Another Story

The stars were out.

Ima stared at them, a surprising lonely look on her face. So many little lights. How many planets did they warm, she wondered? How many people looked at them right now, she wondered? Where were her own stars, she wondered?

To the last, the answer was 'not here'. She was too far away to see her own stars.

She smiled. Well, it would do no good to think of it. She was here for a reason.

Ima turned her eyes from the skies and began to walk down the lonely streets of Magnolia Town, which were mostly empty due to how late it was. Still, they weren't completely empty. The girl spotted a familiar red coat and grinned much wider than before.

The alien waved her hand and bounced up and down in place with the excitement of a child. "Takato!"

"Hey there, Ima."

The blonde Magi flashed a smile at the girl, his amber eyes blinking.

"How are you?"

His long red coat slowly waved in a unseen wind as he walked up to her with a slight of echo of footsteps, his pale features shadowed by the darkness of the night. He seemed quite happy to see his bright eyed friend once more, a hint of warmth burning in the depths of his pupils. It seemed he had recently returned from the Libary, a simple book in his hand.

"Good!" Giggled the child as she smiled at her friend. "I was just looking at the stars. Aren't they pretty?"

Ima was about to continue when she felt a familiar jolt pass through her. Her eyes widened and she turned away from Takato, looking for something. Ima gasped when she found it.

A boy had just passed around the corner, and seemed to be looking for something just as Ima had. He must have heard her gasp, because he looked to Ima and immediately went towards her and stopped.

He looked to be Ima's age, and his hair and eyes were both black as the night sky. He wore a white shirt and pants with no design, but oddly had no shoes. He also had no expression.

He began to speak to Ima in an odd language. "Nau yhr sibs vlrss pit nrryobg abd snolr diqm iqpb is, abd ehrb yhr yonr xpnrs fpt is yp qaty, nau er vr vlrssrd eoyh yhrot snolrs pbxr nptr."

"Nau yhr sibs vlrss pit nrryobg abd snolr diqm iqpb is, abd ehrb yhr yonr xpnrs fpt is yp qaty, nau er vr vlrssrd eoyh yhrot snolrs pbxr nptr." Ima returned, sounding far away and confused, before adding. "Nu habds, ehay atr upi dpobg hrtr?"

"Upi brrd yp xpnr hpnr, nu hraty." The expressionless child said.

Ima looked floored.

The Magi looked confused, suiting to whisper to himself in Latin before turning to gaze upon the boy. He couldn't help but note the odd language they were speaking, his senses unknowingly screaming at him to prepare himself. He slowly walked up to the boy and the girl, his amber eyes snapping upon the newly arrival. He gave a brief smile and held up a glove, scratching his cheek,

"Friend of yours?"

He turned to gaze at Ima,

"What language was that just now? I know quite a few, even Al Bhed, but that..."

Ima blinked at Takato's voice, and shook her head as if to rid herself of certain thoughts. She turned to him and smiled. "Yes, he's my friend." Then she frowned slightly. "There's another word for it though in your language, but I can't quite remember it...it was a funny word..." She trailed off for a bit.

"Ehp os yhod?" The little emotionless child asked to Ima.

"Nu fotsy hinab ftorbd." Said the child as she turned to her friend. "Alsp, upi shpild bpd upit hrad ob gtrryobg. Hinabs alsp gtrry eoyh a xlasq pf yhr habd abd nocrobg oy iq abd dpeb, viy upi shpild bpy dp yhay, as upi atr ypp sytpbg."

"Ah." The little boy nodded his head to Takato in greeting then.

"It's my language." Ima said as she turned back to Takato, remembering that he had asked a second question. "We are very...isolated, so I'm not surprised that you haven't heard of it-OH!" Ima gasped. "I remembered the word!" She couldn't help but beaming proudly at Takato for that before telling him.

"He's my fiancé!"