The return of Maia and Kassra shows her corny side. But, it's important.

Chapter 6: Sand Crabs

Gol rushed up to meet Maia at such a speed that he almost knocked her out of the air and squeezed her tight. "Dear sister, I've been so worried!"

She gasped. "You're squishing me!"

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a month!"

"I could say the same about you. You've been here the whole time?" She struggled to free her arms.

"I have. It turns out I didn't fare well when the tunnels caved in."

Maia finally extricated her arms and hugged him back. "Poor brother. I hope you're well now. We have so many things we must do."

He then broke their embrace to hold her at arm's length, eyes wide. "But, what about you, dear sister? Were you hurt?" She looked well enough now, but one could never be certain. "You didn't—"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" She floated backwards out of his grasp and spun in a circle. "Look, perfect as usual." She gazed down at the decaying town below them. "It's no wonder it took me so long to find you. I didn't think you'd be in such a place. I actually flew over it several times." She then smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I followed your flare from last night. How clever of you. It would've been nice if you had thought of it earlier, though."

"Like I said, I've been…indisposed these last several weeks." He gestured to his injured limb. "A rather bad broken leg. I'm getting too old, dear sister."

"That's what I've been saying."

"But, you still haven't answered me. Where have you been all this time?"

"Oh, wandering." She began to occupy herself with twirling a few strands of ivory hair in her fingers. "After the cave-in, I got blocked in those tunnels again." She noticed his concerned look and added, "Oh, don't worry, I only had a few scrapes and bruises. Nothing even you should be worried about, dear brother." She flew off a short ways, inspecting the town again. "Finally, I moved enough of the rubble to escape, and then I looked for you." She laughed and looked back. "It's really not an interesting story. Are you sure you want me to continue?"

Gol drifted over to her new location. "Please do."

"Well, in addition to looking for you, I decided to check out this new time period a bit, and I learned a few things. Did you realize it's been several centuries since the mute boy and his vermin trapped us in the silo?"

"I did."

She would have stomped her foot if she had been on solid ground. "It's so unfair! They probably died of old age. How satisfying would it have been if they had died by our hands, dear brother?"

He took a moment to think it over. "Oh, yes, that would have certainly been something."

Maia sighed in happy contemplation. Their pleasant daydreaming was interrupted by an "ahem" from below. The twins looked back to see Kassra standing there, gazing up at them.

His sister started to float down to the woman, with him trailing after. "Who is this?" She looked back at Gol in mock surprise. "Dear brother, I'm away for a month, and you find another woman to replace me?"

"Certainly not!"

She gave him a devious grin before turning back to the woman. "And what's your name?"

The woman blinked. "Kassra."

"You must be the person who's been taking care of my dear brother while I was gone." Maia looked back at him, still grinning. "Must be, as my brother's never been good at taking care of himself."

He frowned at her. Teasing him so soon, and they had just been reunited.

Kassra half-grinned. "Yeah, that's me."

Gol huffed. "We really must be going. We're a month behind everything!"

"A month and three hundred years. Plus, however long we were in those tunnels," his sister corrected.

"Behind on what?" Kassra asked. "Or is that none of my business, like usual?"

"That's exactly right," the Sage replied.

Maia put her hands on her hips and turned back to the rotting town. "Don't tell me you've been living in this sad, pathetic place?"

It was Kassra's turn to take on the same pose, but with a different expression. Not that Maia saw it. "As a matter of fact, yes, I have. This 'sad, pathetic place' is my home. I grew up here."

Maia crossed her arms, still with her back to the woman. "Well, it's pretty obvious it's your home or you wouldn't have a house here, now would you?"

Gol grinned at the exchange. Kassra could pester him all she wanted, but she was no match for his sister. Maia shouldn't taunt the woman too much, though. As annoying as she was, Kassra had helped him. But, he supposed he had helped her, as well. So they were even.

"Dear sister, as you so kindly pointed out, we are currently a month, three hundred years, and an amount of time that has yet to be determined behind schedule. We're not going to get anything done just standing here." Well, floating, but the semantics didn't matter.

"Oh, I suppose you're right." She turned back to Kassra. "Well, thanks for babysitting my—"

"Maia!"

She looked back at him and rolled her eyes. "Coming!"

As the siblings started to fly off, Gol stopped at the sound of Kassra's voice.

"Wait up!"

He looked down to see her running after them.

"It's her fault we're being delayed now," Maia said.

"What is it?" the Sage yelled down to the woman.

"Just come down! It won't take long!"

He let out a sound halfway between a growl and a sigh. She would never let him leave. He knew it. He started to float down as his sister followed.

"Not her!"

"Excuse me? Dear brother, are you going to let her—"

"Just wait here." He flew down to where Kassra waited, a look of utter annoyance plain on his face, and crossed his arms. "And what is it this time?"

"I'm thinking of leaving town."

"Good for you. Why are you telling me this?"

"I…I don't know." She put her hands behind her back and looked down, kicking the dust with one foot. "Just thought I'd tell you. I…I don't want to be alone anymore. I'm…" She looked up again. "Your sister's right. What was her name?"

"Maia. So are we done?"

Kassra continued on. "This is a sad place. It's my home, but it's sad and lonely and empty, and I don't want to stay here anymore. I'm heading out into the desert, and I'm not stopping until I find a new home for myself. Who knows, maybe I'll move to Spargus and become a city girl." She laughed.

"Well, you better be careful. I won't be around to rescue you again. Oh, that's right, according to your mother, my dear sister and I are the ones you should be worried about." Monsters? Them? It was absurd.

Before he knew it, she was hugging him. "I'll miss you."

He wouldn't miss her. After several moments, Gol patted her on the back, in case that was what she wanted, but she didn't let go. "You may release me now."

"I wish you wouldn't go, but I guess you have to." Perhaps she did break his leg to keep him here.

"I'm sure the next people you meet will be a lot nicer than me."

She laughed. And sniffed. Was she crying again? When she let go of him, her eyes had more of a shine than they should have, but that was all. She blinked rapidly a few times.

"Goodbye, then." He turned to leave again, but she grabbed his sleeve. She was really starting to get on his last nerve. Turning back, he growled at her. "Now what?"

She let go of him. "One more thing." It was always one more thing with her.

"Yes?"

"There's a story. About this creature out in the Wasteland. This sand crab. It's a mean, ugly little thing with beady eyes and little spines all over it. And big, jaggedy claws. It has a nasty temper, and many people have gotten a big, ol' pinch from it if they're not careful where they sit. But, every once in a while, it does something strange. Can you guess what that is?"

Gol remained silent. She had definitely hit her head last night. No doubt about it.

"It makes pearls! No one knows exactly how or why it does it, but it takes in sand and makes a pearl, kind of like how the clams in the ocean do. They're rare and beautiful. They're golden from the sand, and some say they're even more beautiful than the pearls the clams make. And it makes me think of something, y'know?"

No, he didn't know! Was she done yet?

"Even grumpy, little sand crabs are capable of beautiful things. Everything, actually, has a beautiful side." She held up a finger and added in a firm tone, "Everything, you hear me? Even this village, as sad as it is, has wonderful memories and beautiful sunsets as the sun goes down over the mountains. I even love my little garden. It doesn't do so well out here, but it tries, y'know. I'll miss this place when I've left. I know I will. But, I gotta leave, even if I know I'll be sad for a while. But, that's okay, because I know I'll find more beautiful things out there in the world." She tilted her head to the side. "You know what I'm getting at, don't you?"

He blinked at her. "I really must be going."

"I know. But, remember what I said, 'kay?"

He'd remember that she was insane.

"Goodbye," Kassra said.

Gol nodded and, after waiting a moment to see if she had anymore pointless drivel to add, returned to his sister. Maia was floating on her back, feet crossed at the ankles, hands behind her head. She yawned and floated back to an upright position. "I thought she'd never stop talking."

"If she has more to say, I'm not going back again. Come, dear sister."

As they started to fly off, he looked back for just a moment to see Kassra waving. The Precursors help whoever this woman managed to corner on her quest to find a new place to live. Odds are, she'd bother them to death, as she had almost done to him.

"I've already found the most perfect spot for our new citadel, dear brother," Maia said.

"Lead the way, dear sister." It was time to get back to work.

You starting to figure out my cryptic title? And I'm aware oysters make pearls, not clams. But, Kassra's a desert lass. She doesn't know any better. Plus, clam is a cute word. Please read and review.