The Stars Between -- (VLD)

[49] Thank you for returning them to us

In Lance's opinion, saying goodbye to the Skisch was both a sad and joyful affair.

On the one hand; the children had been seperated from the families at young ages, been forced to be trained as slaves, watched their "master" get killed, and then spent several weeks in the heart of the resistance. The universe apparently decided it had thrown enough at them to last a lifetime, and was giving them a break.

But on the other hand; returning to their families meant they would be splitting up, each with their own people. Ord and Mammi had already planned a meet-up for the two bigger Skisch, but the smallest one's family hadn't arrived yet.

Lance was definitely going to miss them, but he couldn't compare his feelings to that of their families. His feeling was akin to when he found out his best friend's family was moving away when they were kids. But the Skisch were home. And that's all that mattered.

Lance had carried little Skisch out to a rock a short way out from the shore, where they lay on their tummy, playing with the water.

Lance was still waist-deep in the water, trying to memorise the feel of the ocean around him.

"Lance, look!" Skisch called, and he looked up. Skisch was pointing to the glow in the water, swirling in intricate patterns. It was beautiful, and Lance smiled. Skisch went back to swishing the water, almost shoulder deep now.

Suddenly, Lance was hit with a realisation that hadn't even occurred to him until now. How, if Skisch couldn't swim without help, were they taken by slavers?

Lance shook his head to banish the thought. It didn't matter. They were back, and their family was coming.

A long note bounced off the cliffs, significantly louder than the previous ones that had been periodically sung out. Skisch splashed excitedly.

A head broke the surface of the water, a little way from the rock Skisch was sitting on. The head was followed by around twenty more, song echoing all around.

Skisch squealed in delight, before singing their own note - a little shaky as they were bouncing about - and dove head-first at the closest figure.

"Thank you for returning them to us."

Lance startled, looking down. While his attention had been on Skisch's reunion with their mama, one of the figures had swum closer.

Immediately, half the beach's inhabitants bowed, the other half lowering their heads in respect.

"We cannot thank you enough." His eyes were glittering, reflecting the bioluminescent glow in the water around him.

"It was our pleasure," Lance said, bowing his own head. No more words were exchanged between them - there was nothing more to say.

The man nodded to the crowd behind Lance, before diving back into the water, trail of glowing blue light behind him.

"Bye!" Skisch shouted, waving from where they were strapped to their mama's back. "Bye!"

And they sunk below the waves.

The other two skisch continued to wave long after they had disappeared.

Lance joined everyone back on the beach, casting one last look behind him at the waves, glow already fading.

Skisch one and two tackled Lance into a hug, and he laughed, play wrestling in the sand.

"We're going to miss you," Skisch one said.

"A lot." Number two added.

"I'll miss you guys too," Lance said, combing his fingers through his hair to loosen the sand. The star Roy had shaved into the side was already growing out - he would have to ask her to touch it up.

One last hug, and the Skisch ran back to their families.

Now all that was left was for Lance to return to his.

Lance knocked on the door, to Olly's room, before brushing a bunch of sand off his arm.

"Come in," Olly responded, and Lance was pleased to note that she sounded significantly calmer than when he had left, some cheer slipping into her voice.

Lance stepped inside, closing the door gently behind him. "So," he started conversationally. "did we resolve that fusi issue?"

He reached his chair, spinning it around so that he could sit on it backwards. "Sorry," He said, wincing at the grating sound of stone on stone.

Nevertheless, Olly smiled at him, and Lance noticed her fingers intertwined with Roy's.

Roy's markings were a bright turquoise, casting a soft glow over the pair. She was right - they did get stronger with sunlight.

"Shield stat?"

"Find a better name for it. But we're at eighty-five"

"Wow," Lance gave a low whistle. "Big jump from this morning."

"What were we at this morning?" Roy asked, eyebrow quirking quizzically as she turned to look at Olly.

"A solid fifteen percent. And that's fifteen percent full, and not fifteen percent from full. Just thought I'd clarify." Lance said, chuckling slightly at the embarrassed blush spreading over Olly's cheeks. She had gained some colour, but something seemed odd.

"Ugh, shush" Olly said, although she had a fond smile, words containing no malice behind them. Maybe a little exasperation, but definitely no malice.

"The healers have cleared you, by the way." Lance said, folding his arms over the back of his chair and resting his chin on them. "They have the run-down and—" he broke off.

Roy gave him a mildly confused look "What?"

"Olly."

"Yeah, what's up?" She tilted her head to the side, pink eyes narrowed.

Lance motioned to his cheeks. When recognition didn't spark in her eyes, he gave a breathy laugh. "You don't have your markings."

Olly's eyes widened. "Oooooohhhhhhh. Hold on." She scrunched her nose up for a moment, before her usual Altean-like markings appeared under the corners of her eyes. "Should I go for pink?" She asked.

Roy squeezed the hand intertwined in hers. "I like yellow,"

Olly grinned, before whipping her head around to look at Lance. "Wait, you were saying something important."

"Was I?" Lance wondered aloud. "I don't- oh yeah. You're clear to leave, so we can get going."

"I don't particularly feel like moving just yet." Roy said, before flopping backwards to lay on the bed. Olly squawked in surprise, hastily rearranging her legs so they wouldn't get squashed.

"Sorry." Roy said, making zero effort to move herself into a position that better suited them both.

It was a familiar scene, and Lance let himself bask in the familiarity of it all.

Just a small piece of normal in the endless mess that was being a defender of the universe.