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“You’re tiny,” she said, as if she hadn’t just done that. “Are you a juvenile?”

“No, I’m fully grown,” I said.

“That’s unfortunate," she said, patting me on the head. She was probably being gentle, but she put enough pressure on me to make my knees bend. “It’s bad to be little but done growing. Bigger is better. Do you have a keeper?”

“I’ve never been on a Marper station before,” I explained, ignoring the keeper question. “I didn’t know you were so very large and impressive.”

That was the exact right thing to say. “Yes, we Marpers are very impressive.”

“Yes, especially you!” I said.

The Marper stood tall, preening. “I’m very large. My lineage has some of the largest and most important Marpers in this sector.”

Suddenly she grabbed me, lifting me up and setting me on the top of the box strapped to her back. “Where are you going? I will take you there so you don’t accidentally get hurt.”

“That’s very kind of you,” I said. “I was going to the travel broker.”

She grunted and shifted in place. The traffic was against her, the same issue I’d been dealing with, but instead of jumping around trying to avoid tree-trunk-sized legs or massive swinging hands, she simply shoved other Marpers out of her way.

A few grumbled and some laughed, but none of them challenged her.

“See,” she said. “I’m biggest.”

“You are,” I agreed. “My name is Opal.”

“I’m Pelrow,” she said. “I’m sorry you’re not going to get any bigger. You should really find a keeper, like we do with our children.”

A keeper must be a type of babysitter or caregiver.

“I’ll look for one,” I said.

“That’s good,” she said. “Do humans form family groups?”

“We do,” I said. “But it’s hard for us to stay together. My parents are gone, and I haven’t seen any of my cousins for many years.”

“That’s very sad,” she said. “I could put you into my child's growing group. Their keeper is excellent. They’ve already learned all about this station and the Laws of Orbits. Of course, my child is the biggest one in her growing group.”

Was Pelrow trying to adopt me? That was cute and made me want to pat her on the head. It was rare for any species to give humans a fair chance, but this Marper was going out of her way to be kind.

“Thank you for the offer, but I'd really like to get home,” I said.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “It would be good practice for the youth to have you around. It’s important we learn how to handle delicate things when we’re young.”

And suddenly the offer didn’t seem as sweet.

“I have a job waiting,” I lied.

“Then that’s very important,” Pelrow agreed. “If the job doesn’t work out or they are too rough, come back and I’ll take care of you. I plan to have at least three more offspring, and you can teach all of them and the other youths about being gentle.”

“That’s kind of you,” I said to Pelrow. “Only a truly big Marper would offer me such kindness.”

“That’s true,” she agreed, her stride getting a little longer and her next shove sending a fellow pedestrian crashing into several others.

It wasn’t long before we got to the travel broker’s office. Pelrow didn’t set me down until we were inside the office and safe from foot traffic. Before leaving, she crouched down in front of me.

“Be safe, Opal. If you change your mind, contact Pelrow of Pelshun here, on Outer Moon Station. I will fetch you, yes?”

“Yes,” I agreed.