"This is a waste of time," Razer growled, his arms crossed and a small purple-skinned child clinging to his leg. "We need to be looking for Aya. It's getting dark and…"

"Would you relax for once, Razer? Like Kilowog said, Aya's a big girl. She's saved our butts more times than I can count, so I'm sure she can handle herself with our new friends. Right, Tim?"

Kilowog, who was currently lying on his back with four children using him as what Hal would call a jungle gym, shot a curious glance at the human. "'Tim'? Who or what is Tim?"

Hal threw an arm around the male leader of the group, easily distinguished by his elaborate gold tattoos and the intricacy of his clothing. "The head honcho here. He looks like a Tim, don'tcha think?" Razer scowled and Kilowog simply raised an eyebrow. "Well, I couldn't just keep calling him 'you guy', and he doesn't seem to mind."

Razer let out a huff coupled with an eyeroll. "This is pointless. We can't communicate with these people, we don't need anything from here, and this whole excursion has left us with one crewmate missing."

Hal sighed dramatically to intentionally tick Razer off. "Fiiiiine. If it'll make you feel better I'll call her. But I'm telling you she's fine." He raised his now-glowing ring to his mouth. "Aya, come in." No response. "Aya, report please." Still no reply. Now Razer's over-protectiveness was starting to creep into his own mind. "Aya? You there?"

"I am here, Green Lantern Hal." Everyone turned to the sound of her voice, so serene and oddly melodic in the darkening air, and those in possession of a lower mandible quickly found it dragging the ground when the AI stepped into full view. The native children left their Lantern playmates to run to the three females who had hours before whisked the robot away to parts unknown, seemingly oblivious to Aya's new transformation.

Not only was she now wrapped in a shimmering garment with hints of green and red at the edges, but delicate, flowing swirls covered her green hardlight flesh. The white designs seemed to cast their own luminescence from her skin and added to her etherealness. Razer was especially entranced by her new appearance. On one hand she walked the same, sounded the same, looked at all of them with the same innate intrigue, curiosity, and confidence she always did. But on the other she seemed like an entirely new person. She was the same, yet completely different. "Aya…you look…you're…wow," Hal sputtered.

"I assume that you are pleased with my new modifications." She sounded almost coy. How did she manage to be shy without any of the discomfort? Her gaze subtly strayed to Razer, who could not meet her eyes without blushing. "I have learned that these people, or rather the females of the species, paint their skin with symbols and decorations that denote their place in society as well as the home. The more elaborate the design, the more important she is within the unit. They believe that I am of the utmost import to this team, hence the extensive artwork they have given me. In a way, these markings are not dissimilar to those of your people, Razer, correct?"

All eyes turned to the Red Lantern and he could no longer admire her unnoticed. He shook his head briefly before turning it down, re-crossed his arms, and a muttered a "in a way" under his breath. He didn't see Aya's look of concern, nor the glances exchanged between the three females who had gifted her with their art.

Hal was the first to recover and stepped up to her, taking her hand in his and chastely kissing the back of it (thankfully, Razer also didn't see that). "'She walks in beauty, like the night. Of cloudless climes and starry skies. And all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes.'"

"Lord George Gordon Noel Byron, a 19th century Earth politician and poet who wrote prolifically about the complexities of love and all its aspects."

"Byron, huh. I always thought that poem was by Shakespeare." Hal simply shrugged, just happy he'd gotten those few lines right otherwise Aya would still be correcting him. "Anyway, you look beautiful, Aya."

"You sure do, kid," Kilowog added, finally snapping out of his stupor. "And those ladies are right: you're a crucial part of this team. Heck, we wouldn't last two days without you. Isn't that right, red?"

Razer silently pondered all the ways he could wipe the self-satisfied smirk off the sergeant's face for making him the center of attention again, but held back from expressing his irritation. "Right. Can we go now?"

While Hal and Kilowog said (or tried to) their goodbyes, Aya made a note in her internal databanks to ask Razer a question later.

I'm not too happy with that last line, but eh. One more chapter to go!