Everglow: The Trials Of Agaron

34 - Sky Of Acid

Ko's droopy eyelids slowly fluttered open as she awoke from her rather comforting nap. The sides of her eyes were crusty and sore as she rubbed them gently. Her feeling of balance quickly restored, she looked around and noticed she was still lying on Quin's shoulder, the carcan's right arm wrapped around her. A feeling of safety warmed her heart as she rubbed her snout against Quin.

"He he, hey there sleepy," she chuckled as she looked down at the zapher with her bright green and purple eyes. She wiped away some of the tear streaks that were stained on Ko's cheek. 

"You gotta check this out," Quin piped up. She turned to face the window.

Ko blinked briefly before her eyes widened at the sight of what she could only assume was where they were headed. 

"Is t-that?"

"The Acid Nebula? Yup," Spatch's voice called from across the room. 

Ko turned to see him pouring a glass for himself from behind the bar at the back of the observation deck. 

"It's. . . incredible," Fischer stuttered, still sitting on the other side of the couch, his mouth wide open in astonishment.

The entire room was drowned by intense lime and yellow light the was being emitted by the nebula and the light reflecting from it. The whole cloud of gas was so big it took up the entirety of the window and the glass floor. Over a light year in every direction of dense yellow gas. It was like looking at a glass of water that had just had food colouring poured into it.

"Yup. Sure is. And we're flying straight through it. Yippee," Quin stated sarcastically. 

The thought of flying through trillions of kilometres of gas so dense that you can't see a hundred meters in front of you wasn't lost on any of them. But seeing a nebula up close like this wasn't something they got to experience often. If at all.

"This place is. . . amazing. . ." Fischer stated, lost for words.

Spatch smiled. "Well, nebulae are pretty damn cool. Problem is they're so hard to work in that they become more of a nuisance than anything-"

"No. Not just the nebula," Fischer interjected, "This. All of this is just. . . I-I don't even know how to describe it. To think I was stuck on Earth for twenty two years, having no idea about this. Any of this. Any of this amazing stuff. Any of this wonder, a-any of this. . ." he shook his head in disbelief, gazing out into the galaxy. It's wonders and secrets capturing him, dragging him forwards like a moth to the flame. But his thoughts jumped back to the one thing that kept him tethered to the ground. The one thing that kept him from falling into space and losing himself among a void of stars.

He turned around to look briefly at Ko. Her beautiful scales glistening in the light, her bright eyes reflecting the shapes of the nebula with surgical precision. The slight glimmer as the light danced around in her pupils.

"Any of this beauty," he finished, quickly looking away once he was done.

Ko couldn't help but notice his eye movements and the way he glanced over at her, a brief smile flashing on his face. A warm feeling emerged in her heart. 

Spatch unfolded his arms and chuckled, "Well, I guess it is pretty nice. Growing up around this place I guess I'm just used to it."

"You know, you never told us where abouts you came from," Quin stated.

"Well you never asked," he jested as he took a sip from his glass

The other three in the room turned to look at him, all with expressions of curiosity plastered on their faces.