Zayzann strode towards the wooden door to rejoin Iris in the bedroom. He opened it hastily, as Iris was changing into her work clothes. Luckily for her, she was mostly covered when he barged in. She tensed and jolted at his sudden appearance all the same.

“Hey, good morning. Could you give me a minute to change, please?” Iris requested behind her hastily drawn up cardigan that concealed her blushing cheeks. “Yeah, outside, thanks... Hey, Zayzann? Could you knock on the door to warn me before entering next time, please?”

Zayzann reddened and drew his ears back, averting his eyes to the floor. He hadn’t anticipated his watch-mate to be so particular about such things.

“I am sorry, Iris,” he muttered. “I did not know.”

“That’s all right. I’ll bet there are a lot of things on Earth that’ll seem strange to you,” Iris offered. “I’m not angry, it’s just that I don’t like when people see me changing, okay?” She pulled the remainder of the lightweight cardigan over her head and fixed the collar. Her threadbare work clothing billowed over her narrow frame, hanging like a too-large article on a tiny mannequin.

Zayzann closed the bedroom door and clenched his jaw. He glanced at his own tattered hide attire and frowned. The clothing was little more than a loincloth, covering most everything that needed to be.

“Miss Iris?” he asked from behind the closed door. “Do you have anything I could wear, pleece? It is cold here.”

“You’re cold? Oh, jeez, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think about it. Your planet's quite warm, yeah? I figured, you know, with the feathers, I just...” Iris inquired, while rooting around in her closet for clothes. She failed to linger on the fact that she seemed to know his home world was warm and continued to search distractedly.

“I don’t have much that would fit, but you can use these.” Iris produced an oversized heather-gray hooded sweatshirt with athletic-looking writing on it. She shook it out gently to Zayzann without a glance and resumed getting ready. “It’s fine if you stretch this one out. It’s my ex’s.”

Zayzann eyed the sweatshirt warily. The subtle, musky scent from its previous owner hung in the air after Iris shook it out to him. Was this an article from a former watch-mate? Zayzann's nose turned up at this smell, though he didn’t seem to know why. The door opened a crack, allowing Iris to poke her hand out with more clothing.

Iris handed him a pair of silky athletic basketball shorts that matched the hoodie. Zayzann wriggled vigorously to get the shorts on, eventually squeezing each leg through. They smothered him in front and behind, forcing his down feathers to puff out just beyond the hemlines. There was no hole in the back either, forcing the elastic to chaff against the underside of his long, feathered tail.

The hoodie was a hopeless affair. Try as he might, Zayzann couldn’t figure out how to wear it without tamping his ample wings underneath the sweatshirt. It was tight and uncomfortable regardless, and he felt suffocated by the thick fabric. Iris emerged from the bedroom to witness his struggle with the tangled snare.

“Oh! Hold on, just a minute.” She darted to the spare room and returned triumphantly with a pair of pinking shears. “Here, let me help you out of this. Hold still for me, okay?” Iris snipped and clipped a patchy, zig-zag edged hole in the back of the sweatshirt Zayzann was prisoner in. “That's good. Don't move. Almost there.”

“Iris, wait.” Zayzann's wings burst through the hole, nearly clipping Iris in the face when they shot back. “Thank you.” He sighed, not realizing how close he'd come to batting her with violently springing wing backs. “Was stuck.”

“No worries. Happy to help. There, that looks better,” she replied. “A little tight here and there though.” Iris brushed her hand along the waistline to get a better idea about what to do. Zayzann stiffened at the unexpected contact. “Do you want me to do something about this for you? I can snip the elastic here if you'd like.”

Zayzann nodded. His throat flushed red, and he clenched both fists in knots to not startle at the tickling hands and shears that grazed his incredibly sensitive tail. Unlike his stiff, almost plastic flight feathers, Zayzann's tail feathers were silky and luxuriously soft. Iris continued snipping the waistline elastic and marveling at his plumage. The last thread snapped just before Zayzann would have.

“All set.” She grinned. “Not bad at all.” Iris stowed the shears in the spare room as Zayzann admired the improvements to his new outfit with a deep sigh. “It'll get you by until I can get you an upgrade. Are you still cold?”

“No,” he blurted. “Not cold. I am hungry though.”

“Oh, sure,” Iris said as she took his hand and escorted him to the kitchen. “I'll whip something up for us, then I gotta go to work.” Zayzann followed behind, biting his lip while limping along.

Iris hurriedly set out a pot to boil water, made a pan of scrambled eggs and two bowls of piping hot cinnamon sugar oatmeal. Zayzann observed intently, absorbing as much of this fascinating information as possible. Iris boiled an entire carton of eggs, then laid out utensils for the meal.

“Breakfast is ready. Come, sit down,” she invited. “These are scrambled eggs. And this is called oatmeal. It's a soft, cooked grain. I added some sugar, so it tastes a little better. Here, try some.”

Iris gently blew on a spoonful of oatmeal to demonstrate. Zayzann copied her as best as he could, mirroring each action like a gigantic blue parrot. He had poised himself to dislike this strange food at first. It smelled like Zhalterran plains grass but tasted surprisingly good. He licked the spoon clean with his raspy tongue.

He made quick work of the entire bowl of oatmeal, lapping up the hot meal with enthusiasm. Iris smiled and handed him a fork for his eggs. Cooked eggs were a novelty for Zayzann. Back home, Paxoram would simply break open an egg and lap up the insides. But these eggs were warm, soft, and springy. Iris sat back and grinned with a satisfied smirk as Zayzann devoured the eggs.

They cleared the table together when breakfast concluded. Iris gave him a brief tour to show him some of the basics of apartment living. The bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom, spare room, and hallway were all included. Zayzann listened patiently to each explanation, but his wrinkled brows betrayed him during the tour. He needed to tell her everything about last night, but how would he bring it up?

“Is something wrong?” Iris asked. “Breakfast not to your liking?”

“No, that's not it,” Zayzann squeaked. “Iris, about last night...” He trailed off, leaving his thought unfinished.

“Huh? Oh, no need to worry. I already know.” Iris smiled warmly.

“What? You do?” Zayzann's ears perked up at attention.

“Sure. It can't be easy sleeping in some stranger's apartment.” Iris gathered her work things as she spoke. “Listen, let's both do our best while you're here, and work together, all right?”

Zayzann's face tensed, and his left eye twitched twice. He could feel the opportunity slipping away.

“I don't know how you got here either, but I'll do my best to keep you safe until we figure out how to send you home,” Iris continued, scooping up her sketchbook, papers, and pens into the faux leather bag. “Don't worry. Everything is gonna be fine. I've left you some eggs in the refrigerator and I'll bring you home something good this evening, okay?”

“Of course. It's just...” Zayzann tried one last time to bring up the intruder. “Last night, I found something strange in the kitchen.”

“Yes, thank you!” Iris produced the hundred-dollar bill Zayzann had found on the floor. “This is a huge windfall for us. Thank you for finding it.”

“W-what is it?” Zayzann stuttered.

“This is money. It's something we use on Earth to buy things with. I can try and explain better when I get back. For now, I'll use this to get you some food and maybe something to wear,” Iris continued. “I don't know how I could leave something this important lying around, but good on you for finding it.” She walked over to Zayzann and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

But he didn't find it. Well, strictly speaking, he did. But that wasn't the point. It was left there by some shadowy interloper, not his forgetful roommate. Zayzann looked into her eyes and could find no trace of self-interest or guile. At this, he sighed and gave up on telling her the truth.

Iris grabbed her keys, phone, wallet, and umbrella from the entryway storage bin, then turned back to Zayzann.

“Before I leave, you're free to look around the apartment and explore inside. Try and see if anything looks familiar. Take a look at these too.” Iris guided him to the living room and set some books out on the coffee table in front of Zayzann. “Oh, and try not to touch anything that plugs into the wall, okay? Those things run on electricity and... Well, it's like the lamp in the bedroom. Understand?”

“I understand,” Zayzann replied, squinting at the innocent-looking living room lamps with sharp eyes. “When I am finished, can I go outside?”

Iris froze where she stood, staring at Zayzann while trembling faintly. His question caught her off balance, and she was clearly struggling to respond. Iris’s cheeks flushed from a rush of blood and a stinging headache slowly descended on her.

Something is wrong.

“Please listen, this is very important,” Iris stressed. “Do NOT leave the apartment. You will be seen. There are... predators outside... Some humans may see you and they won't understand who you are... They may react poorly to seeing you, and try to, well...” She trailed off with a forlorn sigh.

“I don't understand. But I will try,” Zayzann answered. “Are humans predators to Paxoram?”

“Predators? Well, not exactly, no. Look, I don't want you to fear all humans, but some people out there will be afraid of you, because you're different from them,” Iris struggled, reaching for the right words with shaky hands and tied tongue. “I'm not sure how else to explain. Please, just stay here until I return when the sun goes down. All right?”

Zayzann nodded obediently. “All right.”

“Okay.” Iris smiled. “Thank you. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I appreciate you listening to me on this. I know you don’t know me that well, so, thanks for trusting me.” Her smile was drawn harsh and thin, as if she were pained while making it.

Zayzann tilted his head and dilated his eyes slightly, trying to take in more information. He mirrored Iris’s smile back at her, and she broke eye contact first to turn away.

“Well, I’m off.” She scooped up her bag and a small sack of snacks. “I’ll see you after work. Be good, okay?”

Zayzann nodded once more, watching carefully as she turned and closed the door between them. The faint jingling of keys locked her outside and him within. He motioned to the door and stopped just short of touching the doorknob. Zayzann stared at the heavy wooden door and felt a tiny draft from a crack left at the top where it should have met the frame. He lingered by the door long after Iris had gone.

“Come home soon,” Zayzann whispered into the lonely, vacant apartment.