Chapter Text
The first thing she noticed was the persistent, throbbing ache in her head. It pounded incessantly like the beat of a drum, ushering Rover out of her restless sleep and into the waking world. She tried to stretch, only to find her right arm wouldn’t budge. Right. It was wrapped tight in a cast, of course. She vaguely remembered the nurse fitting it on her last night.
The second thing she noticed was the array of gift baskets perched on the nightstand beside her. It was overflowing with all manner of cards, presents, and flowers. Many of them were from friends she’d hardly spoken to in months. Injuries were business as usual to her, so she would always tell them they didn’t need to do anything special. Naturally, they mostly ignored that part. Rover counted herself lucky to have such good friends. She sat up to grab a card labeled with Mornye’s name. A wave of nausea suddenly slammed into her like a train. Her vision swam as she groaned in pain and collapsed back onto her pillow. Ow. Maybe this time was a bit worse than usual.
The third thing she noticed was a pair of ashen eyes peering at her from the corner of the room. Her pupils shone like uncut flecks of ruby, just barely visible in the dark. The seated figure absentmindedly twirled a long braid of hair around her finger as she silently watched. She wore the same sly smirk as usual, as if she were privy to some joke nobody else knew about.
“Seems you’ve had a rough day, my seed of fate,” Camellya crooned.
“You could say that.” Rover carefully rolled over to face her. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Ashinohara right now?”
Camellya stood up. Her heels clacked on the floor as she crept towards the side of the bed. “I snuck out to see you when I heard what happened. Shorekeeper’ll understand. Or not. It’s not like she’s going to fire me anyway.” She rested her hand on Rover’s. “I should’ve been there with you. We would’ve crushed them, no sweat. It would have been lots of fun.” Her expression hardened and she crossed her arms. “But noooo. My beautiful seed decided to vanish off the map for months without telling anyone where she was going.”
“I’m sorry, Camellya, I just . . .” Rover said weakly.
“Oh, don’t apologize now. If you truly feel bad about it you can make it up to me later. In fact, I already have a few things in mind~.” A devilish grin spread across her face. Rover had no idea what that implied, but she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to like it one bit. Normally she didn’t mind Camellya’s antics, but she really wasn’t in the mood for it right now. Seeing her discomfort, Camellya eased off a little. It was only fun for her when Rover played along, after all. “Fine, fine. We can save that chat for later. You see, just a moment ago, a little girl I met in the lobby told me something very interesting.” She crossed her arms. “She was going on and on to the receptionist about how she needed to see you. The poor thing was practically yelling. She said she was your family or something?”
Rover sat up. “You met Aemeath? How’s she doing?”
“So you do know her. She’s doing just fine now, if you must know. Seemed like it was just a little separation anxiety to me. She calmed down a lot when I said I was a friend of yours. I promised her I’d sneak in and check on you to make sure you were doing alright.”
“That’s . . . actually very nice of you. Thank you, Camellya.”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you have to act so surprised?”
Rover cringed. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh, whatever. It’s no skin off my back.” Camellya yawned. “So anyway, was that kid telling the truth about being your family?”
“Yes. I found her wandering alone in the mountains. She lost her parents a while back. I was originally going to hand her over to the Black Shores, but we both realized we were happier living together.” Camellya raised her eyebrows. “We’ve been staying in a cabin up north ever since. I’ve even talked to her about adoption.”
Camellya shook her head incredulously. “You? A mom? That might be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard! I’ve never once heard you so much as mention wanting kids, and now all of a sudden you have a daughter?” Rover shot her an angry look, causing Camellya to backpedal a bit. She frowned. “. . .You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
In all the years she had known Camellya, Rover had rarely seen her so surprised. “Huh. Never pegged you for the type to settle down. Why the change of heart after all this time?”
Rover’s friendship with Camellya was strange. She could be impulsive, reckless, and obsessive. But for all of her many faults, Camellya was the most candid, honest person she knew. That fact made Rover feel that she could be more open with her than most. “Because I love Aemeath,” She finally replied. “What more reason do I need?”
“Hah! Well said.” Camellya replied with a grin. She almost seemed a little proud. “I get it. It’s not like I need reasons to live the way I do. If I want to do something, then I go out and do it. So if your heart tells you that becoming a mom is the right choice, then you don’t have to justify it to me or anyone else.”
Rover smiled. “I knew you’d understand. Can you go tell the doctors I’m awake? I want to talk to Aemeath.”
“I only just got here, and now you want me to leave?” Camellya dramatically swooned as if she was hurt. “Just kidding. I’ll be right back.” She turned and stepped outside.
A minute later the door flung open as Aemeath barged into the room with Camellya following in tow. “Rover!” she cried as she ran to her bedside. She almost pulled Rover into a bear hug, before seeing her injuries and thinking better of it. She settled for holding Rover’s good hand instead. “The doctor lady said you needed rest, so she wouldn’t let me visit you,” she said tearfully. “Does it hurt?”
“I’m alright. I heal faster than most people, so it barely even hurts now.” That was only half true. To be honest, her body felt like it had been cycled through a washing machine, but she didn’t want to worry Aemeath any more after what she had been through. Judging by what Camellya had said, she was still pretty shaken up. “How are you feeling? I know you didn’t touch any Voidmatter, but I hope the doctors looked at you just to be sure.”
“The nurse said I was gonna be okay.” Aemeath looked away. “She was really surprised I followed you into a Voidstorm, though.”
“She went after you into a Voidstorm?” Camellya whistled, sounding impressed. “I thought I was the only one crazy enough to do that. With an attitude like that, she should be working for the Black Shores! I could even train her myself.”
“Absolutely not,” Rover said flatly. She turned back to Aemeath. “This should go without saying, but if you do anything like that ever again, you’re grounded. That means no more playing outside with the snowfluff seals, and no more video games.”
“No video games? Not even Lahai-Roi blocks?”
“None. Now promise me you won’t do it again.”
“But—aww, alright. I promise.” She gave Rover a gentle hug. One of her pigtails tickled Rover’s nose.
“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself,” Camellya said aloud. She leaned down to talk to Aemeath. “Rover really is your mom, huh?”
Aemeath shrunk back, suddenly seeming very uncomfortable. “I don’t, um . . .” She trailed off. “She’s not my mom.”
A thick silence filled the room.
Her words cut shockingly deep. She knew, logically, that she wasn’t Aemeath’s mother. Defining their relationship was ultimately Aemeath’s choice and hers to make together. At some point, however, she had started thinking of Aemeath as her daughter. Maybe the girl just needed time to think it over. Or maybe she was simply content with Rover remaining her guardian. Whatever the case was, it still hurt to hear out loud.
Camellya, sensing that she had made a misstep of some kind, switched to damage control. “My bad,” she said to Aemeath. “Whatever you two are, you seem happy. Who cares about the details?” Rover wasn’t convinced, but her words seemed to lift Aemeath’s spirits a little. “Anyway,” she continued. “Someone’s going to have to look after Aemeath while you’re recovering, Rover. You can’t exactly raise Aemeath alone in your condition.” Her expression suddenly turned mischievous. “As your friend, I graciously volunteer myself for the task.”
Rover sighed and planted her hand over her face. “Really, Camellya?”
“Oh, don’t be like that. I’m great with kids! And if that means I get to spend more time with you, then that kills two birds with one stone!”
“Do you even know the first thing about raising kids?”
“Do you?” she shot back.
“I’m learning,” Rover huffed. “Besides, you have a mission in Ashinohara to finish.”
“Oh come on. You disappear for months without a word and now you think you can run off without me again?” Was that a touch of anger in her voice? “Let me come with you. At least until you’re feeling better.”
Rover didn’t answer right away. Aemeath tugged on her wrist. “You helped me when I needed it. Why don’t you want people to help you?”
Because I have to be strong for everyone. They can’t be allowed to see that their savior is as flawed as everyone else.
Camellya crossed her arms and leaned in closer. “You know we’re right,” she said tersely. “Besides, you’re always there for me when I overclock. It’s only fair that I get to return the favor.”
“Yeah, I know,” Rover sighed. She took Camellya’s hand with a wan smile. “I’d love to have you around.”
“Good,” Camellya said, seeming satisfied. She kneeled down to Aemeath’s level. “Assuming that’s alright with you, little one?”
Aemeath looked up at her. “I don’t know . . . Will you play Katya Space Fantasy with me?”
“You like Katya Space Fantasy? Good taste! Sure I will.”
“Yay!” Aemeath’s smile lit up the room.
“Then it’s settled. As soon as they let Rover go you can show me this cabin you guys keep talking about.”
Over the next hour, Aemeath proceeded to talk Camellya’s ear off about her favorite video games. Rover rested in silence as their chattering faded into background noise. Soon enough she once again found herself thinking of home. Every now and then she awoke expecting to find herself in her childhood house. Some part of herself had never left, even after all these years. But her planet was fifty-three trillion miles away. Fifty-three trillion miles between her and nearly everything she loved. Right now she felt every single one of those miles. Despite that, she had to admit that she had built a good life for herself here. Because of Camellya, Shorekeeper, Aemeath, and everyone else she had grown to love—Solaris was just as much her home as her home planet.