Chapter 8
Two weeks passed, and Hermione, Draco, Ben, and Rey continued to have a great time with the Sky Ferrets, but no one was able to bond with any of them. It slowly became clear to Draco, Ben, and Rey that the Sky Ferrets didn’t exactly like the humans-- they were only kind and happy because that's just how they were. The ferrets didn’t need to have any fondness toward the humans to be hospitable and approachable with them-- the ferrets simply enjoyed offering acts of kindness purely for its own sake. And the ferrets had enough inner joy that anything the humans tried to do to add to their joy (in attempts to please them) were to no avail.
One night, Draco found himself wandering alongside a river that flowed across one of the clouds. He was staring out into the distance, watching as some of the Sky Ferrets happily chased after each other and sent gusts of wind for each other two soar and ride through.
Draco felt a mixed surge of frustration and awe. On one hand, he was annoyed that he couldn't get the Sky Ferrets to like him enough to bond and transfuse blood. But on the other hand, he was astonished with the selfless acts that they continuously did for him. He was always a spoiled prick who had people doing things for him, but only because he would order them to. Or because they wanted him to return the favor to them, to offer a share of his wealth to them if they helped him gain some on his end.
But these Sky Ferrets…..they were an Elite species. And even more-- they were the strongest of the Elite species. Yet, they pampered him and made him feel even more comfortable than he had ever felt back in his wealthy Birth Colony territory. They catered to his needs and gave him more than he could ever ask for in the passed two weeks, and thanks to all their hospitality, he had the time of his life in this territory.
He couldn’t dislike such a species for all the kindness they did to him. Especially since such kindness had been genuine. The ferrets clearly had an authentic passion to serve others without expecting anything in return. They didn't need the humans to like them, and they also didn’t need to like the humans themselves-- they had enough inner joy and cheerfulness to enjoy engaging in such acts without needing to rely on any human to bring them joy.
Draco found himself feeling both conflicted and astonished. He didn’t know how long he was standing there, watching the ferrets, until he heard a quite rustle.
He turned to see Hermione was walking up to him, her eyes fixed on the Sky Ferrets.
Draco was about to shoot her a rude comment, but for some reason, he stopped himself. He suddenly wasn't in the mood to be spiteful. He suddenly had a flashback of what had taken place back in the territory of the Translucent Giraffes, before he had emotionally bonded with one.
"Mudface…." he had called after Hermione as she had stomped away, fed up after he had thrown her a series of rude remarks about her incompetence. "You I'm just teasing you. I don't always mean what I say-- at least not all the time."
Hermione stopped in her tracks. She looked over her shoulder, a bit surprised. "What do you mean?"
Draco was wearing his smirk, though he was starting to feel rather nervous. He took a step toward her and placed a hand on her cheek.
Hermione flinched and took a step back. But she didn’t move again as she fixed her eyes on his, looking rather bewildered.
Draco gave a quiet chortle. He spoke in a quieter tone. "I enjoy riling you up. But it's not to make you feel inferior."
"Oh?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Then why do you do it?"
Draco stared at her, and looked to the ground. "You're a smart woman. You should be able to figure that out."
A moment of silence passed between them.
Then Draco looked up and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
Hermione stared at him, taken aback.
Draco's face had never looked redder. But then he shifted his eyes over her shoulder and his smirk returned "And there we have it."
Hermione looked over her shoulder and realized there was a Translucent Giraffe that was materializing behind her. Lowered its head, jabbed its hazy, twig-like projections from its head into Draco's shoulder, and transfused its blood to him. Then it vanished.
Draco then gave a surprised Hermione a wink. "What else could I have done? Those giraffes love seeing authenticity."
Hermione gave him a smack on the cheek, her face full of fury. "UGH!" She whirled around and stomped away again.
Draco's flashback ended, and he found himself staring at the ground, feeling his face grow hot as Hermione neared him.
"Granger….." he muttered. "I'm sorry. About what happened with the Translucent Giraffes. I….I may have been honest with you….but I was doing it to serve myself again."
Hermione gazed at him, realizing how sincere his face was as he stared guiltily at the ground. She, too, shifted her gaze to stare at the ground. "Well…it's not like the rest of us haven't been doing anything different. We've all been on this Elite Quest to serve ourselves more than anyone. Some of us may think we're doing it for others, for a noble cause, but…deep down, we're only helping others to help ourselves." She clenched her fists. "I may want to gain the Elite species' powers so that I can use such powers to help make this planet a better place, especially for the Genomorphs who are limited in the species they can transform into, but deep down, I'm more fueled by the urge to prove that I am better than you. That I am truly the best of the best. I…I too am here to serve my own needs, as much as I hate to admit it."
Draco shifted his gaze to her. He wasn’t expecting such a confession from the perfectionistic Genomorph. And for some reason, he didn’t feel the urge to rub her words in her face.
Draco then turned to face the ground. "Look….what I said to you back with the giraffes…..just forget about it, okay? I only said it because I had to find something deeply authentic to say that would really please the giraffes and get them to bond with me. I did it for selfish purposes….and that's not what love is all about. So just forget what I said."
Hermione turned to him. Then she bit her lip. "You know….the giraffes bonded with me first because I confessed to Rey about how envious I was of her. I disclosed some things that I had been keeping hidden….even from myself. I was thankful to have finally gotten up front about it, because now I do feel better around Rey and no longer feel the same level of envy anymore. But….I'm also thankful that I got to confess it…..because it saved me from having to reveal something else that I later realized had kept hidden."
Draco looked up, though he was too nervous to look in Hermione's direction. "Something else, huh?" His voice was distant. "And what was that?"
Hermione was silent for a moment. Then she said, "You're a crafty man. You should be able to figure that out."
Draco turned his head to face her. Hermione met his gaze for a second, then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "There. Now you're finally scared of me."
Draco blinked at her, then he gave a mild smirk. "Bold of you to assume I'd ever be scared of you."
The corner of Hermione's lip twitched, as she almost smiled. "Don't get cocky. I actually stared liking you the day you beat me at becoming a Semi-elite. Be afraid."
"That's nothing," Draco gave her a competitive, daring smile. "I liked you way before that." He stepped up to her and gently tilted her chin up to him. Their lips met, and Hermione felt like an electric shock surged through her spine. Then she calmed and embraced the moment.
Meanwhile, Rey was on another cloud, not to far from where Draco and Hermione occupied. She was sitting beside a pond, staring across where various Sky Ferrets were occasionally seen chasing after each other in pairs or small groups.
Then a shadow loomed over her. She turned to see Ben had approached her. The tall, dark-haired man was also staring across the pond with an unreadable expression on his face.
Rey felt her heart race. Ever since she witnessed the image of herself and Ben in the Revelation Mist, she had started to feel strange things around this man. She had a sudden flashback of the dream she had several nights ago-- a dream when she and him were walking side by side in the woodland borders between their colonies' territories, and she had her head rested on his shoulder.
Rey instantly broke out of the flashback as Ben spoke in his quiet voice.
"I'm going home," he muttered.
Rey blinked. "What?"
Ben turned to fix his eyes on her. She realized how forlorn they looked. "I'm going home. I've had enough of this Quest. My options are to either destroy you so I can obtain all the other Orbs and have Palpatine and Umbridge heal my colony, or give up on this mission and try to find another way to heal my father and the rest of my colony. I'd rather do the latter." He then gazed at the pond. "Plus….it's hopeless, trying to bond with these ferrets and getting the Orb in their territory. My time here has already been well-spent as it is."
Ben felt himself tense at his last words. They were true. Being showered with such kindness and hospitality from such cheerful, genuinely caring creatures-- creatures who could easily kill him with a simple adjustment of the air quality-- had instilled a sense of awe in him. The ferrets knew why he was here-- they knew he was here for power-hungry purposes. And yet, they still treated him just like they treated Rey and Hermione, neither of which were here for the same selfish reasons as he was. At least, not to the same extent.
Ben realized his ruthless pursuit of the Orbs was more self-serving than he wanted to admit. He now understood what Yoda meant about Palpatine leading him into a 'trap'. Palpatine and Umbridge sent him and Rey on this Quest, not only because neither of them wanted to bond with the animals themselves, but because Palpatine wanted them to turn into the power-hungry, self-serving souls like he was.
And Ben had fallen into that trap.
But now it was time to escape it.
He was not going to destroy Rey, and he was not going to pursue any of the Orbs. He was going to save his colony himself.
Rey gazed at him, her eyes full of awe and understanding. She slowly rose to her feet. "Ben…if you're going to save your colony without the last Orb, I'm coming with you."
Ben met her gaze.
When he said nothing, Rey added, "I'm going to save my colony too….we can save both our colonies from those Toxicspot Leopards. Surely with the power of at least four of the Elite species, we can find some way to heal everyone without having to rely on any powers from the Toxicspot Leopards. Whatever powers Palpatine and Umbridge have to heal them, we can learn it too…either in our own Toxicspot Leopard forms, or without having to morph into those leopards in the first place."
Ben slowly nodded. He stared into her eyes for a moment, then asked, "You sure you want to come with me? After all the ridiculous things I tried to do to you?"
Rey met his gaze without blinking. "How you were before matters less than who you will become." She paused, then added, "And I know you're not going to become like Palpatine. Neither of us will."
Ben found himself giving her a small smile. The two of them stared silently for another moment, then slowly leaned forward to kiss.
When they returned to their room in Sammy and Stella's tree, they saw that Draco and Hermione were already there. The two of them were actually having a civil conversation, much to both of their surprise.
When Draco and Hermione turned to see Ben and Rey enter the room, they too, were surprised to see them walking side by side like civil humans, without a look of hostility on either of their faces.
Draco stood up and nodded to both of them. "Hermione and I decided we're just going to return to our colonies. We're gonna work together and help you guys defeat those Toxicspot Leopards and heal your colonies."
Hermione nodded. "That's honestly more important than reaching Elite Genomorph status."
Ben and Rey gazed at them in surprise. They exchanged glances, then faced Draco and Hermione with grateful looks.
"Great," said Rey. "We'll let the Sky Ferrets know we're leaving tomorrow morning."
The next morning, the five Sky Ferrets hovered around Ben, Rey, Draco, and Hermione at the edge of a great cloud, saying the last of their good-byes.
"All the best saving your colonies," said the maroon-pink ferret.
Hermione smiled. "Thank you so much for all your hospitality."
"No thanks needed!" Said a silver ferret, flapping his wings. "We simply just enjoying taking care of ya'll. We love seeing humans happy!"
Ben gazed at them, looking sincere. "Well, we've recovered and restored our strength much faster than we expected, thanks to your help. So thanks, anyway."
They turned and faced the edge of the cloud, ready to leave. The Sky Ferrets released a gust of wind, and the four Semi-elites rode the current while holding each other's hands.
As they ventured further away, Hermione looked over her shoulder to give another look of gratitude toward the ferrets.
She realized Sammy and Stella were flying after them, looking excited. Then four other ferrets dashed up to join them. The four ferrets all landed on the shoulders of each of the Semi-elites, snuggled against their necks, then sank their teeth into their throats.
The blood transfusion was taking place.
When it was over, the ferrets released them, and Sammy handed a golden Orb to Rey and Ben.
Rey and Ben stared at them with surprise.
"The Boundless Orb of Love." Said the golden ferret. "Take it!"
Ben and Rey both grabbed the Orb at the same time, and Ben released it so that Rey could put it in her handbag with the other Orbs.
"Thank you…." breathed Rey.
Ben nodded. "But….why?"
Hermione and Draco were also gazing with the same awed and curious expressions.
Stella gave a calm, smooth giggle. "As already mentioned-- we simply just enjoy helping ya'll. And you guys could totally use our powers to save your colonies."
Draco gave them a playful smile. "So you love us now."
"Oh, we've always loved ya'll!" Said Stella. "That's why we took care of ya'll! Hospitality is meaningless if there's no love behind it."
Hermione blinked. "You loved us this whole time?"
"Of course we did!" Said Sammy. "We love everyone! We just don't feel the need to express it by emotionally bonding with them via blood transfusion-- unless it will truly help them!" Then the ferrets gathered together and cheerfully flew away.
The four Semi-elites watched them leave, then turned to continue riding the current, holding more tightly to each other as they transformed into Sky Ferrets. They flew in a line of four for the rest of their journey.