Chapter 14: It's Just a Scarf

Allan scooped up a bit of snow with his ski, flinging it into the air. Then he scooped up some more. Jen sat (somewhat more patiently) on a log in the snow across, back towards the valley.

"I still can't believe you're going through with this," he said, shaking his head.

It was the first day of their joint vacation and also the perfect day for skiing. Yet the only thing Allan had done so far was to wait for a certain blue housemate to arrive—thanks to Jen having had the brilliant idea to invite him for snowboarding. It was one thing to plan for Sonic being within reach in case the professor they were supposed to meet knew a whole lot more than they'd gathered so far, but that didn't mean Sonic had to take part in the vacation part of their trip.

"He'll come. If there's one thing he's good at, it's orientation," Jen said.

"I'm more concerned about his time-reading skills."

Jen rolled her eyes. "Then take a spin without me."

"I didn't come here to ski alone," he muttered, trying to remind himself that spending time with Jen waiting was still spending time with Jen. Allan unstrapped his ski and sat down beside her, taking in the view. They'd picked a place slightly off-piste right near a piece of forest where no one probably even looked their way. A sharp breeze ruffled through Allan's hair on an otherwise perfect day and he fished for his toque.

"How did you manage to get a snowboard his size, anyway. Didn't you say he was too heavy for a kid-sized one?" he asked.

"I… kind of asked for a board that would fit a socially reclusive midget…?"

Allan opened his mouth, then closed it again. "Well then. Let's hope he doesn't break it. If he's snowboarding the same way he leaves your flat—"

"Oh, don't be such a wet blanket. It's only for one day."

"Sure…"

The branches rustled, followed by the crunching of snow as Sonic finally managed to show up. He waited between the trees where the snow was less deep, being decidedly under-dressed as always. While wearing pair of calf-length cargo shorts was clearly an upgrade in decency, it could hardly be called weather-appropriate. Allan couldn't imagine Sonic's fur to be that warm.

"Hey! Hope you didn't wait long," Sonic said with barely an accent. He had (as Allan grudgingly had to admit) made quite a bit of progress during the past couple of weeks. But he'd still managed to let them wait for just about twenty minutes…

"No, it's okay." Jen said, getting up and dragging the snowboard over. "Though I hope you really meant this when you said snowboarding and don't want to ski now. Because if you got it wrong I think I'll dropkick you down the mountain." She added, sticking out her tongue.

Allan suppressed a snort. As if.

"Nah, it's great," Sonic said. "Don't worry."

He gave the board a short but strangely expert inspection while Jen produced a pair of matching boots from her backpack.

"Hope they fit," she said.

Sonic checked out their soles and the way the shoes would latch into the board's bindings, pursing his lips as he probably realized he couldn't keep wearing his own. After a moment he bent down and slipped out of a sneaker and into one of the boots, pulling up one ridiculously loose sock in the process.

"I've got a second pair of socks if the shoes are too loose," Jen said. What the heck else had she considered?

"Nah, I'm good." Sonic took a few probing steps, then seemed to have a brief inner debate before handing his own shoes to Jen and watching her pack them up. He swung the snowboard across his back, looking ready to go.

"Thanks," he said.

At least that had gone quick. Allan prepared to get up again, but then just slumped back on the log as Jen pulled something else from her backpack, causing even Sonic to pause.

"I thought you might want these," she said, handing him a pair of gloves. He eyed them for a moment, seemingly stunned, then leaned the board against a tree, took the gloves and simply slipped them over his own fingerless ones, flexing his hand. Jen managed to produce a bright green scarf in the meantime, which she'd probably picked because it matched his eye-color or something.

Sonic looked at her with the kind of grin that bordered between amazement and utter confusion. "You're crazy," he said.

"Even he admits it…," Allan muttered under his breath.

"No, I'm just not looking forward to having a sick version of you at my place," she replied.

Allan winced. That was a good point as well.

Sonic wrapped the scarf around his neck, creating a bundle that was almost as large as his head. He tucked the ends together anyway.

Jen scratched her head. "I think mine is shorter, we could switch if you want…"

Sonic pulled the scarf from his lips with a chuckle, steam forming in the air. "This one's fine, really."

"Okay." Jen deflated somewhat. "That's it from me, then. See you at three. Take care!"

»Will do.« He grinned. "Bye, Al." Then he was off.

Allan finally got up, brushing snow from his behind.

"I'm surprised you didn't also bring a coat for him."

"Allan…"

"You know what I mean. I get that he has to learn, and I get that he needs some help. But neither do you have to mother him so much, nor does he have to live with you in the meantime. I thought we were on the same page about this."

Jen took a deep breath. "Allan, it's in the middle of winter, I can hardly kick him out now."

Allan scoffed. "Well, he keeps saying he's fine. So maybe you should take him at his word."

"…Just how jealous are you, really?"

"I—What? I'm not jealous. I—" He paused, grasping for an explanation. "Look, you know I don't have a lot of free time. But when I do, I want to spend it with you, not you both."

Jen crossed her arms. "He's never there when we meet."

"Yes, I know. And I appreciate it. But you still can't let the subject go. He might not be there, but you still spend half of the time talking about him. And whenever you don't I'm just sitting there anticipating. It's driving my crazy."

Jen went quiet, staring at the snow in front of her. After a moment she hung her shoulders, looking helpless. "I know."

He already had a return on his lips but bit it off when she continued: "But—You're literally the only one I can talk to about this. What am I supposed to do? I mean, we could go and involve someone else if it helps, but—" She shook her head, looking away.

Damn. He hadn't looked at it that way. Now all his arguments and suggestions had somehow poofed out of existence. Allan folded his arms.

"…Okay," he said.

"Okay what?" Jen met his eyes.

"You're right. I don't think we should involve anyone else."

Jen seemed taken aback. "Good. Then what do we do?"

Good question. What could they do, anyway? A week ago Allan had half-jokingly suggested that they should just go ahead and hand Sonic over to NASA. It would certainly kick-start a whole new era of space programs and research, at some point likely leading to the endeavor of a manned space trip that Sonic could be part of.

Only he'd kind of overlooked the fact that such a mission would, even with focused effort, still take a couple of years to prepare, in which Sonic would most likely have a worse time than he'd ever have freezing his butt off in a Canadian winter.

Needless to say the comment had earned Allan the most intense look of disbelief he'd ever seen on Jen's face.

Whatever they chose to do now, she was in this—and so was he after a fashion. None of that would suddenly change if she stopped letting Sonic stay at her place. But the way it was, Allan just couldn't see this situation be beneficial for anyone but Sonic. He had no choice but to trust him to keep them both out of whatever trouble he might get into. Allan just hoped Sonic was capable of realizing that he owed Jen big time by now.

He let out a breath. "Can we try something?"

Jen perked up.

"I know I'm having a hard time accepting that he's… not out to get you into trouble or anything, and I'm trying my best to get used to this situation. But at the same time you should try and find a way to not feel responsible all the time." Allan licked his lips. (This was clearly one of the things you had to get across without sounding like a jerk).

Jen gave him an expectant look.

He continued: "When he's out, away, whatever he does: If he gets himself into a mess, it's not your fault. You're not the one who has to come to his rescue. He's siphoning enough off of you as it is, and I don't understand what you feel you're getting in return, but I can tell it's distracting you—and you know it, too. So, when spring comes, at the latest, I want him to be on his own. He can come when he needs help, alright, but until then you should try to learn to acknowledge that you don't have to feel responsible for him, or worry about him unquestioned—especially not when he doesn't seem to listen to what you ask of him."

Jen considered Allan's words a little longer than he would've liked, a pained look on her face now. He was used to her being sensible to the rational part of an argument, but he really wished there'd be a little less emotion in all this.

She nodded eventually, relaxing somewhat. "Okay," she said, releasing a breath. "Spring it is. I'll talk to him."

"Really?"

"I mean it. Now let's get back to being students on vacation, OK?" She smiled vaguely.

Allan grinned. "Already on it," he said, bowing down and grabbing a bunch of snow to throw at her.

"Hey!"

#

Sonic somehow managed to have a blast and the worst day ever at the same time. The weather couldn't be more perfect (although it had gotten somewhat cold around the chest—not that he'd admit it—and he'd adjusted the scarf a couple of times, now wearing it like some sort of harness), but he'd slightly underestimated the amount of trudging it took to get up a decent slope without a lift. It made frozen water even worse than liquid water in his book: at least he could run on top of the latter. But here, even with the convenience of having a splitboard under his feet (he still couldn't believe Jen had thought that far ahead), he could only trudge. One step at a time.

He emerged from the shade of a patch of trees and began crossing a wide open stretch of deep snow, shading his eyes from the sun and immediately wishing for a pair of sunglasses. Jen had probably also thought about lending him a pair, but by now even he was perfectly sure that, unless they made eyewear for elephants, nothing on this planet would ever fit his head.

After some more trudging Sonic pulled himself on top of a sundried boulder, unstrapping the two halves of the board from his shoes and piecing them together again. He stuck the readied board into the snow beside him and leaned back onto his elbows, letting the warmth of the sun seep into his damp fur and clothes. After a moment he closed his eyes and lay down fully, arms and legs stretched out. It always seemed to take him a bit of time before he could fully relax wherever he went, even when he already knew he was perfectly alone out here—the proper ski area wasn't even in hearing range. But as much as he wanted to blame Jen and Allan for rubbing off on him, he knew that he hadn't exactly felt at ease even before he'd come to meet the two. Being the only one of your kind on a foreign planet apparently did that to you.

He propped himself up again, scanning the area while picking up a few bits of snow to melt in his mouth. Before him laid a softly declining slope of glistening deep snow that would get properly rough further down. Behind it, the wide valley between the mountains was sprinkled with far-off blotches of civilization. Despite always taking a moment to become properly at ease, it was in places like these where he could just be for a change (nevermind the fact that he wouldn't mind just 'being' at a local dance club, or the diner next door…). When he made his way through cities or outskirts, he always felt like keeping his head down. It wasn't so much because he worried about being discovered anymore—there was no way anyone could link him to Jen or Allan anyway—it was because of their ridiculous reactions. The odd confused stare was fine and all, but, man, those guys took way too long to get over the fact that he didn't look like them, even though they clearly seemed to realize he was mostly the same, after all. It was definitely one of the top five "most annoying things about being stuck on an alien planet" (right next to living through two winters in a row, having to take extra-care sleeping on a couch that wasn't quill proof, having regular near-death experiences trying not to fall into an oversized toilet, and not getting a single frickin' chili dog anywhere).

…Technically, he thought he understood what those humans were going through: they were the only sapient species around. They weren't used to someone like him. He just couldn't figure out why it was such a big deal to still be at least somewhat normal around him. Even Jen had taken a while to stop treating him like a ticking time-bomb or something, although that probably had something to do with the fact that they couldn't properly communicate at first. Now she cared for him to the point that it managed to make him uncomfortable half of the time. Having a go-to place while he was stuck here was no doubt the best thing that could've happened to him, but by now he was long overdue repaying her in some way or other, and he perfectly knew that he had no means to do so whatsoever. The only thing he could do was to at least give her as much space as possible, but then whenever he was out for a while, she just kind of got frustrated that he'd left or something. He really needed to try and talk to her about it eventually.

…And maybe try to be on time at least today.

#

"Hello?"

Sonic slid his board to a halt, snow spraying. He was about halfway down and in the middle of a pine forest still far off from the regular ski area. A faint call for 'hello' wasn't exactly what he'd expected to hear. He pricked up his ears.

"Hey? Anyone?" A pause. "Shit, I'm so dead."

The voice had come from somewhere to his right, sounding male and probably not older than his own. Sonic was fairly sure his sense of direction hadn't failed him since getting here. So whoever was trying to get someone's attention over there, they likely weren't going to get lucky anytime soon.

…He really was a magnet for this kind of stuff happening.

Sonic edged his board forward and crossed the forest along the incline, trying not to gain too much downward momentum. After a short stretch he could make out the back of a person sitting against a lying trunk a little ways below. A trail of crushed, messed-up snow lead right to him. Sonic grimaced.

The one below lifted what could only be his phone towards the sky, snuffling. "Come on, come on, come on….".

Sonic put his board into motion again and slid past, stopping below the boy's feet which still had a snowboard strapped to them.

"Oh, shit." The kid started, phone slipping from his fingers. He frantically picked it up again, then tried pushing himself up from a sitting position only to instantly sag down, wincing and gritting his teeth. He raised his arms defensively, eyes squinted. "Don't kill me, don't kill me!"

Sonic raised an eye-ridge. "I think you managed that well enough without me."

The boy let his arm drop and stared in that particular open-mouthed way that humans apparently reserved for situations like this. "You can talk?" he said.

Sonic tried his best to keep the 'duh' from his face. As much as he appreciated being able to finally follow along most of daily Earth conversation, this kid made him feel like forgetting his newfound skills for a while.

The boy gave him a somewhat sheepish look as Sonic had apparently failed in keeping his face neutral. Then he glanced away, shoulders slumping. He looked thoroughly exhausted, probably unable to get up on his own. Not the kind of time to start acting snarky.

"What happened?" Sonic asked instead.

He wiped his nose with the back of his glove, then studied Sonic for a moment with a pair of eyes that would've probably been framed by puffy red skin if said skin hadn't been so dark.

"Dunno," he said. "Guess my board got caught in something. Next thing I know I'm here."

"Can you move your legs?" The one question Sonic never ever wanted to have to answer.

"Y-yeah, I guess." His board moved a bit and he flinched again. "But my hip hurts like hell."

Sonic frowned. The 'hip' was probably what the part where the legs connected was called. No way he could get the guy anywhere if he'd broken something there.

"'S there anything nearby?" Sonic asked.

"What? Nah, closest thing is lower terminus. No way I can make it there."

"What's that?"

"What?"

"Lower terminus? Maybe I can get someone there," Sonic said.

"You?"

"Do you see anyone else?"

"...You can't just go there…"

"Why not?"

"Well, I—I mean, you know you don't look like—What are you anyway?"

Sonic shrugged. "Most people think I'm pretty handsome."

The kid blinked, then wiped his nose again stifling a smile. "But you can't go," he said again after a pause.

"Okay." Sonic readied his board. "Good luck, then."

The kid's eyes widened briefly, causing Sonic to pause.

Obviously.

"No. I—uh," he stammered. The fingers of his ungloved hand clenched around his phone and he regarded it for a moment, a torn expression on his face. Eventually, he held it out to Sonic, swallowing.

"Bring it back," he said.

Sonic faltered. "Uh. What?"

"I'd be out three times already if this wasn't a fricking dead zone," he said as if it explained everything.

Sonic frowned, then hopped close enough to take the phone from the boy's still reluctant hand.

"I already tried calling mountain rescue like a million times. Just redial as soon as you get a signal," he said.

Right… So it wasn't the first time Sonic had a cell in his hands—Jen had tried to lend him hers in a touch of worry or something—but of course he'd declined before she even got to explaining the thing to him. Unfortunately, the black bar in his hand wasn't exactly self-explanatory. But, hey, he recognized the numbers from the TV remote. That was something, right?

Sonic pushed one of the buttons and the screen lit up with a fuzzy image of the guy and a friend (probably) and a whole bunch of text across it. Then it went dark again.

"…How?" Sonic asked. Chaos. If there were points for inwardly cringing, this would've been his personal high-score. Why couldn't he just go and stir them all up at the terminus thing?

The teen looked confused. "What do you mean, 'how'?"

…Forget that high-score.

"I need—" Instructions? How the heck did they say 'instructions'? Sonic groaned. "Just show me how it works."

"Okay…" His look was beyond skeptical.

Sonic crouched down and listened as the kid began to give him a run-down of the process, then the boy apparently came to a realization: "You can't read?"

Sonic cringed, briefly glad that a flushed face wasn't remotely as obvious on his face as it was on a human (save for this particular one anyway).

"…I'm still learning," Sonic admitted.

He earned a frown.

Sonic let his hands drop to his sides, groaning. "Come on, you shouldn't sit here too long."

The teen swallowed. "Yeah, but—"

"I'll manage."

"…Okay," the boy said, hesitantly holding out his phone again.

Sonic picked it from his fingers and repeated the steps. It actually seemed to start dialing, then abruptly shut off again. Good enough for now. He pocketed the thing, then hauled himself on top of a piece of trunk, unstrapping his board and sticking it into the snow beside him. "Be right back," he said, hopping towards shallower snow between the trees.

"Ben."

Sonic turned. "What?"

"My name. Ben. They're gonna wanna know. Benjamin Johnson."

#

Sonic was way out of sight when the phone started chiming and vibrating. The screen was instantly cluttered with messages indicating that he apparently now had reception. Also, apparently, he now probably had to be extra careful not to accidentally call the kid's mom.

He went through the steps a bit more slowly this time and it began dialing. Then something dawned on him. How was he supposed to put the phone to his ear and talk into it at the same time? Sonic held the thing somewhat awkwardly to his ear, then angled it out, hoping that the mic could still pick up his voice.

There was a click.

"Hello, this is Mountain Search and Rescue. Please state your name and location."

"Er—Hi, there was—" …an accident? Chaos, damn it! "Someone crashed, I need help."

The woman paused. Sonic stifled a sigh.

"Where are you right now?" she asked.

Sonic thought for a moment. "About half a mile west from the ski area. In a forest." Yeah, that sounded about right. "Above the terminus… thing," he added.

"How many people are affected?"

Affected? "One. Not me?" he suggested.

"Can you tell me about the injury?"

Injury? Injury. Heck! "Uhm…" There were flickies more eloquent than he was at this point.

"What happened?", she asked.

"…I think his hip is broke." Sonic buried his face in his hand.

"Is he responsive?"

"Is he what?" Sonic asked. Sheesh, that woman was calm.

"Can you talk to him?"

"Huh? Ah, yeah, he's fine. Just can't get up."

"Good. Try to keep him warm until someone arrives. Can you give me a name, we might have to call back."

A name he could give. "It's Ben Johnson."

"Johnson." She sounded surprised. "We'll send someone out right away."

The moment she hung up, the phone started blaring again, some ID showing up on the screen. Sonic shoved it back into his pocket then crossed the distance of exactly three and a half steps to purposefully bump his forehead against a trunk.

#

"You can leave if you want," Ben said.

Sonic shook his head. He didn't need a watch to know he was late, but apparently the teen had a sense for it as well. Still, he couldn't leave until he was sure someone was actually coming.

They hadn't talked too much otherwise. Sonic had unstrapped the boy's board and placed it flat against the snow so they could be easier seen from above, then he'd given him his scarf for some extra padding to sit on, meanwhile trying to avoid most of his questions (particularly the 'aren't you cold?' one). Now he sat on a somewhat dry root at the side of the path Ben had come down, and kind of still tried to keep his answers vague. Something just felt off about telling everyone where he came from just because he could now.

Ben glanced at his phone again, a look of disdain on his face, then dropped it back into his lap with a huff.

"Still hoping for a signal?" Sonic asked.

"Nah…" he looked at the phone once more. "It's just—There were those two I sort of hung out with all day and all day yesterday. We kinda split up before this happened and they said they'd meet me at the station. I've got like a zillion of messages and calls from my parents and even a friend back home, but not a single one from them. And they definitely got my number."

"So you're worried?"

"No." He snorted. "They're assholes. I bet they didn't even call SAR."

Sonic raised an eye-ridge. "Why hang out with them in the first place?"

"…I don't know," he mumbled, glancing at his feet. "They seemed cool."

After a pause, Ben added: "Would you really've gone to the station to ask for help? I mean, they'd've gone crazy if they'd seen you, I'm sure."

Sonic took a moment to process the question. "Probably not." He shrugged. "But I know someone who can go for me."

His face went from a 'go figure' to a look of surprise, then he shook his head. "Guess everyone has better friends than I," he said.

"Eh, you're probably just not looking right," Sonic said.

"I'm—what?" Ben gave him a baffled look.

"Uh—" Sonic paused. He had a feeling Jen would've corrected him a zillion times by now. But hey, he had to make do without her here.

"Why didn't they come with you?" Sonic asked, trying to steer the topic.

"Ugh." Ben let his hands drop into his lap. "I was stupid, okay?"

"Right." Sonic sniffed. "They told you it's gonna be awesome to go down here alone and that they'd hang out with you some more after that?"

"…Something like that," he said quietly. "How'd you know?"

"I got experience with that kind of stupid," Sonic said, flashing a grin. "But I'm usually not at the end of it." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Don't try to prove something to anyone but yourself."

"Pfft. Sure."

"Hey, you knew it was stupid when it happened—just say no next time."

"You don't get it." He shook his head.

Right. Sonic leaned his back into the trunk, crossing his arms and studying Ben for a bit. In a way, Sonic probably really didn't get it. He'd always been too… uncaring to be the target of people like the ones Ben was talking about. But Miles had been—and probably still was. Even on Mobius someone having two tails was for some reason more strange than a guy outrunning racecars. But Ben looked like a regular old human to him. Maybe the kid really just needed someone to stand up for him until he felt confident enough on his own.

…Like Miles. He really hoped the kid was doing alright without him.

"My dad's pretty rich," Ben said suddenly, looking at his hands. "It's, like, everyone knows him around here. And everyone I hang out with knows I get a whole lot of money to spend. Sometimes, they get me to pay stuff for them, like, drinks, or something to eat. And I do it because they… let me hang out with them or whatever. But afterwards they just—oh, I dunno. I kind of know it's dumb, but it doesn't seem that bad either, you know?"

Sonic hummed. That was a bit different than what he'd expected, but the idea was the same. "You need a friend," he said.

Ben snorted. "Go figure."

Damn. He hadn't meant it like that. Wasn't he supposed to be better at this stuff? "I mean," Sonic said. "Your dad seems to be more important than you, so, why don't you go someplace where it doesn't matter?"

Ben gave him a flat look. "I'm still going to school."

"You do? Eh, I never get it right with you guys." Yep. He was supposed to be way better at this.

"Besides," Ben said. "I don't want to leave here. It just want people to be normal towards me."

Sonic gave a dry chuckle. "Yeah, I get that, trust me."

Ben gave him a strange look but said nothing. Sonic shook his head.

"Alright, I mean. You need a friend. A good friend that can help you. You're not good at finding them, but maybe they can find you," Sonic said, watching Ben's face crumple into a frown. "Try to do what you like, not what you think someone else likes. Maybe you're alone for a while, but then others will get interested. I think you'll know when they're interested the right way and not just… because—" Sonic broke off with a groan, rubbing his head. This was becoming frickin' complicated. Half of the time he felt like he was just repeating stuff he'd heard on TV, which meant he kind of only really understood eighty percent of what he even said himself. It was weird. "I'm no good at this," he said, sighing.

"Nah." Ben shook his head. "I get it, I guess. I just have to actually do it." He paused for a moment. "Your English is way better than my French by the way—you're really not gonna tell me where you're from, eh?"

Sonic groaned, but then couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, I guess. And nope. Can't do that."

"Figures."

"…So, were you any good?" Sonic asked, nodding at his board. "Before you broke your hip and all, I mean?"

"Well, actually—"

A faint roar rose from behind the trees and both perked up, picking up on the noise. A helicopter, it seemed. It came closer, probably circling the area. Sonic got to his feet to pull his board from the snow then sat back down, beginning to strap it on. Ben watched him with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I'm not gonna see you again, am I?" he said.

Sonic shook his head. "Probably not."

Ben nodded. "Take care, then," he said. "And, thanks!"

"Good luck." Sonic gave him a thumbs-up, then angled his board downhill.

#

Jen was pacing up and down the hotel room. They'd been waiting at the meeting spot for a while, then Allan had managed to drag her back inside, claiming that Sonic would know where to go. Now it was late noon and Sonic was close to an hour overdue. To say she was getting worried was a minor understatement.

Allan had made himself comfortable on the bed, legs outstretched. He calmly leafed through a magazine.

"How can you just sit there?" Jen asked.

"I'm trying not to do it," he said without looking up.

"Do what?"

"Say 'I told you so'."

Jen groaned. "You barely talk to him, but now you're the expert?"

Allan met her gaze, dropping the magazine. "It's exactly the same as always. He leaves, he doesn't return when you expect him to, you get worried. And then—poof—he's back, nothing happened, and he doesn't even realize what he's caused. It's going to be the same this time, only with you having an extra rental fee on your hands." He picked the mag back up.

"You're worried about the rental fee? He could be freezing to death out there—"

Allan looked up again. "Jen, you're not responsible."

"This is different."

"Why? Because you think you know where he went?"

"Yes, exactly that. This time I can actually do something. I'll go to the counter and see if they can call someone." She turned to pick up her shoes.

"What? No-no-no." Allan jumped in front of her, grasping her by her shoulders. He met her eyes, fretting for a moment. "What are you going to tell them?" he asked.

Jen crossed her arms within his grip, looking away.

"They'll want a description," he continued, removing his hands. "And neither can you tell them your pet ran off, nor can you say he's a guy with blue hair."

Jen sighed. "I know. I just—" She threw her hands in the air. "Oh, I don't know."

Allan took a deep breath. "How about you take a shower and try to clear your head. Then we leave for our appointment."

"No," Jen said. "I don't think a shower is going to help much. I'll be distracted all evening. You should go without me."

He frowned. "While you try to rally a search party here?"

Jen shook her head. "No… I really need some time to think about this. It feels like you're right and wrong at the same time. There has to be some middle ground. Plus, I want to be here in case he comes back."

"…Alright," Allan said hesitantly.

"Tell me how it went, okay?" Jen said.

He sighed. "Alright…"

#

Allan returned some time after dark, stripping his coat and shoes by the hotel room door. Jen sat cross-legged on their bed with an empty cup of cocoa in her lap, watching TV. She looked oddly relaxed.

"Hey. How was it?" She asked, putting the TV on mute. She watched him drop into a padded chair.

Allan rolled his eyes. "Don't ask. The guy was positively crazy. He was so convinced the stuff we brought was made by aliens, he didn't even consider anything else. I bet the museum edited everything he gave them to make it presentable to the public."

Jen frowned. "Wait… wasn't that exactly what we wanted to hear?"

"No." Allan shook his head. "Trust me. I was this close to letting him in on everything—he doesn't have a professorship for nothing despite it all—, but then he began talking about flying islands and magical stones and stuff. Even if he did have something useful for us, I didn't want our names to end up in one of his publications."

She hummed in thought. "So, could you make out whether he has some… alien connections or something?"

"I poked here and there, but I'm fairly sure he hasn't." He shrugged. "I guess we can keep him in mind, but right now I don't see how he could be of much help." If the guy had an idea about Star Posts being able to, allegedly, teleport, Allan was sure it would've already made it into the public somehow.

Jen hummed again. "Now what?"

"Heck if I know. He should probably keep looking for those poles." Allan paused, then added: "No, I'm not bringing up NASA again."

Jen seemed to barely avoid rolling her eyes. "What about the man he's talked about? Y'know: Mustache, belly, ringmaster and all?"

"Didn't you say the last time you two tried looking for someone like that, he pointed at an image of Teddy Roosevelt?"

She deflated. "Yep."

They sat in silence for a moment, then Allan realized they were not only alone in the room, but there also was no sign of a snowboard anywhere close by. "You seem at ease, by the way," he said. "Has he been back yet?"

Jen gave the TV a quick glance, then shrugged. "I've spent my time trying to get into your mindset and convinced myself that he'll be back unharmed eventually. I'm not exactly ready to be tested, though."

Allan raised an eyebrow. For some reason it seemed as if she knew something he didn't.

Some noise came from the balcony, then there was a knock on the glass door. Jen jumped to her feet, her previous anxiety seeming to resurface for a moment. She split the curtains, then yanked open the balcony door.

"Hey," Sonic said.

Jen made way, eying him as he stepped in and worked himself out of his boots on the way.

"Sorry, I'm late," he continued. "There was this guy and I had to call mountain watch then I waited till they came, and—uh, did I interrupt something?"

Allan rose. "Where's the board?"

Sonic blinked, then thumbed outside. Allan pushed past him, grabbing it from where it stood against the railing. He tiptoed back inside on socked feet, then headed for the door.

"Wait," Jen said, grabbing Sonic's boots and taking the board from Allan's hands. "This is on me. I'll go."

Allan felt like protesting, but let her get ready anyway. The shop had probably closed already and he wasn't as good at sweet-talking as she was. He crossed his arms as she hurriedly threw on her coat and left. Then he had a momentary episode of cold sweat as he realized he was now alone with Sonic in the room. Just wonderful. He turned, looking him over.

"You called mountain rescue," Allan stated as dryly as he could manage.

Sonic shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing that could've happened.

"Pray tell me how?"

"With his phone?" Sonic said.

"And why didn't he do so himself?"

"Because he was stuck and didn't get a signal."

"Right…" Allan rolled his eyes.

"Think Jen could teach me how to read?" Sonic asked after a pause.

"No."

"What?"

No. "...Yeah, sure." Goddammit.

Sonic gave him an odd look, then proceeded to strip out of his socks. He briefly scanned the room and seemed to relax when he located his shoes under a chair, throwing his socks on top of them. Then he leaned against the bed with his behind (he could have asked before doing that), and began rubbing one apparently cold foot with his hands.

"Can I use your shower?" he asked, giving up on the rubbing a moment later.

"Oh, sure," Allan said, finally releasing his crossed arms only to helplessly throw them into the air. He earned a frown. Apparently sarcasm didn't quite go over Sonic's head.

"Lemme at least get warm for a sec, then I'm gone," Sonic said.

Allan deflated. "No. No, whatever. Have a shower. It's okay. Just don't use my towel."

Sonic cast him a dubious glance (somehow tinged with the notion that the feeling about the towel was mutual), then headed for the bathroom anyway. Allan let himself drop on the bed, fishing for the remote and zapping through a few channels. Suddenly, local news about some rich guy carrying a bright green scarf and getting questioned about his son had gotten particularly interesting…