Clear as Rain
The stars shone brightly from Melfina's vantage point. Brighter than she
usually saw them at least. The night was quiet as well, as she was seemingly
alone, sitting on the old railing of a worn, wooden bridge. Melfina didnt
even know where they were. She had been napping in her room when the young
Jim Hawking had awoken her and said that the ship's AI, Gilliam had reported
that he was feeling some malfunctions. The ship had landed on this small,
seemingly empty little planet without even knowing the name.
A yawn escaped Melfina's lips as she looked down at the flowing river
beneath her. In all of her existence, she had seen flowing water rarely and
possibly had never seen a river so... natural. It was very welcoming to the
bio-android.
The light creaking of the old wooden railing tore Melfina's gaze from the
flowing river. At first she thought that the old structure was about to
collapse as she sat with her legs hanging over the edge but she quickly
found the source of the sound. A smile crossed Melfina's pale face as she
looked at the girl who now cautiously balanced herself on the railing of the
bridge.
A light chuckle came out of Melfina, "You really shouldn't do that, Aisha."
She said as she looked up at the smiling face of the Ctarl-Ctarl, "It's
dangerous."
Aisha waved a bronze hand in front of her, nearly losing her balance as she
did so. She spoke loudly, it was almost echoing in the silence of the night,
"You worry too much, Mel! You should just lay back and relax."
Melfina smiled lightly as she looked back to the moving water. Her feet
nearly touched the liquid, she could almost feel the cold water against her
skin, "How's the Outlaw Star looking?"
"How would I know?" Aisha asked as she turned her body so it looked out upon
the river, "I didnt even know we landed until that ungrateful Gene Starwind
came banging on my door and demanding me to work!" She crossed her arms over
her chest in almost a pouting gesture.
The Bio-Android smiled as she looked away from Aisha, "He seems
trustworthy..."
"Ya think so?" Aisha asked with a brief yawn as she placed her hands behind
her silver-haired head.
"Yes." Melfina said simply as she fell silent, gazing over the cold surface
of the river.
Aisha rocked back and forth on the wooden railing of the bridge, making it
creak loudly as she did so. Melfina gripped her seating soundly as she did
so and Aisha's voice once again rang out over the silence, "What're ya doing
out here anyways, Mel?"
Melfina thought the question over silently. As soon as the Outlaw Star had
landed, she had wandered away from the ship into the desolate darkness of
the unknown planet. Somehow she'd found the river and the bridge and just
settled down peacefully, "Resting." She said.
The area grew silent as the two women just gazed out over the blue river and
the twinkling stars. Finally, Aisha who still stood on the railing spoke.
Now she was more quiet, "Do you know what day it is, Mel?"
She thought a moment. Melfina hadnt been keeping track of time, "No, why?"
Aisha glanced down at her and smiled, "It's the day of the Star Festival."
Melfina looked up at her with curiosity and Aisha laughed a bit, "It's a old
holiday. I aint suprised you dont know about it. Not many people pay much
attention to it." She started pacing along the railing, wobbling at bit at
her balance. "The Ctarl-Ctarl still think highly of it though."
Melfina nodded as she looked away from the girl. She was about to ask more
about the festival when she heard a high pitched scream. When she looked
over, Melfina was doused with a cold splash of water as Aisha fell head
first into the river. The Bio-Android laughed a bit as Aisha water-soaked
head emerged from the river, emitting a light 'mew.'
"I told you it was dangerous." Melfina scolded.
Aisha responded with sticking her toungue out at Melfina followed with a
quick splash of cold water. Melfina blinked a few times as the water hit her
then a large smile spread over her face. Aisha laughs as she stood in the
waist-deep water.
Melfina simply shook her head then with a loud laugh, slid into the water
and returned Aisha's splash with a equally chilling blast of her own.
The two women continued their river war with delight. For the most part,
Aisha dominated the melee but niether paid much attention to who was winning
the fight.
The battle only came to an end when Aisha pushed Melfina's head under the
water. When the Ctarl-Ctarl let up however, Melfina didnt come up. Shouting
a bit, Aisha splashed through the water in search of the bio-android. Not
did she know that Melfina had swam around Aisha and came up behind her. With
a quiet snicker, Melfina made a diving tackle at Aisha's back and sent the
proud Ctarl-Ctarl face first into the water.
Afterwards, Melfina led the pouting Aisha out of the water and the two sat
on the edge of the bridge dripping with water, gazing out once more at the
starlit night.
Melfina ran her hands through her soggy hair, "Aisha, will you tell me about
the Star Festival?" She asked timidly.
The Ctarl-Ctarl's energetic attitude returned once more as she spoke once
more in her loud voice. She only quieted when Melfina patted her gently on
the leg, "Sure!" She cleared her throat and began her story, "Well, it's
celebrated once every year. It's this whole love story between this guy and
girl who're in love but when they're given permission to be together, they
are so distracted that they dont pay attention to their chores so they're
separated but given permission to meet once a year." She spoke quickly and
without pause as she went on, "They were put on opposite sides of this river
and were allowed to meet once a year, right? But it turns out there there
wasnt a bridge that connected them. So, this girl starts crying and going on
about how she cant meet with her boyfried so these magpies end up making a
bridge for her to meet this guy." She crossed her arms proudly as she
finished the tale.
Melfina nodded as she looked down at the river, "It's a nice story."
"Yeah."
The two sat quietly for a moment, simply enjoying the company of one another
as they watched the twinling stars and the steady stream of the river.
Finally, Aisha stood with a light smile.
"I guess we'd best be getting back." She said with a brief shiver, "It's
freezing." Melfina also stood with a small nod but remained silent and
looked to the stars. Aisha watched her, "Something wrong, Mel?"
She bit her lip as she looked over the sky and shook her head gently. Her
gaze was caught by a single bright light that shot across the sky. She
watched the shooting star for a moment then turned her head back towards
Aisha. However, she was caught midway.
Aisha's lips brushed Melfina's as the bio-android felt Aisha's strong hands
touching her waist gently. Melfina stared foreward at the closed eyes of
Aisha Clan-Clan. She felt the passion held by Aisha but was unsure of what
to do. Unsure of wether she felt the way she now knew her Ctarl-Ctarl friend
did. Yet still, Melfina didnt pull away from the kiss.
Finally, Aisha's lips came away from Melfina's and she settled back to look
at the bio-android. The spark still shone brightly in Aisha's eyes but there
was something else there. Love, lust, passion, confusion. Melfina couldnt
tell.
After what seemed like hours, Aisha broke her stare and looked at the
ground. Melfina still had no idea what to say or what to do. Finally, she
said the only thing that came to mind, "You said it. It's freezing. Let's
head back to the Outlaw Star." With that, Melfina started past Aisha, just
brushing her lightly. She didnt know what she wanted but she did know that
she wouldnt figure it out tonight. Everyone was waiting.
After Melfina left, Aisha stood and watched as she walked back towards the
ship. Suddenly, she felt water hitting the top of her already drenched head
and Aisha's gaze stopped watching her love walk off. The rain began to fall
steady as the Ctarl-Ctarl turned to the opposite side of the bridge and
retrieved something from the darkness.
It was impossible for Aisha to tell what her love was thinking when she
walked away but Aisha knew the legend of the Star Festival well and rain was
not a good sign. She sighed as she finished off the legend, "However, if the
rain falls then the bridge will not be formed and the lovers cannot be
joined." Sighing once more, Aisha threw the hand-decorated bamboo branch she
had made the night before into the river. Wether Melfina felt the same way
Aisha did or not, she had a strong feeling that Aisha's dreams would never
come true.
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