Page 54 of Mated on Live

“Tell me about your family,” she said.

“They’re cloying and overbearing,” he grumbled immediately. “But they do love me. They’re good people, just obnoxious. My mother and my aunt rule the commu. Not like, literally. Technically, my uncle is the leader of our commu, but you’d never know it.”

Sophie was smothering her laughter with a hand. The look she gave him was filled with amusement and understanding. “Sounds just like my family. My abuelo likes to pretend he’s king of the castle, while my mom and abuela rule the roost and pretend to indulge him.”

“My mother and aunt take care of the nesting pools and the family. My father took over my mother’s family business. My family has an ovili farm. An ovili is this little shelled creature. Tastes absolutely divine, but they’re very difficult to breed and so they’re a rare delicacy. My sister, Valorei, is in academy studying business so she can take over one day. She’s also on the speed swim team. She’s a great athlete, and super smart. And my cousins…”

His voice trailed off as he caught sight of the way she was smiling at him. So tender and sweet, it struck him in the chest as he suddenly felt self-conscious.

“What?” He asked, defensive.

She chuckled. “You sound like you really love them.”

He grumbled for a moment before admitting, reluctantly, “I do love them. I just… don’t want to stay on the planet for the rest of my life. Never going anywhere. Never seeing anything. It’s… suffocating. I want to be out here. Chasing stories. Seeing the universe. My family… they just don’t understand why someone wouldn’t be content with their simple kind of life.”

Sophie turned, wrapping her arms around him, resting her arms on his chest with a smile. “My family doesn’t really understand me either. They try. They’re supportive. Whenever I go home, they ask about my channel and ask how things are going, but you can just tell that they really don’t understand how what I’m doing could be considered a successful career.

“They’re always asking when I’m going to move back to Mexico. I mean, after I told them I was mating an alien, I think they finally understood that I’m not coming back. Not permanently anyway. But they just couldn’t grasp why I wouldn’t be happy in their small town, living the same, simple life my sisters did. Not that I’m saying my life is better than my sisters! They’re happy. They’re living the life they always dreamed, and I am too. It’s just so different from what makes them happy, they don’t know how anyone could want to do this.”

“That’s exactly how my family thinks,” Serval said, stunned that her life, her family, sounded exactly like his. “How did you convince them that you weren’t coming back? I mean, besides literally leaving your homeworld. Before mating me.”

Sophie shrugged. “Truth is… I never did. They were always asking me to come home. And when things got tough or when I got lonely, that’s where I always wanted to go. Even now, I wish I could bring you home to them like you’re doing for me. I think some part of me will always consider that place home. No matter how far I go. And that’s not a bad thing.”

“You don’t feel trapped by it?”

“No!” She said quickly, beaming. “Home isn’t a trap. It’s a guiding light. It’s a roost to rest in when your wings are tired. It’s the point of the compass, the warmth of a familiar bed, it’s a line always pulling you back to a place of safety. And I guess, to some, that line feels like a leash, keeping you from escaping, but it’s not. There’s no limit to how far that line can reach. And if it’s really home, there’s no distance you can create that will ever sever that connection.”

Serval had never thought about it that way before.

To him, home had always been the place he had been desperate to flee. Eager to leave. A place that stifled him until he felt so trapped it felt hard to breathe. He had to return to Wav’aii once a year to restore his wii, but most times he would only stay long enough to bathe in the nesting pools before leaving again.

But those times he stayed…

He would never admit it, but he kind of enjoyed the way his mother would cook and fuss over him as his aunt told him he needed to stop staying away for so long. His father wouldn’t say anything, he wasn’t a confrontational man, but he’d always harvest a bit more ovili to cook him a nice dinner while he was there. And his sister…

When was the last time he’d even seen his sister? The times he returned, she was either out at a competition or at academy. He didn’t even know what was happening in her life because he didn’t comm back often enough to get an update.

“Starcraft ID Ha Valol-4047-5843, landing shuttle en route to your location. Your ship is cleared for stable orbit in the civilian ring while you’re planetside.”

Sophie beamed, excited. “Is it time?”

He grunted in confirmation. “Yes. Shall we?”

She took his hand, holding it firmly as she pulled him along towards the hall. He followed, not feeling the usual trepidation that came over him when it came time to return home.

Chapter 21

Sophie

Wav’aii was beautiful! Flying over it on the landing shuttle, heading for Serval’s commu, Sophie bounced eagerly in the seat as she looked out the wide window. No small airplane style oval for them here. She got a large, proper window that let her see the unusual landscape that passed rapidly below.

The ocean was so vibrant and bright. Serval said it wasn’t particularly deep – at least as far as oceans went. Deep enough to host cities, but not so deep that it could be compared to the abyssal oceans on Earth, so there were few places that got very dark. And the water was so clear! There were spots that she could look right down and see coral, reefs, and what she quickly realized were buildings. They were bubbles, round in the same style as Serval’s ship, and either were out on their own or were grouped together in clusters. Some were on the surface, but others were down below. And they weren’t small either. There were big community buildings that told her the water must be much deeper than its clarity deceived her eyes into thinking.

“Your people don’t live exclusively underwater, right?” She asked, a bit concerned now, as she looked to Serval, surprised to see him staring at her. Watching her watch his world.

“Usually only when Haka Mai’ra is overhead. The deep dwellings have air in them though. I cannot breathe water any more than you can, lov’alel, I just hold my breath for longer. Don’t fear the water. You will get comfortable in it. And I won’t let you swim alone.”

She sent him a grateful smile before turning back to the window, not wanting to miss the alien world passing underneath her. Compared to the varying shades and colors of black of Holivair, this place was a technicolor dream.

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