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[The feed springs to life without warning, as so many of the share memories have been doing, lately. At first it's mostly a wash of shadow and golden firelight, difficult to pin down to an exact time or place or person.

That changes as a mirror appears. A little girl is standing in front of it. She can't be terribly old. Maybe ten. But she's unmistakably green. It's Ariadne, no question. Skin the color of the underside of a maple leaf. Hair blue as candy floss, pulled into a tight braid over her shoulder. Little girl or adult, she has the same look of wonder in her gray eyes. Like she's completely fascinated with every single thing she encounters.

Right now, that wonder is her reflection.

An older--impossibly beautiful--woman appears at her side. She seems to be Human, with pink skin and black hair. She puts a hand on Ariadne's shoulder. Very, very carefully. Her voice is equally gentle.]

How do you feel?

[Ariadne looks at her in the mirror.]

Tired, mostly.

[The woman nods.]

Yes, that's to be expected. Does it hurt?

[Ariadne frowns.]

A little.

[She turns, looking back over her shoulder to keep her eyes on the mirror. The back of Ariadne's dress is stained with blood. Two long lines of it, running down each of her shoulder blades. She gasps, looking more startled than hurt. The other woman holds her steady.]

There will be scars. But they'll fade. In time. And you'll be able to pass for a Human, once you've healed. We'll survive. Together.

[Uncertainly, Ariadne wraps her arms around the woman's waist, burying her face against her side. The woman strokes her hair lovingly, as the memory fades.]

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[Ariadne is slow to respond. Mostly because she's been hiding from the fact that this video went live. But eventually, she knows, she's got to reply. And it's Maul, after all. He's her friend. In a peculiar sort of way.

Still, when she gets on the feed, she looks a bit meeker than usual.]

Savage says my natural form is more appealing. I don't think I ever realized you hadn't seen it, though.

[She bites her lips together a moment.]

But to answer your question...I'm not sure. I guess it's a little happy and a little sad at the same time.

If you ever made a post about it, I must not have been paying attention.

[Contrary to popular belief, Maul doesn't pay attention to everything that goes on with the network.]

I can see why it would make you sad because you lost your wings. But why was it happy as well?

Because it meant I got to play Human.

[Ariadne shrugs, looking a little sheepish.]

Humans can do so many things that Alastrians can't. I wanted to be a part of that.

Hmmmm, that's something I don't quite understand.

[Humans were the majority species in the galaxy, mainly due to their adaptability and prolific numbers, but they were never the end-all, be-all. There was twenty million other sentient species around and so the concept of 'blending in' was a foreign one to Maul.]

You're lucky, in that way, Maul. You come from a place with so many different species.

I guess it's more complicated when there are only a few. As it is, the prejudices can be ugly. When people let them be. The Elves and Humans have a long history of hating each other. The Daruc used to be xenophobic. The Nysgods are so rare most people think they're just myth.

And my people...

[She shakes her head.]

People like to come up with excuses to hate us. It makes it easier for them to...do hateful things.

I suppose you are right there. Some will always find reasons to hate those that are different from them, but when everyone is different from you, it gives more incentive to not draw arbitrary lines.

[Granted, they did that anyway in his galaxy but it usually had to do with this like politics and power rather than prejudice.

His voice is gentle and soft as he makes a request.]

Will you show me your natural form? I've never seen it before.

[He must have been sleeping or dead the day she did the network post in Deerington.]

[She shrugs, almost looking shy. But then nods.

The change that takes over her isn't instantaneous, but it also isn't...entirely internal. It's as if heat is rising off of a warm pavement. She sort of ripples like a mirage, like a watercolor that's bleeding.

That's how she shifts.

And when the ripples fade away, there she is: Her skin green as the underside of a maple leaf, her hair blue like candy floss, and her lips a bright purple.]

This is me. Some of the time.

[He pauses for only a moment before he says with hesitation:]

I like it.

[There's no sarcasm or insincerity in his voice. Maul truly does think the way Airy looks like beautiful.]

I agree with my brother. You look better this way.

[She gives him the shyest of smiles, ducking her head. Ariadne isn't used to such compliments. Especially about her natural form.

But it's a pleasant reminder of everything she likes about Trench, of the completely new mindset around her.

And of the fact that Maul can be very sweet. Not that she'll ever tell anyone.]

Thank you.

[Maul prefers not to be thought of as sweet. He's a fierce Sith Lord and likes his monstrous reputation.....but it is true. He has the possibility for being very sweet when he so chooses.

A random thought occurs to him.]

Is this how you convinced Anakin you weren't his wife when he first arrived?

[He figures Anakin being Anakin nothing would have shaken him out of that belief besides the dramatic physical proof.]

[Anakin. Always around to ruin a perfectly pleasant conversation.

She sighs softly.]

Yes. It also helped that I am not, nor can ever be, pregnant with his child.

Ah. Is that natural for your species or.....something else?

[He didn't want offend Ariadne if it turned out she was unable to bear children for reasons if there was something other than the biology of the Alastrians at work here. Look at that, Maul can attempt to be tactful when he wants to be.]

[She laughs, quickly covering her mouth.]

Well, I hesitate to mention it, if only because I think it kind of frightened your brother a little, but...

In my species, it's the males who give birth.

[Maul's eyes go wide for only a moment before he recovers and nods to himself.]

Ah. So it is something like that. Savage has a led a life a bit more.....sheltered than mine so it might have been a surprise for him. I have seen a number of species where it works that way in my galaxy. Some even have the males lay eggs.

Really? I've never seen another species like mine. Maybe we're distant cousins.

[Why not? There are Humans in every corner of the multiverse.

Actually, she rather likes the idea that there could be more Alastrians out there. Especially in Maul's world, where no one seems to mind people who are different.]

You'll have to tell me more about them, someday.

I would like that.

[Maul rarely talks about his galaxy much mainly because he gets a little homesick when does. But it's nice to do so now and again.]

There are a number of them that are humanoid in appearance but you would never mistake them for one just as you wouldn't with us Zabraks.

[Ones like Twi'leks and Togrutas, distinctly humanoid in shape but that was where the similarities ended.]

Then there are those which look completely unlike any beings you have ever seen before in your life.

[He thought of the kind of beings like Hutts that were essentially giant sentient slugs.]

I don't doubt it.

[She smiles wistfully.]

I was raised by humanoids. They mostly keep to themselves.

I didn't really interact with anyone other than fellow Zabraks and my master until I started going to school. It was a terrible time.

[Maul had been just too feral, socially awkward, and just plain weird for most of his fellow students to really want to get to know him.]

And I didn't interact with anyone other than Alastrians until I started missionary school in Valeria.

[She laughs softly.]

We have so much in common, Maul.

[He also chuckles, just for a brief moment.]

Who would have thought?

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cw: references to infertility

CW: mpreg

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