Stranded on a Tiny Planet

The Storm

Back at the lake...

After getting dressed completely and finding a new patch of the special healing weed to fill his head wound, Merco walked back to the spot he had unofficially designated as his "campsite".

Anu flitted and flew around him, giving him space but seeming to show less outright fear of him. She'd certainly proven that by helping him remove that fishhook; a dangerous endeavor from her point of view. He felt a sense of accomplishment and relief knowing they were making progress at building trust. It was very uncomfortable to be feared like he was on this planet, so it felt good to know there was at least one less native that saw him as the devil incarnate.

Now if only they could get over their language barrier. It was hard enough to hear the little aliens at his size, but their language was indeed alien sounding. He doubted he could even speak it if taught. It sounded almost like a language mixed with rapid-fire clicks and trills; as if hummingbirds were trying to speak a human language.

He wanted to know so much about Anu and her kind. Predominantly if they possessed any means to contact other worlds or if they could build ships to get him off this planet and back home. Given their shock and fear of him he very much doubted they had trade with other worlds which meant the likelihood of a ship was slim to none. His continual scanning of the sky had yet to reveal any evidence of any kind of flying ships.

Also, he wanted to know what became of little Pixie.

Was she reunited with her family? Was she OK?

The frustration of wanting to know so much and not being able to communicate it was maddening. However, it didn't mean he wouldn't try.

Something that was also nagging at his veteran mind was that the natives had been watching him, gathering reconnaissance, and yet they hadn't sent out any sort of military force or diplomatic party. He'd only come into direct contact by a random twist of fate. Reconnaissance was common and familiar to him, but he knew it was a precursor to military action...or diplomatic action. He hoped for the latter. Merco had no wish to be the 'Godzilla' on the end of some sort of military strike.

That thought alone set his veteran paranoia afire. If that was the case, he didn't need to be staying in one spot, making himself a very big target. But if they were going to send some sort of peaceful ambassador or diplomatic party to him would moving be a good idea?

However, Merco knew for a fact that fear seldomly lead to peaceful action.

Moving from the lake could be very risky as well. Before he even found this forest it was nothing but desert. The lake had provided him with both fresh water and a food source, neither of which he wanted to be without. If only he had some sort of container to hold water. Then he could move more freely without fear of not finding another drinking source.

As he neared his campsite his thoughts were shoved to the back when Anu flew down to her green-skinned partner, Traynar. Merco guessed they were a mated couple considering how they doted and worried about one another. The two tiny aliens touched their foreheads together in what looked like a greeting. Merco felt himself smile at the tender gesture. Traynar made an expression of pain when they pulled apart which made Merco wonder if his injury was life threatening or if he was just in pain and needed to hold still.

As he watched them, they both suddenly froze. The little feather-like plumes on the top of their heads began undulating in rippling waves. He'd never seen them behave like that before. Anu's head darted, looking skyward but not at him this time.

"What is it?" he asked, "What's wrong?"

His voice made her look at him. She made a sweeping, aggressive gesture with her arms and pointed at the sky. Merco looked up. At first he couldn't see much but then he felt it: a temperature drop, the subtle rise in wind-speed: