His Life Continues

  It almost didn’t look like the same thing he had given Esther. It was shiny and blinking. Lights glowing on the side and a small screen showing inventory. It felt alive in his hands and hummed as he examined it.

  “Thank you… Essther.”

  She reached out and pat his shoulder, “It’s the least I could do, particularly after that awkward situation.” she gestured back the way he had come, “there’s a store down that way, the closest to the other Ancient teleporter, it sells fuel. It should be useful to you.”

  And he left. Walking quickly out of this place.

  The shop was all they way across the planetoid-thing. He could make it this time, right? Just…

  He took a deep breath and started the quick walk. Trying to ignore everyone that he could. Eyes down, muttering an apology to everyone he bumped into.

  “Floran iss ssorry.”
  “Sssorry…”
  “Floran didn’t mean to.”

  It took a bit, and a lot of circling around waiting for others to be done at the little shop, but eventually Mar was able to buy some fuel. And he beamed away leaving the pixels, too many actually, and a faint thank you.

  It’s a lot of planet hopping from that point forward. Planet hopping and plant gathering. So many different sorts of flowers start to take over the ship, the faint blue walls were hardly visible through all the foliage and flowers.

  There was one flower in particular that seemed to dominate the ship. Protectorate Flowers.

  The delicate pink petals filled one corner of the ship. But some of the pink was tinted with reds and purples. 

  He hummed as he tended to these flowers, “Usshi’ss favorite color wasss red, ssso you will be red. Floran will help you become red, don’t worry.” More humming more talking. He would talk to these flowers for hours.

<><>

  “Floran iss almosst out of fresssh water for you, ssso bottled will have to do for a bit.”

<><>

  “Darker pink! That’sss ssso closse! You’re doing ssso well!”

<><>

  “The other plantsss ssseem to be loving the pipesss around the ssship. It’sss almossst like one of thosse garden gatesss that you grow vine flowersss on. It’sss beautiful.”

<><>

  For days.
  Sometimes he’d forget that he himself needed water, or light, or food. Only remembering when he had to go get more water for the flowers or fuel to keep the ship moving. 

  This trip for fuel was going normally, till a crowd beamed in. All talking with one another. Mar almost shrugged it off, but a glint caught his eye.

  Bright yellow tools hung at the sides of all these beings. Marking them as Protectors, or at least as people who had gone to the school. His hand strays to the one by his side. A feeling of guilt radiated off the shining tool. The cold metal suddenly burning his hip.

  A strangled sound of regret and he stood there. Shaking. Trying to not make to much a scene with his crying. 

  “Hey… you ok?” A slightly familiar voice spoke up behind him and a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder. A familiar gesture to go with the familiar voice.

  Mar felt frozen a mix of panic and guilt, a lie was not something he could manage right now. So he answered, in a barely audible squeak, “no.”

  His legs felt weak and he nearly fell. But the Floran behind him tucked an arm around his shoulder, “Let’sss ssit you down sssomewhere…” They lead Mar to a quiet corner and just continued to talk with him. Babbling about humans and their clothes.

  Mar began to calm down and pay attention to the Floran, really listening to the happier plant being talk on and on. And a small twang happened in his heart. And this Floran suddenly seemed less scary. 

  The two sat there for quite a while, Mar mostly listening and the other Floran mostly talking. Only parting ways after one of the other Floran’s friend’s came looking for them.

  “Bye Mar!” They wave, “Good luck with your flowers!”

  Mar returned the wave before he got up and went to the store that sold fuel. Along with fuel, the person insisted he buy a weapon. Sold Mar a gun for a very low price. A simple one handed pistol like weapon.

  “That way monsters won’t getcha’.” The shopkeep nodded firmly, “can’t have my best customer dying.”

<><>

  Mar left the weapon on the ship for a good while, before deciding to try it out. It felt odd in his hands. He beamed down with it. Taking a moment to recover before aiming it at a rock.

  He planted his feet, held his arms out slightly bent, and fired.

  He dropped it when it did so. The sound and jerk of the weapon startling him. He heard a growl as something else had obviously heard it too.

  And he beams up.

  “No gunss.” He muttered to himself, “gunss aren’t good for Floran…”

  He beams back down after waiting, he had to fetch the weapon. Figuring he could sell or trade it. He crouched the moment he hit the ground and listened. The growling thing wasn’t making any sounds so he stood, still at a half crouch. He moved forward, grabbed the gun and beamed back up.