Conundrum

Chapter 9: Cut My Lip

      The steady rhythm of footsteps filled the cramped room; sometimes the crack of the near crumbling wood settling broke the clock-like consistency. It was nearly two in the morning and none of them had gotten a wink of sleep. There was something wrong. Something so horribly wrong that Thace could feel it his gut twist and shirvel as he paced. Ulaz sat in the corner of the room, buried under a mountain of ragged blankets and his unblinking gaze fixed towards the door. Thace could see him shaking under his cocoon.

      Kolivan, Regris, and Antok had went around the caravee, asking if anyone had seen their kit. That had been twenty minutes ago. It was a beautiful night; with a cloudless sky, thousands of twinkling stars peppering the night, and the moon shone like an enormous night light. There was a breeze strong enough to cause litter to scuttle across the half-melted snow-covered ground. The perfect night to go stargazing, Thace thought as his heart panged.

      He had really been looking forward to spending time with his kit. They all loved being around the others, but each Galran had their own special 'thing' with the kit. Kolivan and Keith had always connected through hand to hand combat and weaponry. The two, during the spring especially, would spar for hours on end. Kolivan showing Keith new moves and teaching him how to hold a blade correctly. Sometimes they stayed together all day, until they were both exhausted and covered in sweat, dirt, and the occasional flower that got caught in the crossfire. Kolivan always seemed lighter on those days, and Keith? He always came back with the most devilish smiles and a spark in his eye that made Thace's heart swell.

      Antok always told stories. Ones of romance, or dragons, or even aliens, and Keith clung to his words like a life line. Despite Antok being as blunt as a hammerhead, the man was able to concoct the most interesting and intricately beautiful stores. So, naturally, Keith's favorite story was the most illogical and improbable on out of the whole bunch. Thace never fully understood why Keith enjoyed the story about a group of people piloting flying, robotic space lions to defeat a bunch of evil space cats. Perhaps the reason he liked it so much was because it was so highly unrealistic.

      Regris always knew how to make Keith feel better, so whenever the was having a bad day, he immediately went to Regris. Regris was the youngest of the Galran men, so he was more of an older brother to Keith than a father, and Regris accepted that in full force. He certainly acted like an older brother, teasing Keith at every chance he got, randomly tackling the poor kit in 'a loving hug', gossiping about whatever nonsense he came up with that day, and he always knew the right thing to say to Keith.

      Thace remembers on a particularly bad day, when Keith was too sick to get out of bed, Regris just snuggled up next to him. Regris played with Keith's hair and bared the bouts of sickness that came over him throughout the day. At one point, Keith wasn't able to make it to the bowl placed near him and ended up getting vomit all over them both. Keith panicked, but all Regris did was hold Keith close to him as they got cleaned up.

      For Thace and Keith, it had always been stargazing. They would walk to the harbor and lay in the sand, looking up at the stars and pointing out constellations. Eventually, they made up a game naming the constellations in the sky. They would go from the first Thace had taught him and alternate saying the names onward. It would go on for hours, until Keith got cold, or one of the other members of their carea came and got them. Usually, it was Ulaz, who came with a soft smile on his face and a few blankets from their stash.

      Thace was the most affectionate member of their carea, but Ulaz was a close second. He showed his love to everyone in a different way, and for Keith, he would always wrap them up in about a hundred of their ragged blankets they'd collected over the years and sing. His voice was soft and gentle but captured every bit of your attention like a siren. Usually, when he did this, it was about the same time they were all getting ready to go to bed.