096: Bullets and Boards – Eleven
"I do appreciate you all indulging me yesterday," Pryseia said over their breakfast at one of the restaurants attached to the Hallusdinas Hotel, "The activities I chose were perhaps a bit too strenuous for what was supposed to be a relaxing endeavour."
"Hey, none of that," Rhea said fondly, reaching over so she could jostle Pryseia in her seat, "This vacation was for all of us, so we were happy to go out into the freezing cold and watch you show off!"
Nodding over her mug of tea, Nevara added, "It was good to see you on the ice again. The last time would have been a year or so before our capture by the Thalatte, would it not?"
"Yes, the last time we had a vacation, if I recall," Pryseia's smile went soft at the memory, "Aigyts was closest, so you spent the week with my mothers and I."
"You knew each other before you were captured?" Elytra asked, glancing between the two of them curiously.
With a hum of conformation as she finished her tea, Nevara said, "We first met in our mid adolescence. Both of our classes had taken a trip to the Human homeworld in order to attend a conference on interspecies diplomatic relations. We'd had some free time to explore the city where it was held, and we ended up bumping into one another at an aeronautics museum."
"You hardly said a word to me, but that didn't prevent me from carrying on with the bulk of the conversation," Pryseia recounted warmly, "I could tell you were just as enamoured with the machines on display as I was."
Leaning her head on her fist as she smiled at the pair of them, Rhea said, "I had no idea either of you had been to Terra."
"Just the once. It was a coastal town called… Vancouver, I believe?" Nevara told her before turning back to the others, "After our chance meeting, we kept in touch, the both of us interested in the same professional field, which was the foundation on which our friendship grew. Alas, this career led to our imprisonment with the Thalatte."
"But as nightmarish as that time was, it led us to the rest of you, so I cannot hold it wholly in contempt." Pryseia finished, glancing fondly around the table at them all.
"Well I'm gonna hold the Thalatte in contempt, that's for damn sure," Malakh scoffed, stealing a piece of bacon from Rhea's plate while her wife was distracted, "Bunch of self important, cloaca sucking warmongers."
"I love getting to add new phrases to my vocabulary." Viatrix joked as she bobbed her drone up to Malakh, which got Rhea cackling.
"So what's on the docket for today?" Elytra asked, glancing over at Malakh, "Is it the gala you were interested in going to?"
Nodding, Malakh said, "Yeah, that's tonight. It's a fancy event, formal enough that it has a dress code, so if none of you packed anything that will work, we can either hit up some of the local shops or the auto-tailors beforehand."
"And what does this dress code allow or forbid?" Nevara asked.
Malakh reached into the jacket she's draped on her chair to pull out her data pad, taking a moment to search something up before she passed it over.
"It's basically just whatever's considered formal, depending on what species you belong to. The only real hard rule is that your genitals need to be covered, and that's more for sanitary reasons than anything. They don't wanna be cleaning up excretions."
"What a wonderful sentence to hear at breakfast time." Rhea drawled, liberating a piece of bacon from Malakh's plate the moment the opportunity presented itself.
Frowning, Nevara glanced up at Malakh and said, "This is just a text document with the dress code and the address of where this event will be taking place. Have they no site on the network?"
"No, they do," Malakh said evasively, "I just want it to be a surprise, is all."
Bumping into her with a giggle, Viatrix asked, "And is there a reason you're being so sneaky about this event?"
Nudging her back, Malakh laughed, "There sure is, and you'll just have to wait until later to find out!"
Peering over Nevara's shoulder, Rhea read out, "The Evenire Centre, sunset. Oof, I definitely didn't pack anything as fancy as they want."
"Then I suppose a shopping trip is in order," Pryseia said as she pulled out her own data pad, "Hm, there are several formal wear boutiques in town that would suit our needs, shall we attend to that after breakfast?"
Nodding, Elytra said, "We may as well have a look around town while we're at it. We've only seen what the nightlife was like, not any of the daytime activities. I'm not even sure what this town is called, actually."
"Departir," Nevara told her, "And I would be amenable to that."
Finishing off the last of her coffee, Rhea said, "Then let's finish up and head out. The sooner we get up to do something, the quicker the day will pass, and then we can find out what this mystery event is all about!"
Departir, like all the towns they'd visited on Osatiawjo, was filled with stonework buildings, these one a bright yellow green that blended them into their tropical surroundings. The winding streets, again built with people in mind instead of vehicles, were made with cobblestone of sea blue and mortared together with a white compound, giving the impression of ripples of light along the surface of the sea.
Finding the shops they wanted did not take long at all, a whole neighbourhood seemingly dedicated to fashion.
Looping an arm around V'tala's shoulders, Rhea turned to Malakh and said, "I wanna pick something out without you distracting me, so we'll catch up with you later!"
Shaking her head fondly, Malakh wandered off with the others in the opposite direction Rhea was leading V'tala.
"I hardly think you need me to chaperone you." V'tala said, shooting Rhea a curious look.
"You're right," Rhea said, "But you look like the type of person who doesn't appreciate a crowd in an unfamiliar situation, and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they didn't have putting together a formal outfit as part of your dregil training."
V'tala could only clench her jaw at that obvious truth.
"Hey, that's what I'm here for," Rhea said gently as she pulled away from V'tala so she could open the door to one of the shops for her instead, "We'll get you sorted in no time at all! So, what kind of style do you want to try out?"
Finding outfits everyone was happy with ended up not taking that much time at all, and after having their shopping sent off with an automated delivery agent back to their suite, they had more than enough time to explore more of Departir.
The streets were lined with shops selling all kinds of wares beyond clothing - art, knickknacks, furnishings, household goods, electronics, there was a little bit of everything available here.
Encouraged by the others, V'tala picked up more items to make her space on the ship her own, the others assuaging her guilt by buying just as much stuff for themselves.
"Look, the way we've suffered throughout the bulk of our lives? We deserve to get a little materialistic now that we've got the funds and freedoms to do so!" Malakh told her as she tucked what looked to be some kind of action figure into her bag.
Aside from stopping briefly for lunch, the spent the bulk of the day out and about, only heading back to their hotel once the sun started descending towards the horizon.
"I assume punctuality is tantamount, so we'd best get ready now so we can arrive there on time." Nevara said, looking pointedly at Rhea and Malakh.
Rhea was full of over-the-top offence at that implication, but Malakh just smiled sweetly and said, "Don't worry, we're not going to be late for this."
As everyone expected, Viatrix was the first one ready. Her drone's chassis polished to a mirror-finish, she scattered rainbow reflections every time she crossed a light source as she hovered around the sitting room, waiting for the others to appear.
Pryseia was next, emerging in an asymmetrical, velvet dress of such a dark blue that, unless it caught the light just right, it looked black. It was decorated with a spray of gold beads that made the whole ensemble resemble a starry night sky. Her right shoulder was left bare, while the strap of the dress came over her left, draping down almost like a capelet, obscuring her bicep where her flesh transitioned into the metal of her prosthesis. She'd braided her hair back, capped her horns with gold, and festooned her ears with gold earrings. Around her throat was a black choker, matching the black heels she was wearing, and the jet bangle around her right wrist. Several gold rings travelled down the length of her tail. Her makeup was subtle, a gloss to her lips and a golden halo around her eyes.
Nevara left her room not long after, in a silver, two tone wrap that sparkled with her every movement. The under layer, a storm cloud grey, draped down to her knees, comfortably cinched at her waist. Over this was a sheer, dark white length of fabric that wrapped her from shoulders to hips, lending her outfit an aesthetically pleasing contrast of light and dark. She'd gone with dark silver jewellery - rings and bracelets and armbands, as well as a circlet wrought in swirls that brought to mind cresting, storm-churned waves. She'd paired it with elegantly simple silvery shoes, and the teal tones of her makeup highlighted the sharpness of her features.
Elytra wasn't far behind her, wearing a sleeveless sheath dress that faded from a dark purple from the hem that came down to her ankles, up to a rich magenta at the high collar around her throat. It was slitted up both sides to allow for easier movement, paired with black sandals that wrapped around her calves, and matching purple gloves that came to her elbows. She had foregone any jewellery, instead wearing a wide brimmed hat set at a jaunty angle, a lighter magenta to continue the ombre travelling up her outfit, tied together with a matching colour blush and lipstick.
V'tala had played up her monochromatic appearance with a pure white dress, short sleeved and slim fit with a sharply square neckline that exposed her collarbones, the hem coming down to her knees. She wore white, thick heeled ankle boots, and like Pryseia, her horns had been capped, only in a silver so bright that it looked white. So too were the rings and bracelets she wore, set with bright diamonds that gleamed with a cool inner fire. Her hair was mostly loose, except for two braided segments near her temples that had been pulled back and looped together into a single braid below her horns, held in place by a bright diamond hairpin. Her makeup was all in muted shades of grey, throwing her features into stark definition.
And just as everyone expected, Rhea and Malakh were the last to emerge. Rhea was wearing a wine dark, backless dress that draped across her in a way that accentuated her every curve. Tall enough as she was, she forewent heels for simple flats, a deep burgundy to match her dress. She wore her usual assortment of gold rings and earrings, but the only necklace she wore was her vedja pendant, gleaming against her rich olive skin like the promise it was. Her hair was loose in cascading waves that framed her face, her makeup dark and accentuating, smoky brown to bring out the shades of her eyes, with a dark red lip.
Malakh's was a simple cream spaghetti strap slip, over which was artfully wrapped a dark copper length of cloth that gleamed with a golden iridescence as she moved, and she'd looped her tail around this almost like a belt. Her wedge heels were the same copper colour, coming up to her mid ankle and bringing her closer to Rhea's height. Her hair had been pinned back with elaborate, ruby studded copper clips, but she wore no other jewellery beyond her wedding band and vedja pendant. She had coppery makeup around her eyes to brighten their natural colour, while her lips were stained dark red and matte.
"So is this a pregaming kind of event, or is sober the way to go?" Rhea had asked once they'd gathered in their sitting room, eying Malakh expectantly, "You haven't really said what type of shindig this is, beyond the dress code."
"I told you it's a surprise," Malakh chided, giving her an appreciative look, "We can drink once we're there."
"Pregaming is the practice of becoming intoxicated before going to an event in order to not pay the exorbitant prices of the alcohol that would be available there," Nevara told Elytra and V'tala, who had both frowned in confusion at the unfamiliar term, "Apparently it's an ancient human practice."
"The drinking beforehand, or the price of said drinks?" V'tala asked.
"Both," Rhea answered with a chuckle, "Anything for a quick buck, or a way to avoid paying it!"
With no need to linger and imbibe, they trooped out to the lobby once they'd gathered their things, heading off for the destination of whatever this formal event was going to end up being.
They weren't the only ones heading over to the Evenire Centre from their hotel that night, as they joined a crowd ushered onward by the breeze coming off the sea.
"Is this a surprise for all of them too, or just something you're playing up with us?" Rhea asked as Malakh walked with her arm in arm down the cobblestone streets.
"You won't have that much longer to wait." Malakh told her softly, her smile warm and her eyes bright as she gazed up at her wife.
The exterior of the Evenire Centre was the same yellow green stone as the bulk of the buildings within Departir, but its interior was something else. An open hall, bright and minimalist, the walls of it had been lined with water walls that filled the space with something close to the white noise of a gentle rainfall, the air rich with the clean scent of fresh water. Anywhere the decorators couldn't have placed one of these water walls was instead filled with brightly flowering potted plants, their perfume a sweet undercurrent to the savory smells of food coming from somewhere out of sight. All of this was visible from the wide open doors to the Centre as they made their approach.
They joined the queue line, which was the most sizeable crowd they'd encountered their entire time on Osatiawjo. Once they reached the door, Malakh pulled out her data pad, and the concierge scanned it before motioning their party inside.
The far end of the Centre was filled with tables, round ones draped in pale sea green tablecloths, some large enough to hold entire sports teams worth of people, while others were small enough to seat only two. The part of the space closest to the main doors had been left open, though there was a live orchestra tucked discreetly off to one side, playing something simple and melodic to welcome guests inside. The lighting in the space had been dimmed, and it gave the whole thing an intimate air, despite the fact that it was a large enough hall to hold hundreds with room to spare.
"This is an event you need tickets for?" Elytra questioned, and Malakh nodded in return.
"Bought them once the rest of you agreed to it."
"What is with all the sneakerie of this!?" Viatrix asked as she bobbed in front of Malakh, but the deorviran just smiled as she led them to what was apparently their designated table.
Six place settings awaited them, plus something that looked like a highchair at first.
"Nice, drone seating!" Viatrix chirped, settling her chassis onto the seat as the others took their own places.
Looking around, her training urging her to be constantly on the lookout for threats, V'tala saw that nearly half of the people filing in were fiskaz. Their bodies were a comparable size and shape to her own, and that was where the similarities ended. They were completely hairless, their heads instead wreathed in growths that resembled something between kelp and coral. There was a strange, alien beauty to them, their eyes completely black, their features almost too perfect to be real. There was something compelling about them, that invited people to leave the safety of their circle of friends to come over and join the fiskaz, and as V'tala watched them speak to one another, she noticed the rows of sharp, pointed teeth hiding behind their perfect lips. The teeth of an obligate carnivore. The colouring of all the gathered fiskaz spanned the entire spectrum, from bright reds to vibrant blues, varieties of shades and saturations beneath their glittering scales. They were clearly as beautiful as they were deadly.
She also noticed that there were plenty of aliens in attendance, aside from themselves, including mechanical constructs of various makes and models, some simple shapes like Viatrix's current drone, while others had been built to resemble bipedal beings. Even with all the fiskaz, it was still a very mixed crowd.
As more and more of the seats were filled around them, holographic menus popped into view on the surfaces of every table. While the psychic language implanting procedure allowed her to understand the spoken word, it didn't help V'tala when it came to writing, but Elytra was quick to lean over and show her how to change the menu to a language she could actually read.
The meals were soon brought out from the kitchens, as well as the sweet wine Rhea had ordered for the table.
"Here's to… whatever the fuck this actually is!" She said as she raised her glass, and laughing, the others were soon to raise theirs in cheers as well.
Half of the guests were finished eating before everyone had arrived, which left plenty of time for them to enjoy the wine and try to get any details about this event out of Malakh, but the woman refused to spill.
Finally, once all the plates were cleared away, a beautiful fiskaz woman with rose coloured scales and a deep purple official looking uniform stepped out into the open floor of the hall, motioning for the orchestra to stop playing. All eyes turned to her as her sonorous voice filled the space without the aid of a microphone.
"Like stones along the shore, we have gathered to this place. Like the tide follows the moon, your hearts have been pulled to one another. Here among foreign shoals, we honour the bonds not even a storm could rend asunder."
From the tables all around them, people began to stand. Not the entire tables, just a few from each, stepping forward with the surety of people who actually knew what this event was about.
People like Malakh, who rose, holding a hand out to Rhea as she said, "I did threaten you with a million weddings at one point, I believe. This is number four."
Laughing quietly as she accepted the hand up, Rhea said, "You know I'm gonna have to get you back for this now, right?"
"I'd hope so." Malakh replied fondly, and the pair of them joined the crowd making their way forward.
The others watched them go with warm smiles, though V'tala frowned as she leaned towards Pryseia as she asked, "They've already had three weddings?"
"A traditional Deorviran one, as well as a traditional Human one," Pryseia told her, "And as a Captain within the Kith fleet, I technically married them first, though that was more just putting in paperwork than it was a proper ceremony."
"And are multiple weddings standard practice in this day and age?"
"No, that's something they've chosen for themselves," Pryseia said with a warm smile, "After spending decades having to not act on their feelings for fear of execution, I can't fault them for wanting to celebrate their love in whatever ways they can, and as frequently as possible."
The ceremony itself ended up being a rather simple affair. With the orchestra playing something bright and wistful as an accompaniment, the officiant handed out a goblet of wine to each group that had risen to be wed, most being pairs, though there were several clusters of three and four. And aside from a few outliers, the assorted groups of partners were mixed race and gender, a far cry from what V'tala had known weddings to be like in her own time. As the officiant spoke words that extolled the sanctity of marriage, one partner would take a mouthful of wine, while another would drink it from their lips. This was repeated until all the partners in a union had done the same. Then, with a plea to the audience to bless the unions before them, the officiant concluded the ceremony, and the orchestra kicked into a livelier set as the newlyweds and their guests were encouraged to dance.
"So hey, surprise!" Malakh said, flushed and beaming as the others made their way over, one hand placed possessively against Rhea's spine where her dress dipped down her back, "I figured since V'tala didn't get a chance to be there for the other weddings, we may as well have another one while we're here."
V'tala couldn't help the way she stiffened in shock at that. The fact that people thought of her, and fondly enough to want to include her in events as monumental as a wedding, was still something she was getting used to. Not knowing what else to do, she bowed slightly and said, "You honour me."
"And now I'm gonna dance with you!" Rhea said, holding her hand out, "Time to learn a traditional human dance - the Macarena!"
It was hours later when V'tala finally made it to bed. Scrubbed clean after the surprisingly energy intensive dancing she'd gotten roped into, her mind was still reeling.
Once it had been pointed out to her, it was easy to see how in love Rhea and Malakh were with one another. But their love wasn't focused solely on themselves. Perhaps in a different manner, their love for the rest of the crew was still just as strong, and tonight the pair of them had gone out of their way to make sure V'tala knew that that love extended to her too.
They all had, now that she had the chance to sit and think on it. Elytra's gentle affection, Viatrix's teasing familiarity, Nevara's quiet understanding, and Pryseia's open encouragement. All of it a far cry from the treatment she'd received at the hands of her own people.
V'tala took a shuddering breath at the weight of it all. For the first time in her life, she had a home, a family, and she knew for a fact that she had never been happier.
Her thoughts racing too fast to even attempt sleep, she reached out for her data pad instead. She needed something to distract her until she settled, and there was still more to see of the Pelekys before the Knight of the Tomb joined their ranks.