WSP 029

Reunion

One nice thing about C-R’s balloon whale was that it had places for privacy. People generally weren’t in the cargo hold, so it was possible to just go there and not have the constant pressure of being around people. Or, in Jeh’s case, be able to talk openly without feeling like someone was going to overhear a conversation.

Jeh sat on the crate next to Margaret.

Margaret immediately let out a sigh and stood up.

“Wait, don’t go,” Jeh said, holding out a hand.

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“Yes you do. And you can finally say it. And I have things to say too.” Jeh looked at the ground. “Things to say to a lot of people but you’re the one here now.”

Margaret paused. “…You’re right.” She sat down and folded her arms. “It makes it harder to hate you.”

Jeh tilted her head in confusion. “Eh? I thought… I thought you did.”

“No… you are a strange one, but you have the mind of a child. The more I think about it, the harder time I have blaming you for anything that happened. You were on a quest, you just didn’t think about the danger you would cause to people. Envila could have thought about it, and should have, but you…?” Margaret sighed. “And now here you are, extending a hand in peace with a desperately sad look on your face.”

“Oh, I… I was trying not to do that…”

“You are not good at hiding much of anything.”

“I am… not subtle, no.”

Margaret gave her a slight smile. “You have a good heart, Jeh. …And if I admit that, I have to admit that Envila has a good heart.” Margaret crossed her arms and shook her head. “But…”

“We still messed up,” Jeh said. “We didn’t think about you. We should have.”

“I’m not sure it’s reasonable to expect you to, which… annoys me.” Margaret clenched her jaw. “I don’t want this…”

“Want what?”

“Want to… want to forgive you.” She put her head in her hands. “But now that I’ve said that I see how stupid it is and… now I’m angry at myself.”

“Hey, um… don’t be?”

Margaret turned her head to Jeh. “Could you stop feeling nervous and awkward if you just told yourself not to?”

“Um…” Jeh looked down and kicked her legs back and forth. “No… I think that’s what talking’s for?”

“I… yes, yes, you’re right.” Margaret frowned. “…Usually Dad will talk to me and get me out of things like this… I guess he’s being affected too.”

“Maybe he needs you to talk to him?”

“Maybe… it’s all been so chaotic, and I don’t exactly trust C-R or where we are.”

“Hey, neither do I! But at least the message is being sent at high speed so we don’t have to worry about that anymore. I do think she will protect us.”

“Is she protecting us or her own interests?”

“Does it… matter?”

Margaret tapped her fingers on the crate. “I guess not, so long as we’re still protected.” She paused. “The Purple Cube, though… I don’t think that’s safe.”

“Yeah, probably not…” Jeh admitted, folding her fingers together. “But I don’t think we can leave and be safe.” There was a short pause. “…Home is so close…”

“At least you get to go home.”

“Oh, I’m… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up…”

Margaret stood up. “You’re right. …We’re not good, Jeh, not yet. I know you want a single good conversation to fix everything, but it won’t. But… I think we can go somewhere, with time.”

Jeh furrowed her brow. “O… kay?” She jumped off the crate and stood up. “I think I can be fine with that.”

Margaret nodded and walked off to the more populated areas of the gondola.

“Remember to talk to your dad!”

There was that slight smile on Margaret’s face again. Jeh liked it. “I will.”

C-R’s voice rang throughout the balloon whale. “Everyone, we have incoming! Three balloon whales have been spotted over the horizon!”

Jeh and Margaret quickly scrambled to the main room, where C-R’s body was, and where everyone had gathered—with the notable exception of Vapor who, notably, always had to be outside. There were no windows, but Itlea was currently projecting an image of what was outside from her horn*.

*One might ask how a wizard can project an image they themselves cannot see. Well, the truth is, Itlea “can” see it, in a sense. She is grabbing light from an area outside the gondola and funneling it through a specially designed hole from which she expands it back into its original shape. The light has a path it can take, the spell is just acting automatically to compress and expand it. This is by no means an easy spell but it is a useful one.

The image showed the forests outside. Unlike where they had started, where the wilds could be considered more of a jungle and filled with mushroom trees, here most of the trees were evergreens and looked much more like the forests Jeh was used to seeing in Kroan. They were getting close. And yet, she knew the path C-R was currently on was taking them away from Kroan, hunting the Purple Cube… slowly. They usually didn’t move at all.

In the projection, it was possible to see three balloon whales at the edge of the field of view, all heading right for them. There were at least two dragons flying alongside, and one of the balloon whales had a grayish teardrop-shaped crystal on top.

“Gray…?” Jeh tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“I don’t know what Color it is,” Itlea said.

“It’s an Orange Crystalline One,” C-R offered. With this, Itlea adjusted the color of the image. It didn’t look quite right, for it was orange and not Orange, but at least it communicated what it was better.

“Maybe they heeded our warning and are sending out a force to assist?” Envila suggested.

“Such a force is too small for the enemy you described,” C-R said. “Furthermore, even at top speed, Yano would only just now be arriving in Axiom. There is simply not enough time for them to be here for us.”

“They’re here to attack,” Jeremiah said. “We should defend ourselves.”

“I find that equally unlikely, Kroan is not in the habit of sending out violent retribution. Furthermore, while we do have many tricks, they have three ships, two dragons, and an Orange Crystalline One. We are likely outmatched.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

“Wait,” C-R said. “They are coming for us. Then we will talk.”

And so they waited. In awkward, tense silence, they waited. Eventually, though, a voice entered their head.

“Princess Tenrayce Kroan extends her well-wishes and requests a meeting with the entourage of C-R. She requests a neutral meeting on the ground, as well as the presence of the individual known as Jeh.”

“Clearly they met Yano,” C-R addressed the people present with her. “Itlea, broadcast my response.” Itlea must have done so, for C-R began speaking. “Request accepted. We shall meet on the ground. I myself cannot leave my craft, but I can project as you can see.”

“Understood,” came the reply.

C-R turned to Jeh. “Jeh, you are going down with Itlea and some of my people. Envila, on the off-chance that this is a trap, I will not risk you.”

Envila nodded. “I understand.”

Jeh rubbed her hands together. “Oh boy… I wonder why they want me…”

“If I had to guess, it is because you are one of their people and they want some corroboration to the story they’ve heard. But I do not know what that has to do with them having such a large task force… Watch yourself.”

“Will do!”

Itlea rolled her eyes. She led Jeh and a few of C-R’s people to the lift, which slowly descended to the ground.

Vapor’s head followed them as they descended. “This just keeps getting stranger and stranger”

“I have a habit of attracting trouble,” Jeh said with an awkward laugh

“Yes. You do.” Vapor turned her head away and returned to picking melon-sized fruits off of trees and throwing them into her mouth

The Kroan balloon whales did not have complicated lifts, but they did have dragons. A brown dragon who was much smaller than Vapor but still large enough to carry a dozen people descended to the ground as well, landing a short distance from C-R’s elevator. The forest was quiet—the presence of Vapor was more than enough to scare virtually any songbird into hiding. Even the wind gave no voice to the proceedings.

Itlea set out, marching out to meet the others, gaze set firmly ahead. She avoided looking at Jeh as much as she possibly could, a fact which annoyed Jeh to no end. She’d remembered Itlea being annoying but, now that she’d spent some more time with the greater unicorn, she could see how utterly insufferable she was. Jeh wondered if the only reason C-R kept her around was because of her arcane abilities.

All of these thoughts fell to the wayside as Jeh started to pick out people from the Princess’ group. The blue gari in a Green wizard’s outfit at the front was… maybe the Princess? Jeh knew the Kroan family was largely blue gari, but wouldn’t she wear something more spectacular than wizard robes? There were a few guards with her, a dryad Red wizard, another Red wizard with a very familiar-looking beard, a blue unicorn…

…blue unicorn.

Jeh let out a squeal of delight and promptly ignored every single idea of “walking to a proper diplomatic meeting” in favor of breaking into a run. Blue, to her credit, did the exact same thing. Neither side tried to stop the unicorn and the child from running to each other. Blue was much faster than Jeh so they didn’t meet in the middle, but closer to Jeh’s group, but this didn’t matter to either of them. They embraced with a mixture of laughter, tears, and half-formed sentences that never went anywhere. Blue squeezed way too hard and had it been anyone but Jeh it probably would have formed some bruises. Jeh all but clawed desperately at Blue’s coat, but Blue didn’t rebuke her.

Vaughan took a much calmer approach, simply walking toward them with a steady gait. He politely waited for the fervent emotional moment to die down a bit before picking Jeh up and embracing her himself. “Welcome back, Jeh.”

Jeh broke out into uncontrollable, joyful sobs.

The journey was finally over. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t back in Willow Hollow yet… she was back with Vaughan and Blue. And that, not the location, was what she had truly been missing.

~~~

While happy reunions were happening on the ground, a very different sort of meeting took place inside C-R’s ship. Tenrayce took the lift into the gondola, alone—though, in truth, she wasn’t really alone, for she had ordered Untearful to watch everything through her eyes. She had informed Tenrayce of a few interesting tidbits as well about this… enigmatic C-R.

Upon reaching the top of the lift, Tenrayce shut her book. An old human man with wiry hair showed her into the room C-R sat… and then left them alone.

“Princess Tenrayce,” C-R said, twisting her three arms around her back in a pinwheel pattern. “This is quite the surprise. What are you doing in the Wild Kingdoms?”

“Before we engage in any further conversation, I have a very simple question for you.” Tenrayce lifted her head to glare at C-R’s faceless head. “Who are you?”

“I am C-R. And that is all you need to know about me.”

“I doubt that very much.”

“You will find that you cannot extract information from me, Princess.” C-R leaned forward, tapping the sides of her chair with her fingers. “There is nothing to be gained by the attempt.”

“Then I will list off what I do know. My Crystalline One cannot see through your eyes, which means you are also a Crystalline One. Blue, if the auras around your balloon whale are anything to go by, and if the report from the Wizard Space Program is to be trusted. You are an independent power of some sort who nonetheless inserts her nose into everyone’s business. I have the incident at Willow Hollow on file, and your balloon whale has been recorded in Axiom several times. And… it was seen leaving the area of the Purple Cube by the Shimmers, which is the main reason you’ve caught my eye.”

“You know more than I thought you did, and more than you should. Your awareness of us is going to limit our effectiveness, it looks like we will not be able to operate in Kroan anymore. Such a shame.”

“But you have been operating in Kroan. To what end?”

“There is no need for me to inform you of anything, Princess.” C-R pressed two of her hands together, forming a sort of sash around her torso while using her remaining hand to draw a circle in the air. “We are not in Kroan. You have no authority here besides the muscle you have brought to back you up, and you have no intention of turning it on me for you have a greater purpose for which to use it.”

“You are attempting to sidestep the conversation.”

“Not attempting. Succeeding. There is nothing you can do here, Princess. You will have to accept complete defeat in acquisition of further information about who I am and what my purpose is. You will most likely never see me again, so there will be no further chances to gain information. This mystery will gnaw at you for the rest of your life.”

“And I am not going to let your thinly-veiled threat go unnoticed. You wish to instill fear in me, suggesting that perhaps by attempting to solve the mystery, my life will come to an end.” Tenrayce narrowed her eyes. “Your purposefully alien appearance and nonsensical—I suspect purposefully offputting—body language will not deter me.”

C-R’s body suddenly stopped moving. The voice in Tenrayce’s head increased in volume. “Then allow me to give you a piece of information that a diplomat such as yourself will see and back off. By the code to which I am sworn, all who pose a threat to us must be eliminated. All who know what we truly are must be killed. There are to be no leaks. This includes many members of my crew, they do not know, they just serve, so by questioning them you would likely be signing their death warrants. By continuing to push, I will have no choice but to engage you in direct war right here right now, for the code is absolute and I am pushing it as it is simply by talking to you. It would be beneficial to both of us if we ignored each other. But if you push, I will retaliate, and I will lose. You have greater firepower. I will die. But I will do whatever in my power exists to ruin your expedition during that time. You, yourself, will be the primary target.”

Tenrayce took in a sharp breath. “Such a brazen threat.”

“You should see it as a desperation ploy. You are perhaps the worst person we could have run into out here. Politically important. Intelligent. Well-informed. Inquisitive.”

“However, you must understand there is a concern on my end. You may be working to destabilize Kroan from within. Naturally, you will deny this, even if you were. Clearly, I cannot question you as to what you serve or what your code even is, for evidently knowledge of that is a death sentence. So instead… I merely ask what your current task is, so I can have some confidence that you do not mean to tear us apart from within.”

“…That, I can do. We seek the Purple Cube of the North. We lack the capacity to destroy her at this moment, but we wish to locate her and force her hand. Our primary task is to somehow contain her influence. We cannot do that if we do not know where she is.”

Tenrayce smiled softly. “Then I have good news for you. We are currently hunting the Purple Cube.”

“We have better resources to track her than you do.”

“Do you have a kancathi listening for underground tunnels?”

“A… kancathi, you say?” C-R paused. “Well… it appears you do really have one of them. How did you get her to listen?”

Tenrayce folded her arms behind her back and said nothing.

“Fair play.” C-R’s body started moving again. She leaned in. “In that case, I propose an alliance, for our goals align. After we deal with the Purple Cube—I suspect your Untearful is here to destroy her, which I approve of—then we shall go our separate ways and never see each other again.”

Tenrayce nodded. “I accept. I can only hope your superiors, whoever you are, do not kill you for pushing that code of yours for the sake of the mission.”

“A genuine compliment wrapped around a subtle inquiry for more information with the caveat of an already established alliance to prevent me from acting rashly. Well done, but you will not be getting anything new.”

“Very well.” Tenrayce tipped her hat in C-R’s direction. “I’ll have you coordinate with Untearful.”

“The major issue is that the Purple Cube is going to see us coming, even once we have the tunnel established. Our ploy was to gamble that she would be willing to talk. You, clearly, have a different idea.”

“…Since you are a Crystalline One, I can tell you without fear of it being taken from your senses at an inopportune moment. Here’s the plan…”

~~~

Jeh looked at the kancathi.

The kancathi stared back at her.

“Does she have a name?” Jeh asked Blue.

“Um… probably, but not one we could pronounce.”

Jeh glanced to Blue with concern. The unicorn was staring right at the kancathi, not taking her gaze off the creature. That look on Blue’s face… it wasn’t right, Jeh knew that, but Jeh didn’t know what the look was. It was almost expressionless, a little haunted, but there were lines of stress… anger? Jeh didn’t know, all she knew was that she didn’t like it.

Behind Blue, there was a green-haired Yellow wizard scribbling notes into a notebook. He was clearly watching Blue… but Blue was paying him no mind at all. Vaughan, Mary, and Seskii were on the other side of the room, talking about something Jeh couldn’t pick out over the noise.

With a frown, Jeh approached the kancathi.

“Careful! Pepper called.

“What’s she going to do, claw my fingers off?” Jeh asked, holding her fingers out in front of the kankathi’s face. While she was muzzled, her wings were free enough to lash out, cutting off two of Jeh’s fingers. Naturally, they grew back, and Jeh gave the plast dragon a huge grin. “I’m going to call you Slashy.”

“Slashy?” Blue asked.

“Slashy.”

“It’s perfect,” Pepper said.

Slashy growled.

“Hey, we needed to call you something, and now we can actually think of you like a person instead of a raving monster!”

This did nothing to alleviate Slashy’s growls.

Jeh turned back to Blue, still grinning… but Blue wasn’t smiling. Her expression was still the same. “Blue…?”

“I have come to the conclusion that something’s wrong with me,” Blue said, suddenly, and without a hint of emotion.

Jeh put her hands behind her back and rocked onto her heels. “Well, something’s wrong with all of us… I still don’t understand a lot of what I experienced to get here. What am I supposed to think about it all? There’s… there’s so much I want to tell you. But I…” Jeh clenched her fists. “That face.”

Blue’s face changed to one of mild confusion. “Eh?”

“That face you were making. I don’t like it. It’s… wrong, somehow. I just… I get this… feeling.” Jeh’s own expression went somewhat blank. “I feel like… like everything’s… hot… and bright… and suffocating…” She looked down at her hands.

Why was she afraid of them all of a sudden? It was a mild fear, but it was there. Something… something she couldn’t quite grab hold of.

It was Blue’s turn to be concerned for her. “Jeh? What… what happened out there?”

“I… a lot of things? I… basically carried two people across the Shinelands by myself, got attacked multiple times, put people in danger because I wasn’t thinking, had to keep secrets, and…” She started wringing her wrists. “It was a lot of stuff and not all of it was fun. I didn’t know what to do about a lot of it. And nobody could talk about anything…”

“…We can talk,” Blue said, sitting down. “Come on, I’ll hear it all. The worst of what happened and the best.”

“And what about you?” Jeh asked, glancing nervously at Slashy.

“I was… attacked by her,” Blue said. “We won, but… I…” Blue turned her head to the plast dragon—then quickly tore it away, clenching her jaw tightly. “I don’t know. I can’t think straight about it.”

“Maybe I can help you think?”

Blue let out a snort, making it clear what she thought of that idea. Then she paused and hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry, Jeh… Maybe you really can help me think. You’ve… shown me things I never would have considered before.”

Jeh grinned. “Great! Then… how about we get away from Slashy and do some of that thinking?”

“I…” Blue glanced at the plast dragon. “...Yeah. The cargo hold would work. It’s…” Blue frowned, muttering to herself. “Close enough for what exactly?”

“Eh?”

“Arguing with myself,” Blue said with a sign. “It’s basically all I do, now.”

“Hmm sounds like we really need to get some thinking done.” Jeh all but pushed Blue over to the cargo hold. “Let’s get to it!”

As the two of them left, Vaughan stepped over to the Yellow wizard. “So… thoughts?”

The Yellow wizard stroked his beard. “I’m going to refrain for now. You’ll know in due time, Vaughan. I understand you’re worried for them, but these things take time.”

“…All right. Do you think I should…?”

“Let them have their moment for now is my advice, but currently you know them better than I do, so I won’t stop you from doing anything.”

Vaughan looked to the cargo hold’s door longingly… then he shook his head. “Seskii, got anything to take my mind off things for a bit?”

“I have an orb,” Seskii said, pulling out a translucent sphere. She started rolling it along her arms, giving the illusion that it wasn’t moving despite rolling all over her. “Behold, magic without magic.”

“…That’s kinda cool,” Mary said.

“Oh just you wait, I know card* tricks too, this one’s gonna blow your mind.”

*Cards decks in Kroan are somewhat similar to ours, but are also different. They come in suits of the shapes of the goddesses of Gonal, though many use them without knowing this. The blue triangles, the black squares, the pink pentagons, and the yellow hexagons; though admittedly the color of the squares is sometimes changed, and occasionally shape-color correlation is ignored entirely. Each of the suits has numbers from one to seven, and then each suit has an “inverted” card as well, which traditionally range from seven to one, giving a standard deck 56 cards. The numbers are often associated with colors of magic, so some decks color by number rather than by shape. A common extension is to add seven more cards with no numbers, each a pure “Color” of magic. Since this 63-card deck is hard to divide evenly, a “wildcard” is sometimes added to bring it to sixty-four. The representation of the wildcard and its place in the rules of card games is very inconsistent.

~~~

Jeremiah just wanted to walk across the Kroanite balloon whale. That was it. Jeh was on the other side and he just wanted to see how he was doing. To be fair, he wasn’t exactly stopped from doing this. But the moment he started moving, two guards immediately started following him, a cat and a lesser unicorn.

“Don’t trust me?”

“Just standard procedure,” the unicorn said.

“I don’t see you following Jeh around anywhere…”

“She’s one of our own.”

“Oh, so you follow Envila around, do you?”

“Yes.”

“How come I haven’t seen it?”

“…She spends most of her time on the ground?” The unicorn tilted his head to the side. “Are you… okay, sir?”

“I’m just fine, I just want to walk across a ship without being tailed like I’m a child!”

“Not much we can do about that, sir.”

“There’s plenty of things you could do… You just… won’t.”

“That is correct.”

Something in Jeremiah’s face twitched. He reached into his pocket.

“Hey, Dad!” Margaret said, suddenly placing both of her hands very firmly on his shoulders, keeping them from moving any further. “How are you doing?”

“Just fine, though these knuckleheads won’t stop following me.”

“If you want them to stop following you maybe be a good little guest and prove yourself trustworthy rather than confronting them on everything, eh?”

Jeremiah frowned. “Hadn’t thought of that…”

Margaret fell quiet.

“I was off to see Jeh.”

“Jeh just left for the ground,” Margaret said.

“Ugh.” Jeremiah sighed, turning back. “Getting down is such a pain, I’ve ridden enough dragons lately…”

“They probably wouldn’t go down just for you anyway.”

Jeremiah returned to the bed he had been sitting in—in line with dozens of others, most of which were not occupied since it was the middle of the day. The guards relaxed and returned to their normal posts.

Once they were far enough away, Miranda dropped her smile and glared at Jeremiah. “What were you thinking? I saw you reaching for Kirkkok.”

“Look, they needed to be slapped around a little bit.”

“No, no they didn’t! They were just doing their job and even if they were out of line, we don’t want them to know about us! Remember?”

“Oh… right.” Jeremiah rubbed the side of his head. “I… hadn’t thought about that, in the moment. Guess I’m getting old…”

Margaret sighed. “Don’t do anything rash, we’re in an awkward position, but a good one. Jeh can probably talk us into their good graces if we just play it safe.”

“You? Trusting Jeh for something? And here I thought I was the one acting strange!”

Margaret locked her hands behind her back. “…We have to make do with what we have, and right now that’s Jeh and Envila. For all they did to us, they’ve also done a lot for us, and will clearly continue to do so.”

“It’s a little baffling how they manage…”

“Really?” Margaret tilted her head to the side and frowned. “Because… it reminds me of how you. You took me in for basically no reason, Dad.”

“Yeah… yeah, I did.” A warm smile crawled up his face. “I haven’t dwelled on that happy memory in a long, long time. Thank you, Margaret.”

“You have too many memories stored in that head of yours.”

“Runnin’ out of space!” Jeremiah laughed.

“Dad… that’s concerning, that’s not something to laugh about…”

“Miranda, when you get this old, you’ll see that no suffering is so bad that you can’t laugh at it, especially if it’s your own.”

“Hmm… I’ll have to take your word for it.” Which… is usually an easy thing to do. Why isn’t it now?

~~~

Envila and Vaughan stood on top of a somewhat large rock, looking down at the forest below. In a clearing Pepper and a bunch of other guards and wizards were leading Slashy along to a firm spot in the ground.

“I have never seen one alive for long,” Envila said.

“You’ve seen them?” Vaughan asked.

“Kancathi are spread the world over, so far as I can tell,” Envila said. “I’ve never seen more than one at once, but I’ve seen them all over. They have different dispositions and strategies, but all of them are devoted to the hunt.”

“How could such worldwide organization be possible?”

Envila frowned. “I believe it’s not so much an organization as a creed. Just like we see Sanctuaries everywhere, and how Gonal sects tend to share practices, the “religion” of the kancathi is that of the hunt.”

Vaughan scratched his beard in deep thought. “And not a single apostate…”

“Obviously they kill all of those who go away from the path. Which is why I’m curious why this one isn’t dead.”

“I… believe I remember something about her faking her own death? Or at least hiding from her people.”

“Hmm…” Envila drummed her fingers. “Highly unusual… but also highly effective.”

There was a deep rumbling as Slashy rammed her feet into the ground. She sent out a series of three light tremors, holding her feet close to the ground and listening. For several seconds, she stood there, motionless. Then she turned to Pepper and shook her head.

“Pack it up!” Pepper shouted. “Nothing near here!”

“She could just be lying,” Envila said. “For all we know the tunnel is under us.”

“True,” Vaughan said. “But from what I understand, she has been told that this is part of hunting the Purple Cube.”

“Such a large Crystalline One… what do you intend to do once you find her?”

“That I do not know.” Vaughan shrugged. “I’m not even supposed to be here. We were supposed to take Blue back, but then we got Jeh’s message, and Alexandrite is currently taking that back to Kroan, Tenrayce doesn’t want to waste any more resources, so we’re just… along for the ride.”

“Do you think your people will listen to the plea of the Ch’eni’tho?”

Vaughan frowned. “They’ll listen, all right, and take the threat seriously. Whether they’ll send out a force to help them… it takes a lot of resources to cross the Wild Kingdoms, and there aren’t enough balloon whales to transport a sizeable army. I’m not sure it’s feasible.”

Envila nodded. “I had feared as much. Shimvale?”

“They have even fewer balloon whales. Walking an army through the Wild Kingdoms is just asking for trouble…”

“So the Ch’eni’tho’s pleas will not be answered…” Envila sighed. “At the very least the warning has gone out. Whatever it is clearly did not want that message to be sent.”

“Thank you, by the way.”

Envila smiled warmly. “Wizard Vaughan, your thanks is appreciated, but I believe you should adjust your perception of me to something realistic. I was a support for Jeh, yes, but she did most of the journey of her own power, supporting others along the way rather than herself. I have not done all I wish to in regard to her. I have asked her questions a child should never be asked, made her face things far beyond her experience. I have failed to recognize certain threats. As such, her mind is troubled, and I have been unable to reach her about it due to the chaos we find ourselves in.”

“But you were there for her. That’s what matters most.”

Envila gave him a curt nod. “And for that, I do accept your thanks. Just because I have fallen short does not mean I shall deny that which is true.”

“I suddenly feel very young.”

Envila laughed. “If you spend much time around me, that sensation will only be heightened. I have discovered that it is not a bad feeling, to be reminded how small one can be… it is one I myself rarely receive, but desperately need. To live long without repeated humiliation can only breed arrogance. Almost starving to death in the middle of the Shinelands was, ultimately, quite necessary to keep me in check.”

“I think you’ll like Willow Hollow’s mayor, Lila. She’s a Keeper and says a lot of things like that.”

“My, a Keeper and a mayor? What a rare combination, one that usually ends badly but I can tell from your tone that it’s working quite well in your case. I can’t wait to meet her—and I can’t wait to see your Program.”

“Does a traveler such as yourself wish to see the stars?”

“Perhaps one day,” Envila said. “However, at the moment my goal is to circumnavigate the globe. I’m more than halfway around, if Jeh’s remembered maps are anything to go by.”

Vaughan nodded. “The land furthest West we know of is Vraskal.”

“Yes, I’m aware, Jeh told me she read about it in a book.” Envila smiled. “I’ve actually heard of the place, but it wasn’t well-known in Desc. What little I remember from my studies is that it is a harsh, somewhat desolate place.”

“We met a dryad from there, once.” Vaughan frowned. “She didn’t really talk about it, though, come to think of it…”

“I’m afraid I cannot illuminate anything, I have never been. But I will likely pass through it on my return to Desc.”

“A floating city…”

“Only part of the city is floating.”

“Still, it must be absolutely spectacular.”

“It is,” Envila said. “I have seen more visually stunning places in my travels—though this may only be because I know Desc so well—but one thing I can say is that Desc is the most intellectual place I have ever been. The blimps care so much for knowledge and expanding it, and none for empire and expansion. The city grows, but never controls another city.”

“I’d like to go one day…”

“I’d normally say that is unlikely to happen, but from what Jeh says, your spaceships might be able to make the journey in less than a day.”

Vaughan grinned. “Heh. Yeah, that’ll be something. And…” Vaughan’s eyes widened. “Wait, I just realized something.”

“Eh?”

“We might be able to use the Skyseeds to send messages back to the Ch’eni’tho.”

Envila’s already massive eyes widened even further. “Do you have a new one already?”

“Yes, and test flights have been successful so far, and even more are being made! It… can’t carry an army, but it would make the message latency days rather than weeks or months…” He stood up quickly. “I think we should bring this to Tenrayce immediately.”

“Such an unusual character, that Princess… nose in a book, but not actually absorbed within. She watches everything while refusing to let it know it is being watched. Her external nature is immaculately crafted… I am sure this conversation will be quite illuminating.”

“…You can read people like books.”

“It comes with experience.”

~~~

“…And that’s where we are in the construction of the Moonshot,” Vaughan said. He, Blue, Mary, Seskii, and Jeh were all sitting in the back of one of the Kroanite cargo holds.

“Wow… we’re gonna go to the moon…” Jeh squealed. “Margaret is going to be so jealous when she finds out!”

“Everyone is,” Blue added with a smirk.

“To go where no one has gone before!” Seskii added.

“You better believe it! Jeh, you’ll be one of the first to ever touch a moon rock!”

“What if it’s not even rocks?” Jeh asked, rubbing her hands together. “What if… it’s all cheese!?”

“…Then it would look different,” Vaughan said.

“How do we know? Space might do things to colors!”

“I…” Vaughan paused. “Hmm… the existence of craters suggests that it is solid, and any air or liquid would just fall to Ikyu, but you are right it could be any material. Though I don’t think cheese can form such angled ridge shapes.”

“It’d collapse under its own weight,” Blue confirmed. “But, wait… you just brought something up, Vaughan. What we’re looking at on the moon is the underside. The dark side could be holding all kinds of things.”

“The plan is to swing around, right?”

“Yes.”

“We should try going around Ikyu…” Jeh said. “Get a full map. It might be helpful for Envila.”

“That’s one of the missions for the new Skyseeds,” Blue said. “Get someone to go all the way around. I thought one of the new pilots was going to have to do it, but…”

Jeh gave Blue a salute. “Jeh here, reporting for duty!” She chuckled. “So… since the Crown’s involved now, everybody knows about me, so all that about ‘keeping the secret’ no longer applies, huh?”

“It seems that we did, indeed, wait long enough to be of use,” Vaughan said. “Though that was only because you were shot down by a mysterious Purple Cube.”

“Yeah…” Jeh scratched the back of her head. “I tried to dodge… didn’t work… oh! I almost forgot!” Jeh reached into her pack and pulled out a small, neatly folded scroll. “Here’s all I could remember about the satellite mission by the time I got access to paper. The biggest thing is that Krays’ level is complete bunk and doesn’t work.”

Blue blinked. “Wait… what?”

“I flipped the Skyseed sideways and it still told me I was level.”

“How did you get the satellite into orbit then!?”

Jeh gave her a thumbs-up and a wink. “Raw skill!”

“And luck,” Seskii added.

“That too.”

“Krays is gonna be so mad…” Mary said, trying to stifle a giggle.

“She’s mad by default,” Blue added.

“I wonder if she’s going to be able to come up with insults or is just going to devolve into a bunch of inappropriate swears.”

“Could be either,” Blue said. “I, for one, can’t wait to go home and see it.” She paused. “Home…”

“I’m glad my cabin suits your fancy,” Vaughan said with a tip of his hat.

Blue adjusted her hat so she could glare at him with full intensity. “Oh sure, it’s your cabin. That’s what I like so much.”

“Well the alternative is that my company is worthwhile and that simply can’t be, you think I’m a moron.”

“You are! In things called common sense!” Blue laughed at this comment—but then the laughter slowly died down. “…And so am I.”

Vaughan frowned. “Blue…”

“No, really, I’ve been being an idiot. Who in their right mind goes about avoiding conversations that will change her? People and subjects she knows will do her good? I just… I just avoided it all and locked it away and refused to question.” A haunted expression came over her. “I’m the moron.”

“Blue, you are quite literally the smartest person I know.”

“And that doesn’t appear to have stopped me, has it?” She glanced to the edge of the cargo hold. “I… I still hear her roars. When talking with you guys, they’re much quieter, but they’re still there. Calling. Making me do… stupid things. I definitely shouldn’t be here, but here I am anyway, and that’s inadvertently put you all in danger in addition to me. I’m… I’m sorry but I don’t know exactly how. …I don’t even think my apology makes any sense.” She sighed, hanging her head. “It’s like there’s two of me in here arguing for control.”

Seskii nodded. “We all have that, Blue. There’s the part of us that is selfless and true to others, and the part that just wants what we want. These two things are… largely incompatible, and result in a lot of us shouting at ourselves. The more extreme the divide, the more it feels like two entirely different essences.”

Blue stared at Seskii, blinking. “This… this is normal?”

“Well, the specifics aren’t exactly normal,” Seskii rubbed the back of her head. “You asked earlier ‘who in their right mind’ would do the things you do. Well, it’s pretty clear that you aren’t in your right mind. Can you see that, now?”

“…Yes. I was… I was so sure I could just think my way out of that.”

“You couldn’t. In fact, you couldn’t even see it until you were here and had a reason to really pour out.”

“…That’s why you followed me instead of reporting me.”

“Partially,” Seskii admitted. “It was also to keep an eye on you and keep you from being alone, just in case.” She folded her arms and smiled. “And don’t think just because you can see it now that it’s over. The mind is a fickle, self-sabotaging beast at times.”

Blue nodded, turning to Vaughan. “When we get a chance to leave, take it. Make it impossible for me to get back to Slashy. Drag me back to Willow Hollow kicking and screaming if you have to.”

“You… sure?”

“Right now the roars feel distant, so I’m probably in my best mind… I think.” She frowned. “…I think the now-me is the smarter in-right-mind me? I… don’t know.”

“It seems that way,” the old Yellow wizard said, sitting down on a crate near their group, but not part of it.

Blue looked up at him, wary. “Does… does this mean you’ve figured me out?”

“Jumping right to questions, not even an introduction?” The man chuckled. “I am Omar.” He tilted his yellow hat up. “And no, I have not ‘figured you out.’ Even if I were to directly connect to you with my mastery over Yellow, I would not be able to do that. Each person’s experiences are their own, and the further they are from the average, the more difficult it is to uncover things.”

“So then… why start talking now, all of a sudden?”

“To let you know you’re on the right path.” Omar looked at Blue with a kind, but somehow intense gaze. “It is only in recent years that true study into the ailments of the mind was begun. Yellow wizards have always been able to tear down the mental state of individuals, but the newer studies are looking toward the healing of the mind. It is looking to be a far greater undertaking than we ever considered, but we have learned some things. One of those things is that the best thing to do… is to talk at length about the ailment and related concerns with people you trust and care about. Which is what you are doing now with no influence from me.”

“Um… thanks?”

“You are fortunate to be able to have such recourse, many families and friend groups are broken, and lack trust.” Omar sighed. “We do not know enough to know how to help them. Often the Yellow connection can just make things worse despite our best efforts.”

“To mess with the soul of a person…” Seskii said.

“Is a dangerous endeavor,” Omar said with a nod. “But there has been some success… and in looking into it, we have learned much about what not to do, and what recourses exist aside from magic.” He smiled at Blue. “I believe you are correct in saying that you, as you are now, are in the closest to your ‘right mind.’ I will warn you that it will likely not seem like this, later, when the time actually comes to leave. The admission of the mind often means nothing when the heart screams.”

“And that’s what we’re here for,” Mary said, putting a hand on Blue’s shoulder. “We’ll drag you back… ‘kicking and screaming,’ as you put it.”

Blue smiled awkwardly. “Thanks. Not exactly looking forward to that, but… yeah. Do it.”

“So the moment Alexandrite gets back we can head out,” Vaughan said. “…If he can hold all five of us, might be difficult.”

“Aww…” Jeh said. “I kinda wanted to see the Purple Cube… Give it a little what for.”

“It’s extremely dangerous,” Blue said, shivering. “And Tenrayce is right, we are the Wizard Space Program, Kroan needs us.” She frowned. “Though we have no idea how long Alexandrite will be held up. With C-R, we’ve been accelerated rather effectively and… could be over a week out, now, not to mention how long it’ll take them to debrief him and that cat.”

“Could we take that Vapor dragon?” Mary asked.

“Vapor doesn’t like us…” Jeh said, tapping her fingers together awkwardly.

“Huh? Why is that? She seemed friendly enough when I talked to her… even if she was…” Mary stared off into space. “Big…”

Blue coughed. “I don’t think we need to delve in—”

“Blue,” Jeh interrupted, crossing her arms. “We just talked about how talking about it is good.”

Blue flushed. “Oh.”

Vaughan chuckled. “It would do us well to remember that Blue is not the only one who has gone through an ordeal here. Jeh has been through a lot… and we need to be there for her as well.”

“Do not remove yourself from the group,” Omar told Vaughan.

“Eh?”

“You may not be in as difficult of a situation as they are, but you are still in one. Do not dismiss your situation, even the mildest of ailments should be treated with care and concern, not dismissed, for they have a tendency to take root and fester into something much worse.”

Mary blinked. “Oh no… do I have something too?”

“Well, presumably, but all I can see from you is a sense of being overwhelmed. You’ll need to take some time to absorb this adventuring experience, the effects won’t be clear for a while.”

“Oh, that’s… great…”

“What about me?” Seskii said, appearing behind Omar.

“I gave up trying to figure you out after five minutes.”

“Mission success!”

“If anything, you seem purposefully unstable, yet somehow retain perfect control of your faculties.”

“Oooh!” Seskii leaned forward on her elbows—spiking holes in the crate she was on in the process. “Go on…” She fluttered her eyes.

Omar coughed loudly. “Er. Uh…”

“Just messing with you, psychology-buddy.” She patted him on the back. “You’ve really been a great help in getting everyone to see things, here.” She put a yellow star-sticker on his forehead. “Good job!”

“I was not aware I was being graded.”

“That’s the point, silly.”

Omar chuckled, standing up. “Well, I think Blue’s condition has stabilized enough that the risk of me going in with a Yellow connection isn’t worth it. Keep talking to each other, get everything out in the open… and trust. My presence will just complicate things further.” He waved farewell at them and left them to their devices.

“So…” Jeh said, kicking her legs back and forth. “Can I talk about how annoyed I am that I wasn’t allowed to talk about my feelings in order to be polite?”

“Complain away!” Vaughan said.

“Thank goodness…” Jeh took in a huge breath. “So talking has been a huge pain all the way over here since a lot of people didn’t speak the language and the one person who did, Jill, was never straightforward but I think she might have had a thing like Blue but in a sort of different way oh no I’m rambling ahahaha…” Jeh rapidly sucked in a huge breath. “Okay so I guess we start with Jill, she’s a watchlight, and…”

~~~

“They’re out to get us, Margaret.”

Jeremiah was sitting on the bed he was given and Margaret was massaging his shoulders, trying to loosen up his old bones.

“Dad, don’t be ridiculous, if they were out to get us, they would have gotten us by now.”

“Haven’t you seen the way they look at us?”

“Like we’re outsiders who don’t belong?”

“Yes! That! Exactly!”

“Dad, how else are they going to look at us? We’re from very deep in the Wild Kingdoms. You... really need to relax.”

“I… I suppose so…” Jeremiah shook his head. “I think this must all be getting to me…”

“It has been… quite a lot, yes. But I think we can move past it.”

“…As soon as they find out what we are…”

“Which they haven’t, and if you’re careful, they won’t.”

“Ah, yes… that…”

“I never thought I’d be the one to tell you to reign it in, but here we are.” She sighed. “But we’re here for now, and it is safer here than out in the wilds.”

“Until they find what they’re looking for.”

“Yes. Well.” Margaret shivered. “Not exactly much they can do to predict the Purple Cube’s response…”

“…I’ll use him if I have to.”

“Last resort, please, Dad. The Kroanites and C-R have a plan. We should at least let them try it.”

“Hmmm… yes. Yes… let them do it for us…”

Margaret frowned. She felt like something else needed to be said, but she wasn’t sure what. She didn’t get to it, however, as Vaughan showed up, hands locked behind his back.

“Wizard Vaughan,” Margaret said with a slight bow. “Jeh spoke highly of you.”

“She would, wouldn’t she?” Vaughan smiled awkwardly. “She spoke highly of you as well.”

“That… is somewhat surprising, but not out of character for her.”

Vaughan nodded. “She asked a favor of me in regards to you, and I’ve accepted it.” He sat down on a bed across from them. Margaret was suddenly very nervous. “Willow Hollow is a frontier town that, even with our program, is still far from the bustle and regulation of modern society. You can live there in peace. I will see to it that you get employed—Jeh suggested you work with the rangers to hunt game, and it seems like you have the required skillset to do so. But if there is other work you can do, I will see to it. I know the mayor personally, and she will protect you.”

Margaret stared at him. “She… she told you about us?”

“Yes,” Vaughan said with a nod. He glanced around to see if anyone was listening and, satisfied no one was, lowered his voice. “Your fears are not unfounded. There are those who would hunt you. But in Willow Hollow, we can keep you safe.”

Jeremiah narrowed his eyes at Vaughan. “What do you think about us? Do you think we are the servants of demons?”

“Eyda is not mentioned in Dia’s word, and neither are any of the other goddesses of Gonal,” Vaughan said. “Demons the dark ones may be… there is no calling to purge you. The calling is instead to live in peace. I should know, our mayor keeps trying to drill it into everyone’s head.”

“If only more people took the teachings of Dia as wholly as this mayor of yours,” Margaret said with a sigh.

Vaughan nodded. “At one time I probably would have been against you. I will say that the…” he glanced around and mouthed ‘demon.’ “…makes me decidedly uncomfortable, but I trust Jeh.”

Margaret nodded, bowing. “Dad… I think we should take the offer.”

Jeremiah scratched his chin. “Yes. It… does seem like a great opportunity. We accept.”

“Thank you, Vaughan,” Margaret said, pressing her hands together. “I will not insult you by asking Eyda to bless you, but know I have the desire to do so. I wish to repay you in any way I can.”

“Don’t worry about that…”

“Then consider it a request. I have shunned Jeh’s kindness and returned it with scorn for most of the journey, I wish to… atone, in a sense. Since I will be living in Willow Hollow… if possible, I ask to be part of the Wizard Space Program. To repay you… and to see the stars where they belong.”

Vaughan chuckled. “Well… why don’t you walk with me and we’ll talk business. What sort of skills can you bring to the team?”

Jeremiah gave his daughter an uncertain look as she stood up to meet with Vaughan, but he said nothing.

~~~

“Look,” Tenrayce said. “I will handsomely reward you for just carrying them back to Kroan.”

Vapor growled. “I do not care for riches, and no stories could convince me to carry on. You are also not the sort to refuse to protect me from the rigids, and I will believe no such bluffs.”

“They are in unnecessary danger.”

“And so am I. I go nowhere until this is resolved.”

Tenrayce crossed her arms. “Fine. Know that, while your judgment of my character is correct, I do need to declare some retribution for your refusal. You are barred from ever entering Kroan and will be considered a criminal if you do so.”

“Good thing I have no intention of ever going there.”

“Yes. How fortunate for you.” Tenrayce took out a book and walked away toward the clearing where Slashy was being set up for another test. While she read up on the extremely complicated diplomatic procedures for operation in the Wild Kingdoms, she contemplated what she was going to do. She did not want to send one of her own dragons back, they were likely underpowered as it was. But she needed to find a way to not only return the Wizard Space Program to Kroan, but also Envila, Margaret, and Jeremiah. Civilians who were not supposed to be on this mission. Even if Alexandrite did return, he would not be able to carry all eight of them back. It was simply too many resources.

But if the operation failed… civilians could be sacrificed, yet, but Tenrayce didn’t like it, and four members of the Wizard Space Program could be lost. Jeh would no doubt find her way back anyway, but Vaughan and Blue were the ones necessary to run it, if both of them were lost…

She flipped a page, brow furrowing even further. She did not like this situation at all. She didn’t even like risking herself, but that was quite necessary to get Slashy to cooperate. To dangle the carrot in front of the horse, as it were. Then the plan for once they found the Purple Cube…

She liked the plan. She was confident it would work. But there was a window of opportunity for casualties, and even the Green Crystalline One they had on board wasn’t going to be able to restore people from complete vaporization, which the Purple Cube could definitely do.

But she was a potential threat, and a huge one at that. She needed to be dealt with one way or another.

Tenrayce noted with some surprise that the Wizard Space Program plus Envila were in the clearing this time, watching Pepper prep Slashy’s restraints.

“So, to test… how exactly does staring at Slashy make you feel when we’re around?” Mary asked Blue.

“Extremely weird…” Blue said, shivering. “I’m… not sure how to describe it? I need to watch her or else… I don’t know, something probably neurotic.”

“Maybe we should try to pin down exactly what leads to the fear…” Vaughan said, scratching his beard.

“Hmm…” Blue frowned. “Well. If I was just scared she was going to eat me, I would run away. If I was scared she was going to hurt people, I’d probably try to take her out.”

“Both at once?” Seskii suggested. “Afraid she’ll hurt people, but too afraid to do anything to her?”

“…That makes sense but doesn’t seem right.”

Seskii shrugged. “Ah well, it was my hat in the ring.”

“I do like this, though, trying to figure out where it all comes from…” Blue scratched her chin. “I can feel it… letting me become disconnected from the situation, like I’m looking at me feeling these things from outside, if that makes sense.” She started walking around Slashy. She still couldn’t stop staring at the plast dragon, but her face wasn’t as hollow and haunted as before—now it was more curious and calculating.

This was an immense relief to Tenrayce. It looked like things were going somewhat well for Blue, at least.

“Hey!”

Blue froze and Tenrayce suddenly sensed that everything was going to go downhill very quickly.

“I hear you’ve become a raving lunatic!” Itlea shouted, marching across the clearing.

“Oh, Dia, please, not now…” Blue whimpered.

“Hey! Turn around and look at me! Or, wait, can you not look away from the monster over there?” Itlea sneered. “I should have known. All this success of yours was just a little cover-up for a weak, fragile mind.”

“Itlea, kindly shut up,” Blue muttered.

“What? No retort? No angry shouts? I think I’ve finally figured out what this all means. You don’t deserve anything that’s gotten you out here, you’ve just stumbled into it and now the crack in your mind proves that you were not meant for any of this. Success was too much for you! You didn’t deser—”

Jeh punched Itlea in the face.

“Jeh!” Vaughan called.

“I know, I know, we don’t punch people,” Jeh said, flexing her wrist. “But please she was being… insufferable.”

“As cathartic as it was, violence generally begets violence,” Envila said.

“Ca-cathartic!?” Itlea stammered. “I’ve been assaulted!”

Envila folded her arms. “You are so confused and lost…”

“I know exactly where I am!”

“You do not even know what your purpose is in life.”

“Like you would know.”

“Only the deeply insecure single out others for putting down. You see Blue as beneath you, but the truth is that she is above you in almost every category. There are the categories you care about, such as success and intelligence, but then there are the things that truly matter, such as kindness and understanding. You are unable to see the weakness in yourself so you must put all you are on a pedestal and find every possible way to deny those traits in others.”

Itlea snorted. “Oh look at the fancy plast, thinks she can talk down to me.”

“You have resorted to fallacies to shoot back, bringing your insecurity to the surface. Furthermore, you cannot see what I am doing, which normally I would not point out, but you need to realize, much like Blue has, that raw intelligence is fallible and can easily be trapped. I am tearing apart your emotional state piece by piece with words in order to expose your philosophy for what it is, how fundamentally shallow and pointless the words within are. I have already caused fear and doubt in your mind that you have covered up with anger, anger that is a front. Until this moment you chose to ignore that front, but I am making it impossible for you to do so, and you will have to confront it now.”

“What on Ikyu are you…?”

“I am Envila, and you are attempting to distract your train of thought, which I will not permit. You, Itlea, are fundamentally broken in spirit. Your anger is a front, and you are needlessly cruel. My suggestion is that you take Blue not as an attack on your person, but as an example of someone closer to what you should be. You want her to look up to you when in reality the roles should be reversed. But I do not think you will get that far—even in the short time I have seen you and heard of you, I can tell the spirit of a person means little to you. What matters to you is you and your regard. Well, I shall leave you with this—consider the fact that people will place you in higher regard if you could control your anger and be kind.”

“Yeah! Go Envila!” Jeh called. “Tear her apart with words!”

Itlea stared at Envila with wide eyes and a shocked expression. Then she shook her head. “You’re just messing with me, trying to get in my head.”

“This is very true,” Envila said, smiling. “And it is clearly working. I hope you will become a better person for it, but I somehow doubt it. But one effect this will have Is that you will seek to avoid conversations with me… and let me tell you, I do very much intend to initiate these conversations every single time you so much as give Blue a sideways glance.”

“And the same goes for the rest of us,” Mary called. “You don’t get to berate her anymore!”

Vaughan smirked. “Basically, we’re telling you to go take a hike, Itlea.”

Itlea scowled. “I’m not going to let some baseless threats keep me from bringing the way things should be to light. Blue should not be—”

“Why?” Envila interrupted. “Give me a rigid, logical, defensible reason for why she doesn’t deserve to be here.” She grinned. “I welcome it.”

“…I don’t have time for this.”

“And now rather than admit defeat you flee in an attempt to save face, a clear example of cowardice. And you feel like shouting at me for making this comment, but you should be able to realize that anything you say will be used against you, so you should just leave and accept the embarrassment before you make it even worse.”

Itlea let out a nasty swear and stormed off.

“Hmm, don’t know that word,” Envila commented. “And here I thought I had finally gained an understanding of Karli.” She chuckled.

“I don’t even know what that one means,” Jeh admitted.

“Best not to think about it,” Vaughan said.

“Wow…” Blue shook her head. “Envila, you…”

“Have seen many like Itlea. Cruel, insecure, and in need of a good shaking. I hope my words cut through to her and instill change, but I doubt it. The effect they will have is lessening your suffering.”

“Well… thanks.” Blue shook her head. “Not sure what to make of all the things you said, though…”

“I am more than willing to explain in detail my observations of you and your friends. Each of you has your weaknesses, and your faults, but also your high points. The almost familial bond I have observed within you is a highlight, and I can see why Jeh cares for you so much.” She smiled warmly. “That said, perhaps we should wait for the test to conclude?”

“Test?” Blue realized with shock that she not only wasn’t looking at Slashy, she had entirely forgotten about her. “Woah… that’s right… a test!” She turned back to the plast dragon.

Tenrayce, from her vantage point, smiled. She’s recovering. Good. Maybe she won’t be kicking and screaming by the time they get to go back…

Pepper held out a hand. “All right, slashy! Let’s do the test! Slam and listen!”

Slashy growled but rammed her feet into the ground, sending out a mild tremor through the earth.

Her eyes widened. She tapped the ground again. And again. She’d never done this before.

Tenryace closed her book. “She found something, didn’t she?”

Pepper nodded. “Sure looks like it! Is it a really really huge cavern?”

Slashy nodded. She pointed with her nose to the Southwest.

“We’re on the trail!” Pepper whooped. “Can you sense the Purple Cube herself?”

Slashy shook her head.

“Still far enough away, then…” Tenrayce said, nodding slowly. “All right, Pepper, narrow down exactly where the tunnel is going, gather as much data as you can.” She glanced at the sky—it was getting late. “We won’t set out until morning, we want to be able to do this in daylight. Even if the Cube can control light, going in at night is still foolish. We need rest.”

“You got it!” Pepper called.

“Maybe we’ll get to see the Purple Cube!” Jeh said, rubbing her hands together excitedly. “That’ll be so awesome!”

“And dangerous…” Vaughan said.

Mary let out a short laugh. “Oh boy, this is definitely not what I signed up for…”

“Buckle up, buttercup!” Seskii called. “We’re in for the long haul!”

~~~

SCIENCE SEGMENT

As some of you may have figured out, the way kancathi can use their “tremors” to hear beneath the ground are based on real-life observations of robins (and other yard birds). They hop around and stop, listening with their feet for vibrations in the ground made by worms.

Except it turns out this isn’t true and all and is just a myth I was told as a child.

See, birds don’t use their feet to feel vibrations to hunt worms--at least, it’s not the primary sense they use. What they’re actually doing is listening, but with their ears and not with their feet. It really goes to show how good their ears are that they can sense the motion of worms beneath the ground.

But still, this does mean the entire thing kankathi were based on was a myth. Which would be a problem, if we didn’t know that sound waves in the ground could be used to find things. But we do, and in fact, we use this all the time to locate earthquakes. We’ve already talked about triangulation in a different science segment, but not the sorts of things we can find with earthquake waves.

See, earthquakes generate two kinds of waves, Primary and Secondary. Primary waves are longitudinal waves, which are the same kind of waves as sound waves, pushing particles back and forth to transfer energy. The speed of these waves changes depending on the medium--solids have faster speeds of sound than liquids, and the pattern continues for gasses. From this alone, it would be possible to determine quite a bit of information if you were, say, a large plast dragon with two feet that could send seismic waves into the earth. Naturally, resolution would be terrible as the two feet of a kankathi are very close to each other and the ground is not exactly homogenous.

The great power of seismic detection comes from the Secondary waves, though. Secondary waves are transverse, moving up and down along the direction of motion, and they can only propogate through solid material. Once a Secondary wave hits a liquid or a gas, it cannot propagate and the energy is converted into more Primary waves. This makes a very detecrtable difference between waves that pass through liquids or gasses and those that pass through just solids.

Which means that, equipped with tremor abilities and the “ears” on the feet to hear them, identification of liquid or gaseous holes in the earth would be somewhat easy.

Just ignore the fact that the “ears” are based on a myth that isn’t true.