To Luna and Back

Three

When I wake up I'm relieved that it was not from another nightmare.

I look around the small cabin in the Rampion that has become my own. It's not extravagant, it's actually quite plain.

One thing's for certain, it's nothing like the satellite.

There is a bunk bed pressed against the back wall, but I stay here alone. The mattresses are covered with blue and white striped sheets. The blanket I used last night was a brown, thick fur one that I found in a small chest on the adjacent wall.

I walk over to the chest and look at the contents, hoping to find extra clothes. I am still in the dress from the previous day. It's wrinkled and rumpled. I probably shouldn't have slept in it.

Finding only extra sets of sheets and blankets in that chest, I give up.

I quietly open the door and step into the hallway.

There is a bathroom somewhere around here, I know it. I just don't know which door. Cinder showed me yesterday, but I wasn't paying very much attention. I was kind of overwhelmed by all of the events that I had just been through.

I tiptoe through the hall, the cold metal of the floor biting at my bare feet.

Suddenly, something hard strikes my calf. I spin around and see Thorne staring blankly ahead, cane in hand.

"Uh, who's that?" he says.

"Cress," I whisper.

"Ah, what are you doing up?"

Heat rushes to my face. Once again I feel a pang of guilt at the gratefulness I have that he can't see me this flustered.

"I have to go to the, uh..." I start, but I can't seem to finish.

"The..?"

"The bathroom," I say quickly.

Thorne's face lightens up in realization.

"Right, of course. However, I think you're going the wrong way."

"How would you..." I wave my hand in front of his face, hoping he sees me.

"How would I know?" he asks.

I nod, but quickly remember he can't see me. "Yeah," I choke out.

He bursts into sudden laughter. Doesn't he think the others may still be asleep? Are they?

"My dear Cress, a captain always knows his ship. Blind, or not." A smirk works its way across his lips and he winks at an object way past my head, but I know it's directed towards me. "Let's see, if I'm not mistaken, it should be that way," he points behind him, "two doors down, on the left."

"Okay, thanks," I squeak as I walk past him.

He was right.

After washing up in the small metal sink, I look at my reflection in the mirror hanging above it.

I'm almost surprised by my short hair. It's one thing for it to feel different, but wow, I look different.

It's sticking out in all directions. I wet it, combing my fingers through small knots.

The face staring back at me seems different, too. I still have the same features, the pasty skin, the long nose with freckles dusted lightly across, the pale blue eyes, the thin lips.

But something has changed. I don't look as childish.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm innocent and fragile-looking, but there's something almost foreign in this mirror.

Maybe it's everything I've experienced in such a short time frame.

Maybe it's the haircut.

I take a break from the mirror and turn to a door on the adjacent wall. I slide it open to see clothes.

They won't fit, of course. They seem to be military garb. Plain white shirts and pants that are a sort of camouflage that looks distorted, maybe even... digital?

Well, I think, it's the best thing I've got.

I pick the smallest shirt I can find and try it on. It swallows me.

Great.

The pants, there's no way those will ever even be held up by my tiny waist, and no belt can change that.

Instead, I decide to pick the largest shirt there that could work as a dress of sorts.

Maybe Iko can help.

I put on the huge shirt quickly and step back into the hall.

I don't know where Iko is, but I figure the cockpit could be a starting point.

I walk as silently as I can to the cockpit and push open the door.

Inside sits Cinder, Kai, Wolf, Thorne, and Iko. The whole crew. How long was I out?

Cinder and Kai are immersed in a hushed conversation. Wolf is staring blankly out the front window. Thorne is staring blankly at the wall. Iko is scrolling on a net screen.

When the heavy door slams shut, all of their heads snap toward me. Heat rushes to my cheeks.

I look at Iko's escort droid form and back down at the t-shirt that covers me to my knees. I stretch my arms out so she can see how the sleeves almost look like wings on me.

"Oh, stars," she squeals. "I can work with this."

Before I know it, we're heading to the medbay to pick up a pair of scissors and a sewing kit.

Iko ushers me back to my room, and starts to work her magic.

***************

Woo, kind of a long chapter.

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