Starbound

Chapter 2

Phoenix really hoped the new guy would die in his sleep. Alas, it seemed unlikely. Especially with Ethiria lying down on the seats across from him, reading.

After Phire helped Ethiria lay Roel down across the extra three seats at the back of the ship, Phire'd sat down on the co-pilot seat, next to Phoenix. Though she could've been in a whole other universe altogether, with the way she kept on turning around and looking across the glass at Roel every two minutes, just in case he hadn't died in the span of those two minutes or something. And when she wasn't looking at Roel, she was staring off into space — literally. Whoever Roel was, he made a very big impact on Phire.

"So," Phoenix broke the silence. Phire's eyes flicked towards him, an almost surprised look in her azure eyes. It felt as if she'd just realized Phoenix was there. He pretended not to notice. "Do you know him?"

He spoke in a quiet tone, though he couldn't have said why. The glass divider between them and Ethiria and Roel was soundproof, so they wouldn't hear him even if Phoenix started screaming his head off like a banshee.

Though again, he hadn't tested that, so perhaps they would be able to hear him...

"I did." Phire's voice was even quieter than his, he had to strain his ears to hear her. "He was my best friend" - her voice hitched with tentative uncertainty - "my only friend."

He grinned, teeth gleaming starkly against his dark skin. "But then you met me and decided to ditch him because I'm simply that amazing?"

She mirrored his grin, the shock of remembrance in her eyes momentarily gone. "Or maybe I decided that you beings needed to be introduced to real greatness."

Phoenix snorted at that, but perhaps there was some truth in it. She was the best close-range fighter in their sector. Though Phoenix could beat her in a fight with his own methods. Phire called them cheating, Phoenix called them making use of his inventory.

She looked behind her for the fifteenth time before speaking again. "I thought he was dead." Phoenix said nothing to that. He knew the pain of loss all too well. One could say they were old acquaintances. "Then I had to meet a moron who couldn't distinguish his own explosives. Sound familiar?"

Phoenix glanced away from her and back at the frontal window, ashamed. Then he felt annoyed at how he felt ashamed. Did she have to patronize him? "Look, I know I'm the reason this whole mission went to hell, but it was an accident, Phire." He was gripping one of the levers a little too tightly.

"I know." The sincerity of her voice startled him. But not as much as the long silence that followed. He glanced back at her sidelong after a while, thinking she'd fallen asleep. She hadn't.

Phire was watching the stars, a look of awe in her eyes. Whenever Phoenix looked at the stars when he was flying their starship, he simply saw darkness with pinpricks of light. Most of the time, he didn't even see the stars. All he saw in his mind was the destination he was trying to get them to.

But she gazed at the twinkling stars as if they were old friends, the kind one would whisper secrets to in the darkest parts of night. Phoenix couldn't help but watch her, mesmerized. She seemed so calm in those moments - serene, even - that he couldn't bring himself to look away.

Sometimes Phoenix wondered what went on in her head.

A voice suddenly spoke in his ear, shattering him out of his thoughts. "Eyes straight ahead, Phee." It took everything in him not to jump and scream "GHOSTS!"

It wasn't Phire that had spoken. In fact, she didn't seem to notice his alarm at all. The voice had sounded distinctly like Ethiria...

"You left your comms on, genius." Ethiria laughed in his ear again, and Phoenix whipped around to look past the glass divider and at where Ethiria was lying down across the seats, her holobook still in hand. She waved at him mockingly and pointed forward. Not wanting to say anything to disturb the silence, he just glared half-heartedly and turned back around, trying to hide his smile. He focused on driving after that.