Trying to Recover(Cathra)

[Ray]

Raylor was walking down the beach, slowly. He was still thinking about Jae, and how she just seemed to vanish. His stalk eyes drooped as he walked. He was feeling sorry for himself, stacked on top of his depression from losing his pregnant mate mysteriously.

His mind wandered as he walked. He thought over all the good times he and Jae'd had. She loved the beach, walking with him. And being here just made him worst. He didn't even pay attention to his surroundings, or to the fact that he wasn't alone.

[cathra]

They were still discriminated against on the homeworld, despite the fact that Himuran was a War-Prince and a war hero. They had decided to come to Earth for a while to see if they could have a new life. Jahar was in the forests right now, taking care of their scoop.

<Come, father,> Cathra said, eye-smiling at him, as she galloped along. The sounds of the sea were gentle, and beautiful, she believed. Alloran and his daughter galloped along, Alloran eye-smiling as he followed Cathra. The two made their way across the beach, not minding the sand, and Cathra stared at the jellyfish that had washed up on-shore. <I wonder what it would be like to morph such a strange creature,> Cathra noted.

<I would advise against such things,> Alloran said, staring down at the jellyfish with his main eyes. Though he had done much better over the past decade, he was still unexcited. Cathra wished that she could find something that he enjoyed.

Driftball...tailfighting...morphing...cinnamon buns...none of them seemed to keep his attention. But watching Cathra morph-dance always intrigued him. <Father...> she said, leaning down and touching the creature. <Ah!> She suddenly drew back.

Instantly, Alloran was upon his daughter. <Cathra, are you alright?> he asked her. <Let me see your hand.>

<It will be alright,> she said, stepping back. <I will heal it.> She began to morph, becoming the many-winged kafit-bird. Her estreen abilities made the transition fluid and beautiful...

Alloran noticed another Andalite nearby, who looked sad. <Are you alright?> he called to the other Andalite.

[Ray]

Raylor looked up to see two other Andalites just as one of them morphed. He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with his own kind right then. He sighed, looking down at the reddish-brown blotches of fur that was on his legs, and that made him feel worse. Jae liked his discolored fur....

When the male called to him, he lifted his head and looked at him. <Alright? No...I can't say that I am...Every time I finally feel alright, something else happens to me...>

[cathra]

Alloran could certainly sympathise with the Andalite; he had seen nothing but despair for many years, having been the host of the Abomination. He was happy now, since he had his daughter and his wife with him. His son was off at war, but Himuran was a tough Andalite; Alloran had no doubts that he would be fine.

Cathra's sharp kafit eyes noticed the sad Andalite even before her father spoke to him. She turned her attention to him, but continued to morph, feathers sprouting from her arms as she whirled around, like a mysterious half-bird centaur.

She noticed he was young, but he had what seemed to be blotches of age on his fur. She wondered if that was what he was so sad about. Andalite society looked down upon those that were different, but Alloran and Cathra didn't; they knew what it felt like.

In response to her father, he said, <Alright? No...I can't say that I am...Every time I finally feel alright, something else happens to me...>

Cathra morphed enough to morph away the wounds, and then changed back. <What happened?> she asked, in the kind way that Cathra always did, concern in her eyes.

[Ray]

Raylor looked at the other Andalites, sorrow in his eyes. <Well, I crash-landed here a while back. My family....died in the crash...> he said, his voice broken. He paused, not really wanting to continue, but did anyway.

<Soon after landing, I met Jae....she was wonderful. And we were going to have a child....until she disappeared recently. I....don't know what happened to her....but I don't think I'll ever see her again...it's...been too long....>

[cathra]

Cathra's eyebrows moved upwards in a look of sorrow as she listened to him rant. <I am so sorry,> she said, tilting her head. <Is there anything I could do?> She couldn't stand to see him so sad; she'd seen the same thing with her father years before. If she could, she would heal him. He was an Andalite; he needed something to be proud of.

[Ray]

Raylor looked at the female. She looked to be a good deal older than he, but she was still very attractive. Raylor shook his head, trying to get those thoughts out of his head. After all, it was too soon to give up hope on Jae, right?

He looked at her with all four eyes. <My name is Raylor, by the way. Raylor-Tyress-Estlinn, and I wish there was something that could be done, but I doubt it....>

[cathra]

<Cathra-Bellari-Astaron,> she replied, and motioned to Alloran. <This is my father, Alloran-Semitur-Corass.> Surely there was something she could do for him. Ah! She had an idea. <Watch this, Raylor,> she said, and began to dance. As she did, feathers began to sprout all over her body, her stalk-eyes merging and becoming the feathers that rested on her head. She was morph-dancing.

[Ray]

Raylor thought the name Alloran rung a bell, but he didn't know at the moment. And, he didn't care anymore when Cathra started morph-dancing. His stalk eyes perked up as he watched.

He was silent for a moment, just watching her as she gracefully morphed. <Um...it's...nice to...meet you....And...I am.....feeling....better now...> he stuttered after she had finished.

[cathra]

Wow...he seemed really...excited to see her. She reversed the morph, returning to her normal Andalite self. He was young, but his off-colour fur was fascinating, and he was pretty cute as well. <I am glad,> she said, with an eye-smile.

[Ray]

Raylor looked at her with both his main eyes and his stalk eyes. His feelings of depression were fading as he looked at Cathra. He didn't realize it at first, but he was returning the smile. As he looked into her eyes, he felt a wave of happiness he'd only felt once before. He then got lost in his own memories.

It was the day Raylor was roaming down human streets for the first time, in human morph. He fell, only to be helped to his feet by a girl; a female Andalite in morph, to be exact. Jae. They shared the stories of their pasts and took a walk to the forest. Racing to a clearing, they had their first kiss.

Weeks later, he found out she was pregnant. Then...not long ago, he returned to the scoop to find she wasn't there. Jae never came back....

Raylor's smile slowly faded as he came back to reality. I feel attracted to her...more than that...it's almost like there was a reason we met like this here today....but...I can't. It's too soon, isn't it? There's still a chance that Jae's still alive....isn't there? He nervously turned to walk away. <It was nice meeting the both of you,> he said sincerely, <but I think I must go,> he said as he walked off, one stalk eye looking back at Cathra. For some reason, he couldn't completly take his eyes off of her.

<Thank you, Cathra,> he said privately. <You have made me feel better, but the memory...it's still there...and...it makes me miss her...>

[cathra]

She noticed the smile, and loved the fact that she had managed to put a smile on his face. But then his smile was disappearing. Cathra was saddened when he turned to leave. Then she heard his private thought-speech, and she eye-smiled...only a little bit.

Once he left, Cathra morphed the kafit-bird and caught a gust upwards, to soar over him.

[Ray]

Raylor eventually managed to take his stalk eye off of her as he walked, not noticing she had morphed and was now flying over his head. His mind wandered as the sand became concrete, the sound of his hooves on the sidewalk making an entrancing rhythm.

He kept going, his mind going over several memories, but now, he couldn't get Cathra out of his mind. Now in conflict with himself, he decided he needed a nap. Finally reaching his scoop, he found it empty, as usual. He curled up in his normal spot, letting his main eyes drift closed, but he couldn't sleep, his stalk eyes alert.

[cathra]

Cathra landed in a tree nearby; he would notice her. She began to demorph, drifting elegantly from the tree to the ground, raising her arms, upon which dangled the feathery wings of the kafit bird.

<I'm sorry,> she said. <I couldn't just leave you alone...>

[Ray]

Raylor started to drift off to sleep, his stalk eyes finally drooping and closing. Then, he heard something outside, and his eyes fluttered open. To his astonishment, he saw Cathra.

<I'm sorry, I just couldn't leave you alone.>

Raylor looked at her with all four eyes, smiling brightly. <It's quite all right. You can...come in if you want....>