#wisp interaction

Mo was asleep, and then he wasn’t. He’d listened after the trip home, dropped off by Wisp and given another lovely little kiss to the lips by the woman he loved before she had to take care of the last drop off of the day. Thankfully, Azha had double-checked the repair to his hand and gave him the ok for the use of the shower, allowing him to clean up. It felt better to be home, knowing he could undo his long hair to wash it properly after so long of doing not that.

Once out and dried, he was quick to dress in something a little nicer than the original one piece suit that most drones had as a default option if made for work. A blue shirt with Kirby on the front eating some strawberry cake and his beige cargo shorts worked for the moment before his head had hit the pillow. It was on waking that he kicked into gear.

The shirt and pants were thrown almost violently into his closet while he grabbed what he felt would work. A simple green short sleeve button up and clean dark-wash jean shorts. A blush came to his face as he moved to brush his hair, making sure to tie the pony-tail he usually sported a bit low before he went and got the box that contained the proposal hairpin.

She was an important drone in their city, but that didn’t mean he just went for something that was pretty like her. It was something that matched most of her clothing, even some of the stuff she wore to those fancy parties that the humans would sometimes bring her to. He took a breath and grabbed his phone, sending her a text and then moving to leave his apartment, smiling bright as he locked the door and headed off down the street.

He knew where she lived. Moving was rare and only needed in the case of position changes or making a family, and so most drones were fairly stationary in their lodgings. Wisp was one such drone, and that meant heading fairly close to the city center and taking an elevator in a rather nice building. Being the assistant to the drone that kind of doubled as the City Leader and also the head of the three settlements on the planet was… a bit of a big deal.

He had no idea how in the world he landed someone like that.

When she opened the door, he had to get a little bit flustered again. The dress she wore was a simple sun dress of sky blue with a cascading pattern of daisies all over it and a yellow ribbon at the waist tied in a typical bow at her left hip. He loved it when she wore anything that had flowers on it. They were just so cute and even more so on her.

“Well, don’t you look handsome?” She was smirking, her orange eye-lights lidded a bit.

“I… you… pretty…” He stood straighter, shaking his head and clearing his throat. “I mean… You’re so pretty… I wanted to at least do this all justice and…” He motioned to the fact he was there as she stepped aside and then gently tugged him into her apartment.

It was large, clearly. He was always a fan of the way it made him feel like he was able to see so much. The woods and mountains were a gorgeous view… He sighed, turning and looking at her as she moved to sit in her favorite chair. It let him walk up and press a kiss to her lips, catching her slightly off guard before he stepped back to get down on one knee. She blushed.

“I was serious when I first asked… a little upset and tired, but one hundred percent serious.” The box was taken from his pocket and he breathed in.

“When we started dating I was so scared that I was just a silly fling. I’m still really young, I only came online two years ago and you… you’re so much more than what I am right now… But that doesn’t change the fact you stayed with me. That you told me you liked me, that you loved me, that our first date was fun and sweet. You made my heart swell with your words and your kisses, and whenever I think about you I just… I feel like I fall in love all over again…”

He could see how she bit her lip while smiling, tears threatening to fall at his words.

“I don’t want to be apart from you again. I don’t want to be able to be bullied into my life changing without my say-so… So will you marry me and be the first step to a new life that I want to build as I grow more?” He opened the box, the pin shining in the light of the noon sun that streamed through the windows.

“How can you say things that are that beautiful?” Wisp nodded, leaning down to cup his cheeks and kiss him. “Of course I will Mo. I love you, and I’m so glad that you took the chance to ask me out.” He leaned in to kiss her again before he stood, taking the pin out and placing it in her hair as he smiled warmly. She giggled a bit at the look on his face. “You know you have to file the paperwork saying you’re going to move in with me right?”

“O-oh! Right, yeah! I’ll do that when I get back to start packing…” He chuckled a bit and sighed, moving to sit with her on her chair. “I just… I think I want to sit with my fiancee for a bit longer… to enjoy this.”

The week that it took to get back home was, blessedly, cut into more like four days. Hafiz was quick to figure out the proper path, and while they needed a short detour to find the panicked child and securely tape Hack up so he wouldn’t be able to get up to anything after what he had done to cause the detour in the first place. Over the course of the ride, the child had warmed up a bit more to Mo, whom had taken care of some babysitting duties when Hafiz needed to pay attention to actual spaceship piloting.

In between those moments, Hafiz did paperwork. Adoption pages filled out, information input for an up in expected rations, and a few orders to finish off some of the work that he had been doing before the whole adventure were just a few things. He took care to personally see that Hack was fed properly, and that Mo and the child got their proper shares. He took his position as the one in charge fairly seriously.

Which is why he got some help putting his arm in a sling after something failed during their landing. The ship was certainly not perfect, but it was not made to handle two take offs and two landings. He had to hiss a bit at the pain, but held it in as best he could for the sake of the worried green eyes that stared at him from the bottom-bunk-turned-child-cave.

“Papa?” The little voice still made his damn heart melt, the pain taking a back seat as he looked to the little drone that crawled forward to lean against his leg.

“Hey little Scrap. Go back over there, it might not be safe here huh?” Hafiz offers a smile toward his child, earning a pout in response before they look at his injured arm. It takes a long moment, but the tail comes up and licks over the sling, as if to try helping, before the child turns and wanders back over to lay on the pillows that they had collected. Mo reached out and pat them on the back.

“It’s ok little fella. Azha will fix it. We’re almost home!” With the rather cheery comment made, the little one’s tail slowly wagged from their little spot.

“No more stinky?” The reference to Hack had the drone, taped up to the point he looked like a strange worm, glare at the tiny drone.

“Nope!” Mo smiled as the child hummed and looked to Hafiz, the drone focusing still on making sure they reached the ground in one piece.

Landing, as it turned out, was a lot harder the second time. They’d barely touched down on that Alternate Copper-Nine. Now? Even Hack seemed to understand it was time to stay quiet and pray to whatever was out there that the ship didn’t rattle itself apart. Even with the fantastic repairs that had been done with quick expertise. They could clearly feel something on the outside having a less than pleasant reaction to the maneuvers. A spark flew from the console, and something else caused a couple of the monitors to spark, one dying almost instantly.

All four were jostled on actual touch-down. The ship rocked a moment before something snapped, a leg giving and sending the small ship onto a side before all motion stopped. The smell of burning wires was caught from somewhere in the main operation console, but Hafiz didn’t care about that. He moved for the door as quick as he could, wrenching it open with the hope that they weren’t trapped, and gave a relieved sigh as it was clear the only issue they’d have involving the door would be the need to crawl out from under it.

“Hafiz! Are you okay!? Holy crap!” The female voice was clear a shadow falling in view of the open door.

“Azha! Perfect timing!” Hafiz chuckled a bit, moving to get to the others. “We can still get out. Here, Mo let’s get the little one out first and then you can help shove Hack out.”

“Ah!” The child moved a bit, the mattress that had bounced out of place having landed on them a bit, leaving them to wiggle around to try and get it off before they managed to back out from under it. Mo smiled a little, having gotten up already. “Woah!” The child shivered a little as Mo picked them up carefully.

“Hey, we’re down here! It’s ok. Come on. You can go out and Miss Azha will take you to the van, ok?”

“Oh! Asa!” The little one remembered her. “She! Yis!” They waited for Mo to set them down near the door, then looked to Hafiz.

“Crawl out and stay with Azha until we get done with Stinky ok?” A kiss pressed to the center of the child’s visor, making green eyes close a moment before they nodded.

“Mm! Ok Papa!”

“Oh my gosh that is so cute, did I really hear that?” Azha sounded like she was smiling, the shadow growing a bit. “Come on little one! Stay under the umbrella!” She encouraged as the little one crawled out carefully, tail looking around once they were out.

Open field, the city in the distance, and the smiling face of Azha as she picked them up. “Oh, look at you! Did someone give you a new shirt? And fix your glass?”

“Mmm!” The child seemed happy, the tail opening its mouth as it curled around their neck to stare at the female that held them. From the ship crawled Hafiz, dragging Hack while Mo was pushing the bound drone from inside to out.

“Uh… what’s up with-”

“Turned into a worm for crimes against me and my child.” Hafiz shrugged, as if that was the most normal way to say anything at all. Hack seemed to want to protest, but all that he could do was squirm a little bit as Wisp stepped up. “Oh… Hey Wisp.”

Orange eye-lights looked only slightly unamused as the female he greeted looked over the whole situation. “You know you’ll need to do a de-brief? I know you had Azha send in that report, but-”

“I know I know… Did you get what I sent after the adoption filing and the ration increase?”

“Uh… maybe? I-”

“WISP!” Mo was heard as he crawled out, eyes wide as he spotted his maroon-haired ex. She herself was a bit startled, eyes wide and staring at his injured hand as she moved forward.

“Mo?! Is this where you’ve been?” She helped him stand, a worried look reaching her face. “What happened t-”

“Not important!” Hafiz moved to take the child from his friend as she held the umbrella over their heads. Mo dropped to one knee, causing wide eye-lights from the other adults and causing Hack to wiggle in an attempt to get free. “The day you broke up with me, I was going to ask this! I wanted to tell you that I think you’re amazing! You’re beautiful and smart and your laugh makes my core pick up until I feel like I might shut down!” Wisp was blushing as he spoke, looking over her shoulder once to see the smug expression of Azha, and the soft smile from Hafiz as he held his child. Looking back to Mo, she could see the tears on his visor. “I… I love everything about you and I never want to go home knowing I’d be alone ever again! Will you marry me!?” A box was pulled out of his pocket, the item that rested within appeared to be a hair pin of some kind with a carefully made decoration of several red tulips.

Wisp stared a long moment at the man before her with so much hope in his eyes. Her own softened a bit, and she reached out to gently caress his cheek.

“How about… You get yourself cleaned up, rest properly with some food… and ask me again then?” A moment of worry reached his face before she bent down more to lay a soft kiss on his lips, earning a giddy and kind of dazed hum before she pulled back.

Mo’s smile was a little dopey, the box carefully closed as he stared up at the woman he was so smitten with. “O-okay… yeah ok…”

“And here I thought he was just going to ask her to date him again.” Hafiz commented, glancing to the angry figure of Hack, the man trying to wiggle… somewhere closer. He wasn’t really making any progress, seeming to not know anything about how creatures without legs or arms or anything but their bellies moved.

“I mean… based off the text you sent, me too.” Azha giggled a little at the drone that was taking a moment to put away the box, still looking at the female he had proposed to. “That man is in a very happy place.”

“You know, he deserves it. He grew a little on that… vacation? Let’s call it that.” Hafiz nodded toward the car. “Let’s get the little one in there and then deal with the rest of this… huh?” The pair took the chance to glance at Hack, then sighed heavily before heading to the car.

{===}

“Thank you for the lift Wisp.” Hafiz leaned back a bit, settled in the shaded windowless part of the van with his child curled up in his lap, snoozing away after the slow driving got to them. Hack had been un-wormed, and was now settled in a seat with his arms crossed as he glared at Mo’s head. He was staying silent, but that was likely due to the fact that both Azha and Wisp in the vehicle were a dangerous combination.

“No problem. I’ve actually called ahead to get a couple of the City Patrol to help out. So when you and Azha get out, they’ll be getting in.”

“Oh, really?” Hafiz looked over, a bit more at ease to hear that. “That’s good.”

“Don’t see why you need them.” Hack grumbled, looking out the window when two female glares came his way. He silenced himself after that, glaring at the house that he had less-than-carefully broken into the shed of to get the child that was now sleeping in the lap of the man seated behind him. He glared out the window, hoping the whole thing would just burn down. The fact that the mentioned patrol members were there missed his eyesight entirely.

Azha opened the umbrella, blocking the sun before opening the back door to help Hafiz and his child get out. Said child was still out cold, SLEEP MODE flickering once to FATAL ERROR before resting back at the green text as they were gently shifted on the man’s shoulder.

“It’s calmed down I noticed.” She whispered softly as the two patrolmen paused.

“The one we’re here for… this is your house he broke into?” One asked. Hafiz nodded. “And that’s the child he kidnapped?” Another nod. The one that didn’t speak frowned deeply. “Well… go on inside. It’s been repaired, but if you have complaints-”

“I’m not too worried about it right this moment, but thank you.” Hafiz smiled politely. “We’ll go on inside and look around. Thank you for what you’re doing.”

“No one should be unsafe in their home.” A pat on the free shoulder was offered, slightly waking the child who wiggled a little in their Papa’s arms. The silent guard smiled slightly before frowning and stepping toward the van to speak with Wisp and Mo.

Hafiz left them alone, unlocking the door and heading into his home with Azha following after, her smile gentle at the waking child.

“Hey. Scraps we’re home.” He whispered as the door was shut by the female, her blue eye-lights gaining little star shapes at the way the pair before her acted. She was so happy about this whole thing.

“Mmm… Home? Yis?” The tired green eyes looked around before closing for a large yawn, the tail mimicking the action before they were gently placed on the couch.

“Yes, we’re home. Papa is gunna look around at the repairs, so is it ok if you sit here with Miss Azha?” He smiled as the child looked at her a long moment before moving to lay against her. It was not as close as they had with Tera in the cave, but it was close enough. The woman smiled a little and gently pat the child’s head, earning a curious look from the tail as they dozed without falling into sleep mode.

Hafiz left them at that, moving to check on things as he knew he should.

{===}

“Shed had the whole wall rebuilt… probably because of the damage to the door and frame.” Hafiz verbalizes his findings as he paces a little in front of Azha, Scraps having slipped back into a light sleep. “The windows were replaced as well, they cleaned the glass-”

“I was here you know.” Azha sighed softly, petting her fingers through the child’s hair. “You’re just-”

“I want to make it stronger… keep them safe.” Oh how that made her heart melt a little, seeing the man that she usually joked about throwing at a dragon of all things looking at a sleeping child and working on protection plans. “I want to make it… friendly for them.”

“One step at a time… and we can work together. I am the only drone in the city that knows how to give medical attention to a child after all.” She crosses her arms. “Speaking of medical attention…” The arm was motioned to, and Hafiz sighed before he sat down on the other side of his officially adopted child.

{===}

Their tail wagged a little bit as their hair was dried. Azha was careful, after removing the dirty and rather nasty beanie, she’d noted a lot of… problems. Damage to the head was not common to survive, but with the amount that was damaged it was clear that beanie had happened to actually save the child. She’d gotten the ok to fix them, having found the glance toward Hafiz and the agreement after ‘Papa’ nodded cute.

The damaged portion of the head was easy to fix, at least for Azha. Hack had already gotten repair supplies from earlier attempts, but the fact they could use them…

She smiled a bit as the child leaned into the towel, the dull pink turning a little muddy from what the bath hadn’t pulled from it. “You liked that huh? Not all kids like water…” The fact she was careful about the repairs, how it would effect the hair, and then the following wash, probably helped a lot.

“Mm!” They agreed, tail slowly moving to check over their naked form. The hole in their belly had been sealed, the damaged wires properly crimped as well. It made the area less sore, but they didn’t really understand what she had talked with Hafiz about for limbs and stuff. Something about replacement motors?

“Ok. Little one, do you know what I mean when I say I have to take your arm off?” Their tail stood straight, alarm in their expression. She took that as a yes. “I promise, it won’t hurt. Remember I felt it? I’m gunna fix it, but it needs a special bath. Is that ok with you?” She could see the worry, the way they shifted and whined a little.

“No ow?”

“Nope! No ow.” There was a soft smile on her face. “I could show you with your Papa if you want?”

“Mmmm…. No.” They turned their head and looked at their little hands. The fact they ached was not lost to them. They wanted it gone. To move their hand easier and crawl easier. “Ok… Yis, ok…”

“I’ll make it as fast as I can so you can go see your Papa then.” Azha soothed, gently rubbing the child’s back before reaching for the supplies she would need.

{===}

It was strange, having one arm. They took a moment to adjust before wandering out with care. The blue-eyed female had said it would go slow, so they could keep running around and playing while things got fixed, and that was ok. If it happened like it just had, they were ok with it. And they remembered what she said. Don’t take off the thing that wrapped around them and covered the space the arm used to be. If it fell off, it would hurt.

“Hey little buddy!” Hafiz smiled, seeing the child re-appear and looking momentarily surprised. That soft blue was under all that mess of crusted blood, oil, and other gross garbage? “Wow! You look so happy!”

“Yis!” Their tail wagged as they carefully crawled toward him. Hafiz scooped the child up without a second thought.

“Hey, I wanna show you something.” He was smiling, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of their head while glancing at the barely visible welds that had been put in. The tail met his gaze a moment later and he smiled a little at its curious head tilt. It only took a moment to carry the child to what he wanted to show them, the bathroom being used was the one upstairs after all.

“Oh!” The child jerked at what the tail could see as the door was opened. A proper room prepared, the bed being a small children’s loft style, but with an addition below that was curtained off to turn it into a little sleeping cave. A toybox rested against a wall, and so did a few bookshelves and regular shelves on the wall with the window. Said window was currently covered by a blackout curtain, the light of day barely there anymore as the sun was finishing it’s journey through the sky.

The room was painted a dark green, the carpet made soft with a beige color. The fan and light above were on, and the whole thing was fairly clean save a few things. Some of the toys were in the box or on a shelf, and it made the little drone think. They had left the toy that Tera had given them behind… but that was ok. They could do something better! But… later… A yawn was caught as they stretched a little bit. Hafiz smiled.

“Do you like it?”

“Mmm… Yis. Mhm!” Sleepy eyes turned toward the adult, now joined by Azha. He moved, showing a little stool that was only two steps, but also made of hollow plastic.

“Use this… and hit this-” A switch on the wall was pointed at before it was hit, turning off the light to the slight alarm of the child. They moved forward and replicated the action, using their tail to reach. “So you can sleep!”

“Oh um… You?”

“Here.” Hafiz moved forward and picked the child up, bringing them into the hall again. “Bathroom.” The room the child came from was pointed to. “My room, me.” The door was pushed open, showing his bedroom that he had been in for however long. His laptop rested on a kind of bland desk, and a couple pictures were on the walls. “Door closed, knock.” He demonstrated, and the child nodded, blinking awake as best they could.

“More after a nap then little one?”

The candle flame burns, the occasional wisp of smoke dancing into the air. Alex stared at it, hair drying still as she ignored the fact they had to land, the fact she needed to finish getting ready. The soft tap of B walking up behind her had her raise her head to look at the drone as a hand rested on her bare shoulder.

B’s hair was still braided, but it was put in a low bun, held in place by a hoop and pin barrette of silver with blue diamond accents. A modified headband of thin white gold with slightly darker sapphires set in rested in front of the five glowing yellow real eyes atop her head. Her dress was a backless halter style, designed to fit around her tail in a tasteful manner with a lovely bright blue satin ribbon showing as the trim and tie. The skirt portion was layered in an asymmetrical style, the outermost layer a sheer shimmering fabric of white while the rest of the dress was colored in a dip-dye style that brought the light blue of the top to a deep navy near the bottom-most hem. For movement, it was only about knee joint length for her. Around her stinger was a matching satin ribbon that had a sapphire decorating the knot of the bow it made.

“You alright?” Her soft voice was always a comfort. At least, these days. Alex turned her eyes back to the candle flame and breathed in the soft scent of pine.

“I… Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

“That’s not alright.”

“Yeah. I know.” Alex moved at last, taking the dress from where it hung to change in her bathroom.

A sleeveless illusion style above the waist, the sheer material above the corset style below was a dark blue with small gems set in near the throat that were concentrated on the right side of the material. The corset itself was black, the ribbon to lace up the front as well as some of the accents a startling white against the material. Lace drips from the bottom hem of the corset laying lightly over the top of the skirt portion, a tiered above-knee style that alternated black and deep navy with white accents. The lace was only the top-most portion of the skirt, but it added an interesting effect as it was a deep maroon to comply with the dress code. With a sigh, she did her make up, then styled her hair in a manner it would hide the right half of her face before she stepped out of the bathroom.

B had placed on the last portion of her own outfit, a soft pink ribbon that tied around one side of the halter.

“I have no idea how you can make such complicated ribbon ties.” Alex comments, looking over the way it looped in on itself just right to make it look like a rose that had been clipped on.

“Get good then.” B shrugged as she offered one of the few necklaces Alex liked to use at events.

White gold with rubies, the necklace was a short length, adding to the look that the young woman was going for. Affection could be dangerous after all. She turned it down, though. It wasn’t a day to show off. She wasn’t interested in such things at the moment. Instead, a thin white-gold chain with a droplet cut of muddy red jade was added around her throat, something that matched the deep red of the garnet earring studs that colored her ears, otherwise filled with stainless steel. She sighed, reaching up to brush fingers over her barrettes.

“Let’s get going.” Her black leather t-strap heels clicked on the floor of the ship just as sharp as B’s own steps did, the air-lock opening to show the distant lights of their destination, and the driver that waited for them at the landing pad.

“Of course she brings that monster.” B ignores the words she can so easily catch with her enhanced hearing. One hand reaches out toward a passing waiter, the human flinching slightly before offering the tray for the drone to reach much easier.

“Thank you.” A polite thing to do, and it caught the human off guard. They were a new worker then, not used to the fact that Alex and B were not one to disregard the work of those considered to be a lower class. She steps over to hand it to Alex, the young woman leaning gently against an ornate support pillar near the open doors to the garden area.

“It’s not tacky this year.” Alex speaks calmly, taking the offered glass of wine. “How many do you count?”

“Three others I think.” B looks out over the garden area, barely a handful of humans out admiring the hedge sculptures and carefully maintained pond. The fact that there were koi was a big draw. Not a lot of aquatic animals made it off earth easily.

“So they are here?” A bit of the tension in her shoulders had melted away, the wine glass sipped from.

“Of course we are my girl!” The voice was no surprise to B. The disassembly drone turned before offering a polite curtsy. The man that greeted them was smiling. A bit on the heavy-set side and wearing a tasteful older style of Italian style suit in maroon with the faintest darker shade of rosettes decorating the material in a way that caught the light when he turned. He leaned heavily on a cane, decorated for show but crafted for proper use. His limp spoke as much.

On his free arm was his wife, a soft smile on her face as she wore a dress of similar dark maroon in an off the shoulder, full empire waist style. The rosettes on her own dress were made to stand out much more, shimmering softly in the light. Her satin gloves faded to a soft pink at the fingers, of which only one hand held four instead of five.

“Mr and Mrs Dukeson, just the pair I was hoping to see this evening.” Alex offered a smile.

“Oh, sweetheart you look amazing.” The older woman sighed, reaching up to brush the dangling curl from her hair out of her face. “Such a beautiful young woman, just like we knew you would grow into.”

“And you know you can use our names my dear!” The man chuckled a bit, looking to B. “Both of you may! Now, come with us, there’s a song about to start and I know that will cause a bit of a crowd if we don’t have a seat to speak. Rosar is holding a table for us with young miss Wisp.” There’s a clack of his cane on the tile floor as he moves with his wife to lead the pair to the table.

“Your dress is lovely, Mrs Dukeson.” B offers the compliment, her yellow eyes trailing over the material. Silk it seemed, or at least one of the few off planet materials that had been found to work similarly… The shine was what really gave it away and settled it. “Is it a custom pattern from one of your planets?”

“Such a sharp eye! Yes my dear! I figured that wearing it would really make people realize it’s not just some alien copy or whatever they wish to call it.” There’s a wave of her hand as she speaks. “One must realize, just because a material is easier to source or use, does not mean it cannot be worth something.”

A thought occurs to Alex as the woman speaks, a hum in her throat as they reach the table. The pair of workers, a young male with red eye-lights and dark forest green hair in a black suit with red accents, and a young woman with orange eye-lights and dark maroon hair in a pale pink wrap style dress, both gave a polite bow and curtsy respectively.

“Lovely to see you again miss Cu-” The male was given a jab in the rib from the female. Alex’s hand twitched on her glass of wine. “Uh… sorry. Miss Alex.” He offered a sheepish smile. “I… have been greeting so many people it’s just… habit after so long.”

“Don’t worry about it much Rosar.” Alex moves to settle at the table, B pulling out her chair before taking her own seat without issue. The workers offer the same to their own humans. “I don’t visit much, but-”

“Bah! You’re a busy young woman. Escaping all that chaos and setting up so quickly… One must wonder when you find time to rest!” While he was boisterous, the man could control his volume so as not to interrupt the couples dancing to the music being played. “I do trust you are getting rest young lady?” The skeptical raised brow of a fatherly figure was directed toward her, and Alex gave a sigh in response.

“I am. I… had an incident recently that kind of forces the matter.” Her hand reached down momentarily to hold place over the healing wound. She was lucky that she could wear the dress she chose, or she’d be making the dress code for a whole other reason.

“You know, I do wish you wouldn’t put yourself in danger so much…” There’s a sigh from the man. “But… what does this old man know, hm?” He offers a soft smile. “That said… I am glad you’re well otherwise. Any luck?”

“Not particularly, but we’ve got some possible leads.” As Alex speaks, B’s tail twitches behind her over the seat, a few of the serving staff changing their paths to avoid the tail that moves in what they see as a dangerous manner.

“That’s good. Any progress is good progress.” He sighed softly, beckoning one of the serving staff over to order for the table. It left his wife to lean in a bit.

“Speaking of, you recall that research that we have assigned to some of our drones?” There’s a light upturn to the woman’s lips. Alex sets her glass down, now empty and whisked away quickly by another of the serving staff who seem very intent on returning to the kitchen once they have what they came for.

“We’ve found a more efficient way to mix the substances, though for the desired effect we’ll need to test ‘em where they’re gonna to be used.” Wisp speaks, a bit of a southern drawl in her voice. “Probably need a couple more tests too, make sure it can make the trip.”

“That’s good. Let me know when you’re ready then?” Alex smiles softly.

“But of course madam.” Rosar offered his own soft smile, reaching up to gently brush his styled hair out of the way, though it didn’t at all need it. “We strive to do the best we can with what tasks we’ve been given.” There’s a little eye-roll from the female he’s sitting next to.

“You know, I think I’m a little young for Madam.” Alex chuckled at the fact he seemed almost worried at her comment. “Maybe just keep it to miss for now? How are the imports, by the way?”

“Of c-”

“Imports are fine. No disruptions to the shipping vessels and the workers that man them have few complaints about standards and regulations.” Wisp moves to pull a phone out of a pocket in her dress, earning a head tilt from B along with a slow tail wag. She taps at the screen. “We made a request that they pay careful attention in contested space while traveling, and a couple reports mentioned blacked out beacons in passing. They were instructed not to hail.”

“Good. Keeping you all safe is important. If it comes down to the wire, though…”

“The guards posted on each vessel are trained well enough.” Rosar waves a hand. “Could always be better, but just short of getting training from you or Miss B, I think that we are where we can stand. Aside from maybe installing some sort of external defense system-”

“But that’s something that would catch far too much attention.” The older woman at the table sighed softly as she accepted another glass from a passing waiter. “And we aren’t about to cause the drones more grief if we can avoid it.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Her husband huffed softly. “Whole reason we have things set up the way we have them.”

“I’m glad I could help with that. The fact we can support each other in this matter is… important.” Alex crosses her legs under the table, frowning lightly as she looks out one of the windows to the garden. It’s a clear night, making her regret not bringing a shawl. “As long as we stay careful, it will be alright.”

Alex taps the table as the music comes to an end, the soft chatter of the dancing couples moving away to make room for the next dancers as the musicians take their chance for a break before starting up fills the room. A few individuals come over, dropping off food in front of all six at the table, noticeably careful around B when they need to get near.

The food was eaten in relative peace. A few light words shared here and there, the married couple sharing sweet smiles and brief moments of hand holding. Rosar whispered light conversation with Wisp, B catching the topic of the female drone’s ‘ex-boyfriend’ being discussed. She quickly turned her attention elsewhere.

“Of course I would take him back. He isn’t the one that did anything wrong.” Alex could hear just fine, though, which made the whole trying not to eavesdrop thing a little pointless.

“Well, he’s young-”

“Yeah, the last run that any of the factories will even have most likely!” Wisp huffed. “There’s nothin’ wrong with it. He’s sweet, an’ I love ‘im, but if that means I gotta be away from the man… Well I can wait.” She huffs, looking to her cell phone before smiling softly.

“I just worry, you are my assistant…”

“And I’m a big girl. You’re younger than me anyway! Why you gotta act like my daddy or somethin’?” She rolled her eyes and looked as the humans they came with stood up.

“I think that we shall take a moment to have a dance while the floor is warm.” The man smiled brightly to his wife as his arm was offered with a grand bow. She gave a light giggle behind a hand before taking his arm.

“Oh my dear husband is such a gentleman~” The woman giggled a bit more as they walked, his limp a little more pronounced without his cane.

There was a dreamy sigh from Wisp as she watched the pair dance to the soft music, lost in their own little world of love. A small smile teased at Alex’s own lips while B’s tail wagged a little near the floor. The plates were cleaned up, and a few more drinks were dropped off before they were left alone again, the Dukesons returning with smiles on their faces and a bit heavier of a limp for the man. He sat a little hard in his chair, huffing out a chuckle.

“I can’t go much farther than one dance, but by god do I want it to be worth it.” He smiled as a kiss was pressed to his cheek.

“I’m happy to just sit and listen with you my dear husband.” She leaned on him gently as he took a sip of his new drink.

“If I might ask, Mrs Dukeson-”

“Dorothea dear.” A finger is wagged at her with a light smile.

“And you know to use Bryson with me as well. We can use formalities when meeting at official events-”

“It’s still one of those here, and I’d prefer to be cautious.” Alex sighs. “That said… I wanted to ask about the material of your dress now. Would I perhaps be able to order a few different designs? Full bolts as well?”

“Oh this? Of course dear!” There’s a smile from the woman. “Rosar can take the details, and we’ll have a little conversation on the way home about it!”

“Indeed!” Rosar sat up straight, looking proud of himself. His own phone was pulled out, along with a stylus. “If needed I can arrange for a swatch booklet to come to your home so you might be able to see the range for a more informed decision?”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea.” Alex offers a lazy smile as she swirls her glass a bit, humming before taking a sip. “We can have a vid conference with the main factory after I have a look through things. Once details are finalized I’ll transfer the money and production can start. Let them know I’m going to probably going for a couple dozen.”

“Of course Miss Alex!” There’s a soft smile from the male. She herself nodded in approval, standing up. B was not long after.

“I suppose it’s time to show off our own dance before we make our leave…”

“I think we honestly should just leave.” B crosses her arms. “That dress might not be too kind to the stitches.”

The comment earned some rather parental feeling disapproving looks from the married couple at the table. Alex looked away, doing her best not to blush.

“Yeah… that and the last Harris noticed you’re here.” Alex crossed her arms in response, looking at the figure across the room from them that was turned their way with a flute of champagne in their hand. “Don’t want to deal with that one tonight.”

“Surprised she’s showed up.” Bryson leaned back a bit. “After what she pulled the last gathering…”

“Leave the poor dear alone.” Dorothea sighed and turned her attention to Alex. “Go on back to your ship dear. I don’t think you plan to stay the full three days, but you know my husband and I are here if you want to visit with us.”

There’s a light smile on Alex’s lips before she curtsies politely. “It was wonderful seeing you both. We’ll take our leave. Have a wonderful evening.” B follows the action, purring softly as she does.

“It’s always so nice to see you both.” She adds as her own farewell, turning and skirting the dance floor with Alex as couples continue to dance or mingle. A few of the younger guests seem to watch her and B as they go, a single young man daring to come up to her.

“Uh… pardon me miss but… would you care to share a dance with me? Or your name?” He offers a nervous smile, doing his best to hold himself in place as he is turned to.

“Alex Paxton Cuprina.” She offers a polite curtsy, the young man tensing as her name is heard. “And I must regretfully inform you that I am on my way out of the event. I’m afraid I’m not feeling very well and would prefer not to ruin the festivities with my ailing feelings.”

“N-no! I uh… I mean, please. Don’t let me keep you. Feel better soon, Miss Alex.” His bow allows him to miss the way her brow raises in interest, mouth parting to ask a question and missing the chance as he hastily turns and leaves. She watches the retreat before turning herself.

It’s outside that B speaks.

“He knew who you were.”

“Indeed.”

“I didn’t recognize him.”

“Neither did I.”

Alex sighs, settled in on her chair as the ship leaves the atmosphere of the planet. She wanted to be back home, she wanted to feel a little less terrible…

A bowl of ice cream is set next to her. B tilts her head.

“Alone together?” Her tail twitches, the bow still on it while she’d changed out of the rest of the dress.

Alex sighs, smiling a little bit as she takes the offered treat.

“Yeah… I think I’d like that right now. Friendship movie night. You pick.”