I didn't take Pete for a thief, not after how I saw him act around Gertie, so when I saw him running off with the Zemedo, I knew he had to be doing something well meaning, but foolish.
I chased after him, but a couple Abreya kids in dresses got in the way. Kind of unusual, wasn't sure why they were in a Qulpari hangout, and I couldn't tell the gender, even when they complained about me bumping into them, but I didn't have time to talk. I pushed past and found Pete making a beeline straight for one of those flying transports.
"Hey! Pete!" I cried. "Wait up!"
"Go back to your plants!" he snapped, rushing to the pod door.
I didn't have much hope of catching him in time. The only one that seemed to be awake enough to help was Charlie, and he didn't even have useful arms.
Thankfully, Rilquza just happened to be around the vehicle. "Elliott?"
In his defense, The light wasn't that good.
"I'm Pete!" my quarry exclaimed. "Get your eyes checked, Rilquza!"
"I am sorry. Elliott is in the habit of sleepwalking, so Vorxora asked me to patrol the area, especially around the pod. Do you suffer from this affliction as well?"
"I'm awake, dumbass."
"Where are you going, unaccompanied at this hour?"
"Uh..." Pete stammered. "N-nowhere. I was...just ...going to visit Olxebak and his mates."
Surprisingly, Rilquza knew what the kid was talking about. "Ah, yes. I have been sending them messages. It would be nice to see them in person. Perhaps you can wait until the morning, so we could all go together?"
By then I'd caught up with him. "If you're just visiting friends, why sneak off? And why did you bring Gertie's Zemedo along?"
Pete reddened. "I, uh, just wanted to practice! They ...know how to play the instrument too!"
I crossed my arms. "Nice try. I haven't heard you say one word to them since we met you."
"Yeah? Well, you weren't watching me all the time...I sent a message."
A Qulpari stepped out of the pod, and Pete darted through the open door.
It seems that the pods came in different models, this one being slightly antiquated. Pete must have been familiar with how it operated, for the moment I tried following him, he pulled a lever, closing the hatch in my face. In seconds, the craft was airborne.
In addition to fast doors, antique pods had more facets on the exterior, which allowed me, somewhat foolishly, to hitch a ride.
Not great handles, but enough for me to hold on. I only wished my palms didn't keep sweating.
I caught a glimpse of what lay below, figured the fall could kill me if my gliding outfit failed.
I climbed to a window, scowling at the boy. "You're not going to see your friends, are you?"
Pete's mouth seemed to be saying something to the effect that he couldn't hear.
"You can't face Sovirox alone!" I yelled. "It's suicide!"
He cupped a hand to his ear, then shrugged.
I carefully made my way to the door hatch, banged on it with with my feet, then a fist when I found a lip to teeter on.
I lacked the upper body strength to pull this action off with any success, and we were moving. I slipped, caught hold of a design facet near the bottom of the door, then my arms gave out and I went into free fall.
I tugged on the cord on my outfit, spread my arms, but the glider part had been damaged from the last time I pulled a stunt like this.
It ripped, I did a partial aerial somersault, I dropped like a rock.
"Moo." Something vice-like had just clamped around my ankle, a spongy wet sandpapery thing providing slight cushion to an otherwise painful experience.
I looked up, but for a moment saw only what appeared to be the result of a huge pillow fight.
"Moo?"
The feathers cleared and I saw a familiar beak and swine's ears. "Vadful?'
The giant bird made a playful growling noise like a Shiba Inu, making drool pour up my calf.
He deposited me on a random tree branch, thick enough to support my weight, but allowing no apparent means of getting down.
I watched, helpless, as Pete's pod receded further and further into the distance.
[0000]
Note: Sorry for the short chapter, but I had writer's block again. I figured this probably should have been stuck on the previous chapter so I could make a clean break in the story before picking it up in another installment. It was either this or putting an ugly asterix in the middle and awkwardly starting a new chapter on the same page.
