Planeteer Narrative #3 part 6

       This chapter is dedicated to Mike Simpson, author of the wonderfully useful "Semi-Comprehensive Guide to the Tin Whistle". Also, it's dedicated to Apple Jacks, but UNdedicated to those nasty little pumpkin-shaped nutty things they stick in the Halloween Apple Jacks.

        Having finished with a long, cold shower, Gi decided to go on a walk through the woods. Mia had told her about a lake nearby, and Gi intended to find it. After a few minutes walking, she saw the water through the trees. She walked the last few steps, then pushed through the last trees. The lake stretched out before her, sparkling in the late afternoon sun. "Wow," breathed Gi. "It is beautiful."
        "I know," a voice broke into her thoughts. She turned and saw Cye. "This is my favorite place," he told her. He was sitting on a large, flat rock that jutted out into the water. "Come, have a sit." Gi smiled, walked down to the rock and sat next to him.
        They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the scenery (people who really like fish can do that). After a few minutes, Cye started searching for something to say. He was thinking, Oh, my gosh. What can I say to her? All right, don't be an idiot, let's think. Think, think, think... She likes fish! Yeah, yeah, she likes fish. "So... you like fish?" All right, that was good, not too personal but not too impersonal. What now?
        "-so ever since then I've really liked them."
        Cye looked up, horrified. Had she answered him? This is bad. "That's neat." Shoot!
        Gi smiled at him. "You're a really good listener, Cye."
        Cye laughed, uncertainly. "Well, I - I try, yeah, thank you."
        As he sat there, hemming and hawing, Gi laughed to herself. She knew Cye had no idea what she'd just said. He had a look on his face that clearly stated how nervous he was. She didn't mind him not listening, though. In fact, it was kind of cute. She smiled at him again, then turned her attention to the water. At the edge of their rock, the water was pretty deep. And it looked clean... Smiling devilishly, she stood up. Cye immediately followed suit.
        Walking inconspicuously to the edge of the rock, she looked out over the lake. Cye came to stand next to her. "So," she asked, "do you like to swim?"
        Cye smiled. "Yes, I do. But why..."
        She turned to him, grinning mischievously, and pushed him off the edge of the rock. As he fell, his arms flailed, reaching for something to grab. The first thing he found was the collar of her shirt, and Cye and Gi fell, gasping, into the lake.
        As Cye broke the surface, gasping for air, he stared at her in disbelief. She was in the lake a few feet away, laughing. Strands of dark, wet hair were plastered to her face, and she was trying to brush them away as she treaded water. "I can't believe you just did that!" he shouted to her, but at her smile, his anger melted away, and he started laughing, too. As they started swimming to the shore to get out of the lake, he asked, "Why on earth did you do that?"
        She shrugged. "It sounded like fun at the time."
        Cye snorted. "I'm sure." He tackled Gi to the ground (or to the water, I guess), then quickly got off her, wondering if he had been too forward. Laughing, she grabbed his legs and tripped him. Sitting, the water reached his neck. As she got up, she slipped on a mossy rock and landed on top of him. She turned to look at him, and at the look in his eyes, stopped. Then, embarrassed, she got up and started splashing him, triggering their hour-long water fight.

        Back at the house, Wheeler was feeling well enough to try standing up. He gingerly walked to Mia's study, where Linka and Mia were looking at the computer. "I think this must be it," said Mia.
        Looking up, she saw Wheeler standing in the doorway. Mia smiled, while Linka looked at her feet, looking flustered. Then she stood. "I - I had better go start dinner." She left quickly, not looking at Wheeler.
        He watched her go, then sat down next to Mia. "Why does she do that?" he murmured, more to himself than anything.
        Mia quirked an eyebrow. "So, feeling better?" Wheeler nodded, and looked out the door as if Linka were still there. Mia laughed. "You really like her, don't you?" Wheeler didn't even bother to deny it. He just sighed and put his forehead on the desk. "Why don't you tell her?" she asked.
        Wheeler turned his head and gave her a look that said, Isn't it obvious? "She'd laugh at me, then tell me that when I grew up, I should give her a call."
        Mia laughed again. "You really should let her know. You never can tell."
        Wheeler sat up. "Well then, oh hypocritical one, why don't you tell Ryo?"
        "Tell Ryo what?" she asked.
        It was Wheeler's turn to laugh at her. "As if the whole world doesn't know."
        "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, dignified, as she turned her computer off and stood to leave. But at the door, she paused, and turned back. "Maybe I will."

        Out in the woods, Sage was meditating on a large rock. He could hear the splashing and laughter from the lake, and chuckled with them.

        At the lake, the sun was hanging low in the sky, and Cye was getting tired. "Hey Gi, truce?" Gi was also tired, and so agreed. As they walked out of the water, Cye asked her, "Do you think we should stay here until we dry off?"
        Gi nodded and sat back down on the rock. Cye followed. As they watched the sun inch closer and closer to the horizon, they talked and laughed like old friends.

        Mia and Linka finished making dinner, and were wondering where everyone else was. Wheeler came down the stairs; just then, the jeep pulled up, followed closely by the plane. As everyone got out and went in to the house, Ryo handed the car keys to Mia and - to her delight - smiled at her.
        Kento then volunteered to get Cye, Sage and Gi from the woods while the others set the table. He quickly found Sage, then said, "Bet I know where to find Cye!"
        Sage followed uncertainly. "Maybe you shouldn't disturb him right now..."

        Cye and Gi's conversation fell to silence as they watched the water ripple beneath them. It was getting later, and colder, and Gi shivered in her still-damp clothes. Noting this, Cye moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She tried to make some witty comment, something to break the silence, and for once, could find nothing to say. This was getting personal, too personal.
        Gi was confused. She didn't go for the whole involved relationship thing; in fact, she spent most of her time denouncing the opposite gender. But she had to admit, she enjoyed sitting so close to him. As she sat there, trying to sort through her entangled thoughts, Cye seemed to sense something was wrong. "Are you all right?" he asked her.
        Gi resolved to do something to stop this irrational thing before it started, and looked at him to say something.
        That was a mistake. The instant she looked into his eyes, she couldn't look away. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out, so she gave up and closed it again. Cye leaned in closer, all the while thinking, What in Jagga's name do I think I'm doing? Then, Aw, what the heck. Here goes nothing! He put one hand on the back of her neck, then closed his eyes and leaned forward. Oh, I really hope I don't screw up. (He didn't have much experience with this kind of thing) But as he leaned forward, his lips touched hers, so he figured he must have done it right. At least I didn't miss! he thought as he pulled away from her.
        Cye's actions had surprised him as much as they had her. Gi was still staring at him when he sat back and looked at her. When she could finally form rational thought again, the first one that popped up was something along the lines of 'YES!'. Apparently Cye had the same thought, because he leaned in towards her and kissed her again, longer. She closed her eyes this time (it's rude to stare!). As the kiss deepened, he put both arms around her and pulled her in closer to him.
        Gi decided that maybe there was something to be said for romance. Then, from what seemed like a great distance, she heard a voice say, "EWWW! Oh, my gosh, they're KISSING! AHHH!" and various other sounds that would be difficult to write down.
        Gi and Cye turned to look at their disruption. It was, of course, Kento, followed by an chagrined Sage. The latter told them, "It's time for dinner. Let's go, Kento."
        Sage dragged Kento back into the trees. Kento was singing, "Cye and Gi, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
        Cye laughed nervously and pulled his hands back. Gi smiled and looked down, feeling color creep into her cheeks. Cye stood up. "Gi..."
        She stood up, too. "Is this where you tell me it was all a mistake?" she asked him, fervently praying she was wrong.
        Cye look dismayed. "No, not at all. Unless... do you think it was a mistake?"
        Gi ran her fingers through her hair. Her first instinct was to reassure him that she had meant it. I guess this is it, then, she said to herself. "Not at all," she told him. He laughed in relief, and kissed her forehead lightly. Then, arm in arm, they went back to the house.
        As they neared the house, they could hear Kento's voice from inside the kitchen. "-and they were sitting on the rock KISSING! What's with that?!"
        As Cye and Gi entered the house, all eyes were turned to them. Kwame said quietly, with a smile, "Fish. It figures."
        Mia laughed. "Back to dinner."
        As Gi and Cye sat down, the conversation turned back to this foe. Mia said, "If I am correct, this Lord Terave bit is a cover. His real identity is-"
        Without warning, Suchi, which had been sitting quietly on the table, suddenly jumped at her. She screamed and tried to get it off, but he just dug his tiny hands into her hair and held on tight. Ma-ti and Ryo both jumped out of their chairs, and after a few minutes' work, managed to pull the monkey away from Mia's face. Ma-Ti went to calming the monkey, while Ryo tried to calm Mia.
        Soon, all was back to relative normality. In the laughter over the monkey incident, their foe was forgotten. To relax, the Ronins and Planeteers decided to rent some movies to watch.
        Mia volunteered to take her jeep into town. "Who'll come with me?" she asked, then looked around. Kento started to raise his hand, then stopped as Sage kicked him under the table and inconspicuously shook his head.
        Ryo looked around and shrugged. "I will."
        "All right," Mia said, then went to do the dishes. Gi and Cye went to help and the guys went to their rooms.
        Kento looked at Sage. "What?" he asked, perplexed.
        Sage just sighed. "Nothing, Kento."

        Fifteen minutes later, Mia and Ryo pulled out of the driveway, heading for Toyama. As they drove, their conversation was light - something funny Yuli had said, some repairs the house needed... Cye and Gi...
        Mia chuckled. "I knew there was something up with the two of them."
        Ryo looked skeptical. "You knew about this?"
        Mia gave a charming smile. "Of course I knew. Don't I always?"
        Ryo looked at her out the corners of his eyes. She looked beautiful and serene in the sun's slanting rays. Not always, Mia.

        Back at the house, Ryo opened Mia's car door for her, then took the videos and escorted her inside. Mia laughed. As they walked in, Linka, in the kitchen, gave her an expectant look. Mia shrugged, and Linka looked disappointed.
        Ryo called everyone into the living room, where they tried to fit everyone onto two couches. In the end, they had Cye, Gi, and Linka on one couch, Wheeler, Mia and Ryo on the other, and everyone else on the ground. The first one was a nice romantic comedy of Mia's choosing. The guys, except for Cye and Kwame, groaned and gagged, showing their opinions of the show. Mia gave them a superior look. "Who cooks your dinner, boys?" They all shut up.
        Throughout the whole movie, Ryo kept looking at Mia, who was sandwiched between him and Wheeler. He was trying to fight the urge to hit Wheeler, but Mia didn't seem to be too interested in anything but the movie, so for now, he decided not to worry.
        When the movie was over and all the girls had commented on how cute it was and all the guys were pretending to be asleep, Sage asked, "What else do you have?"
        Ryo looked at the videos. "One sci-fi and one slasher flick."
        "Slasher flick!" shouted the majority. Ryo handed it up to Rowan to put in the VCR.
        Gi stood up. "If that is the case, I think I will go to bed now." Mia and Linka followed suit.
        Gi kissed Cye's cheek. "Good night," he said.
        As the three girls left the room, Wheeler and Ryo both watched them go. Ryo saw Wheeler watching them, and, misreading the situation, got angry and moved to the other couch. Wheeler just shrugged as Sage moved to take Ryo's seat.

        Upstairs, the girls were getting ready for bed. As they all sat on their beds, Linka looked at Gi and grinned. "All right, spill."
        Gi scoffed. "Do you really think I would kiss and tell?" Linka and Mia looked at her, and she giggled. "All right, so I was going to find the lake..."

        Several hours later, both movies were over, and the guys were all going up to bed. Cye stopped by Mia's room and looked in. The door was slightly ajar, but the lights were off and all three girls were asleep. He smiled at Gi, sleeping peacefully on her cot, then went to his room.
        In there, Kento said, "So, you kissed her?" Cye nodded. Kento was already asleep.

        In the dark other-realm, Lord Terave was pacing back and forth across the cold stone floor. Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic... I've been soundly beaten several times, and the girl knows who I really am. Well, it could be worse - it could be raining. He walked to the window and looked out at the cold, black world. It certainly wasn't raining. All I need is a strategy. Sitting cross-legged on his throne, he tried to think.
        Several hours later, as the sun was dawning over the mortal world, he was still sitting cross-legged on his throne. He still couldn't think, so he turned on the T.V. The only thing on was an old movie version of The Odyssey. He was too bored to turn it off and too tired to go to bed, so he watched.
        Suddenly, he sat up straight and stared at the T.V. screen. "That's it!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the dark hall. His lips, if you could have seen them, curled into an evil smile. "Troy..."

      Praise, flames, other similar comments? witchhazel@altavista.com. Call me any, any time. Really, even if you think it sucks, please tell me so that I can put you on my list of people I hate.

To be continued...