My Friend is an Alien, стр. 39

"Where is Jahv?" asked Niklas.

Suddenly a voice boomed from one of the secondary rooms. After the arrival of Morik and Arion, Jahv and Keyro had fabricated several smaller dome-tents so everyone could have their own quarters. "SHADDUP OUT THERE!" This was followed by a long moan. "Keyro, if we have to have visitors, will you PLEASE tell them to tread lightly on the floors and keep their voices down?"

Niklas laughed. "Hangover?"

"A whopper." giggled Keyro. "He'll probably be okay in a day or so, then he'll apologize. Meanwhile, he's not very good company."

"I HEARD THAT!" yelled Jahv.

"Go to sleep or I replicate my old percussion set!" shouted Keyro.

"All right, all right!" replied Jahv. "Just tell them to knock off the loud breathing, okay?"

"Where's Arion and Morik?" asked Davy.

"Well, given how insufferable Jahv's become, Morik decided to go on an extended exploration of the woods, and Arion decided to check the holo-program of his homeworld. He's using what used to be the old shuttle hangar. I'm sure he wouldn't mind company." smirked Keyro, giving them directions.

"Keyro!" yelled Jahv. "Do something! The bedsheets are rustling too loud!"

"Replicate some antennae plugs!" said Keyro.

"The replicator's too loud!" complained Jahv.

"Come on, anything's better than this." said Niklas, leading the rest of the group to to the holoroom.

The doorway opened to reveal Arion's homeworld of Korras. The boys found themselves perched at the mouth of a cave overlooking a huge precipice, and jagged mountains rising in the distance. Arion swooped over as soon as the door parted. "Welcome!" he said. "If you're looking for some peace and quiet from the whining going on out there, come on in."

"But — it's so high!" squeaked Ricky.

"But," said Arion, " the room will let you fly."

"Fly?!" exclaimed Ricky.

"You're kidding!" said Davy. He had long envied Arion's ability to fly. was it now possible for him, even just in here?

"Absolutely!" said Arion. "I found a way to negate gravity in this area. Wasn't easy. I had hoped Morik might join me, but given Jahv's mood, he decided to get out of here entirely for a time."

"Is this safe?" asked Niklas. It looked like an awful long drop. His mind told him that none of this was actually real. His eyes and his nerves were telling him something else entirely.

"I gotta try this!" said Davy, dashing into the room and instantly going airborne. It was fortunate that the holoroom was soundproofed, because if it hadn't been, the delighted whoop Davy gave off as he seemingly soared through the sky probably would've pushed Jahv over the brink completely.

"He's — flying!" said Ricky. "How is that possible!?"

"I think you'll find, with these guys, there's a lot of things possible." said Niklas.

Ricky grinned. He could believe that. His world had just gotten a lot more interesting. He spent the next hour flying, his spirit soaring as much as his body, through the (simulated, but who cares?) skies of an alien world, along with his friends.

Part 9

One day Keyro invited Martin to come out and play and explore the woods with him. Martin liked Keyro. The young alien seemed no older than Martin himself, but came across as so much smarter. And Martin, a generally timid boy, somehow felt safe in the company of the lavendar-skinned youngster, and was usually willing to go along with whatever adventure Keyro might concoct.

Martin arrived on his bicycle outside of where he knew the aliens' tent-dome to be after a long and rather hot ride. Keyro stuck his head out of the invisible, cloaked tent — which made for a very strange image of Keyro's head seemingly floating in mid air — and grinned. "Martin! Good to see you."

"Uh, yeah." said Martin, not sure whether to laugh or be slightly disturbed. "Mind if I see the rest of you?"

Keyro suddenly realized what he must have looked like, and blushed. He stepped out of the tent the rest of the way. He was, of course, naked. "I thought we might explore these woods today." suggested Keyro. "You know, we've never really been beyond the mud hole. And according to my readings, it's a huge forest."

Martin looked into the dense woods. "Well, okay, but I don't wanna get lost in there."

Keyro giggled. "That's impossible. These antennae of mine are not just for hearing. They're directional locators. Sort of like a built-in compass. Botarans do not get lost."

Martin smiled. "Well, okay, then. Let's go!"

Keyro put up a hand. "You're not going in like that, are you?"

Martin sighed. He knew what Keyro meant. Keyro was not entirely comfortable around clothed humanoids of his own age. Botaran children routinely went around naked unless they needing clothing for special protection. The only problem was that Keyro tended to be a little too insistent that other kids around him went naked, too. "Keyro, I don't really like being naked except when we're in the mud pool, and then it just makes sense. Do I have to?"

Keyro thought about this. "Perhaps a compromise?"

The ball was back in Martin's court. Martin had to admit to himself it was a hot day, and the woods would make it humid. "Undershorts and shoes. I don't wanna step on anything nasty in there in bare feet."

Keyro just nodded, grinning slightly. "Agreed."

Martin tried to pry his T-shirt off. But his hot and rather damp body from the bicycle ride made this a more difficult proposition than Martin had expected. His own arms — and part of his head — were soon tangled in a half-removed T-shirt. "Uh — help?" pleaded Martin.

Keyro didn't quite stifle a laugh. "See, that's why I don't bother with those things. When I do have to wear something, that's what's always happening to me. Hold still. This is a good time for me to practice."

"Practice what?" came the slightly muffled and suddenly rather alarmed voice of Martin. As he watched, for his eyes were still outside of the shirt collar, Keyro closed his eyes, and when they reopened, they were glowing bright blue. Martin had seen that once before, but only on Jahv, just as the boy had shot a lightning bolt. Martin felt a brief moment of panic, but this soon passed as he suddenly felt the T-shirt lifted from his upper body. He also felt his shorts get pulled down around his ankles, nearly pulling his underwear down with them. "Hey!" said Martin, momentarily indignant. Then he looked at Keyro again. The boy's eyes had returned to normal, but he looked exhausted. "Are you — how did you do that?" asked Martin.

Keyro let out a tired breath. "Remember the telepathic anesthesia I did on you once, when you hurt your leg playing in the mud?" Martin nodded. "That wasn't a specific trick so much as the fact that my telepathic abilities are a lot higher than normal. All Botarans can do some things. Mostly it's the language absorption trick. I've been practicing to see if I can move objects with my mind. Your clothes are the largest items I've tried so far."

"Well, it worked." said Martin, carefully stepping out of the shorts around his ankles, and admitting to himself that he didn't entirely understand everything Keyro had said. Every so often the boy sounded way too grown-up. "Can we stash these and my bike in your tent?"

"Certainly." replied Keyro. With Martin's clothes and bike safely stashed away, the two youngsters headed off into the woods. It wasn't long before they came across one of their favorite places to play — the mud hole. Martin didn't really like getting dirty and grimy all that much, but the mud was fun, more like playing with wet clay — all over the place — and Keyro was also fun to hang around with, who for all of his seeming sophistication enjoyed playing in this earthy morass as much as anyone. Both looked somewhat longingly at the mud pool, but both soon realized they were on other business today. They continued beyond, and further into the woods.