16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Ari

Ari frowned at her reflection. Leaning closer, she fiddled with the strip of red cloth woven into her hair. It was supposed to be a belt for her wrap, but she’d decided to use it to style her long hair. She liked the effect, but it wasn’t quite right.

She fussed with it until there were tendrils framing her face. Baz had surprised her with the new outfit earlier that day. The green wrap with red trim made her feel festive and also encouraged her to take her time getting ready. They had a few makeup products that one of the new humans knew how to make, so she was wearing a shiny lip gloss, sparkly eyeshadow, and black eyeliner.

For the first time in a while, she was looking forward to something and excited to find out what other surprises Baz had in store for her. Along with the Ident, he’d given her this outfit and promised there was one more item to come.

“You look…different?” Baz said, stepping up behind her to look at her reflection with her.

“It’s called makeup,” she answered, pointing to her eyes. “Isn’t it pretty?”

“It only enhances the beauty already here,” he said with a purr. “But it’s more than the extra color on your face.”

Ari tilted her head questioningly as she met his gaze in the reflection. “I didn’t do anything different except style my hair.”

“It’s your eyes; they’re bright again,” Baz explained. Leaning over, he buried his face in her hair. “You glow with happiness again. I worried that part of you had been extinguished.”

Ari closed her eyes and lifted a hand to cup the back of Baz’s head. “I’m back,” she whispered as he carefully rubbed his scent glands into her hair. She wouldn’t have minded if he mussed up her hair, but he only tugged one more tendril free.

The smell of hazelnut filled the air, and she breathed in deep.

“Now I’m ready,” she said with a soft smile. “All I needed was my signature scent.”

Straightening up, Baz turned her to face him. “I’ve gotten a notice that almost everyone is gathered outside and ready to be let in.”

Ari pulled one of his hands off her shoulder and held it in her own. She turned toward the bedroom door, tugging him after her. “Then we better hurry!”

Baz let her set the pace. They weren’t far away from the massive tent the Talins had set up sometime the previous night. Everyone was curious about what was going on inside, but the Talins were so secretive they covered the items they carried in so no one could even guess.

Soon they were standing in a crowd of mostly humans, with a few Talins scattered among them. Ari made a disappointed sound as she took in the faces around her.

“I’m surprised Rain and Hes aren’t here,” she said.

“Hesarium was able to finally arrange a live link for Georgia to speak with Rain and the children,” Baz explained. “They’ll be here later.”

Ari didn’t stop frowning. “Zuri’s missing too.”

“I think Zuri and Kasium are, um, working things out,” Jalin said, coalescing out of the crowd to stand on her other side.

“What do you mean they’re work—oh!”

Jalin laughed at Ari’s expression. “He saw us coming out of the cottage and lost it. I thought I was about to be torn limb from limb, but then Zuri launched a bottle. It hit him right in the face, stopped him in his tracks. That girl is scary accurate!”

Baz sounded a worried rumble. “Should I check on them?”

Jalin shook his head. “I’m not worried. Zuri’s ready to throw down, and Kasium would never retaliate. They’ll either work it out, or he’ll come out of it with some missing plating.” Jalin went silent for a moment, thoughtful. “Or maybe both.”

Ari chuckled. “It’s about time Kasium pulled his head out of his ass.”

Baz sounded a sharp rattle of surprise. “That’s anatomically impossible.”

“But figuratively common,” Jalin responded, shifting the box he was holding from one hip to the other. Ari heard clinking and guessed there was a lot of moonshine waiting to be passed around when they were finally allowed inside the tent. Zuri might not be here, but she was still going to contribute to the merrymaking!

“I think something’s happening,” Jalin said as a hush fell over the crowd. They all turned to see the long side of the tent shimmer, stretch, then suddenly retract up to reveal the inside.

The three of them were near one end so Ari got a good view. Gasping, she covered her mouth with her free hand and tried to take everything in.

In the very middle of the tent were tables with massive amounts of food in somewhat familiar shapes. There was a platter with something that resembled a roasted turkey, bowls full of Earth-style salads, another that might be mashed potatoes, and so much more. All of it looked slightly off, either the shape, coloring, or both, but she could see that whoever had cooked tried very hard to make it resemble a holiday feast. Judging by the smells wafting to her nose, they’d gotten the flavors spot on!

Instead of tables, there were blankets and thick rugs covering the ground. In the middle of each blanket or rug was a stone pot with small fires inside, and hanging on the outside of the pots were oversized…gloves?

“There’s candy in here!” one of the children exclaimed, kneeling next to the fire pot and peering into the bulging glove. Like her, most of the humans were still standing outside and taking everything in.

Baz took her hand and led her to the front of the crowd. She tried to hang back, but instead of letting go of her hand, he reached over and picked her up.

“Greetings!” he said, addressing everyone with her cradled in his arms. Embarrassed, Ari hid her face against his neck. She wanted to protest but didn’t want to ruin his moment. “Tonight, we’ve tried to recreate an Old Earth holiday called Christmas! Our gastronomic scientist has done her best to make dishes you would’ve served. We’ve made a hearth for each family or group to gather around with enough gloves full of treats so every individual can have one. Later we will be visited by a special guest, but for now, enjoy yourselves!”

With that, Baz turned and strode into the tent. His words ended everyone’s hesitation, and the humans made their way inside, smiling, talking, and pointing as they took in the decorations. Hundreds of glass containers full of a glowing substance were hanging from the ceiling and lining three sides of the tent. They were all different shades of blue, and that combined with the mostly white rugs made it feel a little like a winter wonderland.

Baz carried her to a blanket that had some familiar pillows on it. After setting her down, he pointed to the pot. “That glove is specifically for you.”

“What’s in it?” Ari asked, sinking to her knees and drawing the glove off the small hook.

Baz crouched next to her with a rumble of amusement. “Open it and find out.”

Ari upended the glove, dumping out the colorful contents. Among brightly wrapped candies and colorful artificial stones was a small package wrapped in bright gold. With shaking hands, she ripped it open then gasped.

“How did you get this?” she whispered, holding up the small object. It was a smooth, oblong piece of Old Earth amber. Looking closer, she could see a very small, perfectly preserved leaf inside. If she had to guess, she’d say it was a bit of fern. It was a treasure from Old Earth that Ari never thought to receive.

“I’m sorry to say I’m not sure,” Bazium said. “It was found in a derelict ship floating in an area of Orlok space we took over after the war was over. We tried to trace the origins of the ship but didn’t find anything. It looks like it was dumped off a larger cruiser as people were evacuated from planet to planet.”

“This belonged to a human,” Ari whispered, meeting Bazium’s gaze.

“At some point it did,” he agreed. “We think it was traded to an Orlok because there was no other evidence of humans on the derelict ship or in its records.”

“This was probably special to someone,” Ari murmured, feeling tears burn the back of her eyes. “Someone tucked it carefully away and left Earth. Then they had to give it away, probably for something as simple as food.”

“Probably,” Baz agreed. “I thought this would be a good gift, but I can see I was mistaken.”

He reached over to take it from her open palm, but Ari slapped her hand closed and held it to her chest. She smiled up at him even as a tear streaked down her face.

“No, I love this gift!” she announced. “This little bit of amber found its way here, with us humans, to a place where we’re safe and cared for. Maybe that means the person who owned it will find their way here too.”

Baz drew her close to him. “That’s my sweet, determined human. I’m so happy you’re back.”

“Me too,” she agreed with a sniff, letting a few more joyful tears escape her eyes.

They held each other until Danisal stopped at the edge of their rug and sounded a concerned rumble. “Is everything well? Should I find Rossimun?”

Pulling away from Baz, Ari looked up at Danisal. “I’m good! I was dealing with some big feelings because all of this has made me so happy!”

“Ah,” Danisal said with a purr. “I’m glad Bazium is here to help with your big feelings.” Then she moved on to the next hearth to see if they needed anything.

By now, almost everyone was sitting around their pot fires eating, talking, and laughing. Ari noticed several people with familiar little bottles, and the box Jalin had been carrying earlier was empty and discarded in a corner. She didn’t mind that she hadn’t gotten one, memories of her hangover were still too fresh to imbibe again.

Baz made her stay on the rug while he fetched food. She sat in his lap and let him feed her, occasionally sucking one of his fingers into her mouth. It always made him rumble with amusement but sometimes his rumble would dip into the lower, slow register of arousal.

“Stop that,” he admonished after she gave him a light nip on his upper thumb. “You’re going to make me engorged, and then I’ll be forced to sit here until the blood dissipates.”

Ari giggled and did it again. Bazium growled threateningly and pretended to bite her neck, making her wiggle and laugh. She opened her mouth to suggest they leave the celebration early to spend some time alone when everyone suddenly went quiet.

“What’s going on?” Ari asked, then saw what made everyone stop talking and her jaw dropped open.

Striding into the tent was Norrium with several massive bags slung over his shoulder. It wasn’t his burden that caught Ari’s and everyone else's attention, it was his outfit!

He was dressed in bright red pants, but unlike the normal Talin style that stopped at the knees, his went all the way to the floor. Even more strange was the matching top he was wearing. So far, the only Talin’s Ari ever saw wearing tops were healers, and those were never in red. The top was sleeveless, like the healers’ green, knee-length tunics, but unlike the healers’, this tunic was lined in some type of white fur that peaked out at the arm, neck, and bottom.

Even more strange was the white fur on Norrium’s face. The upside-down triangle of white fur started under his eyes and ended at a point far past his chin.

“Santa!” one of the kids shouted and ran right at him, arms opened wide. Norrium stopped in his tracks, quickly dropped his burden, and let the child fling herself into his arms.

“Hello, Luli,” Norrium greeted with a purr. “I have gifts for everyone because you’ve all been good humans.”

“Me too?” another young child asked.

“Yes, you too, and your sire and dam, and your sibling,” Norrium answered, setting the child back down. “Everyone listen carefully as I call out names.”

Laughter and quiet chatter started up as Norrium opened up the first bag and started naming children. Soon the first bag was empty, and every child from Daniella and Christo’s baby to the older teenagers had received their gifts.

Soon children were running around with balls that changed color every time they clacked together, and others were making clear bubbles that could be handled for a while before breaking apart.

The older kids got information squares. Cherish and Wind showed up just in time to get theirs. Wind let out a little whoop of joy then ran off to a far corner to interact with his gift.

Ari noticed Rain looked subdued but happy. She could relate.

Then the adults were given gifts. Most were information squares, but some were given these strange jackets made out of plants. Every person acted overjoyed, but Ari could see both confusion and amusement on their faces.

“I know what that is!” someone behind her exclaimed. She looked over to see Chloe laughing. “My grandmother told me about those. They were really popular when she was a kid. They were engineered plants that could be grown in any shape and didn't have a root system. The Old Earth ones would glow in the dark and change color depending on how much oxygen was in the air. The trend didn’t last long, but for a little while, everyone was wearing them!”

Ari could see why the fashion didn’t last; the people wearing them were already looking uncomfortable and were quick to hand them off to curious children.

After all the gifts were handed out, Norrium left and returned in his normal outfit to join Liz, Andres, and Lucia at their hearth. He was purring when he drew Liz into his lap. She said something then hugged him tightly.

Ari let her eyes wander the tent, noting all the joy contained there. It was amazing to see so many happy endings around her.

A bell tolled, and Baz jerked under her. “The orchard is ready.”

Several Talins were standing up and carrying or guiding their humans out of the tent. Baz got to his feet and picked her up to follow them.

“Orchard?” Ari asked.

“You’ll see,” Baz said.

They walked until they were in a spot where a bunch of trees in massive pots were standing. The trees were all the same species, one that reminded Ari of a weeping willow back on Old Earth but with long, corkscrew leaves.

What surprised Ari was that all the trees looked like they’d been spray painted until color was dripping off them. Colorful puddles were gathering under them as paint slowly dropped from their curling and coiled leaves. Under all the paint, Ari thought the trees might have normally been a silver color.

“This one is yours!” Baz announced, setting her on her feet next to one of them. Taking a wide stance, he grabbed the trunk of the tree and started pulling. His muscles bulged under his thick plating as the tree's roots slowly gave way.

With a rattle of triumph, Baz pulled the tree free of the pot. Ari was hit with a small shower of dirt as Baz presented her with the dripping tree.

“This is your Christmas tree,” he announced proudly, holding it out to her.

Trying hard not to laugh, Ari nodded her head as she looked admiringly at the tree.

“It’s gorgeous! I love it!”

“We couldn’t find an image of one of your Christmas trees, but we know you pulled them from the ground,” he explained as bright paint dripped over his hand. “These are malnuk trees. Our ancestors used to prove they were strong enough to train as a warrior by pulling them out of the ground as I just did for you.”

As he spoke, several other Talins pulled trees free and presented them to their humans. Ari noticed that Norrium had pulled two trees, one the same size as Baz’s and the other tiny, barely a twig with a few leaves. He handed the small one to Liz’s older child, Andres, and presented Liz with the bigger one. Like her, Liz was obviously stifling laughter.

The entire evening was over the top and perfect.

“Will the tree die?” Ari asked. “Or can it be replanted?”

“Of course it can be replanted,” Baz answered, and placed it back into the pot. It listed a bit to the side, making it look drunk. “That’s one of the reasons this tree specifically is used for the strength test.”

“Can we plant this one outside our cottage?” Ari asked.

Baz started purring and turned back to her. “If that’s what you want, then yes. I can pull it from the natural ground next year for our Christmas celebration instead of the pot.”

“Or maybe we could decorate it together,” she offered, planning to spare the tree any more sudden unrootings.

“I’d like that,” he agreed, opening up his arms. Ari folded herself into his embrace, sighing with pleasure at being surrounded by his warm strength.

“You’re the best Talin a girl could ever ask for.”

“And you’re the best human a—”

An alarm sounded, cutting Baz off. He grabbed his Ident, and Ari waited in silence as he checked the security captures. When he sounded an irritated rattle and cursed under his breath, Ari knew it was bad news.

“Nacium from the Committee for Pet Welfare is here for a surprise inspection.”