Chapter Text
The giggling noises of a little girl could be heard throughout the streets of the port town as the Exo-Taranis arrived. As soon as the giant tank had stopped, Mei had immediately hopped out and began running down to the marketplace.
“Don’t wander too far off, Mei,” came the voice of her older brother. Malt had just followed suit, looking out for the little pup. Though his voice carried out a warning, his expression seemed to show a smile – one that he hadn’t shown in quite a long while.
Mei spun around, her eyes twinkling with excitement and a little bit of mischief. “Don’t worry, Malt,” she called out. “I’ll be careful! I promise!”
“You better not break that promise, little lady!”
Right after he said that, Malt felt a cream-coloured paw on his shoulder, prompting him to turn around to face Kyle. The Felineko had a wry smirk on his face as he shook his head.
“Aw, don’t sweat it,” Kyle chuckled. “I’m pretty sure Mei gets the memo. Besides, she’s growing up pretty quickly – if there’s anyone who can hold her own, it’s definitely Mei.”
“I-I know,” Malt replied with a sigh. “It’s just…I worry for her every day, y’know?”
Kyle frowned as he slowly nodded. “Yeah. Especially given the recent events that happened.”
Both boys knew that it had been a difficult time for them, along with the rest of their crew. It was only a few days ago since Hanna had been seemingly killed during the teleportation accident when they (along with Mei, Socks, Boron, Chick, Hack, and Sheena) were trying to save her and Britz from the rogue Taranis and bring them aboard the Tarascus. They succeeded in saving Britz, but were unable to get Hanna back when Jihl fired the Belenos upon them, destroying the Tarascus and badly damaging the Taranis, along with disintegrating Hanna’s body.
Having been the closest to Hanna, Malt and Kyle were deeply scarred in different ways – Kyle was left heartbroken due to his crush on her, whereas Malt became a soulless shell of his former self. It had taken Wappa and Jin – the only two children who weren’t present during that time – to coax them out and remember the good memories they shared with the girl. It wasn’t an easy task, but eventually it worked.
Gone were the days of moping about, replaced by a rekindled fire of hope – a fire that only recently began to burn even brighter following the aftermath of the children’s first battle against Jihl and the Belenos. Right after the mysterious tank had left, they had heard a voice call to them on the Taranis’s communicator. There was definitely no mistaking it…Hanna was alive, and somewhere inside the Belenos!
“How’s Vanilla doing, by the way,” asked Malt.
During said battle, their newest recruit Vanilla had received the brunt of a particularly powerful blast from the Belenos. The result was a particularly nasty burn on her right shoulder – a wound that Kyle found incredibly difficult to patch up. Not physically, of course – he had some knowledge on basic first-aid, having read a few medical books alongside Hanna, after all – but emotionally, as he simply couldn’t bear seeing a lady like Vanilla in pain. There was also the fact that he had been practically looking away from her injured form while keeping his eyes shut, requiring her frustrated voice to guide him as he dressed her wounds.
“She’s doing fine,” he replied. “Though pretty damn stubborn. She keeps insisting that she can handle herself, despite me telling her to take it easy.”
Malt chuckled, though it sounded melancholic than anything. “She’s got a thick skull, that’s for sure,” he remarked.
The conversation was interrupted by a loud crash, followed by Mei’s surprised yelp. They turned their attention to the little Caninu sitting on the ground, rubbing her forehead in pain. Nearby, a tall yet stout Caninu man was scolding her, despite his face showing more worry than anger (though it didn’t help to console the little child). Broken wooden cages lay scattered around them, releasing several clucken that wasted no time in running amok, causing panic among the residents.
“I better go check on Mei, and help out with wrangling a few clucken,” said Malt as he began sprinting towards the commotion. “See you in a bit!”
Kyle grinned as he watched the older boy run off. It had been a good while since the last time he’d seen Malt return to his usual self.
Now, there was the matter of trying to get Vanilla to see reason. Like Malt had said before, the president’s daughter had one hell of a thick skull. If they were going to really get through to her, someone was going to have to be extra blunt with their words.
…That didn’t mean Kyle had to be heartless regarding her feelings, though. She had been through hell and back, after all. Probably more so than the rest of the Taranis kids combined.
His thoughts were interrupted by a brown-and-tan furry arm snaking itself around his neck, pulling him into a headlock.
“Wha—?”
Before he could utter so much as a complete syllable, a gloved fist rubbed itself roughly against the crown of his head, ruffling his carefully-brushed ginger hair.
“Ack! Jin, knock it off! I just finished brushing my hair this morning! Stop!”
The Caninu boy barked out a laughter as he released Kyle, giving him time to catch his breath. Still, he couldn’t help but ruffle Kyle’s hair a little more, much to his chagrin.
“C’mon, man,” Jin said, unable to contain himself. “You get way too wound up when you’re like that. Why not just loosen up a little every now and again?”
Kyle pouted as he got to work on combing his fingers through his hair, trying to get the loose strands back to where they were before. “In case you’ve forgotten, and God forbid you have forgotten, I’ve got an image to maintain! You of all people should know that I really hate it when my clothes get dirty, or my fur is messed up.”
“Yes, but don’t you think he also has a point?” Britz’s quieter voice spoke up behind Kyle as the younger Caninu strolled up behind him. “Besides, it’ll be a while before we can resume our pursuit of the Belenos. We should just take this opportunity to relax every now and again.”
Kyle looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, he sighed. “I suppose,” he said. “I mean, we haven’t really had a chance to just be ourselves.”
“Then, why don’t we just stroll around for a bit, just the three of us,” Jin suggested. “After all, it’s been a whole year since the last time we met, and I wanna get up to speed as soon as possible.” He smacked the Felineko in the back a little too hard, almost causing him to stumble forward.
“Eesh, you really missed the lot of us, eh,” Kyle huffed, rubbing at the spot where Jin had smacked him.
“Well, duh!”
“Where should we start first?” Britz asked. “I was thinking of the nearby textile shop to get some new threads and fabrics for Sheena. She said she had some ideas for a couple of new outfits she wanted to make.”
“As long as I don’t end up being her little guinea pig, it doesn’t matter what she makes.”
“I wouldn’t mind trying out whatever she makes, to be honest,” Kyle piped up. “And while we’re at it, I wouldn’t mind dropping by a clothing store to see what they’ve got.”
Jin chuckled. “Ever the guy with the fashion sense, eh,” he snorted.
Kyle blushed at that remark. “Well, I…”
The sound of someone hopping out of the Taranis interrupted him for the second time. All three boys turned around to find none other than Vanilla herself. A swathe of bandages covered her right shoulder as well as her waist, and she had on a spare shirt in place of her usual jacket and cravat. Despite putting on a neutral face, her pained grunts betrayed how she truly felt deep inside.
Jin frowned and crossed his arms. “Well, well,” he said, catching the girl’s attention. “Look who decided to join us.”
“Vanilla?” Kyle asked. “What are you doing out here? Aren’t you supposed to be resting in the dormitory?”
“I…” Vanilla’s eyes darted from side to side, unable to look at either one of them. She clutched her burned shoulder tightly. “I-I just…couldn’t stand being cooped up in here all the time. So, I thought I’d take a walk around. You know, just to get a little bit of cardio.” She gave a small smile. “No need to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
Kyle didn’t need Sheena’s Nono abilities to know that the blue-grey Felineko was lying. His brow furrowed as his tail flicked, as it usually did whenever he got annoyed at something or someone. “Are you sure,” he asked again. “Because your tired expression says otherwise.” He gestured to his own eyes, indicating that, yes, he could tell that she was still exhausted. Her injured shoulder was sagging a little, her ears were slightly drooped, and she had noticeable bags underneath her eyes.
Vanilla hissed under her breath as soon as she realized that Kyle had seen right through her thinly-veiled lie. “Look, I can’t think while I’m laying still in the bunks,” she growled. “I need to be out here, and there’s just so much to process.”
“And you need to rest,” Kyle insisted. “Otherwise, you’ll never be able to fully recover!”
“You’re not my father, so don’t tell me what to do,” she spat. “If I want to rest, then I will rest on my own accord! Until then, stay out of my way!”
Kyle flinched at the amount of venom that laced her voice, but held his ground nonetheless. “I’m not trying to be your dad, and I’m not ordering you around,” he said, keeping his voice calm and steady. “Besides, do you really think that he would have wanted you walking around with an injury like that? We may not be fighting in a war anymore, but we’re still out there fighting for our lives, and any one of us could perish within an eye’s blink!”
Normally, Kyle had been the one to make a sharp rebuttal like that, and there would have been some kind of discussion. It was strange having his role be the exact opposite. Maybe Hanna and Malt were rubbing off on him in more ways than he’d imagined?
Vanilla’s muzzle crinkled in disgust and anger as she squeezed her injured shoulder. “You don’t understand,” she muttered. “None of you do. Just…leave me alone. Please.” Before any of the boys could stop her, she turned on her heel and marched down the street, leaving them all on their own.
“Vanilla…” Kyle murmured, sadness crossing his visage.
Jin and Britz exchanged worried glances. It was rare for Kyle to be so down in the dumps like this. Perhaps there was something in him that actually cared for Vanilla a lot more than he’d prefer to let on?
“I want to respect her wishes,” Kyle said. “But I can’t just leave her be. Who knows what’s out there?”
Jin approached Kyle and put a paw on his shoulder. “Then go and catch up to her,” he said. “Don’t worry about us – we’ll be fine.”
Kyle still seemed hesitant.
“You’re right about not wanting to leave her be,” added Britz. “Besides, in her current state, she shouldn’t be wandering around at all. It’s best if she had someone close by to check on her.”
Kyle took the time to reflect upon this. Then, he took a deep breath to calm himself. “You know what, you’re right,” he said. “Even if she tells me to leave her alone, I’ll stick by her side until she’s ready to return.”
He turned to Jin and Britz with a small smile. “Thanks, guys,” he said. “I guess the clothes store will have to wait a bit.”
“Good grief,” Jin huffed as Kyle began dashing after Vanilla’s trail. “I was hoping to find an excuse to weasel my way outta that one!”
Britz chuckled. “Well, you never know,” he remarked. “Knowing Kyle and his fashion passion, there’s still a chance he might find us and drag us over. And he likely won’t stop until Malt finds us and says that it’s time to go.”
That caused Jin to let out a disgruntled groan, which only made the Berman boy snicker a bit more. He hated it when Britz was right.