Hmmm, Piper's outlook on Finn has changed a bit. And just what is Finn's thoughts on the sittuation...
Chapter 5 – Paradise Found
Two small figures sat on the ledge for quite some time, until the dark skinned female stirred and straightened up.
Piper looked at the sky and determined that they had rested for a couple of hours. They still had a good five or six hours until sunset, and this ledge was not big enough to make a good refuge for the night. She turned to wake Finn and found him staring at her.
"I suppose you want to go on?" he said, his voice serious, but his eyes held a teasing glitter. As she nodded, he heaved a huge sigh and grimaced. "Fine, fine, whatever you say. No rest for the weary."
Both of them took their time standing, as muscles protested from the long morning's climb. Finn looked down at his hands and winced; his fingers were cut and scraped by the sharp rocks. "Man, maybe I should have full-fingered gloves." Piper gave a snort and held out her own hand, her forefinger and pinkie in the same shape, her once finely shaped fingernails rough and ragged. "Tell me about it, I'm going to need a manicure when we get back."
Finn gave her a startled look, he had never known her to go into the finer things of being female. Piper caught the look and frowned. "What, you think I don't treat myself every so often?"
He shrugged, baffled once again by the mysteries of the female race. Piper gave every intention of being a hardened Storm Hawk, a warrior, tough and ready for battle, and then would suddenly become all soft and giggly. He remembered how she had turned all mushy over that Domiwick fellow. And he also recalled that she had ended up kicking his butt when the explorer had turned out to be a jerk.
"After you, sweetie."
Piper scowled at him but didn't respond.
Once more they struggled ever upward, their world consisting only of the next handhold, the best place to put a foot. From time to time either Piper would reach down and give a helping hand to Finn, or he would shove her foot up, place it in a more secure spot. They paid no attention to the ever increasing distance that yawned below them. Living on a world like Atmos, fear of heights was not an option. Not that you didn't have a healthy respect and avoided falling at all costs, but it was hard not to get through life if you couldn't stand on the edge of a terra or ship. Not to mention riding a skimmer through wide open skies.
Piper heaved herself over a ridge. And came to a stop, her eyes widening in disbelief. There before her was a small valley, covered in vegetation. She lay there and stared as if witnessing a mirage. She was vaguely aware of Finn huffing and puffing behind her as he tried to pull himself up and over.
Finn looked up, just barely able to catch a glimpse of Piper. She had stopped and wasn't moving. Fearing that either she had reached the end of her reserves and had collapsed, or that she was face to face with some unknown monster, Finn tried to gain a foothold that would allow him to spring upwards. "Piper?" He whispered. "Is something wrong?" Just as he was about to scramble up, she turned and offered him his hand. Her face was grinning with delight. Finn blinked, not sure what to make of her happiness, surely they had not reached the top.
Grabbing her hand he felt her pull him up. As he reached the top it was his turn to stare at the veritable garden in front of them. They sat and stared at the sight, regarding it as if it were a present that neither was expecting. Without speaking they both stood at the same moment and began to walk forward, as if in a dream. It was Finn who broke the reverie.
"Berries!!!!" he screamed, and ran toward a small bush covered in luscious dark purple fruit. He grabbed a handful and brought them to his mouth. And yelped as his hand was slapped away. Looking up he glared at Piper, who glared back.
"What the heck did you do that for?" he whined.
"Because, you moron, those may be berries, but they're a type I've never seen before. For all you know they could be poisonous. We're not that far from the wasteland." Piper exclaimed.
"But, but, berries are berries." He reached out and plucked another orb. "Let me try just a small bite, and if I don't fall over, we'll know it's ok."
Piper grabbed his wrist. "And if they're anything like purge berries, you'll fall sick hours from now and heave yourself to death."
Finn's eyes widened. He looked at the berry in his hand and dropped it.
"Besides, I hear something even better." Piper remarked, and began to limp off. Finn gave the berries one last yearning look and then hurried to catch up to her. It wasn't long before he, too, could hear what her ears had caught.
Water. Bubbling, flowing, trickling water. Zeroing in on the sound, they finally spotted a small stream running between the rocks. Once more Piper restrained Finn as he all but flung himself face down into the wet miracle.
"Now what?" he grumbled.
"Just be patient." Piper ordered. She dug into her stash and pulled out a small blue-white crystal. "Aqua-stone." She remarked. Seeing Finn's still confused look, she sighed. "They're used to test the purity of water, you place it in a stream or anything that has water in it, and if it stays clear, the water's good. If it turns cloudy, don't drink it."
"Cool." Finn observed, impressed by the crystal's ability. He watched as she held it in the running water, pulling it out to reveal that it was as clear as the sky over Terra Ray. Finn wasted no time in flopping face first in the water, his mouth open, gulping in drink after drink.
Piper wandered upstream a bit, until she came to a slightly wider area, the water making a small pond. At first she knelt to scoop the sweet water into her mouth, running her wet hands around her face, the back of her neck, across each shoulder. She shivered a bit at the chilly water. Taking off her gloves she plunged her hands in up to the elbow, reveling in the coolness. Feeling the pain in her leg build, she straightened it out, her face beginning to express a pensive look. Shifting herself around, she slowly lowered her right leg into the water. The cold made her gasp, but as it enveloped her thigh she sighed with relief. As she sat there, her burning leg being soothed by the icy water, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun and the soft breeze on her face.
Finn had finally drunk his fill and had come to the same conclusion as Piper had, to immerse himself into the cool water. He took off his gloves, boots and socks and stripped off his shirt. He tried to lie down in the stream but it was too narrow, so he ended up sitting in it and scooping waves of it up and over him with his hands, thoroughly dousing himself. He grinned happily as water ran down, washing away the dirt and grime that had worked its way under his clothes. He thought momentarily of stripping completely, but decided not to, as he knew for sure he'd be caught. He could easily imagine the sound of her outraged scream.
He gave a small hiccup and sighed. This was bliss, this was heaven, this was better than a pack of Amazonian beauties gathered around him. Well, maybe not quite that good. Besides, his stomach was growling and he was beginning to shiver. Finn stood up and pulled his clothes back on.
Piper heard him coming, his wet clothes squelching with every step. Her leg felt almost normal, the heat from the wounds had cooled. She hadn't told Finn, but her thigh had begun to feel tight and swollen. She didn't want to worry him and besides, there wasn't anything he could do about it anyway. She looked up as he came to stand beside her.
She shared his grin as he dropped down beside her.
"Now all we need is a King Castle burger stand and we've got it made." Finn stated.
Piper reached into the bag and handed him a small round wafer. "Have a cookie."
"Gee, thanks."
They munched in silent partnership. Piper looked around at her surroundings until she turned her head and found Finn staring at her speculatively. She broke his glance and began to scrub at the dirt under her fingernails.
"Piper…Look at me. You think you have me fooled but you don't. How's the leg?"
Piper hesitated, then said cheerily. "Oh, ok, a little sore still, but the water's helped that."
Finn blew his breath out between his lips. "Yeah, and I'm next in line to be a Sky Knight."
Piper sighed. "OK, it hurts. Happy? It hurts and it burns and it's a pain in the.."
"Rump?" the blond finished.
"That, too. But mostly from that one remaining barb. I think it's working its way in deeper."
He motioned for her to turn over. She complied and soon felt his fingers rubbing at her lower thigh, right above the back of her knee, hunting for the tiny spine. Finn's brow began to crease as he continued to search with no luck. Finally his fingertip came in contact with the end, barely sticking out. She was right, it was working its way in.
"Piper, it's barely above the surface. I don't think I can grab hold of it, let alone pull it out. I couldn't get a grip on it last night."
Piper nodded. "That's ok, Finn. I know you would if you could. At least it can't go much deeper, maybe it'll start poking out the other side."
Finn shook his head at her practicality. If he'd had some sharp painful thing in him, he'd be doing all he could to get it out. Short of cutting off his leg, of course.
"Here, help me up, the water's starting to turn me blue." Piper said, holding out her hand.
"Well, dark blue, maybe." Finn joked as he pulled her up.
"Fine, smarty pants, you can fill this up." Piper shot back, handing him the nearly empty water bottle.
Finn quickly dumped out the stale water and filled up the container. He took a long drink from it, and bent to fill it up again. Straightening up, he remarked "Did you notice how sweet it is? It's much sweeter here than back there."
"You know, I did notice it was sweeter than normal water." She replied and watched as he walked upstream a few paces. Finn bent over and took another sample. "Yup," he affirmed "even sweeter. Wonder what's causing that?"
Piper, her own curiosity aroused, followed him. They made their way up the winding stream until they came to a stand of oddly shaped reeds. They were multi jointed, bulbous around the middle and colored a sandy tan. Long brownish-green fronds waved in the breeze at the top of the stalks. Finn bent and took a sip, commenting on how the water was really sweet. Pushing through the reeds, Finn once more swallowed a mouthful. His face showed amazement.
"Nothing! I mean, it tastes just like regular old water. Must be those reed thingies."
Finn turned back and grabbed hold of a stalk, breaking it off at one of the joints. As he held it up, a thin, syrupy liquid oozed out. Before she could stop him, he brushed his finger against it and licked it off.
Piper's admonition died in her throat as she stared in horror. Finn's eyes were bugged out and his mouth was in a 'O'. He stared at her in shock. Then her heart began to beat again as he grinned wildly.
"Sweeeet!" He yelled. "This stuff is ten times sweeter than sugar, maybe even crystal rock candy. Wow! Piper, you've got to try this." He held out the plant to her. And stepped back as he caught the anger blazing in her tawny gold eyes.
"Finn, I thought you had been poisoned or something! Didn't I just tell you not to eat something you didn't know what it was!!!" she yelled, her fists clenched.
"Oh. Sorry. But you know, if this was poisonous, wouldn't your little crystal have shown it?"
Piper gaped at him. Once again he had come to the right conclusion. Sometimes she wondered if Finn played up his stupidity.
"Perhaps." She responded, not willing to admit that he could be right. "But even still, you need to be careful."
Finn regarded her with a look of impishness. "Fine, here, will this make you feel better?"
He grabbed at his throat and started to make choking noises, his blue eyes crossed and his tongue sticking out. He began to stagger crazily until he flung himself down onto the ground, where he writhed for a few seconds before coming to stop on his back. He shook his entire body, then gave a "GASP – wheeeeeeeze" and flopped his head over to the side, his tongue lolling out. He stayed still for a long moment, then shot his arm up into the air and shook it, only to let it fall back down.
Piper tried, she seriously tried to stay angry at him, but as she watched his antics she could feel the bubble of mirth building in her, rising up until it finally broke free. She laughed. She laughed so hard she had to sit down, wiping at the tears that streamed down her face.
Finn had craned his head back to look at her and bounced to his feet when he saw that his clowning had worked. He walked over to her, his face split by a wide grin. Sitting down next to her, he poked her in the arm with a finger.
"There, I told you it would make you feel better."
She regarded the blond next to her. Giggling, she could only grin back and shake her head. Finally she calmed down enough to get her breath back.
"Oh, Finn, thanks. I needed that, more than I realized." She felt more refreshed than she did after sitting in the water. "Guess I've been a little stressed out."
"Yeah, well, considering what we've gone through, can't really blame you. But hey, ya gotta look on the bright side. We survived a Talon ambush, crash landing, being attacked by those claw beasts or whatever they were, survived a night out on the wastelands, climbed half a mountain and even found our own personal paradise. Not bad, huh?"
Piper nodded, once again struck by Finn's resiliency. "Yup, now all we have to do is get rescued and everything'll be blue skies."
"Yeah. Strange that we haven't seen anything of Aerrow and Junko. You don't think something happened that's preventing them from looking for us, do you?"
Piper was silent. She too had wondered why they had not been found. All last night as she had kept watch, she had listened for the sound of skimmers. Every time she had taken a small break in climbing, she had searched the skies for a sign of their friends.
She shook her head determinedly. "No. They'll find us. We both know they will."
Finn caught her mood and quickly perked up. "That's right, Aerrow won't stop until he finds us, and Junko will tear the wasteland to shreds, looking for us. Stork would land the Condor on that little ledge if he had to."
"Exactly."
Buoyed by their shared optimism, the two friends stood up. As they did so they noticed that the sky was darkening once more towards night.
Piper sighed. "Looks like we'll be spending another night on this rock."
"Uh-huh, but at least this time we have FOOD!!" Finn exclaimed, breaking off more of the stalks.
"Great, just what you need, more sugar." She took one of the stalks he offered and tasted the oozing sap. It was definitely sweeter than sugar, but it also had a tang to it. Very refreshing she thought. Finn was chewing on one as he stood beside her. "Well, we need to find shelter before it gets too dark." She instructed. They walked up the stream toward the far cliff wall, searching for a place to spend the night. Outside of some small birds, the only animal they had seen so far had been a squirbit, its long ears alert as it's fuzzy tail lashed back and forth, chattering at them in a scolding tone. But they couldn't chance that there might be larger predators about.
Piper was the first to spot the outcrop of rocks that made a natural fort, an overhang giving protection from the sky. They climbed up and squeezed through the small, narrow entrance. Once in, they found that the floor of the roughly six foot circular area was smooth dirt. The overhang hung above the rocks by only a few inches, making it hard for anything large to sneak in.
"Block that entrance and we're snug as a bug. I saw some thick-branched bushes on our way up, that should work." Finn suggested.
Piper nodded, "And if we gather some of that springy moss bushes, we'll have a softer bed than the one last night."
Quickly they got to work, gathering the necessary material to outfit their shelter. Finn easily broke off the dry branches and was soon staggering with an enormous armful. Piper had made small piles of the soft vegetation and was soon transferring it into the den, laying it out into two long rectangles. Finn dumped the sticks next to the entrance and lent her a helping hand, as he could see she was beginning to tire again, her face drawn.
The daylight was just about faded as they wedged the branches into the entrance, weaving the sticks into each other for sturdiness. Snapping his fingers the blond ran toward the back wall where he gathered a handful of stones.
"These will alert us if anything tries to get through that." He said, laying some of the rocks at the base and setting the others in amongst the branches. "If something tries to push, these rocks will fall and strike the ones on the ground, making a noise we hopefully should hear even in sleep." He looked at her proudly, then instantly shifted gears to regard her sheepishly, "We managed to stay awake last night, but both of us are wiped out. We could play games all night and fall asleep in mid word."
Piper smiled at him, both impressed by his solution and agreeing with his assessment. Even after eating the sweetstalks (as she called them) she was fading fast and her knee was killing her. All she wanted to do was lie down on the soft bed and sleep. As she turned she noticed the remaining bundle of sticks Finn had brought in. She motioned to her blond partner to grab a few and place them in the middle of the floor. He gave her a puzzled look, but did as she asked.
Grabbing up her staff, Piper pointed one end at the branches. "And this will help even more, so we can see if we need to." She squeezed the trigger, sending a blast of red energy into the wood, setting it alight, making a bright blaze.
Finn whistled. "Wow, I didn't know you could do that."
Shrugging, she made her way to her mossy mattress and stretched out onto her stomach. "There're lots of things you can do with crystals if you know how to attune them. Just a shift of the settings on my staff and presto – instant campfire."
Finn sat down on his own bed, removing his crossbow and setting it beside him. He looked over at the girl across from him worriedly. She had dropped her head into her crossed arms, her eyes closed. Her pixie-ish face was tight, her brow creased in pain, the dusky skin pale. If she wasn't asleep, she soon would be.
Man, I hope we get rescued soon. I don't think she's going to be in any condition to climb tomorrow. And that knee of hers is going to need medical attention. Thornbushes aren't poisonous, thank the winds, but having a six inch long needle in your flesh isn't healthy. And if I know her, she'll try to climb anyway. Stubborn, obstinate, irritating, always-has-to-be-right know it all. And a music critic, at that. Not to mention putting waayyyy too much work into those 'plans' of hers. If she's so smart, how come she never realizes that sometimes the best course of action is to roll with the flow. I mean, even Aerrow doesn't get all caught up in the details. And if I took the time to analyze every shot, the target would be long gone. Why can't she be more like us guys?
As Finn considered the slumbering female, he slowly began to come to a realization. She strove so hard to be one of the guys, and yet seemed to always be at odds with them. True, being a girl had a lot to do with it. Physically, psychologically, emotionally and even mentally different she would never break the wall that separated female from male. No matter how close she was to him, Aerrow, Junko, Stork and even Radarr, there were things that she would never understand, experience or discover.
And that, you moron, is why she tries so hard. Why she has to be better at the things she can do, better at everything, making every effort to keep up with us, to prove to us and her own self that she's capable. More than capable, really. No wonder she gets so annoyed with us, here she is trying to be the best and she's surrounded by a bunch of idiots who don't appreciate all she is. And does.
Finn nodded as his mind began to recognize and appreciate her abilities. She was the force that kept them together. She navigated not only the Condor, but the inhabitants inside, laying down pathways and setting up guideposts. Her commonsense was in direct opposition with the others recklessness, a much needed brake on their often run-away enthusiasm. Not that Piper herself didn't have a streak of optimism, but she was able to temper it with reason, bolstered by actual knowledge instead of gut feelings.
Geez, and I'm the worst of all. I used to think she was an overbearing nag, who spouted all that history and facts because she wanted to rub it in how smart she is. And I would turn around and poke fun or lose attention or be just plain rude. Sometimes, Finn, you can be a real jerk.
Regarding Piper with mixed feeling of respect, apology and fondness, Finn added a few more branches to the fire. Giving a yawn and a stretch, he lay down on the moss. He was asleep the minute his head settled into the springy foliage.