Meda walked through the rows of fields that the eternals had helped the people of earth to plant and grow. The sun was high in the sky, warming her face as she greeted some of the village children she had gotten to know during the time the eternals had stayed in the area. She saw Sersi up ahead walking after one of the villagers, watering the crops as they were being planted.
"Sersi! Need a hand?" Meda called, jogging to catch up with her friend.
"We can always use some extra hands," she replied, tossing a bag of potatoes towards Meda's outstretched hand. Encounters with the deviants had been minimal lately and she was itching to do something productive. The eternals had slowly been adapting to their new home on Earth and discovering how to interact with one another.
Ajak often spent her time away from the group, communing with Arishem, or with Ikaris making plans for the team's next steps. Ikaris was her right hand man, the loyal soldier, the only other member of the team who had experience on a mission fighting deviants. He too kept to himself, avoiding attachments with the other eternals, although more and more he could be found watching Sersi out of the corner of his eye.
Kingo and Sprite were partners in crime, always making up tall tales to share with the humans, or teasing Phastos whenever possible. Makkari was another one who often jumped in on teasing the team. She loved to collect things from all over the world and had set up quite a collection in Phastos' lab much to his dismay. Druig, being closest with Makkari, would often join in on the teasing as well.
Meda on the other hand spent most of her time with Thena and Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh had pulled her out of a rough spot in a battle many times and Thena would spend hours sparring with Meda to help her practise. Meda of course loved the rest of the team but there was something about the loveable giant and the serious warrior that just suited Meda's inquisitive personality.
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Meda worked alongside Sersi late into the day, stopping only when Ikaris appeared. Leaning against a tree that lined the field, he was watching intently as Sersi smiled at some villages. As the women got closer he pushed himself away from the tree to approach. Sending only a cursory nod towards Meda, his gaze reserved for Sersi, looking at her as if she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Meda took Sersi's bright red face as a hint that she was overstaying her welcome and silently slipped away.
On her way back to the Domo she crossed paths with one of the young men in the village struggling to carry several baskets. She reached out to help the man carry the goods towards where celebrations were typically held outside of the ship. After a recent string of long days of work, there had been significant advancements to the village, and to celebrate there was a feast planned for that evening. The man gratefully passed off a basket overflowing with fruit and another large vase filled with mead that Gil had recently shown the villagers how to make. When they reached the outer wall of the Domo, the man broke off towards a large table while Meda continued on to where a crowd was gathering, curious to see what the excitement was about.
Pushing past the crowd to where she could see Makkari had taken over a table and filled it with knick knacks, Sprite's voice caught her attention. "Then from the sky came the mighty hero Ikaris, gold shooting from his eyes, chasing darkness to the far corners of the earth."
"Not this again," Meda signed once she was within eyeline of Makkari. "She could tell one of Kingo's stories sometime. Those are usually much funnier. A lot more of us too because we're usually the ones saving his ass on the battlefield."
Makkari shook her head smiling before signing back, "Kingo's head might get too big if we start admitting that we actually think he's funny."
"Might be worth it. Ikaris has been the inspiration for a few too many of the human's 'gods.' I think it's time we get some of that recognition," Meda responds with a wink.
Before Makkari could respond, Meda felt a presence behind her sapping some of the heat that seems to always linger in the air. Without turning she knew who it was. Druig had a different ambience that seemed to follow him wherever he went; not bad, just very different from the rest of the team. He greeted Makkari with an arm thrown around her shoulder and a quick kiss to the side of her head. From behind his back he pulled out a large piece of jade and dropped it into his friend's hand.
"For the beautiful, beautiful Makkari. To trade for information on that tablet of yours."
Though he was speaking to Makkari, Druig's eyes stared directly into Meda's. There was the slightest crinkle in the corner of his eyes that was the only difference Meda could distinguish between his usual indifferent expression. Meda never knew where she stood with Druig. He was difficult to read and that drove Meda crazy. She spent more time than she'd like to admit trying to figure him out. More than once she had noticed his eyes on her when he thought she was concentrating deeply on a task. Meda liked to feel his eyes on her when she looked away, a different look than he used on the others. Something that told her that he found her just as interesting as she thought him. Tonight was no different.
Meda was shocked from her thoughts by Kingo's hand pulling her towards where people had started dancing. They joined Sprite, Sersi, and Ikaris who were being taught a simple dance by a few of the village children. Everyone was laughing trying to follow along with the steps. Thena watched on from the sidelines, a ghost of a smile on her face but quickly threw up her icy exterior when she thought that someone was looking.
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Many hours and a few too many glasses of mead later, Meda had gotten sick of the constant spinning Gilgamesh called dancing. She had a hard time keeping up with the stronger man and on a particularly fast turn she was spun out and away from the group. Struggling to catch her balance she stumbled and almost fell into a nearby table laden with food. Luckily a strong hand caught her by the bicep before she could cause any damage.
"If you were sick of dancing there are easier ways to get out of it than breaking a leg falling through a table."
"I could never be sick of dancing. It is one of the best things humans have done to date."
"Well then, there are easier ways to get my attention if that's what you were trying to do."
Meda laughed him off, allowing him to pull her up to a standing position.
"I'll keep that in mind for next time," she said, arm outstretched, walking back towards the swaying bodies behind her . "Well, come on then. Dance with me. The music is playing, the earth is spinning. We can't just stand here."
He tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes but took her hand nonetheless. His hand is soft and cool to the tough, and as big as it is, it fits hers perfectly.
The night passes in a blur and before long the darkness is being chased away by the light. On her way back to her room Meda notices Druig sitting on a distant hill watching the sunrise, and after pausing for only a moment she moved to join him. She doesn't say anything as she sits, opting to lean her head on his shoulder and enjoy the silence. She thinks that it might be the most beautiful sunrise she's seen.
