"Hey!" protested Martin, eyes suddenly wide. "Wait! Back off, you guys!" But it was far too late. Seconds later, Martin was almost as mud-covered as the other four. "Aw, jeez. What's my mom and dad gonna say?!"
"Nothing, if you go wash up in the pond." said Keith. "But if we're going to clean up based on need first, then I think Jahv's little brother should be the first to take a dip."
"I agree." replied Jahv.
The five youngsters slogged their way back to the pond. Keyro was still stuck in his boots, and the rest of his uniform, which weighted him down and caused him to stumble a few times. At one point, he managed to clean off one hand well enough to touch his older brother's relatively clean face, and through a brief telepathic contact picked up on the language. His first words in English were, "You people have the strangest terrain on this planet."
"Be grateful you didn't land on a pile of rocks." said Keith. "You came in pretty high."
Keyro looked at Jahv. "I didn't have time to double-check the coordinates. Mom and Dad almost caught me."
"Almost doesn't count in light years." said Jahv, putting his arm around his brother. "Glad you made it."
The group reached the pond, and Davy and Keith tossed Keyro in when he expressed some hesitation at getting so soaking wet with all his clothes on. Of course, once he was in the water, his clothes emerged from underwater even before he did. Jahv and Martin followed suit, Martin discarding his shorts once he was convinced they were clean, and Jahv's uniform went floating shortly thereafter. When Keyro finally did surface, his appearance presented a shock to the three boys, including Keith and Davy who were still on shore.
Given how tan the immediate region of water had turned, they figured it would be best to let the mud dissipate before washing. Keyro was not green. He had the same white hair, wide eyes, and antennae of Jahv. But his skin was a bright lavendar purple.
"Are you sure you got the right kid?" remarked Keith.
"Yes, of course!" said Jahv, giving his little brother an affectionate hug. "Why do you ask?"
"You're green and he's — purple!" said Keith.
"So?" answered Jahv. "Our mother is blue and our father is orange. Didn't I mention that we come in all sorts of different colors?"
"Must be an interesting planet." said Davy quietly.
"Colorful, anyway." added Keith.
Jahv was still talking. "And I have an aunt who's bright yellow, a cousin who's a very intense red, and a third great-aunt who's actually several colors of camouflage. There's always one freak in the family. Supposedly I've got a great-grandfather who was clear, but no one's seen him for years."
Even Davy, Keith, and Martin got that one, and winced.
"And my mother once told me about a multi-great uncle who was plaid, but I never saw any holographs of him, so I never quite believed that one…"
"Your thoughts?" asked Davy.
"I think we should've left them both in the mud." replied Keith.
"Well, WE can always go back there, now that we know it's safe." suggested Davy.
Keith grinned. "Race you!"
"Wait up!" called Martin, as the two older boys took off. He'd had enough of Jahv's family humor, as well.
"Hey, what did I say?" yelled Jahv.
"You hadda mention the 'clear grandfather' joke, didn't you?" said Keyro.
"Well, they wouldn't've gotten the one about the niffle-herder and the krax-farmer." replied Jahv.
Keyro groaned. "I think I'd rather get muddy again than listen to that! At least I won't get stuck this time." And the younger of the two aliens took off to follow the three running boys.
Finally, Jahv decided to give in and followed the others. And so, shortly thereafter, there were five boys playing in a previously, presumably haunted expanse of mud. As it happened, once of the boys was green, and another one was pale purple. But under a coating of mud, who can tell?
Part 4
Summer was wearing on, and Davy, Martin, and Keith were spending as much time as they could with their alien friends, Jahv and his little brother Keyro. Keyro and Martin, being the younger members of the group, had become close friends, and could generally be found either in the hidden pond near where Davy lived, or in the muddy expanse somewhat beyond that.
This particular day, Jahv, Davy, and Keith were indeed hanging around the cloaked tent-dome that was the aliens' home, while Martin and Keyro had made their way out to the muddy expanse to play. Keyro was, as usual, naked. Martin had decided to remove his clothing as well, before getting muddy. He wasn't really one for being naked around other people, but this muddy expanse, like the woods around it, was a well-hidden place, and this was a matter of practicality — it was a whole lot easier to wash oneself off in the lake nearby than wash one's clothes. And Keyro certainly didn't object. Frankly, the young alien almost seemed more uncomfortable when Martin and the others WERE wearing clothes.
Martin and Keyro had indulged in a bit of good-natured wrestling, pretty well splattering each other with the mud, and at this point were sitting cross-legged in a shallower area (still deep enough that they couldn't see their legs) and using some of the thicker mud nearby to build small structures. Martin was trying to build a mud castle with some success. Keyro seemed to be building a mud tent-dome, and seemed to be having a little trouble even being that creative. His antennae were twitching. Martin had been hanging around these two long enough to recognize this as a sign of annoyance.
Finally Keyro slapped his hands in the mud in frustration. "I am just no good at this. I can build many things out of technology, but I am not a — what was the word you used, Martin?"
"Sculptor." answered Martin. He was trying not to giggle. Keyro was acting so serious, and had a bit of a scowl on his face, but given that his face, as well as the rest of him, had a generous amount of mud on it, the resultant image was difficult to take seriously. Martin suspected he himself looked just as silly. Martin decided to change the subject. There were some questions he'd wanted to ask either of the aliens anyway. "May I ask you something?"
Keyro rolled over and flopped on his stomach, turning away from his attempted building to face Martin better. He propped his head up is his arms and smiled. "Certainly. I'd prefer conversation to further failure, anyway."
"Why did you and your brother run away?" asked Martin. "I mean, I know you said it was because your parents weren't treating you very well, but you two seem to know so much and are able to do so much. You're so smart, and everything, and you're able to survive out here on your own. How bad could it have been?"
Keyro adjusted himself into a sitting position so he could be eye level with Martin. "Martin, we seem to smart and strong to you, I suppose, but we're not that unusual for our people. We're kids, just like you. And I guess our adults are as different as your adults. We're a race that spends a lot of time traveling in space, and you have to know how to survive. I guess that's part of why we seem so smart to the rest of you."
"I guess," said Martin. "We've only ever gone to the moon in person, and sent robots to other planets. But that doesn't explain why you ran away."
Keyro paused before responding, trying to think of how he could explain how different the two cultures were. "Martin, do your parents love you? Do you know that they love you? Do they show you that they love you?"
Martin seemed surprised by the question. He had to think about it, which was something he'd never really had to do before. He thought about how, when he was feeling sad, his mom or dad knew about it, and would try to comfort him. He thought about how, when he was sick, his mom would take extra-special care of him. They worried when he was out later than he should be, which kind of annoyed him a little, but he didn't like to upset them, and he guessed that their concern was because they did love him and didn't want anything to happen to him. And they always had time for a kind word or a hug for him if he wanted it.
Was Keyro saying what Martin thought he was? "Yes." he finally answered. "But — why would you ask that?"
"On my planet, things are different." said Keyro. "We are a people devoted to technology and commerce. You would probably call us technologists. And the better you are at it, the more highly placed in society you are, which is something we consider very important. My parents — Jahv's and mine — are very good at it. They fed us, educated us, took us with them wherever they went. But I don't think they really loved us. On my world, emotion isn't something openly expressed. Jahv and I are still getting used to it with you guys. And my parents didn't like it when Jahv and I showed emotion to each other."
"Did they hurt you?" asked Martin, recalling some of what his friend Keith had been known to endure.
Keyro shook his head. "No. Not physically, anyway. They'd just — ignore us more than usual. Jahv finally decided to run away, but I wasn't certain. It's a terrible crime on my world to run away."
"Why?" asked Martin.
Keyro shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe because if it weren't, more kids would do it. But after Jahv left, they accused me of making him leave. You see, parents are held responsible for the actions of their children on my world, so our parents would be blamed for this. I finally decided I had to leave, as well."
"Do you think your parents miss you?" asked Martin.
Keyro snorted, suddenly sounding bitter. "Probably all they miss is whatever lost business opportunities they'll suffer during whatever penalty would be imposed for our running off. After that, they'll probably be just as glad we're gone so they don't have any distractions."
Martin shook his head. "Do you ever get homesick?"
"Home — sick?" asked Keyro. "I don't understand that word. Have I ever been sick at home? We've cured most diseases native to our.
"No, no, that's not what I mean." corrected Martin. "I mean — do you ever miss your home planet?"
Keyro almost grinned. "That's an unusual question. Like I said, we're sort of taught that expressing — sometimes even feeling — emotion isn't quite right. I've never thought about it before. I guess — no, I really don't. We traveled an awful lot. I've been to over a hundred different planets in my life. Not counting this one. My home planet is just — one more world. My home was my parents' ship, and I really don't miss it. You would miss your home if you had to leave it?"
Martin nodded. "Very much so."
Keyro smiled, widely. "Maybe that's what Jahv and I like about you guys so much. You're not afraid to feel." His face turned a little sad, then. "I'm — not sure I know how. Jahv is not afraid to, but it's unusual for both of us."
Martin reached over and gave Keyro a hug. Given that both boys were covered with mud, there was a rather bizarre SQUISH sound to the embrace. "That's how!" said Martin.
Keyro giggled. "Is it always that noisy?" That gave both boys a complete case of the giggles that lasted for some time.
Back in the tent-dome, Keith and Davy were discussing between themselves theories as to why exactly Keyro, and often with him Martin, had taken such a liking to the muddy expanse beyond the small lake in the woods.
"Must've been because he landed there that he likes playing in it so much," remarked Jahv on occasion.
"Or he landed on his head." countered Keith, but not very effectively. He found the mud a lot of fun to play in himself, if only because he knew that if his parents ever found out about it, he'd be in more trouble than he usually was at their hands, especially his stepfather's. His mother could be more understanding, but lately, she tended to go along with what Keith's stepfather said and did. That upset Keith more than ever. Granted, Keith lived with his grandmother most of the time, and she was okay, but she was so elderly that she wasn't someone that Keith could really have much fun with.
Davy and Keith tended to spend their time with Jahv, either playing in the pond, or wondering what new trouble Jahv was going to cause with his computer. «Trouble» wasn't the most accurate word, but every time Jahv hacked into some new site, out of simple, childlike curiosity combined with an alien intellect far beyond anything mankind presently knew, Keith half-expected Jahv to try to land the Space Shuttle in a nearby field, reprogram the Mars Pathfinder to search for settlements, or for all he knew, program every television set in the world to play reruns of "The Partridge Family." And he suspected Jahv was capable of any or all of the above.
Today, however, Jahv was not working with his computer. He was digging around in his backpack. That alone could take hours, thought Keith. All Jahv had ever explained was that the backpack, like the cloaked dome-tent in which he lived, contained an artificial tesseract — essentially a four-dimensional region of space confined within a three-dimensional object — like a backpack or a tent. That made the interior of the object exponentially larger than the exterior. Neither Keith nor Davy understood the scientific principles. But they couldn't deny it worked. Jahv's tent was the size of a decent house or a very large apartment. As for the backpack, Keith wouldn't've been surprised to see Jahv pull a small truck from it if there had been room to get it past the opening of the pack, which seemed to be its only size constraint.
Apparently Jahv was really searching for something, because his entire head, upper torso, and arms were buried within the backpack, which made for an extremely odd sight that the other two boys were having a very difficult time not laughing themselves silly over. It didn't help that Jahv, according to his peoples' custom that children did not regularly wear clothes, was stark naked. So the sight on the floor was nothing short of a bright green butt and legs squirming around, their owner apparently having been half-eaten by a denim blue vinyl backpack.
"Any thoughts as to what we do if he gets stuck?" asked Davy, who as usual was dressed in denim coveralls and no shirt. "Or falls in?"
Keith shrugged. Hot as it had been this summer, he'd been wearing shorts and sandals. "Turn it over, dump it out, and hope that the entire contents don't overwhelm the place?"
"I wonder if even HE knows what the entire contents are?" wondered Davy.
"Doubt it." replied Keith. "You know the entire contents of YOUR room?"
Davy grinned. "Nope. Although I did find a cheese sandwich I lost last week."
"Where was it?" asked Keith.
"Under the bed." answered Davy.
"What made you look under there?" asked Keith.
"Trying to figure out what had died." said Davy, not quite stifling a grin. "The sandwich had."
"It's disgusting what you people eat, you know!" came a muffled yell from the backpack.
Davy and Keith giggled. Jahv's alien metabolism could tolerate some foods from Earth, but not all. On the list of things Jahv and Keyro had to avoid were cheese, peanuts, peanut butter, and cola. Other sodas were chemically safe, but, as it had turned out, not safe from a reaction standpoint. Not long after his arrival, Keyro had chugged back an entire two-liter bottle of Sprite in one sitting. The resultant belch had blown leaves from the trees and set off a car alarm in a neighborhood almost a mile away.
"One more like THAT and they're going to KNOW something weird is out here!" Keith had remarked at the time.
"Yeah, but are they going to want anything to do with it?" Martin had replied. As it turned out, the noise had been heard, but had been reported in the local newspaper as a sonic boom, considered odd only because there were no military bases all that nearby.
Finally, Jahv started to wriggle out of the backpack. "Found it!" he called. "How would you guys like to see what my world looks like?"