You're a Bit Odd, Aren't You?

Stork

I heard a loud shriek erupt from behind me. It's either Piper, or the new girl, I thought.

Thump...crash

I turned around from the controls.

"Don't... ever do that again." It was the new girl. It was coming from somewhere around the corner.

"What? I'm just having some fun." Finn said, coming from the same direction.

"What's going on?" Aerrow asked. He wasn't with Finn or the girl.

I jumped a bit, hearing his voice. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Piper?"

"Yeah... but I was looking for Finn. I think I just found him, too."

I went back to the controls.

Aerrow walked out of the room.

"Hey Kai... What's wrong with Finn?"

"Well, he jumped out and scared me. So, I pinned him against the wall."

I remember when he did that to me, I shuddered. Now, that was a horrid day. I don't think the boy will forget that.

"And, it hurt, too," Finn whined.

I'm going to tune this one out. It's not going to go very far. I kept my attention on steering. There wasn't much to do, but it's better to look out for Talons than to do nothing at all.

"Hey, Stork…," someone sighed from behind me.

I cringed. "What?"

"Nothing... Just sayin' hi." It was the new girl again.

"Oh, well hi."

She stood there for a couple minutes, staying silent.

"Don't you have somewhere to be... or something to do?" I asked her, breaking the silence.

"Nope."

I sighed. "Well, could you do something other than stare at me all day?"

She looked at the ground, then back up at me. "I guess Junko could use some help. He's making a sandwich." She looked at the ground again. I guess she was disappointed.

"Oh, trust me. He doesn't need any help with that." I mumbled as she walked away.

Someone else walked in, humming a strange tune. Thought it must've been Piper because no one else really hums. Except Finn, but that's not really humming… It's more of an annoyance to get someone to let him blast his music—which never worked.

"Hey, Stork." I was expecting her voice. "I've got a question."

I groaned quietly. "What is it?"

"Do you have any idea why Finn keeps holding his arm?" I was the observer. I stood by and watched closely, listening to everything. The team could always rely on me to recall events. If I didn't know, chances are no one did.

I thought the girl might have done something other than just push him up against the wall. Just by looking, I could tell the girl had a kick to her, reminding me to stay away from her bad side. "What happens every time someone new comes on the ship? The new girl got scared. The only difference this time around is she fought back."

"Oh... so he scared her, too?"

I nodded.

"By the way, it's Kai."

I turned my head to look at her, then turned it back. "What is?"

"Her name; it's Kai."

"I know."

I see no point in trying to remember someone's name if there's no attachment. She's not my friend. She's not my enemy... far as I know. I do know that she's a bit overly friendly and overly trusting, but that doesn't really change anything.

After my pondering, I realized I had a question for Piper.

"Do you know why she wanted to join the team?"

She pressed her lips together, thinking. "Did she want to join? Or… or did Aerrow ask her?" He looked away, laughing wryly. "I think she invited herself and somehow manipulated Aerrow's emotions to let her come on board."

"Hostility, eh?"

I sighed. I let the auto-pilot take over. I felt a wave of curiosity pass over me as I wondered what was going on in the kitchen. But, it doesn't really change that much. Junko's always cooking something when he's not messing with a useless piece of junk.

But...'Kai' was in there.

Something told me this was going to be a very strange week.

Blinking, she shook her head. "What do you mean hostility?"

"You're worried about Kai getting in the way."

She laughed nervously. "In the way of what?"

I sighed. "I doubt the girl has any diseases…," I counted off the number of possibilities on my fingers. "If you're not fearing for your life, you're worried she's going to take something from you. I can feel it."

Shying away from the conversation, Piper stayed silent.

"She doesn't seem like the type to deliberately take something away from you, or anyone else. I think you're over-thinking things. Give her a chance, will you?"

Sighing, Piper nodded. "I suppose you're right. Thanks." Slowly, she made her way out of the room.

I sat down on the floor by the controls, feeling secure after I had mopped not too long ago. I lifted a hand to brush hair from my eyes, looking around the room. The new girl's scent lingered in the air.

It was a pleasant scent, something I wouldn't mind tolerating.

I could deal with having a new person on board… Having met her, informally or otherwise, she didn't seem like a bad person. I just have to be more careful about locking down for Switchblades… Hopefully Aerrow will fix it up so I won't have to worry about mistaking it.

With another sigh, I was soon relieved of another problem. "At least Finn will keep busy; she doesn't look half bad…"