Ava
Pet. Kayla told me that this is our purpose aboard the Hydra ship.
I admit, without Rigel, I would be unable to fend for myself and I look to him for protection and safety.
Still, I hoped Rigel and I were something more, not... an owner and his pet.
When we get back to Rigel's home, I see everything through new eyes. My silver bowl is the equivalent of a dog dish. The collar around my neck is not jewelry from Rigel, but his way of showing the world that I am his pet.
So, when he tosses food into my dog dish, even though I am hungry, I just can't. I turn and face the wall, which... Don't pets do this? How pathetic, even when I am upset, I act pet-like.
Rigel keeps calling my name. I keep yanking at my collar, wanting it off.
Rigel yammers but I am not listening to him anymore. He is probably giving me a pet command or something.
I hate that the collar marks me as a pet and yank at it.
Rigel says something that gets my attention. Did I hear him right?
I turn to face him.
He catches my hand that fidgets with my collar. "Sweetheart, is that bothering you? Do you want me to take it off?"
I nod.
I'm afraid of putting too much faith in this, but might it mean that I am more than a pet to him? He slips the collar off me.
Rigel lightly touches my cheek. He pulls me to his chest and wraps his arms around me. Must resist. His voice is deep and rumbly and then when he pulls me into his warm chest, I feel...
Loved.
***
"Ava, do you want to play a game," Rigel offers through the translator.
I sniff. If he tosses a ball for me, I might shatter.
When I look up at him, the corners of his eyes crinkle and he has a wide grin.
I want to make him happy, so I press against him. "Yes?"
Rigel gets up, places little lines of fruit around the room, and then grins at me. "What do you think?"
Oh, that smile gives me butterflies.
I pick up one of the pieces of ordinary-looking fruit from the floor, examining it and trying to figure out why Rigel is getting so excited about it.
"Want to play a game," the wall asks in a voice that suspiciously sounds like Kayla. "This game will be a competition. If you want a few bonus points, Ava, consume the trail of berries."
Rigel watches me, the corner of his lip turned upright. He probably wants to know if his dog can do an extra fancy trick and eat through a trail of food on command.
A tiny taste can't hurt. I grab one, cautiously licking it. No bitter taste floods my mouth, so I bite.
This is... wow, so good. It tastes like... a raspberry, maybe?
Just to see if I am right, I take another berry and then another, popping them into my mouth, eating my way through the berry line. A scene from one of my sister's science fiction movies pops into my mind. A couple of kids placed bright candy along the floor to bribe a wrinkly alien to follow them. Suddenly, I realize things probably did not end well for that alien. Why else were there so many after-school specials about treat-eaters who accept food from strangers and later end up in a basement or on the back of a milk carton?
I press a berry to my lips. Should I be doing this?
"Congratulations," announces the wall.
On the wall is a scoreboard.
Ava: 2
Rigel: 0
Seriously, I ate all those berries and I only got two points? I pop another berry into my mouth and see... oh, a decimal place.
After eating the trail of berries, I wait near Rigel who sits on the desk chair, his feathers rustling. He stares at one of the walls without the scoreboard where flying stingrays with glowing colors streak across the sky of some distant planet.
Oh, please. Rigel might act as if these images have mesmerized him, but I am certain it's a trick.
"Now for the real challenge. Be the first to get the berry. First start location: Rigel's knee. Ava gets the first shot," encourages the Kayla-sounding voice.
More rustling comes from Rigel, and he places a berry on his knee. Our eyes meet. He raises an eyebrow at me like he's daring me: do it.
Why did Rigel need to do that eyebrow thing? It goads me. I cannot back down now.
I can pretend just like Rigel does. I turn my back, acting as if I am walking away from this silly game, but just when I hear another rustle... I run, leap, and knock the fruit from his knee. The berry skitters along the floor.
I give chase. When the berry stops rolling, I wonder... Should I act so pet-like?
I take the entire berry into my mouth.
"Ava wins the point."
I look at the scoreboard.
Ava: 3
Rigel: 0
Winning is delicious.
"Next challenge location: Rigel's chest. Ava gets the shot," the wall says.
The tips of Rigel's wings quiver and the fat berry goes onto his chest.
I pace, studying Rigel. He leans back, his hands resting on his knees. Is it my imagination or is he smirking at me?
Suddenly, I see it: a path. If I run and use the bit of Rigel-free chair between his legs as a launching point, I can knock the berry away.
I run, leap, and when I bat the fruit, it bounces along the floor. I dive after it. The moment the delicious berry goes into my mouth, the wall cheers.
The scoreboard flashes:
Ava: 4
Rigel: 0
"For the super hard round. The location is Rigel's chin. The winner of this round will get 4 points."
This time Rigel clenches the fruit's stem between his teeth. His wings puff out around him, his hands go on his knees, and he faces me.
I laugh, facing him.
Rigel grins, and the berry dangling from the stem between his teeth jumps.
I roll my eyes.
I run and leap, swatting my hand at the berry, but Rigel jerks it away. It is too late to stop, and I continue flying forward and land on his belly. Rigel jiggles the berry, taunting me.
Rigel never wears clothing over his chest, so seeing his chest is not new. When I lay on his stomach like this, though, I can't help appreciating him. He has the most well-built pectoralis muscles I've ever seen in my life... not that I've seen that many.
This game has gotten me to do a lot of acting first and thinking later. How else would I have started playing this game? So, I explore... cautiously. A tiny poke at those six-pack abs, and then the muscles on his chest.
His muscles are rock-hard. How does he get muscles like this living on a spaceship?
Another poke. Rigel laughs and our eyes meet. His eyes are mesmerizing, bright, and playful.
He shakes his head, jostling the berry.
I try to climb higher and nearly topple. His hands are on my back, balancing me.
He laughs, and I can feel the vibration from his chest rumbling. "Only 10 seconds," announces the wall.
What? Unless I act fast, he'll get a point.
He grips my hands, lifting me and moving me closer to the fruit.
Our noses are inches from each other.
I lean forward, opening my mouth and aiming for the berry. He laughs so much I cannot latch onto it. His laughter is contagious, and I giggle.
"Five," says the wall. "Four, three–"
I'm going to lose!
"Two–"
He surges forward, his lip pushing the berry into my mouth.
"One."
Our lips press together. The berry is half in my mouth.
"Unable to determine the most recent point, clarification needed," says the wall.
His lips are gone, and I chew the berry.
Rigel's brow furrows and he speaks to the wall.
"Game terminated," the wall tells me.
What? "No, let's play," I say, touching his cheek to draw his attention back to me.
His eyes are wide. He gasps, pulling his hands away.
Not expecting his sudden movement, I fall.
It doesn't hurt (I'm not that far off the floor), but I worry about him. If only he would look at me. I try to climb, placing my foot onto the gap between his legs on the chair, and when I stand, I accidentally brush against his groin.
Did I hurt him? I glance down, and I can see it.
He's aroused.
Only moments ago, we were having fun.
We could still have fun.
Gently, I wiggle my toes against his member.
He stands suddenly, yelling something I do not understand at the wall. Bright lights illuminate the room.
I tumble from the chair, hitting the floor.
Rigel's wings snap out. His wingspan is huge, and his blue eyes look cold. He is breathing heavily, clenching his fists, and–
Suddenly, I am no longer in the room. I'm with Loviatar who would clench his fists before he struck, and reflexively, I dive underneath the bed. I curl into a small ball, making sure to pull my legs and arms close to me because that's how Loviatar got me sometimes, finding a loose limb to grab.
Choking sounds draw my attention back to the here and now. Slowly I recognize Rigel is the source of those sounds. Is he hurt?
I peek out. His wings are close to his body. His cheeks are red, and his eyes wide, almost as if he's suddenly awoken from a dream, and–
I take a deep breath.
I overreacted. Loviatar was the one who hurt me, not Rigel. I crawl out of my hiding spot.
Go to him. Help him.
I want to but my heart feels like it will burst from my ribcage, and my body shakes.
Go to him.
I can't. Loviatar might be here.
I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the madness. Only Rigel and I are in this room.
I need to go to Rigel. Tell him I overreacted. I know he would never...
Why won't my body stop shaking?
Rigel's eyes are wide. Step by step, he walks backward until he reaches the room with the pond. The door closes.
Looking at the closed door makes me feel like a failure. How did this happen? We were playing a game, having fun, and... I must have messed up big time if Rigel needs to lock himself away from me.
Which behavior of mine was the worst, I wonder. Maybe I should have kept my distance when the game was over. I've always been bad at reading people's signals. Yet here I am, making the same mistakes, except this time with an alien.
Or maybe my mistake was hiding like a coward, so now Rigel would rather stay away from me than deal with my messed-up mind.
Could I fix this? Maybe... I just need to apologize to him as soon as he steps out. I grab a blanket from the corner of the room and sit and face the door. The moment he comes out I will tell him... Sorry, for everything.
***
Whatever transgression I made must be unbelievably bad. I know because I've been waiting for hours. Nobody, even Rigel with his perfectly luminous white wings, bathes for that long.
Have I ruined everything? What if he no longer wants me, a problematic pet? The overhead lights gradually darken until the only light is from the glow of the bright pixelated scoreboard.
I lay across the blanket with my head angled at the door, waiting for him.
It's hard to keep my eyes open. My eyelids get heavy, and I fall asleep.
***
The image of a brain looms on the ceiling. Loviatar drags me to the surgical table, tying my wrists.
Another scourge holds out a needle. No! One jab with that and the fight will be over.
My heart races... need... air.
I sit up. The room is relatively dark, but I scour the room with my eyes, searching for scourges. The dark silhouette of Rigel's sleeping form is on the bed.
It was just a bad dream.
Why can't I stop shaking? If only I weren't so alone.
Breathe, Ava, breathe.
What if scourges burst through the door, and drag me away? I'm so exposed on the open floor. If only I had protection.
I'm so scared, but Rigel can't help me. I already messed things up between us and now he wants nothing to do with me. Why else would he stay in the pond room for so long? Plus, if he wanted me, he would not have left me sleeping on the floor.
I go to Rigel's bedside, staring at his sleeping body. Having him near me, where I can feel his skin and feathers, should help calm me. Then, before he wakes up, I can move away from him.
I'm shaking so much I must be making noise, but Rigel sleeps.
The bed is huge with more than enough space for both of us.
Half an hour is all I need, just enough to chase away my horrible dream so that when I close my eyes, I won't see scourges.
I put my leg and arm into the bed, and it squeaks. Rigel does not react, so I move fast, climbing onto the bed.
The air is cold. Only now do I realize I forgot to bring my blanket. I could crawl back and get it, but it would make lots of noise. No, it's better just to lay here.
Warmth comes from Rigel's body. I move a tiny bit closer.
Just until I get warm and stop panicking. I will leave after that.
It's getting easier to breathe, although my shaking... Maybe it is good that Rigel can apparently sleep through anything. If he saw me now, he would run back to the other room.
I press against Rigel's side, chasing warmth.
His wing curls over me. It's probably a reflex or something.
Finally, warmth. I can breathe.
I am safe.