As Frank and Amethyst walk away together to have their talk, Pioneer and Luna are left behind.
Pioneer takes off his shades and spins them between his fingers from their temples.
“Maybe your CV should have had an entry for ‘assertive’, ‘pushy’, and ‘prone to making trouble’? Instead of whatever else you wrote as your ‘personality’.”
“Oh, thank you so much!” Luna shoots off the tree she leaned against and clasps her hands together in delight. “I’ll make sure to add them in later.”
Pioneer sighs. “That wasn’t a compliment… let me spell it out for you.” He points at her with the glasses, a bright sun’s ray reflects and dances on Luna’s shirt with his motions.
“Would it kill you to have a bit of shame and not mingle so much with our filming subjects? How unprofessional can you be?”
“Oh, but it just might be my demise…” Luna’s head tilts as she hugs her arms and squirms. “Amethyst is such a dear, such a cute little thing. I couldn’t possibly stay away from her...”
“Right…” Pioneer pushes the glasses on again. “Regardless, you shouldn’t antagonize Frank. Don’t think I’m blind to what happens, even if I’m not personally present to see it.”
“He’s a big boy though, he can take it.” Luna crosses her arms and leans on the tree.
“Luna...”
“Fine…” She rolls her eyes and her dismissive palm faces the sky.
“As long as we’re clear.”
Luna observes Pioneer who faintly taps his foot and fiddles with his ring. He no longer seemed to have any interest in her, just resigned to wait.
Staring at him, she tracks where his barely visible eyes lead.
At the forest’s edge, underneath a small tent, are two nurses. In front of a table with water bottles, white pill containers, dressing, and some instruments.
By Luna’s recollection, the older woman was Carol, a senior and the leading nurse of the film crew.
The other one, a newbie, a trainee, with a ridiculous name of Friday.
Though her name didn’t sully her in the slightest, almost as sweet of a snack as Amethyst herself, she had made close friends with her too.
Carol explains with her hands, a plastic pill bottle shaking along with it. Friday listens quietly and nods along.
She hands it to Friday, who points at it and asks something. As she puts it on the table after, she fumbles it, tipping on its side and rolling off on the grass.
As Carol leans to pick it up, she notices Pioneer, she waves at him and then picks up the bottle.
Pioneer answers the wave, covertly and quickly,
“Hmm…?” Luna audibly hums and gets a scowl from Pioneer, at least if the creases on his brow were any indication.
“Hi, Luna!” Friday’s young voice carries the distance, Luna flinches and Pioneer looks down his nose at her, his raised eyebrows visible over the rim of his orange glasses.
“Lunaa!” Friday shouts again and waves with both hands in a large arc to get her attention.
Luna stands up properly and looks around like she didn’t already know where Friday was, before exaggeratedly spotting her.
She presses her teeth together into a big smile and responds with a sharp and concise wave.
“O-oh! Hi, Friday!”
Carol taps Friday on the shoulder and they get back to whatever they were discussing before, their backs partially turned to them.
Luna and Pioneer both turn to stare at each other without saying a word.
It's infinitely irritating to not see his full expression; the sunglasses, a powerful tool for masking one’s intent...
What was he thinking behind that smug demeanor? Something clever and quippy I bet.
Gah, what a pain…
She looked harder, but only the orange sheen answered, reflecting her own twisted image back at herself.
For a moment, it feels like her heart stops, she doesn't recognize the reflection.
Luna…?
Who the fuck was that?
She quickly blinks her eyes, each time, a different person looking back at her from this cursed mirror.
After the fifth blink, she regains her senses, like returning back to her own body.
A cold sweat breaks on her brow, which she swiftly erases with the back of her palm.
Pioneer takes his sunglasses off and looks at her concerned. “Luna…?”
“I- I’m fine…”
Come on… keep it together…
“Really, I am.”
Like on cue to bail her out of this awkward situation, Amethyst emerges from the classroom.
In the background, Frank takes his leave; giving the film crew a wave, who eagerly return the gesture.
Luna watches closely as he disappears into the forest.
Amethyst walks up to them.
“So! Amethyst, all good to go now?” Luna smiles, but the edge of her lip twitches.
Amethyst is about to answer but Pioneer interrupts her. “Hey, not so fast. I need to have your interview.”
“You couldn't have done that earlier?!” Luna spits out.
Pioneer stares back at her sternly, but it quickly fades into a more forgiving expression.
“Interview?” Amethyst tilts her head.
“Yeah, like Frank had his surprise interview. Again, not much of a surprise, if I told you beforehand. Best that way.”
Pioneer looks at Luna with side eyes without moving his head. “But as the secret’s out now, I need to have the interview, stat.”
“I mean… can we have our fishing trip first?” Luna says and flutters her long lashes.
“Please...?” She elongates her words. “Dear, Pioneer? It’s really important...”
Pioneer holds his head and shakes it. “Fine, I guess she deserves a break. And, you probably need one too…”
He clears his throat.
“We’ll just start the party preparations early. But you can be out for max three hours! Then I’ll need you to get back to work, and my star to attend her Interview before more well-deserved R&R!”
“Just three hours?! Ugh...!” She rudely spouts out and turns to Amethyst. “Let’s make the most of our time, shall we?” She sings cheerily to her and takes her wrist.
Pioneer buckles his head and leaves them.
----------------------------------------
As they leave the village’s presumed premises, Amethyst finally asks Luna: “What is fishing... exactly?”
“You wanted to go despite not knowing? Oh, I’m so happy. A true testament to how badly you wanted to be with me… just the two of us…”
An ephemeral dangerous grin surfaces and cuts through her lips.
“You know what fish are, right? It’s just a pastime where we catch them.”
“Oh… right… We do eat fish, too.”
“You do? What’s part of the Tyrchid diet, apart from fishies and sandwiches…?”
“Umm… everything, I think. Birds, animals-”
For some reason, Amethyst suddenly felt a bit queasy after saying that.
“-fish, berries…”
She continues the list to the end, and the feeling disappears. “The Pango Berries are especially our favorites if not especially filling.”
“Haven’t you gone fishing before then, if you eat fish already?”
Luna ponders, her hand on her chin, it falls to run down her neck, stopping before hitting the wide, golden gem-adorned necklace.
“I guess? I mean, not that I exactly remember fishing… But when I think about fish, I get a feeling they are edible, so we must have eaten them.”
“What?” Luna stops and stares at her, but Amethyst keeps on walking.
“Uhh… nothing.”
Amethyst quickly changes the subject and Luna catches up with her.
“Do you do a lot of fishing?”
“Here and there, though I usually land a lot bigger and tastier prey than any normal fish. But you can say that I am quite an experienced... angler.” Luna winks at her.
“I see…”
Amethyst trails off and racks her brain.
“Don’t they usually use fishing… poles? Or some other things for it?”
“Yeah, they do.”
“Where’s all your equipment?”
“Oh, I don’t catch my prey with poles...” She licks her lips and looks at Amethyst, who stiffly ignores her hungry gaze.
Luna swoops down and picks up a long stick from the ground mid-walk.
“I use spears instead.”
“O-oh… Me too… kind of… I think?”
“We both have similar favored weapons, how great is that!”
Luna says, continuing herself again after Amethyst doesn’t respond.
“Anyway, is it still long to the river?”
“I thought you knew the way?”
“I just heard there’s a river nearby… but you do know where it is, right?”
Luna’s expression changes to exaggerated shock, her hands at the sides of her slacked jaw.
“Or… could it be, are we hopelessly lost? Oh no! Two persons, alone and stranded in the wilderness. Oh, anything could happen!”
“I… I think it’s just behind this hill.”
“Oh, good...”
They walk up the small hill and crest to the top.
Luna gasps at the breathtaking view opening up behind this seemingly small hill, it's like a hidden valley, the hillside, a practical mountain on the other side instead.
Short forest and jungle-like terrain at the bottom, the underbrush seemed to grow incredibly thick below them.
The sparkling black river is visible too, not terribly far away, it seems to flow like a waterfall from the other side of the valley's walls, its origin likely the far away ocean of Black.
Luna grabs Amethyst’s arm from the side.
“Oh, but there’s still so much jungle ahead. Won’t you fly us the rest of the way?”
“I… Umm…”
“Please? Pretty please? You’ve flown Frank plenty of times, haven’t you? I bet it would be even more beautiful seen from above.”
She latches on tighter and caresses her back plate.
“Here is where your powerful wings lay, isn’t that right? It simply isn’t fair only he gets to be flown by you…”
“I… I’ve flown Frank only twice, out of necessity.”
“But this is necessary now too. Oh, how my small dainty legs ache from all this walking.” She leans harder on her like she no longer has the strength to even stand.
“It takes a lot out of me to fly. I’d rather save my energy for our fishing... don’t you agree?” Amethyst looks down at Luna and smiles awkwardly.
“I-I have faith in you to persevere!”
“Ah!” Luna lets go of her hand and holds her chest.
“Your sincere encouragement has reinvigorated me! Filled my heart, and especially my legs, with newfound power."
Luna grasps the horizon with her sweeping hand and closes her fist.
"Oh, very well then, Amethyst, let’s continue bravely onwards!”
Amethyst laughs a skittering and buzzing noise. For a moment Luna looks incredulous, like getting her bearings in this strange situation, but soon she giggles with her for a second.
“Come on, let’s go. Just a bit further.”
Amethyst takes the lead down the steep but grassy hillside, hacking a path through nature for them.
Silence falls in between them in this difficult terrain, roots, and plants, all seemed intent on tripping or grappling them at each turn.
A most tumultuous roll down into the leafy depths awaited should one lose their balance.
Nearing the forest edge, the mountain gradually loses its steepness, but in turn, the plant life only gets more vigorous.
As Amethyst hacks away another giant drooping plant, with a jug-like flower towering high above, a silver lizard jumps off it mid-timber.
Its gaping mouth shrieks in quick succession like a scaly siren as it hurtles through the air.
Before it hits Amethyst in the face, it extends its legs, the sails between its limbs instantly take in air and it soars over Amethyst’s shoulder.
As she follows it with her eyes, something heavy strikes her shoulder armor and bounces off it.
“Gah!”
Luna behind her is next on its flight path, she ducks and shields her head, and the airborne reptile narrowly sails over her.
But it wouldn't be enough.
Amethyst quickly extends her back leg and trips Luna, she falls to the ground on her ass, just as a heavy whooshing sound swings and misses her.
At the end of the creature’s long tail, a large rugged lump, like a stone.
Luna sits on the ground and looks back at the lizard that sails higher and higher, seemingly surfing on the wind currents the mountainous hill generated.
“T-that- thing just tried to kill me!”
“I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose. We just happened to frighten it.”
“R-right… A cute, silly, little lizard with its deadly mace-tail-”
Amethyst offers a bladed hand to her, Luna looks at her, seemingly entirely lost, her boisterous and over-the-top charade disappearing for a second.
With a sinful smile, she slaps her hand on Amethyst’s wrist and she pulls her up.
“Oh, my hero!” Luna places a hand on her own head and gestures with the other, like a princess who’s mere seconds away from fainting from joy. “You saved my life!”
“I suppose... I did.” Amethyst looks unsure but smiles.
“Oh, how may I ever repay you? Name your prize! It can be anything you desire, perhaps, fortune or fame… or my hand in marriage…?”
She peeks a glance through narrowed eyes to see her response.
“Umm… I’m good. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“That’s fine, even if a bit disappointing… But I won’t pressure my savior into any decisions.”
They continue down the hill and break into the forest below. The similar terrain continues, the usual violet and red shades of most plants were starting to take on a shade of black at their tips, thin leaves, or other appendages.
“So… I was wondering, what exactly did you say to Frank to let you go with me?”
“I didn’t really say anything, he let me go. He had things to do himself, so we agreed to go our separate ways.”
“Huh? I mean, what did Frank have to do?”
“He was going to have a sauna with um… his friend?"
“Oh, really? In the Underground Cl- housing you have?”
“Yeah, I kind of wish I could have gone with them, but I don’t know if it would be a suitable space for me…”
“I can imagine that. Did he invite anyone else? It’s just the three of you living in there, right?”
Amethyst takes a while to answer, but she eventually does:
“I don’t know, he just mentioned he was going to do it.”
“Of course,” Luna says, takes out her knife, and sharpens her stick as they walk.
Amethyst looks backward hearing the noise, her eyes are laid on the familiar item.
It’s slightly decorated from the hilt, two small gemstones, the base a gleaming silver as is the blade.
“Luna, remember when you cut my hair?”
“Yes?”
“You never gave me a piece of your own hair. Why?”
“Oh, I just forgot.” Luna shrugs.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“It’s not nice to be so forgetful about your friends.”
“You’re right.”
Luna looks down and defeated, but only for a moment.
“How can I make amends? Do you want some of my hair now? Shall I cut some?”
Luna holds her hair out with the spear-wielding hand, the knife on the other, ready to cut.
“No, it’s fine… We can do it... later. I don’t have any way to hold onto it anyway.” Amethyst says and looks down at her blades, then she turns around and continues to chop away.
“Very well.”
The gentle sound of water flowing and leaves rustling in the wind grows gradually louder as they keep their course, leaving behind a path of chopped leaves, plants, and flowers.
“Here we are.”
Amethyst steps into the small clearing beside the wide river, the black current flows peacefully, and some stones jut out of the water at the shore, permanently colored black by the waves in the course of eternity.
A small rabbit-like creature, with a long stringy tail akin to a mouse drinks straight from the source.
Its back legs look powerful, even muscular, and are slightly larger and taller than its body.
Its fur has a swirly striped pattern of red and violet, the head in consistent pitch black fur, but no visible ears.
Suddenly it looks around, and as its beady red eyes land on the two giants behind it, with a squeak it hops over the river onto the other side, with just a single reality-defying leap.
It lands directly into the underbrush, a risky maneuver, which resulted in a faint thump, as it no doubt took a tumble, as the plant life is bigger and sturdier than the most feeble herbivores.
Two large bright red birds, like parrots or ducks float and bob along the river’s surface. Their crooked beaks, bent downwards at a sharp angle nab insects from the top of the water.
Their dinner time is interrupted by the soaring rabbit-mouse’s racket, which alerts them of the arrived uninvited presence.
They flap their scarlet wings of long feathers, lined with faint shining green. They gather up speed and lift by running along the water’s surface with their red flippers like swans.
As they manage to take off, the water’s black taint flows off their feathers, returning them back to their colorful glory.
With sharp squawking, like two stones hitting together in their throats, the birds flee the scene, making way for the visitors.
“Wow…” Luna looks around enchanted while spinning, her arms spread wide.
“I’m so glad we came here! Thank you for taking me Amethyst!”
She drops her stick and sheaths her knife somewhere before kneeling on the waterside.
It’s like a black mirror, Luna just sees herself on its surface; reflecting back all light, concealing any and everything below the surface.
Amethyst’s reflection appears beside her, although much smaller.
Luna carefully sinks her hand in, the water absorbs and conceals it like a black hole.
“It’s like it’s gone… And so cold... at least ten degrees colder than the air,” she makes movements with her fingers, causing ripples on the surface, the only observable proof of the existence of the rest of her hand.
“Incredible…”
“Is it?” Amethyst leans and stabs her hand into the water and lifts it out. The murky liquid drips along her blade and back into the abyssal well.
“What is in it? How is it like this?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve lived here all your life, and you don’t know?”
“We’re not very… science-oriented?”
“True enough.” Luna takes out a clear test tube from a small brown satchel she’s been carrying and uncorks it with a plop. She presses it against the water’s surface, and it flows full of the liquid.
“What’s that?”
“I’m just taking a sample. This is a far too interesting opportunity to pass by.” She lifts the tube and seals it, drying it against the red grass.
“Nothing to be worried about.” She smiles wide and deposits it back into her bag.
She gets up and picks up the sharpened spear.
“What I’ll allow you to be worried about is: how am I supposed to spearfish when the water is pitch black!”
“Just go under the water?”
“Huh? Who do you think I am? I can’t just swim and spearfish at the same time!”
Luna looks back to the water.
“How deep is it here?”
Amethyst reaches into the water with her leg, it sinks halfway. “About half a meter deep.” and then walks in entirely, standing in the midnight water.
Luna takes off her brown leathery boots, with red and purple highlights, removes her socks, and curls the tight leggings she’s wearing up to her thighs.
She carefully steps into the water next to Amethyst.
“Gah! It’s so cold!” She deposits the spear between her thighs and holds her arms, rubbing them up and down.
“The water feels fine to me.” Amethyst smiles.
“Hah, I bet with your armor in the way. But what if you go under the water, and let it touch your skin? I bet I'd be cold then!”
“You mean, like this?” Amethyst starts to walk further, at each step, she sinks in deeper.
“W-wait? Is that really okay? Can you swim?”
“It’ll be fine. But no, I can’t swim.”
“Huh? But-”
Luna’s whole body flinches, her legs shoot astride, and lets go of the spear, which plops onto the water’s surface.
“S-something just touched me!” She instantly nabs the floating spear with a splash and starts to peer frantically at the water.
She continues to tremble in revulsion. “A-Amethyst, what kind of c-creatures are in these waters?!”
“Fish, I’d think.” Amethyst is up to her chest already, still walking further. She doesn’t look back, sounding almost absent.
“Well duh! I mean a-are they dangerous! Have gnashing teeth, slimy b-bodies? Like sharks or something!”
“Probably? I don’t remember...”
Luna jumps out of the water instantly, at the place where she was, a sizeable spout of water shoots along the water’s surface as well as a sparkling back of red and orange scales.
Luna throws her spear, and it bounces harmlessly off the creature’s back, almost impaling herself as it narrowly whizzes past.
“W-what?! Amethyst, get back here! T-there’s something in the water!”
“Yeah, aren’t we here to fish...?”
“I-I did say you could handle yourself, b-but! That was pretty big-!”
Amethyst takes another step, and her head sinks under, only her head wings visible for a moment more, as well as the very tops of her antennae, before she’s completely underneath the waves of void.
“A-Amethyst?!”
----------------------------------------
Silence.
The deepest darkness.
Emptiness, eternal and timeless.
She just… is.
Merely exists.
It’s like Amethyst had arrived into another dimension, transported in an instant from her home planet, to another place just as dear to her.
All manner of sound was gone, her antennae were thoroughly wet and could barely function underwater.
An otherworldly, blessed quiet brings back such familiarity, that it almost makes her burst to tears.
The cool water against her skin, in between herself and her armor. The mild current floating and waving her hair.
Clean, pristine, and refreshed.
Only now she realizes how much she needed this.
It was clear to her now; this is how the Tyrchids bathed, cleaned their armors, their skin, and everything in between.
Made peace within themselves, too, perhaps.
As she tries to pull on this thread of her past, to tell her more, it snaps.
The feeling retreats further and escapes far beyond her grasp. Both ends of the rope disappear beyond her mind’s horizon, leaving her behind, alone.
Amethyst opens her hybrid eyes. The middle of her vision was gone, but the rings, her irises of many eyes penetrated the darkness.
With this gray-scale vision, light and shadow were amplified. It showed that light was able to pass through the surface, even if from above it had appeared completely impenetrable.
In the moment of her brief recall, her instincts, the ways of Tyrchid’s fishing had come back to her.
Clinging to the feeling, she walks slowly in the water’s push along the bottom, it was slightly sandy, at times muddy, with pebbles and stones in between.
She couldn't feel nature’s touch on her feet, only the collisions against her armor as points of increased pressure. The stones; hollow echoes of thuds on her secondary sense of touch.
She walks like floating, the water granting her an effect akin to reduced gravity, allowing her to not bear down her full weight.
Otherwise, she would surely sink to the sediment all the way down to her knees.
In this infinite and soundless space, she walks deeper, the pressure of the water is pleasant, and all she has to keep in mind is to not open her mouth.
She hadn’t given any thought to breathing, which only a distant nagging in the deepest reaches of her mind brought into the forefront.
Why can she breathe underwater? Why is that special, unusual, like this nagging told her?
It was practically screaming for her to not go deeper, that soon she’d need to swim to the surface to take a breath.
But that couldn't be further from the truth, as far as Amethyst’s Tyrchid instincts went, she might as well have lived here.
She was in no hurry, this old-new experience, she would take it to the fullest, savor this delightful serenity.
As she reaches the bottom of the river, or perhaps just a ledge on the way deeper, she stops and opens up her back armor, letting out her large bone wings from their water-filled compartment.
Amethyst stays absolutely still, her wings and her head wings wide open. She starts to rapidly vibrate the tiny ends of her wings’ bone segments.
It had finally clicked in her mind what purpose this served as it wasn’t useful in flying or in any other activity.
Soon, her very first prey approaches, its coloration shrouded in gray mystery. It's a stubby thing with two jaws, stacked atop each other.
A short and tall body, with a large tail fin and two large fins at the sides, flowed in a beautiful up and down undulating motion, like a ray.
It swims back and forth a few times, until coming straight at Amethyst’s head wings. As its bottom jaw nibbles on the wriggling bait, Amethyst’s sharp motion impales it to her bone.
The fish struggles, undulating its side fins so that at least three waves are in simultaneous motion, fiercely kicking its back fin, but it’s no use.
A trail of a lighter shade of gray is released from the fish amidst its throes, the substance floats down in front of Amethyst’s face.
For a moment she thinks that she can smell a pungent odor with her antennae, but the feeling passes quickly.
The fish’s struggle gradually ends and Amethyst begins to wait anew.
----------------------------------------
Luna sits on the edge of the river, writing something in the notebook software on her communicator.
Finishing her notes, she puts it back into her satchel.
With bored sluggish motions, she proceeds to continue splashing and prodding the water’s surface with her spear, once more.
The novelty of the activity wore off quickly, again, and she put down the spear and picked up the camera from her lap, ready to take pictures.
How many times had she already repeated the motions in the longest twenty minutes of her life?
But, maybe this minute was different than the rest; now Amethyst would finally come up...?
“This isn’t what I had in mind when I invited her fishing…”
Luna mutters to nobody in particular and lays down on her back. The only ones gracing her with their warm presence are the suns in the sky.
Maybe I should just leave…
Amethyst is either fish food by now or clearly doesn’t need or want me here.
Besides…
Now’s my chance.
I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity, but who knew I’d be wasting it due to my own plans...
If I want to get it... this is my final moment to act.
She takes out her communicator again, logs in to a particular site, and writes some messages.
Luna pries herself off the ground, back to a sitting position.
Alright, I can tell her of tonight later, I’ll just-
The water’s still surface breaks and an angel of carnage, a goddess of prey emerges.
“Amethyst!”
Luna grabs her camera and jumps up, snapping a few shots of this Tyrchid of the deep, two exotic fish on her head wings, one on each and three in total impaled to her open wings.
They drip blue blood onto her head and hair and on the black water’s surface.
Luna pulls her face away from the camera, with apparent disgust on her face.
“Hey, Luna, any luck fishing?” Water rushes out from each nook and cranny of her armor and drips from her long bangs.
“Uh, no…” Luna hides her camera behind her back and fumbles with her hands, managing to deposit it and the communicator she was still gripping, back into her bag.
“I-I was so worried when you just walked into the waves! But I knew you’d be fine!” Luna smiles big.
“Right, I was a bit surprised too, it was as if the waves called out to me.”
Amethyst looks around at the water as she walks, smiling warmly. Her steps are unsteady, as the river's bottom gives away at times.
“Huh?”
“Should we cook the fish now?”
“Oh, I was actually thinking we should cut this short…” Luna prods her fingers together.
“What? But don’t you want to taste the fish?” She shakes her head, causing a few of the fish to trickle some guts out, that trail down her armor.
“Something came up, and I should go. I’m sorry Amethyst.”
“Oh, well. I suppose it would take a while for my blades to dry too…”
“What do you mean? Can’t you light them on fire now?” Luna’s expression changes from apologetic to intrigued.
“Oh, is that what the umbrella was about today?”
“Yeah, Tyrchids can’t fly or use our blades properly in the rain or when they are wet.”
Luna looks thoughtfully into the distance and nods to herself once.
“Well, why don’t we hurry on back, you can speed through the interview with Pioneer and take the fish to your friends instead while they are still fresh. How does that sound?”
“U-uh okay.” Amethyst sinks near the shore on a few of her steps, but regains her balance and gets her feet loose, stepping onto dry land once more.
“You’re the best Amethyst!”
Luna’s about to grab the arm of Amethyst, but stops abruptly, raising her hands and backing away.
The fish impaled on her wings on that side was an orange and red-backed silver fish with a long snout and very sharp teeth.
The about half a meter long shark-like creature, makes her swallow hard and almost yelp as it flops, the jaws trying to reach her, the creature still barely alive.
“Um- I’ll race you to the Pango Grove! Come on!”
“H-huh!?” Amethyst runs after her, galloping into a run, the fish swaying on her appendages and the drag of her open wings, really making it cumbersome.
Luna seemed to be full of energy and strength now, she complained that it was hard for her to make the trip before.
But now, there was no indication left of that anymore; she was running right before Amethyst, with no sign of exhaustion, only mildly panting.
Did her encouragement earlier really have this strong of an effect?
As they make it to the Pango grove, Luna wipes some sweat off her brow and waits for Amethyst to catch up to her.
“One… more… thing…” She says catching her breath in between each word.
“I just wanted to say, I’m sorry if I’ve caused you trouble. I only meant the best for you. You know that, right?”
“Y-yeah…”
“And… today, I just really wanted us to have this trip. This final good memory, just the two of us. You know, since it’s the last day of filming and everything.”
Luna pauses and straightens herself, her nose twitching and keeping her distance from Amethyst.
“We might not… see each other ever again, after this. I have to go where Pioneer goes, and you have your own destination too.”
Luna brushes her eyes. “Though, I suppose I was getting ahead of myself a little. This won’t be the last time we see each other, as I have one last surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” Amethyst says bright-eyed.
“I’ll find you at the party after your show and give it to you. It’s… quite personal, something for just the two of us.” Luna blushes and looks away, fiddling her fingers together in a nervous manner.
“Ahh, how embarrassing…” She holds her cheeks and gently shakes her head. “I can’t talk about it anymore, it’s too much...”
“Luna…”
She chuckles, “Sorry if our outing got cut short, but I’ve seriously gotta go. Have fun in the interview and I’ll see you… later.” She smiles and waves seductively.
“Oh, I’ll tell Pioneer you’ve arrived, just sit tight!”
“Thank you, Luna.”
----------------------------------------
Soon, Pioneer arrives without his glasses and bearing a dubious look.
“You’re back already? It’s barely even been an hour!”
“Didn’t Luna tell you the reason she cut our fishing short?” Amethyst asks.
“No, not a word. She didn’t even tell me you had come back, she passed the word through my personnel.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, come this way.”
Pioneer directs Amethyst towards the same spot where Frank had his interview, the village’s Tyrchids give the swaying fish long looks as they pass through.
As they are in position, Amethyst standing without a chair, Pioneer clears his throat.
“Are you going to bring your fishy friends to this interview?”
“Is it a problem?”
“I mean, I can’t fit you in the shot with your wings open, and you should-”
Amethyst retracts her wings, and the three fish impaled there fall to the ground with a flop.
One by one, Amethyst lifts them up with her blades and props them up to her head wings instead.
A full crown of five exotic fish of various sizes and colors, slightly flop and squirm on her bones, leaking trails of blue blood onto her from the new puncture holes.
“Alright, I’m ready.”
“Great…”
Pioneer gestures to start the broadcast.
“Welcome, welcome! I bet you didn’t think you’d hear from us again so soon! But of course, we are going to have the special feature interview with our very own star of the season, Amethyst!”
“H-hi?”
“As you can see, she’s fresh from a fishing trip, we had some trouble contacting her, thus this unusual broadcast time!”
Pioneer gestures at her.
“Isn’t she just a… sight to behold?”
Amethyst grins a big satisfied smile.
“Anyway, let’s get into it, but first, the winner of our earlier contest said they couldn’t attend the live show this time. And who can blame them given the sudden timing!
So, being the prudent winner that 'StepOn' is, they left me with the last three questions ahead of time.
Which ones and what questions? That’s for me to know and you to figure out!”
Pioneer adjusts his glasses and looks at his communicator.
“Let’s start with a popular one, the question burning hot on the lips of all of the Galaxy. Can you please elaborate on, what exactly is your relationship with Frank?”
“Relationship…? We help and look out for each other. Like… partners?”
“Partners, huh? What sort of partners would those be? Partners in… love perhaps? Ah, what a magnificent segue to the next question, I ask of you: do you love Frank?”
“Love…? I’m not sure what that means.” Amethyst tilts her head, sploshing some blood from her hair.
“Even if Tyrchidian has a word for it?”
“Even so. I know what our language’s ‘Love’ is, but I don’t know if that matches what your ‘Love’ means.”
“Let me explain then.” Pioneer thinks for a moment and continues.
“Love is when you like somebody so much, that you want to spend all your time with that person, often for the rest of your life.
Wake up next to them, arrive home with them present, and do things together.
This unseen attraction; a blush on your cheeks and pounding in your chest when you interact with the person, is love.”
“I see… then I think I do.”
“S-she just went and said it!” Pioneer turns to face the camera. “Now this is big news, everyone!”
“What about you, Pioneer? Do you know love?” Amethyst asks, Pioneer turns back to face her like a rusty, creaking hinge.
“M-me? This was supposed to be your interview!”
“Oh, right…”
Pioneer looks down at the communicator and some sweat gathers on his brow.
“Okay, fine! If you all want to know so badly, I… can answer that.”
He takes a deep breath.
“There isn’t a Missus Pioneer as of this moment, but… I do have my eyes on a fair maiden of my own. But!”
Pioneer lifts a finger to his lips.
“That’s all I’ll say!”
He looks back down to his communicator.
“No! Shush, Explorers! Moving on!”
Pioneer’s mouth turns into a frown for a moment as he reads something off his communicator again.
“W-we have another question for you Amethyst. What do you think about Luna? Uh, that chick you assembled the table with?” He seems to say it directly as he reads it.
“There are rumors circulating of your relationship, can you give us something concrete?”
“Oh? She’s a good friend of mine.”
“Ooh, a good friend you say? Could be more than just ‘friends’ maybe?”
Pioneer asks with a clear voice, but a faint disgust on his lips.
“Well you do you, Amethyst, it’s a free galaxy after all, who says you can’t be doubling up?
Who knows, maybe there’s still room in Amethyst’s harem for some of our most devoted Explorers to join the ranks with Frank and Luna.”
“Uh…” Amethyst tilts her head with a frown.
“Anyway, we do have some... serious questions here too. You Tyrchid have obviously been living here a long time, what changed, why did you apply for ISSA now?
Surely not just because of your Queen?”
“Well… we’ve been pretty isolated from the rest of the galaxy. As you can see behind me we don’t have the means to fly in space.”
“Oh, you don’t? What about the landing pads at the hotel and the like?”
“T-that… that’s right.”
“And how did you make contact initially? How’d you meet Frank in the first place?”
A trail of blue blood runs across her face, over her tightened lips.
“I... didn’t exactly meet Frank, I think you could say, he met me instead. He then applied us to ISSA.”
“Hmm, I see. Am I correct in assuming that this ‘meeting’ has something to do with the state you were in the picture your application was sent with?”
“Yes...”
“Can you tell us why Frank made you apply? It’s not mandatory for sapient species to do so.”
Amethyst closes her eyes for a moment before they flare open with fiery determination.
“As a budding sapient species, he thought we’d benefit from the protection of ISSA.
And, um… we’d also benefit from the publicity and get opportunities to start up trading and making relations with others that share our Galaxy.”
Amethyst looks visibly exhausted after having managed to talk with such extravagant words.
“There you have it folks, the wise words of the leader of the Tyrchids, Amethyst.
Now I don’t want to hear any grousing about multi-marriage, even if uncommon, that’s a long-gone taboo already.
All in all they seem quite sophisticated, when compared to many of the other species I’ve had the pleasure of meeting along my career.”
Pioneer guffaws briefly.
“Though their appearance and features are most striking and unusual, in a good way.” He adds and nods at Amethyst.
“Thank you. Your appearance is most unusual too.”
“Ehh?” Pioneer has to do a double-take to recover from her comment. “Don’t you have quite the sharp, um- mandibles on you!"
Amethyst smiles innocently in response, which comes off somewhat unsettling with her blood coating.
“Alright, just a few more questions, please bear with me, Amethyst...”
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