Ardus punched in the security code and let himself into his apartment. As the door slid shut behind him, his shoulders sagged and he ran his claws through his barbels as he let out a long, low sigh. Sea gods, that woman... "Doctor, is that you?" A voice startled him andArdus let out a surprised bellow. "What are you doing here?!"
Athe came walking out of the hallway to the back of the apartment, looking perplexed. "It's window-cleaning day," he said, "I come on the same day every month." Ardus blinked at the cleaning cloth in one hand and a bottle of solution in the other. He ran his schedule through his mind and realized that he'd lost track of time. Aku send a hurricane, am I that out of it? "Oh, er, good. Thank you for coming."
"Of...course." Athe gave him a strange look. Then, after a pause, "So, how was lunch with Doctor Nina?"
Ardus gaped. "How did you...?"
Grinning, Athe balled up the cleaning cloth and stuffed it into his pocket. "Ardus, how long have I been working for you?"
"Ah... Twelve years."
"Exactly, and I've known you for longer. Which means I know your routine. And every time I clean the windows you shut yourself in your office and ignore me until I'm done. Until today, when for the first time in twelve years I show up and you're not here."
"That does not mean I was with Doctor Nina."
Athe straightened a framed print on the wall. "You spend twelve years hiding in your office on window day, then I come and not only are you not here, there is a convalescing woman within walking distance, for whom you happen to be responsible. Also," he sniffed the air, "you cooked. Don't deny it, I see the dish. What did you make?"
"Er..." Ardus felt his face heat. I should have made something else! "Baked eel."
Athe's smug smiled rained like a low tide, his pores flashing yellow. His eyes flicked between the dish and Ardus's face. "Ardus... You haven't made baked eel since..."
"I have so! Just because-"
"Ardus," Athe stared him down. "I think we need to talk about Doctor Nina. I think you need to talk about Doctor Nina."
For a moment Ardus held his composure. He stared back at Athe, holding himself still and straight and for once glad his pores wouldn't give him away. I do not need to talk about her, I want to talk about her. But If I talk about her, then I have to think about her. And If I think about her... He saw her in his mind's eyes, leaning over the table with her pretty little face turned up to his and her tunic hanging open, taunting him. Ardus's chest tightened around his lungs, his heart twisting on itself. Then his eyes drifted closed and he moaned, a pitiful sound.
"Why don't you sit down? I'll take that," Athe plucked the covered dish from his hands and took it to the kitchen. "Can I have some?"
"Have all of it, I do not care." Wandering into the front room Ardus sank onto the couch and let himself sloop sideways, laying on his arm. "Athe... I am in trouble."
"Trouble, you say?" Athe said from the kitchen, scooping leftover eel into a bowl and setting the heavy dish in the sink. He came back with a bowl and as hort glass. "What sort of trouble are you in?" He gasped, "Doctor! You didn't-"
"Of course not!" Ardus bellowed, offended. "I would never harass a woman!"
Athe grinned. "I'm joking. Here," he handed Ardus the glass, sailorfruit juice with a slice of tidepool melon and some white foam algae liquor splashed over the top. "You've just eaten, but this will loosen you up abit, get the grit out of your teeth. Now tell me, how did you end up at Doctor Nina's apartment, and what made you make her baked eel, your specialty?"
Ardus sat up and sipped at the drink. Athe had made it a bit stronger than he liked, but rather than protest he sank down into the cushions, drinking and looking pathetic. He felt pathetic. The drink wouldn't stop anything, but it would take the edge off. "She invited me."
"Did she now? That was kind of her. Did she call you?"
"No, I... I brought her dinner yesterday," Ardus admitted.
Athe choked on the eel. "You did? By Omi's face, you've been busy!"
"I did not plan on it, it just..."
"Felt right?"
Ardus stared at him, and took another drink. "I was going to say it just happened." Athe said nothing, chewing eel. Ardus continued, "I was making dinner for myself, then I started thinking about... I thought she would be too tired to cook, and too weak to go out and get something herself. I thought it would help. Nia said she might be incapacitated for a few days, so I made a bit extra. Fish, vegetables, seaweed soup, basic meals." Another drink, smacking his lips at the sweet, cooling juice and tart melon. The fermented algae added a slight bitterness, like unsweetened tea. "But I made too much, and she asked me to help her eat it. I had no idea she could eat so much, for as small as she is."
"She does have quite the appetite," Athe commented. "A big one, you might say." Ardus caught the sly glance, but ignored it. His head felt warm, less anxious. Shifting, he stretched his legs out and sighed, staring at the air between drinks of white foam and sailorfruit juice. The slice of tidepool melon bumped into his nose as he drank. Athe said nothing, only watching Ardus as he sank lower and lower into the couch. Finally, Ardus said "Her name is ridiculous." But I like saying it.
"What, Ma'atanoa?"
"No, Nina." Saying it made something thump in his chest.
"Starfish?"
"Yes! It...it is...surprisingly fitting. She is such a tiny thing, but a big problem."
Athe scraped his bowl. "How so?"
Ardus downed half the glass in a gulp, the algae liquor burning his throat. Sea gods have mercy for me. "I think I am attracted to her."
Athe looked up. "Oh... Now that is a bit of a problem."
"I know." He set the glass on the short table in front of him and laid back down. "I have not stopped thinking about her since she arrived. I cannot stop thinking about her. At first I thought it was just novelty, having a human so close. But then I started paying attention to her..." He stopped, thinking. "I started to notice things, little things. She wears a tiny ring on her toe, and an even smaller one in her nose. She does something to her nails, some kind of lacquer. Pink, like the coral in the lagoon. She has these..." Ardus pointed to his face, "these little tucks in her cheeks, I do not remember what they're called, and when she smiles they get even deeper. Have you seen her smile, Athe?"
Athe nodded. "I have. She smiles a lot."
"She does." Ardus sighed, the algae liquor fogging his mind to a gentle softness. He stared at the ceiling, picturing her smiling. "Everything about her is small, except that smile... Her personality is bigger than she is.She has enough spirit for a dozen Dreen."
"You're attracted to her personality?"
Ardus nodded. "Her intelligence, enthusiasm, good humor. Among other things."
"Such as?"
"Her eyes," Ardus answered without pause. "She has the most beautiful eyes. Expressive, bright, observant, the exact shade of a storm at sea. Do you remember the hurricane that made landfall here a few years ago?" Athe nodded, mouth full, and Ardus went on. "I remember standing out there on the balcony watching it come in. I could sense the strength of it, I could feel its power, but I was not afraid – I have weathered hurricanes before, lived through enough to know what to do. But, when Nina looks at me I feel...powerless.Cut adrift, as though I have lost my anchor and the swells are carrying me farther and farther from shore."
"I see." Athelicked the spoon and set the bowl down. "Sounds like you've got quite the problem."
"I am aware." Ardus sat up, took another drink, and slumped back down. "It is not only her eyes. Her size...it bothers me as much as it intrigues me. I have picked her up..." he counted silently, "three times now."
"You have?"
"Yes, I took her to the infirmary when that skimmer bit her, and I carried her home from the infirmary. Then today-" Ardus let out a booming laugh that startled Athe. "Today when I brought lunch, she was standing on the counter! Can you believe it? I was upset at first, thinking she might fall, but she...did not." He slowed, his brain whirring as it struggled against the algae liquor. His head felt foamy. "I...I would not let her jump down, so I put my hands around her and..." He saw her eyes then, remembering how she'd watched him so intently. She looked like she was waiting for me to do something, like she knew I would-
Something clicked then, an almost audible clunk as the realization smashed home like a handful of wet sand to the face. "Oh sea gods... Athe!" Ardus sat up violently. "Sea gods drown me, I am such an idiot! That is why she acted like she was going to jump!" Ardus stared at his assistant, his eyes huge and his mouth half-open. "Athe... I think Nina..." With a shaking hand Ardus reached for his drink. He picked it up and brought it to his lips and tossed it back. Wiping his mouth with a hand, his mind reeling with the realization, he set it back on the table where it chattered. "She wanted me to pick her up. She wanted me to put my hands on her."
Athe took Ardus's glass. "Put your hands on her how?"
"Around her waist. Like this," Ardus held out his hands in a circle, his fingers trembling. "My hands fit completely around her waist. And she got me to do it, and made me think it was my idea." Athe handed him a fresh glass and Ardus sipped at it. "How did she do that? How does she keep getting me to do things? I have made meals for her twice now, carried her-"
"Let's go back to picking her up," Athe suggested. "How did that feel?"
Soft was Ardus's first thought, and he voiced it without thinking. He winced as the words began to slur. "Sssorry, I think I might be drunk."
Athe waved him off. "It's fine. How did it make you feel?"
"Oh." Sitting back, sliding down a bit, Ardus watched the drink in his hand slosh. He remembered her bronze skin, her weight, her clean scent, the shape of her hips in his hands, the way his fingers had sunk into the warm flesh of her sides. Her stomach is soft, her thighs are soft, even her face is soft. He let his head fall back, the wires in his barbels tinkling. "I felt...strong, powerful. I felt heroic, like the old stories. Like Aku when he takes Omi in his arms and makes her go dark for one night every month. She fell asleep on me, did you know that? As I was carrying her to her apartment, she fell asleep in my arms. She..." Ardus sighed again. "She must have felt safe. Did I make her feel safe? Or was it just being carried? How can I tell? Please don't tell anyone!" Ardus rolled his head around to look at his assistant, his eyes wide and blue and a little glassy from the fermented algae. "Reda will kill me."
"I doubt she'll kill you," Athe assured him. "She'll probably just maim you, leave you horribly disfigured like you've been attacked by a screamer. I won't tell anyone, Ardus. Your secret's safe with me."
He rolled his head back to stare at the ceiling again and the room wobbled. He squinted at the textured plaster. "What do I do?"
Athe shrugged. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to pick her up again." Ardus chuckled.
"No, I mean in the long run. You have a trip coming up, just the two of you. You may want to get a handle on this before you go, perhaps avoid taking any white foam with you." Athe grinned at him, raising an eyebrow. Ardus gulped down the drink and slid sideways again. "'S'probably wise." He laid there and thought muddily for a while. "Athe, why do you think human women are so..." he lifted his hands and made a shape like an hourglass. "Wiggly? Is that a word? Why are human women so wiggly?" He let his hands drop.
"I have no idea, Doctor. You're the biologist."
"Have you ever noticed her eyes? She has beautiful eyes. It is all right to notice, is it?"
"Of course it is."
"And it is all right to notice how her skin glows in the sun? And how her face does the thing with the tucks, what are those called..."
"Yes."
"Oh. Good. Because I cannot stop thinking about her." Ardus let his head rest on the cushion. "She is all I think about, sometimes I even think about her when I am asleep. She is...she is so... Sea gods drown me, she is so cute. Why is she so cute?"
"I don't know, because she's small?" Athe guessed.
"Yes, that is it." Ardus nodded. "Because she is small, because she is...round, not at all like a Dreen woman. But she is a woman, Athe. Nina is a fully-grown human woman and she makes me feel...makes me feel...Ahh!" Ardus covered his face with his hands. "I cannot think!"
"That's just the white foam, Ardus."
"No, it is her .She is driving me mad! The way she walks, the way she moves, her laugh, her hair, the way she says my name..." Ardus let out a moan. Athe stood and swept the empty glass away. "What should I do?"
"What do you want me to tell you? You like her, Ardus, and you're obviously very attracted to her."
"But why? She is human! We are not even the same species! There is no biological rationale, no reason for different species to be attracted to each other. We are genetically incompatible."
"Are you trying to have a child with her?"
"Sea gods, no!" Ardus lurched up and the room spun. "Ooh...bad idea..." He threw an arm over his eyes and lay flat on his back. Athe brought him a glass of water and he sipped at it. "No, I have had my turn raising a child, I have no further interest. But..." Briefly he recalled the sensations, the images his mind created, the desires he hadn't realized he had. No, I cannot tell him about the other night...But it does not change what caused it. He uncovered one eye and peered at Athe. "D'you think she might... Aku, no! S'ridiculous." He covered his eye again.
"What's ridiculous?"
Ardus muttered under his arm, "No, s'stupid."
"You're right, it probably is." Ardus glared at him. Or rather, he tried to glare and only managed to screw up his face. He couldn't focus properly, Athe was fuzzy.
"I hope a tide comes and washes that sour look off your face," Athe said. "What is it, Ardus? What do I think Nina might?"
"Drown you, Athe, d'you think she might like me?"
"I don't see why she wouldn't."
Ardus lifted his arm, his eyes as wide as they would squint. "You're joking."
Athe shook his head. "No, I'm really not. You've taken her criticism to heart and are really trying to befriend her, you're feeding her while she recovers, you're moving up a year's schedule of field work for her. I don't see a reason why she wouldn't like you after all that."
"But...she's human. I'm Dreen."
"That doesn't mean anything. You're attracted to her, aren't you? So why would you just assume she isn't attracted to you?"
"Because..." Ardus stopped and looked at his hands. Dark, unlit, his colors gone for so long he'd forgotten the patterns. "Athe, am I still a man even if I've gone dark?"
"What? Of course you are! Ardus..." Athe sat on the edge of the table near Ardus's feet."You don't stop being a man just because you're dark. It would take much more than that."
"But... My pores..."
"It doesn't matter. You feel the way you feel. Besides, Boda and I..." Athe shrugged. "Well, there's no biological reason for us to be together either, but we are. And don't you think...don't you think it's been long enough? Since-"
Ardus turned his head towards the couch, his eyes squeezing shut. "Please, Athe, don't."
"I know, I miss her too. But this could help you prove your point."
"What point?"
"Your point about Dreen and humans working together."
Ardus turned back. "What do you mean?"
"You know, listening to you talk about Doctor Nina has made me realize something. Do you know what it is?"
"How could I? I can't read minds." Ardus pushed up on his elbows, squinting at Athe. "Why are you changing the subject?"
Athe ignored him. "She reminds me of someone. Someone we both know."
"Who?"
"Someone stubborn, who did things their own way, rules be drowned. Someone who didn't care if their way was strange. Someone who, when they got an idea in their head, nothing could stop them. Someone passionate about the world, about their work. Do you know who I'm thinking of?"
Ardus sneered. "Me?"
"No," Athe's smile turned into a smirk. "Try again."
"I don't know, Athe! What's your point? Who does Nina remind you of?"
Athe stood, straightened his tunic and smoothed his trousers. "My mother."
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Doing research for this chapter, I learned that since seaweed contains carbohydrates it could theoretically be distilled into an ethanol that could get you drunk - think vodka. In 2006, German marine biologists made a sugar-kelp wine that supposedly tastes like a really good sherry. With that in mind, I think I have a kind-of knockoff of the cocktail Athe made for Ardus:
You will need about 20 oz clear liquor like vodka or gin and a big handful of dried seaweed.
In a saucepan, combine liquor and seaweed.Heat on the stovetop until you see small bubbles form (do not boil). Remove from heat, cover, and let cool to room temperature.Strain and use or store in a glass container.
To this I would add something sweet and tart like sweet & sour mix or a really strong limeade, and a slice of bitter melon or lime, or if you really want to get weird with it use a Horned melon (kiwano).
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