The twin red suns had risen.
"Laina!" It was not a call of love.
Eyes shot open, and she stretched languidly, mimicked by the kitten beside her, who was already purring and content. The sunlight was the perfect companion to sleep beside..if only just a few minutes more..
"Laina I want you down here NOW."
Grunt. So demanding, why can't she just..a little longer..
"Are you hearing me you tiny creature?!"
"For Heaven's sake." She finally yelled, throwing herself further into her cotton covers. "Don't have a hernia, Jova. I'll be down in a minute."
And so the next several moments, indecipherable from one another, were spent digging around in the faint daybreak that the twin suns produced, searching for clothing and a comb to rake through her temperamental hair. It wasn't too scraggly this morning.
Plucking the kitten from her nest in the bed, she flung herself over the rusty ladder's edge, relying partly on her birth-granted grace, but mostly on luck to ease her down to the floor below. It was a rather unpleasant crash that she got out of relying on anything else than her own caution. This commodity seemed in short supply, really, a statement that Jova would remind his smaller sister (both in years and stature) before he hurried feverishly out the front door and into the bustling workforce of the island. Laina watched, groggy-eyed, as her brother left, and waited not five minutes before she was back in bed, smiling happily, and asleep with the suns.
The purple planet was on the rise, and this is what finally awoke the somnolent Laina for real. Only a few hours had passed between her first awakening and this next one, really, so it wasn't too much of a waste of time. Niici, the kitten, had long earlier found a maixa beetle to play with, and was now delicately lugging the carcass, easily twice as large as the kitten herself, towards her waking mistress.
Laina was obliged to coo at her adorable counterpart as she scooped her up again, flinging the insect body over into a distant corner of her loft bedroom, to habitate with other corpses of its kind.
"We're going on a grand adventure today, Ni." She said directly to the kitten, hopping up from her bed and consulting the contents of her floor for more inspiration. "We'll need..journals and quills, of course, candles, blankets, chew-toys and catnip..those last two are for you, you know..cookies and waterbottles, some cards, a little gum, a comic book or two, and a few extra paper clips. Just in case." All these items she threw haphazardly into a canvas bag, which she then slung over her shoulder. She took a cloth sling-like contraption up from her cluttered desk, put her head through the largest hole, and plopped Niici rather unceremoniously into the larger of two pockets. The kitten yipped rather happily, in the way of the kitten.
Laina made her way to the edge of her loft, remembering caution, and precariously slid down the previously mentioned ladder, coming to a rest safely on the immaculate tile floor of the hut's bottom level. As she made her way to the door, a bright, fresh beam of planetlight illuminated two throwing disks and a dirk, hung as a display on the wall. Laina's eyes narrowed in quickly calculating thought.
"I doubt Jova'd much like it if I took Dega's weapons.." she whispered to Niici, approaching the display deliberately. "But it's not like he's ever used 'em.. Somebody should put the things to use.." And so she grabbed them quickly, sliding the dirk into a loop on her belt, slipping the two disks into their leather sleeves and clipping them onto her belt as well. Without looking back, she stepped out of the house, knowing that if she encountered Jova without a real excuse, he would have her head. It was a rather good incentive to keep going.
The twin suns were beginning to sink, and the purple planet was almost directly overhead, which meant that it was about midday. It also meant that the island's population was almost completely outdoors. Everywhere she tried to walk, she was getting clipped and half-clobbered by all sort of pedestrian, some on bicycles, tricycles, motorcycles and hovercars. She stood rather shaken for a moment, in front of her home, glancing in several directions, before regaining her wits and charging off towards the docks, remembering that she was indeed 17 years of age, and that was plenty old enough to walk down her own street at midday. Especially with her Uncle's hunting weapons.
The docks were slightly less crowded, an atmosphere that Laina greatly appreciated. It was the first time she had breathed all day, it felt, as she caught a strong wind laced with mist and sea salt. Several boats a minute were tying up at the posts, and an equal number were speeding away, embarking on different voyages, loaded with different cargo. Laina headed to the very end of the south dock, weaving through the merchants and entertainment-seekers. Her destination was a small hut with a thatched palm-wood roof, the building surrounded by heaps and heaps of tiny two- passenger row-boats. She stepped inside, a determined crease forming above her brow.
"Can I help ye, little creature?" a largely-overweight attendant of the small rental shop called to her as she approached the rough wooden counter.
"I want a boat." She stated clearly, not avoiding the stranger's eyes.
"These here are rowboats, lass. Nye motor contraptions on these. How d'ye expect to get it to go anywhere all by yer onsies? Not by will o' the winds, I hope."
"Just get me one set up, will you? I've got your cash.." And here she emptied the contents of her tattered billfold onto the counter. The man stared at the coins.
"A'right fine I'll set ye up a boat." He said finally, scooping the coins into a large bucket and placing it back under the counter, under which it had come from. "Got a color choice on a sail, lass, or are you preferrin' to go without one?"
"Without a sail, are you mad? Get me a purple one. And set it up right or I'll take back all my gold."
"Aye, yes lassie, wouldn't want you to be unhappy with ol' Jay here. Wouldn't want it at all.." He wandered out a back door, muttering incoherently, and Laina was very quick to follow. She saw the man, this Jay, select a faded purple canvas sail from a shelf, and lug it out to the very farthest end of the dock. He hauled a boat off of a stack of them and got to work rigging it for the water. Laina plopped down on an upturned bucket, watching the man with a keen eye. Niici let out a puzzled little squeak, and Laina set to scratching the kitten's ears.
"An adventure, Ni." She stated quietly with not-unnoticeable traces of excitement. "Adventure."
"Laina!" It was not a call of love.
Eyes shot open, and she stretched languidly, mimicked by the kitten beside her, who was already purring and content. The sunlight was the perfect companion to sleep beside..if only just a few minutes more..
"Laina I want you down here NOW."
Grunt. So demanding, why can't she just..a little longer..
"Are you hearing me you tiny creature?!"
"For Heaven's sake." She finally yelled, throwing herself further into her cotton covers. "Don't have a hernia, Jova. I'll be down in a minute."
And so the next several moments, indecipherable from one another, were spent digging around in the faint daybreak that the twin suns produced, searching for clothing and a comb to rake through her temperamental hair. It wasn't too scraggly this morning.
Plucking the kitten from her nest in the bed, she flung herself over the rusty ladder's edge, relying partly on her birth-granted grace, but mostly on luck to ease her down to the floor below. It was a rather unpleasant crash that she got out of relying on anything else than her own caution. This commodity seemed in short supply, really, a statement that Jova would remind his smaller sister (both in years and stature) before he hurried feverishly out the front door and into the bustling workforce of the island. Laina watched, groggy-eyed, as her brother left, and waited not five minutes before she was back in bed, smiling happily, and asleep with the suns.
The purple planet was on the rise, and this is what finally awoke the somnolent Laina for real. Only a few hours had passed between her first awakening and this next one, really, so it wasn't too much of a waste of time. Niici, the kitten, had long earlier found a maixa beetle to play with, and was now delicately lugging the carcass, easily twice as large as the kitten herself, towards her waking mistress.
Laina was obliged to coo at her adorable counterpart as she scooped her up again, flinging the insect body over into a distant corner of her loft bedroom, to habitate with other corpses of its kind.
"We're going on a grand adventure today, Ni." She said directly to the kitten, hopping up from her bed and consulting the contents of her floor for more inspiration. "We'll need..journals and quills, of course, candles, blankets, chew-toys and catnip..those last two are for you, you know..cookies and waterbottles, some cards, a little gum, a comic book or two, and a few extra paper clips. Just in case." All these items she threw haphazardly into a canvas bag, which she then slung over her shoulder. She took a cloth sling-like contraption up from her cluttered desk, put her head through the largest hole, and plopped Niici rather unceremoniously into the larger of two pockets. The kitten yipped rather happily, in the way of the kitten.
Laina made her way to the edge of her loft, remembering caution, and precariously slid down the previously mentioned ladder, coming to a rest safely on the immaculate tile floor of the hut's bottom level. As she made her way to the door, a bright, fresh beam of planetlight illuminated two throwing disks and a dirk, hung as a display on the wall. Laina's eyes narrowed in quickly calculating thought.
"I doubt Jova'd much like it if I took Dega's weapons.." she whispered to Niici, approaching the display deliberately. "But it's not like he's ever used 'em.. Somebody should put the things to use.." And so she grabbed them quickly, sliding the dirk into a loop on her belt, slipping the two disks into their leather sleeves and clipping them onto her belt as well. Without looking back, she stepped out of the house, knowing that if she encountered Jova without a real excuse, he would have her head. It was a rather good incentive to keep going.
The twin suns were beginning to sink, and the purple planet was almost directly overhead, which meant that it was about midday. It also meant that the island's population was almost completely outdoors. Everywhere she tried to walk, she was getting clipped and half-clobbered by all sort of pedestrian, some on bicycles, tricycles, motorcycles and hovercars. She stood rather shaken for a moment, in front of her home, glancing in several directions, before regaining her wits and charging off towards the docks, remembering that she was indeed 17 years of age, and that was plenty old enough to walk down her own street at midday. Especially with her Uncle's hunting weapons.
The docks were slightly less crowded, an atmosphere that Laina greatly appreciated. It was the first time she had breathed all day, it felt, as she caught a strong wind laced with mist and sea salt. Several boats a minute were tying up at the posts, and an equal number were speeding away, embarking on different voyages, loaded with different cargo. Laina headed to the very end of the south dock, weaving through the merchants and entertainment-seekers. Her destination was a small hut with a thatched palm-wood roof, the building surrounded by heaps and heaps of tiny two- passenger row-boats. She stepped inside, a determined crease forming above her brow.
"Can I help ye, little creature?" a largely-overweight attendant of the small rental shop called to her as she approached the rough wooden counter.
"I want a boat." She stated clearly, not avoiding the stranger's eyes.
"These here are rowboats, lass. Nye motor contraptions on these. How d'ye expect to get it to go anywhere all by yer onsies? Not by will o' the winds, I hope."
"Just get me one set up, will you? I've got your cash.." And here she emptied the contents of her tattered billfold onto the counter. The man stared at the coins.
"A'right fine I'll set ye up a boat." He said finally, scooping the coins into a large bucket and placing it back under the counter, under which it had come from. "Got a color choice on a sail, lass, or are you preferrin' to go without one?"
"Without a sail, are you mad? Get me a purple one. And set it up right or I'll take back all my gold."
"Aye, yes lassie, wouldn't want you to be unhappy with ol' Jay here. Wouldn't want it at all.." He wandered out a back door, muttering incoherently, and Laina was very quick to follow. She saw the man, this Jay, select a faded purple canvas sail from a shelf, and lug it out to the very farthest end of the dock. He hauled a boat off of a stack of them and got to work rigging it for the water. Laina plopped down on an upturned bucket, watching the man with a keen eye. Niici let out a puzzled little squeak, and Laina set to scratching the kitten's ears.
"An adventure, Ni." She stated quietly with not-unnoticeable traces of excitement. "Adventure."