Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

The Youth of Arcadia

He sat on the floor looking out the window, and with all four of his little hands he clutched onto Pancake's fur. The big black dog turned her head, large ears perked for any sign of danger, but when there was none, she simply leaned down and gently licked Kay's face from chin to temple. The little boy gave a half smile to the dog but continued to stare out the window, head resting against the Dog's coarse fur.

From his window he could see out and onto the launch field where ships were always coming and going, their red and white lights blinking against Arcadia's forever dark sky. The artificial sun orbs glowed dimly in the early morning, only just beginning to simulate a sunrise. Pancake and kay had both been born on Arcadia, and around the same time as well. For that reason kay saw pancake more as a sister than a dog, and Pancake saw Kay as more as a pop than a master, but in a good way.

The door gently opened behind them and Kay turned to see Grandma standing in the doorway.

Kay had two grandmas as far as he was concerned. There was grandma Vir and JanJan, since he couldn't yet pronounce Hijan. At this point in his life he had no idea that his real grandma was an egomaniacal crazy person bent on the destruction of the entire universe, but that was certainly a discussion for when he was older.

Grandma Vir didn't look much like a grandma. She stood straight, and though her hair had some silver i nit, it was still mostly blond. She was a fit woman for her age, with warm grey eyes.

She walked over to sit next to him, and he crawled into her lap resting his head on her shoulder.

Pancake rested her head on Martha's knee.

"WHat are you looking at?" She asked, and with one of his lower hands, Kay pointed towards the launch field, with all of its lights rapidly coming and going.

"You miss your mom and dad huh?"

He nodded.

Kay understood more than he could articulate most of the time. Over two years old he was smart for his age. The doctors and child psychologists would say something about percentiles and other things he didn't understand, but he knew enough to know that mom and dad were away, and if they came back they would land in that launch field.

Sunny Kay's mother was intellectually gifted, and Kay's father, despite all his protestations was no slouch either. An abundance of trust can sometimes look like idiocy if you're taken advantage of enough, but you didn't become head of the UNSC/GA fleet without having at least some brain in your head.

Martha felt almost sorry for the boy.

With the saint of Anin as a mother and a intergalactic Admiral for a father, Kay had big shoes to fill, almost too big.

"Want some breakfast?" She asked.

Kay just rested his head against her shoulder again.

He hadn't been all that hungry since his parents left, but the pediatrician had assured Martha that kids don't starve themselves. Eventually he would be hungry enough ot eat.

And that was the case because, while he was not particularly emotionally hungry, he had inherited a balck hole of a stomach from his father, and still ate a waffle and some orange juice when it was set in front of him.

Pancake seemed a bit miffed she didn't get any, so Martha sighed, looked up at the ceiling and dropped a piece on the floor, "Oh no, it seems I have dropped some food."

Pancake ran in to claim it and Kay giggled a little brightening up some from his earlier mood.

Martha was at least happy to see that.