Jim paced back and forth in the bathroom, glaring at his reflection and clenching his fists- still trying to do it without hurting himself on his claws. "Arrrrgh," he growled, hitting the countertop with his fist. Richelle's words still stung, and there wasn't any way he could figure out to tell her she was wrong. Plopping down on the oddly shaped toilet (which was surprisingly comfortable,) he put his head in his hands and stared moodily at the wall. It was then that he remembered that Richelle had called him cute when he first woke up. He laughed bitterly under his breath, but the point began to work in his mind. She might have just been trying to calm him down, but still.... as Jim looked at the mindbending patterns on the walls, he was suddenly overwhelmed with the alienness of this place. Here he was, on an alien planet, with no one he could trust, and even if he did get back home, he realized he had no idea where Robb and his other former friends were- after all, he'd been a suit, and had lost consciousness. He didn't even know what year it was back home- well, back on Earth.
He began to regret his harsh temper with Richelle. It looked like she was the only one willing to be his friend that he'd ever be able to find, and here he was arguing with her. Well, nothing for it now but to swallow his pride....
Richelle looked up from the bed as Jim came back to the room. "Hi."
"Hi... uh, Richelle?"
"Yes?"
"I... I'm sorry I yelled at you. I know you've been doing your best. I guess I've just been trying so hard to get back to normal that I totally forgot what was going on around me."
A slight smile flicked across Richelle's face. "If you say so. Thank you for the apology, though, whatever the reason."
Jim nodded absentmindedly. "Hey, can we get something to eat?"
"Upuaut said the button over there gets it."
Jim hit the button, and soon they were enjoying a surprisingly tasty supper, although they weren't sure what it was. "You know, you were right about everyone having animal heads around here. I didn't expect a deer, though, somehow."
"Mmhmm."
"I still think I look odd, though."
"So? I still think you look cute."
Jim shifted uncomfortably, but didn't say anything else. He did feel better, though.
After a night spent in their two separate beds, they were both awakened by a knock on the door before it opened to reveal Upuaut. As they groaned, he laughed and said, "wake up, people, you've been asleep for long enough. Come on, you two have a hard day of training ahead of you."
"Don't we get a breakfast?" Jim groaned.
"Breakfast after a training session."
Jim sighed, but didn't reply as Upuaut led them back to the cubicle, and conducted them back to his office. Billie turned to look at them as they came in. He was dressed in the same sort of t-shirt and shorts that Jim had on, and Richelle found herself automatically judging those muscles favorably. His grin, though, when he noticed her glance, seemed a touch too predatory for her to be comfortable.
As Richelle quickly looked elsewhere, Upuaut spoke up. "We've decided to break into pairs for our training today. Jim, you're going to learn unarmed combat with Billie here, today. Richelle, you're coming with me to learn some about the nature of magic. Questions?"
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Fri Jul 14 05:17:44 2000