Book 2: New Life, Old Life
Part 10
23.05 HPN Day3 PT AC 4061
Trowa sighed and swiped long auburn bangs from his stinging eyes. It was almost time for siesta, and the desert heat was fast becoming too oppressive to continue working. He would have stopped nearly an hour earlier, but the delicate supplies could not survive this boiling downpour of sunlight for much longer than the equipment could, and without them he wouldn't survive for long and his mission would be pointless. Well, he amended, glancing across the white canvas shadows of the tent, not entirely pointless. If the boy were telling the truth, and knew a way of surviving in this sterile wasteland alone, that discovery in itself would be worth the trip. Such knowledge would prove invaluable to future expeditions, and may one day provide the key to making Earth habitable again.
A small smile stole across lean lips as he watched the boy move supplies in from the sun. There was certainly something peculiar about the blonde waif, an odd sense of balance and tendency to lose his feet. Several times during the morning Trowa had seen him topple to the sand amid a shower of tan crystals, yet it wasn't just gracelessness that tangled the pale limbs. The boy was the essence of grace itself, flowing from one position to the next like the floating breeze. It was more of an awkwardness, a lack of familiarity, as though the boy were not accustomed to his own body. Trowa noted with amusement that it was quite an endearing trait.
The boy disappeared again into the blinding sun and Trowa fell from his analysis. He raked back dripping bangs again and let out a heated sigh. Even inside the tent he felt as though he were baking. It was definitely time to stop. He checked his inventories and found that everything immediately perishable had been brought in. He decided to take the boy into the shuttle with him to rest for a few hours as soon as he returned with the next load. Perched on a crate, he waited a few minutes to no avail, so went in search of the blond child.
The light, reflected from every sandy surface, blinded him a moment, but through the hand before his eyes he found a fallen shadow in the brilliance. The boy was lying as he'd fallen across the sand, half his face buried, the other poorly shielded by clinging blond locks. Trowa lifted him gently and stumbled for the dark gleam of the shuttle.
Cool air poured over them like a glacier, pricking welcomed goosebumps from overheated flesh. The abrupt change made Trowa's head spin, and he quickly laid the boy down before sinking beside him on trembling legs. He sat a long moment, head in hands, back resting against the makeshift cot, feeling his pulse pounding through his ears. As the sweat covering his body finally cooled and dried he looked up to where the boy was laying.
The pale face was dry now, but beginning to blush an angry red, as were his neck and hands where they fell from limp sleeves. Trowa sighed as he realized from experience that the burns would be painful for several days, his own burn had yet to heal, and the light complexion of this boy's skin seemed to have magnified the damage. Weak racing pulse, light quick breathing, skin hot to the touch, and collapse, heat exhaustion was practically unheard of on the colonies, but Trowa had done thorough research before coming to this desert planet and recognized the symptoms, it was a more severe reaction of what he'd experienced during his first day.
Why had he let this happen? He knew better than to work in the sun during the hottest daylight hours. Were a few crates of supplies worth making this boy ill? Yet, he hadn't continued without thought. If this boy lived in the desert, shouldn't he be used to the conditions, or at least have adapted some way of combating their effect? Or, at the very least, shouldn't he know when to get out of the sun and protect himself? He had asked the boy to help him, but had assumed that if the work were too much he would stop. Why had he kept going if he was uncomfortable or unwell? This part Trowa simply could not understand, so resolved to ask once the boy awoke.
A high beep drew him to the console where Heero's concerned face greeted him.
"Trowa, what's going on down there? Are you all right?" The blue-eyed scientist was staring behind Trowa as though he expected an attack at any moment. Trowa couldn't help but be a bit startled at this reaction from the usually collected man, and felt his own anxiety rise that Heero should be so worried.
"I'm fine. What's wrong?"
"When we came over the horizon this morning we detected another life form, and it's right on top of you. Have you seen anything?" Ohh, yeah. Trowa's mind finally put two and two together as Heero kept speaking. "It's probably just our sensors malfunctioning, but it could always be some predator that was somehow able to hide from us. You're fine?"
"Yes Heero," he smiled. "I'm fine, and actually, I have found your other life form."
"What?!?!?" Duo suddenly shoved his way into view and Trowa had no doubt that Wufei was just out of sight. "There's life down there and we missed it?!?"
"Yes, Duo, I'm not exactly sure how he got here, or how he's survived here by himself, but he is most definitely alive." A long pause met those words, but was finally broken by Heero's tentative voice.
"'He'?"
"Yes, it's a human boy. He looks about our age, but seems . . . somehow . . . much older and much younger at the same time. I can't explain it really. I haven't found out much about him yet. He was sitting outside my tent this morning wearing my clothes. I know it sounds impossible, but it seems like he's never actually lived in the desert. His skin's paler than any colony kid I've ever seen, but he got sunburned in the few hours we worked this morning. He speaks Human with a bit of an accent, something like . . ." He wracked his mind for the similarities he'd been hearing all morning but which had remained just beyond his grasp. ". . . sort of like the New England colony. He certainly seems like he hasn't seen another person in a long time. I haven't been able to get many straight answers from him yet, but I'm going to try harder once he wakes up.
"Don't look at me like that, Duo, I'm not hallucinating. You guys found him on your scanners, remember? Go ahead and check again, he's lying here in the pod with me. I know exactly how crazy this all sounds. I don't understand a bit of it, but I don't know what else to tell you, that's everything I know." Again, Heero was the first to speak.
"You said, 'after he wakes up'?"
"Yes." Now Trowa looked a bit sheepish. "I said he got sunburned, he actually passed out from what I think is heat exhaustion a little while ago and hasn't woken up yet."
"Trowa, don't work him to death yet, we haven't had a chance to study him!" Heero slapped Duo's head and shoved him back off the screen. He was distracted by something to the side for a moment before turning back to the camera.
"Trowa, take care of him, he may be the key we've been hoping for. His life is more valuable than any of us could imagine. Tell us more when you can." A small smile lifted his cheeks. "And Wufei thinks you need to be reminded to take care of yourself, too. I agree. Good luck."
"You, too, Heero." The screen went dark, leaving Trowa once again alone with the boy.
Filling a small cup with water, Trowa went back to the cot and sat beside it. He carefully brushed aside the soft yellow bangs and blew cool air across the glowing forehead. At the steady touch, light eyelids began to flutter and struggle open. Thin slits of blue were hazy and frightened, but Trowa was reminded sharply of his dream. There was an ocean within those eyes, a forest, a desert, plains, swamps, grasslands, beaches, clear blue skies, and so much more . . .
Trowa drew away panting hard and heavily. Who was this boy? What was he? Where did he come from? What was he doing here, and above all, 'why did he come to me?'
Taking firm control of these spinning thoughts, Trowa turned back to the boy before him, still gazing up with unsure eyes. With slow calming movements he lifted beneath thin shoulders, helping him to sit up, and held the boy there as he brought the cup to dry lips. The boy obeyed warily, probably still lacking the strength to put up a fight, and after a bit of surprise at the water's quenching touch, devoured the rest of the glass hungrily. A request for more was met with temporary refusal, but promises of more later, once his stomach had agreed with this bit.
"What's wrong with me?" the boy asked groggily once Trowa had lowered him back to the cot.
"You have heat exhaustion." A blank stare contested this statement, so he tried again. "You spent too much time in the sun, and you got dehydrated. Did you drink any water today?"
"Why would I?" That was a response he would certainly follow up on later, but for now the boy's recovery was his first priority.
"When you spend time in the sun, it dries the water from your body. You have to drink more to make up for it."
"Oh." The boy nodded slowly. "Yes, I forgot, it's been so long." Now Trowa's curiosity was practically eating him alive, but self control was a virtue he prized. He could see the boy becoming sleepy, and gave him another cup of water before letting him rest.
"Thank you. I'd forgotten humans are so fragile. I'll be more careful." With that he drifted to sleep, leaving Trowa with more questions than he knew how to count.
Part 10
23.05 HPN Day3 PT AC 4061
Trowa sighed and swiped long auburn bangs from his stinging eyes. It was almost time for siesta, and the desert heat was fast becoming too oppressive to continue working. He would have stopped nearly an hour earlier, but the delicate supplies could not survive this boiling downpour of sunlight for much longer than the equipment could, and without them he wouldn't survive for long and his mission would be pointless. Well, he amended, glancing across the white canvas shadows of the tent, not entirely pointless. If the boy were telling the truth, and knew a way of surviving in this sterile wasteland alone, that discovery in itself would be worth the trip. Such knowledge would prove invaluable to future expeditions, and may one day provide the key to making Earth habitable again.
A small smile stole across lean lips as he watched the boy move supplies in from the sun. There was certainly something peculiar about the blonde waif, an odd sense of balance and tendency to lose his feet. Several times during the morning Trowa had seen him topple to the sand amid a shower of tan crystals, yet it wasn't just gracelessness that tangled the pale limbs. The boy was the essence of grace itself, flowing from one position to the next like the floating breeze. It was more of an awkwardness, a lack of familiarity, as though the boy were not accustomed to his own body. Trowa noted with amusement that it was quite an endearing trait.
The boy disappeared again into the blinding sun and Trowa fell from his analysis. He raked back dripping bangs again and let out a heated sigh. Even inside the tent he felt as though he were baking. It was definitely time to stop. He checked his inventories and found that everything immediately perishable had been brought in. He decided to take the boy into the shuttle with him to rest for a few hours as soon as he returned with the next load. Perched on a crate, he waited a few minutes to no avail, so went in search of the blond child.
The light, reflected from every sandy surface, blinded him a moment, but through the hand before his eyes he found a fallen shadow in the brilliance. The boy was lying as he'd fallen across the sand, half his face buried, the other poorly shielded by clinging blond locks. Trowa lifted him gently and stumbled for the dark gleam of the shuttle.
Cool air poured over them like a glacier, pricking welcomed goosebumps from overheated flesh. The abrupt change made Trowa's head spin, and he quickly laid the boy down before sinking beside him on trembling legs. He sat a long moment, head in hands, back resting against the makeshift cot, feeling his pulse pounding through his ears. As the sweat covering his body finally cooled and dried he looked up to where the boy was laying.
The pale face was dry now, but beginning to blush an angry red, as were his neck and hands where they fell from limp sleeves. Trowa sighed as he realized from experience that the burns would be painful for several days, his own burn had yet to heal, and the light complexion of this boy's skin seemed to have magnified the damage. Weak racing pulse, light quick breathing, skin hot to the touch, and collapse, heat exhaustion was practically unheard of on the colonies, but Trowa had done thorough research before coming to this desert planet and recognized the symptoms, it was a more severe reaction of what he'd experienced during his first day.
Why had he let this happen? He knew better than to work in the sun during the hottest daylight hours. Were a few crates of supplies worth making this boy ill? Yet, he hadn't continued without thought. If this boy lived in the desert, shouldn't he be used to the conditions, or at least have adapted some way of combating their effect? Or, at the very least, shouldn't he know when to get out of the sun and protect himself? He had asked the boy to help him, but had assumed that if the work were too much he would stop. Why had he kept going if he was uncomfortable or unwell? This part Trowa simply could not understand, so resolved to ask once the boy awoke.
A high beep drew him to the console where Heero's concerned face greeted him.
"Trowa, what's going on down there? Are you all right?" The blue-eyed scientist was staring behind Trowa as though he expected an attack at any moment. Trowa couldn't help but be a bit startled at this reaction from the usually collected man, and felt his own anxiety rise that Heero should be so worried.
"I'm fine. What's wrong?"
"When we came over the horizon this morning we detected another life form, and it's right on top of you. Have you seen anything?" Ohh, yeah. Trowa's mind finally put two and two together as Heero kept speaking. "It's probably just our sensors malfunctioning, but it could always be some predator that was somehow able to hide from us. You're fine?"
"Yes Heero," he smiled. "I'm fine, and actually, I have found your other life form."
"What?!?!?" Duo suddenly shoved his way into view and Trowa had no doubt that Wufei was just out of sight. "There's life down there and we missed it?!?"
"Yes, Duo, I'm not exactly sure how he got here, or how he's survived here by himself, but he is most definitely alive." A long pause met those words, but was finally broken by Heero's tentative voice.
"'He'?"
"Yes, it's a human boy. He looks about our age, but seems . . . somehow . . . much older and much younger at the same time. I can't explain it really. I haven't found out much about him yet. He was sitting outside my tent this morning wearing my clothes. I know it sounds impossible, but it seems like he's never actually lived in the desert. His skin's paler than any colony kid I've ever seen, but he got sunburned in the few hours we worked this morning. He speaks Human with a bit of an accent, something like . . ." He wracked his mind for the similarities he'd been hearing all morning but which had remained just beyond his grasp. ". . . sort of like the New England colony. He certainly seems like he hasn't seen another person in a long time. I haven't been able to get many straight answers from him yet, but I'm going to try harder once he wakes up.
"Don't look at me like that, Duo, I'm not hallucinating. You guys found him on your scanners, remember? Go ahead and check again, he's lying here in the pod with me. I know exactly how crazy this all sounds. I don't understand a bit of it, but I don't know what else to tell you, that's everything I know." Again, Heero was the first to speak.
"You said, 'after he wakes up'?"
"Yes." Now Trowa looked a bit sheepish. "I said he got sunburned, he actually passed out from what I think is heat exhaustion a little while ago and hasn't woken up yet."
"Trowa, don't work him to death yet, we haven't had a chance to study him!" Heero slapped Duo's head and shoved him back off the screen. He was distracted by something to the side for a moment before turning back to the camera.
"Trowa, take care of him, he may be the key we've been hoping for. His life is more valuable than any of us could imagine. Tell us more when you can." A small smile lifted his cheeks. "And Wufei thinks you need to be reminded to take care of yourself, too. I agree. Good luck."
"You, too, Heero." The screen went dark, leaving Trowa once again alone with the boy.
Filling a small cup with water, Trowa went back to the cot and sat beside it. He carefully brushed aside the soft yellow bangs and blew cool air across the glowing forehead. At the steady touch, light eyelids began to flutter and struggle open. Thin slits of blue were hazy and frightened, but Trowa was reminded sharply of his dream. There was an ocean within those eyes, a forest, a desert, plains, swamps, grasslands, beaches, clear blue skies, and so much more . . .
Trowa drew away panting hard and heavily. Who was this boy? What was he? Where did he come from? What was he doing here, and above all, 'why did he come to me?'
Taking firm control of these spinning thoughts, Trowa turned back to the boy before him, still gazing up with unsure eyes. With slow calming movements he lifted beneath thin shoulders, helping him to sit up, and held the boy there as he brought the cup to dry lips. The boy obeyed warily, probably still lacking the strength to put up a fight, and after a bit of surprise at the water's quenching touch, devoured the rest of the glass hungrily. A request for more was met with temporary refusal, but promises of more later, once his stomach had agreed with this bit.
"What's wrong with me?" the boy asked groggily once Trowa had lowered him back to the cot.
"You have heat exhaustion." A blank stare contested this statement, so he tried again. "You spent too much time in the sun, and you got dehydrated. Did you drink any water today?"
"Why would I?" That was a response he would certainly follow up on later, but for now the boy's recovery was his first priority.
"When you spend time in the sun, it dries the water from your body. You have to drink more to make up for it."
"Oh." The boy nodded slowly. "Yes, I forgot, it's been so long." Now Trowa's curiosity was practically eating him alive, but self control was a virtue he prized. He could see the boy becoming sleepy, and gave him another cup of water before letting him rest.
"Thank you. I'd forgotten humans are so fragile. I'll be more careful." With that he drifted to sleep, leaving Trowa with more questions than he knew how to count.