The boy waved to Alex as the human entered the hover. Tristan felt like rolling his eyes at the gesture, but he was Emil’s buddy, so he gave the human a short wave too. The sides shimmered then the ‘In The Dark’ shimmered away, leaving only the dark blue. A moment later that too changed, the sides becoming white. The hover lifted above the canopy, then flew away. Emil watched the sky for a time, a wistful expression on his face. Tristan had the sense the boy wasn’t seeing the hover in his mind's eye, but his father. Tristan didn’t know if he could change that in the few months he had before Masters would be here, but he was confident he could put himself in a surrogate position strong enough for his goal. The boy went back to their eating area and began cleaning his plate and the pan as well as the tools he used to make his breakfast. He worked efficiently, doing his best to hide that he missed his father. “You okay, buddy?” Emil nodded. Tristan placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Hey, you know you can talk to me, right?” Emil bit his lower lip. “Do you think I’ll ever get to see my father?” the corner of his eyes glistened. “Hey, don’t cry.” Emil quickly dried his eyes. “I’m not.” “That’s not what I mean, it’s okay to cry, but you will see your father. I’ll make sure of that. It doesn’t matter who gets in our way, I’m going to take you to your father, I promise.” Tristan gave the boy a sincere smile. Emil nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m not a baby anymore. I shouldn’t be crying.” “You miss your father, I know how it feels. I miss mine too.” Tristan dunked his plate in the soapy water and began scrubbing it. “Do you cry because of it?” Tristan looked in the distance for a moment, hands moving by themselves on his plate. “Not anymore, but I lost him a long time ago. I used to.” “You lost him?” Tristan gave the boy a sad smile. “He died when I was a young man.” Emil wrapped his arms around Tristan. “I’m sorry.” Tristan patted his head, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Thanks.” He finished washing and set everything aside to dry. Emil picked up his datapad and went to sit by a tree. “Hey buddy,” Tristan called before he could get too engrossed in his reading. “How about I teach you how to identify edible plants in the wood, so we can use them for our meals.” The boy looked up. “Food doesn’t come from the forests, it comes from farms.” Tristan chuckled. “That’s where it’s grown for the people in the universe, but everything you ate first grew on its own in a forest, or a wood, or in a plain. And there’s still a lot of them.” Emil looked doubtful. “Come on, I’ll show you.” Tristan hooked the analyzer to his belt. Emil joined him and they walked into the woods. After a dozen steps Tristan stopped and crouched by a patch of green leaves on the ground. “What are they?” Emil asked. He took a picture of one with his datapad. “I don’t know.” Tristan plucked one. “So it’s good to eat?” He ran a search, trying to identify it. “Maybe. Buddy, put that away. You don’t need it.” “Don’t I need to figure out if we can eat it?” Tristan smiled. “Yes, but not that way. I’m going to teach you a way to do that without technology. That way if you crash land on an unknown planet and all your devices break, you’ll still be able to survive.” “This can’t break.” Emil indicated his datapad. “Buddy, if the universe tries hard enough, anything can be broken.” He indicated the patch. “Take one, then take a small bite of it.” Tristan demonstrated. “Chew it, but don’t swallow.” It was slightly bitter, and rather bland. Emil made a face and spit it out. “Bitter?” The boy nodded. “Alright, bitterness is one of the stronger indication of if a plant is bad for you.” He unhooked the analyzer. “The more bitter something is, the more dangerous it is.” He scanned the one he held and showed Emil the results. “See all the compounds highlighted in red? Those are all things that can hurt you. As we try more of them, you’ll see that the amount of red will alter with the bitterness.” “You didn’t react like it was bitter.” “I’m not human. Samalians are susceptible to different things. Human food has never hurt me, so I tend to eat mostly that. If we need to make a meal of things we find here then I might have to be careful.” “If Lemons are bitter, how come they’re not dangerous for me?” “Lemons are a cultivated fruit. Humans have modified them over the millennia. I don’t know why they left them bitter, but they managed to remove the stuff that would hurt you. If you find something that looked like a lemon in these woods, and it was just as bitter, then that one would probably be bad for you.” They moved on to a patch of different plants and tasted them. Emil didn’t have such a strong reaction and Tristan showed him the scan, which, as he’d predicted, had less red. They moved from plant to plant this way. When they came across a bush that had berries, Tristan had Emil crush one on a leave and then taste the juice. The boy said it was sweet and not bitter at all, and a scan showed barely any red. The boy ate them with enthusiasm. Tristan tried to join him, but one bite and he had to spit it out. It had been extremely bitter. He kept a couple berries to bring back to the ship for analysis. The portable analyzer didn’t have a Samalian setting. When they came to a tree baring fist size brown and yellow fruits, Tristan hoisted Emil up for him to grab one for each of them. Then he taught the boy how to hold a knife, how to cut the fruit to avoid hurting himself. They used a finger to taste the juice and it was sweet, with barely any bitterness to Tristan, and none at all for Emil so they enjoyed a few of them. While they rested, Tristan showed the boy how to throw the knife and they spent a few minutes doing that before going back to tasting more plants. At some point an animal roared in the distance and Emil pressed himself against Tristan’s side. The Samalian smiled and placed a hand protectively over the boy. Tristan had him dig out tubers, showing him how often the large leaves were an indication it’s worth digging. When the light began disappearing, Tristan led Emil back to their camp. “How do you know so much about the woods?” The boy asked as they walked. “I grew up in something resembling this.” “Your city had woods?” Tristan shook his head. “I grew up in a wood. A forest actually. My father taught me how to identify edible plants like I showed you.” Of course his father had considered Tristan getting sick from eating nearly poisonous plants the method by which Tristan learned what he should and shouldn’t eat. They added some of the plants they brought back to the meal they prepared and ate. When they were done Emil took his knife and set himself before a tree and practiced his throwing. The boy was still doing that when the hover returned. Alex stepped out of it and looked at Emil as he headed For Tristan. “You gave him a knife?” His tone was disbelieving. “He needed it to cut open fruits.” “That isn’t a cooking knife, that’s a merc model. How come you had one that’s small enough for him to use?” Tristan smiled. “I don’t believe this. You got it before we left the station didn’t you?” Tristan didn’t answer. Alex had no business questioning what he did, but his befuddlement was amusing enough to keep him from hitting the human. “Fine, you got it and you taught him to cut fruits.” He pointed to Emil throwing the knife. “How does that help him cut fruits?” Tristan’s amusement was at an end. “You seem to be forgetting your place, Alex.” The human ground his teeth, but he didn’t reply. “Knife-throwing is a good skill to have. It lets you hit opponents at a distance. A good throw can incapacitate a human long enough for you to finish him.” “I know that.” Alex opened his jacket to show the harness he wore under it, with dozens of knives attached to it. “But he’s just a kid.” “A kid who no one has bothered preparing for the harshness of the universe. Knowledge is all well and good, but he needs to be able to defend himself.” “What? Why? You—this—I don’t—” Alex closed his mouth and took a few deep breath. “What’s the point in doing this, considering how it’s going to end for him?” “I am building a bond between him and me.” “Damn it, why? At least tell me why you’re doing this? How does doing that help with getting Masters here?” Tristan took a step forward, and Alex wisely took one back. “I don’t owe you any explanations. If I’m doing this to keep myself amused, then that’s why I’m doing it and you’re going to be happy about it.” “No. I might not stop you, but don’t expect me to be happy about what you’re doing to Emil.” He headed to the hover and Tristan followed. Silently they unloaded the food, Emil joining to help and Tristan ruffled his hair again. When all that was left was one container barely two feet on each side, Alex sent Emil off to play. Emil grabbed his datapad and sat by a tree, making Alex shake his head. He handed the container to Tristan. “This should help you bond with him.” Tilting an ear, Tristan opened in. He frowned at the spheres of various sizes in it. “What are they?” he took one out. It was firm, but had some give to it. The surface was textured with dots everywhere. “It’s a ball.” “It’s a sphere.” “It’s a ball.” Tristan eyed Alex. “What’s their use?” “That one you dropped to the ground and you can kick it to Emil, he can kick it back.” Alex reached into the container and pulled out a smaller one. “This one you can throw at each other and catch it.” Tristan dropped the container. “What’s the point to them?” Alex sighed. “It’s so you can bond with Emil without having to traumatize him. You throw this to each other, you talk, you have fun.” Tristan’s hand tightened on the ball until his claws pierced the material. “Fun isn’t going to help him deal with what’s coming.” “And what’s that? He isn’t a merc, he’s a kid. You can’t be thinking of involving him in this.” Tristan punched Alex. He’d planned for it to be full force in the face, as a reminder of who was in charge, but he’d forgotten about the ball he was holding and that’s what hit Alex’s face. The human backed up under the impact, but he didn’t end up bloody. With a snarl Tristan opened his hand, but the ball didn’t fall. He shook it and then had to pull it off his claws. Throwing it aside he glared at Alex. “You seem to constantly forget that I do what I want. You continue trying to tell me what to do and the next time, I won’t be holding anything.” Alex opened his mouth, but Tristan’s growl made him shut it. “Your only job is to get my equipment. I will bond with the boy however I see fit. If you can’t understand that, tell me so I can take the time to clarify what that means.” Tristan’s fist tightened until the joins popped. He could feel his claws digging into his palm, but he didn’t care. He needed Alex to get it through that thick human skull of his the danger he was in right now. Alex looked down. “I know.” He looked up. “I just—” This time Tristan punched him. Not hard enough to make him bleed, but if he didn’t understand the meaning, there wouldn’t be any hope for him. “Don’t. You don’t get to think. You get to do what you’re told. If you think you can change that, we can have that discussion when this is all over. Unless you want me to break something, you’re going to drop that line of thought. The boy isn’t yours to protect.” Alex touched his face, checking for blood. “How am I going to do the job if I’m hurt?” “You’re only picking up equipment, talking to people. You can do that with your leg in a bone regeneration cast.” Alex wanted to argue, Tristan could see it in his eyes, in his stance. Until he deflated. “Alright. I’m sorry. I won’t do anything like this again.” Tristan snorted. He didn’t believe him. Somehow it seemed to be in his nature to protect someone weaker than him, no matter the cost to himself. That kind of behavior was going to get him killed at some point. “Get some rest,” he told the human. “You said you have things to do tomorrow.”