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I looked at him warily. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
He grinned, showing that he had not lost his irrepressible and precocious side. “Actually, I’m sure that it’s not a good idea, but I have to do it anyway. We’re not going to make any progress here if he’s still angry with me.”
“Try not to break anything,” I said. Buck rolled his shoulders as though he was sloughing off the entire weight of the world, and sauntered away in pursuit of Brett. I exhaled deeply and put my hands on my hips. It was strange, but there was something comforting about having Buck back with us. There had been something missing from the thunder ever since he had left, but now it was like old times again.
I turned slowly and looked at Kadie. She was standing, unsure whether she should follow Buck or not. I thought I ought to try and make her feel welcome. “Would you like some tea?” I asked. She nodded, and then slowly sat down.
*
I returned with some hot tea a short while later. Kadie took it in her hands and blew, making the surface ripple. She perched on a rock and seemed a little more at ease.
“What’s the deal with those two?” she asked, concern entering her voice.
I laughed as I sipped my tea and joined her in sitting down. “That is a long story. The short version is that someone Brett cared about got hurt, and he blames Buck.”
“Was it Buck’s fault?” Kadie asked.
I tried not to think about that day, the day that everything changed. We had all been happy until then. “Not entirely, but he’s the only one left to blame.”
“Is that why he left?”
“Partly,” I said. “He didn’t see eye to eye with his father. But the truth is that Buck always had an eye on the outside world. When we were younger, he was always the one to push the boundaries, urging us to fly that little bit farther, getting us ever closer to the human world. He just wanted to know what it was like. Everyone tried to tell him that it was safer being here, hiding from them, but his curiosity was unbound. I think he was always going to leave at some point, although I never expected him to stay away for this long. I should thank you, really, for bringing my friend back to me,” I raised my cup to her and smiled.
“When I first arrived, I wasn’t sure the three of you were friends. There was a lot of animosity between you.”
“Sometimes that’s what friendship means. It’s always the people you love the most, who hurt you the most.”
“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never really had a friend,” she said, and she seemed surprised at herself that she would say this. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that,” she covered her confession with a nervous laugh and swept back a few lustrous strands of hair.
“It’s okay, I’m not the type to judge. I’m surprised though; you seem personable enough.”
“I just never really fit in with my thunder. I tried to get close to people, but they always seemed to have a different agenda from me.”
“You don’t want to head back to Drakon?” I asked, knowing that it was their driving force.
Kadie looked away and shook her head in an almost imperceptible way. “It’s not that… I just… I don’t see it as the entire driving force for our existence. I mean, if there was a way to get back there then I would be happy to go, but until then why can’t we just be happy here? But they always say that, as soon as we feel settled, that’s when we lose sight of the grand plan. Maybe they’re right and I’m too weak to be with them.”
“I don’t think it’s weak to accept that some things are inevitable. I’d rather that than bang my head against a brick wall over and over again, but I suppose, if they’ve believed this for so long, they’re hardly likely to abandon that belief now. It’s become too entrenched.”
Kadie nodded. “That’s what I’m afraid of. They’re all fixated on this one thing, and I don’t want to be obsessed like them. Ilvar seems convinced that he’s going to succeed in this plan, that there’s no other result than us returning to Drakon. But I don’t know whether it’s that certain. What if he ends up destroying this planet for nothing?”
I took another sip of my tea, enjoying the calming feeling that washed over me. “We won’t let that happen,” I said.
“You seem a lot surer about that than Brett.”
I cast my gaze towards the mouth of the chamber. “I know, but he just needs some guidance. This is our home. We’re not going to let Ilvar destroy it. If we’re the only things standing between him and Earth then, so be it.”
“You wouldn’t want to join him then? You’re not curious about what Drakon is like?”
“Of course, I am,” I laughed lightly, “but I’m certainly not willing to destroy this place to get back there. I may not be too fond of humans, but they don’t deserve to be exterminated just because we want to find a way to get home, and that’s not to mention all the other life on this planet. Our ancestors came here for a reason. We left Drakon for a reason. Maybe we’re not supposed to go back there.” I sighed. “Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and be there when our ancestors left. I’d love to have been privy to the discussions that arose when they arrived on Earth. How did the different philosophies between the two thunders happen anyway? Was it just an argument that got out of hand, was it two people who were too stubborn to compromise? The reason why we’re as we are today lies in the past. All those little decisions, some of them that may have seemed inconsequential at the time, all added up to bring us to this point, and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be there at the beginning. I wonder whether anyone could see the future unfolding as it did.”
“I suppose it’s not much different now. It’s just that we’re the ones who are making the decisions that are going to impact the future.”
I inclined my head. “Indeed, and perhaps you will become known as the savior of Earth. You took a great risk leaving your thunder.”
“I know,” she said quietly. Then her gaze flicked up and met mine. “And I really didn’t intend to meet Buck. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I just knew I needed to get away from there. Running into Buck was just a coincidence.”
“I’m sure it was, but you’re safe now. And whatever happens, we’ll face it together. Whatever Ilvar plans, he’s not going to get it.”
