There was nothing to do but sleep.

Aoi had been around the cell and tried everything out. The Grief Seed dispensary indeed produced one for her, which she didn’t touch. A toilet and shower were on one wall. She watched the shower water bead up on the hydrophobic floor tile and skitter into the middle where it was absorbed, like magic. The food synthesizer worked, synthesizing the same meal of a porkchop, a banana, corn, and rice no matter how many times she pushed the button. An odd meal that Aoi guessed was supposed to be nutritionally balanced. After she had some faint amusement pressing the button to stack up six identical plates of the same meal, there was a slot beneath to dispose of any leftovers, including some very smushed bananas. 

She even tried summoning her mace to break down a wall. Whatever futuristic material it was made of, it didn’t even leave a mark. Even after a few half-hearted swings gave her the willpower to try for real, she couldn’t feel the slightest dent in the wall.

A staircase led up to a deck on top of the serpent’s aquarium. A force shield covered the surface of the water, though the button to disable it was right there on the wall. Aoi turned it back on again right away. She didn’t like the thought of this thing getting out and slithering around in her space. 

Nothing had changed with her “patient.” It swam around in restless circles for hours, then coiled up inside of a giant snail shell to sleep. Now it was awake again.

Aoi sighs. She might still have some people in her life who wouldn’t let her live it down if she didn’t try. First she would need to understand this thing. She telepathically reaches out to the creature. 

Aoi: {Hey. Hello?}

Serpent: {▀▞▓░ ▒▓▞▀ ░▓▓▙▃▅▒░ ░▐ ▏▞▓}

Aoi: {Oh.}

Aisha: {Nice idea!} (She intrudes upon the connection) {But unfortunately, your brains are so different I don’t know if it’ll be understandable even with telepathy!} 

Aoi: {Yeah, I can see that.} 

Aisha: {Best get working! That Soul Gem of hers is looking awfully full!}

Aoi cuts off the connection, and Aisha makes no effort to contact her again. 

One of the bigger problems with healing the alien was distance. She could only get as close as the glass wall of the aquarium. This, at least, she could do something about. If she could get closer– or even hold the thing’s Soul Gem in her hands– she might be able to do something despite the difference between them. Aoi climbs up to the top of the aquarium and spreads her wings. Hesitantly, she disables the force shield. She crouches down by the edge of the tank.

The smell of the water hits her immediately. The water was an intensely, unnaturally bright blue, and with the tank open she could smell the acrid chemicals, like incredibly concentrated brine. She splashes a little to get the creature’s attention, and the water stung and left salt crusted on her fingers. Aoi takes off her shoe and used that to splash around in the water instead. 

Aoi: {Hey, come up here. I can help you. With your Soul Gem. If you’ll just get a little closer?}

The serpent remains deep in the water, staring up at Aoi warily. It keeps its tail, and the Soul Gem fastened around it, pressed to the bottom of the tank. Too far to do anything. 

Time to give up. Aoi turns and stands up to turn the force shield back on.

A rush of water behind her. The creature surges up to the surface and wraps a feeler around Aoi’s leg, pulling her down. Aoi falls and her leg goes down into the water. Sharp teeth sink into her calf. Aoi cries out in pain. She looks back into the water. The creature’s jaw has separated into four mandibles, chewing and grappling onto her leg, its tail lashing furiously to pull her down into the water.

Aoi: {Stop! Stop!} 

Serpent: {▒░▓  ▙▋ ▓░▃  ▒ ▏▒░▕ ▐▒▞▟▚}

No other choice. Aoi flaps with her broken wings, every movement causing shooting pain. But they lift her up enough to get her leg out of the water. The creature has to let go to stay in the water, wrapping a couple feelers around her leg to pull her back in. 

By pure luck, Aoi’s wing hits the button to activate the force shield. The feelers are instantly severed by the barrier and the creature retreats. 

Aoi crawls away in a panic before she even looks at her leg. She was bleeding from countless tooth marks, and the wounds burned and stung horribly from being soaked in the concentrated brine. Tears in her eyes from the pain, Aoi crawls down the stairs and across the room to the shower. She sits and lets the water rinse off her leg, her breath hitching in her chest from how much it hurts. 

She looked up. The creature had its severed feelers in its mouth, secreting some kind of colorful paste it was using to build new feelers. Once it had finished sculpting the paste to match how its old feelers used to be, a flash of light ran down its body and the paste became new feelers, perfectly restored. 

Aoi stared bitterly. Healing her leg would be much more costly for her. 

This is what she got for trying to help someone.