Jim gathered his bathroom supplies in silence. Sy still had not returned and his other friends had left moments ago. A sudden trill by his ear reminded him that he was not alone. "Morph, stay."

Jim shoved his badge into his boots again, making sure to drop them outside his doorway before he headed down the hall to the bathroom. There were always plenty of youth passing in and out of the doors just before curfew. Enough so that Jim's lack of a badge was neither noteworthy nor a hindrance to his goal. Only a few short minutes (and one chorus about the importance of brushing your teeth) later and the young cadet was on his way back to his room.

His slippers padded silently across the slick cold floor. They had been a gift from his mother for his last birthday. He had to admit, they did fix his complaint about cold feet at night. The bunny ears were a bit much for his taste, though.

A set of three bears joined his two bunnies.

"Von Mars doing okay?"

"Yeah," Jim gave his companion a small smile. "Thanks for asking, Hazzam."

Hazzam shrugged. "None of us particularly liked the way Gray was talking to him." He gave Jim a grin. "Gotta say, I think we all cheered a little inside once we realized what Rudforest had done."

Jim felt his shoulders droop. "Kinda wish he hadn't though."

"Yeah. It'll be a shame to see him go." Hazzam shoved his hands in his pockets. "Oh!" Withdrawing his hands again, he offered Jim some scraps of paper. "Here. Stalkinew salvaged these from the trash. He asked me to pass them off to you next time I had the chance."

Jim grinned. "Thanks man. He's a smart cat, taking the roundabout way. Brax wouldn't let him hear the end of it if he knew who got these for him."

Hazzam chuckled softly. "Yeah. Stephen said he'd deny it if Rudforest accused him of rescuing them."

Jim laughed. "Sounds about right." He grabbed his boots and fished out his badge. "Catch you later, man."

"Night, Hawkins."

Both boys swiped their badges and let themselves into their rooms. Jim dropped his boots somewhere off to the side, not caring about keeping things tidy right now. The more pressing matter was how empty his room seemed without Sy here. What was it he was doing? Surely he wasn't in trouble, was he?

And then suddenly he wasn't alone.

Morph nuzzled up against his cheek, his cool body conforming to the shape of Jim's face. The small shifter never failed to make him smile. Jim shoved his previous thoughts out of his head. Sy would be fine. There was no reason to assume he wouldn't be. He'd show up soon enough, Jim just had to wait for the knock. Or the message on his tablet.

Jim scanned his hand to make sure he hadn't missed any messages. Aside from one from Matt thanking him again for his support, there was nothing. Jim tapped back a quick reply and set the tablet on its charging station. Best be sure he was ready for tomorrow.

He changed slowly, his eyes roaming the room for a distraction. They settled on his letters. In all the hullabaloo surrounding the excitement of hearing from Matt's family, Jim had completely forgotten that he hadn't read his own letters yet.

He picked up the pile and leafed through them to see where he wanted to start. Morph floated next to him and eyed Jim's envelopes curiously. Both Mrs and Mr Doppler had included a letter this time. His mother's letter felt especially thick. She was likely reminding him to wear sweaters outside now that it was cold. Sometimes Mrs Hawkins forgot that when it cooled off at home it was warming up on his current planet.

It was the letter from the stranger, though, that Jim settled upon. Mr Golds' envelope was generic and simple. There was no return address, just his name in the upper left corner. Jim's name and address were scrawled across the front in large brash letters.

Jim flipped the envelope over to break the seal. The image stamped in the wax, however, gave him momentary pause. A single planet with two crossing rings. Stamps like that had been a common sight when he was growing up, a novelty for children that loved the story books. No one had ever thought it was actually real.

With a sudden crush of nostalgia, Jim decided to preserve the wax. He grabbed his letter opener off his desk. He cut the envelope neatly and extracted the single sheet of paper.

The teen unfolded the thin sheet of paper, his eyes roaming the page. Once casually, and then again with starving fever.

Jimbo

That first word, that simple greeting. It was all he needed to know who had sent this to him.

I hope your fancy academy has been treating you well. I can't tell you how proud I am of you. I keep my ears open, you know, for any word that there might be. I hear about our lovely captain more than you, though, shame that it is. Still, managed to narrow down which school they'd shipped you to.

How's Morphy? He been keeping out of trouble?

Jim couldn't help but cast a glance at his troublesome pet. Oblivious, Morph made himself comfortable on Jim's pillow. Jim smiled fondly and returned to his paper.

I hope you both are doing well. And your lovely mother, of course. I heard the old inn is booming with business now. Maybe someday I'll check it out right proper.

I'm only sorry I haven't yet figured out a way for you to safely write me back. Keep your eyes open for more of me letters though, I'll be updating you as I'm able.

Be seeing you around pup,

Silver

Jim wiped at the tears on his cheeks. Smiling, he tucked the letter back into it's envelope. "Be seeing you around, you ol' dog you." He whispered in reply. Carefully he set all his letters back on his desk. He'd read the others tomorrow.

Jim flicked off his light and drew back his covers. "Move over Morph, Sy'll be here soon." Settling down against the pillows Jim closed his eyes. He could take a minute to himself before Sy got here. Just a minute to remember.