Page 92 of Ava Stargazer

Ava stood there then as water dripped down her forehead, letting her heartbeat resettle while she relished the solid ground underneath.That was . . .She shivered as her body got used to the cooler temperature.

“Wait here. Do not move,” Vox said, pointing at her as he backed away.

Ava had no desire to have that happen again and stayed put, taking a step backward to make sure she stayed away from the drop-off that lurked just a little bit into the lake.

She frowned, watching Vox as he swam across the pond easily, his lithe body moving through the water with strong motions that barely disturbed the surface.Okay, not as easy as he makes it look.He checked that she was still where he left her and had not fallen before heading amongst the reeds.

He came back a second later with some dried-out bavla stalks, swam toward her, and reached for her to put them under her arms in front of her chest. “These will help you float. We use these with our young to teach them.”

Ava tested it out, leaning forward and smiling when she stayed buoyed up by the hollow reeds. “That’s much better.” She stroked the biologics on her chest and looked at the container spinning merrily as she started to float, kicking her feet a little. “Do you like it here?”

They spun even faster. Ava reached a wet hand over her chest and touched the container, feeling like they were trying to tell her something, as they were pulsing in a pattern she hadn’t seen before.That's different.

“Vox? What are they . . . ?” She looked down at them in confusion.

Vox swam to her to put his hand on the container, splayed across her chest. He answered a second later, his tone speculative, “They want to swim too.”

Ava looked down at the container warily. “Will they hurt the lake? Or would they get hurt?”

“We will never know until you try. I trust them to behave. I worry about them finding enough to eat, but that can be monitored. Let me ask the others.” Vox shone a minute, communicating elsewhere while Ava just watched and tried to float, before saying, “Erox, Miral, and Orla are not opposed to it. This is our private lake; they will not be able to spread beyond it. Let us see how they adapt.”

She felt torn for a second, her hand on the top, at the clasp that was screwed tight.These are mine... That hesitation only lasted a moment. Ava knew you didn’t keep things you loved in a cage just to keep them close. And you didn’t keep things a secret just to keep them controlled.

She learned that lesson firsthand.

Ava held the biologics to her again, close, her breath fogging the container. “Are you ready to light up this world too?”

The jar pulsed, and she rocked it in her arms.These really have always been my first friends. With Ebel.

A few tears fell from her eyes, joining the lake. “Go on then,” she said, softly. She added a second later, “You can come back to me whenever.”

The biologics left the container in a rush and moved around her, swirling so fast they were hard to follow. The bavla stalks began to sway as the biologics swam, churning the water.

Ava laughed as they lifted the water up with her in the air, buoying her up more than the little floaties under her arms. She waved her arms in the water, making splashes as they pushed her around, and shrieked, “Not so much! I can’t swim!”

Vox looked on, grinning, his body wet all over from the swim, and the splashing they were doing to him as well. “I have never felt such excitement.”

The swirling died down, and Ava felt underfoot delicately to catch her footing on the slippery rocks again. She held tight on to the stalks keeping her afloat. Ava lifted up her container, dripping wet from being in the lake.Not all of them left.Around a third stayed with her. “You all didn’t go,” she whispered. The remainder pulsed in her hands.

On impulse, Ava put her hand in the container, only a finger. She’d never touched the biologics before. She didn’t know why that was. They swirled around, almost like they were reaching up in the container toward her while the rest swirled around her body in the lake. Ava’s finger made contact with them and her eyes opened. “Oh.”

They pressed upon her the sensations that she’d somewhat guessed at, but could feel now without the barrier. Their gratitude and friendship. They felt like energy. Like a bolt of lightning in a bottle. She let out a soft laugh as they moved around her finger.It is like Sai said. The feelingyou get when you run really fast and your heart beats hard.She watched them zoom around her in the lake, the bit that remained with her swirling in her container to match.

And then the ones in the lake tore across the surface, fast, almost too fast for her eyes to follow.

That afternoon, after the winds died down, they had company.

Sai handed her a dish and they set up a meal outside, next to the lake, where the biologics were still racing across the surface. Joy was standing, her face in the afternoon sun, looking peaceful as she looked over the water. Orla and Erox were already sitting, wonder on Orla’s face and concern on Erox’s scarred one as they watched the lake. Miral was there too, absently dishing out food.

The water already looked different from the biologics being added. It was beginning to turn crystal clear in spots, down to the very bottom, instead of the muddy brown it had been before.

“Are you sure this was wise, brother? I know I agreed but...” Erox asked Vox, who was watching the biologics dance in the lake with an amused expression.

Ava watched Vox look across the lake and then grin at his brother, who was still gazing at the lake with concern. “Notin the least. But we will see what happens. They are good creatures.”

“Yes, but can we drink this water now?” Erox looked at it with a frown. His wounds had finally healed, but left disfiguring scars across the side of his face, and his left eye was now permanently drooped.

Vox gestured across the lake. “I already have. Tastes fine. Tastes better than ever, actually.”

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