The day went by and as the sun had already passed them and was starting to set, everyone was finishing up to leave.
Eto drove through the Tortoise, rubbing and admiring everything which meant he would leave the jungle.
Djon was busy getting supplies. Both the Kojo and the Ricu were grateful for their help and finding out what was causing the fight between the two clans.
It seemed it was solved and they were helping each other building a new, shared home.
‘Do you think he will get here?’ Veronica asked, standing on the deck to enter the ship, overlooking the place.
She hadn’t seen Eto since he left them to talk to the princess.
Vanessa walked and stood beside her.
‘Easy girl'. Your man is not gonna leave us,’.
While Vanessa walked into the ship, Veronica turned around, blushing a bit.
‘What do you mean with ‘my’ man?’ she yelled nervously.
Hawk was still walking to what used to be the Kojo village.
While the rest was ready and waiting for Eto, he took the opportunity to study the plants real quickly.
‘Anything I can help you with?’ a male Kojo member asked while he walked up to him.
He seemed old, like an older human and the bark of his body also seemed pretty old.
‘Just admiring the trees,’ Hawk said as he looked at them.
‘Your admiration seems more like studying,’ the old Kojo man said with a laugh. Hawk laughed in return.
‘Can’t help it. I used to study it a lot. 'For research.’
‘What kind of research?’ the man asked.
For a moment, Hawk fell into thoughts. Memories which seemed so long ago and lost due to recent activities resurfaced in his mind.
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He quickly shook his head and forced a tiny smile on his face.
‘For healing,’ he mumbled.
‘Oh, my,’ the old man said and he turned away and walked to some other plants. Here, he started to pluck some leaves and branches off of them and handed them to Hawk.
‘Maybe these would be good for your study,’ the man said.
Hawk studied the strange purple branch and the orange star shaped leaves on it.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘The Aludenlac leaves,’ the man said.
‘We used these in our food. It seems to benefit the food for our growth and health. Don’t know how it will work with creatures outside of the planet but I guess that is something you can find out.’
Hawk pulled it in, keeping it close to his chest.
‘Thanks. I appreciate this,’ he said calmy and the old man nodded.
‘Just make sure that when you discover something, you are gonna use it for good use.’
Hawk’s tiny smile turned into a bigger and more honest smile.
‘I will,’ he said.
On the other side of the giant tree, overlooking the other part of the jungle, princess Morinojo was looking at the sun setting down.
‘Princess,’ she heard from a distance and when she looked, she saw Eto walking towards her.
‘I have been looking everywhere for you, he said with a smile as he reached her.
She smiled, not looking at him.
Eto first looked at her but then looked at the setting sun, admiring the view of the jungle which now seemed at peace.
‘I guess you are leaving?’ she said, still not looking at Eto.
He looked at her, not understanding why she was acting like this.
‘Yes. I thought you knew. We kinda crashed here but it seemed like a good thing.’
At that moment, the princess looked Eto in his eyes. He could see some tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.
‘You can’t stay?’ she asked.
Eto sighed. He was ready to tell his story. Why he needed to leave and find the center of the galaxy, where the last world was.
Before he could speak, the princess put her finger on his lips.
She smiled and rubbed her tears away with her other arm.
‘I’m kidding,’ she said with a heavier voice than usual.
‘I know you have to leave. And I am grateful for everything you have done for us.’
Eto looked into her eyes, not understanding what was going on.
She seemed to cry but she also looked happy.
He wanted to ask but then they both looked to the side, where in the distance, Veronica looked at them, waving to Eto that they were leaving.
The princess smiled. ‘She is lucky.’
Veronica walked back and vanished from their sight.
‘Lucky?’ Eto asked and he looked at the princess who quickly jumped in and kissed him.
After that, the princess turned away and walked back quickly towards the village, leaving Eto on the edge above the jungle.