Heartwarming / Alien Chronicles

• Ampris and Elrabin's friendship has its rough patches, especially as Ampris' idealism clashes with Elrabin's cynicism. But it's clear that the two care deeply about one another, and that their respective worldviews serve as effective counterpoints. Ampris learns to temper her idealism with caution, Elrabin comes to believe in causes bigger than himself, and the two go on to lead a rebellion that cripples the Viis empire and allows for a free abiru society to grow on Ruu-113.
  • The first time they meet is at the lowest point of their young lives, ending up at the slave market after Ampris is cast from the palace and Elrabin is betrayed by his gang. Though it also marks the first time their respective idealism and cynicism clash, much of it does consist of Elrabin trying to help Ampris understand the gravity of her situation and accept that help isn't coming. The fact that he even approaches her indicates he saw just how alone and afraid she was, and decided to reach out to her.
  • Their second meeting at the gladiator school Ampris is sold to comes as a massive surprise to them both, albeit a pleasant one. They'd both expected Elrabin to end up as gladiator bait, but he apparently managed to convince his masters he'd be more valuable as a servant instead. Ampris is very happy to see him alive, immediately inviting him to sit down and dine with her even though he's been assigned to be her servant.
  • After Ampris' gladiator career is ended by a crippling injury and she's sold off, Elrabin gets a moment where he's furious with her for letting her guard down during her final match. But he immediately comes to realize just how much she means to him, ultimately leading to his decision to escape his fairly cushy job and risk his life to save her. It's no small move coming from a character who has been largely defined by his cynicism and at times outright selfishness until his experiences with Ampris. And while nothing ultimately comes of it, his realization brings with it one of the biggest Ship Teases in the series.
  Elrabin’s vision suddenly blurred, and he pressed his hands to his eyes. He could hear himself keening silently. Again and again, images of Ampris flashed through his mind. Her grace and athleticism as she bounded and attacked in the arena. Her well-modulated voice stumbling over some archaic Kelth phrase as she strove to teach herself the language of his ancestors. The radiant flash of her smile. The sweep of her long lashes over the keen intelligence in her dark brown eyes. The innate kindness as she stopped what she was doing to speak a word of encouragement to Okal after he was punished for using his own remedies on her hurts.
  Lowering his hands from his face, Elrabin tilted his head back and shuddered. She was the best friend he’d ever had, the only true friend he’d had. Always before, he’d linked up with folks that betrayed him, but not Ampris. Her heart was true. She didn’t lie. She didn’t betray. A promise was a bond to her. So what if she was crazy with idealism? She didn’t deserve to be thrown away like this, abandoned, with no one to help her.
• Bish the archivist immediately recognizes that Ampris is special. Under his gentle guidance, she takes the first tentative steps in appreciating the Aaroun's near-lost culture and realizing that the Viis are far more tyrannical than she was raised to believe. Bish is steadfast in his hope that Ampris - due to her unprecedented position as an abiru with close access to the imperial family - will one day help lead the abiru to freedom. He doesn't live to see it, and it happens a lot differently than he envisioned, but his faith in her proves well-placed.
• With We ARE Struggling Together abound, the moments when the abiru do show solidarity - especially towards Ampris and Elrabin in their times of need - are all the more precious.
  • Tiff is a brothel owner with extensive underworld ties, including to Elrabin's deadbeat addict father Cuvein. Even so, Tiff cares deeply about Elrabin's wellbeing, arguably more than Cuvein. More than once he tries to be the voice of reason when Elrabin and Cuvein clash, and even tries to vouch for Elrabin when the patrollers arrest him. All the more impressive considering that Tiff is an Aaroun, not a Kelth like Cuvein and Elrabin.
  • After Ampris is sold to an upper-class household as a domestic servant, most of the servants treat her with disdain due to her inexperience. The Aaroun laborers Fain and Gur are the exceptions, quickly becoming friends with her. Despite having had his tongue cut off years before, Gur proves especially kindly and affectionate towards her. Given how emotionally challenging a time it is for Ampris, she deeply appreciates it.
  • After a grueling gladiator match lands her in hospital, Ampris meets an Aaroun nurse named Fula who won enough money betting on her to afford food and winter clothing for her cubs and for her mate to avoid working a dangerous shift to make ends meet. Not only that, but her elderly mother is still alive, and Fula works with her to make recordings of traditional Aaroun songs and stories for Ampris to learn.
• Rarer still are the moments when Viis display any sort of kindness.
  • When Lady Zureal meets Ampris, she treats the young Aaroun with genuine politeness and compliments. And despite having given Israi what appears to be an insultingly infantile gift, it turns out Zureal made an honest mistake in assuming Israi was younger, and immediately seeks to rectify it with a more appropriate gift. A shame it doesn't dissuade Israi from her fateful revenge prank, along with its disastrous outcome for all.
  • Sahmrahd Kaa also has some fleeting moments of treating Ampris as an equal to Israi, such as when he lets her participate in lessons intended for Israi. Even so, any illusion that he thinks Ampris as anything resembling a surrogate daughter is immediately dispelled when he ruins her life to punish Israi.
  • After Israi is badly injured in a hiking accident she and Ampris went on unsupervised, Sahmrahd Kaa and Chancellor Gaveid sternly interrogate Ampris to determine what happened and whether she was at fault. They accept it was an accident when Israi wakes and vouches for Ampris, who is deeply upset after almost losing her best friend. Gaveid recognizes this, and offers Ampris some words of encouragement in private. He even asks her to try and reign in Israi's impulsiveness, seeing that the Sri-kaa is more likely to listen to her than her own father.
  • Israi, despite easily being the main antagonist of the trilogy, is shown to have a great deal of fondness for her Kelth nursemaid Subi even as an adult. Furthermore, Israi does truly care about Ampris while their friendship lasts. When Ampris is cast from the palace, Israi even manages to arrange for her to be sent to an upper-class household to work, sparing her from being sold into far worse fates. Although Israi considers their friendship over by that point after discovering Ampris had accessed forbidden information from the palace archives, she still gives Ampris a parting gift - the Eye of Clarity. Israi considers it no more than an old piece of Aaroun jewelry, but unbeknownst to her its powers prove vital in Ampris' future struggles.
• There's a moment in the third book where Ampris comforts Tantha, another Aaroun in her band of free abiru, who has just given birth to a litter of cubs. Though it is marred by one of the cubs being stillborn, Ampris still gives the cub a proper burial and traditional funeral prayer. She proceeds to offer Tantha assurances that she'll be a good mother and that the group will help her raise her cubs, before giving her some pointers on how to look after them. Ampris even dubs Tantha chenith-fahn - the Aaroun term for 'new mother'.
• Although her days building the Freedom Network come to an abrupt halt along with her gladiator career, when Ampris returns to Vir - and the Myal archivists at the palace put her in touch with local underworld leaders - it's made clear that Ampris' work wasn't in vain. While distrust and cynicism run deep, her campaign to promote resistance and freedom gives her enough credibility to quickly recruit new allies. Within a few chapters, the Freedom Network is back and operating with more impact than ever.
  • Even more impressive is Ampris' success in building bridges with the Viis Rejects. Riddled with genetic defects lingering from the Dancing Death plague, the Rejects are an underclass of Viis society treated little better than the abiru. Ampris manages to help bring them onboard her movement against their shared foe, with the Rejects going on to play a crucial role in her plans. Ampris is actually upset to hear that the Rejects chose not to join her exodus, but still hopes they will succeed in their intentions of taking over Viismyel and building a new Viis society.
  • Almost as difficult a task is Ampris getting the Zrheli onboard. Despite them being an abiru species, they're one of the more insular ones. Though the Zrheli initially distrust her due to her killing of Zrheli during her gladiator career, she eventually manages to secure their support as well. The Zrheli agree to open the long-sealed gate to their Promised Land of Ruu-113, in exchange for the rest of the abiru taking some Zrheli with them and agreeing to preserve sacred sites on the planet. Ampris even has a moment coordinating with a Zrheli who stays behind to ensure that the Viis cannot close the gate prematurely, where she promises - mother to mother - to look after the Zrheli's son.
• Late in the third book, when the Freedom Network is recovering from a devastating blow from the Viis, there's note of Nashmarl standing off to the side talking to one of the Kelth members of the Network. Considering that he and his brother have known almost nothing but disgust or outright hatred due to their hybrid nature, even among Ampris' band of free abiru, there's an implication that he's managed to find some modicum of acceptance among the abiru rebels.

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