60

Portia still wondered what Uncle Cloud was doing with her gem but it didn't tell her, this was the first time it actually refused a direct order...or maybe it couldn't obey it because of something else?

She gently knocked on the door, with Aeric by her side, and hoped to meet Uncle Cloud himself, but rather met Aerica, Aeric's twin sister.

She looked at the two, looking bored as usual, then asked,"So you finally remembered the people who accommodated you for months or even centuries? Shame on you."

Aeric then spoke,"Actually, we need to speak with Uncle Cloud."

"Of course it's just business, typical."

She walked in and banged the door in their faces.

Portia knew the two never saw eye to eye, but this was a little lot bit extreme.

They stood there for several seconds and after knocking about three times again, Aeric used one of his feathers to open the door and they walked in to look for him on their own.

It didn't take long for them to find Aerica lounging on the couch, reading a magazine without a care in the world.

Portia asked,"Aerica, I thought you went to look for Uncle Cloud."

"When did I say that I would?"

Portia was silent as Aeric frowned but said they should leave.

They asked around and found out he wasn't at home, so Portia tried to track him with her gem, but once again, it didn't respond, what was going on?

It had never acted like this before, this... rebellious, and it only had to do with Uncle Cloud...did he do something to it?

They waited in the living space for over an hour till they heard his distinct and loud wing fluttering.

He walked into the room after speaking with his wife, with a smile.

He was about to give them a hug when Aeric stopped him and said,"We're only here on business..."

"What? Since when did you come to me strictly on business?"He asked, confused.

"Since the moment we found out you have actually handled Portia's gem before, what did you do with it? And why didn't you tell us?"Aeric asked.

"...~sigh~it was a very long time ago, I was young and...reckless and before I was betrothed to my wife, I went on a tour of the lands, to explore everything I hadn't experienced before... including the women, then I met one, with whom I spent a lot of time. I fell for her deeply, only to find out she was to be married, I asked her to know if she really loved me and without a thought...she said yes. I did everything in my power to make sure she was mine and brought her back, to find out that I was set to be married as well. I wanted to leave with her and start our own family, but I was foolish and naive, I instantly was bewitched by ...'s beauty and tried to get rid of the woman, I tried to lie to her about my duties to my family and gave her a stone which I had found during my adventures to pacify her, and it darkened in colour...I sent her off and got married, then went to visit her and found out, she had been murdered...and the stone, faded...Portia, that woman is you..."

***

At another planet, Alex looked down and saw a kind of rattan basket like creature which had three rings, one at the top, the middle and the other at the bottom.

Looking closely, he saw miniscule eye like dots allover the frame and realized that whenever it sent the highest ring to the top, making it totally cylindrical, it added a small ring of woven threads before it went down and opened like a sunhat, adding more threads.

Alex asked what it was and Jonita told him it was a Yiya, the third ring was actually a form of asexual reproduction and after the base of the ring was fully formed, it broke off and liked on its own, but Alex wondered how it broke off, till he saw the two higher rings squeeze down to the bottom, then release, shooting the creature into the sky.

He then saw a small, fuzzy creature with enormous black eyes and the most adorable figure he had ever seen.

He was awestruck till he realised there were more, now they were killing him wig cuteness.

He stepped closer when Jonita pulled him back and the ground raised up and a huge mouth closed over the creature and he was horrified.

The rest of the creatures were also swallowed immediately and he almost cried.

"Why didn't you do anything?!"Alex yelled.

"What are you talking about? I saved your life."

"You let that giant thing eat those pipsqueaks!"

"What? That? Oh no those tiny things actually live in the mouths of the giants, they're Fuzzle Burts, as I call them, they live in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship where the Fuzzle Burts act as live bait and whatever falls for it is eaten by the Trepans and digested. The Fuzzle Burts which are immune to the digestive enzymes remain unharmed and feed on parasites and the remains of the food they rarely survive without each other."

"That's disgusting."

"That's life."

Alex accidentally took a step back and a Trepan was going to crush him with its rock hard mouth when he sprinted away, causing a chain reaction of them closing their mouths at him.

Jonita jumped on a Yiya and it shot her into the sky and Alex jumped on it too, but it remained and he found himself praying, till he was caught by Jonita and taken to the sky.

Throwing him at a large animal, he passed through it and appeared in the next universe and was already grossed out when he landed in a pile of turquoise and green maggots.

He gagged when Jonita squealed for joy, fetched a hand full and munched into them, spraying white blood everywhere. She asked him to try some, and his response was yelling no four times in crescendo and blasting pressurised water at them then fleeing...

Jonita then took him to the poles of the planet and the two sat on the ground, looking into the sky, where Auroras danced in a beautiful array of blues and greens.

Alex looked at Jonita and asked,"Is the colour difference a matter of the ions present in the atmosphere arranged in concentric and acentric circles or is it that the ionosphere over here is just in mountains and valleys?"

"What?"

"I mean the colours, they're arranged in circles, is it because different chemicals are isolated in those regions or there are pressure gradients in the ionosphere?"

"Why don't we find out?"

She then flew up and left him, then he smiled and followed.

He burst into the ion containing part of the atmosphere and felt sizzles and tickles by the charges in the air.

Charges spun around his fingers in figure eights then he thrusted forward and revolved around the blue regions.

He then shot into the air, making the ions follow in a spiral while forming flower petal like patterns at the bottom, which condensed into spheres of charged particles.

Alex then dropped down and lay on a cloud packing the water molecules together to make them able to support his weight, before dropping down and letting the rain fall in a growing ring, the ionosphere contained large amounts of ionised water, which gave him much control over it.

Alex went home feeling relaxed and yet excited, soothed and yet jumpy, knowing there was so much he had never seen, he hoped to explore more and Jonita was more than happy to be his tour guide, but everyone was still gone though...