Juniper was startled by the sounds of crunching, banging, and voices. Her eyes widened and she stood up abruptly, the tears having left dry streaks on her cheeks. She brushed herself off, looking around for a place to hide. There was no way to tell who was on the other side of the rubble outside of her door. It was possible that it was locals, but the chances were slim.
Instinctively, Juniper shifted into a black shrew, and skittered into the corner near the bookshelf. There wasn’t much in this bunker. Some provisions to keep from dehydration and hunger, a bed, the book shelf with important documents and a few random books, a sink and toilet. Suddenly there was the sound of gunfire, and a piece of the wall flew inward toward the middle of the room.
A woman walked into the room, her eyes almost immediately coming to rest on the bookshelf. Books must not be a common object where she is from, Juniper thought. She took in her features, teal hair surrounding a slender tattooed face. She was attractive, and Juniper shifted just slightly closer to get a better look. Some men followed in behind her, and Juniper learned the woman’s name was Ursa.
Once Ursa and her crew were finished gathering whatever they wanted to take, they turned their backs to the bunker and began their way back onto whatever ship they had used to get there in the first place. Juniper didn’t want to be left alone here though, so she carefully launched herself from the ground, up the bookshelf and onto the back of Ursa’s jacket, the color hiding Juniper perfectly.
Finally aboard the ship, Juniper jumped down off of Ursa’s jacket and ran towards the edge of the wall, looking for someone or something aboard she could shift into, to go unnoticed. A woman walked by heading somewhere away from them, and luckily it seemed as though Ursa didn’t notice. Juniper changed again, her skin shifting from the black fur to zebra striped, and Juniper brushed herself off once the transformation was complete, and she began to walk in the direction away from Ursa. Ursa gave a yawn her body aching after shovelling for the past couple hours. She smelled absolutely nasty and figured she should go shower before they took off. Before she got to her room though a few crewmates came up with an inventory list asking her to overlook what they had pillaged from the planet. She took the list and looked it over,
“Well it wasn’t particularly the best haul we’ve had..but it will be a couple extra kredits on top of what we earn for the crystals. Thanks boys.” They clapped Ursa on the back then headed on their way. She smiled happy that her crew seemed in good spirits. Anna walked by with Kira an earthling with fire red hair and wolf tattoos. They waved to her as she went by. She kept moving, turning down a few more hallways cutting through a few passageways to head down towards her room when she came across Anna going past her towards the kitchens. Ursa walked a few feet before she stopped.
Wait a minute. No way she could make it down here that fast! She turned to face the girl,
"Hey Anna." Anna stopped and turned to look at her,
"Yes?" Ursa gave a wide smile before walking over,
"Thanks for all your help today. It was just our luck that you visited here before!"Anna took a step back,
"No problem. I help where I can." Ursa looked down towards the ground itching her neck
"Of course… Problem is, Anna wasn't the one who traveled here before. Dill did." Suddenly she pulled out her gun and aimed it at Anna's head her expression turning serious, "Look asshole. I don't know who you are, or how you got through my radars, but if you don't show me your real face quickly, I am gonna give you a new one."Juniper’s amber colored eyes widened at the gun being pointed in her face. Immediately without any hesitation, she shifted back into her normal human form. Her black hair was a mess around her face, and the blue silk necklace around her throat hung loosely. She reached up to show she wouldn’t be a threat, her words a gentle whisper, and her eyes wide. She wore a white colored dress, made of pieces of plant from her planet, the edges of the detail colored green.
“Please don’t shoot. I was trapped down there…” When first hearing Juniper talk, you’d think she would be from planet Earth, from the London area. But it had a shadow of something else as well. Ursa watched in slight amazement as Anna changed into a young but very pretty girl. She guessed her age was around 17 but she couldn’t be sure,
“So you’re a local? Shit.” She pulled the gun away and put it back into her holster letting out a yawn before walking forward,
“Alright. Follow me.” She walked forward towards the kitchen area, her sway casual and confident. When she entered the kitchen area she noted that they were alone. She pointed to the large rust covered island in the center of the room,
“Sit.” She then walked over to a cupboard over in the corner, opening it to expose a wide variety of cans, dried goods and some bottles. She pulled one bottle down then grabbed two cups from a cabinet and walked over to the young girl placing a cup in front of her, before pouring some of the amber coloured liquid into it,
“Here. I think the destruction of your homeland warrants a drink if anything else.”She sat back on a stool and poured herself one, lifting the glass up for a clink,
“Cheers?”Ursa guided Juniper to the kitchen area, and told her to sit down. She did as she was told, and watched as the woman poured each of them a drink. The liquid was the same color as her eyes, and she tilted her head slightly. She looked around the room curiously, taking in the details of the cupboards and cookware, the lights and decoration. Juniper lifted the glass slightly and Ursa clinked her own against it. Juniper’s brow furrowed and she sipped the drink hesitantly. When she swallowed it burned her throat, and she pushed the glass away as an automatic instinct to get rid of it.
She trembled, gagging at the taste and stared at Ursa. “Are you trying to poison me?”Ursa downed the liquid in one go before she dropped the cup back on the countertop and laughed,
“Haha. No. If I wanted to kill you I would have plugged you in the hallway back there.” She lifted Juniper’s glass and downed it as well,
“See..Not poison. It’s a gesture. This liquid costs more than this ship, kid.” She yawned,
“So...What’s your name?”Juniper watched as Ursa downed her drink as well, telling her it was a gesture. She could understand that, and knew things were different everywhere. “My name is Juniper Niahm. And you are Ursa.” She said it as a fact, though she didn’t know, nor really needed to know Ursa’s last name. “Were you the one attacking Theonia Z17?” She asked bluntly, her eyes watching Ursa’s face.Ursa turned leaning against the countertop as she crossed her legs speaking in a matter of fact, and slightly bored voice,
“First off..it’s Ursa Cooper. Second off. You have the courtesy of being on my ship so I will be the one asking the questions, and third off. No. I am not responsible for attacking Theonia, I am just here to look for fuel and take some goods so I can sell them on the black market.” She stood up moving towards the fridge to take out a small container of leftover Plasmagetti. She grabbed two forks then walked over to Juniper setting it down in front of her, thinking she would probably be hungry,
“Before you ask me who did attack your planet...I have no idea. I don’t really follow planet politics. Hungry?”Juniper’s eyes shifted downward, though she could hear Ursa moving and gathering things from the room. At least Ursa didn’t murder her right off the bat, she thought. Her lip began to quiver when Ursa mentioned she didn’t attack Theonia Z17, and didn’t know who was responsible. She had been crying for what seemed like days, but again tears fell from her face onto the island counter.
Ursa asked if she was hungry as well, and Juniper barely looked up at the container of weird noodly looking food. Her nose scrunched, her mind wanting to say no, though her stomach growled in protest. Instead of giving a yes or no answer, Juniper simply shrugged, reaching for the fork. She felt sick to her stomach, and wasn’t sure whether it was the hunger, death of her parents, or the fact her planet had been destroyed. And thinking about it, she wasn’t sure whether or not her planet had been fully destroyed. She looked up again, unsure whether she was allowed to ask, since Ursa said she shouldn’t ask questions.Ursa’s confident smile faltered when she saw the girl was genuinely upset.
Well of course she would be you idiot. She just lost everyone she cared about. Ursa’s tone turned a little softer, her words slightly more calculated,
“Look...I’m sorry, kid. I won’t be able to understand the loss you are facing or how you are going to face the future but I can however give you some food, take you somewhere safe and give you a couple space kredits so you can figure it out, okay?”She gave a large creepy smile, trying to be comforting as she pulled her leg up onto the seat as Takashi walked in looking over at Ursa with a curious expression,
“Uh...Hi?” Ursa gave Takashi a bored expression,
“Hey. This is Juniper. She’s a stowaway.”Takashi paused for a second before nodding,
“Cool! Hey Juniper! Did you finish the plasmagetti, Coop?” She spoke evenly,
“Yeah. Make some taquitos or something.” He shrugged,
“Fine…That was supposed to be mine.” Ursa rolled her eyes then turned to Juniper,
“This is Takashi. He’s a whiner.” [i]Juniper looked at Takashi curiously, wanting to turn her attention away from Ursa’s weird smile. It was nice though that she was offering to help her out. She wondered where Ursa was planning to drop her off.
“Hello,” was all Juniper managed to say.
Ursa took a bite of the food in front of her before Takashi turned back to give Juniper a smirk,
“So what are we doing with her then.” Ursa slurped up a noodle,
“We will drop her off in Agrathea. We have work there anyway and she could probably hitch a ride from someone there.” Takashi eyed the girl quietly,
“So we are just going to let her go...what if she tells someone about us?” Ursa laughed,
“She doesn’t even know who we are. Do you? She didn’t even blink when I told her my full name. Plus I believe in good karma. We help you out...you keep your mouth shut about us.” She looked at Juniper evenly,
“Right?”“I don’t know anything about you. What would it benefit me to say?” Juniper said in response, gazing back evenly. She finished eating her part of the plasmaghetti and placed the fork down, breathing slowly.
“If my home wasn’t destroyed, I would still be there. But I doubt there is anything left for me. I won’t be any trouble,” Juniper said again, her voice extremely soft. She looked at Takashi for a moment, then back to Ursa.
“Is there a shower room I can use?” she asked, knowing she probably looked like a mess.Ursa nodded,
“See told you. Yeah! No problem kid! Takashi bring her to the guest room. She can stay there until we get to Agrathea.”She stood up looking evenly at Juniper,
“Also don’t try to leave unless one of us gets you. I am usually patient with stowaways but some of my crew won’t be. So no exploring. Got it?” She paused waiting for a response then said,
“Good.” She turned to Takashi,
“Come grab me when we get within range of Agrathea and inform Mac of our guest.” She patted Juniper on the shoulder awkwardly before she headed out of the kitchen,
“Alright. Have a good sleep, kid.” She walked out of the kitchen, making her way to her room.
Juniper followed Takashi to the guest room, and closed the door behind her after he said goodbye. She immediately searched for something clean to wear, and showered. The only clothing she could find was a simple white nightgown, and once she was finished her shower, she put it on. She combed through her hair with her fingers, and fixed the silk thread around her throat.
Looking around, she climbed into the bed, pulling up the covers completely over her head and curled up into a ball, falling into a deep sleep. 
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