CHAPTER 5: MARIEL
I figured that he needed some help, so naturally, I followed him. I didn't know where he was going, but I soon found out it was a long way from the base. I stayed several feet behind him, but enough to see where to follow. It ended up that we, actually he, stopped at a pond.
Andalites remain standing for most of their lives. We stand when we eat, sleep, work, always. So to see him sort of fall into a sitting position was one of the funniest things I had ever seen. I stood back and watched him carefully wash the wound on his arm. He drew in a sharp breath that sounded more like the hiss of steam.
I moved slightly, causing the foliage around me to whisper. He turned his head slightly, trying to catch me out of the corner of his eye. I remained motionless. He followed suit. Then after a minute, he went back to the water. I tried to step back to the place that I formally held, but low and behold, my hoof came across a stick.
At the snapping sound of nature's brittle bone, Karrass stood and had turned to face me before I had time to even conjure up an escape. He stared, likewise caught off guard. I was probably the last person he expected to find.
I wasn't prepared when he said, Show yourself.
So, he can't see me after all, I thought. The idea to just slip away unannounced sounded very good to me. The idea of talking to him alone also was extremely enticing. Guess which won.
Um…hi, I said sheepishly, coming out into the sun. Sorry that I frightened you.
He didn't say anything to me. I hoped it was because my appearance was melodramatic and captivating. I'm entitled to dream, aren't I?
What are you doing here? He asked. To have the chance to be alone with you, I though, but I had enough sense to keep that to myself.
Never mind, I will not be so cruel.
What do you mean? I said. I was sure that he didn't have one up on me.
You look like Visser Three has got you by the tail, he chuckled, so, I won't make you answer a question that obviously makes you squirm.
Nothing makes me squirm more than you do, I thought. Determined not to let him get the best of me, I answered, To see if you were all right. I saw what happened.
Oh…. Anyway, I was not frightened…just curious about who was stalking me.
Sure. I walked over to him.
What do you mean, sure? His brow furrowed and he lifted his tail a degree or two. He was making an attempt to be playful. Playfulness is not an easy thing for a serious warrior to achieve. I had learned a long time ago that Karrass is anything but serious.
I mean that I don't believe that for anything. You're just too much of a man to admit it.
At that, he lunged at me. I dodged easily, laughing. Karrass missed me, which through off his balance. He caught my arm as he fell and pulled me down on top of him. We laughed until I noticed how close to him I was. Then he looked up to me awkwardly. I stood quickly, embarrassed, and stepped back a few paces. He stood and smiled.
What's wrong, Els? He asked me. Hey? What did I do??
Nothing. You didn't do anything. I walked back over to him.
We talked what seemed like a few minutes, but had really been hours. He talked about the time he had put in on the planet Earth. He had been there for a few months. It was obvious, for he had picked up many common human behaviors like shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. When I checked the sky, I noticed that it was getting dark. I jumped up, realizing what time it must be.
I have to go, I said apologetically.
It's not late, he began to argue.
It is for me. My parents will be furious. Besides, they don't know where I am.
You still live with your parents? He asked me.
Of course. Don't you? I was shocked.
No. How old are you? The conversation suddenly turned serious.
I'm seventeen, standard. Where do you live?
Let me put it this way, you're standing in my yard. Well, I guess you do have to go. I'll take you home. He offered.
No! That is to say no thank you. If my parents saw me traipsing up with a man they didn't know, then I would really be in deep.
Alright. Just for the record, I'm not a man. I'm only three standard years older than you are.
But that makes you an adult nonetheless while I am still considered a kid, then I thought how peculiar his situation was. Why do you live alone? To be so young, you have a really nice piece of property too. My father has friends twice your age who don't own land this good.
My parents are dead and this was left to me, he said shortly. I'll see you around, Els, he said as he walked me to the end of the yard and saw me off. At the edge of his property, he drug the conversation on until it was imperative that I left.
It was later than I hoped it was. My parents were going to have it in for me. If I only would have known…