Beyond Space & Time

"How do the trees survive?" Atlas wondered, looking out the window at the pine-like forests. She then looked in some drawers and found some clothes that had belonged to the old owners. When she put them on, in the bathroom out of site, it was clear that whoever lived here had been a lot larger than her, but the oversized, white jumper was like an adorable little dress on her. She looked like a cloud. Her tail wagged as she approved of her appearance in the mirror, and then donned some thick socks before returning to Wolfie.

"You're right," Atlas agreed, going to watch Wolfie start the fire. She was a little hungry, but she'd look for food in a moment. "You... Don't mind doing this, do you? You've been asleep for so long, I guess you'd just be wanting to run and fly and do anything but rest, right?"

Atlas tucked her knees up to her chest and looked at Wolfie next to her. "Really? Huh." She stared into the fire, imagining what it had been like for Wolfie to be in the heart of an exploding star for so long. "I can't imagine what that was like," she murmured, still staring deep into the fire. "You're a hero, Wolfie. You saved families I knew for generations. And you did it all without being conscious. You're so awesome."

Atlas' eyes widened and tinged with sadness. "You shouldn't have done it for me," she murmured. He should have done it for himself or for the good of life in the universe, not silly little her. "I was making you do nothing but have fun for so long, just shopping and chilling, all of that stupid nonsense. You should be out in the universe, doing good. I see that now. I've been holding you back and because of me so many lives have been lost... I want to stay with you, but I also want to do good, like you just did."

"I enjoyed it too," Atlas reassured him. "But life isn't all sunshine and rainbows. I'm... Okay with that now. So long as I'm not alone I can face anything, because being alone is the worst thing... Ever." She scrunched up into a small ball and sighed. "Sorry. I'm ruining our chill out time. Lemme make food!" She sprang up and went to explore the cupboards.

When Wolfie released her hand again, Atlas let her fingers linger a bit longer between his and looked at him strangely. It wasn't a look Wolfie had seen in a long time. But then a familiar face, Atlas smiled like an excited child and ran to the cupboards. The food here was weird, mostly pickles, salted meat, and other reserves. There wasn't much, so Atlas decided to make a stew. She had to melt some snow because the water pipes were frozen, and soon the house smelled of a rich, meaty odour. "Grub's up," she told Wolfie, taking him a bowl of it. She looked so homely as she brought it to him but didn't realise it.

Atlas smiled shyly to herself and she ate too. "Hmph, it's not my best," she said. She started to tell him about the food on the world they'd saved, and how she'd introduced them to some of the food she'd eaten travelling the cosmos. But mostly to Earth food. So one of the things she did when she wasn't teaching, learning, helping them build rockets, was run an Earth restaurant. It was one of the many, many things she did to keep herself busy, and was one of the many things the people loved her for. So now, she was a phenomenal cook, with her father's heightened sense helping her smell the best ingredients and combinations.

"Hmm? Me, teaching you?" Atlas asked jokingly, giggling. "Surely not, you're my teacher. I couldn't teach you anything." Though according to what he'd said before, she had taught him to feel a whole lot.

Atlas' smile faded a little. "Huh," she said, going back to eating her soup. Wolfie really did have such a way with words...

Wolfie's wording had been incredibly poor, as it sounded like he said he'd forgotten or ignored all of the things Atlas taught him. So now Atlas was thinking that if she told him stories, he'd simply forget those too. "I'm actually pretty tired," she admitted, getting up and picking up their bowls to go wash them. "Didn't get much sleep while I was there to be honest, haha!" she explained as she washed the dishes. She'd slept perhaps one night in every month, working tirelessly to get the people off the planet and to better herself.

"I-I don't mind sleeping on the couch," Atlas said, looking over at the comfortable looking sofa with all its soft pillows and a throw blanket over the back of it. "You can take the bed. You need the sleep more than I do." She'd finished washing up and went to sit down on the couch. The sun was going down outside, and the snow was lit by beautiful, orange-pink light.

Atlas had no response for that. She helped Wolfie set up the bed, and then left him to sleep. Her mind was anxious and restless again. She made herself a cup of something hot and sweet that wasn't quite coco, or the sweet drink she'd enjoyed on her most recent home, and stayed up all night watching the aurora dancing through the sky. Maybe one day when she was old and sick of travelling, she could return here. But would she ever get old? These existential thoughts kept her awake until the sun began to rise.