local time: thursday, 24 november 2022. 20:45 location: city center, collective embassy. allies gala vito russo. theran romano. silvana romano. @credinaa blue text indicates they are speaking palavian with a cipritine accent.
it was a relief to have purpose again; the vacation theran had given vito was not something he’d enjoyed. the beastkin had lived a fully structured life after the venpalan family had taken him in, and the sudden slackening of that structure had been uncomfortable. rather than feeling free, vito had felt like he’d been blasted out an airlock into the open expanse. aimless and adrift, when the order to prepare a residence had come in, russo had buried himself in the task. then, when theran and silvana had arrived the friday before the gala, it had been all too easy to return to his position as the duteous guard.
yet, something was different. it was subtle, but the way theran spoke to him had changed. more willing to share his thoughts, his plans, he’d even asked vito for his opinion on several occasions without phrasing it like an academy professor probing to see if a student understood the curriculum. silvana, too, had a new glint to her eye. as the allies gala drew closer, she’d prepared his wardrobe as she did therans - something that had never happened before. rather than the plain black tux he’d anticipated donning, he was dressed in a custom blazer with patterns reminiscent of those found on afogoth, the planet where theran had found him. he didn’t know what these changes in the romanos meant, but he had a feeling they were just the beginning.
standing just behind the older couple, vito was the only one of their security team that stayed so close. tall even for venpalans, the beastkin is easily overlooked by the gala guests that approach his parents to talk. this suits him just fine as he repeatedly scans the dance hall, head on a constant swivel as reports from the rest of the team occasionally trickle in over the security earpiece. silvana gave a polite farewell to the conversation partner she’d snared and the trio set off for a nearby table, small enough that it only held four chairs and newly cleaned by one of the roving white robots the city had supplied for the evening. pulling out a chair for silvana, vito takes a step back and stands with hands clasped behind his back as theran joins his wife at the table.
“ I’m so glad we were able to come here. it’s so quaint, don’t you think, darling? and I must say, the air here is quite a bit cleaner than the last planet we visited. ”
“ you’re not wrong, but that planet was human, so it’s a difficult comparison. the food here is excellent, though. what we can eat of it, anyway. ”