As they got up, Olli stretched his arms above his head, sighing as he felt his back crack.

“What do you want to do now? We can go get a snack or hang out with Arthir if you want?” Vynsan stretched as well, and Olli waited for Vynsan to lead the way down the stairs again.

Olli thought for a second, not sure what he should say. He had never really hung out with friends before, so he wasn’t even sure what he wanted to do.

“Umm, I’m not really sure… we can do whatever.” Olli said, shrugging and keeping his eyes on the floor.

“Ok, let’s see what Arthir is doing then.” Vynsan decided, making his way to the game room.

As they got closer, there were the noises of a game coming from the open door. Arthir turned around as they walked in, smiling brightly and holding up more controllers.

“Here! I’ve been waiting for you, let’s play together!” They nodded and went over, grabbing the controllers and plopping onto the couch.

Vynsan was much better at the game than either of the other boys, and Arthir would pout every time he was killed. Eventually, he just decided to watch Olli(who was not much competition) be completely destroyed by Vynsan.

After playing for a while, eating some snacks in between, Vynsan and Arthir decided to go home for the stir. Saying goodbye, Olli stood by the door and grinned as they walked to their boat. He’d had so much fun and couldn’t wait to see Vynsan again nestir*. (nestir means tomorrow*)

This became a routine, Vynsan and Arthir picking up Olli for school, studying together afterwards, then playing games or talking until they would either leave for dinner or eat together.

One day after school, they saw a spaceship taking off from the water. It was a common occurrence on Traetys, especially around Third Island, which housed many foreigners who had come from planets in nearby systems.

Olli was looking at it in interest. He had never been off planet, and was envious of people who could just pack up and leave whenever they wanted. Vynsan noticed him staring and grinned, “I’m studying to be a pilot. Won’t be long until I have my license, pretty cool right?”

Olli nodded, “I’d like to be a pilot… then I can travel wherever I want.” He smiled, imagining all the places he could go. The sunny deserts of Varhay, or maybe the lush tropical planet Florin… but he’d definitely go to Kairael first. Sanel had mentioned that that could be where his father had lived before, and he wanted to know exactly where he came from.

“Ah, it’s not too hard! When I get my license, I can start teaching you and you can study to get one too! The hardest part is actually finding a good spaceship here. There aren’t many good ones that don’t cost a million. I inherited mine from my grandpa.” Vynsan smiled slightly, remembering how he would go on flights with his grandpa whenever he could. He had wanted to be a pilot ever since he could remember.

“R-really? You’d do that for me?” Olli grinned and looked over to Vynsan for a moment and watched as he nodded. In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually telling the truth or just saying that in the moment and not willing to act on it in the future. Many promises were made with the intention of never being fulfilled.

Olli looked away, still smiling. He decided to not get his hopes up, instead focusing on the spacecraft that was already partially covered by clouds as it left this small planet.