With Stork safely locked away, and Aerrow flying the ship passably well, the Condor flew on through the night.
Venus and Eros had decided to stay, lest some other unfortunate mishap should occur in their absence.
I'm using fancy language because fancy language makes me smile. Moving on...
"I'm hungry," Finn proclaimed at the top of his lungs. "Piper, make me some...Oh, yeah." His face turned downwards. "I miss her."
"You mean you miss her cooking," Aerrow growled.
"Okay, then, why do you miss her?" Finn demanded, standing.
"Because...well, because she's a good navigator," Aerrow spluttered. Finn, Venus, and Eros rolled their eyes simultaneously.
Denial.
Junko just shrugged.
--
Piper and the Dark Ace landed as soon as it became too dark to fly; he started a fire while she sulked by the skimmer.
Suddenly, her eyes landed on something that could just save her sanity: a radio.
Yes.
--
Crrrrk, pop, crrrk..."Hello?"
The radio crackled. Aerrow abandoned the controls and jumped; Finn had to spring to his feet to keep the entire ship from slamming into a low terra.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Shhh!" the other end hissed. "Quiet, or the Dark Ace'll hear us. It's me, Piper!"
"Piper! Where are you? Come back and make dinner!" Finn barked. Eros slapped a hand over the blond's mouth, while Aerrow resumed the conversation.
"Where are you?" Aerrow repeated.
"I'm not sure. Somewhere north of Atmosia. I couldn't see the compass when we were flying...Wait! He's finished starting the fire. Gotta go." And then there was a click, and Piper was gone.
--
That night, after the Dark Ace had thrown a blanket over her and left her to sleep, Piper gritted her teeth and envisioned her hands around Venus' alabaster neck. It helped with the venting. And then, against her will, a few tears and a strangled sob escaped her. Immediately, his voice appeared.
"What is it?"
She swallowed harshly before answering. "I want to go home." Her voice sounded so childish, so weak and painful.
On his end, nothing but quiet.
OOO
A/N: Er...
Eh...
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