Radical Change
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Finn's chuckle of laughter held no mirth. Leaning against his bike, eyes closed, arms crossed, head down, he muttered, "I didn't expect things to stay the way they had been, but..."
With a squeak, Radarr jumped up onto the seat of the skimmer, staring at the blond with concern, long ears bent forward anxiously. Tapping Finn on the shoulder, he tilted his head, trying to ask his question, chattering slowly.
Finn's head came up, a bitter smile on his face. "For the past week, since Aerrow and Starling have been gone, it's been ... kinda cool, having you around."
Radarr blinked, confused by the sniper's words. Finn's eyes had already seen the confusion.
"Think buddy. In a little while, Starling and Aerrow will be back, and you can go back to being his co-pilot, instead of mine." Finn's voice was quiet, but he held back his bitterness. Radarr belonged with Aerrow, not with him.
Radarr chie-ired loudly, jumping down from the skimmer and landing in front of Finn. Gesturing rapidly, Radarr squeaked, chattered, growled, an even shrieked a few times, mostly uninterpretable gibberish coming from his mouth.
Knelling down, Finn waved his hands, crying, "Woah Radarr, slow down! I can't understand you when you go that fast!"
Radarr slowed his movements, though it was clear he was still agitated as he grumbled quietly before he began gesturing again. This time, the monbit pointed to himself, to Finn, jerked his thumb over his shoulder with a look of disgust, before pointing at Finn once again, this time with a smile on his face.
Finn blinked down at Radarr, a blank expression on his face. Leaning back, he watched the blue-furred creature carefully, his face slowly turning thoughtful. "Wait." He muttered, a hint of a smile dawning on his face. "Are you saying that you would rather be my co-pilot, instead of Aerrow's?"
Radarr wiggled both ears, then started nodded vigorously, bouncing on his heels energetically. A massive grin on his face, Finn held out his arms, and with a screech, Radarr jumped into the blond's arms, nuzzling happily.
They stayed that way for a few minutes, before Radarr pulled himself out of Finn's arm to climb upon his shoulders. Standing, Finn grinned out of the corner of his eye at the monbit, "You and me buddy. We're gonna take on the world!"
Chirping, Radarr balanced himself easily on the sniper's shoulders, making a somewhat heroic pose. Finn laughed, and walked out of the hanger into the hallway.
And nearly crashed into Piper, who was standing right outside the doorway, an angry frown on her face.
Gulping, Finn waved a little at the girl, "H-hi, Piper! Wh-what are you doing out here?"
"Oh, I was just looking for you and Radarr, Finn." Her voice was cool, almost casual, but the dark frown remained on her face.
Finn shot a quick glance at Radarr, who looked as apprehensive as he did. Nervously, he said, "We-well, me and Radarr just got back from patrol, ya' know, and, we're both kinda hungry after that long flight, so -"
"Finn. I need to talk to the both of you." Piper cut them off, her voice cold. Daring another nervous glance at Radarr, Finn refocused on Piper, before nodding carefully.
"Come. We'll talk in the lab." Was all she said before she turned and stalked away, her small hands clenched into fists at her sides.
Gulping hard, Finn muttered to Radarr, "Do you wanna try and make a run for it? We might be able to get away."
Radarr stared after Piper, his long ears bent back. Looking down at Finn, he shook his head slowly.
Chuckling dryly, Finn nodded, starting after the crystal expert. "You're right. If we ran away now, she'd probably just hunt us down."