This was supposed to be out for Halloween, but it came out three times as long as originally planned. Oh well, more content for you guys!
Summary: During their travels, Sylvia bumps into two other star nomads who just might be Wander's parents. When she realizes the truth, she has to make a choice. Unfortunately for all the nomads involved, Sylvia is just not ready to let Wander go.
"Alright, Wander, calm down." Sylvia winced as her best friend and traveling partner scurried around her back to take in all the sights.
"Ooh, I can't help it, Syl. I'm so excited!" Wander squealed as he saw yet another elaborately costumed person walk past them.
At Wander's request, the two had made their way to the planet Hall-Eve for its month long fall celebration.
While the planet itself was not particularly large, it's festival was known across galaxies as the residents spend the period dressing in full costumes, consuming large amounts of sweets, and engaging in folk dances and activities through the nights for the entire month.
Wander had heard of it from so many people during his travels, but never had the opportunity to experience it for himself until now when he noticed they were nearby and the timing happened to coincide with the festival.
Laughing at the look of complete awe on the nomad's face, Sylvia reached over and took Wander off her back, setting him down on the ground. "Why don't you have a look around while I get our sleeping situation figured out?"
With a quick hug to the zbornak, Wander took off in a cloud of dust to explore the village and see what costumes he could recognize.
Sylvia found a hotel not too far from the town center for them to crash in. While they generally opted to sleep under the stars, she knew it wasn't a good strategy for this long-term stay. With most of the festivities occurring both outside and at night, she knew neither of them would be able to get any sleep. Besides, it was a chilly month. Having a stable roof wouldn't be a bad idea.
Returning back to the town, she walked leisurely, taking in the scent of spice and pumpkins that permeated the air as she admired the decorations strung across the lamp posts.
Finally catching sight of the furry orange creature, she was completely surprised to see him standing and chatting happily with two other star nomads.
Star nomads were a pretty rare sight considering they constantly travelled, rarely if ever settling down on one single planet, yet here she was looking at a duo of them. It probably wasn't that surprising they were here, now that she thought about it. People did travel from all over for the festival, it was probably the reason they were here as well.
Catching sight of her, Wander waved excitedly to his friend. "Sylvia! Sylvia! Come here!"
"Hey, there." She greeted the two other nomads as she approached the group.
"Hello. You must be Sylvia." The male greeted. He was a middle-aged looking nomad with light brown fur and wrinkles in the corners of his eyes, evidence he has spent more than just a few nights in his life awake. "I'm Kepler, and this is my wife, Andromeda." He motioned to the female nomad beside him.
"Pleased to meet you." Andromeda's fur shared the same color as Wander's. She too appeared to be around the same age as her husband, but the years and treated her better. Her long hair, which she wore in a braid down her back, was still as bright and vivid as the rest of her fur. "Wander here was just telling us about you."
"Nothing embarrassing, I hope." As much as she loved her little buddy, Sylvia hated it when he began spouting private details about her.
"Oh, no. Not at all." Andromeda took Wander's hand and stroked it gently. "He was just telling us about how excited he was to be here with you."
Sylvia found it strange the woman had engaged in such an affectionate action with Wander. He was a complete stranger to her. Perhaps it was a part of the star nomad culture? She didn't know much about it, but unfortunately, neither did Wander. Having found him at such a young age, Sylvia had practically raised him. He had no memory of his parents, his planet, or his people. Since Wander wasn't bothered by the action, she decided to simply brush it off.
"We just got here, there's still so much to see!" Wander gushed.
"By all means, don't let us keep you waiting." Kepler bowed his head. "Andromeda and I have to get going anyways, but we'll be here. I'm sure we'll bump into each other again."
"It was wonderful meeting you!" Andromeda smiled to both of them before heading off with her husband.
"They seem nice." Sylvia casually remarked.
"You know, Sylvia, I've never seen anyone else like me."
"I can't really say there's anyone else quite like you, Wander." She teased as she ruffled his hair.
"You know what I mean!" Wander laughed as he readjusted his hat.
"Now are we going to stuff our faces with pumpkin pie, or are we just going to stand here all day?"
Wander grabbed her hand and took off.
The duo had stayed up all night partying with the locals and extraterrestrial visitors, or rather, Sylvia had stayed up all night partying and singing karaoke. Wander had done his best to as well, but had tired out at two in the morning, falling asleep in Sylvia's lap when the two had sat down for a moment to rest. The zbornak simply carried the nomad back to their hotel and tucked him in for the night before returning to the dance floor for another round of songs.
When morning rolled around, Sylvia found herself alone in the hotel room. She wasn't too surprised, as Wander had always been an early riser. He was probably out getting food or chatting it up with the people in the town.
Giving a loud yawn, she uncurled herself and sat up, smoothing out her cone with her hand. After freshening up, she headed out back into town in search of her friend.
She was rather surprised when it took longer than a few minutes to find him. Usually, all she had to do was follow the sound of incessant chattering or banjo strumming, but she heard neither of the two.
After a near half-hour of searching, she finally caught the sound of his voice. She was surprised to find herself in the residential area, away from the town where all the festivities were taking place.
Reaching the house where she could very clearly hear his voice, she peered into the open door to see Wander happily chowing down on a plate full of scrambled eggs with the two nomads they had met the day before.
"Wander." She spoke up from the doorway, catching the attention of all three nomads.
"Good morning, Sylvia!" He greeted. "I was just having breakfast with Kepler and Andromeda here!"
"We saw him heading for the café in town for breakfast and invited him to eat with us instead. We hope you don't mind." Kepler stood up, taking his empty plate to the sink.
"Not at all. You guys…live here?" She asked, clearly confused. They were called nomads due to their constant travels. Having a house seemed to completely go against that.
"Yes, we do." Andromeda answered. "It's not very big, but we like it."
"I think it's wonderful!" Wander spoke with a mouthful of eggs. "Warm and cozy."
"Thank you, Wander." Kepler came up behind him and set his hands on the smaller nomad's shoulders.
"Would you like to join us, Sylvia?" Andromeda stood up to get another plate for their new guest.
"No thanks, I'm good." Though she kept a pleasant and calm look on her face, Sylvia was feeling unsettled. She didn't like that these people had led Wander to their home and were being touchy feely with him. She didn't see evidence of other guests in the house; they had only brought Wander over. "I just came for Wander."
Wander took his glass of juice and finished it with one gulp before jumping out of his seat. "Thanks for breakfast!"
"You're welcome." Andromeda smiled warmly at him.
"You come back now anytime, son. You hear?" Kepler added.
"Will do!" Wander waved at them as he followed Sylvia out of the house.
Once they were a good distance away, Sylvia pulled Wander close to her, looking him right in the eyes. "Wander, buddy, remember what I said about going off with strangers?"
"They're not strangers! We met them yesterday!"
"Wander, we don't know anything about them."
"You're being paranoid, Syl. Nothing happened, right?"
She sighed in response. While the optimism and naivety were an endearing part of Wander's charm, she couldn't help but worry he would one day get himself into a mess she couldn't save him from. "I just want you to be more careful, that's all."
While the next few days were nothing but a blast for Wander, Sylvia was completely on edge, all thanks to the other two nomads.
Whether it was in her head or actually happening, she had no idea, but Sylvia could have sworn she was seeing Andromeda and Kepler everywhere they went.
It was like the two were following them around, constantly trying to speak with or see Wander.
For that reason, she had kept a much closer eye on the nomad, sticking with him wherever he went. Though it hurt her to do so, she had all but forbidden him to travel alone, forcing him to stick by her side.
When he strayed a little too far from her, she would take hold of his hand or plop him on her back. If she noticed Andromeda or Kepler getting a little too close, she would simply pick him up and go elsewhere.
While Wander was always one for attention, he was not particularly enjoying Sylvia's new found focus on him, though he would never say it out loud.
He was beginning to feel suffocated as he couldn't make a single move or decision without Sylvia close behind.
Just the other evening, he had been having a blast learning a traditional Hall-Eve bonfire dance with some of the locals in an impromptu lesson, but Sylvia put an end to that.
"In preparation for the bonfire dance ceremony, we will be hosting a quick dance lesson in the town square for anyone interested in taking part." An announcer spoke from his spot atop a box of crates before climbing down.
"That sounds like fun! Can we go?" Wander asked, hoping Sylvia would agree.
"Sure, we can do that."
Wander released a breath he wasn't aware he was holding.
When they got there, Wander had hopped right in line, following along with the instructor as Sylvia sat off to the side, under the shade of a tree in the square.
As the sun began to set and the bonfire was prepped, Sylvia caught sight of the two nomads she wanted to see the least.
Just the other day, she had turned her back to Wander for one moment in a candy shop only to turn back around and see Andromeda and Kepler with him, already having purchased some sweets and handing them over to the young male.
She had immediately ushered Wander out of the store and thrown the candy away with much protest from him once they had returned to the hotel room.
She ran to Wander and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the dance formation. "Hey, Buddy, how about we go carve a pumpkin?" She asked, even though she dragged him to the activity with no intention of accepting a 'no' response.
"Well, Syl, see, I really, really wanted to take part in the dance, so-"
"No, no, we should carve pumpkins. It'll be way more fun."
"We can do it tomorrow." Wander tried digging his feet into the ground to stop Sylvia as he protested, but it was useless. She was much stronger than him; the action had no effect on her march away from the bonfire. "Tonight's the only night they'll do the dance."
"We're carving pumpkins!" Sylvia snapped, silencing Wander.
Though he was upset about missing the dance, Wander still took part in the carving. When he finished, he held up his jack-o-lantern to his friend. "Look, Sylvia!"
She gave him a brief glance before looking away, still on the lookout for the other nomads. "Looks great, Buddy."
Wander frowned at Sylvia's disinterest, setting the pumpkin down. She was the one who insisted they come to this activity, but hadn't even taken part herself. "Hey…Sylvia…the dance is probably still going on right now, since we carved pumpkins like you wanted… can I go and catch the last bit?"
"Sorry, Pal. You're a mess. You're going to need a bath."
While it was true, Wander had pumpkin innards splattered across his hands and arms, it wasn't so bad. "I'll just wash it off, they have some sinks right over-"
"No, you need a full bath. We're going back to the hotel."
Before Wander could protest once more, he was scooped up and carried back.
Even now, during the day, Wander was stuck in the hotel room, bored out of his mind. He looked over to his companion who was taking an afternoon nap on the bed.
Sylvia had reasoned that since all the activities were at night, there was no need for him to be out during the day and had ordered him to stay put.
Wander frowned as he sat on the floor directly in front of the glass door leading to the balcony, watching the crowds of people below. He would love to go down there and make some new friends or explore the planet a little more. Well, Sylvia was sleeping after all…
Maybe, just maybe, he could.
Tip-toeing to the other end of the room, towards the exit, Wander held his breath as he reached for the doorknob.
"Wander, what are you doing?" Sylvia asked without even opening her eyes.
Wander froze, unsure of what he could say that would stop Sylvia from getting angry. Suddenly, his stomach gave off a loud rumble. "I was just hungry. I want some lunch and I didn't know when you'd be waking up, so…" He hoped he sounded convincing, but it killed him a little on the inside. He absolutely hated lying, especially to Sylvia, but he couldn't breathe anymore, he had to get away from her, even if just for a little.
Buying the story, Sylvia gave a loud yawn as she got up. "Why didn't you say so? I'll go get something for us now. You stay here."
Wander was unable to hide his frown. "Can't I go too? Maybe we can walk around for a bit and see-"
"I'll be real quick. You stay here."
"Ms. Zbornak! Ms. Zbornak!"
Sylvia recognized the voice as belong to Andromeda. With an aggravated sigh, she turned around to see her and her husband approaching.
"How are you?" The female nomad tried to open with some small talk.
"What do you want?" Sylvia cut to the chase, not interested in giving these two the idea they were on good terms in any way.
"Well…we wanted to speak with you…about Wander."
Sylvia took a deep breath. "Let's go somewhere private."
"You see, we just wanted to get more details from you about Wander," Kepler spoke a bit nervously and excitedly at the same time, "We think he might be our son."
Sylvia almost spit out her mouthful of tea. "What?!"
Andromeda ventured into the hallway of her house for a moment before returning with a photo album. She opened to one of the beginning pages and showed it to Sylvia.
In the picture was a younger Andromeda with Kepler, holding a child who Sylvia instantly recognized as Wander.
"You see, we used to travel all the time as a family," Kepler began, "Our boy was only two at the time, but we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of a planetary takeover. One of the intergalactic villains showed up out of nowhere and launched an attack. There was confusion, screaming, weapons going off all over as henchmen stormed the place. In the chaos, our son got separated from us, and we were never able to find him."
"We kept traveling," Andromeda continued where her husband stopped, "Hoping to find our boy, but…after so many false leads and heartbreaks…we had to accept the truth. That he was dead." She began tearing up. "But when I saw Wander…on that first day…I…we," She took her husband's hand, "Knew it was him. And when he told us his story, everything fit so perfectly. He told us you found him when he was very young; that you found him in the same solar system we lost him. He looks so much like our boy. We didn't tell him of course, as we had no proof it was him, so we wanted to speak with you first. Is it possible…Wander is our lost son?"
Sylvia stared at the picture of the star nomad family for a long time in complete silence.
The zbornak lay fast asleep in a lunar crater atop the moon of Sarteina, resting after yet another successful bounty hunt.
She was awoken when she heard the sound of rummaging coming from her bag. Her eyes snapped open. Someone was trying to rob her! Her! One of the best bounty hunters and fighters in the galaxy!
As fast as lightning, she threw her bag open, poised to strike, but stopped when she saw who was inside.
It was just a small, furry, orange child with wide scared eyes and a mouthful of her ration bars.
She immediately relaxed, seeing the child was of no threat to her. "Hungry, kid?" She asked as she pulled him out of her bag, his hands still full of her food.
Getting a better look at him, she could see the child was clearly a star nomad. She was momentarily fascinated by that, having read about them but never having seen one in person.
The child's fur was completely matted with dirt and singed in other parts. He looked frightfully skinny, as if he had been on his own for some time now.
The child looked around fearfully before nodding his head 'yes.'
"Well, I am restocking on supplies tomorrow, so I guess you could have those. Where are your parents?" The small nomad was still practically a toddler, he shouldn't be out on a desolate moon on his own.
"Momma? Dadda?"
"Yeah, Momma and Dadda." She tried her best to sound friendly to the kid. "Where are they?"
"Momma? Dadda?" The small nomad repeated to her once more.
Sylvia gave a small huff. "Okay then, what's your name?"
There was a long pause, as if the small child was contemplating the question. "Momma? Dadda?" He returned after a few minutes.
"Okay, you're clearly too young for this, we're getting nowhere. This moon's not very big, so how about we go look for them, they can't be very far." Tucking the kid under her arm as if he were a football, she quickly ran in circles around the planet, searching for any other life-forms. After they had gone around quite a few times, she stopped. "Huh…that's weird, there's no one else here. How did you get here?"
The tot was only giggling in response to the ride she had taken him on, clapping his hands while demanding "More! More!"
Now Sylvia was stuck. She couldn't very well leave the child; he would starve to death on the lifeless moon. At the same time, she was a bounty hunter; she couldn't just cart a child around with her wherever she went, he would only get in the way. Besides, she had no interest at all in children. As far as she was concerned, they were nothing more than walking, talking pools of bacteria. "You know what, there's an orphanage in the next solar system. I'll drop you off there, you get a new family, and I'm not stuck with you. Win-win for everyone."
Too young to understand, the child simply smiled as he dug into yet another food bar.
Looking at the picture, Sylvia was stuck.
That child was Wander. There was no arguing; it was exactly the small child she found all those years ago.
While at first, he had been annoying to travel with, the small child had grown onto her. By the time she had gotten to the orphanage, she couldn't bear to part with him. She settled on naming him Wander since she had found him doing just that, and they had been together ever since.
While Wander would no doubt be delighted to learn his parents were still alive, Sylvia found herself unable to tell him or them the truth.
What if Wander wanted to stay with them? What if he lost all interest in her? If he found his parents after years of separation, it wouldn't be a surprise if we wanted to stay with them from now on. She would be on her own again.
That was not something Sylvia was about to let happen.
Wander was more than just a friend, he was her only family. She had spent all those years raising him and caring for him. The nomad had brought out the best in her. He had taught her it was okay to start trusting other people again, that love was not a sign of weakness. He showed her that it never hurt to help.
She wasn't happy with who she had been. Wander had fixed that, he had made her a better person. Without him, she had no idea what she would do. What would happen?
"What was his name?" Sylvia finally spoke. She had never known Wander's real name and was mildly curious.
"Nebulous." Andromeda replied.
"I'm sorry, but it's not him." She said firmly as she closed the photo album, returning it to the female star nomad. "Wander was much, much younger than the child in this picture when I found him." She lied to the couple.
"I see…" Kepler spoke with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Now that we've cleared that up, I'd like you to leave Wander alone." Sylvia said to the shock of the couple.
"Is something wrong?" Andromeda questioned, surprised by the zbornak's request. Neither she nor her husband had done anything to warrant them being kept away. Granted, they weren't family to the boy, but she couldn't deny the idea of not being able to see Wander was upsetting her.
"I just want Wander to enjoy the festival without your emotional baggage getting in the way. Yeah, you lost your kid and all, I'm sorry, but don't project this idea that he's yours on him." Sylvia made no attempt to be polite or hide her distaste. She didn't care; she wanted them to get the message. Wander was hers now, they needed to keep away.
"I see. We'll keep that in mind." Kepler spoke as his wife was too shocked to.
"Good. Thanks for the tea." Sylvia set the cup down and left the house without another word or goodbye.
Back at the hotel room, Wander was getting more and more frustrated. Quite some time had passed since Sylvia left and he was really getting hungry.
It was then he decided to sneak away. He knew Sylvia hated it when he ran off, but the combination of his practical imprisonment and hunger was leaving him flustered.
Looking to the door, he saw the top lock sealed; too high up for him to reach. Luckily for him, the balcony door was very easy to open.
Looking over the edge, he felt he was not too high up. They were only on the third story.
Reaching into his hat, he pulled out a length of rope and secured it to the railing before throwing it over and sliding down safely onto the ground.
Peeking over from behind the building, Wander ensured Sylvia was not around before taking off into town. Happy to be out and about, his stomach reminded him once more that he was hungry.
This presented another problem for him. He didn't have any money to purchase food, as it was Sylvia who usually did that when he asked.
He was much too far from the nearest forest to forage for food, and there was nowhere for him to fish.
Thinking momentarily, an idea came to mind.
Both Andromeda and Kepler were surprised to hear a knock at the door. They had not been expecting any guests that day.
Opening that door, the nomad couple were even more surprised to see Wander standing there so soon after Sylvia had left.
"Wander," Andromeda greeted him, "What brings you here today?"
"Well…" He spoke, looking away as if embarrassed, "I don't meant to be a bother, but I was feeling just a little bit hungry and was wondering if maybe I could have a little something to eat, if it's not too much trouble of course."
"No trouble at all, come on in." Regardless of what Sylvia said, she wasn't about to turn away Wander when he was hungry and asking for food. "We had some casserole for lunch. I can heat up some of the leftovers for you if you'd like."
"That sounds really good!" He nodded his head excitedly as he entered the house.
"I got you some pizza, Wander, I hope you're still-" Sylvia stopped when she noticed the empty hotel room.
Walking over to the open balcony door, she was easily able to put two and two together when she saw the rope swinging off the rail, leading down to the ground.
"Rassa-frazzin Wander, always sneaking off when I tell him not to." She mumbled under her breath as she set the pizza down in the room and headed back out in search of him.
"Thank you so much for the meal." Wander tipped his hat to the other two nomads in thanks. "It was delicious."
"Don't be shy. You're always welcome here, Son. You'll come back and visit us, won't you?" Kepler put his hand on Wander's shoulder.
"I will, thank you! Good-bye!" Wander took off running back to the hotel, hoping he could get back before Sylvia had returned. He didn't know where she had gone to, maybe he would be in luck.
That luck came to a crashing halt when a hand grabbed him by the fur on the back of his neck, pulling him off the ground.
"Sylvia!" Wander greeted her nervously. "Fancy running into you here."
She raised an eyebrow. "I could say the same. I thought I told you to stay put."
"Oh, come on, Syl. I can't spend the whole day stuck in that room!" He dropped the innocent act, trying to reason with the zbornak instead. "I'm going crazy!" He grabbed at his hair, motioning as if he were going to rip it out.
She sighed, knowing it wasn't fair. Wander had been so excited to come here, but she was raining on his parade. "Okay, buddy. I'm sorry. I just get a little worried about you running around by yourself with so many people around." Specifically, with two other nomads who were actually his parents running around. She had given them a clear message, so it was probably okay to let Wander go off on his own now.
"Shucks, you don't have to worry about me. I can handle myself just fine!"
She set him down on the ground. "Did you at least eat?"
"Yeah! I had lunch with Andromeda and Kepler. They were real nice."
Sylvia felt her eye twitch. "Did you now?"
"Uh-huh!" He affirmed with a smile. "It was really good."
She took a breath calming her herself down. Maybe he ate before she got there. She didn't know exactly when he had snuck away, so that was still a possibility. Everything should be fine now. "Okay, buddy. Come find me if anything happens, alright?"
"Yes, Ma'am." He gave her a quick hug before taking off happily into town.
Things went great for Sylvia the next few days without the star nomad couple in sight.
Wander got to go to all the activities he wanted and she got peace of mind, knowing she didn't have to worry about losing her little buddy.
Unfortunately, the peace didn't last.
It was during the town cook-out, when everyone brought one item to be placed into a pot to create a massive stew for all to share, that she saw the two other nomads once more. Her blood boiled when she saw Andromeda give Wander a hug and Kepler tousle his hair. Whatever the two were getting at, she wasn't having any of it!
She rushed down to the trio, intentionally getting between them. Faking tripping, she used her tail to knock both Andromeda and Kepler to the ground, away from Wander. "Oh my gropp, I am so sorry. Wander," She turned to the younger nomad, "Why don't you go get them some more drinks?"
"Okay!"
As soon as he was out of sight, Sylvia turned sharply towards the couple. "I thought I made it very clear I didn't ever want to see you near him again!"
"He is our son, isn't he?" Kepler stood up, looking directly into her eyes, completely unfazed by the size difference and her intimidating tone.
"Go home and leave us alone." Sylvia practically hissed, her cone standing on end.
"Why are you doing this? I don't understand!" Andromeda tried pleading with her. She had finally found her baby. After years of searching and heartbreak, he was right there within her grasp and this zbornak was getting in the way.
"Wander is happy, healthy, and doing just fine with me! He doesn't need you interfering."
"Sylvia?" Wander returned with the drinks, but noticed her defensive posture and standing cone. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, Wander." She scooped him up with one hand while using the other to take the cups from him and practically throw them at the other two. Without another word to the couple, she stormed away, holding Wander close to her.
Looking back, Wander saw Andromeda put her face into her hands as if she were crying with her husband doing his best to soothe her. "Sylvia, where are we going? What happened?"
"I'm sorry, Buddy, but we need to leave."
"What? Why?!" He was having so much fun here! They were only two weeks into the month; there was still so much to do!
"Something has come up and we need to go."
"Well…can we at least come back tomorrow for the fireworks?"
"We'll need more than just one day."
Wander thought once more. "Can we at least come on the last day to go treat gathering?"
"I don't think we'll be able to, Pal."
"How about I just stay here then? You can come get me when you're done!"
"I can't leave you by yourself, Buddy. I'm sorry, but I can't explain it."
"Well, maybe I can stay with Andromeda and Kepler! They're really sweet-"
"No! Absolutely not!" Her grip on the nomad instantly tightened, her tone leaving no room for argument. She was not going to let him anywhere near those two!
The sudden shift in Sylvia's demeanor frightened Wander. Why was she holding him so tight? It wasn't painful, but certainly uncomfortable. He had never seen her like this before. Sure she's gotten upset plenty of times before, but he was seriously afraid she would hurt him now. He cowered in her grasp, unsure if he should try to break free.
Noticing the fearful look on his face, Sylvia stopped and calmed herself with a deep breath. She hated seeing him look at her like that. She didn't want Wander afraid of her. She eased her grip on him and gently stroked his fur and rubbed his back until they were in their hotel room.
Once inside, she gently set him down on the bed and sat on the floor in front of him, allowing them to be at equal height. "I'm sorry, Buddy. I didn't mean to scare you or be so rough. There's something bad happening right now. I can't really explain it to you, but we have to leave. I love you, Wander, and I don't want anything to happen to you. That's why I'm doing this." She gently placed both her hands around his face, stroking it soothingly. "Please understand, I'm doing it because I love you. I can't lose you."
Hearing her speak reassured him. Sylvia still loved him deeply. He placed both his hands over hers and gave her a smile. "Okay, Syl. We can go if we really need to." He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her neck.
"I'm sorry about this, Wander. I know you were so excited to come here."
"I'm happy as long as I'm with you, Syl. We can go anywhere."
Climbing onto the bed, she curled herself around the nomad and lovingly rubbed her forehead against his. "We'll rest up tonight and head out first thing tomorrow."
A loud 'boom' noise woke the sleeping duo as the door to their room was kicked down.
Snapping her eyes open, Sylvia tucked Wander underneath her protectively as the room was swarmed with Hall-Even officers, all dressed in riot gear.
"Put your hands up and release the star nomad. You are under arrest for kidnapping, Sylvia Zbornak!"
"Sylvia, what's going on?" Wander asked as he held onto Sylvia in fear. Is this what she had been talking about? Who were these people? What did they want with her?
"Don't worry, Wander. It's all going to be okay." She placed a kiss on the top of his head and held him even closer.
"Release him, Zbornak!" The head officer shouted once more. "Release him before we resort to force to remove him from you."
"Hang tight, Buddy." In the blink of an eye, Sylvia swept off the bed and knocked the chief down with one hand while using the other to hold onto Wander.
The other officers immediately took action, pulling out their batons and rushing to her.
While Sylvia tried her best to fight them off, she was outnumbered and distracted. She had to focus on dodging attacks while keeping Wander out of the line of attack as well.
Unfortunately for her, between the sheer number of officers in the room and her grogginess from just having been woken up, she wasn't able to do that.
She felt something tug on Wander, another Hall-Even, trying to pull him away from her.
"Get away!" She shouted as she head-butted the officer away from her.
"Sylvia…" Wander had tears in his eyes, terrified at the prospect of being taken away from her and forced to go with these men he didn't know.
The head-butt was a mistake. Her vision spun for a moment, but that was all the other officers needed. They jumped atop her while two others successfully pulled a screaming Wander away from her.
With one swift strike to her head, Sylvia was out cold.
"Sylvia! Sylvia!" The tears were flowing as Wander tried to run to her unconscious form. "Leave her alone!"
"It's okay, Son, you don't have to worry." One of the officers tried to reassure him. "You're safe now."
"No, Sylvia!" He grabbed at the hair on his head as he watched several officers drag her away. "Let her go."
"Let's get him back to the station." The officer spoke to his co-officer.
"We found your son."
Both Andromeda and Kepler stood up and smiled at the news.
"How is he?" Kepler asked. Hopefully that zbornak hadn't done anything to him after she stormed away so aggressively.
"He's fine physically, but he just won't stop crying. We don't know what kind of relationship he had with her, but he was with her for quite some time based on the information you provided us with. He keeps trying to defend her. He's free to go home with you; it doesn't look like he'll be of much use to us for building a case against her."
"Oh, thank you, Officer." Andromeda turned to her husband and took his hand excitedly. "We're getting out boy back. After so many years, we're finally getting him back!"
The two of them waited anxiously for the officer to return with their long-lost son.
When he came into view, the two could see the tears still running down his face as he cried.
Though Wander had no idea why the cops were sending him to Andromeda and Kepler, he was still happy to see some friendly faces.
Andromeda immediately took him into her arms and held him close to her. Kepler joined the hug as well, finally bringing the entire family together.
The night had been rather difficult for the trio of nomads.
The officer had not been exaggerating when he said Wander was inconsolable. Wander had been crying for hours straight, constantly asking for Sylvia.
While the married couple had set up a room in their house for him, they knew this was going to be a difficult transition.
When they got Wander into bed, the tears were still falling.
Andromeda had laid next to him on one side of the bed and tried everything she could to calm him. She stroked his fur, rubbed his back, and held him close to no avail. She then tried to distract him by reading to him, but that was no good as Wander clearly had no interest in the story at the moment, still asking for the zbornak. She tried singing to him, and it worked for a little bit, but ultimately she just held his hand as he eventually cried himself to sleep. Her husband was on the other side of the bed, holding Wander's other hand.
It wasn't until late, late into the night that Wander was fully asleep, his breathing finally having calmed down; the few hiccups he gave the only remaining evidence he had been crying.
The nomad couple gently climbed out of the bed slowly to avoid waking Wander and headed to their own room.
"When should we tell him the truth?" Andromeda asked as they walked down the hallway.
"I'm not sure. I think we should give him a few days to calm down and get settled. This is going to be a big transition for us all. We should ease him into it gently."
When Sylvia regained consciousness, she found herself in a jail cell, her hands secured together by some metal handcuffs. The light coming in through the barred window left her wondering how long she had been out.
"Awake, Zbornak?"
Sylvia snarled at the officer on the other side of the cell bars. "Where's Wander?"
"The kid? He's back home safe with his parents."
Sylvia's cone stood on end once more at the prospect of the other two nomads having her precious friend. She effortlessly snapped the cuffs right off her wrists.
Much to the officer's surprise, she grabbed the bars of her cell and pulled them right off, throwing them off to the side.
Before he could call for backup, he was slammed roughly against the wall by his throat, falling unconscious from the impact.
Sylvia waited for a moment, unsure if she would need to fight off any reinforcements.
When she heard no footsteps approaching, she took the guard's keys and unlocked the door leading to the station. Seeing only a few officers in the building, she wrung her arms around in preparation for the onslaught.
By the time the married nomads had awoken, it was well into the afternoon. Not that they were surprised, as they had been up practically until that very morning.
Checking on their son, they found him still fast asleep.
Though they decided to leave him be to rest, they left the door open just so he would be able to hear their voices when he woke up and not believe he was alone.
"What do you think he likes to eat?" Andromeda rummaged through the refrigerator, trying to decide what she would cook for her son.
"He doesn't seem like a picky guy, I'm sure he'll be happy with anything you make."
Though she knew that was probably true, there were still so many things about Wander she couldn't help but think about. What was his favorite color? What did he like to do? What was his favorite food? She was so excited for him to wake up. She just wanted to rush over to him, hold him close, and shower him with kisses. She knew she had to wait, she didn't want to overwhelm him, but she couldn't stop her heart from feeling like it was about to burst with joy.
The sound of footsteps coming from upstairs caught both of their attention.
"I'll go see to him." Kepler headed upstairs.
Andromeda went to work, cutting up a variety of vegetables in preparation for the omelets she was going to be preparing. Hearing footsteps coming back down the stairs, she asked "What would you like in your omelet, Wan-" She dropped the knife and gasped in horror at the sight before her when she finally turned around.
It was not Wander, but Sylvia. And she was holding her husband by his neck.
Kepler's face was going blue, clear evidence she was cutting off his air way.
"Stop!" Andromeda ran over, trying to pry Sylvia's hands off his neck, but she was nowhere near as strong as the zbornak.
Sylvia simply shoved her away. "Make one more move and I will snap his neck."
"You're-You're killing him!"
Sylvia dropped the male nomad, watching as he crumpled to the floor.
Andromeda ran over to Kepler and rolled him over.
He coughed a few times, but resumed breathing much to her relief. "What…What do you want?" He wheezed out from his spot on the ground.
"I warned you. I warned you so many times to stay away from Wander, but you didn't listen. You took him away from me! I'm here to take him back and make sure you never bother us again."
Andromeda held her husband tightly as she saw the crazed look in Sylvia's eyes. "We're his parents!"
"I raised him. I spent all those year taking care of him. I love him more than life itself. And I'm not about to lose him!"
"Wander will still love you," The female nomad tried reasoning, "He's not going to forget all you've done for him! He spent all night crying and asking for you!"
Sylvia was touched inside to know that Wander only wanted her. Unfortunately for the duo, that only strengthened her resolve. "Wander makes me a better person. Without him, I don't know what just might happen."
Trying her best to keep him safe, Andromeda pulled her husband with her as she scooted away from Sylvia.
The zbornak's eyes had gone red with rage as she came closer and closer to them.
As she moved, Andromeda felt her hand brush against something on the floor. Looking beside her, she saw the knife she had dropped minutes ago. Gently taking ahold of the handle, she kept it hidden behind her back.
Once Sylvia was close enough, Andromeda leapt at her with a cry, stabbing the knife directly into the zbornak's shoulder.
Sylvia held her cry as blade sank into her. Firmly grasping the handle, she used her other hand to grab the female nomad and throw her forcefully into the ground.
Andromeda cried out as she heard a loud cracking sound followed by extreme pain in her legs.
"You tried to take him from me!" Sylvia pointed at the now-injured nomad. "You tried to take away the only person I loved! And you did it! You took him! Now, you're going to feel my pain!"
Andromeda tried to move, but she couldn't stop Sylvia from grabbing her husband once more in her injured state.
Sylvia pulled the knife out of her shoulder, ignoring the blood that began pouring from the wound. Holding Kepler up to her eye-level, she brought the knife down, slashing him from chest down to his stomach.
The man let out a scream as the wound bled.
"No, stop!" Andromeda felt so helpless. She knew there was no one around to hear their shouts for help with the festivities occurring in the heart of the town. The town was a couple miles away, much too far for the sound to carry.
Kepler tried to fight back, doing his best to strike Sylvia, but she simply began targeting his arms with the knife, slicing through the tendons, ensuring excruciating pain should he attempt to move them once more.
"Stop, please! We just wanted to be a family again, we just wanted our baby back!" Andromeda had dragged herself over to Sylvia at that point and was attempting to strike her, but she was much too weak.
To Sylvia, her weak hits were nothing more than a nudge. With a swift kick to her abdomen from the zbornak, Andromeda was thrown back across the kitchen.
"If you really wanted a family, you should have just had another kid, not tried to take away mine!"
"But he's not yours, he's ours!" Kepler still fought back though he could feel himself getting dizzy from the amount of blood he was losing. "You're insane; he'll never be safe with you!"
"You don't know what Wander and I have been through! You don't know the things I've done to keep him safe…the things I'm willing to do." Sylvia curled her first shut, crushing Kepler's neck.
The male nomad's body fell limp instantly.
Sylvia dropped the lifeless corpse and watched with a twisted sense of pleasure as Andromeda pulled herself to the body and began crying over it.
"Kepler…Kepler…" She sobbed as her husband's eyes remained shut, his blood staining her dress and fur as she leaned over him.
"This," Sylvia had a wicked smile across her face, "Is exactly what you were trying to do to me! How does it feel, Andromeda! Is it nice knowing he's gone?! That you'll never hear his voice?! That you'll never see him smile again?!"
Andromeda didn't know what to do at this point. She had tried again and again to tell Sylvia she had never intended to steal Wander away from her. They had only gone to the police because they knew they couldn't face Sylvia. The zbornak was much too strong and powerful, and based on her threats, they had suspected slightly unstable. There was certainly no doubt about that now.
"I'm taking Wander back now."
"Please, this is between us. Leave Wander out of this! Don't hurt him!" She couldn't save her husband. She knew she was probably going to die now, but if by some miracle she could protect her son, she would hope and beg for it.
"I would never hurt Wander, unlike you. I wouldn't rip him away from the only life he's known and the person he loves the most." Sylvia reached down and grabbed Andromeda by the back of her dress, pulling her up to face her as she did with Kepler. "You see, I love Wander. Enough to traverse the universe with him. Enough to give up bounty hunting for him. Enough to kill for him."
Andromeda closed her eyes and silently wished her son farewell. At least she had found some closure. He was alive and she had gotten to hold him one last time. That was enough to make her smile.
Sylvia slashed her throat with one swift motion of the knife, dropping her body on top of her husband's to bleed to death.
Andromeda gave a few gasping sounds before eventually going silent and motionless.
Sylvia dropped the knife on the floor beside the two lifeless bodies and walked over to the sink. She turned the water on and began scrubbing the blood off her hide. Seeing it flowing, she realized her shoulder was still bleeding.
Rummaging through a few cabinets, she found a first-aid kit and wrapped the stab wound. Luckily for her, zbornak hide was rather tough. Andromeda hadn't been able to get the knife in very far to cause some substantial damage. It would probably be healed in a week or so.
Stepping around the pools of blood on the floor, Sylvia made her way back upstairs to where Wander was sleeping.
She had taken measures to ensure Wander would sleep through the event. Aside from closing the door, she had stuffed Wander's ears the cotton and sealed the bottom of the door with a towel to try and keep as much sound from reaching the sleeping nomad as possible.
Luckily for her, Wander slept like a log. He didn't wake when she inserted the cotton, nor did he wake when she opened the door to the room, walked over to him, and removed the cotton.
All her anger and rage melted away at the sight of her precious friend sleeping safe and sound. Using her tail, she gently ran the few spines at the end over his face to wake him. "Buddy...come on, Buddy. Wake up, sleepy-head."
Wander's nose twitched at the light feeling as he tried to shoo it away. When it came back, he tried once more before finally cracking his eyes open. The moment he saw Sylvia, he practically jumped out of the bed and threw his arms around her neck, bursting into tears once more. "Sylvia! Y-Y-You're here!"
She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, returning the hug. "Of course I am. I'll always come back for you." She pressed him close and rubbed his back.
As he hugged her, he noticed the wrapping around her shoulder. "Sylvia, you're hurt." He gently set his hand down on the bandages.
"It's nothing, Wander. I'm okay."
"Sylvia…" He said between his sniffles. "I think I want to go. I don't want to stay anymore."
"Then let's get out of here." Grabbing the blanket from the bed, Sylvia wrapped it around Wander and pulled one of the ends over Wander's head, covering his line of sight as she held him to her chest. She hadn't cleaned up downstairs and certainly didn't want Wander to see the bodies or the blood.
Wander thought nothing of the action and allowed her to do so as he wrapped his arms around her neck.
Sylvia climbed down the stairs, taking care to avoid stepping in any blood as she passed through the kitchen.
Once outside, she created an orbble bubble and took off.
Wander leaned against Sylvia as he took a bite out of his breakfast burrito.
Sylvia had kept running until they were clear out of the solar system, only stopping in the next one to get food after she heard Wander's stomach rumble.
They finally stopped to rest at a lush green planet, filled with some of the most amazing fauna either of them had ever seen, but no other people; something Sylvia was very happy to find.
She had her arm wrapped around Wander's waist, keeping him as close to her as possible.
Still slightly affected by his forceful separation from her previously, Wander didn't mind the close proximity this time around. "I love you, Sylvia." He said for the umpteenth time that day.
Sylvia wasn't bothered at all by the declaration of love, regardless of the fact she had heard it several times already. "Love you too, Buddy." She affectionately scratched his belly with the hand she was using to hold him.
"You know, Syl, I never got to say goodbye to Andromeda or Kepler."
"I told them goodbye for you." She said calmly. Their deaths had removed any potential threat of losing Wander, there was no need for her to get worked up any longer.
"Oh good! They were nice. I hope we see them again."
Sylvia didn't respond, choosing to continue eating her own food instead.
"Have I told you how much I love you?" Wander turned to face her with a huge smile.
"Only a thousand times!" She wrapped her neck around him and rubbed her head against his.
Wander giggled, wrapping his arms around her snout. "Well, do you love me, or not?" He jokingly teased.
"Oh, don't you worry," She unwound herself from the nomad and picked him up from underneath his arms. "I love you, Wander."
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