Foreword:

Okay! Day 2! This log entry came out a lot longer than the first one, but I'm hoping that they'll usually be relatively short. :} This chapter was so fun! I had to rewrite it practically from the ground up for reasons I'll probably complain about later (DX), but I'm overall quite happy with how it turned out. :)

Manna [man-uh] – any sudden or unexpected help, advantage, or aid to success.

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Captain's Log, Scout Mission 72, Day 2

I lost count of how many times I had to get up last night to tend to the Lexiconian girl. Though, she did sleep between those periods of waking me, so at least one of us got some rest.

Pardon my sarcasm.

I can't let myself feel hopeless, though. I have to focus on the good things. At least the planet we crashed on is habitable. At least there's still a ship to fix. At least we are alive.

The 'we' thing is awake now, and I am writing this log entry with great difficulty. The one downside to the baby getting some sleep is that she's got plenty of energy now, and I seem to be her new favorite toy. She is constantly grabbing at my face, climbing all over me, and trying to put either her or my fingers in either her or my mouth. She's certainly recovered quickly, that's for sure. I need both hands now to count the times I've frowned down at her, my lip still in her grip, and she's laughed at my face. Or is it in my face? Oh, what does it matter? With the state the ship is in, I'll be lucky if I ever see another Lexiconian again. Incorrect use of words is the least of my problems.

Focus!

Repairs will easily take several days, so my first priority must be to find a source of food. My stomach is growling even as I write. Just the thought of how long I'll have to spend marooned on this planet is making me hungry.

My instincts are telling me I should leave the baby here while I go foraging. She would be safer here, wouldn't she? Safer at least than out in an unknown wilderness where anyone or anything could be lurking? But I can't bring myself to do it. What if something were to happen to me while she was locked up by herself in this ship? The idea makes my fur stand on end. I have to bring her with me. At least if something happens to me while she's with me she'll have the chance of surviving in the wilderness. Perhaps some pack of animals might adopt her as one of their own.

Well, here goes everything. I'm leaving my ship for the first time since the crash to explore a completely alien world. My only tool is a data pad equipped with a homing beacon for the ship and my only companion is a Lexiconian child too young to tell me her name. If you are reading this log and this entry ends up being the last one, please remember me fondly and turn this log in to the Lexiconian authorities. If the Lexiconian girl has somehow survived, please show this to her when she's old enough to understand the trouble she's caused me and feel a little bad about it.

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Captain's Log, Scout Mission 72, Day 2 (contd.)

Is it really still day 2?

I am writing this log entry on my data pad since I am no longer on the ship and, honestly, I'm at a loss for words. So much has happened since the entry I wrote this morning that I don't know where to begin telling it all. I guess I'll just start from where my last entry left off. That would make the most sense, right?

When I stepped off the ship I set the baby down on the ground and she immediately started to float away. I grabbed her foot just in time and she giggled. She giggles a lot, this child, particularly after she's given me a good scare. I'm going to have to stay within reach of her at all times—at least when there isn't a roof over our heads.

I surveyed the damage to the hull while I held fast to the airborne child. It's pretty extensive, which is a huge bummer even though it's not really a surprise. Forget days. These repairs will take weeks. Thanks a lot, little girl. I hope you're happy. I tell you, the first thing I'm going to do when I get back to Lexicon is track down her negligent parents and give them a piece of my mind! After I've had a nice big meal, of course.

But if the baby almost wandering into orbit was the most noteworthy thing that happened today, I wouldn't have bothered to write another log entry. I can still hardly believe my luck at what we stumbled upon when I was foraging for food. Or rather, what stumbled upon us.

Good news: the inhabitants of this planet are not cave-dwelling nomads. Even better, they're friendly! Also, their appearance is so familiar it's uncanny. If I didn't know for a fact that I'd crashed on an alien planet, I might have thought the people here were Lexiconian—both the males and the females. That being said, they don't appear to have all the same physical abilities as Lexiconians. They aren't nearly as strong, and they don't appear to be able to fly. Their civilization isn't as technologically advanced as Lexicon's, but it is stable and organized. They are a capable and industrious people.

How did I learn all this, you ask? Well you see, I met two of them.

I stumbled across them while looking for food. I tried to hide since I didn't know yet that they were friendly, but the baby crawled out to them before I could stop her. Lucky for her, they were friendly. I can't understand their language, but I think their names are Tim and Honey. Or Hun and Sally, I'm not sure which.

Right away they showed concern and affection for the Lexiconian girl, apparently mistaking her for a child of their own race. At first they both coddled and patted her tenderly while showering her with words I couldn't understand in tones that were welcoming and joyful. Then Tim/Hun rocked her in his arms and hummed a soothing tune while Honey/Sally orbited around him, calling out loudly and pointing at the baby. They were so kindly toward her, one might have thought they were her parents. I was so relieved that for a moment I actually considered leaving her with them.

Temporarily, of course. I still need to get us both back to Lexicon and return the child to her family, but getting the ship fixed so I can actually do that would be so much easier if I didn't have to take care of a toddler at the same time! Thinking back now, I can see that leaving her with the aliens would have been a terrible idea, what with her innocently threatening to float off into the stratosphere at any moment. But give me a break, will you? I was desperate!

And anyway, I didn't leave her with them, thank you very much.

As soon as they started to carry her away the baby looked back toward me—I was still hiding in the bushes—and she reached out toward me and started to cry.

For the first time, I felt a thread of attachment to that child. Certainly I'd felt obliged to take care of her since she first turned up, but that moment when she was crying and reaching out for me was the first time I've actually wanted to, if only for a moment.

So, in that moment, I made a risky decision.

I stepped out into view, the alien pair looked surprised for a moment, and it occurred to me too late that they had probably never seen anything like me before. It was already a fluke that these aliens looked just like Lexiconians.

Amazingly, though, their expressions softened into something that looked more like recognition than shock or fear, and they both smiled. What does this mean, I wonder? Can it be that there is a creature on this planet which looks like me? That sort of stacking coincidence would be almost impossibly convenient, but… what other explanation could there be? It's almost as if whatever divine being created this world just copy-pasted the template he used to create Lexicon and made a few tweaks here and there. Or maybe he made this world first and copy-pasted it to create Lexicon? This train of thought is above my pay grade, so I'm not going to question it further. Bottom line: our anonymity appears to be safe, and that stroke of good fortune is worth being thankful for. So thank you, divine being, whatever your name is.

Honey/Sally waved at me and Tim/Hun—You know what? This convention is getting tedious. I'm just going to call them Tim and Honey.

Tim pointed at me and said something that sounded like 'monkey' and then the baby girl reached out to me again and shouted something that sounded like, 'huggy.' It was the first time I'd heard her attempt to speak, and already she was trying to absorb the language of the locals. She'll be fluent before I can even ask for directions.

Honey approached me cautiously, and I resisted the impulse to shy back. She spoke to me, pointing back at the baby, and though I couldn't understand her words, I got the gist of what she was trying to say. I walked past her to her companion and reached up toward the child who was reaching down to me.

The couple looked at each other, seeming uncertain, but then they smiled and the man handed her down to me, and she immediately latched onto me and quieted down. The two aliens exclaimed adoringly, so loud and in such perfect unison that I flinched. Tim laughed while patting me on the head, Honey stroked the child's hair while looking at me, and it didn't matter that I didn't understand their language because they weren't communicating with words.

After I'd held the girl for a moment, Honey took her from me very gently, and the child allowed it. Then the man smiled and extended an open hand to me. I wrestled with my better judgment for a moment, then thought to myself, 'What the heck?' If I'm going to be trapped on this alien planet for weeks, I'd rather have friends among the locals.

I took Tim's hand, and without warning he hoisted me up onto his shoulders. I was so surprised I almost leaped away, but a moment later I was glad I hadn't. He said something to me in a soft voice, and with that he and his companion set off in the direction from which they'd come, she holding the baby, and he holding me.

I tensed at first, nervous about being carried off to some unknown destination, but I relaxed as I reflected on the past few minutes. Wherever they were taking us, they'd proven they meant us no harm.

I'm embarrassed to admit I fell asleep shortly after being picked up and woke up just recently in a small bed in what I can only presume to be the couple's home. It's nighttime, and the baby is asleep in another small bed opposite mine.

I undertook a brief, cautious exploration of the place before returning to the room and bed that the aliens have so graciously provided for me. They are sleeping in a room across from us, and we are on the second floor of the building. On the first floor I found a room that, from the smell of it, is full of food. I had forgotten how hungry I was until I smelled that room. I was so tempted to cast off all restraint and eat, but I managed to control myself. I've been fortunate enough to run across a couple who is willing to open up their home to me, and I cannot start off that relationship by stealing from them. I am hungry, though. So very hungry.

Focus!

The house is pretty big, but it is built and decorated with a charming and homey aesthetic that keeps it from feeling too spacious or empty. Truthfully, it isn't all that different from a standard family home on Lexicon. From what I've seen so far, the baby and I could probably feel right at home here.

Temporarily, of course. Tomorrow I'll have to find my way back to the ship and take inventory of the supplies I'll need to begin making repairs, but it is too late and I am too tired to worry about that now. The baby and I are safe, and for now that's all that matters. The ship repairs can wait.

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Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

—Matthew 6:25

Author's Notes:

-Tim and Honey-I mean 'Sally' XP—Some very astute readers might have wondered what the heck the Botsfords were doing out in the middle of the forest. Well, I don't have a solid explanation in mind, but given what adventurous, outdoorsey folks they are, I figure there are at least a few plausible explanations that could suffice. Maybe they're on a nature walk, or Tim is looking for some exotic mushroom he needs for an ancient family recipe he wants to make. Since there was no reason for Bob to wonder about this and no way for him to even find out, I've decided to leave that particular detail to the reader's imagination.