1. having a hole or empty space inside 2. without significance 3. a hole or depression in something 4. a small valley 5. form by making a hole What do these define? If you said Hollow Then there`s no empty space in your head! Go on and respond to the last prompt of 2015!

Happy New Year, everyone! *** Red Impulse watched her and merely raised a brow in inquiry. "What's in this sandwich, exactly?" she asked, lifting off one slice of bread. "Why?  Don't you like it?" "I like it fine," she said, "but there's something I can't identify.  What's in it?" "Turkey, tomato, lettuce," Red Impulse recited, looking at his own sandwich as though needing reference, "smoke gouda and a fig compote." "Fig?" Red Impulse gave a shrug.  "That's what Madge said." "This is really fig?" "Yes.  Why?"  He frowned as concern suddenly darkened his eyes.  "You're not allergic, are you?" "No," Jun said, still examining her sandwich.  "At least, I don't think I am.  I never had it before."  "Well, try it.  If you don't like it, just scrape it off," Red Impulse suggested, taking another healthy bite of his own sandwich. Jun replaced the bread and took another bite, this time paying close attention to the tastes of each individual component.  She took another bite, and then another. "Well?" Red Impulse asked, watching her with something close to amusement in his eyes. "It's good," she said around a bite. "If you like that, you should try the fig jam filled cookies in a bakery in Hontworl.  The Sugar Crystal Pastry Shoppe, just off Pacquert Street," he reminisced, his gaze drifting upwards as though the shop had appeared in the sky with his recollection of it.  "Dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar.  Totally decadent, but completely worth it." "Sounds wonderful," Jun said, nibbling at her sandwich, more interested in watching Red Impulse now than that sandwich.  There was a softness in his eyes that came with the memory.  She remained quiet, hoping he would continue, but she was disappointed when he did not.  Instead, they finished their sandwiches in silence, Jun surprising herself by polishing off the entire thing. Ryu would have been proud of me and Jinpei would never believe it, she thought crumpling up the paper wrapper into a small ball and tossing it into the bag.  Or maybe not.  Ryu and Jinpei probably would have been disappointed that I didn't give them one half to split. And she instantly knew that, had they been there, that would have been exactly what she would have done.  Regardless of how hungry she might have been, she would have given half to the guys because she knew they would have wanted it. When did that start, she asked herself with a frown as she rose to her feet.  When did she stop thinking solely about herself and what she wanted? With Jinpei, she answered herself with a mental sigh.  But Jinpei was growing up fast and soon he would not need her, not as he had when he was a small child.  And then what would she have?  She needed to let him grow up and find his way, and stand on his own two feet, but it would mean letting him go.  Their relationship would change and Jun wasn't sure she was ready for that just yet. But I need to do the same thing, she reminded herself.  She could not always be the same girl while the others matured and went after their own goals.  That's why I'm here, she thought.  To take that next step.  The question was, could she? "Ready?" Red Impulse. "Yes," she answered quickly, her emphasis on the word making Red Impulse look at her.  Then she realized that her answer was to her own mental question more than his spoken one, but she jumped up, blocking off any further questions. He held out the small square package to her.  "Cookies?" Jun smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at him.  "I think those were intended just for you." "I highly doubt that.  She knew this was for the both of us," Red Impulse answered, refusing to rise to her bait.  "Well, may as well save them for later, then."  He slipped the cookies into his jacket pocket, crushed the paper bag into a compact ball and tossed it into the nearest composting trash can.  They took their water bottles, both still half full, with them. They picked up the trail again, only now it became steeper and rockier, the footing less sure.  Several times, Jun's smooth soled shoes slipped out from under her and Red Impulse had to grab her arm to steady her and keep her falling.  He, of course, was wearing a pair of sturdy shoes that were a cross between a boot and a sneaker, with sides that came to the ankle and thick rubber soles to give him plenty of traction. She had been half-expecting him to give her a lecture about wearing the proper shoes, but he kept quiet, leading her to suspect that he either knew that the shoes -- which were fine for most purposes -- were only a temporary issue, or else he knew they were a part of her uniform and that she could not change into birdstyle without them. This last thought made her uneasy and she wondered once more exactly how much about them all that Nambu had told the man.  He seemed to know quite a bit, far more than they knew about him.  Jun made a mental note to ask Hakase when she got back. If she hadn't been tossed off the team by that time, that is, she mentally amended, cringing at the thought.  She counted up the days.  Technically, she still hadn't been gone long enough to raise any suspicions and she could totally explain it by saying she simply needed some time to get away.  The guys did it all the time, she justified to herself, and no one seemed to demand any explanations from them. She was panting, the sweat trickling down her spine when she heard it.  The unmistakeable sound of running water.  She stopped in the path, forcing Red Impulse, who was following behind her, to do the same. "I hear water," she said. "Probably one of the smaller tributaries nearby," Red Impulse said.  "This is called Kilmeny Falls for a reason, you know." Jun took a page from his book and ignored his last comment.  Curious, she pushed through to a smaller path and followed the sound of the water.  Sure enough, the path wound its way through a small hollow and down to the edge of a stream that flowed down the mountainside in a series of small waterfalls.  As far as rivers went, it was not wide, but wide enough that crossing it without some sort of bridge or stepping stones without getting wet was impossible. She stood a moment, watching the water rush by them.  Then she raised her eyes and studied the rock outcropping that the topmost falls splashed down from.  It was a high shelf, but the mountain's side continued even higher up from that.  And just on the other side, Jun's eye was caught by a long, dark shadow that ran for a short distance along the length of it.  Her heart skipped a beat and she began to search down river for a way to cross. "Where are you going?" Red Impulse demanded as she pushed past him. "I want to see something on the other side," Jun answered over her shoulder, not slowing down. "What?  Why?" She heard his questions behind her, but she was too focused on finding a way over to answer him.  Then she saw it.  It was mossy and parts of it looked a little rotted away, but the fallen log that spanned the length of the river was the perfect way over and, from the looks of it, she wasn't the only one who had used it for that purpose. Jun quickly bounded up onto the top of the log and raced across it, not giving herself time to think -- or her foot a chance to slip.  She was halfway back up the river to where they had first seen the falls when she heard Red Impulse coming up behind her. "Will you slow down?" he grumbled.  "Where are we going anyway?" "Just over to here," Jun said, then stopped when she reached the spot where she had been standing on the other side.  She scanned the side of the cliff, trying to find now what she had seen then.  Jun shaded her eyes and squinted at the rock face.  The afternoon shadows had shifted only slightly, but it was enough to conceal what she had seen earlier. Then she saw it again and began climbing up.  Loose rock slipped away, but Jun managed to keep her hold and her footing until she finally reached the fissure opening.  Peering in, the darkness expanded out, going deep into the mountainside.

Hah, make RI keep up with her for once. More nice humanizing moments for him!

It good to see her thinking about herself for once! I'm glad it was just figs, I thought Red Impulse was tying to ditch her!

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I see Julia got the Galactor retirement package. Or was it the secretary who got her? Hard to blame Joe for not wanting to come back given how he was treated and his own mess-ups, and it's good to see Ken adamant that he's not going to be split from Jun if they come back.

I'm glad to see that neither Nambu or Joe are denying their mistakes, but that they are able to move on and focus on the future.