New chapter for you guys! Enjoy!
And yes, I'm working on Chronicles, I just had to get some of this outa my system.
I rouse to the comfort of a warm body next to me and blankets over me. I yawn and stretch, blinking at the Sandman's dust while still half asleep. Warm sun filters through the window; the shade hadn't been set down last night, I guess. Wait…what…? I push myself up onto my knees quickly, blood running fast and giving me a dizzy headache. I set my hands on the bed – how did I get on a bed? – and lock my elbows to keep from falling over.
Once my initial dizziness subsides, I look around. Mali is next to me on the bed. She shifts slightly, likely to wake soon. Glancing around the rest of the room shows nothing else. Just a few basic things kept in tavern rooms, candles and the like. Mali stirs some more before stretching with a yawn. She lays on her stomach and glances up at me from the corner of her eye. A smile lights on her face, friendly. "Morning, Rishi. Sleep well?" I nod, not trusting myself to speak. I have no idea what's going on. Mali laughs, reading my thoughts no doubt. "Just wait a few minutes. Yesterday's events will aaaall come back to you."
Before I can reply, the door to the room opens. While I look towards it in alarm, Mali is perfectly calm about it. Another person walks in, balancing a bunch of stuff on a tray. He closes the door with his heel before moving further in and setting the tray down on the small table normally used as a writing desk set in the corner opposite the bed. "Mornin', Ratchet," Mali says cheerfully.
He turns back to look at us and smiles slightly. "Good morning, you two. Sleep well?"
"Mhm. I haven't slept that good in eons!" She stares at the tray. "Oooh, is that breakfast?"
"Sure is. Help yourselves." He snatches up an apple and sits down, leaning back against the wall.
Mali pushes at me slightly. "Move your butt, tassletail!" I look at her. When I don't move fast enough, she head butts me, sending me sprawling on the hard floor. She giggles at my complaints. "Well, you wouldn't move!" She gets out of the bed and takes another type of fruit that I've forgotten the name of. A growl-huff leaves my throat before I push myself up and snatch up a fruit for myself, sitting down beneath the window – the wall perpendicular to the one the other guy is leaning against. As I gnaw on my fruit, I look at him from the corner of my eye.
He's at least twice my height, plus a head perhaps – hard to tell, and covered in fur. The color is a mix between sand and gold. He appears relaxed as he talks casually with Mali, eyes the color of bright emeralds full of a weird spark I've never seen before. I wonder what it is… He also has markings set in threes on his big triangle ears, arms, and the long tail resting limply by his outstretched leg. My head tilts slightly at this, and I glance down at my own tail, curled at my side like a wisp. I stare back up at him, awestruck. He's a Kyt, too…
He must have felt me staring because his eyes move to gaze at me, his head turning with them. I blink fast three times, jumping up slightly, before deciding to make the fruit in my hands more important. I take a big bite out of it, staring wide-eyed at the floor in silence.
"Is he always like this?" His voice is strong, powerful. But…not in a scary way. Nothing at all like Kairune's, for sure. It has a smooth, almost gentle undertone to it. Oh, please speak again!
"Not really," Mali says with a titter. "Just around strangers. And important people. And grown-ups." She titters again. Can you stop, Mali? "No thanks," she replies, reminding me that she actually can read minds. She looks to Ratchet again. "He might've forgotten last night. It happens every once in a while. Plus that spell of his didn't help at all."
With a frown I realize she's right. I don't actually remember much after leaving the palace. I do remember Mali hugging me and talking incessantly. Ever worried, she is. I don't remember much about the other Kyt, though. Anything at all, actually. It's just…non-existent in my mind. I remember something, just a faint glimmer of memory that tells me that he and "Commander Darkstar" are the same person. Mali explained about their scheme to me last night before we fell asleep…
"Is that so?" His gaze shifts to me again. I shift uncomfortably, my gaze flicking up at him and down to the floor multiple times as I try not to stare. My tail twitches, and I feel the tips of my ears flick up and then droop down. "Relax, kid," he says kindly. "You don't need to be nervous. I'm not gonna hurt ya."
"Wh-who says I'm nervous?" I say, looking up with wide eyes. My ears strain upwards, making my ears pop.
His mouth forms a smile, which turns into a friendly grin. "I can read you like a book, my fellow Lombax." He tosses his fruit up, catches it, and brings it up to take a bite.
"What's a Lombax?"
He stops midway at my question, pulling the food away as he blinks. He looks at me, my curious expression, and laughs. Despite the reason behind it, I really like his laugh. Kinda makes me think of water falling over a roof or something.
"D-did I s-s-sa-say something wr-wrong?" I say. Curse my stuttering! It always happens when I get really nervous.
He forces his laughter to die down, leaning forward after setting his fruit back on the tray and setting his hands on the floor. "N-no…no, you're fine, kid. You're fine. You didn't say anything wrong." He looks up at me with another grin laced with charm. "I just found it kinda funny how you don't even know what you are."
This statement confuses me. "W-what do you mean…? Of course I know what I am! I'm a Kyt!" He gives me a funny look. "That's what everybody else calls me!" I say defensively.
"Ahhhh," he says in a quiet, breathy voice. His body still trembles with laughter. "Of course. I got called that a lot when I was your age. Kinda outgrew it when I got older, people started just calling me Lombax. Or space rat." From the look on his face, I can tell he's seconds away from another outburst of laughter. "My friends call me Ratchet though," he finally says, giving me another award-winning smile (whatever that means).
"So…a-fish-ly, the name of my – our kind is 'Lombax'?" I ask.
He nods affirmative, pushing himself up with his hands and dusting himself off. "Welp, I suppose we'd better head off. Get our tails off of this dust-ball. Not that I mind it, mind you. I just need to be home. Home sounds good. Don't you agree, kid?"
"Home?" I ask. The word is almost foreign to me. I know what it means, sure, but I've never actually really had a place I can a-fish-ly call my home. Does he…plan to…take me with him…?
"Yeah, home," he replies. "Can't have you running amok out here causing Orvus-knows what kind a trouble! Come on." After grabbing a device on the table and a wrench leaning against the wall at the foot of the bed, he leads the two of us out of the tavern and through town.
Mali occupies my thoughts as she babbles on and on about street-news and things I missed over the past couple of weeks, and Ratchet of course. She seems to be fond of his company. I guess that means he's good. At first, I don't even realize when we get to the outskirts of the grand city. Not until Mali stops at least, just beyond the last building. I walk a few paces ahead of her before realizing she has stopped. I frown at the look in her eyes and the smile that borders on sadness. "Come on, Mali."
She tilts her head, closing her eyes as she forces her smile to widen. "I'm not going with you."
"Wha-what?!" I am just dimly aware that Ratchet has also stopped some paces ahead of us. "What do you mean?! Of course you are!"
She shakes her head at me. "No, Rishi. I cannot. This is where we must part ways."
"N-no!" I rush up to her and grab her wrists insistently, tugging slightly. I have to crane my neck a little to look at her face, making me realize that she's actually taller than me. "You have to come! You just have to!" I'm not sure if it's the dust floating in the air, but something stings my eyes, forcing me to blink harshly. "I'm not leaving without you, Mali!"
She gives a short laugh, as if my words are somehow funny, but…no…it's more…sentimental…understanding. "You must, Rishi." She opens her eyes, still smiling. Her eyes glisten brightly in the slow morning sun.
"No! You don't like this any more than I do, I can tell! Don't deny it! Don't you dare!" I reach up and hook my arms around her neck in a tight hug, burying my face there. "Please…come with us…" I feel her arms wrap gently around my waist in a return hug. "Please…"
"Rishi…" her voice is quiet, almost a song. "Do you remember what I told you? About the Threads of Fate?"
I nod silently against her neck, repeating her words, first in my head, then out loud. "You said that…that the Threads twine and twist and knot. Many cross while…while just as many are lonesome. You…you also said that there are countless of them to a single person."
"That's right…" Mali says softly. Her voice is both in the air and in my head. "If Ratchet had not been here, your Thread would have been cut short, Rishi. You would not have lived, had adventure, felt truly happy. I may not be able to see what lies ahead for you, or whether or not our Threads shall cross again, but I do know that you need to go, and I need to stay. It's very, very important, Rishi. More than you will ever realize or understand, even after you grow up. You can't count on just a single person forever, Rishi."
"I know…" I whisper. I don't like what she's saying, not at all, but I know she speaks the truth.
"I want you – need you to grasp this new thread given to you. Hold onto it like the line thrown from the ship to rescue a sailor like in one of the stories. Never forget those."
"I won't…"
"You've been given a new chance, Rishi. Take it! It's yours! Perfect in every way, and set on a winding path to Allah and Orvus knows where! Take the fruit, walk the thread. Follow the music your heart beats to like a quiet drum.
"This is your path, Rishi. Someday, you might find its end. Someday, it may entwine with mine anew. But until that day comes, until Fate leads you here, never return. This planet is no longer for you. I never believed it ever would be, even at the start. I knew that one day, someday, you would depart, and this is that day."
I squeeze her tightly, a gesture that she returns, before letting her neck go, our hands joining. She presses something into mine, and I look down, seeing a magnificently carved flute which she curls my fingers over. "To play with the music in your heart," she explains in a whisper. I look up at her in awe. She carved this. Only she has such skill. Her first and only craftwork. And she's giving it to me.
I fling myself back around her neck gratefully. This means the world to me, and she knows that. I squeeze her tightly to ensure that she knows it, and will know it forever. "I'll miss you." I refuse to admit my voice has been reduced to a pathetic whimper, choked by what I know are tears.
"And I, you, Rishilian Azaru." The name she calls me should confuse me, but it doesn't. It feels…right. Mine. "May Fate let us meet again. Until then, I will count the stars and watch for you as our lives go on."
She doesn't need to give me a mental cue to release her. We just do it at the same time, knowing that it's time to go our separate ways. I turn to see Ratchet, standing in respectful silence. He's really nice…I like him. Mali and Ratchet stare at one another. "You certain you don't want to come along? It's no trouble if you do."
Mali shakes her head. "My place is here. On Deresan."
Ratchet gives her a nod of solemn understanding. Then he jerks his head. "Come on, kid," he says. His voice is almost playful. "Let's go home."
I glance up at Mali. Her gaze shifts to me, and she smiles ever-so-slightly. I walk towards Ratchet, our hands lingering together in the air for an eternity before I take another step closer to the older one that saved my life and altered Fate's path for me. Finally, I stand in front of him, and we appear to size each other up. He smiles and ruffles the untrimmed fur on top of my head. I shake my head in protest after he's done, shifting the hair back.
He looks back up towards Mali and I turn to face her as well. Her dark skin contrasts against the world around her so much. It's a wonder that she's native to the planet. It takes all of my self-control not to run back to her. I might have if Ratchet didn't put a firm hand on my shoulder, reassuring me of the right course to take.
"Take care of him, Ratchet Nebula," Mali says boldly, commanding the Lombax at least twice, maybe even three times her age.
"You have my word." His response is strong and clear across the distance. The few paces feels like a few thousand miles. With a heavy heart, I turn to follow Ratchet as he leads me away from the great city I once called home. I wonder how Mali will be in the future. I do hope she will be well off, as I am now. Before I know it, the two of us – both Lombaxes – approach a type of transportation like I've never seen before. I glance back once, the city far away.
Mali stands there, still as she gazes after us in the place we left her. The wind picks up and blows dust around, turning her into a silhouette. The dust whirls and storms around her, blurring her figure further, stretching it into some strange parody of her outline in the morning shadows.
And then, leaving an ache in my heart and a strange, hollow absence in my mind, she's gone from sight.
I did this over the course of three hours. One whole sitting! Well, minus the quick shower break, of course. It's nightly routine. Must be done.
{I wonder if you brought any to tears here…}
Likely…Rishi and Mali had this…really strong…incomprehensible bond. Like really close siblings or something, you know?
But, it had to be done. One reviewer mentioned Mali going along, and I just said to myself, "Oh, no, that won't do! I've nothing else to do with her!" Seriously, she would pretty much lose all relevance once stepping off of Deresan, so I messed around in my head and got this down.
Man, I just looooove Rishi! He's so cute! I just love playing with his moods and tendencies. He's really young, and therefore unpredictable. Often has these weird nervous spells, too.
Anywho! Wow! I got another chapter done! What is this now? Hoooooly COW! Eleven, already?! Yeesh!
Maybe I need to do longer chapters… What do you guys think?
I'd love to hear your opinions, thoughts, and general, so feel free to leave a review!
See ya later, guys!
~Foenix Nightshade~