Cochise felt the air inside the cabin getting warmer almost as soon as Lily started the fire in the stove. The small iron kettle she had filled with clean water was probably already half-boiling. From time to time, the alien was glancing at the human female who was busy putting the snacks and the cups onto the coffee table between the sofas.
She moved slightly faster than most humans he knew, and he saw similar movements mostly from the teenagers who seemingly have not felt all the burden of the war yet. She took her jacket off and the Volm noticed wide hips and those breast bumps the humans called boobs in everyday life. Quite a typical female, he thought trying to compare Lily's curves to the ones he has already seen in other human females. He noticed some different body types, some women were thin and elongated, some were short and bulky. This one was about Maggie's height but with rounder hips and slightly bigger breasts, even though Lily's face and neck seemed thinner. The other young female, Lourdes, looked much thinner than Lily. However, there was something about her looks that attracted his attention but the Volm could not figure out what exactly it was. The way she was fixing her glasses? Or the humble smile that he found vaguely familiar?...
While Cochise kept observing, the cat approached and sat in front of him looking curiously into his eyes... ''Purr!'' The Volm hesitated, ''Mmm...Lily? What does she want?''
The human turned around and giggled, ''Cuddles and stroking I guess. I think she takes you for a human due to the same shape. She used to run after Russell as if asking to be petted when she was a kitten, so I guess she might get used to the people you know...''.
Withing a moment, Lily covered half of the room and grabbed her pet. She slowly sat next to him onto the sofa and moved Lizzie closer to the Volm. ''Cochise...will you allow? Give me your hand''.
Not accustomed to the physical contact with the humans, Cochise nodded. Lily carefully took his hand and put it onto the animal sitting on his lap. The fur felt soft and fluffy, he did not remember anything similar before. Lily started moving his hand back and forth the cat's head and spine. For some time, Lizzie did not react and then started purring again, this time with longer and softer sounds. The Volm also paid attention to the human hand. He used to wonder how comfortable it would be to have one more finger like the humans, with generally thinner fingers. Lily's fingers seem delicate and flexible. Without noticing his look, she smiled and looked at him.
''She was almost a new-born kitten when Russell and I found her. It was a couple of months after we got here, we were scavenging in one of the houses. She was crying pretty quiet, we guessed she was hungry and weak. The other ones were already dead, they were so skinny, and the mother wasn't there. Maybe she went hunting and died or got killed. Russell didn't really want to take her first, as we would have to look for more food, and not just any food for humans. So she was mostly feeding on the dry sweetened milk for some time, then we found a baby formula. So this kitty survived against the odds. She's just slightly smaller than regular cats but well, she made it. I just got lucky she's well-behaved and not talkative at all, some of my friends from before all this has started had really...bitchy cats who did not want to be petted. And if she meowed more I would have to leave her in the cabin, she would scare away all my rabbits in the forest''.
Lily's speech was interrupted by the boiling water and in an instant, the young woman got off the sofa and jumped over the small coffee table and rushed towards the stove. The brown hair flickered at the sunset light from the window. The Volm abruptly grunted, he hasn't seen such an agile human for some time. Ben Mason and his curly-haired friend could beat Lily in speed but they did not count, they had the spikes effect.
''Hey Cochise, we only have some granola bars and cookies. It's still several more months till the fresh veggies and fruits start. And I need to go scavenging tomorrow, my dry dehidrated meals are over'', she said as if excusing for not being able to offer more. ''But we can last a little longer with the tea, it's good to get warm and fool the stomachs with hot water''.
The Volm thankfully took the cup. The liquid inside was hot but tasted quite unusual. The human was right, it quickly filled the stomach giving the fake feeling of some food inside. Better than nothing thought! And those treats that Lily handed him were really sweet, even though not terribly sweet but rather making to wish for more. Cochise was amuzed, ''I wish I knew before how delicious these treats were, I could have gone looking for supplies with those humans...''.
Lily's face shined and she nodded, ''And those are addicting! You know...before THIS all had started...we humans had tons of food, fresh water to drink and bathe, power to heat the houses, satellites on the orbit, space stations...There were still many problems with it in other parts of the world but in this country, we had nothing to worry about. I'm pretty sure those humans you have met used to bathe at least once a day and to eat at least three time a day. Ha, many of us even had a lot of body fat! Some were really picky about the food. Now they would probably devour whatever they find, whether it's vegetables or oatmeal''.
''Well maybe my people would help you humans repairing those devices if the war was over and we all were alive. Some human technologies are quite...primitive comparing to ours'', murmured Cochise with half-closed eyes, still impressed with the sweets. Lily suddenly frowned and sat straight with her eyes wide open. ''Wow-wow, dear sir ! Primitive you say?! How the heck can you compare completely different civilization and their development only judging by the technologies?!'', she looked at the Volm fiercely, with her arms crossed on chest. ''You said your race had left the home planet in a spaceship. Judging by how far all planets are it probably happened at least a century ago and you guys already had the aircrafts to fly. Maybe your race is older than mine and had started the technological breakthrough before us! It's like comparing a child to an adult!''
''I did not mean to offend you Lily''. Cochise lowered his eyes and shook his head. ''But yes, I agree that we had more time to work on the technologies. And we have achieved quite outstanding weapons and devices".
''Like what?'', Lily got curious.
Cochise kept silence. He surely did not want to tell her more, since he still was not sure if this human is truly trustworthy or can be a cunning Espheni collaborator. If she was a collaborator, telling her the facts about the Espheni and Skitters was one thing, it would not disclose anything what is already known by the enemy. Discussing the devices was the other thing, even though the Boston power grid has been destroyed for some time. It could give the idea of how many of his engineer comrades are present on Earth, let alone the idea of the number of soldiers.
"I am sorry, I cannot reveal anything like that. Nothing of the military or technological facts that could be potentially disclosed to the enemy.''
Lily opened her mouth as if she was going to answer but just sighed and shook her head. "All right, all right... No strategically important talks..."
They were sitting quietly for some time sipping hot tea. Cochise finished the last piece of a cookie. Lizzie was now sitting on his lap with a sad look in the eyes as if saying farewell to the cookie. Then she looked at Lily. "Oh my poor baby! You're hungry,too! Sorry, momma was so consumed with having a guest that even forgot about that tuna can!" The young woman got a tiny can from the shaggy wooden cupboard and quickly opened the lid. The cat obviously did not care much about rubbing on the alien guest as she smelled the food. She ran to Lily and tried to stand on hind legs. "Hey, that's you last meal for today, I will leave a half for tomorrow before I go look for food! No honey, I am not going anywhere now, it's too dark already." And she yawned.
Cochise noticed in time, "Lily, I am really grateful for your hospitality but I am afraid I should not abuse it. I must go".
The human raised an eyebrow, "In such darkness? I wouldn't do it, what if it's dangerous? I mean, there two sofas in there. You could go back tomorrow in the morning..."
Is it really she was so willing him to stay overnight already? The alien's brain immediately gave him the imaginary flashes of him getting killed on a sofa right in his sleep though years of fighting and military training made him a light sleeper. A Volm does not need as much sleep as humans do. Then he thought this friendly human must have been pretty lonely and desperately wanted company. She did not try to attack or threaten. However, he preferred not to risk.
"If you want I will try to pay you a visit in a couple of days. Will you be all right on your own?", he asked.
Lily just shrugged, "I've been on my own for almost 3 years now. A couple of days won't make a difference. You're welcome anytime Cochise! Just stay safe".
The Volm nodded and slightly bowed his head. Then gently closed the door behind him. Lily and the cat were alone in the cabin again.