Undiscovered Territory
CHAPTER EIGHT: Before the Storm
"I swear that I'm going to kill him one day."
Normally, Limpet would have made a light-hearted remark at this point, but even he was becoming weary. Whelk's attitude did not usually drain him this much. It must be on an extra-strength day.
"If he makes one more smart remark before the children are recovered, I swear I will blast a hole through that excuse for a heart," Whelk went on, unfinished with his tirade.
Limpet could only shake his head at this. Not that he liked Chiton more than anyone else, but this whole "I'm going to kill him" thread was taking things a bit far in his opinion. So the man was pretty heartless. At least he was a half decent comeback artist when anyone could get him to say any more than two words at a time. It made things a little more entertaining.
In fact, their encounter with Chiton had been the highlight so far of their search for the children. They'd had no luck on their own, and Whelk was about as good a conversationalist as a tree, albeit without the serene presence. Not to mention the fact that Chiton may well have given them a viable lead. Unlike Whelk, Limpet failed to see a downside to this equation. His friend was awfully pessimistic.
"Why not save your energy and let someone else do it?" Limpet said at last, only half joking. After all, his next statement held a little more truth to it than he would have liked. "It's not like there is a shortage of anyone who would want that job."
Whelk gave him a dark look. "You know, I'm getting rather sick of your smart mouth, too. Why don't you just cut it out?"
Limpet sighed. Perhaps he should not have gone for the joke. Whelk generally didn't respond well to those in the best of times, and the whole encounter with Chiton had only served to sour his demeanour further. Still, it was better to be loose than it was to be stuffy.
"I'd bet anything that he sent us off in the wrong direction anyway. Sounds just like him," Whelk said over his shoulder.
"If that's so, then why did you take his directions?" Limpet frowned at the glare that his friend gave him; it would have been withering, but he was a difficult one to set to that. "I meant nothing by it, Whelk. It was just honest curiosity."
Whelk sighed. "Because, even considering its source, it's the only thing that we have to go on. That's better than nothing."
Limpet would have expressed his agreement, but Whelk pulled up abruptly. Confused, Limpet halted as well, scanning the area with his eyes, and attuning his ears for any minute sound that might arise. He thought briefly of asking what was going on, but decided against it. If it had caught Whelk's attention, then it was likely important, and he would let him know in good time.
And speak of the devil . . . "Something's here. I can just sense it. But I don't see anything. Keep your eyes open."
Of course, he had been doing that already, but he thought better of pointing that out. His friend wasn't paying much attention to anything besides his sixth sense at the moment, and so likely would bear him no mind. Perhaps he would try again a little later on, when Whelk was less tense than he happened to be at the moment.
And so he strained his eyes a little harder, not noticing anything other than the normal planet features. This area was particularly flat, with only a few buttes for miles around, and one of the world's larger bodies of water. When he peered a little more closely at the plain that stretched below them, he thought that he could detect a slight waver to the air. Startled, he blinked, and the wavering was gone. It was probably just from being out in the suns too long.
"Whelk, I see nothing. Are you sure your senses are working properly?"
"Of course they are," Whelk answered almost absently, his head slowly panning from left to right in an effort to spot something. "Why wouldn't they be?"
Limpet sighed. "Look, we've been out in the suns for hours, and you're under a lot of stress even for you . . ."
"I'm not overstressed!" Whelk fired back, taking his eyes from the search for a moment to shoot a glare at him. "I just happen to be concentrating, unlike some other people around here."
"Whelk," Limpet said calmly. His friend's temper did nothing to faze him. "All I'm saying is that all the signs are there for someone to start making mistakes. You, me, anybody. I think that we should head back for a while."
This seemed to do little to cool Whelk's mood. The vein in his forehead did recede a bit though, and there was a measure of relaxation in his shoulders. At last, he let out a weary breath. "Perhaps you're right. For a change." It seemed that he couldn't quite resist the snipe at him, which was a good sign. "We'll go back to the village. For a short while, at least."
Limpet smiled; it looked like his friend had finally learned to listen to a little reason. "And look," he continued reassuringly. "We're not coming back entirely empty-handed. You know that Chiton won't tell anyone what he saw; I doubt anybody would ask him and there's no way that he would volunteer. So we do have a bit of a lead to share, if nothing else."
A soft growl came through Whelk's throat at the mention of this, though in response to what, Limpet could not quite tell. Still, that was the only reaction that he got before Whelk turned away and began to fly off in the direction of the village.
What was all that about? That the information was second hand was not important, only the fact that it existed. Once again, Whelk had shown how uptight he was. But these were thoughts for another day, so Limpet merely cut them off inside his mind and followed his friend back toward the village.
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He didn't know how much later it was before he finally regained all of the feeling in his body, but Dende did not really care. For a while, he was afraid that whatever drug had been administered to him would do something so thoroughly awful that he did not want to think about it. But as it turned out, it had only been a sedative. Nothing more drastic than that.
"I told you six times already that I'm fine," Dende said, patiently as he could manage. He could understand and appreciate Scargo's concern, but he just wasn't in the mood to deal with it right now.
Scargo bowed his head. "I'm sorry. I was just really worried about you. What did they do to you in there?"
Dende glanced fearfully down at his little brother; he would have hid that fear, but he was still too exhausted at the moment to falsify his facial expression. He didn't want to tell his brother what would likely happen to him in there, for if it had frightened him so, it was sure to terrify Scargo. But on the other hand, Dende didn't like the idea of him going in there completely blind to what would happen.
At last, he sighed, relenting somewhat. "I'll tell you if you want, Scargo. But it's pretty scary. Are you sure?"
Scargo appeared to carefully consider this. He cast his eyes downward, and his small face wrinkled in thought. After a few minutes, he lifted his gaze, and the thoughtful wrinkles smoothed from his countenance. "I really wanna know."
"Okay . . ." Drat. He'd been hoping that Scargo would reconsider. Now he had to fulfill his promise, and this was indeed a less than joyful task. "What they did first was to . . . well . . . to get some blood out . . ."
Scargo's face paled, and Dende stopped for a moment. He was trying not to make the details too graphic, so as to spare his brother as much as he could, but if it was having any effect at all he could not see it. He thought of not continuing, but decided against it when he saw Scargo regain his composure.
"I don't know a whole lot of what happened after that," he said quickly, trying to get this over with as soon as he could. "I wasn't co-operating with them so they put this mask over my face, and I didn't wake up for a while . . ."
Dende was more than thankful that this was the end of his explanation. And he was clearly not the only one, as Scargo huddled close to him, shaking visibly. However much Dende wished that he could just go ahead and do the same, he was the older brother. And he was the one who had to get them out of this mess.
He would have liked for this not to be his responsibility. After all, the villagers would probably be out looking for them by now. And any warriors on the search would surely be able to rescue them from this terrible place. There were few places on this planet that a spaceship – and a spaceship this must be – could hide. Spaceships needed open spaces, and surely would be detected quickly.
But for whatever reason, this one had not been. Dende did not understand the logic of this; it just didn't compute in his mind. Nevertheless, it was the reality of the situation, and however much he hated it, he still had to accept it.
"It's okay Scargo," he said at last. He hoped that he sounded reassuring, since he wasn't really feeling all that optimistic. "I'll get us out of here before anything bad happens to you."
Scargo looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "You will?" His face brightened into a smile that almost qualified as cheerful; Dende failed to understand how he did it in this situation. "Of course you will. I just know it."
This sentiment, based on a half lie though it was, seemed to calm Scargo's nerves; the younger Namek stopped huddling right next to him and instead took a seat at his side.
Yes, it was half a lie, the only truth to it being that Dende would at least try to free them before the doctor and her assistant returned, which could be at just about any time at all. How he was going to do it was the problem that he faced. That barrier was just too powerful for them to get through. If they were stronger, perhaps they could have endured the pain that it caused. But they were only children, and neither of them warrior class at that. There was simply no way.
But he would figure one out. Maybe sooner, maybe later, but he just would. He had to.
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The village looked little different from when he had left it. Most were still walking about the square, obviously muttering some worry about the children. They looked up as he landed, but few dared to look at him for very long before they cast their eyes away from him. Even for the sake of the children, these people were reluctant to put aside their fears and talk to him.
Not that Chiton particularly minded. For all he knew, Limpet and Whelk would be returning shortly, and they could simply give their report. Considering that they had gotten it from him, their information was the same. Perhaps they had even gleaned a little more from following after that alien, as they surely had done. All well and good. If they became the heroes, so much the better; Chiton would rather not have the attention.
He silently made his way to his home, a small dwelling just as every other house in every other village on the planet. There was really only one difference as far as he knew.
The within the house was cooler than the air without, perhaps stemming from the fact that his windows were covered, leaving the room rather dark compared to everywhere else. Windows were all well and good for observing the community, but they were also a distraction to his privacy, which he valued over most other things in the world. That, and for the fact that he actually enjoyed the darkness.
Chiton could not suppress a little bit of a smile at that. The stay on that planet Earth had been more comfortable for him than it had been for most of the others; that natural darkening of the sky that the Earthlings called "night" had been a most soothing thing to observe. Rather than having feared it, he had relished it, a break from the harsh lights of day. While most of the others had taken to the indoors for this phenomenon, where they could have all the light they wanted or needed, he had spent every one of them outside.
Oh, there had been many to claim that they had not been afraid. Mostly the warrior types, as admitting to such a fear would be considered a blatant weakness. Very few people believed in these assertions, though, and rightly so. Most of those were clear lies to anyone that paid enough attention to posture and timbre of voice, and even those who didn't. Not all of them though. There had been one for sure that had not much feared the darkness.
And that one was Scargo. He'd overheard the boy insisting that he had not been afraid, and while most dismissed it as childish pride, Chiton could tell the difference. And that was perhaps the largest part of why he had decided to take any role in the search at all. He almost saw some of himself in that boy. Oh, he was far too gregarious for his own tastes, of course – quite a little chatterbox. But he held some of the same appreciation for things considered to be too foreign to be right. Darkness was the most evident example. He just understood it.
In all, Chiton would almost admit to himself that he actually liked that kid. Generally, he didn't like anyone much, and the feeling was more than mutual. He cultivated that attitude. More people left him alone that way.
A knock on his door very nearly startled him. He turned abruptly, wondering if perhaps one of the villagers had actually gotten the guts to come and ask him if he had found anything. Of course, he didn't answer it at first, but the knocks came again, and it seemed clear that whoever was on the other side was not about to go away. That said something for his drive, if he were insistent upon speaking to him.
Deciding that he might as well just get the whole thing over with, he opened the door.
It was not much of a surprise to see Elder Muuri on the other side. In a situation like this, Chiton figured that if anyone would have the guts to talk to him, it would be the village elder. Sometimes people underestimated this man.
"The villagers told me that you had returned," the Elder said evenly. "If I might enter?"
Chiton shrugged, turning, an indication that the Elder could do as he wished. Of course, it took a moment for the Elder to realize this; he was not well accustomed to non-verbal cues, much like most others.
At the expression on Elder Muuri's face as he entered the dwelling, Chiton could not help but feel a bit of smug amusement. The older Namek's eyes had widened ever so slightly, and his posture became more rigid. Unaccustomed to the darkness, just as most others were. If anyone ever gave it a chance, they might learn to like it.
Elder Muuri pulled himself together amazingly quickly. "I know that it's not your favourite thing to do, but you could have made a stop to tell me if you'd found anything."
Chiton forcibly banished the smirk from his face. "Why bother?" he asked. "If anyone wanted to know badly enough, then they would come here. Your presence proves this, would you not say, Elder?"
"Perhaps," Elder Muuri agreed, but his face showed that there was no quarter given to the statement. "But it could save precious moments. Don't you care about the children at all?"
"Elder," Chiton returned, meeting the older Namek's eyes unflinchingly. "If I had no cares for the children, then I would not have participated in the search. It would have rather been a waste of my time."
The Elder seemed to have no words for this; his mouth closed abruptly, and he glanced about the house as though in search of something. Perhaps a response of some kind, that he hoped to be lurking somewhere within these shadows. It was a rare feat to render a village elder speechless, though not necessarily for Chiton. He'd accomplished it several times, in fact. And actually found it rather enjoyable even at a time like this, when an issue demanded serious attention.
"Well, if you truly do care, would you tell me if you've found anything?" Elder Muuri's voice returned to him at last. "This is a serious matter, Chiton. It's not a game."
Chiton narrowed his eyes at the accusation. That he would consider this a time for foolish play . . . "I assure you, Elder, I am aware of such." He paused for a moment, feeling a pair of now familiar ki signatures nearing the village. Ah. How convenient. "As it happens, Whelk and Limpet are on the verge of returning here. Their information is much the same as mine, and perhaps even more detailed. I'm sure that you would more enjoy speaking to them."
"Chiton –"
The Elder's words bore no effect upon him. Despite the fact that this was his own house, Chiton brushed past the older Namek, making a small instance of contact that, while he hated to be touched, clearly conveyed his dismissal of the matter. He stepped once again into the harsh light of the suns, on his way to a place that currently held greater importance. And out of the corner of his eye, he saw Whelk and Limpet making their landings in the village square.
CHAPTER EIGHT: Before the Storm
"I swear that I'm going to kill him one day."
Normally, Limpet would have made a light-hearted remark at this point, but even he was becoming weary. Whelk's attitude did not usually drain him this much. It must be on an extra-strength day.
"If he makes one more smart remark before the children are recovered, I swear I will blast a hole through that excuse for a heart," Whelk went on, unfinished with his tirade.
Limpet could only shake his head at this. Not that he liked Chiton more than anyone else, but this whole "I'm going to kill him" thread was taking things a bit far in his opinion. So the man was pretty heartless. At least he was a half decent comeback artist when anyone could get him to say any more than two words at a time. It made things a little more entertaining.
In fact, their encounter with Chiton had been the highlight so far of their search for the children. They'd had no luck on their own, and Whelk was about as good a conversationalist as a tree, albeit without the serene presence. Not to mention the fact that Chiton may well have given them a viable lead. Unlike Whelk, Limpet failed to see a downside to this equation. His friend was awfully pessimistic.
"Why not save your energy and let someone else do it?" Limpet said at last, only half joking. After all, his next statement held a little more truth to it than he would have liked. "It's not like there is a shortage of anyone who would want that job."
Whelk gave him a dark look. "You know, I'm getting rather sick of your smart mouth, too. Why don't you just cut it out?"
Limpet sighed. Perhaps he should not have gone for the joke. Whelk generally didn't respond well to those in the best of times, and the whole encounter with Chiton had only served to sour his demeanour further. Still, it was better to be loose than it was to be stuffy.
"I'd bet anything that he sent us off in the wrong direction anyway. Sounds just like him," Whelk said over his shoulder.
"If that's so, then why did you take his directions?" Limpet frowned at the glare that his friend gave him; it would have been withering, but he was a difficult one to set to that. "I meant nothing by it, Whelk. It was just honest curiosity."
Whelk sighed. "Because, even considering its source, it's the only thing that we have to go on. That's better than nothing."
Limpet would have expressed his agreement, but Whelk pulled up abruptly. Confused, Limpet halted as well, scanning the area with his eyes, and attuning his ears for any minute sound that might arise. He thought briefly of asking what was going on, but decided against it. If it had caught Whelk's attention, then it was likely important, and he would let him know in good time.
And speak of the devil . . . "Something's here. I can just sense it. But I don't see anything. Keep your eyes open."
Of course, he had been doing that already, but he thought better of pointing that out. His friend wasn't paying much attention to anything besides his sixth sense at the moment, and so likely would bear him no mind. Perhaps he would try again a little later on, when Whelk was less tense than he happened to be at the moment.
And so he strained his eyes a little harder, not noticing anything other than the normal planet features. This area was particularly flat, with only a few buttes for miles around, and one of the world's larger bodies of water. When he peered a little more closely at the plain that stretched below them, he thought that he could detect a slight waver to the air. Startled, he blinked, and the wavering was gone. It was probably just from being out in the suns too long.
"Whelk, I see nothing. Are you sure your senses are working properly?"
"Of course they are," Whelk answered almost absently, his head slowly panning from left to right in an effort to spot something. "Why wouldn't they be?"
Limpet sighed. "Look, we've been out in the suns for hours, and you're under a lot of stress even for you . . ."
"I'm not overstressed!" Whelk fired back, taking his eyes from the search for a moment to shoot a glare at him. "I just happen to be concentrating, unlike some other people around here."
"Whelk," Limpet said calmly. His friend's temper did nothing to faze him. "All I'm saying is that all the signs are there for someone to start making mistakes. You, me, anybody. I think that we should head back for a while."
This seemed to do little to cool Whelk's mood. The vein in his forehead did recede a bit though, and there was a measure of relaxation in his shoulders. At last, he let out a weary breath. "Perhaps you're right. For a change." It seemed that he couldn't quite resist the snipe at him, which was a good sign. "We'll go back to the village. For a short while, at least."
Limpet smiled; it looked like his friend had finally learned to listen to a little reason. "And look," he continued reassuringly. "We're not coming back entirely empty-handed. You know that Chiton won't tell anyone what he saw; I doubt anybody would ask him and there's no way that he would volunteer. So we do have a bit of a lead to share, if nothing else."
A soft growl came through Whelk's throat at the mention of this, though in response to what, Limpet could not quite tell. Still, that was the only reaction that he got before Whelk turned away and began to fly off in the direction of the village.
What was all that about? That the information was second hand was not important, only the fact that it existed. Once again, Whelk had shown how uptight he was. But these were thoughts for another day, so Limpet merely cut them off inside his mind and followed his friend back toward the village.
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He didn't know how much later it was before he finally regained all of the feeling in his body, but Dende did not really care. For a while, he was afraid that whatever drug had been administered to him would do something so thoroughly awful that he did not want to think about it. But as it turned out, it had only been a sedative. Nothing more drastic than that.
"I told you six times already that I'm fine," Dende said, patiently as he could manage. He could understand and appreciate Scargo's concern, but he just wasn't in the mood to deal with it right now.
Scargo bowed his head. "I'm sorry. I was just really worried about you. What did they do to you in there?"
Dende glanced fearfully down at his little brother; he would have hid that fear, but he was still too exhausted at the moment to falsify his facial expression. He didn't want to tell his brother what would likely happen to him in there, for if it had frightened him so, it was sure to terrify Scargo. But on the other hand, Dende didn't like the idea of him going in there completely blind to what would happen.
At last, he sighed, relenting somewhat. "I'll tell you if you want, Scargo. But it's pretty scary. Are you sure?"
Scargo appeared to carefully consider this. He cast his eyes downward, and his small face wrinkled in thought. After a few minutes, he lifted his gaze, and the thoughtful wrinkles smoothed from his countenance. "I really wanna know."
"Okay . . ." Drat. He'd been hoping that Scargo would reconsider. Now he had to fulfill his promise, and this was indeed a less than joyful task. "What they did first was to . . . well . . . to get some blood out . . ."
Scargo's face paled, and Dende stopped for a moment. He was trying not to make the details too graphic, so as to spare his brother as much as he could, but if it was having any effect at all he could not see it. He thought of not continuing, but decided against it when he saw Scargo regain his composure.
"I don't know a whole lot of what happened after that," he said quickly, trying to get this over with as soon as he could. "I wasn't co-operating with them so they put this mask over my face, and I didn't wake up for a while . . ."
Dende was more than thankful that this was the end of his explanation. And he was clearly not the only one, as Scargo huddled close to him, shaking visibly. However much Dende wished that he could just go ahead and do the same, he was the older brother. And he was the one who had to get them out of this mess.
He would have liked for this not to be his responsibility. After all, the villagers would probably be out looking for them by now. And any warriors on the search would surely be able to rescue them from this terrible place. There were few places on this planet that a spaceship – and a spaceship this must be – could hide. Spaceships needed open spaces, and surely would be detected quickly.
But for whatever reason, this one had not been. Dende did not understand the logic of this; it just didn't compute in his mind. Nevertheless, it was the reality of the situation, and however much he hated it, he still had to accept it.
"It's okay Scargo," he said at last. He hoped that he sounded reassuring, since he wasn't really feeling all that optimistic. "I'll get us out of here before anything bad happens to you."
Scargo looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "You will?" His face brightened into a smile that almost qualified as cheerful; Dende failed to understand how he did it in this situation. "Of course you will. I just know it."
This sentiment, based on a half lie though it was, seemed to calm Scargo's nerves; the younger Namek stopped huddling right next to him and instead took a seat at his side.
Yes, it was half a lie, the only truth to it being that Dende would at least try to free them before the doctor and her assistant returned, which could be at just about any time at all. How he was going to do it was the problem that he faced. That barrier was just too powerful for them to get through. If they were stronger, perhaps they could have endured the pain that it caused. But they were only children, and neither of them warrior class at that. There was simply no way.
But he would figure one out. Maybe sooner, maybe later, but he just would. He had to.
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The village looked little different from when he had left it. Most were still walking about the square, obviously muttering some worry about the children. They looked up as he landed, but few dared to look at him for very long before they cast their eyes away from him. Even for the sake of the children, these people were reluctant to put aside their fears and talk to him.
Not that Chiton particularly minded. For all he knew, Limpet and Whelk would be returning shortly, and they could simply give their report. Considering that they had gotten it from him, their information was the same. Perhaps they had even gleaned a little more from following after that alien, as they surely had done. All well and good. If they became the heroes, so much the better; Chiton would rather not have the attention.
He silently made his way to his home, a small dwelling just as every other house in every other village on the planet. There was really only one difference as far as he knew.
The within the house was cooler than the air without, perhaps stemming from the fact that his windows were covered, leaving the room rather dark compared to everywhere else. Windows were all well and good for observing the community, but they were also a distraction to his privacy, which he valued over most other things in the world. That, and for the fact that he actually enjoyed the darkness.
Chiton could not suppress a little bit of a smile at that. The stay on that planet Earth had been more comfortable for him than it had been for most of the others; that natural darkening of the sky that the Earthlings called "night" had been a most soothing thing to observe. Rather than having feared it, he had relished it, a break from the harsh lights of day. While most of the others had taken to the indoors for this phenomenon, where they could have all the light they wanted or needed, he had spent every one of them outside.
Oh, there had been many to claim that they had not been afraid. Mostly the warrior types, as admitting to such a fear would be considered a blatant weakness. Very few people believed in these assertions, though, and rightly so. Most of those were clear lies to anyone that paid enough attention to posture and timbre of voice, and even those who didn't. Not all of them though. There had been one for sure that had not much feared the darkness.
And that one was Scargo. He'd overheard the boy insisting that he had not been afraid, and while most dismissed it as childish pride, Chiton could tell the difference. And that was perhaps the largest part of why he had decided to take any role in the search at all. He almost saw some of himself in that boy. Oh, he was far too gregarious for his own tastes, of course – quite a little chatterbox. But he held some of the same appreciation for things considered to be too foreign to be right. Darkness was the most evident example. He just understood it.
In all, Chiton would almost admit to himself that he actually liked that kid. Generally, he didn't like anyone much, and the feeling was more than mutual. He cultivated that attitude. More people left him alone that way.
A knock on his door very nearly startled him. He turned abruptly, wondering if perhaps one of the villagers had actually gotten the guts to come and ask him if he had found anything. Of course, he didn't answer it at first, but the knocks came again, and it seemed clear that whoever was on the other side was not about to go away. That said something for his drive, if he were insistent upon speaking to him.
Deciding that he might as well just get the whole thing over with, he opened the door.
It was not much of a surprise to see Elder Muuri on the other side. In a situation like this, Chiton figured that if anyone would have the guts to talk to him, it would be the village elder. Sometimes people underestimated this man.
"The villagers told me that you had returned," the Elder said evenly. "If I might enter?"
Chiton shrugged, turning, an indication that the Elder could do as he wished. Of course, it took a moment for the Elder to realize this; he was not well accustomed to non-verbal cues, much like most others.
At the expression on Elder Muuri's face as he entered the dwelling, Chiton could not help but feel a bit of smug amusement. The older Namek's eyes had widened ever so slightly, and his posture became more rigid. Unaccustomed to the darkness, just as most others were. If anyone ever gave it a chance, they might learn to like it.
Elder Muuri pulled himself together amazingly quickly. "I know that it's not your favourite thing to do, but you could have made a stop to tell me if you'd found anything."
Chiton forcibly banished the smirk from his face. "Why bother?" he asked. "If anyone wanted to know badly enough, then they would come here. Your presence proves this, would you not say, Elder?"
"Perhaps," Elder Muuri agreed, but his face showed that there was no quarter given to the statement. "But it could save precious moments. Don't you care about the children at all?"
"Elder," Chiton returned, meeting the older Namek's eyes unflinchingly. "If I had no cares for the children, then I would not have participated in the search. It would have rather been a waste of my time."
The Elder seemed to have no words for this; his mouth closed abruptly, and he glanced about the house as though in search of something. Perhaps a response of some kind, that he hoped to be lurking somewhere within these shadows. It was a rare feat to render a village elder speechless, though not necessarily for Chiton. He'd accomplished it several times, in fact. And actually found it rather enjoyable even at a time like this, when an issue demanded serious attention.
"Well, if you truly do care, would you tell me if you've found anything?" Elder Muuri's voice returned to him at last. "This is a serious matter, Chiton. It's not a game."
Chiton narrowed his eyes at the accusation. That he would consider this a time for foolish play . . . "I assure you, Elder, I am aware of such." He paused for a moment, feeling a pair of now familiar ki signatures nearing the village. Ah. How convenient. "As it happens, Whelk and Limpet are on the verge of returning here. Their information is much the same as mine, and perhaps even more detailed. I'm sure that you would more enjoy speaking to them."
"Chiton –"
The Elder's words bore no effect upon him. Despite the fact that this was his own house, Chiton brushed past the older Namek, making a small instance of contact that, while he hated to be touched, clearly conveyed his dismissal of the matter. He stepped once again into the harsh light of the suns, on his way to a place that currently held greater importance. And out of the corner of his eye, he saw Whelk and Limpet making their landings in the village square.