It was a regular weekend day for Jason, a young man who lived alone out in the country. He made breakfast, showered, cleaned up a bit, put out some food for his cat, Percy, and decided to go out on a walk before lunch. He stepped outside to see a strange object right in his front yard. Jason stepped back in shock. It was made of a sleek, silver metal and looked a bit like an airplane. He walked around it, coming to what seemed to be the front, and noticed a window into what he assumed would be the cockpit. He peered in, wondering who could be the pilot of this odd machine. But as he looked in, he saw the seat at the controls was empty, although it was moving as if someone had just gotten out of it. As he walked around a little farther, he came to what seemed like a door. He could hear movement behind it, and slowly stepped backwards. Suddenly, the door opened and a beautiful girl with large, purple eyes and wearing strange clothes stepped out. She seemed to be about five feet tall, and about Jason's age. She looked around a moment, before seeing Jason staring at her and jumping back, looking panicked, and pointing something at him. It seemed like some kind of weapon. She made a gurgling sound, although it seemed like she was trying to communicate.
Jason raised his hands at the sight of the weapon. "P-please don't hurt me," he stammered, frozen with fear.
The girl's face changed to something like understanding, and reached inside a pocket, taking out a small device and pressing a few buttons. Then she spoke. "Hello? Can you understand me?" she asked, her accent seemingly from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
Jason nodded nervously. "Yes, I understand you. Could you please not shoot me?" he asked, indicating the girl's hand.
The girl grinned and lowered the weapon, dropping it into another of her pockets. "I knew it would work!" she exclaimed, "I knew the translator would work on other species!"
Jason processed what she had just said. "Are you... not a human?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No, I'm what you would call an alien. It's nice to finally meet another species!" She stuck her hand out in front of her, and after a moment's hesitation, Jason shook it. "I... suppose so."
The alien girl smiled. "Actually, I'm supposed to be looking for a breeding partner, but I'd prefer to get to know what this planet is like before I go and do that."
Jason blinked, taken aback. "What do you mean, a... breeding partner?" he asked curiously.
The girl blushed. "Oh... well... you know... someone to... mate with? My species can't reproduce on our own, so we get others to... help... us with it," she finished, embarrassed.
Jason, already having felt an attraction to the alien, felt excited. "I see," he said carefully, pausing for a moment. "I could show you around a bit, help you get to know the place, if you'd like?" he asked, a trace of hope in his voice.
The alien beamed. "That would be amazing! What do we look at first?"
Jason smiled warmly. "Why don't you come inside?
The alien girl looked around. "This is where you live?" she asked, impressed. "What did you do to get so much space?"
Jason chuckled. "Lots of people have thus much space on this planet. It's not too special."
The girl seemed to understand. "I suppose your planet isn't as populated as mine."
Jason thought for a moment. "If it's so hard for you to reproduce, how did you manage to overpopulate your planet?"
The girl blushed again. "Well... because of how our... mating works, every time we have... offspring, it's in batches of hundreds, so when we formed a proper civilization and could mate whenever we wanted instead of it being very difficult like it was when we evolved this way, our population grew very fast." She seemed quite embarrassed at all the questions about her reproduction.
Jason searched his mind for another thing to ask the alien, when Percy walked into the room. Seeing a new person, he walked up cautiously and rubbed against her legs. The girl giggled as she felt the soft fur tickle her. "What's this?" she asked.
Jason smiled. "That's my cat. He's named Percy."
The girl looked over at Jason. "That reminds me. What's your name?" she asked.
"I'm Jason," said Jason.
"My name's-" This was followed by a series of whistles, pops, and clicks.
Jason thought for a moment. "Is there a name I can pronounce that I can call you?"
The girl hesitated briefly. "I think my name, translated into your language, is... Cela? Cale? Cala? Cala. That sounds right.
Jason smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Cala."
Cala smiled. "And you."
Jason felt a low gurgle from his stomach. "I'm going to go make some lunch. Do you want anything?"
Cala looked surprised. "You MAKE your own sustenance?" she asked, in disbelief.
Jason stared. "Don't you? Or is your food made by machines?"
Cala shrugged. "Our fuel is created and distributed by artificial means, yes. But I'm interested to see what humans consume."
Jason grinned. "Have you ever heard of a grilled cheese sandwich?"
Jason placed a plate in front of Cala as she sat down at the table. "What do I... do with it?" she asked him.
Jason chuckled. "Lift the sandwich to your mouth," he said. "Then, open your mouth, bite the sandwich, pull the rest of it away, chew, and swallow."
Cala nervously lifted the sandwich to her mouth and took a bite. Her eyes grew wide in shock and she spat the morsel onto the plate. "It did something in my mouth!"
Jason moved to sit beside her. "What happened?" he asked.
The girl made a few uncertain gestures with her hands. "I did what you said, and it made the inside of my mouth feel weird... but also good. I can still feel it, too!"
Jason almost laughed. "We call that 'taste.' Most human food has it. It's not dangerous, but I can help you eat if it would make you feel any better."
Cala smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you. I'd like it if you helped me with this."
"Here," Jason said. "How about I break it into smaller pieces, and you work on learning about taste." He grabbed a knife and began to cut the sandwich into bits, perfect for a small bite. "Are you ready to try now? Remember, it's not dangerous."
"Alright," Cala nervously agreed.
Jason carefully picked up a small bite. "Open your mouth now," he said, before carefully placing it within her mouth. Cala began to chew, her large, purple eyes widening again in amazement as she discovered her taste. Jason waited until he thought the bite was chewed enough, then told her to swallow. "How was that?" he asked.
