A Savoir

Mother and Melody

Talia started rambling once she calmed down. One thing after another yet it seemed more like she was talking to herself than to him or Clank.

Even though Ratchet had so many questions he knew it would overwhelm her if he asked them all at once. So, instead he asked a rather obvious question.

"So you've been here since the war ended?"

"Oh yes. I've been here with a young girl named Melody. She should be here any minute. We were scavenging for metal to build a space craft to get off of Fastoon and maybe start a new life."

Melody?

"Who's Melody, exactly?" Ratchet asks as he nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"She's a sweet heart really. However, she doesn't really talk much. I've always assumed it was because she was shy." Talia continues, "Besides that I don't really know her personally."

"Alister said that dad told him that you were dead. That the house was on fire when he got back."

"Alister? How is he? Wait- how did you meet him?" She ushered.

"A really long story. Like a lifetime type of long." Talia's ears folded back slightly at the sadden tone in his voice.

"A story I will love to hear. Later of course. When there is time." Talia smiles weakly. "As for your question, I was actually doing laundry in the basement when the house caved in. At one point I guess I passed out. After I woke up and managed to go above ground, everything was destroyed. Not a soul in sight."

Ratchet opened his mouth to ask about his father when she beat him to it.

"I wasn't entirely upset. I knew you're father assumed I was dead from the looks of things. He set out some of my favorite flowers in 'memory' of me." She smiles fondly at the memory.

"And Melody?" Clank asks.

"We discovered each other a few weeks later. Poor thing was petrified of something. Come to think of it she looked like a young girl that went missing around the time you were about four."

"Wow." Is all Ratchet can think to say.

Perhaps this Melody person seemed sweet and sincere if not a little skiddish.

"Where is Melody? Should she have not been too far away from you when we met?" Clank asks Talia.

"Well yes. I told her to stay back while I checked out the two of you. We had already agreed that if anything were to happen to either of us then we would meet up later- if we were still alive by then."

"That doesn't exactly answer our question." Ratchet says.

"She's over there." Talia gestures to a half crumbled building that's burnt on the bottom half of what's left of the house. "She's really shy around new people. Especially around boys her age. It's probably the main reason why she hasn't came out yet."

His mother looks over towards the building.

If Ratchet looks just hard enough, he can see the sunlight reflect off a pair of goggles near the top of the opened roof. In that moment, she moves.

"How about we go meet her? Ya know, show her were no threat." Ratchet says as he begins to walk up to the greenish black wall.

Talia pauses for a moment before following him over yonder.

She fret for the girl just because she seemed more on the ferrell side rather than civil. She doesn't want any harm to come to her kit.

The trio make their way over to Melody. Little sand clouds spruces up as they walked. Ratchet began to ask his mother a few things about the Lombaxes and what their culture is like.