“So what do you think your punishment should be, Red?” Nyx asked condescendingly.
Red avoided eye contact, staring at the floor disconnectedly. She didn’t really want to be here right now, thoughts of Mart were still roiling in her head. She knew he wouldn’t be alright without her, but she didn’t know what else to tell them. Most of what had happened had already been explained, and the ships had decided not to let Allonsi venture out on her own until she got a little older.
So that was that. Her adventure seemed over before it began. She spent her time near a volcano with Vulcans – generally bored. Not that it was their fault. The Vulcans were great, but she wasn’t really interested in socializing, not when her mind was set on the stars. She wanted to get away as soon as she could. She’d spend her time near the Volcano’s vent. She enjoyed its heat. There had been no recorded eruptions, but she could see the magma flow down below. Being half Vulcan, she could get very close to it without burning herself. She had even run her claws through it once – just to see if she could. It explained the Vulcan immunity to most flamestrikes, something she should really learn. It was one of the most basic Vorchan attacks. It involved taking a deep breath, doing something else (which she hadn’t figured out yet), and then spitting out a ball of fire that remained coherent for quite some distance, exploding – preferably – on the target. It wasn’t to be confused with flamebreath, which was just a steady stream of fire exuded orally… or nasally. Red wasn’t quite sure what part of her snout was used, and nobody could explain it to her. It was something you were supposed to just ‘figure out’.
Occasionally she’d spend hours spitting at the volcano, hoping one of her spits would somehow transform into flame, but they never did, and all it did was serve to dehydrate her, and the trip to the nearest lake was long and uneventful.
She did have one semi-consistent companion, though. He somehow knew when she left to take drinks, and always ended up on her flank during her flight. He didn’t say much, the occasional question about Allonsi. His interests were never that apparent, whether they were aimed at her or her ship.
“I think I understand you.” he said.
“Do you?”
“You’re a Blackwing, on a planet with very few other Blackwings. Blackwings are space travelers. They need the stars.”
“Maybe.” she definitely agreed with that need.
“And what do you need, Lentil?” Red asked.
“Water!” he said quickly, taking a big lap of it and gulping it down quickly. “And fish!” he jumped into the lake, eyes fixed on something below the surface.
Red laughed, “There’s barely any fish in that lake.”
“Plenty of fish.”
“Hunting’s better near the coast of this lake, if you ask me, lots of leocats and the occasional gnarbeast.”
“I couldn’t catch a leocat, or fight a gnarbeast.” Lentil said.
“But you could catch a fish?” Red asked.
“The fish aren’t used to being hunted here.” he said, paws pinning something on the floor of the lake. He submerged his head, reappearing with a fish in his mouth. It was two feet long, not very satiating for a Vorchan.
Lentil proffered it to her. Red yawned at the sight of the tiny meal, looking away, unimpressed. By the time she had looked back, he had already swallowed the fish whole, gagging slightly as it writhed about in his throat.
Cough, “They’re good.” Hack.
Red shook her head, taking a few more sips of water before flying up to a vantage point on a small mound by the lake. Lentil landed next to her. “So now you wait?”
“Yep.” Red said. This was the part where Lentil would get bored and leave.
“How long do you wait?” Lentil asked.
“A few hours, usually. They’ll come.” Red said, scanning the coast.
Lentil lied down, watching the dimming sun. “But it’ll be dark soon.”
“I know. And I’m black, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“I noticed!” Lentil snapped.
Red grinned, continuing her scan.
“I should head back…” Lentil said uneasily.
“Are you afraid of the dark?” Red asked.
“There may still be Ethologes about.”
“They’re dead. Father took care of them.” Red said assuredly.
“You don’t know that, and some still look like us, others are black, and scary-looking.”
“Scary-looking?” Red queried.
“Several fangs, and tentacle-like blades, and limbs everywhere. Dozens of eyes.” Lentil flared his wings for effect, trying to look imposing.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve spent night after night here and not been attacked. I’ve even slept here before.”
“You did. That’s why you didn’t return the other night? I thought…”
“What did you think, Lentil?” Red asked, amused.
“That you were bored of us. I didn’t think you’d return.”
“I am bored of you all, but where would I go? Allonsi is still grounded…”
“I heard they’re working on getting you into an academy!” Lentil exclaimed.
“I won’t agree to it, don’t worry.”
“Why would I worry!”
“I don’t know, you sounded worried. Maybe I should be asking you!”
“Right. I’m off.” Lentil replied, flustered.
“Stay, for the sunset, at least.” Red said, trying not to sound pleading.
“And go back in the dark, alone?”
“If I don’t find a meal by sunset – I’ll go back with you. How’s that sound?”
“That sounds fine.” he rolled on the ‘fine’.
“Alright, now stop distracting me so I can scan.” Red growled.
“Right, sorry.” Lentil helped scan the coast, eyes wide open.
An hour passed, the sun was just on the horizon now, giving the sky a sombre vermillion hue.
“If you don’t find anything,” Lentil whispered, “What’ll you eat?”
“I’m not that hungry anyways.”
“But you didn’t eat anything all day.”
“You sound like my mother, stop talking.”
But it was true. She hadn’t been eating right. She blamed the depression she must be in, being cut off from the stars.
“Fine.” Lentil flared his wings and jumped off the edge of the plateau.
Red could hear his wings flapping, but couldn’t track him in the dark. “Lentil! Come back!” she yelled. Great, now she’d never find food. Any creature that was thinking of going by the coast would now see a large Vorchan flying about causing a ruckus.
“Idiot…” she muttered, going back to her scan.
Another hour passed, Lentil still hadn’t returned, and the sun had set. He must have left without her. How rude of him. She’d be sure to harass him about it when she went back to the volcano.
Something hit her in the back, and started moving. It was slimy and made her yelp in surprise. A fish, a large fish. At least five feet long.
“There you go.” Lentil said.
“But I don’t like fish.”
“What?” Lentil sounded crushed.
Red bit into it anyways, to stop its writhing at least. It wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be.
“How is it?” Lentil asked hopefully.
“Fine…” Red growled.
“You should have told me you don’t like fish!”
“I did!” she hissed.
But she ate the whole fish anyways.
“Sorry.” Lentil muttered dejectedly.
“You should be. Scaring off all the prey with your flying…” she made her way back to the volcano, more annoyed than she should be. She blamed it on the taste of that horrible fish. She could almost taste Lentil’s fangs from where they’d bitten into it to carry it.
“I really am sorry, you know.” Lentil said, pressing the point.
Red set up near the upper tier of the Volcano, where there were no other Vulcans. It was susceptible to draft, and Vulcans hated the cold. Luckily, being mostly Blackwing, Red had legendarily good heat conservation abilities.
“I guess I’ll see you another time?” Lentil asked, staring at her.
“I guess so.” Red yawned, pressing her back against the wall of the volcano to satiate an itch.
“Do you get cold?” Lentil asked.
“No.”
Lentil fired a tiny swathe of flame around her, heating up the area.
“Your breath reeks of fish.” Red growled, pressing her face up against the wall.
“Right, I’m out.” Lentil said, trotting off.
–
Red almost felt his presence without having to look behind her. It may have been because of Allonsi’s panic-ridden state.
“What is it, dad…” Red growled.
“You got accepted into the Academy on Lola IX. It’s run by Zemorians. You could get good training there.” Fawkes said.
“I don’t want to go to an academy.”
“You’re all going to academies. You aren’t getting your ships without schooling anymore. It’s far too dangerous. You need to learn to defend yourself, be that through combat or evasion.”
“I defended myself just fine. You were all over-reacting.”
“You were at the mercy of pirates, Red.” Fawkes growled.
“I’m not going!”
“This isn’t a debate, you are going!”
Red shook her head, getting up to ready herself for take-off. Fawkes put a paw on her tail. “Don’t you fly away from me!”
“I’ll do – what – I – WANT!” Red roared, ripping her tail free and disappearing through the Volcano’s vent.
–
That went well. Your parenting skills never cease to amaze me. Flames commented.
Shut up Flames!! Fawkes blared.
–
Her tail hurt, a lot. Fawkes talons had nicked it as she pulled it free, and now there was a long gash on its right side that she finally landed to tend to, whimpering.
Someone landed next to her.
She roared instinctively. It was Lentil. “Fly off, Lentil!”
Lentil cowered, but stayed where he was. “I heard the commotion.”
“You hear everything. Stop stalking me.”
“Is that what you see this as?” Lentil asked.
“Yes. Go away.”
“Fine… but if I leave now I won’t come back.”
“Good.”
“You won’t see me again—“
“Go already!”
“Going…” Lentil flared his wings and was about to take off when –
“Wait!” Red exclaimed.
“What?”
“My tail, how bad is it?” Red asked. “It’s hard for me to see.”
Lentil scanned her tail, unsure of what to say. “It’s… bleeding?”
“Make it stop bleeding.” she hissed.
“I’m not – you want me to –“
“Yes! It hurts!” Red cried.
It was the first thing Vorchans learned: That their saliva could seal wounds.
“Why don’t you—“
“I can’t bite my own tail! Do it!!” she roared.
“Fine!” Lentil clamped down on her wound and she cried out, instinctively slashing at him. He let go, jumping back.
“Dammit Red!” Lentil hissed, “Your claws are sharp!”
“Do it again!” Red demanded.
“You’ll attack me!”
“I won’t!”
“No!”
“BITE MY TAIL!”
She turned around and nearly slapped him in the face with it. He bit and she closed her eyes, waiting for the saliva to do its magic.
Minutes passed.
Ten minutes passed.
“There.” Lentil said. “I don’t think it’s bleeding anymore.”
“Good. You can leave now.”
“You… I don’t know why I bother…” Lentil sighed, flying off.
Red caught up to him. “We need to hide.”
“You need to hide.” Lentil said.
“And you always follow me! Therefore—“
“FollowED. You’re crazy. I’m going home.” Lentil declared, banking towards the volcano.
“Oh no you aren’t!” Red hissed, gaining speed. She wasn’t quite as old as him, but Blackwings were notably stronger. She beat herself a few dozen feet higher than him and dove…
… knocking both of them out of the sky. They crash-landed on the ground.
“Like I said!” Lentil roared. “CRAZY.”
“Stay with me!” Red demanded.
“I am getting nothing out of this relationship – except ridicule.”
“This isn’t a relationship.” Red growled. “I need you in case my tail bleeds again. I don’t want it to infect. It’s already bleeding. Your saliva is of low quality, Lentil.”
“Now you’re ridiculing my saliva…” Lentil sighed.
“Well learn to give aid properly.”
“Fine, learn not to attack people trying to help you!”
“Aid – now – give.” Red ordered.
Lentil clamped down on her tail again, deflecting her swipe with his paw.
“Sorry – it hurts you know…” Red said.
They waited what seemed like an eternity this time.
“Okay. Now it’s definitely not bleeding, and I’ve probably run out of spit. I need water…”
“Later. We need to get away before Fawkes finds us.”
“If he wanted to find you, he’d just use your neural interface – wouldn’t he?” Lentil asked.
Red laughed, “Neural tracking is the first thing we learn to hide from!”
“Right. Well there is this cave I used to visit.”
“Really?” Red asked, excited.
“It’s cold, though. I don’t like it very much. But it has a small stream inside with a steady supply of fish, and there’s several floors.”
“It sounds like my home.” Red reminisced.
“It’s far away though, near those mountains.” Lentil beckoned at a cluster of mountains that must have been fifty miles away.
“You went all the way there?”
“It only takes a few hours at a steady speed…”
“What would be worth a few hours of travel?” Red asked.
“Privacy!” Lentil exclaimed.
“Oh… I see!” Red said, understanding now. “But that didn’t work out too well, did it?”
“That doesn’t matter. Nobody knows of its location.” Lentil said.
“Let’s go then!” Red said.
–
The cave was brighter than she’d expected, the water seeming to give the lower tiers a blue glow. Lentil was heating up a few rocks by the water, shivering in the process. “Gotta turn this heat up.” He muttered.
“It’s nice. I like this place.” Red said.
“I’m glad. My place is your place!” Lentil exclaimed.
“Now I can plot. It’s clear I’m not safe here anymore. I’ll have to get Allonsi to get me out. She’s working on a shuttle, you know.”
“Cool.” Lentil said, listening intently.
“But she’s been working on it for months. For a Puritan she isn’t very good at producing things…”
“I see. Does she talk to you on the interface?”
“Not often. We don’t talk much. There isn’t much to talk about…”
“That’s because you’re so inaccessible. You need to open up about your life more!” Lentil suggested.
“Allonsi knows absolutely everything there is to know about me. Hence – nothing to talk about. Not until we go exploring again, that is!”
“I’ve been following you around forever and I still don’t even know how you ended up back here. What happened?”
Red looked Lentil over and sighed. There was nothing else to do anyways. So she started explaining the story of Mart and the pirates. Lentil was amazed by the story, as she’d thought he would be. Lentil was a space junky. “You should have been born a Blackwing, Lentil.” she said.
“Why is that?”
“You love the stars. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Yes. That’s what I love.” Lentil said suggestively.
“And me, I know. That much is obvious.” Red snapped, shooting down his suggestion.
Lentil looked away, clearly flustered by the statement.
“You’re the only Blackwing. I just worry…” he finally said.
“I don’t need people to worry about me. I can take care of myself. I want to get back up there. Where I belong.” she explained.
Lentil didn’t say anything, his gaze wandering to the stream.
“I learn so much when I go out there! About people – about good and evil. It’s not as obvious as you think it is, you know. People just need to make a living. Mart gave everything to save me… I owe it to him to help him.”
“You don’t owe him anything, Red. He got you into the situation. He was abusing your…”
“My goodwill, my naiveness?” Red asked.
Lentil nodded. “And it made you bitter, didn’t it?”
“Don’t analyze me!” she snapped.
“See?” Lentil said. “I wish I’d have known you before you were embittered.”
“I was a lot shallower then… as a Vorchan.” she replied.
“Right. Well it’s cold here, and I can’t keep that heat up forever. I’m going to head back.” Lentil said.
“Wait, how did you keep the heat up before, then?” Red asked curiously.
“You know how I kept the heat up!” Lentil scowled.
“Right… well I’ll see you, then. Thanks for the help, Lentil.”
“You sure you’ll be alright here, alone?” Lentil asked.
“Check up on me every once in a while. Allonsi and I are going to conspire. And I guess I can learn to like fish… there are other prey near here, right?”
“Yes, if you go south you’ll run across some mountain beasts. They’re big and slow and dumb.”
“Like you – sorry didn’t mean that, really!” Red laughed.
“Right – I’m off!” Lentil said, making for the exit.
“I didn’t mean it, really!” Red repeated, still laughing.
And then he was gone.
She really should be more friendly. But Lentil really was annoying… and pretty dumb. And he didn’t seem to have any interesting stories to tell. Then again she never asked. She made a mental note to ask Lentil about his life the next time he returned. Until then, she helped Allonsi develop their shuttle. It was around eighty percent complete, all they were working on now was the lens to sustain it in an orbit. It seemed like a dead-end strategy, since Allonsi didn’t understand the gravimetrics needed to create such a lens, and none of the shuttle templates in her database made any real sense to her. They decided to use thrusters instead, but that would take fuel – which could be extracted from Allonsi’s production center, but would take a while to produce. A few more weeks, that’s all she had to hide here for, and then she could break free and escape! Never to return again!
Maybe the academy is a good idea. They could at least teach me how to read these templates properly. And give us some proper training.
That’s years of our life, though! Red argued.
We live for hundreds, Red.
And what about Mart? We have to help him.
I’m with Lentil on that: We don’t. He could have killed us.
You of all things should understand my feelings! Red growled.
I do. You’re infatuated with a Raumen pirate! Allonsi said bluntly. While I still don’t understand the specifics of the emotion, the motivation is clear, if not completely irrational.
I simply owe him. That’s all.
You don’t.
I do.
No.
I’m not talking to you anymore. Where’s Lentil?
Outside.
Really? Red looked through Allonsi’s ocular strips, seeing the Vulcan working away feverishly on something. He never left?
Doesn’t seem like it.
He’ll get cold! Vulcans can’t stand the cold!
Red rushed out, seeing Lentil staring proudly at a mound of wood.
“What are you doing, Lentil?” Red asked.
“I brought wood!” he exclaimed, sweaty and dirty and smelly.
“Why?”
“For heat!”
“I don’t need heat. I’m fine.”
“I’m not.”
“So you’re staying?” Red asked.
Lentil didn’t respond for a few moments, seeming to try and analyze her tone. She left it ambiguous for that reason.
“If that’s alright with you…” he said.
“It’s your cave.” she said resignedly, staring at the wood. “Do you need help?”
“I’m fine!”
“Sure, I’ll help you carry it inside. Where do you want it set up?”
The operation took a few hours, but soon they had a large pile of wood a fair distance away from the small lake in the middle of the cave. Lentil segmented a portion for burning, and surrounded the designated firewood with small rocks and pebbles from the lake. He then lit it, basking in the heat.
Red leaned in close, not feeling anything from the flames. Lentil pushed her away, “You’ll smother the flames.”
“I will? You seem to know a lot about firewood. Is this how you kept the heat up in your cave?” Red asked.
“Yep.”
“Oh, I thought you’d been meaning something else with your… tone.”
“Ha! I don’t have much luck with love. As should be apparent to you by now!”
“That’s because you smell! And don’t look out for your hygiene, and say stupid things at times!”
“Thanks.” Lentil said, not making eye contact. “I’m going to sleep now.”
–
“And you snore!” Red said early morning, when Lentil finally woke up. “And did I mention you smell?”
“What do I smell like?” Lentil asked.
“Like you – mixed with fish. I hate the smell of fish!” Red scowled. “I’m going hunting. Do you wanna come or are you going to eat more of those wretched scaly things?”
–
Days passed, and Lentil seemed to be working on his hygiene – or hunting for fish – a lot more than usual, spending a lot of his time in the small shallow lake. He really liked water.
“Maybe you were meant to be a fish.” Red observed.
“Fish are just like us.” Lentil said, swiping at one and turning the small lake red.
“How?” Red asked, realizing he was more interested in eating the disgusting fish than explain his bizarre statement.
“Well.” Lentil swallowed, “We both fly. Except fish fly through the water.”
“They swim.”
“Yes, and we both have scales. And we both lay eggs!”
“So they must be like us, then?”
Lentil nodded. “They also taste like us. Your tail tastes like fish.”
Red glared at him, coiling her tail self-consciously.
–
Two more days passed. Red wasn’t sure what to think of Lentil anymore. He seemed very at home in this cave and was giving her a lot of space. It was almost like watching over her was an obligation of his.
“The shuttle’s done. Allonsi is testing it now.”
“That’s good to hear.” Lentil said.
“Just so we’re clear. You’ve been following me because you want to be my mate, right – not because Darnell or Fawkes asked you, right?”
“Right. Your mate. I don’t know why – it seems a near-masochistic state of being.” Lentil said.
“Ok, good. Well your efforts were valiant!” Red said.
“Thanks…” Lentil said disappointedly.
Red didn’t want to say anything yet, but she was really entertaining the idea of taking Lentil with her. He would be good company, and might get her mind off Mart…
There was a loud roar as the shuttle came in for landing. It was making the entire cave shudder violently.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Lentil said, seeing rocks start to fall from the ceiling.
They rushed for the exit, only to be overcome by horror at the realization that the exit had caved in.
“Don’t panic. We can get out through the lake.” Lentil said.
“We have to swim??” Red asked.
Lentil nodded.
“Underwater??”
Nod.
“I don’t approve.” Red growled.
“Well then you can stay here forever. I’m going swimming.” Lentil leapt off the floor they were on and glided down to the lake.
A rock, it was barely noticeable, and tiny. It was falling from the ceiling, and struck him. The entire scene lasted no more than a second, but to Red’s senses it seemed to just float there for an eternity, inches from his head.
Crack. The rock and Lentil came crashing into the lake. More of the ceiling was succumbing to gravity now, compromised by the shuttle.
Red dove down after him, getting hammered by smaller rocks as they fell from the ceiling and chipped away at her hide. She didn’t have the strength to lift Lentil. She would be buried alive if she stayed.
Survival instinct kicked in, and she beat herself up to a higher ledge, watching in horror as the roof caved in on Lentil.
“Help!!” she cried out on the neural band.
–
Lentil was dead. The rocks had crushed him. The parents reprimanded her, wanting justice, claiming it was her fault. Fawkes defended Red viciously, not letting them act on what they’d considered to be a ‘fair trade.’
She didn’t know what to do anymore. A Vorchan had died because of her. One that loved her, no less.
She didn’t cry for days, hiding from everyone. But then the gravity of all that had happened crushed her, and made her agree to all of Fawkes’ demands. She would go to the academy on Lola IX, and learn not to be reckless and destructive.