Where Things Lay

Auburn and Sio walked in silence as neither wished to speak. It was a curious thing for Sio, she was used to the older people of her kin to be more chatty, and a bit judgemental. Auburn was none of those things. In the short amount of time Sio got to interact with the man, she got the impression that he was one of few words. As for whether he judged Sio internally, well, she'd rather think he didn't. He didn't look at her like she was a freak of nature, at least. But he was related to Lurio, which made Sio sigh. Auburn looked back at her. 

"Sorry." she said. She didn't really know why she apologized. She supposed it was because they were silent for such a long time her sigh broke whatever peace or puzzle was in Auburn's head.

"What's the matter?" He asked cooly. Should she say? She wondered. What would be his reaction? Would he yell at her? Would he abandon her? Sio thought it best to keep silent. Instead of answering she shook her head. Auburn furrowed his brows, appearing uncertain of what to do next. Perhaps he was used to people being more direct, Sio thought. 

They continued onward for a short while then approached a worn looking shell unit covered with an array of animal pelts. They looked to be patching some holes in the exterior as makeshift insulation. The others were strewn about haphazardly, as if decoration or some attempt of it. Lurio was outside rolling something with his hands. Sio sighed again, this time Auburn was carefully watching her and looked to her and to Lurio. The man hadn't noticed them yet, much to Sio's relief, but eventually they would have to greet him as was custom. Auburn made the first movement toward Lurio calling out. Lurio looked up from his craft to see his son-in-law. His eyes masked pain as he looked around not finding his daughter. His gaze then fell upon Sio, and a mixture of unreadable expressions clouded his face. 

He stood, dropping whatever he was holding, then walked toward Auburn and Sio. Sio braced herself for whatever he might say, but as he came closer he merely strode passed without a word. Not one glance, nor a breath passed their way. Like a cold gust of wind, he was there and then gone. Sio watched his form retreat over the horizon towards the town center, but glanced back at Auburn. He was wiping at his eyes but made no movement to follow Lurio. Sio could understand. They had all lost someone today. 

Auburn approached the door to his shell unit and waved for Sio to follow. She did. Once inside Auburn took off his snow sloshed boots and placed them to the side of the small mudroom they had both entered. Sio followed suit. They both took off the outer layers of their shell suits and placed them on the rack. It was odd, this normality. As if nothing out of the ordinary happened at all, except the world crashing down all around them. Sio didn't know what brought it on first, but her tears came and did not stop. She whimpered. Auburn helped her with her jacket she was struggling to place and placed it for her on the lower rack. 

Auburn lead her to to the living area where there was cushioned seating and sat her down. He sat next to her and let her cry. They sat there for hours, Sio didn't care. After a while Auburn stood and headed somewhere behind the couch they were set on. He came back with a mug with steeped tea. He placed it on the table next to the seat and sat once more next to Sio. He grabbed a holo-pad off of the shelf next to him and displayed a schematic of a ship in a bottle. Sio sniffed and smelt warm cinnamon and black tea, the color of the tea was milky too, likely powdered creamer was used. Auburn began piecing the ship in the bottle together with a stylus on the holo-pad and together they watched it come together. He was far from finishing it, it only had the bottom thrusters put together before he spoke softly to Sio. 

"The tricky part is knowing what this is all supposed to look like without a schematic. The file was corrupted a long time ago." Auburn fiddled with some other parts of the ship and found the solar sails which fanned out from the parts on the bottom. Sio sniffled and pointed at another part, this time shaped like a U. 

"I think that goes…there." Sio said. Auburn tried it and the part didn't quite fit even though it seemed that Sio was on the right track. Auburn set aside the part and collected all the other U shaped pieces and placed them next to one another until they started forming a coil. There were still several hundred more pieces to go. 

"The best part about holo-puzzles…" he trailed off as he took another part and attempted to put it together. "...is that they won't explode if this is wrong."

Sio giggled at that. It was a little pitiful, and raspy, but it was a genuine laugh none the less. Sio wiped at her face still soppy from the tears. Auburn and Sio continued the puzzle, until they heard heavy footsteps on the outside stairs. Auburn quickly stood dropping the projection on the floor as the door opened. It was Lurio. His deep black hair was matted on the side of his face, his usual tan skin was pale except for the flush of his cheeks which were bright red. But what Sio noticed most was the smell. Sio only ever smelled alcohol when her grandmother visited Dr. Tausidi for mending her scrapes and bruises, but that was clinical and smelled neat. This smell was different, pungent. It was mixed also with an earthy grass-like scent, also quite pungent. Auburn stood rigidly. His shoulders were tense and his eyes were razor focused on the man in front of him. Lurio coughed and spit before entering the unit. 

"Relax, son." Lurio said stumbling into the seat nearest to him. "I'm in no mood to fight."

Auburn stayed silent, but nodded his head. He, however, did not relax. Sio made to stand, unsure of herself in this situation. Lurio was not a man she had kind dealings with in the past. Lurio did not spare her a glance, instead he pointed to a wall unit.

"Make yourself useful, Pathless, and pour me a water." He said this without rancor. Instead he sounded listless, like the life had been sucked out of him. Sio looked to Auburn and Auburn caught her gaze and encouraged her with a nod of his head. Sio made to the wall unit and filled an empty cup with water, then carefully approached Lurio placing the water on the table next to him. He took the water after Sio had left, and drank heartily. He coughed once more then stared at Auburn with a hard look. Auburn did not waver in staring back. 

"You dare to invite a Pathless into our home, and you will not say a word to me?" Lurio questioned. 

"I will say only this; she is welcome here." Auburn said it with such finality, Sio was tempted to believe Lurio would back off. To her surprise, Lurio only nodded his head. 

"Give the girl the spare bedroom." Lurio sipped the rest of the cup and placed it on the table, defeated. "I'm going to bed." At this, he got up and walked to the halfway point, or attempted to. Auburn reached out and grabbed his arm, then guided him to the back of the hallway, which Sio presumed was the master suite. After a moment, Auburn returned. 

"Let's go, little Sio." He said, grabbing his outerwear in the mudroom and putting it on. He also grabbed Sio's jacket and outerwear and handed it to the girl who put it on dutifully. "We must get your things." He explained. Sio nodded. Both of them stepped outside into the night air and walked toward the hill part of the village where units were stacked upon each other one by one. They passed by laboratory stations and observation decks to arrive at a shell unit with a small courtyard. In the courtyard were a variety of telescopes and wagons filled with portable tents and other equipment. Auburn motioned for Sio to go inside, but she hesitated. 

She thought that maybe this was all a bad dream, and she would go inside and find her parents and grandmother safe and sound, but on the other hand, she felt that not seeing them home would only give her a sense of finality. Auburn put a hand on Sio's shoulder. 

"I'm with you. If you don't want to go inside, I'll get your things instead." He said looking at the entrance. Sio muttered a thank you, but steeled herself. She went in. 

It was just as she remembered it before her trip with her grandmother. The entrance hall was a little muddy, her father was likely the culprit. Their shell suits were gone, but the hangers were still there on the rack. She noticed the table was messy. There was a half drunk glass of water and crumbs on a tray. Sio walked further in, Auburn close behind. She quickly walked to her room, but not before she found her father's duffle bag he didn't use and began filling it with toiletries and clothes. Her grandmother taught her well what to pack and she wasn't going to forget a thing. She promised herself she would not forget anything that they had done for her. 

Before leaving her room she found her desk and a picture that sat on the corner. It had been taken using an ancient Earth relic, one that had since broken, but there were people that still made the equipment for it. As for what the picture contained, it was her and her grandmother and her parents standing before the night sky watching the meteors fall through the Great Void. She took the photo out of its frame and tucked it into her pocket. Finishing her task she made her way to Auburn who was still waiting in the living room. Without a word she made for the door, dragging her overstuffed duffle bag over her shoulder.