Starfish

Twenty

Nina sat on the beach, a line of seashells before her. Some were spiky, others smooth and rounded, and still more were brightly colored or dull, depending on their species. She had more than twenty species in front of her, grouped by family, arranged by subspecies if she found any. 

She'd spent the afternoon collecting and checking off a list that had been sent to her earlier that morning, along with a note: Half day today – practice identifying the local mollusks and shellfish. She'd grinned when she found the note, and hurried home after her morning work was done and changed into a swimsuit so she could wade out into the surf to find more shells – she was a bright blue spot atop the peach-colored sand. A good breeze blew in across the lagoon, pushing her hair back over her shoulder and cooling her in the bright Dreenai sun with its green, salty scent. For a moment she leaned back, turning her face up to the cloud-streaked sky and watched the birds wheel overhead, listening to the waves, the wind, and the curling cries of the winged creatures overhead.

The last few days had been too busy to really address what she'd done when Ardus had dropped her off at her building. He was hard to reach between meetings with the budget and acquisitions departments, Dean Reda and Finance Minister Baru, and the shipping and receiving department near the back of the university away from their shared office, and the most they'd been able to say to each other were brisk good mornings and brief nods when one came across the other on their way to and from their respective errands. 

Nina desperately wanted to know what he'd thought when she'd passed her hand over her neck, beyond the surprise she'd seen when his eyes had widened and his throat had worked nervously. There was no gesture more apparent than that of Omi's Necklace, she now knew from a few minutes of surreptitious research, to tell the Dreen she wanted him. She still kicked herself for not inviting him up that evening, at that very moment, but now that she thought back on it perhaps she'd made the right choice. Let him stew about it, let him drive himself crazy thinking about it.

The day after Ardus had taken her to the rock cove for dinner, Nina had begun packing for the trip. She wanted to take special care choosing what she wore, planning how much skin to show and when. Remembering that he'd said something about including time to relax on these trips, she packed what she thought she'd need for a subtle seduction. Not that he needs much seducing, she grinned as she turned over a red spiny urchin shell, like a baseball-sized pincushion in the shape of a flat tomato. He'd been practically drooling over her legs and Nina had not missed it when he drew lines in the sand almost perfectly matching the curves of her hips. If I hadn't thought of it before, I'd be dumb to not think it now. He's so turned on he doesn't know what to do with himself. Well, I could show him a few things.

There were plenty of Dreen on the beach, and Nina watched them from her spot in the sand. Her training brought up the habit of pointing out features and behaviors that told her more about the semi-aquatic people than she'd ever learned when she was studying for her master's, and as she sat and watched how families interacted she wondered if she might someday return to the classroom and take up a minor in anthropology. Would they call it xenoanthropology? Dreenology? Nina wondered if there was potential for a cross-cultural philosophy of what humans had in common with Dreen. Perhaps she should be taking notes. I'll tell them one thing, we're far more alike than we're different. From her observations, Nina could see very little difference in the basic lives and lifestyles of Dreen and humans. They live, they work, they raise families, they play, they love. She watched a young couple pass by her vantage point, their hands clasped together and their bioluminescent pores flickering purple and green. Not long after she saw another couple that appeared quite old, their backs still straight and their pores just a shade fainter, the old fellow patiently supporting his equally straight but slow-moving partner. Nina smiled at them and they politely inclined their heads at her and continued on. Just like us.