Planetoid Volume 1: Forest

Chapter 11: The Hero's Farewell

Aya and Flora asked around where Taylor left his spaceship and it was only young Buck who seemed to know. He was leaving the beer barn with his numerous brothers and sisters whose mother strained to keep watch over them all. "After we explored Buck island," Buck chimed in, quite proud he knew something the village didn't, "He used some kind of wee-mote can-troll thingy and parked the ship on Buck Island. "

"Thanks Buck," Flora said, smiling warmly.

"Are you really going to fly the ship like you said?" Buck asked.

Flora boldly laid her hands on her hips and gave her best interpretation of Aya. "I didn't say it for nothing."

All of Flora and Buck's brothers and sisters chimed in with the kind of childish admiration of their eldest sister. "Flora you're so cool," one said.

"Flora I want I want to be just like you," another said.

Flora's pale complexion was prone to redness, but she rarely blushed as red as that moment. "Well I do say..." she remarked in her sweet country accent.

Aya patted her friend on the back. "We should go before you get too starstruck."

She seized her friend by her hand and led her away.

Flora's head was still swimming in the praise her younger family members had soaked her in. As they walked to the lakeside, Aya began to realize that Flora was more than a soft, fragile belle. It turned out Flora had a constitution similar to Aya's and put the things she cared about ahead of her fears. Aya knew she would have to do the same thing if she wished to fly in Taylor's deathtrap. At the time, she was more curious about what her friend felt as they walked from the wooden village to the sandy pathways lined by yellow grass.

"Flor, I really like what's gotten into you," Aya said with an appreciative tone.

Flora returned her words with a shy look. "Well to tell you the truth, you have Aya. Seeing my friend in danger made me realize I can't stay meek."

Flora's voice grew thin and emotional as she spoke, "If I was, I wouldn't have you anymore."

Aya's eyes sparkled with confidence. "And I can assure you I'm not going anywhere. Trust me, with you, Eterna and Jeeg in my corner, I have one helluva team."

Aya received equally approving glances from both Flora and Eterna's inky visage on her arm. It it seemed for these two women, their bond was never stronger; and for them, this day was the height of the fifteen year friendship.

Feeling nothing would come between them, they were ready for their next journey as well. They reached the lakeside where water lapped the sand. In the late afternoon they could see the glint of Taylor's ship perched on the third floating island to the left, a good distance from them but not totally unreachable by bubble. When Aya informed Flora of this, she grew a bit nervous. She had never traveled in one of her bubbles because her parents had deemed swimming in it "uncouth for a proper lady." That and Flora didn't like swimming in general. Aya smirked a little when she saw Flora hesitating. "So you'll fly in Taylor's ship, but not my bubbles?"

"My law, I just don't want to get my dress soaked," Flora chided back.

Aya crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in a friendly way. "You could always shed it. After all we have bigger problems right now."

"Y-y-y-ou're right. I do hope nobody sees me doing this," Flora shot back and lifted her sundress over her head, hastily undressing to her undergarments and removing her large sun hat in the process.

Soon, she stood there bashfully covering up her skinny body. Her knees were pasty and knobby and Aya always had a good laugh when she saw them. They looked like they belonged to some pale creature from the underground with the amount of light they saw. She shivered a little too in the light afternoon breeze. "Aya, come on, I don't like standing out here like this."