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> Maruui fell into step alongside Nine and chattered away beside him in a way which was somehow equal parts annoying, endearing and familiar. Her quickfire questions were sequenced in rapid succession and it took him a minute to process them. Trying to walk and talk simultaneously was like having the words pulled from inside him by a blind mechanical grabber-hand.
> 
> “No.” One foot in front of the other. Deep breath. “More like… an extension.”
> 
> She kept asking [i]more[/i] questions. Something about his headache. Nine frowned as he tried to process it, not enjoying the sensation of his brain moving at a considerably slower pace than normal. It was a relief when Kaison told her to go and fetch some water – albeit relief tinged with suspicion, since Kaison seemed significantly less friendly than his bubbly companion and undoubtedly had an ulterior motive for wanting Nine on his own.
> 
> With Maruui on her quest and the stool/workstation idea quickly scrapped, Nine was able to settle onto the floor in one of his favourite states: silence. He studied the tail on his lap, using sheer willpower to focus his vision. There was no visible external damage, which meant that whatever those creeps had done, it had only affected the internal mechanisms. That figured, since it had been some kind of auditory-wave attack. While he examined it, one of his other mechanical tails extracted itself from the pile behind him arced itself upwards and peered over his shoulder, as though also keen to investigate. 
> 
> A dull [i]thump[/i] pulled Nine from his hyperfocus and he regarded the toolbox which had been set next to him, at first with a flash of surprise (where had this come from?) and then with understanding (oh). He reached over, flipped the latch and opened the lid while Kaison spoke, but paused at his final question. His forehead creased as he turned his blue gaze upwards, finding that the suspicion which coloured the human’s words also extended to his facial expression. This was not a person who hid his feelings. In another lifetime, he and Nine might have been friends.
> 
> “I flew here from Cedar Creek Visitor Centre through clouds the whole way,” he replied flatly, this time with only a subtle hint of impatience. “Is that far enough?” 
> 
> Despite the biting undertone, the question wasn’t sarcastic or rhetorical. Nine held the human’s gaze, his hand on the opened lid of the toolbox, needing to know the answer. He’d been flying blind the whole way and had no idea how far he’d come, or if the humans had been able to use sensors to ‘see’ through the clouds. If they [i]had[/i] followed him here, he was in no shape to fight or flee. 
> 
> There was just one other thing Nine needed to know.
> 
> “Who are they?” He asked hoarsely, following Kaison’s lead and lowering his voice. “What do they want with…” He hesitated. Nine still didn’t know if these people were trustworthy. “…Me?”