Immortal

Getting Tried of Crystal Shops

                             In which our friends find the Shiva Linxan and Another Very Odd Shop

"So." Freya stared at Alex, sipping her third expresso that morning. (Interesting side effects include: excessive energy, excessive annoyingness, raised volume of speech- caffeine was amazing. Humans were amazing.) "I think this is stupid."

"I agree. Which part?"

"You agree but you don't-" Freya muffled her laugh with her hand- it really wasn't that funny. A smile tugged at Alex's lips. "I mean, going on this whole- side quest, if you will, is just stupid and pointless. We don't need a cat to help us make an ethical decision-"

The cat growled.

"-Especially a big-headed one. We're just wasting time."

"Okay, first off, I think you hurt his feelings-" Alex said over the cat's yowl. "Second, I agree. Wasting time on Earth is stupid, and we need to get back home before we're in too much trouble."

"But we need to help the humans! There are more cases of COVID-19 by the day! Around three different countries have shut down! We are the only ones capable of stopping this-"

"Slow down there, Freya. Humans will move on. They always do. Nothing we could throw at them holds them back- don't you, of all people (a figure of speech) think that humans are amazing and whatnot? Someone that won't move past this is Easton."

"I disagree."

"I know."

Freya sighed. "And this is where the cat comes in. Look, we've only been missing for a couple of hours. It can't be that bad."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "It is that bad. I promise you."

"Look, how about this," Freya said, suddenly inspired. "You were right that we shouldn't have gone to Earth, giving you moral points or whatever."

"Thank you."

"Buuuut, I have noble intentions, which gives me ethical points."

"Are you saying we're in the...same boat here?"

"I love human analogies..so fascinating...but no," Freya turned back to reality. "I'm totally right. It was just a thought."

The cat rolled their eyes.

"How long will take to find the-the what's it," Freya ventured after a long pause of heavy silence.

"You mean the Shiva Linxan? Probably an hour or so. That being around a forth of a gewel," she added, referring to the Dopomolian's unit of measurement.

"I know my gewels-to-hours," Freya almost snapped. She took a deep breath. "Sorry. So, I think we should continue finding the...."

"Shiva Linxan," Alex supplied.

"Yeah, that. It's not ideal that you don't see you're wrong, but we'll make do, as the humans say."

"You just love being on Earth, don't you," Alex said, eyeing Freya as she gazed, wide-eyed, around the coffee shop.

"This is basically a humanologist's dream. And I've been studying humanology for three hundred years, twice as long as anyone else in my class. On purpose."

"I suppose."

Freya frowned. "Don't you love Earth? It's literally your job."

"Yeah," Alex went quiet. "I know."

Freya did not know where she just went, but she suspected it wasn't anywhere good.

"Come on. We have a, um-" Freya looked helplessly over to Alex.