Chapter Text
Pluto dragged his feet reluctantly, for his companion (a very loyal moon indeed) clung on to his hoodie, humming a familiar fishing song. The dwarf planet wasn’t as tall as he wished, and in fact, felt weightless at times when sobering in the warrens of Old Space; hence the involuntarily pace. The moon that sat upon his shoulders played the song’s second verse with whistling this time. Aloft and low, the fictitious notes played, until the little guy lost his wind, parched lips dry once more. He went back to humming, as Pluto continued to walk on.
“Charon,” Pluto beckoned the moon’s name, “I adore your tunes, but can you take a moment to tell me where to go?”
Ah, the purpose of this long walk! It was a bit peculiar, in the least, on how far Pluto was willing to actually go. Of course, little Charon, devoted as he is, felt vital, and sought to tag along, as always. Pluto, in most cases, took these extensive treads for years at a time, it didn’t quite rise any concern to the other matter and planets alike on when he’d ever return. This instance, however, there was something irking at him –something that he craved to get away from. Whatever that “something” could be, did not matter, but simply he did not feel the desire to meet it.
And of course, Charon only heard half of Pluto’s request against his hums, “Repeat?”
“Would you mind pausing those gracious hums of yours and lead me on the path of victory?” Pluto threw in some prince-charming vibe to humor his moon a little better. And it worked. After all, with Charon’s first act of bellowing “Young Master!” or “King of the Unseen!” it felt only natural to jest along for the two. He became a king, and the little moon declared the Prince.
The little boy yapped his laughter, mumbling to himself something only an angler could understand. Pluto carried on, waiting for the boy’s silly chuckles to subside. As soon as it did, however, a hiccup snagged at his throat. More laughter followed, Charon loosing grip of Pluto’s hoodie and scarf, and hiccups prevailed. Amidst his noisy laughter, the oversized fisher’s hat resting on his head plopped over his eyes, blinding his view. The small planet stopped as Charon tried to catch his breathe. Pluto spoke silently to himself of the predictable objections on how humorless this whole scenario really was.
“Oh Zymal,” Charon snickered, using Pluto’s real name, “I can’t! Can’t see the mud line, you know? My cap is in the way, haha! Now I am blind, too! How funny is that? Too funny, yeah? Too funny!”
Despite the nuisance, Pluto cracked a small smile, replacing Charon’s mark of “funny” to “ironic”. He lowered himself and rested down to his knees so his “Prince” could get down all the more easier, “Well that’s not good. Two blind masses wandering in Old Space sounds a bit dangerous…”
Again, Charon continued to giggle, and finally repositioned his hat. Poor Pluto’s scarf was tugged out loosely, and unsymmetrical, favoring on one side. Without having to ask, Charon leveled it out for his dear friend. Knowing him well enough, and his condition of hindered strength, the little moon did not climb back up to his brother’s shoulders, but instead, held his hand. Pluto rose, and they continued onward, Charon heartily leading the way. That is, until out in the deep black, an undesirable presence stopped them short.
“Boys, mollycoddle-boys, out this far from the Sun?” Eris crackled her devious amusement, presenting her prodigious self by resting carelessly on a mound of meteorite. Pluto dropped his smile and only mumbled her name. He already could feel sick to his stomach, and suddenly felt the wish to see, just to glare in her general direction. Charon, surprisingly, did not see what was so funny, as Eris’s laughter died away.
Pluto yanked at Charon’s hand, “Let’s go a different way”, in a more demanding tone than suggestion. The moon, of course, complied, but Eris’s synthetic hair lashed a foot from them. The white locks, forming a massive hand, raised a pointing finger, and bobbed left to right.
“Tsk tsk”, she noised, and stood up from the rubble. A leap down and she was in front of the two with a smirking gaze, her hair teasing waves behind as to show they were not going anywhere. Eris swiftly grabbed Pluto’s scarf and jerked it forward, leaving him to stumble and straighten himself closer to her. She whispered, the obvious hate filling the atmosphere, “Where are you running off to now, Zymal?”
Charon whimpered a ‘let go!’ but Eris’s hair reacted with briny intentions, shoving the kid aside, “Not now, kiddie, the adults are talking here.”
Now he rolled his eyes to himself (both rivaling planets were only a personified age of 16, no adulthood there), and decided to sit aside on this one. Pluto, left to stand for himself, in every case the two planets met, jerked his scarf back. She turned away, getting bored already, as her hair pranced about him anonymously.
“Answer this question, and I may let you go.”
“We’re walking away from them.”
She turned back, stupefied that he swallowed his pride sooner than usual, yet didn’t hear exactly under that murmured breath, “What, say it again?”
“We’re just getting away from Arona and the others gathering for those strangers’ arrival”
“So you heard?”
“Of course.”
“Not instigated, I see?”
“Not in the slightest, Eris.”
“Oooh, but what about Luna?” she crooned now, like taking a jab to his nerves, “Leaving her off on her own with such strange beings? Sure, sure, she’s excited, but I didn’t think you were so heartless, Zymal. I bet Terra-“
“Don’t you dare talk about Luna like that!” He lowered his head, only half ashamed for slowly losing his patience with this pesky planet before him. The sound of Luna’s name against her snake-forked tongue stung him with her degraded poison. The corruption deepened the second she brought up Earth’s name. The relationship between Earth and his Moon has been quiet for centuries. It was not Pluto’s fault he fell in love with the sweet-hearted Luna.
Oh wait, no, it was.
He shook his head to himself, “She’s beautiful, not weak. Not weak, like you.”
“I always despised that thoughtless confidence of yours. Can’t keep your mouth shut, huh? How the hell could someone as blind and pathetic as you see her as beautiful, huh? Enlighten me on the sour subject, blind bastard.”
Sitting to himself, only a couple feet away, Charon meekly scooted further from the two, as the conversation quickly heated, as it always usually did.
Pluto abruptly came back with an answer to her condemning criticism, “It’s not difficult to know as someone as kind and wonderful as her. And it’s not difficult to recognize the sickening ugliness in others, Eris!” He nearly hissed her name in his own detestation for her. She didn’t back down so easily, and her hand-of-hair was whipping at the boiled emotions she felt deep within, “Why don’t you tell that to me again, when that ooh-innocent-Luna of yours ends up sleeping with the very man you despise. The planet that was first to consider you nothing more than a pointless heap of rock! That’s what you are, isn’t it? I can see, I bet Terra’s Moon can see it too! When will you see?! “
Despite being in front of him, his resentment of clenched fists and biting tongue gave the notion to fight her now, destroy her own poise with his bare hands. It wasn’t only Terra who threw me out as useless, mocking thoughts deluded his head. But that was rather foolish to even consider, and he let go of the illusion straightaway. Eris was bigger by oh-so few inches, but that hair benefit of hers could beat him down instantly; not to mention his newly trashed reputation with any other planet as an ended result. What would Luna think of me? Is what he kept discerning to himself since then.
He cursed under his breathe and turned a whole 180, heading back where he came. He called to Charon, who gladly skipped by and swung at his open hand, and the boys were off.
With a cautious whisper, and glance from Pluto’s pale eyes to Eris’s glare behind, asked, “Are we going back to the others? Do you really want to meet those weird guys coming from a different universe, Zymal?”
There was only a nod, straightening of the scarf, and wider strides to the newly reaches of their Space. Eris, watching them leave, scowled with desolation. She thought to herself that perhaps she might’ve gone too far? Ah, or not far enough…
In effort to release some envy, Eris called tauntingly at his back, "Run, Pluto, run!"