Page 28 of Ava Stargazer

Dried purple flowers were everywhere, making the house look bright and cheery. They hung from the rafters, circling the room, strung on artfully arranged strings. A few other varieties were dried and hung as well, adding a mix of muted orange and yellow to the view, but the purple ones appeared to be the clear favorite.

In the kitchen, much like at Vox’s house, there was a simple hearth with a fireplace that extended outward through a chimney in the back. A stack of the IO minerals, a few blue bricks, sat ready next to the hearth to provide extra fuel. Rhutg’s house remained a traditional hut, not upgraded like Vox’s or Erox’s had been with plumbing and air conditioning. The only upgrade she could see was a cold box in the corner that had an IO mineral attached to it.

A feminine outfit was draped over one of the two chairs in the kitchen by the table, as if the owner of it had just stepped out and would be back soon to put it on.

“It’s beautiful,” Ava said, pointing to the flowers overhead.And ... so sad.

Rhutg nodded and swallowed hard. “Yes.”

After she got over the initial shock, Ava was reminded again of how barren the house she shared with Vox was. How empty compared to Rhutg’s and now Erox’s. Ava looked around, and the thought of Orla decorating Erox’s home came to mind. Andhow plain Vox’s house still looked. It was only filled with his personal effects and items he enjoyed collecting, like feathers from his birds and things he could trade.

Rhutg rummaged in the house a bit and grabbed the gardening tools, a small box, and motioned Ava to follow him back outside the house. He led her to a bare patch of dirt in the back, underneath a large window. “The plants catch the light well here. They do not need much water; the little rain we have is usually enough. Violie also liked them because they were easy to care for.”

Rhutg opened the small box and took out a packet of the dried fruit. “Here,” he said, shaking it until some of the seeds came out, then offered one of the dark plum dried fruits to her. “Violie’s fruit.”

Ava took it and sampled it, eyes closing at the sweetness. “No wonder she loved them. I can’t wait to taste them fresh.”

Rhutg tasted one as well before closing up the small container and putting it in the box to the side and breathing deep. He sank to the ground and began to pull out the old, weathered stalks. “We need to clear these out first. Then the soil can be turned a bit and the new bulbs can go in.”

“Where do the old stalks go?”

“I will put them in your lake. They will break down there and give extra nutrients to the bavla reeds growing on the outskirts.”

Ava copied his movements, her hands quickly becoming caked in dirt.This doesn't seem hard.The shovel bit into the soil easily and she soon worked up a sweat mimicking Rhutg’s movements making small holes in the ground.

Rhutg talked with her as they planted. “Vox told me you looked at the records from Cipra. Are you ready to go there?”

“Yes. And no.” She looked up at Rhutg. “Are you ready to leave here again? Do these peace talks?”

“Not going to be very peaceful, but around the same as you.” He dug another hole before adding, “Vox says you have a hard time looking at the records from that Phor bug, even.”

Ava’s insides swam. She didn’t say anything but kept digging the holes a little deeper.I should look them over again.

Rhutg put his large hand on hers. “It is okay to have trouble, Ava. It is uncomfortable, but sometimes forcing yourself to do what you can will make it better afterward. We will go there and see what we can find.”

Ava chewed on her bottom lip before answering, “I can do it. I am scared, but it is like Torga. If I can do that, I can face ... this.”

“You can.” Rhutg knocked his elbow with her, pushing her over accidentally. “Whoops.”

“Hey!”

He lifted her up by her elbow until she was back on her feet. Then he took his hand and rubbed her hair in apology, making it go flying. “Sorry.”

She swatted his hand away. “That's enough. I'm not a coar; you don't need to pet my hair.”

Rhutg snorted. “Yes, you have fire, Ava. Whatever is there changes nothing that we have here now. And we can have these plants to look forward to when we get home again. They will sprout fast.”

Ava retied her hair from him messing it up. Already, she was thinking about Vox’s house and where she could make a patch like this outside to plant some of her own. “Think these will grow by Vox?”

“Yes. Take a few and plant them for yourself. This is more than I alone can ... you should have some.”

“Okay.”

Ava was on board to do just that. She had always wanted to plant things in the solarium before.This is even better.Before, she wasn’t allowed to even pick a flower in the solarium. Shestood back, looking at the freshly turned dirt that now held all the bulbs.And no one is going to stop me either. From doing this.

Rhutg looked at the ground absently, as if lost in his thoughts.

Her heart panged looking at him.Oh, Rhutg.Ava recognized that feeling of being lost herself, and she knew that keeping busy usually helped. She went and grabbed his hand, larger than Vox’s and dirty now from the soil, and pulled him upward. He stood easily at her tugs. “C’mon. The others could use your help too.”

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