openmisc | Kent/Feldspar

“We needed to make it official,” Hornfels laughs, trying to speak over the excited whoops and shouts of the others.

Feldspar’s thrilled, of course; this is exactly where Kent belongs. He’s a dreamer, just like the rest of them, head towards the stars thinking about what’s out there.

“And that means you and I can work on the observatory proper. It’s going to be great - ground control and our headquarters…”

Hornfels goes on with Gossan chiming in, Feldspar pulling back to look at the book again with Slate.

Kent tries to keep up with all of the overlapping conversations, but soon just enjoys the noise for what it is, feeling comfortable and safe and even happy.

He sits on his bed with his pajamas and feels the familiar fabric. They won't last here, the cotton will eventually wear out and no amount of patching will make it better, but - he thinks he might be alright with that. There's no reason to cling to the past. As much as he misses it, as much as he wants to go home sometimes, there's is far more here than there ever was there.

He doesn't believe in god or fate, but he can start to let himself believe that he was meant to be here.

And when the noise dies down to excited chatter amongst themselves, Kent stands up. "I promised the hatchlings something when I came back," he tells them. "So unless you want them all crowding in here when they find the ship out there, you better scoot."

The hatchlings! They love the hatchlings, but can take the hint, as do the others. They start heading to the door.

"We're going, we're going," Feldspar laughs, waving their hand over their head. "C'mon, Slate, I wanna show Gossan that crystal I showed you."

Kent doesn't want to get rid of them, but he does need a few moments to breathe to himself. And when they're gone, he sits on the bed, though he gets thirty seconds before Gabbro spots Feldspar and takes the other two into Kent's cabin.

He sits with them and gossips about the trip, then produces the suckers for them from his bag. They're sweets, so of course Chert and Riebeck and Gabbro are intrigued. They leave Kent's cabin that evening with their prizes and their heads full of stories. Kent doesn't come to the campfire that night, though.

Not after he listens to Ellie's recording for him. He listens two more times and just curls up in his pajamas, enjoying the nostalgia for that night.

Feldspar attends the campfire, telling their stories to the hatchlings who are happily sucking away at the sweets and then chasing each other around until Gneiss wrangles them all for bed. The adults stick around and ask more specific questions about Brittle Hollow and the Hanging City, and as tired as they are they stay up late to feed their curiosity.

When the campfire finally dies down Feldspar goes walking along the edge of the woods. They pull their harmonica out and play a while, laying down in the middle of a field to watch the stars until they fall asleep.

The next few days and weeks are spent with Kent helping out to make and work on the Observatory with Hornfels and the others. He fiddles with his handheld radar, which he has no trouble with, and in his spare time, he works on the record player that's needed to play what's inside the briefcase.

But Kent isn't going to let this time pull him from Feldspar, who has become...well, his best friend.

They're out and Kent's at ground control, working on his scope while he talks to the pilot.

"Heading into the sun tonight, flyboy?"

Feldspar does their part with the observatory as well, hauling lumber and nailing planks right along with Slate and Gossan, the rest of the village watching with fascination as the building grows and grows. Of course they continue to test Slate’s latest modifications and additions to the ships, and take their usual trips out into the outer wilds to be one with the stars.

But Kent is a large part of their life now, and the evenings that aren’t spent out in space are usually spent sitting together at the waterfall, laughing and talking while they play their harmonica.

They don’t have to play pretend with Kent.

Feldspar is at the computer doing a little “Hornfels work” next to Kent, trading stupid little remarks as they tap on the keys.

“Right into the sun, yep,” they grin.

"I heard Slate was working on a new update for the autopilot," he remarks. "Soon, you won't have to do any flying at all."

He chuckles, leaning his head down and placing it against the instrument. It hums in a delightful way, and, satisfied, Kent sits up and opens up a sucker to pop into his mouth.

Feldspar snorts. “Autopilot to fly a long distance, maybe. And it doesn’t stop the ship from slamming into any obstacle in the way!”

They look up into the screen, which projects images from the satellite circling Timber Earth.

“They’ve worked on making my ship more waterproof. I’m going to Giant’s Deep next.”

"Yeah?"

Kent feels his heart skip a little. Hornfels had been a little less touchy, a little...less, since Kent had returned from his trip with Slate.

It means that he has had plenty of time to be distracted by Feldspar himself. He reaches over a hand and takes theirs.

"When you come back, I'll have the player finished for what's in the briefcase."

“Yeah,” Feldspar smiles. They’ve shared their excitement with Kent about finally seeing the ocean and high winds that he’d discovered through his radio - this trip felt like it was for the both of them.

Kent touches their hand and Feldspar feels their mouth go dry. They’ve learned that Kent is touch-focused for a lot of reasons, but the hand hold is still as intimate for him as it would be for any Hearthian.

“Really? That’s amazing. I can’t wait!”

He's excited to hear about what they find on the big, watery planet. He's worried, of course, but Feldspar has proven himself time and time again.

"I want it ready for the next sap wine ceremony," he explains. "It will be perfect for the celebration."

“Yeah? You’ve been cagey about what’s in that container.” Feldspar’s been assuming it’s something significant, judging solely by Kent’s dedication to this project.

“Well, it’ll be Porphy next. I think they’re due in the next few months.” Though they’d been begging for their sapwine ceremony for ages now. Considering they spend all of their time with Granite, the old sapwine brewer, it makes sense that their interest is probably more than just in getting drunk.

"Porphy?" He laughs, bright and musical, almost like a giggle. "Really? They're going to lose their mind. But at least they'll stop bugging people about it."

He takes his hand away and stands up. "Alright. I think I'm ready for the Ash Twins. Want to take a listen?"

“Maybe, I’m sure they’ll find another way to bug people,” Feldspar mumbles, getting up as well.

“Do I want to take a listen, what kind of question is that? Of course I want to listen!”

He's fashioned some headphones for himself, but takes them out as he walks outside and plants his feet in the balcony.

"Alright. Come here."

He fiddles with the dials and waits. "Pull the trigger when you see them rising in the distance."

They get good and close to Kent, squinting as they look up in the sky for the red dots to pass over the crater. When they finally spot the movement they pull the trigger, initiating the radio.

The sound is intense, like static through a radio. Kent flinches back, turning into Feldspar's shoulder as he reaches up to cover his ears. It's just the initial moment, though, and he's back on track, cackling. "Holy shit. What is that?"

They react with a jolt of their own, if only because Kent’s reaction, but they’re grinning wildly as well. They know exactly what that hissing is.

“Sand,” they say, trying to tamper down the urge to bounce. “It’s a giant column of sand. The twins pass the sand back and forth as they orbit each other.”

"I thought that was just a theory!" he laughs. "But - holy shit. It works. It works!"

He takes Feldspar's arm. "This is the farthest I've gotten!"

“Theory confirmed!” they laugh, letting Kent shake them excitedly. They turn and gather him up in their arms, giving them a friendly, congratulatory hug.

“It works great! You did amazing!”

Kent laughs as he's literally swept off his feet. "God, I have to tell...everyone, I think. Wow."

Once he's back on solid ground, his places his hands on Feldspar's shoulders. "This is - amazing."

“You’re amazing, Kent!”

Their excitement quiets as their sincerity takes over - it’s hard not to be genuinely proud of all that Kent’s accomplished since coming to Timber Hearth. Away from his people, his culture, his own technology, and he still managed to create something incredible.

They pull back with a sheepish smile. “You gotta go tell Hornfels.”

He hesitates for a moment too long. "Yeah," he says with a smile. "Yeah, I guess so."

He doesn't want to leave them yet, though. He doesn't want them to go. But - Hornfels deserves to know. They do.

"I'll go get them."

“I’m gonna stay here and while and listen, I think.” The hissing of the sand sounds like hail, like a thousand pebbles hitting the roof of their cabin as a hatchling.

They want to see it.

It’s so close now they could almost touch it, and when Kent walks away to find Hornfels they sit on the wooden floor and close their eyes. They just listen, and imagine.

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