“I enjoy the physicality of it. And being able to come to my own conclusions without the AI trying to shove facts down my throat.”
Apodis chuckled, nodding his head knowingly.
“I agree. I don’t use pen and paper, but I disabled the artificial intelligence on my devices. It’s easier now that I work for myself and am not required to utilize the tech like I was at my former company.”
Someone else fed up with AI? A true shock, at least if the Oslieths were anything like humans.
“I want to make a collection of my notes, like one of those ancient almanacs or nature diaries. After Iclean up my sketches and organize things, of course. There’s so little out there regarding xenobotony that isn’t related to the profit margins of different pharmaceuticals,” she said as Apodis scooped her back up in his arms, Zenith leading the way further into the forest.
“An admirable goal. I would love to read something like that.”
Gemini smiled, circling her arms around his broad shoulders as Apodis set off after the little caerulian.
It was a lovely day filled with plant species new and old, some she had already studied on this trip, though with lots of interesting new insights as to how the Oslieths utilized them. Apodis had collected some bitter leafy greens called canar and orange, funnel-shaped mushrooms that looked a lot like chanterelles.
Gemini enjoyed the pleasant sounds of birds chirping as they sat near a beautiful vista, resting after the long trek through the mistforest. The view was awe-inspiring, the sun setting over the ridge of trees in the distance and the bioluminescent fungus beginning to light the ground with a violet glow.
“I hope I’m not putting you out,” she said, suddenly aware that they had spent the entire day together, and he hadn’t tried to hurry her along once.
“Not at all,” Apodis said with a smile that melted her heart.
“What do you do for work?”
Perhaps she wasn’t the only one playing hooky from her job today.
“I’m retired, though I still freelance from time to time. I’m a quantum cartographer, but I’m not on any jobs at the moment.”
So he was definitely smart, the quiet and lonesome profession making total sense for the male sitting beside her.
“Retired? How old are you?”
“Fifty-two.”
“And how old is that in human years?”
“I don’t know. The oldest Oslieths live to be one hundred and twenty.”
“So, almost the same as humans. You’re older than I thought you were.”
Perhaps not the most polite thing to say, but they’d slept in bed together. She’d curled up against his chest this morning.
They were practically friends.
“Oh? Is that a good or bad thing?”
Gemini considered it, a smile pulling at her lips. He certainly looked nothing like Castor, who was also in his fifties, strong muscles bulging at the fabric of his shirt. His hair was silver, which may have been a sign of aging, but it suited him, a glittering compliment to his ultraviolet complexion.
He certainly seemed a lot more mature than the human men her age who always wanted to play games on the apps. It was like no matter how compatible they seemed, people were always looking for something better, like a more suitable match was just one more swipe away. It was exhausting to never be enough.
“Good.”
“You like older males? I mean, uh, in a…” Apodis trailed off, a pained expression on his face, like he couldn’t come up with a good way to finish the sentence.
He was really cute when he got all nervous like that, even though there was absolutely nothing intimidating about her.
“I know what you mean. And I do.”
“Oh…”
