“Aaron,” Yvonne whispers, leaning around the edge of the open door. “Aaron, come here.”
Abraham and I are still outside, but the conversation has tapered off to nothing. Comfortable, Abraham only glances at Yvonne before returning to his project.
“What?” I whisper back.
She rolls her eyes, shaking with a silent laugh, “Just come here. Come, come.”
She gestures madly for me to come inside. Sighing, I get up, not hiding the grimace at my leg and head and other various injuries since she’s insisting I follow her.
“What?” I ask again, not keeping the whine out of my voice.
“Shhh,” she presses her fingers to her lips and grabs my hand, hauling me inside. Lex is messing around on a tablet near the fire, not paying us any mind. Lalia is crashed on the couch, and we put Zane to bed hours ago.
“I was comfortable and this better be worth it,” I grumble, ignoring her soft fingers between mine. She wants to hold my hand. Fine. She can do as she pleases. Obviously.
“Shush.”
She pauses in the doorway to the kitchen, pulling me in beside her and shushing me with her finger again.
Anya’s in the kitchen with Bat. He’s sitting on the counter, going through Lex’s cabinets for snacks while Anya helps him, chatting softly enough I don’t catch the words. She finds a bag of something, opens it, and starts petting Bat on his ears while he sniffs it. He only bares his teeth once before giving in.
Yvonne giggles silently. Standing on her toes, she whispers in my ear, “She’s been trying to pet him off and on the past fifteen minutes. I think he’s giving up.”
I press my lips together. He probably would’ve bitten Anya a few weeks ago, even if she’s a kid. As it is, he lets her pet his ears, then flops over on his side so she can scratch his belly. I clap my hand over my mouth so I don’t giggle just like Yvonne. She only laughs harder, holding up her bracelet and snapping a picture the same as she did when Anya hugged me. I choke a little trying not to laugh. Both of us trot for the back door while Lex stares in confused amusement.
Stumbling out into the forest behind the house, I try not to laugh too loud.
“Holy stars,” Yvonne wheezes, putting her hands on her knees. “That was too cute.”
I wander further into the trees, giggling to myself. Get a grip, Aaron. Picturing it only makes me laugh harder. I suppose Bat finally gave up on me being the only one allowed to pet him.
Yvonne wanders after me through the woods, bumping into my arm, still grinning. “What were you talking to Abraham about out there?”
I shrug, vaguely heading in the direction of the hot springs—I wanted to see what they look like in the dark, anyway. “Just some stuff about Amerov. Nothing useful.”
“They’re an interesting couple.”
My face heats, and I’m glad it’s dark enough she can’t see. I don’t know what I’m embarrassed about. There’s no reason to be, all we did was see them kiss. I need to relax. I also need to figure out what Yvonne’s up to since Lalia apparently isn’t going to be of much help.
When I don’t respond, she says, “Where are we going?”
“Nowhere in particular. I saw a spring back here yesterday, it looked like it would be pretty at night.”
She nods. Her finger brushes mine. I shove my hands in my pockets, not having the nerve to step away from her. She doesn’t seem phased. Maybe it wasn’t even on purpose.
“How’s your face?” she asks.
“Ugly as always.”
She shoves me lightly on the shoulder. “I meant your injuries, idiot.”
“Still there.”
“Oh, someone’s in a mood,” she mutters but doesn’t sound or look annoyed.
I suppose I shouldn’t be too snarky simply because she’s being nice. She’s been nice since Amerov and hasn’t tried to pull anything. In fact, her punching Kel was one of the funniest things I’ve ever witnessed now that I’ve had time to consider it. “They’re healing. How’s your hand?”
She blinks, looking at her hands. “Hand?”
“Well, you knocked Kel into the next galaxy, so I figured that probably hurt.”
“Oh, right.” Instead of amused, she looks pissed. “That bitch deserved worse. I should’ve let you shoot her.”
She sure has random bursts of violence or at least random moments of wishing death on people. “I probably would’ve regretted it. Maybe.”
“Have you killed people before?”
“Oh, sure.”
“A lot?”
I shrug, thinking of Guli back on Yayth. Somehow, that was mere months ago. “Not as many as you might think given the occupation. I try to avoid it. Half a dozen humans, I guess. They were all trying to kill me or Bat. Makes me sick.”
I’m not sure why I admitted that last part, but Yvonne nods, thoughtful.
“I think I should send Lee a message.”
Yvonne raises her eyebrows.
“He’s not a bad person, at least as far as I know. And I believe he didn’t know Kel would pull that crap. I was harsh to him right before we left, I don’t necessarily think I should’ve been. I don’t regret it, really, but I was thinking maybe I should send him a message saying thanks for his help. He did help us with those ForceZero numbers.”
That was much more than I meant to say. I need to learn to shut up.
“He did sort of seem like he cared,” Yvonne admits. “I do agree he probably didn’t know anything about it. If it makes you feel better, a message would probably be nice. Personally, I hope he went unhinged on Kel after we left.”
I snort. “I know him enough I feel comfortable saying he probably did.”
She giggles too, then says, “Oh, wow.”
I’ve managed to find the springs, hung with trees around the edges. Steam drifts into the cold night, warming the little space.
“They’re hotsprings!” Yvonne says, practically bouncing, more thrilled than I expected. We should bring Anya here just to watch her implode with excitement.
Yvonne kicks off her shoes, hopping carefully down the stony spring to the water’s edge. “Is it too hot to touch?”
The springs are pools of orange heat in the otherwise cool forest, but I can’t tell if they’ll burn her. The smaller one I touched when last I came wasn’t too bad, but the one she’s next to is deeper. I make my way closer and dip my fingers in.
“That’s how you’re gonna test? Burn your fingers off?”
“I don’t have a thermometer in my brain, ya know.”
She snorts.
“Water’s fine. Pretty hot though.”
“Excellent. Unbeknownst to you, I like to burn my skin off when I shower.”
For a moment, I’m afraid she’ll just strip and jump in, but she sits on the edge of the smooth rocks, rolling her pants all the way up to her thighs and dropping her legs in. Her scabbed knees look a little better, but I’m still glad she doesn’t stick them in the burning water.
“Are ya gonna sit or just stare down at me the whole time?”
Oh. Right. I could just sit without touching the water, but it’s dark here, the three moons in the sky small and not reaching through the thick of the trees. Besides, she’s seen all of my face and arms before, my legs aren’t much different. I sit a few feet away and unbuckle my boots, rolling up my pants and dropping my legs into the spring. It’s hotter than I expected even after testing it with my fingers. I guess Yvonne meant it about the shower. But it’s nice. If I were alone, I’d swim, but Yvonne is staring and I don’t feel like getting in fully clothed.
Silence settles over the little clearing. Water bubbles gently and the trees sway with a weak breeze. The bugs are back to singing. It’s so oddly peaceful after the other day it’s nearly surreal. I toe at a loose pebble on the bottom of the spring. The rocks are more bluish-green swirled than grey.
I lean back against the rocks hot from the springs and stare at the stars.
“Aaron,” Yvonne whispers, leaning around the edge of the open door. “Aaron, come here.”
Abraham and I are still outside, but the conversation has tapered off to nothing. Comfortable, Abraham only glances at Yvonne before returning to his project.
“What?” I whisper back.
She rolls her eyes, shaking with a silent laugh, “Just come here. Come, come.”
She gestures madly for me to come inside. Sighing, I get up, not hiding the grimace at my leg and head and other various injuries since she’s insisting I follow her.
“What?” I ask again, not keeping the whine out of my voice.
“Shhh,” she presses her fingers to her lips and grabs my hand, hauling me inside. Lex is messing around on a tablet near the fire, not paying us any mind. Lalia is crashed on the couch, and we put Zane to bed hours ago.
“I was comfortable and this better be worth it,” I grumble, ignoring her soft fingers between mine. She wants to hold my hand. Fine. She can do as she pleases. Obviously.
“Shush.”
She pauses in the doorway to the kitchen, pulling me in beside her and shushing me with her finger again.
Anya’s in the kitchen with Bat. He’s sitting on the counter, going through Lex’s cabinets for snacks while Anya helps him, chatting softly enough I don’t catch the words. She finds a bag of something, opens it, and starts petting Bat on his ears while he sniffs it. He only bares his teeth once before giving in.
Yvonne giggles silently. Standing on her toes, she whispers in my ear, “She’s been trying to pet him off and on the past fifteen minutes. I think he’s giving up.”
I press my lips together. He probably would’ve bitten Anya a few weeks ago, even if she’s a kid. As it is, he lets her pet his ears, then flops over on his side so she can scratch his belly. I clap my hand over my mouth so I don’t giggle just like Yvonne. She only laughs harder, holding up her bracelet and snapping a picture the same as she did when Anya hugged me. I choke a little trying not to laugh. Both of us trot for the back door while Lex stares in confused amusement.
Stumbling out into the forest behind the house, I try not to laugh too loud.
“Holy stars,” Yvonne wheezes, putting her hands on her knees. “That was too cute.”
I wander further into the trees, giggling to myself. Get a grip, Aaron. Picturing it only makes me laugh harder. I suppose Bat finally gave up on me being the only one allowed to pet him.
Yvonne wanders after me through the woods, bumping into my arm, still grinning. “What were you talking to Abraham about out there?”
I shrug, vaguely heading in the direction of the hot springs—I wanted to see what they look like in the dark, anyway. “Just some stuff about Amerov. Nothing useful.”
“They’re an interesting couple.”
My face heats, and I’m glad it’s dark enough she can’t see. I don’t know what I’m embarrassed about. There’s no reason to be, all we did was see them kiss. I need to relax. I also need to figure out what Yvonne’s up to since Lalia apparently isn’t going to be of much help.
When I don’t respond, she says, “Where are we going?”
“Nowhere in particular. I saw a spring back here yesterday, it looked like it would be pretty at night.”
She nods. Her finger brushes mine. I shove my hands in my pockets, not having the nerve to step away from her. She doesn’t seem phased. Maybe it wasn’t even on purpose.
“How’s your face?” she asks.
“Ugly as always.”
She shoves me lightly on the shoulder. “I meant your injuries, idiot.”
“Still there.”
“Oh, someone’s in a mood,” she mutters but doesn’t sound or look annoyed.
I suppose I shouldn’t be too snarky simply because she’s being nice. She’s been nice since Amerov and hasn’t tried to pull anything. In fact, her punching Kel was one of the funniest things I’ve ever witnessed now that I’ve had time to consider it. “They’re healing. How’s your hand?”
She blinks, looking at her hands. “Hand?”
“Well, you knocked Kel into the next galaxy, so I figured that probably hurt.”
“Oh, right.” Instead of amused, she looks pissed. “That bitch deserved worse. I should’ve let you shoot her.”
She sure has random bursts of violence or at least random moments of wishing death on people. “I probably would’ve regretted it. Maybe.”
“Have you killed people before?”
“Oh, sure.”
“A lot?”
I shrug, thinking of Guli back on Yayth. Somehow, that was mere months ago. “Not as many as you might think given the occupation. I try to avoid it. Half a dozen humans, I guess. They were all trying to kill me or Bat. Makes me sick.”
I’m not sure why I admitted that last part, but Yvonne nods, thoughtful.
“I think I should send Lee a message.”
Yvonne raises her eyebrows.
“He’s not a bad person, at least as far as I know. And I believe he didn’t know Kel would pull that crap. I was harsh to him right before we left, I don’t necessarily think I should’ve been. I don’t regret it, really, but I was thinking maybe I should send him a message saying thanks for his help. He did help us with those ForceZero numbers.”
That was much more than I meant to say. I need to learn to shut up.
“He did sort of seem like he cared,” Yvonne admits. “I do agree he probably didn’t know anything about it. If it makes you feel better, a message would probably be nice. Personally, I hope he went unhinged on Kel after we left.”
I snort. “I know him enough I feel comfortable saying he probably did.”
She giggles too, then says, “Oh, wow.”
I’ve managed to find the springs, hung with trees around the edges. Steam drifts into the cold night, warming the little space.
“They’re hotsprings!” Yvonne says, practically bouncing, more thrilled than I expected. We should bring Anya here just to watch her implode with excitement.
Yvonne kicks off her shoes, hopping carefully down the stony spring to the water’s edge. “Is it too hot to touch?”
The springs are pools of orange heat in the otherwise cool forest, but I can’t tell if they’ll burn her. The smaller one I touched when last I came wasn’t too bad, but the one she’s next to is deeper. I make my way closer and dip my fingers in.
“That’s how you’re gonna test? Burn your fingers off?”
“I don’t have a thermometer in my brain, ya know.”
She snorts.
“Water’s fine. Pretty hot though.”
“Excellent. Unbeknownst to you, I like to burn my skin off when I shower.”
For a moment, I’m afraid she’ll just strip and jump in, but she sits on the edge of the smooth rocks, rolling her pants all the way up to her thighs and dropping her legs in. Her scabbed knees look a little better, but I’m still glad she doesn’t stick them in the burning water.
“Are ya gonna sit or just stare down at me the whole time?”
Oh. Right. I could just sit without touching the water, but it’s dark here, the three moons in the sky small and not reaching through the thick of the trees. Besides, she’s seen all of my face and arms before, my legs aren’t much different. I sit a few feet away and unbuckle my boots, rolling up my pants and dropping my legs into the spring. It’s hotter than I expected even after testing it with my fingers. I guess Yvonne meant it about the shower. But it’s nice. If I were alone, I’d swim, but Yvonne is staring and I don’t feel like getting in fully clothed.
Silence settles over the little clearing. Water bubbles gently and the trees sway with a weak breeze. The bugs are back to singing. It’s so oddly peaceful after the other day it’s nearly surreal. I toe at a loose pebble on the bottom of the spring. The rocks are more bluish-green swirled than grey.
I lean back against the rocks hot from the springs and stare at the stars.
