Page 104 of Ruby
Her brow furrows and her glowing skin shifts from purple to blue. One part of my mind is galloping along trying to figure out what the colors mean, another is working through the mystery they are talking about.
Then inspiration strikes. “I have ADHD.”
Ree lets out a tuneless hum. “That might be it. Neurodivergence. Maybe however this transformation works, the different… brain pathways, or whatever it is that makes your minds different than ours… are a more efficient conductor of the transformation.”
I wince. “In this case, if you’re right, then efficiency hurts like a bitch.”
“This all hurts, I agree.” Ree leans back on her hands. “When this is over,” she says quietly, “I don’t know who we’ll all be.”
“People who survived,” Kira answers, voice firm.
My skin prickles when I hear them talk about identity, realizing I’ve been so focused on my own struggles there I haven’t considered that every one of us are facing the same question.
Who are we now?
I glance at Szhe’ka, who is watching me like I’m the only thing in the world.
I don’t know the answer, but I do know one thing. For the first time in my life, I don’t feel like I’m fighting another woman for space.
There’s room here. For all of us. And that feels like it’s going to go a long way toward filling in the void of that lingering question. Maybe we are all asking ourselves the same question.
This might be the first time I’ve not felt alone.
“We have to do more than just survive,” Olivia adds.
40
Ani
No one knows what to add after that, everyone seeming lost in their thoughts until Ree says it’s time to get us settled into the main camp. I don’t accept Szhe’ka’s offer to carry me, wanting to get a feel of this new body.
It’s more than just Szhe’ka’s arms darting out to steady me as I figure out how to balance my weight with heavy wings clamped to my back.
We are all laughing by the time I figure out the rudiments of balance again, just in time to stumble my way into a little settlement, complete with ornately carved buildings positioned around a large fire ring with an array of different sized benches.
“You and Szhe’ka can take the hut over there,” Ree gestures to something akin to a tree house, hanging from branches. “We built it in mind for him but you might find it comfortable too.”
“I haven’t turned into a bird just yet,” I retort.
“We can talk once you’re settled in. I’m sure there is much you want to know,” Ree remarks, walking away to attend to another one of her tasks.
Szhe’ka helps me up the tree, climbing slowly until we are inside the tree house. Calling it a treehouse is extremely generous, as it is nothing but a giant nest with a roof, but it’s still just as beautifully carved inside.
Szhe’ka makes himself comfortable immediately, circling the grass used as bedding a few times before he settles in, curling in on himself like a pretzel. Even with his posture, there’s still space for me to fit.
“Like it?” I tease, caressing his neck.
“Comfortable,” he responds simply. I lean in and he pulls me closer, enclosing me in his embrace.
“Is that good?” he chirps and I respond affirmatively. It is such a comfortable cuddle that I don’t even realize my eyes have closed in slumber. My mind drifts off, my imagination barely forming a conscious dream to focus on.
When I open my eyes again, dawn is setting on the horizon. I know a fair few hours have passed and like always, any movement from me instantly alerts Szhe’ka. He raises his head, nuzzling into my feathers gently.
“Rest well?” he asks, giant eyes blinking gently at me.
“I did. Go out now?” I ask, staring at the huge hole that constitutes both an entrance and an exit. He brings me out asgently as he brought me in, taking me down the tree, down to where the others are gathered. Eli is there too, walking around with a log in her tentacles, hands scratching at her skin.
There is another purple alien there, making things out of collected materials.
