Maxwell takes the seat next to me in the larger pod originally used by the crew to fly here. “So.” He raises a brow and eyes me dubiously. “What you’re saying is…he’s not a she?”

I sigh. “No…and that’s not really the point here, although I am confused as to how you could even make this mistake.”

He shrugs. “One of them is entirely black, the other’s mostly red, and brown. You know how it works back on Earth, right? Sometimes the female just…looks more appealing. Also, they both have tails.”

“Oh.” My gaze darts from Luenos to Vihkir. I bury my face between my palms. “I see where the confusion was now…”

“Hey! You were always the social one.” Maxwell snaps. “It’s not like I—"

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You don’t have to,” he scoffs and turns his head the other way. “I can tell by the way you’re looking at me.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you,” I say with a grin, “but I’m not really looking at you either. I’m looking out the window, and you just happen to be beneath it.”

Maxwell clicks his tongue. “For fuck’s sake, Vance!” His fists hit our bench. A loud, metallic clank echoes throughout the pod. “You know what I mean!” He points to Luenos and Vihkir, both seated opposite of us in complete silence. “You’re better at…whatever it is you’re doing with them.” Maxwell says with a motion of his palm.

I shrug him off.

Leaning against the headboard, Maxwell lets out an exasperated groan and turns his body away from me. “Never mind…” he says.

“Five more minutes until our arrival!” the navigator yells from the control panel up front.

What was his name again? I furrow my brows and look to my crutch. Toy? Thor? Tory? I rub my eyes. It’s already been a quite a while and yet, I still can’t remember… I should be ashamed of myself.

< Vance? >

My shoulders rise. I glance at Luenos. “What is it?” I ask him.

< If he tries anything, I swear I will eliminate him. >

“Woah.” I throw my hands into the air. “There really isn’t any need for that, Luenos,” I say.

“Indeed.” Vihkir brings both his arms behind his head and uses them as a pillow. “I’d rather not go there,” he says. His eyes meet mine until he spots my crutch and reaches for it. Observing it with care, Vihkir spins it around between his palms, fascinated; as if the tool were some kind of artifact.

Maxwell’s knees grow restless. His boots tap the floor. “What’s all the fuss about?” he asks me.

An awkward smile tugs at my lips. “I…don’t think they really appreciate each other’s company?”

He rolls his eyes. “Well, boo-hoo.” Crossing one leg over the other, Maxwell pulls out a transparent sketch pad from his right pocket and opens a file for a plan he devised earlier, one for…

I squint. Another weapon? The thought tears a sigh from my lips. No matter how many times I tell him we don’t need extra fluorescent, neon lights on our guns, I guess he’ll never listen…

“Just tell me when we get there,” he says, tapping his pen across the screen. “I don’t care much for whiny alien bitches.”

From across our bench, Vihkir shoots an unimpressed glare at Maxwell and puts my crutch back down.

The pod trembles.

The navigator apologizes.

My crutch begins to dangle again. I reach for it, but Luenos’s tail finds itself at the destination before me, preventing the fall.

“Interesting,” Vihkir mutters, rubbing his chin between two pale fingers wrapped in red markings that spiral around his skin.

“What is?” I ask him.