Chapter 2 #6
Elethenn was silent, which wasn't – well, it wasn't unlike him.
He was awkward at the best of times, but he at least seemed to like talking to me when I visited his cart outside, or like it when I talked to him anyway.
I'd chalked some of his awkwardness up at first to something like a crush, but it hadn't taken me long to realize that he didn't have even the faintest stirring of attraction to me.
It was one of those things you had to be good at reading in the den, and I was very good at reading it – I was even better now, when it came to abaya.
In truth, I thought he was just lonely, and knowing he didn't secretly want to make a move meant it was easier to stop in and chat with him whenever I was in the area without worrying about ulterior motives.
I fucking hated ulterior motives. I had figured Elethenn was just happy to have someone he was friendly with. He didn't seem like the type who had many friends, if any. Although –
Elethenn did have a friend, clearly, although there was something about their dynamic that I didn't understand, judging by the change in Elethenn's demeanour. Maybe they were exes.
Rodil smiled, sipping at their tea, and when it became clear that I wasn't going to just ignore that pointed silence, they said, "They are a faction from Xitera. It is unusual for their leader to travel outside of the empire."
Huh. It struck me as strange that I'd never heard of them before – although who had I heard of? I'd only just clued in to the fact that the Concord and the Assembly weren't the same thing.
The worst part about attaching myself to an abaya was that I'd thrown myself into a culture that seemed to value mysteriousness above all else.
It wasn't like I could just look this shit up.
There weren't articles or documentaries or helpful cultural primers.
I couldn't search up caldathess or yevladi and find helpful educational material.
I had to ask and ask and ask and keep failing to get answers. I had to ask until –
"I'm guessing," I said wearily, "that if I asked you to tell me more about that, you'd say I should speak to Araxis instead."
Rodil trilled. "Yes, you are quite correct, Sashen of Creche Thiel."
Well, that about summed that up. If I wanted to feel like I was on solid footing at all as we set a course to Xitera, I was going to have to make sure Araxis was a hell of a lot more blunt with me.
I made some idle conversation with Rodil and Elethenn, asking how long they'd been on Sozamia, how they found Radiant Ward, where else they'd lived outside of the empire, and then I offered my thanks and sent them both on their way.
For his part, Elethenn looked immensely relieved to be leaving, although he waited diligently by the door until Rodil had left before following them out.
"Hey," I said, before he made his escape. "Thanks for looking out for me back there. You'll be back in the square in a couple of days?"
He looked at me, head tilting. "Yes, Sashen," said Elethenn. "I will be back."
"Save the greatest dumplings for me," I said in abayan.
His mouth twitched, and he ducked his head. "I will save the best dumplings for you," Elethenn corrected, and then he headed off after Rodil and into Radiant Ward beyond.
I was standing in the kitchen, tidying up and trying to figure out how to tell Araxis that he needed to actually start explaining things to me because apparently no one else would, when my wristband buzzed. I glanced down, and sighed when I saw Vivith's ID.
Araxis has explained that he cannot contact you today as per your agreement.
As I read the message, I could practically hear Vivith’s usual haughty tone with the current of disdain running through each word.
However, I have not signed any agreements and therefore I have taken it upon myself to reach out.
Creche Miras is coming for a preliminary meeting early this evening.
They have just informed us that they are very interested in being introduced to Creche Thiel's human virra.
We would reschedule for another time, except that their lead diplomat is leaving for another system tomorrow.
It would therefore be beneficial for you to attend, although you have refused to work today.
It is a small thing to ask and the very least you can do in your role.
I huffed out a sharp breath, staring at Vivith's message, chewing on my lip. I wasn't the one who'd wanted days off – but of course Vivith would chalk it all up to me being a brat.
A second message popped up as I was contemplating my response. I expect a response within the next hour so that we might plan accordingly. It would be a shame to disappoint a potential ally for the sake of your human sensitivity.
I started and deleted three responses, each of which began with some variation of, You're a real fucking asshole, you know that?
before settling on a much more measured and grown-up, I'll be sure to be there.
And then I locked things up and headed out toward Verdant Ward.
It was still late afternoon, so I had time to spare, but if Vivith was going to be a bitch about my human sensitivity, then I was going to show up early and make sure I looked particularly stunning so that I could dazzle whoever the fuck wanted to stare at me next.
Besides, I could do my language homework just as well in the creche suite as I could in my shitty apartment.
I did stop to grab the package from Val on the way – it was a small crate with handles set into the top, lighter than I expected for its size but still a pain in the ass to carry through the curving and crowded tunnels that connected all of the wards of Sozamia Station.
I could have paid for it to be delivered to our suite in Verdant Ward, but I was walking up there anyway, and even though my shoulder still ached like a motherfucker, it was free for me to take it myself.
I wasn't so used to having credits yet that I wanted to waste them.
The station-wide tunnels, tubes, and lifts that connected the wards were broad and utilitarian, except for the display panels set close to the ceiling at regular intervals that played news and advertisements in equal measure, adding to the cascade of sounds that always echoed through the space.
Anyone with any real money could travel outside of the station, hopping from ward dock to ward dock without needing to be pressed in with the teeming bodies of the other denizens of Sozamia.
The real elite took the inner-station tunnels, which were so expensive that I’d have to sell an organ to afford one, even with the stupid amount of credits Araxis was funnelling into my account.
I walked with my package jostling against my thigh, careful to keep it out of the way of anyone else who was making the long trek up station.
I bypassed several other wards until my feet carried me back to the checkpoint into Verdant, where I was more or less waved through – that was thanks to Araxis, who'd effectively made sure the ward guards treated me with the respect befitting someone of my station (it was fucking weird, having station; I'd said that I wanted status, but now that I had something like it, it mostly made me feel like I was a kid standing in a parent's too-big boots).
And honestly, while I could have spent more time twiddling my thumbs in Radiant Ward or dragging my heels along the inter-ward tunnel, the timing was good – overhead, the newsfeed had just clicked into an update on Seraphim's official statement following the loss of another trading partner, and I didn't want to listen to a Shepherd talk about anything, not ever – so I left the flashing screens behind and instead stepped into the crisp, clean air of Verdant which felt, impossibly, like it might smother me in a way that Radiant never had.