<pwinram@coastnet.com>


Claire de Lune

Enter Star Navigators
Chapter Five
A Romantic Interlude?

        "So, Claire, where are you off to?" asked Elwing's mother, "Going on a date
with Treyor?"
        " How many times do I have to tell you, he's tutoring me in math, it's NOT
a date!" insisted Elwing.
        "Well if you say so," said her mom, "but I've never seen you so
enthusiastic about math before."
        "WhatEVER Mom," Elwing said, "I've got to get going."  She left the house ,
walked out of sight down the block, then went straight to Treyor's door.
She went to knock on the door, and it opened.  "How did you know I was
here?" Elwing asked, surprised.
        "How d'ye think?" laughed Treyor, "I c'n find things, remember?"
        "You... you spy!" she protested, laughing, "How long have mmph..."  He
smothered her protests with a kiss.  Elwing giggled.  "I can just imagine
what my mom's going to think when she sees my math mark!"
        "If ye really do need a tutor, I c'n help ye out."
        "You mean apart from 'one and one makes two'?" laughed Elwing, "I'll think
about it, really I will.  My real problem with math is I can't tell when I'm
making a mistake.  If you'd just teach me how to recognise errors while I'm
doing an equation I'd probably do much better.  But I don't want to think
about that right now, Tuesday's my day off!"
        Treyor put his arm around Elwing's waist.  "Ye said ye wanted te take me
somewhere?" he said.
        "Well," said Elwing, "you said I'm not allowed to mope anymore, so I
thought I'd take you to my moping place, so it will have better memories
associated with it."
        "Sounds like a good project." agreed Treyor, "And I really do mean what I
said; ye're not te mope.  I know ye, remember, so I know what mopin' does te
ye."
        Elwing took the two of them to Fairview park, where she had met the Scouts.
They wandered it hand-in-hand for awhile, then sat down on a bench
overlooking the water.  Elwing seemed deep in thought, the suddenly she
smiled and shook her head.
        "What's on yer mind?"asked Treyor.
        "I was thinking about the first time we met."
        "Ye mean when I made ye jump by tappin' yer shoulder?"
        "No you silly, the very FIRST time we met."
        "Oh, THAT first time we met!"
        "You know, stepping on my train during a grand procession wasn't exactly
the best way to get my attention.  You're lucky you're so disarmingly cute,
or I might never have seen past your initial blunder!"
        "I've told ye before, I didn't mean to!" objected Treyor, "ye know
perfectly well I hadn't been on the moon long enough te adjust te yer gravity."
        Elwing smiled, "why have I never quite believed that?" she asked, poking
him in the chest lightly, "You're too much of a prankster.  You meant to
step on that train."
        "Well alright then, I'll admit te that, but ye know I didn't mean fer ye te
fall and rip the dress."
        Elwing grinned, "Well, at least you're still apologising .  You know I've
long since forgiven you for that, embarrassing though it might have been.
You should really have seen your face after I fell; you looked absolutely
mortified, and Darien and Vega were trying to pretend they didn't know you.
I don't know what you thought I'd do, but I'm suer it was worse than the
scathing look I gave you.  I actually did want to say a few choice words,
but we had already disrupted the ceremony enough, so I chose to save them
up.  Of course, you were so sweetly apologetic later that I couldn't stand
to reprimand you."  Elwing lost herself in the recollection.  "I still have
that dress, you know.  It's hanging in my closet back home... Oh, that's
right, I almost forgot," she said sadly, "That home and everything in it are
long gone now.  I guess I don't have that dress anymore.  I had planned to
wear it at our wedding reception, rip and all." She began to cry quietly,
thinking of the happy times of her life on the moon.
        'Here now," said Treyor, holding her close, "didn't I say ye couldn't mope
anymore?  That includes cryin' about things ye can't change." he wiped a
tear from her cheek, "besides, if ye really want, I c'n try te get the dress
for ye."
        "Reaching back through time?" said Elwing, surprised enough to stop crying,
"But you'd be exhausted!  No, you don't need to, really!" she hugged Treyor
tightly, "you don't need to do that for something so trivial as a dress.  I
want you to save your strength for things we really need, now that we've got
a new enemy to contend with.  You're more important to me than a silly old
dress, if I lost you, I don't know what I'd do."
        Treyor hugged her close and kissed her.  "Ye need te cheer yerself up,
ye're mopein' again.  At least ye're quiet when ye're sad, though, not like
yer cousin!"
        Elwing started to giggle again.  "No kidding!  Everyone knows when SHE'S
upset!  Hey, do you remember how she and I used to sneak off to see you and
Darien?  The hardest part was sneaking out of the protected area with her.
She never COULD shut up." Elwing made a face, "If it wasn't 'I can't wait to
see Darien.' it was 'how far out here do we have to go?' or 'it's COLD out
here!'.  I had to constantly shush her It was fun, though!"
        "Indeed, I c'n remember countin' the minutes and thinkin' fer sure ye'd
been caught, then ye'd appear just as I'd resolved ye wouldn't make it."
        "But I always did make it." smiled Elwing.
        "Aye, yer quite a sneak when ye need te be."
        "Kinda reminds me of sneaking off to see my 'math tutor' who spies on me."
Elwing laughed, "Is that why you were spying on me?  So you wouldn't be
worried whether I could make it there?"
        "It's not really 'spying' ye know," qualified Treyor, "I only know where ye
are, I can't see ye."
        "I know, I'm just trying to bug you.  Really I find you control over that
power very impressive.  It's comforting to know there's someone who cares
enough about me to keep tabs on where I am." Elwing told Treyor.
        "And I feel better knowin' that no matter where I get meself, there's
someone who c'n help me get out of there." Treyor replied.
        "It's also nice," Elwing continued, "to be able to not be moping in this
lovely park.  Now that I have someone who properly appreciates me."
        "And anyone who doesn't properly appreciate ye will answer te me if they
ever cause ye te mope again." said Treyor, and kissed the woman he loved.
        They were both lost in each others' eyes when they heard a snicker on the
other side of the bench.  "You two at it again?"asked Darien.
        "And what are ye doin' spyin' on us, cousin o' mine?" accused Treyor.
        "I was supposed to meet Serena here, but this bench seems to be occupied."
Darien supplied.
        "Hey, what are you two doing here?" asked Serena, walking up.
        "Probably the same thing you had planned." said Elwing, glancing knowingly
at Darien.
        Serena blushed.  "I know THAT, but what are you doing HERE?"
        "Making suer yer dear cousin doesn't mope here any longer." explained Treyor.
        "We were just reminiscing about how you and I used to sneak off to visit
these guys, and discussing how things have changed." Elwing explained to Serena.
        "Yeah, that was fun, wasn't it." remembered Serena.
        "I recall the worrywart over there counting the seconds you were late, and
being constantly convinced you weren't going to make it." laughed Darien,
ribbing Treyor.
        Suddenly they heard a scream coming from somewhere else in the park.
        "Oh, PLEASE tell me that isn't another Negaverse bug!" sighed Elwing
        Treyor concentrated for a second.  "Sorry, but it is." he told her.
        "Where are the others?" Elwing asked Serena.
        "Working at the Temple."
        "And Ailine and Triese are both in classes , so I guess we're on our own in
this one."
        "Moon Crystal Power!", "Elwing Navigator Power!", "Polaris Navigator
Power!"  The three Sailors transformed.  Darien raised a rose and
transformed into Tuxedo mask.  They went running off, Sailor Polaris in the
lead, to where the drone was.  Along the shore a little way, they came
across a gigantic Negaverse wasp.  It had already drained five people, and
was flying in quick forays from its victims looking for fresh sources of
energy.  Tuxedo Mask threw roses at it, which managed to distract it from
its hoard just long enough for Sailor Polaris to get in among them to try to
break its hold on them.  When the wasp got too close to Sailor Moon, Sailor
Elwing started shifting her around to confuse the bug.  While she was
concentrating on this, she neglected to keep a really close eye on the wasp.
It had tired of chasing the rapidly moving distraction, and had noticed
Sailor Polaris moving among his victims.  It quickly darted back, and before
Sailor Elwing realized what it was doing, it stung Sailor Polaris.  Her eyes
blanked over with rage, and she translocated her love to her side.  Too
distracted to even put up a shield to block off further attacks, she began
to leach the poison from Polaris' abdomen.  The wasp began flying toward
them.  Sailor Polaris started waking up, and realized what was happening.
"Don't worry 'bout me, I'll be fine." he told her, "Get yerself safe.  Don't
let yerself get hurt on my account."
        Sailor moon noticed what was going on and quickly used "Moon Sceptre
Elimination!" to destroy the wasp.  Over Sailor Polaris' objections, Sailor
Elwing continued healing him until she collapsed from exhaustion.  Sailor
Polaris caught her.  "Why d'ye have te put yerself in jeopardy fer me?  Ye
know it scares me te see ye hurt!" he asked her.
        "How could I do any less?" she asked him, "You know I care deeply for you,
and if you're hurt, I have to help you."
        "Aye, but I don't want ye gettin' hurt through my mistakes.  I'd never
forgive meself if ye didn't recover."
        "I'll be fine in a couple of hours, you know that."
        They all detransformed, and Treyor held Elwing close.  "Just make sure that
ye are.  I don't know what I'd do if I were te lose ye."
        "I'll be okay, really." said Elwing, "now, there are other people who need
help.  Someone needs to call an ambulance."
        "I'll do that." offered Darien.
        "Oh, and don't worry about me.  I'll be fine without medics, and it might
be a little difficult to explain why I have no 'travellers insurance' and
never passed through customs."
        "My apartment isn't far from here, you could take Elwing there to recover."
Darien told his cousin, "Serena and I'll take care of helping these victims."
        "Thank ye, I'll do that." Treyor said.  He cradled Elwing in his arms,
ignoring her weak protests that she could walk just fine, and he was making
a scene.  Finally she gave in and just let him carry her.  She knew from her
memories of the past that once Treyor had decided to do something, there was
little point in making a fuss if it wasn't going to be a big deal.
        When they got to the apartment, Treyor got out the key Darien had given
him.  Even though it was a bit awkward, he managed to open the door without
putting Elwing down.  Inside the apartment, he laid her down on the couch,
then went looking for blankets.  "Now just go straight te sleep." Treyor
said, "I'll stay here, and watch over you te make suer ye're okay."
        Elwing reached up and pulled his head down so she could kiss him.  "I'll be
fine, really.  Thank you, I think I'll sleep now." she said yawning.
        True to his word, Treyor sat on the floor by the couch and watched over her
while she slept.  About ten minutes after they arrived, there was a soft
knock on the door, and Treyor let Darien in.
        "How is she?"asked Darien quietly
        "She 's asleep, but apart from that, she seems te be fine." Treyor answered.
        "I'm sure she'll be just fine.  Especially with you watching over her."
Darien reassured him.
        In about an hour, Elwing began to stir.  "Oh," she yawned, " I feel so much
better."
        'I've been thinkin' while ye slept.  I really ought te thank ye fer gettin'
me away from that wasp.  If ye hadn't, it probably would've done me to a turn."
        "I know.  I had to do something to help you.  If I didn't I'd never forgive
myself.  You really gave me a scare you know." Elwing held Treyor tight.
        "Ane ye scared me too," Treyor said, hugging back, "but all's right again
now.  I'm sorry fer snappin' at ye, but I was afraid fer ye, drainin'
yerself like that."
        "It's all right, I forgive you." said Elwing, " well, this date certainly
didn't end the way we expected." she laughed, "I thought we might go for a
row on the lake, but I guess I'll just have to take a raincheck on that."
        "Any excuse te be with ye, I'll take it." Treyor grinned.  "We've been too
long apart.  And this time, ye don't need te hide that ye're visitin' me."
        "I really do have to go home now, though.  I'm already ten minutes late."
She stood up, then sat down again.  "Maybe not just yet."
        "Are ye alright?" asked Treyor, concerned.
        "I'm fine, I'm just still a bit tired."
        "Well, I c'n help ye with that." Treyor said with a smile, "I'll kiss ye
better, how does that sound?"
        "How can I argue with an offer like that?" Elwing winked.
        Treyor took her in his arms and raised her to her feet, and they kissed
passionately.  He sent healing energy through her, replacing what she needed
to get through the evening.  When she felt strong enough, she took the two
of them back to Treyor's apartment.  They finished the kiss there, and
Elwing sighed.  "Thanks, I feel a lot better now."  She stroked his face.
"Now I really do need to go, my mom's suspicious enough as it is."
        "I'll hold ye te that raincheck, though." Treyor told her.
        "Absolutely!  I'll see you at school tomorrow, my love." she said as she
disappeared.
        "Tomorrow." he said.
        When she got home, her mother was upstairs.  "Sorry I'm late, I missed the
bus." she called.
        "Your dinner's in the oven." she called down, "Did you have a good time on
your date?"
        "I told you, it WASN'T a date!" Elwing objected, "But yes, I had a nice
time." Elwing smiled to herself.  Nothing could bring her off her cloud
today, not even having to hide her joy.

FIN


