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The Astral Express was circling Gnadus, a small planet in the Vesurus system. They had just finished up helping out with a small Stellaron crisis, and were now relaxing as Himeko negotiated a refill of their supplies. Caelus had scored some weed, and was smoking in his room. March and Dan Heng surprised him by actually joining him, and the three of them were laying on the floor of Caelus’ room, laughing at nothing and everything all at once. That was, of course, until Caelus got the bright idea to grab a laser pointer.
The moment that the red dot appeared, Dan Heng perked up. He rolled over and slapped a hand down on the floor, where the dot was. Caelus began to giggle, wiggling the laser pointer, and Dan Heng scrambled to catch it. The red dot zoomed across the floor - Dan Heng followed it. Horns and tail had already been sprouting as he got high, but now that Dan Heng was in full chase mode, his horns and tail were fully out.
Every time Dan Heng pounced on the red dot, a little splash of water sprayed up, which only made Caelus and March laugh harder. Caelus staggered to his feet, wiggling the red dot in circles around Dan Heng, and March pulled out her phone, recording Dan Heng chasing the dot in circles that were tight but wobbly. Caelus turned the laser pointer off, and Dan Heng sat on the floor, arms crossed and tail flicking as he pouted.
“Awwwwee... Heeeennngggyyyyy... don’t be upset! I love youuu!”
Dan Heng turned his back to Caelus, which made March laugh again. Caelus sighed and opened his door. “Alright. I’m bringin’ the dot back!”
Dan Heng's tail flicked to the side once, showing interest even as he desperately tried to ignore Caelus. The red dot appeared once more, and Dan Heng sprang to attention, muscles tight as he tracked his tiny red foe. Caelus moved the dot slowly in front of Dan Heng, and Dan Heng made Caelus and March howl with laughter when he crouched low, wiggling his butt and tail like a cat about to spring forward. Caelus ZOOMED the red dot past Dan Heng and out the door.
Dan Heng followed; claws, hands, and feet scrabbling over the hard surface of the floor and leaving long gouges before he gained enough purchase to take off after. He skidded into the wall and crashed before spring boarding off the wall and tearing down the hallway, a splash of water rising into the air with every leaping bound. Dan Heng chased the laser pointer to the end of the hall, and leapt at the wall where it sat, resting. However, the red dot was sneaky, and at the last minute, it darted down to the floor and zoomed back up the hallway.
March was laughing so hard as she recorded Dan Heng that she needed to brace against the doorway, watching him chase the laser pointer up the hall at breakneck speeds. The laser pointer jumped from the floor to the wall, and then jumped higher, and higher still, until it was resting on the ceiling. Dan Heng leapt up at it, and missed, so he sat on the floor, arms crossed and tail flicking yet again as he stared.
And stared.
And stared.
Caelus wiggled the dot on the ceiling, and to his great amusement, Dan Heng wiggled his tail in response. When he giggled, Dan Heng turned to look at him. Dan Heng’s eyes narrowed, and he stood up, marching silently back to the room, ignoring Caelus as he entered, and silently picked up the bong to take another hit. He sat down and turned his back to Caelus, the tip of his tail flicking. Caelus took another hit from the bong as well and flopped down next to Dan Heng.
“Hennngggyyyy......”
Dan Heng turned his head, arms still crossed and he let out a little ‘hmph’, his tail flicking extra hard and hitting Caelus.
“Owww... Hengyyyy, I’m sorry I put the red dot on the... uh... inside-roof.” Caelus giggled. March flopped down on the bed after another hit as well.
“It is called a ceiling, Caelus.” Dan Heng's tail flicked hard again, once more smacking him.
“Hey Caelus! Dan Heng is a dragon! Dragons love shiny things! Give him something shiny!” March giggled from where she was flopped across the bed. Caelus rolled off the bed, landing on the floor in a heap before hopping up. He marched over to his collection of Interesting Things and dug through them until he found what he was looking for. He walked back to Dan Heng, hands behind his back, and he shakily got down on one knee.
“My dearest of Dan Hengs. Bestie. I-”
“I thought I was your bestie Caelus!” March pouted.
Caelus sighed and patted March’s foot, “You both are my besties.” He looked at Dan Heng again. “I have something very shiny for you. So you can forg-... forrr..... you can five-give me, m’kay?”
Dan Heng said nothing, although his tail flicked in interest. Still not looking at Caelus, Dan Heng silently reached out and grabbed his tail, pulling it close and sitting on the tip to keep it from moving. It thumped against the bed anyway. Caelus pulled his hands from behind his back, holding out a golden trash bag, carefully knotted and tied. It glistened in the light, almost sparkling in its magnificence, and- unlike other pieces of trash Caelus collected -the Golden Pleasant-Looking Trash actually did not smell bad. Dan Heng kept looking away from him, but his tail thumped against the bed faster, struggling against the weight of Dan Heng's body pinning it. Caelus set the bag down next to Dan Heng, wobbling as he tried to get back up and failed. Dan Heng made the shiny trash disappear into his inventory swiftly, and Caelus pumped a fist into the air.
“Yissssssss!!”
The red dot reappeared on the floor in front of Dan Heng. Despite trying his hardest to ignore it, Dan Heng found himself tracking every movement of his tiny red foe, and when he couldn't stand it any longer... he pounced, a large splash of water shooting up from the floor on impact. Caelus sent Dan Heng dashing across the room and back, chasing the red dot. Disaster struck, however, when Caelus turned the red dot to the door, just as Himeko opened it. Dan Heng ran full tilt into Himeko, sending them both to the ground. All three of the very high, very giggly trailblazers turned their heads as one to look at Himeko as she slowly stood up and dusted herself off.
“Well. That was... quite the surprise. I came by to tell you that dinner is available, as we have not heard from any of you all day. I can smell why. Are the three of you even able to walk to the Buffet Car?” Arms delicately folded, she looked at the three of them with fond exasperation as she waited their answer. Unfortunately for her, the mention of food made all three realize that they were hungry, so when they all sprang to their feet at the same time, it startled her. She laughed and turned to walk away, leaving them to follow.
March and Caelus followed. Halfway through the passenger Car, they noticed Dan Heng was NOT with them, so they went back to check on him. He was still sitting on the floor, tail flicking back and forth as he carefully examined the walls, and the floors, and even the ceiling, muttering to himself about ‘that sneaky bastard dot’. Choking back a snicker, Caelus flicked the laser pointer on and wiggled it to get Dan Heng's attention. Dan Heng perked up and pounced, only to find the dot had moved. He pounced again – the dot stayed, then zipped away. Pounce by pounce, Caelus led Dan Heng to the Buffet Car, with March taking picture after picture.
They made it to the buffet car without further incident. Once inside, with the smell of food hanging in the air, the Red Dot of Doom was forgotten temporarily, in favour of food. Setting the pointer down next to his fork, Caelus took his plate over to the food to load up – and load up he did. Caelus, Dan Heng, and March made it a contest to see who could have the highest mountain of food on their plate – Caelus won, barely, although Dan Heng had the sturdiest mountain of food. They bickered their way back to the table and then there was blessed silence as they all dug into their food the way that only someone with a terrible case of the munchies could.
Halfway through their mountains of food, Caelus grinned and stifled a giggle. “Hey Marchie. Be-Best-... Bestie... watch this...” Caelus giggled again and turned the laser pointer back on, aiming it at the bite of food on Dan Heng's fork. Dan Heng snarled and chomped down on the red dot, chewing vigorously as he searched for the dot, making sure he swallowed the damn thing. The red dot was tricky, though, and was currently dancing on top of his mountain of food. Dan Heng stabbed at it with his fork, and the dot dashed off the food, onto the table, and disappeared. Snarling softly, Dan Heng hovered protectively over his plate as he continued eating, eyes scanning the table.
When the red dot appeared again, skipping from food item to food item on top of March’s plate, Dan Heng tracked it carefully with his eyes, pulling his own plate closer to himself. March stopped eating, unwilling to risk choking to death as she laughed. Finally, Dan Heng had enough of his red nemesis sullying his sister’s food, and he stabbed down on it as hard as he could with his fork. The fork sliced through her food and struck the plate, cracking it in half with force... the fork was embedded in the table hard enough that Dan Heng had to yank it twice to pull it out, stabbing at the red dot again... cracking the plate part again.... and embedding the fork into the table - again.
The red dot disappeared as Caelus and March howled with laughter, wiping tears from their eyes as Dan Heng stood up, eyes flicking from plate to plate as his tail thrashed about. It was clear to everyone that Dan Heng would protect their food from the onslaught of evil emanating from the Red Dot of Doom. When no dot appeared, he slowly sat down, snarling as he began eating, which only set Caelus and March off further.
Pom-Pom stood up with a sigh and slammed their paws on the table. “No more laser pointers in the Buffet Car! Pom-Pom now has one less plate, and damage to the table that Pom-Pom needs to fix! Passenger Caelus! You will be helping Pom-Pom since this is your fault!”
“Heyyy! I’m not the one who stabbed March’s plate!”
“You are controlling the laser pointer, Caelus.” Welt was chuckling softly as he looked away - really, the whole situation was hilarious, but Pom-Pom was right. They were down a plate, and the table was now damaged.
Caelus sighed and tucked the laser pointer into his pocket. “Alright, alright. Later, when I am sober.” He shook his head. “Oh man. Sober-me is gonna need to have a talk with now-me. Sober Cat-Heng is gonna help me fix the table, too.”
“C-Cat Heng?” Himeko snorted and choked, coughing into her napkin. Even Pom-Pom looked amused, even if they would never admit it.
March giggled. “Yeah! He’s acting just like an adorable little kitty-cat with the laser pointer!”
“I am not adorable!” Dan Heng frowned, his tail thrashing side to side. If his tail ‘accidentally’ smacked Caelus with it’s thrashing, well... oops.
“Hey! Ouch! I’m not the one who called you adorable; that was March!”
“You are the one who is in cahoots with the red foe, Caelus! You are in it’s pocket!” Dan Heng pointed his fork at Caelus. Caelus just laughed and pulled the laser pointer from his pocket.
“Nope, it’s in my pocket.” He wiggled the laser pointer just a hair too hard, while holding it just a hair too loosely. The laser pointer went flying, crashing against the wall - it hit at just the right angle, and shattered, splintering apart. Caelus let out a devastated noise that set Welt and Himeko off, and Dan Heng sniffed at the mini pile of broken parts.
“Serves the enemy right.”
“But this means no more red dots for you to chase.”
Dan Heng paused, a bite of food halfway to his mouth. “Say that again?”
Caelus cleared his throat and looked at Dan Heng solemnly. “My dear friend, I said that the broken laser pointer means that there are no more tiny red foes for you to guard us from and for you to chase. They are gone now, wiped out with a single smash. Their death cries were the cries of my shattered pen landing on the floor; the sound of me sweeping the parts into the trash was their funeral dirge. They are no more.”
Dan Heng wilted, his tail drooping, but he shrugged and turned to his food, eating more calmly than before. Pom-Pom cleared away March’s broken plate while she filled a new one. The rest of the meal was spent in near silence – March and Caelus occasionally giggling, and Dan Heng sulking. When the meal was over, Caelus and March skipped back to his room while Dan Heng sullenly followed behind. They all eventually fell asleep in a pile on the bed, but when they woke up in the morning, ready to face another day, and warp to their next location, they found three wrapped gifts sitting on Caelus’ desk, along with a handwritten note from Himeko, warning them to keep their gifts in their rooms.
Caelus began to laugh as soon as they opened their gifts, and he held his up. It was a brand-new laser pointer.