8
The garden opened up to a large canopy of trees.
Victorian-era ghosts wandered, chatting about in a language that had no meaning.
Background noise for the dream. These ghosts were colorful, but in a way that was like a washed-out watercolor painting.
It was only a thin layer of life. The contrast made it easy to pick out Leo.
She sat on a bench, twisted and shaped from wood and rusted iron.
Her thoughts were elsewhere, unknowable to her companions.
A golden light seemed to beam from her smile when she saw the two stars, but Quark noted she was different.
Her clothes were the same, from the puffy white shirt that hung around her shoulders to the jean shorts she wore, as well as the way her thick dark hair was styled—her outward appearance was as it was yesterday, but it was her aura that was different.
Leo was relaxed, thoughtful, approachable, and composed...
A stark contrast to the day before, Quark briefly wondered if they had the right dreamer.
"Are we late?" He asked, taking a seat next to her.
She chuckled. "I've been here for maybe five minutes. I don't consider that late."
It was easier to settle down. Before, Quark felt overwhelmed by her presence. Her odd looks and comments gave him a strange mixture of feelings. The feelings didn't have words yet, only that it made the organs in their body feel ticklish and giddy.
"This place is beautiful," he commented. "I have never seen so much..."
"Life?" Leo finished for him.
"That is a good word for it," he smiled at her. "The smells, the air..."
"Different from space, huh?"
"A lot. A lot is different, which is mostly good. All of it. I mean, look at Pulse."
Pulse was sitting on the arm of the bench, looking insistently at the intricate fountain.
There was no logic to the piece. Sculpted from a purified marble, with flecks of gold that gleamed as the light shifted.
From the contours and structure, there was no reason for it to work.
However, Quark could see Pulse wasn't as fascinated by the art of the carved stone as they were with the water.
Leo gave Pulse a nudge in the leg. "You okay there?"
"Taking in the sights," Pulse rubbed their neck. "Sorry, I'm not trying to ignore you."
"You two are brand new," she brushed off. "I get it. I got a place we can hang out, though."
Pulse and Quark looked at her at the same time. "Oh?"
"A more relaxed pub a few blocks away. Drinks, music, dancing, all that. Shouldn't be too much to distract you guys."
Leo flashed Pulse a smile that was so infectious they had to smile back. "Maybe that'd be best. We didn't talk too much yesterday."
For a moment, Leo looked embarrassed and guilty. It was gone in a second, and she fixed her face to hide it, but Pulse and Quark were familiar with things like that.
"I'll explain that after a drink or two," she said. "But c'mon! You two will love it!"