STrange Worlds

WRITING PROMPT: Your character’s day has been filled with the strangest things you can imagine. Describe the events.

“Behind you!” 

Jane levitated in a flash, spinning in a full circle. As she turned, the magic flew from her hands in small beams of light just in time to hit her attacker. The blue bug-like creature exploded into dust. Another of the giant bugs ran towards her. Two more beams flew from her palms. The enemy was further away from her this time. Once released, the light swirled across the space between them towards the target, self guided by Star  Radar. It only took a few seconds for another cloud of blue dust to appear. 

Jane looked at her trainee, still struggling with his combatant. He didn’t have beams of light. His powers hadn’t been approved yet. He was still fighting hand to hand. 

She watched, not intervening. “Come on Kyle, hurry up. Kill your guy so we can get something to eat. I’m starving.”

“I’m working on it,” Kyle grunted back as he took a kick to the shoulder. He reeled back and head butted the giant bug. The creature was stunned by the hit, and Kyle took the opportunity to twist its neck. It dropped to the ground. 

Jane leaned against the wall. “No dust. It’s not dead.” 

“Take care of it for me, will you? So much less gruesome to use light than the sword.” 

Jane sighed and stood. She lifted her palms and summoned the energy. They lit with a soft, humming glow. It rose as an aura around her hands. She took aim at her victim. Another blue cloud exploded around the crumpled form on the ground in front of them.

“Not great, Kyle. Pretty messy.” 

“The dust looks thicker than it is, and I don’t think we have to get it cleaned up. No one comes out to this part of the countryside.” 

“No, not the dust. Your technique was messy.” 

Kyle dropped his head a little, and Jane smiled almost imperceptibly at his sincerity.

“It’s alright. I’ve seen worse,” she continued, “But I’ve also seen stranger. You can’t let their appearance affect you.” 

His eyes glanced up sheepishly. “You noticed?” 

“A little.” She paused, then thought she’d toss him a bone, “Don’t worry, it’s normal. I still get a little nauseated at the smells. The bodies don’t surprise me, but I’ll never get used to the smell.” 

Kyle’s shoulders softened. 

A deeper voice spoke from behind them, “Pro tip, a little lavender around the nostrils and behind your ears helps you from smelling us.” 

They turned and saw a buzzing and glitching image begin to stabilize in from of them. A massive, hulking man teleporting in from the ether. He was covered in small shining horns. A thick shell was holstered on top of his shoulders, and he carried a small rifle and three knives on his hip. Those were the only weapons visible, but there were certainly more. 

“Come on Joyhanson. You know I wasn’t talking about you. You’re one of us. And you know I meant the – ” 

“When you start to judge one race, you judge us all.” He leaned towards Kyle and whispered, “But the lavender is still a pretty good trick on some missions.”

Joyhanson winked and walked towards the still lingering clouds of dust. The fields of Allvelville were expansive, wild with flora. Colors that didn’t even have names on Earth glittered in the shine of two suns. The skies were a brilliant gold. Not like the blinding white sunshine on Earth, or even the gorgeous orange and red and yellow streaks of the sunset. This was gold. Pure gold. A mixture of increased carbon dioxide and the excess minerals from the meteorites that crashed every couple of days. The planet was too large for the impact to matter much to the overall atmosphere, but the visual effect was stunning. 

“I always forget how beautiful this place is.” He breathed in slowly and continued, “The dust will blow away on its own. Let’s go. We have a call to Explique. Just came through.” 

“Alright, Kyle,” said Jane. “Time for you to get a taste of the bureaucracy. The business side of things is just as strange as the rest of it. Remember the nets that we found that had the 2,000 year old hatching Minserals? The cacoons that exploded in goo all over you?” 

Kyle rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, just a little bit.” 

“Well that’s nothing compared to council, kid. Get ready to have your mind blown.”