The remaining two days and some odd hours Rora spent either in the kitchen, if she was hungry, or the lounge if she was anything else. The stars made her feel peaceful. The immense clouds of the nebulae enthralled her, distracted her, from strange dreams…strange memories. Memories that stretched back a long lifetime and all flowed into a child's nightmare of terrifying shadows and hushed menacing whispers. When she grew tired she would fetch the blanket from her room and curl up with it on the couch looking out at space.
She followed the thief around sometimes, occasionally without him knowing it, and he would sneak about when the grownups weren't looking, peeking his head into storage compartments and little pockets of space hidden away on the ship, behind an air vent or behind an access panel. If he knew she was there he would look at her and put an index finger to his lips and wink. He found a door in the back of the engine room he couldn't open and became a little obsessed with it, but the fascination seemed to pass as they closed on Jura.
She followed the girl-pilot as well, sitting with her in the cockpit for long hours. She liked it in the cockpit for the same reason she liked the lounge - the view. But here there was a sense of self-determination because she was moving forward through space, not simply watching it pass by. That seemed important; a denial of predestination that they both secretly loved.
The pilot, for her part, was friendly with her but unnerved by her otherworldly manner. She could sense it. The confusion. The discomfort. It was because she spoke little and when she did it was with striking formality and breadth of vocabulary. Anna learned quickly to speak to her as an adult, but even then there was something distant about her. Rora felt it herself - a sense of being removed - as though all of life's lessons were already inside her and she wasn't learning about the world so much as remembering it.
Their first real conversation was about cloths…because she wore rags. The pilot gave her some of her own but they were too big. One shirt was so long they put a belt around it to make a dress. Once in Jura Anna took her shopping. She bought her little sandals and black leggings and long flowing blouses.
Their second conversation was about flying. A subject that brought them instantly together like the harmony and melody of a song.
"Do you want to try holding the controls?"…"Here, this throttle will speed us up or slow us down"…"Let me show you how to pull up the HUD." And so on. As with shopping Anna seemed delighted with the act of teaching, of having a protégé, or perhaps simply of having a companion.
A week or so later, at breakfast, which fell some time between when Kurt made coffee and when Anna got up to drink it. Remy noticed Rora walking barefoot down in the bay.
"Don't y' feet hurt, girl?" he called down to her.
She looked up at him and then down again to ascend the stairs. Remy winced watching her pad along the grated floor.
"The shoes are too small." She said, walking up to him.
He poured himself some coffee and sat down at the table. "Already?…din' Anna jus' buy dem?"
"Yes." The girl looked distressed.
"Eh…kids grow fast…neh? She get you new ones next time we stop."
"I don't want to impose upon Anna's finances again."
"I buy y' some."
"I don't want to impose upon anyone."
"Well…dat's what kids do…don' gotta feel bad about it." He took a sip.
"I'm not a…" Her statement tapered off is a frustrated sigh.
"Not a what?"
"…a kid."
He laughed…"Yeah you're a big girl an all dat."
"Etienne…look at me…" And she drew close. They were of the same height now that he was sitting. He looked at her, serious this time. She quaked imperceptibly, like an aspen grove in the almost still air. "Someone did something to me." She whispered. Desperate confusion shrouding her face and voice. Here was the conversation he knew might come but that he would not begin, that no one could but she. He looked at her with concern and penetrating focus. Swallowed once.
"What did dey do to you p'tit?" he asked in a resigned, sad voice.
Her mouth opened but at first nothing came out. She looked at her hands, tiny delicate hands, clenched them into fists, released them. "I have memories that are older than this body." She continued to look at her hands, entranced. "And I am afraid of something…something that's looking for me…" Remy stared at her, brow furrowed, coffee suspended in midair.
"What are you two conspirin' about?" Anna said as she sauntered into the kitchen. It was enough to make Remy jerk a little bit and spill some coffee on his lap.
"Nuthin' chere…just wonderin what I'm gonna cook y' for dinner when we get to Avalon."
"Oh we're going out to eat when we get to Avalon my friends. Make no mistake about that."
"Yeah, you gonna show us around town?" He was trying to make conversation to distract himself from his own discomfort and it came out trite.
She shrugged. "Sure." And poured herself some coffee.
When he looked back at Aurora she had pulled away a foot or so. Her crisis of confidence had passed and she was once again the creature he knew; serene and distant. She did not look at him, only turned and went to the pantry to rummage for some breakfast. As much as he prided himself on letting things lie - As far as he had gotten in life by not asking questions, he knew he would have to talk to her about this, if only because someone looking for Rora was also looking for him.
Please R&R...to my lovely anon reviewers...'lovely smile' and 'me voila'...Thank you.