Working things out

Yaerwen grunted as she lifted the weights up and set them into their rack. Behind her head, the cadet she’d had as a spotter stepped back with a sigh of relief. “You worried, cadet?” The Hoxx woman said with a grin as she swung her legs off the bench and sat up fully. After eating with Meli and Trea’k, she’d left the others to spend time together while she got some exercise in; the new family was lovely and all, but she wanted to have some downtime between training and bedtime that evening.

The cadet gave a shrug, helping her to rise. “Just concerned that if I screw up the captain and most of the senior staff will have my head, ma’am,” he said, before grunting as the amber-haired woman slapped him on the back.

“It’d take a lot more weight than I had on that bar to seriously injure me. And besides, Bleu’s not on pregnancy watch for another month or so until Emely gets a bit closer to popping. You’re not in any danger.” The athletic woman stretched, then wrinkled her nose as sweat dripped from her forehead past her eyes. “Okay, maybe I was pushing a little hard today. But you’re fine anyway. Want me to spot you next, or am I okay to head out?”

At a nod from the crewman, the Hoxx woman headed for the gym showers. They weren’t anything special - just a row of cubicles with space for separate drying and dressing to allow for the weird human sense of modesty about being naked around people you were exercising with. Back home, the post-workout showers were communal, a chance for folk to discuss their achievements while cleaning.

Shaking her head as she finished pulling her jacket on, she walked out of the gym - and nearly ran into Jaisyl. Grimacing, Yaerwen took a step back to allow the Tho’unn woman to pass. To her surprise, Jaisyl paused and smiled at her. At least, Yaerwen thought, the noble seemed to be trying to put her at ease by smiling. “Can I help you, princess?” the Hoxx asked, hoping this would be quick, whatever it was.

Jaisyl smiled again, then nodded. “Aricia’s busy visiting with Dustin and the infants, but I checked with Bleu and flowers are okay for them all, so I thought I’d head to the garden and pick some out…” she paused, then gestured with a hand in the direction of the gardens. “We got off to a bad start when I first came aboard, I was wondering if you’d like to come with me?”

The olive branch was unexpected. Sure, Yaerwen knew that Jaisyl had been trying to play nice ever since she’d come back from the ice planet - but until now the two had more or less stayed away from each other. With a shrug, the Hoxx nodded. “Fine. Don’t ask me for advice on flowers tho, I’m hopeless on that front.”

In the gardens, the overhead lighting and atmospherics had been cranked recently. The place felt like a hot summer afternoon, and Yaerwen was glad she’d had the shower first before letting the princess drag her here, even if she’d probably need another shower if they spent too long under the baking overhead glow. “So do ya know what kind of flowers you’re getting?” She asked as Jaisyl retrieved a small basket and some cutters from the automat.

“I think so. Aricia mentioned a few that are blooming at the moment that Meli and Trea’k both like, and Rye said I was fine to cut anything in that part of the garden as long as I only take a few at most from any single plant,” the princess replied before leading the way down a winding path through the trees to an area overflowing with flowers.

With the warm air full of pollen, the pair walked idly. For a time, Jaisyl seemed content to just discuss the flowers or their species’ shared history - but eventually she paused while she considered a particularly large bush. “Can I ask a question, Yaerwen?” She began, adding “I suspect you will be more brutally honest than my… friends? My friends would be.”

The Hoxx woman frowned, then gave a vague shrug. Taking that as at least enough of an agreement to proceed, the princess sighed and set her basket down. “Have I done something improper towards Dustin? Recently, I mean? He’s seemed… different as we approached his homeworld. I was going to ask him about it, but with his offspring arriving there hasn’t been the time - and to be honest, I haven’t been able to spend enough time around him to see if the difference is still there, but I worry I’ve offended him somehow…”

Yaerwen blinked, then burst into laughter. Shaking her head at the princess’s stunned expression, she managed to wheeze “Sorry! Sorry, it’s just… you think…. And you were…” wiping a tear from her eyes, she managed to get herself under control. “No, it’s not you. And I am sorry for laughing, it’s just you were such an ass about Dusty when you first met us and now you’re worried about what he thinks. Wait til I tell Sammie and Rye about this! The princess has gone full tsun… at least, I think that’s the human term…” She coughed, seeing the Tho’unn’s expression and shook her head. “Don’t worry, princess, you haven’t done anything wrong as far as Dusty’s concerned. He’s just… look, I don’t know what of the details are public knowledge or not, I’m the new girl here okay? But from what he’s shared, I think I can tell you that he’s got some concerns about his new family cos of the way he lost his parents when he was young. Any more than that you’d have to ask him.”

The princess froze, her eyes going wide and the cutters pausing around the stem of a flower before she awoke from her trance. With a snip, the flower and stem fell into her basket. “Dustin lost his parents? I was… unaware of that. Do you know the story?” With a grimace, Yaerwen nodded and began to fill her in on the sad tale.

As they walked towards the nursery some time later, Jaisyl tried to take on board everything Yaerwen had shared. Violence towards people trying to make the world a better place was unheard of on the Tho’unn homeworld - or at least, she assumed so. How much went on that her father handled and she never knew about? She wished she could speak with her brother about it - but even on a secure line, such a conversation was far too much of a risk. And that left the matter of her “husband”. Dustin was clearly a warrior, and he’d become one after overcoming immense childhood disadvantages. Moreover, he was a warrior that struggled to do the right thing, something she was aware was a rarity outside of her heroic story books… things just kept getting more complicated.

Elsewhere on the ship, Sammie frowned and adjusted Sola’s course slightly, weaving in and out of the asteroids that lined their path to the next jump point. She was nervous. Very nervous. Had she made the right decision in asking her dad? Her message had been brief - a request to provide wedding services to her - and his reply had been equally short. “If he passes, I will.”

Frowning, she muttered under her breath as she shunted the craft sideways to dodge a particularly jagged space rock. “Of course he’ll pass. But if he doesn’t… fuck, everyone’s putting so much effort in. Maybe I can get Izzy to do it? I’m sure she must have at least one ship she can be made temporary captain of for the purposes of getting me and Dusty hitched…” The dark skinned woman’s attention was barely on what she was doing as Sola slipped free of the belt and accelerated. “And then there’s my dress… god, I’ve only got a few more days, I should get that sorted… the automat can get me most of the way there, but I need some adjustments and maybe some decoration…”

Her thoughts drifted to the delicate cross-stitch work Jaisyl had made. While she was still largely hostile to the interloper in their relationship, she’d seen the art the Tho’unn had made for the others. She would definitely be able to do something for Sammie’s dress… As they broke into clear space, Sammie flicked the auto-pilot on and rose from her seat. With a nod to where Yril’k occupied the captain’s chair, Dustin’s fiance left the bridge - in search of the princess to commission some work, and her husband-to-be for some downtime and possibly stress-relief, in that order.