Chapter Eleven: Heart to Engine Talk

Blade begrudgingly discovered sleep decided to evade him that night. He had hoped to go to bed early so he could rise at dawn for spot fire scouting. He finished the paperwork quickly, but when he tried to settle down for sleep, he ended up staring off into space wide awake and alert. For some reason, he felt something calling him outside. He opened his hanger doors, peering out and hoping he didn't see smoke. The entire base long since went quiet and dark, indicating everyone else already retired to bed.

Except one.

Blade blinked in surprise to see a lone figure on the ledge he liked to sit out on. Based on the size, it could only be Sky. Curious, Blade rolled out and quietly approached the nineteen-year-old. As he got closer, he realized she was singing softly under her breath. Sky didn't seem to notice him coming up behind her.

After a moment, Sky realized someone was behind her. She turned and a small smile appeared on her face. "Hey Blade."

"Good evening." Blade greeted, rolling up to stop beside her. "Didn't know you could sing."

Sky shrugged. "I always used music to help me get through whatever I was going through or if I was just happy about something. It's the best way I know how to express myself."

"Not a bad way to go." Blade said. "And you have a nice voice, so that's a bonus." Sky blushed a bit. Blade smirked. "What are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be asleep in the hanger?"

Sky frowned, crossing her arms. "Dusty and I are not on speaking terms at the moment." She announced bitterly. "I refuse to be in the same hanger as him."

Blade blinked in surprise. "What could've caused that?"

Sky paused. "We just got into this huge argument. He doesn't like that I can Soul Connect and he thinks I don't care about our friendship. Well what about him? He's not exactly being a very good friend either."

"That happens sometimes." Blade said. "Everyone fights now and then. The fights that destroy friendships are the ones that weren't talked about."

Sky blinked, looking to Blade. "What do you mean?"

Blade glanced to her before looking out to the forest below them. "Nick and I got into a few arguments when we knew each other. I remember once he snuck into my hanger and swiped my search and rescue helicopter figurine. It was a toy I got from my grandfather. It wasn't the first time Nick stole something of mine just to mess with me; we did it to each other all the time. But that figurine was special; my grandfather actually was a search and rescue copter, and we spent a lot of time together before he died. When I finally found Nick and got the figurine back, boy was I mad. We started yelling at each other, and finally I told him I didn't want to see him again."

Sky stared, surprised. "All that over a toy?"

"It was the only thing I had left to remember my grandfather." Blade said. "It was special to me. But when I started to think about it, I realized I never actually told Nick how important it was. Nick and I knew to respect each other's special items; he had a Day of the Dead decoration he wouldn't let anyone touch because he made it himself as a kid. He told me about that because I asked. I guess he thought the toy was just something I used for a decoration. He didn't know it was so important. When I realized that, I went back to talk to him. We apologized to each other, and we moved on like the fight never happened."

Sky looked out to the landscape below, silent for a moment. "So what's your point?" She already knew the answer.

"My point is no argument should ruin a friendship." Blade said. "Anger clouds judgement; it makes people say things they might not actually feel, or it reveals someone's true feelings in ugly ways."

Sky didn't speak, remembering something Sparky once told her. People say things when they're angry. Unfortunately, most of what they say is usually what they really feel. Other times, they're just speaking without thinking. You need to think long and hard about what you meant to say and what you actually meant.

"It can't be helped if this Soul Connection is stronger than other connections you've made with your psyche human abilities." Blade said. "But that cannot be your reasoning for leaving your friends behind."

"I don't want to leave him behind." Sky said in a soft voice. "I just….I just wish he was actually happy for me…" She sighed. "But you're right. I don't want to lose Dusty as my friend, and hopefully he feels the same way. I think we both need the night to cool off, though."

"Then where are you going to sleep?" Blade asked as Sky stood and brushed off her jeans.

"I dunno." Sky shrugged. "Maybe out here or in Maru's garage."

Blade rolled his eyes. "Not happening. Come on. You're sleeping in my hanger."

Sky jumped a bit. "Huh?"

"Come on." Blade nudged her with his nose, herding her towards his hanger. Sky was still surprised, but allowed the AgustaWestland to guide her along.

Dusty stared out the window of his hanger, noticing Blade and Sky disappearing into the former's hanger. He sighed heavily, blinking away his tears and settling down into uneasy sleep.

"There should be a blanket or two up on that shelf." Blade instructed, gesturing to a set of shelves against the wall. Sky found Blade's hanger quite organized: shelves against the wall, a bed in the corner, a desk with a radio, and several boxes of who-knows-what in another corner.

"Okay." Sky nodded, looking around for something to step up on.

"Here, climb up." Blade dipped his nose down.

"Really?" Sky asked nervously.

"Yes now hurry up." Blade said.

"All right." Sky shrugged. She lifted a foot up and put it up on Blade's nose. She pushed off the ground and grabbed the edge of his roof, pulling herself up.

Blade yelped in pain. "Knee in the eye."

"Hey, this was your idea." Sky pointed out, pulling her legs up and moving to stand at the very top of Blade's roof. She grabbed the blankets up on the top shelf, wondering if maybe Maru put them up so high on purpose or something. "Hang on, they're kinda stuck." She gave a few yanks, but on the last tug she suddenly slipped and began falling. She hurriedly grabbed something to catch herself, which ended up being one of Blade's rotors.

The helicopter twirled the rotors to stare at Sky and raised an eye frame at the raven-haired girl. "Having fun?"

Sky laughed nervously. "Oh, just hanging around."

Blade barked a laugh, smirking. "I suppose we can chalk this up with the fire extinguisher incident."

"You have to admit that was kind of funny." Sky said.

"I'm not going to gratify that with a response. Now get down." Blade still smirked as Sky swung and jumped, landing cat-like on the floor. She picked up the fallen blanket, folding the second one and placing it on a lower shelf, and began spreading out the first one on the ground. Blade rolled over to his bed, a small mattress on the floor, and began to settle into the padding. Sky stared at him for a moment, noting a small smile still on his face.

Now this is the Blade I was hoping to know. Sky realized. A lighter, happier Blade. Still, it does beg the question… "Blade, why did you come here to be a firefighter? Didn't Nick die at Piston Peak?"

Blade's smile fell away, but he put on a steely gaze. "I came here because this is where Nick died. I don't want anyone to go through what he did."

Sky sat on the blanket, staring at the ground. "Seems a little backwards. Most people try to avoid the places that gave them bad memories."

"Cowards run and hide from their problems." Blade said. "I almost did. But I learned to move past it, and even though it still hurts, it doesn't stop me from doing my job."

Sky stared in awe, amazed by Blade's words. Even though it still hurts…..it doesn't stop me from doing my job. Sky lay down to sleep, curling her arm up under her head to use as a pillow. "You know, Nick was really lucky."

"Why's that?" Blade asked.

"He had an amazing person like you as his best friend." Sky said, smiling.

Blade didn't answer for a moment, but then mumbled a "Thanks." Sky smiled still as she closed her eyes, curling up and allowing sleep to overcome her. Blade stared at the girl for a moment, listening to her even breathing. He moved to the shelves and grabbed the second blanket, taking it in his teeth and dragging it across the room. He draped the wool blanket over Sky, gently nuzzling the girl's head. Sky smiled in her sleep, sighing. Blade allowed himself to smile again, returning to his bed to fall into a peaceful sleep.

Thanks, Sky.

A/N: Again, a short chapter, but in the next chapter we see a lot of action and I didn't want to overload a single chapter with it all.

Until next time!