Addy leaned on the edge of the rail that separated the running area from the rest of the gym. She finally felt strong enough to try heading outside again. The first storm had lasted two days, but the weather was clear now, and she wanted to see how far she could get.
The body suits were growing on her. They were efficient, sleek, and didn’t get caught on anything. The texture of the fabric was weird though; it was a thick, woven substance similar to neoprene with a heavy coating of something that felt like glass on the outer surface. It stopped her from most injuries when she got too tired and fell; it also did an excellent job of wicking sweat.
Addy straightened and headed for her quarters to take a sonic shower. She looked at the vid screens in the common room with trepidation. She was desperate to find out what had happened to Terrans in the last thirty years, but she was terrified at the same time. A few days wouldn’t make any difference.
Wearing a new suit, she headed to medical for her daily checkup.
“So, Rokar, how am I today?”
“Integration is coming along well. Your mind and body are nearly synched.”
“Do you know what my talent is yet?”
“It appears to be a sonic wave that comes directly from your pores, as if they are singing when you are upset. The more upset, the stronger your song.”
“That makes it sound rather romantic.” She grimaced and looked at the scan results scrolling on the screens. “Can you compare the scans from the first day to now? Overlap them or something?”
The displays went up on a wide screen, and they slowly moved to overlap.
“The blue is the indicator for your cerebral activity, and the yellow is your cellular activity. The red is the change.”
She stared at the large slashes of red and sighed in relief. “Great. It is one thing to feel that things have changed, it is another to see that the scans are different.”
“This is the scan when you are emanating the pulses.”
The riot of colour made her eyes hurt. The blue went wild, and the yellow shot out in spikes and daggers. That was definitely new.
“Oh, wow. Okay that is just weird. So, I had an episode in the scanner?”
“Several on that first day.”
She smiled and shook her head. “But I am still alive, and the ground around me is in one piece. Progress, indeed.”
“Indeed. Oh, there is a visitor arriving today?”
Addy grew nervous and excited. “Kelly?”
“No, the Avatar of this world. He is coming in for an introduction as you two are the only living beings on the surface right now.”
“Right. When will he be here?”
Rokar paused, “He is waiting for you in the common room.”
She tried to remember if she had brushed her hair. “How do I look?”
There was surprise in the tone. “You look fine. Lovely. Fit and alert.”
“Is my hair okay?”
“It has been groomed, if that is what you were looking for.”
She smiled slightly. “Thanks.”
With a third check that her suit was sealed, she left the medical bay and walked the hall toward the common area. The low chime whispered to her that Rokar had followed her, and she felt better that she wasn’t meeting a stranger without him.
Chapter Four
Addy walked into the common area and paused when she saw the Avatar. She knew him from somewhere, and that somewhere was half a lifetime of dreams.
“Hello, pardon the rude question, but do I know you?” She walked up to him and extended her hand with the palm up.
Seven feet tall at least, he had an impressive nose, flaring nostrils, and lips with an intriguing curve. His ears were pointed, and his hair was a lovely mix of black and blue as it fell behind him to come to an edge between his huge navy blue wings.
His eyes. His eyes were not what she remembered from her dreams. Molten gold swirled in the depths of his eyes. The entire eye was a rich dark blue, but there was something living, swirling in the dark mass. It was hypnotic.
“We have met, but I did not think you would remember, Adelheid.”
She blinked. “Rokar, are you throwing your voice?”
The com unit spoke softly, “No, Adelheid, he is me.”
“To be precise, the imprint here has been cast from my own mind.” Rokar cleared his throat. He took her hand, turned it, and lightly touched his lips to the back of her wrist. “It is good to see you recovering from your ordeal.”
She smiled slightly. “Yes, I seemed to have recovered weight that I lost at the lab.”
“The last three months of your sleep were dedicated to your physical health. It was considered worth the risk to put you in a lighter stasis for that time.”
“So, you have been here, the whole time?”
He quirked his lips. “I am the Avatar of the planet, where else would I be?”
She slowly retrieved her hand, for decorum’s sake. His skin was warm, dry, and she wanted nothing more than to let him hold her for the rest of the day.
“I am not sure what that means. Kelly tried to explain it, but she wasn’t very clear on what an Avatar actually is.”
The gold in his eyes flashed and took over. “I am the world beneath your feet, and he is the body that has been volunteered to host me. I am Iratho-Rokar, and I am pleased that you are here.”
The sudden sense of energy and power made her nervous, but the room around her only shimmied before she got herself under control again.
“Your control is coming along, Adelheid. Congratulations. You have a home here for as long as you live, provided that the control remains intact.”
The threat was implicit. “I understand, Avatar. I am going to do my best.”
“Thank you, it is most appreciated, and Rokar was most eager to have you here.”
She blinked, and cocked her head. “He was?”
The eyes cleared back to blue and gold, and Rokar cleared his throat. “That is enough of that. He is fairly charming, but most interested in preparing his world for habitation.”
“I see. Um, can I offer you a beverage? I am not quite sure what you would like, but I think I can find it if you give me a hint.”
He inclined his head. “I will assist.”
With the hulk of the Avatar at her side, she murmured, “Can I ask what species you are, so I can look you up later?”
“I am Drai. Centuries ago, one of your kind came to our world and warned some of us, who carried the ancient skills, that our chance to find our mates lay out in the stars. We escaped and rested until our mates were near enough to wake us.” He smiled and found a delicate teapot, bringing it and two cups down out of the cupboard before setting them on a tray that he found without hesitation.
“One of my kind?”
“A Terran. She was a courier spun through time, and she ended up on our world before the interdict. Our government nearly killed her, but she survived, and one of her ancestors is in the Sector Guard today.”
“I will ask you what that is at a later time. You have obviously been here before, so who exactly took me out of the stasis pod and put me in my pajamas?”