101

[Ranger of the North]

Ooh. I'm not entirely sure what to make of Tilfin, but I'm pretty sure I definitely like Vectora :.D

Veem noooo what have you done?! D:

[TheSongOfTheStars]

From what she's shown me of herself, Vectora seems pretty cool.
And poor Veem has no idea.

[Ranger of the North]

From what she's shown me of herself, Vectora seems pretty cool.
And poor Veem has no idea.

She does!

I have only a hint of an idea, and I am Worried hhh

[TheSongOfTheStars]

5. No enemies
1,329 words
"Where are we going?"
"Away. As far away as we can get from this war," Tovoth slung his travel kit over his shoulder, then held a second one out to Veem "I got us passage on a frieghter going to the 34th quadrent. From there we can decide what to do next."
Veem took the kit and was about to do the same with it, when he realized it was heavier than he expected "What's in here?"
"Just a few essentials...and what I could salvage of your stuff."
Veem flipped the catch open and peered in, a smile touching his face as he recognized some of the items "Thanks."
"Mm-hmm, okay, let's go or we'll be late."
----
Veem hadn't seen an interplanetary trade post before and if not for Tovoth, he'd have stood in the lift for twenty minutes, just staring at every new person, every new species that walked by him.
"Keep up," Tovoth tugged on his arm as he froze, trying to take everything in "There'll be plenty to look when we get to our ship."
"Have you ever seen so many-?"
"No," Tovoth admitted "I haven't."
Most of the crowd seemed to be streaming in the opposite direction, but it didn't appear to be a problem, in fact the crowd parted around them easily.
It was probably due to the fact that little Tovoth stood head and shoulders above most of them, while Veem simply towered over them.
They drifted out of the crowded walkway and into the hangers.
"We're at dock 19, do you see it?"
"Um," Veem tilted his head and scanned the signs "Over there!"
In the hanger the ceiling was much higher and Tovoth opened his wings and shot into the air, followed by Veem. They closed the distance in seconds, landing in front of a humble looking ship.
A small, amphibian-looking creature with a tail poking out of his shabby uniform and a funny circular hat strapped to the top of his bulbous head greeted them "Dr. Tovoth?"
"Yes. I assume everything is in order?"
"Of course of course," the little creature spoke with an odd splutter, whatever his natural language must have been obviously didn't lend itself well to their translation technology.
"This way," he waved a clawed hand and shuffled up the boarding ramp, followed by the two Vives.
The corridors were cramped, at least in Veem's opinon, though Tovoth didn't seem to mind.
"I'd show you around, but we're taking off soon, and anyways, you robots don't care much about food and whatnot.
Veem's wings bristled at the insult and Tovoth actually stopped midstride, his mouth open.
"Excuuuuuse me?"
"What?"
"We," Tovoth pulled himself up as tall as he could and glared down at the little creature "Are not robots."
"Well, you don't eat anything and you're made of metal, what else is there?"
"What else is there?" Tovoth was starting to splutter now "We're alive, that's what. Metal-based life-forms may not be as common as carbon-based ones but that's no excuse to insult us and call us artificial!"
Their guide seemed unimpressed "Alright alright, whatever you say. Here's where you'll be staying."
They had stopped in front of a door that reached from the floor to the ceiling. The little amphibian tapped on a control panel that was at the same level as Veem's ankle and the door opened with a clattering rush.
The two Vives stepped through. It was a large room, with a slightly higher ceiling Veem noted to his relief, but it seemed dark compared to the corridor and rather empty.
"Alright? We'll be leaving soon."
"Heh, right," Tovoth whirled around "Veem, why don't you sit down a minute, I'm just going to have a word out here..."
The door slide close behind him, leaving Veem alone, but he could still hear Tovoth's loud, irate voice.
He shook his head and sat in front of the single window, pulling his travel kit into his lap and opening it.
It was so weird, to him, he'd been using these items a few days ago, but in reality had been over three years. Three years.
Still didn't feel real.
"Ugh, I cannot believe this," Tovoth burst through the door, his wings open and fluttering awkwardly "Do you know where they've put us?"
"In an empty storage bay?"
"Y-yes."
"So?"
"It's rude. You'd think if you worked on a starcraft that farries a wide variety of species around the systems, you'd learn to tell the difference between between a vulgar droid and an actual life form."
"Hey Tovoth?"
"What?"
"Calm down."
Tovoth paused, then closed his wings with a heavy forced sigh
"Sorry. It's just...I mean....It's insulting, honestly, they didn't even provide beds."
"Tovoth, we don't even use beds most of the time."
"Still!" Tovoth looked like he was going to start ranting again, but he checked himself.
Veem set his things aside and stood up as Tovoth buried his face in his hands.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"No. Yes! I'm fine, it's only for a Cycle and a half, then it's over. It'll be done, we won't have to deal with it anymore."
"Yeah, it's not a big deal," Veem reached up and peeled Tovoth's hands away from his face "Are you-?"
"I'm not crying! I'm not crying!" Tovoth jerked away and flew to the window, planting his forehead against the thick glass "I'm...not...crying," his voice died away.
"Tovoth, what's wrong with you?"
Tovoth took a moment to respond "Nothing."
"Yeah. Right. Tell the truth."
"I'm stressed, alright? Every time I turn around I expect to be getting shot at. Do you have any idea what it does to your mind, keeping a secret like that? Every time someone would call my name I thought I'd been caught and we were both going to die."
"But, we're safe now?"
"Are we? Are we really?" Tovoth tangled his hands into a knot "They could be right behind us, Veem."
"You sound paranoid," Veem touched his shoulder.
"I'm not paranoid! I'm taking every precaution, trying to predict every outcome, I...I...I feel sick."
He sank down to his knees, arm wrapped around his chest.
Veem sat next to him "When was the last time you slept? I'm mean actually slept, not just sat and stopped moving for a couple of minutes."
"I don't know," Tovoth shook his head "I really don't. It's... it's been a while."
"Okay, listen to me then, for all appearances, we did it, we got away. No one's chasing us, no one's shooting at us. If someone starts doing that, then we'll start to worry about it, but if it doesn't happen, then we won't, deal?....Deal, Tovoth?"
"Deal," Tovoth repeated dully "But-"
"No buts those aren't part of the deal."
Tovoth chuckled weakly "Okay. No buts."
They were quiet for a few minutes, then Veem started talking again.
"So, I know you said we'd work it out when we got there, but do you have any idea if we're going to try and find a planet to live on or a space station? 'Cause you usually have a plan for this sort of thing."
He waited for a reply, but didn't get one.
Tovoth had already fallen asleep, his head leaning on Veem's shoulder. Veem smiled and watched through the bay window as they pulled out of space dock. Golden solar rays created halos around the open sails of the other starcrafts, red metal shone softly in the dark, stars danced at the edges of everything. Then, slowly, the passenger craft turned away, to the emptiness of the infinite.
Veem sighed and curled his wing around Tovoth. The doctor was so small that he practically disappeared beneath it.
Tovoth whimpered once and stirred, then settled back down.
Veem closed his eyes. It was going to be alright now. They were safe now. The past couldn't hurt them anymore, they didn't have to be afraid. They didn't have any enimies.
They were free.

[TheSongOfTheStars]

54. Rainstorm
985 words
Darkness fell fast and thick over Q-29, swept on the icy flights of a bitter shrieking wing.
As one accord, the team retreated to the bunker, bumping elbows, brushing shoulders, wings closing and opening in agitation. The barometric pressure dropped drastically and it seemed to effect everyone. Though Brontide had given orders that only two sentries needed to be posted at a time, no one was resting.
Brontide closed his eyes and listen to the bickering and arguing coming from the common room behind him. He understood. He was agitated as well. But they where supposed to be a military reconnaissance team. If they couldn't even managed to sleep together in the same room without threatening to tear each other's wings off, then surely this mission was doomed.
"Brontide. Tell Rantipole he has to reassemble my blasters. He totally took them apart," Nacarat demanded, storming up to her superior, arms crossed.
Brontide opened his eyes and stared at his reflection in exasperation "Why did he do that, Nacarat Sona?"
"Why? How should I know? He's got tin in his head."
"Brontide! It was self-defense! She hit me with them!" Rantipole stormed up, wings flared out.
"She shot at you?"
"No. I hit him over the head with them after he tried to steal them."
Brontide restrained a sigh "Rantipole, you will reassemble Nacarat's weapons and stop trying to take them. Nacarat, you will not under any circumstance assault Rantipole again."
They began to mutter but stopped as Brontide turned abruptly, a scowl spreading out across his face. The two of them quickly retreated back to the common room.
He strangled a heavy sigh and leaned his forehead against the window.
"What's that sounded?"
Suddenly everyone behind him stopped talking after Syne voiced the question.
"It's rain," Brontide answered, after listening to the drum-beat pounding against the room of the bunker "This planet has heavy storms, unlike Kataria."
"Define heavy?" Nacarat requested.
"Once I believe it rained 19 inches in three hours."
"Is...is that a lot?" Spindrift asked as everyone gave Brontide looks of varying disbelief.
"It is much more than what we experience at home. Also, electrical charges build up in the atmosphere, causing the clouds to discharge massive amounts of energy, known to be hotter than the core of some stars."
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry I was fighting with Nacarat, but you don't have to try to scare us," Rantipole held up his hands.
"I am not lying, I'm warning you. The effects can be quite unnerving."
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
A sound like a bomb exploding cracked through the air and for a split-second the lights went dead and everyone aside from Brontide started screaming.
"Like that," Brontide said, after everyone ran out of breath "I suggest you get as much rest as possi-"
he paused as he realized Spindrift had curled up in the middle of the floor and his wings jutted out stiffly.
"Oh Void's teeth he's crying again," Syne rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Spindrift," Brontide left his place at the window "Spindrift get up."
Shivering hard, the tiny Vive lifted his head "We're...we're not being attacked?"
"No," he replied quietly "We are not."
"But it sounded like-"
Before he could finish talking another clap of thunder went off and the lights flickered again.
When they went back on, Spindrift was clinging to Brontide's neck.
"Are you sure we aren't being attacked?" the formling whispered.
"Certain," Brontide tried to peel Spindrift off of his neck, but as thunder growled again, Spindrift clung tighter "Spindrift..."
"Then why is it making that noise!?"
Brontide could feel tears begin to trickle down his neck.
"It's fine. It...can't hurt you..." Brontide looked at the other Vives, who were all suddenly getting ready to sleep in peaceful accord.
"Spindrift, let go."
"N-no. Make it stop."
"I can't. It'll be over when the storm blows past."
"No! Make it stop!" Spindrift was sobbing now, his whole body shaking.
"Spindrift I can't," Brontide slowly curled his hands around Spindrift's and pulled him away and let him drop to the floor "Go to sleep."
"No, but...but..."
Brontide ignored Spindrift's whimpers and returned to the window.
He was just as tired as the rest of them, but he'd rejoin them after they'd all fallen asleep.
Lightening flashed overhead in the distant canopy of dark clouds, chilling and dangerous, but in an unnerving way soothing to watch. His eyes tracked the bolts across the sky until the room behind was silent and the lights had been turned off.
Then with a weary shrug of his shoulders he turned back around. Everyone was asleep, curled up or sprawled out, whichever they were most comfortable with. But Spindrift was still standing in the middle of the room, hugging himself, his wings askew and quivering, his eyes locked on Brontide.
"Why aren't you asleep?" Brontide hissed quietly, scowling down.
"I can't," Spindrift's voice was small, high, and cracking "I can't. I can't, I can't, I-"
"You can. You have to."
"No. Make it stop."
"I cannot," Brontide restrained the urge to raise his voice "But you must sleep or you will not be able to keep up with us tomorrow and you will make yourself ill."
"I can't. I can't."
"Fine. Then stay there," Brontide left him and retreated to a corner. He unsheathed his sword and set it down, preparing to sleep. A second after he'd closed his eyes he felt movement against the side of his foot.
"Spindrift," he growled warningly. Spindrift stared up at him with massive pleading eyes.
"Fine," he relented with a faint sigh and leaned his head back.
Spindrift squeaked in relief and tucked himself beneath Brontide's elbow, still shaking and whimpering at every thunder clap. Eventually, as the storm died down, the formling calmed down and finally went to sleep, leaving Brontide staring at the ceiling, listening to the gentle patter of the final showers.

[TheSongOfTheStars]

9. Hospital murder
643 words
"I think we all have quite a few questions, considering the last time we saw Veem's face he wasn't actually wearing it."
"I...I...what?"
"Your head. Without your body."
"You...that's impossible. I'm not dead," Veem glanced at Tovoth questioningly "That's impossible."
"Actually it's not," Kwet interjected "Obscure and unbeleiveble as it is, a Vive's head can be detatched, though it's not advisable. It is possible for someone with the proper knowlegede and skill to preform such a procedure, but there's an incredibly low chance of the vic- the patient suriving."
"Tovoth...you...?"
"Yeah. I did."
"Why?"
"Why? Why? You want to know why? Because you're an idiot, that's why," On the other side of the quarentine Tovoth staggered off the medical bed, clutching the wall for support as he jabbed an accusing finger in Veem's direction "You said something angry and stupid and traitorous so to get rid of you and to test my loyalty since I was associated with you, Diocore ordered me to kill you and bring him your head. So I did. Only I put your head back afterwards."
Veem's fingers trailed along his neck as he stared in horror at Tovoth.
"Yeah, okay, but how can you do that and where does someone learn to do that?"
Tovoth shrugged and slumped back onto the medical bed, his hands shaking but his face stoic.
"It's incredibly complex," Kwet said quietly, eyeing Tovoth "It would a huge amount of specialized training."
"I know what I'm doing."
"What you did was tantamount to murder," Aveth snapped.
"What I did was save his life," Tovoth started to shout but his voice died off into breathy gasps. An alarm sounded from a nearby console and Kwet stepped over to the panel.
"I don't have much longer, do I?" Tovoth asked.
Kwet shook his head.
"Hey, give us a minute, alright? Just a minute?"
Aveth was about to protest, but Kwet gave him a quick look and the two of them retreated a respectful distance.
For a second Tovoth and Veem just stared at each other.
"Why?" Veem burst out finally "Why?"
"I told you, Diocore-"
"No, not that," Veem shook his head "You saved me. You didn't have to do that. Why?"
"Because..." Tovoth leaned back against the wall, his arms wrapped around his chest "Because I'm selfish, I'm probably one of the most selfish people you'll ever meet. I'm being selfish right now. I... don't want to be by myself....I'm terrified..."
There was another beep.
"Tov..."
"Yeah, it'd be a lot easier if you just stood there and didn't say anything," Tovoth ran a hand over his face "It won't be a lot longer... Veem, one thing though, I put a lot of work into keeping alive, don't waste it, alright? You're free, to go and do whatever you want, just don't do anything stupid."
"I won't," Veem whispered

"I think that sometimes we forget that we're just like them."
"What?" Aveth glanced over, his eyes immediatly on Tovoth and Veem's wing symbols "No we're not."
"Yes, Aveth, we are, we'd like to think of them as soulless, but clearly it's not the case."
"You don't actually think they're friends?" Aveth's voice carried all his disgust "Tovoth preformed a high-risk procedure on Veem without his permission or even telling him!"
"An action that was either incredibly cocky or unbelievably desperate and considering Tovoth may have well just given up his own life to once again save Veem, it could very well be that Tovoth really does care about him."
"But...but that was absolutly insane."
"I think we're forgetting that I once tried to assasinate Mahveth by driving a metal pole into his head to save your life."
"That was a long time ago," Aveth said quietly.
"Yes, we were about their age, don't you think?"
Aveth didn't have anything to say to that.

[TheSongOfTheStars]

49. Assassin
1,131 words
Tovoth couldn't shake the bizarre sensation of dread as he waited outside Diocore's throne room. Everything about this summons felt wrong. It was the middle of Earth's night cycle and most of the other Vives were asleep. Also he'd received the summons across his personal communicator and he could've sworn he hadn't given that frequency to anyone.
The doors seemed to swing open of their own accord and with his shoulders straight and his chin tilted up, Tovoth entered.
"King Diocore? I was summoned?"
"Yes, Doctor, you were."
Tovoth turned as Shrring rather than Diocore answered him.
"Would it be too bold as to inquire why?"
"It might be," Shrring said cooly an odd look in his eyes
"Depending on your involvment with certain Vives."
"I'm part of the medical staff, I have dealings with every Vive here," Tovoth replied with equal coolness to Shrring, matching and holding his gaze dauntlessly. It was easy with him, Tovoth understood him, and together they played a very dangerous game with words.
"It is only one Vive that concerns me," Diocore's voice broke the doctor's concentration and caused him to crumble visibly "One which it's been known that you've had more than a few dealings with."
"And, if I may again be so bold, who would that be?" Tovoth asked, his voice gone from cool to reverant as he kept his head bowed.
"Veem, the sub-engineer I so graciously promoted to warrior-"
Tovoth could've laughed if he didn't feel so cold. It wasn't gracious, Diocore had just been having bad luck on the battlefield and needed more bodies to fling into the fray. It wasn't a gracious move at all.
"-has been heard openly rejecting me as his king."
Tovoth blinked "And what would I have to do with that?"
"You've been sent on several missions with him and it's know he's gone to you seeking treatment after his training sessions instead of going to medical bay."
"I've patched him up a few times," Tovoth admitted "But we never talked politics."
"Good, then," the look in Diocore's eyes wasn't the same as the one in Shrring's, it was far more dark, deeper and by far more treacherous "Then you won't have any problem getting rid of him."
"I..." Tovoth had to stare blankly at the king, fingers curling up into a fist, then uncurling slowly "Sir?"
"Well," Diocore shrugged slowly "You're a known liar as well, Doctor. Oh yes," he laughed as Tovoth flinched slightly and drew back from him "The heat scanner? The mirror? Oh, what about the paint for your scar?"
Diocore reached out and with the tip of his finger traced the hidden line across Tovoth's face.
The doctor shuddered and looked like he was about to flee, if the look in Diocore's eyes hadn't fused him to the ground.
"From every way I see it, you're just as guilty as he is and I'd have every right to pull you apart right here," Diocore stepped back, smiling, truly pleased with the reaction he got out of Tovoth. The doctor's wings were shaking violently, his hands clenched at his sides, and eyes so bright, so wide with utter terror.
"You have no secrets here, Doctor, no one has any secrets, they only have what I allow them and I'm no longer going to allow your petty little indulgences."
Diocore gestured at Shrring, who held out the hilt of his sword with a reverent bow.
Tovoth's eyes locked on the blade and his mouth fell open and he looked like he wanted to drop to his knees and plead, but the only sound he managed to make was a faint gasping whimper.
Diocore inspected the hilt, holding it up to eye level and peering down its length. With a twitch of his thumb he brought the blade to life and the crackle of energy and the pulse of opaque white light pulled a louder whimper of fear from Tovoth.
Diocore shook his head and lowered the blade, bringing it dormant again.
"Cowardice is an intolerable trait, even in a doctor," he rumbled "But that is the precise reason I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself. You can give anyone a gun and tell them to shoot, but it takes a long to develop the skills to save a life."
A tiny ripple of relief crossed Tovoth's face, but it was buried again by the evident unease "What do you-"
"Hush," Diocore tapped the tip of the dormant blade against Tovoth's neck "No questions. I'll give you my instructions and you will follow them."
Tovoth went rigid, eyes vacant.
"Good. Now, medical skills aside you're useless, so I'll make it easy for you," Diocore moved the blade away and began to swing it boredly as he spoke "Veem is going to die for his treason and you are going to kill him to prove that you have nothing to do with his rebeleous ideals. This evening the two of you will be sent out to track a possible source of metal compatible with the ship. He will be in charge of extraction and you will simply be back up," Diocore brought the blade past Tovoth's face with a lazy cut "And while he is busy try to pull a piece of metal out of the ground that isn't really even there, you will kill him, cut off his head, and bring it back to me. Simple enough, isn't it?"
Eyes tracking the tip of the dormant but still deadly blade, Tovoth nodded rapidly.
"Good and while you're gone, your personal quarters will be searched and cleansed of contraband, so that you can have a nice fresh start by the time you get back, understood?"
Again Tovoth nodded.
"Good," Diocore turned the sword around and offered the hilt to Tovoth "This should be sufficent for your task. Oh, but," he paused, gripping the crystalline blade as Tovoth took the handle "if you can't even manage to kill one unsuspecting Vive, on his knees, with his back turned to you, then I fully expect for them to find you dead, with this sword driven through your chest by your own hands."
Tovoth sucked in a breath and nodded weakly.
"Right in this spot!" Suddenly Diocore yanked the sword away from Tovoth, turned it on, and struck at the doctor's chest armor, leaving a searing black mark on the planting.
Tovoth screamed and stumbled backwards, throwing his arms and wings forwards to shield him as he tripped over his own feet and fell.
For several seconds he laid frozen, gasping and spluttering, trying to comprehend the fact that he wasn't dead.
Diocore laughed, dropped the sword on the ground, and kicked it over to Tovoth "Dismissed doctor, you'd best go and prepare yourself."

[Ranger of the North]

D:

[TheSongOfTheStars]

19. Back in time
"So are you going to tell me or what?"
The tiny alien child clambered over the stone-hewn furniture, mussing the thick skins as she tried to perch on the arm, thick stubby claws scratching marks against the polished surface.
"Tell you what?" The old human didn't look up from the fire or from his carving.
"The story," she clarified, brushing a long strand of fur from her face. Her body was covered in the silver gray coat, rendering clothes unnecessary.
He made the mistake of glancing down into the curious black eyes "The story about what?"
She huffed and pointed with a golden claw towards the mantle "Of the claw, Corin, I want to hear the story about the horn!"
"Oh, you don't want to hear about that," he said dismissivly, a hint of a laugh deep in his voice.
"Yes I do!" The girl bounced up and snagged the ancient thing and cradled it her arms "Will you blow it?"
"No Creita, not now," he watched her carefully, but as all she did was carefully trace one claw along the carvings on the glittering surface and tilt it gingerly so that beneath the white crystalline crust it would reflect a thousand shifting colors in the firelight.
"Alright, I'll tell you, but you have to go to bed afterwards, I don't think your parents would be pleased to find I kept you up until the moon was sinkin down."
"Yes! Thank you Kin Corin!" She burrowed up into the seat alongside him, still gently clutching the horn.
"Alright, little fluff," he sighed the term of affection "Let's begin at the beginning."
-----

Azuline lll space dock, 27 years ago

"Any answer?"
The thin Taien shook her head, sending ripples through her short bouncy curls "None." She tapped her delicate fingers together "You don't think they're ignoring us, do you?"
"Aw, they'd never do that Lih," Corin had to fight not to laugh nervously, because Gamma Command would totally ignore them. They and their team were a tiny throw away unit.
"Good. I'm sorry, I'm just so worried," She wrapped her arms around her chest and shivered "You know we Taiens don't deal well with the cold and it's been over 32 hours and my brother-"
"I know, but I'm sure he's fine, they'll all still be in the shuttle and it'll be safe there."
"You're right, you're right," she stood up, still thumbing her communicator. Even with her shoulders pulled straight and her back arched, she barely scratched 3 feet and she had to tilt her head all the way back to meet his eyes "Still. I worry."
"I know."
----
It had been a full 48 hours since the shuttle crash and no reply from Command or the stranded crew.
Corin felt like the proverbial caged tiger, pacing back and forth his small cramped quarters. It felt so wrong, he usually was bumping elbows and brushing shoulders with his various roomates. Usually it annoyed him endlessly but now he ached when he looked at the empty bunks.
Suddenly, when the silence had become unbearable it was shattered by a beep at the door.
He nearly tripped over his feet to answer it and found himself looking down at Lih, dressed in a thick heavy coat that went down to her knees and wearing a large pack.
"I'm going," she announced flatly "I have to go, Corin."
He stared at her, bit his lip and turned around "I'll get my coat."
----
The shuttle coughed and hiccuped, the metal frame hissing and creaking and cracking, heated from passing through the atmosphere, but now cooling rapidly due to the high moisture content.
In other words, it was snowing like mad, they couldn't see anything, and the shuttle sounded like it was going to fall apart around them.
Corin wanted to ask if Lih had everything under control, but judging the way she clutched the controls and her eyes were rimmed with white, maybe he didn't want to know.
Suddenly an alarm wailed out and the shuttle convulsed.
"What was that!?" Corin shouted above the shriek of the alarm and the rattle of metal.
"One of the engines failed!" Lih pounded frantically at the console, trying to reroute power to the flight stabilizers to keep the remaining engine from flipping them over.
"Hang on, hang on!" She shouted as the consule lit up with warnings "We've lost the stabilizers!"
The shuttle spun out of control, jostling its crew of two wildly. Corin felt his buckle snap and he was flung forwards, his head bashing against the control panel on the way to the ground. Everything went to a dim haze, all exept for the pain. Faintly he sensed the sickening sensation as the shuttle plummetted and he thought he heard himself scream when they impacted on the surface.
After a few minutes of wallowing in pain, Corin managed to pull himself together enough to slowly get to his knees, clutching at the thobbing cut against his head.
"Lih I think I need a medical kit... Lih, I realoy need a medical kit," he rephrased as he realized just how much blood was on his hands. His answer came in the form of a faint breathy whimper and he turned to find his smaller companion pinned to the floor by the twisted and broken remnant of her seat.
"H...hang on," he staggered upwards, still clutching his head with one hand, with the other he managed to pry the seat away from Lih.
Gasping and heaving she crawled to her feet and made it to the wall, dragging her left leg behind her. She pressed against a panel and it popped open. Reaching in, Lih pulled out a medical kit and promptly collapsed with her back against the wall.
"C'mere," she rasped "We need to stop the bleeding."
He complied, crouching and tilted his head forwards.
Lih popped open a tube of salve and began to smear the burning stinging paste across the cut.
Within seconds the blood had congealed, but the pain hadn't abated.
"Thanks, are you... can I help you?"
"N...no, I can do it," she peeled back her pantleg and began rubbing the paste into the cuts.
"Is it broken?"
"I don't think so," she hissed softly "But maybe sprained..."
Lih trailed off as a quiet alert began sounding from the damaged console.
Corin turned to it and felt a glimmer of hope "Scanners picked up on one of the crew's signal," he pressed to see which crew member's tag it had picked and his breath hitched "It's your brother."
Lih was back on her feet again, her emergency pack slung over her shoulders and she hobbled towards the exit hatch.
"What do you think you're doing!? You can't walk out there!"
She ignored him and opened the hatch. It hissed and slowly began to disengage.
"I will go find your brother," the roar of the ice storm began to drown out his voice "Lih! Don't go!"
She rushed down the plank and disappeared into the storm.
He groaned in frustration, snagged his own pack, and went running after her as fast he could, trying to keep track of the tiny dark figure stumbling through the wild, swirling, roiling, snow.
"Lih! Lih come back!"
The tiny figure vanished all of a sudden.
"Lih!?"
He rushed forwards and found the ground disappeared beneath his feet. He screeched as he slide down the side of the icy canyon. His teeth rattled as he hit the bottom and he sank down, head aching from the pain.
"Lih?" It was quieter down here, the wind gone from a roar to a thin howl.
A scream that wasn't from the wind echoed off walls and he started running towards it. He rounded a corner and found Lih crouching over an irregular object.
"Cor...Corin..." she sobbed and leaned backwards "He must have fallen....Oh Cor..."
If he wasn't already numb from the wind he would have felt the blood drain from his face "Oh Lih, your brother. Oh no."
Corin couldn't stomach looking at the dead man's face, but judging from the way Lih's brother was positioned, he thought he must have frozen to death, rather than an injury from the fall.
Lih reached into her brother's coat and pulled out a curved, conical object. Corin remember him wearing it always and after a second recalled that Lih had told him it was a battle horn, passed down through their family from the days when their planet was far more primitive.
"Lih, Lih I am so sorry, but we have to go, do you understand? We have to go and either go back to the shuttle or try to find the rest of the crew."
Dully she stood up, clutching the horn, and nodded.
Feeling helpless, Corin started walking again and Lih followed, dragging her injured leg, tears still flooding down her face.
For some time Corin payed little attention to his surroundings, only watching where his feet went. But a loud crack caused him to jerk his head up.
He glanced around, meeting Lih's glazed eyes for a second before looking at the wall. His heart faltered as he noticed the spiderweb cracks crawling through the blue surface.
"Lih, we have to get out of here," he was cut short by another cracking noise and he began to pick up his pace as he felt the ground begin to tremble.
"Corin! Corin, my leg, I can't-!"
Corin stopped and spun around, reaching out for her, but as their fingers brushed, the ice shattered.
Corin flailed wildly, trying to find Lih, trying to find a solid surface. But it was all just shards of ice, stinging and gouging.
----
He was alone when the world finally stopped moving. For several seconds he just stared around him until the pain dulled enough for him to think clearly.
Then he saw the Lih's coat and nearly cried out, then realized with a horrible churn of his stomach, that it was pierced through completely by a massive ice shard.
All he could do was turn his head away. In doing so, he saw the horn Lih had taken from her brother, lying just within arm's length.
Without really thinking he reached out and wrapped his hand around it, trying to find comfort in the simple object
----
"What happened then? Did you escape and save the rest of the crew?"
"No," Corin sighed "I spent the next three days trapped in the ice crevasse before Gamma Command found me. They got the rest of the team out too."
"But you kept this?" She held up the horn.
"I tried to find their extended family to return it, but I never could find them. So I decided the best I could do was put it up somewhere safe."
Creita looked down at the horn in her hands, tracing over it gently "Sad."
"I know, little fluff, but that's how it is."

[Ranger of the North]

"Little fluff" has got to be one of the cutest pet names in existence