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“Well, I would not mind a world to call home, even if I don’t live here.”
Cloudy frowned. “Why wouldn’t you live here?”
“Because the guy I am with can’t land here.”
Hazor frowned. “All are welcome.”
Aya reached up and removed the makeup with a damp napkin. She looked toward Hazor’s mother. “How about now?”
Yvari looked startled. “Oh. Oh, my. He is here?”
“He is in orbit. Kazi and his assistant are coming to the party. I believe they are here now, in fact. I can feel them. Tiffany is going after some natural textiles.”
Yvari blinked. “I think I need to warn my father.”
Aya smiled. “Probably sensible.”
Yvari and her mate said they would be right back, and they left the pub to seek out the Hmrain Vecchin and then the ancient.
Aya looked at Cloudy. “Is it wrong that it is fun to watch them scramble?”
Cloudy lifted her fist, and Aya bumped it with her own.
Cloudy looked at Aya’s forehead. “What is that mark?”
“It’s a don’t fuck with me mark put there by Devran. He’s an... I am not exactly sure. The designers practiced the emotions with archetypes. Kazi and Devran are two of them.”
Cloudy blinked. “How did you meet Devran?”
Aya smiled grimly. “I spent months screaming for help through a crack in a door. He answered. The same way Tiffany met Kazi.”
Cloudy blinked. “Tiffany?”
“Yes. The blade of justice, the heartbeat of compassion, the lover of judgment.” Aya grinned. “Literally. They don’t care who watches.”
Hazor’s eyes went wide, and he said, “I will go see if I need to divert them to a private area.”
Cloudy laughed. “How big is Kazi?”
“Height? Closer to eight than seven and a half feet. As for the other? I am trying to block it out of my brain.” Aya chuckled. “They are incorrigible.”
Cloudy blinked. “So they made the Hmrain smaller?”
“Apparently. The ancients were made big for ease of assembly. That is what Devran told me anyway. He doesn’t lie. They also don’t want to have little ones.”
Cloudy paused and put her hand over her belly.
“Congratulations.” Aya laughed and hugged her before saying, “If I want kids, I will adopt, but Devran doesn’t have a home world. I will be living my life on a ship and seeing the stars until I am tired of them. A few thousand years might do it.”
Cloudy grinned. “You will visit?”
“Visit or send presents to my grand nieces or nephews. Just knowing you and the village is here and thriving is a tremendous load off my mind.”
“I don’t think many of the folks recognized you.”
Aya nodded. “I know. It’s been years. I can’t believe that some of the little ones are in school already.”
Cloudy cocked her head. “Do you want to meet more of them again?”
