Chapter eight

The Magic of the New Crew

(Part one) Some of Sky's past

“Thanks, mommy I feel better now though I’m still very hungry. Can we eat soon the rock nuts are good, but are not that filling”? Sky said while not showing any sign of the pain from the burning feeling in her feet.

“Yes, you can eat soon. I’ll go and prepare it right now. I’ve got all the food in my handbag. While I’m cooking, your daddy is going to get you some of your clothing from last year. You can’t wear just your bed clothes around for weeks can you “? Rocssanna stated got up and left Sky and William alone.

“Daddy I’m sorry for ruining all those new clothes you bought me. Can’t you get more new ones I’ll be extra, extra careful with them so they won’t fall apart this time? If you love me, daddy, you won’t make me wear last years’ rags”? Sky had a pleading look in her eyes as she begged him.

“I don’t think mommy would keep rags in storage”? William told his daughter sympathetically as he stroked her head and luxurious silky tresses.

Sky looked at her daddy with the saddest eyes she could. “No mommy wouldn’t keep rags, but they were patched over and over. Don’t you remember mommy complaining about always having to repair all my clothes”? Sky glanced up to her father just making eye contact, looking back down tracing the furry belly of the onesie. “It wouldn’t take long to get me new clothes once we’re back down. You could get the ones like before just a little smaller. Just get the heavier cloth for my regular clothing since I don’t need to wear, the suppression suits now. It shouldn’t take too long to get to the stores and back once we are on the ground. Please, daddy, please don’t make me wear last years’ clothes”.

“Sky I don’t want you to be upset, but I can’t ask to go back down. By now they probably saw the devastation of the ancient forest, and have a good idea who did it. Plus, it took weeks to order your special clothing not minutes”. William reached over to Sky held her cheek. “I hate to see you unhappy, but last years’ clothes are your only option. Sorry my little beastie rabbit, there’s no lucky feet on you”. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and stepped back. “I’ll see you soon, but if breakfasts ready before I’m back you’ll have to eat in your PJs.” With that said, William left Sky’s bedroom to leave to her thoughts.

Rocssanna was in the mess hall at one of the four long tables cutting up some strange looking vegetables when Joe walked in. After she was finished cutting each variety, she dumped them in a huge pot. Joe pondered the contents of the pot and seen it half full of water and vegetables. Filled with curiosity, Joe asked Rocssanna. “What’s for breakfast Rocssanna, I’ve never seen these types of vegetables before?”

Rocssanna pondered the question for the right answer. “I’m not sure what they're called they are native to the planet. Sky found them while we were walking in the mountains, under rocks and boulders. It’s a funny story if you care to hear about it”. Rocssanna glanced up from cutting to as what Joe’s answer was. ‘Please continue.‘ “We here we are walking in the mountains, Sky was around, no she was five years old at the time. Since we were alone, we thought we would let her take her footwear off so she could bury her toes in the rocks, kinda as you would sand on a beach”. Rocssanna looked up to see Joe’s reaction to that. It wasn’t the surprised look she was expecting. So, she continued. “Little Sky was walking along dragging her feet through the rock enjoying the sound she was making. We found it pretty loud, but seeing no one else around and thought there’s no harm if no one else could hear her. Suddenly she said ‘do you smell that; I think I stepped in something squishy’? We turned and seen her digging through the rock with her hands where her feet caved in a small depression in the path, and she pulled out of the rock one of these”. Rocssanna reached in her pantry handbag and pulled out a dark brown bulbous root vegetable and not putting it into Joe’s outstretched hands but gently on the table with a thump. “Sorry I didn’t want to hurt you; they are quite heavy to a human.”

Joe wasn’t sure if he should feel insulted until he tried to pick it up. At first, he tried with one, then with two. He was not going to let a small vegetable get the best of him. Pulling it to the edge of the table close to him, he managed to lift it like you would a heavy rock. He was glad she didn’t pull a Willy Knight on him. “What did she do with it when she pulled it out of the rocks?”

“Believe it or not, she said it smells good and bit into it raw, just like you see it there only one half was squished a little from her stepping on it. She was so happy finding food she could touch with some force, not have a mushy mess of pulp in her hands. She told us it could use a little washing because it tasted a little oily. We couldn’t stop her from ripping part of the mountain path apart looking for more of the firm vegetables just as she put down one of the large vegetables when some men came around the corner looking to see if everyone was okay. They thought they had started a landslide; they almost caught Sky digging through solid rock with her bare hands. When they saw, everyone was okay they left to go back to call so, watch the local wildlife. William called out, “Excuse me how do you hide yourselves from the animals?” William asked the three men. Two of the three men were hiding something behind their backs. One of the men answered. “For us to know and you never to find out, and you better leave, the next rockslide may kill you.” Sky was about to say something to the rude men, Rocssanna gave her the universal sign to be quiet. Luckily Sky was not the disobedient type and stopped before telling the men about not to worry a few clumps of soft light rocks would not hurt them in the least. I had to tell Sky that she had to stop digging for the odd vegetables and that we will come back looking for more later. She huffed and did what kids do when upset. She stomped both her feet and did start a rock slide. To Sky, it was like being covered with chunks of styrofoam. The men came back and didn’t see us and ran off thinking they were the cause and didn’t want to be caught poaching local wildlife. After that day, the mountain path was deemed unsafe from frequent rock slides and closed for public safety. Since then she’s found four other types of firm vegetables. We found the more you cook them, the softer and more flavourful they became. Sky still insisted on eating them half cooked, so they were still firm.

Rocssanna was finished cutting the odd vegetables and lifted the huge pot as most people would a paper cup. Joe was not surprised at the strength but what she did next surprised him as much as Sky’s abilities, with a wave of her hand under the pot and a spell circle, appeared there was a small wash of spent magic, and the pot instantly started boiling. Joe’s eyes bugged out. “How? How, can you do a complex spell like that with no incantation or pre-inscribed spell circle on the pot, you didn’t even use a prewritten spell from a M.A.D., And you say you have no gift in the magical arts”? Joe felt around on the table, and no heat was coming from the bottom of the pot, just from the pot and the steam rising.

Rocssanna quizzically looked at Joe and answered him. “I think of the spell a mage showed me, picture it under the pot, facing the right direction and place it on the bottom, and bang, no biggie. I’m not like Sky who pictures what she wants, and it sometimes happens without ever doing it before or even been shown it. I intentionally don’t show her any of the few spells I know because if she sees a spell, it’s always overpowered and takes months to tone it down. Take that light spell she’s so proud of showing off. For six months of her trying it was almost a metre across and as bright as a star. We were constantly dispelling them as she would make them, turns out she wanted them that big and bright because she was afraid of the dark. It wasn’t till I showed her that she hadn’t to be afraid of because nothing could hurt her. The people on the vid screen shows were really weak, soft and was not even real. I showed her the sharp knife I used for cooking. This knife could cut just about anything but us, watch. To show her I pulled the knife across my arm, and the blade bent over”. Rocssanna told Joe and continued with her from there explaining why she shouldn’t be afraid of the dark or even monsters. She let Joe hear the story as if he was lessening to them talking.

“Sky looked surprised at what I did and said “wow mommy I always thought your skin was so soft and delicate. How could a sharp knife like that not cut you as they do on the vid shows? Then she took my arm as gently as she could to inspect it. Her words were filled with surprise after the brief inspection. “It didn’t even make a mark on your skin, but when I accidentally scratched you it left red scratch lines on your arm? I took her in my arms and placed her in my lap. That’s because your my little angel, are extra strong. The only reason we don’t let you play with sharp objects is for many distinct reasons. Not one of them for your safety because absolutely nothing can harm you physically short of being thrown into a star maybe, at least on the outside. It is possible not even from the inside something could hurt you. But we love you, and we aren’t going to put you through any tests. You’re our little angel, not our big test rat.”

“Mommy you mean there’s nothing in the dark that can hurt me. Even if it’s a huge scary monster with big sharp fangs as long as my arm. On its multiple legs are razor sharp claws that can rip through plate steel”. Sky was trying, to describe the most terrifying creature she’d seen on a vid show; she said the monster was called a Centa-raptor”.

I hugged my little girl and told her. “A big ugly thing like that would only break its teeth if it bit you, and break its claws if it slashed you. But if it ate you, it would die from a belly ache after you crawled back out,, hopefully, the way you went in and not the other end”. Rocssanna plugged her nose and waved her hand. “Phew.” “Sky thought that part was funny and giggled as only a small child could at the lame joke.” Joe smiled thinking of an even smaller Sky giggling.

“After a few days, she came home from a long walk and told me. “Your right about everything thing about it not being able to hurt me. The Centa-raptor is a big, ugly, and stinky thing. It could still throw me around, and there’s no way of telling which direction is out. They really are stinky on the inside”! She said and shuddered. “Yucky!”

“You mean the creature, the Centa-raptor you were talking about was re,al? I thought you saw it on a vid show. How could something like that be real?”

“Mommy, you know I always like watching the educational vid shows. I saw one on a vid show about the most ferocious native animals of Bella Grande. I saw a Centa-raptor two weeks ago, in the old forest while I was taking a short cut through it from school. I was afraid it could hurt me badly. So, I ran home as fast as I could and hid in my room. After what you told me three days ago, I when back and looked for it. When I found it, I took off my suppression suit and let it attack me. When it slashed me, I was sent me flying across the forest floor, but it didn’t even hurt, not even a little bit. I walked towards it again as it came for me making a deafening, it towered over me and closed its jaws filled with huge teeth right over my head, right down to my tummy. When it closed its mouth, and the teeth that pushed against me broke off. When it realized, it couldn’t bite me in half; it spits me out. Its drool was all over my face, in my hair and on my upper body”. She said making the cutest face only a child can make of disgust. “Yucky. Then it smacked me again, and I was thrown across a clearing and bounced off a tree. No pain it just tickled, and I started laughing. I was afraid of this big, ugly, and smelly thing. I stood up and looked around for the smelly monster that I was no longer afraid of. The next thing I know it was dark, smelly, and I was slimy all over more revolting then ever. As I tried to look around I realized, it swallowed me whole. I didn’t know which way was which, so I just felt around trying to find a way out. It must have been the wrong way because it wasn’t the way I went in. I ended up going through the side of its belly. It wasn’t moving anymore when I got out. Before coming home, I had to find my suppression suit and a river to wash. Because of all that stuff, I’m a little late for lunch, and now I’m not afraid of the dark any more mommy”.

“Sky was so happy she had nothing to be afraid of; her light spheres were just a little bigger and a little brighter than ours, only because it was the smallest she could get it to go.” Rocssanna smiled at the memory. After that, we tried never to let her see us use any magic. She has a problem with too much power to keep any spells small. “From the impression, I got from the archmage that Sky’s access to her well of power is from the bottom not to top. Just picture o huge tank of water, full about halfway. You can draw whatever amount from the top, by the size of container you want. If you have a tap on the bottom, there’s a lot of pressure behind the water you want. Open the tap a little bit, and the water gushes out letting out a whole lot more water than you intended”.

Joe was learning more about Sky and why her parents held back the knowledge of magic from her. He learned that they knew about the four gifts, now they learn she has had all five gifts since before her birth. Joe, now he understood why the mage didn’t want Sky’s parents to try and teach her magic. They simply didn’t know enough to teach her how to regulate her magical energy “.

I don’t think she’s even has a magical well the way most beings do. When I tested to see how deep her well of magic I accidentally tested her twice. Not to mention the size of her well, but the second test showed her well a tiny bit bigger. Between the two tests was no more than four seconds which means her well is growing, possibly all the time”. Joe's face had a faraway look as he contemplated his last revelation.

Rocssanna just continued with the next part of the meal, preparing the meat. She reached into the bag almost putting in her upper body in it pulling out a large chunk of brown flesh in one hand and a different knife and cutting board in the other. Joe snapped out of his thoughts as he heard her chopping the meat with a little effort.

Joe wondered what kind of animal had meat that tough to give a Titan a hard time chopping it up. “Excuse me, may I ask what kind of animal meat that is? It looks a little tough to cut; will it be soft enough for myself and Fred to eat?” He asked as she finished cutting the last pieces apart.

“It’s from the Centa-raptor, a huge animal she inadvertently killed when testing her invulnerability to physical harm. The meat raw there is not even a possibility of you chewing a small bite in your mouth to swallow in a week. But once it’s cooked enough, it’s super tender and tasty. I’ll just scoop some out for Sky before it’s overcooked for her, she likes things she has to chew even a little bit”. Rocssanna dumped the meat off the cutting board into another big pot and repeated the same cooking spell to start it cooking. Reaching in her pantry handbag again she took out some seasonings and started to spice up the food. “Joe, I hope you like your food on the spicy side? I hope Fred likes his food spicy because that’s how we’re going to eat it”.

Fred walked into the room just as Rocssanna asked the question and answered her. “Yes, I like my food a bit on the spicy side. If it’s as spicy as last nights’ dinner that would be great”. Fred said as he walked up to the pots cooking on the table, not the stove top. He didn’t know that Joe wasn’t the one who cast the cooking spell. Peering inside of each and giving each a quick sniff and his stomach rumbled. “Smells good are we waiting for Sky and William before eating”? Looking to Rocssanna for the answer, she gave a nod in answer to his question. “Did I miss anything good? What were you two talking about?”

Rocssanna looked at Joe. “We were just talking about Sky when she was younger and some of the magic she accidentally watched and learned. She was quite the handful at times”. She said and gave the direction where she lay briefly, “and still is.” she answered Fred. Fred could only nod in agreement.

Joe looked at Fred and smiled. “I’ve learned more of Sky’s past and about her well of magic. You won’t believe it, but Sky’s magic comes out under pressure, and her magic well is constantly growing as far as I can tell”. Joe sounded kind of excited as he told Fred about learning more of Sky’s past.

“Is she your new hero now”? You know she’s just going to get stronger as she learns more magic spells and incantations”! Fred saw Joe’s eye confirming his joking assumption. “Sky’s your new superhero”! Fred was smiling at Joe’s discomfort at being called out on his new hero.

Just as Joe was going to deny Fred’s accusation when Sky walked into the room, and it went quiet, she was wearing her last new outfit, her bunny onesie. “Mommy, are you cooking my favourite food for breakfast? it smells wonderful”!

“Yes, it is my little angel, yours is ready now, but you’ll have to wait for Joe and Freds to finish cooking. Your father should be coming back with some of your old clothes by then, and we can start eating. After we eat you can change into something a little more durable”. Rocssanna scooped out a large portion for her from each pot.

Sky noticed Joe looked kind of uncomfortable and she smiled at that. Looking between Joe and Fred, she asked. “Joe, I didn’t catch who your new hero is, I bet he’s really awesomely strong and can use all sorts of powerful magic. He must be a real man's man, does he play some kind of sport or is he some kind of special fighter”? Sky asked getting closer and beaming up into his face. “I bet he’s even taller than Fred and twice as strong.” She said making a show of puffing up her chest and flexing her arms like a stereotypical strongman. Sky was laughing inside as she saw Joe's discomfort grow. She inched closer to Joe until her head was bent far back to peer up at him from less than five cm. (two in.) away. She gave him an excited expectant look of anticipation of his answer. “Come on! You can tell me! I don’t know of any an amazing person like yourself would find to be great enough to be your hero? A small, cute, little girl like me would like to hear about someone so great”. Sky asked with her bunny ears shaking with feigned excitement.

Rocssanna chided Sky for teasing Joe. “Sky, should you be teasing someone who saved you from a lot of pain. Someone who’s spell let you go around, although limited without your suppression suits. I don’t think you’re treating him with the respect he deserves. I know a polite young lady would say sorry for making him feel embarrassed”. Rocssanna smiled at Joe and continued “If you don’t say you’re sorry you might not be his hero anymore, would you”?

The shocked look on Joe’s face was priceless and had everyone present laughing even Joe. “I heard Fred teasing you and couldn’t resist joining on teasing you too. But mommy is right though, you have done a lot for us, and you do deserve a big thank you. I might not be able to give you a butterfly hug, but I can try a bunny hug”. Sky walked up to Fred first. “Captain Fred Sir, thank you for all you’ve done and said you’re going to do. I’ve decided you will be the first to test my new hugs. That’s because you were the first teased one of my heroes”. With that said she reached around him and tried not to touch him at all. She wanted to be close enough just him to feel her closeness. She tried to project into him, the feeling of her gratitude and overall appreciation through the hug with magic.

Fred could not express in words what flowed out of Sky and into his being. He felt like crying in joy at her heartfelt gesture of thanks, and he knelt to give a hug her back. As he reached around her, he felt her hair for the first time. It was not what he expected; it was thick, so soft, shiny and silky smooth. He couldn’t help running his fingers through it as he is squeezing her as hard as he could. He could feel the bunny suit and the warmth beneath but solid as a rock, and he tried to crush it. Sky just noticed what he tried to do when he hugged her back. She released her hug stood up on the tip of her toes and brushed her lips very slightly on to his cheek. To Fred, it felt something like a glancing blow of a hammer, but he appreciated the thought.

Joe is seeing Fred still in one piece and didn’t flinch when Sky approached him. “Mr. Joe Sir I thank you for your help, for the magic that took the pain away, and for the spell that allowed me some freedom of the suppression suits. For all of that you’ve done for me, I am forever grateful. Plus, I’m sorry for teasing you “. She said to him followed by ‘kind of’ under her breath loud enough for him to hear a joking tune in her voice. He knew the first part was all sincere. Sky reached around Joe much like she did Fred but could easily touch her hands around him without making contact. She projected her feeling of thanks and all around good feelings in the pseudo embrace. It hit Joe like a wave of emotions; it felt like years of complete happiness and joy. He did tear up as he went to return the hug. When he reached around her and touched her hair for the first time, he couldn’t believe how thick, soft and luxurious it felt. Joe ran his hand in her hair as he squeezed her for all he was worth even using magic to increase his strength. She just smiled up to him and just put more projected feelings and a little more she didn’t know what but it felt right. When she went for the kiss on the cheek, he accepted the bruise just as Fred had, with a huge smile and not a flinch. Magic could heal their pain, but not her confidence.

Rocssanna had tears in her eyes as Sky thanked each the men with honesty and wellbeing. She knew these men would treat her like their child from now on, and Sky would not let a thing happen to them while she was around. She would be their hero whenever the need arises.

William walked in and seen tears of joy on their faces; he didn’t need to listen to Rocssanna thoughts but could feel her overwhelming feelings of love swell up for their daughter. He looked to Joe and Fred who faces were wet with tears and glowing with pride for his little angel. He didn’t know what to say coming to give his precious little beastie a bag of well cared for rags from last year. He didn’t want to spoil the mood, so he left the bag in the hallway before entering the mess hall. “You guys ready to eat, it smells wonderful Rocssy, you have outdone yourself again.” He walked around to Sky and scooped her up for a hug and kiss on the cheek and ruffled her hair; he was surprised how gently she returned the hug. But her kisses were still kind of painful.

William carried Sky to her seat in front of a comically huge bowl and sat next to where Rocssy would sit after she finished serving everyone. As Rocssanna took her seat, William stood back up and waited for the other men to get to their seats. Fred sang a slightly different mantra, and William followed the men sitting down. He thought to himself something about when in Rome.

Joe and Fred still found the meat chewy and the vegetables crunchy. It was spicy enough that Fred and Joe drank a little more than juice than usual. The abundant flavours more than made up for any negatives. Sky even had seconds of the in her terms, mushy overcooked food.

“I feel better after eating the burning feelings almost gone completely.” Everyone had a surprised look on their faces; they all forgot Sky was still suffering from magic burn. Sky looked down to her feet, and a huge ripple of spent magic washed through them as if an incredibly powerful spell cast just then. Fred and Joe didn’t feel the soreness in their jaws from chewing, and even the bruises on their cheeks were not there anymore. The spell Sky cast to heal herself also seemed to have healed everyone in the room. Joe didn’t even feel his bruises and cracked ribs from being slightly crushed earlier. Sky looked up “now the pain is all gone I feel much better. Thank you, mommy, for the great tasting breakfast, I’ll help clean up if you want”. Sky was about to go around and pick up everyone’s dishes and noticed the condition of her spoon. “Look my spoon is like brand new.” Joe looked over to Fred; he had pulled the sleeve of his left arm up where he had a scar that was too old to fix with regular magic. It was a wound he received from a magical bullet during a botched incursion at no fault of his own. He didn’t want to spend a significant amount of money to get a pretty cool looking scar fixed. Upon inspection, the scar was gone along with a few discolorations on his skin from long forgotten scrapes.

Joe noticed Fred look for his now missing scars on his arms. Joe didn’t feel need to look at his own more embarrassing places he had scars from his childhood. He knew almost for certain they weren’t there anymore. He would check later in the privacy of his quarters.

Joe stood up and thanked the Knights for another satisfying meal and said he was looking forward to more. He excused himself to run some maintenance on a few things and recalibrate the magic diagnostic console he had put off for later. Fred also excused himself from the table so he could write out the reports of the magical anomalies they solved. He also had to write up a report of the pirates the Bright Whites. How they were taken care of and why they were such a menace in space. He told the Knights he was going to mention to the Imperial Order that they were taken as valuable hostages. They had been rescued from The Bright Whites ship and were being taken home now that their current missions were completed.

Rocssanna helped Sky clean up and noticed everything looked a little cleaner and a little brighter. The knife she used was as sharp as it could be even after cutting up the tough meat. The pots few dents from when Sky tried washing them before were gone too. She looked to Willy and noticed his clothes too looked like they were just bought, then looking at herself found the same thing had happened to her clothes as well. “Willy remind me to thank them too for casting whatever spell it was, that made everything like new. They did something else Sky you should be appreciative to them for I bet your ruined clothes are all mended now”.

Sky jumped up. “You really think so; I’m going to run and find out now.” With that said and she turned to dash off with excitement.

Rocssanna grabbed her daughter's arm as fast and as hard as she could so Sky would feel the pressure in her excitement. She was not trying to punish her, only to get her attention and not be pulled along with her as she ran. “Walk, young lady never run if you can help it. You don’t want to keep asking them to fix your mistakes. They might grow tired of fixing everything thing for you all the time “. Sky said thanks for the reminder and walked quickly from the room causing only a slight breeze.

William got up and retrieved the bag from the hallway and set it on the table. “I’m glad we didn’t have to make her wear these rags from last year. I remembered after finding them why we retired them from service in Sky’s wardrobe. They did their duty”. William stopped speaking as he drew out what looked like a brand new blue dress, then a perfectly new pair of white tights. After seeing the first two in the same condition, he dumped out the whole bag. It was full of new clothes like the ones she had last year. He had picked out not only the best ones, but the ones had liked the most, not just the ones that were in the best condition. Now they were all the same, new.

Rocssanna didn’t look fazed in the least. “What, do you think I would put away rags for emergencies, don’t forget I repaired them all before putting them into storage. Of course, they’re like new, now pick them up before you get them dirty.” William was speechless at Rossi’s delusional memory, and his face showed it. “Willy put them away and let me give you a big loving hug and kiss for putting up with my sarcasm.”