He Comes in Peace

Skye was out of breath when she arrived back at the car. Her mother had just retrieved the last bit of luggage from the trunk of the car.

Much to Skye's surprise, she got lucky.

"Skye, I think I'm going to take our car down to Fix-It...Get them to have a look at what happened. You get dinner ready, okay?"

She nodded vigorously. Her mother wore a mildly astounded look upon her face, which broke into an uncertain smile.

"See you later, Mom." Skye waved a bit before paling.

"No wait! Mom!" She slammed her hands down on the backseat door, and her mother stepped on the brakes.

"What the heck was that, Skye?" she exclaimed, rolling down the passenger seat window and leaning over to look at her daughter.

"Um, I think I left something really, um important in the backseat."

"Can't it wait? I remember Fix-It closing in about half an hour."

"I'll be really quick, Mom, promise!" Mrs. Cedona unlocked the car door and Skye yanked it open, peering down at the backseat.

She blinked.

"Oh, I...I think I took it out already. Never mind. Bye!" Skye closed the car door, the gears in her mind shifting and whirring.

When had Tay gotten out of the car? She was sure her mother hadn't left the car long enough for him to escape. Perhaps this was another alien ability? The power to blend in with surroundings? Kartayon did say he did not have the power to become invisible, but this was a slightly different.

When Skye had returned to her senses, her mother was already turning the corner to the main road, and a moment later, Skye was left staring at blank scenery.

She shook her head, puzzled.

-x-

Skye rummaged through the freezer's contents, looking for something to zap in the microwave. She checked inside a pizza box, groaned when she found it empty, and threw it in the trash.

"What's there to eat..." she mumbled to herself, sifting through the trays of ice cubes. A shrill beep made her jump and hit her head on an open compartment door.

"Ouch!" She whipped around, expecting to see something out of the ordinary. Nothing was.

Except...

"What the heck!" she whispered, striding over to their oven. Pizza was already sitting in there, but something was wrong with it.

"Did I do something wrong?" Tay's voice made Skye jump again.

"When did you get in here? And why is the plastic covering of the pizza in the oven?!"

Kartayon ignored the first question, looking semi-surprised. "Oh. I must have left it on. Here..." He opened the oven door, revealing the melted, bubbling plastic on the pizza.

"Is this still edible?" he asked, reaching into the oven bare-handed.

Skye shrieked and pulled on the arm that wasn't about to be scorched. "Are you crazy?! You'll get like...A sixth degree burn if you do that!" she exclaimed.

"I believe only fourth degree burn is possible, though I have hardly heard of cases of such extreme measures."

Skye was panting slightly, having been extremely scared. "Wha-? I mean, you were...You were going to reach into an oven set at three hundred and seventy-five degrees Celsius! Dude, what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is. I feel quite well, actually. If you were to dispose of this pizza, would you not reach into the oven to retrieve it?" he asked quizzically, gazing at Skye like she was the alien life form.

"Of course, but you wear an oven mitt!" As she spoke, she reached into the wooden drawer beside the oven and pulled out their battered, quite stained oven mitt, and lightly smacked the top of his head with it.

Kartayon looked at it for a while, before reaching for it. He examined it, peering inside the mitt. He placed it down on the kitchen counter. "I have no need for this ludicrous addition."

He reached into the oven again, this time catching Skye's wrist as she made to yank him back again.

Skye pressed her free hand against her lips as Kartayon's hand closed around the rack and pulled it out, His expression was passive, like this was standard procedure for baking a pizza. He took the ruined dinner out and dumped it in the trash. Skye leaped back as he turned, his pizza-handling hand nearly brushing her.

"H-How...W-...N-Never mind. Some other...Some other alien power, then?" she stuttered, grasping the edge of the counter to steady herself.

"Not an alien power. Not at all," he replied, surprised. He raised his hand for her to see, and it was completely normal, not swollen, not blistering...Normal.

"You are...You are unbelievable."

"I shall presume that is a compliment. Thank you."

Skye blinked and shook her head. "Now...What am I supposed to do, then? For dinner, I mean."

"Are you able to cook, Skye? Are you familiar with the contents of your refrigerator?"

"Well, yes, of course."

"Then I see no problem." He stepped around her to the sink and washed his hands. Skye watched with wide eyes as steam rose quickly into the air as the cold water came in contact with his hand.

Kartayon wiped his hands on a dish towel and faced Skye again.

"Now, for dinner...What do you prefer to eat?" he asked pleasantly.

"Um, I don't...I mean...Western food?" she said slowly in reply.

"That should not be much difficult to make. How would you like...Oh, what are those called. Those things with the two buns, the liquidized tomatoes and a piece of processed meat?" he said vaguely, frowning.

"Hot dogs?" Skye suggested.

"No, not those...But if you would like, then I suppose I could-"

"No, no, keep describing."

"Hmm." He tapped a finger on the kitchen counter and thought. "Ah, I remember. Ham Burgers." A satisfied expression appeared on his face, and a ghost of a smile popped up.

"Hamburgers?"

"Yes, I think so. Do you not like them?" He frowned again, the faint smile disappearing.

"No, I like them."

"Then let us start."

"You're going to help me make dinner?" Skye asked, rather shocked.

"Yes, why not? The pizza-" He gestured at the trash can. "-was, frankly, a silly mistake. If you would be so kind as to relate to me the usual steps to making dinner, I would be happy to help."

Skye nodded slowly, as if in a trance. "Sure..."

Making hamburgers with a guy from another planet was kind of weird. Literally.

-x-

Skye sat Kartayon down at her desk, and set a tray down. There was a tall glass of orange juice and a plate with two hamburgers.

"Here. Eat."

Kartayon seemed to be thinking it over in his head. "When I offered to make dinner, I presumed it was merely for you and your mother. I need not eat at this moment. I have eaten already, do you not remember?"

"Oh, that's what you were doing in the forest? Looking for...For food?" Skye said weakly, looking down at the hamburgers. They were still steaming a little from the beef, but they looked delicious.

"Yes."

"But...You helped make them. And there's no way me and my mom would be able to eat this much," she pointed out. "I insist, Tay. Eat."

Kartayon looked at her with a question perched on his lips. He reconsidered asking, and lifted a hamburger from the plate. Just as he was about to take a bite, Skye heard the sound of the door opening, and glanced towards the door.

"Can I leave you here alone for a while?" she asked.

Tay waved her away. He chewed and swallowed before speaking, like a gentleman. "Join your mother for dinner, I shall be content here."

Skye smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder fleetingly before walking downstairs to her mom.

"Skye! It smells delicious! You made this?" Karen exclaimed the moment she saw Skye.

"Yeah," she replied casually, smiling.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's eat!"

Her mother took one bite, her eyes widening. Skye, who had not touched her hamburger yet (for fear of chomping on melted plastic, though she would never admit it), watched her mother's expression anxiously.

"Is it good?"

"It's not good!"

Skye's stomach plummeted. What if her mom got food poisoning! She resisted the urge to knock on their wooden table.

"Oh. then-"

"It's spectacular! Better than McDonald's or Burger King or Arby's! This is amazing, Skye! Good job!"

Encouraged by her mom's positive response, Skye took a bite. There weren't enough synonyms for 'delicious' to describe the dinner.

-x-

At half past eight, Skye tramped upstairs to her room. Her stomach still felt bloated, even though they finished dinner at seven.

"Tay?" she called quietly once she was in her room.

There was a rustle and he appeared out of her closet. "How was dinner?" he asked politely.

"Good! It was fantastic. I didn't know aliens cooked so well."

"Thank you. I have just been unpacking your belongings...Your bag of toiletries, however, I left on your bed." He gestured.

"Oh, thanks! You shouldn't have, but...Thanks."

"You repeated 'thanks'."

"Er, yeah, I did."

Skye looked around and thought for a moment. "So where do you want to crash?"

Kartayon tilted his head, and Skye knew what was coming.

"Crash?"

Whenever he cocked his head to the side, it meant he didn't understand a term.

"I mean, where do you want to sleep."

"The floor will do. Should I go fetch a sleeping bag?"

"Yeah, sure. Anywhere's fine...Just out of sight, I think. From the door, at least."

"Yes, that would be wise."

After a few minutes, he was bundled up in his sleeping bag, near the headboard of Skye's twin bed. It hid him from view, and was convenient if Skye had to wake him up, though she thought that wouldn't happen.

When Skye settled down into bed, she looked up at her ceiling, where she and her parents had stuck glow-in-dark stars and planets.

"Hey, Tay?"

"Yes, Skye?" came his reply from near her head.

"What's your planet like? Does everyone there have spikes and scales, and claws?"

"It is hard to describe, but it is almost the very opposite of Earth. And why, yes. That is what our species looks like."

"Did you have a family back there?"

"Of course."

"I'll have to do better than yes or no questions...Tell me all about your planet. What's it called? And what are your people called?"

"Our planet is called Quetz, and our people are called Quettles. I gather from your tone of voice that you would like to know more than just the name of our planet, and our people. There is a children's story, and it explains how our planet came to be. Would you like to hear it, Skye?"

"Yes please."

"All right. It began hundreds of millennia ago, and the stars and galaxies had just been born..."