Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks or any of its characters. I do, however, own my own characters and plots.

Chapter 38

My heart was going a mile a minute. I was scared, but thrilled. I was stupid, but curious.

The look that Repton gave me could have made me laugh out loud, but I knew that I was treading on delicate ground now. He disappeared from the railing, leaving Leugey behind, who smiled and waved goofily down at me. The guards surrounding me, with their unsettling armoured masks, stood with vigilance. They did not yield or slacken their spears at Repton's arrival and waited until he came to the ground.

When I had reached Bogaton, I had noticed the gaping holes to the north of the Terra. I touched ground a league or so away from one of them and left Cloud Nine at the edge. I stayed close to the cliffside as I approached it, putting extended effort at keeping my footfalls light and weightless. I rested by trees I happened upon, to listen and feel the ground. A little more cautious than necessary; Repton had mentioned that the sandwurm had been inactive for weeks, so it was possible that it was still resting. What puzzled me was how much tougher the soil of Bogaton was... was it even possible for a sandwurm to dig its way around the Terra?

I reached the chasm at last, the churned up earth and roots. I lingered at the edge and looked into the darkness, trying to heighten my threshold and sense anything. There was, however, nothing, and the damage around it looked fairly old. It was possible that it had already started inching its way closer to the village, which I'm sure it hoped it would catch some Raptor wandering away from home. I decided it was best to enter Bogaton at a different angle rather than traverse the Terra on Cloud Nine. With Bogaton's defense system I couldn't fly above the cloud line, and even if I trigger alarm, detection was not the problem. Cloud Nine may have been quiet in comparison to a Bonewing, but she would still make enough ruckus to attract the beast. I had no idea where it was currently.

When I returned to my vehicle, I flew back into the air and circled the Terra to the south, where I landed once more and made my way to the base. Shortly into my trip I heard a siren blare briefly before disappearing from my senses and into my dust. I figured I wouldn't be pursued out here, especially since I was on a straight course to the fortress; if I had been up to more suspicious activity, it would be then that I'd expect sentries investigating.

It didn't take me long to make it to the village. It was when I had stopped at the top of the hill before the gates that Raptors flooded out to apprehend me. They demanded me what business I, a human, had in Bogaton, and I replied that I had a delivery for their ruler. I was a bit concerned by the chance that the guards would try to physically overwhelm me, and at first the possibility looked a lot like inevitability, but I happened to see Leugey nearby. I called out to him and requested he bring his brother to me while I sat quietly. The younger brother was much more agreeable than I expected him to be, almost making me wonder if he even held a grudge against Maia for interfering with their capture of the Condor. Our interaction left the other Raptors confused, bringing their guard down a little. I waited patiently with their spears pointed at me.

While Repton was making his way down, I had time to look around. He had under-exaggerated when he said there were merely a few dozens of Raptors on Bogaton. I noticed that they were taking down homes and moving the materials elsewhere, and I could only assume they were preparing the battleground. Among the bodies I saw children... Raptor children. My heart sank at how thin they were. I hoped that the food Scabulous sent over yesterday would be enough to sustain them until the Terra's issue was resolved. The villagers had looked at me curiously, mostly guardedly and suspiciously, but I didn't take offence. How often did a human stroll their way in just to talk?

The Raptor King reached the gates and stormed his way to me, his face awash with the deepest rage imaginable. I had thought to take on a different form to avoid setting him off, but I felt I had already seen him so many times as Maia that he was accustomed to my other props, such as my collar, my bag... there was no point. I just appeared to him as I had on the last two occasions. Auburn hair, crimson eyes, pale skin, and a hell of a lot of sass. I couldn't help but flash him a smile, and I guessed that made things worse.

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"You insufferable, insolent wench," he seethed. I swear, I thought he was seeing scarlet. "You have the nerve to show up here? Who the hell do you think you are?"

He was making a bee-line for me and didn't look like he intended to stop at any respectable distance. I reached down into the side pocket of my mailbag, placed for easy access in this specific occasion.

"Just a mail-carrier."

"Not for long. When I'm done with you—"

I pulled out the letter more urgently than I meant to, seeing as Repton nearly tried to pull me off my bike. His hands, mid-reach, twitched back for a second, an annoyed confusion touching his features. His eyes fixed on the pristine white envelope.

"Here," I managed. I had lost my sleeves on Saharr at our last meeting, so my arms were extremely bare to the touch. I wasn't even covered in bandages since I removed them for this disguise. I hoped he wouldn't notice I didn't have my sleeves, and that the letter proved a much more attractive distraction.

He straightened himself and looked at it with furrowed brows. " ...what is this? "

"What do you think it is? A letter, of course! Personally I wouldn't catch myself dead here, but... a favour was asked of me."

Repton snatched the letter from me, making me wince. Thank goodness he didn't actually graze my Claws there. He flipped the envelope this way and that under inspection, then he brought it to his nose. He took a long moment and his eyes closed, looking unbelievably serene for someone who wanted to rip me to shreds.

"Nakoto," he stated. I nodded, crossing my arms.

"I'm assuming you managed to find her when I last saw you, hm?" He didn't say anything in response and commenced opening the letter. He ripped the corner and dug his finger into the space before dragging it across the edge unceremoniously. He didn't appear to be listening but I thought Maia needed to ramble. "Listen, I know that you wanna kill me and all that jazz, but against your better judgment, I think it's best to let me go. I mean, who else is gonna deliver stuff like this to you?"

He pulled out the letter and propped it open in front of him with one hand, while he held the scrapped envelope idly in the other. His eyes swept the page and he made no effort to do so quickly. I saw some of the Raptors keeping guard glance at one another in the silence. Repton's expression was void of any emotion that I could read, but I had detected some backtracking in his reading by the way his eyes darted back up the page. He seemed absorbed by the words I'd written and I wondered what he was thinking, but I had no way to pry it from him. He finished reading the letter and adopted a faraway look on his face. I suppose you could say I didn't exactly think this far ahead, because I found myself a bit lost at what to do next.

"Come on... can I leave now?"

I snapped him out of his thoughts and he returned to me with a cold glare. There was so much hatred in his eyes, I felt the full brunt of it even if it was meant for my outer skin. I tried to the best of my ability to keep his gaze, hoping that the letter reached to him.

I wanted to see Bogaton as a stranger, and I wanted to leave them as a stranger... it would make leaving easier. If Repton heeded my letter, he would allow me this.

I was caught off-guard by Repton's reply.

"No. You're going to wait until I finish a response."

"What?" I yelped. Repton had folded up the letter and turned his back to me. "You're...you're gonna write it now?"

Repton scoffed harshly, making the back of my neck tingle. "Why not? You're already here. If I can't kill you, I may as well use you.

"Take her ride away until I tell you it's alright for her to approach it."

One of the Raptors approached and I immediately dismounted quickly, backing away. I still had spears pointed at me, but the one confiscating my ride from me had put his weapon away to free his hands. He took hold of Cloud Nine's handles and I hoped he wouldn't notice the hatch that shielded her Cloaking crystal in the dashboard. He rolled her away and I was left perplexed with my situation. Repton had made his way back into the fortress as if he was done with me, and I ran after him indignantly without even thinking. The remaining guards tensed and cried out a warning, following in pursuit. The Raptor King heard my footbeats and turned around quickly, his right hand reaching for his boomerang. I stopped a few metres from him and threw up my arms in surrender.

"Alright, alright! But what do you expect me to do?" I inquired. His pupils contracted at my daring. "I don't think Nakoto would like it if she found out I was treated poorly."

"You're getting a little comfortable, aren't you?" he sneered. "You're on my Terra. My rules."

I could feel the heat of the crystals at my back. "That's all good and well, I'll respect your rules. But at least invite me inside. I need to rest up for the journey out of here, and... l-lemme tell you, Terra Deep isn't a flight through Free Atmos."

"I could care less if you drop out of the sky from exhaustion..." An unpleasant smile spread across his lips, but then I huffed out the next words and the smile changed fluidly into a frown.

"Then no letters for Nakoto."

On the one hand, it was amusing twisting Repton's arm like this. There was a rejuvenating excitement in slipping into Maia's skin, for the dynamic she had with the Rogue. On the other hand, I was lying through my teeth right to his face, and I didn't feel so good about that anymore. At first I was testing whether he had any affinity for me, and now I was taking advantage of it to steer things into my liking. I had to remind myself that it was necessary, that in order for things to end well I had to pull a few strings, even if that meant deceiving Repton. Besides, he would have loved to wring Maia's neck, and I couldn't allow that simply because it meant it was my neck.

I believed he worked hard at keeping his expression neutral, to show he wasn't fazed by the notion I proposed. Then he grimaced, rolling his eyes and growling under his breath. He signalled behind me to dismiss the guards at my back, and I felt the heat of the crystals disappear. He then gestured forward with a mocking bow, a painfully-forced smile on his face. I wasn't sure if going ahead of him and exposing my back would be the best idea, so I walked carefully and stopped beside him, watching him warily. He returned my look with a pointed leer, his eyes briefly taking me in from head to toe before briskly striding, myself keeping his pace.

We entered the courtyard within the fort's walls, and he immediately left me in the care of Spitz, who happened to cross our path. Repton dumped me with him and simply said to keep guard over me. He didn't stay to answer any of Spitz's questions as his mind seemed to be already wandering elsewhere as he left. Again, he had quickly pushed Maia out of his attention rather effortlessly, which I found somewhat remarkable and unexpected. The lithe little lizard in my company glowered up at me, as he was only level with my shoulder, but I paid him little heed. I was taking in all the details of my surroundings, including the interior space and the animated bodies filing in and out on the main ground. The courtyard we currently stood in was small, with four stairways; three single-filed climbed to the northern, eastern and western wings, while a wider series of steps lead further into the fortress. A section of the courtyard was dedicated to an armoury under a wooden roof, currently sorted through by other Raptors. Along with mounted lanterns with currently-inactive crystals, there were fortifications with sharpened pikes. Raptors of Bogaton were all about them spikes.

"What are you doing here?"

Being in a place where remaining untouched was integral, my instinct made me tightly wind my tail around my waist and shrink my crown to make myself as small as possible. The only thing that anyone else could see were my arms tucking to my sides at the response of the new voice. I looked to the source and saw Hoerk make his way over to where Spitz and I stood. His expression was distorted with a look mixed with anger and perplexity. He reached forward to grab a hold of me when Spitz raised his arm and slapped his hand away. I glanced at the small Raptor and saw him sulking.

Hoerk turned on him and demanded, "What was that for? Mailgirl's got a lot coming to her, messing around with us!"

"Repton said to keep an eye on her," Spitz grumbled resentfully. "He said nothin' about being able to hurt her."

"Well, did he say we couldn't?" Hoerk imposed. He eyed me distastefully, his fists clenched tightly. I unwound my tail very gently and crossed my arms. As he spoke, a devious plan formulated in my mind, and I let a smile inch onto my face unchecked. His eyes narrowed and he squared off his shoulders, pushing himself in the space between Spitz and I.

"What are you smiling about? You want to be ripped in half?"

"I'm on urgent business here, and Repton has allowed me passage," I responded coolly. "I think he'll do to you far worse things than what you'll do to me."

"You sound real sure about that."

I shrugged my shoulders, keeping my hands firmly pressed under my armpits. I wanted to show that I had nothing to do with what happened next... invisible, my tail stretched around and whipped Hoerk across the back of his calf. The impact and shock of it had his knee buckle and he looked stunned at what could have struck him. Annoyance replaced the look and he turned around.

"Would you knock that off?"

Spitz gave him an incredulous glare. "I didn't do anything."

Hoerk shoved Spitz roughly and the slender Raptor hissed, side-stepping. His movement brought him closer to me, and I pivoted myself subtly. I swiftly lashed my tail up and uppercut his jaw, probably spotting his vision with stars. Spitz recovered and bore his teeth at Hoerk, who did not register his brother had been struck.

"I will freakin' end you!"

"Oh, you want a piece of me, huh?"

"Bring it, you bumbling boghowler!"

And thus I had turned two brothers onto one another. I stood by with my hands still idly pinned at my sides while Spitz and Hoerk dived for each others' throat. I glanced around and noticed that none of the other Raptors paid much attention to this happenstance, implying to me that their brawls were a common occurrence. Nobody noticed me slowly edge my way toward a stairway leading toward one of the wings of the fortress. I was well away up the stairs and, still, no one noticed. I smirked to myself at the casual exit and uncrossed my arms, ascending the stairs more confidently.

I had to traverse the fortress without shape-shifting, as no other form would aid me any further. My Cloaking crystal wasn't fashioned with a... Bogaton Raptor form, as Raptors away from their Terra drew suspicion. If I wanted to appear as a Raptor, I would simply have to deactivate the stone, but that wouldn't do. I was here as Maia, the Mail-carrier of Atmos. I would just have to sneak around the place to avoid trouble. I didn't want there to be some misunderstanding... I wasn't here to infiltrate Repton's defenses or anything.

Nah... if I was going to spend more time here than I intended, I wanted to at least have a look of Bogaton from a nice view.

Dear Repton, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Before I go into any details, I ask you not to shoot the messenger.
I know that Maia has caused you a lot of grief, and I'm really sorry for that,
but I think she would make our communication easier and safer.

By the time you get this letter, I will have Scabs send you some of
our rations. I hope you've actually used them, as I know how proud you
can be. I won't pull another stunt like that without asking you, but please
tell me if it made any difference. I would gladly send you more if you
needed it. Just give me the word and I'll have it done!

We've been detecting a lot of Cyclonian scouts flying around the hideout
and I'm a bit worried about the next attack. We've blocked off that path
you and your brother managed to find, but I'm not sure whether there may
be others. The amount of enemy sentries outside the grotto makes leaving
very difficult, even for Murk Raiders. Farida and I will need to leave Terra
Deep when the coast is clear. I'd like to do it well before we condemn
our gracious pirate friends to further harassment from Cyclonia.

We will have to disappear. We don't know where we'll end up,
but we will not find solace in any part of the known Atmos.
Don't worry, I won't do it unannounced ; I still have much to do.
I can't leave things undone, nor can I leave people without
saying goodbye. I will be sure to visit Bogaton at least once...
I want to ensure that the beast is gone and that your people
finally see how much you do value your Terra. Until then,
I will continue sending these letters to you.

Here's hoping you listened to me and kept Maia alive!

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Nakoto

Nakoto was leaving, then.

Repton left his chambers with his response letter in his hands, already enclosed in a sealed fold. In the inside of his vest on the left side, he could feel the water within the Aquinosian bottle lap around with his movements. It was a constant reminder of the promise of seeing Nakoto again, so that he may return it, and that she may return it to him at the next meeting. This exchange would inevitably end once she decided to leave the Atmos with her sister. Where would she go? To the Great Expanse, which held no refuge for any sailor? And the Farside of Atmos, that was blocked off and beyond anyone's grasp... how could she hope to reach it? The bottle in Repton's pocket almost felt heavier, even though there was less water in it now than initially. It felt heavier with apprehension.

He made his way to where he left Spitz and Maia. There were less Raptors in the courtyard, so it made it all the easier to see what was amiss. He found Spitz leaning against a crate, craning his arm back and inspecting his elbow, fingering what looked to be a few scratches. Maia was nowhere to be seen. Repton's nostrils flared with what seemed to be related to fury, but it was weak and spent. He was too absorbed in what Nakoto was planning to start yelling. He got to Spitz and when the younger brother detected him, he flinched and cried out.

"B-Boss, I can explain!" Repton regarded him with cold eyes, not bothering to speak. He waited to see what the other had to say and found him stumbling for words. "I-It was Hoerk's fault. He tried to do-in the girl and uh, I thought you wanted her whole, so I stopped him. He hit me first, I-I swear! Then before we knew it she-"

He stopped suddenly, before Repton even had the chance to cut him off. He had looked up and whatever he saw made him quit his rambling. Curiosity introduced itself to Repton's vexation and he turned his head to follow Spitz's gaze. And there she was.

"Leugey's room!" Spitz exclaimed. Maia was standing out on the balcony of Leugey's quarters, one arm across her abdomen and the other perched up, her right hand touching her cheek. She wasn't looking down at them, but rather out into the Terra. She was too high up to hear Spitz's voice, as she hadn't broken her stare from Bogaton. The nature of her behaviour was docile and centered on this activity, and she wasn't going to go anywhere else fast. Repton, still irked that Spitz let her get away in the first place, would have to go up to Leugey's room and fetch her. Repton reverted his leer to Spitz and menaced.

"Remind me never to entrust you to guard anyone in the future. I really doubt you'd be so lucky."

Spitz broke eye-contact and scratched his chin shamefully. Repton turned on his heel and made his way inside, looking up at the balcony one last time to make sure Maia hadn't changed in demeanour. All she did was drop her right hand to complete her crossed arms, and she did not notice him. He ascended the stairway inside and toward Leugey's part of the hideout, which was just a bit higher than the outer walls of the courtyard. Repton and his brothers didn't nest together as they had as children, and they were rather segregated by stories; Repton at the top of the fortress, then followed by Spitz, Hoerk, then Leugey. The youngest of the brothers didn't mind his station, since it was a decent amount of space. A large room to meet in, connecting to a balcony at one end and bedchambers at the other.

Leugey was in fact there when Repton reached the appropriate floor. He was at the entrance to his living space, looking in quietly. When Repton reached his side, Leugey looked upon him and smiled foolishly, beckoning toward the mail-carrier with his thumb. Leugey inadvertently dubbed himself Maia's "captor" and stayed near her in her time of solitude. Since Spitz seemed flabbergasted before, this wasn't a planned exchange of responsibility. Knowing the younger brother, Repton knew that Maia took advantage of Leugey's easy-go-lucky temperament to get herself onto his balcony. He glanced into the space to see that Maia had not inched away from her spot, her back now facing him from this angle. He approached her, and she still had not turned, evidently not hearing his footsteps. He breached open air only a meter or so from behind her and still nothing. It would be so easy to just push her off the railing and send the letter through some other means... but he digressed. He cleared his throat and Maia's shoulders twitched. She stepped closer to the railing in reaction and half-turned toward him, an alarmed look on her face.

"You're definitely making yourself at home," Repton commented darkly. "You were supposed to stay down where I left you."

Maia turned away from him, but from where he was standing he could still make out a bit of her face. The corners of her mouth dragged down momentarily, making a short, unconcerned frown.

"Sorry... I guess you could say I was curious."

Repton stood there, watching her as she stared off into the distance. There was something else on her face he discovered.

"You... look as if you like what you see," he voiced skeptically.

Her previous aloofness disappeared abruptly, replaced with disquiet. Her eyes darted slightly, focusing on various parts of the village, and she stumbled, "Well... it's... nice. You have a nice Terra. "

"I've never seen a look of yearning like that before."

Maia turned her face entirely away from Repton at that. She loosened her arms and gave them a shake at her sides, as if ridding some tension in her limbs. She straightened her shoulders as she inhaled and then rotated on her heel, facing him again. Seeing her face always gave him a start, because his first instinct was to close the gap and attack her. The amount of times she's taunted, humiliated and enraged him fed such a powerful flame of loathing. The fact that he was to act civil gave him a displaced feeling, as if he was dreaming and had little control on what happened next.

She smiled at him nervously, though he wasn't exactly sure why. Perhaps because on one side she had a far drop, and the other the Raptor King. He couldn't think of any other reason. "Eh... um... so, you've finished the letter? "

Repton moved toward her and half-expected her to recoil, but she didn't. Her eyes sought out the envelope shortly after she asked her question. He held it up to her. "Here," he started, watching as she reached up with her left hand, tentative. "This is to go straight to Nakoto, and not through some Atmosian screening or other nonsense. Got it?"

She took it from him and held it under her gaze, smiling a little. She flipped it over to the fold and he saw her lift up her right hand toward it. It took him a moment to register that she was going to open it, and he snapped at her.

"What are you doing?"

Maia flinched at his tone and it looked as if she awoke from some sort of spell. Her right thumb still hovered at the corner of the envelope. She met his eyes and stared dumbfounded for few seconds, and in response he bore his teeth in annoyance.

" ...Nothing," she replied, seeming to have found her voice. Confidence returned when she continued stubbornly, "I... obviously, I can't trust you, so I thought you'd slip in something bad. "

"In a letter?" Repton shook his head, laughing humourlessly. "Don't be stupid."

She gave him a hard look. "Ever heard of poisoned ink? It could happen!"

A gust of wind descended onto the balcony then. Maia's grip on the letter proved too loose and the envelope jerked out of her fingers. She gasped and twisted her arm to hook the paper back toward her, but the wind carried it over the arc. Repton's heart jolted and he had to jump forward to grasp it violently from the air himself. The both of them let out a sigh of relief, but remembered themselves. He straightened up and growled at her.

"I don't remember you being such a clumsy fool!" he snarled. "Turn around, I'll put it in myself."

There was a look of dismay on Maia's face, and she did nothing at first. Then, very reluctantly, she turned around until the bag behind her right hip was in front of him. She crossed her arms again and tucked them close to her sides, taking up less space than before. The only thing that Repton absentmindedly took heed of was the fact that she looked really strange without those ridiculous sleeves. Despite all the forms she took, Maia's sleeves were always consistent in her getups. They actually proved more conspicuous than anything, so he assumed she decided to ditch them at last. It did make her look much more vulnerable now.

He reached and untied the worn-out string and lifted the flap to find a great... absence of content. He had expected to see more letters and packages Maia was committed to deliver. Had Bogaton been her last stop before her return to Atmosia? It was in any case an odd sight. All he saw were rolls of parchments, pens, and other crumpled up scraps of either wrapping or stamps. He didn't care about her method of organization and opted to putting the letter in one of the pockets along the inner walls. There were only a few such pockets, and even though she didn't look to see, he was sure Maia knew where he was putting the letter when he unzipped one of them. She must have just come to Bogaton from Terra Deep... there was a hint of Nakoto's scent about her. He could also make out skymist, but there was something else he couldn't identify. It was unimportant.

Reminded of Maia's edginess about Nakoto, he decided to speak aloud.

"I have no interest in hurting Nakoto. I don't know how you know her, but you seem to be rather... tense about my relationship with her."

Maia shrugged her shoulders, keeping her face angled away. "I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if something bad happened to one of my clients. I haven't known her that long, but... you know..."

She trailed off there. No, he didn't know, nor did he care. With the letter secure in the pocket, he zipped it up and folded the flap back over the opening of her bag. He stepped back, leaving her the burden of tying the bag shut herself. She did so, and she looked up at him attentively. He nodded his head toward where his brother stood.

"Now, go with Leugey and he will escort you." He also nodded his chin at the bag at Maia's side. "Make sure that it gets to her, alright?"

She had glanced in Leugey's direction at his mention, but her eyes returned and she considered Repton silently. She evidently noticed the restlessness in Repton's posture and she passed him, keeping a good distance. He watched her go, withstanding the excruciating urge to reach out and strike her. It honestly felt like the most glorious chance to exact revenge was slipping through his fingers... but he had to endure. He turned toward the railing to help banish the temptation.

"...no interest in hurting her, huh? How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Repton's upper lip pulled back slightly in irritation, not amused with Maia deciding to linger. He however grew lost in thought as he watched a few Raptors disassemble a hut while younglings eyed from the sidelines. One of them sat in a Raptoress' path and she nudged him up with her foot, barking something at him.

"I don't care if you do," he said. His eyes softened, and he muttered more to himself. "If anything, I want to free her of the web she's caught in. "

"Do you really mean that?"

The mother set down the stack of wood and rope she had been carrying and she turned to the child who she scolded. She bent down and rubbed his head to console him after her sharp utterance. She said something to him and the child nodded, to which he received a heartfelt nuzzle on the forehead. He ran off and joined the other younglings nearby, and they decided to broaden their distance from the site. The Raptoress went back to work on deconstructing their home.

"Why would I say it if I didn't?" Repton replied, absorbed as he watched the ground below. "If I had my way, she'd be here on Bogaton. I'd want her here, but it's obviously not safe for her..."

It was then that he remembered who he was speaking to; for a short time, he addressed the voice as if it were his own mind asking the questions. Now his face burned with mortification and he looked over his shoulder. He found the mail-carrier holding a hand on her chest, a sparkle in her eye and her mouth open in a simper of awe. He recoiled from her expression and hissed.

"What are you smiling at?"

"Uh, nothing!" She giggled to herself, looking somewhat pleased. Repton's nostrils flared.

"You're more infuriating than you normally are. Tell me before I change my mind about sparing you! I can send the letter through some other means!"

Maia dropped her arms and swung them behind her back. She shuffled her one foot and adverted her gaze, still smiling a little. "Well, it's just... that it's... awfully nice of you, to think about... all that."

Repton's eyes narrowed and he inclined his face. "If you tell a soul..."

"Can't I tell Nakoto this?"

He ground his teeth and turned back to the world outside. After a moment of silence, he resigned himself about his honest reflection and detached himself from the embarrassment. "...Leugey will take you back down to retrieve your ride. Tell him that I also permit the cannons to disengage, so that you can leave my Terra immediately."

The bottle felt even heavier on his chest and he reached up to touch it lightly through his vest. He sensed that Maia stalled for a moment longer, and then she was gone, along with his brother. He glanced at the place where she used to be, then after a minute of waiting he decided to go up to his own chambers and cast his eyes further across his home. He left Leugey's balcony and ascended the levels, meeting few sentries on the way. It was no wonder Maia managed to sneak into the fortress, as it looked like a majority of his guards were down in the village. At this time, there was no need for air-tight security, and he was fortunate that only a measly little mail-carrier took advantage of it. He entered his living quarters, and finally feeling at peace, he reached up into his chest pocket.

He took out the bottle and rolled it in his hands, lightly caressing the embossed surface of Aquinos' emblem. He cared not for the origin or the significance of that Terra, it held no meaning for him. He had seen through the Eye how often Nakoto had carried it on her person, so he understood its value to her. It was this value that made this object also precious to him. He felt a stir in his heart and held the bottle with a feeling he had for no other thing. This was a treasure that he didn't steal, one that he hadn't coveted or had any use for. It was a cherished thing willingly given to him, and it gave him comfort... it was as if Nakoto were actually there.

He was broken from his thoughts as he heard the distant roar of a Skimmer. It had sounded so much like Nakoto's ride and he loped to the balcony to investigate. But no, it was simply Maia. He watched as she rose up into the air and angle herself to the north. He wondered when it would be that his letter would reach its destination, and whether it would be Maia again who returned with a reply. He grimaced at the thought.

It looked like he would have to just look forward to Maia's Atmos-forsaken face again.

End of Chapter

A/N: Yaaay! That was fun to write. I always love chapters where Repton and Maia interact, and now it was interesting to see the different circumstances.

As I said last chapter, the next one is probably not gonna come out next week. I figured these consistent chapters would be a gift after my absence, and now it's unknown when the next one will be. Obviously not in like, three years, but you know! I'd like to hear who's reading! Leave me your thoughts and I will hasten my pace with the next one ;)

~Vix