City Sector Uplift part 10
#62 of The Life and Times of Jarzyl Mintaka (Slice of Life Stories)
The city sector's uplift comes to it's completion. Jarzyl and Atlas's latest adventure ends.
The sector uplift finishes. Jarzyl and Atlas finish their adventure. Forewarning: this chapter has action, but not that sort of action. (5,721 words)
Atlas reflexively blinked his eyes closed, and when he opened them a second later it was with a careful squint.
At the edge of the sector, a single horizontal, hexagonal segment of the sector shield was flaring and pulsing with brilliant light, going from the normal transparent green to a harsh white glow so bright that he couldn't even stare right at it. The nearby shield segments also flickered and rippled, but the problem was clearly originating from that first spot. From the shield spires that were powering that segment, the lines of magical energy were twisting about and snapping in curling patterns instead of flowing straight out to maintain shield integrity.
Still lying on top of him, Jarzyl looked over her shoulder. "Huh?" Both of the dragon fledglings peered out of the airship, through the open ramp.
Before Atlas could make a reply, that particular shield spire threw out a large shower of sparks, enough to be easily visible even at a distance, and then it stopped sending any power. The particular shield segment started to shrink away, but all the surrounding shield segments immediately expanded to prevent a gap from opening. "Something wrong with the shield?" Atlas wondered.
Jarzyl tilted her head as they both peered out into the sky. "Looks like one shield spire has faulted. It's fine. The surrounding spires can compensate for... uh..."
But even as she was speaking, some of the nearby shield segments started to glow brightly as well. Instead of being neat hexagons, their shapes had stretched out into pentagons to cover the gap left by the missing segment, but then in quick succession two more shield segments flared up before and shutting down. Again the shield grid warped and the adjacent segments changed shape, but it wasn't enough.
A hole opened up in the shield, like a ragged tear through a curtain drawn across a window. They were far away enough that they didn't hear anything, but rain and hail immediately billowed in through the hole, from a distance appeared like cloudy grey flowing inwards through the gap.
Building and street lights all across the city sector flickered, then went entirely dark. Rather than the comforting glow of the entire sector illuminated, now the only light came from the glow of the shield grid, as well as from the lights of all the airships that were circling around sector forty-nine.
"Nullfire," Jarzyl swore softly. "What happened to all the lights?"
Atlas didn't say anything. He was still staring at the gap in the shield, which resembled a dark hole compared to the glowing shield sectors around it. But then suddenly there was movement--an immense dark shape was floating through the air, briefly blocking the rain from coming in as it rammed in through the newly formed hole in the shield.
Jarzyl couldn't see it. Still lying on top of Atlas, she tapped a paw against his chest. "Atlas, night eyes, tell me what you see."
"There's something." Atlas swallowed nervously. "There's something there."
"Something where?" Jarzyl asked, but then she saw it too. Thick, towering pillars of dense storm clouds were surrounding the sector outside from all around--and as lighting arced from cloud to cloud, it briefly illuminated that huge thing that was piercing through the shield and approaching the sector. "Oh. Oh, what is that?!" Jarzyl exclaimed.
Even with the night sight of a nocturnal dragon, the rain and clouds made it hard for Atlas to get a clear look at the massive object. He felt a sense of growing unease. Something had broken through the sector shield--something immense. "It's floating? It's floating like an airship, yet it looks bigger than any airship I've ever seen before," Atlas said.
"No that doesn't make sense. There only floating thing bigger than airships is... is the city itself, or one of its sectors. But this is_a city sector, so what is _that...?"
As Atlas kept staring at the huge object, he could roughly discern its shape. It was ovoid like a vast airship, but instead of smooth metallic plates meeting in angular lines, its surface was jagged and irregular. A second bolt of lighting flashing near the sector gave him an even better look, and he saw that it wasn't just one object. Rather, there were dozens of smaller objects floating close together in a cluster, all with uneven round shapes.
That was enough for him to figure it out. Understanding pushed back on his unease. "Oh, it's obvious. I know what that is."
At the same time, Jarzyl had been tuning her radio again. Switching away from the music channel, calm but urgent speech emanated from the device.
"--wind speed is hindering the shield segment restart. We are reducing climb speed, all edge squadrons watch your strain levels and adjust accordingly. Break. Traveller three-seven-heavy, leave the active area immediately. Proceed to zenith holding zone and call for departure clearance when ready. Cleared for expedite climb."
The response that came back was much louder and less distorted. "Copy overwatch, we are expediting to zenith holding zone. Traveller three-seven-heavy."
"I think that's us?" Jarzyl started to say, but then suddenly the passenger airship they were riding on tilted sharply upwards, and Jarzyl fell forward against Atlas, clutching against his body as the airship's power core ramped up and sent a rumble through the entire hull. "Woah. Yes, that's definitely us. We're climbing."
Jarzyl shook her head and nervously looked around, then she hopped off Atlas and carefully walked back up the airship ramp and into the small entranceway compartment of the airship. She turned around and nudged Atlas's shoulder, until he rolled over and followed her. "What were you saying?" Jarzyl prompted.
"I know what's going on," Atlas replied. "We're at Mizalin-on-Sky." He nodded out into the darkness, at that cluster of large objects that had slid through the shield. "Those are floating rocks."
"Ohhhh, of course." Jarzyl nodded. "But so many of them, and they're so big! It's a boulder swarm."
"Very big," Atlas agreed. "Do you remember the last time we had a field trip at Mizalin-on-Sky, when we almost got killed by a floating boulder?"
Jarzyl snorted. "Pfft. It wasn't that dangerous... it was... we had helmets."
"Helmets help if a rock falls on your head. But for a boulder, a helmet isn't going to save you from being squished."
Jarzyl grinned. "It was a good time though! That was a high quality adventure." She shivered, then gestured out through the open ramp. "But now, what do you think's going to happen? Those boulders have to be bigger than airships or skyscrapers. Rocks will be raining down on the sector."
"It might damage the sector when those boulders hit, but the sector is pretty large too. It probably can take the hit."
Jarzyl nervously pawed at the ground. "Sector forty-nine is made of metal--that's stronger than rock, right? And I'm sure they must have planned for something like this to happen."
"Don't worry. I'm sure things will be fine." Atlas hesitated once, twice, and then he opened his wing and put it around Jarzyl's shoulder. As they sat together at the top of the ramp, Jarzyl leaned against him and pulled his wing tighter around her like a cloak.
The radio continued to squawk. "Critter squadron, turn left heading zero-seven-three, proceed in formation and maintain visual reference. Be advised, spotters have confirmed needlemir boulders inside the shield zone. Count and size category uncertain. Investigate the breach site and redirect or destroy as necessary. Range on target, three point two leagues. Critter one, you have tactical control."
"Overwatch, critter one, we are assuming tactical control. Requesting permission to energize shields and beamers."
"Permission granted. Discharge at your discretion."
Atlas glanced at Jarzyl. "What are they talking about?"
Jarzyl shook her head. "I think they're going to stop the rocks, with skybreaker cannons! Looks like airships are moving. I wish I had my telescope!"
Atlas watched the surrounding airspace. Even at a medium distance it was hard to tell what was going on--everything was so dark--but he could see several airships peeling away from the sector, and heading out into the open air towards the slow, immense mass of the floating boulder swarm. As they got close, transparent bluish shield bubbles flickered into existence around the airships, making them much more easily visible. Atlas counted them. "I see four airships."
"Those are stormrider-class clippers. You can tell by the shield colour," Jarzyl noted.
"The same type that we rode on this morning. And that your aunt is a shipmaster of," Atlas replied. "Do you think one of those four is her airship?"
"She's out there. She would be the squadron lead--so if the squadron is critter, Recursive Grey should be callsign, critter one." Jarzyl's tail was flicking anxiously from side to side--Atlas could feel it brushing against his as they sat together.
Then suddenly, beams of light flashed out from the four airships, lancing out into the darkness. Each beam hit a different one of the floating boulders. As they were struck, explosions of colour lit up from the surface of the boulders. The smaller boulders exploded into rubble which began to fall downwards, tumbling into the gap between the sector and the shield barrier. The larger boulders merely went flying away in the other direction from the airships, back towards the large hole in the shield.
"Skybreaker beam cannons," Jarzyl murmured. "Normally used to attract lightning bolts to harvest energy..."
"But also able to send energy," Atlas concluded.
It looked like it should have been loud, but instead there was perfect silence as streaks of light arced across the dark sky. The two fledglings watched as the four airships circled around and targeted the floating boulders with systematic precision, destroying them or pushing them away from the city sector, back through the gap in the sector shield.
It was quick work. In just a few minutes most of the boulders were gone, but one final, largest boulder remained. There was a pause, and then all four airships turned their cannons on the last target. However unlike all the other smaller boulders, this one somehow seemed to resist--as the energy beams swept across the sky towards the floating boulder, they broke down into twisting arcs that turned away at the last moment, going around the boulder in a spiral instead of arcing right onto its rocky surface.
"They missed! How does a rock dodge lightning bolts?" Jarzyl murmured.
The radio came on again. "Overwatch, this is critter one. We are seeing beam deflection around the largest boulder. Requesting analysis."
"Critter one, we see it too. Stand by." There was a short pause, then, "Sensors confirm field line distortion, and we cannot confirm the core affinity of the boulder. That boulder is unstable, recommend you do not engage. Pull back to safe distance. The sector can take one hit. Break. Voyager twenty, voyager thirty-one, you are in the predicted impact zone. Detach from the sector and clear the area. Break. Voyager four, voyager twelve, your position is marginal, prepare to detach if needed."
The four airships turned away and began heading back towards the sector, moving faster than the last floating boulder. Meanwhile other airships that had been connected to the edge of the sector started to disconnect and move away from where that last boulder would hit. Atlas relaxed slightly. "That was almost anticlimactic."
Jarzyl shook her head. "The fleet is professional. You met my aunt! She's so calm, so quick, but so good at her job. They all know what they're doing."
"Yeah." Atlas's wing was still on Jarzyl's back, around her shoulder. Now he started to furl it back up, but Jarzyl grabbed his wingtip and pulled his wing right back to where it had been.
Jarzyl took a deep breath. "I was... earlier I was so worried for a moment, when the shield first went down. I thought it was... pirates or some rival airship, coming to disrupt the sector lift."
"But this is a new city sector. It will benefit everyone in the city and every clan."
"Yeah, but some clans more than others. Though I'm not saying that any another clan would dare to come up against Mintaka and Taslin. Anyway, it's just natural floating rocks. But it was exciting!" Turned her head, Jarzyl glanced at him. "What were we talking about before?"
Atlas met her gaze. "What were we talking about before?"
Jarzyl leaned closer and peered at his neck, as if there was suddenly something fascinating about the black scales there. There was not. "Oh, something..." Atlas felt her breath against his neck as she inhaled and exhaled. Then she moved upwards, past his throat, her snout almost brushing against his chin. "Atlas."
"Yes?" The two of them were so close--his wing around her back, her body pressing against his. Atlas felt like his vision was tunnelling, as everything else seemed a little less important compared to the target of his focus, his good old friend. Neither of them said anything, or even dared to move.
Then the radio buzzed noisily. "Voyager twenty, datalink is showing you are still attached. Disengage from the sector lift point. You are directly in the impact zone for the floating boulder."
"Overwatch, this is voyager... voyager twenty, acknowledged, stand by! We're trying to detach."
"Voyager twenty, estimated time to impact is two minutes. Detach immediately."
Atlas ignored the chatter, but he thought Jarzyl would be curious to listen in on what was happening to the airship. He was wrong--she just kept looking at him. Something about that made Atlas amused. "Now who's the one staring?"
Jarzyl's neck frill perked up. She grinned. "What of it?"
The radio kept going. "Overwatch, this is voyager twenty. The interlock won't release. We have crew cutting it, but we need more time to detach!"
"Critter one, if you still have your skybreakers energized, try again to deflect that boulder."
"Overwatch, critter one copies. We have tactical control. Beams active."
Jarzyl drew a sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth. "Damn. We're having a moment here, but they choose now of all times to have more airship excitement."
Atlas laughed. "Do you know what's going on?"
Jarzyl turned and curiously peered out the ramp. "It's hard to tell. The radio is really noisy. It sounds like one of the airships which is helping to lift up the new city sector is right in the path of the floating boulder, but they can't get out of the way because their connection point to the structure is stuck."
It was hard to see, but Atlas could barely make on the lights from that one airship which was unable to detach from the sector--it was right in the path of the floating boulder, which was big as the airship and approaching slowly.
Hovering nearby, right over the border of the sector, the four shielded airships turned their skybreaker cannons at the floating boulder, but the perfectly straight beams of energy twisted and curved as they approached the boulder, so they only skimmed off the surface at an angle.
"That boulder has its own magnetic field, just like sector forty-nine, or like an airship. The field deflects the energy beams?" Atlas guessed.
"Looks like it," Jarzyl agreed.
But as they watched, the skybreaker beams went dark, then one of the shielded airships moved forward and accelerated right towards the floating boulder. "They're going to ram it?!" Atlas gasped.
Beside him, Jarzyl tensed up. "No way. That boulder is solid rock and crystal! It would crumple the hollow compartments of an airship. They're just getting closer."
Jarzyl was right. That one airship moved until it was barely one length away from the boulder, and then its beams lit up again. With much less range, the beams went straight and burned right onto the surface of the boulder, pouring energy that left trails of glowing red-hot material scoured onto the rocky surface. That huge boulder started to slow down, and as the airship continued to hit it with a skybreaker beam, the boulder gradually began to move away from the sector.
Jarzyl laughed. "That did it! That has to be Recursive Grey. My aunt would know what to do. I bet--"
"Critter squadron, this is overwatch! Be advised, we're picking up severe flux distortion from your position. There is a possible nullfire signature from that boulder. I repeat, there may be nullfire energy in the floating boulder."
Atlas frowned. "Did they just say nullfire?"
Jarzyl was intrigued. "Oh, hey, really? Not nullfire the swear word, but nullfire as in actual nullfire? Anti-magical magic? That has to be super rare. The natural crystal structure for floating rocks is usually only good for rock or electric magic. My father explained it to me. That's why healing or fire crystals are artificially grown--"
Then the floating boulder exploded. It flashed with brilliant light like the sun, and all the buildings of sector forty-nine cast long shadows. Atlas instinctively snapped his eyes shut and turned his head away, while Jarzyl let out a shocked yelp. "Ohh!"
The light lasted for a fraction of a second, then it was gone. Atlas blinked as an afterimage danced in his vision, and his night-sensitive eyes were briefly blinded. His wing was still around Jarzyl's back, but she had gone completely still and silent. Meanwhile, the radio poured out a blast of squealing static.
"BBZZZSSCHHCHChhhhhhtttt!"
Jarzyl shuddered, then she pulled away from Atlas and ran down the ramp. He called after her. "Jarzyl!" The sky somehow seemed even darker than before. Several more shield segments had failed, leaving an even larger hole in the sector's shield. Meanwhile Atlas could also see that all the airships that had been near the floating boulder had lost their shields--but that one airship which had been closest of all was nowhere to be seen.
Jarzyl stopped, right on the edge of the ramp, staring out into the open air. Her wings were half unfurled, but her face had an expression of shock. "It's gone. It exploded. But where's Recursive Grey? Where did it go?!" Her tail nervously twitched from side to side.
Atlas stepped forward and tapped Jarzyl's tail tip--she flinched and glanced back at him, but he pulled her tail (and the radio antenna line that was tied to it) straight. "Jarz, the radio!"
"The radio." Jarzyl reached up and readjusted the radio's tuning, until that buzzing static faded into the discordant chatter of multiple overlapping transmissions.
"...detecting a wave pulse across the entire shield grid... ...this is voyager twenty, we just saw a huge flash of light, what was... ...spotter team seven-seven, there's a loud explosion... ...we have a second shield breach detected directly below..."
Her face blank and expressionless, Jarzyl clicked the radio until there was only one voice. "Critter one, this is overwatch, we have lost your datalink. Critter one, critter one."
For a long, terrible moment there was only dead silence. Then came a reply which was much softer and more distorted, "Critter one declaring an emergency. We have dual core failure. We're out of the sector shield. Our altitude is dropping fast, the storm is pushing us all about."
"Jarz?" Atlas asked.
Jarzyl was breathing quickly. She looked like she wanted to jump off the ramp and take to the air, but he was still holding her tail, holding her back. "They lost both power cores--that means it's dead in the air. No propulsion, no levitation force. It's just going to fall straight down. It's already fallen away from the sector, and it's going to crash into the mountains. My aunt is aboard that airship," she said in a small voice.
Atlas tried to reassure her. "She'll be fine. They are professionals, you said so yourself. Airships have backup systems and emergency plans and... and your aunt is experienced, so I'm sure she knows how to handle herself. Don't airships have emergency parachutes?"
Jarzyl made a faint nod of her head, but she said nothing.
Then the compartment door opened, and the crew drakka returned. "Hello again. We're heading back to the city and are about to leave the new sector's shield area. I need to close this ramp now. You two can sit inside the passenger compartment."
Jarzyl was standing on the edge of the ramp, and she didn't move until Atlas tugged on her tail again. Both of them went into the passenger area, which had a carpeted floor and was much warmer and pleasantly. The two fledglings turned to watch as the ramp closed shut, until their view of the new sector was completely gone.
The moment the passenger airship had docked back in the city and opened up its ramp again, Jarzyl dashed out and into the hangar. She just ran--normally she would have waited for Atlas, but this time she didn't even look back. Atlas followed along, moving as quickly as he could with his three-legged gait.
By the time he had caught up, Jarzyl was speaking urgently with one of the displacers waiting in a transit area. Atlas had no idea what she said or how she convinced him, but the drake gestured with his wings. "Very well. Him too?"
Jarzyl grabbed Atlas and pulled him close. "Yes. Please."
Before Atlas could even ask, a swirl of magic surrounded them and his ears popped. Instantly they were elsewhere--back on the rooftop landing pad, on the skyscraper at the edge of the city, above the where they had started out this morning.
Jarzyl sprinted down the stairway, into the restaurant-turned-viewing gallery. It was fully packed and much more crowded than it had been this morning, but she just ran past the doorkeeper who tried to check the access pass she was wearing.
Atlas let the doorkeeper check his pass. "Sorry. We have access passes. She's... in a rush."
When he caught up to Jarzyl, he found her standing next to cushions where they had sat this morning. Their cushions were now taken by other drakken wearing pennant flags for Clan Mintaka, and Jarzyl looked around. "Where'd my parents go?!" She spun around, then spotted someone else. Her uncle was sitting down on a floor cushion nearby, with two little hatchlings curled up between his front paws and both napping.
Jarzyl dashed right over. "Uncle Decarn!"
"Hello Jarzyl." Her uncle dipped his head in a short bow, but his gaze shifted to the radio set Jarzyl was wearing, as well as the stripes of glowing colour which marked Jarzyl's paws and wings. "You are looking... rather different than when I saw you this morning."
Jarzyl shook her head. "Something happened! You need to listen--"
The drake raised a paw and silenced Jarzyl, then he gestured at the two sleeping hatchlings. His voice was soft and calming. "Don't wake up your cousins please."
"But Aunt Mira! Her airship! There was a--"
Her uncle was calm. "Yes, I heard the news about the boulder swarm hitting the new city sector. Where have you been? Rumours have been flying all over the room."
Jarzyl hunched and nervously tapped her paws against the ground. "I..."
Her uncle continued. "There's murmurings about a nullfire explosion. But don't worry about the rumours. I received an update only a few minutes ago, directly from an aide who was in the joint operations centre." He lowered his voice. "Don't spread the news because it's still an ongoing event, but Recursive Grey has crashed back into Mizalin-on-Sky. There are many injuries among the crew, but most are minor, and no fatalities."
Jarzyl breathed a long sigh of relief. "Thank the spirits, thank the ancestors, thank everything." She ran to her uncle and gave him a hug, taking care not to squish or step on her cousins as they slept. "When I saw the boulder explode, I thought for a moment that the airship was gone. I thought Aunt Mira was... was gone." Letting go, she turned to Atlas and pulled him into a tight hug next.
Her uncle put on a faint smile. "Mira will be fine. And the sector uplift should be completing within the hour." But then he frowned. "Wait, you saw the boulder explode? You went down to the new sector?"
Jarzyl released Atlas and nodded. "We were on one of the visiting airships, with other tourists."
"So you don't know?"
Jarzyl paused. "What? What more don't I know?"
Her uncle glanced away. He gently patted the two sleeping hatchlings between his forelimbs, stroking their backs and wings. "Jarzyl, your mother. She's in the medical centre."
"They called her back to work?"
Her uncle shook his head. "No. You know... you are aware that Zilarin is gravid, yes? There was some complication with the egg. Bleeding and... and your father is there too, with her."
Jarzyl looked stunned. All the joy and mirth was gone from her posture and expression. She didn't say anything, but just stared blankly at her uncle, then at Atlas. "I need to go." Her voice cracked as she spoke, twisted with emotion. Then she ran.
EPILOGUE
Zilarin Mintaka let out a long sigh. She was lying on a bed, but not her own bed. "It's really nothing to be worried about."
Despite her insistences, Jarzyl looked unconvinced as she sat on the floor by the bedside, huddling against her mother. She was wearing a mask that covered her snout, making her voice slightly muffled. "Internal bleeding?!"
"Minor internal bleeding. And it's stopped now." Zilarin patted the side of her belly--when she lay on her side, it made it more noticeable that her abdomen was beginning to swell. "The egg is fine, I am fine, and all is well."
Galon didn't looked convinced either, as he sat on the other side of the bed. Just like Jarzyl, he had a mask over his muzzle. "Are you sure? Dr Shannir said you needed to be monitored overnight."
Zilarin nodded. "Shannir is following the standard procedure. I can assure you that from my own experience, I would not be not be too worried if I saw a patient with my current symptoms. It's not unexpected." She raised her paw and wiggled her digits, but nothing happened. "I've lost my magic. That's very normal for a drakka in this stage of gravidity. And since I'm a healer, my body reacted to losing the healing magic that I've had nonstop for so many years. But it was only a little bleeding, and that's over now. Very minor."
Jarzyl's neck frill was drooping. "Was it like this before? When... when it was me?"
"I did lose my magic when I was carrying your egg, yes. There wasn't any bleeding then, but every time is different. I'll be back home tomorrow. Then in a few weeks, or maybe a month at most, this egg will have grown properly and be ready to be laid out. Nothing to worry about--that's all very normal and natural. I will be perfectly fine." Zilarin patted Jarzyl on the back. "Now Jarzyl, are you going to tell us how come you're wearing a radio set and have glowing stripes on your wings and paws?"
"I... saw the new sector. It was interesting," Jarzyl muttered. "I was with Atlas. He... we... it was fun to explore the place." She didn't say anything more, but just shook her head.
Galon turned his head, then he gestured out the window. They were at one of the higher levels in the medical centre, and facing just the right direction to catch a distant glimpse. "It's done. You can see sector forty-nine from here. See the ironwood tree? It's standing tall and high."
Jarzyl raised her head to look out the window, but then she forlornly bumped her masked snout against her mother's neck. "Why'd you have to do it? Is it really worth bleeding just to have another egg?"
Zilarin chuckled. "Yes, yes it is. A little bleeding really isn't that bad. We're expanding the family. Aren't you excited to have a new brother or sister?"
Jarzyl's neck frill twitched. "I don't know."
Atlas had been sitting in the medical centre's rooftop garden, just enjoying the greenery as he waited. He lowered his head to sniff at some nearby brightly coloured flowers, but then more bright colour in his peripheral vision drew his attention--Jarzyl strolled out of the ward, still wearing a white mask over her snout. The amber-coloured fledgling came over to Atlas and sat down in the neatly trimmed grass beside him.
"How's your mother?" Atlas asked.
Jarzyl looked very tired. The painted stripes on her wings and paws were no longer glowing, but just a pale shade of green that contrasted against her orange scales. The radio strapped to her shoulder was shut off, though the antenna wire was still tied to her tail. She sat down beside Atlas, an arm's length away. "Minor internal bleeding, which stopped now. It's a reaction to her losing her healing magic."
Atlas raised an eye ridge. "She lost her magic?"
"It's normal, apparently."
"Normal? Why would it be normal to lose her magic? Unless..." Atlas took a few seconds to process this, then recognition dawned. "Wait, you mother is gravid? That's why she lost her magic?!"
"Have I not mentioned it to you before? Uh, yeah, she is." Reaching up, Jarzyl yanked the mask off her snout and stuffed it away into her flight harness. "I did ask, but they're only letting close family visit for now, just to minimize the risk of infection. After so many years of always having healing magic, now she's extra vulnerable to injuries or disease without it."
Atlas slowly nodded. "Wow. That's... that's incredible! Not the losing her magic thing, which is bad--but I mean, you're going to be a sister!"
Jarzyl grimaced. "I'm bad enough with my cousins. I don't think I'd be a good sister."
"Wow. Huh. Wow!" Atlas nodded at his friend. "Is there a laying date yet?"
Jarzyl shrugged and flicked her neck frill. "I don't know. I don't think so. It's just troublesome, that's what this is! Such a bother! I don't even like to think about it."
"You don't like the idea of having a new sibling?"
"I... I don't know. I just... It's weird!" Jarzyl made vague gestures with her paws. "How did this all happen? Today was supposed to be an amazing adventure. And it was going so well, but then suddenly my aunt's airship crashes and... and my mother's hospitalized. They'll probably be alright, but we should be celebrating the new sector having made it to the city, yet it's all soured because of... of this rotten luck."
Atlas nodded his head empathetically. "Things will get better."
Jarzyl continued. "There's a festival tonight--there's going to be a celebration festival, held right in the streets of sector forty-nine. Lots of food and music and performances. I was going to go with my family, but my aunt's still handling the crash and my mother can't leave the medical centre. And I'm too worried about them both to go." She let out a long groan, then closed her eyes. "Atlas?"
"Yes?"
Jarzyl took a long, deep breath, then released it in a long sigh. "Do you mind if I... uh..." Looking very self-conscious, she hesitantly raised one wing and put it around his back, then slowly pulled him into a hug. Despite how this was not at all an uncommon gesture, somehow it felt a little more awkward than usual. "Thanks for... for the day. For being with me throughout everything."
"You're welcome," Atlas replied. "It was a good day. Except for right at the end. But it wasn't too bad even then." He used his forepaw to pat Jarzyl on the back. Jarzyl didn't let go though--she just kept hugging him, holding him against her tightly as they both stood on the rooftop garden. Atlas could see some of the medical centre's patients or visitors sitting or strolling around the garden, but no one was watching the two fledglings.
Finally Jarzyl let go, and she just slumped down onto the grass. "I'm so tired, in every possible way. Physically. Emotionally. Even just thinking about how I'll have to be a sister soon is tiring. I'll have to be responsible and mature, and a good example and all that boring stuff."
Lying on her back, she stared up into the afternoon sky, clear blue with puffy white clouds rolling by. It was now late afternoon, several hours after sector forty-nine had completed its flight up to join with the city and all the other sectors. The storm had lightened, and now the City of Wings was flying through clear, peaceful skies. Idly Jarzyl grabbed Atlas's tail and played with it in her paws. "What a long day."
Atlas glanced over at her. "What now?"
"My mother has to stay in the medical centre overnight, and my father will stay with her. I'd stay too, but they said I should just go home, not stay at the medical centre. Too many diseases here, or something." Jarzyl's snout scrunched up. "I'll be all alone at home. How lonely. Sometimes I wish I lived in clan communal housing, rather than a single-family home." She glanced at him. "You're going home too, I suppose?"
Atlas looked up at the sky, then back down at her. "Yeah. I'm going to take a shower, then a nap."
Jarzyl grinned. "A nap sounds nice." She stopped fiddling with Atlas's tail tip and rolled back up into a stand. "Atlas I just want to say... Earlier we... You need to know that I think you are... a really... good... friend."
Atlas laughed. "Thanks. The feeling is mutual."
Jarzyl's neck frill perked up a little, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. "We have to talk some day. About... about things. But not today. I'm too tired." She sighed again, but then made eye contact. "See you around, then. Help me think of something else we can do for our next adventure, would you?" And then she hugged him again.
Atlas chuckled, then he nodded. "Rest well, Jarz."
THE END
Author thoughts: ~42k words. This mini-series ended up longer than expected, but that's just how it always seems to go. I've already got a fun idea for the next slice-of-life story. It'll just be a one off, not another multi-chapter story. Also, yes please tell me how I'm being mean for not including that scene where Jarzyl and Atlas go wild. The teasing shall continue in the next story. It will be even better. :D