Life on the Neverside

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Oh, the things I would do if I owned Wizards vs Aliens! [insert evil laughter here] But sadly, it is not to be.

Lexi sat on a rock by the campfire, toasting a piece of the wretched meat on a stick at arms length, trying not to grimace at the scents coming off it in curling smoke. Tom had helped light the fire, then had been oddly silent, gazing up at the stars wistfully. She shared the sky view, wondering at the expanse of glittering orbs of light covering the blackness. Lexi didn't want to break the silence, even though something in her desperately wanted to speak, just to make human contact. Was this why the humans seemed to have their infernal chatter all the time?

"When I was a kid, my gran told me that when wizards passed on, they turned into stars, keeping watch on those they'd left behind," Tom said unexpectedly. His voice was quiet and wistful.

Lexi looked at him, her brow furrowing as she frowned, trying to work this out. "No. Stars are luminous spheres of thermonuclear plasma," she corrected, looking up at the sky again. The stars were very bright tonight. She guessed she wasn't used to seeing them from Earth.

Tom gave her a slightly exasperated look. "It was her way of making me feel better about my mum." Lexi had no idea why he was sharing this with her, but said nothing. After a short silence between them Tom shook his head and looked up at her, adding: "Haven't quite got the hang of being human yet, have you, Lexi?"

Lexi considered this. No, she hadn't. Even after all her researching and data she had collected on the intricate planet beneath her, the many nights she had spent learning and finding out new thing about Earth - she knew she would never actually get used to actually being human. Her mouth seemed to have a mind of its own as her peculiarly chatty voice continued his conversation. "Not even sure I had the hang of being Nekross." Lexi was different from the rest, she knew it. She strategized and planned, her wit and clever mind her key skill. Nekross like Varg were more common, the violent ones who led with their head. Plus being the younger daughter was always going to be hard in the increasingly patriarchal world of Nekron. "It's hard, being seventeen."

Tom was evidently visibly surprised at this as he turned his head quickly to hers. "Hang on, you're seventeen?" Lexi felt defensive and tried to backtrack.

"In Nekross years," she added, flashing him a glance and knowing that Tom wouldn't understand the concept of their differences in year duration.

Tom paused, trying to process this new information. "That's practically the same age as me," he told her. Lexi gazed back up at the stars; she and the wizard were around the same age. She was shocked and slightly affronted when Tom added another sentence. "I thought you were older."

Lexi's head swivelled around to glare at him and he changed his speech hurriedly. "I mean because you were so tall."

Lexi couldn't help but smile at the way he didn't want to offend her. "All children of the Royal Line of Nekron are tall." Talking about children immediately made her think of Varg and Lexi sighed softly. "Tomorrow I'll carry on looking for Varg. What's left of him." It was the first time she'd voiced her fears and Lexi internally cursed herself for inviting in those thoughts. Of course Varg would be all right. And he would have survived on the raw magic of this place. Easily. Tom was looking at her sympathetically and Lexi kept her gaze focused on the stars. Somewhere up there was Nekron. Somewhere up there was the Zarantulus. Somewhere up there was home.

There was a roar from deep in the forest and Lexi looked around cautiously, her eyes widening as she registered the dark and what may be out there. Tom was looking around as well, looking scared. He made to get to his feet, but the roar died away and Tom settled back down. It was a moment before he looked back at her. There was another short silence before he said tentatively: "Yeah, of course." He was looking down at the fire, unable to meet her eyes. "Then, I'll help you."

Lexi's head swivelled around to look at him again for the second time, and she felt surprised and shocked. "But I'm your enemy," she protested, not quite knowing why.

Tom's voice was certain now and he answered straight away. "Not any more."

Lexi felt herself smiling at him and she knew that they weren't enemies now. Not exactly friends either, not yet, but they weren't trying to kill each other. That was always good. They sat together in a companionable silence, watching as the light died around them and the forest noises grew louder in the night.