10
Asim watched his symbiot rise off the ground. Mandra and Ariel were waving to Jabir who was frantically waving back at them. His gaze was fastened on Pearl. She turned and blew him a kiss before Pokey rotated in the air. A moment later, the symbiot transport was just a faint glimmer in the sky.
He blinked when Hobbler, the Pactor he’d threatened to return to Cree and Calo but never did, nudged him. He reached out a hand to calm the beast. He shook his head, retrieved his gloves and the shovel, and finished his chores.
“I swear that woman loves to drive me insane,” he told Hobbler as the creature followed him back to the wagon. “So, what do you think of your new friend? Have you accepted him yet?”
Hobbler stretched out her neck and rubbed her forehead against his hand. Asim was going
