Deep down and hidden

He needed to stop and refuel. A wayside terra that bore nothing but a tiny shack and a dried up looking well didn't look good for buying crystals, and he wasn't too sure about landing, but something pulled him to it.

Besides, he had money. It rustled in his pocket, crackled as he moved. Sweetest sound in the world, save her laughter.

It was morning. He thought he saw a blue and gold clad shape standing on the edge of the terra. He smiled to himself. This was going faster than he thought it would. The blond wasn't too hard to track. His ride had been old; a trail of gunky crystal dust had floated through the air, a dark streak of black across a blue sky.

Landed.

"Hey, you."

The boy turned, eyes widening in shock. "Not this again. If you're here to hit me, I'm telling ya, that's not a good decision."

"What, you got a bigger stick than last time?" He grinned. "No. I'm looking for someone, and you're going to help me find her."

"Not happening. She's safe, away from you. I can find her myself, thanks very much."

"Ah, there's the problem." He took out a wad of cash.

"You can't bribe me," the blond snorted. "I'd rather have her far from the likes of you than have a million bucks any day."

"I realize that. But you'll need fuel. Maybe even a new skimmer altogether. You'll need food, water, and not just for you. And what about when you find her? How're you going to get her back to the piss hole of a terra you came from?"

The kid glared at him, knew he was right.

"Fine. Fine. But you keep that sword strapped to your back, you hear? And if you lay a finger...no, scratch that, if you so much as LOOK at her funny, you'll find yourself splattered across the Wastelands. I'll send you down there in fuckin' installments, if I have to."

He chuckled at the kid's words. Empty threats. Emptier than the big blue sky before them.