Vavaren

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Vavaren is a richly forested planet with large bodies of water. It's cold, not cold enough for snow but cold enough for frost to form overnight. The oxygen levels are high.

There are no mammals, only lizards, insects, arachnids and some birds. Everything is huge.
Their oceans are populated by giant squids, immense fish and various other enormous and terrifying creatures of the deep.

The Vavare have built large webbed communes in the trees.

Visitors are not common, Vavare tend to do most of their business off world but those who visit are welcomed warmly.

Ships will dock at a small simple space port which is surrounded by their capital "city", if you can call it that.
It looks more like a vast marketplace.

Visitors are advised to wear rebreathers when leaving their ship, dress warm and to avoid any flames, sparks or static buildup.

Enjoy your stay honored friends, welcome to Vavaren.

James nodded. "Most androids wouldn't hurt anyone, even if they could. They just happen to be a type of creature the universe usually doesn't see, so they're considered to be unnatural, or inferior. Which is an excuse to attack them, apparently."
"Scary, as in you don't know what your future holds, and you could end up anywhere. Also the whole 'being attacked being part of the plan' thing." Yeah, that was a freaky idea. Some mighty god letting people attack you to get you where you needed to go? Eeesh.

Armin nodded. "The bipeds fear arachnids. Our biology is so different. I believe it is easy to detatch from what you are doing when your victim does not bleed the same as you. " He shook his head. "But nobody knows what their future holds, unless you are a seer the future is as dark and uncertain as the deepest night." Armin reasoned. "I am not certain the being attacked part was the plan, more the being rescued. But gods work in mysterous ways and on planes of reasoning we cannot begin to comprehend. We must simply trust that it will all work out for the best in the long run. Such belief has helped me through great hardship, knowing that the Weaver will protect me. She guided our friends to me when I needed them, just as she guided a man and his crew to our captors and freed us from our chains. Now she has guided us home." He looked uncertain as he gazed out at the distant mountains. "I am... not sure I wish to remain however..."

"True." James looked out across the land that stretched far below them, feeling convinced for a moment that the sky was going to swallow him whole. "I can see how that might be comforting to you, although at the same time, I think it would freak me out if I believed it myself." He smiled slightly. "I think there's a god, but whoever that god is, I prefer to think that they don't take much interest in us. Makes everything miserable that happens seem more impersonal."
James frowned, "What happened to you guys? Why don't you want to stay here? If it's okay for me to ask," he said hastily.

Armin nodded. "I like to have hope. Without hope, what is there?" He sighed. "What happened? We were captured, sold into slavery. My entire family, our coworkers. A whole weaver ship. Not everyone survived our capture, they made examples of any who tried to fight. " He lowered his head. "Have you ever seen what happens if you pierce the exoskeleton of one of my people? Suffice to say... it is an effective deterrent to others. We worked in a factory, I believe the correct term is sweat shop. I am uncertain quite how long we toiled there, but then the man came. He and his men slaughtered our captors, got as many of us as could out. A few were injured in the chaos, others were killed. There was gunfire and explosions and fire. I lost a leg. My sister carried me on her back as we fled. Oxygen tanks and fire make for... an impressive display. The factory was full of them and once we were out, he barred the doors so the surviving guards could not escape. We heard their screams as we were dragged to an awaiting ship, and then the tanks exploded. We were left on Defiant, the others gained transport back home, to here. But I was too injured to go. My sister chose to remain with me, and Trygve would not leave her side. " Armin smiled fondly. "Being home after so many years though... I feel displaced, like a stranger. I do not feel I belong. Too much has changed. The world has moved on without me. I am unconvinced I can simply slip back into the life I once knew, that life no longer exists and I am not certain that even if I could, that I would want it back. I feel like I have a greater purpose than being here, and perhaps that is foolish ego. I cannot explain it, but I do not feel like I am supposed to remain on Vavaren. The weaver has other plans for me. " He smiled softly. "Or perhaps I merely hope that is the case."

"Weird and Strange things does not make it dangerous." Sonata said simply, returning to take another sip.

Esk shrugged. "No, just gross." He took another tentative sip. "I think i'd rather know what it actually was."

"Wow." James wasn't entirely sure what to say. That sort of event would be traumatic to anybody, but especially to someone as kind and peaceful as Armin. "I guess that would change things a lot. That's just..." he shook his head, "I'm sorry. That's awful."

"If you wanted that, there is probably a lot more things than you realize what you've been eating to be quite distasteful." Sonata let off an amused laugh.

armin smiled softly to James. "Do not worry yourself friend, I am free now and unlike so many other species, we can regenerate lost limbs." He did still have eight legs after all. "It takes a few molts."

---

Esk shrugged. "I suppose." He looked at her. "So why are you traveling with the cruise ship? You a misfit and runaway like the others?" He sounded bored.

Sonata thought for a moment, swirling her drink again. "Well... A long time ago, I became very close friends with a Star Dragon. A little before around the time we met up with Vestia, she laid eggs. Alas, she was dying from a mortal wound set upon by her hunters. So, I promised to fulfill her last wish, that I would keep her child safe from the Aurum, even if it meant being... well... eaten alive. We were being chased by an Aurum Scouting Ship when we ran into Vestia."

"Still, not fun at all," James said. He looked back at the view of the city. "You seem to be doing surprisingly okay though, so that's nice." Hey, Asher had been okay. Maybe this guy wasn't faking either.

"The Aurum?" He wracked his memory for any mention of them, he only had scraps and none felt useful enough to really know who these guys were, other than they were jerks.

--

"Okay is relative." Armin told James. "I pray we never see the man and his crew again. While I am grateful for his help, he... he was not a good person. Those people did not have to die so horribly."

"I kind of got that impression from what you said," James said. "It's nice that he helped you, but yikes." Good people generally didn't lock people in buildings that were about to explode. Not even if the people they were locking in were bad.

"An Empire of Dragons..." Sonata said softly, "Barbaric of their kin, the stories of dragons eating knights and stealing mortals for food and servants come from them. Their greed knows... no bounds..."

"They sound CHARMING." Esk muttered.

--

Armin nodded. "Oh, can you see the birds?" He pointed to the distant hawks. "they do not like to come near the cities. They look so harmless from afar, I have never seen one up close. From a young age we are told to stay away. Sometimes they try to take the aphids."

Sonata laughed again, enjoying Esk's dry humor. "Well, best hope not to meet them anytime soon, hmm?"

James watched the birds thoughtfully. They were majestic and terrifying, and he was glad they were so far away. "Everything on your planet is so big, compared to, say, Terran equivalent animals. I assume when you say 'aphids', you don't mean the tiny green bugs I've read about."

"Can they only be killed with magic daggers too or will a bullet to the head work just as well?" Esk asked flatly.

---

Armin chuckled and shook his head "They are about so big." He gestured to something about chest height to himself. "terran insects are so small, not much eating on them certainly."

"Guess that's why most Terran cultures don't eat a lot of insects," James said, chuckling. "Your aphids sound much more practical to farm on a large scale."

Sonata smiled softly at that, "No," she said, "They can be felled by simple means, like all the rest of us."

Armin nodded. "Far more practical. Terrans are strange about eating insects. They will happily eat crustaceans and shellfish, yet find insects unpalatable. I do not understand why. Then again, they also eat their food in solid chunks they must chew to make swallowable, so perhaps it is a texture thing?"

---

"Well that's reassuring. Can't have all the people after you be immortal and unkillable. If they did you'd be totally screwed." Esk shrugged, he didn't much sound like he was worried though.

"Yeah, you hear them talk about texture sometimes, like potato chips which are crunchy, or cotton candy which is supposedly like air. They like certain textures a lot. Plus maybe Terran tastes don't like the flavor of insects or something." James grinned, "Maybe we should ask Ellie when we get back to Vestia. She might know."

"Perhaps we should. " Armin shrugged. "Would you like to go back down now, or are you enjoying the view?"

James smiled. "We can head down now. Kay and Asher need a chaperone, you know? Besides, they probably think we got eaten by hawks."

"Considering what we've all been through," Sonata mused, starting to sound almost just as bored as Esk, "I think even if we had enemies that were all the same in immortality and power, we'd somehow manage to get out on top. With a bit of... trauma, but still on top."

"Well that's hopeless optimism." Esk told Sonata. "The dragon woman said you're taking on the Family." He shrugged. "You'll probably all die, you realise that right? Well, if you're lucky they'll just murder everyone." He shook his head.

---

Armin nodded. "So I was not mistaken? they are a couple?" He asked. "I do not think you would make particularly good eating for a hawk." He chuckled.

"Yeah, they're just silly about it and like to pretend that they're Just Coworkers, even though they're not actually trying to hide it as far as I can tell," James shook his head. "And maybe I'd be terrible eating, but they still might fly off with me before they noticed. Hawks don't have a good sense of smell, right?"