Whoops.I tucked away the shiver of guilt I felt.In the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter – and I guess this way I'd have a slightly more dramatic entrance.She shepherded me along to one of the lower levels, which had been locked earlier in the day when I'd been exploring, and slipped into a side entrance with her taloned hand firmly wrapped around my wrist.
"Do you like the earrings at least?"I asked as she pulled me into the dimly lit room.
Her glare was almost tangible."They are quite nice, although your ears look comically small to a ketaari."We wove through the crowd as I tried frantically to take in the room.It was large and rectangular with pillars flashing up as shadows in the dim blue light; I couldmake out some bio-luminescent gleams of alien skin, a few glowing eyes, and the winking of little silver cameras jostling around the ceiling.Voices murmured in a low buzz, quiet music throbbing with a dark beat that would probably, at the right volume, make the whole place pulse – it was the type of music we always had playing at the den on club nights.
Silver Sea hauled me to her side, and gestured with her other hand."See the steps?Go up and stand next to Zey'flen kin Kortessa, the brin."
I squinted and could just make out shadows on what appeared to be a stage.Silver Sea released my hand and nudged me forward, so I stepped up and drew close to the first shadow."Are you Zey'flen?"I whispered, craning my head closer to the first figure.
I saw a gleam of faint blue light reflecting off of sharp, wet teeth that were bared in my direction.Those were brin teeth, but that definitely wasn't a smile.
And then the lights flared, casting the stage in brighter blues, as if we were standing underwater.The broad room before us was still incredibly dark, and I blinked at the sudden change, squinting into the lights.My eyes stung, and I couldn't make out anything in the oscillating colours.
A voice boomed from the ceiling, painting the room in bright Standard tones as it was projected from seemingly everywhere at once."It is our absolute pleasure to introduce our most stalwartsponsorsto this year's chosen participants for the Galactic Tournament of Superiority.From Yellow Fin Station, human Sashen Solar."
The light trying to bore its way into my skull flashed to white, bathing me in brightness and making me blind to basically everything else.Apparently I was up first.I smiled my prettiest smile, tipping my head in a general bow of deference that tended to translate well across species, the charms along my ears tinkling.Someone else might have felt nervous, but in truth, standing on a stage in front of a barely visible crowd who all wanted to gawk at me was kind of my whole thing.A round of applause, which in mixedspaces meant a chorus that was part applause, part whistling, some grunting, and some wet slapping of various appendages, rumbled, and then the harsh white light blinked back to blue and attention shifted.
"From the Dubrov Collective, brin Zey'flen kin Kortessa."
I took a half-step back now that I'd had my moment, and the lights that were on me dimmed so that I could more easily make out the line of other participants.Sure enough, the brin stood next to me, fur-covered arms crossed, long fleshy fronds trailing down either side of his head.He had a warrior's pattern shaved into his fur.
We'd flagged him as a concern.He'd had some training in voltaari sword-dancing and had an impressive criminal record, the kind that involved charges fordesecrating holy groundandinappropriate use of corpses.Which had made me wonder, when Vivith pointed his record out, what anappropriateuse of a corpse was.
The introductions continued and I tried to pay attention – the other human was Grigor Spade from some mining outfit I'd never heard of; he was shorter than I was, but broader and looked like he could crack someone's skull between his meaty hands without breaking a sweat; then Kidedo of Ri, a feathered auvril whowas abouthalfway through a moult; Neern Mournet, a marn like Alet Trident whose four hands flexed nervously at his sides; a pale purple ketaari who used Tree Lily as a public moniker; two voltaari, Tulsu and Atosha, both of whom wore ceremonial robes in opposing colours and wouldn't even look at the crowd, too busy glaring daggers at each other; and another abaya, Andiri of Creche Ena, who we'd also flagged because of her potential instability.Araxis had tried to explain – for an ivriitan to be cast out of her creche meant she had to be unpredictable, dangerous – but I still didn't understand what it was about her that had made both Araxis and Vivith look unsettled.
And while I tried to pay attention as they were all introduced, Ireallydid, I had eyes for only one participant, who stood at the end of the line.Araxis of Creche Thiel waited with perfect stillness.He didn't turn his head toward me and I had to ration how long I let myself stare at his perfect profile, but as the introductions droned on,I was able to drink in enough to appreciate what a fine figure he cut.And maybe to feel a little flustered, at least internally.
His skin was opalescent, an immaculate white with the faintest iridescent sheen as the lights played over him.The other abaya was a murky grey, hunched; in contrast, Araxis stood upright and tall, his shoulders perfectly square.He was dressed in dark abayan formal-wear: trousers that tucked into high boots; a high-necked shirt with crisp seams and gleaming jewels for buttons; a jacket that was pressed to within an inch of its life.His crest was pale and tipped in charcoal, perfectly braided and threaded with gold beads, like Vivith wore theirs.His hands rested behind his back, unmoving.
The others in the line, except maybe the two voltaari and the seemingly disinterested human, had an airof semi-feral desperation about them.Araxisheld himselflike he had come to win,like it was inevitable: he radiated competence, and my heart pulsed unsteadily whenever I looked at him for too long.
He had promised to help me.He had promised to fix everything for me.And I believed that he could, and he would.
What had I ever done to deserve him?
I had to look out at the crowd so that my face didn't betray any of the wave of emotions that were surging through me: gratitude, pride, hope, affection.
Maybe more than affection.
The announcer went on for a bit longer, naming several important sponsors and flashing lights on them in the crowd, and then we were all sent on our way to make merry, drink cocktails, and mingle.As the lights pulsed in the room, I could make out dancing poles placed on elevated platforms throughout the area and it didn't take long for dancers to trickle out of secret doors tucked artfully behind frondy plants and begin twirling and twisting on those poles.
I scooped a drink from a passing tray and stopped near one to watch.I'd always thought gaanith dancers had an unfair advantage: prehensile tails made so many of the transitions easier.But even thedrink and the dancing couldn't distract me from the nerves tightening moment by moment in the depths of my belly.
We'd agreed that Araxis would come to me on the first night.Waiting felt like torture.
My wristband buzzed against my skin, and I flipped up a message.Go dance, it said, and when I glanced up,my eyes landed onSilver Sea, watching me meaningfully with wide yellow eyesfrom across the room.She tipped her head to the nearest pole.When I just stared at her – I mean, really, right now?– my wrist buzzed again.It will be good for your metrics.
I smothered a sigh and set down my untouched drink on a nearby table.After the gaanith dancer completed a particularly difficult flip, I sidled up."Unusual hand placement," I offered."Is that all your tail, or are you doing something interesting with your thighs?"
Her red-skinned face, which was upside down and currently hanging near my shoulder, tilted a little to one side."I've been told my thighs are always interesting.Do you dance?"she asked, letting herself slide down the pole as she slowly turned twirled around is, undulating her spine in time with the music.
"Mostly swords," I admitted, watching her dismount onto the raised platform where the pole was anchored."But also pole.Sometimes both, in Alet Trident's den on Yellow Fin."
She smiled at me, crouching down and reaching with one three-fingered hand to touch my shoulder, squeezing down to my bicep through my sleeve.The leathery flaps at the base of her head fluttered in appreciation."Oh, youaren'tlying, are you?"
"If you think that's impressive," I intoned, craning my head close and watching as her ears ruffled, interested, "you should feelmythighs."
She cackled, and I grinned and asked if I could borrow her pole to stretch things out a bit.She slipped down from the platform and offered to hold my jacket – it probablywasa blouse; I'd never had one of those before – and I leapt up and spun myself about lazily while we chatted about dancing.I did some casual twists and flips,nothing so strenuous that I couldn't keep up the easy back-and-forth I'd fallen into with the gaanith dancer.
