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But the next trip home didn’t seem so bad anymore.
Chapter 27
Sophie
The history of Serval’s family was fascinating. They had records going back to the time that the island was founded – covering a period of twenty-two generations. His family had settled here alongside two other families that, together, left an overcrowded island to find their own place to live. They were the ones who discovered the ovili that flourished in their bay, and they made a business out of them. Since then, four other families had joined the island, though there were multiple points in the intervening years where different families joined and left. Of the three original families, only two remained, though the ovili farm was still going strong.
The ladies of the island were telling her family stories and legends from the many generations as they pampered her skin and nails. Sophie had to tell them how to brush out her hair and offer her own hair supplies, but then they eagerly took to it themselves.
It was a lot of fun. Especially when the family legacy stories turned into straight gossip. Their island was friendly with the neighboring islands, but there was clearly competition there. They told her all about how Valorei beat everyone in a local group swim meet. How one of the men was addicted to some drug called amgris and was ruining his life over it. How another had wasted all his credz on off—planet gambling. Who was fucking who and who was a disappointment. It was all very small town gossip, and she ate it up, gasping along with them as she was brought up to date.
She slept with the ladies that night. It was traditional. Younglings usually slept with their parents or with their siblings or cousins in their homes. But on the first night as an official adult, before the beading ceremony day, you slept with your gender.
It was all fascinating and Sophie documented everything. And no one was even bothered by it. They kept telling her things to pass onto Earth and showing off their beads or their jewelry. They drank dark wine and ate delicacies from other parts of Wav’aii.
Sophie felt like she was melting into the family. Blending in with everyone. She remembered so many names and heard about new babies and new matings and recent passings. Three females were pregnant, all in different stages, and they told her what an allowee pregnancy would be like. Apparently, she had a much easier time to look forward to since they were only pregnant for a few months and the babies finished developing in their nesting pools.
And she’d have all of them to help her through it. There was an old belief on Wav’aii that ocean spirits, who could be beneficial or malicious, were attracted to pregnant females. They wanted the chance to be born and so flocked to them. So, if you wanted a good spirit, the female had to be kept happy and safe because a pregnant female in pain or sadness would attract bad spirits. So, when she was pregnant, she would be catered to and kept happy by the whole island.
Which she saw happen to the three females already there. They were offered the best food and dark wine – which wasn’t harmful to their babies at all. Aside from Sophie herself, everyone treated them the finest.
Since she was mated to an alien, any babies they had would be hybrids, and since she was the first human to mate an allowee, that meant the baby was completely unknown. But she could see the support system already forming around her, and the thought wasn’t nearly as nerve wracking as it had been just yesterday.
Then, when they woke up in the morning, they fed Sophie and cleansed her. It involved wiping her down with a wet cloth, then covering her in oil. The oil was then scraped away along with any dirt or dead skin cells, leaving her body smooth and silky.
If she had been an allowee, this would have been done while she was naked. However, since she was human, they agreed she could wear one of her swimsuits. She chose a basic, plain, black bikini. Something that would be a nice background for her beads – which she hadn’t seen but was promised had been created by the family all day yesterday.
She braided her hair back into a bun that they decorated with the bands that were usually clipped around their olules. There was no makeup or perfumes, but before she left the main house, every female there put a hand on her somewhere. Touched her, smiled at her, welcomed her to their family. Ellow, as her mother-in-law in the place of her blood mother, guided her way out of the house. Out onto the island where the sun shined brightly through the fluffy clouds dotting the sky.
That was when Sophie heard the music. It was the happy song of strings, humming vibrantly through the air. Guiding her and the others towards the center of the island and the nesting pools that were all aglow.
The males were waiting for her. All of them gathered around the medium sized nesting pool meant for beading ceremonies. The younglings were there too, calling out in joy, dancing around, waving at her as she was brought to the edge of the water.
Serval was there too. Smiling, draped in his beads, as she approached. He didn’t come close to her, but he watched proudly as Ellow took her hand and guided her into the water.
It was warm. Pleasant. Her hand had suffered no side effects they could see from the wii, so she wasn’t worried about submerging herself.
Ellow walked her in until the water was at her thighs then stopped. She looked at the family, her white olules and blue skin shining in the light. She dipped her hands into the water before lifting them up, her wii now bright blue on her fingers.
The instruments stopped and the family went silent.
“My blood and bonded. I gather us here to present my youngling!”
The whole clan made a deep, distinct call that echoed over the island, sending goosebumps up Sophie’s arms.
“This is my rei!” She declared, raising one of Sophie’s hands. “They have the name Sophie!”
The family hummed again, but this time it was her name. Sophie smiled at them, butterflies dancing excitedly in her belly, combot flashing as it recorded everything.
“Youngling of mine,” Ellow turned to her with a smile. “We gather here today to see you take your first breath as an adult.”
The family called again.
“Declare yourself now! How do you stand as an adult amongst your clan?”
Sophie, having been given the traditional script to memorize last night, stated loud and proud, “I am a female, ilala!”
The ladies of the clan all cried out together, the sound much higher in pitch than when the males had joined with them.
