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Tucked into the corner of the couch in Arynn’s quarters, Vetra marvels at how things have changed since the discovery of Meridian. There’s still plenty of kett to deal with, and work to be done to make planets habitable even with the Remnant vaults, but they have a home, and hope. Even so, everyone still wants something, and she clicks away at her notes, sorting through the backlog of requests that have piled up in the chaos.
Her thoughts are interrupted by a surprised huff and a giggle from behind her, where Arynn’s matching descriptions on her omnitool with actual star patterns she can see from the window. When she realizes she’s caught Vetra’s attention, she turns off her omnitool and climbs over the back of the couch, tucking her toes under Vetra’s bent knee.
“They gave Scott the constellation data too, and he just messaged me to say one of the oldest documented angaran constellations looks like a dick. Because of course.” She sighs dramatically, but it’s obviously a struggle to not keep laughing as she relays the message.
Vetra’s mandibles flare into a grin, and she presses her upper leg into Arynn’s feet. “Well, does it look like a dick?” she asks, in a voice she hopes is deadpan enough to a human, despite her subvocals giving away her amusement to anyone listening for it.
Arynn loses the battle with her laughter, throwing her head back so it bumps into the couch. “It does! I’m supposed to be the Pathfinder, explorer of worlds - I nearly said destroyer, what the fuck brain - and yet all I can think about is our allies’ constellation’s phallic imagery!”
Just as Vetra’s also starting to laugh outright, SAM’s voice breaks into the noise. “To be clear, it does not look like angaran genitalia. They would have had no reference for human genitalia when first describing constellations.”
The AI’s voice is so even and matter-of-fact that both Arynn and Vetra quiet for a moment, blinking at each other, before breaking into such raucous laughter that Arynn nearly slides off the couch. SAM doesn’t contribute any further, but each time Vetra thinks she’s running out of laughter, Arynn mimics her startled blinking to set her off again, and it’s not long before they’re both swiping at tears and struggling to breathe.
Finally the laughter peters out, and Arynn grabs a pillow to prop on Vetra’s leg so she won’t get poked by a spur when she lies down. Vetra drags her talons through Arynn’s hair, scratching gently at her scalp, and then has a thought. “What is the constellation supposed to show?”
Shifting to get comfortable, Arynn squints in thought, trying to remember. “An adhi, I think? Definitely not a dick.”
Laughing again, Vetra leans down to press a kiss to Arynn’s forehead. “Definitely not.”