***
A few weeks passed and Juniper packed supplies for camping and cooking, all neatly stored into his bags. In the interstellar ira technology has made leaps and bounds, the bags he used had a compact function although he wasnt sure how it worked it used some sort of spacial feature. He also took a supply of seasoning and herbs as he wasnt sure he would be able to find this in the wilderness.
During these last few weeks he spent his days as he had before, the only difference now is that he had grown a lot closer to Yong-Jin and his live-broadcasting room had a lot more fans. His cooking broadcast continued and he did them more regularly about 3-4 times a week, between two hours per broadcast. Some were viewed by thousands across the universe and many people enjoyed his recipes, he would also chat regularly with his live chatroom moderator Dstar65 who would be present during most of his broadcasts.
Juniper tried to visit Ciro's home every now and then but apart from sending him food parcels Ciro seemed a bit distracted lately. He still spoke to Juniper over the communicator whenever possible, asking him questions regarding his future plans and if he planned on finding a bigger place to move to. Recently, he had been wondering why Ciro had been asking about bringing up moving on a few occasions but Ciro would shrug it off and just say it was casual question.
When he told Yong-Jin he would be leaving for about a month although he told him to take care of himself with a smile there was some disappointment he could hide considering that they wouldnt meet for awhile. They had a lovely date before parting ways, their lips meeting briefly before Yong-Jin bid farewell to Juniper at the spaceport where Demetrius and Gio were waiting. Juniper was surprised with the hug Yong-Jin gave him, holding back tears as he parted ways he didnt think he would be so sentimental.
Demetrius and Gio were at the entrance when Juniper arrived, Gio waved and greeted Juniper warmly, while Demetrius stood close behind Gio.
"Do you have everything you need?" Demetrius asked.
"I hope so, I don't think I need anything else." Juniper replied
Demetrius nodded and ushered Juniper inside the ship and onto the bridge. Both Demetrius and Gio were either side of Juniper, guarding him from being bumped into, the bridge was busy with people as there were several parties of military soliders going. The main ship had several smaller ships in the bridge, teams would be splitting off onto different planets depending on what beast they would be going to find.
Juniper knew that Demetrius would be heading to a planet called Carvina, it was a habitable planet due to its oceans and vegetation zones. However it was dangerous during the winter period due to beast tides, so they decided to travel before then. it was the end of summer now so the temperatures should be perfect for camping and they shouldn't encounter too many dangers.
''We will stay aboard here for two or three days before reaching Carvina, after that we will take a smaller craft down. From thereout we are on our own, although communicators should still be working as we have satilites stationed in this system.'' Demetrius explained as they made their way through the ship.
They were all dressed in protective gear, Juniper appeared much thinner compared to others now that it outlined his body.
Demetrius took a moment to look around the bridge for any prying eyes that would loom on Juiniper, he couldn't help but admire Juniper's figure as the clothing hugged his form perfectly. "You look great," Demetrius said to Juniper.
"Thanks but I feel so tiny in these clothes..." Juniper patted his chest looking down
"You are in good shape you tend to wear loose clothing so its not easy to tell, but you are slim and athletic, it suits you.'' Demetrius smiled and patted Juniper's shoulder.
Gio nodded in silent agreement to Demetrius statement.
The ship shuddered and Juniper ears stood up slightly, "Is something wrong?" he looked at Demetrius, who shook his head in confirmation.
"Nothing. Just the engines warming up," Demetrius reassured Juniper.
Juniper settled back down again and they discussed which beasts were most common on each continent, they did this so that Juniper could prepare himself mentally for the upcoming month of travel.
"It seems like we have a lot of work ahead of us, we may not even find what we are looking for." Demetrius said. "But in return you'll see new places, meet new species and experience new things."
"Yes!" Juniper enthusiastically agreed.