Starfish

Thirty-One

Between tapping at the keys and checking his notes, Ardus cast brief but warm glances across the office at the little human woman. Nina sat chewing on the end of her stylus, organizing and compiling data from their trip and creating timelines of activity from the video cards. She documented species, counting individuals and comparing the numbers to previous years and calculating the differences. Each time she caught him looking at her, her little mouth curled into a smile and her cheeks reddened. 

She is mine, Ardus watched his forearms glow gently purple and blue, aware that his face most likely repeated the patterns of waves and flashes that mirrored his feelings. She had referred to herself that morning as his "girlfriend", explaining that the term meant a female partner in the early stages of a relationship. She wants to take it slowly, day by day, to see if we are compatible. That sounds reasonable, very much like the first few months of my relationship with Timam. There would be annoyances of course – every relationship had those whether they were professional or private – but Ardus had agreed to be open and honest with Nina and work through the differences in their species with scientific as well as compassionate techniques. Already they had solved the issue of where they slept by agreeing to at least two nights a week sleeping alone, to give each other privacy and a break if needed. So far, so good.

Athe, Nia and Meem kept coming up with reasons to visit the office, the pretense of coming to see his newly lit pores, to inquire about the trip to the northern beach, and to offer more frequent than necessary updates on worms and projects – a thin cover for being nosy about the unusual pairing. Doctor O'Connell stayed conspicuously absent, which suited Ardus just fine. He suppressed a sigh of irritation when Athe let himself in once more. "No, no," his assistant assured him, "it's real business this time." He laid a folder on Ardus's desk. "Nia has a new insight on your blood draw from a few weeks ago." Ardus nodded, remembering the battery of tests he'd requested when the anxiety and physical agitation over Nina had reached near fever-pitch. Had I really been so bothered?

"What did she say?" Nina asked, tapping keys without looking over. Ardus had explained to her over the weekend his suspicions, and the biologist in her had piqued interest. 

Opening the folder Ardus picked out a few points. "Hmm... It would seem that the minor elevation in certain hormones tracks with reports from other Dreen who have gone dark and returned. Nia has pulled a study from an endocrinology laboratory that aims to imitate this fluctuation, possibly giving hope to those who have lost their pores." He cleared his throat and read aloud, "'In determining the possible causes of aluminescence' – that is, going dark – 'it is the opinion of Doctors Utha, Yuni, and Toa that such physiological and psychological changes are linked with the biochemical reactions present in Dreen pores. Therefore, the disappearance of Dreen pores may be due to fluctuations in hormones and other bodily essences associated with significant physical or psychological trauma.'"

"Sounds like they're on to something, doesn't it?" Nina looked up, her interest apparent now. "Maybe you should write to them, tell them about your experience. Can't hurt to provide more data, right?"

"I will need to consider that," Ardus nodded. "As reluctant as I am to intrude on others' territories, it is still true that many sciences overlap."

"Speaking of overlap," Athe interrupted, "Boda's turning sixty-eight this week, would the two of you like to come to dinner? I know you two just started seeing each other-" 

Ardus began to protest, but Nina answered for them both. "We'd love to! Can we bring anything? Ardus just taught me how to make stuffed eel rolls."

"Oh, he did?" Athe made a face at Ardus. "Not baked eel?"

"Not yet," Nina answered sweetly, cutting her eyes at him, "he says they're an advanced dish. He might let me boil some water though."

Ardus huffed, unable to keep the smile off his face. "We will come to Boda's dinner, along with any dish you request. For the moment, however, I have a letter to write to the endocrinology center." He bent back to his terminal keys, the corner of his mouth still curled. He heard Athe slap his hand against his thigh and make a sound of satisfaction.