Now the kittens went to the buffet, his guide being the first to take her plate and fill it. The youngest could not reach the top, so they asked their older siblings, and some food was also on the lower shelf where the plates and cutlery were kept. It was chaos in a very orderly way, and brought back memories of lunchtime at his school on Fallerian. Here and there he had been the alien, but only now being aware of it. But here and there it had not mattered.

The kittens thanked the clanmother and balanced their plates to their eating places. The very young ones did so even with their plates in their mouths, for they were still walking on all fours.

Most of the older kittens came to Rerra, all but one to her right. But one came to him, the same one who had spoken to him after the clanmother. "Hello, I am Patty."

"Hello, Patty. Thank you for your guidance." Standing, she barely reached his waist. But she sat down immediately, her head lower than his knee. So he could see her ears going in all directions, nervous or embarrassed. Her head was a little too big for her body, screaming cute kitten with every strand of her black and grey striped fur and her big yellow eyes. After a moment she looked up at him again.

"Why aren't you eating?"

He looked down at his plate guiltily. He was expected to 'eat first', as the clanmother said. And the other kittens were chewing happily. He looked at Rerra, who was talking to the other kittens while they ate. So he put some gratin on his fork.

It was delicious. Not 100% Fallerian, but of all the Krantagratins he had tasted across the galaxy, this was on par with Llanaploß. "This is great."

"Too hot to eat," Patty said, "I like Pies D'Artagnan more." Obviously, this was the pie that she had just attacked with her fork. He was not sure how to contribute. Jerka would have certainly known, and she would have enjoyed Petra Catering for sure. But he was so out of his wits, having stayed with the Fallerian cooking whenever possible. While there certainly had been more places like Petra Catering on the stations that he had visited, his budget had been very tight at the beginning. And after one disaster with the local cuisine, he had stuck with the cheap Fallerian cooking, often mangled beyond imagination. But at least edible to him.

Patty looked at him, her head tilted. "Too hot for you too?"

Hastily, he took another bite. "No, very tasty. I like it, so I eat slow."

"Oh."

He could see how Patty tried to chew slower. But she just stopped between chews, like a badly programmed kitten toy. It was so funny and cute.

"Patty, enjoy your food normally," he smiled at her, fighting hard not to laugh out loud.

Patty looked down and then attacked the food on her plate again, wolfing down the delicious food like her siblings.

The sleeping cat was carved from a vegetable soured in an otherwise sweet and crunchy salad dressing and tasted very different from what he expected. He had to eat slowly, wanting to savour these new tastes.

He just noticed now that Rerra was bowing with the other adults to the clanmother. He had missed her getting to the buffet, he had been so taken by the food. Now the clanmother rose, while Rerra returned with a full plate.

"This food is so tasty!"

Rerra walked straighter, smiling. "I told you, Petra Catering is great. The best food you can get on the station." She stepped lightly over the sitting kittens and sat again next to him on the dais. "You can take seconds. After the clanmother, it's everyone's turn again."

So he stood up. But first, he went to Eli who was sitting with the other five adults. "Eli, I." He interrupted his literal translation of a Fallerian phrase. "Thank you, this is very tasty." He bowed a little, as it seemed their normal way of greeting and thanking. He tried hard, the great food required praise.

All the cats grinned at him, even the two younger ones who had not been directly involved in preparing the food. Perhaps he had made a faux pas, Standard was his second language. Or maybe the compliment was good for them all, they were probably all skilled chefs in this family business. Seeing all the striped cats together, Rerra was the odd one out in this den. Her fur did not match, she was not as tall but much stronger, had hands instead of paws, and she flew spaceships instead of cooking. Suddenly he realised how similar she had been to him, the human child among all the Fallerian beetles.

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Before he dwelled too long on these thoughts, he bowed a second time to the giggling cats and went to the buffet trolley to explore more dishes.

While most of the other cats checked him out from a distance, Patty had no such reservations. When the kitten had finished her meal and returned her dirty plates, she sat down next to his leg and played with his trousers. When there came no further protest from him, she leaned on his leg, her snout on his knee which was as high as she could reach. And watched him. Rerra smiled but she also had three kittens around her, two of them nuzzling her bare legs and another lying on her thigh with dangling arms and feet like relaxing on a tree branch.

Now Patty was already bored by just watching. "Do you also fly spaceships?"

"Yes, I am a pilot." He quickly shoved some salad in his mouth to stall the communication, unsure what to tell the kitten without disturbing a future chef.

Patty just tilted her head and waited until he swallowed. "So you fly ships like Rerra?"

He nodded and took another bite. A mistake, now Patty knew that she would get an answer even while he had his mouth full.

"Did you see more aliens?" Nodding. "Do you have your own ship?" He shook his head. Patty paused, maybe she had run out of yes and no questions. "I want to be like Rerra."

He swallowed. That deserved a real answer, one he wished he had heard before he had turned 10. "It is not so easy to be a pilot. It is a lot of work. And you often work for others. I mean, it is not well paid. You do not get much money." Finally, she seems to have understood something.

"You mean like catering?"

This answer surprised him. Were they poor? Being naked seemed to be their choice. And to buy this expensive food, there must be a good margin. "Less than catering, perhaps. And you could be away for long times."

"Yes. Rerra was also gone for more than," Patty closed her eyes and counted on her paws, her muzzle moving silently, "34 days," she beamed at him.

"Oh, it can easily be years."

Her eyes grew wide.

"And you are an alien everywhere but at home. And aliens are often not treated kindly."

She moved closer, her muzzle sliding up his thighs. "Not like a guest?"

He sighed. "No, almost never like a guest. You are very kind to me."

Patty had closed her eyes for a moment, her ears turning in random directions. "I still want to meet aliens. See big trees. See stars in the sky. See a moon."

He was moved and confused. "You haven't been to the planet?"

"I, I am only three." Patty looked at him as if he was stupid. Maybe going down was not so easy in their society. He tapped Rerra slightly on the shoulder, who immediately turned to him. "It is difficult to go to the planet?" he whispered in Fallerian, "And you have no trees down there?"

"There are ten trees at the Samul residence, the only ones on the planet. I have seen them. Remains from Hopkins II times," she replied in Standard. "Going to the planet is expensive. Only the clanmother, Eli, and Fieta," she pointed to the other older cat, "have been on the planet."

"But I will go when I am a pilot!" added Patty with all the security of a three-year-old.

"Dear, yes, but you have to get good in school and then you may be able to become a pilot." Rerra smiled at her. "A pilot must understand space very well. And be very good at mathematics. I mean counting."

"I can count to 100. And I will go to school next year." Patty stood as high as she could, her paws on her hips. It was very cute. "And school is closed."

That innocent remark brought back the harsh outside of this peaceful island of normality, even with his presence disturbing them. He glanced at Rerra. She looked tired, but so was he. They had come out of jump half a day ago and this had been their first real meal. Even if it was a feast, their bodies had suffered without food so long after a jump and then walking through the station. And their mind too, with the corpses.

Patty looked at him. "It is true, closed."

He had forgotten about her. "Yes, I, sorry, distracted. I am a bit tired."

"Oh, you can sleep. I will watch over you."

That made him smile, cute Patty was exactly the distraction he needed. He looked at Rerra. "Can we really sleep here?"

"Go, ask the clanmother. You are the guest."

"I come with you." Patty grabbed his finger with her tiny paw and tugged him towards the clanmother who watched them with a smile.

He bowed to the best of his ability. "Clanmother, may I rest a little in the den?"

"Yes, please," peeped Patty with her cutest kitten voice.

"You have a strong supporter. Rest, but just this one time. You will leave with Rerra later."

He bent forward again. "That, clanmother, is my intention. Thank you so much."

"Sweet dreams and thank your guardian."

He kneeled down to Patty. "Thank you, little one."

Patty almost exploded with pride, she pushed her chest out and stood as tall as she could be. "I will protect you."

He smiled again and together they returned to Rerra.

"He can stay this time," Patty shouted to Rerra, jumping over a very young and again sleepy kitten. "I am his guard!"

"I am sure you will guard him well," she smiled, no, grinned.

Which meant of course no cuddling. He understood it, his scent alone had brought the adult cats on the edge, even with the suppressant.

Patty was dragging a rug towards him. "My favourite!" she declared when he looked.

The rug was not thick but then, Fallerian sleeping mats were not known to be soft either. "I need to go to the bathroom," he excused himself and went through the lively den to the door to the lobby. It was dark and cold, his breath made clouds. He went to the bathroom which was standard human design and returned quickly to the warm den. Now even more tired than before.

"Can I keep watch from your belly?" Patty asked as soon as he lay down.

"Hmm," he answered, which was enough for the kitten. She jumped on his belly. She was lighter than he thought, and her warmth was welcomed. She lay down and folded her arms under her breast. He put his hand on her and stroked the soft fine fur. The kitten was purring silently, just her body vibrating. He rested his hand on her back and closed his eyes.