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"So you really are — just another kid?" asked Martin.
"You doubted?" asked Keyro.
"Kinda."
"I'm also just another kid who's — well…" Keyro paused.
"What?" asked Martin.
"Terribly embarassing thing for a space explorer to admit." muttered Keyro.
"What? I won't tell anyone." promised Martin.
"I'm afraid of heights." said Keyro. "At least the high cliff drop-off type like that. I–I couldn't do anything because I was too scared to do anything."
Martin's eyes went wide. "But — but so was I!"
"Wrong." said Keyro. "You DID do something. You saved me. You were braver than me."
Martin's eyes went even wider. "I–I was — braver than you?!"
Keyro smiled and nodded. "And you saved my life."
As relief poured over both boys, Keyro started to giggle. Kneeling on the ground next to Martin as he did, it somehow became contagious. Finally Martin managed to snicker, "What's so fu
"Well," laughed Keyro, "I think we found where the edge of the woods is!"
That resulted in another round of laughter. Finally the two boys calmed down and slowly sat up. "You did save my life." said Keyro quietly. "Had I fallen, I'm not sure even I could have survived. I know one shows affection with a hug, but somehow that doesn't seem to be enough."
Martin smiled. "Well, there is one other thing. Have you ever heard of a kiss?"
Keyro thought about this. "I think I've seen them in some of the movies I've watched. But I've never really understood what they were for."
Martin leaned over and kissed Keyro. The boy looked stu
Martin giggled. "Of course."
Keyro reached over, hugged Martin, and gave him a kiss. "Thank you for saving me, Martin."
Martin was left briefly too stu
"Still not dirty enough, if you ask me." proclaimed Keyro. "Wa
Martin shrugged. "Why not? I don't think it's going to make that much difference."
Keyro led the way safely back, avoiding the last known location of the snake, and even steering clear of the old cabin. His ante
They finally decided they'd had about enough (for one thing, it was getting difficult to move), and gradually staggered their way over to the lake to wash off. It took a considerable period of time to get all of the mud, soot, dirt, grass, and assorted grime they'd gotten into! off of their bodies, but eventually, two clean boys emerged from the lake and started making their way carefully back to the tent-dome.
Davy and Jahv were waiting there when they arrived. "There you two are!" said Jahv. "Davy persuaded his mom to bake some cookies for a get-together with friends."
"Yeah, I just didn't tell her that some of thise friends aren't from this planet." added Davy.
"Sounds good!" a
"Where've you two been all this time?" asked Davy. "I saw Martin arrive earlier today and then the two of you scoot off into the woods, but that was hours ago."
"Exploring the woods." replied Martin, putting his clothes back on that Keyro had brought out, along with towels for the two to dry off.
"More like exploring the mud hole — again." said Jahv. "No offense, but you two are no great adventurers, so don't try to kid us."
"Really." said Davy, but not unkindly. "Exploring the woods. Sure."
Neither Davy nor Jahv quite understood the level of giggling that Martin and Keyro indulged in while everyone enjoyed the plate of freshly-baked cookies.
Part 10
Winter had not been entirely kind to the young aliens stranded on Earth. Of the four, only Arion had not suffered greatly. A loner by nature, and from a mountainous and rather cold world, he relished the winter air and the snow. He spent vast amounts of time soaring through the sky, testing his own flight ability during the harshest of blizzards, generally coming back exhilarated and "victorious over the elements", as he liked to phrase it. His appearance changed subtly during the winter months, with white streaks in his feather-like hair becoming evident.
His favorite «activity» was dive-bombing rabbits. He didn't capture or kill them, just scared the daylights out of them. It was reasonable to assume that if rabbit droppings were good fertilizer, the grass and plants in the forest would grow unusually well come spring.
Morik suffered the greatest. Having spent most of his life on a perpetual tropical world, and with no clothes, the poor camouflage-ski
Still, by the time Niklas and Davy convinced Morik to wear a heavy winter suit, boots, and a scarf they'd picked up at a thrift store in town, Morik's hair was better than waist length, there was a wild gleam in his eyes, and a slight growl to his voice. He accepted the winter clothes and do
Jahv and Keyro seemed largely undisturbed by the winter, mostly because they didn't venture outdoors much. Jahv was up to something in his workshop, and seemed determined to make up for the errors of some of his previous endeavors. But no one knew just what he was working on. Both aliens, generally tending to spend their time naked, had taken to wearing at least limited clothing. In Jahv's case it had a practical purpose. He'd asked Davy for a pair of overalls. He admired the extensive pockets they had. This proved useful for carrying around a variety of tools. Keyro, on the other hand, had found a Web Site that sold T-shirts with slogans, and started making some of his own when Martin gave the young alien some of his T-shirts that he had slightly outgrown. Of course, Keyro tended to wear the T-shirts and nothing else, which looked pretty hysterical, but he was reasonably imaginative with the slogans. Everyone's favorite seemed to be "Is There Any Intelligent Life On This Planet?"