Stardust

Chapter Five

The next morning, after she was ready for school and still had time to spare, Sokula climbed down the stairs to the garage. She uncovered Komako and Avysoss, who were both still asleep. She smiled, poking Komako. She didn't poke Avysoss because he was covered in spikes and she would rather not. Komako woke up, opening one eye to looks at Sokula. She sat up, stretching. Komako smiled sleepily, waving. Sokula smiled brightly and waved back. She wanted to feed them, but she wasn't sure what they ate. She rubbed her belly, trying to symbolize eating. Komako tilted her head, not quite getting it. Sokula had an idea, she walked over to a shelf and pulled out a granola bar. She opened it and took a bite, then pointed to it. Komako got it this time, she was trying to feed them. Komako recognized the freezer when she first saw it as the same container that the crew had stored their food in, so she walked over to the freezer. She pointed at it, looking at Sokula. Sokula nodded and opened the freezer, picking up Komako so she can see inside. She studied the insides of the freezer, looking for something like what the crew had fed them. There wasn't anything like that. Sokula, however, had noticed that the two had sharp teeth, so she put Komako down and pulled out a packet of hot dogs. She opened it and gave one to Komako. She ate it and smiled, nodding. Komako ran over to Avysoss, shaking him awake.

"Whaaaaaat."
"She's feeding us! Wake up!"

He nearly shot up at the mention of being fed. Komako rolled her eyes, smiling. "Cmon, you goof."

Komako then realized, again, that he couldn't walk so she grabbed the hot dogs and put it on the bed. They both started eating them, relishing the wonderful taste. Komako said in between bites,

"I'll miss this when we go back home."
"Me too!"
"Hah, just think. We're so close to getting back home. So close..."
"Don't get your hopes too high, remember?"
"Right..."
"Let's just enjoy this food."

Avysoss smiled, eating some more. Komako quickly followed suit, focusing on the food at the moment. Sokula watched them until the hot dogs were gone, which wasn't long at all, then checked the time and realized she had to go, so she waved goodbye and ran back upstairs. Komako took this time to explore some more, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Careful, Koma!"
"I know, I know."

She continued to look around, getting used to the surroundings.

"Look who's not listening now."
"Well at least I'm not gonna get us sucked into a planet!"

Avysoss rolled his eyes, "Okay, okay I get it."

Komako smiled and wandered over to the stairs, staring up at the door. She decided to be brave and started climbing up the stairs. She ignored the further warnings from Avysoss and tried to reach up to the doorknob. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach it, but she managed to open the door. She only opened it slightly, wandering out onto the first floor of Sokula's house. She stayed near the walls, looking around with wonder and awe. She wandered into a room that had a couch and a tv, the living room. Komako had no idea what any of those were, of course. She walked over to the couch and noticed that there was a creature sitting on it. The creature had two pointy ears, whiskers, and a long tail. It was a cat, curled up and sleeping on the couch. Amazed, Komako climbed up onto the couch to watch the sleeping creature. It's ear's twitched when Komako climbed up onto the couch and it lifted its head. Komako and the cat locked eyes, Komako turning as still as a statue. The cat moved first, sniffing Komako with curiosity. She stayed still, watching it. She cat looked back up at her, meowing softly. She didn't hear it, so she didn't react. The cat started purring and rubbed up against Komako. She was incredibly confused. Komako, slightly scared of the cat, got back off the couch and the cat followed suit. Komako, watching the cat cautiously, started walking out of the living room. The cat followed. Komako realized that the cat was following her, and her fear grew. Was this beast trying to harm her? Was it going to eat her? She stopped for a moment and the cat rubbed up against her hand, then licked it. She flinched, the tongue rough. She began to run back to the garage door. As she did, she passed by the steps that led upstairs. She stopped and looked up the steps, eager to explore some more and perhaps get farther away from the cat. To her shock, there was a human up the stairs, not facing the stairway. Komako ducked behind the railing, and soon the humans started walking down the stairs. Komako, now scared of getting caught where she probably wasn't allowed, dashed towards the garage door, which was still open ajar, and ran down the stairs, the cat still following close behind. She sighed of relief once she got downstairs safely, though she was still scared of the cat. She called to Avysoss.

"Avy! Avy! This beast is trying to eat me!"

Avysoss sat up, looking at her.

"What?"

He stared at Komako, who was inching towards the bed with fear in her eyes. The cat followed her, purring and continuing to rub up against her. Avysoss smiled, noticing the friendly look in its eye.

"Koma, it likes you!"
"What?!"
"See the look in its eyes? It's friendly!"
"How do you know for sure?"
"Just look at it. It's rubbing up against you, it seems to be making some noise. Not sure though."
"What do you mean?"
"Can't you feel the vibrations? It's making some kind of noise or something."
"Y-Yeah.... you really think it likes me?"
"Yeah!"
"But... it licked me! It's tongue was rough!"
"Maybe that's its way of saying it likes you. Who knows."

Komako nodded, hesitantly reaching her hand out to the cat. It sniffed her hand and licked it again. She flinched, but didn't move. She reached onto its head and pet it gently. It purred and leaned into her touch.

"Huh..."
"See? I told you!"

Komako smiled, continuing to pet it.

"So, what was up there?"
"Well, this beast of course. And there was another one of those creatures. Yknow, the ones that captured us."
"I knew it! They are trying to recapture us! I told you not to go up there!"
"No no, it wasn't one of them, just another one completely!"
"Oh, well still! You never know!"
"I didn't get caught, don't worry. I ran back down here!"
"Koma, you need to be more careful."
"I know..."

She smiled, trying to reassure him, and pet the cat again. The cat rolled over onto its back, purring. Komako rubbed its belly softly. The cat stretched out and closed its eyes. Komako smiled and motioned for Avysoss to pet it. Reluctantly, he reached his hand out and pet its belly softly. The cat opened its eyes and watched him. With some more petting, it closed its eyes again.

"See? It likes you!"
"I guess."

He smiled, looking at Komako. She smiled back.

"So, what else did you see up there?"
"Some things, unimportant things."
"Oh... any food?"
"No! Is that all you think about?!"
"... Maybe."
"You're ridiculous."
"I know."

Komako rolled her eyes, smiling. The cat was now asleep, purring softly. Avysoss stopped petting it and laid back. Komako watched the cat sleep peacefully.