Warning: Fluff and spoilers for Warcraft. Read at your own discretion. Do not get angry at me. I have warned you. (I honestly listened to the Warcraft soundtrack while writing this chapter. Such good music!)
Aurora happily skips outside, hoping down the steps in front of the school. She's more than excited! That morning Jaime told her he had something special planned. What could it possibly be?! Is it a special thing Earthlings do? Aurora sighs in happiness, standing close to the curb to wait for her ride. She thinks back to when she first arrived to Earth. She didn't know anything. She barely felt anything too. Well, she did, but they weren't exactly...positive. She remembers being wowed by anything and everything. Smirking to herself, she remembers just how awed she was when Jaime introduced her to the toilet.
Lucky her she hasn't needed to go number three. After all, it is a once a year thing.
She felt scared and the need to impress. On Rubicon, its not uncommon to find other Rubis showing off. Its how you establish your position there. You fight until your opponent is almost dead.
That's how she became a Time Guardian apprentice. She had to fight. And she won.
Back on topic. Aurora reflects on her first mission. She did okay. However, Aqualad gave her a talk about just going off to fight. She felt a little ashamed, but since then, she's made sure not to repeat the same mistake.
Yep, her first month on Earth has been a little rocky, but compared to other Rubis, her first trip outside Rubicon has been going smoothly. According to Nightwing, the Justice League is definitely considering her plea for help seriously. She's been performing well. Maybe they'll decide to help her before the two month mark? Aurora squeals to herself in excitement. That would be amazing!
Turning, the alien sees her ride approaching. Hoping from foot to foot, she opens the car door and slides in, throwing her backpack in the back seat, closing the door, and looking intensely at the driver. Jaime sighs.
"Well?" she says excitedly. "Where are we going? What are we doing? I'm so excited! Are we doing a normal Earth thing? Which normal Earth thing? I have read so much information about normal Earth things on that thing you humans call the Internet! I am more than ecstatic!"
"Woah, woah, calm down, goldie." That's become his normal nickname for her. The alien couldn't help but wonder why its called a nickname. Oh well. She just can't wait to know what they're doing.
"Well? Well? Jaime, you should know that Rubis are impatient. You are mortally wounding me!"
Jaime laughs. "Fine. We're going into town to do something special. It is a normal Earth thing."
"Ooh! Ooh! Which one? Are we going to eat the things known as the hamburgers? Are we going to an amusement park? What? What?"
"Hey, I said calm down! You'll see. You don't have much homework though, do you?"
"I always finish my homework fast. The teachers always comment on how miraculous a child of my age performs the assignments. I believe most of them think I cheat. I do problems on the boards easily, so I cannot comprehend, ahem, understand why they would think that."
"I'm sure they're just jealous."
"I believe that may be true. The Cortex is always informing me, ahem, telling me their chemical imbalances."
The male smiles as the alien beside him rambles on. Over the past month, he couldn't help but start to feel a little attached to her. He thinks she's just absolutely adorable. These feelings make him slightly uncomfortable since he's twenty and she's in high school, but he always has to remind himself that she's actually, like, fifty times his age. He hasn't bothered to do the math, but its still reassuring.
He watches from the corner of his eye as she looks out the window. Aurora adores watching people as they drive by them. She finds the ways humans interact with each other more than fascinating. She's explained that its become a hobby. At first he was a little concerned with this "hobby" but now he just finds it cute. His smile widens. He can't wait to show her what he's got in store for her.
"Jaime?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever heard of this thing called anime?"
"Uh, yeah. I have. I haven't really watched any. Not really my thing, you know."
"I understand. I have recently discovered it myself."
"How is it?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. He's going to enjoy this.
Aurora's eyes instantly brighten to a sparkle. "Its amazing! The animation, the characters, plot, music, oh! Its just too much! I absolutely adore it! I'll admit, there are some female characters I don't like, and male characters, but I can't help but love the story."
"You've only been here a month. How much have you managed to watch?"
"Well, I complete my homework so fast that I have too much time on my hands."
"Even with missions?"
Aurora sweatdrops. "Well, about that..."
Jaime sighs. "What did you do?"
"I have done nothing! I still do complete the missions I am assigned. But when I watch this anime, I uh, practice."
Jaime's eyebrow raises more. "Practice?"
"I am a Time Guardian apprentice. It is my job to practice."
"Wait, you practice your mojo in my house?!"
Aurora blushes. "It is small practice. To be able to use more advanced techniques, you need to know how to alter the time flow. Alter can mean many different things. Alter can mean to fast forward time, reverse it, change it, and, uh, even freeze it."
"I haven't noticed you freezing time."
"It is difficult for humans to feel it. But, yes. I freeze time to watch anime. That's how I squeeze fifteen episodes into an hour."
Jaime sighs. "I guess you've watched a lot then?"
"Oh, yes! I've watched Kill la Kill, Akame ga Kill, um, the Seven Deadly Sins. That one was very well thought out. I enjoyed it."
"Well, that's good."
"Yes..." Aurora looks out the window. The sun shines, the day is bright, lively, with people everywhere. They're all laughing, enjoying their day. Smiling, the alien feels even more excited. She can't wait to see what Jaime has planned!
Not long after, they pull into a large parking lot. Buildings surround them. They're tall and chunky, colored deep brown or the color of he dessert. Seeing the many department stores, Aurora brims with joy. Unfortunately, Jaime turns away from all the tall and chunky buildings, heading in the opposite direction. Sighing, the alien couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Cassie and M'gann took her shopping on many occasions, so that's what she thought she and Jaime were gonna do when they entered the parking lot. If they're not shopping, what are they doing?
They approach a huge building with many neon lights. Looking up at it, Aurora's mouth dropped wide open. What is this?! She's never seen one until now! "Jaime! What is it?!"
"Its called a movie theater. They're like really cool videos. Most of them are even better than anime."
"I don't know. I have watched some live-action anime. Its crap."
"These movies are fifty times better. Trust me."
"I do trust you."
"Good."
The two soon exit the car and walk towards the theater. They enter, and the alien couldn't help but stare at all the neon lights, decorating, and video games. Its all amazing! Aurora latches onto Jaime's sleeve as they navigate towards the concession stands. The alien looks up at er human companion. Its interesting. Ever since she first met him, this human has managed to make her feel special. She's curious why he does it. The Cortex has whined and complained about his "chemical imbalances" but she couldn't believe the artificial intelligence. After all its...artificial. Jaime...she's decided they've become familiar enough to drop the ten.
Besides, what's more familiar than seeing him almost naked for the thirteenth time?
Cassie turned red when Aurora told her about it. The Cortex said she was jealous, but Aurora couldn't see why she would be. She and Jaime are just friends. Same with Cassie. If they're all friends, then why did Cassie get jealous?
Humans confuse Aurora. She'll never understand them.
"What soda?"
"Hm?" The alien was so lost in thought, she didn't realize Jaime was speaking to her.
"What soda do you want?"
"Oh! Um...some of the Coke."
Jaime nods and asks the cashier to collect their food and drinks. The alien watches intensely as Jaime turns to her, arms full of popcorn and soda. She takes her soda so he wouldn't have to carry so much. They walk off to another part of the theater. Stopping in front of open double doors, Aurora looks up at the sign above said doors.
"Warcraft? Like the video game?"
"Yeah. I thought you would like it."
"I have to admit, I believe I will enjoy this. I'm excited!" Aurora turns to Jaime with a smile. The boy almost melted on the inside. She's adorable.
"Let's go in," he says, walking at a high speed into the room. The alien walks after him in slight alarm. What did she do wrong?
They find some seats near the top and settle down. Aurora is jumping in her seat. The ads continue to play on the large screen, lighting everything in the room with a clean white. Jaime looks at Aurora. The white light illuminates her eyes so they glow gold and makes her hair shine. She catches his eye.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Nope. Not a thing." He turns back to the screen, just as the previews start to show. Curious, the alien examines her face, ignoring the Cortex complaining about his chemical imbalances.
Turning to face the screen, Aurora watches the previews, and eventually, the movie. After about halfway through, the alien contently lays her head against Jaime's shoulder. The boy jumps a little, surprised she would even do something like that. He relaxes. Its pretty nice, actually. Smiling, he grabs her hand.
The ending approaches. Aurora watches, eager to see how the heroes will get out of this. At the end of the great battle between the humans and the orcs, Aurora was in tears. The king sacrificed himself?! What?! Jaime pats the back of her head as tears stream down her face.
Jeez, she's sensitive.
Aurora continues to stare as the funeral scene plays. Poor main character-ten. He's going through heartbreak and is now becoming king! Well, that's what she thinks is going on at least. She was mostly bothered by the interspecies subtext between orc-lady-ten and main character-ten.
Oh, yes. The irony Aurora thinks that.
As they walk out of the theater, Aurora babbles about the amazing movie, about the fact there is nothing like these movies on Rubicon, and how the animation looked so real!
"It was even difficult for the Cortex to read his lips. The orcs' mouths are so well animated that it was difficult. It was superb!"
Jaime chuckles. "Your vocab is getting complicated again."
"Oh, hush. There is nothing wrong with my vocabulary."
"Yeah...on Rubicon."
"Is this what you call a roast?"
"I guess so. Let's head home. I'll make us some tacos."
"Ooo! Yes! Definitely! Let's have tacos!"
As they walk toward the car, Aurora couldn't help about the sacrifice the king in the movie made for the good of his people. How brave he was. The courage needed to do such a thing...the alien could only imagine the pain he felt during his last moments. Or was he happy that his people won't suffer anymore. Was sacrificing himself really the good thing to do though? There had to be another way.
Aurora, it is best not to think about such pointless things. Besides, sacrificing oneself for the good of many is honorable.
'Yes, but a life was still lost.'
But many, many more were saved. Do not dwell on it. Instead, focus on Jaime's chemical imbalances. They are off the charts of normal.
'Are you sure you set your chemical identifiers to human rather than Rubi?'
Of course I am sure!
'Right...'
Aurora, what is that supposed to mean?
And it went on like that for the rest of the night. It was a comfortable ride home, and as soon as Aurora's head hit the pillow, she shut off as fast as a light.
I am so super sorry I updated WAAAYYYY later than I promised. I swear, I never once forgot about this story, its just that I was busier than expected.
So, Aurora's thoughts at the end. What do you guys suppose that means?
Thank you, everyone, for the reviews, follows, and favorites!