Young children like to lounge on people, caregivers and companions alike. Do other species deal with this? -- Anon Guest
There is an instinct almost universal to the young of any given species. Stay close to your caregiver. Once able to move about free of the nest/clutch/creche/pouch, the caregiver is still a bastion of protection, font of education, and primary source of emotional resilience. In species with communal childrearing, any older member of the species will do.
Which was why Rael had a very small and upset Human attached to his leg. He was not qualified to deal with this, he knew it. His education on multi-species infant care consisted entirely on a plethora of pamphlets containing the barest of basics on how to handle any infant he had a chance of encountering and most of the contents boiled down to 'contact the legal guardian at the earliest convenience.
"I'm... not your people," he attempted, which made no impact on the crying Human wrapped around his leg. Rael considered his options. This was a non-urgent situation, for all that the small Human's howling made it seem more so. Calling in Security was right out, as was allowing the Human to stay there and cry. Especially since the creature in question was attempting and failing to climb him, thereby risking a wardrobe malfunction.
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