Oh my grop... it has been such a long time since I've written anything! But I am going to try to write more often because I was reading through this story and remembered how much I LOVE writing it! :D I am so sorry for being away for so long. I drew a brand new picture of Star Nomad Reader and I hope it makes you all happy! You can find it on my Deviant Art page. My Deviant Art username is SnoringDragonProd
Chapter 7: First Impressions
Wander tried to contain his excitement after almost squishing his new friend with a hug. He managed to keep the high-pitched squeal from rising, but could not stop himself from rocking back and forth on his feet. Movement helped calm him down and at that moment, he had the feeling rocking back and forth was all the movement he could risk doing. _ was a skittish one. He could tell she was on alert from the way her eyes kept darting away from his to examine her surroundings. One minute she would be intently looking at him, the next she would be examining a tent far off in the distance. Wander tried not to let it get his spirits down. After all, he had finally met another Star Nomad!
After thousands of years, he had begun to think he might be the very last one. It was a ridiculous thought, even Wander knew that. Star Nomads were few and far between; it wasn't that shocking to have never seen one before. But as the years had dragged by… Wander had almost lost all hope. Now that he was talking to one, he realized how scared he had been. His heart was fluttering like a bird as he spoke to the small female. Joy seemed to fill him all the way from the tips of his shoes to the tip of his hat. Wander's smile stayed constant on his face as he talked, explaining about Bud and how he had gotten the tickets. _ seemed to remember Bud because her eyes snapped back to his once Wander mentioned the name. Relief flooded through Wander. Bud hadn't been lying to him after all, he had made a friend. Wander just hoped that he could make another friend before leaving the carnival planet.
Because he was constantly singing, playing the banjo, and dodging Lord Hater's lightning bolts... Wander was a great multi-tasker. He was able to be doing something while his mind was somewhere else entirely. Star Nomads were already known to be good at using their senses, such as sight and hearing, but it did not nearly equate to what Wander was capable of with just his mouth and his mind. While he explained his entire experience on the carnival planet, right down to winning the stuffed turtle, he was studying _. His blue eyes were sparkling with excitement as he thought about what he saw.
'This is so amazing!' Wander thought as he talked about Sylvia winning the giant hammer game. 'Another Star Nomad… just like me! Not exactly though, she is a girl for one. Bud wasn't kiddin' when he said she was shorter than me. She's at least a couple inches shorter than me, even without my hat!'
Wander's smile grew. She was looking away from him again, but he could tell she was still listening. A laugh started tugging at the corners of her mouth when he talked about how he had almost knocked over a tent trying to catch a balloon that was floating away. Wander had to hold back laughter too. He cleared his throat and continued telling his story after a few seconds of snickering.
'Her fur is yellow like Bud said… but he didn't mention what an interestin' shade it is! Not bold or bright, more like the yellow of a pale flower. One that was growin' in a shadow for a lil' bit before it felt the sun. Her eyes are strange too… they remind me a bit of the squishy grass back at that other planet.' Wander mused as he neared the end of his story. Her liked the way her hair looked bouncy, like clouds that fell slightly past her shoulders. The bouncy curls were held back by a light blue headband, dotted with light pink spots. The head band matched her shoes, which had tiny pink twinkling dots on the toes. The pink dots were the same color as the pink scarf that was tied snuggly on her neck. Wander raised his eyes from her scarf back up to her eyes and noticed that she had two long eyelashes on the top of each eye, along with three smaller ones near the bottom of each eye. His observations were quickly interrupted. He could hear footsteps coming from behind him. Sylvia must had finished fighting off Hater and the watchdogs. Quickly, Wander finished his story so he would be able to introduce _ to Sylvia when she arrived.
"Wander! You wouldn't believe how easy that was! It was dustier than I thought it would be though. Going to be brushing dust out of my hair for days, huh pal?" Sylvia said as she looked behind the tent she had saw Wander race to. It was too dusty for her to see more than a blurred silhouette, but the shape of his hat had let her know it was him.
"Hiya Syl!" Wander said with a grin and a wave of one hand. His other hand was holding the hand of a small, pale yellow alien. "I want ya to meet _!"
Sylvia narrowed her eyes as she studied the small alien in front of her. Now that she was getting a better look at her, she recognized her as who they had just saved. There was no mistaking the yellow fur and bright pink scarf she wore around her neck. "Hi. Name's Sylvia, you already met Wander. So… you okay? Those eyeballs didn't hurt you or anything?"
You looked up at her in awe. She was much taller than you and made you feel dwarfed by comparison. This time you did not feel helpless like a bug however, instead you just felt small. There was no malice in her eyes when she looked at you, so you took a deep breath and answered in a cheerful voice. "No, they didn't really hurt me. Hater…" The name felt weird on your tongue. "was about to but you guys stopped him. Thanks."
"No problem _!" Wander replied without releasing your hand.
'Her voice is so sweet! Reminds me of honey and buttercups.' Wander thought as he listened to you speak.
"I didn't think anyone was going to help me. Everyone just seemed to ignore what was happening." You said with a sideways glance at your hand. You noticed that Wander's orange fingers were still intertwined with yours. His hand was soft and warm. Dully, you noticed heat rising to your face. Positive that you were blushing a shade of light pink, you quickly let go of his hand. To your relief, Wander also unlocked his fingers and placed his hand back at his side.
Sylvia watched this exchange with a raised eyebrow. She did not like what was happening. It was obvious that you were a Star Nomad and she wasn't sure how to feel about that. Sometimes at night she would hear Wander murmuring to himself about how he wondered if there were any other Star Nomads out there in the galaxy. It made her eyes water and her heart pound whenever she heard his distressed tone. All she wanted was for him to find another Star Nomad, just so he would know that he was not completely alone. But now that it had happened… she wasn't sure if it was a good thing. Wander was already overly friendly towards strangers. Not everyone was a potential friend but he did not seem to understand that. Sylvia was the one that had to decide whether other aliens were safe to interact with or not, something about you rubbed her the wrong way. Maybe it was the way your eyes kept wandering around like you were looking for something, or the way you had reacted when Wander had held your hand, or maybe it was the way Wander kept grinning at you.
'We don't know anything about her.' Sylvia thought as she stepped closer to Wander. 'Wander is already too trusting. He is going to be even more trusting towards her just because she is a Star Nomad. If she is bad news, there is no way Wander will ever notice or even care. Better to just steer clear. He knows he is not the last one, now he can be happy and we can go check out other planets.'
"Okay buddy, we should probably get off this rock." Sylvia said as she scooped Wander into her arms and carefully placed him on her saddle.
"Righto Syl!" Wander replied cheerfully. "Hey, _ wanna come?"
"What…" You said with a quick turn of your head. Your grassy eyes widened at the offer. Breathing heavily, you stood still for a few minutes while you thought. Your brain and heart were pulling in two different directions. Like ropes tied around you, they pulled and stretched you painfully. "I… um…"
"You don't have to be scared. We're your friends!" Wander said as he hugged Sylvia's head. "Right Sylvia?"
"Look buddy, I don't know about this. You can't just ask a random stranger to travel with us. We don't know anything about her." Sylvia whispered to Wander in an urgent tone. Her eyes locked onto his as she spoke.
"But we do know some things. We know her name, we know she likes carnivals, we know…" Wander whispered back pleadingly. His blue eyes grew misty when he saw the resolve in her eyes.
"That she is a Star Nomad?" Sylvia said firmly. "Look, buddy. You found another one and I am happy for you but I don't think you are thinking clearly. Trust me… you won't be safe is she is fogging your brain. Maybe if we see her again and you're past all this shock. Just… not now."
"It's okay. I don't want to come." You said loudly as you tried to get their attention. Even though they were whispering, it was obvious that they were talking about you. You forced your eyes to stay locked on Sylvia. It was too risky to look at Wander.
"You don't have to be afraid." Wander said as he leaned forward towards you. "I noticed that you were a little fidgety while I was tellin' my story."
"I'm not scared." You said while still looking at Sylvia.
'How can I explain that I wasn't scared when he was talking?' You think with embarrassment. 'I can't just tell him that while I was listening to him I noticed a cool bug crawl by, or a tent with rainbow stripes, or a flower that reminded me of his hat. What would they think? Then they'd know what an easily distracted mess I am.'
"I just don't want to." You said again. Quickly, you turned around and began to run away. "Thank you for helping me!"
"_! Wait!" You heard Wander calling after you but you didn't stop.
Instead you forced your legs to run faster and faster. You had to get away from them. You had to get away from him. It was a bad idea to travel with them. It was a bad idea to travel with anyone. You knew it was better to just explore planets and galaxies on your own. What was the difference anyway? Either way you got to see new things, so it shouldn't matter if you saw them alone. That was what you kept telling yourself as you ran away from the only Star Nomad you had ever met.
