"Greetings Uxorem Hope, Tara."
"Hi" Tara said as she smiled shyly at Ophidian.
Tara gave him a subtle look that made Hope think she was checking him out. Tara turned to get on the shuttle and Hope was pretty sure Ophidian checked out her ass.
"Well, well, well what was going on between those two?" Hope wondered.
She would have to remember to grill Tara about it later. They took their seats with Ophidian across the aisle.
"So O, did Viper put you up to guarding us?"
"You are my Uxorem and Viper is not only my Prognatus but also my brother. It is an honor to make sure you are safe."
"Well thank you." Hope said as they watched the scenery start to pass.
"I was thinking of getting a dress." Tara mused. "And maybe a cool trinket to decorate our pod."
"Oh that's a good idea. I'm supposed to get something to keep from burning, like a scarf."
"You did get a bit of sun yesterday." Tara looked at her assessingly, always the doctor.
"Yeah well you tan so well it's disgusting. You look like a goddess of the Mediterranean." Hope scowled at her girlfriend.
"Whatever!"
The shuttle ran on its own course like a monorail, minus the tracks, arriving at their destination in no time. As it stopped at the station, they were immediately inundated by the numerous colorful stalls filled with wares. It reminded Hope of a street bazaar. The large group of human refugees that had accompanied them broke up into smaller ones and dispersed among the different booths. Tara, Ophidian and Hope started down one side of the street. The buildings were made of red, yellow or orange colored stone rising up several stories, though none were taller than five floors. The windows trended towards round, and the glass was thick.
"We occasionally get sand storms in the dry season, so the thick glass repels flying debris." Ophidian noted Hope's curious stare.
There were booths in front of larger stores or the vendors home. Colorful tents and awnings shaded shoppers as they went from one boutique to the next. Hope looked through a stall filled with jewelry. The old couple running it were cute. They whispered to each other as they looked at the trio. Like most of the Anguis they were curious and welcoming to the humans. The elderly man got up, came forward and bowed his head.
"Welcome." He greeted them.
"Thank you. I love what you have here."
Hope's attention was captured by a long tooth hanging from a gold chain and debated getting it for Viper.
"Is it a gift if you're using the person's own money to buy it for them?" She wondered.
Then again she'd be helping to support the cute old couple.
"Tell me about this charm." She asked the old man.
"It is the canine of an extinct wild feline. It's very old." The gray haired man replied as he pulled it out of the velvet-lined box.
"What do you think O. Would Viper like it?"
"I am sure that he would Uxorem."
The moment Ophidian said her title the old man's eyes widened, and he bowed deeply making Hope worry he'd fall over.
"My apologies Uxorem, I did not know." The man said and his wife followed suit. "You wish to get this for the Prognatus? Please just take it." He said with a bright smile, the creases around his eyes deepening.
"I couldn't just take it. You are here to make a living, so please name your price." Hope insisted slightly embarrassed by the situation. "Please."
"Sixty four credits." He replied pressing the necklace encouragingly into her hand.
Hope looked at Ophidian unsure if they were trying to charge her too little because they were being nice. Ophidian nodded it was okay, so she handed the little old man Viper's comm-unit to transfer the money.
"Oh that's nice." Tara examined the necklace. "Viper gave you a sweet comm-unit too."
"I wish you well." Hope said with a bow to the couple as they left and continued on their way. "Yeah Viper wanted me to be able to get ahold of him."
Word traveled fast that the new Uxorem was out in the city and a crowd started to build. The three of them traveled down one street but the market ended. At the far end of the district was a crowd of Anguis being held back by guards. Hope couldn't hear what they said as they shouted.
Instead of attempting to move through the crowd Ophidian led Hope and Tara back through a small park where families and Anguis children played. Hope liked how the Anguis included a lot of green space in and amongst their buildings. No one appeared to have a yard in the city, but there was a public garden between every row of buildings.
A little girl ran up to them and held out a little flower for both Hope and Tara.
"Thank you." Hope smiled at her grinning cherubic face.