A/N:
You ever have one of those days where you feel like getting off your butt and actually writing something? Well, today was one of those days, apparently. Kudos to those off you who have this on alert. I know you probably think I'm horrible for waiting so long but… ah, who am I kidding? I've got no excuses. I haven't posted since January, so you have permission to be mad.
It could've been better, but something's better than nothing, eh?
Disclaimer: Do I look like I own Treasure Planet? …well, you can't see me, of course. So, I guess you wouldn't know… would you?
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They could only be described as beautiful. At least, that's how everyone else would see them. Their speed surprised her as they floated across the sky. The clouds, a lifeless pale tone, blocked the light of Montressor's sun momentarily before letting it fall back down to the surface of the planet. She had always wondered why that type of scene was supposed to be peaceful. For her own reasons, she felt it was anything but.
She closed her eyes as a gust of wind sped in from the canyon. It sent rippling waves through the tall grass, causing a piece of it that was naturally a dull tan color to brush her cheek. She tried to ignore it. But, when she felt it trail across her face, she opened her eyes to see it floating in midair. With a slight grin, she shut her eyes once more. "You know, I think we should've left you back at the inn." The pink protoplasmic pet that had once been her annoyance squeaked in response, though he could not understand her insult.
With a chirp, he looped around in the air and started to pull on a lock of her dark hair that had strayed from the band she kept it up in. "Quit." He ignored her tone of voice and insistently continued.
"Morph!" She shouted with a laugh and turned over onto her stomach. He disappeared in the grasses as her voice rang off the walls of the canyon. Morph popped up as a bubble, only to burst in her face. "Hey!"
His hysterical laughter filled the air as he flew back into the grass. Occasionally, he'd peek out with a smile, only to pull back in a fit of giggling. Resting her chin in her palm, she took a deep breath. Was everything always so peaceful here? It was one of the many things she often wondered. No –it wasn't exactly peaceful. It was… quiet. And that, by itself, was one of the things she still wasn't used to.
Jim sighed in frustration as the engine failed again. The frown he wore became more deeply etched into his face as he began to realize he had no idea why it wasn't working. He opened an incredibly small panel door on the side of the thruster. He wasn't even entirely sure what he was looking for. A loose plug? A broken cable? About a million things, of course, that'd have to be checked.
The moment he heard her shout out, his head shot up, a smile on his face. Her voice was filled with laughter - something he'd never thought he'd hear. She was watching Morph goof-off in the brown grasses only a few yards away, a distant look on her face. When was she not thinking about something? In all the time he'd known her, she was always off somewhere in her thoughts.
He looked down at the hovering surfer for a moment, and then across the way once more. She lay on her back now, looking up at the clouds with a thoughtful look in her eyes. After only a moment, the wrench he had in his hand fell into a small wooden toolbox a few feet from the board.
As she closed her eyes, her Felinid ears twitched at the sound of Morph's maddened giggling off in the distance. They perked up, however, when she heard someone sit down next to her. She waited for him to say something. And, when she didn't hear him speak, she opened her eyes to look at him. He sat beside her, arms behind his back to hold himself up, stretched out comfortably, and head tilted towards the sky.
She felt a grin spread across her face before she could stop it. "So…" Her curiosity always got the better of her, and he knew that by now, naturally.
"So…" He repeated, obviously not having anything to say. He kept his gaze toward the sky for a moment longer before looking down at her. Apparently, the grin was contagious.
"You're frustrated." Her reply was simple. And, of course, it threw him off guard.
"What?"
"I didn't stutter." That made him roll his eyes as he lay down on his back, sighing.
"And how do you know that?" He asked, tilting his head to look at her.
She leaned on an elbow so as to look down at him, black hair falling in front of her face. "It's only too obvious, Jim."
He chuckled slightly. "It's nice to know I'm that transparent." It honestly didn't bother him that she knew exactly how he was feeling. She did that often –but it still didn't surprise him. They knew each other all too well –a result of so much time spent with one another.
Morph made a small peep and flew in between their faces. His eyes were wide and smiling. He obviously had gone too long without attention –a whole two minutes, this time. Sora laughed quietly when he spun around a few times, looking at both of their faces –and the small space in between. Morph then made some sort of gagging noise and a cough at the same time, his pink tongue sticking out.
Jim rolled his eyes and sat up, his faithful little follower hanging around his shoulder. Once he stood up, he held out his hand towards her. "Come on," He said with a smile.
She paused before looking up at him. "I'd rather not." She said in all honesty.
"Why not?" He countered as she sat up.
She glanced over at the solar surfer, certainly the reason he wanted her to come with him. "That thing is a monstrosity." A moment of silence passed. "No offense."
To her relief, he laughed, but pulled her up against her will.
After a few moments, she stepped across the cracked earth that was somehow unable to hold a bit of water. Pushing the thoughts of the planet's unfortunate lack of weather aside, she stood by and watched as Jim messed around with the wires inside the engine. Not one to loiter, she circled the board, noticing small adjustments.
"What's this?" Her voice was followed by ringing echoes, thrown from the canyon's walls. Her eyes trailed over the crescent that had been cut from the board's side. A small copper ring lay suspended inside, surrounding a dark blue stone.
"Crystal capacitor." He answered absentmindedly as something clicked and a satisfied look came across his face. He shut the panel door and brushes the dirt from his hands.
"And that would be…?" She hid her disappointment in not knowing what it was.
A grin spread across his face. "Just something I made," He started as he walked over and steadied the hovering surfer when it began to tilt.
She nodded, looking it over and wondering how it worked. "Ever race with it?"
"Only once."
"Well," She tried not to laugh at the smile on his face. "You've obviously got something to say."
With a shake of his head, he shut his mouth. "Come on," She said. "Out with it."
"Did you win?" She continued, a hand trailing along the railing. He nodded. "Who'd you race? If it was Cliff then it could hardly be called a race. He'd be lucky to make it to the finish line."
"You wouldn't fare much better." He pointed out with a laugh.
"Thus the reason I don't try." Her previous question still wavered in the air, and it was clear from the look on her face that she still expected an answer.
He sighed, an apathetic look covering the smile that tugged at his mouth. "Okay, a couple years ago, right before Bones showed up," He looked up at the sky, nonchalantly. "I was heading towards the old quarry when," He hesitated, "I ran into Ray Quandree."
She did nothing more than stop walking. "Really?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, and a smirk played on her lips.
"I'm serious, Sora. You asked." He crossed his arms.
"Well of course you are." She said jeeringly. "I mean, what boy hasn't met the fastest rider on Montressor?" Quickly, she copied his pose, crossing her arms over her chest. "-and beat him, right?"
Jim shook his head. "Seriously, Sora."
"Of course." Though she tried to keep a straight face, her lightly scoffing demeanor broke through.
He sighed and gave her a look. It was then that she realized she'd seen that look before. It was reminiscent of many winter weekends of targeting B.E.N. with snowballs and after Morph took over, turning on one another.
"You wouldn't." She muttered, taking a small step back. He's not that immature, right?
Wrong.
With a laugh, he tried to grab her, but she'd already made it to the other side of the surfer. Grinning, she ran towards the grasses when he caught her from behind. She hated to admit it, but she couldn't get free –not that she was planning on it much. She turned her head and glared at him for a moment, but it dissolved quickly when he kissed the top of her head. The blood rushed to her face, though it could have been blamed on the heat.
"Okay." He said, still chuckling. "When have I ever lied to you?" He asked.
She opened her mouth in reply, but shut it with a defeated look. "Never."
He smiled triumphantly and let her go, with the exception of her hand. He wasn't going to let her run away again. "Come on, Sora."
She sighed as he continued. "Please come with me." She shook her head and she walked alongside the surfer, having nothing but contempt for the thing.
He put his hand firmly on the railing of the surfer in front of her, stopping her from continuing. She rolled her eyes and backtracked before he put his other hand down also. "Come on." He said, looking into her eyes.
She knew she was trapped, not because she couldn't walk away, but because of the look on his face. "No." She still said stubbornly.
"Please?" He asked quietly, leaning in towards her.
"Definitely not."
He grinned and leaned in close, his lips brushing her jaw. "Please?" He murmured.
She rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh. "No." She cursed on the inside as her voice faltered.
She knew he was grinning as he kissed her cheek. She groaned and crossed her arms. "Never again, got it?"
He pulled away, a smile spreading across his face. "Got it?" She repeated. He laughed and went around the board's side and flipped a switch, the engine rumbling on.
"Do you hear me, James Hawkins?" She shouted over the noise, hand resting on the railing. He nodded, taking her hand.
"Come on. You'll have fun." She rolled her eyes at that. "Really." He insisted.
"Yeah, sure."
"I'm right here with you. We're not gonna crash." She had to roll her eyes once more. "Just hop up on the board and kick off when I do." He said.
She did as he said, one foot still on the ground for balance, regretting every passing minute.
"Ready?" He asked, his voice still full of laughter.
"No." She shook her head with a smile.
"Go-" He said as she pushed off a few moments before he did. "-now."
Her hands gripped the railing forcefully and she kept her eyes near shut. She could hear him laughing as the contraption picked up speed, a weightless feeling in the pit of her stomach. The walls of the canyon passed by quickly, just lines of brown and tan.
They passed a couple quarries, open mine-shafts passing by hundreds of feet above them. Her hair flew everywhere, but it wasn't as if she cared. She knew she'd kill him for this afterword, she reasoned as the board sped up.
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The Meteora broke through a cover of cream-colored clouds, hastily leaving the port far behind. With today being particularly dry, the traffic was unusually high –the captains making a mad dash for the window of a rare sunny day. The ship had just made it through that window –needed repairs on the barque's hull keeping them longer than had been expected.
Now that they broke away from the artificial light of the port, a thin darkness fell over the ship. Off in the distance, Avery noticed the Mucculough Etherium Current, a blue river of light. The helmsman noticed this also, the reason he kept a wide berth of it. Rumors had been floating around that the Procyons had blockaded the end. Of course, this couldn't be completely justified, seeing how news traveled quite slowly in Pirate ports. They certainly did not hold much organization.
Avery's eyes, a deep green, scanned the expanse of the current. Who knew when they might have an encounter with an Ironclad? The mysterious ships were spotted in the once neutral territory quite often now.
"A bit jumpy, eh, Avery?" True to the captain's word, Avery felt himself straighten quickly, his eyes tearing away from the current.
"Aye." He answered, turning from the railing. "Not too often we're this close to Procyon territory."
Napier raised an eyebrow and snorted as he walked across the bridge. "Those Procs will stay where they are, if they know what's good fer 'em." The older man squinted at something in the distance. "'Course, if they ever get to crossin' the Breath of Ratec, as they call it, we'll put up a good fight for 'em."
Avery nodded, looking out at the Etherium with unease as he leaned against the railing of the helm. As they scanned the skies in silence, they both heard a dreadful sound –light steps coming quickly down the hallway behind the helm. Avery heard the Captain mutter something obscene and he began to wonder how long they would be able to last with this kid on board.
"Good day." Laden with numerous papers and instruments, Israel walked up to the bridge and set down his heavy burden on an old wooden table.
Napier offered an almost inaudible grunt in return before returning his gaze to open space. The young man's grin told Avery he hadn't spent much time on a ship. He'd wait until a few weeks in. Then the boy would crack. That little smile of his wouldn't last long.
"Are we still looking at a month, here?"
No patience. Grant shook his head slightly before speaking. "That's if we're lucky. You know –no solar storms, no black holes, no meteor showers. We might even run into a few of the Empire's ships."
Silence settled in as he took a look at Israel's shocked face. "This ole' barque's faster than most. We're fine." Napier crossed his arms. "What I'm interested in–and the crew also- is how much we might find…"
"Aye. We 'aven't forgotten you're little speech. 'Richest men sailing the Etherium,' you said." Avery raised an eyebrow. "This isn't some treasure trove, though."
Israel sighed, as if annoyed at the idea of having to explain it once more. "We're talking about discovering a planet that's been lost for almost a century! It was one of the most advanced civilizations –Henai was a genius! She invented things no one has ever even imagined. That doesn't matter to anyone of you?"
He received apathetic looks from Captain, first mate, and helmsmen. "Well," He coughed. "I suppose it doesn't. But, you should remember she was one of the wealthiest people on Connaissance. And, she never took a cent with her when she left with Nathaniel."
Napier nodded. "Yet, if she was as crazy as they all said, she probably hid it."
An angry look came across Israel's face, but he said nothing. He wasn't about to speak out against the man who captained the ship he stood on. "Well," He said, straightening his shirt and swallowing his original reply. "She probably did. But with the map and the journal, it should be easy enough to find."
Avery stared out across the deck, his arms resting on the railing, when he felt them staring at him. He raised an eyebrow, turning his head. "What?"
"Where… exactly is the map?" Avery wanted to roll his eyes at the curious look on the crocuta's face.
"The Denebola Galaxy." He answered, looking back to the deck.
With a nod and a silent exchange of words, Napier dismissed the helmsmen, taking the wheel into his hands. For a middle=aged terran, he could do little more than lead and handle a sword. Still, he took great pride in his ownership of the barque.
"We shouldn't make much noise." Napier said, his gaze cast far. "Mostly resource planets, am I right?" Young Hastings nodded, startled as he had just begun to look over planetary charts.
The captain turned the wheel slightly to port. "What's this woman of yours doing out in the Denebola?"
"…Hmm?" Avery pulled his gaze away from Evelyn, who was throwing coils of rope down through a hatch to a man below. "She's not my woman. I shudder at the thought."
Napier's roaring laugh could be heard across the bridge. "…Just a friend." The first mate had finished passively.
"Well." Israel said almost to himself. "As long as she has the map." He began to look through the journal once more. "You've seen it, right? It's not damaged –is it?"
Avery groaned softly and shrugged his shoulders, trying his best not to join in the conversation. His eyes scanned the horizon off the starboard side slowly.
The young Crocuta continued on. "It's over a hundred years old…" The two other men were preoccupied with keeping their eyes open, let alone listen. "…am sure it's not very strong. Then again, Henai was a genius. She probably already thought…"
With the current off in the distance, Avery now noticed, he could let his gaze fall somewhere randomly in the Etherium. He could still hear Israel prattle on in the background about the journal or the map or… well, who honestly cared? He usually tried to avoid this –he'd keep himself busy so thoughts like these wouldn't cloud his mind.
What have I gotten myself into? He shook his head, knowing they'd reach her planet in about four weeks. Then again, he couldn't help but wonder if she was even there. Of course she is, His mind assured him. But, finding her town would be another matter entirely.
He winced as the screeching cries of the manta birds hit his ears. They often tailed the ships, older ones hanging around the stern. Yet, some of the cocky birds would fly up near the sails, and every spacer kept an eye open for them. One getting caught in the rigging would cut into their time.
A cool breeze swept across the deck and he gripped a rope of the shrouds tightly in anticipation. His breath came out in a huff as he stared out at the dimming skies. "Two years…" He whispered. "What in the Etherium makes me think she'll go along with this?"
_____
"Sora-"
"No." She answered, her boots stepping surprisingly lightly on the porch outside the line of apartments. "Never again." She said, her accent thick while trailing a hand along the railing.
Jim shook his head as the engine quieted and the sail lowered. "You're so stubborn."
She smiled down at him. "I wonder who I learned that from."
He looked up at her with a grin from the court-yard area surrounded the porch before leaning the surfer on the railing. "You love it." He said as he jumped up onto the porch on the opposite side of the white-washed railing. There wasn't much footing and he would've kept his balance had she not pushed him. With a laugh, he pulled himself back up, looking down at her with a playful grin.
With a soft smile, he brushed her long bangs out of her face. He had to hold back a chuckle as he noticed she held her breath. After a moment, he pressed his lips against hers, a warm feeling spreading throughout his body. Morph sputtered and coughed somewhere in the background, but it wasn't as if they paid him any mind. He pulled away for a moment, only for her to kiss him once more.
Presently, she leaned her head against his, biting back a smile. He sighed, hands still brushing her cheeks and breath washing over her face. It was then she realized she had forgotten to breathe. Her face flushed red as she spoke. "So…" She tilted her head. "What time are you leaving?"
He pulled away a bit to look at her. "Same as always. Why?" A puzzled look came over his face.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
He raised an eyebrow and rested his hands on the railing. "What is it?"
"It's nothing, Jim." She insisted. "Really."
Tapping his fingers loudly on the wood, he kept his eyes locked with hers.
After a moment, she looked away. "I just heard… Doppler was coming over with Amelia in the morning."
Rolling his eyes, Jim sighed. "What?" Sora asked.
She continued. "Jim, I can't-"
He shook his head. "You really need to stop worrying."
She gave him the sternest look she could muster. "Why can't you just take this seriously for once? If Amelia saw me-"
"Sora=" He cut in.
"It would be…" She looked away again, biting her lip. "…I don't know –her duty to report me. Then it's the gallows. I'm not supposed to be here."
He tilted her chin so she would look at him. "It won't happen."
"Please, Jim. Just think about it seriously." She protested. "If she knew I was here, I would have to leave." She swallowed and spoke quietly. "And… I don't know if I could do that."
He looked down at her with a smile. "I won't let that happen." He could already see she was going to argue, so he silenced her reply with a kiss. "I promise you, Sora."
Her eyes still held a sad look somewhere in them, but she let herself believe him this time. "You swear it?"
He laughed quietly and nodded. "Thank you, Jim." She said barely above a whisper.
A smile spread across her face to match his when they heard the bell in the old clock tower sound. The sky had turned a soft pink hue, the wind just a bit colder with whispers of night approaching. "You should really go." She said.
He rolled his eyes as she continued. "We shouldn't have even been down there today. You've still got math work to do."
He groaned. "Don't remind me."
She laughed at his expression. "So-" She paused, her smile slowly fading. "I suppose I'll see you Friday."
He kissed her quickly and whispered in her ear. "I love you."
Her smile returned. "I love you." She whispered back as he hopped off the edge of the porch.
"Be glad you don't have to be in school all week." He called as he started the solar surfer's engine.
"Be glad you don't have to work all week." She countered with a laugh.
He nodded. "A whole week with B.E.N." He threw her a smirk. "I feel sorry for you." The engine grumbled into life and the sail stood straight.
"Me too." She commented, resting her hands on the railing and watching him. He gripped the metal railing and kicked off, looking back after a few moments with a grin.
She waited outside until she couldn't see him any longer, her smile still barely lingering on her face. She tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear as the cool wind played with them. With a now stoic look, she turned and opened the wooden door behind her, shutting it quietly.
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A/N:
I promise to work on better chapter endings. And, just to let you know, a terran is a human. Anyone who plays the computer game gets it, at least.
By the way, for every review, my muse considers coming out of hiding. Just thought I'd let you know.