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Just squeezing through the doorway, Pirra whistled a shrill curse as something clunked in her bag.
“Was that one of the gifts?” Alexander asked.
“No,” she said, truly unsure, but knowing they had precious little time to check right now.
With over ten thousand people leaving the ship, getting on one of the shuttles to Plucharon Station was insanely difficult. Allowance for tardiness wasn’t being tolerated, not with the numbers they had to deal with.
And they had to catch their flight to the inner-system, or else their entire time-table would be thrown off.
There was still time, though, she felt sure. But they couldn’t stop.
“Are you sure?” he asked, heaving up a bag on his shoulders and wincing. “God, how tightly did you pack this?”
“It’s not that heavy,” she chided.
“I don’t have your augments,” he muttered. “It’s got to be almost fourteen kilos.”
“Well, I had to bring my wing covers, it’s important to look good,” Pirra replied matter-of-factly.
“You’ve met my parents before,” he said. “And how many did you bring?”
“Six,” she replied.
“Six? We’re only going to be there for two days! Why do you need more than two?”
She knew her expression – crest rising purely vertical, eyes opening as wide as she could, had to look, to him, like a massive overreaction.
But she was scandalized.
“I need at least two per day!” she said. “And what if one of them gets dirty? Do you expect me to be in front of your parents with dirty wings?” She looked away, making a sound of emotional pain.
It wasn’t feigned on her part, and she definitely was not vain by her own kind’s standards. It would be humiliating if she ran into that situation.
“It’s too late, anyway, we have to hurry,” she said.
Alexander sighed and tromped after her, bearing up with the weight of the bag hanging from one shoulder.
He could handle it, but it’d be uncomfortable for their journey to the station. Maybe she did over-estimate his strength sometimes. Even though his limbs were massively thicker than any of her kind, Dessei muscles were more efficient, rendering the two species loosely similar in strength.
Still, even as a thin human, he looked positively swole to a Dessei.
She felt a tug on her sleeve, and distractedly looked down.
It was a boy, Elliot, the son of Iago Caraval. She knew him well.
“Dad asked me to come and tell you he wishes you both a safe trip,” the boy said.
“Oh, thanks Elliot. Tell your dad to focus on feeling better,” Pirra replied, trying to force her smile while juggling the luggage in her hands.
“Okay,” the boy replied. He seemed disgruntled, and Pirra knew he must be worried about his father. “He wanted to come himself but Dr. Loogie didn’t give him permission.”
Though Caraval seemed much better the last time Pirra had seen him, he was still confined to quarters for a few more days, she knew, pending Dr. Logus’s approval.
“Elliot!” Alexander said, shifting the bag on his shoulder. “Don’t call him that. It’s Logus.”
“That’s what I said,” Elliot replied innocently. “Anyway, see ya later!” He ran off down the hall, yelling back over his shoulder.
The door three meters away opened, and a familiar face peered out.
“Sorry Tred,” she said before he could talk. “I’ll try to remember to be quieter in the future.”
He seemed half-sorry himself, and half annoyed. “You said that last time.”
“I’m in a hurry,” Pirra replied curtly, and pushed on down the hall.
This bag was so lumpy. It wasn’t heavy, but it managed to be awkwardly large, and she couldn’t let it swing at her side without bashing her legs. Why did he have to bring so many gifts? She wasn’t aware that that was a standard human thing, and giving people things always seemed odd to her. There were few things one could give that were worth keeping.
She saw the time flash in her system HUD. They’d wasted too much time, and now they needed to really rush.
“Hurry, Alex!” she said, breaking into a run, almost crashing into the Apollonia girl as she came out of her own cabin.
“Sorry, excuse me,” Pirra breathed, hurrying on.
Alexander said more sedately as he passed her next; “Excuse us, we just have to catch our shuttle.”
“Me too,” Apollonia replied. “Mind if I just follow you?”
Alexander had gone on, but shook his head. “Not a problem, just keep up!”
Other Terrestrial 