The princess's dating diaries (Part 2)

Yaerwen sat calmly by the baths, warm water dripping down her back as she considered her next steps. Jaisyl would be arriving shortly, that much she was aware of - they had a date after all. Sammie had commented that the princess had enjoyed their time together the previous day, which meant that athletics were potentially on the table. Ideally, she’d have taken the Tho’unn woman for a swim, but Meli had been quite insistent that the pool was off limits - Yaerwen wasn’t sure why, but it was probably some human sensibility thing.

That left the gardens or the gym as her usual haunts, of which the gardens were clearly inappropriate - she hadn’t yet made up her mind to do anything with the princess, and until she did she wouldn’t be planting any trees. With that taken into account, she had really better plan to do something in the gym... Standing and shaking to rid herself of the bulk of the water still hanging around in her mane, the Hoxx woman turned and went in search of dry sportswear.

Jaisyl approached the door to the ambassadorial chambers with some apprehension. Of all the women she had to get to agree to let her in to their relationship, Yaerwen was one of the two she was most worried about; the shared history of their two species added an extra layer of complexity on the already messed up situation she’d made for herself. Thinking ahead, she’d opted to dress lightly but bring along her exercise outfit. If Yaerwen wanted to do traditional rituals (and given the existing decree that they remain clothed for which she was thankful), the princess guessed it’d be either a gym or the gardens for their date.

That was a guess she was glad to see proved correct as the door opened and the Hoxx woman stepped out wearing a pair of shorts and a tight sports top. Seeing Jaisyl, Yaerwen nodded and gestured down the corridor. “I thought we could go for a little climb if you’re up for it?”

Twenty minutes later, Jaisyl was seriously reconsidering her life choices as she hung grimly on to a slowly moving climbing wall. Yaerwen was making what passed for idle chatter as the pair worked their way up the gently descending surface - the side the princess was on covered in brightly coloured handholds while the Hoxx scrambled up a virtual cliffside. “And you do this for fun?” Jaisyl asked, panting heavily as she managed to get her feet onto a ledge just after her companion. As she did so, she found herself getting a moment’s reprieve as the entire surface slid to a halt to allow them to consider their next steps.

“Yea. It’s not as good as freely climbing something that’s actually high, but it’s a good workout. The fact we can just jump down is easier for beginners as well, or those with underdeveloped muscles, so I thought it’d be a good experience for you rather than my usual set,” Yaerwen replied, grinning to herself. To be honest, she was impressed - she’d expected the princess to start complaining and fall or jump down the three foot drop the wall maintained between climber and floor long before they reached the first stopping point. “You want to call it here and get a snack, or continue? I usually do two or three climbs before…” Yaerwen’s words trailed off, the Hoxx scrambling to catch up as Jaisyl got a suddenly determined look on her face and jumped for a handhold, the climbing wall starting to move beneath them once more.

Aricia frowned as she looked at the schedule Meli had sent over. Honestly, she’d been expecting one or other of the women who disliked Jaisyl on principle to have said no long before it became her turn for a date, which made things complex. She’d ideally have spent the time she’d been allocated with the princess taking pictures of the worlds they were passing by on their onward flight - but with the timing it wouldn’t be possible. Sola was skimming through yet another weave jump, and the window would be closed before they left that alternate dimension. With that in mind, she pondered what she knew about the Tho’unn woman. If Aricia’s own hobbies were out, then maybe….

A chime from the door to her quarters made Jaisyl jump. She’d been trying to decide what to wear to spend time with the Lieviran, unsure if they would be heading somewhere formal or romping through the gardens, and as a result was still wearing the loungewear she’d taken to using whenever she was lazing around in her room on the ship. With a muttered and very unladylike curse, she half stumbled across to the door and opened it to reveal her date waiting on the far side.

Aricia was dressed… Jaisyl blinked. The butterfly woman appeared to be dressed remarkably similarly to herself, in soft loungewear. She was also holding a clear plastic box containing what looked like fabric and thread. “Umm, hello? Are you early?” The princess heard herself ask, trying to figure out the other woman’s plan.

“No? At least, I don’t think I am,” Aricia replied, trying and failing to glance at her tablet while holding the box one handed. “Could you take this actually? Bulk fabric is rather heavier than I thought…”

Jaisyl took the offered box, then since it seemed to be the right thing to do turned and set it down on her desk, beckoning for Aricia to follow her inside. “One second,” the butterfly woman said, tapping the door controls before moving in further. “You need to tell Sola you agree to the removal of privacy settings for the next hour or so.”

The princess frowned, then glanced at her tablet, skimmed the changed settings and accepted. “Why do I need to remove the privacy settings in my own quarters?” she asked, bemused by the entire situation.

“Oh, it’s traditional if we hang out in a bedroom. We’d already dropped the protection before you went to see Emmz for example, it’s so there’s no risk of any naughtiness happening before we all agree. Doubt it will, but it’s something they all agreed to do before I joined so… Anyway, the date! I thought maybe you might be willing to help me learn to sew better? It’s rather hard to find anything that fits with my wings, and I was hoping with your help I could get the skill to make myself some more outfits?”

Jaisyl blinked, then laughed. “So our date is what - a crafting sleepover? The last women that I attended an event like that with were duchesses, and half of them were plotting against the other half the entire time. This will be a pleasant new experience, assuming you’re not planning on stabbing me with a needle on purpose.” The joke seemed to be well received, Aricia giggling in response as her host walked to the automat to get them both the snacks and drinks that would accompany their miniature girls night.

With everything going on with her newly hatched grubs and the cherub that was her daughter, Trea’k really didn’t have time for the date. Honestly, she viewed the entire thing with a kind of detached amusement; it had served it’s purpose before her offspring were born, but now? With Dustin claiming even her pure Vex’ess young as his own? She trusted his judgment implicitly, if he decided the Tho’unn woman was suitable for their bed then a date was hardly necessary. Still, it was what they had all agreed and so she went along with the consensus.

She wouldn’t be leaving the young, however. Despite Meli’s suggestions and offer of babysitting, the Vex’ess envoy had actively refused. There was one area and one only where Jaisyl could let her down, and that was in the princess’s attitude towards the varied offspring that now occupied the nursery. If Jaisyl did not recognize that the infants were the center of Dustin’s world, she would clearly be eminently unsuitable. With that as the metric by which the Tho’unn would be judged, what better place could there be for the two of them to spend time together to allow Trea’k to assess the woman’s character?

Thus, when her turn came she merely sent Jaisyl a note saying where she would be and waited. As she did so, Trea’k watched C’harl’ette busy herself with trying to learn to move all of her limbs in a coordinated manner like her fully insectoid siblings, the presence of the grubs seemingly supercharging the infant’s already strong will. Meli had retrieved her twins earlier in the day, taking them back to her own rarely used quarters for some time with just the Velcan and their father, so the nursery was all Trea’k’s.

The boldest of the grubs moved a little too close to C’harl’ette and found itself being used as a ladder to allow the infant to rise upright. C’harl’ette’s face was a mask of concentration as her arms moved erratically; Dustin and Meli had both been surprised by how quickly his daughter had learned even that simple level of limb control, but to Trea’k it had felt like it had taken an age. Hybrids developed slowly, she knew, but not being able to walk as soon as she was born? It was jarring to her Vex’ess sensibilities.

As Trea’k pondered that fact, the door slid open behind her and she turned - and her features softened into a warm smile. Jaisyl, it seemed, would not disappoint - the woman stepped in holding a basket of soft toys, clearly hand made given the three parents had already scoured Sola’s storage holds for anything of the sort practically as soon as their infants were brought on board. The princess stepped forward hesitantly - and then tossed the box to one side, running towards Trea’k.

Realizing the Tho’unn woman was looking past her, Trea’k turned - and was just in time to catch a flailing C’harl’ette as the young girl’s mastery of her limbs failed her and she lost her grip on her sibling’s leg. The fact that the princess had moved instinctively the moment she saw the infant might be at risk secured Trea’k’s earlier opinion. As far as she was concerned, Jaisyl had just passed her test.