Memo had once dreamed of a companion he could take adventuring. A friend through thick and thin. Someone who would jump into danger with him without thinking twice.

It was, regretfully, not as amazing a feeling as he’d imagined.

Well, it was-- it was singularly comforting, the fact that Alex was with him. But as he stared down the barrel of his binoculars at the massive, swarming, swirling hive, he felt a lump forming in the pit of his stomach.

This was terrifying. And under ordinary circumstances, he’d be out here, by himself, doing his best to mitigate the situation and complete the task. But instead, Alex was with him.

He tried to will oxygen into his lungs without looking like he was freaking out. You have to trust him. You have to trust him. But this was an entirely new vulnerability, and it was so very scary. You have to trust him.

Praxidike crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, golden mandibles tossing with a barely-contained impatience. She was the Vespiquen from their first adventure, abandoned by her maddened Combee, whom Memo had journeyed back to bring with them on this second leg of the quest. The Vespi-quest.

“So, what’s the plan, stan?” Memo asked, letting his binoculars fall and leaning back to peer up at Alex.

You have to trust him.

Alexei Ivanov

☉

He came up onto the warm sand, golden silt sticking to his wet feet and ankles. The Rotomphone churned the air with a light buzzing, not unlike an insect.

“Yeah,” he said, realizing as he said it he didn’t have any concrete evidence to give her. If only Alex were here. “I-- have a friend who is very in tune to these things.” He gave her a smile and a half shrug, as though apologizing. It wasn’t quantifiable data. But Alex’s ghost-dar had never been wrong.

He did note, with a sort of stinging pride, that there had been no hesitation in the words he’d used. Friend. He’d already broached that subject once and been respectfully rebuked. It wouldn’t hurt him any to be patient.

Titanic turned her head, shifting in a C-shape to show Eva her tail of pluming smoke. She did a full turnaround in the water, like a veritable fashion model.

“I haven’t seen anything too special,” he said, tilting his head to look down at his Very Big Fish, “but I haven’t used her in combat much. But…”

He frowned, as though debating whether or not he actually wanted to say what he was going to say next.

“I do get the feeling that she’s quite… sad. Like an overwhelming feeling of it.” He winced. More speculative nonsense. “Sorry, that probably doesn’t help much.”

Eva Morales

☉

“A lot,” he confessed, tapping the cooler where he’d stowed the sunblock in order to keep it refreshingly chilled. “Like all the SPF 75 at the drug store. And some SPF 100. I don’t want you to burn.” He gave the umbrella a firm shake, then squawked as it clicked and closed on him, forcing him to fight it open again.

The truth was he enjoyed spending time with Alex no matter the time of day-- but Memo was a child of the sun. He loved being in it, its warmth and illumination, and there was something happy and jovial about Vitamin D that just made him smile. It was almost downright dangerous for Alex, though, being so fair complected.

“It’s-- fine,” he insisted through clenched teeth, “just-- want you to be-- safe.” He was sweating from forcing the damn thing up and open but finally, finally, blessedly, it stayed. It shadowed them both with protective darkness, with plenty of space on and around the beach blanket. Memo let it go with shaking hands, preparing to grab it should it fall down again.

“Thanks for coming out today,” Memo said, nervously watching the umbrella as he lowered to a cautious seat. “I know it’s not your preferred weather.”

Alexei Ivanov

☉