Ninth Hell Campfire, Thursday Morning

[endsthegame]

There was a boy tending the fire at Ninth Hell; he'd been there since the early morning, and the flames had kept him comfortable while he went through the notes he'd made on the latest Formic data. And the colonies, of course. Ender was starting to track which colonies went were as fervently as his Battle School colleagues were charting the wars at home.

His head was just in the stars.

Beyond his laptop, though, he'd brought a package of sausages with him to serve as breakfast, and he'd put some on a skewer and put them over the fire while he worked.

[[ open as a campfire is ]]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

Ben and his cougar kitten were returning from the weekly butt-kicking via Anakin when he noticed Ender.

Maybe this week there wouldn't be singing. "Ho, Ender."

[endsthegame]

"Ho, Ben," Ender said, then glanced at the kitten. "Ho, Tahiri."

[momslilassassin]

"Is there anything to eat?" asked Ben a little hopefully. "Granddad really put me through the ringer today."

[endsthegame]

"I've got some of these," he said, reaching past his laptop to lift the skewer for a moment. "Just don't eat all of them."

[momslilassassin]

"I won't," Ben promised. "I"ll ever share mine with Tahiri." He gave the kitten a bemused look. "It's been more than a couple of days now. I'm starting to wonder if it's permanent."

[endsthegame]

"Sometimes, it can be over a week," said the voice of experience, and he took the skewer off the fire. "Pick one."

[momslilassassin]

Ben picked the one that looked most burnt with a quick smile of thanks. "Have you turned too?"

[endsthegame]

"Not into a live animal," Ender said, which should say about everything.

He pulled a sausage off the skewer for himself.

[momslilassassin]

Ben's eyes sparkled as moved the sausage between his fingers until it cooled off. Plates were for other people. "Stuffed animal?"

[endsthegame]

"Stuffed dragon," Ender corrected, "A fine way to be confronted with the island's sense of whimsy."

[momslilassassin]

Ben burst out laughing despite himself. "That is probably the most--" Ben didn't use the term 'adorable', "ridiculous thing I've heard in a while. And that includes having a conversation with Tahiri's stuffed bantha."

[endsthegame]

Ender shrugged laconically. "Hannibal kept me with him all week."

[momslilassassin]

"All week?" Ben teased. "He slept with a stuffed dragon?"

[future_sandworm]

Leto had woken up early too, and he had left the cabin quietly. Shooting Ender a quick smile as greeting he sat down next to the fire and started preparing a cup of spice coffee.

[endsthegame]

"Leto," Ender greeted, in turn. He wouldn't leave it up to expressions right now, but he did take the skewer out from the fire.

[future_sandworm]

"Good morning, Ender." There was something soothing about preparing coffee over an open fire.

[endsthegame]

"It's been a while," Ender said, dumping one of the sausages on a plastic plate.

[future_sandworm]

"So it has." Leto looked up, smiling at Ender. "What have you been doing?"

No, he didn't expect to get a very informative answer.

[endsthegame]

"Studying," he supplied, well aware of what Leto would be expecting, "Taking Karla up to see the stars. Visiting your home planet."

He was possibly being specific just for the sake of it.

"But right now, studying."

[future_sandworm]

Leto snorted, amused by Ender's decision to actually tell him something. "And how did you find Arrakis?"

[endsthegame]

"Warm," Ender said, "But not inhospitable. Your people have made a lot of their environment."

[future_sandworm]

"They have." Leto poured the coffee into his cup. "But the Fremen life is going to change."

[endsthegame]

"What are your people going to do about the worms?" Ender asked. He'd been thinking on this, and speaking to Val and Ben about this, for quite some time. "Terraforming is a dangerous project, considering their weaknesses."

[future_sandworm]

It was. However, Leto didn't trust Ender enough to confide in him about his concerns about that. "A fine balance must be kept." He smiled.

[endsthegame]

"I'm sure the Fremen are doing everything they can," Ender said, taking a verbal step back and feigning some wide-eyed curiosity rather than the direct questions he really wanted to ask. "Exciting to ride, though. What do they eat?"

Let's see how that strategy worked out.