Um.I forgot the disclaimer for the last chapter.I should hope you people
are intelligent enough to understand that I own Gally and Kith. Kith is
not in this fic, but I own her anyway. New rule: five reviews for the next
chapter!
A small click started Nny out of his trance. He hadn't slept, but had drifted into a sleep-like coma of the soul. He sat up on the futon and blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark. The candles had burnt out, so he lit them with a match from his pocket. *You don't have to smoke to have matches after all. Matches are fun.*
When the tapers were burning steadily in the candelabra, he stood up and quietly opened the door. The tunnels were all fairly dark, lit every fifty feet or so with more cold-fire torches. Nny turned down the tunnel facing the one he had entered through.
He wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, until he saw a small cave at the end of a branching tunnel. *Or at least I think it's a cave,* he thought. *There's a light in it, anyway.*
Soundlessly he crept to the entrance of the room. There seemed to be a large pile of pillows, and scattered over it were hundreds of bits of gold. Rings, coins, teeth even. Here and there was a macaroni necklace, or a shiny collector's card.
Something twitched and caught his eye. It seemed to be a long, supple tail.
*Probably that.Gally person,* he thought.
She was stretched out, fully in her dragon form. Her dark wings were folded lazily over her spine, and she slept with deep, even breaths.
For some reason, Nny couldn't look away from the dozing dragon. There was a certain appeal in just watching it-her, sleep. She wasn't one of the human idiots he despised so much, but for all he knew, she could be the dumbest creature on her planet.
He shook his head and pushed the thoughts away. No thoughts now. He didn't want to think about killing her.
He sighed in contentment.
Suddenly the reptilian head snapped up, fully alert. Slit, cat-like eyes scanned the room, searching for the intruder.
Nny's breath caught in his throat. *Damn! She sleeps even lighter than I do!* he thought numbly.
Gally inhaled, a deep, questioning breath. She relaxed noticeably.
"Nny." It was an invitation, not a guess.
He stepped into the dimly lit room and set down the torch. The dragon regarded him with half lidded eyes.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked conversationally.
"I, uh.yeah. I almost never sleep, so it's no big deal."
Gally smoothed off a pillow with a hind leg. "Come read with me," she said, gesturing to a large tome open in front of her.
"What is it?" He knelt down on the pillow, careful not to actually touch her.
"A book of poems. I think you'll like them. An author from Dalzor, and his view on planets such as this."
They read in a companionable silence for a while, enjoying the poems and each other's company. Nny felt himself begin to fall asleep. He jerked himself awake.
"Something wrong?" Gally asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
Nny rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I've made it a habit to not sleep. I detest sleep. I find it frightening to wake up and be uncertain-unsure of everything you remember about life not being just part of a dream."
Gally shrugged. "I share that view of yours. Fortunately for me, though, my body requires much less sleep than yours seems to. A few hours every couple of days. Plus, my dreams. They're not even remotely like anything I've ever seen. I'm quite sure I'm not still dreaming when I wake up; no living existence could be that.pleasant."
"I envy you. I really do."
"Why?" She regarded him with her unblinking violet eyes.
Nny blinked. "Hmm? My dreams are just memories of the.people I've.killed. They're rarely pleasant."
"I think I know how to help you." Gally's lips curled into a toothy grin. "Go to sleep. You'll be a lot better when you wake up, I promise."
"No, that's okay; I don't sleep."
Gally slowly began to thrum, a deep, bone-shaking sound that swam through Nny's slight frame. He felt his eyelids grow heavy, however he resisted it. As he slipped into unconsciousness, the thrum became a sweet, gentle melody, so beautiful he thought he would drown in it if he couldn't wake up. The last thing he saw before dozing off was a lavender eye watching over him.
------------------------------------------------------------------ The sun tried in vain to push through the veil of clouds one last time before it set, but to no avail. The overcast sky darkened forebodingly as the fiery orb dropped below the horizon.
Nny felt none of his usual discontent with the clouds this night. Why be angry at the clouds, when he could simply fly above them?
Ruby red wings swept down, lifting him into the cool, sweet night. A light mist whispered past his gleaming scales, tickled him gently when he moved.
With a surge of speed he broke through the barrier of the cloud blanket. The brightness of the full moon and a billion stars dazzled his senses momentarily. He wanted to join those stars, to go over them. His wings pumped swiftly, bringing him closer and closer to his goal. Suddenly he was awash in a wave of heat, and light, and a searing feeling he had never felt before, and he realized he had gone over the stars.
----------------------------------------------------------------- A quiet humming woke Nny from his sleep. He sat up slowly, blinking the sand from his eyes. The humming was coming from Keladian, but Gally wasn't in the room.
Nny stood up and left the small cavern.
He found the toilet elevator easily enough, and was soon jettisoned out into the kitchen. Zim and Gir sat at the table, and Gally stood at the stove.
"Good morning," she said pleasantly. "How'd you sleep?"
Nny stared at her. "What did you do?"
She stirred at something in a frying pan. "Do?"
"To my head. There weren't even any wall demons!"
She grinned. "So, I'll take it you slept well?"
Nny clutched at his head. "It has been so long since I had a good night's sleep, I don't think I know anymore. But, yes, I am well rested and pleased with the lack of blood in my dreams."
Gally waved a spatula at the table. "Have a seat. Breakfast is nearly done."
For once, Nny felt what he assumed to be mild hunger. "What is it?"
"Spaghetti sauce."
His eyes bugged slightly. "For breakfast? Neato!"
Gally brought a steaming pan of sauce over to the table and pulled up a chair. "I found the recipe when I went to visit someone. It's very good."
((A/N: It is such good sauce! It has mushrooms and celery and other good stuff.*drool*.))
She spooned liberal portions into each waiting bowl. Gir immediately proceeded to upend the entire bowl into his open mouth. Zim actually seemed to enjoy the dish, believe it or not. He enjoyed the second and third bowls he had also.
Nny poked at his food. "So, what exactly did you do last night? I mean, to make me have decent dreams?"
Gally leaned her elbows on the table and let Zim field the question.
"See, the ancient Irkan word for 'dream' is 'dahl'zo.' When one race discovered the other-we're not sure who came first, understand-the Irkans realized that being around the new species produced wonderful dreams to all around them. A side effect of whatever causes their other abilities, I suppose."
"Similarly," Gally chimed in, "the word 'Irkan' was derived from the Dalzorian word for 'ambition.' We discovered, named, and grew up with each other. All the competition between our two races is nothing more than sibling rivalry."
Breakfast finished without incident, although Gir made quite a mess trying to feed spaghetti sauce to his moose.
As he helped Gally wash and dry the dishes, Nny thought of something.
"Hey, weren't you going to show me the ships today?"
Gally paused thoughtfully. "I did say I was going to, didn't I? We'll have to ask Zim if we can see his Voot though. He's kind of secretive about the whole thing."
"Why is that?"
"Oh.there's this one boy who's out to get Zim onto an autopsy table."
"Oh. I see."
When the last of the dishes were put away, Nny followed Gally to Zim's lab. They found him welding a large lever onto a bizarre looking machine. Gally knocked lightly on the top of it.
Zim's head poked out. "What is it, Gaeldrisan? Can't you see I'm very busy!"
"Nny wants to see your Voot."
"My Voot? Why?" His eyes narrowed. "Who sent you?"
"He just wants to see the ship, Zim," Gally sighed in exasperation. She glared pointedly at the little Irkan. "Be nice.."
"Fine. You may see my Voot. But do not touch it, or bad things will befall you!" He leapt on top of the large machine and struck a pose. "TERRIBLE, awful things!"
"That's nice, Zim." Gally led Nny up a flight of stairs, then turned to a wall and opened a door to another flight. They emerged in a dark attic of sorts.
"Ready?" Gally's voice was low and spooky.
"Yeah.."
The light flicked on, revealing a bright, shiny Voot, devoid of even a speck of dust. Nny's eyes widened in appreciation, and he circled it, happy to just admire the alien technology.
From a far corner of the attic, he heard Gally's voice. "This," it said, "Was my ship."
Nny went over to her and followed where her finger was pointing. Crumpled in a heap was a depressing pile of parts, here and there splashed with a bright coat of blue or black paint.
"I've been meaning to fix it," Gally explained. "I just haven't gotten around to it. All the parts are there.."
Nny didn't know what possessed him to say what came next.
"I'll help you fix it."
"Really?" Gally stared at him with wide eyes. "You would? Thank you so much!" She hugged Nny swiftly, pinning his arms to his sides. He resisted the urge to shake her off, wishing to instead enjoy the feeling the hug brought. He smiled.
A small click started Nny out of his trance. He hadn't slept, but had drifted into a sleep-like coma of the soul. He sat up on the futon and blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark. The candles had burnt out, so he lit them with a match from his pocket. *You don't have to smoke to have matches after all. Matches are fun.*
When the tapers were burning steadily in the candelabra, he stood up and quietly opened the door. The tunnels were all fairly dark, lit every fifty feet or so with more cold-fire torches. Nny turned down the tunnel facing the one he had entered through.
He wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, until he saw a small cave at the end of a branching tunnel. *Or at least I think it's a cave,* he thought. *There's a light in it, anyway.*
Soundlessly he crept to the entrance of the room. There seemed to be a large pile of pillows, and scattered over it were hundreds of bits of gold. Rings, coins, teeth even. Here and there was a macaroni necklace, or a shiny collector's card.
Something twitched and caught his eye. It seemed to be a long, supple tail.
*Probably that.Gally person,* he thought.
She was stretched out, fully in her dragon form. Her dark wings were folded lazily over her spine, and she slept with deep, even breaths.
For some reason, Nny couldn't look away from the dozing dragon. There was a certain appeal in just watching it-her, sleep. She wasn't one of the human idiots he despised so much, but for all he knew, she could be the dumbest creature on her planet.
He shook his head and pushed the thoughts away. No thoughts now. He didn't want to think about killing her.
He sighed in contentment.
Suddenly the reptilian head snapped up, fully alert. Slit, cat-like eyes scanned the room, searching for the intruder.
Nny's breath caught in his throat. *Damn! She sleeps even lighter than I do!* he thought numbly.
Gally inhaled, a deep, questioning breath. She relaxed noticeably.
"Nny." It was an invitation, not a guess.
He stepped into the dimly lit room and set down the torch. The dragon regarded him with half lidded eyes.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked conversationally.
"I, uh.yeah. I almost never sleep, so it's no big deal."
Gally smoothed off a pillow with a hind leg. "Come read with me," she said, gesturing to a large tome open in front of her.
"What is it?" He knelt down on the pillow, careful not to actually touch her.
"A book of poems. I think you'll like them. An author from Dalzor, and his view on planets such as this."
They read in a companionable silence for a while, enjoying the poems and each other's company. Nny felt himself begin to fall asleep. He jerked himself awake.
"Something wrong?" Gally asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
Nny rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I've made it a habit to not sleep. I detest sleep. I find it frightening to wake up and be uncertain-unsure of everything you remember about life not being just part of a dream."
Gally shrugged. "I share that view of yours. Fortunately for me, though, my body requires much less sleep than yours seems to. A few hours every couple of days. Plus, my dreams. They're not even remotely like anything I've ever seen. I'm quite sure I'm not still dreaming when I wake up; no living existence could be that.pleasant."
"I envy you. I really do."
"Why?" She regarded him with her unblinking violet eyes.
Nny blinked. "Hmm? My dreams are just memories of the.people I've.killed. They're rarely pleasant."
"I think I know how to help you." Gally's lips curled into a toothy grin. "Go to sleep. You'll be a lot better when you wake up, I promise."
"No, that's okay; I don't sleep."
Gally slowly began to thrum, a deep, bone-shaking sound that swam through Nny's slight frame. He felt his eyelids grow heavy, however he resisted it. As he slipped into unconsciousness, the thrum became a sweet, gentle melody, so beautiful he thought he would drown in it if he couldn't wake up. The last thing he saw before dozing off was a lavender eye watching over him.
------------------------------------------------------------------ The sun tried in vain to push through the veil of clouds one last time before it set, but to no avail. The overcast sky darkened forebodingly as the fiery orb dropped below the horizon.
Nny felt none of his usual discontent with the clouds this night. Why be angry at the clouds, when he could simply fly above them?
Ruby red wings swept down, lifting him into the cool, sweet night. A light mist whispered past his gleaming scales, tickled him gently when he moved.
With a surge of speed he broke through the barrier of the cloud blanket. The brightness of the full moon and a billion stars dazzled his senses momentarily. He wanted to join those stars, to go over them. His wings pumped swiftly, bringing him closer and closer to his goal. Suddenly he was awash in a wave of heat, and light, and a searing feeling he had never felt before, and he realized he had gone over the stars.
----------------------------------------------------------------- A quiet humming woke Nny from his sleep. He sat up slowly, blinking the sand from his eyes. The humming was coming from Keladian, but Gally wasn't in the room.
Nny stood up and left the small cavern.
He found the toilet elevator easily enough, and was soon jettisoned out into the kitchen. Zim and Gir sat at the table, and Gally stood at the stove.
"Good morning," she said pleasantly. "How'd you sleep?"
Nny stared at her. "What did you do?"
She stirred at something in a frying pan. "Do?"
"To my head. There weren't even any wall demons!"
She grinned. "So, I'll take it you slept well?"
Nny clutched at his head. "It has been so long since I had a good night's sleep, I don't think I know anymore. But, yes, I am well rested and pleased with the lack of blood in my dreams."
Gally waved a spatula at the table. "Have a seat. Breakfast is nearly done."
For once, Nny felt what he assumed to be mild hunger. "What is it?"
"Spaghetti sauce."
His eyes bugged slightly. "For breakfast? Neato!"
Gally brought a steaming pan of sauce over to the table and pulled up a chair. "I found the recipe when I went to visit someone. It's very good."
((A/N: It is such good sauce! It has mushrooms and celery and other good stuff.*drool*.))
She spooned liberal portions into each waiting bowl. Gir immediately proceeded to upend the entire bowl into his open mouth. Zim actually seemed to enjoy the dish, believe it or not. He enjoyed the second and third bowls he had also.
Nny poked at his food. "So, what exactly did you do last night? I mean, to make me have decent dreams?"
Gally leaned her elbows on the table and let Zim field the question.
"See, the ancient Irkan word for 'dream' is 'dahl'zo.' When one race discovered the other-we're not sure who came first, understand-the Irkans realized that being around the new species produced wonderful dreams to all around them. A side effect of whatever causes their other abilities, I suppose."
"Similarly," Gally chimed in, "the word 'Irkan' was derived from the Dalzorian word for 'ambition.' We discovered, named, and grew up with each other. All the competition between our two races is nothing more than sibling rivalry."
Breakfast finished without incident, although Gir made quite a mess trying to feed spaghetti sauce to his moose.
As he helped Gally wash and dry the dishes, Nny thought of something.
"Hey, weren't you going to show me the ships today?"
Gally paused thoughtfully. "I did say I was going to, didn't I? We'll have to ask Zim if we can see his Voot though. He's kind of secretive about the whole thing."
"Why is that?"
"Oh.there's this one boy who's out to get Zim onto an autopsy table."
"Oh. I see."
When the last of the dishes were put away, Nny followed Gally to Zim's lab. They found him welding a large lever onto a bizarre looking machine. Gally knocked lightly on the top of it.
Zim's head poked out. "What is it, Gaeldrisan? Can't you see I'm very busy!"
"Nny wants to see your Voot."
"My Voot? Why?" His eyes narrowed. "Who sent you?"
"He just wants to see the ship, Zim," Gally sighed in exasperation. She glared pointedly at the little Irkan. "Be nice.."
"Fine. You may see my Voot. But do not touch it, or bad things will befall you!" He leapt on top of the large machine and struck a pose. "TERRIBLE, awful things!"
"That's nice, Zim." Gally led Nny up a flight of stairs, then turned to a wall and opened a door to another flight. They emerged in a dark attic of sorts.
"Ready?" Gally's voice was low and spooky.
"Yeah.."
The light flicked on, revealing a bright, shiny Voot, devoid of even a speck of dust. Nny's eyes widened in appreciation, and he circled it, happy to just admire the alien technology.
From a far corner of the attic, he heard Gally's voice. "This," it said, "Was my ship."
Nny went over to her and followed where her finger was pointing. Crumpled in a heap was a depressing pile of parts, here and there splashed with a bright coat of blue or black paint.
"I've been meaning to fix it," Gally explained. "I just haven't gotten around to it. All the parts are there.."
Nny didn't know what possessed him to say what came next.
"I'll help you fix it."
"Really?" Gally stared at him with wide eyes. "You would? Thank you so much!" She hugged Nny swiftly, pinning his arms to his sides. He resisted the urge to shake her off, wishing to instead enjoy the feeling the hug brought. He smiled.