“ . . . So instead we’re going to the beach. It’ll be fun! There’s a sangria bar, and live bands. We’ll do a whole beach party theme, so wear your wildest tropical shirt and bring some swim trunks - oh, you probably don’t have any. Where can he find some beachy clothes?”
“I’ll send him a link,” Bryce offered, not looking up from his laptop. He didn’t seem to be thrilled about the outing, either, but Izzy was excited enough for all of of us. Her chatter was making my headache worse.
“Now wait,” Mike cut in. “This should be a cultural exchange. Rowan, wear something you might wear to the beach when you’re home. What foods would you eat? What games do you play?”
“I am not rated to provide cultural education. I’m not the ambassador, just his guardian.”
“I don’t think they have fun at the beach, or anywhere else.” Izzy muttered, deflating a little.
“You need to be more specific,” Bryce scolded, and turned to me. “Do you know how to swim?”
“Yes, I can swim.”
“We like to play games with balls when we’re at the beach. Usually it’s games involving ‘don’t let the ball touch the ground.’ Do you play similar games?”
I nodded reluctantly, irritated by his line of questioning. He was talking too much like the elders who dismissed me like they would a lesser fae.
“Oh my god, are we sure Bryce isn’t visiting from another planet, too?” Leo groaned. “Look, wear whatever you want, just wear something or Perl’s gonna bust another vein. If something looks fun, join in. If nothing looks fun, drink til it does. You can’t lose.”
“This is meant to be a harmless little bonding exercise,” Mike added. “There’s no pressure. We just want to make sure you feel at home here.”
I gaped at him in alarm. “Bonding? What do you mean, bonding? No!”
“Well, that woke him up! Guess we know how he feels about us now!” Leo snorted.
“I cannot. I should not. It’s not - I do not have the right to -” I groped nervously at my bracelets. What did they know? Had they been talking to Milo behind my back? Had HE ordered something? Did they expect me to give up already?
Elorhyn’s essence was in one of the beads. Faint as it was, it was all I had, and I couldn’t give it up. This situation was temporary. Right? Rebonding . . . oh, gods . . .
Mike was typing quickly on his viewer. “Bryce, can you help out here?” he hinted.
“He means he wants us all to be friends,” Bryce explained. “The better we know each other, the easier it is for us to work together as a team, or at least, that’s the idea.”
“Yeah, we’re not asking for donations.” Izzy tried to pat my shoulder, but I flinched away.
“Just a paycheck for the shuttle work.”
“Not helping, Leo!” Izzy hissed.
Mike exhaled, still staring at his screen. “Okay. I’m sorry, Rowan. I didn’t know that word had such significance for you. I did not mean what you think it means, only friendship, as Bryce said.”
“Wait, what did he think it meant?” Izzy asked. “Did you just propose marriage to him or something?”
“Something like that, I think,” He frowned, blinking at his screen. “It’s to do with their form of . . . magic? Really? And . . . huh, Aggi’s pretty chatty, isn’t she?”
Oh, gods, he messaged Aggi. Why did I tell her my secret? “What is she telling you?” I demanded.
“She seems to be going for infodumping until we change the subject, hoping to never hear about it again. Bryce, you’re going to love this.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. “Don’t share that! It is bad enough you know!”
I jumped to my feet and crossed the impromptu workshop, but a wave of dizziness prevented me from grabbing the viewer.
Mike hopped up off the crate he was sitting on and backed away, holding his hands up. “Ok, ok, let’s all relax! She’s not divulging state secrets! I will let you look and see what she wrote, but there’s no need for vi - for you to be upset. We don’t want to hurt or offend you, which is why we’re asking you so many questions. To avoid that.”
"Damn, he moves fast!" Izzy whispered to Leo.
“Asking personal questions is offensive, check.” Bryce muttered, a slight tremor to his voice.
He was the least offensive of all of them, and I’d frightened him, damn it. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, my heart hammering in my ears. I reluctantly took the viewer Mike was patiently offering, and looked at the long string of messages Aggi had sent him, forcing my eyes to focus.
Aggi: Ooh, bonding is a serious thing in Lyramir
Aggi: You might not want to use that word with him
Aggi: Just say you want to be friends
Aggi: You bond with the people you’re born with
Aggi: (we rarely have babies, but when we do they're born in batches)
Aggi: And grow up with them
Aggi: Like instant besties
Aggi: And the only time you switch bonds Is if you marry and/or move outside your colony
Aggi: Or something horrible happens to the rest of your bond mates and you need new ones
Aggi: Dammit, the word doesn’t translate well. Life mates? Companions?
Aggi: Family? It’s not necessarily by blood with us.
Aggi: It’s more about shared experiences
Aggi: And you need other bond mates to bond with because you share harmony
Aggi: Or a soul, although I don’t want to explain all that because the more I think about it the weirder it sounds
Aggi: Basically you just told him to abandon his friends and switch to another team
Aggi: Only I’m surprised he’d think that because we can’t bond with humans?
Aggi: It’s a really complicated process anyway, I think - months of re-tuning
Aggi: Harmony is what we call our magic - it's musical, so I kinda mean that literally
Aggi: I’ll message him
Aggi: if it helps, we give gifts of food to people we want to be friends with
The incessant beeping of my viewer told me that I was indeed getting my own series of messages from her.
She hadn’t given away anything personal about me. Not yet, anyway.
It didn’t really matter, I’d just made a fool of myself in front of all of them. I looked warily around at their concerned faces.
“I can’t use this information to hurt you,” Mike said carefully. “But I understand, I think. I would have lived and died for my unit. I wouldn’t want to go off and join another at a random stranger’s invitation, and I chose to retire rather than do just that. I miss them,” he added quietly.
I handed the viewer back. “I overreacted. I don’t belong here, and I don’t want to burden you further.” Perhaps this whole shuttle thing was a mistake, and I should cancel it. I pulled out my own viewer to stop the incessant beeping.
“We’re going to get you home,” he said firmly, and I realized I’d spoken aloud. “But that doesn’t mean you have to sit here by yourself until we do.”
I didn't know what to say to get myself out of this situation, so I looked at my viewer instead.
Aggi: “Bonding exercise” just means silly games and such, to learn to
trust one another
Aggi: They don’t know how we use the word
Aggi: and they certainly don’t mean it the way we do
Aggi: Kind of a sweet offer though, they must like you
Aggi: I’ll be along in a bit, we’re trying to talk Phoebe into coming
Aggi: She’s stressed too, too much school, not enough fun
Aggi: The beach is good for the soul, right?
Aggi: Jessie’s bringing ice cream, which also good for the soul
Aggi: Though bad for the waistline
Aggi: Don’t back out, let’s see what these humans want to do
Aggi: I promise I’m just going to tell them about MY life if they ask
Aggi: I don’t know a thing about Lyramir now
Aggi: You can tell them your story or not
Aggi: I can keep my mouth shut
Aggi: stop rolling your eyes, I can!>br />
I looked around, but didn’t see her.
“Are we good?” Mike asked, watching me warily.
“I must make amends.”
“We’ll forgive you if you come with us to the beach,” he answered promptly, with an exaggerated wink.
"Then I will be there. And - I will dress as I would at home, if I can."
"Great! Let me know if you need help shopping," Izzy exclaimed. "I'm good at that!"
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