Post by Sadie on Nov 9, 2009 17:36:09 GMT -5
A one-shot for Roz, since she wrote that lovely one of Nalo and Etoile! I even threw in some other characters for the fun of it! :D
ENJOY! (Oh, and they're all teens during this. Yes.)
--
Something was a little off about Nalo, and Etoile wasn’t sure what it was.
It wasn’t that there was anything wrong. No, she was just as kind as she normally was, if not more. And she was just as interactive as usual, with her long, morphing limbs and her deep, communicative eyes. They had been friends for so long that Etoile could guess at what she was thinking, just by reading her expression. Over time, they had become quite a formidable team, and Etoile was enjoying it.
But there seemed to be something that was . . . off. A new expression that he hadn’t seen before, where her eyes became hooded and she seemed to shut herself off from those around her. The little yellow alien didn’t want to ask her about it, in case she didn’t want to talk about it. Instead, he began investigating.
By the end of the day, he had affirmed that everyone was treating her the same, she hadn’t hurt herself, and she was still healthy. The last mission had been a success, so she wasn’t glum about any kind of loss. And she certainly wasn’t hungry; he had watched her consume an entire rock-cake when she thought no one was looking.
Not to mention that she thought he was a little weirder than before. But, hey, when it comes to investigation, sometimes risks have to be taken.
Sitting on his bed, he frowned at the floor, trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong. He wasn’t any closer to finding out, and it was frustrating.
With a sigh, he decided to go visit the alien. Maybe talking with her would cheer her up, and it couldn’t hurt, right? So he crept down the hallway, to the door that was boldly emblazoned with her name. Everyone was busy, so he didn’t feel bad about knocking loudly. To his surprise, the door was slightly ajar, and it creaked open to reveal an empty room.
“Nalo?” He inched inside, making sure that she wasn’t hiding. His voice, tentative and quiet, rushed to fill the silence. Her bed was made neatly as usual, but a flat object sat loftily on top, which Etoile vaguely recognized as her file.
He laughed slightly. That file had been his lifeline, many years back. It had told him what Nalo couldn’t say herself, and had saved him when he was trying to introduce her. It was full of information about her, like where she had come from, what she could do, and what her people would like. A real treasure for those who called themselves her friends.
Etoile picked it up, to see what she had been looking at; after all, she knew herself better than anyone. It was a page covering her basic information, such as her height, weight, and age. Etoile knew all of that anyway, so he skipped over that, skimming the page for anything that he might not know about his metallic friend. And then a phrase caught his eyes.
“Birthday: November 2nd.”
Etoile’s eyes widened. That was tomorrow!
He thought back through the years and realized that they had celebrated many birthdays, including ones for him, Nebulos, the twins, Princess Niji, and everyone else. But he couldn’t remember a birthday party for Nalo.
A ton of guilt hit him in the gut, and he felt wretched. Of course she couldn’t advertise her own birthday, not like they could! And she probably hadn’t taken the time to point it out to them, maybe because it was too much of a hassle, or because she didn’t want to seem like she wanted all of the attention. He couldn’t fathom the reason, but he felt the guilt weighing on him heavily. Why hadn’t he ever thought to ask? Thoughtless!
He resolved to make up for it immediately, and bolted out of the room without a second thought.
--
“Is she here yet?”
“Shh, you’re so loud!”
“Alright, geez, sorry.”
“Oh, she’s going to be so happy!”
“How do we even know she’s getting home soon?”
“Hush, I think I hear something!”
The door slid open, revealing the silhouette of the floating alien that they were all looking for. Her eyes, a flaring yellow in the darkness, squinted in confusion at the dark room that was normally well lit. She was about to reach for the switch, but then the lights came on, and the mass crowd of people let out a cheer.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NALO!”
The alien girl seemed startled, looking around at the room. They had hung streamers from all corners, decorated in icy tones, and filled the room with blue balloons. On the table in the middle, a huge stack of presents stood waiting for her, like a mountain of goodies. Someone had turned the knob so that music started playing, festive music that echoed in every corner.
Her eyes formed a silent question at the crowd, and she seemed to seek out the one that was probably responsible. He was there, sitting on the mountain of presents, with his yellow teeth glinting beneath his grin. But she had no time to gesture for an explanation, because the aliens crowded around her, clamoring excitedly.
“We’re sorry, Nalo, but look, we got you all those presents, to make up for it! We’re going to have the biggest party of the entire year!” Flashing his light excitedly, Nebulos hugged her arm.
“I got you the best present,” Dengeki purred, appearing behind her shoulder.
“No way!” Unagi sent his brother a withering glare. “The best present is from me!”
“Nu uh!”
“Yeah-huh!”
“Open mine first!” Princess Niji giggled, bouncing next to Nalo’s side.
“Or mine!” Milo-Lee was there, too, smiling happily in all the festivities. All of the aliens were babbling away at her, delighted to be a part of the party.
Leaping from the mountain of presents, Etoile floated downward, landing in front of her. With a little twitch of his glowing fingers, a party hat flew across the room and strapped itself around her chin, setting the hat smugly on her head. And then he threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly, with a delighted, “Happy birthday!”
Her shoulders lifted and lowered, a silent inquiry.
“I snooped.” His cheeks darkened to a purpleish color, ashamedly. “And then I told everyone and they agreed to make up for it!” His hand reached out to grab her arm, pulling her toward the table of presents. “We all got you something, even on short notice!”
The present in front was small, square, and tied with a yellow ribbon with the words “Love, Etoile!” scrawled across the wrapping paper. Curiously, Nalo tore off the wrappings, and smiled when the box fell open to reveal a small picture frame.
It was a snapshot that Nebulos had taken of them a few years ago, when they sat on a grassy hill together, feasting on rock cakes. Etoile had gagged on the treat, while Nalo silently laughed at him, and the picture captured his disgusted expression and her amused one perfectly. At the very bottom, Etoile had taken a marker and written on it.
“Friends forever, no matter what! <3”
One of her silvery limbs reached up to ruffle his hair, and his smile widened when he guessed that she liked it. Then, reaching out his glowing, scarlet fingers, he pointed at a sphere in the corner, which exploded in shower of glittery confetti that rained down on them all.
Etoile threw up his hands, his hair now covered in sparkles. “Let the party begin!”
---
What did everyone else get Nalo?
YOU DECIDE.
ENJOY! (Oh, and they're all teens during this. Yes.)
--
Something was a little off about Nalo, and Etoile wasn’t sure what it was.
It wasn’t that there was anything wrong. No, she was just as kind as she normally was, if not more. And she was just as interactive as usual, with her long, morphing limbs and her deep, communicative eyes. They had been friends for so long that Etoile could guess at what she was thinking, just by reading her expression. Over time, they had become quite a formidable team, and Etoile was enjoying it.
But there seemed to be something that was . . . off. A new expression that he hadn’t seen before, where her eyes became hooded and she seemed to shut herself off from those around her. The little yellow alien didn’t want to ask her about it, in case she didn’t want to talk about it. Instead, he began investigating.
By the end of the day, he had affirmed that everyone was treating her the same, she hadn’t hurt herself, and she was still healthy. The last mission had been a success, so she wasn’t glum about any kind of loss. And she certainly wasn’t hungry; he had watched her consume an entire rock-cake when she thought no one was looking.
Not to mention that she thought he was a little weirder than before. But, hey, when it comes to investigation, sometimes risks have to be taken.
Sitting on his bed, he frowned at the floor, trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong. He wasn’t any closer to finding out, and it was frustrating.
With a sigh, he decided to go visit the alien. Maybe talking with her would cheer her up, and it couldn’t hurt, right? So he crept down the hallway, to the door that was boldly emblazoned with her name. Everyone was busy, so he didn’t feel bad about knocking loudly. To his surprise, the door was slightly ajar, and it creaked open to reveal an empty room.
“Nalo?” He inched inside, making sure that she wasn’t hiding. His voice, tentative and quiet, rushed to fill the silence. Her bed was made neatly as usual, but a flat object sat loftily on top, which Etoile vaguely recognized as her file.
He laughed slightly. That file had been his lifeline, many years back. It had told him what Nalo couldn’t say herself, and had saved him when he was trying to introduce her. It was full of information about her, like where she had come from, what she could do, and what her people would like. A real treasure for those who called themselves her friends.
Etoile picked it up, to see what she had been looking at; after all, she knew herself better than anyone. It was a page covering her basic information, such as her height, weight, and age. Etoile knew all of that anyway, so he skipped over that, skimming the page for anything that he might not know about his metallic friend. And then a phrase caught his eyes.
“Birthday: November 2nd.”
Etoile’s eyes widened. That was tomorrow!
He thought back through the years and realized that they had celebrated many birthdays, including ones for him, Nebulos, the twins, Princess Niji, and everyone else. But he couldn’t remember a birthday party for Nalo.
A ton of guilt hit him in the gut, and he felt wretched. Of course she couldn’t advertise her own birthday, not like they could! And she probably hadn’t taken the time to point it out to them, maybe because it was too much of a hassle, or because she didn’t want to seem like she wanted all of the attention. He couldn’t fathom the reason, but he felt the guilt weighing on him heavily. Why hadn’t he ever thought to ask? Thoughtless!
He resolved to make up for it immediately, and bolted out of the room without a second thought.
--
“Is she here yet?”
“Shh, you’re so loud!”
“Alright, geez, sorry.”
“Oh, she’s going to be so happy!”
“How do we even know she’s getting home soon?”
“Hush, I think I hear something!”
The door slid open, revealing the silhouette of the floating alien that they were all looking for. Her eyes, a flaring yellow in the darkness, squinted in confusion at the dark room that was normally well lit. She was about to reach for the switch, but then the lights came on, and the mass crowd of people let out a cheer.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NALO!”
The alien girl seemed startled, looking around at the room. They had hung streamers from all corners, decorated in icy tones, and filled the room with blue balloons. On the table in the middle, a huge stack of presents stood waiting for her, like a mountain of goodies. Someone had turned the knob so that music started playing, festive music that echoed in every corner.
Her eyes formed a silent question at the crowd, and she seemed to seek out the one that was probably responsible. He was there, sitting on the mountain of presents, with his yellow teeth glinting beneath his grin. But she had no time to gesture for an explanation, because the aliens crowded around her, clamoring excitedly.
“We’re sorry, Nalo, but look, we got you all those presents, to make up for it! We’re going to have the biggest party of the entire year!” Flashing his light excitedly, Nebulos hugged her arm.
“I got you the best present,” Dengeki purred, appearing behind her shoulder.
“No way!” Unagi sent his brother a withering glare. “The best present is from me!”
“Nu uh!”
“Yeah-huh!”
“Open mine first!” Princess Niji giggled, bouncing next to Nalo’s side.
“Or mine!” Milo-Lee was there, too, smiling happily in all the festivities. All of the aliens were babbling away at her, delighted to be a part of the party.
Leaping from the mountain of presents, Etoile floated downward, landing in front of her. With a little twitch of his glowing fingers, a party hat flew across the room and strapped itself around her chin, setting the hat smugly on her head. And then he threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly, with a delighted, “Happy birthday!”
Her shoulders lifted and lowered, a silent inquiry.
“I snooped.” His cheeks darkened to a purpleish color, ashamedly. “And then I told everyone and they agreed to make up for it!” His hand reached out to grab her arm, pulling her toward the table of presents. “We all got you something, even on short notice!”
The present in front was small, square, and tied with a yellow ribbon with the words “Love, Etoile!” scrawled across the wrapping paper. Curiously, Nalo tore off the wrappings, and smiled when the box fell open to reveal a small picture frame.
It was a snapshot that Nebulos had taken of them a few years ago, when they sat on a grassy hill together, feasting on rock cakes. Etoile had gagged on the treat, while Nalo silently laughed at him, and the picture captured his disgusted expression and her amused one perfectly. At the very bottom, Etoile had taken a marker and written on it.
“Friends forever, no matter what! <3”
One of her silvery limbs reached up to ruffle his hair, and his smile widened when he guessed that she liked it. Then, reaching out his glowing, scarlet fingers, he pointed at a sphere in the corner, which exploded in shower of glittery confetti that rained down on them all.
Etoile threw up his hands, his hair now covered in sparkles. “Let the party begin!”
---
What did everyone else get Nalo?
YOU DECIDE.
The friendship is just bursting off my screen here! X3 *giggles* This is just so something the lot of them would do! One big happy family, hurrah! X3 The line about the rock cake definitely cracked me up a lot XD
