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“That’s the thing. It’s not just your life. Vixi is worried about you, and so am I.” Sulat’s scales shimmered a brilliant silver as they tightened in anger. “Our daughter needs you to be present in her life. I want my anrik around, despite the fact he’s a stubborn bakaffa.”
They both laughed—more to break the tension than because of the joke—but it was enough. His anger faded and died like a flame denied oxygen. The confrontation turned into a brief embrace, and then it was done.
They took a moment to straighten out hair and clothing disheveled by the wind in companionable silence. There would be another conversation soon, but now wasn’t the time. It annoyed him that Sulat was right. Again.
Damn the male for knowing him so well. He’d have to do better. Pay more attention to the family he had left.
Vixi’s home fascinated Jody. Her residence was based on the same template, but there were differences in furnishing styles and the use of space Jody had never considered. The need for higher ceilings and wide doors was obvious enough given the Vardarian’s larger size and wings, but as she looked around, it was obvious she’d need to rearrange some of her furniture. She’d set it up for a human home, and these were something different.
They were seated in a large, airy space in what Jody would call a conversation area with several comfortable options for seating gathered in a rough circle with a table in the center. The late afternoon sun came through the many windows, splashing down over the palette of cool pastels Vixi had decorated with.
“Do the new colonists receive any guidance on how to furnish and use the homes they’ll receive once they graduate to full citizenship?” she asked Vixi.
“No. Why would they need that? They can furnish it however they like.”
Even as she spoke, Vixi’s brow furrowed in thought. “Except some of them have never had a private space of their own. Never mind an entire residence. Veth, we should have considered that.”
Vixi cursed in Galactic Common as often as she did her own language. Study and time spent with the colonists on the journey here had given her more time to learn the language. For now, Jody had to rely on her translator, a bit of Vardarian tech she and Lores had been given shortly after their arrival. Tariq and Sulat had done the implantations, explaining each part of the procedure as they went. It was her first chance to see the two males in their roles as healers, and it had impressed her.
Since then, she’d hoped to work with them and learn more about Vardarian treatments and medicine, but so far that hadn’t happened. They weren’t even working out of the same med-clinic, which felt counter-productive. They had so much to learn from each other. Not to mention the imminent birth of the first Vardarian-human hybrid child. Reading and research could give her the facts, but she wanted to hear about their experiences, too. Vixi’s invitation to dinner with her family had seemed like the perfect opportunity to talk.
“You and your team have done an amazing job. I only ask because now that I’ve seen your home, I see a few areas where I didn’t grasp the purpose of the space.” She gestured around them, indicating the three-dimensional artwork and furnishings laid out to create glide paths between the various areas.
Alcoves and smaller rooms were generally set against the outer walls, and many of them extruded past the wall to create more space.
Vixi nodded thoughtfully. “I had a similar experience while on Earth. Everything felt too closed in and cramped. It was difficult to find somewhere I could spread my wings, and flying…” she shook her head. “I’ve never been grounded for so long in my life.”
“Being underground is difficult enough. But for you…” Jody raised her hands and sketched out a vague wing shape above her shoulders. “How did you manage?”
“I had to request rooms in the section reserved for Torski visitors. Not that they have many, but there are rooms set aside for them.”
The Torskis were the largest sentient species in known space. They towered over humans, and even the Vardarians seemed small compared to the heavy-gravity worlders.
Jody was about to ask more about Vixi’s experiences on Earth—a place she’d never been—when the household AI interrupted.
“Visitors have arrived. Identities confirmed. Grant access?” The voice was the same as her own AI, genderless and pleasant, always sounding soothing no matter what message it conveyed.
“Allow access,” Vixi instructed. That done, she gave Jody a sheepish smile. “I should probably warn you that my fathers don’t know they’re not my only guests for dinner.”
Jody kept her expression neutral, but inwardly she winced. Did the two healers dislike her so much they had to be tricked into dining with her? What would happen when they saw her sitting here?
“That’s going to be awkward. Should I leave?” she offered.
“No. You’re my guest and I’m happy you’re here.” Vixi seemed to sense Jody’s sudden discomfort and leaned over to place a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry. I should have said something earlier. I was enjoying our conversation and forgot.”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs leading down from the rooftop, and Jody tensed.
“My fathers need to stop hiding away from the world. You’re their colleague, and I know they both admire you. We can, as you humans say, talk shop.”
They admired her? That was news to Jody, but she knew Vixi well enough to trust her judgment. Especially when it came to her own parents.
Tariq arrived first, grinning broadly as he looked around for his daughter. The grin faltered and then flickered and died when he spotted Jody. “You have company, Vixi? Did Sulat get the wrong day?”
Sulat appeared a second later and reacted differently. “Hello, Dr. Clark. Pleasure to see you outside of work,” he said and flashed Jody a friendly smile. At the same time, he subtly tapped Tariq on the back with one wing in what she suspected was the Vardarian version of an elbow to the ribs.
Tariq must have taken the hint because he gave her a polite nod. “Good evening, Dr. Clark.”
Vixi popped up from her chair and hurried over to hug her fathers. “Hi, Dads. You’re here on the right day. Did I forget to mention I had invited Jody, too?”
