A trio of fractured moons hung above the glowing skies of the planet Millik, cracked apart by a century-old collision. Brown and Gray asteroids dotted the void around them like dead stars frozen in the air. Below, the city of Icridot bustled with excitement.
Sky Pannah was absolutely thrilled at the coming of Aether’s Fringe. It was a holiday where people could embrace their inner chaos, dress up in costumes and go out to large parties. There was fun for all ages throughout Icridot, but the best party was always held in the Vandruff mansion nestled high atop the hills that dotted the city’s edge. The humans had equated the Uvari people’s tradition to something they called “Halloween”, but Aether’s Fringe felt like so much more. It was a time to remember and honor those long passed, to accept the chaotic realities of one’s true self and day to day life, and to ultimately reflect on what the future could bring. Some even said that spirits of the future would stop by to entice partiers down particular paths. The idea was intoxicating.
Sky had searched all over the city to find the perfect dress for Vandruff’s masquerade-themed celebration. It was billowing and lacy, a vibrant white that accentuated the light blue color of her skin. Light glitter adorned her sleeveless arms, coalescing into the circuitry patterns that ran up her body, and her exorbitant silver mask melted into her long flowing hair of the same color. A cloud of sparkling dust rose off her with every step.
The mansion was already packed with other Uvari, the endless shades of blue skin making the crowd look like waves crashing around a turbulent sea. Sky forced her way through and up the crystalline steps of the mansion’s entry, stopping at a pair of ornately-etched obsidian doors. Warm yellow lamp light reflected off the doors and steps.
“We need to stop you right there, miss,” A heavily armored guard said with his hand raised. Another stood on the other side of the doorway.
The guards separated Sky with a group of other partygoers, scanning the chip in their necks. Sky was the last, tilting her neck to the right and pushing her hair backward as the guard ran his scanner across. A green light and a beep from the scanner marked its approval. The guard looked toward his partner on the other side of the crowd, nodded, and proceeded to swing one half of the doors open.
While the outside of the Vandruff mansion reflected traditional opulence and classical architecture, the inside was a direct showcase of modern Uvari tastes. Large technological pillars covered in glowing green circuitry ran along the sides of the main entry room. The enormous staircase ahead carried neon pink bands up and down its banisters. Giant orbs floated around in the air, flashing a rotating spectrum of colors and projecting lasers onto the floor below.
An enormous smile broke out over Sky’s face as she took the scene in. She moved to the side and glanced around at the thrashing collection of masked partygoers. Electric beats vibrated through her core. A dancer by heart and practice, Sky floated effortlessly into the middle of everyone. She swung her body and waved her arms to the pulsating rhythms as the people around her hooped and hollered. She felt free.
Sky felt a gaze locked onto her from across the room. She was used to the attention and genuinely thrived on it, but something felt different. She spun around, swinging her hair wildly as she attempted to look past the mob of dancing shadows around her. She felt a pull coming from the corner of the room, as if magnetized by some unseen force.
Her body moved through the crowd on its own, voices echoing distantly around her. As she neared the edge of the dancers, a sharp chill ran through her and her vision tunneled. The room began to stretch like a piece of taffy.
Sky felt a whisper caress her ear and turned her head to follow, greeted by a pair of striking hazel eyes standing in the shadows. Flecks of green splashed across them like small emeralds embedded in a pool of liquid gold. The chill within her turned into a burning fire.
Sky took a step toward the hypnotic gaze and felt her breathing get shallow. She had never felt this particular sensation before. It was like meeting a long-lost lover once again, someone that she had known and spent her whole life with. The presence felt familiar, yet somehow unknown.
Darkness parted as the owner of the eyes stepped forward to meet her. She wore a thin black dress with a slit running partway up the side. The cloth hung tightly to her narrow frame. Yellow gems adorned a necklace hung low around her neck and caught glimpses of colored light from the laser orbs above. A thin black mask with small golden flecks wrapped across her face.
Sky felt her words catch in her throat. She coughed awkwardly and shuddered in embarrassment. The stranger curtsied in front of Sky, extending her arms out gracefully. Elbow-length gloves flowed into her sunkissed bronze skin.
“I’m Ella,” The stranger said in a raspy voice, never breaking her gaze.
“Sky,” The Uvari responded with a curtsy of her own.
The two stood up, their actions temporarily mirrored. Ella smiled and a sharp tingle ran up Sky’s spine. She blushed, the red vibrant against her normal tone.
“What brings you here?” Sky asked calmly, heart pounding hard against her ribcage, “We don’t usually get a lot of -”
“Humans?” Ella interrupted with a smirk and raised eyebrow.
Sky cocked her head down in embarrassment.
“I guess when you say it like that, it sounds bad, right?”
“No,” Ella responded succinctly, “But is that why you keep staring at me so hard?”
The tingle in Sky’s back evolved into a full shudder. Her breathing intensified. Something about Ella set off every synapse in her mind, every reaction turned up to eleven. Goosebumps rippled across her body.
“It is getting a little drafty over here,” Ella teased, noticing the raised bumps on Sky’s skin. “Care for a dance?”
Ella’s gloved arm extended outward and Sky grabbed it without a second thought. She was pulled toward the dance floor in a whirl, dress expanding outward in a spinning ribbon of white fabric. Ella didn’t allow Sky to catch her breath, instead opting to pull her into a close waltz. The two twisted and stepped between the ever-shifting crowd around them, lost in the flow of the music. Ella led, but Sky followed every moment with precision and grace.
“I’m starting to think you can read my mind,” Ella said softly, calling attention to the palpable connection between them.
“Maybe,” Sky responded breathlessly, “but just to be sure, you should tell me what you’re thinking.”
Ella laughed and Sky’s heart skipped a beat. She began to feel a little more confident in herself. Her right hand slid from under Ella’s arm to her hip.
“I was thinking that your eyes are like crystalline pools,” Ella cooed, “But I’m sure that’s not what you had on your mind.”
Ella lifted Sky’s hand and spun her around three times. Sky flowed into each spin before turning the last into a full pirouette. She felt free. As she came out of her spin, the crowd continued to sway and melt around her. Ella was gone.
Sky looked around hectically at the party around her. She scanned every face and dress carefully, soul yearning to connect with her newfound human suitor. Her eyes rested atop the Vandruff mansion’s grand staircase. Ella stood silently, beckoning Sky upward with a curled finger.
Sky wasted no time moving through the crowd. The room started to stretch again, the voices of those around her turning into unintelligible babble. She ran up the stairs, hand caressing the glowing bannister, and found the top empty. A low humming from down the hall caught her attention. She turned and saw Ella’s figure pass across one of the mansion’s many stained glass windows.
Sky ran down the spinning hall after her, calling her name to no response. As she reached the end of the hallway, a bright white flashed across the window and filled her eyes. Thunder boomed across the empty air above the mansion. The music of the party had drifted into eerie silence.
Sky turned and saw a new pathway ran down to her left. Large brown doors emblazoned with black symbols stood closed on the other end. She began to walk down the hallway cautiously.
Thunder boomed again. The mansion walls shook from the force before settling again with a loud creak. Portraits of the Vandruff family lined the corridor, eyes locked onto Sky as she passed by each one.
The door swung open with a swooping gust as she approached it. Dim orange candle light flickered inside. Despite the odd situation, Sky didn’t feel any fear. In fact, it felt like the room was calling to her.
She warily passed through the doorway and studied the room. It was a large study spread across three separate floors. Armchairs and couches littered the bottom, a gathering space for what was most likely the Vandruff family’s social circle. On the right, a spiraling staircase made of red wood grew into the pillar that held up the second floor. Ella stood at the edge, gazing out an open window.
“It’s a beautiful sight,” Ella thought aloud as Sky made her way up the stairs, “I can’t imagine living here.”
She waved her hand across the sight in front of her. The cityscape expanded across the horizon, basking in a moonlit glow. Lights from other parties flared across the buildings of Icridot like explosive bubbles of color.
Sky settled next to Ella and looked out. A sense of sadness crept through her core . She looked down.
“It’s beautiful,” she agreed, “but not for everyone. There’s a lot here that people don’t see because they’re blinded by the outward beauty of everything.”
Ella turned her head and ran her hand under Sky’s chin, lifting her face. Their eyes met again.
“And what do you see when you look past the beauty?”
Sky took a moment to think about her response.
“I see the mistakes that we made. I see the cracked moons above, the chunks of planet carved out from our senseless wars. I see the way we overlay all our tech across it, hoping that a push for the future will make up for our past. I see the pain of my people, hidden beneath a layer of circuits and silver.”
Ella blinked slowly as she took Sky’s words in. She looked up at the moon, then the city and finally back to the Uvari in front of her. Her eyes traced the circuitry overlaid across Sky’s skin.
“You seem to have a lot of understanding,” Ella said as her fingers ran across the lines on Sky’s arms, “so what drives you? What are you searching for, Sky Pannah?”
Sky froze. It wasn’t the touch of Ella’s fingers or that the mysterious Human knew her full name, but that she had used that particular word.
Searching.
Wind whipped across the landscaping of the mansion. Sky reached up and ran her hand through Ella’s black pixie hair, untied the lace that held her mask up, and pulled it off completely. Ella lifted Sky’s mask in response. As the two stared at each other, taking in the full features of their faces, Sky felt truly seen for the first time.
“Love,” she whispered to Ella, “I’ve been searching for love.”
Ella ran her hands behind Sky’s back and pulled her closer.
“Love can take different forms, Sky. Sometimes you just need to know what you have around you,” Ella said.
“I have love, but not the type that I’m looking -”
“Searching.”
“ - Searching for.” Sky finished. She placed her hand on Ella’s cheek.
Sky pulled Ella toward her and the two embraced. Lips locked as passions blazed. The kiss was soft yet eager, fiery yet loving.
Ella broke the embrace, stepped back, and smiled. She took Sky’s mask and placed it on her own face.
“Something else to remember you by,” she said and tapped the side of the mask. Glitter fell and mixed with the breeze, carried across the yard and into the city. Ella’s eyes smoldered.
“Come find me, okay?”
Sky developed a puzzled look.
“What do you mean?” She asked anxiously.
The walls of the mansion began to close in and the wind outside whipped wildly. Clacks and clanks filled the room’s silent void. Lightning flashed across once more.
Ella was gone.
Sky panicked and looked around her. Fear rushed through her body and into her mind. Her breathing increased rapidly. She took a step forward but was caught by a buzzing feeling that quickly turned into dizziness. Another step turned into a tumble.
Fabric expanded into an elegant parachute as Sky dropped toward the bottom of the mansion grounds. Time slowed, leaves wrapped around her body as it made its final descent. Tree limbs shifted, intent on letting her fall. Fifteen feet from the ground. Ten. Five.
Sky jolted upward in her bunk, banging her head against the metal frame above and letting out a loud yelp. Diah Nollak snored lightly in the bunk above, unperturbed by Sky’s cry. Sky rubbed her now-swollen temple and rotated her neck until it popped. Her body had tightened in her sleep, muscles clenched as if braced for impact. She ran a finger across her lips.
Sky yearned for the feeling of Ella’s kiss once more. She could still smell Ella’s sweet scent in her nostrils and feel the shaggy spikes of her hair in her fingertips. Her heart raced. She looked at the screen across from her, the hum of the ship offering a comforting ambience. Aether’s Fringe had passed. She rolled over and looked out the viewing window to the stars around her. She fully believed in her heart that somewhere in Atania, Ella was waiting for her.
Sky was a Searcher: an Uvari exiled from home. While she hated the term, she knew what she had to do. Searching for love wasn’t enough anymore.
Sky would search for Ella.
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