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.
