The farther away she went, the more like herself she felt. But she was worried about her mother. Thank God they had drugs to soften the edges of that crucible.
Tohr couldn't possibly have serviced her. No way.
Emerging from the tunnel into the office, she strode out into the training center's long corridor. There was nothing peculiar in the air, and that was a relief. The fertility period was violent, but the good news was, when it was over, it got out of Dodge fairly quickly - although the female generally required a day or so to recover fully.
Putting her head into the main examination room, she found no one. Same with the two recovery rooms. But her mother was here - she could sense her.
"Autumn?" she called out with a frown. "Hello? Where are you?"
The reply came from somewhere much farther down, where the lectures used to be given to the trainees.
Striding toward the sound, she pushed her way into the primary classroom and found her mother seated at one of the tables that faced the blackboard. The lights were on overhead, and there was no one else in there with her.
Not good. Wherever the female was in her mind. . . was a not-good situation.
"Mahmen?" Xhex said as she let the door ease shut behind her. "How're you doing?"
Time to tread carefully. Her mother was as motionless as a statue, and just as put together, everything all arranged from her tightly braided hair to her carefully matched clothes.
That totally-put-together was false, however, nothing but external trappings of composure that just made her appear even more brittle.
"I'm not well. " Autumn shook her head. "Not well. Not well at all. "
Xhex walked over to the instructor desk and put down her weapons and her jacket. "At least you're honest. "
"Can't you tell what is on my mind?"
"Your grid's shut down. So you're hard to read. "
Autumn nodded. "Shut down. . . yes, that would cover it. " Long pause, after which her mother looked around. "Do you know why I came in here? I thought the residue of the teaching would rub off on me. Not working, I'm afraid. "
Xhex eased her ass down on the desktop. "Did Doc Jane check you out?"
"Yes. I am fine. And before you ask, no, I wasn't serviced. I did not want to be. "
Xhex exhaled in relief. Aside from her mother's mental health, the physical risks of pregnancy and birth were not anything they needed to face right now - although maybe that was selfish.
Come on, though, she'd just found the female; she didn't want to lose her so soon.
As Autumn's eyes shifted over, there was a frankness in them that was new. "I need a place to stay. Away from here. I have no money, no job, and no prospects, but - "
"You can move in with me. For however long you want. "
"Thank you. " Those eyes moved away and lingered on the blackboard. "I shall endeavor to be a good guest. "
"You're my mother. You're not a guest. Listen, what's happened?"
The other female stood up. "May we go now?"
Man, that grid was totally closed off. Battened down. Draped in self-protection. As if she'd been attacked, somehow.
Now was clearly not the time to push.
"Ah, yeah. Sure. We can go. " Xhex shoved herself off the desk. "Do you want to check in with Tohr before you leave?"
"No. "
Xhex waited for some kind of explanation after that, but none came. Which told her plenty.