Unseasonal Weather
Later that morning, crossing the bridge over the color castle moat, Rainbow Brite ran into Buddy Blue carrying a stack of books. "Buddy! How did Krys go with the sprite doctor? Did he keep him long?"
"Wow, yes. Krys is still in my room. The sprite doctor won't let him get up! Says he needs bed rest."
"I don't imagine Krys is too happy about that!" Rainbow laughed. "Is the sprite doctor still in one piece?"
"Actually Krys didn't seem to mind too much. But he wanted me to bring him these volumes Violet lent him yesterday." Buddy indicated the heavy stack of books in his arms.
"How long does he expect Krys to stay in bed?"
"Not sure. But he said no strenuous activities for two weeks."
"Two whole weeks!" Rainbow stopped Buddy in his tracks. "Is hethatbadly hurt?"
"He's got an impressive number of cuts and bruises, that's for sure. There's a gash on his side that the sprite doctor put five stitches in! After that, and all the disinfecting and bandaging, and the sprite doctor fussing— between you and me, I think Krys is happy to be left alone to rest for a while."
Rainbow looked dismayed.
"But you'll be relieved to know, despite how he made it sound earlier, Krys told me he hasn't been injured inyears— apart from a small bump or nick here and there. He said he only got up close fighting those diamond thieves because the prism was almost out of charge and he couldn't afford to miss a shot. It sounds like afterwards he didn't even stop to realise quite how roughed up he was, he was so focussed on coming straight to Rainbow Land to see everybody!"
"Aww," Rainbow put her hand on her cheek and sighed. "Well, you better get those books to him, Buddy. Please give him my well wishes and tell him I'll see him in the dining hall at lunch. If he brings me the prism I can get the rainbow charging it at the colour station straight away."
When it was lunchtime the sprites brought sumptuous trays of food into the colour castle dining hall. Buddy Blue was already tucking in and when Rainbow Brite enquired about Krys, he suggested that if she was going upstairs to stop by his room and tell Krys to come down in case the sprites had been too scared to notify him.
Rainbow entered Buddy's room and saw Krys lying in Buddy's bed, his face obscured by a large book, his red hair contrasting brightly against Buddy's puffy light blue pillows and sheets. "Krys, it's lunchtime!"
There was no reply.
Suddenly Patty O'Green came running up the stairs and burst into the room. "Krys! Buddy's waiting for you! He saved you a seat!"
"Shhh," Rainbow cautioned her.
Patty bounced over to the bedside followed by Rainbow Brite on tiptoe and they saw that Krys had fallen asleep, the book he'd been reading still open in his now bandaged hands. Patty grabbed the book and read out loud the title on the cover. "Studies in Optical Crystallography, volume VI." She made a face.
"Shh! Patty, let's just leave him."
But it was too late. Krys stirred and his eyes fluttered. Glimpsing the two girls, they widened, and he lifted his scruffy head from the pillows. "Whoa, I must've drifted off, sorry."
"No wonder!" Patty held the hefty book in front of him. "This'd putanyoneto sleep!"
"No need to apologise, Krys," Rainbow told him kindly. "We only came to let you know that lunch is being served. But if you're not ready to come down, I can bring a plate up for you instead."
"No, I'll come. Tell Buddy I'll be down in a minute. I just have to get dressed."
"Oh! Right," Patty blushed and giggled, realising that, other than bandages, Krys was dressed only in his underwear. His other clothes were folded neatly on a chair. She grabbed Rainbow Brite's arm and practically pulled her out the door. "See you downstairs! Bye!"
When Krys entered the dining hall he looked like his normal self. He was fully dressed in his usual outfit bar only the helmet. There were no obvious signs of any injuries at all. But to Rainbow Brite he seemed a little cautious as he looked around the room. Buddy saw him and waved him over with a broad friendly grin. Rainbow watched from across the table as Krys sat down extra carefully when Buddy pulled out the seat next to him. Red Butler immediately sat down on the other side of Krys and leaned over to say something to him. She had no idea what the three of them were talking about, but it didn't matter. She could see the open expressions on their faces, and it warmed her heart to see the two Color Kid boys looking out for Krys like that. Then they glanced over at her and Krys caught her eye, so she got up and went around the table to them.
"Hi, boys! Have I caught you conspiring together on something?" she winked.
"How did you catch us so fast?" Red laughed.
"You got to us even before we decided what to conspire about!" Buddy confessed.
"Then I'll let you get back to it in just a minute," Rainbow smiled. "But I thought Krys might want me to start charging the prism as soon as possible, since I heard it's all out of rainbow power."
"Oh. Right," Krys began unstrapping the magical prism from his wrist. He whispered to Buddy. "Youtoldher about that? Whatelsedid you tell her?"
"Nothing you wouldn't want her to know, Ipromise," Buddy assured him sincerely without lowering his voice in the slightest. Rainbow had heard every word.
Krys looked flustered. "Here, Rainbow. Thank you." He placed the prism in Rainbow Brite's hands and their eyes met. "Um… I… See the thing is… When I was upstairs… with Buddy and the sprite doctor… There's something I…" Krys faltered and shut his eyes.
"If there's something you want to tell me, Krys, just say it!"
Krys looked at her and opened his mouth but seemed to totally freeze. Buddy stepped in to the rescue. "Krys, you're not under any obligation to tell any of us anything about yourself that you're not ready to tell," he assured Krys in his typically sincere upfront manner.
Krys glared at Buddy, but the blue Color Kid just smiled, unperturbed. Rainbow looked from one to the other of them and then at Red Butler who shrugged.
"I'll get the Color Belt to start charging your prism straight away," she told Krys. "And Krys, if thereissomething you want to tell me about, no rush! We haveallsummer."
Suddenly the weather seemed to change. Krys's eyes widened as he looked across the hall. "Stormy!" he exclaimed. She was marching straight towards him looking very stormy indeed. He rose from his seat to face her. At the last second she backed off and acted casual and joking. "So I heard therealreason you wouldn't come storm-chasing yesterday — poor Krys got all beat up by some mean little pebbles back home! Ha! That's almost as pathetic as last year when you were scared oftrees!" She held her stomach and doubled over laughing. A few of the other Color Kids giggled too.
"I'd neverseentrees before! I didn't know what they might do!"
"And what about that time I dunked your head in the lake and you thought you were going to die!" She laughed until tears came.
"The lakes on Spectra are toxic. You could've let me know the water in Rainbow Lake was perfectly drinkable!"
"And why would I have done that?"
"Because Itoldyou I'd hardly travelled to any other worlds before!" Krys defended, hands on hips.
"Excuses, excuses. You'resuchawimp, Krystal! I don't buy that you're too hurt to come play with me —lookat you! Where are all these boo-boos? You look justfineto me!" Her eyes flashed with lightning as she scanned him up and down impishly.
Now Krys burst out laughing. "It's great to see you too, Stormy," he beamed.
"Well…At least you came to visit me in the dead of winter like you promised. Did you hear that, Rainbow Brite? While you were fast asleep, we were riding a whirlwind over the seven seas, just Krys and me! Thunder and lightning, rain and hail! Wasn't it sensational?"
"It was a lot of fun," Krys admitted.
Stormy grinned then started poking him in different places. "Tell Stormy where it hurts Krysty. Here? Here? Here?"
"Hey! No way! Don't be such a brat!Stop it, Stormy! Ouch!" At that last poke Krys stepped back squeezing his eyes shut, his hand pressed to his side. In an instant Red and Buddy flanked Krys like bodyguards.
"Whoa! My mistake," Stormy held up her hands to them. "Sorry Krys!" she called to him. "You want me to call that little sprite doctor for you again?"
"You're the one who'll be needing the sprite doctor if you don't back off!" Red told her.
"Ha! As if!" Stormy threw back her head and laughed, making the rain suddenly turn to hail that clattered loudly on the castle roof for emphasis. "You crack me up Butler."
"What is it you want, Stormy?" Buddy asked in a friendly tone, clearly the good cop.
"Not you, sorry Buddy. I'm after someoneslightlyless lame." She beckoned to Krys.
"Fine, Stormy. Let's take this outside," Krys grabbed her hand and walked out with Stormy skipping triumphantly behind.
"I don't think taking things outside was part of the sprite doctor's orders," Buddy commented. "He specifically said no strenuous activities and Stormy is a strenuous activity waiting to happen."
"Especially considering the unexpected hail," Red Butler agreed. "Krys does remember Stormy's a weather spirit, right?"
"He knows," Rainbow Brite confirmed. "But that doesn't mean he understands."
"We should try to explain it to him," Shy Violet said.
"Some things he has to learn for himself," Rainbow Brite sighed, "unfortunately."
Krys popped his head back inside the door to let them know, "I'm going to go with Stormy just for a bit, but I'll try to get back later in the afternoon. Probably by dinner time. Sundown at the latest." They saw him through the doorway as he pulled his helmet on, called On-X over and jumped astride. They heard Stormy's delighted laughter and Skydancer's whinny as the two of them took off towards the mountains.
"I just hope it all blows over more quickly than it did last summer," Canary Yellow commented.
"I think it will," Rainbow smiled as the sun came out again.
"Let's just cross our fingers he doesn't placate her with too many unseasonal promises!" Violet tut-tutted.
"That's on Stormy, not Krys," Rainbow told Violet.
"Rainbow, unseasonal weather is unseasonal weather regardless of 'who it's on'. What's best for the Earth should be paramount, not flirting with the 'latest cool visitor' in Rainbow Land. I hope Stormy keeps her priorities straight."
"Unluckily for Krys, I think she always does," Rainbow Brite gazed wistfully after them. "Say what you like about Stormy, you can't fault her as a weather spirit."