This chapter took me a long time to write and annoyingly I don't even have much to show for it. Just Ulgar and Luca slooooooowwwwwwwwwwwllllllllyyyyy getting closer to each other. And the fact that I have to spell it out probably means this chapter isn't that good.
It has been asked why Polina is not part of my story. I started publishing this story here while the anime was still ongoing so I omitted her for the simple reason of avoiding spoilers. Plus, her presence would not really affect the story in any way so there is no real need for me to write an extra person (I'm lazy). I've also been really vague about at what stage of the journey my story takes place so Polina might actually be there but not saying anything. It's up to your imagination.
If anyone has any other questions, please let me know!
"Not knowing when we will be attacked next is inconvenient and leaves us vulnerable", Zack explained as Team B-5 had gathered outside of the Astra. "That's why I build this electric fence."
The spaceship was now surrounded by metal poles, evidently taken from the Astra's storage unit. Standing a stone throw away from the ship, the structures were connected by rows of thin wire. Although the construct did not look very sturdy, the Astra's pilot reassured that the electric current was strong enough to deter any monster. "It's also strong enough to kill a human", he added with a casual tone. Immediately, everyone took a step back.
"And you built all this in one day?", Luca asked. He shielded his eyes with his hand as the metal reflected the light of the setting sun.
"Kanata did most of the lifting", Zack explained nodding towards their captain. "To make it work, I diverted current from the Astra's generator. So as for now, we won't have electricity on the Astra at night. Also, the hot water in the showers won't work."
"There's no hot water?!", Quitterie exclaimed, yet having dealt with Nemesis' monsters, she preferred being alive over living in comfort. "Fine then", the girl gave in. "But you better work on finding an alternative."
"What are these for?", Aries enquired pointing to the top of one of the poles. Standing closest to the fence, the girl had noted a small white box fitted onto the top of each pole.
Zack wordlessly picked up a pebble and threw it against the fence. Suddenly, the group could hear Yun Hua's singing voice coming from the boxes. Yet, upon turning around, they found the girl standing behind them quietly. "This is the alarm", the pilot explained. "People always panic when they hear an alarm, limiting their ability to make rational decisions. Yun Hua's voice will help us to stay calm."
"Don't you think we will stay a little too calm?", Quitterie remarked.
"Or it might attract more of these monsters that like to listen to Yun Hua's voice", Charce gave to consideration.
"I think it's great", Aries smiled. "I already feel much calmer."
While everyone was inspecting Zack's brilliant work, Funicia approached Ulgar. "I went to the lake today with Quitterie. Look what we found." The girl held out her hand, revealing a feather. Surprisingly normal sized, it displayed a pretty colouration of shades of green and blue. "Do you want to wear it?" Funicia pointed towards her hair where she had already attached a similar feather.
The black-haired teen could not see the point of wearing fancy hair accessories but it seemed to make Funicia happy. Ulgar reluctantly squatted, so the girl could stick the feather into his hair.
"If you don't do anything, Funi will really steal him from you," Quitterie said having noted Luca's gaze focused on Ulgar. "That's my sister for you", she added proudly.
"Not like I can do anything", Luca replied, his voice sharper than he had intended. Even kissing Ulgar had not offered him salvation. Eternally doomed to be a bystander, the purple-haired teen watched Funicia's disappointment as the feather failed to stick in Ulgar's hair and floated towards the ground. Quitterie had a point. It was only around Funicia that Ulgar seemed to relax, his irritated scowl turning into a cautious smile. Why did it hurt so much? Why had Quitterie come to pity him in his misery?
"Giving up isn't gonna make anything better", the blonde replied, her enthusiasm and optimism seemingly inappropriate. "Let's combat accessorising with accessorising", she suggested.
Without waiting for Luca's response, Quitterie attached a flower to his hair. "There." Glowing red, the blossom had the size of a tennis ball. "Feathers are for kids anyway."
"I'm not sure I like wearing this", Luca remarked, failing to see how an accessory would be able to influence Ulgar's feelings. "How come you are supporting me, Quitterie? Funi is your sister."
"Come on, she's only ten." Plus, she had already seen how much Ulgar cared about Luca. "Just don't tell Zack that I brought back inedible stuff again or he might find out that - "
"Find out what?" The bespectacled teen was suddenly next to them.
"It's all Kanata's fault!", Luca heard Quitterie say as he quietly left the scene. He appreciated the girl's help, although its usefulness was doubtful.
xxx
"So how is this gonna work?" It was the next day and Ulgar sat on the floor of his room, surrounded by a sea of leaves, fabric, tools and other random materials Luca had brought over. He was battling with leaves and glue in an attempt to make Funicia's raincape.
"Aah this is all wrong!" Luca was sitting opposite his friend, still working on fixing their clothing. "You can't just glue them! And you need to cut the edges off first anyway." He had not expected Ulgar to be a master tailor but his pitiful attempts surprised him still. "It will be exposed to the rain, therefore, you have to sew it from underneath so that the threat is not visible from the outside. If you glue it, it's just gonna fall apart."
"It's that complicated?" Ulgar looked up, already losing the patience he never thought he had in the first place. Luca was amazing. Simple raincapes they would discard as soon as they waved 'goodbye' to Nemesis, yet made with a lot of thought and effort.
"Let me show you." Luca grabbed a pair of scissors and began cutting the leaves into squares. Ulgar out of his comfort zone was fun to watch and he enjoyed being relied upon. Yet Quitterie's words were like dark shadows mercilessly assassinating any joy. The red flower in his hair was proof of his desperation, wilting and slowly dying alongside his hope. All that was left was frustration but he had long passed the point of no return. Sighing Luca started sewing the leaves together, lost in thoughts and not realising he had taken over Ulgar's task.
Ulgar quietly watched his friend. Wearing his vest again, he was actually able to face the purple-haired teen without a whole host of inappropriate thoughts forming in his mind. Luca's fingers were skilful and nimble and he found himself mesmerised by their swift movement. Yet the black-haired teen did not fail to notice that Luca was unusually quiet and there was a suspicious absence of awkward questions. Unskilled in making conversation, he wondered whether he should say something. Luca could start a conversation like it was his second nature, another skill Ulgar had never before fully appreciated. "Did Funi give you that flower?", he finally asked stiffly, nodding towards Luca's new hair accessory.
"Quitterie did", Luca replied, interrupting his work. Although the other members of Team B-5 had complimented him, Ulgar had not said anything about the flower. Not like he had expected Quitterie's idea to miraculously solve his dilemma. "It looks weird, doesn't it?"
Ulgar hesitated. Luca's cuteness was undeniable. Charming in both appearance and demeanour. Yet also somehow ingenuine. "Not like something you'd normally wear", he concluded non-commitally. However, in truth, it stirred him in a way that he could not quite grasp. Unlike sexual attraction, much vaguer and more disturbing. "You don't have to force yourself and wear something just because it was a present."
Luca was surprised. How was it that Ulgar could suddenly see through him with crystalline clarity when it used to be the other way around? "I guess not." He was not a girl, wearing fancy accessories was a game of make-believe to him. With another sigh, Luca removed the wilting blossom from his hair and held it in his hand. What a fool he was. Ulgar was not the prize of a competition between him and Funicia nor would superficial decoration would win his smile. Never before had it been a problem for Luca to voice his thoughts in front of his friend. And that would not change. Small breasts, not curvy and sometimes annoying. "Ulgar… are you into kids?"
"What?!" That question sounded as much like Luca as it was alarming. But at least now Ulgar could understand his strange behaviour. The black-haired teen had always made sure to keep a neutral expression and to hide his body's reaction to Luca, but perhaps his acting skills had fallen short. "You know… Just because you don't have big breast doesn't mean I see you as a child."
Luca dropped the scissors, the noise of its impact amplified by the awkward silence that followed. "You don't see me … what?!" The confusion visible in his grey eyes, he failed to understand, his brain working as if on drugs but its output incomprehensible.
"That's not what you meant?", Ulgar asked, suddenly wishing he could travel back in time just enough to re-answer the question.
"No… Well, thanks for not seeing me as a child, I guess…" Due to his lack of a clear gender, Luca had faced numerous challenges in his life yet nobody had ever called him a child. Ulgar's words cut straight through him like the razor-sharp teddy claw. Why did it hurt so much?
"I didn't mean it that way." Ulgar cursed himself. One misunderstanding had led to the other and suddenly they had found themselves on a one-way street without escape. He could see Luca's pain, shared it like it was his own. "Look, I like them the way they are … your breasts. They're … ." Hot. Seductive. "I mean I'm sorry I stared at them."
Luca blushed. His hands protectively over his chest, he looked aside. "You can stare if you want … just a little bit." Ulgar's behaviour still made little sense to him, but his own question whether the other liked children had been equally foolish.
"Just forget about it!" Ulgar was unable to decide whether Luca was serious or teasing him. Probably the latter. It was frustrating about how little he understood his friend.
"So what do you think of Funi then?", Luca continued, back to normal.
"Funi?" Ulgar was finally able to connect the dots and understand the other's motive. "You think I'm a paedophile?!" Luca did not answer and all he got was a gaze, embarrassment mixed with guilt. Irresistible. Their whole discussion seemed surreal making his accusation feel less out of place. Thinking about Quitterie's sister, the image of his elder brother flashed up in Ulgar's mind. He had been at his side, supporting him even when nobody else was. "Perhaps I'm trying to be like my brother", he concluded. "But I'm not very good at it, am I?"
"Funi likes you so you must be doing something right", he replied, surprised by Ulgar's unusual openness. "Let's make the prettiest raincape we can for her... Well, I seem to have already halfway finished it", Luca noted looking at the leaves on his lap.
"What about your brother?", Ulgar asked as Luca pushed the half-sewn raincape back into his hands. Always the one asking questions, the other was still a mystery to him.
"Hey, this is the first time you have asked me about myself!" Luca's eyes sparkled. "We didn't have that kind of relationship", he explained happily. "We weren't close and I'm not much of an elder brother anyway."
Luca was amazing, Ulgar concluded. While he himself had always relied on his brother, Luca had never had anyone and yet, he was optimistic and cheerful. Slim and fragile as he was, where did he draw his strength from? It was a strange feeling, for the first time he was genuinely interested in another person, wanted to know more about Luca's thoughts and fears.
"Aah! You're doing it all wrong again!", Luca exclaimed noting Ulgar's unskilled attempts at finishing the cape. "You need to sew it from underneath like I did." Maybe there would never be anything romantically between them, but he would support Ulgar nonetheless.
xxx
"This is my raincape?", Funicia asked as Ulgar wordlessly handed her the clothing. Putting it on, one half perfectly sewn, the red and purple colours carefully chosen, the other half with messy seams and random dark green patches.
"Well, Ulgar did his best", Luca explained smiling.
I promise, next chapter the plot will continue and something will actually happen.
