[Kitsumi]

"I'm not stupid," Cory replied, sounding slightly offended. "Of course I know what a refugee is." His expression softened. "Were things really that bad on your own planet?"

"Yeah," Xen lied. "It was terrible. If I wanted any chance at a good life, I had to leave." He decided to change the subject, not wanting to lay it on too thick and make the native suspicious. "But your authorities wouldn't understand that, would they? They would only see me as a threat, even though I have no weapons. Here, search me!" He held his arms open wide. "I have absolutely nothing dangerous on my person, I swear!"

[Kitsumi]

Cory had never been good at judging the intentions of others, and this time was no different. "I don't have to search you," he said, making up his mind. "I believe you. And I don't want to do anything that will put you in any danger, so... I guess I won't call the authorities." He frowned, chewing his lower lip nervously. "But what about your injuries? You have to get those taken care of somehow. I could take you to a hospital, but I doubt you have the sort of identification you need for that, and I don't know if they would be able to tell that you aren't human or not."

[Kitsumi]

"I'll heal," Xen said. "No doctors or hospitals needed." He tapped the side of his head, right near the glowing green eye. "I'm modded."

When Cory simply stared at him in confusion, he realized that the human didn't understand. "Oh, of course," Xen chuckled. "You guys must not be advanced enough for mods. Damn, that sucks." Still leaning on the other man, he began to explain. "See, I've had a bunch of really hi-tech hardware installed in my body. Most of it is just for entertainment or aesthetic purposes, but some of it can come in really handy. For example, my translator that allows me to speak to you, and the nanobots that are probably already beginning to repair any injuries to my body."

[Kitsumi]

Cory stared in astonishment. "That... that can't be possible," he gasped. "There's no way that technology like that exists!"

"Maybe not on your planet," Xen scoffed. "But there's a whole universe of geniuses out there, inventing incredible things. Hell, I bet some places have stuff even more advanced than this." Suddenly feeling a bit wary, he added, "But uh, the nanobots aren't a perfect solution. I mean, they speed up the healing process, but they won't save me if I'm already dead or something. So like... don't go trying to test them out by stabbing me in the gut or something, okay?"

[Kitsumi]

The other man's jaw dropped. "What the... I would never!" he exclaimed. "What kind of person do you take me for? Haven't I already proven that I'm trying to help you? Why would I stab you? I'm not a psychopath!"

Xen shrugged. "Hey, it's happened before." Lifting up his shirt, he pointed to a thin white line running diagonally down his abdomen. "Most scars are removeable where I'm from, but I wanted to keep this one since I thought it was pretty hot. What do you think?" As he spoke, he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, an action which ended with him wincing as the pounding in his head worsened.

[Kitsumi]

For a moment, Cory didn't know what to say. He simply stared at the scarred flesh. He totally wasn't looking at the delectable abs that the alien had revealed, oh no, that would be silly! However, something that did catch his attention was the large bruise beginning to form on Xen's side.

"Come on," he said, beginning to walk back towards his house, one arm around the alien to steady him. "You need to get inside and rest. I hope those nanobots of yours can take care of internal bleeding, because it's possible that you might have some."

If Xen was concerned, he didn't show it. "Hey, as long as my wounds aren't immediately fatal, I should be fine," he replied.

[Wild Pet Found]