▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣ Hey everyone! This is my entry for the writing contest! Please let me know what you think! @ProArmadillo ▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣ ⭐ ~-~SCROLL FOR STORY:~-~ ⭐ Soft, pale grass covered the flat rocky peak of the clifftop. There had been a huge tree on top once, stretching its enormous branches out over the marbled stone, silhouetted against the fire of the suns like a big wooden cobweb. But it had been the victim of the landslides which were becoming increasingly common around the Redlands, as the vibrations of the northern city factories drummed into the planet. The soft pale grass that covered the cliff was a beautiful detail, as such species were rare now in redlands, but they utterly failed to capture the attention of Moth. Moth was standing on the cliff and looking up. The sky was lit with the fire of the two suns, eclipsed faintly by the blotchy black spots of the flare harvesters that powered the city. But beyond the suns was the sky itself, bright and gold and beautiful. The soft pale grass was feeling a bit jealous. Moth stared into the inky black-gold sky. To an observer, it seemed she was looking for something. But to the observer, it also seemed incredibly boring. What, after all, was to be gained from that far away? Not much happened. A few birds sailed past. The crickets tried in vain to drown out the electric hum of the city below. A flare harvester melted and collapsed into the left sun, and was replaced automatically. The wind blew leaves into Moth's hair and she shivered. It was starting to get dark and cold, and even the soft pale grasses had given up trying to get her attention and were just scowling at each other. She guessed it was probably too late, and she reached for her climbing torch to beam herself back down. As she turned her back, there was a sound like the tinkling of coins in the pocket of someone who had forgotten where they put them. She whipped her head around, and was met by a huge steel beam. “Siskin Ca!” she hissed as she leapt out of the way. Some idiot had almost landed their ship on top of her, only just brushing the tip of the climbing torch she clutched to her chest. There were many shuttles like this one and a landing was not a rare sight. But it had just parked itself right where she had been sitting without any regard for her safety, or even so much as a warning- rude! The ship was actually a rather good one- a bit flashy, but it looked pretty expensive. But its owners didn’t seem to care; it was covered in layers of moon dust and dented from asteroid-gravel on every inch of its battered silver coat. Someone had splattered paint in a really horrible shade of vibrant yellow all over one side, and she couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be intentional. But underneath all that the ship’s engine hummed smoothly and its leg-claws landed it with such precision that it could only have been one of the best models- maybe a StarboardX, or even a Mercurion Maddelio. Moth didn’t care how expensive the ship looked. Whoever this guy was, they had no right to land on the cliff during curfew. She dusted herself and stepped back. Then the UnderGate opened and a figure stepped out. He was tall, skinny and he glowed. The glow was not from any kind of magic or some law of physics taking a day off, it came from the electric blue rings he wore all over his body- all along his arm, fingers, and waist. He was dressed in the latest galactic fashion trend; a tight yellow cloak that met his shoes and matching yellow jeans. He wasn’t wearing it well though. It hung loosely around the sides, as if it was designed for someone even taller and skinnier than him. ▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣∎▣ ~-~Continued in the notes and credits!~-~
START FROM THE INSTRUCTIONS He had a lot of orange-red hair that had been slicked back in a way that made him look like he had been covered in a lot of sticky honey and hadn’t yet noticed. He also had a stupidly big grin on his face as he casually slid down onto the soft, pale grass of the clifftop. Moth scowled and stepped over to him. “Just what do you think you’re-” she started to yell at him, but he interrupted. The yellow-coated figure grinned, flashing his teeth but keeping his mouth firmly shut. His shiny white teeth were illuminated by a false one- one of his teeth glowed as brightly blue as the bands on his arms. He stared right at Moth, and spoke, still smiling. “Nice to meet you mate! I’d tell you my name, but I’d rather ask yours! Who are you?” Moth blinked. “Wha-” was as far she got before he interrupted her again. “Oh yeah, sorry about that.” “I hit your cliff”, He added, in case she didn’t know what he meant.” Moth scowled at him again. “What was that for! You could’ve landed on top of me! And you’re not allowed to park here, its a grade-3 curfew zone, the council will be furious-” “Whoa whoa, come down!” He grinned, and his eyes darted for a second down to the soft pale grass on the ground, which immediately started clambering for more attention. “No one was hurt, so it’s all fine, right?” “No it's not ‘all fine’!” she snapped back. “You only just missed me, and did you hear what I said? I said this is a grade-3-” “Curfew zone, yeah.” The guy was starting to look bored, although his smile didn’t waver for an instant. The grass gave up and kept sulking. “You know, last time I was here…” “Yes, it's a curfew zone, and for breaking curfew in a ship like this is really going to- what did you say?” Moth blinked. “You’ve been here… before?” “Yeah.” “But-” “There was a tree here last time.” He looked around, as if hoping it would appear from behind a rock. There was a pause. “I don’t suppose you’ve still got the tree?” There was another pause. “Screw it, see ya!” he started to head back to his ship. Moth stared at him. Then she opened her mouth. “Wait!” He turned. “What’s it like?” she asked him. “What do you mean?” he tilted his head and his hair flopped into his face. Moth wasn’t really sure either. But she tried anyway. “Space. Stars. You know.” she gestured randomly. “Other planets and stuff.” The guy blinked at her and his smile dropped a fraction. “You’ve… never been to space?” Moth shook her head. She couldn’t even afford to live in the city, let alone buy her own ship. This guy obviously took it for granted that space travel was something everyone had- and by the looks of it, where he came from everyone probably could. But although she had always longed to see another world, or an asteroid, or even the moon for goodness sake, Moth knew there was never any chance she could ever get the money for a trip like that- even a small journey. So of course, all her life she had desperately wanted the only thing she couldn’t get. To be an explorer like her grandfather would have been awesome, and she had always dreamed of discovering a new revolutionary planet or something. Moth had at some point realised that most of the galaxy had already been explored so there wasn’t really much need for an adventurer really, but she had never lost her dream to see the world. She had even applied to be a flare harvest engineer so she could work up at one of the suns, but she stopped that when she realised she would have to stay away from her family for months at a time. They both stood there for a while. The stranger seemed to be surprised and had finally stopped smiling. He glanced up at the space where the tree used to be; remembering how the spider web-canopy of the branches had looked when he had sat there last time. He remembered the cute guy he’d been sitting with too, when they watched those weird birds together as they lay in the soft, pale grass. Well, If dreams could be broken here, he decided, they could be just as easily made. And he really did have to leave before they picked up that he had broken the curfew. He stretched out his hand reluctantly to Moth, his mouth twitching in a smaller, more genuine smile. “Do you… want to see for yourself?” He asked. The next day, a bird speckled with strange black feathers that glinted like scales on its silver coat dropped a twig onto the soft, pale grass that covered the cliff.
