"I want to taste everything!" Skip exclaimed. "What's the best thing you've got in here, besides kloval, that a human being like me can eat...and like?"

     That perked the crowd up.

     A squid-like creature scuttled across the cafeteria to place a bowl in front of Skip that contained, what, baked fish? It didn't smell like fish. It didn't smell like anything. Skip nibbled. Crunchy, like a potato chip, and, yeah, he tasted a little fish in there. Okay.

     Skip ate the rest of the fishchip, then pushed a bowl of kloval in the squid-like creature's direction.

     The creature went nowhere near it, but instead quivered as it looked up at Skip. 

​     "Okay, so what is this thing and what does it want?" Skip asked.

     "It's a shimar, and he really shouldn't be out of the water," Claudia replied. "He wants you to pet him."

​     "He..."

     "Pet him on the head like you would your favorite dog, and be nice. Shimar are very sensitive, and their feelings are easily hurt."

     "Well, okay, but..."

     "Their instinct is to slaughter whoever hurts their feelings, so..."

​     Skip's shit eating grin returned. "Hey, ugly squid-like creature," he said as he patted the shimar's head. "Don't slaughter me, please."

     'They're vicious, too."

     "What have I gotten myself into here, Claudia?"

​     "I'm glad you're putting the blame where it belongs."

CONTINUE