Vivith leaned forward, and for a panicked moment, I thought they might strike Talvi.I twisted, instinctively shifting the child away and putting my shoulder between them."Go on," I said, pushing them gently from my lap."We're busy right now, and your Vivith told you what to do.You can see me later, and we'll finish looking at pictures of mammals on Earth, alright?"
Talvi stood, their toes flexing on the floor, their face a picture of misery."Can we look at the ones underwater again?"
"Sure," I said, still carefully holding myself between the child and their parent."We can look at any pictures you want."
With that, Talvi trailed away, dragging their feet reluctantly.They stopped in the doorway, staring at me withsadeyes.Next to me, Vivith said something quick in abayan, and Talvi ducked their head and vanished in a flash.I looked at the dark space where they'd been, and my heartclenchedtight.Our Sashen, Talvi had called me.
You're mine, Araxis had breathed against me.I have you.
I let out a long, shaky exhale and grappled with the weight of what was to come.The tether I'd been imagining that tied us together, that thread of tension, it was more than just anticipation now; I was bound to Creche Thiel in a way that I didn't quite understand, and they were bound to me.I would do whatever it took to see those children to the future they deserved, and maybe there would be space for me too.
"Let's go through these files again," I said determined, pulling up the profiles of the other contestants."I don't want any surprises."
Chapter 13 –Up AgainstA Wall
It would have been nice to have more time alone before we officially entered the Tournament and the circus that Thenat-6 promised to be.Instead, we ate and we reviewed files and we went through our plan about six thousand times.Vivithhadtold Araxis flatly that heshouldclean me upin the medical suite, which meantI’d had to siton a metal table while Araxis ran a subdermal knitter over the mark he'd left on my neck."I wouldn't have minded keeping that," I admitted as the knitter swiped over the fading remains of the bruise, stinging.
"It was impulsive, and I should have asked first," Araxis had muttered, flushed, his head craned near mine as he watched my skin healing."I shouldn't have let my – excitement get the best of me.Besides, any abaya who saw it would know that you're being –" He stopped, clicking the knitter off and setting it back in a drawer.
"I'm being what?"I'd asked, the metal table cold beneath my palms.I'd reached up and touched the skin.If I pressed hard, I could still feel the memory of a bruise there, comforting.A reminder that this hadn't been a hallucination.
He'd shot me a slightly embarrassed look."That there is an abaya who likes you a great deal.It would be too obvious.Although… it is nice to hear that you didn't mind."
I'd smiled at him."I didn't mind.Maybe you can do it again when we're on camera.Day Ten?"
He'd flushed even more and then made his excuses, heading off to meet with Vivith to discuss some final creche business.Vivith was off working on setting up a clean data chip for me, so I'd headed off to entertain some children who liked nothing so much as looking at pictures of whales and, oddly, star-nosed moles.
Admittedly, I'd thought those pictures had been doctored when I'd first seem them – star-nosed moles definitely didn't feature in Seraphim's workbooks on animals that made their way onto the Ark,and they weren't species that had been loaded onourArk – so I got the appeal.
By the time Vivith had finished prepping a chip for me, I was surrounded by three sleeping children sprawled out on my bed.Adrathi was drooling on my shoulder, while Sadin's bare feet twitched near my kneeas he dreamed.Araxis sat at the opposite end of the bunk, having joined me after finishing with Vivith, and was working on finalizing the official petition Creche Thiel would send to the abayan Concord as soon as he stepped foot on Thenat-6.
"You indulge them," Vivith said, nose wrinkling as they stepped down into my cabin."They should have already bedded down in their nest."
Talvi stirred next to me, blinking blearily."Not done yet, Vivith," they slurred, one sleepy hand grasping for my wristband.
"Youaredone for tonight."Vivith stepped forward and reached, plucking Talvi from where their body was cradled next to mine, easily lifting the child to their feet."Our Araxis and Sashen must rest for the evening.They are about to go do some very important work foryourbenefit.Sadin, Adrathi – up.Your curiosity is not more important than what they will do.Quickly now."
The children whined as they slid from bed, Vivith plucking each easily from where they were and setting them upright."Here."They offered mea chip no bigger than my thumbnail, along with an older style oblong reader with a green readout screen."You should be able to display your files on this.Don't put the chip into your band or any other system: we can't risk cross-contamination."
This wasn't my first time being a sneaky little shit with digital systems, but Vivith didn't know that, so I could forgive their snide know-it-all tone."I'll leave anything I'm worried about here.I have a bunch of stuff downloaded on to my wristband.You can pull things off it for the kids, if you want.But, uh," I slid a careful glance to the three children, who were still rubbing their eyes sleepily, Adrathi's hand tangled in the long end of Vivith's draped robe, "you'll want to be the one deciding what gets ported over.There arepartsthat are appropriate for children.Send me your code: I'll key access to you."I didn't say that huge swathsweren'tchild-friendly, but Vivith's disdainful frown made it clear that they understood and that, while repulsed, they weren't surprised that I'd haveadult contentdownloaded to my personal storage.
It was mostly educational, for me anyway.Just sometimes the education was in video format, because if I had to figure out how to get an alien off between the time it took me to dance on stage and lead them to a back room at the den, I didn't generally have the time to do an in-depth review of an article and its diagrams.
Okay, and some of it was also for fun.Maybe some managed to be both.Who ever said learning couldn't be a good time?
"Charming," Vivith said, flat, but they tapped at their wrist and a dot of light flickered above my wristband.I made a few changes, and set it to open full file access for Vivith of Creche Thiel.
"Just don't go reading my diaries," I teased."I wouldn't want to shock you."
"I would not be shocked, only nauseated," they said thinly, and then patted a hand on Sadin's shoulder."Let us go.Gather your siblings."Then, with a quick glance at Araxis, they added, "Dorest tonight.Both of you.Have the petition finalized for tomorrow, Araxis."
A flicker of irritation flashed across his features – unfamiliar to me."It is nearly done, Vivith.Your concern is noted."
It was a dismissal if I'd ever heard one.Vivith left, and they pulled the door into the dark hallway shut behind them, the sound of the children's quiet footfalls fading away to the particular silence of night.I tucked the chip and reader into my empty pack, still slumped on an open shelf near the window that looked out into the void and the occasional burst of roiling colours when we passed stars and planets.
"Are you –" I started at the same time Araxis said, "Could we –" We both stopped, and I let out a short, half-hearted laugh."Right," I said, "Why don't you go first?"
Araxis shook his head and closed the blue screen of his wristband."Of the two of us, you have had rather a more challenging day, Sashen.Tell me what is on your mind."
