Floyd was getting better. Really.
This landing, he tried to soften the impact with a slower descent. With his front legs. His back legs came down fast enough to throw everyone off his back. In his defense, it was the first time he’d carried three people.
Orson Weeks was definitely done for if he stayed where he was. And Floyd felt responsible. Even though it wasn’t his fault that all of Orson’s accounts were so well integrated that he couldn’t tell the difference between email and posting. Technology. Backwards technology was to blame.
Floyd paced in the barn aisle back home. It had only been a few hours, but this place had started to feel like home. Undercover or not, these humans were particularly accepting of his ability to fly, and the other stuff…
They were “settling in” Orson and his stuff in Valerie’s spare room. Whatever that meant. There was really only one thing to do. Well, a few things, all necessary. Public speaking had never been his strong point. And three people may not seem like much, but the argument he needed to put forward was important. The humans didn’t realize how important. All life on earth was at stake. If he was correct, all life in the universe was in just as much danger.
“We need to get another moon.” He began.
“Oh, is that all?” The skeptical one, Moira sat down on a hay bale. “Just go to the moon store? That’s your plan?”
“Not all of it.” Floyd refocused his argument on Valerie. She seemed to be the most enthusiastic in whatever they did. If he needed help convincing the others, she would do it, he was sure. “We’ll need to take a sample of the water to be tested while we’re there. Normal water just can’t do what they’ve done with it.”
Silence.
“Are you saying there’s an actual moon store?” Valerie was blinking a lot, and hopefully, believing him.
“Well, they’re a supplier of almost all introductory planet needs. Terraforming, Dinosaur Cultivation, and moon supply, which is what we definitely need. The good news is your moon is, or was, a classically beloved moon, so finding one of the right size and shape isn’t going to be very difficult. There are so many copies out there. Having one of those is more a status symbol than anything else.”
“How much does a dinosaur cost?” Valerie’s eyes were wide, and she really was trying to bite her tongue.
“Val!” Moira was exasperated and clutching her stomach. “Moon. Focus on the moon.” She took a few steps outside the barn before puking.
Valerie went over to her. They did NOT have time for this.
“We will have to go soon. There’s always a long line.”
Valerie glared at him, and he backed up a step. Orson was sitting on the steps up to the apartment, and seemed to be trying to cope with how drastically his life had changed in the last few hours. Floyd could sympathize. Sometimes life seems to decide it wants to drag you through the brambles rather than allow you to keep the path you had planned.
“Your video fish friend said 6 days, but I seriously doubt they have the ability to slow their process enough to be that exact. We probably only have 3 days.”
Moira was too sick to move. Valerie might not want to go with him, and Orson was still going through the stages of grief. Floyd didn’t want to be around him when he started blaming… people for perfectly innocent mistakes.
Moira whispered something to Valerie. Floyd couldn’t quite make it out. But Moira seemed to be afraid. Valerie turned to look at him, with a determined look on her face.
“Do you really need me to go with you?”
She understood! Or was, at least, trying to.
“There are limitations to their delivery methods, and we’ll have to go to a place where their ideas about talking flying horses are a bit… difficult. I’ll need you to act as an ambassador, sort of, or my emissary.”
“I get it.” Valerie held up her hand. That probably meant she wanted him to stop talking. He was inclined to comply, since this decision of hers would either mean a difficult solo mission for him, or if he would have her help. She didn’t seem very happy about it.
Nobody spoke. Floyd was shifting from foot to foot, trying to contain himself waiting for her answer. Valerie gave him an analytic look, and he stood still. She turned back to Moira, and helped her to stand.
“Orson?” Valerie’s voice was very sure. That was probably a good sign.
“There’s an old house, the original house. It’s about half a mile away, and Moira is going to stay there. Can I rely on you to check on her while I’m away?”
Moira grumbled a half-hearted protest. She seemed defeated, somehow. Orson stood up and came forward a discreet distance.
“As much or as little as she wants,” he waited for Moira to look at him. “but at least once a day.”
“It’s got an emergency food supply, but we’ll need to get it better stocked before long.”
“Well, Floyd, you’ve got yourself a partner.”
Partner? Not exactly true, but who was he to crush a dream? If he could remember to call her his partner, it might be worth it to speed things up. They had to leave NOW.
But Valerie insisted on getting Moira to the house before leaving. He would carry her, but Valerie wanted him to walk. Walk half a mile! Flying would have been so much faster.
Moira felt different on his back. She was a more relaxed rider, but this was different. As though all her muscle had left her. She started to lean and slide off him. Valerie was at his side, and tried to prop her friend back up, but Floyd was much taller than her. Orson just seemed to manage to get her upright.
It seemed obvious once he thought of it. Floyd spread his wings and curled them behind Moira, creating a sort of temporary chair. Moira leaned back against him. Cautious at first, but it wasn’t long before she leaned into his wings. Valerie smiled. At him, it seemed.
Every step seemed to take forever. But he had no choice but to be patient. He couldn’t help pacing back and forth in front of the house once the rest of them were inside. He jogged in place, did some wing flexing, and shook himself from nose to tail. When all that was done, and they still weren’t done, he went over to a tree and started pawing at the dirt. He made good time digging his hole, but Valerie came back out. He ran right up to her, and backed up when he realized she was standing under his blind spot.
“How do we take this water sample?”
Floyd produced a small plastic jar from behind her ear. “Try this.”
“Right. Okay.” She took the jar. “You know I’m 30 years old, right? A little old for magic tricks.”
“I’m 400, still never too old for the classic sleight of hand.” Floyd leaned one of his wings to the side to help her up. He remembered how tense she had been earlier. “Are you sure you can do this?”
“I have to.” She said. “So I will.”
