Memory transcription subject: Maeve, Temporary Resident of Venlil Prime.

Date [standardized human time]: Sept 15th, 2136. Early 4th Claw.

“You were showing her Harvest Time and she couldn’t read?!” Ulmic’s giggling sounded like water bouncing against the sides of a deep drum, bubbling and ‘blooping’ as he could barely catch his breath.

“It looked simple enough! And the rules booklet was so scuffed and faded I barely knew them myself!”

“That’s even worse!!”

Valek and I were cackling along with him as Alvi kept coming up with excuses while her tail playfully thrashed behind her. We arrived somewhat early so Ulmic pulled a bag of tiled resin hexes, with various simplified pictures painted on one side: Moons, Trees, Bonfires, Flowers, Hooded Gojid, and Chains. He called it Terroc, and said that it was a native Gojid game; it appeared to be a set-making game not unlike Rummy, and was popular with the other officers when they had downtime in the field.

The game moved in rounds, triggered when a whole turn would pass without anyone taking tiles from the pot, such as by rearranging their deck or passing. After three rounds the mosaics are revealed and whoever needs the fewest tiles wins, or the first to complete their mosaic ends the game early. A ‘mosaic’ was a grid of some combination of tiles that could tell a story: a few examples being Trees and Flowers, Moons and Bonfires, Hooded Gojid and Chains. Ulmic told us that each set used to relate to some story or lesson long ago, but the game has long outlived its metaphor.

Ulmic seemed very confident in what he had been building, his turns were often the shortest before he would pluck the tile from the pot and discard the spare with barely a glance, like he was already two turns ahead of that one. Valek was clearly struggling with his hand, switching out unrelated tiles seemingly at random. Alvi’s attention kept wandering during the lulls of our conversation, but she was picking Flowers a lot.

“... And besides, we still had fun! Whoever said you have to ‘win’ a game, can’t we just play?”

I replaced my Tree for a hidden tile in the pot, pleased to have gotten the Chains I was hoping for; only a Bonfire to go, and I’d have a festival mosaic! “That attitude wouldn’t have anything to do with having only four pistachios left, would it?”

“I think you’ve miscounted Maeve,” One by one, Alvi flipped her tiles to reveal a flowering field with two Gojid in its center, “because I think this means all of those are mine!”

The three of us groaned and roared as she giggling leaned over the scattered tiles and collected the heaping pile of salted nuts in the center; Valek and Ulmic set to arguing about the validity of her mosaic before Alvi’s ears perked and she lifted her sight skyward.

“They’re here!”

I scanned the skies and noticed a large oblong silver ship, tapered on one end, almost looking like a deer’s skull in the sky. Soon after that I heard the rumbling thunder of its ion thrusters as it approached high and started a vertical descent, well-controlled by timed burns on its undercarriage maneuvering thrusters. Maybe fifty meters above the ground the reentry-scorched underside deployed three hefty landing struts, bouncing and sagging with the ship’s weight as it touched down.

Alvi was vibrating with excitement watching the ship perform its landing, narrating every step of the process and musing whether they used hydraulic or mechanical interactions. She was just making guesses on what the magnetic balance was on their ion thrusters, going on about how you could tell by the glow of their plasma discharge when the ship touched down, dropping its loading ramp with a long hiss.

Two forms stood at the top of the descending ramp, one markedly taller than the other, though their features were hidden by the shade of the ship, made impenetrably black by my daylight-blinded sight.

A high whistle called out from the pair, quickly followed by an excited Venlil’s greeting, “Day warms you three! It’s good to see you again, we heard someone needed a ride home! Although I don’t know if we’ll have room for extra passengers!”

The light of the sun glowed over short, sleek, mocha wool as her voice rang familiar in my ear. “Taisa?!”

She strode down the ramp alongside Chris, her giant of an exchange partner, while her musical bugle carried over the clear air between us and her tail swung joyfully behind her, “oooWah! Yep! Sam sent us a message last paw!”

My heart leapt to see a familiar face, and I couldn’t quell the excitement in my voice, “That’s amazing; we have so much to tell you!”

“Well we’ll be happy to hear it, let's get you three up into quarters and situated so the ground crew can get to work pulling our old cargo off before we head out.” Chris’ bass rolled from under his visor, his tension loosening as he recognized us, though maintaining his professional demeanor as he flagged down a loading crew. “With any luck, these guys will get the Polani loaded up faster than the last crew.”

“Polani?” Ulmic asked himself as he checked the ship’s designation, “You guys out of Heartwood?”

Taisa’s ears swung onto our escort as her tail bounced a greeting, “I grew up there. Stars know the port’s a whole lot more quiet than anywhere else.”

Ulmic huffed out a laugh as I watched the work crew approach with their grav-lifts, “Don’t I know it! Been almost [ 15 solar years ] but I won’t soon forget wandering that damn port looking for someone to take my gear to the office.”

Valek had the presence of mind to introduce the Gojid while Alvi and I tried to stay clear of the line of laborers, “This is Ulmic, he was assigned to escort us to the starport.”

“Give me a little credit, pup; I volunteered.”

I heard Alvi’s tail pap against Valek while he giggled. Chris started to herd us away from the ramp as the first offload approached from behind him; Taisa seemed to tense up as she kept talking to Ulmic, her tail still cordial but stiff and jerking. “Your gear? Did you work in Heartwood?”

His quills flared just a moment, before quickly settling; as if he were intentionally calming himself as his attention swept over the loading crew, pausing as he spoke to choose his words. “Work related. I was fielding Offices to try and showcase some more effective flamers; heard a few of your officers were looking to clear predators a bit… faster than average.”

Taisa seemed to relax as she caught on to Ulmic’s implication, while Chris continued to take care of signing documents and overseeing the loading process. “My Mama and one of her coworkers, Shenod, probably. Unless it was after she retired.”

Ulmic quickly brought his attention back to Taisa, then relaxed as he recognized her. “Mama? You’re Rensa’s girl?”

Taisa’s stiffness seemed to ebb, though she kept an ear on the passing crewmen. “I am; she’s doing well, outside of the leg of course.”

Ulmic’s voice softened, like he remembered some shared tragedy between him and Taisa, “Good to hear she is doing well. Say, that festival of yours should be coming up, shouldn’t it?” He asked, his affect rising as he tried to guide the conversation to happier topics.

“That it is,” Chris rumbled, checking boxes on their ship pad as he watched a line of crates get carted off the ship. “Already got a handful of ‘threats’ from her parents about making it back on time.”

Taisa flicked her tail dismissively as she poked him in the side. “Oh they’re just messing with you; they know we wouldn’t miss it for the world. Besides, bring Mama back some new produce from Earth and I bet she’ll let a claw or two slide.” Her tail fell to a neutral position, before wrapping around Chris’ wrist.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Oh?

I wasn’t even sure she noticed.

Chris’ belly laugh was like distant thunder in a rainstorm as his hand met Taisa’s scalp, before returning to its job of ticking boxes, “We’ll have to remember that, maybe Ma’ll let us bring a basket or two home from her garden.”

“Maybe if you bring one back for the rest of the office you’ll keep Farzen and Marlek off our tails.”

Ulmic nearly growled across from me in our impromptu circle, his focus on Taisa while he spoke, “Those two idiots are still in silver? I’m none too fond of your kind, Human, but you shouldn't have to deal with brapic like them; Protector knows we got enough of that in Dawn Creek. I’m disappointed that Heartwood’s hospitality was so lacking.”

Chris belted out a laugh, shaking his head. “Thankfully we haven’t been introduced, but their reputation sure as shit precedes them. No, everyone I’ve met in Heartwood that hasn’t been welcoming has either been skittish, rude, or just dismissive. I’ve had worse, sure, but I don’t think I could have had a better reception than what Heartwood has given me; nah, Heartwood’s hospitality is just fine.”

Ulmic’s eyes were on the ship’s hull number, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. He straightened, just as he did when he gave me a chance in the forum; when he decided to trust me. He came back to us with a deep breath, “Well if you don’t mind, I have an office to… handle. I have a short form for the captain to sign, but…” His ears flashed to Chris for a moment, “All things considered I think the Captain’s Second would be fine in their absence.” And he passed a pad to Taisa.

Her tail swung impishly as she finished the form, her ears swinging between Ulmic and I as she asked, “PD Patients, huh? Stars, what'd the three of you get up to?!”

Valek’s, Alvi’s, and my attention snapped to Ulmic, Alvi stepping slowly behind my cloak as Valek looked ready for violence. Ulmic waved his paws dismissively and ears apologetically as he answered while taking back the completed pad, “Regrettably they didn’t have a form for ‘diplomatic escort’, so it was between this and ‘predator disposal’. Use the quills you got, right?”

After a brief moment to confirm the form, Ulmic turned away from us and headed back to the car, calling back as he did, “I’d tell you to stay out of trouble, Maeve, but you didn’t seem to listen. At least try to stay out of the news, eh?”

Calling back over my shoulder, I returned his playful jibe, “No promises!”

With the sigh of a finished job, and the last lift hovering out of the refilled hold, Chris handed back what we hoped to be the last form of this stop and jovially invited us inside, “Alright, let’s get y’all situated. You can chill in the crew quarters or the galley during the flight; gonna be an extra-atmo hop, so shouldn’t be more than a few hours, little less than a claw. Maeve, you can lose that get-up once we’re inside; we’re all friends here.”

I collected my travelbag as Valek and Alvi followed behind Chris, Taisa lagging behind and walking with me. I suddenly remembered our conversation, and hoped for a more positive outing, “You mentioned the Festival last time, is it really so close?”

Taisa’s tail whipped about behind her as she walked beside me, a small pep in her step. “Just over the hill! Shouldn’t be more than three or four paws now. We’re gonna spend a ‘day’ or two with Chris’ family while he finds stuff to ship back with us and reaches out to some of his old contacts. I’m… excited?”

Excited? I asked in, mind and voice, “To come to Earth? You’re one brave Venlil!”

Taisa’s ears flapped behind her before quickly returning to a neutral position, while she pulled her tail to her hands and gently worried the tuft. “It’s… there’s a few reasons: he keeps raving about his Ma’s ‘vegan cooking’, those astounding views he’s showed me in pictures, the money’s good, I’ll be doing what I’ve always dreamed of… and it’s, well it’s important to him, so it’s important to me. Hopefully I can get past the dog though.”

While I imagined a smiling and wagging hound, nearly dancing for a tennis ball to be flung, Taisa clearly had a different imagining as she shuddered like a chill wind rattled her bones. I turned to the closing cargo ramp, waiting until the final light of Dawn Creek was left behind and I could finally stow my now distressingly fragrant veil. While I knew meeting Man’s Best Friend would be a new kind of terror for her, I tried to ease the worry as best I could, “I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’m sure it’s well-behaved, but just in case it isn’t: try not to run, especially if it comes up to sniff ya, that’s just how dogs get familiar.”

Chris strode past Taisa and I, his eyes on her with a wide smile before he continued to the cargo ramp and adjusted some kind of control which triggered hisses and clangs of a secured seal, “C’mon, Woolball, you’ll be fine. Pa does a good job trainin’ his pups. ‘Sides, I won’t let ‘em hurt ya if’n they get excited anyhow. We’ll be there and having a good time ‘fore ya know it and then right back here for the festival!”

Chris flashed her a smile over his shoulder as he finished his task, and I noticed Taisa’s tail wrap briefly around his wrist before she pulled away, “I know, just worrying is all. Not my fault you lot keep predators that set my wool on end as pets!”

The pair continued their canine-inspired banter as I watched their interaction; blushes and blooms, slaps and pinches, and joy evident in the space between them.

Oh, yeah. They got it bad.

Chris stepped away, returning her jibes with his own as Valek bounded after him, “Wait, Maeve told me you keep animals, even predators, but I’ve wondered why ever since!”

Alvi was just behind the pair as they talked, Chris somehow keeping up with Valek’s barrage of questions as they became more and more esoteric. I heard a soft sigh from Taisa as she walked with me, and I looked down to see her ears swinging around the room, as if to catch every errant echo of Chris’ voice.

As we left the massive hold Alvi had worked up her own question as Chris talked about Service Animals. “H-How do dogs help your doctors? What would they know about disease?”

“A few ways. Can train ‘em to pick up on some health problems, help with anxiety or mental health or just… just helping people who need friends. They love doin’ it too, workin’ dogs are never happier than when they’re doin’ their jobs!”

Taisa and I watched Chris answering their curiosities like he was talking to an excited nephew, honestly and enthusiastically, before I heard the smallest purr from her before she silenced it as quickly as it had arrived. I thought about the pair, and how Chris seemed to care so much about everything around them, and especially her.

I dipped down, my voice low and private, “Chris is so… gentle, isn’t he?”

Taisa nodded idly, her focus on me cursory at best as it swung back to Chris, “Y-yea, warm, too. Stars know he brightens my every waking moment.”

I thought about my first time waking up next to Valek, the feel of his wool against my face and the wonderful weight that made us fall into each other, like gravity itself wanted me against him. Chris was just talking about Parkinson’s-Sniffing Collies as they rounded the corner, and I took the momentary privacy of the empty hall to ask, “So… Does he know yet?”

Taisa’s steps faltered, nearly tripping as her ears turned bright orange, I waited for her to start walking again, and watched her tail swish anxiously as she thought of her next words, “Uh… y-yea, yea he does. We had that conversation last paw, actually. It was… nice.”

I whined as I fought the pang of wanting to hold a frustratingly absent Valek, “Tell me about it! I still think about waking up buried in his wool, I could stay like that for days.”

“Stars, we harvested a little time last waking to just be, after our… conversation, and I managed to drag it out an extra quarter claw! What I wouldn’t give to have just stayed there.” She sighed, her tail slowly swaying about behind her.

My laughter bounced off the corridor walls as I remembered the ‘five more minutes’ trick, “Clever girl! When did you find out? What made you take the leap?”

“I… Looking back, I think I kind of always knew. There was one paw at the meetup I was showing him some old Holo-recs I’d made of home and the festival and he was so excited, so into it and he immediately jumped to wanting to see it himself, see it with Me… but it never really… clicked, that it was possible. The concert helped, seeing how kind he is, how happy he is to share his passions and how good he is with my brother or any number of other things about him that just… just make me want to be around him. But seeing you and Valek in the back of the shuttle was one of the biggest things I’d thought about when it finally clicked. When I finally decided to actually ask.”

“Well I’m certainly glad you did! You two seem really happy together, and he seems like a really good guy; a good choice.” I smiled down at the mocha venlil, now practically bouncing with her elation.

“Best one I’ve ever made. Stars know everyone else I’ve ever courted has just been… not good ones. But Chris, maybe it’s still just fresh fruit, but he’s just so nice, always positive, always there.”

I could hear Alvi’s muffled but decidedly excited bleating and whistling as we approached the helm, a small smile spread across my face before I whispered down to Taisa. “Well it sounds like we both got lucky then.”

She gave me a short nod as the door to the helm slid open, the muffled bleats and whistles exploding in clarity as we stepped inside.