House on the River

Chapter 9: Outward Appearances

Marty stood in front of the refrigerator in the communal room, wondering which how much raw steak she could take out for herself without getting reprimanded that she had eaten someone else’s dinner. She was caught off guard as Jen entered through the doorway right behind her.

“Jen, oh my god, you scared me half to death. You’re lucky, you know,” she said with laughter in her voice.

“I’m sure I am, Marty,” Jen replied, looking up at her. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh this and that. Trying not to scare the locals. You know how it goes. Listen Jen, I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I know it’s none of my business, but have you talked to Kira lately?”

“No,” Jen replied again, looking away. “It’s been at least a few weeks. I see her in passing, but that’s about it.”

“Yeah, she seems to be avoiding everybody, not just you. The only place I ever do see her at is the club. It’s the one place she can’t stay away from, I guess. She just sits in the corner, staring off into space, dancing maybe occasionally. I’m getting worried about her. She looks terrible.”

“I know,” he replied with a look of understanding. “I have tried to help her. Believe me, I have done everything within my power, but the more I try to help, the more she pushes me away. Even though we’re no longer together, I still care about her and want her to be happy. I can tell she’s anything but that. I don’t know if she’s sick, or what the problem is. She’s completely shut me out, and there’s not a thing I can do about it.”

“I’m sorry Jen, I don’t mean to bring that up. I just wondered if you knew anything, that’s all. I used to talk to her all the time, living next door to her and all, but now I hardly ever see her. I don’t know if she locks herself in her room all day, or if she’s gone somewhere else.”

“Maybe they’ve done something to her.” Jen said. Marty did not need to ask whom he was referring to. “Those things. Those skeksis. I wouldn’t put it past them. Even here, I know they are capable of terrible, terrible things.”

“Yeah, they’re all a little nuts. Amusing at times, yes, but they’re all whacked as all get out. Especially their scientist, what’s his name? Tek. That’s it. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with him?”

“No Marty, can’t say that I have.” Jen replied with a sarcastic smile.

“No, of course you haven’t, what was I thinking!” The human Tyrannosaurus said, laughing out loud. Jen grinned briefly.

“Anyways, Marty I have to run. I told UrSu I would meet up with him later for coffee,” he said, referring to his former urRu master, the wisest of the Mystics.

“Alright, catch you later.”

As Jen walked down the hallway to grab a coat in his room before going out, he passed Kira who was just getting back from a morning walk. The outdoor air had actually put some color back into her cheeks and it happened to be a rare occasion that she was feeling semi normal. She was able to find the strength within herself to actually smile and say hello.

“Hi Jen!” She exclaimed, trying to find a genuine smile to put on her face.

“Kira! How are you?” Jen replied back to her, unable to hide his nervousness. He did not want to scare her off, but he desperately wanted to get to the bottom of what had been troubling her.

“I’m well, thanks! Just up to the same old thing you know. Are you going out to the club tonight?” Over the past couple of months, despite her pale look, she had gotten much practice at hiding the turmoil that had mixed up her insides. In fact, she had become quite good at it.

“I don’t know, Kira.” He looked at her again, and then reconsidered. “You know what? Yeah, I’ll go. I haven’t been there in quite awhile and I think it would do me some good to see some new faces.”

“Alright, I’ll see you tonight then.”

“Yeah. See you tonight.”

He wanted to say so much more to her than that, but at this time, he knew it was best not to press his luck. She seemed semi happy today, and he decided to leave it be. Besides, he would see her tonight. Maybe then he could get up the nerve to ask her to question her further.

She walked into her room, closed the door, put her back up against it, slid down to a seated position, and let out a deep sigh of relief. The last thing she should do now was get close to Jen again, especially considering the way she felt, but she also knew she could not avoid him forever. If he was at the club, so what? She had to keep her head up, but she also did not want to give him the wrong idea. She could only hope he had not read more into it than what was really there.

As miracles do happen, she was actually able to take a short nap before getting ready to go out.

She woke up just in time to get ready, then got up and looked through her closet, trying to find something to wear that would not draw a certain Skeksis’s attention. Then again, she wanted his attention. She wanted it so desperately she could taste it.

“Must not think about you.” Kira said out loud. It was the first time she had openly said something like this to herself, even if no one else was around. Deciding to wear her shiny flaxen blonde hair down for the evening, she put on a pair of jeans with a rather glittery sequined velvet tank top. She put on a charm necklace, and a pair of knee high suede boots. The look was funky, without being over the top. She applied a slight bit make-up; her flawless skin not requiring much to bring out her natural beauty. She ran a brush through her hair one last time, and headed out.

The night started out half way normal, or at least, as normal could get for her these days. Just as she thought she would, she ran into Jen and made small talk over the music. It was the least he deserved, she decided, after all, none of this mess was his fault. She wished desperately she could bring herself to tell him the truth. In spite of logic telling her, however, none of this was her fault either; no amount of inner strength could bring her to do so.

Just as she could expect as well, Na Na entered the club about 10:30pm, accompanied by two of his clan members, all dressed head to toe in layers of dark cottons, velvets and silks, and bedecked in as much silver and jewels as they could possibly lay their hands on. As usual, he had outlined his eyes in black eyeliner, which couldn’t help but zero in on Kira the moment he saw her. Wrapped up within themselves in their own little self-centered worlds, Ung and Tek did not notice their comrade’s uncertain smile the moment he laid eyes on the gelfling.

Kira of course, could not help but notice his presence as well. After locking eyes with his for about three seconds, she abruptly turned her head. She knew he had seen her, and she was unable to hide from him the seemingly unnatural thoughts, which ran unbridled through her mind. Nor could he hide it from her. What was even more surprising was the feeling that rushed over her afterwards. No, this time it was not fear, terror, sickness, or even confusion that plagued her these past few months. Instead, it was the feeling of sadness. Sadness for the fact that even if she did not fear him the way she did, any relationship with Na Na, friendship or otherwise, was still completely illogical and in no way could ever happen.

Eros, who made his arrival moments before the three Skeksis walked in, could not help but notice of the way his two accidental victims had looked at each other. After all, although he had made himself scarce to Kira in recent months, he had still kept an eye on her whenever he could get the chance, which was mainly at the club, or anywhere else out in public where she was seen. He could not reverse the spell, but he could still look out for his friend, if only from a distance.

For Kira, the first few hours of the night went on without any drama or upheaval. Although her heart was heavy tonight, she went on to the dance floor, mingled with her friends, and tried best she could to pretend nothing was out of the ordinary, just like she had done almost every other Saturday for the past several months. The clock turned twelve-thirty. She decided it was time to go to the bathroom to relieve herself and freshen up. For once, she actually did not notice out of the corner of her eye the former Skeksis slave-master approaching in a direction perpendicular to hers. Walking directly in front of him, he nearly tripped over her before she was able to go through the entryway into the women’s rest area, knocking her down on the floor. Abruptly realizing the potential jeopardy the two of them were now placed in, she got up, looked him straight in the eye a moment longer, and rushed into the bathroom as fast as her feet would carry her.

Finding a small comfort that she was the only one in there, she closed the stall door and began to sob. She couldn’t help it. Every emotion that she had been feeling hit her all at once in one large swoop. Her break up with Jen, being far from her original home on Thra, and above all, her impossible yet very real feelings for the one who had been a part of destroying everything that was near and dear to her back home. How did it ever come to pass that she would be placed in such an excruciating predicament such as this? This place was not supposed to be like this! Submerged deep within her thoughts in the bathroom stall, the music was loud, creating a false security that she was still alone while in the rest room. Kira did not hear Vera, along with Dr. Ellie Sattler, a paleontologist who had also spent time at that zoo known as Jurassic Park, enter through the bathroom doorway. She opened the door, about to head to the sink to wash the tears off her face when they both spotted her in her distressed state of mind.

“Kira, are you okay? What’s the matter?” Ellie asked her, obviously concerned.

“I’m fine, really. It’s nothing.” Kira was overcome by an inexplicable sinking feeling this situation was about to get bad, very quickly.

“Are you sure?” Vera asked her. “I saw one of those Skeksis harassing you before you came in here. Are you sure everything’s okay?” Though Vera officially took no sides when it came to the feud between the two races, the aggressive side of her personality always loved a good fight, subconsciously pitting her friends against each other, even if she didn’t realize she was doing it. Kira could not look her directly. “I’m fine.” That was all the words she was able to get out.

“I don’t know Kira, you look positively shook up.” Ellie replied back.

“I’m not lying, nothing is wrong!” the gelfling shot back, in a much harsher tone than she had meant.

Hearing the anger and desperation in her voice, Vera only grew more suspicious. “I’m sorry Kira, but I don’t believe you. I saw that Skeksis asshole knock you down before you got came in here. I’m going to go find that bastard and put a stop to this.” Yes, Vera did love a good fight, and she never minded putting herself in the middle of it. As a matter of fact, it was what she was best at.

Kira’s face turned a harsh stone shade of white. She was not able to utter a word, although she wanted to yell and scream, anything to get Vera to give up this crusade. She could do neither.

“Vera’s right, you can’t let those pricks walk all over you. You need to stop being afraid of them.” Ellie agreed.

Finally, Kira was able to speak, but it was too late. They were already heading out the door. Following them out, she begged, “Please, I am telling you, nothing’s wrong. He just ran into me, that’s all. It was an accident!”

“Right Kira. I’m sorry, but there are no accidents with them. He’s going to pay for this.” Vera was headstrong, and once she was on a mission, there was no stopping her. Whether it was during Earth’s Triassic period chasing down large and small prey, or right here right now at this club, the velociraptor was a force to be reckoned with.

Kira followed her friends out the door, still begging them to stop, all the while trying to hide the real reason behind her fear. Stopping Vera, however, once she had set her mind to something, would prove to be an impossible task.

Neither of them would have ever guessed the real reason Kira was so desperate. After all, of course she would not want to confront him. After all they had done to her, why would she? Pacing the half way across the club, they finally spotted Na Na, along with Ung and Tek, sitting at the bar, partaking in a few drinks. Emporor Palpatine and King Zarkon of the planet Doom had joined them.

Ellie took a step back. She was fully well aware of Vera’s temperament and did not want to get to close. Kira continued to follow Vera, grasping onto a small ounce of hope she could put a stop to this. Ellie was able to grab her hand, however, and motioned at her to prevent her from going further. She began to try to struggle, but the thought crossed her mind that maybe the paleontologist was right. Despite the impending chaos at hand, she probably did not want to get too close to this already out of control situation. “Don’t worry Kira, when she gets through with them, those beasts will never bother you again. Trust me on this one,” she said to her with a smile, futilely trying to calm her down.

All she could do was look on helplessly.

“Hey shit for brains. You, over there. SkekNa!” Vera yelled to the former slave master, purposely not using his nickname to get his attention.

“Why, hello Vera. And what is it the fuck you want?” He asked, looking up to her from a seated position, purposely sounding way too charming for the words he had just uttered. The bitter look on her face told him she was obviously not pleased with him.

“Is there a problem tonight?”

Na Na had many problems at the current moment, and as a matter of fact, one very large one at hand. He, of course, was not about to go into that. “No, why do you ask?”

“Because Ellie and I witnessed you harassing our friend over there. Would you like to explain what your problem is with her, or do I have to correct it for you?”

Na Na looked past her and witnessed Ellie standing next to Kira, with her hand on her shoulder, not wanting to let her get too close. Na Na felt his stomach turn into tightly wound knots and a slight panic seemed to take hold. He remembered nearly running into Kira, as focused as he was on her, as she entered the rest room. Was that what Vera was referring to? Had she mistaken that mishap for something other than what it was? Did she think it was something as simple as two bitter enemies having a spat? He could only hope.

Na Na stumbled on his words, looking for an explanation. “I... I... I don’t know what the hell you are talking about.” He did everything he could within his power not to look at Kira. If he did, he could not help but think he would give himself away.

Ung and Tek began to smile wickedly. They both had the same thought. If what Vera said was true, if he indeed was harassing Kira, their clan member was to be congratulated, not reprimanded for having the balls to do such a daring and noble task.

“Is that so? Kira, come over here.” Vera requested, motioning back towards her friend. “Explain to me then what I witnessed by the bathroom. I saw him deliberately run right into you.”

A nauseating sensation swept over Kira as her stomach turned over on its side. Crossing her arms in front of her belly in a defensive pose, she honestly thought she was about to throw up from sheer madness. “It was an accident. Vera! Can we please go, this isn’t going to do any good.” She dared not look at Na Na.

“Accident? He was looking right at you when it happened! He wouldn’t take his eyes off you! I don’t understand possibly how that could have been an accident!”

Na Na saw his own clan members looking at him, and despite what Vera had just said, he realized that they themselves thought this too was no accident. In fact, the look they held on their faces was one of favor. They too, actually believed he was tormenting Kira, and were obviously pleased. He had no time to think. Instead, in order to save face, he knew he had to run with this.

Na Na stood up, futilely attempting to intimidate Vera by standing taller than her. However, there were very few people in this world, if any, who actually did intimidate her, and SkekNa was not one of them. He gathered his strength, trying to sound as genuine as best he knew how. “Listen bitch, whatever beef we have with that little skanky piece of trash over there, that’s our business. We should have drained her of her essence when we had the chance. Then again, she’d probably be even worthless as a slave. She’d do better being used as a pelt for somebody’s clothing." For the first time ever, it actually hurt him to say such things. If he didn’t, however, this delicate situation could go on a downward spiral very quickly, becoming much worse than it already was.

Kira winced at this, hurt by his words as well. Had they come from any other of his kind, it would not have had the same effect. Logically, she knew he was doing the only thing he could. Anything else could have been a disaster. In spite of this however, it felt like somebody had just ripped out a chunk of her heart and set it on fire.

Ung, their former Garthim-master chirped in. “Yeah Vera, why in the fuck are you hanging out with this sick piece of slime anyways? We really thought better of you!

“Like I care what you or anybody else thinks. I’m giving you a warning. Stay the hell away from her and anybody else like her.” Vera said, looking towards Jen who had stepped up to witness this drama. “Do you understand?”

Tek chimed in. “We’ll do whatever we feel is necessary, raptor bitch. Those things need to be kept in line.”

“Wow, you really are testing me tonight,” Vera replied, taking one step closer to in towards the three of them. She could visibly see Tek attempt to retreat within his seat, giving her some satisfaction. Still, she could feel her temper rising. She was of course not one who tolerated such disrespect.

Na Na saw this, and chimed in once more, wanting desperately to put an end to this debacle he had found himself in. “Whatever you say Vera. If you’re so fucking close with her, just make sure she stays out of our way. Especially mine. Now, if you don’t mind, we were having drinks with our friends here.” Palpatine and Zarkon nodded, attempting to contain their wicked laughter at the whole thing.

The three women turned and let them be. Jen followed, wanting to make sure Kira was okay, and of course to find out what really happened. As upsetting as the whole thing was to her, she was short and to the point with him, while maintaining her composure. To witnessing eyes, there would not really be much to tell if everything were as it seemed on the surface. Kira stuck to that thought, and explained it how she thought somebody such as Ellie might have seen the whole thing. The one they called SkekNa had pushed her down, and she ran into the bathroom upset. Vera and Ellie, the good friends that they were, attempted to stick up for her, and that was the end of it. Despite this logical explanation however, he could tell she was shaken. Was everything true as she had told it, or was she leaving something out?

Stepping in as well to witness this minor show down about half way through, Eros pretty much understood the basics of what had happened. Judging from the place in which they lived, and all the different types of people and backgrounds, it was surprising dramatics such as these didn’t occur more often. He had full knowledge though, that the story ran much deeper than that. Of course he didn’t quite have all the details, but underneath he knew had he not made that little mistake those few months ago, what had just occurred may not have come to pass.

Two a.m. came and it was time to leave. Vera and Ellie had already left a half hour earlier. Saying her goodbyes to her friends, some asked if she thought it was a good idea to walk home alone. Pondering this for a minute, she remembered what others had told her all along. They could not hurt her here. It didn’t matter how deep their hate had run through their veins, in this place the Skeksis could not touch her. Taking small comfort in that, almost triumph, Kira explained to her friends she would be fine. Perhaps had she taken them up on this offer, her life at this point may have turned out much different. Not better, not worse, but much different, nonetheless.

She headed out, walking along the street, and back through the grand, almost opulent entrance into the Random House. She approached the elevator and pressed the button for her floor, sending off to the back of her mind any tense feelings that were trying to surface. She then strode through the communal room, heading towards her small apartment. Under the impression she was completely alone, she turned the corner, only a few dozen yards away from home. As she looked off to the perpendicular corridor on her right, she came face to face with the very source of her tormented confusion.

Not saying a word, Na Na walked towards her.

"What, are you following me now?" she asked him as she saw him approaching her direction. Eyeing each other fully, they then looked off to the sides, making sure they were both completely alone.

"Following you? No, I didn't mean to run into you this way. But now that you're here, I do want an explanation of what happened tonight."

"Explanation? Explain what? I owe you nothing, Skeksis." She kept on walking towards her room, quickening her pace. Na Na walked directly beside her.

"I want to know what you told Vera." He would not leave her side, and she was growing anxious that someone might come around the corner and spot them together.

"I told her nothing, Na Na. She saw you knock me down, and read more into it than what there really was. That's the end of it. There's nothing to tell her anyways. We both know this." In fact, they both of course knew was not entirely true, if at all.

The unending sick feeling of guilt had not left him since their encounter at the club. Satisfied she was telling the truth, he got on to a different subject. "You know I had to say what I did tonight to save us both. You do know, that right?" He could bring himself not take his eyes off of her.

"Yes, I know that. And why would I care why you said it? Does it really matter for either of us?"

They both stopped in front of her door.

Na Na looked for the answer to this question. He could not find it. "I don't know, Kira." In his eyes shown the deep confusion of a man truly troubled.

She looked at him for a moment more, before anxiously noticing footsteps coming around the corner. Without hesitation, she looked for her key. Finding it finally after searching franticly in her purse, she swung open her door as fast her arms would allow. There was no time. The footsteps, now accompanied by voices, were getting louder. Of course, had he been thinking clearly, he could have just walked away from her, and no one would have known any different. However, he just stood there, frozen in fear, unable to move. Without thinking, she grabbed Na Na by the wrist, pulling him into her foyer, and closed the door.

The next few moments passed, with the two of them just eyeing each other, listening to the group of people, obviously inebriated, pass by her apartment. She thought she could hear Marty, Vera, and Ellie among them, but she was not entirely sure, nor was she really focusing on that.

She now had a brand new problem, standing right in front of her. She and Na Na were both alone in her apartment, and neither of them was quite sure what to do next.