(Tayseri Point) Four Legs Good, Two Legs...Currently Acceptable.

Paddock 36A on Tayseri Point was not, by any stretch of the imagination, home. Dekuuna was home; the open savannah and the scent of his peers, where he could bathe in their admiration and know the comfort and approval of a herd. The elcor-specific accommodations of Tayseri, inferior to those in the more heavily elcor-populated Zakera Ward, were cramped and uncomfortable, at least for a being adapted to the open air. To a young human, though, it was no doubt appealingly spacious.

Alonso Cutri stood in the central living area, not far from the door, looking around with a stoic impression on his face but his eyes quick and alert as they swept the room. He had picked up his watchful demeanour from his father, and his time in the ducts had no doubt honed it considerably. Xuumo marvelled at how intense the young human's eyes were.

"This is your home?"

It was rhetorical, of course, so he didn't require an answer, but Xuumo-kalashasi was anxious to make him feel welcome, and offered one regardless:

"Earnest: This is my accommodation, yes. With emphatic appeal: And I hope you will consider it your home for at least the foreseeable future".

The boy turned his attention to a compartment, or perhaps a large nook, in which Xuumo had hung a small hammock, as well as having stacked pillows in a slightly desperate attempt to reproduce a human nest.

"So, is this where I'm sleeping, then?"

"Affirmative: For now, at least. Apologetic: I can get you something more suitable once all the legal business is taken care of, and I know you're definitely staying".

"Beats sleeping in a crawlspace, I guess".

"Pleased agreement: Precisely".

Letting the boy gaze around and become accustomed, he moved to check on his messages. Had his medicinal delivery been arranged yet? The Establishment of Medicinal Support had been distributing, and to his frustration he'd been unable to procure any dietary supplements due to his prior commitment to Alonso. He hoped he'd be receiving a visit from an employee of the human with an apparent curse for a screen name - perhaps he should look into it again. An interesting lot, this CDN crowd. Some of them had potential as future associates, if he approached them carefully. Certainly they were established in all nooks of the galaxy, and many seemed...resourceful. When he was done here, he'd have what he wryly thought of as a business trip to arrange; maybe he'd inquire after the assistance of someone from the board. It was the need to find a discreet but effective route into the duct rat community that had drawn him to the site originally, as he searched for a means of contacting charity workers who might aid him in tracing Alonso. The other denizens were not of interest...at first. They were a strange group. A strange group indeed.

The denizens included: An exiled batarian noble with an ego about the size of a Huljoo, an albino drell information broker who had some sort of feud with a homeless man on Omega, a turian separatist who was now a politician here on the Citadel, the CEOs of two major companies - one an asari sex worker, the other a krogan crime against nature - and a human diplomat who he already knew by reputation. If the Courts were to consult the sacred records for precedents applicable to such an erratic and unstable collection, they'd be forced to conclude that the situation was hopeless, and walk off shaking their heads.

Alonso sat down on the pillows Xuumo had arranged near the hammock, some of the fight gone out of him. Now that there weren't any other children around, and no sense of potential danger save a slight wariness about his new surroundings, he was more willing to show his exhaustion. This had, after all, been a trying day. He looked at his elcor companion - and now apparent guardian - with a surprisingly earnest expression.

"It's good to see you, Xuumo. I didn't know if anyone..." He trailed off. "I guess I should say thanks, huh?"

"Firm assurance: You cannot know how pleased I am to find you, Alonso".

"Yeah". The boy picked at his thumb, before looking once more at the elcor, quizzical. "Did you mean it? About dad's work. And about bringing me back to all that?" There was something hard in his eyes, once again, but also something that might have been hope.

So he *had* gotten the implications. That was good.

"Assuredly: I did. I have plans for the coming months, Alonso, and you are more than welcome to be a part of them. To continue my business with your father is a duty I take seriously.

Bluntly: But for now that can wait. You need to get cleaned up. Slyly mocking: We elcor have a very keen sense of smell, you may recall. As stimulating as the scent of that clawball court is, if you're going to be part of polite society again, you're going to have to get rid of it".

The boy scowled.

"There's a fountain apparatus next door. Go and bathe - be careful, that spout is for elcor, so don't turn it on more than a little".

A pause. By the sun and the earth, he was already falling into Daddy Elcor mode. This was going to be a humiliating couple of months.

"If you can't turn the spoke, let me know. Actually, I'd better do it..."

"Sure". The boy waited as Xuumo-kalashasi moved to the adjacent room, turned the spoke slightly and lumbered back in. The young human then went into the fountain chamber and closed the door behind him - awkwardly, given that it was designed for elcor. That left Xuumo in thoughtful isolation.

Patience, of course, was the elcor way, which was why his kind endured where others floundered. Self-sufficient and cautious, the elcor were proudly part of the Citadel community, but also fully equipped to survive without it. Standing with all four limbs steady was essential, and haste was the eternal enemy. He would take this slowly. He would let the boy become comfortable with his new life, and then, a week or three hence perhaps, he'd make the first probing, casual inquiries. Maybe, if he did a good job, he could flat out tell the boy what he wanted and have him surrender it straight. Something told him though that such a happy outcome might be wisful thinking. No-one liked feeling used. What's more, he didn't even know if what he most wanted was something Alonso could give.

It must be. I've come too far for this to be a dead end. Alonso is the future - and I will take care of him.

He sighed heavily. Yes, Pietro, curse him, had a lot to answer for.