Solana

Everything's going well here in Ringtown. You may not believe it, but Melody confessed the other day that she kind of missed you. At least that's one person. I'm glad your week has gone well so far and that you seem to fit right in. You would fit in, with those crazy lunatics who have no problem with the cold. Seems like you've become one of them. Also, Melody says that apparently she and this Alyssa girl were best friends in Ranger School. Something about Melody's brother and Alyssa's sister saving the world. I don't know what Melody talks about half the time. She's started using big words lately and has taken to explaining things using analogies to science. It's very confusing sometimes. I miss you (occasionally) and hope the rest of your time in Wintown goes well.

Spenser

P.S. Lunick reminded me to tell you not to freeze to death. It would be very unfortunate if his dynamic duo became dynamic uno. Apparently it doesn't have the same ring to it. I said only if we were lucky would that happen.

I couldn't help but grin after reading Spenser's styler-mail, hiding my smile behind my hand as Alyssa and I went on our patrol.

"What are you smiling about?" She asked, peering over my shoulder to see what I was doing. "Oh, I see. It's Spenser. Solana has a crush on Spenser." She said in a sing-song voice.

"I don't," I said calmly, "Spenser and I have just known each other for a long time."

"And I bet'cha an early morning patrol that you guys are falling in lurve," she grinned, apparently not letting this go.

"I'll take that bet," I answered, shaking with her. There's was, however, one thing that made me not totally sure. The night before I had left for Wintown, I remember falling asleep and I could've sworn that Spenser picked me up and put me in my bed. And then I might've grabbed his hand, but it was all a blur to me. I was half-asleep. Was it possible that we had held hands?

I internally shrugged. There was nothing I could do about it now. "Oh, yeah, Alyssa, what's this about your sister and Melody's brother saving the world?"

"Oh, yeah, my sister's Kate, you know, the Top Ranger," Alyssa waved me off like it was no big deal.

"No way," I said incredulously, "Why is Fiore getting this big influx of celebrities all of a sudden? Siblings of people who saved the world and helped save the world and crap like that all seem to be pouring in."

"I am a celebrity, aren't I?" Alyssa said smugly.

I pouted a bit. "I'm a celebrity too."

"Oh, yeah," Alyssa replied, slightly put out, "That whole 'beating the Go-Rock Squad' thing kind of trumps my 'sister of the person who defeated Team Dim Sun'. I didn't even really do anything."

"Well, don't get discouraged," I pulled on one of her pigtails, causing her to glare at me, "You're still doing better than most people."

"But I wanna be a great Ranger," Alyssa frowned, "A really great one. Like a super great one."

"And you will," I answered, grinning, "It's only been two weeks. You'll get there. You're doing much better on your capture skills already."

Alyssa seemed to be cheered by this. "Okay," she grinned, "You're right. I'm being mopey about nothing." She looked down at her watch, then looked over at the Ranger base. "It's time to head back anyway. When is something gonna happen here? Patrols are booooooring." We started walking back.

"Don't wish too hard for anything," I warned, "Cause you never know what you're going to get."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Alyssa waved me off, "Like I haven't heard that one before."

"I'm just saying," I raised my hands in surrender.

She stuck out her tongue at me, making a face.

"You look very mature right now," I commented.

"I am very mature."

"Not so much."

"I'm more mature than Melody," she argued back as we walked into the Wintown Ranger Base.

"Not really," I replied as I gave a wave to our Operator at the front desk and moved on to the Ranger quarters.

"You haven't even spent much time with Melody," she retorted, really getting into this now, "She is much less mature."

"I know this conversation is really important, but can we save it for another time," I said, looking around for Elita. Alyssa made a grumpy noise that reminded me of Lunick. I missed Lunick. And his grumpy noises.

I finally found Elita in the kitchen with a sandwich and bag of chips in front of her, reading the latest Almia Times. "Anything good in there?" I asked, snagging a chip.

"Hm," Elita remarked, doing nothing about my chip stealing. "Your sister and her boyfriend seem to be the darling couple of the Ranger organization." I guessed that she was directing this comment at Alyssa, seeing as I didn't have a sister.

Alyssa shrugged. "Yeah, Keith's cool."

"He was assigned to this Ranger base before he became a Top Ranger," Elita said absentmindedly. "Nice boy."

"I'll bet," I replied, moving on, "Uh, reporting back from patrol, Leader, and absolutely zero activity is going on. All's good."

"That can't be too exciting for our newbie, can it?" Elita remarked wryly, knowing the look on Alyssa's face without even looking.

Alyssa looked nervous at answering and I gave her a look to push her into talking. "No, m'am," she spit out finally.

"Please, Alyssa," Elita sighed, "I'm not that old. No more of the m'am."

"Yes, Leader," she replied hesitantly.

"Much better," Elita looked away from her paper for a second and smiled. "Now, I need to talk to Solana for a second, if you would please give us the room."

Alyssa nodded and left, and then it was just me and Elita. I promptly sat down next to her, flicking a glance at her sandwich. "What's in that?" I asked, motioning toward it.

Elita folded up her newspaper, focusing her attention on me now, I guess. "Roast beef and swiss," she answered, "You can have half if you want. I'm not going to eat it all."

I didn't need to be told twice. "Thanks, Elita," I replied, taking it, "I'm super hungry after that patrol." I took a bite, then looked at her curiously. "Is this about when I go back to Ringtown? Cause, honestly, it's not like I'm dying to go back or anything, but you said a week and it's been two. Any reason in particular?"

"I thought that it was important for Alyssa to really bond with another tough, female Ranger," Elita explained.

"Thanks for the compliment, but you fit those criteria as well," I answered, confused.

"But I'm the leader," Elita answered, "A Ranger has a different kind of relationship with their leader than with their fellow Rangers." I thought for a moment. Spenser and I had a pretty normal relationship. Except for the whole hand-holding thing. Somehow, I doubt that Elita and Silent Chris went around holding hands all over the place.

"You must be looking to train her to be leader when you have to leave," I answered, taking another bite of the sandwich. "I've heard rumors that the Ranger Union's been trying to call you up. Cause Alyssa's got great instincts. Plus, her sister's a Top Ranger, so she'll most likely get even better as she gets more experience. She-"

"Solana," she interrupted me, "You don't have to persuade me to do anything. I've already chosen my replacement."

"Oh," I said shortly, feeling slightly stupid, "Well, who is it?"

"It's you," she replied, giving me that mysterious smile of hers.

It took me a moment to understand what she was saying, but as soon as I realized what this meant, I swallowed my bite of sandwich and grinned. "So does this mean Spenser can't boss me around anymore?"