VI

Lyra

“You know, I never thought I would be out here, like this.”

She strolled through the forest, with Le’on and Karron at her sides. She had been curious (that hadn’t changed in her time with the two of them) about what lay beyond the village, and the two of them had agreed to go with her to explore. They took her fascination with an amused sort of interest. Both of them were already so used to their surroundings that they were almost mundane, but Lyra had decided she was going to make the most of her self-inflicted exhile.

“What do you mean?” Le’on asked her, sliding aside some brush so that they could pass.

“I’d always wanted to explore out here,” she explained. “As a child… My father was an Admiral in the Intergalactic Navy, and he was always talking about how wonderful different worlds were… how interesting experiencing other cultures and peoples were. When we were set to come and colonize Earth Two – Ma’terra, sorry – I had been so excited…” She sighed wistfully. “But they told us that we were only to stay behind the holograph walls and we wouldn’t actually be exploring the populated areas; our settlements would be in the areas that had no sentient life. I understand why; no one wanted to do what had been done on Earth to native populations, but still. To be completely cut off from everything so new and wonderful… When my father died, he told me to never let go of the idea of expanding my horizons and getting more out of life. I never thought I would actually be able to do it, even if I always wanted to.”

She turned her eyes upwards, towards the sky. The unaltered sky of Earth Two was more violet than it was blue, like that of Earth. She couldn’t remember the exact shade of blue Earth had been – she wasn’t sure if the holograph projection of the sky was as accurate as everyone claimed. A smile played up on her lips, and there was a bit of a childish outburst from her before she looked back at Le’on and Karron.

“Catch me if you can!”

She shot forward, running in and out of the trees. She had no fear of losing herself or the men she was with – they were hunters, and she had faith in their ability to keep up with her. It wasn’t like she was particularly athletic to begin with. She was merely blessed with good genes and a Godly metabolism.

She heard them laughing behind her, and heard the crack of twigs, signaling they were following her. they didn’t catch up to her, and she knew it was because they were letting her get a lead – until she wasn’t.

Karron caught her first, coming up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. They toppled to the ground, but he took the force of landing on the ground. His fingers found her sides, and he began to tickle her, ferociously, sending her into a wild fit of laughter as Le’on came upon them.

“Le’on, help!” She cried out, trying to pry Karron’s hands from her sides. The other merely stood, arms folded, looking down at them. He smiled, leaned down, and Lyra thought he would be her salvation –

Until his fingers joined Karron’s.

Her laughter pealed through the air, punctuating high. She caught the startled rustle of bird wings taking flight as she laughed, and tried to roll as both of these men tickled her. And to think, they were supposed to be the best warriors in their village. To think they were acting like this – like children!

She honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.

Eventually they let off of her, letting her take in deep, thankful gulps of air Le’on sat down with them, turning to lay down, the three of them looking up at the sky as they did.

“You two are ridiculous.”

“You’re the one that decided to play a game of tag,” Korran pointed out, poking her teasingly in the side, making her yelp out.

“Tag doesn’t mean time to tickle!”

“It’s called the spoils of the catch.”

“That is not how tag works.”

“Is so.”

They went back and forth like that, poking fun at each other, until Le’on laughed and rolled over, flopping his body on Lyra’s.

“We should head back soon,” he said. “It will be dark, and the Starkee will come out. Let’s not chance a second encounter with them?”

Korran, despite being interested in the idea of fighting off a Starkee in front of Lyra, at the very least felt it was better to not tempt fate.

The walk back was peaceful, the two of them on either side of her, but their hands were in hers. She couldn’t remember when she’d felt so contented – but it was hard to not feel that way when Korran and Le’on were… well just them. They weren’t what she had expected, but she was infinitely grateful for that.