn't want to be left alone.