AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lily laughed as they walked through the stone streets and to the steps of the bond house. “The coordinator is named Arluth. He’s pretty nice.”
“Helpful?”
“Oh, very.”
“Good.” The doors opened as they approached, and Lily smiled at the talking creature made of shadows.
“Welcome. Is this the one missing from the manifest?” There was a sibilant hissing from the being.
Iris inclined her head. “I am. I have received medical treatment and am now ready to resume my path to my bond.”
“I am Arluth, and I will assist you. Would you come with me? We will begin the cognitive scanning.”
“May my sister accompany me?”
“You are truly siblings?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Of course. Lily, please, come with. It will help you gain more knowledge of the equipment.”
They followed Arluth deeper into the building. It was time for intake to Avor.
Iris lay in the first machine. Arluth tweaked it, and she answered the questions in all the languages of Avor.
“Interesting. You paid for extra education?”
“Yes, sir. I thought it would gain me a pricier bond, and since I am not planning on travelling, a few extra years of work won’t be an issue.”
Arluth spoke in Vor. “Very practical. Few beings from dying worlds think that far ahead.”
“I had a choice between a life with minimal ignorance or disabling my own mind and skills by refusing the opportunity of an education. It has never been freely offered before, so I took it.”
He chuckled. “It was not free. You added two years to your bond in languages alone.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I know.”
He was lifting the unit when she did that, and he paused. “What is that? Lily does that as well. Do you have more olfactory receptors than it appears?”
“No. In our family, we do it for surrender to an absolute.” She smiled. “It is an acknowledgement of action not in our best interest in the short term.”
“Ah. Self-deprecation. I understand. It does indicate that you were raised in the same manner as your sibling.”
Iris looked at Lily. “You could say that.”
Lily smiled. “You could definitely say that.”
Their father died when Iris was six and Lily was two. Their mother struggled until Iris was twelve, and then Iris took care of Lily, her homework, and afterschool interests. When she was eighteen, Iris’s mother checked herself into a mental facility and left Iris and Lily alone.
Lily had her mannerisms because Iris raised her.
Iris got into the physical-tolerance machine, and she grinned at the lack of aches and pains. Physical labour didn’t pay well, but there was always plenty of it, and her body had had plenty of proof of her efforts. All those aches and pains were now gone.
Arluth chuckled happily. “Very strong. Good.”
The reflex test was fun, and she was sweating when she was done.
“Your endurance is down, but that is to be expected since you were asleep so long.”
