I hate being sick. I have no motivation.

*******************************************************************************

Kiley blinked hard a few times, trying to return the world to one that made sense. Failing, she sat down again, absently arranging Ace on her lap while her mind whirled. The girl leaned her head on her shoulder, and Kiley absently stroked her hair.

*He likes you.* The whisper-soft voice tentatively entered her mind.

Her hand paused for a moment, then continued to play with Ace's hair.

"Like a pet, maybe. Or a toy."

*Isn't that enough?*

The twist to Kiley's lips could almost be called a smile. "No, not really. I'm not a pet or a toy, and it peeves me to be treated like one."

*You aren't his equal.*

"Or yours, is that it?" She sighed. "Don't answer. I don't want to know."

They fell silent. Kiley watched the suns finish setting, lost in her thoughts. "I want to be treated like a fellow sentient being. Maybe I'm not as smart, or as fast, or as perfect as a plant, but that doesn't mean I'm not smart, or fast. I am capable of comprehending the sublime and the surreal, and just because I'm not a plant doesn't mean I'm stupid. There are a lot of things I can do better than you or him."

*You have knowledge. We have talent*

"I have knowledge, some talent, and a great deal more experience then either of you will ever have."

Ace shrugged dismissively. *You still can't be our equal. It's not humanly possible.*

"I guess. Can't say that I agree with you, but I'm not going to argue the point."

Ace turned and looked at her. *Plants were engineered to be better than humans on every level. You can't deny that.*

"I'm not denying that."

She looked confused. *Then how can you begin to imagine we could be equals?*

"Because I don't confuse ability and competence. Just because you can be better than me at something, or at everything, doesn't make you a fundamentally better person than I am. I base equality in the heart, not in the mind or the body."

*That's ridiculous.*

"You can think so, if you like."

A beat, and another. *You aren't going to try to defend your position?*

"Nope. You're a bright young thing; you'll spend some time trying to figure me out. You might even be able to do it. But I'd rather you think on my point of view for a while then just sit here and preach to you."

*Hmph.* She radiated affront, and Kiley laughed.

"This way I know you're thinking, and not just listening."

*I'm always thinking.*

"I know you are." They sat there and watched the stars come out for awhile.

*I thought you would be surprised.*

"Hmm? Oh, that you finally decided to talk with me? I was, a bit. Not too much, though."

*Even though I'm not really talking?*

"I figure you will in your own time. No use me pushing at you."

*I love you.*

"I love you, too. And as a friend, not a pet."

Ace stayed silent.

"That's ok. I'm not offended, or at least not entirely. You're young, and prideful. It's one of the sins of youth. You'll grow out of it."

*What if I don't want to?*

"Then you'll spend your entire life less than what you could be."

*But if I am who I want to be already, why would I feel bad about not changing?*

Kiley smiled down at her. "Five months old and you already know everything? Life is growing and changing, not finding a comfortable niche and stagnating."

*Change hurts.*

"Sometimes. It's never comfortable, but it's necessary."

*I don't want things to change.* She snuggled closer into Kiley's lap, and buried her face in her chest.

"Unfortunately, life doesn't care about our wants. We can only take what comes and try to make the best of it."

*Or be the ones in control of what changes.*

Kiley shook her head. "That's a myth. There is no control. There is acceptance and there is struggle."

*Knives is in control.*

"Of what?"

*The planet.*

"That's what he thinks. Of course, he's the one who keeps spending time alone in his little ship."

*That's Vash's fault.*

"So he thinks."

*You don't?*

"I think that Knives tries to take a little too much on himself, then blames others when he can't carry the load."

*He could have done it.*

"You are allowed your opinion."

Ace sulked, and squirmed her way out of Kiley's arms.

*You're just jealous,* she said, sticking her tongue out.

"Of course I am. Who wouldn't be jealous of an insane megalomaniac who was defeated by his pacifist brother?"

*You're jealous of me, too. You wish you were a plant.*

"Actually, I can't think of anything I really want less."

Ace paused, then peered at her. "What do you mean?" she asked softly. "Don't you love me?"

"Of course I do. But all you plants," she said, waving a hand expansively, "have some of the biggest problems. If it's not angst here, it's angst there… you all seem constitutionally unable to live each day as it comes. Why would I want to be like that?"

Ace poked Kiley's stomach. *You have angst.*

"No one's perfect. Besides, I'm working on decreasing mine. The rest of you hold it closer than a lover, and take it personally when someone else doesn't take it as seriously as you do."

Tears formed in her eyes. *You're making fun of me.*

"No I'm not. Well, not very much. You can take a little teasing, right?"

Ace shook her head no.

"Sorry. My mistake. Come here." She held her arms open. Ace eyed her suspiciously, then entered the hug.

"You're still young; no one expects you to know everything. And I'm not mocking you, or your pain. Life hurts, I know that as well as anyone. It's what we do when we get hurt that defines us as people, anyone as people, plant or human. I don't expect you to understand what I'm saying, but that doesn't mean I don't love you." She squeezed her once more, then let her go.

Ace looked at her searchingly for a moment, then ran back into the oasis. Kiley looked up at the stars and wondered just how she had ended up here.

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