4. Phone Home

Moiras body was flying through outer space. Except it wasnt. She was here in a soft, warm cocoon with the man whod come to her aid. The man shed been drawn to like nothing ever before, and they were touching lips in the most lovely and delicious way. Shed seen the woman in the small box do the same with a man-beast in the story of transformation. Shed been fascinated.

Moira knew this was exactly what hed had been asking her to do back where shed landed. Back when he’d first held her in his arms. Shed screwed it up and missed out on the amazing sensations that came with pressing their lips together with her lack of communication skills.

This time she wasnt going to miss a second of the human experience. No letting this moment miss her by. Touching lips was everything she hoped it would be and more. She could do this forever. She also really needed to figure out how to communicate that to this man.

That meant paying attention to the box. She was sure he’d shown it to her so she could learn. They were in harmony with their thoughts and she liked that idea very much.

Even with their minds in sync, it wasn’t the same as the way she and her sister Fates transmitted information to each other. He couldn’t communicate in that same way, only with his thoughts. Moira couldn’t either in this human form and she so wanted to be able to share her mind, the emotions coursing through her, and ideas of home, and being with him, and all the other strange and wonderful experiences of being human. Her heart ached with wanting to learn more about what made him strong, and brave, and how he made her feel all pink and warm simply by being near her.

She put her finger between their lips and broke the moment. The man groaned and licked his lips. He didnt open his eyes and she took the opportunity to touch each of his eyelids with her lips too just to see how that felt. The sounds he made when she did that also make her feel like flying, so she did it again, just to hear it.

Fate, what are you doing to me? His voice rumbled through his chest and straight into hers, relieving some of the pangs in her heart.

Maybe learning to talk could wait. Touching lips, hearing the soft rumblings from his words, and the way he held her with such urgency all made her almost forget she was being punished for her crimes against humanity.

Except she wanted to understand what he was saying. She touched her hand to his cheek and moved back, away from the soft touches. He would understand that kind of communication. His eyelids blinked a few times and when he opened them fully, they were so dark and sparkly, she almost gave in and went back to touching lips with him.

He sighed softly. I wish I knew your name, Fate.

She needed to learn his communication. She tried another one of the words shed heard from him several times already. Fay.

Is your name Fay? His eyes were bright with excitement and he clearly wanted something from her.

She didnt respond because what if she messed up again and he didnt want to kiss her anymore? Instead she pointed to the box again. This time she would pay better attention to the words and figure out their meanings.

You want to watch the movie? I think youll like this one. Im hoping you get some ideas from it. He smiled at her and reached for the box.

Moira did like the box because it reminded her of her life before this weird punishment. She spent her whole existence watching others’ lives from her place in the stars. The stories in the box were like the lives of the humans here on Earth, but condensed to the important parts. It made her wish to know what the mans life was like outside of this magical shelter. What were his story’s important parts?

She also wished she had something to call him besides - the man. She put that first on her list to find out once she acquired some of his language. Second would be to ask him to help her find a way back home. He seemed kind enough that he might be willing to face that monumental task. Third she would ask him to touch lips again and hold her in his arms.

If she never made it back to the sisterhood to continue her life as a Fate, watching the beings of the universe... just the idea opened up a chasm in her core. She had to find a way home, back to her real place in the universe.

But just for this one small moment, she promised herself, that if that never happened, she would find a way to be content simply by being near the man.

The sounds started up from the box again and Moira had to wonder if he’d chosen this life story in particular because of her. It was about a being not from Earth who had been left behind and had to learn to survive. She could probably pick up some important tips and skills.

She paid remarkably close attention, even to the point of setting the delicious sustenance the man had provided her aside, so she had no distractions. The strange little being in the box had many of the same problems she did. It was very clever and used its particular skills to learn the human language and communicate that it wanted to go home.

She wanted to see that part again and wondered whether this box was like life and could rarely be relived or not. She touched the box and the picture froze. Oh no. She squeaked out the only word she knew. No.

The man touched the box in another place, and the story reversed rapidly, and started over right at the part she wanted to see.

This was perfect and Moira touched her lips to the man’s hand to thank him for showing it to her. Kay.

He blinked a few times, looked from the spot she kissed to her eyes and back again. Then he did the same thing to her hand, and intertwined his fingers with hers. They stayed that way for a long time and it made her feel better, closing that gap in her soul that ached so.

This time when the story ended, she was not sad. Well, she was because E.T. had to leave of his new friends. That part made the water tears come from her eyes and the parasites fill her nose again. But she was also excited because E.T. had given her the missing piece she needed to begin communicating with the man.

Before the final story sounds finished, Moira turned to the man and touched his chest with one finger. She couldn’t make hers glow like E.T. but she hoped the man understood anyway. Very carefully she made the sound to ask him what she should call him. “Ell-Ee-Uht.”

He smiled and repeated the phrase back. “Elliot?”

“Elleeuht.” She smiled back and touched her finger to her chest, waiting for him to say her name. Except, her name wasn’t E.T. and she wasn’t sure how to tell him that so she waited to see what he would say.

He touched his chest again and said, “Percy.”

Then he reached out touching her and said, “Fate.”

He’d said that sound before. That’s what he wanted to call her? “Fate.”

He nodded and took her hand, bringing it back to her chest. Aha, he wanted her to try his name. “Prrss.”

“Good try. Purr-see.” He drug out the sounds so she could catch the nuances in them.

“Pur-see.”

“Close enough, darlin’.” He brushed his lips across hers and when he pulled away his cheeks were pink again. She liked feeling pink. She liked it when he felt pink too.

If he was going to reward her with kisses, she would say his name over and over. “Percy, Percy, Percy.”

He didn’t give her a kiss this time, but he did smile all pink again. He picked up the box and said, “tablet.”

Got it. The box was called a tablet, or maybe the stories were. She repeated the word and then pointed to various things around the space, repeating what he said and committing them to memory.

She pointed to the sustenance because she enjoyed consuming them almost as much as watching the stories and feeling pink.

“Snacks,” he said slowly. Percy moved his hand over all the varieties. “These are all snacks. This is popcorn, these are Mamp;Ms, these are peanuts, and these are candy corns.”

She pointed to each and repeated their names back to him. The words were awkward, but with each try they came easier. Single words wasn’t enough to communicate with him through. When Percy spoke to her and in the stories, they said many words together and not just the names of items.

Moira picked up a piece of popcorn and made the motion with her mouth like she was eating, but didn’t actually consume the snack. She pointed to her mouth like she had the different snacks, hoping he would understand what she was asking.

Percy nodded. He did the same motions, pretending to consume the food. “Eat. Eat popcorn.”

She tested the idea by picking up a peanut and consuming it, then said. “Eat peanut.”

He clapped his hands and nodded his head, which gave Moira a warmth all across her chest. They were well on their way to being able to communicate for real now. It didn’t take long before she had a litany of items including the tree they were sheltering in, his boots, the shirt hed given her, and even the bed. But she needed more of the actions that went with the things.

She touched her lips and then touched his. Percy’s cheeks went a color nearer to the red of some of the stars in the sky, and his eyes went dark and sparkling. “I gotta be honest with you. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with that one, darlin’. I wasn’t created as a human and we hedgehogs don’t do a whole lot of kissing. I hope I did it okay with you.”

She shook her head gently, not understanding what he was trying to tell her. She tried again hoping she wasn’t making him think she didn’t want him to touch lips with her. Moira touched her lips again and then his. “Okay, Percy.”

The color in his cheeks intensified and though she couldn’t see her own face to know for sure, she felt that same heat she liked in her own skin. The pink feeling was good, she wasn’t wrong about that. Moira gently pressed her lips to his.

Percy made a sound that she didn’t think was a word, but that made her insides feel hot too. Then he moved his lips against hers and said, ‘Kiss. I really like kissing you, Fate.”

She made the same sound, or something similar and repeated some of the word back. “Kiss. Like kissing you.”

Apparently, she’d gotten it right because Percy continued to kiss her, and kiss her, and kiss her, until she forgot about learning how to speak any other language. This time he was the one who stopped them.

“I could kiss you all night, but if I’m going to take you back to Rogue in the morning, we’d better get back to teaching you more words. I’m not sure I want to tell Inanna and Ninsy, or even Kady and Neo about this part of our evening.” He moved away from her a little and pointed to the tablet.

She didn’t understand his words, except of course the word kiss. She did get that he wanted to use the tablet for more communications lessons.

“No.” She wanted to work with him more to learn instead of the stories. There was one she didn’t know how to ask about because there was nothing concrete to point to in the tree. But E.T. had used a word or a phrase that she hoped had the meaning she was searching for, so she tried it out with a small adjustment. She pointed to the tablet and said, “Home. E.T. go home.”

Then she pointed to herself. “Fate go home.”

“I knew it. I knew you’d want to go home.” He grabbed her up in his arms and squeezed her so tight she couldn’t breathe for a second. Then he let go, threw the blanket off and jumped out of the bed.

Where was he going? “Percy.

Oh no, what if he thought she meant he should go home? She climbed out of the bed and followed after him. Her legs weren’t as steady after being off her feet and she tripped over his boots. She fell on the hard dirt floor and cried out while reaching for him, panic rushing through her body like the blood in her veins. “No Percy go home.”

Percys big strong arms lifted her up off the ground and held her tight to his bare chest. Im not going anywhere without you, darlin. Youre my Fate.

Your Fate. She mimicked his words hoping they made as much sense to him as they did to her.

Thats right. Now lets see if we can figure out a plan to get you home. I think I have an idea about where you come from. He let her feet drop to the ground again, but made sure she was steady and upright before letting him go.

She grabbed onto his arm and held tight this time so he couldn’t get away. Home.

Yeah. Come on. He took her hand and they walked back outside, but the harsh light of Earths star had faded, and the stars were twinkling down from the sky, watching them.

Finally something she understood. She stared up into the evening sky and wished she could return to her star. As soon as that thought popped into her head, a breeze blew through the trees and it was if the dragon on top of their shelter spread its wings just so she could see into the sky better. The night became darker, and that made stars twinkle even brighter.

They twinkled like Percys eyes.

Between the wings was her star. She laid her head against his chest. The thought of being home, and the warmth of his body against hers felt so much the same on the inside, where it mattered.

Percys gaze shot from tree to her and his mouth popped open. No words came out, but she got the feeling he was in just as much awe as she was.She pointed to her star. Home, Percy.

Whoa. Thats where you live? Crudmuffins. The only way we can get you there is by spaceship and the only ones I know about are from a long time ago, in galaxy far, far away. He stared at the little dot shed pointed to for a long time.

His mouth squished and moved in funny ways. Fate, thats really your home? Right there in the sky?

Home, she repeated. She could tell he was working something out in his head, but wasnt sure what or how to help him understand.

Percy shook his head and pulled her toward the little magical being theyd ridden here. “If that’s where you’re from, we’ve got to take you back to Rogue and maybe we can get one of the dragons to take you home.”

Home was good. The way Percy held his body and the set of his face was sad though, and that hit Moira in the stomach like hitting the dirt on Earth all over again. She didn’t understand his words, but she did realize that she could go home with this ship. But it meant leaving Percy.

That was something she would have to think about later, because the dragon tree above them moved again, and this time, it wasnt branches and leaves. How had she not sensed another magical being up in the tree?

She simply hadnt expected this little corner of Earth where shed been banished to have so much magic. Most humans didnt have any. But whatever was in the tree had a lot of it, and she couldnt tell whether it was good or bad.

There was a darkness swirling around them, and Percy growled, like the Beast in the movie and picked her up.Not Kur-Jara. You come down from there and quit scaring my Fate.

She only understood about half of his words, but they were angry. Except for the part where he called her his Fate. That she understood and it made her feel protected.

The dark magic around them receded and before she could even blink. An enormous black dragon dropped from the top of the tree to the ground in front of them. Black fire wafted from his mouth and snout and he stalked toward them.

So Moira did the only thing that had proven to make a being here on Earth back off. She smacked it in the face, not knowing she would pass her space parasites onto him. But she must have, because instead of backing off, the dragon sneezed.