It was the dawn of the second day on Kotimyad, and Hazel had been up for hours before its red sun rose over the distant mountains. She was sitting calmly on the stone entryway talking to Rephana, who had refused to sleep due to the constant flirting from one of the Tridfi brothers, Eliar, the eldest son. She was much too nervous to say that she was millions of years old, though she had only aged to about twenty. Plus, she wanted to find an Ex-Naf. Cross-species relations were tense enough even between Exans and their normal variants, let alone normal variants of other species.

Nredoza, yawning, came out the front door to meet the two that were already deep in conversation wearing a big fluffy robe, slippers, and holding a steaming cup of some sort of hot drink. She sat down next to Hazel and offered her some of the drink. It smelled incredibly sweet and was a translucent red-brown color. Those two combined told Hazel that it was a kind of tea. Thanking her, she took a sip, taking in all of its exotic flavors. If the food on Earth was flavorful, it was like dirt compared to that tea. However, it was too rich for her to have more than a tiny sip, and cringing slightly from the explosion of taste, she handed the mug back to Nredoza.

Taking a deep breath, they relaxed on the stone porch, watching the sunrise. It was the first day that they could just sit and relax. Nothing to worry about, just letting time tick by until they needed to return to Zhera.

Children popped out of their homes, running across the streets to the spiral plants to climb. The beautiful sound of laughter, chatter, and feet pounding on the roads brought a smile to Nredoza's tired face. She missed waking up to it every day, and hearing it again made her feel both content and incredibly sad. Something was clinging to Nredoza, the knowledge that when Hazel left, she would stay behind. Deep in her heart, she wanted to go with her. Though it had only been a few days, she found her mental home with her chosen family on Zhera.

There was a strong connection to Hazel and her home, almost stronger than the one tying her to her home city of Retansha. Her blood stayed there, but her heart had wandered to wherever Hazel was. It was something about her presence that made her feel complete. After all, she was the one who brought her away from the prison-like facility that was the 6-7 Science Station.

This conflict on whether home is where your blood is or if it is where your heart is proved to be one that almost everyone felt. Rephana knew that it was with her heart, since the place of her birth was both destroyed and a stark reminder of her being forcefully wedded. Hazel had no choice, Earth was no longer an option because of her third eye's emerging. However, Nredoza was still torn. Either was a viable location to settle. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that Retansha, or anywhere on Kotimyad, was where she belonged, a gut feeling pulled her back to Zhera.

There were pros and cons to both places, but the pull to Hazel's soul was enough to bring her decision to go back to New Manchester Village. Sure, she would be the only one of her species, but at least she would be with the people she thought of as family. That, to her, was much more important than anything. And perhaps one day she could return to Kotimyad and find someone. She reassured herself that whatever she chose would be good in the end.

Preparations were already being made to depart from Kotimyad in the next few days. They did what they needed to do, which was to bring Nredoza back to her home, so they needed to return to Zhera if they wanted to start finishing the long-lasting sedative for Dymo and his wife. Hazel felt incredibly sad about leaving the woman that helped her through her first week outside of the First Universe, but she knew it would be good for her, at least she hoped so.

"How much more fuel does this thing need?" Hazel asked, carrying canister after canister of fuel to the ship.

"Probably only twenty or so canisters if we want to completely fill it," Anatoly said, sticking his head in the compartment where the fuel was stored to see how much could fit.

Hazel groaned, jogging to the end of the street to the shop where the canisters were on sale. Nredoza's mother agreed to pay for them as they went, so every time they grabbed more fuel they had to deal with her. She had been insisting they call her Qidzha, but Hazel and Anatoly found this weird.

Averting her eyes so as to not make eye contact with Qidzha, Hazel grabbed four fuel canisters under her arms, trying to avoid any conversation. The shop owner seemed to understand her aversion, seeing as he too stood the other way and tried to not come too close to the older woman.

An hour straight of running back and forth brought the collection spree of fuel to an end at last. Hazel, who was sweating profusely, slumped down against one of the twisting trees, just about ready to take a nice long nap. Nobody really wanted to stay on Kotimyad for much longer, and after all of their adventures in space before that point, they realized how bad of an idea it was to go back out immediately after getting back. It was the opposite of relaxing there, with the entire Tridfi family breathing down their necks and the inefficient layout of the city.

They could have at least put some buildings on the other side of the street, Hazel thought to herself frustratedly.

Also annoyed by the visit, Rephana and Anatoly immediately ran inside the ship, locking themselves in. Nredoza's siblings, especially Eliar, were chasing them around and not letting them have a moment of relaxation. Hazel tried to get in, but they closed the door before she could get close to the ramp. Swearing and cursing at them, Hazel kicked a rock and took a long walk down to the other end of the road.

There, she took off her platform boots and strolled peacefully along the edge of the river. It was the one place she could find that was far away from everything and everyone, exactly what she needed. Exotic wildlife called from a forest on the other side of the river, singing with all the confidence in the world. The light from the sun glimmered on the water, creating sparkles on every ripple. However, in the sky, it was a different story. Dull yellowish-gray clouds made their way across the path of the sun, darkening the land. A light shower of rain, lighter than a feather and more graceful than a dancer, fell gently from the clouds. Hazel didn't mind, she preferred darker skies and humid air. With the feeling of grass-like plants under her bare feet and rain on her skin, she sat down and smiled. The serenity of the landscape was perfect.

Without care, Hazel dipped her feet into the river, leading the way for the rest of her. Though she was fully clothed in the most inconvenient dress she had ever worn, she felt as if she needed to wade in the water to drown her problems. To her surprise, as it noticed it was submerged, the dress changed its shape and restitched itself into a kind of jumper, the patterns and material staying exactly the same. Hazel grinned, once again surprised by the amount of technological progression in every aspect of life. Of course, her gown was made by Aphos, so it was different, but it still wowed her greatly.

She sat down in the river on a small bank of sand and watched the rain fall heavier and heavier. Nothing could get her to leave, except for perhaps a clap of thunder, which came soon after the rain became a total downpour. Hazel scrambled to get out of the water and ran the entire way back to the SuperNova, leaving her shoes to be taken by the storm.

Once she sat comfortably in the SuperNova, she turned on the engines, backing up to prepare for takeoff soon. She knew that she needed to leave, and the storm only confirmed her beliefs. All she needed to do was check.

There was a knock on the exterior of the ship, following by some muffled shouts. Concerned, Hazel opened the door to see where it was coming from. There, Nredoza stood waving up at her.

"Can I board?" she asked, already stepping onto the ramp.

"Didn't you want to stay with your family?" Hazel replied, needing some explanation.

"I guess I changed my mind."

"Alright then, just know that I'm not going to turn back. If you want to return to Kotimyad, you'll need to teach yourself how to fly a ship and go back yourself."

"That won't be a concern for a long time, I think."

Hazel shrugged, turning back to Rephana and Anatoly for another opinion. They seemed oblivious. Deciding to let her on, Hazel lifted up the ramp slightly to help her up into the ship. She checked the airlocks obsessively, making sure to seal every single one in case the rain weakened any of the connections. That didn't seem to be the case, so Hazel felt confident enough to return to the cockpit and start the long journey home. She knew that she would definitely use the HiDrive as soon as she possibly could.

"You will arrive at your destination in approximately seventy-eight hours. Please enjoy your flight..."