V-day (Patreon)

I revised the V-day scene with a funnier version of Thojy.

Tori's gone out on the town!

———

Druka leaned against the door frame while his mate stood in front of the bathroom mirror. She was staring at her scars again. Most of the burns covering her body were small pink patches where the skin was too ruined to regrow fur. When she smoothed her pelt down, it hid most of them, but not one burn—weirdly textured and roughly the size of her fist—directly in the center of her chest. She stared at it now as she always did when she saw her reflection.

The big burn was too large to cover and too inconveniently located to hide. Crossing her arms covered only the bottom of the scar, and if anything, just drew more attention to it. Since the accident, she preferred to stand behind Druka. She’d hold his arm with both of her paws, clutching it to her chest in an attempt to cover up.

“You still look lovely to me,” he whispered.

Tori’s ears lifted for only a moment but fell just as quickly when she looked back in the mirror. “I’m hideous,” she said, “a monster that frightens cubs.”

“You’re healing,” Druka repeated for the thousandth time. It was a lie, of course. Scars never really heal, but it was the most reassuring thing he’d come up with. What else could he say? He laid his cheek against the cold metal doorframe. Tori looked upset—more so than usual, as if there was something she wanted to tell him but hadn’t yet managed the nerve. “We don’t have to go out,” he reminded her. “We don’t have to celebrate Visitor Day if you’re not up to it.”

She sighed. “No, I need to. This will be a great opportunity to walk the ship and talk to a wide variety of crew members socially. They’ll be drinking and more apt to say what’s on their mind than when I interview them. This is the best opportunity I’ll have to get the investigations headed in the right direction.”

Druka grinned. “Well, then I’m glad I got you some V-Day presents!”

What was left of Tori’s ears perked up. “You did?”

Aboard geroo gate ships, the krakun permitted only two official holidays: Visitor Day to commemorate when the krakun first visited Gerootec and Exodus when the geroo left their world aboard Planetary Acquisitions ships. Exodus was typically a quiet celebration with family and friends, a way to give thanks for all the good in their lives, but V-Day was a much rowdier affair. On V-Day, the geroo would throw open their doors, welcoming anyone who wandered in with food and booze.

Neither was typically a gift-giving holiday, but that might have been more of a reflection on life aboard a generation ship than anything else. The geroo were generous souls. Back on Gerootec, they had loved to carve wooden knickknacks and give them to friends when they came to visit. But aboard the ship, everything had to be recycled, so their culture had shifted to keep up. Instead of consuming precious resources to produce unnecessary gifts, the geroo now preferred to give tokens of a more ephemeral nature: food, liquor, and stories about their pasts. Since the Exodus, sharing a secret with a friend had become the most sincere form of gift-giving possible.

Druka pulled out the small flat box he had been hiding behind his back and flipped it open to reveal a band of deep green cloth that sparkled like jewels. Druka’s heart skipped a beat when he saw how wide her eyes opened at the sight. “It that … a sash?” she whispered.

He knew she’d never owned a sash before. Geroo only ever wore cloth at the very ritziest of parties—the sort thrown by those who lived at the very top of the ship. She stared at it in stunned silence for many long moments, speechless. “Kind of fancy … for deck fifteen.”

“Perhaps,” Druka said, removing the gift from its box. He carefully draped the nearly weightless cloth over her shoulder so that the band of green crossed the center of her chest before looping back around the opposite hip. It was the perfect width to conceal the bald patch over her heart but yet narrow enough to look elegant instead of gaudy. “But considering the circumstances, I’m sure everyone would understand you wearing it whenever you wished.”

Tori turned to face him. She rubbed the sheer cloth between the pads on her index finger and thumb. “I wish I could feel it.”

“It’s very soft,” he promised with a smile. “Even though you’ll no longer need it when you get your new body, at least you’ll be able to feel it then.”

“It’s amazing,” she whispered as she stared into his green eyes, “just like you.”

She leaned forward to kiss him, but he raised his paws. “Wait! Wait! There’s still one more.”

“Hon,” she sighed, “you don’t have to give me anything…” But her words trailed off as he snatched the item hidden just beyond the doorway. “A weapon? Oh, Druka, I’m in no state to fight anyone off—”

“It’s not a weapon!” he yarped. The aluminum tube was about a meter long, as thick as his thumb, and bent at the end so that the last dozen centimeters were at a right angle to the rest. “I was reading about life on Gerootec before the exodus. It said that when geroo had difficulty walking, they would fashion these ‘canes’ to help them get about.”

“A crutch?”

“Not exactly,” he said, “but similar. I used a little of Aziz’s money to bribe my boss into turning his ears the other way while I made it. Then, I anodized it green to match the sash.” He rolled the cane in his fingers so it would sparkle in the bathroom’s light. She reached out to touch it. “And I put a little rubber stopper on the bottom to keep it from sliding against the aluminum decks.”

Tori’s ears lowered with worry. “And the sash?” she asked. “It looks really expensive.”

“I … sorta blew all my savings on that,” he admitted. Her dark eyes lit with alarm, and he rushed to explain, “You know how careful I am with our credits now. I didn’t have all that many left anyhow after you missed so much work, so we were going to have to dip into some of Aziz’s money to pay rent anyhow.”

Tori frowned. “I need those credits for bribes,” she reminded him, but it wasn’t like she needed to.

“I know. I know, hon,” Druka swore. “There’s still plenty left and there’s nothing else we really need. I won’t waste it.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

She took the cane and experimented, walking with it first in her right paw and then in her left. “This is pretty great,” she finally admitted. “Thanks. I guess you’re tired of me leaning on you when we walk together?”

“Hardly!” he yarped. “That’s why I only made you one.”

They set three bottles of wine and a few glasses on the table before the pair left the apartment with the door wide open. Usually, family members would take turns staying behind on V-Day to welcome guests that stopped in, but as always, Druka insisted on staying by Tori’s side. They wouldn’t have left the door unlocked back on the Harvest Reaper III, but they’d brought no personal possessions with them, and this apartment was pretty bare. If someone chose to rob them, they wouldn’t be taking much.

“Remember,” she whispered as they left, “be careful about what you eat or drink. Keep control of your glass. There’s a poisoner on the loose, and we don’t want to give him the opportunity.”

Biiz waved to the pair as they strolled by the neighbor’s apartment. “Happy Visitor’s Day, Druka. Happy Visitor’s Day, Tori. You’re looking lovely tonight!”

“Thanks,” she said, lowering her eyes. “And a happy Visitor’s Day to you as well, Biiz.”

“You two have to come inside! I’d like you to meet my friend, Thojy,” said Biiz. Lowering his voice, he added, “He’s the nicest guy, but don’t let him give you anything. He’s not good at taking things seriously, so I’m trying to watch out for him before he squanders all his money again.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that he had our apartment before they had to move down a deck,” said Druka. “That happened to us once. It was horrible. Nearly split us up.”

Tori nodded. “It did for a while, actually.”

“This has been a chronic problem for Thojy,” Biiz explained with a sad sideways glance inside. He whistled softly, and pointing down, he dropped his paw toward the deck. “Instead of living inside a budget, they just keep moving down to economize when they miss rent.”

“Gotcha,” said Tori before entering the apartment. Waving with her free paw, she said, “Hi! You must be Thojy. Biiz said you used to rent the apartment we just moved into.”

“You guys got my old apartment?” the white-pelted male said with surprise. “You’re so lucky. I really miss the place. The kerrati up here are so much politer. They actually have the decency to run away when you turn on the lights.”

“Oh yeah?” Druka asked as he followed Tori to the table. He hadn’t seen any of the rodents yet, but he knew they were there. All geroo gateships were infested with the little creatures.

“Absolutely,” said Thojy. “Down on sixteen, the vermin will just stare you down—wait for you to turn the light back off.”

Druka held a seat out for Tori, and she carefully sat. “We can’t stay long,” he explained, “Tori wants to walk the whole ship tonight and meet as many of the crew as possible.”

“It’ll be a great night for that!” said Thojy. He reached into a bag and pulled out a bottle that was coated in dust. Turning it to the side, he blew on the label, releasing a big grey cloud. “Before you go, you need to try this brandy. I’m told that when the stars weep, their tears were collected in this very bottle, then Genna’ho himself pulled it from the fifth heaven and stashed it aboard the Sailor’s Gambit I where it rested for decades before a shopkeeper convinced me to trade him a captain’s ransom for it.”

“Thojy!” groaned Biiz. “What did I tell you about being smarter with your credits?”

“I can’t drink,” declined Tori with a smile. “I’m still on pain pills from my accident.”

“Well, your mate will just have to try some instead,” laughed Thojy.

Biiz shook his paws at his friend. “Thojy!” he pleaded.

Thojy quickly snapped the wax seal and popped the lid. He looked a little older than Druka, perhaps in his early thirties. With a sad expression, he sighed, “Damn. Guess I can’t return it now.” Then, he snatched an empty glass and poured a half-dozen glugs before handing it to Druka.

Biiz groaned. Looking to Tori, he asked, “Can I get you some juice?”

“Oh, yes, please,” she said.

Thojy poured some for himself and lifted his glass in a toast. “I miss living next to ya, buddy,” he said with a grin. Turning to Druka, he explained, “My bedroom—well, yours now—shares a wall with the bedroom that Biiz and Lusa sleep in. And for an hour every morning, they would play me the loveliest bedspring symphony…”

“Oh, I wish that were true!” laughed Biiz as he returned from the kitchen with a glass of juice.

With a wink, Thojy added, “My mate and I would take turns at the peephole in the wall and doodle our notes and diagrams of everything they tried. Thank you so much, Biiz! Your prodigious sex life has been so educational.”

Biiz took a seat and filled a glass with brandy. “My apologies for Thojy. He’s not usually like this,” he told Tori. He sighed. “Usually, he’s much worse.”

Druka sipped at his drink, and the cool, smooth liquor slipped down his throat, leaving a tremble down his spine. “Wow, this really is good stuff.”

Thojy nodded, then turned back to his friend. “Well, I’m hoping it’s been educational, that is,” he admitted. “My mate’s put me on a sort of ‘sex diet’ as it were, so I’m only getting some lovin’ like once a month now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Biiz, taking a sip of the aged booze.

Thojy shook his head. “Oh, once a month’s not so bad,” he said. “I know a bunch of guys she’s cut off completely!”

Tori giggled, and Thojy turned to her. “But you must know!” he said. “Now that you’re living in fifteen-twenty-two, you’re the keeper of all that wisdom we recorded. I hope you and Druka are working through our notes, trying them all.”

She opened her muzzle to speak, but Thojy snapped his fingers. “Publish it!” he suggested. “Those stick figures are my drawings, but you’ve got my permission to include them.”

Tori petted his paw with her fingertips. “I’m afraid the landlord must have painted them out before we moved in, Thojy.”

“No!” he groaned. “This truly is a tragic loss. Losing our world was one thing, but this? It’s put us back centuries!”

Tori finished her juice and stood. “Thank you, Biiz. It’s been nice meeting you, Thojy. But if we want to see the ship, then we really should be going. I mean, presuming everyone even has their doors open tonight,” Tori added. “Considering the current situation, I would understand not taking drinks from strangers.”

Thojy grinned wide and pointed a finger at Tori, his pink eyes sparkling. “Yes, well, there are quite a few officers and supervisors who are widely hated, but I suspect they know damn well who they are. Look for the closed doors as you visit.”

He savored a sip of the brandy with dreamy eyes. “The rest of us—like our fine host Biiz here—will keep their doors open wide. I know my mate and son are greeting guests down on sixteen.”

Druka finished his glass and smiled as the liquor warmed his stomach. He’d never tasted anything quite like it. “I’ve never been a brandy drinker,” he said, “but I could get real used to this!”

Thojy nodded excitedly. “Yes, my thoughts exactly! Savor the best things in life while you can. While we—the good and decent crew of the Sailor’s Gambit I—enjoy our holiday, I hope those like my boss will be cowering behind closed doors, too afraid to let anyone in.”

Druka’s eyes met Tori’s for a moment as he thought back to how exciting it had been working together on her first case. Then, he turned back to Thojy. “So, you think your boss will be on The Viper’s hit list?”

The white geroo lifted his paws in prayer for a moment. “May our killer elude capture … at least long enough to claim her. Boots in the trash.”

Biiz’s ears drooped in a scowl. “Oh, Thojy, that’s a terrible thing to say!”

Thojy finished his drink and pointed at his host, glass still wrapped in his paw. “No, what's terrible is the pool we’ve got going at work. Someone’s gonna make a fortune if they can guess his next victim. I’m ever hopeful, but I know I’ll have to split the pot if I’m right. There’s no way I’m the only one betting on my boss.”

———

Reviewer's link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y01kyhLVoBZhLd0AY8F-ophKe3ho0THjwELqHyINcqU/edit?usp=sharing

Thoughts?