Author's Note: I figure there are three of them, so they each get one hundred words. Call it an artistic decision. ;)
Copyright May, 2003; by LA Koehler
The breeze caressed them as they lay, headtops together, in the meadow of spongy rainbow blossoms. They breathed in the field's spicy scent and stared aimlessly at the crystalline mountain range glittering in a late-afternoon arc around them. Rebi inhaled at the wrong moment and choked slightly on some crumbs from the treat they'd brought in their pack.
"I don't remember nectar muffins," he mumbled through his mouthful, "They're-"
"-wonderful!" Azan finished.
Mezoti twirled her tongue around the tangy squeakgrass blade she was chewing. Her own muffin was long gone. The air slowly cooled, but the ground at their backs continued to radiate a comforting heat. Such a wonderfully subtle sensation! As the sun set lower and the rock faces cooled, she could hear them humming a lullaby. Seven would remind her that it was only a change in frequency resulting from the decreasing temperature gradient upon the crystals.
"It's getting late. They will-"
"-come for us soon. We have to stay-"
"I want to stay," Rebi asserted. "But you don't have to, Mezoti. You-"
"-have a choice," Azan finished helpfully. Reluctantly.
She weighed her options carefully while the boys held their breath. As she idly swirled her fingertips in the warm, powdery sand, her hand accidentally nudged the lump in the sack beside her. Removing it, she held it up before her eyes-the lovely subtlety of the smooth, creamy wood and variegated bristles, perfectly backdropped by the pale purple sky and vibrantly sun-drenched clouds.
She blinked slowly. Warm and cool. Spicy and mellow. Sweet and tangy. Full.
But not completely.
"I would miss Voyager," she murmured. "But only the people. And my favorite two will be here," she concluded.
Decisively, the spirited young girl sat up and began brushing her hair, book-ended by contented grins.
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