He sighs and grasps her by her hand, fingers interlinking. "Come on," he says.
She follows the tug until she is sitting on the couch. The grip in her hand relaxes and she wavers, suddenly uncertain of what to do.
"It's not- it's why the government isn't worried when they give me humans to nurture," he says. "At any one time, I have two or three. We're not supposed to keep them for longer than a year, keeps them from getting attached."
"But you've taken care of me for fifteen," she whispers. She remembers him in her childhood than her own parents. He adopted her when she was only three-years-old.
"Yes," he says. "It's not allowed," he says, each word enunciated clearly. "If someone finds out what I have been taking care of you for so long, I could get in a lot of trouble."
"No one's go
