16:42 06/04/2587 –(8734/663/67/69)

“We can travel through the stars, clone extinct species, forge materials strong enough to withstand cannons, and turn barren worlds into lush paradises. So can someone please tell me why we still can’t predict the weather?” Nish said, holding her hands out and feeling the pitter-patter against the exoskeleton.

Gabriel knew the answer, but even he could tell that her question was rhetorical. What he could not understand was why this was such a problem.

“It’s just a bit of rain. You must have rain on Yursu,” stated Gabriel.

“True, but we evolved in arid environments; rain was rare,” stated Nish, looking at Gabriel.

“So?” asked Gabriel shrugging his shoulders.

“So, our wings absorb water and weigh us down; it’s not pleasant,” explained Nish, making a whistling sound once her sentence was finished.

“Look, we can’t hang around here all night, waiting for the rain to stop; I haven’t had a proper meal since breakfast,” explained Erilur, rubbing her stomach. The rain was of little hindrance to her, but common decency forbade her to simply walk off.

“Just get a taxi,” offered Risoti.

“At those prices, not likely,” replied Nish, and Gabriel could understand that taxis were ruinously overpriced on this planet.

The bus station was packed, so there would be no shelter while she waited. The same was true for the metro system.

Scratching his chin, Gabriel said, “my penthouse is just a few blocks away, actually, and most of the way is covered by that.” Gabriel pointed to the glass panels that jutted out from the buildings, their purpose being just what they needed; sheltering pedestrians from the weather.

“Are we even allowed inside your apartment? I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the offer, but I’m fairly certain that we would get seriously ill in there,” said Nish.

“I was told I could have habitableworlder guests as long as they wore a full face mask,” Gabriel explained. “And if not, you can at least stay in the lobby until the rain clears up. I could even bring you some food from the block’s restaurants,” he added.

Nish thought about it for a moment. That did sound much better than freezing their backsides off in this little alcove they had found; Pista was already beginning to shake from the wind.

“Lead the way,” said Nish, gesturing with her hands that she would follow.

***

At times like this, Nish remembered that "most" did not mean "all"; as she dashed from one shelter to the next, the rain was cold against her face, and she shivered as the liquid sunk into her wings. It felt as if she had gained ten kilos, and Nish was forced to lean forward to stop herself from tipping over.

However, Pista did not have this problem as Gabriel was carrying her. She wasn’t sure how her daughter had convinced him to do this; the drone of the crowd only marginally drowned out the noise of the rain.

All she was sure of was that for the first time in her life, Nish was slightly jealous of Pista, her wings were so heavy, and she just wanted someone to carry her.

“There it is,” said Gabriel, pointing to the building that, naturally, had no shelter between them and the front door.

“You ready to run?” Gabriel asked Pista.

Pista looked into what she believed to be Gabriel’s eyes and, bouncing up and down, said, “Yeah, as fast as you can.”

Gabriel chuckled and sprinted for the door. It was quite the sight, seeing someone go from a standing start to tearing down the path, water splashing with each footfall, and Pista giggling wildly all the while.

As Gabriel and her daughter disappeared into the building, Nish realised she had no choice but to bite the bullet. Charging headlong into the rain, Erilur and Risoti following close behind, Nish was grateful there were no steps between her and the door; the last thing she needed was to slip and break her hip.

Galloping through the automatic door, Nish buzzed with satisfaction as the rain stopped and warm air from the central heating system washed over her.

Gabriel and Pista sat on a large sofa; as Nish approached, Gabriel said, “there are some towels on the way.”

“Good,” said Nish, as water dripped from her wings onto the polished wooden floor, forming puddles beneath her feet.

“Is that the heaviest rain you’ve ever been in?” asked Gabriel.

“Yes,” replied Nish, as she began the futile act of grooming her wings, the downy fur covering her body, and wringing out her clothes.

“Probably should have worn something a little more casual,” said Erilur as she shook herself down, it wasn’t something Ponut’Kild did, but she thought it was funny when animals did it, so she gave it a try.

“I had to; it’s traditional for a Tufanda to dress up for their first outing with someone,” replied Nish, wondering who had come up with the custom; it was not practical on a planet with regular rainfall.

“So your not going to dress up next time? If there is a next time,” said Risoti.

“Nope, you’ve seen me fancy, and that’s the last you’ll ever see; I hate these clothes,” responded Nish, annoyed she would probably need to get them to a tailor; Tufanda clothing was not designed for long-term soaking.

“How did the practice even get started anyway?” inquired Risoti, curious as wearing elegant clothing for just one meeting, as opposed to specific events, was a little unusual.

“Don’t know, never really thought about it,” replied Nish halfheartedly, focusing almost entirely on her waterlogged attire.

“Hot towels,” a voice called out, and Nish looked to see a Jorscke’ed pushing a large trolly filled with heated towels.

“Thank you, Shupp,” said Gabriel grabbing one of the more oversized towels and wrapping it around Pista.

Pista started to chirp, though whether it was from the attention or the warmth, Gabriel could not say.

“Before you clock off for the week, does the hotel provide masks for penthouse guests?” asked Gabriel, who was aware that Shupp was done for the day and had a fun-filled weekend planned, all four days of them.

“We do, all shapes and sizes, though I must state that if any of you enter the Excelsus Suite, we are not responsible for any diseases you might contract,” Shupp replied. Trying to iterate as strongly as she could that while Gabriel might be as gentle as a newborn pihrt, the biological superweapon he carried with him was not.

Nish and Risoti understood, and though Nish was wary about letting Pista into Gabriel’s room, she knew that as long as they both wore their masks, they would be fine.

Gabriel waved Shupp goodbye. She was utterly unperturbed by the rain, not only because she always brought an umbrella and poncho to work for just such an occurrence. It was also because Shupp rather enjoyed the rain, especially the relaxing noise it made against her hood; it made her feel so snug.

As the quintet took the lift to Gabriel's floor, he felt the need to start a conversation and stated, “it is rather embarrassing, but I thought Shupp was male when I first met her.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I thought Erilur was a man when I first met her,” said Risoti, “she’s just so masculine,” she added, her eyes taking on a dreamlike quality.

“I take that as a compliment,” stated Erilur, who reminded herself that Risoti was an Etulana and therefore had different standards.

Once they reached their floor and stepped into the hallway, Nish asked, “do you have a neighbour?” pointing to the two doors on the floor.

“Maybe,” replied Gabriel with a shrug as he approached his penthouse.

“You mean there’s been another penthouse on this floor, and you never bothered to knock?” she inquired, finding that to be a highly antisocial thing to do.

“Nope, and I don’t intend to either,” stated Gabriel as he ran his keycard over the lock and gestured for everyone to follow.

“There’s no decontamination to get in, my microbiome will make short work of any native pathogens, but it will take ten minutes in here before you can leave,” Gabriel explained as one chamber door closed and the next opened.

Gabriel stepped into his room and immediately felt the gravity increase; as it did, he realised instantly what would happen.

“Don’t!” he cried, but it was too late. Nish stepped through the threshold and was immediately brought to the ground, incapable of supporting herself even on her hands and knees. Erilur was on point and immediately grabbed Pista before she could reach her mother’s side and suffer the inevitable consequences.

As Nish cried out in pain, Gabriel wasted no time running to the gravity controls and lowering them so much that the room was almost 0g.

Nish sighed in relief, and Gabriel helped her to her feet. He also checked the seal on her mask, and despite how much Pista protested, Erilur did not let go until Gabriel nodded.

Running to her mother, Nish held her buzzing daughter in her arms and said, “you evolved to tolerate that!”

“No, the gravity of this room was set to ten per cent higher than Earth’s; to compensate for the microgravity when I am outside,” Gabriel explained, kicking himself on the inside. She could have gotten seriously hurt because he was too much of an airhead to remember that Earth was harsher than most other worlds. Hell, he had nearly done the same to Shupp; he was such an idiot.

“I am sorry,” said Gabriel, not knowing any other way to make it better.

“No, don’t be; this is your penthouse. I should have realised the gravity would have been higher than I could handle; I knew Earth was nothing like Yursu, and yet I acted like it was,” replied Nish, it would have taken her five seconds to explain this, but she had been so anxious to sit down she had completely ignored the fact.

“So you’re ok?” asked Erilur.

Nish confirmed that she was, and Erilur immediately ripped off her mask and said, “good.” She rubbed her face and snapped her jaws, “that feels so much better,” she added, making a deep bellowing sound with her throat.

“And zero-g,” Erilur stated, leaping high into the air, all the way to the ceiling five meters above her head, and gracefully falling back to the ground, “you sure know how to treat a girl.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Hmm,” responded Gabriel. “I’m going to get changed; help yourself to anything in the fridge and whatnot,” he added, retreating into his bedroom.

“Are you sure you’re ok without the mask? Bosd is not as bad as Earth,” Risoti asked.

Erilur could not be bothered to correct her use of words; bad was a subjective term. “As long as Gabriel hasn’t got cholera or anything, I’ll be fine,” she explained, rubbing Rositi’s shoulders for emphasis.

“Wait, he said he was going to get changed,” Risoti said, looking at the door Gabriel had vanished behind.

Everyone else looked at the door, and Erilur said, “I guess that means we're going to see what he really looks like.”

***

Erilur had done just as Gabriel had said and rummaged around in his refrigerator, it was depressingly barren, but she was able to find some cold cuts to dampen her hunger.

“He’s taking a long time,” said Risoti, who had taken to just staring at the door.

“He’s probably in the shower; I imagine that suit gets pretty sweaty,” explained Erilur.

“What’s sweaty?” asked Pista, happily flying around the room. The gravity had been adjusted to slightly lower than Yursu's standard, which gave Pista the freedom to fly as much as she wanted.

Despite the wings and the lean build, Tufanda were not meant for long-distance flight. It had evolved to aid in navigating the cliffs and canyons they had called home back before developing a true civilization.

“It’s water. Certain species let out through their skin to help cool them down. I can do it, too; I have sweat glands underneath my chin, although they are severely atrophied and not much use,” answered Erilur as she munched on the salted meat.

Pista wasn’t listening; she had gotten bored after Erilur had said water. She was currently crawling along the ceiling, which Erulir thought was pretty creepy.

“If the rain keeps up like this, we’ll be sleeping here,” said Nish as she gazed out of the window, the rain hammering down against the pane.

“Yay!” yelled Pista dropping from the ceiling and onto Nish’s back.

“You won’t be saying that if you have to sleep in that thing,” stated Nish, tapping her face mask. “And there's no rack here to sleep on; you’ll have to lie down,” she added

“Don’t care, sleepover,” Pista replied, taking to the air once again.

Nish was far less thrilled about stopping the night, even if Gabriel would allow it. She believed he would if push came to shove, but he would not be happy about it.

There was a click, and the door to Gabriel’s bedroom opened, and he stepped out.

It was an odd feeling to have someone you had known for days suddenly look completely different. His hair was damp, meaning Erilur had been right; he had been in the shower.

He had hair, which Nish had not known five seconds ago.

Pista dropped down onto Gabriel’s shoulders and, looking directly into Gabriel’s eyes, said, “you look weird.”

“Right back at ya,” he replied and walked unburdened to the table where he left his P.D.A.

“What do you want for tea?” Gabriel asked Erilur.

“Can you afford it?” Erilur asked.

“I don’t have to; all meals were included in my holiday package,” he explained.

“You really did splurge for everything, didn’t you,” said Erilur, scratching her snout. After taking some time to think, she answered, “A resun steaks, boiled molr and a cup of tur if they have it.”

Gabriel put the call through and connected to the kitchens. Rapping his fingers against the table, someone picked up the phone and said, “Shulo kitchens.”

“Hello Yellow, it’s Gabriel; I would like to place an order, please,” said Gabriel, and as the chef got ready to take it, a thought occurred, “Eriliur can I borrow you’re P.D.A. please?” he asked.

“Why?” she asked, picking pieces of meat from her teeth with her claws.

“Because I’m on the phone, my laptop is in my bedroom and turned off,” he explained.

Erilur shrugged, pulled her P.D.A. out and slid it across the table. As he gave their orders, Gabriel found what he was looking for, “Pista, Do you want a deathworlder drink?” he asked the girl who was still on his shoulders and currently hugging his head.

“Really! You won’t get mad this time?” she asked, bouncing up and down.

“No, if you stop using my head as a bouncy castle,” he replied; Pista’s attachment was cute, but it was beginning to wear thin.

Gabriel looked at Nish, who was taken aback for a moment as his eyes met hers. It was unnerving, but she was unsure why; she found it almost impossible to read his intentions.

Nish had read that most human nonverbal expression was carried through the face, which gave her a severe handicap. Tufanda had solid faces that did not move, only the lips were mobile, and their only use was to keep food and water in their mouth when they chewed.

When she did not respond, Gabriel asked, “Can she have it, I’ve checked, and the drink I have in mind is non-toxic.” He waved Erilur’s P.D.A. for emphasise.

Nish glanced at her overeager daughter and had to make a decision. She was cautious; no matter how unscientific the term might have been, death worlds had earned their moniker for a reason.

On the other hand, Gabriel had looked it up, and if some scientist had tested it and said it was fine, then was there any reason she should refuse?

“Order some Iseri as well, just in case she doesn’t like it,” Nish concluded, watching Pista finally get the hint and climb off Gabriel.

They waited patiently for their meals while Pista resumed her flying. She was very good at it, and Gabriel could not help but admire her energy.

“Doesn’t look like the rain will clear up until early morning at best,” Risoti said, checking the forecast on her P.D.A.

Gabriel rubbed his eyes and said, with some reluctance, “If… you don’t consider it offensive or something, you lot can stay here the night.”

“We wouldn’t want to impose,” said Nish, though, deep down, she did not want to go out in that weather.

“It’s fine,” Gabriel said with a sigh, “you and Pista can sleep in my bed. I will sleep on the sofa,” he added, gazing at the dumbwaiter, thinking his mood would improve once he had a meal in his stomach.

***

Pista was still nursing her blackcurrant juice, though juice might have been a strong word considering it was about 95% water. She loved it, though, and refused the other drink Gabriel had ordered. Even Nish reminding her that Gabriel had gotten it for her had not changed the Tufanda’s mind.

Gabriel had drunk the iseri; instead, he had been told the beverage was made from a plant extract, and though the taste left a lot to be desired, sort of like light-sweetened cream, the texture was nice. Gabriel had made a mental note to order it for himself at some point.

Pista was not so distracted by her new favourite drink to put a crimp in her curiosity or precociousness. At the moment, she was poking Gabriel’s belly with one of her fingers.

“He’s very squishy, like a modly grub,” she said. Gabriel could not deny that he was out of shape and could afford to lose a few pounds.

As she continued to poke, she accidentally jabbed his belly button, and Gabriel squirmed slightly. Pista did not notice, though, because the moment she did so, she looked at her mother and said, “Gabriel’s a girl, mommy.”

“What!” everyone cried, their eyes darting between her and Gabriel.

“I am not a woman,” Gabriel reassured, scratching his face.

“You have a girl part right there,” Pista stated, pointing to his stomach once more.

This time Gabriel stopped her from jabbing him once more in the gut. Unfortunately, when he did that, Pista attempted to lift her dress to show him hers.

“What the heck is wrong with you? You can’t do that,” Nish said, grabbing hold of three of her daughter’s arms. “He’s got one too,” Pista reiterated, not sure what everyone's deal was.

“Is she decent?” asked Gabriel, who had turned his head and closed his eyes to avoid the incident.

“Yes, I stopped her, and she won’t do it again,” Nish replied, staring directly into her daughter’s eyes, “Right?”

Pista clicked her tongue to let her mother know that she got the message loud and clear before saying again, “Gabriel got a girl part.”

Gabriel sighed before explaining, “it’s my belly button.”

“Bellybutton?” asked Risoti. That was a strange name for a body part; she had a brief image of Gabriel putting his skin on like a jumpsuit. Then immediately shook it from her mind because it was gross.

“It’s a scar from when I was born; every human had one,” said Gabriel.

“You get scarred the moment you’re born!” Nish said in horror, with Risoti sharing the same sentiment. On the other hand, Pista began rubbing Gabriel’s stomach saying, “ouchy go away.”

“It from the umbilical cord, it attached me to my… mother’s body, allowing me to share her oxygen and nutrients and whatnot,” he explained. “It’s designed to fall off a day or so after a human is born,” he added.

“How are you lot born, by the way?” he asked; they had grilled him on human reproduction, so now it was his turn.

“Eggs, really big eggs,” Risoti replied, holding out her hands, showing they were about the size of a football.

“Same as you, except we absorb it all before we’re booted out,” said Erilur, tapping her stomach.

“A soft egg that spends some time inside before we lay it, and the baby is put in a pouch here,” answered Nish, pointing to her chest.

“Informative,” stated Gabriel.

“So you’re really not a girl?” asked Pista, looking at Gabriel's stomach.

“No, I am not a girl,” Gabriel reiterated, patting her head.

“So, where are your boy parts?” she asked, her eyes shifting as she tried to guess where they were.

“Never you mind,” stated Gabriel.

***

“Finally asleep,” Nish said, exiting Gabriel's bedroom and sitting back down on the sofa.

“I suppose I can understand where she’s coming from; it’s still light out,” Risoti said, glancing out the window; the rain had lessened but was coming down consistently. Pista had been adamant about staying up, despite her head drooping frequently.

“Pity too; watching Gabriel and the girl was like viewing a soap opera,” Erilur said with a smirk.

“Ahh,” Gabriel said before looking at Nish, “I completely forgot. Did you get an email from the mayor’s office as well?”

“Yes, I forgot to ask you about it as well,” replied Nish with a trill. “What were you planning to do about it?” she asked.

“Honestly, my first instinct is to ignore it; I’ve had enough excitement for one lifetime,” answered Gabriel.

“But,” said Erilur.

“But something in my gut tells me that ignoring it will just make more problems further down the line,” Gabriel added.

“What did the email actually say?” asked Erilur. Rather than tell her, Gabriel loaded up his account and passed his P.D.A to her.

Erilur read through the message before saying, “Just call us so we can arrange an appointment.”

“You could always email the mayor’s office and ask why they want to see you,” said Risoti as she reclined on the sofa.

Gabriel immediately placed his head in his hands and said, “I’m such an idiot.”

Glancing over at Nish, it seemed she thought much the same about herself.

“I’ll do it tomorrow morning; my day’s been busy enough as is,” Gabriel mumbled, following Risoti’s lead and letting the sofa take all of his weight.

The group was silent; everyone listened to the rain and the faint noise of thunder.

“Gabriel, what exactly do you do?” asked Risoti.

“At a lot of things, breathing, eating, sleeping….” Gabriel replied and would have gone on, but Risoti cut him off.

“No, I mean, what is your profession?” she asked.

“Gardener,” replied Gabriel.

“You’re a gardener?” questioned Erilur, the disbelief in her voice easily crossing the species barrier.

“Why do you find that so hard to believe?” Gabriel asked in turn, he was a difficult man to insult, but he found this stung.

“No reason, really, just….” Erilur waved her hands before dropping the sentence.

“I see… Since we’re diving into each others’ lives, what about you, Risoti?” asked Gabriel, his annoyance vanishing as quickly as it had come.

“I am a teacher’s assistant, working with primary school students,” Risoti explained, draining the last of her drink, and sincerely wishing she was in a regular apartment where she could get a refill in a minute.

Gabriel skipped Erilur, as he already knew what she did for a living, and turned his attention to Nish. “I am a Cultural xenopologist, specialing in the myths of sapient races; I work as the assistant head of the xenopology department at Tusreshin University. It is the fifth most prestigious university on Yursu”, she explained, and Gabriel could not help but note the unmistakable pride she had when telling them.

Xenopolgy was essential Anthropology but concerning all known sapient races rather than just humans.

Everyone went silent as the information sunk in; Nish began to get jittery when Erilur broke the quiet and said, “someone’s been holding out on us.”

“I wouldn’t go that far; it just never came up,” Nish retorted, rapping her fingers against her cup.

“What are you studying at the moment?” asked Gabriel, his interest had been piqued.

“I’m currently on my fifth project,” Nish explained.

“Fifth?” inquired Gabriel, uncertain as to what a project was other than the obvious.

“Oh, right,” said Nish. “University projects are ten-year studies on a specific subject, I am currently on my fifth, and once I have completed it, I can begin my doctoral dissertation,” she explained.

“You have to work for fifty years just to get a doctorate? No, just to begin your doctorate,” said Gabriel. That was a rather long time, to his mind.

“No, before starting your first project, you must do five years of general study and lecture in your position,” answered Nish. Then she realised what Gabriel was getting at and added, “Tufanda live longer than humans, fifty years for us is probably like ten for you.”

“I see, so back to my first question; what are you working on now?” asked Gabriel, resting his head on his hand.

“I decided to do something a little closer to home; my project this time is the myths and legends of the Resulcren civilisation; it emerged about five thousand years ago, lasted for roughly seven hundred and then faded,” Nish explained.

“There is very little we know about them, so I will resume planning the dig when I get back home. We’re working with the archaeology department on this one,” she added.

“But what do you know about them?” asked Gabriel, whose interest was no longer piqued but burning.

“From what we can tell, they believed in a quintet pantheon, five major gods with lesser beings, called Resuniy,” she replied. “Resun, being the Resulcren word for Tufanda and the iy we believe means guardian or watcher, it's one of the loopholes we hope to close on the digs.”

“The Resuniys’ job was to monitor mortals and report back to their masters?” asked Gabriel.

“One of their jobs, a subset of Resuniy called Hosubet, acted as psychopomps, bringing the souls of the dead to their mistress, Frecol Esuniuo, goddess of the dead,” said Nish with much relish. It was rare to find someone who found her work as enjoyable as she did.

“Unfortunately, we don’t know more. We know the name of one of the other goddesses, Ishe Ilonu, but we have no idea what she was the goddess of,” she added before taking a sip from her drink, only to find that it was all gone.

Erilur might have been silent throughout the conversation, but she watched it all with interest. Gabriel kept asking more and more questions, and it was evident that he was not just feigning interest.

What’s more, this was the most he had ever come out of his shell since they had met. Even their lengthy conversations in the hospital had been formal and a way for him to pass the time.

Nish, in turn, seemed to have a more than surface-level fascination with plants, asking more than a few questions about Gabriel's job.

Personally, Erulur found Gabriel to be a fascinating subject, and she found it challenging to turn off the psychologist when he was around. If he had been a Ponut’kild, she would describe him as hyposocial, with moderate depression and a mild obsessive-compulsive disorder.

However, Gabriel wasn’t a Pount’kild, and she struggled to put him in any boxes she knew of. It seemed she now had a little project of her own, figuring out just what made Gabriel tick.