Page 17 of Mated By Twilight

But he knew better than to push. She needed reassurance and guidance, not an interrogation. So, he showed her the fountain, regaling her with tales of the goddess and her two gods that were sculpted there, holding up the tiers. The diner served avanava style food – a choice they’d made deliberately – and so was decorated with the three avanava deities.

He kept her entertained with stories from mythology until Tillos came to join them, giving him a look that said he’d taken care of everything, before sliding seamlessly up to Leah William’s other side and adding his own thoughts about the ancient myths.

No one still worshiped the old gods, of course. Well, some did, but they were a fringe group. The deities of Yeluka Akuley weren’t ones that demanded such a thing. They were popular in media and décor however. And it was a part of their culture they were happy to share with her as they eased her into being comfortable with them.

She also seemed interested in neutral topics. So, they picked only those, keeping the tone between them friendly, polite, bordering on business casual, as they paid their bill and took the short walk back to their hotel room.

“Zero-g is basically just shorthand for, ‘we perform each play under altered gravity’,” Sollit was saying. “They’re not all literally done at zero-g, but tweaking the gravity power can allow us to do acrobatic feats we couldn’t at regular gravity.”

“Oh,” she hummed thoughtfully.

Sollit and Tillos were explaining zero-g plays to her. She was comparing it to a human presentation called Broadway, but without knowing what that was, he couldn’t say whether she was close or not. They could only detail what they did until she saw it for herself.

More than that, speaking of their jobs seemed to relax her even more. So, they kept to that as they flanked her while walking down the street.

“It’s my turn to pick the next show,” Sollit told her, smiling with friendly joy. “I’ll be sure to pick a good story from Yeluka Akuley so you can get to know our people better. One with ahappyending this time. The last play was terrible.”

“Oh? Is that something an actor should say about his own performance?”

“Pah! Tillos and I were superb in it! It was the story itself that was flawed.”

“Why?”

He opened his mouth, ready to tell her all about the foolish brothers who let themselves be torn apart by a female insteadof just sharing her, as they should, but he felt a rush of caution from Tillos. A silent urge to remain quiet. That topic was too close to the one they were avoiding.

“Ah, just some foolish males being foolish,” he quickly corrected, waving his hand as if to banish them from existence. “The acrobatics were amazing though. Wouldn’t you say, Tillos?”

“The fight scenes were expertly choreographed,” he agreed, catching Leah William’s attention, turning her back towards him. “We have a choreographer who does excellent stage planning, dance, and combat coordination. He’s quite inventive. It was a good show. Received glowing reviews. Sollit is just a romantic. He only likes happy endings.”

She giggled, and it was such a nice sound. It meant she was more comfortable.

“Have you ever worked on a production like zero-g plays?” Sollit asked, catching her attention again. “I mean, you don’thaveto work. Tillos and I earn enough to pay your way, even if you don’t, but-”

“No, I want to work,” she said quickly. “I want to earn my own money. Credz. My own credz. But, er, I’ve never worked in theater or anything.”

“That’s alright,” Tillos assured her. “There are plenty of things to do around the ship that don’t involve the show itself. We can find you something to do. And Corvidair will pay you fairly. He’s a good male. Trustworthy.”

“Corvidair… Who is that?”

“The troupe owner. Our boss,” Sollit answered. “You’ll meet him tomorrow. He’s loud. Got four arms and far bigger than he has any right to be. Rootavin as well, so he’s kind of thickin the head. Never met a rootavin male who wasn’t just a bit simple. Luckily, their people depend on their females for all the important things.”

She was giggling again. As they walked into the shadow of the hotel, she seemed much more at ease. She no longer kept her hands up by her heart, twisting her fingers to work out the nervous energy ripping through her. That was a good thing.

They walked into the hotel and got her a room key – since she didn’t have a combot, she needed a physical object to unlock the control panel. They kept up the easy conversation as they escorted her up, riding the lift together. They weren’t able to get the room right next to theirs, but they did get the one across the hall. Which they made sure to mention as they went through her room and showed her how to operate everything.

She looked relieved to be left alone, which was unnerving, but he and Tillos still did so, retreating across the hall to their own room with frowns they didn’t let her see.

“That could have been better,” Sollit said as he paced up and down.

Tillos, who remained standing near the door, made a thoughtful sound. “It could have also been worse. All things considered, I think it went well. She was smiling by the end.”

“Much better than the beginning,” Sollit grimaced, remembering how wide eyed and frightened she had been when she realized there were two of them. “We should comm-”

“Corvidair and the others? I agree,” Tillos said, waving over his combot. “I think we should let Leah keep our room.”

“We can string up some hammocks in the crew quarters until she’s ready for us. Oh! We should contact Skara as well. Skarawould be a good friend to her, I think, and help her feel safe and at home. Humanity’s sponsor species are the domini and the ratchi, right?”

“Good idea. You comm her; I’ll talk to Corvidair.”

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