Page 55 of Uprooted
“I appreciate it, Bri. I still think we should come up with a plan so that you don’t get caught telling a lie and end up in trouble along with us if we get caught,” Elowen says. She’s clearly more concerned than I am, probably rightfully so. I like watching her negotiate with Bri over the details.
“I’ll tell everyone you have diarrhea. There won’t be any follow-up questions if I say that,” Bri says with a laugh.
Elowen's eyes widen in horror. She turns to me for help. “Please don’t do that.”
“It’s the perfect excuse. The moment someone mentions intestinal distress—boom—conversation over.”
39
Aro
Elowen is radiating excitement as we enter the cargo bay. It’s still dark outside. The suns will be breaking over the horizon soon.
Her door slid open the moment I stepped in front of it this morning. I didn’t even have a chance to knock. She looked like she’d been dressed and ready to leave for a while. With her small bag strapped to her back, she followed me quietly throughout the dome.
We jump into the porter I have ready for us. Elowen smiles over at me while she buckles in. Every cell in my body lights up with that one look from her.
Elowen watches the view and I watch her. Her head is turned away from me taking in the scenery, but I can see the wonder on her face in the plexi’s reflection. I’m excited to show Elowen my planet. I dutifully point out everything we come across on our way to Bihar. Birds, plants, animals, trees—anything I can think of. As long as we are talking, I’m not thinking about her leaving.
“Want to see something cool?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“Absolutely,” she says without hesitation or needing more information.
I pull the porter to a stop. “You stay here. I’m going to make sure it’s safe.” I jump out and run a perimeter check. There haven’t been any Atorum sightings since that day weeks ago, but I’m not taking any chances.
I get back to the porter and open the door for her. She uses my hand to steady herself when she steps out.
“We need to be quiet or we’ll scare them off,” I tell her.
“Them?”
“You’ll see.”
We creep our way through the tall, high grass. It’s almost up to Elowen’s chest. She gently bats it away as we go. The suns behind us light her up in ethereal light. Everything she does is so beautiful it makes my chest hurt.
I hear the trickle of water. I crouch down and motion for her to do the same. I silently point to the far end of the stream. She follows my finger and sees what I wanted to show her. A pair of mid-sized, fuzzy, green, barrel-shaped animals are bent over with their blunted snouts in the water. They come up and wipe their long whiskers with their pudgy paws. Their antennae are at attention, listening for danger.
The creatures scamper back into the grass and bed down near a fallen log, circling around before settling into their nest of leaves and grass. They groom each other before tucking into a tight ball and closing their big round eyes.
I bring Elowen up next to me and whisper, “Those are quinstaks, a male and female pair.”
“They're so cute! They look like a little family,” she whispers.
“Quinstaks pair off to mate and then go back to their colony once they have a kit on the way. They're prolific breeders and mate for life. One mated pair can produce hundreds of offspring,” I explain after we have backed away, giving them space to sleep.
“We interrupted their honeymoon!” she says tenderly.
“Some animals on Earth have lifelong mates as well. Penguins are my favorite. They're these little flightless birds that live in a really cold climate. The male penguin wins over the female by giving her little pebbles. They use the pebbles to build a nest where they lay an egg and take turns keeping it warm and raising their baby. They return to that nest every year and do it all again.” She is so cute when she’s explaining stuff. I could listen to her rattle off facts all day.
“That sounds like most things here. They all have their own mating rituals and pick one mate and stick together. All except those slutty little flowers that just hit it and quit it.” I’m proud of my usage of the human saying, and I’m pretty sure I said it correctly this time.
“Aro, are you slut-shaming the flowers?” she says trying to hold in laughter.
“No shame whatsoever.”
“My flowers are just doing their part to reproduce,” she says.
“Tilaks used to have mating bonds like the quinstaks. It hasn’t happened in centuries. Some believed couples were brought together by fate, or maybe it’s biology. Regardless of why, it was much more than a romantic relationship. It’s a connection that empowers each Tilak to reach their highest potential and makes it so together they could accomplish anything and be the best versions of themselves.”
