101

[TheSongOfTheStars]

30. No gravity
727 words
The sensation of weightlessness was not a new one, but nonetheless the thrill as Cassiopeia's feet left the hull of the starcraft would never grow old. With nothing but a single rope around her middle to keep her from drifting down into the emptiness of space, her heart pounded with the adrenaline of the horrifying possibilities. The slightest slip and she'd be lost forever to the infinite as the Vives called it.
"Focus Cassiopeia," Ishton's voice echoed through her comm "Are you paying attention?"
"Yes, sorry, just getting my bearings," She replied, turning to look at her companion. He had no need for a thick suit to protect him from the icy vacuum of space, just a tether around his waist and a transparent mask over his face to grant him the ability to communicate through the comms. It was just another way she envied him, he could move so freely, the dusty layers of the cloud they were drifting through dancing against his skin and armor, turning him into a miniature galaxy.
"Come on, the clogged conduit's just up here," Ishton gestured and began to move along the hull, feet just barely brushing the metal plating, his wings stretched out to keep him balanced. Cassiopeia followed behind him, taking small bouncing steps to propel herself.
"Alright, here it is," he didn't need to tell her, she could see well enough herself, but she appreciated the fact he was looking out for her.
He knelt and wrenched off the cover of the conduit, sending out a puff of dust floating out into their faces.
"You know how to-?"
"Mm-hmm," she was on her knees and elbow deep in space dust before he was halfway finished talking "I've done this before, don't worry Ishton."
"Just making sure."
She smiled at the gentle reprimand in his voice, she knew no matter how much time passed he'd still try to mother her and get mildly offended when she reminded him she was a big girl now.
Even with the thick heavy gloves Cassiopeia's hands were much smaller than any one else's and within minutes she'd been able to clear away most of the obstructing dust.
"Hey guys," Serpens' voice crackled over the comms "Just a heads up we're going to clear the cloud in aproximatly thirty seconds, expect a minor increase in speed."
"Got it," Cassiopeia replied, brushing the last of the dust from the conduit filters "We're all done out here."
"Copy."
Ishton replaced the cover and with a nod in Cassiopeia's direction started back towards the airlock hatch. They'd made it half-way there when the cloud thinned away to nothing and Cassiopeia felt her feet leave the hull. Her tether went taught against her waist, pulling her back.
"Are you alright Cassiopeia?"
She didn't reply, the breath drained from her chest in a gasp.
"Cassiopeia? Cassiopeia?" Ishton turned back towards her, he too was hovering several feet above the hull "Are your comms working?"
"Y...yeah," she managed to whisper "Oh Ishton...."
"Oh, the Garden of Stars," there was a smile in his voice "Sometimes I forget you haven't even heard of these things."
She tried to answer him but choked on her own voice.
It seemed like all of the heavens had been sprawled out before her. It was a valley of universes spread out before her feet and she was standing on the cusp of the rise.
"You seeing this, Cassi?" Serpen's voice cracked over the comm.
"She is," Ishton replied when Cassiopeia made no sound "She is."
The light of ten trillion stars went on forever, glowing steadiliy in the pure emptiness, jewels in an enternal mine, never to be carved from their places, impossible to be possed, hung and held in a cradle woven for them alone. Nebulas like crushed ruby dust hovered, points of starlight sprinkled through, like exquisite diamonds stitched into an empressess headress. It all went on and on, a celestial garden of astral blooms. Vaughly she was aware of the tether around her waist as she strained against it, feeling a pull forwards, an urge to tumble headfirst into the stars.
She felt a touch on her shoulder and jolted out of her awe as Ishton slowly pulled her back down until her feet again rested on the hull.
"You can look more when we're back inside," he said "Come on."

[Ranger of the North]

jewels in an enternal mine, never to be carved from their places

I love it

[TheSongOfTheStars]

Thanks!! I was afraid was trying too hard.

[TheSongOfTheStars]

20. Honesty room
785 words
“I’m so sorry,” Aveth said it far too earnestly for Kwet’s comfort, his hand reaching out and squeezing
Kwet’s shoulder gently. It was supposed to be nice; it was supposed to be a gesture of support and solidarity. But it took every ounce of Kwet’s self-control not to shudder in disgust at sensation of Aveth’s fingers pressing against his skin.
“It doesn’t really matter anymore,” Kwet wanted to shrug, but there was the hand and it was heavy and it was right there and his whole body was trapped, rooted to the floor.
“It still bothers you doesn’t it?”
Kwet wanted to reply, but he wasn’t certain he couldn’t speak without screaming at Aveth, without flinging his hand away.
Aveth stepped back and drew his hand away and Kwet heaved a silent breath of relief as the sensation of creeping fingers faded away.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Kwet resettled his wings and straightened his shoulders, then tilted his head to look up at Aveth “I…I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t be bothering you with this.”
“Have you ever talked about this with anyone else?”
Kwet hadn’t, he hadn’t ever even considered it, but there was a note in Aveth’s voice that made him think that maybe if he had been someone else, if he had been 3 degrees closer to normal, he would have.
He should have.
He opened his mouth, he prepared to lie, because for reason it ached and grated him inside to be seen as any more unnatural, any more broken, by this stranger.
“You haven’t, have you?”
Before Kwet could spill the first falsehood Aveth had already seen through him.
“No,” Kwet felt his wings wilt of their own accord.
Aveth reached out again, but then seemed to think better of it, perhaps because Kwet had flinched away without thinking of it.
“Do you talk to anyone? At all? Ever?”
Kwet had another lie, but then let it shrivel because he wasn’t entirely certain he could fool Aveth.
When had he gotten close enough to someone that they cared enough to see through his lies? Not even the spoken ones or even the ones already told, Aveth already knew before he spoke them. Even Kwet’s silences betrayed him.
Aveth sighed, his own wings sinking with an emotion Kwet was too tentative to put a name to, too nervous to presume.
Too scared that he was wrong.
Aveth held his hand out, not reaching out to touch in the way that he had before, not in the way that others would have assumed was the right thing to do. He reached out and waited for Kwet to reach back.
Like a fool Kwet stared at the proffered hand, confused and uncertain, whatever it was that Aveth could pick up from a person’s quietness steadily evaded Kwet. If there was a subtext then it had glided on past him surely as most of the rest of life had.
“It’s getting dark,” Aveth said and Kwet felt instantly like an idiot. He was looking through a microscope again when all he needed to do was use his eyes “Let’s go back.”
Lips pressed into a thin line Kwet reached out and took Aveth’s hand and let the bigger Vive pull him into the air.
Flight had never been a joy to Kwet, it was never the freedom that other members of his race described it to be. It was an agonizing chore, that Kwet forced himself to preform over and over if only to grasp at the last straws to keep himself appearing a little more normal. It was horrifying and whenever he landed Kwet swore to himself he’d never leave the ground again, but there would always be a set of eyes on him and he’d be forced to take off again, to keep up appearances. But oh how he hated it, he never felt more alone than he was flying.
“Hey Kwet?” Aveth asked above the soft rush of night air.
“Yes?” Kwet tried to keep the tremble from his voice, he wasn’t sure his confidence could take even the small blow of knowing Aveth heard his voice crack.
“If you ever want to talk, I’m right here and you have my comm number, if for some reason I’m not.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t-“
“Please?”
Something inside Kwet melted a little.
“Okay.”
And maybe he hated flying, hated how alone it made him feel, hated how the ground was so small and he was so helpless.
But it wasn’t so horrible as he glided along with Aveth there.
Maybe it was just a trick.
Maybe it was a passing inanity.
Maybe it was because, if Kwet fell, he was positive Aveth would catch him.

[TheSongOfTheStars]

2. Collecting dreams
538 words
Going from the zero gravity of the shuttle to the Earth like pull of the station had Adayja shivering as her body tried to adjust itself. But the strangeness of the shift didn't distract Adayja for long.
The strangeness of the space station was much more distracting.
The ceiling vaulted high overhead and then entire space was wide open to accommodate the various shapes and sizes of the multitude of species that passed through it. And from judging by the cacophony and crowd it was no bigger than it ought to be.
Day found herself growing dizzy, either from the faster than light travel or from the sudden change in atmosphere or sheer glee she wasn't sure.
Gulping in the odd tasting air she stepped closer to the stream of strange people (she'd been told not to refer to them as aliens as that often translated as a slur in the many languages of the stars) and she was certain she'd be swept off her feet.
Her eyes couldn't grow wide enough to take it all in, her heart couldn't beat fast enough to keep up with her excitement and her mind could barely comprehend that this was real!
This was real! She had finally been freed from the bonds of mother Earth and was treading the same ground as feet that had touched the surfaces of a thousand different planets.
Slowly she turned, trying to grasp the vastness, both of the station and of her newfound situation in life.
She was among the stars, she was among those who had seen constellations that no eye on earth had conceived of.
"Human! Hey, human!"
Adayja was startled from her awe as a shadow spilled over her and she found herself staring up into the burning white eyes of a creature- a person- a race- she had only seen on the cramped screen of her television. Taller than her by three times over with skin metallic gray that glinted in the white light and wings that were folded up neatly like a great hunting bird's.
"Human you were supposed to stay with your group," their voice was clearer and sharper than any voice she'd heard on earth and she wanted nothing more than to stand rooted to the spot and listen to it, but the meanings of the words caught her quickly and she realized that the rest of the tour had moved along without so much as a glance back as she stood staring.
"Oh," the little word didn't carry about the sounds of the denizens of the stars going about their daily business, so Adayja said, a little louder "I'm sorry."
"Just keep up with them," the Vive said shortly, his wings flicking a little in irritation "I don't want to write up the reports if you loose yourself."
And with that he opened those massive wings as graceful as a dove and took off into the air, leaving Adayja to stare after him, mouth hanging open before she realized her group was moving ever and ever further away.
Breathless she hurried after them, distracted by every glinting thing and new stranger as she floated through what felt like every dream she had ever wished to have.

[Ranger of the North]

[a new character appears]

[TheSongOfTheStars]

Yes, I'm not sure what part she is going to play but she has appeared