"24 combinations for t'escape pod," said Friggin. "How many twould be too many?"
"Tree, no?" said Dood.
[Four is certainly plausible,] posted Watifa the octopus. [It is an alien ship.]
"Me guess is t'autor dinna tink it through," said Yomamma. "Strak is teleported to t'warlord Azog's vessel. He moos attend Trella's 11t birtay party, or DIE! Trella has a captive audience! She can do anyting to him n get away w'tit. ANYTING. But no, naught."
"P'raps she's timid?" asked Omigaw. "Scared o her dad?"
"'Sheepishly shrank down in her chair,'" quoted Dood. "'Smiled weakly.'"
[I did not see timidity,] posted Watifa. [She disapproved of her father's actions, and was making it known, although she could not override them. She deceives her father, the great warlord: 'I'll smile, so you can drop the act.' She gives Strak the escape code, even though it is likely to land her in trouble. Hardly timidity.]
"But she didna eat him either," said Yomamma, egging on Watifa.
[True]
"Tisna realistic," said Omigaw. "Where is she in t'pecking order? Does she no care?"
[Watifa?] asked the professor.
Watifa was uncharacteristically still. It was hard to read an octopus, but he seemed stuck in thought.
[Are these humans? Strak has three sets of eyebrows, this is a normal human variant, no?]
[No,] posted the professor.
"He had eight appendages too," said Friggin.
[Not ten, yes. Eight, like a proper being,] posted Watifa, egging Yomamma back. [No physical characteristics of Trella or Azog. They could well be human, or octopuses, or centauroids.]
"Trella had a hand," said Friggin.
[It is likely Trella and Azog are human, and Strak is the one we are intended to think of as alien,] posted Watifa. [They all ate chocolate cake with buttercream icing.]
"Have you?" asked Dood.
[I have,] posted Watifa. [Icing is wonderfully slimy. Chocolate makes me ill though.]
[Where are you going with this?] posted the professor.
[It is natural to me that she would not take advantage of him. She is neither hurting nor being hurt. She treats Strak as a comrade, and is enjoying his company. She is considerate of her classmates, even though she does not need to be. It speaks well of her. Is this unusual for humans?]
"Damn right," said Yomamma. "'Specially 11 year old girls. Dominance is EVERYTING."
[Forgive me, but what is wrong with you people?] asked Watifa.
[We are also traditionally very hierarchical,] posted professor Nevermore McCaw.
The class thought about this.
[Did you have any thoughts about Strak?] asked the professor.
The class looked at each other.
"No?" ventured Dood.
"T'was Trella who caught me whimsy," said Friggin.
This was a comment on a story replying to a prompt on r/WritingPrompts: "You have just been teleported onto an alien warlord’s ship. But rather than murdering you or turning you into another servant, he orders you to sit at the table with his daughter. Apparently, it’s her birthday and no one showed up."