Chapter 2
Zeke's long, loping stride ate up the desert miles. Willow had not been in his familiar cockpit for this long in ages, and she relaxed comfortably into the seat, knowing every control, every switch, every piece of information she could possibly need were all near at hand.
Late morning sunlight glinted off of Zeke's smooth metallic skin, and warm air filtered in from outside through the console's open vents.
"This is so great," she sighed blissfully, removing her hands from the control stalk for a moment to stretch. "Aside from the fact that it's nearly noon instead of nearly midnight, this feels just like old times, doesn't it?"
Zeke kicked up his heels happily.
"You know what's weird? I'm realizing that I kind of miss it over there. Fort Zephyr, I mean. I had some really hard times back then, but Phoenix, and Hafen, and Dan, and you most of all helped me get through. If it weren't for all of you, I don't think I would have made it." She thought of the cold night air in the desert, the dark and reeking remains of the Globally, the terror embracing her when it had seemed, at first, that Zi was completely uninhabited. "I miss...feeling like a place is mine. I felt comfortable on my ship because it was all I had ever known. And after awhile, after I wasn't so afraid anymore, Fort Zephyr was comfortable, too. I knew everything about it and, over time, I managed to make it like it was...just for me, I guess." She paused. "I don't really feel that way about the Wind Colony."
Ahead, a small mountain chain loomed over the landscape, casting short westward shadows. "There's our waypoint," Willow said. "Leon said it would be a nice place to stop for lunch before the final stretch of the trip. You know I love you, Zeke, but it's always been a bit cozy in here. It'll be good to stretch my legs for a bit!"
Upon arrival, Zeke situated himself in a diminutive valley between the two northernmost peaks. It was a secluded spot, where he would be out of view from most travelers passing by the area, but would still be afforded helpful sightlines.
Willow climbed out of the cockpit and appraised their surroundings. They were in a grassy meadow thick with wildflowers and the song of chirping insects. A short distance away, where the vegetation gave way to pebble-strewn bare earth, she saw a wide, lazy stream. A dense thicket of trees stood on the opposite shore, their branches shading one half of the stream. "This looks perfect."
She settled comfortably onto a large rock on the stream's shore, its smooth contours warm from the morning light. Sun sparkles danced over the stream's rippling surface, and the water was so clear she could see straight to the bottom. "It's really beautiful here. What do you think, Zeke?" she asked as the big wolf lay down beside her. He gave a contented growl, clearly already enjoying the sunshine and solitude of this place. Willow laughed. "I'm glad you think so."
They sat together in companionable silence as Willow ate her simple meal of bread, cheese, and an apple. Unseen birds called from the copse of trees across the stream, and the water whispered quietly to itself. Willow found a bit of drowsiness overtaking her amid the haze of bird and insect calls, and the warm air. As noon came and went, the thought of a little dip before journeying on became increasingly irresistible. "Do you think I could just put my toes in, splash around a bit?" she asked Zeke. "It's not too deep, right?"
Zeke tilted his head. His sensors indicated that the water's maximum depth would come up to Willow's shoulders, approximately. Between this, as well as the stream's slow speed, a swim seemed safe enough. He snorted his approval and shifted closer.
Willow stood, removed her boots and socks, rolled up her pant legs, and approached the lightly lapping waves at the shore. Stepping in, her bare feet luxuriated in the soft sand of the streambed. The water was cool and comfortable. She waded a bit further out, up to her knees. "This feels really nice. Oh, look! Fish!" Indeed, small minnows were darting about around her ankles, their slick sides occasionally brushing ticklishly against her.
"I think I may want to have a proper swim, pal." How could she not? The big lake in the Wind Colony was nothing like this: it felt too big and too dark, whereas this little creek seemed friendly and safe. It was impossible to imagine sea monsters rearing up out of the depths to eat you when you could see your own feet at the bottom.
The only problem with a swim, of course, was that Willow didn't know how to. Water had been strictly rationed aboard the Globally, so nothing so outrageously wasteful as baths or pools had existed. Upon her settlement in Fort Zephyr not long after her violent arrival on Zi, Dan had shown her that abandoned oasis' deep spring, housed in the bombed-out atrium. She had never swum in it, though, because it was her only source of drinking water. She'd taken water out of it to put in a repurposed feeding trough, which she'd then used as a bath, and the experience of being almost fully encased in water had been a profoundly new experience for her. Still, it hardly counted as swimming.
Willow, still standing about a quarter of the way to the steam's midway point, looked carefully at the water around her. Even the deepest part of the stream, in the center, looked safe enough because of how slowly the current was moving. She waded back over to Zeke, who, quite relaxed in the sunlight, was looking on with mild interest.
"I - I'm going to try this," she said bravely. "I don't really know what I'm doing, but maybe I can figure it out. It can't be too hard in a stream like this, right?"
With one last look around to be sure that they were alone, she removed the rest of her clothes, piling them atop the warm rock she had earlier been sitting on, and waded back out. "It's a little deeper over here," she called to Zeke as the water rose up to her thighs, then waist, then chest. "Not too bad, though," she added, right before the shallow slope of the streambed abruptly steepened and a river stone shifted beneath her foot, causing her to lose her balance. She tumbled forward into deeper water and went under. Her limbs flailed for a few panicked seconds as Zeke immediately leapt to his feet.
Before he had even gotten to her side, though, she had righted herself and surfaced, sputtering and gasping. Zeke, closer now, reached a front paw forward to give her something to climb onto, but she shook her head, and, with awkward stumbles, was able to eventually maneuver back into somewhat shallower water.
There she sat, coughing, breathing hard, as water streamed in silver rivulets out of her long hair. Zeke put his paw down and whined. He wanted her to come back to shore, where it would be safer.
"No," she said quietly. She pushed her hair behind her shoulders.
Zeke whined again.
"No," she repeated, adamantly. "All I ever do is let you and Dan take care of me, don't you see that?" She shook her head. "Leon was right about me. When Dan's on duty I avoid everyone. And when he's home, I just hide in his shadow. No wonder none of the villagers have tried to get to know me. They probably think I want nothing to do with them." She turned to look at Zeke. "I think I need to start doing some things myself, okay?" With a heavy sigh, she faced the middle of the stream again. "Even when it's hard. Even when it's scary."
Zeke reluctantly retreated back to shore, obviously not liking this state of affairs but always obedient to his pilot.
And with that faithful gesture, her agitation receded. Zeke cared about her, of course, and only wanted to help. What else would she expect from him? She smiled at him then, through the false tears of her dripping face. "Zeke." He looked at her. "You'll always, always be my best friend. You know that, right? Thank you for being so good to me." She stood, and began heading for the deeper water again, although more alertly than before, so she wouldn't be surprised by the sudden change in the streambed's angle. "I'm going to try this once more, and I promise I'll be careful. I need you to stay back unless I go under and don't come up again, okay? Let me do this." She squared her shoulders. "Please."
Zeke held his position as ordered, and gave her his most sharply focused attention so that he could intervene as quickly as possible if she were to find herself in genuine distress.
But she didn't.
She reached the middle with no further incident and slowly fell backward, letting the water hold her up, and there she floated serenely for some time, hair fanning delicately out around her head like some dark, exotic flower in bloom. She sighed contentedly. From this peaceful vantage point, the bright blue sky above seemed infinite.
