Nuni’s tallest building was the Filla Observatory on Violet Hill. It towered over even the oldest trees, the massive telescope reaching up into the heavens. Faloran of all shapes and sizes flew and crawled in and out of the layers as they went about their business; traffic always increased during the soft twilight of the evening. Ve looked out over the railing of the highest tier at the horizon. She liked watching the suns set, first Tal then Fey. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A Singer began their song a few floors down. Another answered their call somewhere in the distance. A breeze blew by the hill, shaking the leaves of working Vitroxians. It was the same story as so many nights before.

 A soft clicking pulled Ve from her thoughts. Opening her eyes she turned. Su waved and swayed a gentle greeting, her antennae twitching softly. Ve fluttered her wings and twitched her antennae in response; she clicked, pulsing the light on her wings and curling her antenna close. Su gestured to the stack of papers on the desk Ve was working at and clicked back. Sue’s translucent wings hummed as she moved them. Ve sighed; Sweets were difficult to understand when they were excited, the light of their wings blurred too much. Su didn’t seem to notice and by now Ve had lost the conversation. She let out a sharp click and spread her wings wide. Su jumped, her own wings going silent and her antennae at attention.

Ve let her wings down slowly, blinking a soft pattern across them as they fell. Su let out a long breath and swayed a bit more. She spread her wings as best as any Sweet could, and started again; gesturing at the papers. Ve looked down at the desk and dimmed her wings. She hadn’t gotten any work done; not really. Now it was Su’s turn to get upset. She clicked, loud, and started blinking. Ultimately it devolved into heavy Sweet speak with buzzing wings and movement patterns that Ve still didn’t quite understand. Su was a wonderful companion, but with Ve’s workload she couldn’t take the time to engross in her language. Su stopped, suddenly in front of Ve and curled her antenna. She splayed her arms, tapped a foot, and paused her wings long enough to flash the pressing question of what could have distracted Ve from such an important assignment.

Ve turned to the sky, one wing extended with a slow flash as she scanned the darkening void. She was sure she had seen it; where did it go? She took a deep breath, the warm air letting her head clear, and opened her third eye. The soft pink/violet of the sky glossed over with a pale filter and she kept scanning.

There.

Something was out there, far out in the distance. It was small and gentle and warm. It called out to her, like the sun calls to a Vitroxian; like the Singers call out to all of Draemsil. Ve pointed and closed her eye, the film fading and a star fading into sight. Su let out a few curious clicks. Ve fluttered her wings. She didn’t notice Su rifling through her papers. She nearly jumped out of her chitin when Su tapped her on the shoulder. Ve turned, and found Su holding one of the papers in Ve’s face. Ve took it and analyzed her own work. Her mandibles shifted slightly as she reviewed her studies. Then: an epiphany.

Ve clicked happily and hopped out of her seat. She skipped forward at Su and bumped her head against the smaller Faloran’s yellow fluff. Su chirped in surprise before breaking out into small, but happy, wiggles.

They had found the answer. Now all they had to do was get it past the Graces.