Sitting in orbit around Taihorca IV, they had had o briefing from the various diplomats and pundits that the Gactic cil had made sure would be there to advise Svetna with the meeting. A bunch of rich bigwigs, most of them were clearly unfortable with the idea, but a lot of those were also unfortable with Thisbe. That showed those ones had horrible judgement.

  Others, though, were actually enthusiastic about the pregnanews. Especially in light of the efforts to iate with Empere Ouzzhen.

  “It shows a clear effort to support Supernatural rights,” one Kobaroian man said with enthusiastiodding.

  “And an efficy to childbearing that Zuumults would appreciate,” an Issiod’rian woman had added.

  That had fused Svetna, but they’d moved on before she’d gotten a ce to ask more questions. By the time they were done giving her pressed history lessons of the couple thousand years sihe fall of the First Dynasty she’d fully fotten.

  Instead she and the rest of the polycule were loaded onto an atmospheric shuttle, heading down towards Taihorca IV. It close to its red dwarf star; tidally locked with an o c much of its surface, it was what some called an ‘eyeball p’. Their destination was an isnd owilight band where the low sun essentially existed iernal suhere were a number of beaches there and the temperatures were pleasantly in the low twenties. Great for swimming and rexing.

  If one moved too far into the daylight side temperatures could get dangerously hot, pushing 90 pces close to the eternal noon. Meanwhile moving into the darker side would plunge below freezing quickly. The difference could lead to major wind storms. But (for plex meteical reasons that Svetna hadn’t really paid attention to after the fourth hour of people telling her facts) those were seasonal and things would be calm at the moment where they were nding.

  Actually ing down for a nding she saw it was very much a beaunity, but it didn’t seem to be a major destination by any stretch. More a unity that liked the water. The doear the spading point were filled with w fishing boats rather than yachts, and, while they passed a couple of hotels after disembarking, those were really more motels for locals instead of gras.

  She saw members of both Agent Lee’s security detat and the general imperial guard at various rooftops and street ers, having likely swept the unity for hours during her briefing. That made her feel guilty, w how ahe locals were with her.

  “This lease,” the Kobaroian woman who was serving as their guide said, leading them into what looked to be a garage.

  Inside, however, they found a pair who were definitely not locals: one Human and one Lanthonean fashion designer who were in the midst of squabbling over designs as they arrived.

  “Ah, your majesty,” the Lanthonean said, tapping down her antennae, a move that had caused Svetna to realise their species was responsible for the gaxy’s equivalent to bowing.

  “Yes, yhness,” the Human designer said in a soft Japanese at. Despite a generally mase presentation, something about their vibes said ‘non-binary’. “Apologies. We were just finalising some designs.”

  “Designs? What’s going on?” Svetna asked.

  “Well, we couldn’t have you meet another imperial monar anything but the best swimwear,” the Lanthonean said.

  “We’ve prepared swimsuits for the entire imperial family... Ms. Campbell included. I believe gothic lolita is yeneral style, yes?” the Human designer added.

  “Oh, yes. It is,” Thisbe said, lighting up as she was handed a very cute red and be piece, along with a parasol and a bottle of her own spf 100 suntan lotion.

  It turned out the other options were just as good. Plynx was given a sleek and sporty bikini, Vivian some surprisingly fashiorunks and an effit bikini top, Bokarza a white one piece that was was still desigo show off her abs, and Svetna found herself with a bd daring bikini that had more straps that seemed necessary, but hugged her figure well. O’tmyil hadn’t been given anything, but that was due to her ability to ge her holographic appearao seem to be wearing any outfit she wanted. Clothes were redundant.

  Auguste, however, stared at the speedo he’d been given with a slightly pale face.

  “This is... this is it?” he asked.

  “We tried to match your taste to the gender you now present part time,” the Japanese designer said. “You had always dressed daringly.”

  “That... well, yes,” Auguste said. “But daring for a woman covers quite a bit more than daring for a man...”

  Before either designer could reply Vivian tossed a Hawaiian shirt at Auguste’s head.

  “Button it or leave it open... either way it’ll help cover you,” she said, wearing her own unbuttoned shirt.

  “Ooh. That’s a good look,” Bokarza said. “ I get one of those shirts?”

  Once everyone was dressed properly in the eyes of the designers (the Earthling designer having to assure the Lanthohat lesbians were supposed to csh a little bit) they were allowed to head out towards the beach. It was maybe a kilometre and a bit from the garage-turned-fashion studio, but the walk leasaween the low red sun to one side and the cool breeze blowing in from the darkness.

  Holy, a town that existed iernal summer suruck Svetna as a wonderful pce to live. If she wasn’t stuck being empress of the gaxy she’d move her in a heartbeat (assumis were reasonable).

  Those thoughts were shaken from her mind as the group spotted Ouzzhen and their small ente waiting on the beach. The Empere had their eyes closed as they faced the sun, possibly engaged in some sort of spiritual practiaybe just enjoying the vibes of the pce. Then again, these vibes struck Svetna as good enough to be spiritual... maybe that was the Shinto influences from her father’s family? He’d ehere was strong boweeural and the spiritual in her mind.

  Behind the Empere, standing quietly but looking at the ready, were two other Zuumults and three Greys.

  As they approached, vaguely aware of the security detail shadowing them from an acceptable distance, Ouzzhen opeheir eyes and turo Svetna with a smile. While their fad body nguage was androgynous, the long flowing hair perhaps leading Svetna’s brain to hem slightly to the femiheir choice of swimroved to be merely a pair of close fitting swim trunks. A very well toned chest was shown off as a result, the alien muscuture a little different from a human’s but managing to somehow avoid the uny valley and instead exist as pleasantly symmetrical anic shapes. Like something art nouveau.

  “Empress Svetna, it has been too long,” they said, their smile showing off those sharp and shark-like teeth that were leaving Svetna more than a little hot under a colr she was not wearing.

  “Empere Ouzzhen... sorry about that. Been very busy with the new baby and all the goodwill t. I’m sure you know how it is,” Svetna said, crossing the distand doing her best to py it smooth.

  Attra wasn’t the reason she was so frazzled, though. She could hara plenty. It was the fear that was mixed in, the most basic parts of her brain insisting that Ouzzhen redator that could eat her up. Which was maybe (definitely) attractive in its own way.

  “I believe it is my turn to provide the meal, yes? I hope you excuse me in this being somewhat less formal,” Ouzzhen said, before snapping their fingers.

  Two of the Greys in their ente hurried into a nearby shed before returning with something that looked vaguely like a barbecue that hovered. When they ope up Svetna discovered she was correct, the one Grey beginning to grill an assortment of meats and veggies on skewers.

  “Good food is good food, even if it isn’t fancy,” Svetna said, gd there would be something other than diplomacy to talk about.

  “Now, I have studied what you Earthlings do on a beach, but... today is not a good day for surfing and I fear volleyball would be rather unequal sidering our retive sizes,” Ouzzhen said.

  “Well, we could have one Zuumult on each team with one of your assistants? But... holy, with the su lighting this pce has, I don't really feel like doing sports. This is more ‘eat some food, grab a beer, listen to some musid watch the fireworks’ energy. Though, no beers for me,” Svetna said, feeling a bit embarrassed now that she’d brought it up.

  Her focus on food may have been influenced by just how good the grilling meal was smelling. She swore she’d been more sensitive to sts tely.

  “Ah, yes. I had heard. gratutions are in order,” Ouzzhen said. “Whies are the other parents?”

  “Auguste and Thisbe,” Svetna said, waving those two over. As she did so she noticed that everyone was standing off to the one side looking a bit nervous. “e on, you’re allowed to chat and have fun. Ouzzhen’s people won’t--wait, your people won’t bite, right?”

  “They’ve been told not to,” Ouzzhen replied with a ugh.

  “There, see?” Svetna said to the rest of her polycule. “So, Thisbe, Plynx, no bitiher and we’re all good.”

  “We-Issiod’rians do not bite the willy-nilly,” Plynx protested, though her tone was more pyful offehan actual.

  “I promise... though I wouldn’t mind knowing what more aliens taste like,” Thisbe said with a rge grin as she and Auguste walked over to Svetna’s side.

  It looked like her fangs were extending as she smiled, and Svetna briefly wondered if she was gettiorial about having another Supernatural flirt with her love.

  Whatever the case it did not seem to deter Ouzzhen who reached down to shake both Auguste and Thisbe’s hands. “I hope your children will be born well.”

  “Th-thank you,” Auguste said, looking mostly intimidated.

  It was funny, the most obvious ge in him as a man was that he liked shorter parthose days. Once he was having a feminine day he’d probably be swooning for Ouzzhen... if they were feminine enough for his tastes.

  Thisbe, meanwhile, tio show no fear.

  After that Ouzzhen moved on to make brief polite versation with each member of the polycule. They gratuted Vivian on how healthy little Houyu looked, while general pleasao Plynx and Bokarza. Both of them were a bit stiff in their replies, stig close to Vivian.

  As for O’tmyil, the two were perfectly polite in tone and words, yet Svetna could feel the tension... ok, that robably mostly because of her and O’tmyil’s bond, but she could tell the others were pig up on some of it as well. So Svetna swooped in and pointed out how delicious the food was smelling.

  The meal was actually quite iing, the local sea life tasting rather like chi, but... more oic. The vegetables, meanwhile, were spid plimehe meats well. As they ate the two Greys who were not cooking and one of the Zuumults set up a sound system, setting it to py Earth music. Mostly the Fire Hearts, but that was to be expected with them being the Earth band to do the biggest gactic tour so far.

  “I hear the singer of this band is a demi-god,” Ouzzhen said, having fiheir fourth skewer.

  “Really? I’ll be ho, I’ve been way too busy for... uh, well, about a year now? So I haven’t really followed celebrity gossip,” Svetna replied. “I think I heard something about them having a kid? And, well, heard about them being non-binary.”

  “Yes, they’re the child of...” Ouzzhen trailed off a little, before the other Zuumult who had been shadowing them from a polite distaepped forwards.

  “Cupid, Empere.”

  “Cupid, yes. That was the surprises me to learn there are deities still so active on your world. By your stage of development generally they’ve built rather a wall of abstra between themselves and the mortals or have been driven to extin,” Ouzzhen said, pausing to stare over at the hills away from the water and the sun.

  Some had the golden glow of dusk (or maybe dawn) but others were in darker shadow. There were a few stars visible that way, but it was mostly tht for anymore.

  “We’ve got lots of old gods that are still talked about iry and songs and whatever but aren’t widely worshipped,” Svetna said, waving her skewer vaguely. “Cupid somehow took over a whole holiday from Christianity, though. So, goood for him... Oh, and then some ions that are still rather full of small and personal deities. Shintoism. Hinduism... various other things like that.”

  Ouzzhen turo her, shaking off their brief moment of thoughtfulness with another smile. “Oh yes? Perhaps you could tell me more?”

  “Uh, well, I don’t know all that much about Hinduism... and half of what I know from Shintoism es from anime,” Svetna mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed.

  She’d learned some ways of thinking from her grandfather, but not much about specific deities and practices.

  “Anime?” Ouzzhen asked. “Is that... is it reted to the ‘animism’ I read some things about?”

  Blinking, Svetna looked up at Ouzzhen and couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Oh, no. Anime is something very different... but also something I know a lot more about.”

  Applying a bit of suntan lotion, even though she suspected the faint red light of the star they were orbiting wouldn’t do much to a vampire even as close as they were, Thisbe noticed the empere’s assistant was attempting to approach her quietly. It seemed that, despite their size, Zuumults preferred to move as shadows.

  “May I help you?” she asked, not looking up from her lotion application.

  “You really are a Supernatural,” they said.

  “Not only that, I am also a thing that goes bump in the night and strikes terror from the shadows,” Thisbe replied.

  “A... she truly loves you?” the Zuumult said.

  The question struck Thisbe as showing such genuine awe at the idea she couldn’t help but turn to look at the one asking. Their simirity to Ouzzhen was unmistakable, though they wore their hair short and showed a nervoushat Ouzzhen was surely incapable of.

  “Five me,” the Zuumult squeaked. “I am out of line, approag a lover of an empress without introdu. I am Vahr, smaller sibling of Ouzzhen, and the empere’s closest servant.”

  “The empere’s sibling? That doesn’t seem any great gap in rank from a sort of an empress’ sort,” Thisbe replied. “Not that I’m oo pull rank anyway. I’ve always been annoyed by the sort that do.”

  “You do not uand the succession of our people, then,” Vahr said.

  “I suppose I don’t,” Thisbe replied. “But... to get back to your question, I was simply surprised by your tone. Did you think your older sibling’s efforts were doomed?”

  “Larger sibling, not elder,” Vahr mumbled, a soft sort of corre before they moved on. “But, no... I had merely thought it diplomacy.”

  “Mhm, well with Svetna nothing is ‘just’ diplomacy. If she’s someone her heart then she means it. Despite the bes of it, it took her actually getting to know Bokarza before accepting her proposal for marriage,” Thisbe replied. “It’s... well, maybe it’s a silly thing about her, but it’s also something I ’t help but love.”

  As she said it Thisbe felt flush with the feelings she shared with Svetna. And, mixing in, were feelings for Vivian, Auguste, O’tmyil, and Plynx... as well as a fondness for Bokarza, even if they cked any specific spark.

  “All of them... even with them being mostly mortals, I ’t help returning their love,” she said.

  Only to find Vahr’s eyes somehow managing to seem unfocused, despite no sort of visible details in those pools of darkness.

  “Are... are you alright?” she asked.

  They shook their head. “I’m sorry, I had not known you were a projeg empath. The feelings you have for them are... powerful. I... I am certain my--the empere will be gd to know how genuine of a bond you and the empress share.”

  With that Vahr hurried off before Thisbe could manage any other sort of versation.

  “So, like... uh... you guys...” Vivian began, before pausing, not sure she was really going to ask the Grey what she was going to ask.

  “The amount of anal probing was greatly exaggerated,” the one Grey replied, shaking their head. “There was some harvesting of reproductive material of a variety of Earth species, as a precaution in case you destroyed yourselves. But the anal probing was... limited. Only a portion of abdu stories are true.”

  Vivian that, gd that she hadn’t had to actually say the words. Boung Houyu slightly, she did have to admit she wasn’t certain what to do , though. Where did you go from ‘anal probing’?

  “Are we out of the danger zone now?” she offered.

  “Of blowing yourselves up? No. Not in the least,” the Grey said. “I am not tied to the ons manufacturing corporations, but I do know that your Uates are purchasing an impressive amount of ons for not even trolling a single p. Now that markets are open several other nations are also buying.”

  “Oh... of course they are,” Vivian said, letting out a sigh. “Of course they are.”

  She decided that was enough depressing versation for one day and so headed over to chat with Bokarza instead.

  “And so that’s why Questers is my favourite fantasy anime... but Ramia is my favourite character in the series. She’s much more fun,” Svetna expined, deg against doing an impression of her ugh, despite beier able to match the pitow.

  “I... see,” Ouzzhen said quietly. “I suppose I uand the appeal of determination and ing triumphing over all else,” they said. “I have a few days here, perhaps we could wate episodes?”

  “ht. We’ve got, like, a whole long weekend. I’ll have to pick out a few of my favourite episodes from eay favourite anime,” Svetna said. “But... dang, I’ve been totally dominating the versation, yakking your ear off about anime. What sort of stuff do you like?”

  The question seemed to throw Ouzzhen for a moment. Probably because Svetna had been gabbing so much that they’d needed a moment to actually form some proper thoughts. She did that to people sometimes, whe a ce to share a passion after too long bottled up with other matters.

  And she had been very bottled up ever since Houyu had been born. Close to two months of shaking as many hands as she could without her arm falling off. Or, at least, that was what it felt like.

  “We are mostly told stories of our forebearers,” Ouzzhen said at st. “If we tire of that... strategic games are our other main diversion. We were deities of war inally, so our is trend towards martial matters as a culture.”

  After another small pause then they fshed a grimace. “It be suffog and quite b.”

  Before Svetna could reply the crack of fireworks drew her and Ouzzhen’s attention. Someone was setting them off on the doear the nding port, which was a det enough distao not be unpleasantly loud. Looking out at the town she saw the locals were leaning out from windows and balies to watch them.

  Right, because those were ah culture thing that might out in the gaxy.

  Turning to Ouzzhen she saw a fasation on their face as they watched the dispy.

  “They’re very... primal,” they said.

  “I suppose they are,” Svetna said with a small smile, before reag her hand over to try to hold Ouzzhen’s... though the size difference meant she wouldn’t be able to grab very well.

  It seemed they uood the gesture, though, and took her hand in theirs as they watched the fireworks.

  Things were going pretty detly.