For a change I wanted to write in present tense to see what the story would be like and I think it turned out well. This story is AH (Alternate History) so Piper and Aerrow were never Storm Hawks and have different lives. But they have the same traits and personalities as they have in the T.V. series. Review and enjoy!
"A hurricane swept through Terra Amazonia last night. There have been no reported deaths but several people have been injured. Damage to housing and transport has been extensive. Mr. Dickens, leader of one of the villages on the terra, has announced that it will take months to rebuild their home, even with the help of other terras.
Much wildlife has been scattered and displaced from their homes. Two children have been missing since the storm and their family is desperate to find them. They are two girl twins aged six with tanned skin and black hair. If anyone comes across the children please contact the Sky Council immediately. The west side of the terra has suffered…"
A young man switches off the television in his small house. He sighs and runs a hand through his scarlet hair. His sigh is not caused by the disaster which took place only a few terras away from his home on Terra Glockenchime. He sighs because he is in love with a woman who doesn't know he exists.
"My boy Aerrow, what's gotten you so glum?"
Aerrow looks up into the warm eyes of Steward, his master. Steward is the keeper of the Timepulse Tower. A very important job. He always speaks with referrals to time and clocks. Aerrow's father had sent him to become Steward's apprentice, despite his son's wishes of a more adventurous and daring career.
Steward hopes to pass on his role to Aerrow once he is too old. But he doesn't want to leave the boy all alone on the terra. He needs a girl.
Aerrow sighs again and motions towards the television. Steward nods in understanding and sits next to his apprentice on the sofa.
"You saw the girl again?" Aerrow nods sadly.
Aerrow remembers when he fell in love with the Sky News Reporter, Piper. He was seventeen when the old reporter, Guy Skyly, had retired. He was flicking through channels when he saw the most beautiful woman of his life.
She has warm, chocolate-coloured skin. Her lovely, shiny hair is always in that spiky up-do which he's grown to adore and is the colour of the night sky. And her fiery, amber eyes are so caring and full of emotion. Aerrow could see the concern swimming in her eyes when she spoke about the missing children just then.
Wherever she is, whether she is interviewing a performer at Terra Neon or reporting at the bottom of the Black Gorge, she always looks amazing. But with that beauty, she probably already has a loving boyfriend.
Aerrow gives Steward a half-smile, assuring him that he is fine. But Steward still sees the heartbreak lingering in his brilliant, emerald eyes. Steward knows that Aerrow is a charming, young man who catches the attention of many young women but he also knows that he only has eyes for the reporter.
At first he thought the boy was merely infatuated, but after two years he still pines after her. And Steward couldn't bear to see his apprentice so miserable.
"Aerrow my boy, you're going to get that girl. She seems nice and I can't bear to see you so sullen every time you watch the news. Pack up your things and head to where she last reported from. Time's a ticking."
Aerrow blinks in surprise and sputters, "What? I can't leave! What about you? What if you need my help in shifting the clockwork or adjusting the Timepulse?"
Steward chuckles and claps him on the back, "I got along for many years by myself before you came. I'll survive. Go and get the girl Aerrow. You can't leave your heart without a beat. You have the 'tick' but you must find the 'tock'."
Aerrow smiles at him widely, his eyes dancing with new hope.
"I will,"
An hour later, Aerrow sits on his skimmer, ready to leave. He decides to travel light since he couldn't carry much on the small vehicle. He revs the engine in anticipation, unable to wait to be in the sky.
Steward shuffles next to him, reaching out his hand. He drops a necklace with a small, light blue crystal attached as a pendant into Aerrow's palm.
"Give this to her. It used to belong to my wife. If I see your girl on the television wearing the necklace, then I will know that you have succeeded." He says kindly, patting his apprentice on the back.
"Thank you, sir. It really means a lot to me." Aerrow replies, clutching the necklace tightly.
And he is off without another word.
"So give whatever you can to help Terra Amazonia - back to you Stacey." Piper says into her microphone.
"And cut!" The coordinator yells.
The camera crew starts talking and packing up. Piper adjusts the collar of her navy blue coat and passes her microphone to one of the crew. The boom mike operator slides to her, a cocky grin on his face.
"Hey Piper, you were perfect on air. How about we grab some lunch? I know a nice place on the next terra."
Piper's eyebrows furrow in exasperation. Robby is asking her out for the fifth time and she doesn't have the heart to tell him that she isn't interested.
"Robby, I'm sorry but I have to help out here. Terra Amazonia can use all the help it can get. Besides, I've heard there are some rare crystals in the jungles." She replies.
Robby's yellow eyes roll, "Piper, this happens to terras all the time. They'll get on just fine. Come on babe, lunch is on me."
Piper doesn't appreciate being called 'babe' and slaps him across the cheek.
"If you want to be a selfish jerk, it's fine by me! But don't ever call me 'babe' again!" She snaps, her orange eyes flaming.
"Sorry Piper! I didn't mean it. I mean you're just reporting the news, you don't have to be obligated to get involved with it." Robby squeaks.
The girl's eyes flash dangerously, "Obligated? Obligated! Don't you even care that people are hurt? Can you bear the thought that you're eating comfortably in a restaurant when people have no food at all on the next terra? Everyone should have a chance to live happily."
Piper snatches her black, messenger bag and storms away from Robby who looks like he has just witnessed the dropping of an atomic bomb. She quickly collects her documents for the next news story and heads briskly to her heliscooter on the other side of the Sky News carrier ship.
Still fuming, she doesn't notice where she's going and ploughs straight into something solid. With a gasp, Piper drops her papers as she falls to the floor. Strong arms circle her waist and pull her up. She looks up into a pair of beautiful, jade eyes, shimmering with concern and amazement.
"Are you okay?" A gentle voice asks, stirring her from her trance.
She blinks and realizes that she is talking to a boy around her age.
"Yes, I'm fine." Piper answers, shaking her head out of a daze, not sure whether it was from the fall or looking into his eyes, "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."
The boy smiles charmingly and Piper feels her heart skip a beat. He lets her go and bends down to pick up the fallen papers.
"It's okay." He says, placing the pages into her hands.
Piper notices there is a sense of incredulity in his eyes.
"Th-thank you," She says gratefully, head still floating in the clouds.
He flashes a smile again and outstretches his hand, "I'm Aerrow,"
Piper finally wipes off the deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face and shakes his hand warmly, "I'm Piper,"
"You seemed to be in a hurry before you collided into me. What's up?" Aerrow asks curiously, shoving his hands into the pockets of his brown cargo pants.
He is wearing a bright red shirt which stretches over his muscled chest. It matches the colour of his hair which is messy and windswept in an oddly attractive way. Piper hesitates – should she confess her worries to a complete stranger? But then she glances at his kind face and shrugs mentally. Oh, what the heck? She starts to walk to her skimmer again and Aerrow falls into step beside her.
"I was just getting away from an annoying co-worker." She says truthfully.
He smirks, "What did he do?"
"He asked me out and went against one of my principles." Piper states matter-of-factly. Aerrow lets out a low whistle.
He turns and grins brightly at her, "I don't blame him from wanting to ask you out but going against your principles is pretty low."
Piper blushes at his comment and looks down, flattening her cobalt dress onto her body as a distraction.
"So what did he say?" He inquires a slight teasing tone in his voice.
"He wanted to take me out to lunch even though I told him I wanted to help the people of Terra Amazonia. He doesn't even care about helping people in need…so I slapped him and stormed off." She answers animatedly.
Aerrow's eyes lose that teasing quality and assume a deep, heartfelt look.
"Yeah I know what you mean. No one should be left in need when someone can help them. Someone has to be the hero." He says, looking up at the sky, "Hey, why don't I help you? We can go to the Sky Council and ask what needs to be done."
Piper nods happily, "Sure, two people is better then one! The Sky Council is actually visiting this terra to survey the damage. We can see them as soon as I put these documents in my heliscooter. I don't trust myself to keep them safe in my bag. It goes everywhere with me and I can't afford to lose these papers."
They arrive at the heliscooter and she stashes away the files in a compartment at the back of her heliscooter, straightening up to see Aerrow gazing unbelievably at her.
"Are you okay, Aerrow?" She asks and notes his lips curving upwards when she said his name.
"I think you're co-worker is right." He finally says.
Piper huffs and sparks of anger ignite in her eyes. And she believed that Aerrow understood her desire of helping people.
He chuckles at her reaction and says soothingly, "I don't mean what he said about saving people. I'm talking about having lunch."
Piper relaxes but then determination sweeps her face.
"There's no time to eat when people out there don't even have any food!" She declares, starting to walk off.
Aerrow catches her arm and wheels her around, staring intensely into her fiery orbs, "You can't help anyone if you faint of low blood sugar from having no food. You need fuel to work Piper. Don't worry your pretty little head off for others."
Piper glances down shyly from his brilliant gaze, knowing that he is right.
"Okay,"
"Great, I have a stack of sandwiches on my skimmer. I'll run and grab them; they're just behind that tree." He says excitedly.
"We won't eat for long right? Just a quick bite and we'll go and help the people, promise?" She says desperately.
He gives her a beautiful crooked smile, "Promise,"
Aerrow bites into his salami and lettuce sandwich, not taking his eyes off the girl in front of him. He still can't believe that he's finally with the woman of his dreams after all these years.
And she is better than he imagined. She is so kind and caring and even more beautiful in person. So far, he feels that he has been doing a good job in getting her to like him. The young pair is sitting in the grass by Piper's heliscooter, munching quickly on sandwiches.
"How old are you?" She asks, nibbling rapidly on her second sandwich.
"I'm nineteen," He replies and she smiles brightly, "So am I!"
Aerrow grins and looks down, dreading to ask his next question. But he has to know the answer.
"Um, do you. Do you have…have a…have a boyfriend?" He stutters, eyes glued to the ground.
He peeks up shyly and sees that her expression is full of curiosity, not a hint of suspicion in her eyes.
"No, why do you ask?"
Aerrow freezes mentally. She caught her. But he is good with surprises and says, "Oh, if you had a boyfriend, they may be wondering what you are doing having lunch with another guy."
She seemed satisfied with his response and nodded.
"I've seen you on the T.V. a lot. You're the Sky News Roving Reporter right?" He inquires.
He plays curious so that she doesn't find out that he has been swooning over her for years. That would be embarrassing. She nods in confirmation.
"That's pretty big. I mean the whole of Atmos sees your face on T.V. everyday." He presses, wanting to know more about her.
Piper replies with a sunny smile, "Yeah, It's great. But off-camera I love to work with crystals. Refining them, studying them, combining them – you name it."
"So why aren't you doing a job that involves crystals?"
She sighs, "My grandfather thinks that I should get an important job. I tried to tell him that crystals are very important in medical science and many other areas. But he just thinks crystals are plain rocks. Also a lot of crystals are found in dangerous places and he doesn't want me putting myself at risk to get them."
"I'm in sort of the same situation. I'm the apprentice to the Keeper of the Timepulse." Aerrow says, picking at the grass.
Piper's eyes widen, "Wow! Keeper of the Timepulse? That's amazing! The whole of Atmos relies on you and your master!"
Her eyes sparkle with admiration but then she senses that he isn't happy with his position.
"What's wrong with your job?" She asks quietly.
"The Timepulse is great and everything but it's not what I love to do. I love adventure, danger and traveling, not being stuck maintaining clockwork. But my dad sent me to Terra Glockenchime so I could have the prestigious job. He's all about honor and prestige." Aerrow answers glumly.
But he lightens up when he catches Piper's compassionate expression.
"Come on, weren't you in a hurry to help the people of Terra Amazonia?" He says with a cheeky grin.
She jumps up suddenly and brushes the grass off her dress. Aerrow follows suit and they head to the nearest village where the Sky Council is staying, talking to each other like old friends.
Over the course of two weeks, Piper and Aerrow have been running errands for the rebuilding of Terra Amazonia. They made trips to nearby terras to grab aid and equipment and comforted those people affected. During this time, they have grown to become best friends and are rarely seen without the other. But Aerrow is starting to worry that he must go to his home on Terra Glockenchime and he needs Piper to know how much he loves her.
The two are sitting in a café on a small terra close to Terra Amazonia. They are having a nice day off from busily helping around Amazonia. Piper is sipping coffee slowly and Aerrow is picking at a muffin. Even though they've known each other for only two weeks, Piper knows when something is bothering him.
"What's wrong Aerrow?" She asks, putting her mug down on the table and fiddling with the rose in the centre of the table.
"I…it's nothing," He mutters, looking out the window.
Piper frowns, "You're a bad liar, you know that?"
He chuckles, "You know me too well."
"Even though we've only known each other for a couple of weeks…" Piper starts softly.
"…it feels as if…" Aerrow continues.
"…I've known you my whole life." They whisper in unison.
They smile shyly at each other and Aerrow watches her turn away, a light blush dusting her cocoa skin.
They sit in silence for a while. Aerrow's mind is battling with itself. He's been dropping subtle hints through the past week; a touch, a hug, a kiss on the cheek, numerous smiles, letting her sleep on his shoulder one late night and an almost a kiss on the lips. And the way she smiles back and kisses his cheek every night before retiring to the Sky News carrier ship for bed makes him think that there is a strong connection between them.
He wishes he had more time to get to know her. He doesn't want to go back to Terra Glockenchime just yet. But Steward is quite old and could meet with an accident if he over-exerts himself. Though he loves Piper, Steward is like family and Aerrow would not be able to live with himself if something happens because of his absence. If only he could get those three wretched little words out. Just say it. I love you. I love you.
"I love you,"
Piper's eyes go wide and she asks, "What did you just say?"
Aerrow's eyes widen as well and his face turns beet red, "Uh…nothing. I was…just talking to myself."
Piper sinks back into her chair and starts tearing up a napkin.
"Hey what's wrong with you Pi?" He questions.
She smiles at her nickname. Only her grandfather, who she loves dearly, calls her that. Aerrow had started calling her 'Pi' a week ago without her even telling him about the nickname. Maybe it is a sign that they are meant to be… She shakes her head. No way.
Piper is glad that she came across Aerrow. He is such a sweet, gentlemanly person who respects her. He has the same interest in adventure and helping people. He is brave and self-sacrificing. Only a few days ago, they were in one of the villages when a little boy was crying. They asked what was wrong and he said that his ball had rolled into a clearing where everyone knew giant meat-eating plants grew.
Aerrow had decided to go and get the ball. Piper was almost brought to tears when trying to stop him. He was her best friend…But he did it anyway and returned safely with the ball. He had a few scratches but was otherwise okay. And Piper realized from the way the little boy's face lit up, it was worth everything to make someone so happy.
Amazingly, in that clearing, he also found the two missing children she had reported about just recently. They had run in there to hide from the storm and were trapped by the giant meat-eating plants. Piper was so stunned and impressed, it led to their 'almost' kiss which was interrupted by the little boy saying thank you. So that's why Piper has a feeling that she likes him more than a friend.
She almost had a heart-attack when she thought he said 'I love you' just a minute ago. But when he said that he was talking to himself, Piper felt all this elation which had filled her when she had thought he did say 'I love you', disappear. She is certain that she likes him…maybe even…loves him.
Piper is so caught up in all her musing that she forgets about Aerrow's question until he prompts her.
She gazes at his concerned face, a soft smile playing on his lips.
"I've never been better." She replies truthfully, for being in his presence makes everything in her world light up. And she smiles so radiantly that Aerrow's stomach flips at her beauty.
"Piper, I have to go back to Terra Glockenchime soon. I can't leave Steward for too long in case something happens." He says slowly, not looking at her.
Piper's heart falls and tears sparkle in her eyes. She blinks them away impatiently.
"Oh,"
"I want you to have this necklace…so you remember me." He says painfully and brings out the necklace Steward gave him.
He places it in her small hand and closes it with his own. He closes his eyes and bows his head.
"But…but of course I'll remember you. We can meet from time to time can't we? Or we could call each other." Piper says desperately, feeling scared at his look of resignation.
Aerrow looks up at her and a sad smile enters his face, "I'm stuck to one terra for my whole life. You're like a bird, free to explore all of Atmos."
Piper mirrors his expression and brushes the hair off his face, "This bird doesn't mind being in a cage, as long as it's a nice one."
Hope enters his beautiful, forest eyes.
"Are you….are you saying that. You…you want to…be with me?" He asks tentatively.
She laughs, "You are hopeless aren't you? Sometimes you can't make coherent sentences. But I guess that's what I'm saying. I really like you Aerrow. You're just the most…most amazing boy I've ever met and…you're perfect."
He smiles widely and says, "I don't know if I'm perfect but you are the most amazing girl I've ever met. And Piper…"
He leans over to whisper in her ear, "I love you."
She turns and gives him a soft kiss on his lips.
"I love you too Aerrow."
Piper wraps her arms around Aerrow's waist as she sits behind him on his skimmer.
"Are you ready?" He asks, twisting around and grinning at her.
She knows that's she's never been more ready to spend the rest of her life with Aerrow on Terra Glockenchime. She quit her job as Sky News Reporter and prepared to live with her future…husband. But for now they are lovers because they know the time will come when they will be tied together officially.
She got her grandfather's blessing (the only remaining member of her family because of Cyclonian attacks) because he approved whole-heartedly of Aerrow and said he would take care of her well. When they live on Glockenchime, the pair decided that on some days, she and Aerrow will explore dangerous parts of Atmos to discover crystals. For that's all they ever wanted, crystals and adventure. And they will be safe because they are together.
"I'm ready,"
"Hang on tight…beautiful."
Piper lets out a thrilling scream and Aerrow an exhilarated whoop as the skimmer takes off at full velocity.
Aerrow feels the wind past his face and his stomach is full of butterflies, not because of the speed but because of Piper's quick breath on his neck. She tightens her arms around him and closes her eyes, feeling his body rumble with laughter. Aerrow still can't believe that after two years, he's actually with the girl of his dreams who didn't know he existed. And she loves him back.
He slows the skimmer down out of decency and Piper relaxes into him.
"So what's the latest scoop Pi?" He asks happily, eyes bright.
She answers, equally as bright, "News reporter falls in love with local hero."