Eulalia

Despite Naomi’s insistence that no one could be so stupid as to throw a massive party around an anomaly almost the size of a city itself, the area around the Starwell is - to use a word out of Marie’s playbook - boppin’. A hundred bright and colorful stands and tents await the arrival of the Tolman-García family, and they’re some of the early birds. As soon as Marjorie heard about the appearance of the Starwell, she was making arrangements for Basil to head out.

Additionally, the Yestershire Aquarium, where Naomi works, was quite interested in doing their own research. Being that Basil was already going, the journey has become something of an inter-celestial business trip sponsored by two huge names on Raven’s Eye and a handful of other interested sectors who sent their own researchers. 

None of that explains why Marie and her girlfriends are also here - no, that’s easy. Marie heard about a pop-up festival around a massive unusual phenomena and insisted they all meet up for a family outing, and that she could introduce them to the newest member of her little flock.

That’s all well and good, except that as Naomi looks over the crowd having a grand old time on festival grounds, settled near the clear blue water of the Starwell, she can feel herself icing over. Marie is chattering about her new satyr girlfriend and how they met and Naomi is hardly listening because she’s staring in disbelief at the sheer amount of people.

Luckily, Basil is paying attention, nodding and commenting at all the right intervals. He’s always been better at that sort of thing than her. Undoubtedly, he’ll fill her in on what she missed later in a quiet moment, and she’ll pretend to be annoyed with him but secretly she’ll be grateful.

“What are we gonna do first?” Marie asks after she’s gone on for a while, and the change of subject is enough to snap Naomi back into focus. “There’s so much! There’s even a stage, Vee! You could put on a show!”

Marie’s new satyr girlfriend laughs softly, amused. “I should have invited the rest of the troupe, I see.”

“I’d pay to watch that,” Ruena says, equally amused. Marie’s browbird girlfriend has always been more lowkey, and Naomi likes her fine. She’s quite interesting to talk to one on one - they’ve had a few conversations about fashion, and a few about mechanical things that mostly went over Naomi’s head.

Still, despite liking Rue plenty, she cannot help her brusqueness as she says, perhaps interrupting, “I’m going to go find the research vessel and check if it’s ready for launch.” 

Everyone looks to her, Basil with a knowing smile that suggests he suspects exactly how overwhelmed she’s getting. “Sure thing, sister mine,” he agrees before Marie can protest. “Don’t let them take off without us, alright?”

Naomi scoffs. “Of course not.”

She turns to go, headed toward the docks, but before she can worm her way out of this, her niece grabs her by the hand. “It’s good to see you, Aunt Naomi,” Marie says, offering her a sheepish smile, before pulling her into a hug. 

Despite her prickly demeanor, Naomi softens at that, and a small smile comes to her face. 

“It’s good to see you too,” she murmurs, wrapping her arms briefly around Marie’s shoulders. “We can catch up more later.”

It’s the right thing to say, because when Marie pulls back she’s beaming from ear to ear and there’s mischief glinting behind her glasses. “Uh-huh! I’ll hold you to that!”

“I know,” Naomi sighs, long-suffering, and turns away without another word.

(“Not very social, is she?” asks Velvet as she heads off.

“No, but we love her anyway!” Marie agrees cheerfully.)

The crowd on the way to the docks is almost unbearably thick, but Naomi walks like a browbird on a mission and anyone paying attention practically leaps out of her way, lest they incur the wrath of someone with such a serious face. 

That, of course, requires that they’re paying attention. She slams full on into another browbird who definitely isn’t looking where she’s going and nearly snaps, except that then she sees the heart-specked blazing crest and the apologetic gap-toothed smile and she realizes--

“Daisy?” Naomi says in disbelief. It’s not so unreasonable, really. Daisy and the crew of the Little Ivy always show up when something unusual is afoot, drawn by the allure of some strange adventure. If Daisy is here, though, then that means -- Naomi glances around erratically, looking for --

And sure enough, trailing behind their enormous archound is a set of familiar carved double horns, a butterfly over their heart and a glittering array of prominent piercings in their face. Ames smiles when Naomi’s eyes light upon them, a small thing that nonetheless shows a hint of fang.

“Hi,” they say.

“Oh my stars, Naomi!” Daisy squeals, throwing her arms up. Several little aircorns are flung from her hair, but they float gently back down and burrow their way back in. “What a coincidence! Are you here for the festival? There’s so much going on, I can’t believe it! Isn’t it incredible? Have you been to the water yet? Have you tried all the food?”

“No, I…” Naomi glances at Ames as though asking for grace from Daisy’s torrential personality, but Ames is only watching their best friend with soft warm fondness that offers no help whatsoever. “I’m part of a research team. For the aquarium. The one I work at.”

“Ohhh! That’s cool! Are you going to find out more about the Starwell? There’s so much we don’t know!” Daisy asks, glamorous eyes shining with absolute delight. “It’s so mysterious!”

“That’s the idea,” Naomi replies, and though she wants to edge away from Daisy’s boisterous method of conversation, she hasn’t seen Ames in person in months. She feels tongue-tied and awkward, especially when Daisy catches her glance at them and grins so brightly it’s very nearly blinding.

“That’s so neat! Why don’t you show Ames what you’ll be doing while I, um, go check what’s over there?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Yeah!” Daisy is pointing in a completely random direction, clearly without rhyme or reason. “I’ll find you later, Ames! Text me when you want to meet back up, okay?” And then, just like that, she’s gone, and she takes Oxbow and her triplicate of tiny aircorns with her into the crowd. 

Ames and Naomi are left staring at each other, both deer caught in headlights, their faces flushing in perfect unison.

“Sorry,” Ames says after a moment, genuinely apologetic. “Daisy doesn’t really do subtle. It’s, uh, good to see you, though. It’s been a while…”

Their last video call was only a week ago, but it feels different, being in person. Naomi is so much taller than them, and their fur is so much more voluminous outside of a screen. She needs to unstick her tongue, so she says the first thing she can think of. “I like your dress.” When Ames smiles again, Naomi continues, “Daisy’s colors?”

“Yeah,” they say. “It was her idea. She’s got my blue on - it always looks good on her. I feel like yellow isn’t enough contrast for me, though… Blends in with my hair too much.”

“No, it’s nice. It’s different, but it stands out. The stripes break it up a little too,” Naomi says, looking them over with an eye that is at once critical and kind. Their little sundress is free-floating, the same yellow as Daisy’s eyes, with pale vertical stripes that give them a bit of dimension. “You look good.”

Ames smiles a little wider, running their fingers through their hair. “Thanks,” they say. “So do you.”

“Oh, I know,” Naomi says, and smiles back. Her runefrost cloak is a little heavy for the season, but she’s so fond of the pattern that she’s wearing it around her waist instead, with a sleek halter top and sharp, sensible shoes. Neutral colors, save for the cloak, but it’s a carefully considered outfit to help her make a good impression on the other scientists she’s supposed to be meeting today. “But thank you.”

“So, what sort of research are you doing?” Ames asks idly, falling in beside her as she continues her walk to the docks.

“Preliminary exploration with a focus on fauna,” Naomi replies. “And flora. The composition of the water, too. A lot of things, really. As much as we can find.”

“‘We?’”

“Ah,” Naomi sighs. “My brother is here, and he invited his daughter, who invited her girlfriends. I guess I’m just lucky he didn’t invite along one of his… other friends.” Her lip pulls up at the thought of her brother’s drinking buddies. “It’s supposed to be strictly business. There’s a number of other professionals here.” 

“Ouch,” Ames says sympathetically. “You get along with your family okay, though, don’t you?”

“Usually,” she shrugs. “Still.”

“Still,” they agree. 

“We don’t know anything about the Starwell. It could be dangerous to do so much near it. It could be radioactive, even! There are too many unknowns, and who knows how many people are spitting in the face of that right now?” she continues, tongue loosening, frustration seeping into her tone. “Marie could be in danger here. Everyone could be.”

“Life is always dangerous,” Ames says mildly, not quite disagreeing with her. Only challenging her, gently. “I think people would rather have fun with it than not. …I don’t think they’d have cleared everyone to come in if it was actually radioactive, but some of the stuff I’ve seen is really tacky. Someone was trying to sell bottles of Starwell water like it isn’t right there.” Ames gestures over the edge of the dock, into the sparkling blue waters flecked with shimmering points of light.

“Were they nice bottles, at least?”

“No!” Ames snorts, and then laughs, and Naomi can’t help but chuckle along, if only for a moment. 

“What a rip-off,” she says. “There’ll be more water on the ship.”

“Ship? You’re going out there?”

She shrugs. “It’s the best way to get more information.”

“I guess… It just sounded like you wouldn’t want to, the way you were talking.”

“Not for fun,” Naomi says emphatically. “It’s still important to learn more. That’s what will stop people from getting hurt, not this… wild party.” She sighs and looks out over the Starwell - that’s when she sees it. One of the docked ships, a bit larger than the rest, with a name she recognizes painted on the side: the research vessel Eulalia.

Several capable dockworkers, probably Sor Solir natives, are loading up the ship with crates of what she assumes to be scientific equipment. She counts four sailors readying the deck, and at least one other researcher, though Naomi knows there are to be at least six others from various interested parties all across the Seas, pooling their efforts to discover what they can.

Ames follows her gaze and stares at the ship alongside her, perhaps appraising its seaworthiness. As far as she knows, they’re not much of a sailor, but sometimes people are full of surprises. “That the ship?”

“Yeah.” She glances back at them regretfully. “I should probably go check launch status. I told Basil I would. Can we meet up again later?”

Despite it all, Ames smiles, tucking some stray hair behind their studded ear. “Sure. You have my number. Just call. I… I know you don’t think it’s safe, but I’d-- I mean, I’d like to see more of the festival with you. If you want.”

“Hm?” It takes Naomi longer than she would like to admit to realize what Ames is saying, and then her face explodes into a vibrant blush. “Oh. I… Yes. Sure. If we’re not too busy.” And then, cursing herself, she says, “I mean. Even if we are. I can make time.” 

“Okay,” they say, a genuine saint for not laughing at her flub. “See you soon, then.”

“See you,” Naomi echoes, a little faintly. 

Ames pauses for a moment, going pink in the cheeks as they smile, and then waves goodbye even though they’re standing right there, and then half a beat later they start to wander off. At least she’s not the only awkward one in this pair. As she turns away, there’s only one thought in her mind: 

Basil can never know about this.

She walks briskly toward Eulalia, trying to banish all the social awkwardness from her head, and one of the sailors spots her approach. He leans over the bow of the ship and gives a mighty wave, as well as a shout in greeting. “Hail and well met! You look like a browbird with purpose. One of our stray scientists, perhaps?”

Naomi considers him with a keen eye, and then inclines her head. “Naomi García. I’m here to check when we’ll be departing.”

The sailor laughs heartily. “We were supposed to be out on the Starwell at dawn! Everyone’s gotten swept up in this here festival, though, and we’re still missing a handful of researchers. Now we’re aiming for a noon launch. Think you can help us gather everyone up?”

Naomi clicks her tongue, annoyed. Of course. 

“I will, yeah,” she says, instead of voicing her frustration. Just a few more things to do before they get down to important business.