Chapter 16 Star Bit Soup

Getting rid of the bear was a blur of swinging claws, snow white fur, and magic flying everywhere. Rosalina shot an arcane blast at the bear, something that she had tried to do before, but failed to due to the fact that the creature had knocked her out. She had to battle the bleeding claw marks seared into her test as she did so, however. They felt as if they were screaming at her, actively and aggressively screaming at her. She didn't listen, and ultimately wound up victorious against the beast. It panted as it ran away from her and back onto the snow covered planet.

"Run along now," Rosalina said. "I am sure you have some family who are concerned about you."

She watched as the bear ran, carrying itself in a way that made it clear that it was injured. Rosalina felt a little bad about this, honestly. She didn't like causing any living creature physical harm, physical or mental. Unfortunately, doing so proved inevitable time and time again.

She sucked in a breath and turned around, holding her hand to her bleeding, stinging chest. The lumas looked at her, their eyes glimmering with curiosity and brimming with worry. She smiled in order to put their minds at ease.

"Don't worry. It's gone now."

Everyone let out a collective sigh or relief. Rosalina decided that they had better leave Crystal Flake. If there were more creatures like that bear populating this galaxy, that meant it was dangerous. Now matter how beautiful it was, it needed to be avoided.

So, she cleared her throat. "Everyone! Get ready; we are going to leave the Galaxy soon."

The lumas nodded and zipped away to tell everyone who wasn't present to hear their Mama's words. Rosalina floated over to the center of the Observatory, biting the inside of her cheek as she did so. It was a shame Icy had to become this Galaxy. Especially after the luma had spent all this time telling everyone how much they wanted to be visited.

She shook her head, deciding to push that thought to the side. If something proved to be a danger, it should be avoided, She took in a deep breath and stared at the beacon. It had more than enough star power to get them back home.

"Okay." She turned, and that was when she noticed Solar hanging around the Terrace. His head hung low, his face downcast, and his eyes glimmering with unshed tears, he instantly won Rosalina's concern. She floated over to him. "Solar…"

Solar winced. "I'm okay, Mama."

"Are you certain about that?"

Solar tried making eye contact with her, but his clear negative emotions caused him to fail. "Yes."

Rosalina felt a pang. He was lying to her. He was actually lying to her. Sure, he was trying to save face for her; she had gathered that almost immediately. But still, he had never lied to her before. He had always been upfront and honest, like a book opened and lying flat on the table for everyone to read. Now…that book had been closed. While it was still on the table, and Rosalina could open it back up at anytime (via prying Solar for more information), she decided against it.

"O..okay."

She floated up into the air to activate the travel spell. The increasing physical distance between her and her son was nothing like the increasing emotional distance. Being a mother, she was obviously worried. But how could she help him if he didn't tell her what was going on?

…

Everyone was back up in space. The lumas did aerial cartwheels and chased each other around, content with the universe that they lived in. Rosalina watched them, her face glazed over. She wasn't fully paying attention to the lumas. She was more so dealing with a bunch of negative emotions brewing inside her.

Solar had activated a new power. Sure, that had probably been an inevitability, but still. It made her skin crawl, knowing that her son, her beloved son, was just one step away from gaining the level of power that Aries had accumulated. Just the thought of him being anything like that horrific entity was enough to give her nightmares.

Should she really be focusing on that though? If she dwelled on it, it would just become a self-fulfilling prophecy. She could grow even more distant from Solar, which would cause damage to her son's mental well being. The lie that he had told her earlier would only be the beginning.

That caused chills to race up and down her spine. She hoped that she would not be the cause for Solar's destruction. She had decided to keep him as a baby, after all. If she was the ultimate cause for him going down a dark and lonely path, she would never forgive herself.

"Rose?"

Rosalina blinked when she heard Polari. He smiled at her with his eyes.

"I made dinner tonight. Star bit soup."

Rosalina chuckled. "Wow. Is there a dish we make that doesn't include star bits?"

Polari chuckled. "I don't know, Rose. They are your documented favorite food of all time; why don't you tell me?"

Rosalina snorted back a laugh. "I know. I just hope that this dish is better than your star bit 'casserole.'"

Polari scrunched up his brow. "Man. I make one mistake and am constantly reminded about it for the rest of time." He floated back to the kitchen dome, grumbling under his breath. "Women. They just can't let things go."

Rosalian chuckled before turning toward the lumas she had been "watching." "Dinner time, everyone!"

The lumas cheered and raced towards the kitchen dome. Rosalina directed her gaze toward the Terrace before letting out a sigh. She should tell Solar. After all, he came face to face with the bear from earlier; he needed a good pick-me up. So, she glided over to the Terrace and entered.

"Solar, dinner is…"

Solar wasn't there, which distrubed Rose. Wasn't he just…? Oh good gracious, where did he run off to now? The memory of the night his flying power activated popped into her head, causing her to become woozy. She was just about to start hyperventilating when she noticed a note on Solar's bed.

Hey, Mama. I went to Honeyhive Galaxy. I wanted to clear my head a little bit after what happened with the bear attack. Don't worry; I'm sticking extra close to Honey Queen throughout, so I won't get into any danger. Love you, see you later.

Rosalina blinked. "He went to Honeyhive?" Well, she supposed that wasn't the worst place where he could be. Still, she decided she had better locate him to make sure that everything was alright.

She allowed the gravity of the pull star to lift her up. She supposed that she needed to provide him with some comfort; a hug or something like that, when she found him. Something told her he needed it.