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 Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 8:46 am
“Yes, please come run tests for me. I am spread so thin, I have been considering inviting some of the others to help me. But poor Dylas, he lives here. So they must understand that we have to respect him. I don’t want them to misunderstand. And also I am protective of my research. But I have spread myself too thin.”
He sucked in a breath, held it for a long moment, and then released it.
“I need help. So I will ask for it. And you will be inspired by my success, so much so that you will become more comfortable asking for help as well. We will all benefit. Did the ointment help Vyn? Did Lyndin say anything about the tablets?” he asked, with an enthusiasm that implied not just a scientific curiosity. He might have wanted to be praised, too.
“He did not scold me so they must have been satisfactory.” Another point for Andreiya, who was collecting the hypotheticals like they would ever amount to anything.
“Do you think Vyn would spend time in my greenhouse if I asked? …I would come visit him if he is resting. You could both rest, I think. I could read you fairy tales. I have heard that it is an intimate and meaningful experience. I wish to convey that to the both of you. I want to be present in a nonintrusive way. So you will know that I support you without demanding things from you. I want to help,” he said, insistent and hopeful. Even if he didn’t really know how to help, he wanted to try.
He would talk to Vyn if he was allowed. If it might help.
He wasn’t the Commodore, he didn’t know what he could do.
But he would have tried.
And they would have done the same for him, right?
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 8:46 am
“It helped,” he confirmed, voice soft. “The ointment. His bruising was bad… he didn’t want to talk about how he got it, but it was better after. And the Commodore didn’t say anything about the tablets, but… he took them. And he didn’t seem worse the next day. I’ll take that as a good sign.”
He would have to do more research, of course. Lyndin often masked how he was feeling, but Aliez could tell that he was trying to be more open about things, especially when it came to his health. At least with him. And for that, Aliez was grateful.
“You are a good researcher, Andreiya,” he insisted with gentle sincerity, looking up at his friend with concern in his eyes. “You should ask for help if you need it. I’ll be here. I can run any test you need, and I can explain about Dylas if the others don’t understand. He’s part of our environment, and we respect ecosystems. And he is a valuable research partner.”
He eyed the little fat snake thoughtfully. He was unsure about how to handle one, so he didn’t request to pick him up -- and he looked so content curled up as he was -- but it was nice to know that Andreiya wasn’t completely alone while working on his plants. Plants which have become vital in his own research with medicine.
“I don’t know if Vyn would come,” he admitted with a small frown now. “He’s been… distant. But if he thought it would give him space without questions, then maybe. He’d know you wouldn’t push. And you reading fairy tales might be more effective than you think. Maybe it could help him sleep.”
He paused for a moment, letting out a quiet sigh and looking at Andreiya with gratitude.
“I want to help, too. And if helping means to rest… then I’ll try,” he promised as he leaned his head gently against Andreiya’s shoulder for a moment, before lifting it back up again. “And if we see him… maybe we don’t say anything. Just let him near us. Maybe he just needs to be around others who won’t judge him. Maybe we should be grateful Dylas can’t talk,” he said quietly, but it was just a gentle joke. He drew in a breath, settled now that he had a chance to talk.
“Thank you, Andreiya… for letting me be here with you.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 8:47 am
“Come visit me again, Aliez. Often. I like when you are here. Even if you are not feeling very good, I still want you around. And Dylas, too. Perhaps you will find him more awake the next time you visit. He stays up too late watching the fireflies. I have told him not to but,” he shrugged helplessly. “Who listens to me! I know so many good things. You listen to me, you are smart.”
He planted a gentle kiss atop Aliez’s head, simple and with the intention to comfort, as his mother did for him when he was having a bad day.
“And if you come to visit me, I will give you presents. Look, here. I find them often.”
From his pocket, he withdrew two very pretty, star-shaped charms. One was a pretty opal color, and this one he pushed towards Aliez. “The humans say you should wish upon stars. Isn’t this pretty? Take it and make a wish. And this one,” the second one was a beautiful green. “Doesn’t it look like Vyn’s eyes? Give it to him. Tell him to make a wish, too. Maybe he will say it out loud and you will know what he wants. And then we can make his wish come true. I think it is acceptable to think about things like that. I know there is no scientific evidence, but,” he shrugged. “There is still magic. And Earth confuses me so much. There is a magic here that I just do not understand.”
So, maybe it was fine to wish on shiny little stars you could hold in your hand as much as the ones you could view in the sky.
“I will find an excuse to visit without being overwhelming. I wish to speak with Vyn, I miss him. Whatever he suffers from, I wish to help. Please tell me when I can come visit? I will be very cool about it, he will have no idea that you have come to me with your worries. And I will take care of both of you.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 8:47 am
Aliez gently took the opal charm into his hand, holding it with an almost reverence as he watched it shimmer in the morning light.
“Thank you, Andreiya. I will make a wish,” he promised, before reaching out to gently take the charm for Vyn, too. “And I will give this to Vyn. I think he might like to know someone was thinking about him. Even if he pretends he doesn’t care.”
He leaned in close, relishing in the gentle affection Andreiya offered him.
“I’ll visit again,” he agreed. “Not just when things are hard. I’ll help you with your notes and your research, and Dylas, and the others if you decide to invite them. I’ll visit often. Maybe I can set up a small area to do some work while keeping you company. I would like your opinion on many things. And I will tell you when it’s okay to visit, and I think you’ll be cool about it. But… maybe don’t offer the fairy tales right away. Let him think it’s his idea.”
Aliez took in a quiet breath but nodded to his friend with a small smile.
“Thank you for taking care of me, Andreiya. I didn’t know how much I needed it. But I feel… better. Not fixed, but better. Maybe that’s enough for today.”
It would be, and he would do his best to continue to build himself back up. For his friends, for Velencya, for himself.
Fin!
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