CAITARIAN INFO: Maturity

Along with aging slowly, Caitarians mature emotionally and mentally very quickly. For example, an infant is born with the learning level of a two-year-old human. A nine-year-old such as Blade would have the maturity of a twelve-year-old. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to be as smart as someone that age, they just have the ability to know and accept things people of that age would know and accept. Someone Raz’s age should have the maturity of a seven-year-old, however, Raz’s upbringing resulted in a higher level of thinking and understanding. The background of any given Caitarian could influence his or her thinking level.

Author’s Note: Yep, me again... Thank you, Neko, for reviewing my fic!! And... did anyone else notice... “‘Raz likes you, Aaron. He’ll be glad you’re coming, too.’ Raz said.” Ha... hahaha! I meant BLADE said...

Mannie: I’m BAAAACK! ; In fact, I’ve been rather busy... but you could tell, I’m sure.

TS: Aaron is a respectable guy; I don’t think he’d do anything ‘extreme’ with Blade. hugs Aaron Poor guy...

Neko: Thank you, thank you, thank you.... yes, it is a rather beautiful fic...

On another note, Jack Aaron won Bishie of the Month for September, 2004! Go, Aaron!

Aaron: -smiles and bows-

Light of the Stars

Chapter Seven: Light of the Stars

“Hey, Razzie, guess what?” I was shaken from my dreams, opening my eyes only to be met by Blade’s. I murmured a response, and he laughed. “We’re leaving Halsin today.” he paused dramatically, his smile growing. “...And Aaron’s coming along.” I stared at him.

“...Really...?” I asked softly, and he nodded. I sat in stunned silence, and his smile faded significantly.

“Raz... what? I thought... I thought you liked Aaron,” he said, and I heard hurt in his voice. I shook my head.

“N-no, I like him, it’s just that... he’s coming with us?” I repeated.

“Yes, I am... unless you’d prefer I stay here. I don’t mind, either way.” Aaron said, walking in. He had an armful of clean laundry, which I recognized as Blade’s and my own, and he sat on the edge of the bed to fold them. I looked at him. He’d become a necessity for me, almost. Something I wanted and needed to be there... almost something I couldn’t live without... almost like...

“Hey, Blade...? Could... I talk to Aaron for just a minute?” I asked quietly. He stared at me, but nodded and left. Aaron looked up at me quizzically.

“Raz? What is it?” he asked gently. I moved over until I was next to him, right by his side.

“Aaron... it’s... well... I never knew my parents. And... I... um....” I paused, trying to think of how I wanted to word this. “You’re... kind of like a father to Blade now, right?” I asked. He nodded slowly, after a moment of thought. I bit my lip. “And Blade... he says he’s my brother... so... does that make you...?” I looked up at him. He wasn’t looking at me.

“...Raz. I don’t know if I can claim you as my son... I’m sorry.” he said, brushing my hair with his fingertips. I looked away, but nodded. I understood... he couldn’t claim me as family; he’d only just met me a matter of days ago. I stood, then walked to my closet as though nothing had happened. I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at him. His expression was soft. He kneeled until he was at my level, then pulled me into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry. I would be an unfit father to you, Raz.” he murmured.

“And... I suppose I’d be a horrible son to anyone... I don’t have any experience at it.” I replied, but he only held me closer.

“No. You’re the son any father dreams of, trust my word on that.” he said. I relaxed into his embrace... though I felt strangely unwanted there. He sighed deeply. “...I protect and love you the same way I do Blade, Raz... but I can’t claim you when we don’t even know that your real parents are dead.” he tried to explain. I nodded, but I knew there was more to it than that.

“Aaron?” I asked, noticing something. I pulled the sleeve of his shirt back a little, revealing some rather ugly scars... rope burns. They looked old... but the injury that had caused them must have been painful. They circled his wrist completely. I looked back up at him, and he looked away, covering them again.

“I got them in an accident when I was younger.” he said, but he wasn’t looking at me.

“How could you get rope burns in an accident...? And ones that go all the way around your wrist?” I asked, then realized I was being nosy. I looked away. “...I... I apologize. It’s none of my business.” I said, standing and blushing. He just remained on the floor, a pensive look on his face.

“...I... You’re too young now. I’ll tell you the truth someday, I promise.” he said softly, almost inaudibly. I knew then just how bad the truth had to be. For Aaron to hide the truth... he’d always been very honest, as far as I knew... was indicative that the truth was something he really didn’t want to talk about. I nodded.

“I understand.” I said, and he smiled up at me... he looked so grateful. Without him saying a single word, I knew I wasn’t allowed to tell Blade, nor was I allowed to ask if he knew anything. It was a strange kind of bond between us, something we both knew without explaining... Aaron’s past was something he didn’t want to discuss. Something he probably had every right to hide. I ordered myself to never, ever ask him about it again. He sighed again, then looked around the room.

“...I suppose I have to find someone to take care of this place for a year,” he said, smiling wistfully. “...And pay all of the bills I’ll owe over the course of a year, not to mention telling the mail center to hold all messages for a year... and paying that fee...” he laughed, then looked at me hopelessly. “...This isn’t shaping out to be an easy task at all, or a cheap one, for that matter.” he added. I laughed.

“Is it worth it?” I asked nervously. He nodded.

“Yes... it’s worth it. I haven’t traveled for quite some time.” he replied. Blade knocked on the doorframe, poking his head in.

“Can I come back in and pack yet?” he asked.

--------

“‘Aikao an Sai...’” Blade said slowly, studying the name on the side of his... our... ship. He turned to Aaron, smiling. “‘Aikao an Sai.’ Light of the Stars...” he translated. The name was Caitarian. “How did you come up with that?” he asked. Aaron smiled faintly.

“I thought of it the night before we bought the ship. It just sounded... beautiful.” he said softly. I stood next to him, knowing that he’d spent the past four hours paying off a year’s worth of bills, finding a house-sitter, and several other things. He looked tired. It seemed that Blade didn’t quite notice it, but that was reasonable, he was excited. He turned back to the Aikao, still smiling. I took Aaron’s hand gently, and the man smiled down at me. I couldn’t be his son, but I could be a friend, someone he could trust with his secrets.

Blade rushed us into the ship, looking around like a child in a toy store. A huge, flying toy store. I was amazed by the size of it, the amount of buttons and levers and screens. Supposedly, one person could fly this thing alone. One person, maybe, but they’d have to have at least twenty arms, not to mention about fifty eyes. It didn’t look this huge on the outside... it had a bedroom, a dining area, the cockpit, a ‘rec room,’ and what appeared to be a small guest room, as well as two restrooms. I sat on a cusioned bench that lined the area behind the cockpit. I’d never get used to this. Blade smiled at Aaron.

“You didn’t hold back on luxury, did you?” he asked. Aaron laughed.

“Not at all. Actually, it’s not nearly as expensive as it looks... not that it wasn’t expensive at all, mind you.” he replied. “It’s certainly not the Empress, but it’s no Jairan battleship, either.” He gave us a sidelong glance. He knew of our escape from Caitaria.

“...You look lost,” Blade said, looking over at me. I shrugged. He walked over and sat next to me. “Razzie... It’s not as difficult as it looks, okay? We’ll be fine.” he promised, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against him. I nodded slowly, but my stomach churned at the thought of all the things that could go wrong with space travel. Aaron sat on my other side.

“I’ll be with you for one year. By the end of the year, Blade should be perfectly capable of piloting the ship, and you should know how to manage the ship itself. I’ll teach you everything you need to know, including how to survive almost any kind of... disaster, if you will.” he said. I smiled at both of them. It was amazing, really, how they always knew what was on my mind. Aaron looked up at Blade. “...Let’s get this thing off the ground.” he said, smiling playfully. I’d never seen that look on his face before. It was refreshing; he looked like the child he seemed to be on the outside. Blade nodded happily.

“Okay, how do we do it?” he asked, ready to receive his first lesson. Aaron lead us over to the control panels.

“Pay attention. You see this lever?” he pointed to one of the larger levers. “You pull it to the second position. It should click into place like this–” he demonstrated, “–And then, you start the engines. Don’t forget–the lever has four stages, all for a different stage of fuel use. The first doesn’t use any at all, the second uses a regular amount, the third is for speed–don’t use it if you can avoid it–and the fourth is an emergency fuel supply. Now, Blade, do you know how to start the engines?” he asked. Blade shook his head a little.

“I think you push the... largest button on the left panel?” he bit his lip. Aaron nodded.

“Good. Go ahead,” he said. Blade walked over, pressing the button. I fell over when the engine started, shaking the ship like an earthquake. Aaron caught me before I hit the floor, smiling a little. He helped me back to my feet, while talking to Blade.

“Now, you pull the smaller lever by the fuel lever. It will begin our liftoff. Raz, you go sit down for now, it’s going to be a little rough.” I ran over to the cushioned seat on the side of the cockpit, bracing myself. They sat on the two seats in front of the large ‘windshield.’ It was actually a huge screen showing the world in front of the ship, as seen by four cameras around the edges of the screen.

Liftoff was terrifying. I thought the ship was going to explode, with the way it was shaking and rattling. Then it got hot all of a sudden, and I knew we were going to die. But Aaron said to stay calm... he came over to me and held me tightly, stroking my hair and saying everything was going perfectly as planned. Nothing was wrong. Blade just sat there, frozen to his seat with excitement.

“You weren’t meant for space travel,” Aaron whispered into my ear. “I’m sorry.” I tried to shake my head, to say he hadn’t done anything wrong... but I couldn’t move. I was scared to death. He held me the whole time, soothing me, telling me we would be fine, that it would be over soon. Would I look at the screen, he asked? See, we were going through Halsin’s atmosphere now. That was why it was getting so hot. Soon, the shaking would stop. We’d be in space, and we’d be on our way... to where? Who knew? We were just going to travel around the universe, until we needed to stop somewhere. But until then, we’d be travelers of the stars...

...The shaking stopped. It cooled down quickly, and a loud noise signified that the Automatic Heating System was on. I trembled, still clinging tightly to the front of Aaron’s shirt. He pulled me away gently, wiping away my tears. I hadn’t even realized I was crying.

“...There. Now, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” he said, smiling gently. He took my hand and lead me to the screen. He pointed up at the stars. “You see... Raz, we’re one of them now. When people look up from the ground, they’ll see this ship... as a star.” he smiled. I stared up at them.

“...So many,” I breathed, staring wide-eyed at the stars. They were like snowflakes and diamonds, caught forever in a blanket of velvet. “And... we’re one of them...” I repeated. Aaron nodded, his fingers tangling loosely in my hair. I smiled, finally relaxed.

...I was a star.

Author’s Note: ....Awwwwww... another fluffy chapter... And yay, I updated!