Loyalty paid them no mind, however. He just trailed behind Sway and Tanin. His expression curious at best, blank at worst. He pretended he didn’t even see the judgmental glares thrown his way.
A soft whistle caught his ear and Sway turned forward again. Vweet was looking back at them as he stepped off the moving steps, his polite smile back in place.
“This way,” he whistled, gesturing forward.
“That way,” Sway repeated in Standard for the sake of the others.
Though this entire colony was apparently dedicated to the goal of finding and rescuing lost and abducted people, this building was clearly the headquarters of that effort. People who worked here needed homes and food and amenities, and as such, living quarters and markets and restaurants and businesses cropped up around it creating the city of the Song, but this was where the actual purpose was carried out.
Here, at last, Sway saw the domini bodyguards. They were all wearing camocloth, turning them and their skin the same off white as the stone. To that end, they blended in very well. But Sway – and Tanin – spotted them immediately around the brightly colored farasie that otherwise filled the rooms that they passed.
It was a full-blown operation. There were a lot of holodisplays filled with information on planets, organizations, missing persons, rows and rows and rows of data. Serious faced males with lowered crests and frowning females scowling at tablets. There was a lot of movement, a lot of musical voices strained with tension, but no less beautiful for the new layer of disquiet.
Vweet took them through the halls, up to a lift that raised them to the highest office. It was a wide, brightly lit room, part office, part garden. One wall was only a massive display screen, with a great deal of information across it, including some of the things Sway saw below. The screen was framed by large trees with large, bright green fronds. Pink and yellow flowers were spilling out of pots placed randomly while, in the center, a shallow pond tinkled with delicate arches of water spraying over the surface, obscuring the shining, red scales of the fish swimming within.
The furthest window was huge, giving an unparalleled view over the entire Song as well as the glittering bay. From here, the musical sounds of the colony floated up like the softest of background music. It was idyllic, bright and beautiful.
And standing in front of the window, speaking a language Sway didn’t understand into a combot, stood a male just about his height with feathers as blue as his own. But his tail was partially open, his crest halfway risen. He stood with pride in a long skirt that completely covered his legs, the pattern a geometric grid of diamonds in a variety of yellow shades.
Sway hadn’t seen him in decades. So long, his face was merely a blurry memory. He couldn’t recall the sound of his voice, the way he moved, the way he smelled. Nothing.
Until he turned, hearing them approach, and smiled, and it all came rushing back. The dizzying ache of it made it suddenlyhard to breathe. If it hadn’t been for the warmth of Grace’s hand in his, the way she gently pulled him forward, he might not have had the resolve to continue. But she did, and he drew his strength from her as he kept his expression impassive, his usual, faint smile on his face. Though it was hard to keep up as the male before him wrapped up his conversation.
Right. That was how his father looked. A bit older now, the delicate skin around his eyes heavier, but otherwise time had been kind to him.
That was how his father sounded. Like Vweet, there was an inherent musical tone to his voice, even as he was speaking in another language. His tone was a rich, humming tenor. So familiar, it hurt Sway to hear.
And he was smiling.
At Vweet.
Veesway ended his comm and spoke, in a whistle, to Vweet. “Thank you for bringing them. Any problems?”
Vweet lowered his head and crest to him respectfully before answering. “The crew has dispersed in the Song. All but the 108. He remains with these two. The gray one is their captain. Tanin. The lost one is Sway.”
Tanin’s name, in their language, was an abrupt and harsh shift from their musical whistles to a spoken voice. It was very obvious that they named him.
But then they said Sway’s name. They whistled it the proper way it was meant to be pronounced, and it was absolutely unrecognizable. Even to Sway. That was how his name was supposed to sound, but it was never how he had been addressed.
“And the females?” Veesway looked at them.
“They appear to be connected to the males.” Vweet came to his side and turned, the two of them looking at the group of five.
Sway softly translated what was being said to Tanin, though the others were listening in as well. It was important, for their safety, that Tanin know what was going on. Even if it was something as innocuous as introductions in another language.
Switching to Standard, Vweet said, “Guests, it is my honor to present the first of our Song. This is Veesway.”
He whistled his name. The proper way it was meant to be heard. A way that, Sway knew, none of his comrades would be able to replicate.
“That is Veesway,” he said, turning the delicate whistle into proper consonants and vowels, making it easier for them.
“You must be the lost one,” Veesway said, still whistling as he approaching with a broad smile, his crest rising as he came close. Like Vweet, he put his hands on his shoulders. “Welcome back to us. It is no easy task to keep yourself whole in this harsh cosmos. You should be proud for maintaining your dignity as a farasie this whole time. Thank you for returning and…” He paused, cocking his head as his black eyes moved over him. “Have we met before?”
Sway didn’t answer. His heart was clenching painfully in his chest. He didn’t know what to say. If he should just blurt the truth. If he should pretend to deny it. If he should say yes and see if Veesway could figure it out himself.
Grace squeezed his fingers. Very gently. Breaking him from his hesitancy. He looked at her and gave her a grateful smile.
“He’s greeting me,” he translated for her, because that was far easier to do. “Like the others did before.”
