Page 7 of Ava Stargazer

“Vox,” Ava said, her voice hushed. The strangeness of the noise startled her, but her body was slow to respond, still in the dregs of sleep as she stirred.

It was late at night. Vox held on to her tightly, arms enclosing her in his warm embrace, one of his hands cupping her breast.A bit too hot, actually.She pushed her patchwork blanket off her body and scooted forward to give herself space. The cool air of the room washed over her as she looked around curiously.What woke me up?

The rumble happened again after a bright flash of light. Ava sat up further to be able to see out the window.Oh ...

“Vox?” Ava’s voice was more insistent, her eyes glued to the sky through the glass to see if it happened again.What is that?She had a thought of what it was, but was unsure. Ava pushed on his arm roughly where he lay at her side.

“Hmm?” Vox’s eyes slit open and then closed again.

Ava squirmed to get up from where she lay entwined in his arms, wanting to see for herself. He reluctantly opened his grasp and moved to the side to let her rise, waking with her movements. She noticed that he slept heavily here on Xai, heavier than he ever did on the ship.

She climbed over his large frame, ignoring his grunts as she elbowed him, and opened the hinged pane window, fumbling a bit with the clasp. The window sprang open and unleashed a torrent of water into the room. “Oh!” she exclaimed as the wetness hit her face.

Vox sat up fully as the water poured on him as well. Quickly, moving faster than her Human body could, he rose into a defensive stance before his amber eyes riveted on her with her hand still out the window. His posture drooped as he leaned back again, moving away from the water hitting him in bed. He spoke in the grumpiest tone he had ever taken with her to date, eyes narrowed in confusion, “Ava. What are you doing?”

“Oh. Sorry, sorry,” Ava said quickly, still staring out, her heartbeat pounding. She closed the window, leaving a tiny crack so it didn’t spray inside as she stuck her hand out through the opening. She smiled as water dripped onto her skin, then onto the ground outside, and looked back at Vox, eagerness in her voice. “Sorry. It’s water. It’s rain. The solarium had this as a sprinkler sometimes! I’ve never...”

Vox dried his chest off with one of the hides from the bed, understanding on his face and his tone back to normal. “Yes. You—”

Ava removed her hand and snapped the window shut. She didn’t wait for him to finish his thought before she got down from the bed and ran to the front door, feet bare, and opened it wide. Her eyes widened at the sight.

A moderate downpour fell right outside the door, tapping on the roof and the ground as it came down from the sky. Sleepiness was forgotten and excitement made her move fast.Rain, rain, rain!She wanted to experience real rain for herself.

A flash of light and a loud rumble made her pause at the threshold, momentarily startled.Thunder.Her eyes went wide as another bolt of light streaked across the night sky.Andlightning.She had seen videos of this before. On all types of different planets. She could be imagining it, but her mother might have told her once that it even happened on Earth.

The rain was coming down moderately hard, soaking into the ground, puddles everywhere. Ava looked over the rain-drenched night in awe.Everything looks so different when it’s wet all over.She breathed in deep, expanding her lungs to hold as much as they could.And it smells different too.The air smelled fresh and clean as she pressed her hands together and let out a sharp noise in excitement.

The three moons of Xai were almost full and reflected the sun that had set several hours ago. Clouds obscured the view of the moons, but their muted glow still shone through. Even with the clouds and rain, it was easy for Ava to see the yard with the moons this full and giving off so much light. And when the lightning struck, it looked almost like it was daytime for a brief second. She watched a flash streak across the sky, coming every few moments.

Tentatively, she took a step forward, the rain lukewarm on her skin, reminding her of the showers she always took on the ship. There was mud underfoot instead of the hard, dry, dirt she was used to, filling the area between her toes. She picked her foot up gingerly.Covered in mud.She stomped down again, the mud squishing underneath.I don’t care.

She circled around, arms outstretched, and looked up atCelestialin the background, watching the water drip off the massive hull in rivulets down its side. All the dirt outside of the large ship that had accumulated from being stationary on the planet was being washed away to the ground.

The rain poured down over Ava, completely drenching her. She cupped her hands, and soon had a small collection of water in them. Ava looked back excitedly to see Vox staring at her from the doorway, his eyes hungry. She looked down to see what hewas staring at and saw that the thin shirt she had worn to sleep was now plastered to her front.Oh. It sticks.She laughed as she pulled the wet shirt away from her and let go of it to slosh against her body again, making a splattering noise. She threw the water in her hands in his direction, where it fell short of hitting him, then cupped her hands to collect some more.

Vox didn’t seem as amused by the rain as he did by her reaction to it, grinning at her as she spun in the moonlight, mud now coating her feet.

Ava felt wild, raw, and connected to the world at that moment.I’m here. I’m here.Her heart felt lighter than it had been for some time with the rain from above and the mud below, thick between her toes, grounding her on this planet, making her feel present and alive.

“Come out here!” she called to Vox, laughing. She threw the water she collected in her hands again. And again, as the rain died down to a gentle drizzle. Her hand splayed across her chest.The biologics.I forgot them.The front of her chest felt empty without them. She had run out so hastily she didn’t remember.I’ll show them when I go back in.

Ava watched as Vox slipped on his sandals and walked out into the rain while he chuckled, the water slipping down his torso. He wore nothing except a pair of shorts, his body not seeming to experience as much sensitivity to temperature as hers did. The ridges on his brows also kept the rain out of his eyes, unlike Ava, who had to wipe her face frequently.

He gestured to her mud-covered feet, causing Ava to look down too and laugh. “You are a mess,” he said with a chuckle, fondness evident in his tone as he put his head over hers to shield her face from the raindrops.

Ava shook her head, sodden locks of hair flying. “I don’t care. It’s raining.”

“I can tell.” He slipped further toward her and pressed his forehead against the top of hers. “I don’t care either.” There was another flash, and a large rumble of thunder followed, almost vibrating the air.

Ava jumped at the noise, covering her ears. “Is it always that loud? I’ve never heard something so loud before.”

Vox’s hands rubbed down her arms as he looked at her deeply, making her squirm from the intensity. Her skin warmed at his touch. “Not always.”

He tilted his head down and tenderly kissed her lips. His fingers were in her tangled, wet hair as his toughened palms cradled her cheeks. The kisses were deep and familiar. She tasted the rain on him, wrapping her arms around him as she met every kiss until a gust of wind blew on her wet frame and she shivered in the night.

Vox rubbed her arms again before picking her up and holding her close, beginning to walk inside. “You’re shaking and your skin is raised, like it gets when you’re afraid. Let’s get back inside. There will be other rainstorms, some even during the day, but you are cold now.”

Vox walked up behind Ava, who was sitting on the edge of their bed. He dipped his head to her neck to inhale her delicious scent, intensified from the rain now that they were inside. Her scent called to him on a primal level. It was uncanny how similar her scent was to their females.

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