|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 8:43 pm
"It has to be very dark," Dari said. "Much darker than this, and only on certain days."
Toby was quiet. The only notion that he had moved was the shift of clothing against blanket. Cocoa didn't really take much to make. There was a little pause, and then a soft, "I'm glad." He set his phone aside and laid back to watch the stars.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 8:54 pm
Very dark, so they wouldn't see it here, and certain days, so they'd have to wait to see it. "Can we find out what days, so we can see it next time?" Maia asked, looking to Dari hopefully.
She finished her hot chocolate, setting the mug aside and laying down next to Toby. She scooted closer to him, almost unconciously, and stared up at the sky.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:05 pm
Dari didn't bother nodding. Humans' night vision wasn't so great. Of course his eyes illuminated a little bit of space, but not enough to see each other's faces. "Of course."
Toby shifted as well. He'd never know if it was willful or not. He wasn't present enough. He did distinctly feel his arm bump Maia's, and it was a willful decision to not pull it back.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:22 pm
Maia snaked her arm around Toby's and reached his hand. "Look," she said, pointing with her free one. "It's a really bright star." No, it was probably a planet, but that didn't detract from how bright it was. And it wasn't like the selkie had memorized the positions of the planets yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:27 pm
Toby let her take his hand without any resistance. Hm. That was a bright star. He turned on his phone, flipped to the proper app, and lifted it.
"That's because it's Venus," he said with a smile, "Not a star." He offered the phone to Maia.
Dari noticed that neither of his compatriots were using the hands between them. Hmm. This could either be a step forward or a tricky mistake. Maybe he was misunderstanding?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:32 pm
Well. He hadn't pulled away. Maia had noticed he hadn't earlier, either. "Venus?" she asked, looking to the phone. "Oooh. So it's one of the planets. There doesn't seem to be another one," she looked up, looking for another bright star. No, not one as bright as the planet. Huh. "Why does it shine?" she asked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:34 pm
"Reflection," Toby responded simply, but Dari felt compulsed to add more information.
"It's covered in thick clouds, so it reflects most of the light the sun shines at it," the alien offered. Yes, they definitely seemed to be holding hands. He wasn't sure whether to cheer or worry still. Instead he ate another marshmallow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:40 pm
Maia was fascinated. "So do you think earth shines, if you look at it from Venus?" she asked, curiously. Didn't earth have thick clouds? She'd learned about the atmosphere. They hadn't found another planet like earth, but that probably just meant human technology wasn't good enough to find one. "So earth's a big bright star too, maybe."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:43 pm
"Maybe," Dari responded. The real answer was 'no,' but there was no reason to break her heart now. She'd find out some day, or maybe not. Who cared? This was a nice little time they were having.
"I actually remember the first man on the moon," Toby commented offhandedly. God, he was old.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:47 pm
"There's been someone on the moon?" Maia was intrigued. She looked to Toby, blinking. "Did you see it on television?" she asked. And how had someone gotten to the moon? The moon was several hundred thousand miles away, wasn't it? Any closer and it'd cause high tide all the time. "Humans have spaceships?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:50 pm
"There's been a lot of people on the moon," Toby said with a nod, "Then there's a space station floating out there too. We haven't landed on any other planets, but we've got the moon down. We used to have spaceships, I'm not sure if we do any more. They've stopped funding space research, but they still send out satellites and um... the little... drivey things..."
"Rovers?"
"What he said."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:57 pm
"Not looking for aliens?" Maia asked. She didn't like the idea of people finding entities. "I've seen some pictures of space," she said, "It's beautiful. The galaxies," she gave Toby's hand a squeeze. "Look, it's the seal constellation Dari found last time," she pointed. "That's my favorite."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 10:00 pm
"No. They found some water on Mars, though."
"It is beautiful," Dari said, and his voice sounded for once a little affected, maybe a little distant. His emotions resolved quickly, though. He had no idea of the date of the crash and there was no use in remembering and regretting.
Toby reached over to take the phone and found the seal on the screen, then looked to the real thing and back again.
"Huh. I guess I do see it. It's pretty complex. Isn't Cygnus just like a cross?"
"More or less."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 10:06 pm
The selkie was unaware that she had brought up sad memories, but was interested in the fact that they'd found water on mars. "Wouldn't it be frozen? It's supposed to be cold in space, isn't it?"
"Ours is better," Maia said, smiling at Toby. "The best, because we found them and made them. Want to try finding one?" she asked, looking from Toby to the phone. "I bet you could."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 10:17 pm
Toby shrugged. He wasn't sure. When they started talking about biological findings, then he'd start paying attention.
"Sure," he said then, holding the phone up, and then back and above his head and a little behind him, to the far right... he lifted a finger and traced a shape he thought he saw.
"Look, it's a heart. Or a... fox's head or somethin'." He tilted his head at it a moment and then offered it back to Maia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
