#trelos time part one

[the-vaporverse]

Starless Horizon RP File #19 (part A)

(Vela’s part in italics.)

The time had finally come when they would arrive at Trelos within the day. Vela was partially in awe of being in such a "new" area of space, but also very worried about what was to come. Dritz had been able to comfort her through her anxiety most of the time, but at the moment she was very tense and serious.

Standing in front of the mirror in the bunk room, she stared at her reflection with an intense expression before turning to Dritz, who was hovering nearby and looking a little worried, himself. [What should I wear? Just some of my regular dark clothes, to represent my people for now? I think they should get an accurate idea of what we are like.] She fidgeted slightly, glancing across at the closet and frowning at it. Maybe this wasn't even that important of an issue.

Leaning against the door frame, Dritz was looking less than his intended act of cool, calm and collected. However, he was clearly doing his best to keep his expression neutral, shoving his hands in his pockets and forcing a grin.

"It's a hot planet, right? I think you ought to go for practicality, really. Do you have a shorter sleeved or lighter Aurian piece to wear?" he suggested, his voice bright and level. "You wanna look like an adaptable people, so they know the Aurians won't be... I dunno, difficult to integrate into the community. I mean, you won't. They won't. They. But Trelosians might think that."

Dritz's suggestion made sense, and Vela went over to the closet to critically look through her clothing once again. She wanted to look like she could adapt, after all. After a little debate, she pulled out a lighter piece with sleeves that weren't as long, more of a garment used for layering than something to wear on its own. Without shyness now in front of the Chrysalan, she removed the top she had been wearing and put on the other, nodding to herself.

[That's a good idea,] she signed, turning around. [It's not terribly hot, but quite warm all year round. The others would get used to it quickly. I think they would love it.]

She hesitated a moment, thinking over the way Dritz looked and sounded just then. Having spent enough time with him to begin noticing little details, she thought he was trying to look unconcerned while actually being nervous as well. [Are you alright?] she asked as she approached him, waiting for his answer as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Pleased to have helped, Dritz looked her over with a visibly approving, grinning nod. His nerves were coming in little waves, and seeing her looking fairly confident made him feel the same.

Nevertheless, he gladly accepted the embrace, squeezing her in his arms for a long moment before pulling away enough to sign to her, [Worried for you.]

"I want it all to work, cuz I can see how much it means to you," he added with a shrug, his antennae undulating gently. "I want to make you happy."

Dritz's signing was enough to soften Vela's mood even further, for now. It was sometimes such a comforting action to see him do. [Thank you. It's not up to you to make the choice... it's the Trelosians. I know you would accept on their behalf if you could.] She tilted her head a moment, smiling. [You want to make me happy?]

Soon she had walked away again, trying not to appear too restless before turning to speak to him. [You will have to interpret what I'm saying to them. Is that alright with you? We could find an alternate way, like we used to do with the datapad. But it wouldn't be as fast and efficient, and what if they didn't have patience for it?] Not for a moment did she suppose that Dritz would refuse to translate, but she would have felt bad if she didn't ask first.

[Of course,] Dritz signed with a soft smile, "I want to make you the happiest you could possibly be!" He leaned down and kissed her gently before she made her way across the room.

"Sure, I'll be your interpreter," he said brightly, making his way to where they were storing their clothing, "Is there anything you want me to wear? Should I represent Chrysala?" He stuck his tongue out at her teasingly, but there was an element of genuine concern to his voice, "It might actually lend us some additional representation. Knowing Chrysala might help might grease their palms a little, y'know? I'm willing to try anything." He smiled in a determined way, "I will bring my datapad as a backup, in case I need to leave for whatever reason... Oh, don't worry, flower, I won't!"

With a tender glance at Dritz, Vela nodded a little shyly. It was still hard to believe someone would want her to be so happy, sometimes.

[Good, thank you. And I know you won't leave. If you would like to represent Chrysala, then yes. What could you wear to represent your people? Do you have any... traditional clothes?] Vela was slightly puzzled about this, not having been aware of whether they had certain clothing in particular.

This raised another thought, which she couldn't help but put into words. [What would the Chrysalans think about me? Would Aurians be very strange to them?] She didn't want to start worrying about that now, when they hadn't even approached the Trelosians yet, but at the same time she had a sudden urge to know Dritz's opinion on the subject.

Leaning around Vela to find something appropriate in the locker, Dritz grinned, "There are traditional pieces, but they're so very rarely used. Bonding ceremonies, for those who actually do them, and the overseers tend to wear them. They're always plain and functional, the idea is that you're built for work and servitude, contribution to the betterment of your people, y'know? Sooo..."

He pulled out his overalls; firm and well worn canvas fabric with his name stitched in Chrysalan over the left breast. It was high collared and fastened with sticky loop and hook fabric and zippers. The material down the centre of the back and under the arms was lighter, to allow the person to cool down adequately. "I figure I'll put this on. It's the closest thing to 'traditional' casual wear," he said happily, "This is pretty cool, huh? Going as representatives of our people. My nerves are turning all *excited*!"

He stepped into his overalls, having kicked his trousers off ("What? It'll be too hot otherwise!"), and wriggled into them, leaving his brightly coloured vest beneath. They were a bit snug around his shoulders and middle, but in a way that felt almost comfortingly familiar to him. "I think Chrysalans find most aliens a bit weird, don't worry! Ha, aw, flower... Honestly, I can only speak for my family. They would find your language a bit strange, but not like... 'urgh that's so freaky, how dare you'. More like 'that's how you communicate? Whooaa, show me!'" he rambled enthusiastically. "Overall we're pretty open to offworlders! Sure, there's the odd Chrysalan who's a nut and against alien races, but they're usually shunned by the rest of us. I think they'd be fascinated by your strong survival skills, because mostly they have pretty easy, modest lives."

Vela listened and watched in fascination, storing the information away to think more about later. It was a welcome distraction from her own nerves as she admired the overalls with an approving nod. [They look nice,] she commented, unable to keep from walking closer and touching the fabric at his waist.

[It's good to know they would be interested, and possibly like me. I want to meet them.] She gazed up at him for a long moment before reaching to kiss him gently, a hint of longing behind the action. In any case, they had to head to the bridge of the ship to start the landing procedure soon, and Vela took Dritz's hand as they began to walk there.

Less than half an hour later, the planet Trelos was in sight, a small green sphere on the viewscreen which somehow had the power to make Vela's heart pound in both excitement and worry. Not long after this, they were hailed by what was apparently an incredibly vigilant sentry. The Trelosian was in a somewhat darkened room which was mostly lit by a dozen other screens, their eyes appearing large in their flattened face as they regarded Dritz and Vela with no emotion in particular.

"State your business, strangers," he said in slightly clipped Basic, not altogether friendly but not hostile either.

[We come peacefully, from the planets Aurctas and Chrysala,] Vela signed, trying to feel confident. [We are not traders, but wish to talk with the leaders of your people. My companion and I are alone, and he will translate for me, as I have no spoken language.] She left it to Dritz to interpret, trusting he would add whatever he thought was further necessary.

Vela's hand on his waist made the Chrysalan grin, and he placed his own over it, returning her kiss gently.

With a great mixture of excitement, nervousness and pride, Dritz watched as Vela piloted them in towards the planet, and engaged the sentry on the comm screen. He watched her signing with a great deal of concentration before repeating in Basic for the Trelosian, "My companion represents Aurctas, and has no spoken language, so I shall be translating for her. We come peacefully. We are not traders, but wish to speak with your leaders. Firstly, however, we will need to secure and pay for a landing facility, if possible."

He offered the Trelosian a nod and a smile, reaching a hand offscreen to Vela's own and squeezing it tightly.

The Trelosian at first appeared confused when Vela began signing, but was patient and waited for Dritz to explain. Once he had done so, they still seemed to take a moment further to process what was happening.

"Not traders? That is strange." They took a moment to type something onto one of the nearby screens before turning back again. "We have no issues with the Chrysalans, but Aurctas is not a planet known to us. You may land, but we will need to check your ship to be certain you are carrying no dangerous cargo. Docking bay 12-9, East Side, coordinates 300.3, 589.2. Matters of payment and speaking to authority will wait until you are cleared."

With that abrupt statement, the screen cut out. Vela kept ahold of Dritz's hand another moment, squeezing again, then moved to enter the coordinates for landing. [I'm not sure how that went,] she finally signed a bit shakily. [I understand they need to check to be safe, but I still worry. I don't think I can help it.] She gave him a sad little smile, knowing he would see what she meant.

Taking a moment to stop Vela from putting in the coordinates, Dritz took both of her hands and kissed her softly. "It's alright, flower," he whispered, "You said it yourself; they don't often have visitors to their planet, we aren't traders, so they're not used to us. Be calm. You did wonderfully."

He pulled her into a big, warm embrace, squeezing her against him for a moment, his antennae relaxing and waving lazily. "We will go down there, observe all of their protocol and be our lovely, charming selves. They will like us, and we will easily be allowed to speak to their current leader, or someone of equal standing."

Dritz's words and his warm, tight hug relaxed Vela again, and she smiled. She let herself lean against him a moment, drawing some extra strength until he released her to let her to enter the coordinates. [You're right. It will be fine. Thank you.] Allowing herself to gaze at him fondly until the computer required her assistance again, she made a mental note to find a way to further thank him for all he had done for her.

The ship proceeded on its way through the atmosphere of Trelos and down to the specified docking bay, all without incident due to Vela's near-expert piloting skill. The bay itself was dark when the Nova's door opened, which startled her, but soon lights were seeming to come from every direction at once, and almost without warning, a half dozen Trelosians had entered the ship and begun looking around without even speaking at all.

Bewildered but somehow amused, Vela stayed close by Dritz, her arm brushing against his. "You don't have any hidden compartments, do you?" one of the Trelosians asked abruptly, stopping by the pair as the rest continued their search. "Sorry about this. We just have to be sure you're not bringing on anything dangerous, or even contraband. We've had a few problems before."

The sudden Trelosian invasion startled Dritz, who watched them bustle past and begin their inspection. The checking of a ship was normal to him, but to come on without invitation was not. He watched them with a bemused smile before turning to the main inspector and shaking his head.

"Not to my knowledge, friend. Let me show you around, and if you have any questions, either myself or my beautiful companion will gladly answer them to the best of our ability," he said amiably, drawing an arm around the Trelosian, but not touching, directing them to the engine, the bunk, kitchen and cockpit, showing them all the compartments and inside the engine casing where he worked, which was the only "hidden" one he could think of, all the while chatting happily.

Watching as Dritz took over the situation and showed the Trelosian around, Vela kept back, noticing several of them had directed curious or otherwise strange looks her way. She imagined they found her appearance odd, as they were already familiar with Chrysalans. No one said anything, however, and soon enough they seemed satisfied as to the safety of the Nova and anything contained therein, with all of them filing off the ship again except for the one who seemed to be charge.

"Satisfactory," they announced, nodding at Vela and also Dritz, who had returned to stand by her side. "We've found nothing dangerous, no weapons or illegal cargo. It might not be my place, but I'm curious about why you've come. We only ever receive traders here. You have no trade goods, either. You are not... tourists, are you?"

From the way the Trelosian said the word, Vela could tell they didn't have a high opinion of the idea. She shook her head, beginning to sign mainly in Dritz's direction so that he could see her to translate. [I do want to view your planet, but I've come with an important request, something for your leaders to consider. Would we be allowed to speak to them?]

Returning to Vela, Dritz gave her a cheerful wink out of the line of sight of the Trelosians, just in case they misinterpreted it as conspiracy between the two rather than a silly attempt to keep her calm and happy.

He watched her sign, nodding before turning to the Trelosian with a friendly grin. "We do wish to see your planet, but we come on important business, a request for your leaders to hopefully consider, if we might be allowed to meet with them?" As he spoke, he signed the odd word, so that they could perhaps pick up on some of the language. Well, if the Aurians did end up on Trelos, it would be helpful!

While he made sure he did not, Dritz felt he wanted to put an arm around Vela. She didn't need such coddling, he knew, but he liked to think of it as holding her up if she should need him to.

"We will also need somewhere to stay, if there's anywhere available? We aren't rich folk, but can certainly pay our way for your hospitality," he said brightly. "We'd need to stay for a few days, a week maximum?" He glanced at Vela for confirmation.

Catching Dritz's wink, Vela felt a smile come to her more easily. She watched the Trelosian as her words were translated, and they seemed to debate a little before answering.

"Interesting." This Trelosian in particular seemed a bit more thoughtful than the sentry that they had originally talked to, and was eyeing them closely. "Well, there's nothing suspicious onboard your ship, and there are only two of you, so I imagine you'll be considered safe to stay. We have boarding for traders, which you can purchase if you wish. It's nothing fancy, you'll have to understand."

Vela nodded, feeling her hopes rising. At the very least they would be allowed to stay. "If you're not traders, I don't recommend staying more than a week. As for talking to leaders..." He frowned a moment, seeming deep in thought. "I don't know that any of them would be interested, except Arlin. She enjoys strangers. She's older, a little odd sometimes. But you can't judge her by any of that. And she'll talk with you, if that's what you're looking for. Would you like to be taken to the lodgings, then have her send for you when she's free? I imagine I could find her."

Naturally, Vela immediately agreed to this, looking at Dritz to see if he thought it was a good idea too.

Of course, Dritz was far too excited on Vela's behalf to even consider refusing. That was, after all, why they had come to Trelos in the first place.

"That all sounds reasonable. We're incredibly thankful for such hospitality," he said softly, smiling at the Trelosian. "As for our next meeting, I believe 'odd' is not a trait I would consider a bad thing. I think we all have some oddities about us, don't we?" He laughed, thinking about himself and Vela, and their differences that could be considered "odd".

He could see that Vela was eager to meet with Arlin, and stepped to one side, gesturing for them to exit the ship with her taking the lead.

The Trelosian shrugged as if to tell Dritz to speak for himself on the topic of oddness, leaving the ship as Vela followed eagerly with the Chrysalan close behind.

Once they were out of the docking bay doors, they were actually outside, causing Vela to pause for a moment as she adjusted. The sky overhead was pale yellow, almost fading into green, and the rest of the landscape was such a deep shade of the latter color that she felt genuine amazement. None of the pictures she had seen had done justice to how beautiful it actually was. There were so many plants Vela longed to learn the names of, and the air was warm and welcoming, slightly moist yet in a pleasant way. Partially in a daze, she walked while also looking about so much that Dritz, who was being quite attentive to her, had to redirect her to keep following every now and then.

They were led to a long, low set of drab buildings which housed a number of rooms; there didn't seem to be anyone in charge there in particular, and the Trelosian who had been with them the entire time handled the business of giving them a card key to a room and taking their payment of UCs for a week in advance. Then they were shown to the actual room, which was very plain and furnished with a bare minimum of necessities, but would still serve them nicely, Vela thought.

"I don't recommend looking around until you've talked to Arlin," the Trelosian suggested before they left. "She will probably vouch for you then. And I'll come back when she's ready to talk to you."

Vela smiled and turned to Dritz when they were left alone again, eager to know his opinion. [What do you think so far? It's a very nice planet. They seem a little disorganized... Maybe it's just what we've seen so far, though.] It occurred to her that the Trelosian hadn't even introduced themselves, and she was uncertain how to tell the genders apart as of yet.

While Dritz remained neutral as they made their way around the lush planet, he was deeply impressed by the verdant landscape and humid atmosphere, which reminded him of home. His expression was calm, but his antennae perked in an interested, excited way as he took in the soft smells of soil and moisture, the sight of the golden sky.

Their accommodation further cemented the fact that the planet was not particularly open to tourists, but was of course, fine for the two of them. Once they were left to their own devices, Dritz pulled a face, "Friendly bunch, huh? No wonder they don't get many tourists. That sentry fella!" He chortled and pulled Vela to him.

"I think they're just used to their own little community, flower. They weren't prepared for visitors or anything like that. How are you feeling now though? Excited?"

Vela had to agree with Dritz about the general temperament of the Trelosians, but she thought he was also correct that they hadn't been expecting to see guests and weren't used to having many others around in general. In a way this troubled her, but she thought they could overcome it, just like the Aurians could.

[I'm excited, yes. And worried, and nervous... so many things. I wonder how long before they come back, and we can speak to the leader? I guess we should wait to bring anything here from the ship, just in case it's soon.]

Rather than beginning to fidget restlessly as she wanted to do, she moved to sit on the bed, wondering briefly why they had not been asked whether they wanted separate rooms or even more than one bed. It felt comfortable and was roomy enough for them both, at least, and her gentle gaze invited Dritz to join her there.

[What should we talk about first? Should I ask her right away? Or maybe we should introduce ourselves fully and get to know each other for a while.] Despite her intention to relax, Vela still sat and signed tensely, the importance of this meeting weighing on her mind.

If he were to be honest, Dritz had hoped that the Trelosians might give them a time frame to work in, so that they would know when to expect them. It would have been polite, at the very least. It didn't help that Dritz's mind had taken him down interesting avenues to help calm Vela, take her mind off the concerns.

In a way, it was better that they didn't have the option of a distraction. They could, as the Aurian had begun, discuss their plan for the discussion.

"I would think it'd be better to fully introduce ourselves, speak of our backgrounds in short terms, ask if they know much of the Aurians, or Aurctas. Compliment their planet and abilities to adapt; that'll lead nicely into the Aurians and their ability to adapt. It's a decent thread to string together, right? If they can see how adept they are, how hardworking, they will definitely be more open to the idea. I'm sure," the Chrysalan said, flopping next to Vela and putting an arm around her, squeezing her enthusiastically.

[Of course,] Vela signed thoughtfully, leaning into Dritz and feeling herself relax somewhat. [We can't just ask right away. We'll make them see that both the Aurians and the Trelosians are wonderful, and would mutually benefit from living and working together.] Of course it might not be so simple, but she was finding it was better to think positively and only imagine good outcomes for now. There was no point in sabotaging the meeting by being too intense or worried.

It seemed like only a few minutes later when a knock sounded at the door, and they both got up to answer, seeing it was the same Trelosian who had left them not long ago. "Sorry," he said, almost sounding sheepish. "Arlin wants to see you right away. I can take you to her."

Naturally Vela thought it was a good sign of interest, and they followed the Trelosian outside and down a trail which led past the building. She found all the plants fascinating once again, but tried to focus on the task at hand foremost.

She had been expecting they would be led to another building, but where they actually found themselves was in a small clearing in the thick vegetation, with scattered benches and chairs arranged at random. Vela thought it might actually be a meeting area. But her gaze was mostly focused on the Trelosian waiting for them at the far end, seated calmly and looking over them with almost the same amount of interest.

"What are your names? We don't often have guests. Let alone such interesting ones." Arlin's voice was scratchy but she spoke well, and Vela found she definitely had the appearance of an elder, seeming smaller and moving more stiffly, though in most other ways she appeared as the other Trelosians did. She was dressed in a robe of the same deep green as the plants around her, and Vela wondered if the color was a symbol of her status as a leader.

[My name is Vela, and this is Dritz. He will explain why I can't speak aloud to you,] Vela signed after they had approached, remaining standing out of respect for now.

The return of the Trelosian from before was unexpectedly quick, with Dritz and Vela sharing a look that seemed to communicate their thoughts perfectly; such a quick response had to be a good thing, right? There must be an eagerness for new faces, surely.

Dritz was able to catch Vela's gaze threatening to roam again as they walked, a fact that only made him want to grin. Her curiosity was endearing, and he could see her trying to fight the urge to wander off and look at the plants, especially as they were real, with soft, damp leaves, unlike the holographic gardens back on the station.

The Trelosian known as Arlin seemed calm and welcoming to Dritz, and he couldn't resist bowing deeply in front of her, sweeping his arm around his front. "Ma'am," he said, "Let me first introduce you to my beautiful companion, Vela of Aurctas." He then introduced himself in his native tongue with a soft buzzing and chirping, before adding, "My name translates to Dritz. I understand you are Arlin. We're both pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"Now, more about my companion; Vela's people do not have a spoken language, so I will be acting as a translator," he said cheerily, repeating the motions a little awkwardly.

Arlin didn't seem surprised by Vela's signing, but she thought the Trelosian woman would have been told about them in advance. She did seem impressed by the translation and Dritz's actions, and gave them both a slow nod.

"A very courteous Chrysalan. I thank you. The Trelosians have not seen your kin here in many years." She paused, looking Vela up and down. "And we have never seen anyone of the planet Aurctas. Though I must mention I have heard of it."

She paused, seeming to watch Vela's surprised reaction. "It was also long ago. I know but a little. But it's interesting you've ended up here on Trelos together, two different species from far away. A relationship, perhaps? No need to be shy, I've seen enough offworlders to know." Arlin chuckled to herself, making Vela actually feel a little bashful. Were they very obvious? If so, it surely didn't matter much.

"Aurctas and Chrysala are quite far away. I doubt the two of you are here for pleasure, at least. What is it you do in the galaxy? Business dealings in the area?"

Vela considered carefully before responding. [I have traveled from my home to explore, and because I'm looking for something.] For now she would not explain, wanting to set a little more time in between doing so. [I don't have an occupation, really. Dritz is very skilled though, he can explain.]

"Ma'am, it is my hope that all Chrysalans are courteous," Dritz beamed. His smile soon turned into a look of slightly sheepish surprise. Vela hadn't chosen to confirm or deny their relationship, but he thought he might do so. It seemed rude to ignore such an astute observation.

He watched her signs, taking a step to the side to properly see what it was she was saying. Vela was very intelligently signing to Arlin and not him, after all.

"It seems a shame not to draw attention to your skilled deduction; Vela and I are indeed closer companions than we would have liked to out across in this particular instance. We've come with a proposal, you see. Vela-" he began signing as she had done, though more sluggishly, "-has traveled from her home world to explore, and to seek out something very important. It pains us both to have to explain, but the Aurians don't live as the rest of the galaxy do; their lives are hard fought. We are looking for somewhere they might be able to prosper as a race, to live in harmony with others and, in time, develop the advanced technology they once pioneered. It's our hope you might be able to provide refuge. The Aurians are incredibly hard working and reliable people who need your help, ma'am."

As Dritz admitted to their relationship, Vela found herself with a smile. If Arlin had known in advance, there was nothing wrong with that.

She watched as he explained and (mostly) signed correctly, with a growing sense of anxiousness. Arlin's expression hadn't changed, but she was considering them both very carefully, from what Vela could see.

"Sit down," she offered, surprising the Aurian. She took a seat along with Dritz on one of the benches nearby. "I have long thought our community was becoming stale, with no sense of growth other than the plants around us." She tilted her head, almost seeming reflective. "Bringing in a new people, a new sense of purpose to continue to better our world... I had thought that was one of the ideal solutions."

Vela felt her hope rising, but pressed it back as she saw Arlin had more to say. "But... Well. Do you want to hear the rest?" Her tone was somber, but Vela nodded hesitantly, worried, looking to see if Dritz agreed or not.

There was something about Arlin's tone that meant Dritz could not relax right away. Nevertheless, he sat with Vela, resisting the urge to take her hand. Arlin seemed sweet and reasonable, but overt displays of his affection might cause them to look weak or unserious. Instead he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, watching the old Trelosian attentively.

"I imagine there are conditions that would need to be met if you were to agree," he said carefully, if somewhat sadly. "We were prepared for whatever you might need to tell us. Please go on, ma'am."

Vela remained very still, hardly daring to move, or even breathe. Dritz seemed interested as he listened beside her, but she felt as though she needed to hear this on her own, in a way, without touching him for now. She knew she was strong enough to handle it.

"Well," Arlin repeated, almost sounding sad. "The fact of the matter is my people are very set in their ways. I don't even need to ask the other current leaders. They would say no, that I'm a fool for showing interest. They know we are stagnant in growth or even the interest in growing. Currently... they do not care."

Her smile was definitely sad then, but she continued to face them with a clear gaze. "I would like to see Trelos begin to flourish with the help of another species before I die. But now is not the time. There will need to be endless meetings and persuasion... if it can be done at all. I know only a little about the two of you," she added with a small laugh. "So you can see I'm desperate enough to immediately take to this idea."

[We would not lead you astray,] Vela signed earnestly. [My own people will not survive beyond another few hundred years, from what I have calculated.] She hadn't told this to Dritz yet, but now was as good a time as any for him to know. [The Aurians may turn out to be the same as the Trelosians, they may not want to change. But I have to speak to them and try. Maybe knowing a planet might be willing to take them... or even a chance... I want to try if you're willing to do the same.]

She turned to Dritz to translate, finally reaching to touch his leg gently before he did so. There would be more he would have to say, she felt certain.

"Ma'am, you are so kind to have considered us so readily," Dritz said. It was clear he was keeping the upset from his voice, but his tone had certainly changed. He had worried about the work they would all need to put in to make the movement of an entire species viable, but... he hadn't even considered that they wouldn't be accepted.

"As my companion has said, we would not lead you astray. We want what is best for both the Trelosians and the Aurians," he began, before his expression fell at the news of the Aurians. "I... Vela has estimated that her people will only live for another few hundred years at most." He cleared his throat, refocusing on the matter at hand, "Vela suggests that the Aurians are as set in their ways as you say the Trelosians are, and believes both parties could be persuaded with work from all of us. I would like to help as well. It's my intention to speak with the overseers of Chrysala to lend their aid in the process. Perhaps we could work with the Trelosians and the Aurians to help them integrate peacefully and prosperously. Chrysala could offer further persuasion for your people?"

"Chrysala would help?" Arlin asked in surprise. Seeing the looks on their faces after this question, she chuckled. "So you have not asked them yet. I see. But of course you will, if this is as important to you as I think."

[It's very important, and we'll do anything,] Vela signed, looking to Dritz for confirmation. [I would like to visit Chrysala as soon as possible, with Dritz's agreement.] She was trying to keep her heart from feeling so heavy, but knowing the amount of work they would have to put in, and the time they would use in doing it, without even the surety of the fact it would all come together the way they wanted... [Thank you for speaking with us. We can plan this further now?]

Arlin waved a hand gently, shaking her head once Dritz had translated. "We can discuss further later. The hour is growing late, and I tire easily these days. The need for urgency is there, but we must take care of ourselves first, yes? We do have time. Don't fret too much. And you will stay a few days at least? Good. We can speak more, and perhaps you can have a look around the planet, talk to some of my people. Come now, I will take you somewhere you can get something to eat, and then you should go to bed for whatever sleep your kind might need."

Her attitude was so familiar as an elder that Vela did feel a little comfort, for now. The sky had darkened into a warm golden color without her noticing, and the plants around them rustled in the dim light as if also telling them it was time to rest. Arlin led them, but she walked slowly, so Vela stayed behind with Dritz, hesitantly placing her hand in his. She would have to wait to ask, but hoped she had not worried him too much with revealing her calculations about the Aurians.

While everyone's tone did take a turn towards the melancholy, Dritz could sense the hope from all of them, not just himself and Vela. He enthusiastically agreed with Vela that he would like to venture to Chrysala to begin the negotiations as soon as they were able. He was already planning what he would need to say and do. He didn't want his flower disappointed again.

As they walked, Dritz looked at the scenery around them, stroking his fingers over Vela's palm. While he was aware of the plants and trees around them, he found he was not taking it in properly, a small frown on his face.

"Ma'am," he said softly to Arlin ahead of them, "I hope this is not too forward, but I think your personal hospitality is a credit to the Trelosians. Even if this is not the currently preferred outcome, the fact that you've made the time to see us is remarkable enough. We thank you for everything thus far."

Vela was attempting to keep her hopes high, but found this was fairly difficult, for now. Maybe when the information had time to settle in her mind, and she could spend some time alone with Dritz, she would feel better.

It was hard to tell what her partner might be thinking. He seemed distracted, but she felt certain he was not upset with her. She listened to him speaking to Arlin and watched as the elderly Trelosian turned back toward them with a smile.

"Why would that be forward? I appreciate you saying so. Bear in mind that I hold the interests of my people closest to heart. Of course if you have a proposal to better them, I am going to want to listen. Maybe it would make you think less of me to know I may not have spent any time with you otherwise." Vela had the sense that Arlin might be teasing them, but she wasn't sure until she remembered what the inspector had said about her being odd and very interested in talking to offworlders. Surely she would have spent time with them regardless.

They were shown to a small building which Arlin told them was the only place for traders to get food once they arrived, so Vela assumed it was like a sort of restaurant. It did look like one, with a main counter and plenty of chairs and tables, a delicious aroma in the air. Arlin made sure they knew what the food was and that those attending the shop would treat them appropriately before she took her leave, saying she would send for them again tomorrow morning.

Vela waited until they both had their food and were seated at a table before attempting to speak to Dritz. There was another couple in the shop, but she did not know their species, and they were having such an animated discussion that she knew they wouldn't overhear.

[She was very kind,] she signed, speaking of Arlin. [It was more than I probably should have hoped for. This food is good, isn't it?] This had all been very awkward, but Vela knew she couldn't speak more seriously until later. She had already tasted a little of the food, which was an abundance of green, leafy plants and colorful vegetables with additional subtle spices. It was good, but she knew she would be forcing it down again in her current mood.

Dritz smiled at Arlin's response, sheepish and weak, but relieved. He didn't want to admit that he hadn't expected such kindness. It made him seem cynical or prejudiced, but this wasn't the case.

The elderly Trelosian left them in a dining hall in what seemed to be the Trelosian style; minimal and functional, where they were served one of the most delicious alien dishes Dritz had eaten in a while. Despite everything that had happened, he found he was eating fairly greedily, almost distracted and using the food as something to do, rather than something to enjoy.

[Hey, flower,] he signed, looking at her intensely, putting his fork down, [It is going to be fine.] "She was kind, and I still believe we can accommodate the Aurians here. It will take work, but don't dismiss all your hopes just yet. Please." He cupped her face and smiled determinedly, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone. After a moment of warm gazing into her eyes, his usual bright grinning returned and he added, "The food is delicious!"

Vela was heartened that Dritz could eat so well, finding it also improved her own appetite. When he stopped to sign and talk to her, she also set her fork down to smile at him softly. [I will try. Maybe we can make it easier by meeting with more of the Trelosians over the next few days. Thank you. And thank you for being here with me.]

She felt herself melting a little at his touch and the warmth he held in his eyes. She nodded in agreement over his enthusiastic approval of the food, now beginning to eat just a little faster. She found she was longing to be alone with him more than anything at that moment.

Once they had returned their bowls to the kitchen, they set off in the direction of the lodgings, which were within sight of the dining hall. With the door closed behind them, Vela turned to face Dritz with a worried expression.

[About my people... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was involved in a survey of the remaining Ve on Aurctas, and... the conclusion was another few hundred year's worth of mining. Once they run out, they have no means of trading for survival. And without a fleet of working ships, and lack of studying the old technology... It will be the end.]

She sighed, a soft breath of sadness, but also longing as she moved closer to Dritz, putting her arms up around his neck and pressing her body against his, needing to know he was there with her now.

Dritz had been anticipating further discussion of what Vela had revealed once they returned to the room. While he'd been blindsided to learn such a thing, he also could not blame her for not wanting to tell him such bleak news. It added pressure to their current situation, and Vela would not have wanted to concern him too early, he was sure.

With her arms around his shoulders and their bodies pressed together, Dritz leaned down and kissed her passionately for a moment, before pulling away to speak to her, "How could you have brought such a thing up in conversation? I understand if you didn't want to, no matter what the reason is. It's sad, but it just means that we will have to work twice as hard to stop that happening," he said firmly, squeezing her against him for a long moment, running his hands up and down her slender back.

With her face resting against his neck, Vela nodded so that he was able to feel it, not having any more she could add to this particular discussion for now. He was right, and to know he didn't blame her for withholding the information lightened her heart somewhat. They would do their best, she knew. They were in this together.

She kissed Dritz's neck softly before moving her head to kiss his lips again. The feel of his hands running along her back was soothing, but at the same time she wanted more contact, to be able to feel more of him. She looked into his eyes to note he was probably feeling the same way.

Taking a step back, she tugged ineffectively at the overalls he was wearing, not really sure how they unfastened as she had not studied them closely yet. She wore an apologetic little smile as he began to catch on to what she wanted.

Dritz had anticipated a little more discussion on the subject, but it soon became clear that they were done with it for the day. He had been aware, in the back of his mind, of Vela's lithe body against his own, and her warm breath at his neck only served to increase his desire to have contact with her, their bare skin against one another's.

He took ahold of her hands, guiding her fingers to where the fastenings of his overalls were, showing her how easily they were slipped off, a flirtatious smirk on his lips. "I'm guessing that's what you wanted to know, huh?" he chuckled, shrugging the overalls off his shoulders and tugging his vest off before scooping her into his arms and moving them over to the bed.

Nodding, Vela's smile held a touch of shyness at the same time as she was eagerly allowing Dritz to show her how to remove the overalls. She sighed in satisfaction once he was only wearing underwear and lifting her into bed with ease.

Of course, her being clothed wouldn't do. It surprised her how much she loved removing her clothing now, when it was once an act to be avoided. Without making Dritz wait too long, she wriggled out of her leggings and pulled her tunic over her head, naked underneath, as he laid back and watched her with half-lidded eyes and a lazy smile. She crawled over him, enjoying how his gaze roamed over her, and laid down carefully with a little shiver of delight to feel his body against hers, kissing him with passion.

It couldn't be the wrong time for this, not when it felt as right as it did.

Waiting patiently, Dritz watched Vela eagerly removing her own clothes with a small smirk. He would have liked to help her with that, but her readiness to do so was pleasing to him, and he couldn't take that from her, especially when the sight was so lovely.

He pulled her atop him almost immediately, returning her kiss with vigour. To look at her, one might assume her pale skin would be cold to the touch, and it was in comparison to Dritz, but she was surprisingly warm under his hands, and becoming more so. He ran his fingers through her fluffy hair, tangling the few longer strands between them as he smiled against her lips. Soon, his fingers were trailing down the curve of her spine, resting on her hips, and his lips and tongue were against her throat.

Each of Dritz's actions brought Vela a fresh shiver of delight, one so different from what she might feel when she was cold. But everything about Dritz was warm, and her own passion warmed her further.

With his fingers sliding down to her hips, and his mouth pressed urgently against her neck, she already felt unable to hold back from giving in to her desire. She brought her own hands up to either side of his face, giving him another deep and passionate kiss as the rest of her body began to move.

[stygian-omadas-epic-chronicles]

My thoughts on STYGIAN by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Book review)

The new installment in the Dark-Hunters series doesn't disappoint. It has everything I love about these novels: heartache, humor, great battles, and heartfelt down-to-the-earth moments. And, of course, a great love. 

I know that I sound like a broken record in my SK's book reviews but she always surprises me with her books and I love that. Stygian has its good share of surprises. Although, I admit that the plot twists aren't as mind-blowing as they had been in some of the earlier books. The story both takes you to the deepest pit of angst and makes you roar with laughter until your belly hurts. 

Also, it shows the Apollite/Daimon world like we've never seen before. We see how the betrayal that meant Apollo's curse to his own people warped the Apollite mindset, specially Stryker's. To tell the truth, I stopped hating Daimons a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, I don't like them killing and stealing human souls but I get why they do it. Being in their shoes, I don't know if I'd do the same.

And now, I get them even more. 

One of the things that I like the most of the book is that it fills some of the gaps left by the previous books and has amazing cameos of the characters we know, like seeing Wulf in passing before he became a DH.

Stygian is a fine example of Sherri's great talent and exceptional imagination. Once more, she takes us to this amazing world she has created during all these years and let us live in it for a while.

Not wanting to spoil anyone who hasn't read the book yet, I'm spilling all the juicy details below the cut.  It's really long and full of explicit spoilers so read at your own risk.

If you're still with me, let's dig in. I have so much to tell you.

URIAN

*sighs dreamingly* Urian... Uri... my Urimou.  This adorable man, gosh, you have to love him. Since birth, he's the cutest thing ever (well, being the biological son of who he is, I don't know why it surprises me. I guess that being raised by Stryker I thought he wouldn't be THAT cute but he's even more adorable). Anyway... what I was saying? Oh, yes, I died of cuteness overload with him.

He’s so passionate, so loving, loyal. He’s willing to do anything for those who he loves

His childhood wasn't easy. At all. Between the raw and devastating sense of treachery because of the curse that Apollite race had (and still has, rightly so) and Urian's own (inexplicable at the time) sense of not-belonging had a great impact on him. As it did the blatant discrimination of everyone toward him. Seriously, they had not even an ounce of compassion to feed him?!! Bastards all!! 

It didn't help either the tough love he got from his family, especially his brothers, which more often than not were a bunch of assholes (pardon the language but that’s what they were) with him like the rest of the people. However, there's something that can't be denied. Despite that brotherly animosity, Urian was a loved child. By his brothers and sister, by his surrogate mom and Stryker. They LOVED him and they had his back, no matter what. That makes me happy.

All that made him the amazing person that he is.

URIAN'S LOVE LIFE

It breaks my heart that because nobody would feed him, Urian fell into the claws of Xanthia. Marrying her out of necessity is so heart-breaking. My poor Urimou. He wasn't in love with her but he respected her as his wife and the ungrateful cow cheated on him!!!  And no less than with his brother-in-law! How dared she?! The only good thing that was worthy in that marriage was the children. Gosh, reading how much Uri loved those kids and they loved him was so great. 

Then, it came along Bethsheba, who was like a few steps up in the healthy relationship ladder but not nearly high enough. He wasn't in love with her either and she was a rebound. She cared about him but treated him as a trophy husband. She reminded me of Sera (Max's dragonswan) when the dragons first got married. Well, it makes sense. Both Sheba and Seraphina were Amazons and in their culture men were inferior.

It broke my heart the guilt Uri felt when Sheba was killed (without mentioning how awful her death was). He cares so much about everyone in his life and all he wants is protect them.  Watching them die and incapable of doing anything to stop it literally destroys him bit by bit.

It doesn't surprise me that after such bad experiences with marriages he took so long for getting married again. 

Centuries pass until he meets Pheobe at last. For what we knew from previous books, we all thought she was the love of his life, and yes he loved her very much but that relationship was condemned to failure from the beginning and not just for the obvious my-father-wants-you-and-your-entire-family-dead thing. 

If there's something (I think it's the only thing Phoebe is right in reproaching him at the end) is that he withheld things from her since the beginning. True, he told her that he was Stryker's son and all but he didn't tell her that he had killed her grandparents, which he should have.

And just like his 2 previous marriages, this one was likewise for necessity. This time it wasn't Urian the needy part but Phoebe. She needed him for feeding and sharing the souls because she wouldn't kill a human for them. Also, she needed him for both her own and her family's protection. Maybe, she didn't mean to but put him in a tough situation. He was split between protecting her and being his dad's second-in-command.

Urian also has a responsibility in this. He chose to lie to his dad. Granted, Stryker isn’t the most understanding person but as we learn later, Stryker might’ve supported him. Crazy, I know.

And there's another thing. I never thought Phoebe would be as petty as she was. So whiny. I agree with Stryker when he says she was immature and insipid. I think her lowest point was getting mad because Cass wanted Wulff with her when they get to Elysia. As if the case was reversed she would've done the same thing with Uri.  I know she was worried about him, rightly so, but I don't know... her attitude was spiteful. It riled me up.

I guess going trelos was helping her mood, to be honest.

And her hissy fits at the end and working with Apollo!!! Yeah, nope. I don't like Phoebe anymore.

On the other hand, I love Sarraxyn. I think she's perfect for Uri. I've been thinking that since she first appeared and paired her with Urimou without knowing she was truly his HEA. I don't know how I got that idea but it was back when I was reading Dragonbane or Dragonmark, I'm not sure. That's why the revealing of Phoebe being alive threw me off so bad at the end of Dragonsworn. It's been a year of wondering who Urian's true love was (In fact, I mentioned in this review). I love that Sherri chose Xyn. I'm over the moon because of that.

I love that Xyn wasn't willing to settle for less than what she deserved. She knew that as long Urian needed other women to feed and kill humans for their souls, their relationship wouldn't work. It didn't have to do with the love they felt for each other but their circumstances. I think they handled it the best possible having only a yearly rendezvous instead of forcing things, which would have destroyed them both.

Besides, if they had stayed together, Urian wouldn't have met Phoebe, Stryker wouldn't have cut his throat, and neither Ash would have saved him and turned him into a no-daimon.

I can't wait to see more of Xyn and Uri in the coming books.

APOLLYMI

One of the most delightful things about this book is how much we see of her. As I've repeated a gazillion times already, I love Polly and, honestly, now I love her even more. The whole grandma/grandson thing going on between her and Urian is simply amazing. Because that's what she is to him. Twice his grandmother, actually. First, because of Stryker, right. But also because of Styxx. She officially adopted him too and we know thanks to the Chronicles of Nick that Styxx will eventually call her Matera. He's not there yet but he will.

My goodness, she loves Urian so much. We get to see her most kind side with him, especially when he was really young. I just adored the scene when she invites him to see the sunrise in the pool in her garden. 

Of course, she wouldn't be her if she didn't have a plan to use him eventually but wow, you better not harm Uri or you'll feel her wrath. 

I laughed so hard when Apollymi appeared almost at the end when Uri was seeking Phoebe and she says that if it wasn't because the lot of them were there because of Urian she would have split them into oblivion.

That's who she is. She protects fiercely those who she loves.

STRYKER

Okay, I officially nominate this man for the best dad in history award. Even if he cut Urian's throat. Don't care. Since I read Silent Night, I knew he had a heart but damn! Not like this! 

I have to thank Apollymi for choosing him as Urian's surrogate dad because I don't think there's anyone else who could have done a better job. Well, except for Styxx, of course. 

When Stryker says that Urian is his pride and joy is because he truly is. The fact that he didn't kill Phoebe and kept her alive all these years because he couldn't harm what his son loved is astonishing. As it is that he cut his son's throat not out of anger as he made everyone believe but out of pain, in a foolish and reckless desire to protect both Urian and himself from further heartache. Like he said, he cut his throat but couldn't kill his son.

I'm so glad that he and Urian are in so much better terms now. That fills my heart with joy because, despite everything that has happened, Urian loves Stryker as much as Stryker loves Urian.

CRAZY FAMILY

If we thought only Urian's adoptive Apollite/Daimon family was psychotic and crazy, well, his blood family isn't too far behind. Oh, my goodness! I laughed so, but SO hard the scene when Ash comes back after sending Uri to Kalosis and Styxx is waiting for him. That was hilarious. Seriously, I just remember about it and I start laughing out loud.

I think Acheron needs to start thinking before acting, especially when his family concerns. I mean Styxx and Beth overprotection gets overboard but if there's anyone who could understand where that comes from is Ash. And if the situation was the opposite and Styxx would've sent Katra to some hellish place without telling his brother, Ash's angry fit would have been even worse. 

Too funny is seeing Beth in Mama bear mode. So it is Styxx trying to calm her down before she attacks Stryker and then Apollymi.

The moment with those 2 that melt my heart was when Stryker shared his memory of Urian as a child and Styxx declared that from now on they're brothers. See! That's why I adore Styxx, my baby!

Now, they all are a crazy, amazing and big family. 

OTHER FAMILY MATTERS

Seeing Urian's point of view as he got to know Styx was amazing (and made me cry all over again because, you know, it's Styxx and all the feels). In conclusion, Urian is me when it comes to defending his best friend/dad. My favorite scene on Styxx is when Urian bitchslapped Ash for how he treats his twin brother and, in this book, it got better with the new details. I won't get tired of reading that. Ever.

A note on Urian having children:

Let's be honest. Urian asking Apollymi to make him infertile didn't work as he planned. I mean, I understand his point of not bringing children to this world to suffer the curse and watch them die but he loved Geras and Nephele as his, so he had the heartbreak he was trying to avoid anyway. The same thing happened when he adopted his nephews and nieces later on.

Urian's exact words to Apollymi when he asked her to take his ability to procreate were "Can you please make it so that I will never father any while I’m an Apollite?” but he's not an Apollite or Damion anymore. Does that mean he can have children now with Xyn if they wish so? 

RANDOM STUFF

I love Ruyn Widowmaker. I need to know so much more about him. Like, right now!

I never thought I would cry for the death of a Daimon but oh, boy, how I did! Several times and bitterly.

Urian using Moppet as a nickname for Wulff is the funniest thing ever. Does Wulff know that? I think not or he'd have staked Uri LOL!!

I love seeing CoN bunch in the main series.  Shadow, Kaziel, Aeron, Brynna. It makes me crave Cyprian's books even more. Gah! I wish SK would say the release date already.

And, of course, I'm so excited for the truce between Daimons and Dark-Hunters. I think it's more than necessary now than ever because Helios joined the list of baddies to defeat as if we didn't have enough with Apollo, Zeus, Noir and Azura, Kessar, Morgen.

NEXT

We have the title (Queen of All Shadows) but not the description. But for the epilogue we can guess is Xander/Brynna story. I can't believe we're having a DH/human pairing for the next book!! So good to be back to the roots. It's been a really long time since the last novel, which if I'm not mistaken it was Dark Side of the Moon with Ravyn and Susan. Because even if Devil may cry and No Mercy are about a DH, Sin wasn't truly one and Katra is far from a human; and Samia was indeed a huntress but Dev is definitely NOT human. 

And after that, we'll have Shadow's book!!! Shadows Within. That hasn't a description either and I can't do a wild guess who his HEA is.

What I like about this line up is that connects a lot with the chronicles of Nick and we could get the much-needed details about what the hell went/is going/will go on that front. I'm desperate to know.

I know there's a million of details I'm forgetting but I think I've covered the most important things. Anyone who wants to talk about the book, feel free to message me on this blog or on my main one ( @green-arrows-of-karamel  ). I'd love to know what you all think about it.

Pax.✌

PS: Wait for my favorite quotes from the book that I’m about to post too 😊

[pastellarts]

The Sunday Song – September 9th, 2018

(Or a famous song from a famous feminist movie that is titled with my name)

Love that became a double-edged knife - Melina Mercouri (Αγάπη που 'γινες δίκοπο μαχαίρι – ΜελίναΜερκούρη) Music by Manos Hatzidakis Lyrics by Michael Cacoyannis

In 1955, Greek cinemas met ‘Stella’, a unique and original female protagonist of the same named film that was based on the myth of Carmen. Stella was created from Greek Cypriot director Michael Cacoyannis. Actress Melina Mercouri, who had a wild and intense stare, brought on film an unprecedented movie character.

Manos Hatzidakis wrote the score for the film and Mercouri herself sings the movie's trademark song "Love that became a double-edged knife" ("Αγάπη που 'γινες δίκοπο μαχαίρι") that has become an eternal success. Mercouri sings excellent and most famous female Greek singers include it in live recording or concerts.  

Love, turned into a double-edged knife, Long ago you were giving me nothing but joy but now you drown the joy in tears I don’t see a way out, I can't find a cure (bis)

Fires are blazing deep inside his eyes the stars turn dark when he looks at me turn off the lights turn off the moonlight once he takes me, so my pain cannot be seen

Hatzidakis has admitted that the music for "Love that became a double-edged knife" based on a melody by Vasilis Tsitsanis from the song “Trelos Tsigganos (Crazy Gypsy). However, that might even not be the case, since “Trelos Tsigganos” was written by Ioanna Georgakopoulou in 1947 and is included in an official record with her name.

Plot:

The story of a fiercely independent and uncompromising young woman. Stella, a rembetiko singer at Paradise nightclub, lives a guiltless, turbulent life. Her innate independence and assertive nature lead her to numerous passionate love affairs. While with Aleko, son of a wealthy family, she decides, as is her habit, to break up before the relationship wears off. Once she meets Miltos, a young football player, she seems to change. At first, she avoids his advances, but, later, gives in to him. However, she can only be with him on her own terms. No matter how much she loves him, she mostly values her freedom. Things turn complicated when she is called to choose. She repeatedly rejects Miltos marriage proposals. When Miltos finally forces her to accept the idea of marriage, Stella does not appear in church, despite Miltos repeatedly warning her that he will kill her if she doesn't marry him. Miltos kills her with a dagger at end of the film.

The film ends with an iconic scene where Miltos tragically kills Stella with a knife. The phrase ‘Stella leave I am holding a knife!’  has become a widely spoken phrase in Greece ever since, and, well, if your name is Stella, expect to listen to it countless times in your life (starts around 02.00).

The film sparked great controversy – many Greek critics and a big part of the audience rejected it, they were scandalized and suspicious of a woman who wanted to be independent and a free spirit and make her own life by her own rules. The movie was against patriarchy with a heroine that represents an alien female idol for the 1950s Greece and a timeless tragedy heroine. Most foreign press comments were very positive for the movie and the female liberation aspect emphasized in the film. Set 6 years after the end of the Greek Civil war (1945-1949), some were lukewarm about the rembetiko music as well, even people with progressive views.

Stella was originally intended to be a stage play with the title Stella with the Red Gloves, but it was never staged. It has been claimed that this story was the perfect vehicle for the thirty-five-year-old Mercouri's film debut. Indeed, it was the hit that Melina Mercouri needed. The film is now considered one of the greatest Greek films.

At the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, where the film was screened, Melina Mercouri met Jules Dassin, her future husband, mentor, and director. He helped her to secure major roles in such films as Topkapi, Never on Sunday, Phaedra, and 10:30 P.M. Summer, which were major international successes.

The film a Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Film (1956) and was nominated for the Palme d'Or in the Cannes Film Festival (1955) and for an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

63 years later, Melina’s Mercouri performance is 100% feminist: still relevant, to remind us of a woman that is free, untamed and proud, away from stereotypes and ‘mainstream’ female images. Stella never hesitated to express the wishes that represented the will of many women of that era – and sadly, they were never able to confess it.

Other notable performances of the song (of course female singers)

This one has a great bouzouki intro

[doctorwhonews]

Third Doctor Adventures Volume 4

Latest Review: Writer: Guy Adams, Marc Platt Director: Nicholas Briggs Featuring: Tim Treloar, Katy Manning, Rufus Hound, Mina Anwar, Joe Sims, Carolyn Pickles, Nicholas Briggs Big Finish Release (United Kingdom) Running Time: 5 hours Released by Big Finish Productions - March 2018 Order from Amazon UK​ Before we begin, a quick housekeeping query: is everyone sufficiently bucked up and ready for further old-school 1970s (or 1980s, depending on whom you ask) sci-fi escapades? Wonderful. Perhaps emboldened by the success of their Dalek revival in Volume 3, Big Finish isn’t skimping in the slightest on classic villains in their newest pair of Adventures for the Third Doctor. In fact, they’ve introduced not one but two returning antagonists into the fray for Volume 4 in the forms of the Meddling Monk and – for the first time ever in a Jon Pertwee-era tale, so better late than never – the Cybermen. Admittedly this reviewer took umbrage with how intent “The Conquest of Far” seemed with simply reliving Dalek glory days, rather than seeking to develop how we perceive Skaro’s finest in any notable way, last time around. Will Guy Adams and Marc Platt’s next efforts to immortalise the late Pertwee’s beloved Doctor – now revitalised via Tim Treloar’s loving aural homage – fall into the same traps, then, or can their connective thematic tissue surrounding the ever-complexifying concept of human nature elevate proceedings? “The Rise of the New Humans”: “Look, Bessie’s a lovely car Doctor, I mean a really lovely car, but have you ever thought about investing in a little roof rather than a flappy tarpaulin to keep you dry?” “Don’t you listen, old girl – she knows you’re beautiful really!” Had we ever told diehard fans of all things Doctor Who after watching the divisive “The Woman Who Lived” in 2015 that supporting star Rufus Hound would go on to resurrect a long-overlooked classic antagonist to tremendous acclaim, the best case scenario, most would have justifiably scoffed in our faces. Between his infrequent appearances in the Short Trips and Doom Coalition ranges along with the British comedian’s headline role in Volume 4’s opening tale, however, that’s all changed and the results could hardly feel more satisfying than in the case of “The Rise of the New Humans”. A whirlwind four-parter that’s by parts thought-provoking, hilarious – as if we’d expect anything less of Hound – and thrilling, “Rise” fits into the mold of the Third Doctor era perfectly, posing a fascinating metaphysical concept as human test subjects find themselves transformed into supernatural beings capable of withstanding nearly any affliction. Naturally, though, Doctor Who wouldn’t be Doctor Who without an audacious experiment gone wrong, and sure enough the side effects – not to mention the technology recklessly co-opted by the Monk to achieve his not-so-altruistic goal – quickly lead listeners and the major players alike to question the limits of science’s oft-perceived god complex. If this all sounds too grim and sombre an affair to warrant the Monk’s involvement, then rest assured that Hound alleviates any such concerns with unmistakable ease from the outset. It’s thanks to his sinister, almost sickly, charisma and brilliantly earnest haplessness in the face of just about any danger that Adams’ borderline gothic – certainly Frankenstein-esque – script never gets too bogged down in its contemplations on evolution and the increasing risks of intervention in this natural process for financial gain, with the Monk’s attempts to disguise his seemingly benevolent intentions so delightfully inept that the audience should barely mind sitting through the humour-laden first half before discovering his true ambitions. At the same time, though, Adams thankfully also realises the supreme value and drawing power that Tim Treloar and Katy Manning both hold in the eyes of the Adventures range’s fandom, peppering in a wealth of understated conversations between the pair which perfectly encapsulate their bubbly, at times teacher-student-style dynamic. Whether they’re arguing over Bessie’s temperamentality on a rain-swept road – a subtle homage to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, perhaps? – or the Doctor’s comforting Jo upon her poignant realisation that rumours of us only accessing 10% of our brain power may have been exaggerated, every exchange that the characters share could’ve been ripped straight out of a 1970s serial, with Treloar’s righteously confident and Manning’s sweetly innocent line deliveries both as completely pitch-perfect as ever. The only noteworthy misstep on the wright in question’s part, then, comes with Part 4. While by no means a deal-breaker, the final installment of “Rise” does succumb to an all-too-familiar virus plaguing myriad audio and TV Who adventures – hightailing it to the finish line and ditching any intriguing ideas laid along the way in the process. One can’t help but notice the superior running time afforded to the boxset’s second story – the individual episodes of which run for around 30-35 minutes each compared to this serial’s 20-25 – and wonder if Adams struggled to give ideas like humans struggling with their deadly mutations full due, hence the final 25 minutes descending into the usual catastrophic monster mash and retconning a hugely tantalising cliffhanger regarding Jo within moments of its occurrence. Maybe Adams simply needs to keep honing his stabs at the four-part format instead, but it’s food for thought in terms of whether he might better befit a five- or six-episode serial should he contribute another script for the recently-announced Volume 5. “The Tyrants of Logic”: “Doctor, what are they?” “Cybermen!” Reading the above lines of dialogue alone will, for many fans, surely prove a cathartic experience in and of itself. After all, despite coming into contact with Daleks, Silurians, Sea Devils, Sontarans, Ice Warriors and Autons over the course of his four-year tenure, not to mention the Master on a near-weekly basis, Jon Pertwee’s Doctor never earned himself the chance to battle arguably Doctor Who’s second most iconic monster, joining Paul McGann, John Hurt and Christopher Eccleston’s as the only such incarnations faced with this unspeakable on-screen plight. But, as Hurt’s War Doctor proclaimed in 2013’s similarly Cyber-lite 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor”, no more. Setting down on an initially near-deserted human colony dubbed Burnt Salt, the now exile-free Time Lord and Jo soon discover that they’re far from alone; quite to the contrary, a nearby saloon houses a wild assortment of rogues and ex-soldiers, all of whom bear a secret inevitably doomed to surface as the Cybermen make their presence on Burnt Salt known with their destructive efforts to secure a vital hidden weapon. Prior to us proceeding any further, though, a word of warning – with its Cybermats, Cyber Wars fallout and attempted Time Lord-Cyber conversions, Marc Platt’s latest script represents a quintessential story for everyone’s favourite Mondas residents, for better and for worse. Unless this boxset somehow marks your first encounter with Who, many of the twists in “Logic” will likely seem rather familiar; from characters mistakenly willing to sacrifice their humanity to the robotic menaces escaping supposed extinction yet again, from the Doctor needing 10 minutes to alleviate his companion’s dismay at their latest foe’s near-human nature to Part 4’s predictable final duke-out, there’s nothing particularly fresh to speak of in what’s a fairly run-of-the-mill nostalgia tour. Nothing, that is, save for the continuing thematic strand surrounding what it truly means to call oneself a member of the human race. If “Rise” explores this existential concept through a metaphysical exploration of our species’ DNA being evolved to a supposed higher state, then “Tyrants” – as with many Cyber-tales, although to more emotional effect a la Spare Parts – does so by presenting members of our species on the brink of having every aspect of their personalities stripped away. Can we possibly still define someone as human when they’re clinging to any remains vestiges of their Id / ego / super-ego? Sure, it’s a line of inquiry also recently pursued by TV serials like “Asylum of the Daleks”, but without spoiling too much, Carolyn Pickles achieves wonders as her character Marian Shaeffer’s cold exterior peels back to reveal her heartbreaking motivations in this regard. Indeed, even if “Logic” doesn’t exactly break a great deal of new ground compared to a recent TV Cyber-outing like “World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls”, it’s not for want of the central and supporting cast alike doing their utmost – with director Nicholas Briggs’ support and guidance, no doubt – to provide an entertaining 2-hours of pseudo-base-under-siege action. That Treloar and Manning’s insatiably endearing chemistry injects humour and charm at every turn likely goes without saying at this point, but look out too for Briggs’ finest turn yet as the ever-hauntingly impassive invaders standing in Burnt Salt’s doorway as well as a contrastingly vulnerable performance from Deli Segal’s Skippa, another innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of a seemingly unyielding, constantly destructive conflict. The Verdict: Above all, this stellar new boxset for Treloar’s Third Doctor marks a vast improvement on Volume 3, offering a far more consistent pair of serials that seldom cease to provide gripping listening no matter your chosen venue of aural consumption. Does “Logic” still follow the roadmap presented by Cyber-tales gone by a little too rigidly at times? Sure, but its stirring explorations of warped human psyches – combined with Adams’ own study in “Rise” of our dangerous strides towards godhood of late – ensure that it’s nonetheless a far superior beast to “Conquest of Far”, particularly with Briggs taking such unnerving pride in chronicling Pertwee / Treloar’s proper first encounter with the Cybermen. This reviewer has spoken before on the matter of whether Big Finish’s abundant New Series productions – see Tales from New Earth, The Churchill Years Volume 2, Gallifrey: Time War and The Diary of River Song Series 3 in 2018’s opening quarter alone – threaten to overshadow their Classic Series output if they’re not careful. Provided that the studio keeps producing such captivating jaunts into the lives of Doctors past, though, then their listeners, stars, scribes and directors should have nothing to worry about in terms of the job security that Hartnell-McGann’s incarnations will maintain going forward. And buck down…see you next year for Volume 5 at the same Bessie-time, same Bessie-place! http://reviews.doctorwhonews.net/2018/03/third_doctor_adventures_volume_4.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[the-vaporverse]

Starless Horizon RP File #28

(Vela’s part in italics.)

It took Dritz far longer than usual to wake up the next morning, his dreams too sweet to leave (Vela's naked body, reclining in the hologardens, her smiling face framed by flickering, transparent daisies), and his body too beautifully exhausted to muster his strength.

His eyes finally opened and he glanced around, looking for his love. "You awake, flower?" he asked softly, knowing full well what the answer would be.

As Dritz awakened, Vela glanced over just in time to catch his soft words. She was sitting with the datapad, as usual, but this time her legs were draped over his as she rested back against the bed. Her continued study of Chrysala had been very enlightening, but she was more than ready to pay attention to Dritz when he had slept enough, which seemed longer this morning.

[Yes,] she signed, even though it was obvious she would be. [How did you sleep?] She set the datapad aside and moved her legs down to crawl near him; still undressed, she dropped down a moment to kiss him, pressing her bare chest to his tightly. [I think we were planning on visiting your home again today... weren't we?] There had been some fleeting discussion of this the night before. Admittedly, they had both been so focused on their lovemaking that the topic hadn't lasted long.

Dritz let out a series of soft chirps when he became aware of her snuggling closer to him. He nuzzled against her, nearly pinning her in place.

"Mmhm. We should take our time though, and see what happens. Tvie will be so excited, and I'm not... Quite ready for her energy yet this morning," he laughed, toying with Vela's soft hair. "I slept really well. Reeeaaally well. How about you?"

He sat up, eyeing the datapad. "Whatchya been doin'?"

With Dritz's weight a bit heavy against her, Vela wriggled into a more comfortable position as she leaned over to kiss him before answering. [I slept well too.] A sort of knowing glance went between them, both seeming to understand it was due to each other's actions the night before. [Alright. None of us are busy today, like you said, so we're in no hurry. I look forward to spending time with them again.] In all honesty, she was worried over whether various members of his family would have found it in themselves to accept her more, but that was not worth fretting over for now.

[I was reading.] With Dritz's curiosity seemingly aroused, Vela couldn't help but show him more. She picked up the datapad and held it toward him. [You probably already know this, but your farms are very interesting. I have been looking at the designs and wondering if I could adapt them to use on Trelos someday. It's not the biggest planet, and if the population grows much more, it could be an option for us. Do you think so?" The image on the datapad currently showed a layout of one of the tiered farms, though she could not find anything with exact schematics.

Dritz adjusted to hold her close and be able to see the datapad properly too.

"Ah, yeah. That's a really good idea, flower," he said, glancing over the research she had found. He recognised the structure illustrated as being specifically one for multiple climates; those that needed less water were built higher with special misting machines; the water would then drip through to the lower floors, where there would be the more tropical plants that grew best in very hot, wet climates would be housed. "We'd need to see how Treols' natural climate differs from Chrysala. I mean, it was pretty humid too, wasn't it?"

He smiled softly, "It's silly, but it makes me happy that you're looking at these things. I dunno why."

[It was somewhat similar to here, yes,] Vela signed, now able to compare the two planets since she had been on both. It took her a long moment to think over the fact she had been on two planets which were not Aurctas, something which truly amazed her. [I'm sure I can figure out how to make modifications based on any differences in climate.] Her confidence in this was surprising as well, but it could be her experience with modifying the Nova and all the research she had done meant she was better suited to these tasks than anyone might believe.

She returned his smile, leaning over to him and kissing his cheek lightly. [It's not silly. I'm glad we're sharing this together. We're both in this situation, sharing it all and loving each other. I think it's natural to feel happy about it because I do, too.] It was hard to resist, so she did give in to stroking his stomach just lightly as they continued to snuggle close to each other. There was so much about Dritz that she loved, and the amount only seemed to grow by the day.

Dritz sighed softly, relaxing against Vela's soft touches. "I would love to see your modifications to the systems... It's actually really exciting to think about... I'd never considered how Aurian and Chrysalan technologies could combine. Can you imagine what our people could make together, with the help of the Trelosians, on a new world? It's incredible." The Chrysalan was wide eyed, definitely more awake by that point, and eagerly thinking aloud.

"Hey, you said the ancient Aurians were like, really technologically advanced. What sort of devices did they build? What was the first thing you learned to create?" he asked, rolling onto his side to face her properly.

Dritz's enthusiasm for the subject brought further excitement to Vela, and she nodded happily as she sat up to sign better. [I have been imagining it lately. There is so much we could achieve together, if the Chrysalans are interested in collaborating with the scientists we will have in the future, along with the Trelosians.]

His questions surprised her, making her pause a moment to think. [Most of the records were lost, though I wish it were not so. There are only hints to large and important projects. Whole cities with breathable air that could be maintained in an underwater habitat, atmosphere regulation... those are the biggest ones. They seem to have worked out a way to make weather patterns perform the way they wanted them to, which would be incredible if it worked well.] Her mind was spinning again with the ideas of her ancient people and how incredible they had been.

[Actually, I... I know it was pointless, but what I first began working on was the schematics I found for a personal underwater vehicle. So it was meant to be very small, but of course I couldn't obtain all the parts for it through trade. I knew I would have to travel off Aurctas to find the rest, but I thought that was impossible and abandoned the project quite some time ago. After all, there is no water there to test it in.] How little she had known then about the future, and how her eventual work on the Nova would transport her into the stars, to a space station and new worlds.

Even without being a scientifically minded person, Dritz could feel Vela's spark of enthusiasm, and it made him want to learn. She opened up endless possibilities to him just with her attitude. Who doesn't fall in love with that person?

"You'll make new records," he assured her with a serious, adoring expression, reaching up to stroke the side of her face. He watched her with awe. The thought of arranging the weather itself?! "That's unbelievable! You better not be fibbing, because I am completely blown away!"

He pouted in sympathy, "And it's a shame about your underwater miniship. Maybe you'll be able to build it eventually, don't ever give up on a project! We'll gather all the parts for you one day. Maybe I could even help, I wanna try being underwater!"

[I am being serious,] Vela replied, though it made her smile to have to say so, along with the sight of Dritz being so happy and in wonder at this information. [I believe they used it to influence plant growth and deter natural weather disasters. I'm not sure if we need to go so far as to replicate that system, but it is definitely interesting.]

Dritz was surprisingly optimistic that she would be able to make new records, which somehow gave her extra hope. She had spent many hours wishing she could do just that while on Aurctas, as her people had lost their vision and only worked to survive. Yet Vela couldn't blame them for that entirely.

The support for her underwater ship made her smile again. [Alright, I would like that. Maybe I could modify it to fit both of us. I would need a larger oxygen tank, of course...] For a little while she rambled about details, hardly aware that her lover was watching her with such an adoring expression as she became caught up in her ideas.

[But we should get ready to go,] she suddenly signed in concern, leaning over to kiss him again. [Didn't your family say something about a meal together? I think it must be near midday by now.]

"That's... That's awesome. Really. Wow, that's so awesome," Dritz babbled, seemingly still disbelieving the whole notion of weather control.

He was happy to watch her sign to him, her motions slightly quicker than usual, reflecting her being lost in her thoughts. He took the opportunity to sign back at her, simple confirmations that he was still listening, or agreements, encouragement, or the odd suggestion of how he could help.

"Ah, shit, yes," he rambled, hauling himself up and dressing quickly, "Ma doesn't like when anyone is late for meals, so you're right, we should get a move on."

Once the two of them were ready, Dritz took Vela's hands and gave her a more passionate kiss before he held the door open for her, ready to lead her back to his parents' home.

Vela returned Dritz's kiss, pleasantly surprised by how passionate he was. A surge of emotion ran through her, a sense of just how much she loved him returning to lighten her heart further.

She held his hand for a little while as they walked and then eventually boarded a tram, enjoying the scenery and buildings they passed by. For that day she had decided to wear her favorites: the sleeveless lavender top and beautiful necklace that Dritz had given her. It wasn't as though she wanted to show them off to his family, but wearing them was a further reminder of how much he cared for her.

[You said your mother doesn't like anyone late for meals? Why is that?] she asked absently as they were leaving the tram. Aurians never sat down for proper meals together, instead eating whatever they had available whenever they had a free moment from their work. It had been an adjustment for Vela to eat at certain times of the day in the manner that most other species seemed to.

After taking a further few moments to gush about how lovely Vela looked, and promptly being reminded that they needed to leave and gently ushered out of the door, the two of them made their way through the district towards the trams, and then further still.

"Ah, I dunno... I think food is a really important part of family life to her? It was always a social thing; you could go out and do whatever, work long hours, go and party, but she always insisted we have at least one meal together; me, dad, her, Kli and Tvie. If someone was late, I guess she saw it as not caring so much about the rest of us? I mean, you could call ahead or message if you were caught up, and she'd keep it hot and make everyone wait for you. I think it's nice, in its own way," he explained. He adjusted his shirt with a bright smile, "Saying that, I think food is important to all of us!"

He threw his arm around her as they entered the same building, but they were attacked much quicker this time around, with Tvie (wearing what appeared to be something close to an Earth-style tutu, her hair tied in messy twintails) barrelling right into Vela, leaping into her arms.

"VELA IS HERE," she yelped happily, nuzzling into the Aurian.

It took a little extra time to leave, with Dritz finding the need to compliment Vela so much, but she didn't think they would be very late even still. His explanation about their mealtimes made sense to her in some ways, but not in others. Of course food was important, as it sustained life, but she couldn't understand how actually sharing a meal at the same time as someone else made any sort of difference until she thought about eating with Dritz. There definitely was a sense of companionship about it in a way which she would find difficult to describe. She decided to leave aside any confusion that still remained for the moment, only nodding her nodding her agreement with a smile.

When they entered the home again, Vela was surprised by the sight of Tvie running straight toward her, wearing a strange garment the likes of which the Aurian had never seen before, but did find adorable on Tvie. The little girl must have been watching for their arrival. She automatically reached down to catch her and held her easily, though with her arms full she could not sign. Instead she gave Dritz a slightly bewildered but mostly amused look, squeezing Tvie against her gently in a hug.

Tvie beamed, clearly delighted to be held.

"Tvie," Dritz said, his tone firm but playful, "I'm sure Vela would like to say hi, but she can't do that with you in her arms, can she, remember?"

The little girl looked back at Dritz from her incredibly comfortable position, not moving, "I wanna hug first." She twisted awkwardly to look up at Vela, "You smell pretty and your top is a nice colour."

Dritz pursed his lips and grabbed Tvie under the arms, easily swinging her out of Vela's arms, "C'mon, you. Remember the signs you learnt last time? How about showing Vela, I bet she'd like that." He smiled at Vela as he lifted Tvie to sit on his shoulders, where she signed her name, and a rough approximation of Vela's, a goofy grin on her face.

With Tvie removed from her arms, Vela smiled at Dritz and then up at the girl perched on his shoulders to watch her signing. [That's very good,] she signed, waiting for Dritz to translate. [Thank you for the compliments. Your brother gave me this shirt as a present, actually. I would like to own more clothes in brighter colors, like yours.] She wasn't sure if she wanted them so bright, but it was something to talk about with Tvie.

After a little while Vela glanced around, realizing she could smell a faint hint of something appetizing. [Are your parents busy?] she asked Tvie. [I heard we are having a meal together today.]

Dritz cheerily translated for Tvie, bouncing his shoulders and causing her to giggle.

"Mmhm, we should go and sit down or we might get in trouble," Tvie said in an exaggerated whisper. "They made lots of food, I hope you're hungry."

As they made their way through to the home itself, Dritz assured both ladies that he was, in fact, always hungry, his tone almost gloating.

Inside what was the dining room, the places had been set nicely, though it was clear that they were not used to such a small group of people. The table was long and wide, already full of lots of small dishes piled with different fragranced rices, vegetables, edible flowers, some strips of marinated meat, and a large pot of tea, along with a jug of water.

The first face to appear from the kitchen was Vizn's. He gave Vela a wide smile and, setting down the dish in his hands, stepped forward to give her a brief hug.

"Nice to see you again, you two," he said.

Vela confessed to being hungry as well, though she had to smile at the way both Dritz and Tvie spoke. She followed them through to a room with a large table covered in small plates and bowls full of food, causing her to stop and stare in wonder for a little while. Tvie had not been exaggerating the way Vela had thought she had.

Seeing Vizn again also made her stare. She had forgotten that he was larger than Dritz, something which attracted her still, though she had to wonder why that was. The hug surprised her, but she returned it gladly, almost trying to hold on a bit longer than he did. It was definitely quite as warm and nice as she had expected.

[It is good to see you too,] she signed for Dritz to translate. [I hope you have been well. Thank you for inviting us to this meal, there is so much here already.] She glanced around the table again, realizing for the first time that there were flowers in some of the bowls. [The decorations are lovely too.]

Dritz watched Vizn with interest. It seemed his father had decided to make something more of an effort, though he wasn't completely sure as to what had changed his mind or spurred him to accept Vela more. Either way, he didn't care; the fact that he was trying was enough for now.

"Tvie, go and see if ma needs help, hm?" Vizn said with that same jolly grin that showed his relation to Dritz perfectly. As the little Chrysalan ran off, humming, he took one of Vela's hands, and one of Dritz's. "Now, listen to me. I'm old and stuck in my ways, but I see that the galaxy is changing. So I owe you an apology for the other day. You make sure you take good care of each other, and I got nothing to go complaining about, now do I?" he said firmly, almost scolding them, though he had a soft smirk teasing the corner of his lips.

"I knew you'd come around, but... I'm impressed it was so quick!" Dritz teased, squeezing Vizn's hand. "And we do. We always take care of each other. I'd never let anything hurt Vela, and she wouldn't let anything hurt me either."

After a moment more, Vizn chuckled as he recalled something Dritz had translated.

"Oh, and they're not decorations. These flowers are edible. Nisk makes them with sweet oil and bakes them crispy," he pulled a thin purple petal out of the bowl and snapped it in half, offering it to Vela, "Wanna try?"

Throughout the exchange with Vizn, Vela kept her gaze fixed on him in awe, unaware her mouth had fallen open slightly. To have him accept her, to accept her relationship with Dritz...

[Thank you, sir,] she signed once her hand was free again. [I want to make sure Dritz is happy for the rest of his life.] Realizing this was admitting a bit much, she glanced around shyly. [He's always defended me when I needed it, and I always take care of him as well. I've never known such happiness could exist before I left my planet.] Again she felt awkward, but catching the eye of her love relaxed her. [I'm so glad you are willing to accept us as partners.]

It seemed there was nothing more she could add at the moment, feeling emotionally charged from such a touching scene. Thankfully, Vizn distracted her by saying the flowers were actually edible, leaving her in awe all over again. She took the offered petal, sniffing at the sweet scent delicately before putting it in her mouth. It was crispy, but also practically melted if one waited long enough.

[It's amazing,] she signed with enthusiasm. [I didn't know you could eat flowers, although in the end I think I would rather look at them... But it's delicious. Does she prepare food the most or do you both?] It was still strange to think of anyone actually preparing food for any length of time and then sitting down to eat it together, but Vela was fast growing accustomed to a tradition which she was sure the other Aurians would embrace as well.

As Dritz translated Vela's words, his voice softer, he shared a long look with Vizn, who seemed to be listening more intensely than ever, like a silent conversation of acceptance was going on between them. After that, the larger Chrysalan seemed more content than ever before to engage Vela, watching her while Dritz translated rather than looking to his son as he would have before.

"Ah, we usually take it in turns. I'm better at making sweet treats, Nisk is better with main meals. But the rare times when there's a lot to do, we all pitch in. Tvie's a good little helper when she wants to be," he laughed, gesturing for the two of them to sit down. "What about Aurian meals? Do you share like we do, or...?" He trailed off, another similarity in his speech to Dritz.

Vela listened in fascination, already picturing Vizn and Nisk cooking together from what little she knew of the process. It left her with a happy feeling, one she would like to try replicating with Dritz someday if they ever had the opportunity to do the same.

[That sounds enjoyable,] she signed with a gentle smile, sitting down as Vizn suggested. [Aurians have no set mealtimes or process of making food. Our lives are very... different to yours. With no ability to grow our own food, everything must be traded for and saved, then eaten whenever we have the spare time to actually do so. But I prefer the way the Chrysalans are able to treat food and I hope my own people will have similar rituals someday.]

It crossed her mind that they had likely not even hinted at the biggest reason behind their visit to Chrysala yet. She glanced at Dritz, thinking it would be better saved for when they were all assembled if they were to do so. [Is your other son helping as well?] she signed politely, not having a gesture for Kli's name.

Dritz translated for Vela, seeming unintentionally sombre to Vizn, who listened politely. To hear of the Aurians not having a set mealtime, or that mealtimes would be seen as ritual (which, he supposed, was true) was odd to him. He had much to learn of Vela, and her people, but there would be time to do so. While he didn't want to appear unwelcoming, there was still much of him that couldn't accept all that was happening as easily as his primary seemed to. As Vela and Dritz had left last time, Nisk had voiced how happy she thought their son had seemed, how his usual cheeriness had seemed elevated. She had even spoken fondly of the alien. No, of Vela. Nisk thought the two of them a good fit, and she was the more intuitive of the two of them, so he trusted her judgement.

"Ah, Kli is probably going to join us soon," Dritz offered without first translating her signs. "He... better hurry up, though. He's cutting it pretty fine!"

As if he had heard, there was a slam outside and then the Chrysalan himself barged in, panting, "My tram got held up, and then I stopped to collect my datapad from the repair guy, who was totally flirting with me but he's got really short antennae and they look so weird when he has such long hair-" Kli apparently did not seem to care if anyone was even listening, rambling away until he sat at the table, apparently only spotting Dritz and Vela then.

"Oh. Hi again!"

Vela was momentarily bewildered when Kli appeared so quickly and in such loud fashion, as if to answer the question himself. She cocked her head as she listened to him, but didn't really understand the significance of anyone having "short" antennae or looking "weird" because of it.

[Hello. Did you... have a good day today?] she signed in a polite manner. There seemed to be nothing else she could come up with to say for the moment, which was troubling.

Dritz translated, with a sigh directed at Kli, who watched the two of them with something of a gormless expression.

"That's really, really shallow, Kli," Dritz added with a disapproving look, "No one can help how their antennae look, you know."

"I know," the lanky Chrysalan huffed, fussing with his hair before turning to Vela with more interest, "I did, thank you. How are you finding Chrysala so far? Did... Your... Thing go well? The counsel stuff, right?"

Vela watched the two brothers speak patiently, though she still did not understand much of what they were referring to. Of course she would side with Dritz no matter what, and it did seem like the correct thing to say, that no one could help how certain aspects of them looked. Aurians had very little difference from one to the other, so maybe that explained her slight confusion on the topic.

She sat straighter in her chair when Kli addressed her. [Chrysala is very lovely, I'm so glad I was able to see it for myself. I do hope to come back someday. Yes, the matter with the counsel was quite successful. Your leaders are very gracious and caring.] Although some of them had not been as much toward her, she was sure it was true in general. [Especially the overseer for your district. Have you ever met her before?] Vela hoped this was a good enough attempt at conversation, though Kli didn't seem the type for much serious discussion.

Once he received a translation, Kli smiled. He was still in the habit of looking at Dritz while he translated, clearly not understanding the unspoken etiquette his older brother tried to establish when speaking on his lover's behalf.

"Aw, cool, I'm glad you're enjoying it here. I've never met the overseer, no, but... I've heard she's nice. But they're all very into their own districts and their own business to do with that, I'm surprised you managed to get everyone together. Not in a bad way!" he said, twiddling idly with a strand of his hair.

After a moment, Nisk and Vizn returned with Tvie, and everyone was finally seated together, with the little girl insisting on sitting next to Vela, effectively removing Dritz from his seat (though Vizn moved from where he had intended to seat himself, to allow them to remain together).

"It's so lovely to see you again. Thank you for coming back to share a meal with us. I know you had important things to do, but it means a lot to me," Nisk chirped, gesturing for everyone to help themselves.

Vela only nodded in response to Kli, thinking it was alright if he didn't understand. Maybe if they explained further soon, the importance of it all would make more sense to everyone.

She was surprised that Tvie wanted to sit next to her, but still pleased the girl had taken to her so quickly. With a warm smile for Nisk, Vela spoke for Dritz to translate. [It's good to see you too. We have reached the main goal of our trip, so there is plenty of time. Thank you for having me, I wouldn't have missed your invitation. Everything looks so beautiful.]

Having been referring to the array of dishes spread before her across the table, Vela now found herself at a loss for where to begin. Turning to Tvie, but making sure Dritz was watching first, she signed, [It all looks delicious. What's your favorite? I will try that first.]

Nisk seemed especially delighted to have the food complimented, but Vizn also grinned. Dritz and Kli, evidently having something of a similar appetite, were the first at the table to reach out and take food. Tvie was peering carefully at everything, humming quietly to herself until Vela signed to her.

The little Chrysalan watched her signing and listened to Dritz with a smile.

"Close your eyes!" she demanded excitedly. Once Vela has complied she turned to Dritz and "whispered" (which was more of an exaggerated stage whisper), "How do you sign this one? Uh huh... And this? How do I say it's yummy?"

There was a long pause before Tvie tugged at Vela's top and, once the Aurian opened her eyes, clumsily signed something that vaguely resembled, [This. It yum fruity.]

She pointed to a plate filled with stringy shreds of pastel pink. "It's my favourite! You should eat some on top of some bread. I like it because it's sweet. Dad says it's too sweet though."

Though initially confused, Vela had closed her left eye (her right could not be closed, technically) and waited while she listened to Tvie asking Dritz how to sign various words. She tried desperately not to smile and give herself away, though it was difficult.

The small Chrysalan's signing was somewhat correct, enough to be decipherable, and Vela inspected the food pointed out to her. She had never seen such a color on anything edible before, but she found it intriguing. [You sign so well,] she told Tvie with a smile. [You must be picking up words somehow. I will try it. I don't seem to like sweet foods too much, but I think I will like this since you do.]

Reaching for a slice of bread, she carefully spread some of the pink shreds on top of it before taking a bite. While it was very sweet, the bread balanced the flavor and made it much more appealing to Vela's general taste. [It's wonderful,] she told Tvie. [I can see why it's your favorite. Thank you for showing me how to eat it.]

She glanced toward Dritz's parents. [Are these all traditional foods from your planet? I almost want to try everything.] With this said, she also began reaching for other dishes with increased enthusiasm.

Dritz smirked as he watched Vela and Tvie interact. Vela would be a great mum, wouldn't she?

Wait, no. That certainly wasn't a thought to be having over a dinner with his family. He quickly looked down at his own food, lest Kli think he didn't want it and steal it, as he was known to do.

"You like it? Yay!" Tvie helped herself to some of the same fruit. Having waited with baited breath to see Vela's verdict, it seemed she was happy to start eating herself now, and went back to humming quietly while she ate.

"Mostly, yes," Nisk explained, "But this-" she gestured to small chunks of white meat in a bright mustard coloured sauce speckled with chopped leaves and topped with shreds of white onions, "Is a new recipe I wanted to try. It's apparently an Ultrian curry? But it might not be too good, since I couldn't get the same fish. If you take some and don't like it, don't feel you have to finish it!" She laughed awkwardly, seeming quite embarrassed by the admission. "But otherwise, there is plenty, please eat as much as you would like. Maybe I could even put some away for you to take!"

Vela listened carefully to Nisk's explanation, nodding. She did take some of the newer dish, proclaiming it was good and she wouldn't know the difference between the real version, anyway. [That would be nice. Something extra would help. It's a long trip back to Hesperus Alpha.] For a little while she maintained eye contact with Dritz, thinking the length of time didn't really matter to either of them, but having some real food to break up the monotony of what he called "space food" would still make the situation better.

After this, she decided to eat quietly and listen to any other conversation around the table, letting Dritz have a rest from translating for her so much. Besides, he seemed hungry and almost in a sort of competition with Kli for who could eat the most. Despite not having nearly so much of an appetite, Vela focused on taking a small sample of each dish and enjoying them all greatly.

For a while, they ate in comfortable quiet, with the odd chitchat from Tvie as she asked for things to be passed to her, being the only one unable to reach everything that had been laid out. Kli told them about the day he had, Dritz told them about Hesperus Alpha (insisting Vela have a break from signing everything for a while while he did so), and Tvie showed them all a... well, something approaching a magic trick she had learnt which involved a 'disappearing' napkin obviously appearing on her lap.

After a little while longer, Vizn turned to Vela, having nudged his plate away from him.

"So, what brought you away from Aurctas? And why the station?"

The meal was pleasant, and Vela had enjoyed every bit of it, along with the conversations around the table and the antics of Tvie. When they all seemed finished and Vizn turned his attention to her, however, she quickly became serious.

[It's not a simple answer, unfortunately. I spent a long time working on one of our old ships in an effort to make it functional again. I would have left with others, but there was no one currently who wished to accompany me. The truth is, I left to seek out a new home for my people. Our world is not suitable for habitation much longer, and I had to do something. I can't let the Aurians just... perish.] The subject was a stark contrast from the rest of the evening, and realizing this, Vela hurriedly continued to sign.

[You must understand, there are many years left. But I didn't want to wait. I went to the station because I felt there might be someone would could help me, even though I wasn't counting on that in specific. It also seemed like a logical stop to make sure my ship could manage such a distance. There may have been others there who could assist me... but I met Dritz first. He was a good friend to me from the very start and eager to help me with anything I needed. It was awkward trying to make him understand me at first, but we sorted it out. You should be proud of him, I think, though I have no doubt you already are.] She paused to let Vizn and the others take this information in, along with smiling fondly at Dritz. It was possible he didn't know the full extent of how much he had helped her.

As Dritz translated, carefully controlling his evident distress over the situation, Vizn seemed to soften. He was watching between her and Dritz, his yellow eyes, paler than his son’s, seeming to hold sadness for the first time, though it didn't show on the rest of his face.

"I am sorry for the hardships of your people," he said softly. "And I cannot have helped you feel welcome in such an unusual place. For that I must apologise again." Vizn shared a glance with Nisk, the two of them seeming to communicate without words, as Vela and Dritz were slowly learning.

"Dritz was always a friendly boy," Nisk added, grinning, "Chit-chatting to strangers whenever we went out! I swear he knows more folk around here than the rest of us put together."

After a moment, she reached over and touched Vela's hand gently, "I hope you are able to assist your people, Vela. If there is anything we can do to help, please let us know."

Vela accepted the second apology gracefully, even though she felt Vizn needn't have done so. He could not have known what a hard life she had lived previously, and how important Dritz was to her and her mission.

She smiled, easily believing what Nisk said about her son. His friendly nature had initially drawn her in, too. [Thank you. For now, all I could ask is that you continue to support us, and perhaps speak well of our cause to anyone who might be doubtful of it in the future. We have been to the counsel and gotten their agreement to help, though it didn't go as smoothly as we would prefer. I can understand why they might be reluctant to lend my people aid, but I'm sure the decision will not cause anyone regret.]

With an encouraging smile, she turned toward Dritz in case he had any further thoughts beyond what she had said.

"Szna was a great help, but there were some overseers who weren't too pleased with the idea, of course. But even if Vela and I hadn't become involved in a deeper relationship, I feel like I would have wanted to help. The idea that any race of people could..." He trailed off. Something about the thought of using the words 'die out' made him incredibly uncomfortable. He didn't want to acknowledge the very real danger aloud. "Anyway. Uh, yeah. It's important to Vela, so it's important to me."

Tvie looked up at Vela, her wide eyes full of concern. "The Aurie-yans will be okay, right? If they're all like you, I don't want them to be in trouble..." she said, leaning her head against Vela's shoulder.

Her own eye softening with emotion, Vela reached over to briefly smooth some of Tvie's hair as the little girl's head rested against her shoulder. [They will be alright. The Chrysalans are going to help, and use their ships to bring the Aurians to a new planet where they can grow strong again. It's called Trelos, and it's much like your own planet, only a little smaller. It's very green there, and warm.]

Suddenly she thought of a question which she had never investigated yet. Still addressing Tvie to keep her engaged in the conversation, she signed, [Does it ever get cold here? Do you know what snow is?] Somehow she could not imagine them having any, and her general dislike of cold weather and snow had made her forget to learn about Chrysala's seasons.

"That sounds nice," Tvie mumbled. It was obvious she was still quite worried about the Aurians, her voice thicker than usual, but she seemed to brighten at the idea of them growing strong again, as Vela had suggested. "Maybe I can go and see Trelos sometime and help the Aurians make it nice."

Once Dritz had again translated, Kli opened his mouth to answer, but Tvie glared at him, "Don't be rude, Vela asked me." She turned back,her face the picture of innocence after such a harsh frown at her brother, "We have rainy season, and um, the dark season..."

"Dark season is the closest we really get to winter, flower," Dritz said cheerily. "It overlaps with rainy season by a week or so, and the humidity rises as the temperature drops, but we don't get snow. The cold is never harsh enough at all."

"What is snow though?" the young Chrysalan pouted.

[You could do that,] Vela signed, though she wished there was a way she could be more soothing to Tvie. [I'm sure the Aurians would welcome your help.]

She watched the interaction between the siblings with amusement. [I see, thank you. I didn't suppose it was ever so cold here. Snow is like...] It took her some time to think of a way to phrase it so that Tvie could understand. [Well, it's very cold. I know you have rain here, and snow comes from the sky just like rain. You could say it's frozen rain, but it's not the same as ice. It's soft and white, usually in flakes that pile onto the ground, but sometimes it can be harder and painful if there is a strong wind. It's horrible.] Vela had no concept of anyone thinking snow could be a good thing, hence her description of it as being unwanted.

After a moment she turned back to Dritz in curiosity. [Dark season? What does that mean? Does the planet not get much light then?] Her natural intrigue to learn was stronger now that she knew there was no snow.

"Snow sounds pretty," Tvie mused, "But if Vela doesn't like it then it must be bad." She nodded firmly to herself, as if to confirm this was the last word on the subject of snow.

Dritz beamed, recognising the curiosity in his love and wanting to do his very best to feed it. "The days during dark season only really last five hours, so everyone ends up being more tired and feeling overworked. It used to be a real problem until we started developing sunlight bulbs to ensure everyone was still working at their best. It's still a bit of a horrible time of year, but I definitely think it's less so than rainy season. I feel like you never dry off!"

Fascinated, Vela nodded. [I understand. Actually there is very little daylight on Aurctas year-round. I think Aurians are used to that, though. I wonder if their motivation for change would return if they were exposed to more natural light.] It wasn't something she had ever thought about in depth. Since leaving her home and at least experiencing an artificial light cycle on Hesperus, she had certainly noticed a change in her general mood for the better. Most days on Aurctas had been a struggle to keep herself going in more ways than one.

Finally realizing she had gotten carried away with her interest again, she addressed Dritz's parents apologetically. [I'm sorry, I enjoy learning about anything I can and sometimes I get caught up in doing so. I wanted to know if there was anything else you'd like to ask me, if there's any way I could further set you at ease about Dritz and myself. I wouldn't want you to worry about him.] They would be leaving Chrysala soon, and she wanted Nisk and Vizn to know their son would be safe and loved in her company.

All of the Chrysalan family listened intently as Dritz translated, even Tvie seemed to be contemplating what was being discussed. She couldn't imagine very little natural daylight.

"Are your eyes real sensitive, then?" she asked sweetly, almost concerned.

Dritz shook his head in response to Vela's concern before he began to explain what it was she had said. He knew that his parents, though perhaps worried about the situation in general, would not worry about him in relation to his presence around Vela.

"Dritz is an adult, we do our very best not to worry about him or his choices," Vizn said, leaning back in his chair and looking at Vela more seriously. "But you know we will do. All I ask is that you take care of each other."

Dritz smiled, reaching over to take Vela's hand and squeeze, "We already do."

With a gentle smile, Vela shook her head. [No, my eyes are alright. We had light, just nothing advanced such as you have. Otherwise we would not have been able to work. That was the most important thing in our lives.] Saying this made her pause for a moment to think of how differently it was important to the lives of both the Aurians and the Chrysalans.

Vizn and Nisk's confidence in their son and what he chose to do brought some relief to Vela's worry. [He's right, we do,] she signed with a loving glance at Dritz once he had released her hand. [We will all see you together again very soon, I'm sure. Next we are heading back to the station and working as we wait for our trip to Aurctas.] The thought of this worried her more than any other journey they had made together so far, but surely it would go well. It had to.

[Thank you again for the meal, everything was delicious,] Vela continued politely, before glancing around the table. She wasn't sure what came next: if they were supposed to leave, or remain and speak further. All she could do for the moment was wait for someone to make a suggestion.

Tvie seemed much happier to know that Vela's eyes were okay, but she did pout some at the thought of work, scrunching her nose up.

Nisk and Vizn seemed to share another of their knowing glances, but there was no air of secrecy or disapproval, no malice. It seemed as though they were confirming something with one another regarding Vela, warmth in their eyes. Dritz could tell they were reassessing her, seeing how wrong they had been about their relationship. It was reassuring to him to see that look, the unspoken parent link.

Reaching over and holding Vela's hand, they lingered for a short time afterward, Tvie showing Vela a few things she had made (including giving her a flimsy fabric flower she had clumsily hand stitched and was very proud of), and chatting lightly, Dritz leading most of the conversation on Vela's behalf, concerned his love was growing tired with so much talk.

An hour or so had passed when the Chrysalan finally stood and moved to stand behind Vela, protectively putting his hand on her back, "I think Vela and I ought to go and prepare everything for when we leave. I'll keep in touch though, so we'll be back again another time. Don't worry, Tvie, I won't keep your new best friend away long!" He stuck his tongue out at Tvie, whose antennae were flicking happily as she grinned at Vela.

"I will miss you, but you'll send me messages, right? Maybe you could send vids to show me Aurie-yan language?" she asked, kicking her legs in time with the wavering of her antennae.

There was a certain way in which Dritz's parents looked at each other which brought Vela a sense of peace, and a feeling that she was being accepted along with the situation. There would be no further reason to worry about how they felt, she thought. As unfamiliar as she was with the concept of parents having a greater role in their children's lives, this visit to Chrysala had managed to teach her much about it.

Their visit after the meal was pleasant, but Vela was still glad that Dritz seemed to want to talk more for her sake. Aurians did not engage in much idle conversation, so it really was tiring to have to sign for extended periods of time. She did, however, extensively praise Tvie over her small handmade items and assured the little girl that the flower was one of the most beautiful she had seen, that she would treasure it always and might be able to send her a gift later in return.

[We will send messages,] she promised, glancing at Dritz with a smile. [And I will certainly show you more of my words. You will have to practice, and maybe someday Dritz won't have to translate for me.] An unexpected feeling of affection came over her, and when she stood she went over to give Tvie a little hug in farewell. The rest of the family gave their own goodbyes in the manner they were comfortable with, and Dritz and Vela left the house for the walk back to the station.

For a while Vela could say nothing, simply overcome with her feelings over the trip. [Your family is wonderful,] she finally managed, still with that sense of contentment over it all. [I'm so glad they could accept me. And I... I love you.] For whatever reason, she couldn't hold herself back from stopping right in the middle of the walkway to hug Dritz tightly, closing her eye as she clung to him with the most happiness she was sure she had felt in her life.

If Dritz could adore Vela in any deeper way, the moment she crouched to hug his little sister, he would have done. Tvie almost felt like a daughter to Dritz in a lot of ways; he had taken care of her very often when she was a baby, he'd helped her learn some basic life skills, he'd shown her how to make tea... Silly little things, but they were close because of them. Vela's behaviour towards her was exactly what he would have wanted from a partner, and despite her age, Tvie was a great judge of character. Seeing them interact was a delight to him.

Both Nisk and Vizn chose to hug Vela, but Kli took her hands and squeezed, not wishing anything more physical.

With Tvie delighted by Vela's promises, they were free to leave. What took Dritz by some surprise, however, was Vela's sudden embrace. He pulled her closer, nuzzling against her neck and sighing happily, "I love you, flower. I can't believe how lucky I am. How lucky we both are for this."

Vela also sighed very softly, resting her head against Dritz's. She agreed that they were both incredibly fortunate in meeting each other and in all they had accomplished so far; yet perhaps there was some element which was beyond luck as well. Whatever it was, she would not question it.

Reluctantly they had to move again, though they walked hand in hand from then on. There were several shops to visit for supplies, and Dritz had to inspect the Nova to be certain she was ready for another long trip. This was all accomplished within the day, and early the next morning, they received clearance from the dock and set their navigation course back to Hesperus Alpha.

Vela found herself watching the viewscreen for a long time as Chrysala slowly shrank into a small orb of light behind them. With the stars streaking past, she found herself contemplative of all she had done and seen, but was thinking mainly of Dritz's family.

[I hope you won't miss them too much,] she signed with a faint smile. [I think I might miss them a little already. I'm not sure I really have any sort of family on Aurctas... so I would like to join yours if we formally partner together in the future.] Realizing what she had said made her feel a little shy, but she remained reflective as she stared at the viewscreen, unaware of how closely Dritz was watching her in the meantime.

The remains of their planning, the restocking of the ship and the tinkering all seemed to pass by in a blur. The two of them knew which tasks needed doing and set about them in the wonderfully efficient way they did, and that they had seemed to settle into so easily, so quickly after they first met as well.

Dritz worked on The Nova with enthusiasm. The ship was solid, he was almost as in love with it as he was with Vela, since it was almost an extension of her. It rarely had anything to be concerned by, but he enjoyed giving it the once over every chance he got.

Their efficiency came into play once again when they came to leave Chrysala, doing their tasks about the cockpit with the ease of practice.

Once they were settled on course, Dritz stretched in his seat as he turned to Vela.

"I think they will miss you too, flower," he said softly, smiling. He eyed her for a long moment, the smile becoming a slight smirk. "Oh yeah? Well, I would love that! I know Tvie would too! What did you think of everyone?"

Being asked her opinion of Dritz's family made Vela somehow even more contemplative. She leaned back in her own chair to begin signing to him.

[Well, Tvie was very sweet. I can see why you would have enjoyed taking care of her, though she does seem to require a lot of energy to keep up with. Your brother was... well, he seemed nice for the most part. I guess we didn't get to talk as much but I'm sure I would have enjoyed doing so.] She hoped Dritz understood and didn't think she was being disrespectful, but she wasn't familiar with the sort of personality Kli had and couldn't judge it well.

[Your mother is kind and pretty. I was a little surprised at how small she is, I suppose. Your father, after he got used to the idea of us being partners... he's very nice. He reminds me of you.]

She almost left it there, but some strange purpose kept her going. [I have never seen anyone like him... and when he hugs you, it's so warm and soft...] The equivalent of trailing off for an Aurian, Vela let her hands drift back to her lap as she played over that last hug in her memory, her gaze fixed on the viewscreen but not seeing it. She preferred to hug Dritz, if she were honest, but there was just something incredibly appealing about Vizn...

Dritz laughed, "Aw, Tvie is a handful, definitely, but believe it or not, she can be surprisingly sweet and gentle. If you're sad, she'll come and hug you, ask how you are and if you want tea. She's gunna be some sort of medic or teacher or something of the like. Eh, Kli's just dumb. Harmless, but dumb. Not a great talker." He listened further, chuckling at the mention of his mother's stature. Because of his own size, he mused, they must seem like an odd family, or perhaps not appear so related as he and his dad.

Vela seemed to have... wow, a fair amount to say about Vizn. Dritz was taking it all in when something sparked in the back of his mind. The hug, her fascination with his own 'soft', 'warm' body. He smirked and looked at her closely.

"I'm glad you liked them. Especially dad," he said lightly, an edge of teasing in his tone.

The information about Tvie made Vela smile softly, thinking back on the little girl with fondness. She had somehow already made her way into the Aurian's heart. It did puzzle her, however, that Dritz referred to Kli as not being very intelligent. What did that mean, exactly? For the moment she decided not to ask, distracted again by the mention of Vizn.

[He's nice, that's all,] she quickly signed, almost defensively. She had noticed the smirk and recognized the slightest amount of teasing in her lover's voice. Really, it was not as though she was attracted to his father. Was she? Wouldn't that be... strange?

In a new attempt to distract Dritz instead, she got up from her chair and moved over to him, sitting on his lap and curling her legs up. For a while she rested against him, feeling how wonderful he was, then leaned back enough to sign. [I enjoyed their company, but I'm glad it's only us for now. I do like it when we're alone, especially on the Nova, surrounded by stars...] Her gaze was soft as she turned her head to kiss him. Returning to Hesperus Alpha would be welcome as well, but she had nearly forgotten all about who might be waiting there upon their return.

"I'm glad you think so," Dritz chuckled, reeling in an exaggerated fashion at the ever so slightly sharper gestures from Vela. She seemed awfully quick to defend her statements. He couldn't seem to tone his smirk down.

Her curling into his lap, however, very quickly pushed away any thoughts of teasing her, and he wrapped both arms around her tightly, nuzzling against her neck and breathing in deeply, enjoying her subtle scent.

"I like it this way too, flower," he whispered, taking the chance to look out of one of the ship's view ports at the vastness of space around them before leaning down to kiss her slowly, passionate but languid; they had all the time they needed. There was something so calming about the endless stars, even moreso when accompanied by Vela's tender kisses, her pale body against his, the soft sighs filling the air...

The journey to the station felt like victory. They were relaxed, focused on each other and the ship, talking about anything but their recent travel purposes, fully enjoying the respite.

Late afternoon, the alert flashed on the console and Dritz stretched, poking a few readings, "Coming up on Hesperus Alpha, cap'n!"

[the-vaporverse]

Starless Horizon RP File #25

(Vela’s part in italics.)

The next few days did go fast. The busyness helped keep Vela's mind off her worries, but once they had bought all their supplies, packed and loaded everything on the Nova and said goodbye to Orion (with an added grudging farewell from Fera), she was getting nervous again.

[It seems like not long ago when we were headed to Trelos like this,] she remarked, trying to keep her hands from trembling as she gestured. They were both currently watching Hesperus Alpha dwindling in the viewscreen as their ship pulled away from it. She couldn't look away, now, wondering if it would be best to just go back, to forget it all. But her people needed her.

What was this sudden fear?

It wasn't until their trip grew closer, until they were boarding that morning, that Dritz began to feel the beginnings of his own nervousness. He was not too worried about returning home, or seeing his family, but if he were to be honest, he was concerned about how they would react to his relationship with a "human" (because that's probably what they'd see her as), and indeed to the fact that Vela was all he wanted. That part might not be so bad; it wasn't exactly freakish to be monogamous. He reasoned that it wasn't freakish to fall for an alien either, of course, but it was something that hadn't come up before.

"I know, right? But at the same time, doesn't Trelos seem like... a different world entirely? Almost like a dream?" he asked as he engaged the stability controls. "This will be good, though. It's going to be hard work, but I think we can do this." He stood and moved to where Vela was, kneeling in front of her, "It's going to be great. You're going to be great. You're doing a wonderful thing for the Aurians, flower. And I can't wait to show my family the beautiful person who chose me to be hers."

Vela nodded absently, though she turned her gaze to Dritz as he knelt in front of her. The mention of her people helped to remind her that she was doing the right thing, but the mention of his family still raised so many doubts in her mind.

[It does seem different. I have a better feeling about approaching your leaders than I did on Trelos. But your family... I guess I'm worried. I'm very different from a Chrysalan. So different that our... reproductive systems are incompatible.] She might as well state it plainly. Though she had developed the ability to interact with Dritz outwardly, her inner parts were not the same as a Chrysalan female's would be. [And my appearance as well, but I suppose that's of lesser concern. They are not totally unused to offworlders, from what you've told me.]

Still she remained restless, behaving as though very distracted, unusual for her most of the time. And their flight had only just begun, how was she to continually handle this?

Neither of them had ever spoken aloud about their incompatible biology, and it did take Dritz by surprise for a moment. Of course, they needed to talk about it plainly, it was just weird for him to acknowledge.

"Yeah. I'm a bit worried too, flower, so I do understand, I promise," he said softly, stroking her leg with a smile. "But beyond that, you're a sweet person; intelligent and wonderful and, as my family will see, good for me." It felt odd to admit, but she was. Dritz was known to be frivolous, too laid back. He knew Vela would keep him focused and thinking about what was truly important. "They are unused to non-Chrysalans, yes, but what will matter in the end is how we feel about each other, I'm sure of it."

Vela nodded slowly, thinking over Dritz's words. With her own attempt at a smile, she bent down to kiss the top of his head. If she was good for him, if they could see how much he meant to her... of course they would understand. They had to.

[Alright. It's funny, I'm more nervous about this than about talking to your overseers.] She gave Dritz a hand to help him to his feet again, even if he didn't need it. [I'll try not to worry about what your family will think, for now. Maybe we should go over our plan?]

After being certain all systems were reading operational, Vela led Dritz into the Nova's kitchen. She let him have a seat while she began to expertly prepare two cups of the Chrysalan blossom tea, thinking it would be comforting and familiar now.

[What do we do first?] she asked him seriously, after setting a cup down in front of him. [Do we go straight to your family, or an overseer? Will any of them do, or is there a specific one to see?] Maybe knowing which to expect first would help her better prepare.

Dritz allowed himself to be helped up, and they made their way to the kitchen together. He'd been thinking for a long time about what they would need to do.

Pulling his legs up so that he could sit cross-legged on the bench at the table, he sighed softly, "I think I know the course of action to take. We need to go to the offices and see if Szna, the overseer for the district my family lives in, will see us or if we need to get an appointment. But she's a feisty leader, I think she'll be easily persuaded. Like I said though, it'll be the rest of the overseers that will need convincing. We'll escalate it, flower. Don't worry, we will make it work, and Szna will be on side. We'll all fight for the Aurians." He smiled confidently, a great deal of fire in his eyes. "She's very focused on the less fortunate, she organises a lot of support for poorer neighbourhoods, rare as they are. She'll be eager to help; we're lucky she's the first port of call." He quickly added, "It's not really the done thing for a citizen to go to the overseer of another district; it's seen as disrespectful, like you don't believe in their ability to lead."

Dritz's level of determination almost surprised Vela. It was plain to see he felt strongly about helping her people, and she wondered if it was only for her sake, or more that he was a good person. She thought it must be both, in nearly equal measure.

Encouraging Dritz to drink his tea, she smiled back at him. [That is good to know. She will attempt to help us, I'm sure, as you already know what she's like. I hope the other leaders can be persuaded.] For a little while she blew gently at her teacup to cool it, watching the blossom swirl slightly. [So we will go to her first? What is landing on Chrysala like? Will they need to board the ship and inspect it, especially since it's not Chrysalan in origin?] These small matters were helping her take her mind off her bigger worries, and she was glad Dritz was willing to talk through them with her.

Dritz waved a hand dismissively, "Nah. Chrysala doesn't experience a lot of crime, or the like, so they're not too hot on security detail. They'll do a quick scan for hazards and unregistered lifeforms, but that'll be it. We orbit in the import traffic until we're contacted, then we get our clearance and register ourselves and the ship. It might be just a little awkward because they've got me registered to ol' Pappy, but I should be able t' sweet talk them." He smiled, "Hey, and you'll get to hear full Chrysalan. I'll sign everything for you though, so you know what I'm saying. Don't worry, though, every Chrysalan is taught Basic, it's only the very elderly that don't like to speak it. As soon as I ask, they'll switch to Basic. With the ship being alien, I might not even need to ask."

He took an eager gulp of his tea; it was what he referred to as 'perfect chugging temperature.' Gazing at Vela, he reached over and stroked her arm. "I'm honestly excited to show you my homeworld. I love it there. There are more industrial places, remnants of before, when we were strictly all work and no fun, but the further into the cities it gets brighter and more lively. I think we'd do well to go to the offices first though, which will take us through my district."

Dritz seemed to be relaxing slowly, more excited to show Vela the planet than worrying about what might happen. He hoped it was helping her too.

Vela sipped her tea at a slower pace, listening to everything Dritz told her and storing it away to remember later. He seemed to be getting excited about the idea of arriving on Chrysala, and she couldn't help but catch on to a little of that excitement. It did make her happy to see Dritz happy.

[Alright. Thank you, knowing that will help. I look forward to seeing how wonderful it is, and hearing more of your language. I wish that I could learn some but I... can't make those noises at all.] It was difficult enough to speak Basic aloud, but the chirps and buzzes of the Chrysalan language were quite beyond her. At least she might be able to converse in Basic someday, with enough practice.

[There will not be as much to show you, when we finally go to my planet. But my people need a world where they can rebuild their culture first. Someday... we might be able to see what their civilization is like.] They might not get to see the fullness of their plan realized, but setting the groundwork and seeing the beginnings of it would go a long way to settle her mind. [At least you will be able to talk to the other Aurians when we arrive. They may trust you more this way.] If Dritz focused, at least, he was fairly good with her sign language. This gave her another idea. Leaning forward earnestly, she signed again.

[I want to greet some of your people aloud in Basic. Especially your family and your overseer. But I don't want to just say hello, I want to say something to show how glad I am to meet them, something they would be impressed to hear from a stranger to their planet. Do you know what might work? I will need to start practicing before we arrive.]

Dritz shook his head, "It's not about seeing sights, particularly. I want to see where you came from, what shaped something so seemingly perfect. But... I do think it's important for me to understand what life has been like there too, flower." After a serious second, he laughed, "No, and I wouldn't ever expect you to learn Chrysalan. It's remarkable enough that Fera was able to speak it that one time... I don't know the exact science, but I think it's to do with tiny hairs or something? In the throat? I dunno, it's weird. But I should be able to teach you something cultural. Or at least as cultural as it gets."

He shifted, standing and coaxing her to follow. He took both her hands, gently turning them palm-up, "It's not practiced often now, so doing this will really impress older Chrysalans, I tell ya! So, you take their hands and turn them, make sure you're gentle and you smile. This is a sort of... 'I wish to know you' and 'I accept your hospitality'. Hold their hands with your palm to the top of theirs like this, don't grip with your fingers. Then, you tilt your head forward. I'd say that, unless you're intending to flirt, just bow your head a little bit. This is 'I am open to you', because you're offering your antennae, see? If you want something to say with it, I'd just say in Basic, 'I'm pleased to meet you' or something simple like that."

While Vela didn't agree that Aurctas had formed her into someone who seemed perfect by any means, she quietly accepted Dritz's reasoning for wanting to see her planet beyond simply persuading the Aurians to leave. She wanted to see Chrysala for many of the same reasons.

Then he showed her the motions to go through as a special greeting to Chrysalans, and because it mainly used the hands, she watched with a very solemn expression. In a way she gained a feeling of connection, almost as though there was a tiny similarity between her race and Dritz's. Carefully she repeated the motions using his hands, committing it to memory right away, and struggled through the words "I'm... pleased..." before she had to stop. [I will practice. I must say it faster, easier. Thank you for showing me. It means so much to me.]

Since she was already so near, Vela couldn't help but stretch up the short distance to kiss him gratefully. She put her arms around him for a moment, soothed as always by his warmth and presence. Then she leaned back and smiled, returning to the bench at the table and her tea. [How many will there be to meet, in your family? Just your parents and siblings? What about their other partners? Or cousins? Will you need to introduce me to all of them?] This was potentially a lot of greetings to give. Maybe she would limit them to his parents and the overseer, and any other older Chrysalans she might need to interact with, in order to save her energy for speaking aloud.

Delighted, Dritz returned the kiss and held her against him for a moment when she tried to turn away, grinning. When he did let her go, he took his own seat again.

"Ohhh, no no no, I wouldn't expect you to get to know everyone by any means! My parents, maybe my younger siblings if they're not too busy with schooling when we get there. My ma has partners even I've never met. It's sort of... their private thing? Sometimes partners will be more involved, but I think at least a couple of them have families of their own, children to take care of. Usually you'd interact more with your siblings, if your parent and a secondary partner choose to raise another child. It can get a bit in depth and confusing for offworlders. Heck, it gets that way for me too sometimes!" He shook his head, pulling a face.

"So just immediate family, I think," he added, just to confirm. "What about on Aurctas? Will I... meet family?"

Vela nodded again, the relief evident on her face. If she only had to greet a few out loud, it wouldn't be too stressful for her weak vocal cords. She resolved again that they would be stronger someday.

[That's interesting, but it does sound complicated. I do look forward to meeting them. As for myself, I don't have a family.]

She had to pause a moment as she saw the look on Dritz's face. [It's alright. Though we used to have family units long ago according to the records, the practice disappeared sometime after my people arrived on Aurctas. I don't know who my parents are, though they are probably still alive. We are raised by elders, and the ones who raised me, of course...] This time she did shake her head a little sadly. There were about as many elders remaining as there were children born, which was not many.

Vela didn't have a family? The thought almost physically pained Dritz to consider. His own family life was complicated and sometimes a bother, but he adored every single one of them and would never be without them. Even so far away, he knew they were there if he needed them.

[This fills me with sadness,] he signed slowly. "But, consider all of the Aurians to be your brothers and sisters. Because they are, they endured the same things you did, and now you're here to save them from enduring. So that they can live." He squeezed her hands tightly, nodding more to himself. Their family situations were so different, but he thought his own family might make a nice one for Vela.

Seeing Dritz react with concern, Vela's expression softened. She squeezed his hands gently in return as she listened to him, nodding. He seemed to understand that she was not upset about it for herself, but at the same time it was unimaginable for him.

[I will do the best I can. And I think I am, with your help. They are all my siblings... yes, in a way. There are times I feel bad that I escaped when they would not, but there was no choice. I will help them escape too, someday.]

The days passed surprisingly quickly, with Vela practicing her phrase aloud as well as reading all the info she could on Chrysala, passing on the information to Dritz as well, which seemed to amuse him. Almost before they knew it, weeks had gone by and the planet itself was looming in the viewscreen before them.

Vela had dressed as nicely as she could, in dark clothes from Aurctas which were reasonably closer-fitting than most of the rest she owned, wanting to represent her people and yet not wanting to be too uncomfortable. The looser clothes she had tended to wear in the past no longer suited her personal taste as much.

Anxious as she was for herself, she turned a curious expression toward Dritz to see how he felt upon finally arriving, and how he would handle their landing process, as she could not communicate with the other Chrysalans.

Vela practiced relentlessly on her gesture and phrasing, and regularly entertained him with snippets of information, which only made Dritz happy. Her enthusiasm was amusing and endearing, he could see she truly wanted to be welcomed into the community, to impress them as well as earn their help.

Soon enough, as the time passed unbelievably quickly, Dritz was instructing Vela on where to pilot the Nova.

Chrysala from orbit appeared to be a smokey blue green orb, surrounded in stark contrast by a vast station system that was funnelling ship traffic through to the planet. They were hailed almost immediately, a delicate, oval-faced Chrysalan with picture perfect straight hair and immaculate white uniform, wearing a comm headset appeared on the screen. Dritz had situated himself near it in preparation, beaming widely in greeting.

The Chrysalan, with minimal movement of his lips, chirped and clicked having been greeted with one of his own.

"Hey there. Thanks, but could we do Basic, please? My captain doesn't speak Chrys!" He gestured behind him to Vela.

"Absolutely. My apologies, friends," said the operative, bowing his head. His Basic was soft and lilting, less confident that his native tongue. "I will need your manifesto, crew listing and reasons for your visit."

"We ain't carrying anything, the crew is myself and my captain, and we've come to visit," Dritz responded cheerily. He and the operative went through the checking procedures, which took longer than expected as Dritz tried to explain the whereabouts of his registered ship, and needed to be verified as a citizen with their census records. To one side, where the operative would not see, he signed in slow motion to Vela, [Booorrriiing.]

Vela watched and listened to everything carefully, as if she could extract even more information from the exchange with the Chrysalan operative. In the back of her mind she was vaguely thinking how very different this would be from landing on Aurctas, which she had also never done before.

This Chrysalan was different than Dritz in appearance, of course, smaller and more delicate looking, which did not seem to interest Vela in particular. She had not seen any other Chrysalans during her time on Hesperus, from what she could recall. She felt certain Dritz would have mentioned it if he had. Yet she had seen many pictures during her search for information, and knew she should expect a variety of body types as opposed to the Aurians, who were all highly similar.

When Dritz signed to her, she smiled but shook her head. It was a lot of detail to go through, but all of it fascinated her. When it was all concluded and they were allowed to proceed, she carefully began to maneuver the ship forward again while following the instructions she had received from both the operative and Dritz.

Once the operative was off the line with a soft "welcome to Chrysala", Dritz shut the comms off with a sigh.

"That took much longer than it needed! I bet he's new to it, the experienced customs folk would never presume to speak Chrysalan, no matter who answered," he said, plopping back down in his seat and helping Vela (when she needed it, which was rare) move them through the traffic picking its way down to the planet.

The port was vast and bustling, with bays branching out from a central hub in a starburst shape, and they were guided down to bay Q6 by another Chrysalan over their voice comms, this one's​ gender not so easily identified, but their manner infectiously bright and welcoming.

"Right, are you ready for an explore, my flower?" Dritz asked as they settled and the engines were cooling down. He was acting almost jumpy, visibly a mixture of nerves and excitement.

The navigation down to the port and their docking bay wasn't overly difficult. While the area was crowded with other ships, they were all moving in a reasonably controlled manner, and the layout of the port was well thought out and designed to minimize travel time, or so Vela thought. It was still a relief to finally land and shut the engines down, letting the Nova take a well deserved rest for safely delivering them to Chrysala.

[It's not so much exploring for you, is it?] she signed with a little smile, moving to where he was once everything had been shut down properly. [But I think I am. Where do we go first? Should we get to your overseer right away? How do we get there?] Remembering the transports on Trelos, she gave a little shudder before squeezing Dritz in her arms gently for a moment. [Are you alright? I'm very nervous, too.]

Dritz kissed Vela's temple with a fond roll of his eyes, "Okay, so it's not a grand adventure for me, as such, but it will be for you, and that makes it more explorey." He nuzzled against her, soothing his own worries in a way.

"What say we take it a little bit slower? Maybe go somewhere for some tea and a snack, then make our way over to the overseer?" He offered, smiling. "It's up to you, we could always go to the overseer first, and then have a lot relaxing wander through the city? Oh, transport, yes. There's lifts between the levels, and suspension trams that should be okay for us to grab."

Vela shrugged playfully, leaning against Dritz a little for a moment. It was certainly an adventure for her, but one which worried her more than she might like it to.

The idea to take it slower was appealing. They were not in a true rush now that they were on Chrysala, and Vela nodded as she thought it over. [I suppose so. Tea is always good, and we haven't had much decent to eat while traveling.] She wasn't exactly hungry, but the simple act of eating might settle her somehow.

They left the ship and made their way into the dock, down a lift and onto the ground level. At this point, Vela had to stop and stare at the bustle around her. [There are so many,] she signed weakly, glancing around at everyone walking about on their own business. And this was only a tiny fraction of the population!

The foot traffic outside of the port was even thicker than before, and Dritz was aware that the noise and activity could be overwhelming for Vela, so he kept one arm thrown over her shoulders, keeping her close, but her hands free for signing.

The ground level was dimmer by default, but the smooth, almost metallic streets were lit with strip lights in the roofing that mimicked natural sunlight. Everywhere there were people going about their business; many of them in workwear, and the vast majority of them Chrysalans, though other races weren't particularly rare. The streets were narrow and while everything was clearly built for practicality and cheap with cheap materials, as time advanced, it was obvious they'd been built on and redesigned, with the same uniform base, and signs for shops or services were low and made of neon tubing, with the largest text being in Chrysalan, then a Basic translation beneath.

Dritz led her slowly, picking his way through the streets. Thankfully everyone was as polite as he'd recalled, and everyone was afforded a good amount of space.

"I got you. This is usually the most crowded area, since it's the first port of call after, well, the port! As we make our way in some more, it'll thin out," he promised.

Grateful for the arm around her shoulders to help keep her steady against the noise all around her, Vela leaned into Dritz slightly as they walked. It was similar to being on Hesperus in a way, but the lights were brighter and the sound much louder. It was fairly bewildering to her as someone from a planet with people who did not surround themselves with very much technology.

She watched in something like a daze as a small group of Chrysalans of various skin shades and heights and sizes walked by, all seeming to be chirping and buzzing at the same time as they talked among each other. Offhand she began to wonder if she could at least learn to understand the language even if she couldn't speak it, the way Dritz had learned her sign language for her.

True to Dritz's word, the crowds began to fade the further they walked from the ports. Vela found herself reading every sign they passed, trying to remember the Chrysalan writing along with the translation beneath. The majority so far were repair shops or other small businesses. [Will we need to use that to find a place that sells food?] She had pointed at what looked like a station from what she could tell, though what Dritz had called "trams" had no word in her language.

Dritz found that he was also thankful for the way the crowds were thinning out, feeling more at ease when they could walk with a bit more space. Eventually they approached a tram station, which was a small terminal directing users to which car they would need; each car was lowered to the ground to collect the passengers, then drawn up to a cable to travel above the foot traffic.

"Well, we could probably find somewhere a bit closer," Dritz said, "But if you wanna try out the tram, we could! It's free. I've known kids to get trams just two minutes along the street out of pure laziness, just because it doesn't cost. Heh, I... Uh, I actually did it once. I decided to see how long would take to get from one end of the city to another via the trams. It took a long time." He chuckled, shrugging.

Vela nodded slowly, considering. [I would like to try them. We can go somewhere closer to where your overseer is.] Now that she was able to watch one of the trams moving and could see it was not going at a high speed, she was more than eager to try what she now considered part of Dritz's culture after the story he told her.

As she thought, the ride was smooth and actually pleasant. Of course Dritz knew where to go and was able to make sure they arrived in his own district, and Vela walked off the tram in a new sense of awe. This was where the one she loved had grown up and lived a large part of his life, and she gazed around fondly as if she might be imagining him there.

[Where do we go?] she signed eagerly. Her appetite was returning while she was so excited, for now, so it was best to take advantage of that before her thoughts returned to approaching the overseer and Dritz's family.

The tram rocked gently from side to side as they were lifted and moved above the streets. The interior held advertisements for new fashions, work insurances, some new eatery, and one small, partially scrubbed bit of graffiti which was roughly recognisable as an insult to the next district over. Other than that, however, it was well kept, a long carriage with plenty of hard metal seats. In recent years, the metal had been engraved with a pattern that resembled a map of the city.

Below them, the industrial, darker buildings gave way to sleeker, modern buildings, though some older architecture remained where the owners might not have wished to change. The neon signs became more elaborate, the streets boasting citizens in similar, though more tastefully matched, fashion to Dritz himself. A trend amongst Chrysalan women seemed to be small rings on their antennae, and glittering chains clipped to the tips of their wings, while the most stylish men seemed to favour thick heeled shoes and shades of red. The streets opened up, almost like a collection of town squares, and towards the centre there was a low, plain building in the older style.

"That's where we'll need to be," Dritz said, pulling Vela to look out of their window. "If we get off at the next stop, we can find my favourite place to eat. It's too big a place for them to, say, know your order or your face, but it's really nice food, and they do a huge variety of different blossoming tea!"

The place in question was a large canteen with individually tended tables. A short Chrysalan woman with heavy, and very bright, eye makeup greeted them with a bright smile.

"Hi! I'm Cirtz, I'll be your server," she chirped. She seemed to be eyeing Vela with sparkling curiosity. "Your hair is gorgeous!"

Vela was staring again as she took in all there was to see of the city from the window of the tram, feeling as though it would be impossible to look away. She had not ever experienced anything like it, of course, her only experiences with planets thus far being her own and Trelos. To think of Chrysala having such a long and interesting history, during which all of this was built and rebuilt, was certainly fascinating to her. In fact, she decided to look up as much information as she could about the history of the district later.

They arrived at their destination and Vela sat across from Dritz at one of the tables, still in wide-eyed awe at everything around her. When the woman who introduced herself as Cirtz appeared to take their order, Vela was also staring at her perhaps more intently than would be appropriate. She had seen makeup on others before (leaving Fera aside, he didn't count to her,) but of course not on a Chrysalan. She wondered briefly what makeup would look like on herself before dismissing the idea almost right away. The thought didn't appeal to her.

Smiling shyly, she nodded in acknowledgement of the compliment to her hair, though it surprised her. [Thank you,] she signed as well, having no other choice, and Dritz translated for her as well as helping her make a choice on the menu and decide on one of the tea varieties. It was almost overwhelming, but she felt herself relaxing again once Cirtz had left with their orders.

[How do you feel now that we're here?] she asked Dritz while they waited, before reaching over to gently brush a hand over his.

Cirtz didn't seem to notice Vela's signing, and so there was a glimmer of confusion when Dritz seemed to speak for her. Evidently, though, she didn't think much of it, as she showed them to a table and took their order before scurrying off with a little bow.

She returned shortly with their tea, which was served in a long, clear cup. This blossom, seemingly oddly, was at the bottom, unfurling into silky pink tendrils, tinging the water a light rose colour.

"This kind is pretty sweet, but it shouldn't be unpleasant," Dritz explained, "Well, I hope not anyway. If it's too sweet, we can get another kind!" He stroked her hand and nodded, "It's almost weird to be back, you know? I guess it seemed bigger when I left, as silly as that sounds."

Cirtz returned with their food; an earthy-smelling rice dish peppered with red and yellow flakes and served in a soft, oval vegetable that had been halved and hollowed. Together, they combined sweetness and warm spice.

"I hope you like this, I figured it'd be a good introduction to home," he said, prodding at his own food.

Vela carefully inspected the tea when Cirtz brought it out, finding the cup to be very interesting and strange to her, and the color of the blossom and water quite pretty. She sipped at it before it had cooled enough, being too eager to wait, and shook her head quickly when it came to the taste.

[No, it's fine. It's not too sweet, I will drink it.] The taste lingered over her tongue in a pleasant way that was different from the regular teas she had shared with Dritz before. Similarly, the food was also unique and fascinating to her, with a taste she would be unable to properly put into words, though not for any negative reasons.

[It's delicious,] she signed truthfully after just a few bites. She almost asked what the ingredients were, but decided that she wanted the challenge of finding out on her own later. [But how does it feel strange to be back? I think it sounds normal to feel that way, but of course I'm not sure.] Would Aurctas seem different when she returned?

[I want to try as much Chrysalan food as possible while we're here,] she signed after they had eaten a bit more. [But about the overseer... how will we approach her? Do I sign first, or will you explain why I can't speak to her properly?] She felt bad to bring the subject up while they were still eating, but it seemed her mind would keep returning to it until it was over.

Dritz frowned and set his cutlery down.

"Hey. Don't put it like that. You do talk properly," he said firmly. He re-enforced this with a long, stern gaze before his expression returned to normal and he picked up his fork again. "I personally think it'd be good to represent the Aurians, so I'd sayyy... Sign, and I can translate. Szna is highly knowledgeable on aliens, so she might recognise that you're communicating even if she won't know what. I think she'd appreciate it. I'll obviously translate for you and back you up with my totally important local knowledge!"

After a moment, he realised something else, "Oh, and... As for it being strange, I honestly didn't think I'd be back for many, maaany more years. So the change here is minimal, it's like I never left!"

At first Dritz's response bewildered her, but then she had to smile as he gave her such a stern look. [I'm sorry. Of course. I only meant I can't talk in the same way that you do, but it's perfectly normal for me.] When Dritz's expression relaxed, she nodded in agreement with his next words.

[Alright, I will sign. She sounds very understanding... in fact, like quite a wonderful person. Somehow I'm less afraid of being rejected by her. But I feel I will continue to worry about the rest of the overseers.] Rescuing the Aurians and transporting them to another planet would be a large use of Chrysala's personal resources for what Vela was certain was of very little benefit on their end. The concept of others being willing to help without the expectation of being paid back in some way was unusual to her.

[Really?] she continued, her curiosity roused further to learn more about Dritz, as usual. [Did you ever see yourself as planning to stay here before you left? Or did you always want to travel? What made you decide to leave in the first place? I imagine it wasn't easy to leave your family behind.]

"She was actually one of the youngest Chrysalans to become an overseer. I think she was like, 42? Chrysalans are considered adults at around 50, so she wasn't taken very seriously for a long time. She's good, been the overseer for my lifetime. Apparently before her there was a bit of drug crime in the port area, and she had it nearly halved in two years or so," Dritz said. Talking about his home was strangely comforting, reassuring.

"Nah, I always knew there was more galaxy for me to see. I'm not quite so starry eyed as our pretty ol' human friend," he chuckled, "But I liked the idea of being where the aliens were. As many different folk as I could find. Chrysala has many visitors, but not enough alien residents. I wasn't getting to experience everything I could. It's not the longest life in the galaxy, but a Chrysalan's is long enough, so why not fill it with different things? It... Heh, actually, leaving Tvie was hard. She's my little pal, she used to follow me around when she was very young. But she'll do the same one day, I know it. See now, she is definitely like Ori. Tvie will be outta here the first chance she gets!" He grinned fondly, "I can't wait for you to meet her."

Vela listened in fascination as Dritz talked first about Szna, then about his reasons for leaving home and seeking a new life in the galaxy. His description of Tvie made her smile as she saw how happy the thought made him, and she nodded.

[I look forward to meeting her. I also wanted to see what else the galaxy had to offer, beyond helping my people, and I found more than I ever imagined.] Her own fond smile was directed at Dritz, wondering what she would have done without him. Soon enough, however, she focused on finishing her meal so they could at last locate Szna and attempt to accomplish the main purpose of their visit to Chrysala.

Vela's signs of affection stopped Dritz for a moment. His smile grew and he leaned over to kiss her, narrowly avoiding leaning right into his meal. In the corner one Chrysalan seemed unnecessarily interested, but soon went back to their conversation.

"I know what you mean, flower. I never expected this," he said softly, stroking her cheek lightly.

The two of them remained comfortably quiet, their knees touching under the table, until they had finished and paid. As they left, Dritz bounded to the counter, returning with two small plastic-wrapped parcels.

"Dessert, for later," he beamed, tucking them into his pocket. "They should be fine in there. Shall we start walking?"

The approach was understated, with a small fountain in the centre of the square, surrounded by low, plain metal benches. The humidity seemed especially high there, with real sunlight filtering through the levels.

Inside the building, clean and simple desks flanked a walkway to a staircase. For someone of authority, the decor was very basic, and somewhat older than one might have expected.

Although Vela was curious about whatever it was that Dritz had bought for "dessert," she was more concerned about the meeting with Szna. She soon had forgotten all about it, though it would likely be a pleasant surprise later.

The area Dritz led them to was not as ornate as one might expect to find in the office of someone important, though Vela had held no prior expectations. She was unused to how thick the air felt, especially here, and she found herself wiping at her forehead absently, noticing it was a little damp. This was not any sort of weather she was accustomed to, and she was still dressed too warmly in her Aurian clothing.

She gazed around at the desks in the building and glanced up the staircase, wondering where they would go next but conserving her energy instead of asking. Already her nerves were slightly on edge, though Dritz's familiar form next to her was comforting.

Dritz took her over to the first desk, where an older Chrysalan was peering at them over his glasses in a kindly manner, "Welcome to the offices of Overseer Szna. May I help you, dears?"

"Hiya," Dritz said brightly, "My companion and I have an issue to discuss with the overseer. We would like her to elevate the matter to the counsel, as it is an offworld concern. Does she have a free hour as soon as possible?"

The Chrysalan seemed incredibly interested in this, his eyes twinkling as he looked down at an old, slightly dented datapad, "Ooh, an offworld matter? How thrilling! As it happens, she is returning from a meeting in about an hour or so. You're welcome to wait if you wish, and I can fetch you something to drink? Terribly stuffy in here today." He muttered the last part more to himself as he reached for a small glass of amber juice from his desk.

Dritz turned to Vela to see if she agreed with the idea of waiting. "You wanna do this now? Or come back tomorrow?"

The older Chrysalan behind the desk seemed kind, and Vela smiled at him gratefully before she turned to sign to Dritz.

[Let's wait. I think an hour is better than another day.] To be honest, she wanted this part over with so she could stop being so nervous sooner. Meeting his family seemed to bring a different anxiousness almost entirely. After a moment's hesitation, she added, [Tell him I would like a drink, and thank you. It is a little warm here.]

Once they had their drinks, Vela and Dritz sat together on one of the benches to wait. She wasn't familiar with the liquid in her glass, but it was the same as the other Chrysalan had been drinking, with a warm color and slightest hint of a bitter taste that was somehow refreshing and made her feel less uncomfortable with the temperature. Dritz was telling her more about what an overseer did for their district, and she listened carefully, but her gaze slipped to the door nearly every minute.

"Honestly, it took me so long to understand what it is an overseer does," Dritz had started, managing to make his hopefully comforting rambling sound almost natural, "But it's actually pretty damn simple... or my understanding of it is simplified! It was always important that they were not seen as above the rest of the citizens; hence why their office buildings are usually a bit more understated, or even run down. They can't be seen to be prioritizing themselves when their home needs them. Similarly, it's not very often someone from a different district can become an overseer for another district, you see? Inter-district fighting or prejudice, anything of that nature, doesn't happen, it's just that to become the overseer for a district, you have to have lived there, or how else would you know what works and what doesn't?"

"They consult with new businesses, assist with severe legal disputes; someone building on another's property or something, for example. Mostly they represent the interests of the area for a higher stage, if that makes sense. An overseer listens to her district, and makes sure their needs are communicated to the counsel; then other districts can assist, or she can appeal for funding for her district and stuff. I'm sorry, is this boring?" Thankfully, Vela seemed interested, and he was able to continue explaining up until the doors opened and a Chrysalan woman entered.

She was tall and sinewy, with dark purple hair held in a relaxed, but fairly neat, bun at the side of her head, held in place with a small pin in the shape of a yellow flower. Aside from that, her clothing was dark and plain; clean, crisp worker's overalls and lightweight boots. She was visibly more mature in age than Dritz, but at the same time, her years were hard to determine.

Without even speaking to the clerk from before, she strode up to them, bowing slightly, "You must be my next meeting. I was told you were waiting for me, I'm so sorry I'm a bit later than I needed to be." She was incredibly well spoken, and her smile was soft, but she was looking at Vela with a curious warmth.

"Welcome to Chrysala, friend. I am Szna, and if there is anything I can to for you while you are in my district, please don't hesitate to ask."

When Szna entered the room and introduced herself, Vela felt almost frozen in place briefly. This was the woman she had to speak to in order to help her people further.

Immediately she was rather taken with Szna's appearance, thinking her quite lovely. She hadn't ever studied any female Chrysalan closely, but she kept her gaze earnestly on Szna and was able to easily notice the small differences. It was also impossible not to notice the way Szna was looking at her in specific, seeming to know their visit was mostly about her.

Finally composing herself, Vela stood and moved forward to gracefully hold out her hands. If Szna was surprised, she showed little of that as she also held out her hands so that Vela could clasp them in the way Dritz showed her, bowing her head at the same time. "Pleased to... meet you." It was a shortened form of what she had wanted to say, leaving the "I am" off the front, but those two extra syllables had been making it hard for her. She was reasonably proud of how she had only needed one brief pause in the middle this time as well.

As she drew back from Szna, she was able to add one more word. "Vela." She pointed to herself before signing, [Thank you. I'm honored to be here and to meet you. I'm here on behalf of my people, the Aurians, and we have an important matter to discuss with you.] She nodded at Dritz, indicating that he was included and would translate for her.

Szna's already friendly expression became one of warmth as she was greeted. She bowed her head and responded in kind, "You are welcome here, Vela. I'm very impressed, I don't think I've ever met a Chrysalan who has greeted me traditionally, let alone a friend from offworld."

Dritz began to explain when Szna held up a hand, "Let's go somewhere comfortable, yes? I have a feeling I will want to talk to you for a long time."

She led them up the staircase to a quiet room with a low table and small, rounded armchairs. Taking a seat and pulling her legs up underneath her, she gestured to the two of them to sit. "Now, that's better. Please, do continue. You are their translator?" she said politely, gesturing to Dritz.

"Friend and partner, primarily," Dritz said cheerily, "But yes. I'm Dritz, and it's honestly an honour, ma'am. Anyway. Vela comes on behalf of her people, the Aurians. We have a great deal to discuss with you."

"Then please, discuss," she said, leaning back in her chair and watching Vela with a smile.

Instantly feeling welcomed, Vela followed Szna along with Dritz in something of a daze. Of course she had known she would not be rejected, and there was so much more work to do, but something about the female Chrysalan brought Vela an even greater sense of hope than before.

The room they came to was close and comfortable, and Vela relaxed into her chair as much as she could. After Dritz finished explaining and she had been prompted to begin, she leaned forward to start signing, pausing every now and then so he would not have to translate too much all at once.

[I come from a planet far from here named Aurctas. It is a cold, harsh world where nothing grows and the only means of survival is trade with alien ships. We mine a special metal found only on our planet, but it is hard and dangerous work. The population is declining and may die out completely within the next one hundred years if the current trends hold.]

She shifted in her seat restlessly, trying to find the right words. [The Aurians have lost hope and don't believe they would be better suited to a life elsewhere. My goal is to convince them otherwise. I repaired one of the old ships that brought us to Aurctas and flew alone to the station Hesperus Alpha. I didn't know exactly what I would do, but I met Dritz there and he has helped me with so much. It was his idea that we might come to you for some help.] Vela stopped here, not wanting to continue with her request until Szna had time to process the information so far.

Overseer Szna listened with a frown that didn't speak of anger, but of an understanding of the gravity of what she heard. She focused her attention on Vela, glancing at Dritz occasionally and nodding, ensuring she understood properly. Once Dritz had solemnly translated the information, she leaned back in her chair, her hand on her chin and deep thought in her eyes.

"The situation is a critical, delicate one," she said seriously. "What made you believe Chrysala could assist?"

"Ma'am, while we're not a wealthy planet, we are resourceful, and nothing if not motivated by community. Look at the structure of our families. We have to extend this care and kindness or what use is it?" Dritz said desperately.

"I agree," Szna said, turning back to Vela. "I believe the planet is in a position to help your people. I confess to having never heard anything relating to you. Perhaps if we had been aware of Aurctas we might have intervened sooner. Now isn't the time to lament what could have been done, though."

Szna leaned forward once more, steepling her fingers, "It will take time to escalate this; what aid would you have from us, Vela? I'd like to know what's needed so I can put it to the others."

Vela couldn't help exhaling softly in relief. Szna was taking the subject very seriously, with great care and attentiveness. She should have expected nothing less, but it was good to see it as it actually happened.

[Thank you. Perhaps the reason you have not heard of us is because I think those who trade with Aurctas are dealing unfairly and keeping the information private for their own use. It might have been known we were there some time ago, but not near the lifetime of any of us. We slowly fell from being what I believe was once a great civilization, though with the right assistance I'm sure we can return to that."

It took a few moments for her to collect her thoughts further. [What I'm asking seems fairly simple, but at the same time, I know it is a massive undertaking. We have potentially found a planet to move the Aurians to, called Trelos, though it will take some further negotiation. But they do not have the capability of transporting my people, and that was what I would like to ask of the Chrysalan government: the use of your ships to transport them.] She hesitated again in her worry. [We can't repay you, yet. Someday I think we could, if that's an issue. I mainly ask that it be considered while we finalize matters with both the Trelosians and Aurians. I, for one, would be deeply grateful if you could.]

Finished for now, Vela bowed her head again as she listened to Dritz translate.

"Ah, Trelos. I've not been there, but I have heard minimal information on it," Szna muttered. From her tone it was as though she was too distracted with her thoughts to say much more. She tapped her steepled fingers against her lips, frowning.

"My friend, were the decision mine and mine alone, I would give you everything you need. Transport, food, the promise of future trade agreements to help your people prosper. Unfortunately, that decision is not mine to make," she explained, the frown never leaving her face.

"However, the decision to persuade the counsel is mine, and I will work to ensure we can work with the Aurian in the future. The Aurians do not ask much; ships in peace time are never used." She nodded to herself, "I may need your input at the next meeting."

Of course Szna would agree to help. And she would agree to do so much more, but Vela understood the need to seek approval from the rest of the overseers. Even having been fairly certain in advance, she still sank back into her chair with a weak, relieved feeling before finally being able to sign her gratitude and direct a genuinely happy smile at Dritz.

[I think we would not turn away any help offered,] she signed hesitantly, [but we will only ask for the use of your ships. Dritz and I still need to finalize the negotiations with Trelos, and speak to my people, but I have confidence on both of those matters. It doesn't seem like the ships are much, but I know there is the cost of fuel as well as the time of the pilots who will need to fly them. As I mentioned, we are willing to make repayments for those, as there should be credits from the sale of whatever metal we can carry from Aurctas.]

This was something of a gamble on her part, as she didn't know absolutely that the other Aurians would even agree to migration to another planet. But it was better to cancel negotiations with the others than disappoint her people, and they might need that extra persuasion of resources already being secured for them.

[My input?] she continued curiously. [What would I have to do?] The thought of standing in front of a lot of other Chrysalans and explaining was a bit intimidating, though she was willing to do so if necessary.

"Having a representative from Aurctas adds gravity to their needs," Szna said almost apologetically, "It could be considered an underhanded way to go on my part, but giving them a face, a point of reference, the- excuse the phrase- human face of the Aurian struggle. You may not need to say anything, in fact, especially if it makes you uncomfortable."

Gracefully, the overseer rose and paced for a while, "I won't hear anything to do with negotiation of price. Many years ago small colonies in jeopardy would seek assistance, and the aiding individuals wouldn't ask for payment. We are in peace time, you already said you have a viable planet for your new home... I personally see no difficulty."

It was then that Dritz spoke up, "Ma'am, if I could make a suggestion? I'm not especially up on the laws, but perhaps Overseers Tvek and Vri would be persuaded to view it as a potential for a sister 'nation' and the potential to add to their militia?"

"Are any of your people trained to fight, my friend?" Szna asked with a light frown.

Vela nodded in understanding, pleased that the Chrysalans were honorable enough not to ask for payment from a people who were suffering. The extra credits could be put toward other uses or given to the Trelosians if they required any form of compensation, though she had a feeling they would not either.

Dritz's suggestion did make her pause to think about what she knew of the Aurian's past. [There is no need for it at the moment, so no. However, in the distant past a great war was fought on our original planet, before we migrated to Aurctas. There were skilled warriors in an organized force, then. I think it is something we can learn to do again, but I'm afraid it's not an asset to offer initially.] While it worried her to have so little to offer to potential rescuers, she still hoped they would see that the Aurians were resilient and would be a great people again one day.

[I will stand as a representative in front of the counsel,] she signed decisively, already seeing how good this would be to present their case. [And I will answer questions if they are asked of me. I won't be afraid now, when I've already come so far. How soon will we be able to do this?] She had no idea if the counsel ran on any sort of schedule for meetings, or if one could be called whenever necessary.

Both Chrysalans seemed interested in Vela's answer, with Dritz looking decidedly more intrigued, given his improved understanding of Aurian. Szna, however, seemed to be taking the opportunity to watch her signing rather than worry about what she would be saying. She listened with interest to Dritz's translation.

"That is not an issue to me, friend," she said kindly. "While it was a clever enough suggestion, I do not believe Tvek and Vri will be swayed by that point in particular. I hold out hope they will simply be as taken with the request as I have been. Vela, you are a remarkable individual to come in search of help for your people, and I cannot thank you enough for agreeing to come as a representative."

She pulled a datapad, far older than Dritz's but almost unusually well kept, and tapped out a few things. "I am due to meet with the counsel next week, but in an effort to further emphasise the gravity of the Aurians' plight, I suggest I call one. Waiting would suggest a lack of urgency, and I would like to move on this as soon as possible. I propose two days' time, how is this for you, my friend?" she said, looking at Vela.

Bowing her head, Vela accepted Szna's praise gracefully. [It's all I could do for them, and for the memory of the ones I knew who were lost to a life much too harsh for anyone to be living.]

The idea of a counsel being called early had its appeal. The sooner help for the Aurians was assured, the sooner they could be rescued, not to mention how much easier she would be able to rest. [That sounds like a good idea. I will be able to do that in two days.] She glanced hesitantly at Dritz. [I think we will only be here in the district. I want to see what a wonderful place your world is, and meet more of your people.] Of course by this she mostly meant Dritz's family, but she supposed it went without saying.

[And thank you for agreeing to this. It may not be enough, but you'll have the gratitude of an entire generation of Aurians if this works, and hopefully many more to come.]

Dritz beamed, feeling less of a need to be serious now that their business had concluded favourably. His faith in Szna had not been misplaced, and even more so, he was proud of all Vela was achieving.

With a few more words of determination and reassurance, Szna stood to bid them farewell, gently embracing them each in turn, even going to give Vela a chaste kiss on the cheek and commend her once more.

They were given a time to meet her at the building, and Dritz offered to escort themselves out in case Szna was busy, which it happened she would be.

Alone again, Dritz led Vela out of the building in pleased silence until they were out in the street. There he scooped her up into his arms and spun around, squeezing her.

"You did so well, flower," he breathed, "I am sooo damn proud! Everything went so well! How do you feel?"

Somewhat weak with relief, Vela was glad to let Dritz lead the way out of the building. Szna had been lovely and good to her, the added kiss on her cheek making her a little shy once more. All the details had been set, and even if the real test was to come, she was personally proud of what she had accomplished so far.

She gratefully clung to Dritz as he picked her up and spun her, needing to wait for him to release her before she could sign a response. [It did go well. Thank you. I feel... good, but kind of tired. Like it was draining, somehow.] She smiled at him before leaning up to kiss his lips. [And thank you for being there with me. We'll see it through to the end together, and that means a lot to me.]

Then she hesitated, her smile a bit nervous once more. [So we will go to your home now?]

Leaning in to kiss her forehead, Dritz shook his head, "I dunno, flower... I think maybe we've had enough nervousness and tension for today. Why don't we go tomorrow? There are plenty of places to stay that'll be cheap, and, well... I just don't want to drain you further. We could go and get a room, have a bath and relax for the rest of the day, basking in a job well done, then get up early tomorrow? We have plenty of time, so it's up to you. Cap'n." He smiled and gave her a wink at this.

After a few moments of thought, Vela nodded. [That might be a good idea. We've had a long journey here, and the stress of the meeting with the overseer, though she was very nice. It would be alright to wait for tomorrow. Not that I think getting to see your family will be tense,] she quickly added. [As I said, I'm tired from all we've done already.]

Trusting Dritz to lead them somewhere they could secure a room, she walked a distance before having another realization.

[They won't be expecting you. Is that alright? Or maybe there's a way to contact them beforehand, if you wanted?] She had no idea if Dritz's family appreciated surprises like the one they would surely have when he walked in suddenly with an alien companion who couldn't talk directly to them yet.

Dritz lead Vela through the streets of the district, and on another ride in the suspended trams, to an area with a good deal of greenery in the form of plant boxes lining the streets, containing small shrubs with almost spherical yellow and green leaves that gave off a scent similar to very subtle citrus fruit.

Where he had chosen for them was small and perhaps a bit more modest, but the room was clean and tidy, with a large bathtub (as he requested). Big enough for two, Dritz had noticed with a saucy grin when they inspected it.

Tugging off his shirt and pulling Vela to lie with him on the bed, Dritz sighed happily. "So, to answer your question from earlier- I know, I'm sorry, I got to chatting- I did send my brother a quick note to say that something amaziiiiing would happen soon. He told me I was a cryptic jerk. But honestly, if he's mentioned it to anyone else, they'll know. Kli is one of these... Okay, I love my brother, but he's a little less smart than some. Relies too much on his looks. So he can be a little slow to catch your meaning if you speak to him even remotely cryptically. What I'm sayin' is they may be a bit surprised, but it'll only be a good thing!"

Despite Dritz's chatter, Vela had sometimes found herself lagging almost behind him at certain points during the walk whenever her attention was caught by anything particularly interesting, which was often. The smell of the plants especially made her drift closer to them to inhale more deeply and reach out to touch them with gentle, curious fingers.

She could make no distinction between the building or room and that of more expensive ones, though she obviously would have been fine with anything. The sight of the bathtub even made her relax. She lay down contentedly with Dritz when he directed her to the bed, curling up next to him and closing her eye, resting her head against his bare chest for a long moment as though to recharge. After listening to him talk for a little while, she sat up again to sign.

[If that's enough for you, then I'm alright with it. They will definitely enjoy the surprise of seeing you again.] She didn't add that they might enjoy the surprise of meeting her, as well. [Your brother sounds interesting. Do you think he will like me? How many are living in your parent's home right now?] Already having been reassured that his small sister would have an interest, she turned her worry toward anyone else who might be there.

"Hey, they're enjoy seeing you too, getting to meet someone so important to me will make them happy, I'm sure," Dritz said reassuringly, kissing Vela's forehead. "He's an odd one, quite a bit different to me, even though we grew up together. I'm sure he'll like you, even if he might not show it; we are very different. His idea of affection is a pat on the shoulder or something. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's a good guy, but I love showing affection, I have to force him to hug me." He chuckled, shrugging slightly.

"Ah, there was only the five of us in that particular homestead, but we had another... six living near; my mum's partner and her children, with her primary. They're cute, but I'm not so close with them. Tvie plays with their youngest all the time though, which is pretty cute." After a moment, he added softly, "Are you nervous?"

Dritz's reassurances made Vela smile and nod, finally able to set aside her worries just a little. She decided she would be cautious when it came to Kli, though she had never expected to embrace anyone there as it was. In the end, all she wanted to do was make him comfortable around her.

She listened carefully to everything he said, being sure she would remember it all, but had to answer truthfully when it came to the question of whether she was nervous. [Yes. I'm trying not to feel that way, but it's something that seems impossible to fully control. You probably understand. I want to be sure they have a good impression of me, and simply like me, but I'm sure I shouldn't let it bother me so much.]

Vela leaned over Dritz then, kissing him softly and lingering with her lips near his. "Love you," she forced out in a quiet voice, finding the admission helped steady her further.

Dritz shook his head with a soft smile, "You should feel the way you feel, and no other way. If you're nervous, you have the right to be, flower. That's... well, that's kinda how it is. I'd be just the same with those closest to you. I mean, I will be! I'll probably end up saying something really silly..." He chuckled, grimacing.

He stared at her for a long, quiet moment when she spoke. The rarity of her voice made it all the more precious when he did hear it. He pulled her close, into a soft kiss that grew in heat after a moment, as their kisses tended to. When he pulled away he rested his forehead against hers, his antennae curving forward as though to hide in her hair.

"I love you too, Vela," he sighed, closing his eyes and smiling as he basked in the moment, having her there on his home planet with him.

[Only if you don't keep practicing your signing,] Vela replied in amusement. It was possible he would get one of the motions wrong, but unless he completely changed one sign into another, the other Aurians probably wouldn't notice in their awe of someone who knew more of their language than any of the traders did. [I suppose being nervous is only natural.]

She returned the kiss, feeling her body warming through the longer it lasted. As he pulled away and returned her sentiment, resting their foreheads together, she gave a soft sigh and a slight nod. She knew it, but it never got any less special when she heard it again.

It seemed they lay together cuddling for at least an hour, sharing more kisses and teasing caresses through each other's clothing, though Dritz's shirt being off gave Vela an unfair advantage. She finally sat up with the hint of a playful smile around her lips. [We should take a bath before bed, so we'll be clean for tomorrow.] Which was a silly thing to say, but she thought he knew what she meant by it.

Dritz scrunched his nose up in faux offence, but laughed. He had been practicing at every opportunity just recently, but those times when Vela was not around were rare. He sort of wanted to surprise her with how his signing had improved, but was unsure if it actually had.

Though neither of them were moving towards being more intimate, the desire was almost palpable, and Dritz couldn't fight the lazy smirk that came across his face at the suggestion of a bath together.

"We definitely want to get clean," he said softly, leaning up with her in his arms. He carefully stood and carried her with him to the bathroom, smoothly opening the door and just about managing to start the water while paying special attention to her neck, and what little he could reach of her collarbone.

Vela was momentarily distracted, herself, as Dritz carried her into the bathroom and started the water, enjoying his kisses against her neck. Eventually she did have to nudge him to let her down so she could add soap to the water and finally turn it off, giving them both time to shed their clothes and return their attention to each other.

Taking a moment to admire the colors of their skin together for what must have been the thousandth time (yet never felt like it would get old), Vela stepped away and climbed carefully into the bath, her gaze inviting as she reached out a hand for Dritz to join her.

With Vela naked and beckoning him closer, Dritz needed very little encouragement. He tugged off his remaining clothes and stepped in with her. He immediately leaned in and resumed kissing her deeply, fingers trailing over her lean shoulders and down her arms.

With a sly smile, he trailed kisses down her front, over her collarbone, her breasts and stomach, down to her hips. He knelt in the water, giving her an adoring look before he started kissing her thighs, bringing his warm hands up to stroke the backs of her thighs.

Vela could feel herself beginning to shiver as Dritz kissed his way down her body; not from coldness, as every part of her felt radiant with warmth, but with sheer anticipation of where his lips might next meet her skin, and with a growing desire for more.

As he knelt and began paying attention to the softest skin of her inner thighs, her hands moved automatically to touch his head, fingers lightly trailing through his hair before she used firmer pressure to direct his mouth where she currently most wanted it to be. There was a certain way he had of moving his tongue there, which...

Dritz hadn't needed any further prompting before he nearly rendered her breathless with pleasure, her head tilting back just slightly as his own hands continued to roam at the same time. At last she had to gently push him away, not wanting to feel all of it just yet. She managed to seat herself in the bathtub and lean back, though she still moved restlessly with longing as she held her arms open for him to join her.

Their bath lasted long enough for the water to cool significantly, though by the time they noticed it was only because they had become so flushed, clinging to one another with weak, blissful smiles until Dritz felt one of them (unsure whether it was himself or Vela) begin to shiver.

Lazily, Dritz ran more hot water into the bath and they washed, tempting as it was to simply repeat everything.

As he massaged citrus scented soap into Vela's hair, Dritz kissed her shoulder and chuckled, "I dunno if I told you recently how much I love baths these days..."

With a slight smile, Vela turned her head to look back at Dritz, feeling his hands move to continue soaping her hair. There was little she could do to respond when he couldn't see her signing, so she only nodded in agreement. Their baths really had grown quite extended from what they had been originally, even when it was only Vela by herself enjoying the feeling of being immersed in warm water. It was hard to believe baths could be improved, but she had been happy to find out otherwise.

After having taken turns washing each other's hair and bodies (nearly leading to a repeat of their earlier actions if they hadn't gotten themselves so tired), Vela and Dritz finally left the bath. She attempted to dry him first, then found herself wrapped in a fluffy towel and swept off her feet a second time as Dritz carried her back to bed. They spent the rest of their evening cuddled close, sharing pleasant talk and more soft kisses until at last they both drifted to sleep without too much worry about the next day.

[the-vaporverse]

Starless Horizon RP File #21

(Vela’s part in italics.)

After such a slow and relaxing evening, Vela was almost ready to forgive the fact that they would need to see Fera the next day. After all, it wasn't necessary to think about it until they had gone through a day of unpacking and visiting several offices to be sure their continued presence on the station was still secured. She had no idea where someone like a prince would spend his own day, but knowing he was somewhere did make her look over her shoulder more than once while they were out of their rooms.

With dinner over and the time of the meeting approaching, however, Vela was finding herself a little grumpy at the prospect. It would be a nicer time without having to deal with this. Currently she was sitting and watching Dritz select what he was going to wear; she was only wearing one of her regular, shapeless black tunics with leggings. [I don't want to make this special,] she had explained to Dritz with the slightest frown.

Dritz gave Vela a sheepish smile, moving over to where she was sitting and stroking her face. "Well, every day with you is special to me," he said, almost triumphantly, as though he was proving a point, but what that point actually was... well, it was anyone's guess.

Returning to his clothes, which were laid out over the back of a chair, Dritz tapped his chin. He was trying to choose between a high collared pastel blue shirt (one of the most formal things he had), and a more casual sweater with hazy stripes. He wasn't particularly trying to make the occasion special, but it did feel as though he ought to make something of an effort, trying to think of it like he would when meeting a family member's partner for the first time. Orion had the potential to be a very close friend.

"I dunno, I'm putting too much thought into this, aren't I?" he said with a grimace, looking over his shoulder at Vela, who seemed pretty amused, despite how her mood had been regarding seeing the prince. "I'll just go with the sweater, yeah?"

In the back of his mind, he found he secretly wanted to impress Fera, though why that might be, he sure didn't know.

Vela gave Dritz a fond, if a touch exasperated, smile when he mentioned the days being special with her. Even if it was true, it was beside the point. Though, really... Fera couldn't ruin the enjoyment she had while being with Dritz at all.

[The sweater,] she agreed, now amused by his lengthy deliberations. [You don't want to make Fera think he's special, is what I mean. But you look very handsome no matter what.] She had actually come to find she thought this was true, and would enjoy his appearance no matter what anyone else might say.

Finally ready to leave, it seemed they might arrive at the hologarden a little late. Vela had no problems with this, especially considering Fera was not going to be expecting them anyway. The sight of the garden once again did make her pause in wonder, even having spent time on real planets with real foliage.

Everywhere there were trees with long, long branches that weren't stiff at all like the usual trees she had seen. Instead they flowed straight to the ground, also having long leaves which fluttered and waved in a simulated breeze. It seemed to produce a faint sighing sound which was altogether pleasant, and Vela forgot about irritating princes again.

[Do you know what these are?] she signed excitedly to Dritz, a genuine smile lighting up her face.

Snorting with laughter, Dritz agreed to making sure Fera didn't think he had made any specific preparations on his behalf. He found himself unable to fight the delighted grin on his face as he was informed that he looked very handsome no matter what. He had always thought of himself as very handsome.

His decisions on what to wear had slowed them just a little, but there was no pink haired scowling waiting for them at the entrance to the gardens, so he figured it was probably alright for the moment. Turning, he spotted Vela gazing at the long branches of the new trees. He'd heard some folk from Earth talking about them before. Now, what were they called...

"Whispering willows," he said confidently, beaming. "They're weird, huh? It's like they got too lazy to hold their branches up properly!"

Whispering willows...? Vela tried the words out in her head, thinking they sounded funny, but kind of nice. She made a note to herself to look up more information about the trees later.

Briefly distracted by wondering how it would feel to touch them, she almost didn't hear a familiar voice coming from further in the garden. Almost. She froze momentarily, but the voice was coming toward them, and her chance to turn around and leave (though she wouldn't) was soon gone.

"...there really isn't anything interesting about this. And the technology is so dated. Coronus can produce much better in terms of holograms. I don't see why you-"

The voice had stopped, because the owner had come into view and spotted Vela and Dritz. Prince Fera certainly looked much the same, dressed all in elegant white with his pink hair currently flowing about his shoulders, but his expression was not one they had seen before.

It was a look of shock, or almost horror, but Vela wasn't sure. His eyes had gone wide and his chest was heaving slightly as though he was having difficulty catching his breath. Pointing straight at them, in a high pitched voice he exclaimed, "Where do you think you've been!?"

Dritz had been reaching to touch the hologram, as though he had forgotten that his hand would simply pass through the shimmering projection, when he felt his blood run cold at the shrill voice behind them. He, unlike Vela, had not noticed the voice before it became one of high pitched horror.

He turned with an innocent, charming smile, "Prince Fera?! You look lovely today. It's so, so nice to see you." He quickly swept an arm around Vela, leading her closer, but not too close.

"How have you been, Your Highness?" he asked with a wide grin that didn't reach his pained gaze, which he briefly flickered to Orion.

It had seemed an interesting request, likely a romantic gesture, which Orion seemed so fond of: a visit to the hologardens. Fera had never been there, but definitely had no particular motivation to go in the past. As he had said, Coronus had much more complex technology which would absolutely put that of Hesperus Alpha to shame. But he had come along, and likely for no other reason than to spend time with the human and to see that fond smile of his, much to Fera's dismay. He should not be so attached to someone, or so he thought.

But there, all of a sudden, to absolutely ruin the moment, were Dritz and V... something. It was definitely V-something, that strange female from Aurctas who could only talk with her hands in a way which Fera was nothing but suspicious of. What if she was cursing him? Cursing a prince would bring a huge fine, and he would have to tell her that. If he could get up the courage to. Being cursed was no light matter, whether whoever did it was fined or not.

Dritz was acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary, as though not almost a whole year had passed since they last crossed paths. Fera marched right up to him, ignoring the other one, and scowled bitterly. "Don't ignore my question. You can't just come up to me and expect flattery will make me forget. Usually."

Taking a step back, he looked down his nose at the Chrysalan. "I'm not answering any questions until you answer mine. Where have you been, exactly? You had acquired my services for protection for the Aurian. Whatever happened to that? Do you think the Merrgani have given up already?"

Vaguely he was aware of Orion standing behind him, likely trying to figure out what was going on. Explanations could wait, especially when he was so frustrated.

"We," Dritz explained with a wide grin, "have been to Trelos on business." He glanced around the assembled group, awaiting any further questions for all of three seconds before turning back to Fera, "Your services? Your Highness didn't seem to want to keep any sort of 'contract' with us, so we were under the impression that you had dismissed us. The Merrgani have likely not given up, so us being away for a while may have helped."

He leaned around Fera to greet Orion with a warm slap on the shoulder, "And how are you on this... engineered-to-be-fine day, my friend?"

Mouth slightly open, Fera listened to Dritz in a further state of shock. How had he been vague about protecting the pair of them?! Though... to be honest, maybe he had been a bit brusque. Or given the wrong impression to protect his reputation, as so often happened. He had thought it would be fine, but then they had disappeared without warning, somewhere beyond the range of his tracking device. Which was far, indeed. Not that he had worried about them, of course. He only thought of them every now and then, wondering where they had gone, or if they had found and destroyed the device, which he had given up checking signals on a matter of months ago.

"Trelos?" he demanded. "Where is that?"

But Dritz had leaned around to greet Orion, going so far as to slap him on the shoulder and address him as friend!

"What?" Fera hissed, pushing back around to the human's side and grabbing his arm protectively. "You don't know him, don't act so familiar! And certainly don't touch him, you-"

"Fera," Orion sighed, gently extracting himself. "Listen, I should have told you before we came here. I do know Dritz and Vela, I met them before I met you, here on the station. They're good people, and helped me when I was down on my luck. I didn't know whether you would agree to come if I told you about them, but I see I was wrong. The relationship between you all is deeper than I knew about."

"You- you-" Fera stammered, horrified, chest beginning to heave again. "I suppose you are all against me. Is this a trap? Have you all set me up? I can defend myself!"

All he was actually thinking about doing was storming off in a huff, but they didn't need to know that. Orion was shaking his head, looking to Dritz for help, and the Vela was acting strangely detached, staring at the trees as though the rest didn't much concern her. Fera glared at Dritz as though daring him to speak again. But if they really were against him...

Dritz turned a gentle gaze to Fera, looking almost hurt, "Hey, whatever you think of us, I've never hurt anyone, let alone my friends. Which you and Orion are. And please, do not suggest Vela would ever do anything of the sort either." He glanced between the other two, vaguely aware of Vela to his side, examining the faux foliage. In any other situation, he would be quietly (or perhaps loudly) gushing over how utterly adorable that was. As it happened, he was just slightly too upset to concentrate on her endearing awe, and resolved to contemplate her later on.

"Listen, us and Ori, we met a little while back. Helped him out, got to chatting. It was great, I think we hit it off pretty quickly. You have a lovely partner here, prince. Even if you don't trust my word, trust his. Come on," Dritz sighed. He looked at Orion desperately, "Maybe we could find somewhere quiet, and we can explain how we all met? Wouldn't that be nice?"

Despite himself, Fera could feel himself calming the longer Dritz spoke. Any praise for Orion was fine with him, as long as it was being acknowledged they were a couple. And there was no actual reason for him to distrust any of them. Along with Orion's soft and pleading look asking him to agree, one hand now resting against his back... Well, he couldn't say no, at this point.

"Nice," Fera repeated, pouting just the same. "Lovely, I'm sure." He let himself be guided along by Orion as they all walked on in search of a more quiet corner of the gardens with fewer patrons. Once a suitable area was found, Fera cringed back from the idea of sitting on the floor, but Orion offered his jacket and that was slightly more tolerable. He arranged himself fussily on top of it, legs folded to one side, sliding his eyes quickly away to see the Vela sit so close to Dritz as they leaned against one of the support pillars. Perhaps she had him under some kind of spell, which might be fascinating to learn about later on.

"Explain," he demanded sharply, not about to let any of them off so easily until he was satisfied.

"Well," Orion began with the slightest sigh, "I had come to Hesperus on a job offer, one that turned out to be false. Some lowlife having fun at my expense. But I'd used the last of my fuel to get here, didn't have any credits, any food, was having problems with my ship... I happened to run into Dritz and Vela. They offered to assist with the ship repair, then helped me with fuel and a bit to eat along the way. I said I'd return someday to try to repay them and... here they are. Wasn't sure I would find them, it was just a coincidence I ran into them where I was eating last night. This wouldn't be so awkward for you right now if you'd just come along."

Fera ignored the last part, not regretting a decision to stay out of some low-class eatery. He folded his arms and shifted his glare to Dritz, still ignoring the Vela, as intent as ever on the trees above her. Though, actually... that was a little disturbing, too.

"I suppose that's a... charming story. And maybe now you can explain how you ran off after I said I'd offer my protection against the Merrgani, making me think you'd been captured, or... or killed." Immediately he regretted saying this, as it showed he might actually care what happened to them. Which was absolutely not true.

He shifted his angry gaze to the same tree the Vela was looking at, though jerked it away just as quickly. What if she was cursing the hologram to curse him through it?

Of course Dritz took Vela's hand immediately, lacing their fingers together. What was wrong with trying to make the most of them being in the hologardens together, even if they also had company? Of course, he also took notice of Orion being a complete gentleman and laying his jacket out for Fera. Dritz contemplated doing the same for Vela, but had the strangest feeling the Aurian would not enjoy that the idea came from something related to Fera. That, and he knew how she liked the simulated grass.

Poor Orion was definitely trying, he could see.

"It would have definitely been nice to see you there last night," Dritz added in a lightheartedly chiding tone. His expression softened, but he couldn't help the slightest pang of victory. Or something similar.

"You were worried about us, Your Highness?" he asked, putting one hand to his chest, "I'm so flattered! We like you too."

After a beat, he nodded, "Well... I don't know that it's my place to explain on her behalf, so perhaps you'd like to ask Vela your questions about why we decided to leave for Trelos?"

Fera turned his head haughtily at the suggestion that he should have gone the previous evening, though turned back again quickly at what Dritz said next. "No!" he snapped. "I wasn't worried about you in the slightest. Why should I be?"

When faced with having to ask the Vela his questions, however... he faltered for a time. His eyes darted back and forth as though he wasn't sure where to look before settling on a space a short distance above her head. "Ah... well. Why did you go to Trelos... wherever that is." His mumbling awkwardness was out of character for him, and he could feel Orion's gaze, distinctly amused, which made him flush with an irritated heat. How was he supposed to trust that she couldn't steal his soul if he looked right at her strange signing?

On her part, Vela was fine with Fera's apparent discomfort with her. It might mean he would leave her alone more. She regarded him soberly, signing right at him because it made him look even more uncomfortable when she did, though it did mean Dritz had to lean around to see her properly. [We went because I would like to consider Trelos as a new home for the Aurians. We had talks with one of their leaders and made some progress, but it will need some time for them to accept the idea, if they do. Next we will need to visit Aurctas to convince my people, and Chrysala to obtain some further assistance. Dritz has been kind enough to agree to help with the entire process.] She couldn't help but give him a fond glance, reaching to clasp his hand again once she had finished what she wanted to say.

"And what was that?" Fera demanded of Dritz, finding it far more convenient to have to address someone else. "Don't leave anything out."

Pleased, Dritz had sat back to survey the situation unfolding, but soon realised he could not see Vela's signing properly from where he was, and leaned forward, watching her closely. Her praise for him caused a far wider grin than he had previously held, and he kissed her hand gently before turning to Fera.

He took his time, signing exactly as she had, since Fera didn't seem to trust the Aurian's words, "We went because Vela wanted to consider Trelos as a new home for her people. We had talks with one of their leaders and made some progress, but it will need some time for them to accept the idea, if they do-" He turned to Vela and added, "Which I think they will. Next we need to visit Aurctas to convince them, and then to Chrysala for further assistance."

Preening a bit, he added, "The last part was about me being helpful."

As helpful as the explanation was, Fera couldn't help but think about how he could do without displays of affection between the Chrysalan and the Aurian. It wasn't that they were bad to look at, but he had by now halfway convinced himself the Vela had some form of mind control over Dritz. Maybe he was only able to learn this strange language after she had worked her strange magic over him...

"Oh. Well. That's interesting." Fera managed to sound completely unconcerned, though it was the slightest bit interesting. "But I don't see why I wasn't told first. I'm the most important, after all, and it makes sense to tell me, when I specifically said-"

To his dismay, Orion began to speak, though it was in a gentle way which didn't sound annoyed. "Prince, I hate to inform you, but you're not the center of the universe. Coronus, maybe, when you're there. And my own personal universe, well..." He seemed to realize he was indulging in romantic talk again, quickly clearing his throat while Fera pretended to glare. "But my point is, Vela and Dritz are free to do as they like. Maybe they misunderstood how invested you were in their protection. And this is a very serious thing, the Aurians are suffering and need a new home. You understand, don't you?"

Fera grit his teeth slightly for a moment, knowing it made sense, but not liking to be told he wasn't the most important ever. "I guess I do," he said with a loud sigh, readjusting himself atop Orion's jacket. "But now what? You don't need my protection, you've got your own tasks to attend to, why are we even here? We have nothing to do with each other." Thinking he had a real, legitimate point, he gave Orion a triumphant look, only to be dismayed to see the human merely shaking his head.

"Well?" he demanded of Dritz next, thinking he would receive a better answer.

Without realising, Dritz had leaned forward again, lacing his fingers in Vela's and stroking her hand, and was regarding the two men with a look of pure adoration. For all his deep flaws (hey, everyone has 'em, after all), Fera was actually cute in the context of Orion. They fit together in a pleasing way, visually and seemingly emotionally. He was smiling warmly at them both, but his reverie was quickly stifled and he blinked at the pink haired prince.

"Well... I was under the impression that we were friends. We're hanging out, aren't we? Y'know... spending time with each other? Like what you do with friends?" the Chrysalan said, his gaze completely disbelieving. "I mean... is that not what this is? You were worried about us enough to be mad at us for being alive, and I can't speak for Vela, but I think this is quite nice. Or it could be." At that moment he looked pointedly at Fera, as if to add if you took the salt out of your tone.

With a playful wave of his free hand, he added, "And anyway, even if you don't care to be here, Ori does."

"This wasn't my idea!" Fera bristled immediately, sitting up absolutely straight. "I was tricked into coming here to spend time with you. Unless that's your idea of being friends. And I don't think this is nice, not at all. This dated technology-" he paused to gesture around "-and the theme is frankly quite boring. What's the use of a holographic garden, exactly? Who needs plants, especially fake ones? And another thing, I wasn't worried about you. I told you that. Not in the slightest."

"Listen, Fera-" Orion began earnestly, already reaching out as though to try soothing him through touch. But he didn't feel like having any of it, for now.

"No," he cut in abruptly, getting to his feet with a graceful motion. "You heard Dritz. You like being here. So you can have it." He turned on his heel to saunter away with what he felt was reasonable confidence, aware he was making a scene, but enjoying it at the same time as almost feeling... bad. But he wasn't normal, not like the rest of them. They might not actually need him around, anyway.

Meanwhile, Orion seemed to have temporarily given up, sitting with his legs crossed and elbows propped against them, resting his head in his hands a few moments. "I'm sorry," he muttered to Dritz and Vela. "I'm really, really sorry. I guess I thought it would go better..."

Dritz frowned for a brief moment before hopping to his feet. He looked apologetically at the two of them, "Sorry, I can't just... I mean... I'll be back in a second. Promise!"

He jogged up behind Fera, tapping him gently on the shoulder, "Hey, wait a sec, please?" He fell into step next to the Coronal, doing his best to keep up, looking equally apologetic towards him, "I'm sorry, okay? I was just being silly. You go if you like, but I wasn't joking about it being nice to see you. When you're not being so spikey, you're pretty good company. I'm sorry if I upset you, 'k? But, look.... when you're rude to Vela, I get a bit spikey myself. So yeah, I'm sorry." He offered Fera a goofy grin, already taking a step back, "We good? Good. Okay, cool, see ya later?"

He gave a quick wave, turning and jogging back to the others and plopping back down next to Vela. "Sorry, I didn't want him to go without apologising. I didn't mean to upset him so much," he chuckled, settling. What was it they had been saying before he ran off? "Don't be sorry, we'll work on him. There's probably something going on we don't know about, or maybe he was just looking forward to the two of you being alone?"

If that were the case, Fera and Vela would be more similar than they thought.

Orion watched with a small amount of dismay as Dritz went after Fera, though it was likely just to apologize. He knew better than to go after the prince himself, for now, as he wouldn't be welcome until he had calmed further.

"It's probably nothing you did specifically, but thank you for trying to talk to him," Orion said with a sigh. He leaned back on his hands, looking up at the simulated blue sky above him and thinking a while. "He probably ignored you for the most part? That's what I thought. Like I've said before... he's really, really not so bad. But it's hard to see that sometimes. And it might have been he was thinking we'd be alone, yeah." It had definitely been a mistake not to tell Fera that Dritz and Vela would be waiting for them, but there was no real way to have known that prior.

"We do need to work on him, I agree. As long as you're up for it? It would mean a lot to me. I've learned a bit about him while we've been together. See..." Orion frowned heavily, finding it was still difficult to think about. "As a prince on Coronus, life was very... different. Royalty aren't treated the way everyone else is. They're free to talk among themselves, and talk as much as they want to anyone else... But commoners aren't allowed to talk to them. I think Fera's been very lonely for years, and is definitely over-privileged, so once he got away from Coronus he didn't know how to behave around regular folk like us." His frown turned into a wry smile. "Sometimes he finds a delight in manipulating or being rude to others, but it doesn't extend to his heart. He has a good heart, but doesn't want anyone to know about it. Probably thinks it's a sign of weakness."

Shaking his head, he poked one finger at a blade of fake grass, watching it go straight through. "The real problem is, how do we get him to change? I mean, he doesn't have to change completely. If I'm being honest, there's a sort of humor in his sarcasm at times. And he wouldn't be Prince Fera if he wasn't at least a little fussy." He realized his fondness was showing again, but shrugged it off this time. "I want us all to be friends, because I like it when we're together. I've never stayed somewhere long enough to have been in a group of friends like this. I wonder if there's even any way."

He snuck a glance at the others, seeing Dritz was very intent on his every word, while Vela was still watching the trees, though with her head tilted in a manner which gave away her attention. There was an extra awkwardness between the Aurian and Coronal which he couldn't put his finger on at the moment, but that was a sort of lesser problem for now. At least Vela wasn't completely disinterested.

The prince of Coronus had indeed ignored him, Orion was of course correct. It seemed a bit over the top, but Dritz supposed he himself wasn't exactly reasonable when he was hurt and frustrated either, so let it slide.

"Of course. Thing is, there's only so much of him being rude to Vela that I can tolerate," Dritz said seriously, snaking a hand around Vela's slim waist and pulling her near. "I want us all to be friends. He needs to work on how he treats her."

The Chrysalan soon quietened and listened with increasing emotion. He felt for Fera, with such an isolating start in life, and thought once more that he and Orion were definitely a good fit for one another, hoping the scruffy human would inject a little of his own good nature into the prince.

"Maybe... Maybe he could spend time with each of us separately? Doing something he likes? When is he most relaxed, mebbe we could be part of that?" he asked with a shrug, hoping something better came to him soon.

"Understandable," Orion said with a fond smile, watching Dritz pull Vela close to him. She nestled against his side in a way that seemed unconcerned with the situation, and did not offer any input. He had the suspicion that she could take care of herself when it came to Fera, but he didn't want to make light of the Chrysalan's concerns.

"I think we can all be friends. Starting slowly is definitely a key. Fera is... picky. I dunno that's a strong enough word. He doesn't have hobbies, as such... He's very fond of fashion. I wish he'd look at me the way he looks at expensive clothing, sometimes," he added with a semi-joking chuckle. "I'm not sure if he'd enjoy a shopping trip with you, but... maybe." Orion found himself laughing again. "He also likes to visit clubs, which I guess could be considered a hobby which I could do with him liking less. But he does enjoy it. You should see him dance..." Lost in the thought of that for a moment, he cleared his throat as he came out of his reverie. "But he also will drink quite a lot there. He's, uh... a lot more relaxed when he's had a few drinks. I'd just kind of hate to have him near drunk every time we hang out."

Shaking his head a second time, he looked back toward Dritz again. "It could be an option for the next time we're all together, though? At least once or twice, so he's a little more mellow. In the meantime, uh... you could ask him if he wants to visit the fashion district with you alone? You have pretty different tastes, but.. I think he enjoys looking at anything." For some reason he also thought Dritz enjoyed fashion, but that was only because every time he saw the Chrysalan he was wearing a different brightly-colored outfit in strange combinations which oddly seemed to work for him.

"Oh yeah?" Dritz asked slyly, eyeing Orion as his mind had clearly wandered to a softly lit room where Fera was dancing for him. He chuckled. He could certainly imagine how good Fera might look while dancing; his body was long and lithe, and he clearly had the grace to make it alluring. A quiet part of his mind replaced the thought of Fera's dance to one of Vela dancing in a similar fashion.

"Well, we definitely have something in common! I've noticed a couple of parts of his ensembles that I'd consider for myself," he giggled, "But in different colours. Of course." He smirked, running a hand through his hair as he listened.

He beamed at the suggestion, nodding eagerly, "Aaaah, that would be great. I don't know if he'll want to shop with me, but if you think it'd be a good idea, then I definitely would enjoy that. Considering it's only a station, Alpha has some really nice, upscale places that I can see him enjoying. Of course, I don't usually go anywhere near those ones!"

"Alright, good," Orion said in relief, glad to have the idea so easily accepted by Dritz. For the first time that night it felt like he was beginning to relax. "Well, if he doesn't jump at the idea, I'll work on him. But maybe you'd do better to ask him first instead of me, based on tonight. Maybe the mention of clothes will be enough. He has a real genuine sort of enthusiasm about shopping," he added with a slight laugh. "I think it might make him more relaxed around you, even if not right away."

He looked at Vela thoughtfully, still unable to tell what was going on in her mind. It could be surprisingly difficult when someone couldn't talk out loud, he was discovering. "I know Fera is generally rude to everyone a lot of the time," he said to her. "But there's this extra emotion behind the way he treats you. Fear, almost? Except... I'm not sure why that'd be. Anyway, it would be impossible for the two of you to spend time alone together when he can't understand your signing, and probably wouldn't have the patience for reading everything typed out. So I don't know what to do there."

[He doesn't like me,] Vela signed simply. [It doesn't matter much to me.] She almost added "I don't like him either," but thought that would be unfair for Dritz to have to translate. Despite her issues with the Coronal, she didn't want either Dritz or Orion to be upset further.

"Well, we'll probably have to wait for a while to get him to agree to even speak to e again so soon, but maybe when he's in a more amicable mood... Or he might even be in a more amicable mood once we suggest it! I think I'll have a good time, I just hope he does too," Dritz said with a comically exaggerated grimace.

He translated for Orion, pouting slightly in sympathy for Vela. "The language barrier is awkward. It's not fair to them for me to be there to translate everything either, otherwise that would be my suggestion. Fera either doesn't trust me to be telling him the truth, or he doesn't trust Vela to not be able to speak aloud." The Chrysalan shrugged, sighing.

"But... How could anyone be afraid of you?" he asked, turning to Vela in surprise. "You're my cute little flower! We'll help him see that."

[He doesn't like my signing either,] Vela guessed. [He won't really look at it.] Whether that was out of fear, Vela didn't know, but in a way it was nice to have some sort of control over Fera. She didn't think it would bother her if he never became friendly with her, though obviously Dritz and Orion would like him to. Something she wouldn't be signing out was that she still thought he was annoying and fairly horrible, no matter what his background might be.

"Well, we'll think of something," Orion said with a sigh, though he definitely seemed amused by Dritz's pet names for Vela. "Meanwhile, I'll make sure he's around for you to ask about the shopping in the next few days, if possible. But speaking of manners, I've not asked you about what your schedules are yet. I know you're wanting to head back to Aurctas and Chrysala and all that, and I'd hate to get in the way."

[We can't go yet,] Vela signed slowly. She hadn't discussed this topic yet with Dritz, but she supposed now was as good a time as any to bring it up. [Actually... I think we'll need more credits than what we have. The trip to Trelos was expensive. I had a lot of credits, but not enough for living expenses along with three trips to different planets, I suppose.] They were in no danger of running out soon, but the future did need to be planned for, and they definitely needed more to make it to Aurctas. She looked at Dritz sadly, knowing he would have to propose the course of action for obtaining more credits. What could she do personally to help? She thought she had no specific skills to speak of.

"Yeah, I dunno what that could possibly mean," Dritz said, turning to engage Vela with a look of exaggerated confusion, "Almost a little... y'know, xenophobic? I mean... it's how you speak. So weird." Without thinking much, he gave Vela a firm kiss on the forehead, smiling, "We'll get you two on speaking terms."

He had been about to answer Orion, but the movement to his side stopped him and he looked at Vela. "Ah, really? Uh oh." He turned back. "It seems we'll be on the station for a while longer, anyway! Fine by me, I could do with flexing my muscles a bit, keep all my repair knowledge fresh in the mind and all that! Vela and I don't have enough funds to make it to any of our next destinations yet, so we'll be around while we earn. Maybe it'll be a good chance for all four of us to get to know each other a little better."

He cuddled the Aurian against him, shaking his head at her. Much as he liked Orion, it wasn't the time to properly reassure Vela, and so he would need to talk through their plans with her privately.

"Well," Orion replied with a slight smile. "I can assure you that whatever else Prince Fera is, he's not xenophobic. Not that you were accusing him of it, but it looks that way on the surface in this case. It must be something else, I'll try to figure it out in the meantime."

He leaned back again, watching the pair in front of him with amusement. He almost envied how easily they got along and how comfortable they were in their behavior toward each other. "I've said it before, but you two are much too adorable together. But yeah, that sounds good. Making some money is what I'm aiming to do for now, as well. In fact I've already scouted out a few places, if you'd like to come along tomorrow morning and have a look? There are multiple jobs on offer."

Getting to his feet, he reached to touch both of them on the shoulder as they stood along with him. "With that, I think I'd better get going for the night, see where Fera's got himself off to and let you guys talk and spend some time together. Thank you both so much for joining us here tonight, even if it didn't work out as well as it might. It's a start."

Orion took his leave after they said goodbye, with Dritz promising they would be around tomorrow morning to look into getting work. They sat down near each other again, and Vela spent a long moment with her arms wrapped around the Chrysalan's waist and her face pressed against his chest, thinking to herself.

[What should I do to earn money?] she signed earnestly when she finally pulled away. [You can find engineering work but... There's nothing I'm skilled at. At least nothing useful on a station.] The thought had troubled her for some time now, but she had never wanted to address it because of that.

Dritz waved his free hand, "I know it's not that, don't worry. True xenophobia... he wouldn't even be here. And he knows Chrysalan." Dritz seemed to be speaking aloud to himself for a moment when he added, "Had a good dialect too, very good enunciation. It was a pleasant surprise."

The Chrysalan's antennae flickered gently, almost curiously as he smirked at Orion. "We are? Well... I think we are!" he laughed.

Hearing that there might be the chance to work together on jobs, Dritz perked up, looking more serious, "Oh yeah? That sounds good. We can meet you outside our building; the west tower of apartments, near the accommodation office, since I assume you're staying here too? Unless you have a more... luxurious place to sleep now." He gave Orion a brief wink before pulling him into a big hug, slapping his back affectionately.

With the human gone, he and Vela were left to tangle their bodies together once more, closer than ever. He cocked his head by way of response, "You wanna help me, learn some stuff? I mean, there's usually places that need cleaning staff, cooking, waiting, small administration roles... do you fancy any of those?"

Vela nuzzled her face into Dritz's neck momentarily, still thinking over the options. She thought she would be able to learn how to do anything, and maybe someday she would try those other jobs, but for now it might be better to stay near the Chrysalan.

[I can help you?] she asked, pulling herself away. [How would that be possible? I have no engineering skills, just enough to put my ship back together, which was very specific and old technology. I'm not sure why someone would want to hire me in addition to you.] She frowned, now beginning to fret about that as well.

[It's possible the Merrgani are still around, somewhere. Or they could come back. If I can stay with you for now, it might be for the best. It's hard to believe they've given up until we know for sure.] She waited for Dritz to explain how it might be possible for them to remain together, absently smoothing her fingers over the fabric at his waist.

"You, my darling, are tremendously intelligent and adaptable," he said firmly, punctuating each word with a kiss, on her cheek, her forehead, her lips. "We will run through the basics together, I'll teach you as we go, and I think you learn by doing, so we'll get you doing the easy fixes with my instructions."

He spread his hands with a beam, "There are very few folk looking to hire a mechanic that object to an apprentice! As far as they know, they're just paying me, you're helping me out. My highly important consultant on alien tech." He winked at her.

"As for those gross fish guys, I won't let them get anywhere near you," he said seriously, pulling her into a big hug, burying his face in her considerably less fluffy hair. "We'll work hard, and we'll get outta here and back on with our mission in no time."

Dritz's attempts to reassure Vela and soothe her worries were just as effective as usual. It went beyond the words, to the gestures such as kissing her and holding her close. She relaxed to know they might stay together as they worked for now, and he would help keep her safe should any more trouble arise with the Merrgani. Perhaps she could have survived on her own, but Dritz made it all so much easier. There was no proper way to express her thanks for this, however.

They remained quiet a little while after he had spoken, just holding on to each other. Vela listened to Dritz's soft breaths as she rubbed one hand up and down his back, finally pulling away to smile at him. [Thank you,] she signed, making the gesture more formal. [I would like working with you, and learning how to fix simple problems. Meanwhile I will do more research, I think in scientific areas... I would like to come up with a better form of space travel for the Aurians. I think I can do it, rather than borrowing from other races. It's fascinating to me.]

She felt a little shy to admit this, covering up for it by giving Dritz another lingering kiss. [The garden is beautiful, but we should go back to our rooms now. We have a bath to take before bed, after all.] Her smile was definitely more flirtatious as her hand returned to his shirt, gently tugging the hem.

"Oh yeah?" Dritz's eyes were bright and full of excitement as he looked at her, clearly encouraged by her signs. "That... actually sounds like a great idea. I think you could really achieve something amazing for the Aurians. Is there anything I could do to help with that, maybe?" His head buzzed with hope for Vela's people, despite how little he knew about them. He sincerely hoped they knew how hard one of their own children was willing to work to better their lives, without being pressured, or asked, and without any obligation to them, really.

Of course, his thoughts were interrupted by decidedly less scientific ones when she flashed her delightfully flirtatious smile at the mention of their bath, "Oh, you're right... I would just hate to miss such a thing!"

He stood, offering her a hand, scooping her up into his arms when she took it.

[the-vaporverse]

Starless Horizon RP File #20

(Vela’s part in italics.)

The first week or so of their travel back to Hesperus was fairly quiet, at least on Vela's part. While she was naturally quiet, she didn't engage as much with Dritz for a time, leaving him to simply talk at her or ramble his thoughts aloud, which she didn't mind listening to, adding what little she felt like when needed.

She had also withdrawn from the intimacy they had shared during the later part of their trip to Trelos, finding herself uninterested and too troubled to even think about it. Dritz never pushed her into anything, as she knew he wouldn't, but she could tell his attraction to her hadn't gone away. Despite what she had said about being hopeful, those first days were ultimately depressing for her as she worried over whether their plans would work at all.

One "morning" found her laying in bed with Dritz after he had just woken up. There were times when she couldn't force herself to do much at all beyond sit and watch him as he went about checking the Nova's engines, but today she felt might be a day to do more.

Without thinking about it much, she ran a hand back through her hair, turning her head to give Dritz a little smile.

Vela had retreated into her own thoughts in a way that might have worried Dritz if he hadn't been able to see that she was working through her thoughts, all of the hope and disappointment and worry and effort she had put into their trip. It must have been exhausting for her, and the last thing she would need would be additional stress from him fussing over her. And so, he kept their conversations, such as they were, bright. He rambled, kissed her gently but frequently, and made her the best meals he could manage. He would try and share her worries as much as possible, but she would need someone to give her perspective, a clear vision.

With a bemused half-smile of his own, he reached up from where he was lounging back on the bed to stroke her face, "Now look at that. It's lovely to see you smiling again, even a little." He propped himself up on one elbow, pulling her close enough that he could kiss her forehead. "How're you feeling, flower?"

After a moment of looking her over with a soft expression, his gaze flickered upwards, and a far more amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

[I feel alright,] Vela signed, sitting up and thinking about moving closer to rest herself against him, until she caught his amused glance upward for some reason. It wasn't at anything far overhead...

She reached up to touch her hair, finding there seemed to be a lot more of it than when she'd last looked in a mirror. How long had it been since then? She wasn't even sure. The hair was fluffier than usual, and likely sticking out in every direction and farther away from her face, she had no doubt. Her expression grew somewhat pained.

[Do I look strange? Aurian hair takes a long time to grow, but when it does...] She indicated a distance away from her head as if to show how big it would get. [That's why we keep it short.] With a frustrated exhalation, she attempted to smooth her hair down but could feel it springing right back up again as soon as she removed her hands.

Once Vela seemed to realise what had amused him, Dritz did nothing more to stifle his affectionate laughter, covering his mouth with his free hand as he reached up and fluffed her soft hair.

"You don't look strange, flower. You look cute. So cute," he giggled, apparently particularly enchanted with how her hair seemed defiant, refusing to stay smoothed down against her, "I don't know how I hadn't noticed before. I saw you were getting fluffy bits here-" he tickled the wisps of hair by her ear, "But it didn't seem so obvious that it'd gotten so long."

He tugged her down to lie atop him, admiring the way her hair looked at that moment. It was relaxed, like she was completely relaxed with him. "So cute," he reiterated, grinning.

Vela found herself puzzled at Dritz's insistence that her hair was "cute." She willingly laid down on him, immediately soothed by his warmth, allowing him to reach up and play with the fluffiness of her hair for a little while before she moved again to sign.

[I'm glad you don't mind it, but I'm afraid I don't think the same. It's troublesome - I can feel it - and I don't much care for how it looks, personally.] She shook her head, feeling how it moved against her, and frowned. [I wish we had some sort of scissors or even shears. Unless you do?]

On the topic of hair, Vela inspected Dritz's for a moment before actually smiling again. [Yours is longer too. We've been gone quite a while.] Gently she reached out to pick up some of his hair where it rested against his neck, letting it slip through her fingers. That wasn't something he could do with her own hair. [It looks fine too, but I think even longer... it might be nice.] She indicated a length just barely past his shoulders, tilting her head as she imagined it.

"Oh yeah?" Dritz asked with a wide grin. He'd always kind of fancied growing his hair long, but for one reason or another he had always ended up trimming it again. He relaxed against the feeling of her fingers in his hair, smiling.

"It's a shame you don't like how this looks though," he said, playing with her thicker hair with a slight pout, "Buuut, I think I can help. If I find something to trim your hair with, do you want me to neaten it up for you? I'm pretty sure we could find something nice and sharp to make sure it's neat and cropped again."

Much as he enjoyed playing with the additional length of her hair, he understood the need to trim it. Expertly rolling Vela onto her back with a kiss, he tugged the blanket up to her chin, "Now, you wait here, and I'll see what we have that will take your fluffiness."

Vela had expected Dritz would take her along to find something to cut her hair, but was willing enough to wait. She nodded, feeling a little silly to be covered by the blanket, yet amused at the same time. There was no end to the amusing things he seemed to do, however, which was another reason why she enjoyed his company so much.

She awaited his return patiently, wiggling her toes against the blanket in an absentminded manner. Dritz would probably be able to cut her hair in a way that was satisfactory, or she could show him how if he wasn't sure; she wasn't worried about how it would turn out. She found her thoughts drifting to other things in the meantime, specifically what else she might like to do once they had finished with her hair.

Soon after he left, Dritz returned with his tools, seemingly trying to decide between them with a comically thoughtful expression. He had a heavy pair of bladed pliers in one hand, and in the other hand were a slightly less frightening-looking set of shears. He plopped down next to her, holding them up for her to look at.

"I think one of these will work, if not both. Like, the heavy clippers for getting rid of some of the length, then the little ones to neaten it up?" he asked, holding them up. "You're gunna have to trust me, though, I've never cut anyone's hair before. We'll make this work between us, yeah?" He beamed, gesturing for her to move and sit on the floor by the bed before grabbing a spare blanket from the locker at the other end of the room. "I'll sit on the bed, and you should be at the right height for me to snip."

Vela sat up, the blanket slipping away from her as she studied the tools Dritz had brought. She nodded seriously, thinking that plan should work. [I trust you,] she signed simply, standing up from the bed. [It won't matter so much what it looks like, as long as it's shorter.]

He had spread the spare blanket out on the floor for her to sit on in order to catch the hair clippings as they fell. Vela thought this was a good idea, and also removed the long tunic she had been wearing to sleep in and tossed it onto the bed before sitting down and leaning back against the edge. After all, wearing clothes would mean they might pick up little bits of hair, which would be an annoyance.

[Here. And here especially,] she signed, showing him where to cut most of the hair. [If possible, as close as you first saw it, if you can remember.]

Settling himself down on the bed, Dritz nodded as he was instructed, examining where she was gesturing. Before starting, he leant down and kissed her neck, wanting to relish in the soft fluff for a moment before they parted ways.

He slowly and carefully snipped in what was a seemingly meticulous order, regularly running his fingers through her hair to check the length (as well as to enjoy how soft it always was). The process took far longer than he intended it to, but when he leaned back and stood, coming to crouch in front of her and inspect his work, he beamed. It was closely cropped and, aside from the ends of her hair being fairly blunted from the incorrect tools (the sort of thing that would grow out fine in a week or so), it looked okay.

"Perfect," he said softly, reaching up and brushing some loose strands from her face and neck, his hands lingering on her shoulders.

Dritz was moving slowly as he cut her hair, which meant he was taking the time to be thorough and careful. Yet Vela also got the feeling he was simply enjoying it, with the way he would stop and frequently caress it, though it was possible he was just removing loose pieces that had fallen against her head. Either way it was a relaxing experience, and when he was done and had moved in front of her to inspect it, she smiled at him.

[Thank you. I can tell it will be fine already, I'm never worried about my hair except when it's too long.] His hands brushing across her shoulders felt intimate all of a sudden, and Vela leaned up quickly to kiss him. After a long moment of gazing into his eyes, she glanced away a bit shyly and gestured to the hair surrounding her on the blanket.

[Do you want to keep some?] she signed in amusement, thinking he might if he really did like it so much.

Despite how warm he had found himself feeling. Dritz chuckled at the suggestion of keeping her hair. He stroked against her temple in a way that would have tucked her hair behind her ears were it long enough, and shook his head with a little smile, "I think I prefer it on your head. But... if we were ever apart for a long amount of time, then maybe..." He felt somewhat odd admitting that he'd find the softness a comfort if they were apart for a long time.

He carefully brushed the last few hairs off her as best he could, helping her tidy up. As they were finishing up, he slipped behind her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing softly at her neck. "I know it wasn't very, very long, but I still like how much more neck there seems to be," he murmured, nuzzling her pale skin.

[Would you miss me that much already, if we were apart?] Vela signed with a smile, thinking the admission was sweet. She knew she would miss him if such a situation arose, having been around him so much of the time now that it was difficult to imagine being without him. [I would give you a bit of hair then. Maybe a piece of my clothing...] Likely she would feel the same, wanting something belonging to Dritz with her, but she didn't want to contemplate a distance between them for now.

They had cleaned up as much of the hair as possible, discarding the clippings and returning the blanket (still mostly clean) to the locker. Dritz enveloped her in an embrace suddenly and Vela felt herself relaxing back against him, enjoying the feel of his lips against her neck. [I'm glad you like it,] she finally signed, turning to face him. For a moment it seemed like she would say more, but she simply felt a longing she hadn't experienced at all in the past week, the need to be even closer to him. She moved to embrace him again, sliding her hands up his back and tilting her head enough to kiss his lips, first softly, then more insistent as her need grew.

There was no hint of embarrassment as Dritz nodded. They had grown close in what, really, was quite a short time, but their close proximity for the extended travel time had facilitated that, and he was nothing but thankful.  "Of course I'd miss you that much. I'd be too used to having you about here for me to cuddle," he said, gesturing to a space under his arm, close to his left side and over his chest.

Once met with her kiss, Dritz returned it with perhaps more enthusiasm than he meant to begin with, but with her hands on his back after little contact throughout their time on the ship, he soon lifted her into his arms, supporting her legs around his waist, deepening the kiss.

Dritz's response to her touch and kiss made Vela exhale softly. It startled her a little when he lifted her up, but her legs almost naturally went around his waist while he supported her comfortably. They continued kissing but at last broke away from each other, near breathless, and Vela nodded to show she wanted to continue.

With the utmost care and gentleness, Dritz set her down on the edge of the bed and leaned over her, his arms resting on either side as they resumed sharing a passionate kiss.

-

The months passed quickly. Vela had many conversations with Dritz as they attempted to sort out their future plans for trying to unite the peoples of Trelos and Aurctas, but they also had many times where they simply lay together talking of nothing in particular, or shared a quiet enjoyment in each other's bodies.

When the day finally came when they would arrive at Hesperus Alpha, they both had a sense of excitement to return. There was something familiar and lovely about the station now, and Vela had a great fondness for it as the place where she had first met Dritz.

They were getting dressed together as Vela found herself smiling wider than she normally might. [I can't wait to get there,] she signed to him, watching as he selected one of the brighter shirts he had brought. [I've had a wonderful time with you, and we did good work on Trelos. But I think of the station as home, for now. I'll be glad to see it again.]

Despite how he enjoyed travel and despite how much he was comfortable in his own company, Dritz had always thought he would grow bored with long stretches in space, but with Vela, it was almost like he couldn't remember having so much fun. They were comfortable together, they talked all the time, even with the very minor language barrier, they taught each other things, and cooperated on the running of the ship. It was, as with takeoff and landing, like they were a well-maintained machine.

Dritz, dropping the bright orange shirt he had been about to put on, scooped Vela into a big hug, lifting her off the ground, happy to see such a radiant smile on her. "I'm looking forward to being back too. It is our home, really! You know the first thing we should do? Get some real food!"

If Vela had the capability of laughing aloud, it was likely she would have just then. But she had to agree with Dritz's assessment of getting "real" food; their short stay on Trelos between two long stretches of space travel had not been nearly enough time to feel they had gotten enough decent food to eat.

After Dritz had managed to get dressed at last, they spent the remaining few hours of their time on the ship making certain everything was ready for a smooth landing, and talking with excitement (and greater detail) about the things they would like to do after arriving. The landing itself was, naturally, just as smooth as always, and they exited the hangar hand in hand with genuinely happy smiles on their faces.

Of course, they had to be practical and return to their room to be sure everything was still there, and drop off the few things they needed to return to it. Nothing was out of order, and they made their way into the bustling streets of the food district with a sense of familiarity that was comforting. Vela let Dritz choose where he would like to eat, as he was the most eager to find something that was, as he put it, "cheap but amazing and, best of all, real."

It turned out that Dritz was incredibly discerning when it came to the first meal after a long time in space, and he led Vela by the hand through lots of streets at a casual pace, perusing the restaurants and freestanding market food stalls they came across until he found a Karpathan place that specialised in lots of small dishes to sample.

Dritz pulled Vela's chair our for her and encouraged her to sit. "Have you had Karpathan food before? It's really nice, but some dishes are quite rich, so you combine them with the softer dishes. I'll show you!"

The dishes were laid out on the table in a pleasing pattern, each plate seeming to be a different colour of a rainbow. One contained what looked like a pale yellow-green grass spiralling into a crispy nest, with shreds of a fine red spice picked out in it, another seemed to be a dark red meat in a heavy, sweet sauce, there was another bowl of thin broth with cubes of white and green vegetables in the centre. All of them were accompanied by a variety of sauces, chopped vegetables and soft, fluffy breads.

"Yes. Now this what I was talking about," Dritz said excitedly, rubbing his hands together. "I hope you enjoy!"

Vela shook her head; obviously she had never had Karpathan food, but she likely would never have thought to try it on her own, either. Everything was so colorful and visually interesting that she spent a little time staring at it before she was finally able to begin to eat. When she did, the combination of flavors and textures was enough to keep her fascinated in a way she had never been with food before.

[It's very interesting,] she commented to Dritz before dipping a piece of bread in yet another sauce to try together. [And it's made me wonder what traditional Aurian food would have really been like. There are a few records but... I think that was largely considered information that was too unimportant to preserve.] The thought was sad, but there was nothing to be done about it, so she didn't focus on it long.

[This was a good idea, though. What is Chrysalan food like?] She may have remembered some of this information from her studies, but she liked to hear Dritz talk about his home in his own words.

Despite how eager he was to dig in to the array of different foods in front of them, Dritz held back so that he could watch Vela enjoy it all first, wanting to make sure she had gotten to try it all. There was such an indescribable beauty to experiencing her expression as she tried new things.

"You seem to be enjoying it a lot, I'm really glad we came to this one in particular," he said, before his expression turned sad. "Maybe the ancient Aurian diet was similar to the Trelosians?" he suggested.

He beamed at Vela when she asked about his own home world, and its food. "Wow, well... It tends to be light and vegetable-based, with... I guess it's a floral taste? It's hard to describe. The Chrysalan tea we make is a good example; the blossoms can be dried and baked with some oil to make savoury snacks, but I don't really like them much, cuz the blossom is too bitter. I'll have to cook you something traditionally Chrysalan sometime, won't I?"

[It must have been similar,] Vela replied thoughtfully before prodding at some of the white vegetables. She wasn't sure how much meat was consumed, but had determined there was at least some, based on what little information she had been able to find.

[I would like that. Your food sounds very interesting, and I do like flowers. But you should eat, you've just been watching me.] She gave him a smile and gestured around at all the plates, wanting him to begin and share the meal with her.

-

A handful of tables away, Orion was enjoying a similar meal. He'd been looking for something new and interesting to try, and Karpathan food was definitely new and interesting. His companion had refused to accompany him, but that wasn't unexpected, and Orion was determined to keep working on him.

The last few months could also be defined as "new and interesting." Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected his life to take this sort of turn, but he was willing to embrace it for exactly what it was.

Finishing up the last of his food, he began glancing idly around the room when he spotted two familiar faces: Dritz and Vela were also enjoying a Karpathan meal, and a slow grin took over his expression as he realized how lucky he was. He had been searching for them for a while now, but the only information available seemed to be that they had left the station for an undetermined amount of time.

The sight of them together was also comforting. Orion had seen many mixed-species couples fail because they simply couldn't reconcile their differences. But he could see these two were devoted to each other from their expressions and the way they interacted, and there was a little something extra in their manner which suggested to him they had grown even closer. He was genuinely glad for them and would likely tell them so shortly.

He did decide to wait until they seemed nearly finished eating before cleaning up his own table and strolling over in what he hoped was a casual enough manner. "Hi there," he offered with a grin, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jumpsuit. "Good food, huh? And it helped me find you at last, which is pretty helpful."

Of course Vela had noticed. Not much went by her, and Dritz couldn't help the grin that took over his face as he started gathering small amounts of each dish to his plate, tasting some together and either scrunching his face up, proclaiming the combination a mistake, or flapping a hand excitedly to encourage Vela to try the same combination of flavours.

They were just discussing their next plan, to perhaps return to the hologarden and see what new planet's season it had taken on, knowing it wouldn't be the same as the fresh and very real plants on Trelos, but making the best of it nonetheless, when Orion of all people approached them. Dritz had stared in delighted awe for a second before leaping to his feet and throwing his arms around the scruffy man, slapping him on the back.

"Ori! What kind of luck is this, huh?" he said brightly, grabbing a free chair from an empty table and pulling it up to their own, "Sit down, sit down! How are you? It's so nice to see you again!"

Dritz's greeting was genuine and enthusiastic, and Orion found himself with a wide grin as he returned the quick embrace and sat down as he was invited to do so. Vela was her usual more reserved self, though she did give the human a warm smile and signed 'hello' along with something else which Dritz translated as her being glad to see him too.

"And it's great to see you both," he said, settling into the chair. He had a feeling a lot of explanations might be on the way. "It really is luck, since I had been looking for you ever since I came back to the station, and it's only when I was minding my own business that I found you. I've been well. I mean, I've had my ups and downs, but... things are going pretty well at the moment." His own explanation seemed complicated to him, so he thought hearing theirs would be best first.

"So what have you been up to the past... well, it's been almost a year, hasn't it? I came back to Hesperus around a month ago, pretty intent to find you and repay you somehow now that I've found my feet again, for the most part. The only information I could get was that you'd left but were holding your room open for when you returned. So I thought I'd wait and see if you might turn up."

Vela seemed to want to respond, facing Orion but signing toward Dritz in order to allow him to translate. Orion watched both her hands and her expression, able to tell the topic was serious, but not much else until the Chrysalan spoke.

Something about Orion's equally warm and bright response made Dritz incredibly happy. While he did have companions on Chrysala, none were ever so... Boisterous as he was, he supposed. It was nice to have a similar response, especially since he had taken to the man so quickly.

He watched Vela's signs with a smile that was unabashedly adoring, almost like he forgot Orion was there for a moment. Gosh, she was the most beautiful in the galaxy, though. Turning back to arguably the most beautiful human in the galaxy, Dritz explained, "We've been looking into helping the Aurians find a new home, and Trelos was the nearest suitable planet. There's some other options, but hopefully we'll be able to work with Trelos. It was sort of spur of the moment, really. We just... Up and left! It was an adventure." He smiled more softly then, looking over at Vela.

"But what about you, my friend? I can't believe you came here just to wait and see us! That's... Wow. I'm really touched."

"Ah, that sounds incredible. What a great thing to do for your people. I hope it works out the way you'd like." There wasn't a lot Orion could say on the subject, but from what little he had managed to discover about the Aurians, he knew they needed a change to their lifestyle. "You're both really admirable for taking on such an enormous task. And I'm a bit familiar with Trelos... Nice place, not too populated. I could see that working."

He leaned back, running a hand through his hair in a way that only made it more unkempt, before giving his usual lopsided smile. The look on Dritz's face as he watched Vela was unmistakable. "And it's good to see you two still together. It can be difficult for two different species trying to make their way together as a couple. And I guess you never know where life's going to take you. You probably didn't think you'd be off on a journey like that, just the same as I didn't think I'd end up romantically involved with royalty from Coronus."

He began chuckling to himself over the very thought, but stopped when he noticed the reaction to his words. Vela was staring at him in concern, her one normal eye wide, before turning a disbelieving look toward Dritz. Orion would have explained further, but their reactions were so strange that it gave him pause.

"Er... what? Did I say something wrong?"

"Yeah, I always figured I'd just end up with someone fr-," Dritz stopped, comically frozen as something occurred to him. He looked at Vela intensely. Somehow they seemed to have a conversation in an instant. Did he just...? Yes. He did? Yeah, I know. Are you gunna...? No. Should I...? One of us has to.

Dritz seemed to lose any semblance of his usual bright, polite and diplomatic self as he began to giggle uncontrollably before spotting Orion's confusion. He turned to the scruffy man, tittering nervously, "Sorry, friend, I thought you..." The expression on Orion's face told him all he needed before he even finished the question. "Oh. Oh... Oh wow. Okay. You're really serious."

They remained quiet for a long moment before Dritz cocked his head. Fera, because it had to be, was not particularly receptive to them, but... he might be different with someone he deemed pretty enough. The Chrysalan smiled more genuinely this time, "That's wonderful. I... really hope he makes you happy. He's... never seemed like the romantic sort to me, but then, I've never been involved with a royal." He gave Orion a wink.

Obviously still baffled by their responses, Orion stared between the two of them. "Of course I'm serious, I... Wait a minute... you know him?"

Vela took over, even though she knew Dritz would have to translate first. Her expression was grim now, as she thought Orion must be very confused to make what she felt was probably a big mistake. [We've made his acquaintance in the past. He is a horrible person.]

"Uh... Dritz, I appreciate that, but... I think Vela isn't too happy about it, from what I can gather. And let me tell you, if we're really talking about the same prince of Coronus here, I completely understand if you're not on the best of terms with him." Orion did look pained then, so Vela thought he must know what he was doing... but why?

Dritz laughed sheepishly again, wincing at Vela's signing. As if he worried that Orion might understand, he reached over and stroked her hands gently. He sort of agreed, in a way, but he wouldn't want anyone to say anything against his own lover, so he wouldn't want to say anything against Orion's. Even if it was, apparently, Fera.

"I think there's only one prince of Coronus," he joked. "See... We blew a resonance tube, and Prince Fera picked up our distress beacon. He..." Dritz gestured vaguely, glancing at Vela, "Wasn't the nicest to us. He was very rude to Vela in particular... but he did help. In the end. But no, you and him don't really see eye to eye, huh?" He offered Vela a slightly apologetic smile.

"Yeah... there is only one," Orion agreed heavily, too distressed to think about how Dritz's statement had been intended to sound. If they already knew Fera, already knew how difficult he could be... In a way, that made things both easier and harder.

"That sounds like Fera," he continued, looking closely at Vela. "From my experience so far, a bit less than a year, he can be rude and abrasive, but like Dritz said, he did end up helping you. Fera has... a lot of issues. That doesn't excuse his behavior, so for now I'll apologize to you, seeing as how I'm sure he never did."

Vela didn't look convinced at all, just nodded stiffly and continued to watch Orion with some mixture of suspicion. He sighed, realizing the difficult path which lay ahead. "Long story short, my ship was destroyed and it was in large part due to our troublesome Prince Fera. Before you get too alarmed..." -because they already looked alarmed- "...I'm fine with it now. Mostly. But of course I wasn't at first, and only hung around him in an effort to get him to pay for it in some way. As more time went by, I got to know him better. And, well... he's not so bad. Needs work though. A lot of work. Underneath that cold exterior, there really is someone vulnerable and... well, pretty wonderful."

With the weakest of smiles, he shrugged. "I'd understand if you no longer want anything to do with me because of my association with him. In fact I'd not hold it against you in the slightest." It was all he could do to explain, but Orion liked Dritz and Vela, and hoped they were willing to give Fera a chance.

While Dritz had been listening intently, his expression had been growing softer and softer, and when Orion even suggested that they might no longer want to associate with him, he looked almost physically pained. He threw himself forward and bundled the human into a huge hug, shaking his head.

"Absolutely not," he said firmly when he finally let the poor man go. "Okay, so... Fera iiis not the easiest guy to be around. He was rude to my flower, and that is not cool, but you're with him. And I think that's more than enough to tell me there's something more to him!" He shrugged, "Plus, I like you too much to not be friends. Right?" He looked over at Vela for her input, smiling hopefully.

Vela watched in some concern, thinking Dritz was being perhaps a little overly emotional about the situation. It was true she liked Orion as well, but her caution meant she simply couldn't accept all of this too easily.

She beckoned at the Chrysalan after apologizing to Orion for the moment and asking him to wait, walking away through the streets a good enough distance so they wouldn't be overheard. Facing Dritz with a little frown, she signed, [I'm not sure. Orion seems to be a good man. But Fera... what if this is some kind of elaborate plan? Even if I'm not sure he has the patience to draw out a plan for almost a year.] That was certainly true. The prince of Coronus seemed the type to lose interest quickly, so remaining with Orion that long might mean he was being genuine in this case.

[I just want to be safe,] she continued, hoping he would understand. [You heard what happened to Orion's ship. What if the Nova...] It was too difficult to complete that statement. It would be an enormous loss not just to herself and Dritz, but to the cause of the Aurians.

As soon as they were alone, Dritz drew Vela close, looking at her with concern. He watched her signing and her expression closely. He nodded, considering her concerns, before cupping her face and kissing her, soothingly stroking his thumbs over her cheekbones.

"I get it," he said softly, "But I don't think Fera would have done such a thing on purpose. He may be a stupid jerk, but I don't think he'd take any pleasure from physically harming someone. Heh, I know that's not especially comforting. What I'm saying is that I don't think you need to be concerned. Orion is a great guy, I think some of his goodness will rub off on our friend, the prince. You like Ori, right? I trust his opinions, and I really think he wouldn't have anything to do with him if he didn't see something good there. I mean, he's friends with us, and we're amazing!" He pulled her into his arms, ducking his head and looking at her seriously, "And if he tries anything, or says anything to you, I'll have words. I won't let anything happen to you, flower. And I won't let anything happen to the Nova. Okay?" He smiled softly, adding, "Cap'n."

As usual, Dritz's tender actions and words broke through some of Vela's skepticism. Her own expression softened as she watched him carefully, listening to what he said and debating the matter in her mind. When he pulled away to let her speak, she nodded first.

[Orion is nice. I think I can trust him. But I won't trust Fera. You can't ask me to, but I will tolerate him... or try.] It was going to be quite a task, but if the prince was going to be rude to her then she thought she was within her rights to act the same toward him. Within reason.

Most of all, however, the reappearance of Orion seemed to make Dritz so happy. Vela didn't want to take that away from him, or the fact she was certain the two could be good friends. That made her happy, in turn. She still felt she owed him so much, even if she wouldn't bring that up. [Thank you. I feel a little better about it now.] One more time she moved to embrace him and they shared a gentle kiss, before returning to where Orion was waiting.

"Hey. Uh... I hope it's all okay. Like I said, I'll understand no matter what." Orion seemed nervous and worried as well, and Vela began to understand that he truly did want their companionship. Maybe he was lonely if Fera wasn't around.

[We'll remain friends,] she signed to Orion, though she had turned toward Dritz so he could see. [I don't know that Fera likes us at all, but I guess we'll have to see if that's changed.]

Dritz chuckled affectionately, shaking his head. "I would never ask you to trust Fera. I think he should appreciate the fact that you're trying at all, after how he's treated you." After a moment's embrace, he added in a softer tone, "I think you're amazing, you know?"

Poor Orion seemed more than a little concerned when they returned to their table, but Dritz smiled at him in a way he hoped was reassuring. He'd taken to Orion's messy, relaxed appearance and kind eyes almost instantly, and he truly wanted to keep their blossoming friendship healthy. However, he did think he would have sided with Vela were she unhappy. Of course he would have. He cared too deeply not to.

"We're a bit worried that Fera doesn't like us much. It just might be a bit of a struggle, yeah?" he said with a shrug. "But we want to stay friends. Maybe we could all... Spend some time together? Could be fun?"

When they finally returned to the table, Orion was able to relax somewhat. He had hoped they would actually come back, though he worried they wouldn't. But Dritz and Vela didn't seem the type to abandon him without so much as a farewell.

"Ah, great. Thank you both. I understand this might be difficult at times, but believe me when I say it's something we can handle and will be worthwhile in the end." At least, he hoped so. "As for whether Fera likes you... well. I can't speak for him. But I honestly think there's no reason he shouldn't. We'll work that out if needed."

He leaned back and blew out a long breath, thinking. "Yeah, actually meeting up is the first step. What about the hologardens? You've been there before, I'm sure? I can't decide if I should tell him about you beforehand. He might not come if he knows. But it would be just plain easier if he doesn't know, anyway. If that's alright... maybe tomorrow evening? I want to give you guys a chance to rest, too."

Pausing, he looked them over with a sheepish smile. "Stop me if I'm trying to plan this all out myself. I guess I'm a little stressed out by wanting this to go well."

Dritz pulled a face, not because of Orion, but because of the unexpected offense he felt at the idea that Fera hadn't even mentioned them, let alone given any indication of whether he liked them or not. Of course the prince would not be the type to do something like that, but Dritz still could not help feeling disappointed.

Nevertheless, Orion seemed to want them all to spend time together, which was nice to know. He knew they would be able to make the effort for him, even if doing so for Fera might be... difficult.

He glanced at Vela, his smile both soft and amused at the same time, "Ah, yes. We know the gardens well. I think that's a great idea, but do you have any objections, flower? And don't you worry, Ori, we will do our best to make this work."

The mention of the hologardens made Vela want to smile but frown at the same time. Of course she wanted to go there, but not with Fera around. Her fond memories of being there with Dritz didn't need to be tainted in the future. Still, it might be their best chance at some sort of reconciliation which, despite everything else, she did want. If they could get along with the prince then it would be for the best... but she couldn't imagine it happening.

[That's fine. We'll meet there tomorrow night.] After deciding on a time, and offering more reassurances that everything would be alright, they finally parted ways, with Dritz and Vela walking together slowly back to their rooms.

Vela didn't say anything for some time, keeping her hand in Dritz's and intertwining their fingers softly. She listened to him ramble a little about the meeting, and how things could have changed in the meantime, but after a while she decided it was better to focus on something else.

[Let's relax for a while,] she suggested to him once they were safely in their rooms. [I'm looking forward to resting while not traveling. Maybe... a bath before we go to bed?] With their new intimacy since their departure, there was an extra delight to the idea now which took her mind off annoying princes entirely.

As they retreated to their room, Dritz happily chatted away to Vela, who remained as quiet as usual, her hand tucked sweetly in his. He wondered idly if, could she speak aloud, she would remain so silent while they were together. It was strange but pleasant to never feel like she wasn't listening, even when she didn't respond. He was learning to take other cues from her body, guiding their conversation even while one wasn't speaking.

Their room was a welcome sight after so long. Of course, they had already dropped their things off, but they hadn't stuck around too long, so finally getting in and knowing they would be staying for the next night, without leaving, was bliss.

Vela's suggestion sounded anything but relaxing, however. Dritz's antennae rose in a low arc as he looked her over with a slight smirk. "Well, what a suggestion! One that I would be a damn fool to pass up," he said silkily, kissing her gently.

From Dritz's reaction, Vela knew her suggestion was very well received. She kissed him back, but wasted no time in leading him into the bathroom, where the clean bathtub awaited them. The staff at Hesperus was dutiful, she noted offhandedly, having already been in to remove the dust that would have accumulated since they left.

Leaning over the edge of the tub, she used the handles to adjust the temperature the way Dritz had taught her, making it hot but not too hot, and adding the mixture for the bubbling soap which she found so enjoyable. She was aware of the Chrysalan's eyes on her, followed closely by his hands, making her turn back to him with a fond but slightly teasing smile.

Slowly she began to remove her tunic, finding he was eager to assist her in the matter. Once her leggings also lay on the floor, she began tugging at his clothes to help him, her hands sliding across his skin in a way that betrayed her own eagerness.

However, at that point she stopped and eyed the tub critically. [How do we get in together?] she signed, not having considered that part yet.

Soon the bathroom was filled with the soft, sweet smell of the soap, and a warm haze of steam. Vela's pale skin shimmered in the light, and Dritz couldn't keep from laying his hands on her shoulders, brushing his fingers around to the small of her back before glancing at the bath as though he was only just noticing the tub.

"Hm. Well..." He hopped in, slipping into the water and taking her hand, pulling her in after him. He arranged her so she was kneeling between his legs, facing him, and brought her to rest against his chest. "How is this, flower? I'm thoroughly prepared to play around until we get it right," he said slyly.

Vela quickly decided there was not much nicer than her current situation. There simply couldn't be. The water was warm, the air itself was warm, and she was resting against Dritz, the softest and warmest individual she could imagine; she wouldn't want to imagine anyone else.

Unable to sign properly, she simply nodded, raising herself up a little in order to put her arms around his shoulders and kiss him softly, bringing a new and even more satisfying feeling of warmth to her body. His hands were brushing down her back again, and the added sensation of the water on them was somehow more pleasurable than she might have imagined. They continued to kiss as she moved again, feeling almost unable to stop herself.

-

The water had cooled off a bit, most of the soap having disappeared, by the time they left the tub. Vela took one of the towels and gently began to work at drying Dritz's body, even though she was currently dripping on the floor, which seemed to amuse him at the same time as he enjoyed it. They were both still a little flushed, she noticed, which was perhaps not surprising at all.

Dritz was chewing on his lower lip as Vela gently swept the towel over him. She seemed to be paying special attention to his stomach, which only served to amuse him. He grabbed another towel from the rail and opened it with a flourish, wrapping it around her shoulders as he kissed her forehead. "You're dripping everywhere," he sighed exaggeratedly, "Whatever will we do with you?"

He scooped her up in the towel, gently starting to dry her off and whispering, "I don't want you to get cold."

With a flirtatious smile, he carried her through to the bedroom, laying her on the bed and carefully drying her hair, following each brush of the towel with a gentle kiss to where it had been.

Vela shivered a little as Dritz spoke to her, though she was not actually cold. It was more of a pleasant feeling, having enjoyed a wonderful time and being sure there was more to come.

He carried her to the bed and set her down with the utmost care, beginning to dry the parts of her hair that had gotten wet, and she smiled as he kissed her at the same time. She would have never suspected this before, but it seemed she enjoyed being taken care of to a certain extent. Once they were both dry and the towels discarded on the floor to be picked up later, Vela lay facing Dritz on her side, though turned just enough so both arms were free to sign.

[We'll take another bath tomorrow night?] Her motions were lazy, as she still felt incredibly warm and relaxed. [I'm sure we'll need one, after dealing with Fera. Is it possible to take too many baths?] She hoped not. Taking her right hand, she traced her fingers along Dritz's collarbone and trailed them lower down his chest, enjoying how vibrant his skin appeared next to hers, as she usually did.

To his own surprise, Dritz let out an involuntary string of happy chirps as he relaxed under Vela's gentle touch. He laced his fingers with hers, smiling lazily.

"There is no such thing as too many baths, flower," he beamed, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her fingertips. He groaned, which crumpled into a slight giggle, "We're definitely gunna need some serious relaxation after time with our very, very favourite royalty."

He leaned up, propping himself on one elbow and stroked her jawline gently, his gaze trailing over her before he shifted closer and kissed her.

"For now, though, we won't think about that, hm?"

[Good.] Vela returned the kiss before resting on her back, smiling up at him as he leaned slightly over her. [The sounds you make are very... cute,] she signed, changing the subject immediately and trying out a word which was still new for her. [I wish I could say more, make more sounds. I'll practice soon.]

"Driss," she tried softly, thinking the 't' and 'z' were almost there now. [What should we think about instead?] Reaching up, she traced a finger over his lips and then placed it on her own, a form of indirect kiss which could be used when it was too cold to have skin exposed on Aurctas, though she hadn't thought of the motion in a long time. And it was difficult to think of not being able to be unclothed, at the moment.

Dritz shook his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed, but it was flattering to him that she found the noises he made to be cute. He smiled, further colour coming to his cheeks when she traced his lips.

"I... really like how you pronounce my name," he mumbled, clearly amused by it, but in such a way that it was clear he found it incredibly endearing. Her voice was soft and hesitant, and so pleasant the rare times he got to hear it. With a quick kiss to her forehead, his smile turned more playful, "Maybe we could think about our lovely bath instead."

He leaned down again and kissed her neck where it joined her shoulder, and down to her collarbone.

[the-vaporverse]

Starless Horizon RP File #19 (part B)

(Vela’s part in italics.)

At some point they had fallen asleep together; Vela was not sure what the time had been. She awoke fully rested as normal, but knew Dritz would sleep for hours more.

Before finding the datapad to keep herself occupied, however, she spent nearly an hour just resting with her head on Dritz's soft stomach, thinking over the events of the previous day once more. She could hear his snoring, but by now she usually didn't notice it and obviously wasn't bothered by it. Sometimes it even settled her nerves to listen to it.

When the morning light began to show through the room's one small window, she nestled herself close to him again to try to awaken him, nuzzling her face against his neck and giving him several soft, light kisses. She was actually quite eager to begin their day of meeting other Trelosians, though if Dritz was very tired she would be willing to wait.

Dritz could feel Vela's lithe, cool body against his side, and he was awake, but for whatever reason his voice wouldn't come to him, and when he tried to speak to her he only managed a light grunt. He rolled onto his side, very nearly rolling on top of her, had she not slipped out of the way.

"Mm," he mumbled again, pulling her into a big embrace, burrowing his face against her neck. "Is it time to get up?" He kissed her cheek and shoulder as he struggled to cling to wakefulness.

After around half an hour of cuddling, gentle encouraging nudges towards getting up, and checking they had both slept well, Dritz finally got up, donning his overalls once more, even though he was certain the most important meeting of theirs had already been. It would not hurt to keep up appearances. Adjusting the collar, he smiled at Vela, "So, we'll speak to some locals today? See if we can make some friends?"

It took a little time and a lot of cuddling, but Vela managed to rouse Dritz enough to finally get him up and dressed. She did the same, also wearing the same clothing as yesterday, which was something she was accustomed to doing in any case, and it hadn't gotten dirty in any way. Once again she admired his appearance in the overalls, helping him straighten the collar and smiling back. [Yes. I hope we find someone willing to talk to us, and that Arlin contacts us soon.]

In the end it did not take long at all; after they had returned to the dining hall for another delicious meal and were exiting the building, the inspector from the other day approached them in a bustling manner. "There you are. Arlin wants to see you again. You must have made a good impression, but then, she does enjoy talking to new folks. She's in the same place as before, if you remember."

Vela thanked him with the help of Dritz's interpretation, and they returned to the small area where they had last seen Arlin, who was sitting in the exact spot as she had been yesterday, watching them approach with an interested expression.

"You slept well? Good. It's good to see you this morning. I have thought over our situation in more detail since last night. I can't tell you anything new, but I do think it's best you speak to a variety of individuals to make yourselves known, at least in a general sense. It's alright to mention to them what your intentions are, but don't press too hard. Join me again this evening and tell me how it went, if you would be so kind."

She gave them general directions to some places they might visit, saying they would only need to mention her name if questioned by anyone. When they parted ways again, Vela found she was a little nervous.

[Do you really think anyone will be interested?] she signed to Dritz with a small frown, stopping their walk back into a more populated area. Apparently there was a sort of village nearby with transportation into a major settlement, and all of the appropriate maps were drawn up on his datapad.

Even considering how welcoming Arlin had been, it still surprised Dritz that the little Trelosian had wanted to see them again so soon. Someone must have alerted her to them being awake and roaming around once again.

The idea that they would need to speak to as many new folk as possible made sense. It would hardly be fair for such a close-knit community to have their future decided by one of them, and two off-worlders. Even large governing bodies like the overseers of Chrysala considered their people. On his home planet, the district overseers were very public figures, easily accessible at regular district open forums. It was reassuring to be dealing with something even remotely similar.

After agreeing to speak to as many of the Trelosians as they could manage, Dritz and Vela left Arlin's meeting place, stopping shortly in a lush, quiet area. He gave her a reassuring smile of his own, touching her shoulder, "I refuse to believe they would all be ignorant of another race's stability. We might encounter some indifference or mild hostility, but we expected some unhelpfulness from them, didn't we? There'll be some to listen, flower, I have faith. We'll be our charming selves!"

He gave her a wide grin and kissed her cheek before gesturing to continue.

Briefly Vela wondered where her sudden nervousness had come from, but thought it surely must be the situation in general being so foreign to her, along with her worry of nothing working out the way she would like. The confidence Dritz was able to show her was a reminder that they would be fine, and they were in this together. Without him, she knew this would have been difficult to near impossible. Of course, she might have met someone else, but the thought of it not being Dritz was something she didn't want to contemplate.

There was a little time before the transport would arrive, so they wandered about the village as they waited. The small houses were spaced far apart, with plenty of farm land between, but were still within sight of each other. They seemed to favor practicality over anything else, with next to no decoration. There was still a warm feeling to it, which Vela couldn't sufficiently describe.

Many of the Trelosians, working on their land or smaller gardens, gave them odd looks without approaching. Vela had decided the first they would talk to would be one who showed an interest in them. It wasn't long until one did approach, and she attempted a smile even though they looked a bit suspicious.

"Traders? It's too early in the season. We won't have anything for you." The Trelosian squinted at them before looking them up and down with sudden interest. "I've never seen anyone like you here before."

[I'm sorry, we're not traders,] Vela signed, watching as the Trelosian's eyes widened in confusion. [My name is Vela, of Aurctas, and this is Dritz, of Chrysala. We've traveled here to learn more about Trelos and its people, and we've already been in discussion with one of your leaders, Arlin. Would you mind if we asked you some questions? Unless you are too busy, of course. We don't want to bother you.] Dritz was already starting to translate, as well as mentioning the significance of her hand movements, and Vela felt herself tense in anticipation in case this Trelosian refused to interact with them.

With the planet's climate being so similar in temperature and humidity to Chrysala, Dritz found himself quietly contemplating how his home world used to be, with much more plant life growing freely, before the buildings and industry took over and they had to take pains to avoid wiping out their plants altogether. It was nice to see it all growing so freely, almost encouraged to break from any confines other than the farmland.

Of course, it could never be long before they were spotted and approached. They had both been expecting it; on a planet that only saw traders some of the time, it would be incredibly weird for two such as themselves to be seen just roaming.

He smiled warmly at the Trelosian, making short work of explaining, with signing of his own as well, who they were, and what it was they were doing there. "May I ask your name, friend? I always like to know who I'm speaking to," he added in a friendly tone.

"Jern," the Trelosian replied briefly, still apparently trying to figure out the two of them and what exactly they were saying. "My name is Jern. Ah... nice to meet you." He squinted again, before finally shrugging. "That's interesting. Not sure why anyone would want to come here unless it was to trade. We live a simple life farming on Trelos, and I feel like that's all there is to know."

[You may think it's simple, but it's also admirable. Trelos is a wonderful planet. What is it that you do here?] Vela gestured around to what she assumed was Jern's farm, and the village as a whole, waiting for Dritz to translate.

"Well, this is one of the smaller communities of farmers. Most of us are farmers, you know. But here we grow more specialty crops, while large communities produce most of our trade goods on their farms. I prefer life here, a little slower than on a large farm." Jern seemed enthusiastic enough to talk about it, but he also looked tired, with a continued wariness of them. Vela smiled again, trying to put him at ease.

[I see. Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy life here. My own people are actually in search of a new home to share with another species, and Trelos is one we'd like to consider.] It was better to talk as though the Aurians were already in favor of the idea, for now. [We discussed it with Arlin, and know there will need to be many talks among the leaders and people of Trelos before a decision is made. What do you think of the general idea?]

"I don't know." Jern sounded even more wary now, his focus shifting to Dritz as the one who could actually talk and answer him. "Why here? Are these Aurians desperate?"

Stepping away from his role as translator (which, admittedly, he was enjoying greatly; it made him feel important), Dritz shook his head.

"Desperation would not paint Trelos in a favourable light, would it, Jern?" he said cheerfully. "I prefer to think of it as a smart choice on the part of the Aurians. They're a hardworking people and would want nothing more than to contribute to, and build a society with those who accept them. Trelos is a thriving planet with the potential to accommodate and provide jobs for them to make their own lives easier. Auctas is a harsh planet that is no longer providing for them, and mere survival is not life, is it? Even on Chrysala we recognise the importance of a balance between work and down time. And we love work!" He chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets. He wanted to keep his tone light despite the severity of the situation being made clear in his explanation.

"It seems to me that the Aurians making a home for themselves with your people would be mutually beneficial. More trade, a larger work force, more activity and community... Sounds nice, doesn't it?"

It seemed Jern was at least mulling over what Dritz was saying, his head tilted though still frowning. Vela was once again glad for the Chrysalan's presence and grasp of the situation, added to his ability to speak aloud and put her thoughts directly into words without her having to sign first. He understood how she felt so well that he was even saying things she might have said herself.

"I guess I understand," the Trelosian said slowly, not sounding convinced. "So the Aurians are facing what amounts to the death of their world... We were in the same place, once. Of course that wasn't even near my lifetime. But even if that's true... It doesn't mean the Aurians are well-suited to Trelos, or living in our communities. Plus they..." He hesistated, glancing at Vela, then apparently deciding to speak his mind. "They can't even talk aloud. We don't know that sign language."

[We could teach you,] Vela signed, trying not to feel discouraged. [And we could also learn to speak aloud. It's possible, given time.] She didn't want to demonstrate, thinking her few poor attempts at words would not make a very good impression.

"I just don't know," Jern told them after Dritz had translated again. "I need to think about whether I would like it or not. Maybe discuss it with others in this village? You have our leaders to get through, first. But I can see what everyone else thinks. I just can't promise anything. I think our lives are fine as they are, and I'm not sure we need anything else."

It wasn't too much longer before they said their farewells and left the Trelosian behind, as Vela and Dritz needed to head for the transport. She didn't try speaking to him as they walked, turning her head slightly to one side and pretending to study more of the foliage.

Jern had said the Aurians might not be needed. If he was a typical Trelosian, then...

[It is quite easy to learn,] Dritz signed back eagerly as he said it aloud at the same time. "Don't let a language barrier be the reason your worlds can't integrate! I am not naturally gifted with languages, but I have managed to learn quite a lot of Aurian in a few months. Enough to be translating for my companion, even!"

Dritz did his best not to look disheartened as he listened to Jern, nodding sagely. He did appreciate what the Trelosian was saying, but individuals that were so stuck in their ways upset and frustrated him. He was lucky enough to have seen so much embracing of change on Chrysala, and he believed it had bettered all of them. Of course, there were those resistant to change wherever he went, but those who rejected it ended up left behind...

It wouldn't do to say something to severe, though.

Instead, he waited until they were alone and threw his arm around Vela, pulling her close to him, "That's only one Trelosian. There's loads of them; we just need a couple on our side, and a couple will become many." He looked over at her and smiled before kissing her cheek.

Dritz was right: it was only one Trelosian. Jern would talk to others, who might have different views and be able to persuade him far easier than Dritz and herself. She finally gave the Chrysalan as confident of a smile as she could manage as she slipped her own arm around him in return. They walked together comfortably as they made their way to the transport station, still drawing stares, but Vela ignored them for the moment.

She hadn't known exactly what to expect in regard to the transport, as very little was actually documented about Trelosian technology. The sight of the long machine, made of a light-colored metal which shone in the sunlight, certainly made her pause. It was roughly cylindrical in shape with a flattened tail and no wheels that she could see, likely meaning it flew above the ground.

There was no one else at the station, and the transport operator was looking at a datapad and not even paying attention to their approach. They began saying something in Trelosian without glancing up, then gave a start when they looked to see why there was no response.

"Oh... traders. Strange. Off-season?" It took a few minutes of explaining, but the Trelosian finally accepted they were there on other business and under the authority of Arlin. "City hub, I'm assuming?"

Dritz and Vela agreed, entering the transport through a narrow door on one side. The operator sat very near the front while they sat on one of the rows of seats toward the middle of the vehicle. Vela was glad they were alone, especially when the transport jolted abruptly.

"Hold on," the operator called back as a sort of afterthought, alarming her further. There were no safety devices to hold them in the seats. As the transport left the ground, it took off at surprising speed.

Dritz was sitting by the window, and Vela threw her arms around him for stability against the motion of the vehicle, squeezing her good eye shut for the moment. Flying on the Nova was one thing, but this was very strange for her.

The Trelosian transport vessel was strange to Dritz, with the open carriage compartments and the conductor's controls out in the open. Of course the public transport would be different to the shuttles on Chrysala, but he couldn't help but note how different. Back home, the shuttles would hold a maximum of thirty people during the busiest hours, and ran regularly from district to district, but nothing ran within the district limits, and one would have to find another way from place to place; on foot. He couldn't help but sit by the window and watch the greenery whoosh by in dark streaks. Until he felt Vela squash against him, and when he looked she had her eyes closed.

"Everything okay, flower?" he asked, sounding somewhat panicked as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly and stroking her hair. His voice lowered to a soft and gentle buzz and he stroked her cheekbone, "Hey, if you slowly and carefully look up and out of the window, we have a pretty view at the moment. But you gotta look at the horizon, nothing close, okay? It's going by really fast, but the horizon looks slower."

The transport was simply going too fast. That had to be all it was. If it was slower, Vela felt sure she wouldn't be having this problem.

Dritz was nothing but caring and comforting toward her, as he always was during any situation she seemed distraught. After a little while with his arms around her, she nodded and managed to slowly lift her head toward the window.

Her left eye opening just a crack, she looked out toward the horizon as best she could. The Trelosian sky was its lovely shade of pale yellow, with many green plants just underneath it going by in such a blur that it almost looked solid. It was pretty, but she made the mistake of shifting her eye a little closer and immediately became very dizzy.

[It's nice,] she signed shakily, [but I don't think I should look. The speed is upsetting my mechanical eye and making me dizzy. Transports aren't... like this on every planet, are they? Like yours?] Another wave of dizziness washed over her, and she gave up keeping her eye open to cling tightly onto Dritz again instead.

"No, no, flower, the transports I've experienced have all been much slower than this," Dritz cooed, stroking her hair. Truthfully, even he was startled by the speed of the shuttle.

Holding her head gently against his chest, her kept her steady to avoid her becoming dizzier.

"On Chrysala, there's transport between districts, and the biggest cities, but mostly we walk in built up areas," he told her, hoping his chatter might help her focus on something else, "Some folks have bikes to get around, and there are small roads in bigger towns, but as the buildings got denser, and more and more places built up, we decided it was better to have as little traffic as possible. And there are moving walkways in some places that are known to house older citizens. Those moving walkways also lead to the farmlands, like a big moving bridge. I'm actually looking forward to having you come to Chrysala one day!" He rambled about his home planet, leaving no detail unexplained, until they arrived.

Relieved when Dritz reassured her that Chrysalan transports were slower, Vela kept her eyes shut, grateful for the way he held her head so gently and close. She listened with fascination, able to forget about her dizziness for the most part until the vehicle had finally slowed to a stop.

[I want to go there,] she signed after she felt capable of letting go, giving Dritz a weak smile. [It sounds wonderful to see, and so different from Aurctas.] She had to wonder whether the reason she wanted to see it so badly was that very difference itself, or the fact that she wanted to know as much as possible about Dritz and his life.

They made their way off the transport to find themselves in what the Trelosians were calling a "city," though Vela wondered if it was anything like what Dritz had experience with. A lot of the buildings were the same as in the village, but there seemed to be more of them, spaced more closely together and bordered by dirt paths. They had fully intended to wander the area and see who there was to talk to with the use of a map on the datapad, but they had barely gotten out of sight of the transport station before a Trelosian approached them.

This one was dressed in the same style of clothing than Jern had been, though in slightly brighter colors. This led Vela to either believe it was a class difference or perhaps a gender difference. They were quite calm and matter of fact, dividing their gaze evenly between the two. "You are welcome, traders, though you are early. Perhaps you wish to see the volume our storehouses can contain? There are many who feel our population can't possible produce enough for decent trade, so to wish to see that in advance is not offensive. The main farmland surrounds the city in a wide ring; it's possible to see how large it is when flying overhead. My name is Terin, and I can assist you in any other way you might require."

This entire dialogue had seemed well-practiced and familiar to Terin, who must surely be in charge of seeing to the interests of visiting traders. Vela hesitated a moment, glancing at Dritz before shaking her head. [I'm sorry, but we aren't traders. We're here to learn more about you and your planet, however. I am Vela and this is Dritz, from Aurctas and Chrysala. We do have another mission of incredible importance which we have already discussed with one of your leaders, Arlin.] She allowed Dritz to take over, noting the way Terin was eyeing her motions closely.

Thankfully, with the speed of the transport, it did not take long for them to arrive, though Dritz would have been perfectly contented to stay there and keep Vela calm and close. He enjoyed her resting against his chest.

When they finally made it, however, he found himself slightly confused. The city seemed to be little more than a cramped version of the village, but then, he supposed that was exactly what a city was.

Terin, or so they introduced themselves, seemed very businesslike in their mannerisms, and had they actually been on trade business, Dritz would have immediately taken to them and been impressed. As it happened, he was more concerned for their unusual request.

"Greetings, Terin. And what a lovely greeting it was! Sadly, however, we are not traders. Allow me to introduce my companion, Vela of Aurctas. The Aurian language is not spoken, as you can see, so I am here to act as a translator. I'm Dritz, and my heritage is probably obvious to you if you're aware of Chrysala. We are here with the hopes of learning more about yourselves and your beautiful planet. Is there anywhere you might suggest we start?"

"You're not traders." Terin sounded more surprised and confused than anything else, putting Vela on her guard. It was as though the Trelosian didn't understand how they could be anything else. "I'm not sure why you would want to learn anything, you could look up the information on your own..."

Terin was already backing away from them as Vela watched sadly. "I don't think I can help you. There are others, surely...."

[I'm sorry,] Vela signed as Dritz immediately began to translate for her. [We will look for help elsewhere, but thank you for your time.] They allowed Terin to melt back into the city, and Vela felt the first traces of frustration coming over her. The Trelosian had been helpful enough, but couldn't come to terms with them beyond what their roles might be. She didn't say anything to Dritz but began to march on through the city, unaware that he was beginning to look a little worried too.

Several other Trelosians showed minimal interest in them, but ultimately didn't show any particular inclination to help. Vela was beginning to wonder if they were wasting their time in this city, when they spotted a much smaller Trelosian wandering across one of the dirt roads. She didn't know much about children, as her area of Aurctas didn't have any after she had grown up.

At first she thought she would pass by, but the child Trelosian was actually quick to approach them once noticed. "What are you?" they asked in innocent awe, as well as perfect Basic. Flustered, Vela turned to Dritz without trying to explain herself.

Once Terin had made up their mind to leave, it was obvious that Vela was beginning to fret more. Truthfully, so was Dritz. The Trelosian had almost seemed frightened of them. It seemed bizarre to be scared of the two of them, but he supposed it was more that they did not know, or could not understand, their business or reasons for being on the planet.

It was some time before they found another willing to even listen, and even then they could not help them in any way. Then a small child approached, and Dritz beamed, clapping his hands together and crouching in front of the young Trelosian.

"Hi there! My name's Dritz, and this is Vela. We're very pleased to meet you," he said brightly, "Who are you?"

"Pleased to meet you," the small Trelosian repeated faintly, though Vela wasn't sure if it was because they remembered some form of manners, or were just repeating Dritz's words. "Your names sound funny. Mine is Marin."

Marin wasn't showing any fear of them, but Vela remained unsure that talking to a child was going to help further their cause. At the same time, Dritz seemed engaged and enjoying himself, and she supposed there was no real harm. And who was to say whether it would truly help or not?

[Hello. Dritz is correct, we are pleased to meet you. Your name is nice,] she signed awkwardly, unsure of what to say in any case.

"Did she talk to me?" Marin asked Dritz after watching Vela closely. "She's pretty, but strange too. And you are very strange," She reached up as though to touch Dritz's antennae, then seemed to realize she shouldn't. "Why don't you look like me?"

Dritz laughed and nodded, "I guess they are a bit funny! I think Marin is a pretty name, though." He crouched down to face her properly, as he did with his many younger siblings.

"She did talk to you, yeah! My friend here is from Aurctas, which is super, super far away. And I'm from Chrysala. I bet a clever kid like you knows where that is though! Anyway, my friend doesn't have a spoken language like we do, so she speaks with her hands. Isn't that cool?" He showed her a gesture, "This is how you say 'hello'. Vela said she's pleased to meet you, and that she likes your name too."

He glanced up at Vela with a beam. Having a lot of young siblings meant that he loved interacting with children.

"Well, we don't look alike because we're from so many different places," he explained, "You're definitely clever to observe such a thing so astutely. Did you want to touch my antennae? You held your hand up. If you want to, you can, but you gotta be gentle, since they are important for a Chrysalan." He chuckled, his antennae waving in a relaxed manner.

Watching Dritz with Marin had a relaxing quality to it. This softened Vela to the point where she simply stood and listened without offering any further input for the moment.

"Aurctas," Marin repeated, sounding a little confused about it. "Chrysala. I remember that one. But I didn't know what you look like. Funny." She repeated the gesture for "hello" almost absently, though she did get it right.

"Can I?" Most of her childlike attention seemed held by Dritz's antennae, and Vela watched with a smile as she reached up and gingerly touched one, then the other, mouth open in curiosity. "They move," she whispered. "Can you see in the dark with them?"

Marin didn't understand the amused reaction this received, but it didn't take long for her to move on to another topic. "Why are you here? Does she want to live here?" The young Trelosian was looking at Vela now, and she had the sense that this might be more of an important conversation than she had originally realized.

Dritz couldn't help the burst of laughter as Marin asked if he could see in the dark with his antennae. He shook his head, "No, but that is a good question! Maybe a long time ago when we were still biiig bugs, huh? These days they don't have that much function." He plopped down on the floor to look at Marin with a slightly more serious expression.

"Well, that's another very good question. Aurctas is very far away, and it isn't a very kind planet. Trelos has pretty plants and a nice, warm temperature, right? Well Aurctas is very, very cold, and doesn't have much plants, so the Aurians, who live there, don't have much to eat or the means to build much. They have real hard lives. That's sad, right?" he explained, slowly and kindly. "So we're looking for somewhere that the Aurians might be able to go to have a nicer life. They want to work hard and be warm and welcomed. But we need help from the Trelosians, like you."

"Cold?" Marin repeated. "I don't know what that is, but if it's not nice... the Aurians should come live here. We have lots of room. My father told me half of Trelos is just plants with no one living there. And my mother said once that she thinks it's kind of boring here sometimes... But don't tell anyone. That was a secret."

The young Trelosian had seemed to naturally shift herself toward Dritz when he sat down, and was soon leaning against his leg and looking up at him in earnest. "It's nice here. There's more than enough for everyone. Do the Aurians... do they have children? Someone I could play with too?"

Vela had been unable to stop smiling during this entire exchange, though her expression softened further as Marin expressed her childlike desire for the Aurians to live on Trelos. [I wish it would be that easy,] she added so that Dritz could see. [There are Aurian children, but probably not as many as the Trelosians have. You would have to teach them how to play. I'm not sure they know how.] Undeniably, a thin mist had come across Vela's normal eye as she spoke. If only it really could be that simple.

Dritz made a motion over his mouth to indicate that he would not ever tell such a deep secret before smiling. Marin had been the most accommodating of the Trelosians so far, it was just such a shame that she held no real power to allow them to integrate the Aurians there.

What came next proved difficult. Dritz's smile turned sad as he explained what Vela had said. "Remember how I said that the Aurians have a really hard life? Well, Vela says that the kids might not know how to play any games, so you'd need to help them. There also isn't many of them," he said softly, reaching up to touch Vela's hand gently. "It makes my friend sad, because she wants them to play. Would you be able to teach them, huh? If the Aurians came here? You'd look after the other kids and show them how to play lots of games, wouldn't you? I bet you know so many fun ones."

A small piece of the Chrysalan's heart felt as though it was breaking. He knew, or he ought to, that the Aurian lives were so different as to have bizarrely mature children, but the thought was not one he liked entertaining.

Even Marin was starting to look sad now as Dritz explained to her about the young Aurians. Yet it seemed she had a strong spirit, for she was soon leaning over further and giving as determined of a nod as a small child could.

"That's too bad they don't know how to play any games. I can teach them. And my friends can too. We know a lot of games! They're fun." It seemed she was excited about the idea, and Vela thought it best to remind her through Dritz that there was only a small chance the Aurians could come live here. This didn't seem to alter much of Marin's enthusiasm, however.

"I'll tell my parents about it. They always know what to do. And they can talk to our leaders. I want to help." Vela was so touched by all of this that she found she didn't know quite what to say. But Marin had jumped up eagerly and was patting Dritz on the shoulder, then touching Vela's hand shyly. "I have to go. I was supposed to be heading home anyway... they'll worry. But I'll tell them. They always believe me. So please come back again someday, okay?"

It was difficult to even get in a goodbye before Marin had run off. Vela looked down at Dritz, offering her hand as he stood up before signing, [I wish all Trelosians were so easy to convince. This young one was lovely.] She put her arms around him gently, feeling more hope even though she knew nothing might come of it.

The little Trelosian wasted no time in bounding off in the most adorable way, reminding Dritz very much of his closest sister, who was just as bright eyed and curious, and bold with her words. He watched her go with a brighter smile.

"What a sweetie," he muttered, taking Vela's hand (though he made sure not to use her to lift himself, fearing she might simply fall on top of him) and standing. He gladly leaned into the embrace, wrapping the Aurian in his arms with a happy sigh, "It's nice to have a little spark of positivity. You seem happier too. Thing is though, flower, children are persuasive. They see things for what they are, and I think Marin will pester her family until she's heard." He laughed, resting his forehead against hers.

Vela closed her eye for a time, content to stay just as they were, and almost needing it. It was good to think of Marin possibly being of some help, even if not right away. Jern would be talking to others, and even if no one else in this city were to listen to them, Marin would tell her parents and possibly her friends, who could also speak to their parents. Dritz was correct that she did feel happier; the incident had reminded her that not all hope was lost.

[You were very good with her,] Vela signed as they resumed their walking at last. [I admit I don't know much about children, there weren't any nearby when I had grown up. Is it because of your siblings that you knew how to talk to her so well? How many of them are children now?] Her curiosity about Dritz and his life had returned, meaning she had to know the answers now without saving her questions for another time.

Dritz chuckled. "I suppose, yeah. I just like kids, they're so... accepting. They have their questions, but it's never harsh or judgmental. They just have their own ways of understanding things, and they don't hold grudges or prejudices. It's amazing," he said thoughtfully, sliding his fingers with Vela's, holding her hand as they walked.

Looking slightly sheepish, Dritz did a quick count in his head, "I guess... there's maybe two that are still very little, like Marin's sort of age, and then a couple of teens, and another my age, but they're only my immediate siblings. My mother and her primary partner both have several others, so I have a lot of them! I'm one of the oldest though. Did you grow up around other children?" He turned to her with a soft expression, hoping she would say yes, so she could have at least experienced time with others her own age.

[I wonder if all children everywhere are like that,] Vela signed reflectively, letting go of Dritz's hand for the moment, but finding herself drifting back to it whenever she stopped talking.

[That is a lot.] She was a little bewildered by the concept, but understood it was different for other species. [I think I mentioned that we don't form family units. I would know if I'm related to someone, but other than that... Yes, there were two others with me. One I was very close to, and thought would leave Aurctas with me when the time came.] The only way she felt able to express her sadness over the loss of her friend was to shake her head slowly. [The other was quite aloof from us. But I suppose it was simply a differing personality, not any actual dislike.]

For the moment she felt she would rather focus on Dritz than her own history. [How do Chrysalans live with more than one partner and family? All in the same place, or do they divide their time? Did you have to look after the ones younger than you? Are you good friends with any of them, like the one who is your age?] The flurry of questions she put to him might not have been appropriate to their current situation, but Vela thought they had the time, and by now she was engrossed in the topic.

"I dunno," the Chrysalan mused, "I think that sort of thing depends on how their lives are... I've heard about places where the children are delinquents, and almost run things on the planet. Or maybe that was a story... " He shrugged, chuckling. "Either way, I don't think all children are the same, sadly. Most, though."

The idea of no family unit did make Dritz somewhat sad, but he had decided a while ago that the differences between himself and Vela were what made them interesting, and unless something made her sad, he would try to accept it. "It's a shame the other kid didn't want to be friends, but... I guess in such a difficult environment I probably wouldn't be so cheerful either."

He smiled, gesturing as he spoke, though it was abstract movement, talking with his free hand as opposed to directing or indicating anything, "Well, sometimes they all live together, but I know my parents didn't really have the space or money to do that. We would have a regular gathering of everyone, though, with everyone bringing food so no one had to do all of the cooking for such a large group." He couldn't help but laugh as he tried to think about all the questions she had given him. “Kli, he's my age... we get along well. To see us side by side, you wouldn't believe we were related apart from a similar skin tone, though. But yeah, everyone pitches in with daily care. Tvie took to me really quickly... I'm not sure why, but she followed me everywhere for a while, it was pretty cute. I think you'll like her, I know she'll like you."

Vela listened raptly to everything Dritz said, from the concept of children running a planet, to the details of Chrysalan home life and information about some of his siblings. It was all incredibly fascinating to her, and she was absorbed in it in spite of herself.

[It's nice to think of everyone getting along so well,] she signed with a smile. [I imagine having multiple partners and different children between them must be quite... different than anything I know. Aurians are very devoted to their one partner, even if the idea of a family doesn't extend to children.] She wondered briefly whether that could change if they did move to Trelos, thinking it might be nice if so.

[They all sound wonderful. I would like to meet them. I want to see those who are close to you. But they may think I'm odd. What would make the little one like me?] She wanted to believe what Dritz was saying was true, but she did have concerns otherwise.

Wrapping an arm around Vela and kissing her temple, relishing the soft tickle of her pale hair against his nose, Dritz chuckled softly, "And I always thought that the idea of being devoted to a single person would be odd, as it's different to everything I know. I mean, some Chrysalans are just devoted to their primary, and they're completely happy with that, but I never thought that'd be me 'til I met you." He squeezed her to him gently, beaming.

He kissed her again for reassurance. "She's a very curious little thing, she will be utterly fascinated by your language. I bet she'll want to learn it. She'll like your hair too, I think. While everything 'fashionable' on Chrysala right now is very colourful, she really likes the sort of pale colours, and it's really rare to see very, very light hair on us. I hope you will like them all. Tvie will have maaany questions for you, I'm sure!"

They walked quietly for a bit longer, before he asked, "Are you nervous to go to Chrysala? You seem to be pretty worried about my family finding you unusual... I just don't like the thought of you being uncomfortable."

Vela was enjoying the feeling of Dritz being close to her, and managed to return some of his kisses. She nodded in understanding, while still thinking that if he found someone else he wanted to be with as well, she would easily be able to accept that.

The reasons Tvie would be interested in her were surprising, but made Vela feel better about getting to meet her. If she was not completely odd, and in fact had some attractive qualities to the Chrysalans, it would only help. Her desire to fit in among them was also strange to her. It shouldn't matter, but...

[I know I will like them,] she finally signed once her arm was free again. [I guess I am a little nervous. It was a problem I encountered before I left my home. I was worried that I would be unable to integrate with anyone else. But you find my presence enjoyable. I think Orion did, too. That prince from Coronus...] She made a very dismissive gesture. [But I know not everyone will like me. I feel as though your family will be accepting, as they taught you to be accepting. Or I hope so. You know them best.]

She gave Dritz the slightest smile, thinking it best they return to the task at hand for now. [Do you want to continue our search?]

Dritz couldn't help the smirk that came across his lips when Vela mentioned the prince of Coronus. "Ah, I dunno that Fera likes anyone, flower, I wouldn't worry about his opinion too much. Orion definitely seemed to like you, though. I think he liked your language a lot, or he certainly seemed to. I can understand you feeling nervous though," he said. Wanting to give her the space to speak, but still wanting to be close to her, Dritz let his hand rest at the small of her back, his fingers stroking lightly as they went.

"We should continue. Marin has given me some more hope that we will find Aurians willing to speak to us, to listen and to be enthusiastic. Perhaps none will be as enthusiastic as she was, but it's a start," he chuckled.

Dritz's words proved true; they found no other Trelosian as enthusiastic or willing to talk as Marin had been that day, or even the next day. It was not for lack of trying, as they traveled in a fairly wide area to speak to as many citizens as possible. There were also a couple of meetings with leaders other than Arlin, but they seemed incredibly conservative in their responses and general attitude. Overall, some promised to think more about it, but it appeared the majority didn't find the idea of the Aurians to be of much particular interest.

At the end of the third day, as Arlin had decided, Vela and Dritz met with the elderly Trelosian leader a final time before they would depart in the morning. Even remembering Marin, Vela was feeling reserved and not much like conversation unless necessary. She would add her input, but only if it was important.

"Ah, there you are," Arlin spoke with a smile as they approached. The evening was just beginning to dim, the sky darkening into its more golden color and a soft wind beginning to pick up and move through the foliage to create a rustling which surrounded them. It was the same place they had always met, and they sat on the now familiar benches near Arlin after greeting her.

"So. For three days you have done what you could. And I'm sure you did the very best you could." Arlin's voice was kind, but Vela kept her eyes fixed on a clump of greenish flowers growing near her feet. The blossoms were nodding along with the breeze in a way which was oddly comforting.  "What have you learned during your stay here?"

It was not a question Vela had thought to be asked. She frowned a little, giving Dritz a glance to let him know he could speak first.

Sadly, there were a lot of disappointing conversations filling their time, even if not all of them were terribly negative. The most upsetting part was that Vela had clearly been hoping for so much more. It pained Dritz that he couldn't just hand her these things she wanted for her people.

Arlin's face remained a warm and friendly one, however, and she was a considerable comfort to see. Dritz tried to keep their meeting casual, as he felt Arlin had become a friend to them, leaning back on the bench with one hand supporting him, though he was keeping his voice fairly formal.

"The Trelosians do seem to want to keep themselves to themselves. Isolation is not the correct way to put it, but it's the closest thing I can think of at the moment," he said carefully, glancing at Vela, "I don't mind saying, I'm pretty disappointed, but... I suppose everyone has their own troubles, don't they? There were a few who were a bit more open to us, though, and they were great. You yourself have been a welcoming beacon of encouragement to us."

"I see. That's not unexpected." Arlin didn't sound disappointed, which surprised Vela somewhat. She finally did glance up in curiosity at the older Trelosian, seeing she was watching and likely awaiting some input from her as well. "Isolation is close. The truth that many don't want to recognize is that we need help on this planet, and it's not going to come from within."

[There were a few who seemed intrigued,] Vela signed abruptly, with Dritz translating. [I appreciate them, but I wonder if it was enough. Those few are not... influential in the community.]

"Ah, but you never know," Arlin replied briskly. "Change can be born of the tiniest spark. It will just need time to grow." Her gaze was now firmly fixed on Vela, who looked back curiously. "There are mutterings of you spreading to all inhabited areas of our lands already, in just three days. I would say your visit was constructive. Perhaps returning to your starting point for now and planning further would be best. And a few conversations with the Aurians themselves, and the Chrysalans, hm? You are attempting a wonderful thing for your people, and I believe you have done well. From the bottom of my heart, I would also like to thank you."

Arlin actually moved from her bench then, standing to bow to them. This startled Vela so much that she quickly stood and bowed too. [You have my welcome, and also my thanks. I will continue to hold onto my hope as much as possible.]

Dritz listened with a soft smile, watching Vela and Arlin interacting, helping Vela with the odd translation when he was needed. The old Trelosian had been so kind to them, so helpful, and her words stoked the flickering embers of his hope for the Aurians and Trelos. That they were even beginning to discuss the newcomers was promising in itself. He agreed that they now needed to make sure they followed through on it; speaking to the Aurians to start persuading them that the move would save them, and see if the Chrysalan authorities would be willing to assist. Dritz still believed they would have some luck in that endeavour.

He too stood when Vela did, bowing to Arlin as well. He couldn't help but take her small hands in his and hold them gently, "As will we, ma'am. You are a credit to your people. If there's anything at all I, personally, could ever do to aid you or Trelos in return for your hospitality, please contact me."

"I certainly will," Arlin replied, her own smile rather wide. "Not to place any pressure, but I might be counting on you to start bringing about this union of our species so that I can pass from this world with a peaceful soul. I am old, and don't think I could make an extended trip across space to see to it myself."

The Trelosian withdrew momentarily before reaching into a pocket of her robes and retrieving a small device which Vela didn't recognize. As it was handed to her, she studied the roughly oval piece of metal, smaller than her palm, which had several switches and buttons along the side. "It's a form of communication device our few scientists developed recently," Arlin explained, showing them how it was used. "I have another one. We can use them to keep in contact over the enormous distance between us, though be aware that it will take a matter of hours for messages to be transmitted. Even so, it's rather remarkable, don't you think? We have the capability for so much more, but we will need the Aurians to help us. Do let me know if there is any notable news. Farewell, and good luck on your own union."

Vela wasn't sure what Arlin was referring to until she caught the look that went between herself and Dritz. Then she smiled awkwardly, giving another bow. [We look forward to working together, I think. Thank you again for all you have done, and take care of yourself.] Dritz translated and added his own goodbye, and soon they were walking away together, back in the direction of the hangar, their personal items already having been moved from their room back to the Nova.

[It went well,] Vela signed as they walked, turning slightly toward Dritz. [Better than I might have hoped for. I will try to remain optimistic, though there were disappointments I won't easily forget. But thank you for coming here with me. Without you, I...] She hesitated to finish that statement, instead slipping her hand into his and intertwining their fingers, squeezing tightly.

Dritz once again thanked Arlin, for the comms device, her kind acknowledgment of their coupling, her hospitality for the umpteenth time, and was eventually steered away by Vela.

They walked slowly, Dritz idly toying with Vela's hand, not holding it, but just hooking his fingers in hers, stroking her palm. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but with you, flower," he said softly, leaning in and kissing her cheek, returning the gentle squeeze of their hands. "We will continue to work this out."

He cupped her face and kissed her softly before pulling her into his arms, "I promise we can do this."

[the-vaporverse]

Starless Horizon RP File #17

(Vela’s part in italics.)

It was only a few hours later when she awoke, refreshed. Dritz had moved in his sleep, flopping over on his back, and Vela took a moment to move over and gently kiss his cheek before getting out of bed and beginning to finish the last of the preparations. With everything packed and set by the door, she retrieved the datapad and got back into bed, curling up against the snoring Chrysalan as she began to read through her latest subject of interest.

When she knew Dritz would awaken in roughly an hour, she dressed and quietly left to obtain them some breakfast. Two steaming hot bowls of a thick, delicious porridge he had treated her to last week seemed the perfect choice, and would be welcomed against the thought of his dreaded "space food" soon to come.

She returned with the covered bowls and left them on the bedside table before crawling over to him once more, cuddling against him and nuzzling at his neck with a few light kisses.

Dritz stirred slowly, rubbing his face and chirping in the back of his throat. Still drowsy, he rolled over, pinning Vela down under him, though he was in enough of a mind to support himself either side so he didn't rest his full weight on her.

"Got you," he slurred into the nape of her neck. "No escape."

He remained there for a long time, his breathing becoming softer and more even, making it seem as though he had fallen asleep again, until his antennae unfurled and perked up. He looked up, seeming more awake.

"Did you get breakfast already? Something smells so good...!" he said brightly.

Dritz rolling on top of her had been slightly unexpected, but Vela was more amused than surprised, in the end. He was actually being careful not to put too much weight on her, and it was quite a pleasant feeling. She smiled as he spoke against her neck, laying still and patiently to see if he would rouse on his own. Plus, if she had thought their cuddling last night had been warm... this was even better.

When he spoke again, seeming much more awake, Vela smiled and nodded. She waited for him to move off her so that she could sign, [Yes. It's that porridge from last week, the one you like so much. I thought you would probably be missing it soon.]

Moving toward the table, she took both bowls and handed one to Dritz. The warm scent of spices drifted out even more when she took the lid off her own and picked up the spoon which fit inside it. They might as well eat in bed, or so she had thought to herself.

Everything about the Chrysalan brightened even further when Vela handed him a bowl of porridge. He beamed, eagerly opening the lid and taking a few gleeful spoonfuls of it, almost as though he was worried it would be taken from him. After a moment of cheerful chewing, he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you! This is an amazing thing to wake up to," he gushed. "And an even better thing to wake up to and enjoy in bed." He thought about winking at her after such a delightful double entendre, but he thought she might not understand, and that was, frankly, incredibly endearing.

"You sleep okay? We ready to get going as soon as I'm dressed?" he asked, before smiling more softly, "You must be excited."

Glad that Dritz seemed to appreciate the fact they could eat in bed after it had been her idea, Vela's smile widened. She nodded as he kissed her, hands busy with holding her bowl and spoon. After eating a while, however, she had to set them down and sign.

[I did. Everything is ready, we just need to carry the last bags to the ship.] She paused before nodding again. [I am excited. It's a little hard to eat. This is an enormous journey, and something very important to me.]

She picked up the bowl and tried to resume eating, knowing she would need her strength even today, as much as the days ahead.

Dritz settled back against the pillows, watching her as he ate. He couldn't possibly understand the emotional meaning it held for her, but he was determined to try his best to do so. He couldn't even begin to imagine the thought of his fellow Chrysalans struggling in such a way as the Aurians did.

He set his bowl down and drew her attention, slowly and carefully signing to her, [We will make a good home for your people, but you will need your strong.] He wavered at the end, his signing stumbling and he shrugged sheepishly, "I was hoping that would be beautiful and the perfect thing to sign, but... I think I messed up. You know what I mean, though. You can't help them if you're not prepared physically too." He picked up his bowl again, gesturing to hers in a manner that was almost stern, insistent.

Vela watched closely as Dritz signed, though she had to smile when he didn't use the right word toward the end. It was close enough to be understandable, however, and as always when he signed, she was incredibly touched that he went through the effort for something he could much easier speak aloud.

[Thank you,] she replied, setting her own bowl down. [I understand. Maybe it will be easier once we are traveling.] With another grateful look, she continued eating and managed to finish the entire bowl, even if it was a struggle. At least Dritz seemed satisfied, and she took his empty bowl from him to add both to the disposal unit.

[Now you had better get dressed,] she signed almost playfully, though she was admiring his body and thinking about how warm he was all over again.

Blinking, Dritz looked down at himself, still only in his underwear, legs crossed and stretched out in front of him. "Really? Isn't this a good look for me?" he asked with a smirk, featuring to himself with a flourish. He chuckled and stood, stretching. After a few minutes of roaming and collecting things, he reappeared in a threadbare but endearingly scruffy sweater and bright trousers, tugging his boots on with his same beam in place.

"'Kay, I'm ready, let's load up and get moving!" He stumbled into his shoes and posed, pointing out of their window and towards the simulated morning sky, "Onwards!"

Vela guessed she wasn't meant to answer the question, only smiling slightly. She wanted to tell him that he did look fine no matter what, but couldn't help but think he looked attractive in the sweater he had chosen. For now she had to resist the urge to touch it in various places where the material looked extra thin and soft.

Though she did not understand why he did it, she was amused at his antics, nodding with enthusiasm at the suggestion of getting underway. They carried the few remaining bags into the corridor, carefully locking the door behind them to keep the rest of their belongings safe. The Hesperus staff already knew they would be gone for an extended period, and there should be no disturbances otherwise.

Once on the Nova and with everything loaded, Vela could hardly contain herself. Now that it was finally happening, she could hardly believe it was true; she was looking for a new home for the Aurians, and she wasn't alone while doing so. Liftoff was simple and the course was already laid, her effort combining with Dritz's in a way which simply felt perfect. In fact, it was too much, and she leaned over to the Chrysalan as he sat in the chair near hers, hugging him tightly while fighting down the lump in her throat.

With the ship loaded up with supplies, they cleared for launch. Takeoff had become a smooth, fluid process for them now, almost like a dance, their timing improving at every attempt. They no longer needed visual prompting from each other, listening to the sounds of their movement or the change in the engine noise.

The Nova quietened to a low and familiar rumble as Vela threw her arms around Dritz, her head pressed firmly against his chest. With a soft, somewhat bewildered smile, Dritz stroked her hair, putting his free arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, hey... You alright, flower?" he asked soothingly. "Shall we have some tea, and you can tell me about this planet?"

Vela nodded in response as she moved back again, thinking that tea and some time spent talking about their destination would settle her more than anything right now. [I am very excited. And very... nervous,] she signed with a small smile. [I'm alright.]

They walked through to the kitchen, where Dritz insisted on handling the tea as she sat down at the table and watched him. There was a familiarity and comfort to his movements already as he performed this ritual as well, and her gaze never left him for even a moment.

Dritz bounded into the kitchen, cheerfully setting about making their tea once he was reassured that Vela was alright. He understood the nerves, given that everything would be uncertain, and there was so much at stake for her. While he couldn't do much to help with the search for planets, he could be there with kind words, hugs and kisses, and he could make sure she was well prepared. And if he could persuade the overseers of Chrysala to help, then that would be his contribution too.

Setting the hot water and blossom down for Vela, Dritz plopped down opposite her. "So, what are we looking at first? I assume you have a few planets in mind, and this is just the closest?”

Vela set her blossom in the water before answering, as entranced by watching it unfold as ever. When she looked up again, she was able to smile and reply calmly.

[Yes, there are several planets. But this one is the closest, and also I think the best option. It is called Trelos.] She paused to spell out the name on the datapad so that Dritz could pronounce it. [It's supported by two suns, and so it's warm for most of the year. There are many plants, much of it being food which is exported off the planet. The Trelosians are very technology-minded, but they don't do a lot with it other than farm. So far they have rejected any outside offers for assistance and are generally a peaceful people who are still capable of defending themselves and their home.]

She paused for a sip of her tea, inhaling the gentle fragrance. [There is also a lot of water on the planet... I like the sound of it. The Trelosians don't inhabit more than a fourth of it, either. I think my people could become good at technology again and help them expand. But the problem would be convincing them in the first place. I suppose we would need to talk to them to figure out what it might take.] Wondering whether they would even have an interest was one of the problems Vela worried about most.

"Trelos," Dritz read from the datapad, nodding. He had a feeling, from how enthusiastic Vela had been, that there would be more than one option she'd picked out for her people. It made sense for them to explore her first choice immediately.

He listened with a warm smile, only partially distracted by the sparkle in her eye. From what she knew, it seemed as though the Trelosians would be the perfect partners for the Aurians; peaceful and intelligent, though he did wonder if it might be difficult to get them to share their home with offworlders, if they weren't of a mind for travel. These were issues that might dull Vela's enthusiasm, and ones she had likely already considered.

"Well, that's what we'll need to find out. If they're open to offworlders, we shouldn't have much trouble at all, but if we do, that's when the Chrysalan diplomat idea might come in handy. It's going to take a lot of work, but I think we can do it. Trelos sounds good for the Aurians," he said confidently, beaming at her.

Vela nodded, finding some comfort in Dritz's confidence. The Chrysalans could help, and the Trelosians could be persuaded, surely.

[It could be a beneficial partnership for them. They just need to be shown how.] The problem of how to go about that could be saved to think about later. [As for what they're like physically, they are fairly small, shorter than most Aurians I think, with a purplish skin. Their skin is hardened, but it's not like scales exactly... It's hard to sign what I mean accurately. Maybe a picture would be better.] She quickly pulled one up on the datapad, showing it to him. The Trelosians' skin certainly seemed to have a rough texture, but it wasn't patterned in any discernable way. Despite being shorter, they appeared sturdy and strong, with other notable features being how there was no hair on their heads, and they all had short tails, which evolution had seemed to decide to start phasing out as a now-useless feature.

She sat back with a smile, letting Dritz flip through the pictures to see what he thought of them.

Dritz looked the pictures over carefully, "Oh, I think I've done business with a Trelosian before... it was a while ago, so she might have been a Lamorgan and I'm remembering her wrong." He grinned, "You've really thought this through well, flower. I think we can really do this!"

"What are their exports? The easiest thing refugees can offer another planet is labour. There's always work to be done, and always folk who aren't physically capable. Maybe the Aurians can offer that? In fact, even if we can't reach agreements any other way, labour is a good thing to fall back on. We know the Aurians are hardworking, and the Trelosians have farmland," he suggested, sipping his tea thoughtfully.

[They don't travel much. You might be misremembering,] Vela signed with a smile. [But it's still possible.]

Dritz's reassurance that she had chosen well and his repeated affirmation of their success brightened her mood even further. [They mainly export food, as I said. Vegetables which are native to Trelos, and some grains. I think they have to work very hard with their smaller population. They supply some nearby planets which can't grow enough food of their own. They seem generous, and I feel like they would welcome the Aurians as laborers with some convincing. Or I hope so, anyway.]

She looked down into her own tea, lightly touching the blossom so that it spun in a slow circle. [I wonder how they would feel about Aurians being unable to speak aloud. It might be an inconvenience to them. The Trelosians have their own language, and most of them speak Basic. It might take too long to teach all of them the Aurian signs. I do worry about that.] Looking back up, she fixed her gaze on Dritz. [I want to see if I can learn to speak aloud, then the rest of my people might also be able to.] After a long pause, she said, "Driss," before frowning in frustration. Why couldn't her tongue form the 'tz' sound?

The Chrysalan nodded. He had thought that he'd remember the species more vividly if he had actually met one. Come to think of it, it had been at a festival that he'd tried to secure the business. And... he had been drinking.

He smiled delightedly when she said his name as best she could, clapping encouragingly. "That was good! Maybe I can help you with some of the words? Like with my name, is it the 'tzzz' sound that's hard?" He shuffled closer, leaning over the table, nearly resting his chest on his tea until Vela expertly moved it out of the way, "You can make the 'sss' sound well. Know how your tongue presses just ever so gently against your teeth or the roof of your mouth?" He opened his mouth and exaggerated said, "Sssseeeee? Well, for the 'tz' sound, you need to push your tongue harder against them, and make the sound short. Like an electrical buzz. DrrriTTZZ, see?"

Continuing to frown, Vela carefully watched Dritz's attempts to illustrate the mouth movements. While she wasn't fully grasping how to move her tongue, speaking aloud never having been an issue before, she was able to vaguely copy him. "Drit," she tried again, stopping short of the sound she felt she couldn't make. "Driss," she said, shaking her head.

[I'll practice. Thank you for teaching me. You can teach me more while we travel? Maybe by the time we return to Hesperus, I will be speaking whole sentences.] It would definitely be odd to talk aloud, and she didn't know how long it would take before she could speak for more than a few seconds without getting tired. But it was worth a try, and would help make a transition to another planet a little easier for both parties if she could succeed.

She finished the last of her tea, once again feeling a little sad that the blossom would be disposed of. There must be a way to preserve them, turn them into some sort of work of art. Another thing to think about during the long journey. [Unless you have any more questions about the Trelosians, we can talk about them more later. What would you like to do first otherwise? We do have a lot of time.] Her frown had finally returned to a smile, thinking with pleasure of the all the time they could spend in each other's company.

As much as it was probably not helpful for her, Dritz couldn't help but giggle at Vela, smiling warmly and taking her hand, "You'll get it. We'll have a little practice each day." He signed, his grin widening, [It will be easier!]

He quite liked the idea of trying to help her with her spoken language. It only seemed fair to try and give back after she had been so kind as to teach him her language, and was continuing to do so even now. He couldn't think of anything more that he would need to ask her, but rather than answer to that end, he leaned forward and gave her a short, but passionate kiss, pulling away with a grin.

"I dunno... Is there anything you want to do? We can play some cards, I can show you some juggling, we could just go and lounge around on the bed if you wanted to be a bit lazy for now?" he suggested. Really, all he wanted was her company.

Feeling herself warm from Dritz's kiss, Vela looked away for a moment shyly. The thought of laying down together was always appealing, but at the moment she was finding herself more than a little awkward. By now, her body had fully accepted Dritz as a mate, changing somewhat to allow this, and it almost felt as though she was trying to delay the inevitable while at the same time wanting them to go further.

[What about showing me how to juggle? I have been wanting to learn. What do we use? Can we use anything? Does it all have to be the same size and shape?] She tried to slow her signing down, finding herself remarkably eager. Any chance to learn something new was welcome, no matter how silly, but especially if it was with Dritz nearby.

While Dritz felt a pang of disappointment, he quickly buried it. The time would come, and he needn't be impatient, they had all the time in the galaxy.

Beaming, Dritz grabbed the juggling balls from where he had inexplicably left them in a cupboard in the kitchen area (who knew why he'd put them there) and held them up to her.

"They have to be the same size, really, and it helps keep you balanced," he said, holding one in each hand. With each in turn, he threw the ball into the air a short distance, catching it before doing the same with the other hand. "This is good practice, just throwing them and catching them one-handed. I know a few ambidextrous folk, but I ain't one of them, so this makes my right hand a bit more useful!"

Vela watched closely, attempting to do exactly as Dritz had shown her by just throwing one ball in each hand, which was simple enough. At least, she didn't drop any, but a life spent working and speaking with her hands probably gave her a more natural dexterity with it. Hesitantly, without awaiting further instruction, she tried to keep them moving from one hand to another, but promptly dropped both. She gave them a little frown before looking back up at the Chrysalan.

[How do you keep them going around in a circle, the way you do?] she questioned eagerly. She was thinking it could be fun if they were able to do this juggling at the same time, quite skillfully.

Dritz laughed, taking the balls back from her and showing her once again to throw and catch them with each hand.

"So, you had this bit easily. Next you need to start moving them between your hands. I find it easier to move to the left, because it's my more dexterous hand, but I think you'll manage both," he explained. Slowly as he could, he threw a ball in the air to his left hand, which still held the other ball, catching it next to it. "The idea now is to use the time the first ball is in the air to pass the second one to your other hand."

He demonstrated, again as slowly as he could, throwing one ball up and passing the other between his hands, "Make sure to keep your eye on the higher one, that's the one that will usually go wrong, if anything is gunna."

A second time, Vela watched as closely as she could. Dritz made it look easy, especially as she knew he could do it much faster.

Her second attempt went better once she had studied the motions for some time. Even with only one eye that could see properly, her coordination was so good that she picked up on the motions and was able to copy them with only a small fumble here and there. She had to smile as Dritz praised her, though she set the balls down on the table to sign to him eagerly.

[What's next? Can I do three? How many can you juggle at once?] Already she was imagining being able to show this wonderful skill to other Aurians, certain they would be in awe at something they never might have imagined before.

Dritz laughed, clapping for her with enthusiasm. "Look at you! You're better than me already," he huffed, producing another ball and showing her how to juggle with three. He couldn't help but try to show off a little, standing to show her but ending his demonstration with a variation on what he had been doing, criss-crossing his hands between throws with a flirtatious wiggle of his eyebrows. To finish, he threw all three into the air in turn, spinning, and catching them before bowing.

"Couldn't resist," he chuckled. "But I reckon you'll be doing that by tomorrow, if this lesson is anything to go by. Here!" He threw each to her, high and easy, beaming when she caught them gracefully.

[I'm not,] Vela protested with a smile. This was especially true as she watched him perform for her, staring in awe but able to follow the motions easily enough. She attempted to clap the way he did when he was pleased with something she had done, though it felt strange to her.

[You did wonderfully,] she signed in admiration. [I won't try to do all of that yet.] She caught Dritz's throws with ease and held them a moment before frowning in concentration. Her attempt to juggle with three went well, as unsteady as she was in the beginning. Yet she could see herself gaining in this skill easily, which honestly delighted her.

[Maybe that's enough for today.] Dritz was very appreciative of her efforts, but she knew she would rather master juggling slowly, as she enjoyed him teaching her. [Thank you.] She very lightly tossed the three balls back toward him as she approached, leaning up to kiss him just after he caught them.

The Chrysalan laughed gleefully when he was applauded, shaking his head, "Thank you, but I'm afraid that's the extent of my fancy work. I can get up to five, but three is the maximum I can do to any sort of skillful level. I tend to drop five more often than not."

Apparently not content showing his skill the once, Dritz launched into a simple juggle as he caught each ball before setting them down, catching a sweet kiss from Vela as he did so. "If I leave 'em here, you can use them whenever you like, okay?" he said cheerily, stroking her hair. "What do you wanna do now?"

Vela's smile was wider than normal as she gazed at Dritz, her happiness complete as she began to realize just how much time they had together. [We can do anything at all.]

[the-vaporverse]

Starless Horizon RP File #18

(Vela’s part in italics.)

A few weeks had passed since Vela's first juggling lesson, and her skill had improved dramatically. Dritz was a bit grumpy (though in a good-natured way) that she was using five balls without dropping them very much. More than anything he seemed proud of her, and on occasion they would juggle together, trying to coordinate with each other's movements in a way which greatly amused her.

The rest of their time had been spent in various activities around the ship, where they played games, Vela taught what she knew of as many topics as Dritz might be interested in, and more than anything they spent time just resting together and talking between routine maintenance and careful observation of the Nova's flight. They continued well on course without any troubles, with just over two months remaining until they reached Trelos, and neither of them seeming bored yet.

Lately it felt as though they had grown closer. Vela thought that Dritz must notice it too, because she sometimes would catch him just gazing at her in an adoring or longing way when he thought she wouldn't notice. She would also catch herself thinking about him even as he slept at her side. It was almost as though she wanted this time to last forever, even if she truly did want to arrive at Trelos and attempt to help her people.

In a rare moment of time alone one day, a different thought had come into Vela's head. She carefully crept to the bunk room, even knowing Dritz was not there, and headed to the closet with sudden purpose.

The time spent drifting through space on their beautifully plotted course was one of the most wonderful times Dritz could recall. Never had he felt so certain of his attachment for someone, so positive of the goodness in their blossoming relationship, so comfortable around someone. Dritz had "dated" once or twice back on Chrysala, but nothing that had ever felt so easy or natural. Vela was undoubtedly special.

It came to a point around half a month into their trip that he got itchy for something mechanical to do, and had wriggled part way into the engine to examine it, leaving Vela to her own devices. She often sat by him, but occasionally she would grow restless herself, and rightly so. As he had said to her, watching his legs sticking out from the engine had to be as interesting as a plate of steamed rice.

After a while of tightening fittings and making a mental note of pieces that could be replaced for newer parts, if only to satisfy his itch, Dritz slipped out, sitting up and stretching.

"Everything okay, flower?" he bellowed over the rumble of the engine, standing to start looking for her.

There was no sound which reached Vela across the ship, but she thought she would be safe for some time, with the way Dritz could get around machinery. This was her best chance, after all. She had debated doing it while he slept before, but there was always the chance he might wake up. It wasn't that she was doing something forbidden... but she was so cautious about the subject that she did not want Dritz to know what she had done until later, if it went well.

Despite what Dritz had originally set out to pack, the following morning he had thrown a few more colorful shirts into his bag, joking he would miss them too much if they were left behind. Vela was able to easily spot them hanging in the closet now and chose one at random: sleeveless and bright turquoise with yellow slashes. She quickly removed her own dark top and let it slip to the floor, putting on Dritz's shirt instead.

Initially she smiled, enjoying the scent of the shirt and the thought it belonged to someone dear to her. Then she frowned, seeing how baggy it was and prone to slipping down her shoulders. She wondered briefly whether or not it would look better without her leggings, so it would hang straight, and she removed those too.

Her image in the mirror made her stare in uncertainty. The colors were alright, she thought. It was almost like something called a "dress," which she had read about at one point in the past. She wasn't sure if she liked the sight of her slim, pale legs showing beneath the hem of the shirt, or the way her chest was under constant threat of being exposed thanks to the wide shoulders trying to slide down. Maybe this hadn't been the best idea after all, and Dritz didn't need to know about it.

Sometimes Dritz still couldn't get out of the old habit of calling out to Vela and expecting a response, but it had at least become second nature to start moving towards where he expected her to be.

On his way through the ship, he stopped to wash his hands, despite them not being all that dirty. As he did, he frowned to himself. When did he last see her? It wasn't as if she'd have gone anywhere, of course, but he did realise that he'd perhaps gotten engrossed in what he was doing for longer than anticipated.

He eventually made his way to the bedroom, idly singing her name over and over, stopping abruptly when he found her, so much beautiful pale skin on show, wearing one of his vests. He paused, eyes wide and antennae perking up, a smile slowly spreading over his face.

"Look at you-!" he said, his voice soft and full of admiration. "That is... Wow. It's a very good look on you."

Still studying herself in the mirror, Vela was only vaguely aware of a sound approaching, but wasn't really thinking about it. When the sound turned into Dritz repeating her name in a musical sort of way, she realized what was happening and froze in place as she knew he had now entered the room.

What he said was surprising, and she turned at last with a curious but apprehensive look, quickly beginning to sign. [I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go through your clothes, but I had just been thinking about how you-] She paused here, the vest beginning to slip down her arms much too far, meaning she had to stop and pull it up. Keeping her elbows close to her body might help, but it also made her signing a little awkward. [Thinking about how you said they would look nice on me. But I don't really think so.] She tried to turn away again, feeling a sudden sense of modesty over her appearance. Dritz might simply be attempting to be kind, when she really looked awful.

He'd been completely focused, as he always was. Of course he was. It was Vela, he listened to everything she had to say.

But then the vest slipped down her shoulders and Dritz forgot she'd been talking at all.

"I think you look lovely," he said quietly, moving up to her and putting her arms around her, squeezing her gently. "This blue looks especially nice against your skin." He kissed the top of her head, her soft, feathery hair tickling his face. "And, y'know... I think you look great wearing so, um... So little."

Vela relaxed into the embrace, resting her head against Dritz after she felt his kiss. If he thought it was alright, then it must be.

[It feels strange,] she eventually stepped back to sign. [Aurians never wear so little. I guess that's why I don't know what to think of myself. But thank you, I'm glad that's what you feel.] Maybe this was a risk worth taking, if he truly enjoyed it so much. She couldn't see herself wearing so little all of the time, but for now...

A little bolder, she moved toward him again, putting her arms up around his neck and nuzzling her face close to him. She wasn't thinking much about how this caused the vest to become even "shorter," but it wasn't a problem she had ever encountered before.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't," Dritz said, his eyebrows raised, "You'd be... Real cold. But, uh, I guess it's nice and warm in the ship, huh?"

His voice had become softer, and his usual firm embrace was lighter. He was almost painfully aware of Vela's thighs and backside becoming more exposed as he let a hand run down her back and he found the bottom hem of the shirt far higher than he had seen it when he'd come in.

"It's a little short for you though, isn't it?" he whispered, a hint of laughter in his voice as he leaned down to kiss her gently.

Initially startled, Vela just barely managed to keep herself from pulling away to be sure the shirt was lowered far enough. But to be honest, what was the harm? She and Dritz were partners, even if not lovers just yet. As she began to think of it... were they waiting for anything beyond greater comfort with each other? Because they were quite comfortable with each other now, or at least she thought so.

She did have to move away to speak again, the shirt slipping back into place. [Do you want to lay down for a while?] she asked, her motions somehow shy. [I'm not tired, but I thought it would be nice. And you could take your shirt off. It would be equal that way.] The last part had come out more teasing than she had initially thought she could be. If the Chrysalan felt the same way she did, then...

The Chrysalan laughed loudly, "Oh, I see how it is. Can't get enough of my glorious body." He grinned, cupping her face and kissing her once more before stepping back and tugging his shirt off without hesitation or any hint of shyness.

He pulled her to the bunk and arranged them comfortably, with Vela almost lying on him. He draped his arms around her languidly, his grin becoming softer once more.

"You really do look cute in my vest," he murmured, stroking her fluffy hair.

Vela smiled down at Dritz as he continued playing with her hair, able to lean back just enough to allow for signing. [Thank you. I'm glad I tried it on, then. But I do like how you look, it's true.]

She had been afraid he was joking that she didn't have a reason to enjoy his body. While Aurians were not attracted to specific parts as such, she wanted him to know what they were attracted to, and the fact that her attraction to him was real.

[For my people, a larger size is preferred,] she signed slowly. [It means you have more warmth to share. It doesn't mean we push aside anyone who is smaller. But if you do have a partner with a larger body size, it's definitely good.] Hesitantly, not sure how he would feel about it, she reached down to gently run her hand across his stomach for a moment. [You are very warm.] This was considered an extremely positive compliment to an Aurian, though of course she didn't know what Dritz might think of it.

Dritz cocked his head to one side, a lopsided, slightly bemused smile on his face. With a moment's thought, it made sense for the Aurians to value warmth above anything else.

The way she had signed, put her hand on his stomach, the warmth in her face, all meant that he really believed she was drawn to him, physically as well as emotionally.

"You won't meet many of my people who look like this," he chortled, "Mooosst Chrysalans tend to be lean, like you. I mean, it's not like I'm an oddity or anything, a lot of my family are similar, but yeah." He shrugged, grinning for a moment before stroking her face again.

"I like that I can keep you warm. I'd like to make sure you're always warm," he muttered.

[Then you are special. And I am lucky,] Vela signed with confidence, touching his stomach one more time before moving her hand up toward his neck and face, touching the darker spots of color there. Everything about Dritz intrigued her, actually, from his bright cheerfulness and ability to bring her more amusement than she had ever experienced, down to all of the physical differences she could see between them. She was beginning to cherish all of it, and wanted to continue to do so. [I think you will keep me very warm.]

For now she stopped trying to talk as she studied him. She was halfway leaning over him to begin with, but slowly moved over a little more, easing one of her legs between his so that she could press against him and lower her head to kiss his lips. There was more passion in this kiss than most before, and she could feel the heat of it plainly. She did not pull away from it this time, wanting to know if Dritz felt the same.

"Hey-" Dritz began softly, the words dying in his throat as she trailed a hand up his torso. He watched her with half-lidded eyes, colour spreading over his face. He had never expected the silent newcomer he had met on the station to churn his stomach and make his heart flutter in such a way, but her obvious interest in his body, the way she had grown excited about learning the skills he had, the way they worked together... It couldn't be a coincidence. This was supposed to happen. At least, he thought so.

Overcome with a sudden passion and need, he returned the kiss with vigor, sliding a hand down to her rear, slipping the vest up before squeezing more firmly than he had meant to, and for longer than intended, such was his eagerness. He quickly broke their kiss, his usual comedic grin not quite matching the concern and embarrassment in his eyes.

"Sorry," he breathed, "I, uh... I got a bit carried away, there."

Dritz lifting the vest to touch her didn't startle her at all; in fact, she felt a sudden chill which was far from the unpleasant sort she would have suffered on Aurctas. This one seemed to radiate from her stomach before the rest of her flushed into an incredibly pleasant warmth.

She pulled back when he broke the kiss, giving him a gentle smile. [Don't be sorry. I want you to touch me.] As much as she longed to continue, she knew there was something important to discuss beforehand.

[I need to tell you about how Aurian bodies work.] It had been a fairly blunt statement, once which seemed ominous, but wasn't actually. Vela moved back in order to sit up and look at Dritz properly, thinking this was still incredibly important.

Dritz had not expected Vela to say that she wanted his touch. He had wanted her to, but some doubt still tried to convince him she would have pulled away, or told him to stop. To see her encourage him to continue set his stomach fluttering in a giddy, wonderful way, and he leaned up to kiss her again, but was halted by her signing.

"Oh?" he asked, sounding concerned, curious and surprised. He hadn't even considered that she might be different to any other humanoid alien. The fact that he had been assuming how her body worked embarrassed him. He shuffled into a sitting position himself, pleased to note that Vela had ended up perched on his thigh.

Vela nodded, hoping Dritz was not overly concerned, while at the same time only just realizing the way she was sitting by straddling his leg. A little embarrassed (though admittedly enjoying the sensation), she did her best to explain the situation to him.

[You probably remember what the Merrgani said about me. They're only partly right. Aurians aren't born with a sex as you would know it, male or female. We are all born the same.] She paused for a long moment, trying to think how to describe it using words Dritz already knew in sign language. [When we choose a partner and form a bond... our bodies begin to change, for the sake of reproduction. So I suppose then we become male and female, even though we don't think of it like that. The change seems to be random, but our bodies know which to select, somehow. And if someone who's bonded loses their partner, their next unbonded partner will become the opposite sex.]

Taking a deep breath, she looked away toward the edge of the bed. [So I believe my body has changed to accommodate yours. But we wouldn't be able to produce children. There were experiments done, long ago. I know you must think this is all strange... but I had to tell you.] Would he even want to continue after hearing something like this? Fretting over it, she found it was still difficult to return her gaze to him.

The mention of the Merrgani made Dritz tense up, and while he remained neutral in his expression, his antennae had curled into a perked up position.

"I think I understand," he said carefully. He hadn't noticed any change in her shape... But then the changes were probably strictly... Concealable. "Your physiology is fascinating. I mean, not in a freaky way, 'cuz there are races who reproduce asexually if they want, and intersex races and stuff, I mean that in a good way. It's like, you must be attached to me the same way I am to you, because it wouldn't have been that way if you didn't genuinely want us to be partnered like this... Right?" he rambled, seemingly plucking any stray thoughts from his mind as they came to him.

"Does it, well, change anything? Y'know, about this particular situation?" he added, looking concerned.

Vela nodded again, still cautious in her explanations. [I have researched the sexual behavior of many species.] Her face warmed quickly after admitting this, thinking it must sound strange. [Just... just while I was reading everything. Regarding the way we individually function, no. I don't think it will change much. We just have to go slowly to be sure.]

She finally looked at him fully, her good eye softening as she reached up to touch his face. [My body wouldn't have changed if it hadn't accepted you. And I want you. But... you said you were attached to me too? What does that mean?] She shifted her body forward, closing the distance between them somewhat.

Dritz couldn't help but laugh at Vela's 'research'. He knew exactly what she meant, she'd mentioned her studies of the world outside of Aurctas before, but he couldn't resist a chance to tease her just a little. "Oh?" he said, wide-eyed, "I had no idea you were that sort of person!" He stuck his tongue out at her, however.

"Slowly is fine by me, flower," he said gently, again stroking her face, his fingers sliding up to the fluffy hair at her temples, as they often did. "Attachment for us is... different. It's more emotional. I can't prove my attachment in the same way you can. I want you just as much, but for me it's signs like, I think about you a lot. You're my first and last thoughts of the day, for example." With a sheepish shrug, he added, "And my body responds to yours. Obviously." He snickered a little at this.

Vela was starting to get better at telling when Dritz was teasing her, and she only smiled and shook her head. As he continued speaking, she reached up to touch his hand as he stroked her hair.

[I see. Even if you can't prove it the same way, I believe you. And I want you to know I think about you like that, too.] The idea of being in his thoughts immediately as he started his day brought her an especially happy feeling.

[Sometimes I've noticed that,] it was her turn to tease in response. It was not as though she was completely oblivious to the way he would sometimes look at her, and some of his body language in particular. [If you really want this, now that I've told you everything...]

She didn't wait for an answer, leaning forward again to force Dritz to lay back down, resting her face by his neck and kissing it so that he could reply if he wanted. The vest had slid up again, but Vela was incredibly close to wanting to remove it entirely. It was a very unusual thing for her to want to be naked, but at a time like this...

Dritz snorted with amusement, completely delighted to have Vela teasing him back. Her sassy side was incredibly appealing when it cropped up.

He pulled her down with him, trying to pretend to himself that it was he who was in control of the situation. "I think that much is obvious," he purred in her ear, stroking both hands down her sides, over first fabric and then flesh, which he couldn't resist squeezing again. He drew his hands back up, dragging the vest with them, watching her reaction carefully.

Vela exhaled softly as she felt the vest being lifted, knowing it was what she wanted and now feeling no shame or fear at all to be completely exposed in front of Dritz. She wiggled back slightly in order to get the vest over her arms and then head, letting it fall beside her before kissing him again.

They kissed for some time as she felt his hands roam over her body, but soon that wasn't enough. She rolled off and onto the bed to lay beside him, tugging at the waistband of his trousers with the slightest bit of a suggestive, yet still shy smile.

The Chrysalan obviously didn't need any more encouragement, and he immediately wriggled out of his trousers, lifting Vela to him to kick them off the bed. He looked her up and down with half-lidded eyes, trailing calloused fingers over her ribs and stomach.

"You're so pretty," he said softly. The concept of alien beauty was still fairly new to him, but he knew exactly what he thought of Vela's soft hair, lean muscle and smooth, pale skin. He admired how their bodies looked together, the sheer differences between them. Pulling her closer, he kissed her deeply, fingers running through her hair.

[So are you,] Vela signed lazily, unable to come up with any better words at the moment. It was too much effort to sign just then, plus it was very awkward to try, as all she wanted to do press her body against his and respond to the kiss. But she thought it held true, regardless; she was in great admiration of his skin, a color she had rarely seen on Aurctas, as well as his size, softness and warmth beyond anything she had ever felt before. An overwhelming sense of how lucky she was washed over her once again.

As much as she did want to continue, uncertainty stopped her for another moment. She was inexperienced, as much as she trusted some of the information she had read. With visible effort, she pulled away to speak to Dritz. [Have you done this before? If you want to lead...] Trying to feel less awkward about needing to ask, she stroked his back gently as she leaned her face near his.

Dritz nodded. While it wasn't entirely true, he didn't feel there would be any benefit in going into detail, given the obvious anticipatory tension in the room already. Instead he lifted her, switching their positions so that she was lying down and he could lean over her. With another soft kiss, he moved down her body, kissing her chest and stomach before moving down to her hips and thighs, raising his head enough to say, "If you like what I'm doing, tap this shoulder. If you don't, tap this one, and we'll stop. That way you'll be able to communicate to me without complicating it with signs. That okay?"

With enough encouragement from Vela, Dritz returned to her thighs, using his mouth to make his way between her legs, this time lightly running his tongue over her skin.

Dritz's plan to communicate was more than fine with Vela, though she was left wondering what his actual experience might be. In the end she decided it didn't matter, especially when his lips and tongue began producing such delightful sensations that she couldn't have imagined possible before. Vaguely she also wondered if he would like the same done to him, promising herself to try it next time.

Her shivering was from delight, not temperature. If anything she felt feverish, longing. It was a new experience for her, with her body recently changed and now capable of these wonderful feelings. Her breath was soft and almost panting as she tapped Dritz on the shoulder to stop him, but only because she wanted more in a way she couldn't describe otherwise and she hoped he would understand what to do.

Instantly, Dritz stopped, sitting up with a panicked expression. Had she not liked it? He'd been taking her gentle movements as encouragement, and the thought that she might have been trying to move away concerned him. When he looked at her properly, however, it was a very different story. From her flushed skin and dark eye he could see immediately that his fears were nothing to worry about.

With heavily beating hearts the two shared a longing, tension filled kiss, leaving no further uncertainty about giving in to their passion for one another.

---

Several days had passed since their first time together, but it certainly hadn't been their last. The act brought a new sense of intimacy to the relationship, one that Vela hadn't even known was possible. Maybe it wasn't necessary, but they both enjoyed it and were choosing to continue.

It was after one such time when they were laying comfortably close together in bed, only covered by a thin sheet. Vela always wanted to stay close afterward, as Dritz was even warmer then, and after several minutes of quiet cuddling, she moved back to sign with a smile.

[You said I was pretty.] That first day remained in her head sometimes, a beautiful thought to carry with her. [What do you like about me?] Her curiosity was genuine, even if the question had been delayed somewhat. She only had a sense of looking quite similar to other Aurians, meaning she should not stand out at all.

Since their first time together, Dritz couldn't help but wonder if they had started something of an addiction. He'd been almost unable to keep his hands off Vela, and he'd been giddy to realise she obviously felt the same. Okay, so he'd gotten a bit heavy for her, and there had been the slightest awkwardness, but somehow those things had added to it for him. Seemed like a weird thing to admit, however.

Stretching out languidly, Dritz reached up and cupped her face. "You just... Are," he shrugged, dazed and warm in the lingering pleasure, "Your eye is a nice colour I've never seen on anyone else before, and I think your mechanical eye is amazing too. Makes you unique. I like that you look delicate at a casual glance, but if someone pays real attention, you're strong. An' your hair is so soft... It frames your face really nice. You have a cute bum too." He grinned, already anticipating her familiar look of confusion, often combined with a little frown.

Vela smiled, touching his arm as she listened. It wasn't so surprising to hear him mention her eyes, or her hair, at least she supposed. [I'm not as strong as you,] she offered in amusement, while still seeming to understand what he meant. He might be referring to her character over her physical capabilities. [Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy those things.]

The last part did confuse her, and she gave him the slightest frown. [A cute... what?]

Dritz shook his head, chuckling. "I just mean that when people look at you, they'd think you're just slender, but you have secretly strong muscles!" His tone was nothing but enthusiastic about that fact.

He laughed even more when he was forced to explain exactly what part of her anatomy he was referring to. "The soft part below your back but above your legs?" he laughed, reaching down and giving her backside a gentle squeeze. "Here," he said with a grin, though he needn't have illustrated it, he supposed. Still. Who could resist?

Vela tilted her head, smiling softly. She supposed that was true; she was a bit stronger than she might look. And anything Dritz admired about her had to be a good thing.

The answer to her question, however, was quite baffling. Her eyebrows drew down as she tried to figure out what the attraction was (though it would definitely explain Dritz's apparent fondness for rubbing and squeezing that area, especially when they were in bed together.) In the end she had to give up, back to smiling anyway.

[I see. I don't understand, but that's alright. As long as you like it, though I'm not sure why...] She moved over to kiss him, lingering there for a long moment. [Like I said before, Aurians aren't attracted to parts. At least not usually. Is it something specifically appealing to Chrysalans?] This wasn't something she had read before, so of course she wanted to understand.

It took a great deal to embarrass Dritz, or otherwise make him feel awkward, but there was something about their conversation that was somehow managing just that. He chuckled in an odd way, shaking his head.

"It's, uh, it's not specifically a Chrysalan thing, but it is definitely a me thing," he admitted with a shrug, "I have to wonder if the attraction to certain body parts comes from our earlier human ancestry... It's a pretty human trait, huh? Like, I have a friend on Chrysala who likes long, shapely legs, and another who finds smaller, more rounded wings to be more attractive. It's odd... what sort of things to Aurians become attracted to, aside from the ability to retain heat?" he grinned, teasing his fingers through her hair.

Shaking her head, Vela had to admit that she didn't really know. Humans were strange, based on what she had read about them. At least Orion had seemed alright when they met him.

[It's interesting though. I guess not being focused on survival means you can develop other interests.] She closed her eye momentarily as Dritz played with her hair, then opened it again with a smile. [Heat and size. I've never asked anyone else that question, so I don't know.]

She examined him closely for a moment before deciding on a confession of her own. [I think... for me, I'm also attracted to how soft you are. I think you're very soft.] There was no other way to put this into words, and she genuinely meant nothing other than "soft." As if to illustrate, she placed on hand on his stomach before moving to kiss it. The action felt a little silly, but she wanted to show her appreciation. [Aurians are never warm and soft. I think you're incredible.]

"It's strange to think there are still races that need to focus so much on survival," Dritz muttered to himself, staring up at the metal ceiling, his tone decidedly contemplative. "Makes ya think how silly your worries are."

His reverie was broken when Vela signed again, before kissing his exposed stomach. He squirmed in surprise, yelping at the unexpected kiss. "I ought to have guessed that. You seem very preoccupied by that area," he laughed, still wriggling. With a fond grin, he pulled her up so they were level again and wrapped both arms around her, half flopping ontop her.

"We should maybe check the ship things," he said lazily. "And eat. You hungry, flower?" He shifted just enough to allow her to sign (as well as allow her to breathe freely).

Dritz's movements made Vela's smile wider, and she gladly accepted the embrace as he ended up laying nearly on top of her as he did so. Her own squirming was more from a contented feeling rather than a feeling of wanting to escape. She would have been more than happy to remain right there, but Dritz had a point.

[Yes, we'll check the ship. And eat, too.] Of course this meant getting up and finding at least a minimum of clothes. Vela chose a fairly lightweight tunic which hung halfway to her knees and nothing else, as she felt she wanted to try getting more accustomed to fewer clothes in general. Her bare feet felt cool against the metal floor, but it really wasn't so bad.

With one more kiss and embrace from Dritz, she started to make her way toward the bridge while leaving him to either follow and help or start on their meal, whichever he might wish.

Dritz rolled off Vela properly, allowing her to stand and leave. As she dressed, he made something of a show of stretching out languidly, pretending he was getting up while shamelessly eyeing her lithe frame, at least until it was covered by her tunic. Once she had left, Dritz flopped out of bed and tugged on his misshapen sweater and more snug-fitting trousers, remaining barefoot as she had.

"I'll start our food, gimme a sh-... Raise the alarm if you need anything," he called, wincing as he made the mistake. Once in the kitchen he set about making their breakfast; a protein rich, fruit flavoured porridge substitute that turned out to be far tastier than they had anticipated.

Vela first went to check their course, making sure there had been no major deviations. The detection system for asteroids and other debris in space could sometimes move them off just enough to alter the route; fortunately, this had not occurred in some time. Actually looking at the course properly, however, made her heart begin to pound faster, and not in the pleasant way it had been when spending time with Dritz of late.

Almost automatically she checked the rest of the settings, finding nothing amiss, then slowly wandered toward the kitchen to find Dritz preparing their food. She sat at the table and waited for him to finish, trying to keep the frown from her face.

Unaware of Vela's presence behind him as he 'cooked' (as much as adding hot water to dried powder could be), Dritz had started to sing to himself, some terribly catchy pop tune he remembered being popular on Chrysala before he left, and it was so fun that he had idly begun shaking his hips.

When he finally turned with both of their bowls in hand, he stopped, half shocked to see Vela there, half concerned that something was wrong. She didn't... Look quite herself.

"You okay, beautiful?" he said brightly, hoping she perhaps was just deep in thought. Something was off, he just couldn't tell what or why.

Vela was at least slightly amused by watching Dritz until he turned around, almost feeling better before she remembered their progress on the course. Then her stomach turned, and the worry set in again.

[I'm fine. And everything is fine with the ship,] she signed to him with a weak smile as he set a bowl of porridge substitute in front of her. She recognized it as being a meal they had actually found appealing, but at the moment she thought the smell of it was almost nauseating.

What if the Trelosians merely scoffed at the suggestion of taking in her people before turning them away? There were other planets, but she hadn't realized her heart was so set on Trelos until they had started getting much closer. It had been a foolish mistake.

She picked up her spoon and forced herself to take a bite, chewing very slowly and making very little progress when compared to Dritz's enthusiastic appetite.

Though he could tell something was not right, Dritz decided to trust what Vela was saying, and set about enthusiastically eating his porridge, thinking about their cuddling earlier as he chatted idly about the ship, talking maintenance and previous concerns, almost more thinking out loud to her. He normally would not, but in the time they'd spent together, he'd learnt that the Aurian woman actually enjoyed his voiced thoughts.

Again, though, something was off, and he could still sense it. He looked at her very closely for a moment, watching her eat. Or simply attempt to.

"Do you not like it?" he asked, sounding slightly confused. "It can't have expired, it tastes fine to me. It is a slightly different flavour to the one we had last week, but I thought you might like it." He paused. No... it couldn't be the food, he was certain she'd have said something if she didn't like it.

"You're not fine," he said simply.

Despite her best attempts to appear normal, Dritz was starting to watch her closely, as though he was catching on to the fact she had been just a little dishonest about the way she was feeling. He always did seem to watch over her intake even on a normal day, as it seemed to matter to him greatly that she was properly fed.

The nausea had gone, but the food still wasn't appealing. Vela felt he didn't need to know how silly she had been to become so anxious over what was about to happen, so she quickly shook her head. [It tastes fine. It's good. Maybe I'm not as hungry as I thought.] He would realize she had not eaten in as long as he had, which was quite a while, considering they had spent what would amount to the entire afternoon in bed together.

To potentially reassure him, she took a large spoonful and put it in her mouth, instantly regretting it as she felt almost as if she had forgotten how to chew. It was very trying to have Dritz stare at her so hard as she forced herself to swallow it, giving him a weak but hopeful smile. That might be convincing enough for him... maybe.

"No, no, no," Dritz sighed. "You ate at the same time as I did yesterday, and I'm ravenous. I know there's a difference between us here, but you can't not be hungry. You hadn't moved when I woke up, so I don't believe you got up to eat, not least because you've neeever done that yet." He leaned back, regarding her closely, folding his arms.

From the way she attempted to shove a much larger spoonful of porridge into her mouth, and failed at eating it at all, he knew there was something very wrong.

He stood and fetched a cup, holding it up to her, "You wanna spit that out, if you can't eat it at the moment?"

Sitting back down, this time next to her, he put an arm around her, kissing her hair, "You need to eat. If you're not feeling unwell, and you don't dislike the food, I need you to eat some. Please. We'll be getting to Trelos whenever we might be, and we will both need to be in good health." He lifted her face to his, looking at her firmly, "Don't make yourself sick."

Shaking her head quickly, Vela turned aside from the cup and covered her mouth until she had managed to finish chewing and swallowing her food, not wanting to do something wasteful. But she supposed not eating when Dritz had prepared it for her in the first place would have also been wasteful.

She turned her face away as he spoke to her, heart feeling heavy. Of course he was right; she needed her strength, which meant eating. When he redirected her to look at him, she nodded.

[I know. I'm sorry. I was just looking at the navigation chart and thinking about how close we're getting now. And it made me feel scared. I've put too much confidence in the Trelosians accepting the idea. What if they don't? It made me lose my appetite, and I just didn't want you to know how silly I've been. I can try to eat. Maybe if you fed me,] she suggested, mostly joking with a weak smile.

Much as he agreed she had been silly, Dritz knew how important the whole thing was to her, and understood such anxiety. His expression softened, and he pulled her closer, kissing her forehead again, "Hey, listen to me now, if the Trelosians don't go for the idea, we will find someone else, somewhere else, I promise. I'm here for you, and we can do this together, okay?"

After a moment, his soft smile deepened into a mischievous smirk and he picked up her spoon, taking a small amount from her bowl and lifting it up in front of her, rubbing her lower back, "Now, shall we try again?"

Dritz's reassurance went far toward making Vela feel better, prompting her to wonder why she hadn't addressed it with him the first place. He was always so comforting whenever she felt even the least bit troubled, and this time was no exception.

For a little while she put her arms around him, nodding at what he said, then sat back as he started taking a spoon of porridge from her bowl. She hadn't really thought he would do it, but...

With Dritz's hand against her back adding to her encouragement, she nodded again and opened her mouth in advance of him lifting the spoon to it.

Dritz couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped him as Vela opened her mouth in advance. There was something so silly and sweet about doing such a thing for her, and her even allowing it.

He fed her very slowly, taking only small amounts from the bowl each time. That way, or so his thinking was, she would have ample opportunity to savour the taste, he would be able to talk to her about their plans, ironing out any creases in it where she might worry about the 'what-ifs'. Of course, they both knew they couldn't plan for everything, but Vela seemed to calm knowing that there would always be other options. He also kept his pace with the food slow so she had plenty of time to sign to him if she needed to.

As he talked, spooning food to her, he kept her close, still stroking her back lightly.

"Just let me know when you've had enough," he murmured, comforting yet with a tinge of humour. "I'm pretty satisfied you've eaten a decent amount now, so I won't force you."

Even if she wouldn't have thought so at first, Dritz feeding her this time did increase her appetite as he moved slowly while giving her small amounts, talking to her and settling her nerves further. There would be other opportunities if Trelos did not work out, but she continued to hold it in her thoughts as the place she would favor most, unable to help herself.

[Thank you,] she finally signed, now feeling actually full to a point where she didn't want any more. [I think that's enough. It was very good.] As Dritz set the spoon down but continued holding her close, she put her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest for a long moment, enjoying their closeness and how the situation just seemed to have brought them even closer.

[Are you full, too?] she signed with a smile, leaning back to sign to him with a much more relaxed and happy expression than before.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," Dritz nodded, nuzzling against Vela's soft hair. It had grown out a little, he'd noticed. Wisps had started to frame her ears more, and small curls graced her neck. It started to tickle his face when they were close to one another too.

"How long before we reach Trelos? Maybe we can play a few games or something... We must still have a good chunk of time, right?" he asked, kissing her temple.

Once she thought about it, Vela became very amused. [We have days left,] she signed with a wider smile. [Days and days. I'm sorry, I hope this doesn't mean I'll be worse the closer we get.]

For now, she actually felt rather good. [A game sounds like fun. One of the card games, they're my favorite.] She leaned up to kiss Dritz in return, along his jawline. [We could play sitting on the bed. It's softer.] She had absolutely no ulterior motives to begin with, but as she considered it, it probably would appear she did.

Dritz's eyes widened, and he laughed in disbelief, "Well, I tell you what, as we get closer, if you feel anxious, you have to let me know. We'll work through it together, okay?"

With a grin, he swept Vela into his arms, carrying her back through to the bunk, where he placed her gently on the bed before fetching the deck of cards from where they has found themselves in a drawer with some of their clothes. Together, they played a few games, with Vela winning the majority of them, much to Dritz's surprise. Not only was Vela quick to pick up games, she was also quick to master them, as she had been with their juggling.

The rest of the journey saw some further worries, with even Dritz beginning to feel some of that anxiety as he worried for Vela and her expectations. He wanted to have everything go perfectly for her, but something in the back of his mind told him it would not go the way the two of them hoped.