Post by Vera9 on Nov 15, 2009 6:33:29 GMT -5
Ynda, secret reader of romance novels, one day finds out her collection has been stolen! Who is the culprit, and whom will she turn to for help?
This isn't just about Ynda, don't worry. XD Cyril, Vibe and Etoile also appear in it (plus Nalo is mentioned). The Detective Etoile stories have inspired me to write one of my own, although it's from Ynda's point of view. :3 ... plus it's not finished. Yeah. I have a habit of starting apparently great stories but never finishing them. I really hope I got the other three in-character. I didn't ask anyone if I was writing about them correctly, because I wanted it to be a surprise. XD; So I'm very sorry if I made them do something OOC.
Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy, and anyone who wants to, feel free to finish it!
Oh, and PS: The forum won't allow me to say "my a-ssistant", so I replaced the A with a star. Just to avoid any confusion.
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Ynda was known as a little alien with big secrets. To many others, she would only show one side of her: the rude, aggressive one. She hardly ever let her guard down and allowed others to see that even she could be sensitive about certain topics. Upon seeing her angry, other aliens would either back off or do the opposite of what she wanted: tease her through her weak points.
Because, whether she liked it or not, Ynda had her weak points like everyone else. Every weak point she could find about herself, however, she would conceal from one’s eye and leave it undiscovered with all the effort she possessed. If one of her secrets was found out, she would assume that she had gotten weaker, and therefore more vulnerable. And thus she hid these secrets behind her feisty attitude, hoping no other alien would be able to look through it and see what was truly in her three hearts.
But one morning, a normal morning to so many others, something happened that could impossibly leave Ynda with the ability to put up a feisty attitude.
From the moment she awakened, she had sensed something was wrong. She stepped out of bed while wearing something that she would never let another see – a light pink nightgown she slept in ever so often. She gazed around her room with suspiciously narrowed eyes, trying to spot traces that could prove someone had been there last night. But everything seemed to have been left the way she did, except for… was that closet door open?
Ynda slowly walked to her closet and tried to remember what she did there last. As far as she knew, she always left it closed: an automatic defense mechanism, in case someone would come in uninvited and spot one of her biggest secrets in that closet: a collection of romance novels. Shaped in different sizes, these books were read every night by the aggressive little alien, whose sympathy was actually three times as big as one would assume.
In spite of never showing it, there was one subject that Ynda wanted to investigate: a deep affection for another, a great respect, or in short – love. Where Ynda came from, they didn’t know such a thing as love. There was hardly even affection, and respect ought to be fought for. And Ynda did fight, she would fight until her opponent was laying on the ground, covered in bruises, and cringing in fear when her clenched fist came into view.
But this was the side that Ynda was infamous for showing. There were few aliens that knew of the other, and even them she had managed to threaten enough to make them shut up about it. This sensitive side, this “weak” side, as she called it, she would only show once she was alone in her room, tucked between her cozy pillow and blanket, with a big romance novel opened in front of her. As love seemed like such an important subject to other aliens, she used these books for investigation – or so she thought at the beginning. The more she read, the more she realized she was doing it for personal enjoyment as well. Ashamed of this “weak” trait, Ynda would always make sure all of her books were hidden in her closet when she was doing other things. Even if someone dared to intrude her room, they wouldn’t be able to find them.
And now they were gone.
Ynda had a feeling her terrified shriek was audible throughout the entire Galactic Base. There she was, in the doorway of her closet, staring with wide eyes at the empty space on the floor where the box containing her treasured collection should be. She had the urge to cry out once more after she rubbed her eyes to make sure she was no longer dreaming. But she sure as hell wasn’t. Someone had stolen her secret.
My books! flashed through Ynda’s mind as she turned away from the closet and inspected her room once more, quickly this time. A rare, fearful expression appeared on her face. Where are my books?! This is a disaster! She began to search several places to make sure she hadn’t hidden them in her sleep by any chance. She looked under her bed, scrolled through her cabinets, shoved everything that was on her desk on the floor in a rough movement, just to see if her books were hidden between the mess.
But unfortunately, they weren’t. They were really gone. And Ynda, for once, had no idea what to do. She lowered her shoulders hopelessly while she was taking slow steps through her room after a vain search. She seemed to be even more panicked than before, and her eyes showed an increasing sorrow. Someone, and it wasn’t her, was in possession of her books right now, her beloved romance books, a secret that would definitely embarrass and humiliate her if it were found out!
Crap…! she thought to herself as she slammed her knees against the floor, sitting there with her face hidden behind her paws. She felt the surprising urge to cry at the thought of the culprit, whoever it was, showing every other alien they would come across what sissy little, feisty Ynda actually was. Her image would be completely ruined.
Realizing she was nearing the edge of a nervous breakdown, Ynda attempted to calm down and think rationally like she usually did. Even if her secret was threatened to come out in the open, she could still use her strength to beat up whoever was responsible and would dare to oppose her. But the problem was that she had no idea who was behind this. Who came into her room and stole her books last night? How did they even manage to, she wasn’t a deep sleeper! When did this happen, and why? Did someone hate her so much they wanted to pull a nasty prank on her like this? How did they find out about her books anyway? There was only one alien she knew that was aware of her secret, and that was…
Then there was complete silence. Anyone standing near enough could’ve sworn that, for one moment, a devilish, red glow appeared in Ynda’s suddenly furious eyes.
-----
“PIIIIIGEOOOOON!!”
Cyril didn’t have much time to turn around when his random morning flight through the big halls of the base was interrupted by a sudden scream. He let out a cry in shock when there was a sudden weight on him that forced him down on the floor and made him exhale a painful groan due to the rough landing. He tried to ask what was going on, but was then picked up and pressed just as roughly against the nearest wall.
“Say it!”
Cyril’s head was grabbed by the feathers on the back and smashed against the wall once more. He cried out in pain and could only think of one person that would want to hurt him this much without a reason. “Y-Ynda?!”
“Say it!” she shouted furiously, repeating the action without mercy. “Tell me where my books are! Where have you hidden them?! SAY IT!!”
“OW! What are you talking about?! I don’t have any books!” Cyril yelled, the increasing pain she caused on him making tears well up in his eyes.
Ynda grabbed the bird-like alien by the shoulders and turned him around, lifting him slightly from the floor and pressing his back up against the wall. This way, he could see the enraged look in her eyes and instantly tell that she was way beyond the phase of a little teasing. She wasn’t just annoyed, she was thoroughly pissed. And when Ynda was thoroughly pissed, Cyril often had no choice but to do as she said and hope Vibe would save him in the meantime. But as his best friend was nowhere near, he automatically submitted to his fear of the green alien.
“I swear I don’t have your books!” he whimpered, covering his face with his wings to prevent her from punching it into tiny little pieces.
“You’re the only one who knows about them!” Ynda snapped at him, pulling the poor alien away from the wall, only to push him against it again. “Who else could’ve stolen them, huh?! I thought you were smarter than to pick a fight with me, you stupid pigeon!”
Cyril peeked through his many feathers and saw her raise a fist, ready to lash out and hit him. He whimpered once more, not knowing what to say in order to convince her, and covered his eyes again, hoping she would leave him whole by the time she was done. But when that one punch didn’t come, Cyril dared to sneak another peek and saw that Ynda was distracted by a big, gray hand on her head.
“Stop it.”
Vibe pulled Ynda away from him, a calm expression on her face as usual. She didn’t budge when the other female started to struggle in attempt to get loose, as she knew from experience that she would fly at Cyril’s throat the instant she let go.
When Cyril realized his hope hadn’t been in vain and that he was just saved, he moved away from the wall. He stared up at Vibe for a moment, as if having to recover from the shock Ynda just put on him. Then he raced towards her face and embraced it with both wings, practically clinging to the front side of her head.
“Viiiiibe! You saved meeee! Thank yoooooou! Ynda was being meeeeean!” he cried emotionally.
Vibe simply sighed and used her other hand to pull Cyril away from her face, but she didn’t hold him as tightly as she did Ynda.
“You alright?” she asked him, not looking very worried. She was used to breaking up these two smaller aliens, as they would often quarrel with each other. When she saw Cyril’s enthusiastic nod, she glanced down at Ynda, who had given up resisting and was now looking aside with an angered pout, her arms firmly crossed. “What’s gotten into you?”
Ynda simply muttered something nearly inaudible, feeling embarrassed for being overpowered so easily. She felt a lot of respect for the taller alien, as she had given her the same, but she couldn’t stand moments when Vibe didn’t let her do as she pleased, such as now.
Vibe raised an eyebrow when she could hardly hear the usually loud-mouthed girl. “Excuse me?”
“He stole my books,” Ynda repeated with a raise of voice. She didn’t care much if Vibe knew of her secret as well; it’s not like she would tell anyone. But she couldn’t help but blush a bit, as she had no idea what Vibe would think of her, knowing this secret. At least Cyril had always treated her the same way after finding out about it.
Vibe was left in a confused state and looked over at the other alien, hoping she could get a clearer explanation out of him. But she doubted that automatically, him being the lunatic he was. “What books?” she questioned calmly.
“I can’t tell you,” Cyril replied sorrowfully, “she’d kill me if I tell.” He pointed at wing towards Ynda, but instantly pulled it back when he saw her free herself from Vibe’s loosened grip and look up at him, her eyes narrowed sharply like before.
“I’m gonna kill you anyway!” she hissed, pointing straight back. “Because you stole them and you won’t give them back!”
“I told you, I don’t have your books!” Cyril protested, seemingly sad she didn’t believe him.
Vibe looked from the one at the other and sighed once more, not wanting them to fight again. She placed a flat hand in front of Ynda and Cyril each, blocking them from jumping at each other. She didn’t care so much for what kind of books Ynda was looking for anymore; rather for Cyril staying in one piece.
She looked down at Ynda and said: “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t have your books. Even if he did steal them, he would’ve given them back to you by now.”
“Yeah!” Cyril agreed quickly, nodding as spontaneously as before.
“But he’s the only one that knows about my books!” Ynda claimed angrily. “No one else could’ve taken them!”
“Cyril’s an idiot,” Vibe replied calmly, ignoring the bird’s interruptive “Hey!”, “but he knows when he pulls a joke too far. Apparently, these books are of great value to you, so I doubt Cyril would take them in the first place. I’m sure he knows what wrath he’d bring upon himself by doing that.” She glanced at him. “Don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know that wrath, and I don’t like that wrath, and I don’t like when Ynda’s angry at meeee!” Cyril responded in a childish fashion.
Ynda exhaled a sigh in annoyance and looked away from them both. She was sure Cyril was the only one who knew of her secret. Besides, he was easily her main suspect, because he could fly and possessed a lot of strength, even if he didn’t show it. He could’ve used both abilities to grab that heavy box and get away without being heard. But if he was really telling the truth, if he was innocent, who else could’ve done it?
“Look, if you want your books back so badly, you’re in for a long, bothersome day if you continue your search like this,” Vibe told her, making her flinch out of her thoughts. “There are plenty of aliens around here, with a lot of different abilities – basically, anyone could’ve done it. But beating all of them up isn’t going to help.”
Ynda glanced up at her in a weak glare, her words not making her feel any better. Anyone…? “Then how am I supposed to find that bastard?” she asked, trying not to sound too hopeless.
Vibe opened her mouth to answer her, but she was interrupted by Cyril once more, who let out a loud gasp this time. “Oh, oh, I know!” he said eagerly and suddenly zoomed over to Ynda. She had to back away some to avoid a collision and felt her face grow warm when he remained close to her.
“Ask detective Etoile!” Cyril suggested, his smile telling her that he was luckily over her violent act and hopefully wouldn’t claim an apology. “He’s awesome, he can find anything! Your books, too!”
Behind him, Vibe shot a thoughtful glance towards the ceiling. “Hm… you know, that isn’t such a bad idea. I heard he solved a few more cases after Cyril’s… incident.” She placed an accusing tone on the last word, but ignored Cyril’s protests about the lollipops being so good. “I’m sure he’ll be glad with another case.” She gave Ynda a small, confident smile. “But you’ll have to entrust him with your secret. Think you can do that?”
Ynda’s first answer was a Gibberish grumble and a glare at the wall. She wasn’t at all fond of giving her secret to that meddling alien. Who knows what might happen if she did. But then she remembered that meddling alien didn’t work alone. He was often together with Nalo, one of the aliens she had felt enough sympathy for to heal once. She was aware that Nalo couldn’t speak and therefore wouldn’t tell any of her secrets. Perhaps she could persuade Etoile not to spill them, either… or she could just persuade him by herself, using her fists.
“… fine,” she muttered eventually, hoping it wasn’t too audible. “I guess I have no choice…”
“Yay!” Cyril cheered. “I’m sure he’ll find your books for you! And you’ll see that it wasn’t meeee!”
“Let’s hope for you it wasn’t,” Ynda answered grumpily, avoiding eye contact. She wanted to threaten to beat him up some more if he ended up lying after all, but she felt it was better not to mention anything from before in Vibe’s presence. Instead, she muttered a “thank you” to the both of them. At least they’d given her a next step on what to do.
Vibe’s response was a gentle nod, but Cyril resorted to a hug that made Ynda’s cheeks flush. “You’re welcooome!” he giggled, keeping his wings tightly around her for a moment. When he pulled back, he didn’t seem to notice that he had made her blush immensely. Instead, he asked her something that turned her head into an even deeper shade of green. “… Ynda, why are you wearing a dress?”
Ynda looked down at herself and let out a gasp in horror when she realized she was still wearing her nightgown. She had been in such a hurry to beat a confession out of Cyril that she forgot to change.
Vibe, feeling amused at Cyril’s question and Ynda’s reaction, needed a little effort to keep herself from grinning. “I think that’s a nightgown, Cyril. You know, pajamas?”
“Ooooh…!” Cyril replied interestedly, despite looking confused. “But… why would you still wear pajamas when you’re not sleeping anymore?”
Ynda turned away from them both and pressed her face into her paws, feeling greatly embarrassed. She desperately hoped that Cyril and Vibe had been the only ones seeing her like this, as the speed she had run at to grab Cyril was too fast for the eye to spot clearly. She took a few steps away from the other two, still not looking at them. “I-I’m gonna go change,” she stuttered, hoping Cyril wouldn’t make another embarrassing remark.
Luckily, he refrained from any remarks, although he seemed a bit surprised at her sudden, timid attitude. “Oh… okay… It looks good on you, though!” he smiled.
Ynda pretended not to hear that comment and tried to keep both him and Vibe from seeing the bashful look on her face. For one moment, she had an urge to smile after being complimented by Cyril, as she remembered that he was somehow capable of making her hearts jump. But at the moment, she knew there was a bigger case she had to solve, as quickly as possible. Without a response to her friends, she returned to her room, planning to visit Detective Etoile right after.
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Etoile was startled out of his sleep when he heard loud knocking on the door. He made a few noises while trying to regain balance and not fall out of bed after being awoken so suddenly. Rubbing one eye, he gazed towards the clock to see what time it was. Way too early to be awake, that’s for sure. Groaning with slight dismay, he turned on his other side and pulled the covers up to his face, hoping the knocking would cease when he pretended he wasn’t home. But as he became more awake, he began to realize what that knocking might be for.
A client! He jumped out of his bed at once, wide awake. “Coming, coming!” he told his bedroom door hurriedly while trying to gather his clothes and change as quickly as possible. As he rushed towards the mirror to see if he looked good enough for a decent detective job, he thought to himself: Me and Nalo haven’t had a mission in weeks! I wonder whom we have to help this time!
The answer came sooner than he thought, as he didn’t even need to open the door in order to see who was standing behind it. “Open up, you lousy detective freak! It’s 9 o’clock in the morning!”
Her voice made him freeze at the spot, immediately recognizing it. She still sounded like a thousand thunderstorms. “Ynda…?” he muttered to himself in disbelief, mixed with slight fear. Ynda needs my help…?
A lot less enthused now, Etoile slowly made his way to the door and hoped he wouldn’t receive any more storms once he opened it. Luckily, he didn’t. He glanced down at her, only to receive an impatient glare with automatically added scolding.
“It’s about time!” she snarled. “Everyone says you’re such a great detective, right? Well, I’ve got a case for you, but you better keep it a secret if you know what’s good for you!”
Etoile merely stared at her, partially baffled. “Uhm… but…” he started weakly, hoping his small sign of protest wouldn’t make her want to hurt him. “It’s hard to keep a case a secret… After all, most of it involves interrogating people…”
Ynda exhaled a growl and clenched her fists at the same time, which made him take one step back, just in case. You never knew what she might do. She then raised one paw to point a sharp finger at him. “Then give away as little as you can!” she ordered. “It’s humiliating enough that I have to come to you, but I won’t have my precious books be the topic of the day!” Or rather of the month… she added in thought.
“Books…?” Etoile repeated slowly, trying to fix the pieces she just gave him into one puzzle. All she did was confuse him; he wasn’t completely sure what was going on exactly. “So you’ve lost your books…?”
“Well, duh!” Ynda replied, clearly getting more impatient. “Someone stole books from my room last night, and I need to know where they are! So you’re going to help me, this instant!”
Surprised by the fact that Ynda actually read books in the first place, Etoile shook his head some in order to clear his mind. “Right… Your books were stolen. And you’re sure you didn’t put them somewhere yourself?”
One death glare from her was enough to convince him. “Would I be here if I wasn’t…?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“O-okay, okay, I get it,” Etoile stuttered quickly, raising his hands some in defense. “So we need to find your books.” Now that he got the case down clearly, he managed to calm down. He shrugged lightly as a small smile lit up his face. “That sounds like an easy task. Don’t worry, I’m sure me and Nalo can solve it for you.”
Etoile turned away from the green little alien for a moment, stepping back into his room to get his standard equipment. Once he closed the door behind him only a minute later, he was wearing a checkered hat, a just as checkered coat and began to blow bubbles from a big pipe that was sticking between his lips.
He sent a small smile down at Ynda, who merely rolled her eyes at his cliché appearance. “Can we just get this over with already?” she asked, sounding no less impatient.
Etoile nodded and sank down on his knees for a moment, allowing Ynda to jump on his shoulder or head if she wanted to. “Of course, right away. I’ll just get my *ssistant and then we can fully focus on this mission!”
Ynda quickly moved up his arm and went to sit on his head, as she preferred to do with the taller aliens. Once he started to run, she had to hold onto his hat in order not to fall. For some reason, Etoile seemed to be in a hurry to reach Nalo’s room. She shook her head a bit at his eagerness, but she was glad to see that he wasn’t too much of a chicken to decline a case of hers. She figured he was simply happy with another mission, in spite of having to deal with her scary side. She just hoped he wouldn’t ask further as to what kind of books she was looking for. Either way, she had to get them back, no matter what.
Ynda exhaled a small sigh on their way to Nalo, as the main question came back into view: who had stolen her books, and where were they now? Vibe said that it could be anyone walking around on this base. She had been right, this would become a long day for Ynda. Already longing to beat the culprit to a pulp, she hoped she had made the right decision to follow Cyril’s advice and ask Detective Etoile for help.
After all, the fate of her precious books was now in his hands.
This isn't just about Ynda, don't worry. XD Cyril, Vibe and Etoile also appear in it (plus Nalo is mentioned). The Detective Etoile stories have inspired me to write one of my own, although it's from Ynda's point of view. :3 ... plus it's not finished. Yeah. I have a habit of starting apparently great stories but never finishing them. I really hope I got the other three in-character. I didn't ask anyone if I was writing about them correctly, because I wanted it to be a surprise. XD; So I'm very sorry if I made them do something OOC.
Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy, and anyone who wants to, feel free to finish it!
Oh, and PS: The forum won't allow me to say "my a-ssistant", so I replaced the A with a star. Just to avoid any confusion.
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Ynda was known as a little alien with big secrets. To many others, she would only show one side of her: the rude, aggressive one. She hardly ever let her guard down and allowed others to see that even she could be sensitive about certain topics. Upon seeing her angry, other aliens would either back off or do the opposite of what she wanted: tease her through her weak points.
Because, whether she liked it or not, Ynda had her weak points like everyone else. Every weak point she could find about herself, however, she would conceal from one’s eye and leave it undiscovered with all the effort she possessed. If one of her secrets was found out, she would assume that she had gotten weaker, and therefore more vulnerable. And thus she hid these secrets behind her feisty attitude, hoping no other alien would be able to look through it and see what was truly in her three hearts.
But one morning, a normal morning to so many others, something happened that could impossibly leave Ynda with the ability to put up a feisty attitude.
From the moment she awakened, she had sensed something was wrong. She stepped out of bed while wearing something that she would never let another see – a light pink nightgown she slept in ever so often. She gazed around her room with suspiciously narrowed eyes, trying to spot traces that could prove someone had been there last night. But everything seemed to have been left the way she did, except for… was that closet door open?
Ynda slowly walked to her closet and tried to remember what she did there last. As far as she knew, she always left it closed: an automatic defense mechanism, in case someone would come in uninvited and spot one of her biggest secrets in that closet: a collection of romance novels. Shaped in different sizes, these books were read every night by the aggressive little alien, whose sympathy was actually three times as big as one would assume.
In spite of never showing it, there was one subject that Ynda wanted to investigate: a deep affection for another, a great respect, or in short – love. Where Ynda came from, they didn’t know such a thing as love. There was hardly even affection, and respect ought to be fought for. And Ynda did fight, she would fight until her opponent was laying on the ground, covered in bruises, and cringing in fear when her clenched fist came into view.
But this was the side that Ynda was infamous for showing. There were few aliens that knew of the other, and even them she had managed to threaten enough to make them shut up about it. This sensitive side, this “weak” side, as she called it, she would only show once she was alone in her room, tucked between her cozy pillow and blanket, with a big romance novel opened in front of her. As love seemed like such an important subject to other aliens, she used these books for investigation – or so she thought at the beginning. The more she read, the more she realized she was doing it for personal enjoyment as well. Ashamed of this “weak” trait, Ynda would always make sure all of her books were hidden in her closet when she was doing other things. Even if someone dared to intrude her room, they wouldn’t be able to find them.
And now they were gone.
Ynda had a feeling her terrified shriek was audible throughout the entire Galactic Base. There she was, in the doorway of her closet, staring with wide eyes at the empty space on the floor where the box containing her treasured collection should be. She had the urge to cry out once more after she rubbed her eyes to make sure she was no longer dreaming. But she sure as hell wasn’t. Someone had stolen her secret.
My books! flashed through Ynda’s mind as she turned away from the closet and inspected her room once more, quickly this time. A rare, fearful expression appeared on her face. Where are my books?! This is a disaster! She began to search several places to make sure she hadn’t hidden them in her sleep by any chance. She looked under her bed, scrolled through her cabinets, shoved everything that was on her desk on the floor in a rough movement, just to see if her books were hidden between the mess.
But unfortunately, they weren’t. They were really gone. And Ynda, for once, had no idea what to do. She lowered her shoulders hopelessly while she was taking slow steps through her room after a vain search. She seemed to be even more panicked than before, and her eyes showed an increasing sorrow. Someone, and it wasn’t her, was in possession of her books right now, her beloved romance books, a secret that would definitely embarrass and humiliate her if it were found out!
Crap…! she thought to herself as she slammed her knees against the floor, sitting there with her face hidden behind her paws. She felt the surprising urge to cry at the thought of the culprit, whoever it was, showing every other alien they would come across what sissy little, feisty Ynda actually was. Her image would be completely ruined.
Realizing she was nearing the edge of a nervous breakdown, Ynda attempted to calm down and think rationally like she usually did. Even if her secret was threatened to come out in the open, she could still use her strength to beat up whoever was responsible and would dare to oppose her. But the problem was that she had no idea who was behind this. Who came into her room and stole her books last night? How did they even manage to, she wasn’t a deep sleeper! When did this happen, and why? Did someone hate her so much they wanted to pull a nasty prank on her like this? How did they find out about her books anyway? There was only one alien she knew that was aware of her secret, and that was…
Then there was complete silence. Anyone standing near enough could’ve sworn that, for one moment, a devilish, red glow appeared in Ynda’s suddenly furious eyes.
-----
“PIIIIIGEOOOOON!!”
Cyril didn’t have much time to turn around when his random morning flight through the big halls of the base was interrupted by a sudden scream. He let out a cry in shock when there was a sudden weight on him that forced him down on the floor and made him exhale a painful groan due to the rough landing. He tried to ask what was going on, but was then picked up and pressed just as roughly against the nearest wall.
“Say it!”
Cyril’s head was grabbed by the feathers on the back and smashed against the wall once more. He cried out in pain and could only think of one person that would want to hurt him this much without a reason. “Y-Ynda?!”
“Say it!” she shouted furiously, repeating the action without mercy. “Tell me where my books are! Where have you hidden them?! SAY IT!!”
“OW! What are you talking about?! I don’t have any books!” Cyril yelled, the increasing pain she caused on him making tears well up in his eyes.
Ynda grabbed the bird-like alien by the shoulders and turned him around, lifting him slightly from the floor and pressing his back up against the wall. This way, he could see the enraged look in her eyes and instantly tell that she was way beyond the phase of a little teasing. She wasn’t just annoyed, she was thoroughly pissed. And when Ynda was thoroughly pissed, Cyril often had no choice but to do as she said and hope Vibe would save him in the meantime. But as his best friend was nowhere near, he automatically submitted to his fear of the green alien.
“I swear I don’t have your books!” he whimpered, covering his face with his wings to prevent her from punching it into tiny little pieces.
“You’re the only one who knows about them!” Ynda snapped at him, pulling the poor alien away from the wall, only to push him against it again. “Who else could’ve stolen them, huh?! I thought you were smarter than to pick a fight with me, you stupid pigeon!”
Cyril peeked through his many feathers and saw her raise a fist, ready to lash out and hit him. He whimpered once more, not knowing what to say in order to convince her, and covered his eyes again, hoping she would leave him whole by the time she was done. But when that one punch didn’t come, Cyril dared to sneak another peek and saw that Ynda was distracted by a big, gray hand on her head.
“Stop it.”
Vibe pulled Ynda away from him, a calm expression on her face as usual. She didn’t budge when the other female started to struggle in attempt to get loose, as she knew from experience that she would fly at Cyril’s throat the instant she let go.
When Cyril realized his hope hadn’t been in vain and that he was just saved, he moved away from the wall. He stared up at Vibe for a moment, as if having to recover from the shock Ynda just put on him. Then he raced towards her face and embraced it with both wings, practically clinging to the front side of her head.
“Viiiiibe! You saved meeee! Thank yoooooou! Ynda was being meeeeean!” he cried emotionally.
Vibe simply sighed and used her other hand to pull Cyril away from her face, but she didn’t hold him as tightly as she did Ynda.
“You alright?” she asked him, not looking very worried. She was used to breaking up these two smaller aliens, as they would often quarrel with each other. When she saw Cyril’s enthusiastic nod, she glanced down at Ynda, who had given up resisting and was now looking aside with an angered pout, her arms firmly crossed. “What’s gotten into you?”
Ynda simply muttered something nearly inaudible, feeling embarrassed for being overpowered so easily. She felt a lot of respect for the taller alien, as she had given her the same, but she couldn’t stand moments when Vibe didn’t let her do as she pleased, such as now.
Vibe raised an eyebrow when she could hardly hear the usually loud-mouthed girl. “Excuse me?”
“He stole my books,” Ynda repeated with a raise of voice. She didn’t care much if Vibe knew of her secret as well; it’s not like she would tell anyone. But she couldn’t help but blush a bit, as she had no idea what Vibe would think of her, knowing this secret. At least Cyril had always treated her the same way after finding out about it.
Vibe was left in a confused state and looked over at the other alien, hoping she could get a clearer explanation out of him. But she doubted that automatically, him being the lunatic he was. “What books?” she questioned calmly.
“I can’t tell you,” Cyril replied sorrowfully, “she’d kill me if I tell.” He pointed at wing towards Ynda, but instantly pulled it back when he saw her free herself from Vibe’s loosened grip and look up at him, her eyes narrowed sharply like before.
“I’m gonna kill you anyway!” she hissed, pointing straight back. “Because you stole them and you won’t give them back!”
“I told you, I don’t have your books!” Cyril protested, seemingly sad she didn’t believe him.
Vibe looked from the one at the other and sighed once more, not wanting them to fight again. She placed a flat hand in front of Ynda and Cyril each, blocking them from jumping at each other. She didn’t care so much for what kind of books Ynda was looking for anymore; rather for Cyril staying in one piece.
She looked down at Ynda and said: “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t have your books. Even if he did steal them, he would’ve given them back to you by now.”
“Yeah!” Cyril agreed quickly, nodding as spontaneously as before.
“But he’s the only one that knows about my books!” Ynda claimed angrily. “No one else could’ve taken them!”
“Cyril’s an idiot,” Vibe replied calmly, ignoring the bird’s interruptive “Hey!”, “but he knows when he pulls a joke too far. Apparently, these books are of great value to you, so I doubt Cyril would take them in the first place. I’m sure he knows what wrath he’d bring upon himself by doing that.” She glanced at him. “Don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know that wrath, and I don’t like that wrath, and I don’t like when Ynda’s angry at meeee!” Cyril responded in a childish fashion.
Ynda exhaled a sigh in annoyance and looked away from them both. She was sure Cyril was the only one who knew of her secret. Besides, he was easily her main suspect, because he could fly and possessed a lot of strength, even if he didn’t show it. He could’ve used both abilities to grab that heavy box and get away without being heard. But if he was really telling the truth, if he was innocent, who else could’ve done it?
“Look, if you want your books back so badly, you’re in for a long, bothersome day if you continue your search like this,” Vibe told her, making her flinch out of her thoughts. “There are plenty of aliens around here, with a lot of different abilities – basically, anyone could’ve done it. But beating all of them up isn’t going to help.”
Ynda glanced up at her in a weak glare, her words not making her feel any better. Anyone…? “Then how am I supposed to find that bastard?” she asked, trying not to sound too hopeless.
Vibe opened her mouth to answer her, but she was interrupted by Cyril once more, who let out a loud gasp this time. “Oh, oh, I know!” he said eagerly and suddenly zoomed over to Ynda. She had to back away some to avoid a collision and felt her face grow warm when he remained close to her.
“Ask detective Etoile!” Cyril suggested, his smile telling her that he was luckily over her violent act and hopefully wouldn’t claim an apology. “He’s awesome, he can find anything! Your books, too!”
Behind him, Vibe shot a thoughtful glance towards the ceiling. “Hm… you know, that isn’t such a bad idea. I heard he solved a few more cases after Cyril’s… incident.” She placed an accusing tone on the last word, but ignored Cyril’s protests about the lollipops being so good. “I’m sure he’ll be glad with another case.” She gave Ynda a small, confident smile. “But you’ll have to entrust him with your secret. Think you can do that?”
Ynda’s first answer was a Gibberish grumble and a glare at the wall. She wasn’t at all fond of giving her secret to that meddling alien. Who knows what might happen if she did. But then she remembered that meddling alien didn’t work alone. He was often together with Nalo, one of the aliens she had felt enough sympathy for to heal once. She was aware that Nalo couldn’t speak and therefore wouldn’t tell any of her secrets. Perhaps she could persuade Etoile not to spill them, either… or she could just persuade him by herself, using her fists.
“… fine,” she muttered eventually, hoping it wasn’t too audible. “I guess I have no choice…”
“Yay!” Cyril cheered. “I’m sure he’ll find your books for you! And you’ll see that it wasn’t meeee!”
“Let’s hope for you it wasn’t,” Ynda answered grumpily, avoiding eye contact. She wanted to threaten to beat him up some more if he ended up lying after all, but she felt it was better not to mention anything from before in Vibe’s presence. Instead, she muttered a “thank you” to the both of them. At least they’d given her a next step on what to do.
Vibe’s response was a gentle nod, but Cyril resorted to a hug that made Ynda’s cheeks flush. “You’re welcooome!” he giggled, keeping his wings tightly around her for a moment. When he pulled back, he didn’t seem to notice that he had made her blush immensely. Instead, he asked her something that turned her head into an even deeper shade of green. “… Ynda, why are you wearing a dress?”
Ynda looked down at herself and let out a gasp in horror when she realized she was still wearing her nightgown. She had been in such a hurry to beat a confession out of Cyril that she forgot to change.
Vibe, feeling amused at Cyril’s question and Ynda’s reaction, needed a little effort to keep herself from grinning. “I think that’s a nightgown, Cyril. You know, pajamas?”
“Ooooh…!” Cyril replied interestedly, despite looking confused. “But… why would you still wear pajamas when you’re not sleeping anymore?”
Ynda turned away from them both and pressed her face into her paws, feeling greatly embarrassed. She desperately hoped that Cyril and Vibe had been the only ones seeing her like this, as the speed she had run at to grab Cyril was too fast for the eye to spot clearly. She took a few steps away from the other two, still not looking at them. “I-I’m gonna go change,” she stuttered, hoping Cyril wouldn’t make another embarrassing remark.
Luckily, he refrained from any remarks, although he seemed a bit surprised at her sudden, timid attitude. “Oh… okay… It looks good on you, though!” he smiled.
Ynda pretended not to hear that comment and tried to keep both him and Vibe from seeing the bashful look on her face. For one moment, she had an urge to smile after being complimented by Cyril, as she remembered that he was somehow capable of making her hearts jump. But at the moment, she knew there was a bigger case she had to solve, as quickly as possible. Without a response to her friends, she returned to her room, planning to visit Detective Etoile right after.
-----
Etoile was startled out of his sleep when he heard loud knocking on the door. He made a few noises while trying to regain balance and not fall out of bed after being awoken so suddenly. Rubbing one eye, he gazed towards the clock to see what time it was. Way too early to be awake, that’s for sure. Groaning with slight dismay, he turned on his other side and pulled the covers up to his face, hoping the knocking would cease when he pretended he wasn’t home. But as he became more awake, he began to realize what that knocking might be for.
A client! He jumped out of his bed at once, wide awake. “Coming, coming!” he told his bedroom door hurriedly while trying to gather his clothes and change as quickly as possible. As he rushed towards the mirror to see if he looked good enough for a decent detective job, he thought to himself: Me and Nalo haven’t had a mission in weeks! I wonder whom we have to help this time!
The answer came sooner than he thought, as he didn’t even need to open the door in order to see who was standing behind it. “Open up, you lousy detective freak! It’s 9 o’clock in the morning!”
Her voice made him freeze at the spot, immediately recognizing it. She still sounded like a thousand thunderstorms. “Ynda…?” he muttered to himself in disbelief, mixed with slight fear. Ynda needs my help…?
A lot less enthused now, Etoile slowly made his way to the door and hoped he wouldn’t receive any more storms once he opened it. Luckily, he didn’t. He glanced down at her, only to receive an impatient glare with automatically added scolding.
“It’s about time!” she snarled. “Everyone says you’re such a great detective, right? Well, I’ve got a case for you, but you better keep it a secret if you know what’s good for you!”
Etoile merely stared at her, partially baffled. “Uhm… but…” he started weakly, hoping his small sign of protest wouldn’t make her want to hurt him. “It’s hard to keep a case a secret… After all, most of it involves interrogating people…”
Ynda exhaled a growl and clenched her fists at the same time, which made him take one step back, just in case. You never knew what she might do. She then raised one paw to point a sharp finger at him. “Then give away as little as you can!” she ordered. “It’s humiliating enough that I have to come to you, but I won’t have my precious books be the topic of the day!” Or rather of the month… she added in thought.
“Books…?” Etoile repeated slowly, trying to fix the pieces she just gave him into one puzzle. All she did was confuse him; he wasn’t completely sure what was going on exactly. “So you’ve lost your books…?”
“Well, duh!” Ynda replied, clearly getting more impatient. “Someone stole books from my room last night, and I need to know where they are! So you’re going to help me, this instant!”
Surprised by the fact that Ynda actually read books in the first place, Etoile shook his head some in order to clear his mind. “Right… Your books were stolen. And you’re sure you didn’t put them somewhere yourself?”
One death glare from her was enough to convince him. “Would I be here if I wasn’t…?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“O-okay, okay, I get it,” Etoile stuttered quickly, raising his hands some in defense. “So we need to find your books.” Now that he got the case down clearly, he managed to calm down. He shrugged lightly as a small smile lit up his face. “That sounds like an easy task. Don’t worry, I’m sure me and Nalo can solve it for you.”
Etoile turned away from the green little alien for a moment, stepping back into his room to get his standard equipment. Once he closed the door behind him only a minute later, he was wearing a checkered hat, a just as checkered coat and began to blow bubbles from a big pipe that was sticking between his lips.
He sent a small smile down at Ynda, who merely rolled her eyes at his cliché appearance. “Can we just get this over with already?” she asked, sounding no less impatient.
Etoile nodded and sank down on his knees for a moment, allowing Ynda to jump on his shoulder or head if she wanted to. “Of course, right away. I’ll just get my *ssistant and then we can fully focus on this mission!”
Ynda quickly moved up his arm and went to sit on his head, as she preferred to do with the taller aliens. Once he started to run, she had to hold onto his hat in order not to fall. For some reason, Etoile seemed to be in a hurry to reach Nalo’s room. She shook her head a bit at his eagerness, but she was glad to see that he wasn’t too much of a chicken to decline a case of hers. She figured he was simply happy with another mission, in spite of having to deal with her scary side. She just hoped he wouldn’t ask further as to what kind of books she was looking for. Either way, she had to get them back, no matter what.
Ynda exhaled a small sigh on their way to Nalo, as the main question came back into view: who had stolen her books, and where were they now? Vibe said that it could be anyone walking around on this base. She had been right, this would become a long day for Ynda. Already longing to beat the culprit to a pulp, she hoped she had made the right decision to follow Cyril’s advice and ask Detective Etoile for help.
After all, the fate of her precious books was now in his hands.
