daringred_
✧ stupid lesbian ✧
writing is usually my strong suite, but i don't like first-person asdfghjkl.
hope this fits the prompt!
hope this fits the prompt!
objective: collect stardust.
i have no clue what our expedition leaders want it for, let alone so much. maybe they want to study its properties, or perhaps it just has high value on the interstellar market? all i know is that the team who rakes in the most will be rewarded favorably for their efforts. so, i take to the surface of the planet we're currently on and begin searching the strange wilds for pockets of stardust.
a field of oddly-shaped flowers — the best word i have for them — soon proves to be a literal goldmine, their rubber-like petals shimmering with what i need, and i quickly crouch down to start brushing their dust into the small sack i was issued. it’s a slow and painstaking task. a dust-buster or something similar would probably speed things up, but at the risk of damaging this planet’s ecosystem, it's better i do things manually, gradually moving from plant to plant.
i must be on only my fifth, gloved fingertips sparkling slightly from my hard-work, when the flowers in front of me start to jostle, and just as i look up, something abruptly pokes out from beneath the undergrowth, making me jump. it almost looks like an earthen axolotl but not quite, a star-shaped mark imprinted on its forehead, and while it’s cute, with a friendly face, i know looks can be deceiving. who’s to say it can’t transform into some galactic eldritch horror, to punish me for farming stardust or simply being in its territory?
“uh. hello,” i try, but if the little creature, no bigger than a bearded dragon, understands me, it doesn’t react, and i'm left to stare anxiously into its eyes for several seconds before they close. suddenly, the star on its forehead starts to shine golden, and i don't know if that's a bad or good thing, mesmerized by its light until i notice the stardust all around me slowly rising up. it brightens the air with an enchanting glow, as if i were being surrounded by fireflies, and i look on in awe as the stardust dances towards me, swirling and shimmering its way into the still-open sack i have for collecting it.
it steadily fills more and more, until the contents are almost tumbling over the edge, and the remaining dust stills, hanging in the atmosphere for a moment longer before starting to float towards the ground. i watch until it settles, then look back towards the creature that had joined me, its wide eyes gazing up into mine again. “thank you?” i say, still not sure if it can decipher my words, and it blinks once, as if to wordlessly answer you’re welcome, then leaves just as suddenly as it arrived, disappearing under the flora’s cover, the petals rustling as it scurries away. in its absence, i glance down at my new surplus of stardust, shining even through the thick fabric.
... nobody’s going to believe how i got this.
i have no clue what our expedition leaders want it for, let alone so much. maybe they want to study its properties, or perhaps it just has high value on the interstellar market? all i know is that the team who rakes in the most will be rewarded favorably for their efforts. so, i take to the surface of the planet we're currently on and begin searching the strange wilds for pockets of stardust.
a field of oddly-shaped flowers — the best word i have for them — soon proves to be a literal goldmine, their rubber-like petals shimmering with what i need, and i quickly crouch down to start brushing their dust into the small sack i was issued. it’s a slow and painstaking task. a dust-buster or something similar would probably speed things up, but at the risk of damaging this planet’s ecosystem, it's better i do things manually, gradually moving from plant to plant.
i must be on only my fifth, gloved fingertips sparkling slightly from my hard-work, when the flowers in front of me start to jostle, and just as i look up, something abruptly pokes out from beneath the undergrowth, making me jump. it almost looks like an earthen axolotl but not quite, a star-shaped mark imprinted on its forehead, and while it’s cute, with a friendly face, i know looks can be deceiving. who’s to say it can’t transform into some galactic eldritch horror, to punish me for farming stardust or simply being in its territory?
“uh. hello,” i try, but if the little creature, no bigger than a bearded dragon, understands me, it doesn’t react, and i'm left to stare anxiously into its eyes for several seconds before they close. suddenly, the star on its forehead starts to shine golden, and i don't know if that's a bad or good thing, mesmerized by its light until i notice the stardust all around me slowly rising up. it brightens the air with an enchanting glow, as if i were being surrounded by fireflies, and i look on in awe as the stardust dances towards me, swirling and shimmering its way into the still-open sack i have for collecting it.
it steadily fills more and more, until the contents are almost tumbling over the edge, and the remaining dust stills, hanging in the atmosphere for a moment longer before starting to float towards the ground. i watch until it settles, then look back towards the creature that had joined me, its wide eyes gazing up into mine again. “thank you?” i say, still not sure if it can decipher my words, and it blinks once, as if to wordlessly answer you’re welcome, then leaves just as suddenly as it arrived, disappearing under the flora’s cover, the petals rustling as it scurries away. in its absence, i glance down at my new surplus of stardust, shining even through the thick fabric.
... nobody’s going to believe how i got this.
