Adorable? That hadn't been a word used to describe Zarah frequently. Well, her grandmother had used it before she died, but that almost didn't count. Most people described her questions as pointless or interesting if they were being polite. If they weren't the most common word was annoying. Lyra's use of the word wiped the excited grin from Zarah's face. Was the Terran making fun of her? Zarah couldn't tell. She could never tell if someone was making fun of her. It was like something was wrong with her brain. She talked too fast and too loudly. She couldn’t sit still. She would go on and on about the one topic all the time. Was Lyra just humoring her like everyone else?
Zigma sensed his person's distress and bobbed from where he had been hovering near George to closer to Zarah. Honestly, Zigma liked being a glowing orb of light. There were a plethora of perks that came with this form. There were still times when he wished that he could touch or hug people. Good natured hugs seemed to be the easiest way to cheer people up. He wished he could do something more than blink reassuringly. That was one of the downfalls of not having hands. Or arms for that matter. Though it did mean people didn’t try to touch him except for Zarah. So, that was good.
He did telepathically ask, "Zarah? Are you alright?
She gave her head a minute jerk, "It's just more of the same. I can't tell if she's making fun of me or not.
Zigma hummed, "Well, she's answering your questions. Let's focus on that for now. We'll worry about the rest later."
That made logical sense so Zarah turned her attention from possible subtext and hidden meanings to the direct answers to her questions. The answers only created more questions in her mind, and it took more effort than she wanted to admit to not just start asking question after question without even pausing to breath. She wanted to know why Zigma was a ball of light and Jessica was more like a person. She wanted to know how Zigma could learn to make this hard light. As an aside, the hard-light ball felt incredibly cool, almost like it was alive. She didn’t want to be seen as annoying, so she didn’t ask. Zarah wanted Lyra to like her. She wasn't sure why.
Lyra finally answered all the question, but before Zarah could speak George beat her, "If we are going to see a spaceship, which would be awesome, we should go soonish, if not now. It will be light soon, and mountain climbing is safer while the sun is out."
Zarah was forced to agree, "Days on Trazie are short. Depending on how far we have to go we might have to walk home in the dark, so we should limit the time spent in the dark. She reached into her pocket to pull out her map and point at a spot, "This is where we found you." Her finger traced a path, "If I'm understanding you right this is about where your ship is.
George looked over her shoulder, "That is a trip and I am a little bit slower than Zarah when it comes to getting around the mountains. He looked up at Lyra, "Does Mrs. Traveil have a list of chores you need to get done? We can help you finish sooner.
Zarah nodded as she folded up her map. She had hoped that Lyra would say yes to going to see the spaceship, so she was packed much the same as she was yesterday. She would be more than willing to help out with any of Lyra's chores if it meant they go to the spaceship sooner. She really, really, really wanted to see the spaceship. She wanted to take it apart but wasn't sure she would be able to put it back together again. That would not be the ideal. She would have to be content with just looking, and hopefully touching it.