"...When's Nate's birthday?" Ella asked B.E.N.

Over the week Ella had already spent there, Ella and B.E.N. had become very good friends. They talked every day about anything and everything from Ella's past to embarrassing moments and such. Opinions were shared, laughs were often, and secrets were told. B.E.N. was the only one she could really tell everything. She didn't want Flint to know she was afraid of spiders, or that her childhood dream had been to become a faerie, or other such small but important things.

"Hm? Oh! January 30th."

"B.E.N.!" Ella exclaimed, horrified, "Oh no! I only have a couple of days to make him a birthday present!"

"...Birthday present, as in, y'know, a GIFT?! To Natey?!"

"Well, yeah. Why not? Everyone deserves to get a birthday present!"

"But.... Natey's... Well, he's just Natey! He's a pirate, Ellie! I don't know if he'd like a present very much. Once someone tried to give him a present and he got real mad, he said that presents were for the weak of heart and he could take care of himself."

Ella shook her head. "That's just horrible, B.E.N. Well, I'll try! Now what's his favorite color?"
"Black."

"Cruds. That most definetly will not work for what I have in mind. Next?"

"Blue."

"Okay, NOW we're getting somewhere!" Ella cheered.

"Ellie, I don't--"

"B.E.N.," she said, trying to sound cross, "Don't be so negative! Will you come with me and help me?"

"Now just what are you looking for, Ellie?" he asked cautiously.

"I just know we had it at home," she said, staring at nothing but thin air dreamilly, "It was the most beautiful rock I've ever seen, B.E.N.! I think they called it a geode. But it was simply gorgeous! I want to find a geode and give half to Nate."

"I don't know if rocks like that exist here, Ellie."

"Well, I'll search till I find one! Are you coming or not?"

"Okay. I mean, I have to! I have to go along to protect you.... n'stuff...."

"Sure," laughed Ella.

"W-ell, in anycase, the best rock caves are on the eastern side of the planet. It's pretty far. It'll take all day to get there. You may want to tell Flint we're going."

"Okay," Ella sighed, still used to freedom and never having to ask to go somewhere.

They went to Flint, who was in his office bent over a paper that seemed to be a letter.

"Excuse me... Nate...?" Ella said quietly, afraid she was interupting something.

"Eh?" he looked wearilly up from his paper and smiled at Ella. "Hello, Ella. How are you on this fine winter day?"

"Great. But I wanted to explore with B.E.N.... Can we go? Please? With cinnimon flavored icecream on top please?"

Flint chuckled. "By all means have a looksee."

"Thankyou so much!" Ella beamed, "I'll see you later then, Nate!"

She ran to her room, cramming in a light, small pack an extra dress since they might be gone until the next day, and putting on a heavier sweater over the dress she had on already. Then Ella went to the kitchen and filched some food from the unattentive cooks, and met B.E.N. outside.

"Ready, Ellie?" B.E.N. asked.

"Yeah," Ella nodded, starting off towards the east.

They walked along the path, icicles hanging dangerously from the huge plants that covered the surface of the planet. They trudged through the snow, and Ella looked back suddenly, startled. She gently nudged B.E.N. and signalled for him to be quiet and not to move. She made alomst no noise as she snuck back through the path they'd already cleared. A while later she came back, her face a mask of suspicion.

"What was it, Ellie?"

"I could have sworn I heard the snow crunch... and I felt like we were being followed... hm... I'm probably just paranoid, that's all."

B.E.N. didn't respond but frequently looked over his shoulder. Ella obsessively made sure, on the other hand, not to look back. It went for about an hour without conversation before B.E.N. said anything. He looked over at Ella, as if debating to tell her something.

"...Ellie, Nate's a good guy. I think you should watch out, though... I think he'll try to sway you. He's been searching for a girl to tie the knot with, and he's just looking for a girl that's easy. So just... beware. I don't really know if he has good intentions about this particular subject...."

"Intentions can be slippery things," muttered Ella, pulling her sweater closer to her as the two friends trudged through the snow.

Ella leaned against the wall of the cave they'd taken shelter in, her arms crossed and her sweater over her. B.E.N. was loudly snoring in the background. She looked up at the twinkling stars, her face bathed in etherial light. ...'He's been searching for a girl to tie the knot with... a girl that's easy...' Oh, Nate... Does that mean that you would have been this charming to anyone you met? Am I just like every other girl to you? Nate... You've made me feel... special. Wanted. I've never felt like that before. She closed her eyes, and she could hear the echo of her tears splashing onto the cave floor.