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Things had gone so fast for Asher that he barely had time to acclimate to his current situation. He was given a tour of the ship that arrived to visit Renyu, finding it to be... smaller on the inside (which he should have expected to be quite honest), but chock FULL of things for a long-distance journey. The ship was designed to be lived in, with most common spaces being furnished for lounging, and enough room to hold at least a few packs. He got to see their rooms, living spaces, kitchen, med bay, reactor room, bridge, navigation... The tech they had would put a human ship to shame, and this was a small ship.
And then Asher was (as politely as possible) kicked out by Jasko, the ambassador, as he had done exactly what he was ordered to do and nothing more. Renyu had visibly scowled at the guy, but followed Asher back to his home as he very quickly figured out what to bring with him on this extremely sudden journey. He didn’t need twenty-four hours to make this decision, but he’d need the time to get his affairs in order...
He had to tell his parents where he was going!!! And... quit his job, he supposed. That was an awkward call. Hi, hello, hey, I’m quitting my job and going to live with my alien girlfriend on Avalon in the middle of Avali controlled space. Can I keep my space suit?
...They did let him keep it, but only because nobody else could wear it. That whole conversation was more awkward than the one with his parents, who had been very supportive, albeit feeling bittersweet that they’d finally be losing their little beasty to the stars.
A day and a half later he was on the starship of an alien race, his most important belongings in a few crates in the cargo hold. And Asher... Wasn’t sure what to do next, so he mostly just followed Renyu around, who could tell he was a little overwhelmed with his situation seeing his ears angled down and his tail curled around his ankles when they weren’t on the move. He was trying to minimize his presence. This situation wasn’t new to him; humanity was very good at treating anybody different as an outsider, even people within their own species. His childhood consisted of a lot of fitting into a society that wasn’t built for him.
It was finally Renyu’s time to shine, she was in her element; Renyu answered every question Asher had, showed him things he wasn’t given the time to look at prior, and most of all, made sure NOBODY treated her friend like some kind of tamed animal. Asher knew exactly what some of Renyu’s fellow Avali were thinking when they looked at him; he was a stranger, an unknown alien species at that, roaming their halls, and potentially dangerous.
Renyu had reassured him that it was only because none of them knew he was one of the gentlest creatures she could have possibly brought into their midst. She made sure to casually force them to be around the wicker, bringing them into conversation, making sure Asher answered questions about himself rather than letting the others use Renyu as a middleman. The fact that Asher wore one of her feathers on a necklace was certainly a conversation starter, at the least. Any that weren’t curious, she made them deal with general exposure to Asher’s presence. As the days went on, a few warmed up to him and even talked to him without Renyu making them.
But, there was also another issue that the medical pack on the ship wanted to attend to; Renyu’s amputated arm. Being a long distance travel-and-rescue ship for the Avali Expeditionary Force, they had a fully equipped med bay for injuries both silly and serious, as well as parts for augmentation or body replacements.
Normally, they’d have replaced her arm immediately, but it had been well over a year... A small challenge they were eager to overcome. The medical pack had poked and prodded at Renyu, taking measurements, getting scans of both arms, asking her what she wanted it replaced with—they could make it look like she had never lost the arm to begin with, a synthetic replacement to look as organic as possible from the outside! Asher hadn’t seen anything that well-developed on Osova’s human colony... It was both awe-inspiring and a little off-putting that they so casually had the technology for that.
Asher was informed that Renyu would be incapacitated for at least a couple days as the new limb was integrated, leaving him on his own. Renyu had set him up well; some of the crew members knew him by name and actually talked to him after they discovered he was literally just some guy and not an animal wearing clothes. Asher was grateful that, here at least, that “Stranger” social status didn’t last as long as he was expecting.
When one of Asher’s new Avali companions dashed into his room to inform him of Renyu’s completed operation, he thanked them profusely and made his way to the med bay at as fast a pace as he could muster without running. He had checked on her often the last couple days and knew exactly where to go. Inside, he saw Renyu finally up, sitting in her little gray hospital bed looking at her new arm, curling and uncurling her fingers.
But, the arm wasn’t what he was expecting. It was very obviously a prosthetic; metallic with Avali stripes, carbon fiber mixed with some kind of flexible gray material... Asher sidled up to Renyu’s bed, a little confused.
“Didn’t... they say it was going to be indistinguishable from your good arm?”
Renyu gave him a bit of a sad smile, sighing a moment before she responded, “They wanted to, but I told them no.”
“No? But— but why? Won’t that just make it obvious you had an accident?”
“It sure will,” she held her new hand out, motioning for him to come closer. As he did, she gently grasped one of his claws, then placed the palm of her hand on his own. It didn’t feel much different from her other hand; same temperature, just as soft wherever it needed to be.
“Asher, I don’t want to hide what happened to me. This is a reminder to myself.” A squeeze on his claw as she spoke, “I lost everything; my arm, my ship, my family. I lost it all and it was my own fault. My own careless decision lead me here.”
Asher knew what she was talking about. It came up a lot when she was bedridden, recovering physically but deteriorating mentally. Renyu had jumped through his star system without checking if a planet would be in the way—a standard procedure she had ignored a few times due to the generally high accuracy of Avali star charts, and that had finally caught up with her, ripped her old life away.
He placed his other hand on her head, a silent acknowledgment; she leaned into it with a little chirr, continuing to look him in the eye as she spoke, “There’s no sense in trying to forgive and forget what I’ve done now that I have something— someone else I can’t bear to lose to the same mistakes.”
It was stuff like this that made Asher a little blushy. Renyu cared about him so much... And he reciprocated. This is what she wanted, so he’d make sure she knew it didn’t bother him. He looked down at her new arm, all shiny and durable. It may not look like her old one, but it was still hers. He could tell by how gentle it was with his hand.
Asher knelt down to be at eye level with her, being just as gentle with her new hand as he held it. “Don’t worry, Ren. I’m not going anywhere without you.” He held the synthetic hand in his own, rubbing a claw along her palm. Renyu closed her eyes with a smile on her face, curling her fingers a little to cup his claws.
The wicker beamed at her, holding her palm up as he brushed his other claws across her hand, down to her arm. Renyu placed her left hand, the organic one, on his own, pressing Asher lightly into her grip to encourage him.
“So...” Asher spoke quietly, he knew she could hear him just fine, “can you feel it?”
“Yes,” Renyu responded with a smile, watching his hands as intently as Asher was watching hers, “I can feel you.”
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Things had gone so fast for Asher that he barely had time to acclimate to his current situation. He was given a tour of the ship that arrived to visit Renyu, finding it to be... smaller on the inside (which he should have expected to be quite honest), but chock FULL of things for a long-distance journey. The ship was designed to be lived in, with most common spaces being furnished for lounging, and enough room to hold at least a few packs. He got to see their rooms, living spaces, kitchen, med bay, reactor room, bridge, navigation... The tech they had would put a human ship to shame, and this was a small ship.
And then Asher was (as politely as possible) kicked out by Jasko, the ambassador, as he had done exactly what he was ordered to do and nothing more. Renyu had visibly scowled at the guy, but followed Asher back to his home as he very quickly figured out what to bring with him on this extremely sudden journey. He didn’t need twenty-four hours to make this decision, but he’d need the time to get his affairs in order...
He had to tell his parents where he was going!!! And... quit his job, he supposed. That was an awkward call. Hi, hello, hey, I’m quitting my job and going to live with my alien girlfriend on Avalon in the middle of Avali controlled space. Can I keep my space suit?
...They did let him keep it, but only because nobody else could wear it. That whole conversation was more awkward than the one with his parents, who had been very supportive, albeit feeling bittersweet that they’d finally be losing their little beasty to the stars.
A day and a half later he was on the starship of an alien race, his most important belongings in a few crates in the cargo hold. And Asher... Wasn’t sure what to do next, so he mostly just followed Renyu around, who could tell he was a little overwhelmed with his situation seeing his ears angled down and his tail curled around his ankles when they weren’t on the move. He was trying to minimize his presence. This situation wasn’t new to him; humanity was very good at treating anybody different as an outsider, even people within their own species. His childhood consisted of a lot of fitting into a society that wasn’t built for him.
It was finally Renyu’s time to shine, she was in her element; Renyu answered every question Asher had, showed him things he wasn’t given the time to look at prior, and most of all, made sure NOBODY treated her friend like some kind of tamed animal. Asher knew exactly what some of Renyu’s fellow Avali were thinking when they looked at him; he was a stranger, an unknown alien species at that, roaming their halls, and potentially dangerous.
Renyu had reassured him that it was only because none of them knew he was one of the gentlest creatures she could have possibly brought into their midst. She made sure to casually force them to be around the wicker, bringing them into conversation, making sure Asher answered questions about himself rather than letting the others use Renyu as a middleman. The fact that Asher wore one of her feathers on a necklace was certainly a conversation starter, at the least. Any that weren’t curious, she made them deal with general exposure to Asher’s presence. As the days went on, a few warmed up to him and even talked to him without Renyu making them.
But, there was also another issue that the medical pack on the ship wanted to attend to; Renyu’s amputated arm. Being a long distance travel-and-rescue ship for the Avali Expeditionary Force, they had a fully equipped med bay for injuries both silly and serious, as well as parts for augmentation or body replacements.
Normally, they’d have replaced her arm immediately, but it had been well over a year... A small challenge they were eager to overcome. The medical pack had poked and prodded at Renyu, taking measurements, getting scans of both arms, asking her what she wanted it replaced with—they could make it look like she had never lost the arm to begin with, a synthetic replacement to look as organic as possible from the outside! Asher hadn’t seen anything that well-developed on Osova’s human colony... It was both awe-inspiring and a little off-putting that they so casually had the technology for that.
Asher was informed that Renyu would be incapacitated for at least a couple days as the new limb was integrated, leaving him on his own. Renyu had set him up well; some of the crew members knew him by name and actually talked to him after they discovered he was literally just some guy and not an animal wearing clothes. Asher was grateful that, here at least, that “Stranger” social status didn’t last as long as he was expecting.
When one of Asher’s new Avali companions dashed into his room to inform him of Renyu’s completed operation, he thanked them profusely and made his way to the med bay at as fast a pace as he could muster without running. He had checked on her often the last couple days and knew exactly where to go. Inside, he saw Renyu finally up, sitting in her little gray hospital bed looking at her new arm, curling and uncurling her fingers.
But, the arm wasn’t what he was expecting. It was very obviously a prosthetic; metallic with Avali stripes, carbon fiber mixed with some kind of flexible gray material... Asher sidled up to Renyu’s bed, a little confused.
“Didn’t... they say it was going to be indistinguishable from your good arm?”
Renyu gave him a bit of a sad smile, sighing a moment before she responded, “They wanted to, but I told them no.”
“No? But— but why? Won’t that just make it obvious you had an accident?”
“It sure will,” she held her new hand out, motioning for him to come closer. As he did, she gently grasped one of his claws, then placed the palm of her hand on his own. It didn’t feel much different from her other hand; same temperature, just as soft wherever it needed to be.
“Asher, I don’t want to hide what happened to me. This is a reminder to myself.” A squeeze on his claw as she spoke, “I lost everything; my arm, my ship, my family. I lost it all and it was my own fault. My own careless decision lead me here.”
Asher knew what she was talking about. It came up a lot when she was bedridden, recovering physically but deteriorating mentally. Renyu had jumped through his star system without checking if a planet would be in the way—a standard procedure she had ignored a few times due to the generally high accuracy of Avali star charts, and that had finally caught up with her, ripped her old life away.
He placed his other hand on her head, a silent acknowledgment; she leaned into it with a little chirr, continuing to look him in the eye as she spoke, “There’s no sense in trying to forgive and forget what I’ve done now that I have something— someone else I can’t bear to lose to the same mistakes.”
It was stuff like this that made Asher a little blushy. Renyu cared about him so much... And he reciprocated. This is what she wanted, so he’d make sure she knew it didn’t bother him. He looked down at her new arm, all shiny and durable. It may not look like her old one, but it was still hers. He could tell by how gentle it was with his hand.
Asher knelt down to be at eye level with her, being just as gentle with her new hand as he held it. “Don’t worry, Ren. I’m not going anywhere without you.” He held the synthetic hand in his own, rubbing a claw along her palm. Renyu closed her eyes with a smile on her face, curling her fingers a little to cup his claws.
The wicker beamed at her, holding her palm up as he brushed his other claws across her hand, down to her arm. Renyu placed her left hand, the organic one, on his own, pressing Asher lightly into her grip to encourage him.
“So...” Asher spoke quietly, he knew she could hear him just fine, “can you feel it?”
“Yes,” Renyu responded with a smile, watching his hands as intently as Asher was watching hers, “I can feel you.”
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Posted using PostyBirb
Category Artwork (Digital) / Still Life
Species Avali
Gender Multiple characters
Size 3072 x 2048px
File Size 5.13 MB
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