Claude checked his watch for the millionth time and glanced down the street, letting his eyes roam over the market stalls and box stands lining the road. The area was teeming with people, some dressed in colors bright enough to make his eyes hurt, while others were obviously soldiers, or maids... Rena was somewhere in that mess with Ashton, trying to find something the dragons could stomach without grossing them out... and they weren't back yet.

He was still of the opinion that they should strangle the squealy things if they complained about the cuisine, but hey... they weren't that bad, except for that.

What were dragons supposed to eat, anyway...? He checked his watch again and stared at the little window, watching the seconds tick by. It was still set to Earth time, but it worked when he was just trying to time stuff... maybe...

/December twentieth/. "Geez, it's almost Christmas?" He leaned back against the wall, chewing his lower lip. Christmas... He'd be home by now normally, and even his dad would be there on the /day/... but not this year. It didn't even /feel/ that late in the year to him. They'd left on the voyage in May, /way/ back...

"Claude!"

"Hey Claude!" Ashton grabbed a fistfull of Claude's jacket as he sped past, jerking him away from the wall. "Let's get going!"

"What the--" Claude stumbled into a jog, glancing back. No monsters. No soldiers. What was going on?

Rena sped past, offering a sunny smile and a blush.

"Slight misunderstanding with the shopkeeper - no big deal, but uh..." Ashton grinned kind of nervously and hefted the sack slung over his shoulder, speeding up. "Let's just get out of town first, okay?" he shouted over his shoulder.

"This makes you look suspicious, you know!" Claude called to him. "The soldiers are giving us funny looks..."

Ashton slowed, and up ahead, Rena glanced back to them past the pack she was carrying and followed suit, jogging back to them hesitantly. "Something wrong? Did he send someone after us?" She peered back down the street, but aside from a few strange glances and a skeptical once-over from a nearby soldier, they were pretty much being ignored.

Some city guard...

"So what happened?" Claude took Ashton's sack - nearly falling over under the unexpected weight - and dropped it onto the cobblestone street, pulling it open to look inside. "It's... steak. And the usual..." He looked up at Ashton, then Rena, then back to his dragon-toting companion. "You guys didn't steal this, did you? That would be kind of... pathetic. I know we didn't spend /that/ much on armor."

"No!" Rena exclaimed loudly, blushing and clapping her hands over her mouth. "We didn't /steal/ anything..."

"How about 'borrowed'...?"

"No no, nothing like that!" Ashton rubbed the back of his head, looking kind of sheepish. "We were, uh... haggling with the shopkeeper, and I don't think he was too happy with the amount that we left him. It was only what the food was /worth/," he continued quickly, raising his hands as if ready to ward off an explosion, "But he kept raising the tax so we would still have to pay the original price, and we... left."

"Those cuts really /aren't/ worth what he was asking," a red-faced Rena interjected, pulling at her pendant and hefting the bag over her shoulder again. "They're at least a day old too, and that's inexcusable for a shop like that."

Claude really wasn't sure what to say to that - he couldn't cook to save his life, so his skill at identifying FOOD obviously wasn't all that great. And at least they /paid/ him, but still... "How much did you leave him? Of what he was asking for, I mean?"

Ashton leaned over and tied the sack again, hoisting it up with seemingly no trouble at all -- had the dragons added to his strength too? -- and throwing it over his shoulder. Ururun growled, but squirmed closer to his companion to avoid the possibility of getting crushed. "Well... a little less than the street value, I guess..." He looked questioningly at Rena.

"/How/ much?"

".... Fifty percent?"

... Was that another headache he felt coming on? "Let's just get out of here before he tries to have you lynched, huh?" Nah... They didn't have enough money to pay for overpriced goods, it was true, but... maybe it was time for everyone to start studying that fine art of /subtlety/ that his dad was always lecturing about, or they might not even survive long enough to get to El.


************


A faint, warm wind whistled across the grassy plain, drawing up bits of leaves and flower petals and whisking them over the slatted fence into the back yard of the inn, sending them whirling over the little path Claude found himself following. He wasn't there for any reason, really; just to marvel at the crystal clear sky, and the bright white glow of the moon.

Earth never had nights like this -- at least none in his memory. The sky was so polluted with smog that the moon always looked orange, if not outright red, and seeing the stars was something for space-goers... the cities were just too bright to offer much of a view of the sky. Sure, they /read/ about the constallations in school, especially at the military academy, but actually /seeing/ them was a completely different story.

That's why he liked to go outside every night they stayed at an inn... It was nothing unusual when they had to camp, and actually, he preferred that, even if it /could/ get cold, or mean finding a snake in his sleeping bag the next morning.

Well, maybe not the snake part, but still... (He really HATED snakes.)

Nothing up there was recognizable to him; the stars were stars, cold and bright, and seemed so close when they were really very far away. They looked like jewels in the sky, glittering far more brightly than the ones he knew from his home sector. Identifying shapes in that scattered mass of lights was kind of fun, and that's what was occupying his mind for the most part tonight. Rena had named some of the constallations, but he couldn't resist putting Earthian names to them, at least in his own head.

This was a summer sky he was staring at, and the warm wind that was running its fingers through his hair was definitely a product of that particular sort of season, just warm enough now that he had taken his jacket off and tied it around his waist to be cooler. It was really odd overall, because... well, his watch said it was about Christmas time, and his interal clock - or whatever - also said that, and... here he was, standing out here and wishing the inn could be air-conditioned.

It was nice, but it was also a reminder that he wasn't home. He wasn't with his mother helping her make popcorn balls or look for presents... and he wasn't with his little cousins, trying to help them build their snow forts so they could play war...

He missed that. This was when his formal leave would start and... man, he just wished he could see all of them, suddenly. Being on Expel wasn't that bad, but now that he was thinking about it, Claude really missed being home, or even just being with his dad on the cruiser.

He wished he hadn't looked at his watch earlier.

Not that it really mattered. He would have remembered anyway, and he would have felt just as bad. At least he wasn't crying or anything, like he had done as a kid when he first entered the Academy. That would just be embarassing...

"... Claude? Is that you?" Sand and pebbles crunched under light steps, and Rena's soft voice drifted over on the wind. "What are you doing out here so late? Is something wrong?"

"Huh?" He turned about on his heel -- one of those military things he couldn't seem to get rid of -- and waited for her to catch up to him, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Oh, no... Just looking at the sky again."

"What's so interesting about it? If you don't mind my asking." She halted by his side, hands clasped behind her back, and tilted her face up to look at the stars. "It's just the same old sky... Oh look, Juniper." She gave a little smile, then caught his questioning look. "That one," she replied instantly with her sweet voice, pointing to a sparse collective of stars to the northwest. "It was named after the last Heraldry mage of the Continental Alliance... I don't remember much about that part of history, but she must have been important if they named a constallation after her, don't you think?"

"Yeah." He shrugged and grinned, though she wasn't paying any attention. "Your planet has a long history, doesn't it? Your mom made a reference to something like that too when she was telling me more about that legend of yours."

"Oh, a few thousand years, I guess. There isn't much before the discovery of Heraldry, but Celene would be better to talk to if you want to know that. I used to like to read back home, but our collection of books wasn't very big..."

"You like to read?" He turned his gaze to his companion, raising his eyebrows. He didn't like stereotyping, especially with girls, but Rena acted like the sort of person who /wanted/ to be sweet and traditional, and go into homemaking or something. He'd never met anyone like that - most of the girls back home would kill him on the spot if he even mentioned it. "You'd love the library in the city I'm from, then. It had more books than anyone could ever read in a lifetime."

Rena turned away from her stargazing, pushing a mass of hair out of her face. "Really? Will you take me to see it someday?"

Claude blinked, taken aback for a moment by the question. She'd said it as if it was just another boat ride away, but... "Yeah, sure." He shrugged. "Might be a while though -- I'm not even sure /I/ will be seeing it any time soon."

She nodded quickly, looking back up at the sky. "Of course, of course..." A pause. "Hey... can you see Earth from here? That's where you're from, right? I'm kind of curious about it now... You've been talking a lot about it today."

"I have?" He rubbed the back of his head, following her gaze. "Well... I don't know, actually. I see a few that /could/ be it, but I don't have any way of knowing... I'm not even sure how far away Expel is -- we might not even be able to see it from here."

"Oh..." She let her head drop, then asked a little more softly, "What were you thinking about out here? Just the stars? You looked kind of... lonely. That's why I came out here."

"Really?" He pushed his hands into his pockets again, not sure how to express his feelings about that. "... Thanks." It was kind of nice, that she'd worried about him. "I was just... just thinking about what's going on at home. It's a shame I can't be there, with everything that should be going on by now."

"What do you mean, 'everything that should be going on'?" She turned a concerned gaze his way. "Nothing bad...?"

That's right, she had no idea about Earth holidays... "No, nothing bad. It's just a holiday that we celebrate every year where I'm from... I guess it doesn't have any real meaning anymore, but we still use it to spend time with our families and all of that..."

"Really?" Rena tilted her head to the side, looking like a curious cat. "What is it called? What's it like?"

"Well, uh..." How did a person explain a concept like this to a complete outsider? Claude decided to take a simple approach first - she could always ask questions after he finished. "Basically it's... Well, it's called 'Christmas'. It used to be a religious holiday, but these days people just use it as an excuse to gather family and give out presents and stuff. There are lots of stories, and special foods, and decorations and everything. Just like that party I saw someone throwing for that kid's birthday in Arlia, only with a different... theme, I guess. Kinda serious, for some people, but it's supposed to be fun."

"Sounds neat," Rena offered hesitantly. "Can you tell me more about it? I'd like to know."

Heat crept up into Claude's face, and he was glad it was so dark outside -- even the moonlight wasn't bright enough to show him blushing. Blushing like an idiot... Why? "Well... what do you want to know? There's a lot to tell."

Rena grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a bench by the rose bushes, sitting down and motioning for him to join her. "What about the food? What kinds are there, and what does it taste like? And the stories...? What are they like?"

Well, that was a lot to swallow... but if she was interested... "Well, first there's the turkey..."


************


Claude flipped the cover over his watch with a sigh, gritting his teeth against the constant jarring of the cart he and the others had recruited for their trip to Salva. Two days, and all he could think about was the fact that he wasn't home... Two days of absolute hell.

Not that he didn't enjoy his time with Rena and Celine... but the more he thought about it, the more he wished he could be spending time with his mom right now, decorating the house for the season and trying to sneak a peek at the presents hidden in her closet. The time he had spent at home for Christmas was something he had never really thought about before... not until now, when he didn't have it.

It made him want to kick himself, actually; he'd taken such a precious thing for granted, and now he was facing the possibility that he might never have the chance to enjoy time with his family again...

Surprisingly enough, he was even missing his father, right now... and that was unusual. He didn't hate his father; the problem was, his father treated him more like a generic military cadet most of the time, rather than his son - even at home. That wasn't exactly easy to deal with - only years of the experience had finally deadened Claude to the feeling (for the most part) that his father just... didn't see him as anything special.

Nor did anyone else - after all, his father was a hero. Who could grow out of THAT shadow?

"Claude darling? Are you listening?"

"Huh?" He looked up from the retreating horizon (as he was sitting at the very back of the wagon looking out) and twisted around to look at Celine. "Sorry, I didn't hear what you were saying."

She rolled her eyes, sending him a pert little smile that made her lips sparkle - something the driver had been seeing a lot of up there, it seemed. "I said, would you mind stopping off in Mars for a few days? I want to pick up a few more books to study while we're busy 'questing.'"

"That'll take a few days? I thought you read faster than that."

"Are you asking for a burn, darling?" The looks she gave him made Claude glad she was sitting all the way in the front - but it was definitely satisfying. He grinned back at her as she continued. "We also have to resupply... and I was hoping to spend a little time at home before we leave for this extended trip to El."

'Home.' His insolent grin slipped away abruptly. "Yeah, I don't have a problem with it. It's closer than Salva, at least."

"Are you alright, Claude?"

He shrugged and gave a bare nod, turing back to his contemplation of the road passing by beneath the cart. And his stupid depression came right back with it - he really envied Celine, at that moment. He was homesick, but she was about to see her family.

A wobbly shadow fell over him, and he watched from the corner of his eye as Rena sat - almost fell - onto the seat beside him. "Are you okay, Claude? You look kind of depressed..."

He shrugged again, fishing for something to say that wouldn't make her worry. Finally, he replied, "I just miss home, that's all. Celine's lucky that she can see her family... and so are you. We can stop by Arlia too..."

"No no, that's okay..." Rena looked away from him, stuffing a pad of paper into her pocket. "If I go home, I'm not sure I'll be able to leave again, and I really want to at least /try/ to find my real mother..."

"What is that?" Claude asked after a moment of silence, latching onto the first thing he could think of that was /not/ related to home, family, or anything depressing. "Writing something?"

"Just a new recipe... I've been getting a lot of ideas lately." She shrugged, the faintest tinge of pink staining her cheeks. "It's nothing special or anything - but I'll make something for you while we're staying at Celine's house, if you want to try it out."

"Okay, sure." He gave her a little smile, but after a moment his gaze was drawn back to the road again, and she got up reluctantly to return to her seat.

He felt kind of bad just letting her go off like that, but... well, what was he supposed to say? He really didn't feel like talking about what was bothering him right now. He had no doubt that Rena of all people would understand how he was feeling, but sympathy was the last thing he needed. Nothing could be done about his situation at the moment, no matter how many shoulders he decided to cry on.

But then again... Claude twisted around, about to call Rena back, and paused.

They were sitting together behind the driver's bench huddled over that pad of paper Rena had been carrying, and his ears caught a whispered conversation that he couldn't /quite/ understand... He leaned forward in hopes of catching a few words, but Celine's sharp eye caught sight of him.

"Now now, Claude dear... it's bad manners to eavesdrop, isn't it?" She grabbed the paper and sshoved it into Rena's bag, throwing him a look that would have done his mother proud. "This is girl talk - you wouldn't be interested anyway."

Rena glanced back and shrugged, blushing through a screen of blue hair and turning her back to him again quickly. "Oh, look!" She turned to grin at Celine. "Mars! We're almost there."

"It's about time. Thank the gods for small blessings..."

Claude agreed silently, turning back to his contemplation of the road passing beneath the wagon. Hopefully some of those blessings would be coming his way soon.


I'm told I got the mood right, and I guess it's not that bad... the characters need tweaking. But when I got this far, I really didn't know how I was going to pull off my little plan. I thought a Christmas party arranged by Expellians who had no idea what 'Christmas' is would be amusing, but none of my ideas about 'how' worked. It's a shame, because I enjoyed Star Ocean 2, and I wouldn't mind writing more fiction for it. I just don't feel comfortable enough with the world, I guess. And for this story specifically... I suppose I just didn't plan it well enough.