I needed to take a break from discovering different planets and adventuring in general. Denzel hurt his ankle while exploring the woods last week, and Pyre guarded him as we searched for him through the night. Azalea found him while returning from a Poptop hunt, and helped carry Denzel back to the house. I wish Nanaki hadn't been off traveling, because we really could have used that nose of his during all this. Azalea and Stabs went after us, and we were all back at the house after a couple of hours had passed. We thanked them for the rescue and Tifa made them something the next day in gratitude for finding Denzel. He's starting to get back on his feet and I have a new appreciation for our Floran neighbors.
Denzel hated the first couple of days, he was stuck in bed during some really nice, sunny days. He would lay on his propped up pillows, arms crossed as he looked out the window. Pyre would lay next to him, so I guess he wasn't too lonely when the rest of us were busy around the house and farm. On the third day his dramatics flared up where he said if he fell off the house maybe the ship could heal him faster than his body. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. Denzel has to learn that injuries take time to heal, and that there's consequences to carelessness. Tifa and I aren't doing this to be mean, but he needs this lesson as much as I dislike seeing him bored and in mild pain.
Eventually I took him for a walk as he sat on my shoulders, and that seemed to help his mood a lot. He's slowly becoming more independent, but he's still a kid. I should enjoy the time I have with him and Marlene as much as possible, before those days end...
I'm still exploring the star system I parked at, but with Denzel's injury I'll wait to explore anymore. Tifa felt the same way, so we've just been doing things around the house and farm. Made the barn a bit larger, looked through materials for houses, and checked up on the neighbors. Jack helped me build some new homes over the last two weeks...I haven't looked for any tenants just yet. The first night, after we finished a house near his, he wouldn't stop staring at me. I finally asked him what was wrong, and he seemed hesitant to tell me what was on his mind.
"Your eyes are glowing."
I almost forgot about that. I told him it was because of something that happened on our home world, and Jack seemed to pick up that I was hesitant to specify what exactly caused it. Even writing about this is making me smell mako and now my old scars itch. Not the Masamune scars, but the other ones. The ones I hide under my bracer, from the mako needles, the ones on the left side of my chest from J and S cell injections, and thesurgical scars...It's okay. We're far away from that now. It can stay in the past.
On to happier things...Tifa decided to experiment with some of the fruits we're growing, and we have a cask of aging Corel wine in the basement now. Neither of us drink all that much, but I'm sure we could trade it to curious visitors. I might have some for the sake of nostalgia, it's probably why she made a batch. I remember the first time we tried it, the two of us sipping it like it could kill us while Barret downed his glass. Barret...I need to search further. We have Yuffie and Nanaki back, so I'll keep on hoping I find the rest of our friends out there. Or, that they find us. Maybe I could make fliers? I did it for my delivery service, and it worked. That reminds me, I need to talk to Penguin Pete tomorrow about my request...
Yuffie has been going to that ocean planet as soon as she finished her EPP. She came back in the evening in a bikini, carrying off something she found at the beach or in the ocean yesterday. I admit I was suspicious because of her sticky fingers, but it turned out she was collecting seashells and colorful stones, not the personal possessions of the Hylotl. Yuffie gave a few to the kids to decorate their rooms, and they seemed to like the large, weirdly shaped things. The smaller ones were being used to decorate photo frames and light switches at her place...I have no idea why. It's her home, she can cover the whole thing in shells for all I care.
Nanaki finally came back from exploring the planet two days ago and said there was a village of mushroom people far to the east, at least two days of walking from the farm. He said they weren't hostile, but he couldn't make out what they were saying at all. They live in homes covered in brightly colored fungus, and they were surrounded by giant mushrooms that were as tall as trees. Nanaki brought back some mushrooms from that place, and after asking our resident Florans, we figured out they were safe to eat. I still tested out a piece just in case. I'm not dead, so Tifa can use them in her cooking. Maybe something Nanaki would like to eat too, he found them after all...
Tifa's beckoning me to go to bed with her. Until next time...