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.Lying still, he listened, body tensing when he heard rustling the field outside.The cabin was still cloaked, but that didn't mean that there wasn't someone out there poking around.He recalled that his transport had been seen, and it made perfect sense that someone would have come back to follow up on where it had gone.Things didn't just disappear into thin air, and it seemed that the humans were smart enough to be aware of that.Carefully he got out of the bed and crept to one of the windows, looking out.The sun was low in the sky, but on the other side from where it had risen, and Carver realized with a jolt that he must have slept for most of the day.That was incredibly unlike him, and he cursed Ithril for whatever he'd put in his drink that was obviously still working its way through his system.At least it was still daylight out, so he could see what was going on.At first there was nothing to see, but then a figure made itself visible in the distance.Carver squinted, trying to see if he could identify what sort of person or animal it might be.As the figure moved closer, it became apparent that it was a human and a female at that.She was much shorter than Sitheri females, and she moved like she was searching for something.Carver was certain he knew what she was searching for.She held something in her hand that intrigued him, though.It looked to be the right size and shape to be a bio sensor, though he knew there was no way that it could be one since humans didn't seem to have that kind of tech yet.Whatever it was, the woman seemed adept at using it, her finger poised over the screen and her eyes sharp as she looked down at the device and then scanned the area around her.As best he could tell, the readings she was getting weren't matching up with what she was seeing, and Carver couldn't help but smile.When Sitheri wanted to hide something, it stayed hidden.All she would be seeing right then was a large empty space and the moldering foundation of the cabin sitting right in the middle of what appeared to be a filthy swamp.Unless she actually found the door of the cabin, she wouldn't even be able to get close to it.She looked frustrated, and Carver could understand that.For whatever reason, she seemed determined to find something, and the thought that she was trying to find him made him blink for a second.Presumably the people who had seen the transport had told others.But the question was if she was working alone or for someone who wished him and his people harm.From what he knew, only some humans believed in the possibility of life on other planets besides theirs, and Khaosali was so far from Earth that there was no way that any human had even really heard of it before.But there were exceptions to every rule, and it didn't make sense that no humans would be aware of the fact that there were others out there.And some of them probably even meant them harm.Somehow Carver didn't think that was the case with this one.She seemed like she was in search of knowledge, information, even though he had no idea how he knew that or what led him to believe that was the case.Maybe it was something in the set of her face.It reminded him of himself when he had poured through the archives looking for some obscure piece of information to report back to his father while he had been learning how to be a leader.The smart thing to do would be to remain hidden and wait for her to give up as she inevitably would once she didn't find anything.But…But he couldn't deny the fact that he was going to need help.Carver was essentially alone for now.Until he could get the communications going on his transporter, he was cut off from his own people and pretty much at the mercy of the humans if they found him.There was no way he'd be able to get back to Khaosali by hiding the whole time he was here.He knew nothing of human tech or if there was something they had that could help him.He'd always been a big believer in listening to his instincts, and right now there were telling him that this woman might be his chance to get home.Cursing himself for probably being an idiot, Carver moved through the cabin, wishing he had some kind of weapon or something handy.She didn't look like she was armed or even very much of a threat, but the destructive nature of humans had been impressed upon him from a young age.Hopefully if it came down to that, his size would be an advantage, since he seemed to be nearly a foot taller than she was from what he could tell.With a low sigh he put his hand on the door knob and opened the door, well aware of how bizarre this was going to look to her.When he stepped out into the late afternoon sun, her eyes snapped to him immediately and her mouth dropped open.She stared for a good few seconds and then her eyes darted to the screen in her hand and then back to the pile of wood that he had seemingly stepped out of."Either I'm dreaming, having a stroke, or I was right this whole time," she said, and Carver found that he instantly liked the melodic quality to her voice.Sitheri were gifted in tongues, and it took him a second to parse her words before he understood them and nodded."You are not dreaming.I can't vouch for the other two."Her eyes widened."You… you're not human are you?""No," Carver said."You are?"She nodded."Yeah.I… holy crap.Holy crap.I didn't… I knew there was something out here, but I didn't…"While she worked through getting her words out, Carver studied her.She wasn't any taller close up, and Carver was amused at how she had to crane her neck to see his face.Aside from that, he had to admit that she was lovely
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