Page 15 of Ava Stargazer

“There you are. It’s at the table.” Sai said, pulling her inside.

Erox's house was a duplicate of Vox’s in that it held the same mixture of new technology and old. The layouts were also similarin that it was a three-room structure, with a kitchen in the middle and then two bedrooms off the side. Erox, like Vox, had an upgraded bathroom tacked onto the end with more modern technology akin to the Phor ship.

The biggest difference between Vox and Erox’s homes was that Orla had wasted no time in making herself comfortable there, and had her outfits and accessories strewn everywhere. Ava noted the difference, realizing Vox’s house still looked like his own. It looked the same as when Ava first came two weeks ago.I haven’t added anything ... yet.

That thought lay heavily on her mind as she looked at Orla’s things.What do I even have to add?Ava had no real items of her own other than her blanket, and that already was on Vox’s bed.

Ava looked around the room again, noting that Vox’s decorations were lined up meticulously, not strewn about like Erox’s were. Even Erox's jurn set was tossed in the corner instead of properly stored like his brother’s. In the early evening Vox had been teaching her how to play jurn, a sport he enjoyed, a game where you threw a ball to land on different targets.

Sai went back to the table where there was a pile of what looked like tangled thread in a bowl. She motioned to Ava to sit down next to her, her voice high and excited. “Took you long enough. We are washing and straightening this out. There is a machine that can do it easily, but for the mating dress we still do it by hand.”

The dress?Ava looked around, confused, as everyone was wearing brightly colored sashes, not dresses, tied around their bodies.

Except for her in her jumpsuit still.

“Here,” Orla said, reaching across the table and holding up a pale blue dress that had been lying on it. The dress shimmered in the afternoon sun that came through the window, lending it an otherworldly appearance.

Sai lifted up another part as Orla continued to hold the dress up. “And here.” Sai pulled on the train. “And here.” The train kept going, from the table to the floor. Sai leaned over and pointed as Ava looked under the table where she gestured. “And we are adding to it, all the way down here.”

Ava looked at the length, winding around the kitchen table, confused, until Sai laughed at her reaction. “Yea, it's long. We add to it with every mating. It is a generational dress. That’s why it is so long. Now Orla is adding to it here. And her children will add to it as well.”

Ava reached forward, touching it in awe. She stroked the dress in wonder, watching while the women began to once again straighten the thread in the bowl. “It is so soft. Like the soft part of feathers.”Like those feathers of Nuor I still have.Vox also collected feathers. He was nostalgic and kept the vibrant ones from his birds.Maybe I could bring those inside the house too. But Nuor probably wouldn't like her feathers next to other birds.The thought made Ava smile.Would need to be on her own shelf.

Orla explained, her eyes focused, “This thread is from an insect here. It makes this string for its nest. We collect and then untangle it. The strands are thick.”

Sai handed a clump to Ava. “It is a pain. I don’t know why our ancestors decided this was what you do, but it is tradition now. It is good luck to follow the old ways.”

Bria also had a little bundle in front of her, tangled in knots she was picking apart. She gave a tentative smile in Ava’s direction when she saw her looking. “We've been working on it all morning.”

Ava looked at the thread as Orla continued to explain, a small bundle in front of her as well, “Not too big of a pain, Sai. The thread is beautiful though, once it’s untangled; that’s probably why.”

She sat on a wooden chair next to the round table and watched them work. After the thread was untangled it was stitched together in a knit. Ava watched Orla’s finger movements carefully as she did it, thinking her fingers mimicked a machine with the repetitive motions. Bria and Sai untangled for Orla, and Ava helped pick apart as well. Orla made a long looping line of knotted fabric out of the thread just as fast as they unraveled it.

“That’s amazing, how you do that,” Ava said, watching how a section of the dress was stitched together out of a single thread. She had attached fabric pieces to her patchwork blanket over the years using the ship’s heat seal that fused fabric together, much like it did her skin after injuries, but weaving together a single thread in such a way to make it something more was like magic. The biologics also seemed to be watching, swaying back and forth the way Sai’s arms were moving.

Orla took note of her interest. “Here, Ava. Let me show you.”

Ava tried, but all the while in the back of her mind felt a sense of longing.I do not have a dress like this, from my ancestors. What did Humans used to do?There was nothing about Human traditions in the information logs the Phor had that had come from Cipra with her purchase. Her mind was busy thinking as she learned the movements, reflecting back on the Cipra notes she’d just looked at.And Vox never mentioned us doing anything like this either. No mention of any ... ceremony.

Her hands stilled.Why is that?Ava swallowed and put the weaving down, then returned to just untangling the thread with Sai. She resolved to ask him after the meeting he was in with Iryl.Or maybe after the ceremony.The threads felt slippery as she picked them up again, attempting to knit.Maybe I should see what this is before I ask for it.

“You are thinking hard, Ava,” Orla said.

Ava looked up, startled. Orla chuckled. “I’m not looking, but you could share.”

Sai leaned forward, a mischievous expression on her face. “Or if it’s easier, I could look.”

Bria tossed a tangled clump of thread in her direction. “Sai!”

Ava swallowed and her tongue loosened. “I was just thinking about how there are probably many traditions for Humans I don’t know about. And I don’t know if I can be a part of yours either.”

All three women stopped at that, and Ava had to look away from their thoughtful expressions. Her cheeks reddened, feeling like she was bringing the mood down.I wish I didn’t say anything at all.

A muted shine came from Orla, but instead of probing her like the quorum, offered something: connection and family. Sai and Bria did as well, Sai laying her hand on Ava’s, still covered in the thread she was trying to pick apart.

Orla spoke out loud. “In every sense, you can live like us. Once you mate with Vox, you can borrow my dress. We will be sisters, after all; Erox is his brother.”

Ava was touched and didn’t know how to respond, or even say he hadn’t asked her to mate with him yet. But she smiled and nodded and Orla, still shining and offering her warmth, returned her grin and tapped her hand. “One thing at a time. You need to first see what we do here on Xai.” She held up the dress, now one row longer. “Thankfully, you know someone getting marked very soon.”

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