Our Existence Is Scandal

✦3✦

I should've carried her.

Is what I thought as I watched her small feet pumping herself forward, trying their hardest to go faster. Even at her best, she wasn't moving quickly enough to get us away from the predator that was diving behind our heels. She could barely keep up with me.

Glancing back I could now see that the animal itself was blind with no other holes in its face but its a terrifyingly large mouth with a shocking number of teeth inside. I flinched as it opened its jaws once more to let out a horrifying shriek.

Not my favorite way to go.

From what could see, the one in control was the rider on its back who seemed to be as angry as their pet. I wondered what we could've possibly done to offend them, maybe we had trespassed on their camp?

Sue me for thinking it was abandoned, in my defense I didn't believe anyone could have been living that way.

Sensing the unusual noise of the beast coming out of the sand again I glanced back again only to notice that all that was behind me was its bruised tail that had not yet followed its head. My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to warn her but it was too late.

We are knocked to the ground once more by it and surprisingly faster than me Astra is on her feet again trying to escape and I almost follow her until she is thrown back into me causing us to both tumble back into the sand. The beast then continues to trap us in a little circle by rising from the ground and burrowing back into it around us until we are completely trapped by its moving flesh.

Once we have no place else to run it rises out from the sand once more and its rider jumps off, landing right in front of us. Their pet leans down and whilst facing us unhinges its jaw to roar in our faces whilst its owner stands in front of it unfazed.

Astra grabbed me tight and cowered behind me as the animal continued to screech hot hair at us until its rider-raised a single hand, silencing it. Walking up to us, Astra continues to tremble and hold me tighter as I avoid looking at the person, waiting for them to command their animal to devour us.

I am shocked however when they grab my face in one hand whilst using the other to dig the tips of their fingers into the wound above my eyebrow that could've been caused by either of my crash landings, I couldn't be bothered to remember.

I tried to flinch away from them as they dipped their nails past the dried blood the wound had already stopped bleeding uncaring that they were reopening it but they kept me in place until their fingers were coated in my blood. I shifted slightly remembering a little detail about my new friend behind me.

"I can smell your blood," She stated, only clutching me tighter.

"If you pass out I'll let it eat you first," I promised, keeping an eye on the person in front of me as they assessed the dark blue that now covered their hand. They rubbed their fingertips as if in awe before standing back up to their full height.

I took in a deep breath, preparing myself to get friendly with the stomach of their pet. Almost sure of it considering that even though it had no face I was sure it looked hungry but instead the rider reached up to tap the helmet on the side of their head and after the sound of metal rubbing together it fell apart on the sand in front of.

The multicolored feathers that sprouted from her hairline shook slightly as if changing position before relaxing flat on her hair. Her face relaxed but her narrowed eyes stayed trained on her bloody fingertips.

"You," Her voice was raspy as if not having used it for some time "You are not from this Solar system?" She asked, sounding more like a statement than a question.

I snorted "I am not from this galaxy."

Astra pinched me, making me shoot her a glare over my shoulder. "Do not provoke her, she's the one with the giant worm," She shivered, her eyes still trained on its flesh that still had us trapped.

"Deimos will bring no harm to you," The stranger replied, trying to look past my body to gaze at Astra "He eats only sand and the nutrients buried in the soil, flesh is of no interest to him," She assures, reaching up to caress the animal which leaned into her embrace.

Astra glances over my shoulder at it skeptically "You expect me to believe that something with that much teeth eats dirt? Do not speak to us as if we are fools."

Her pupils dilate at the hostility and she bares similar teeth to the animal behind her "He is a land-dwelling beast, completely peaceful," She defends.

I eye the body of the so-called- 'peaceful' creature "Then what was all..." I made a gesture in the air "That for?"

She continued to stroke Deimos "Intimidation."

I grumbled as I looked down at my further ripped and dirty clothes that were now not only slightly burnt from the harsh landing on Mars but now covered in little pieces of broken wood and stained by the dark sand. You could hardly tell the clothes were once grey and white. "Consider me intimidated."

She pulled her hand away from her pet and stared at me, taking in all my features silently before nodding "You are a far place from home Qinac," She told me honestly.

"I'd appreciate it if I knew how far," I suggested, standing up and watching how I slowly began to look down at her "Maybe a name of your planet, solar system perhaps as you do not have your sun, even your alien type would be helpful."

She tilted her head, the burnt orange feathers moving with her "You do not know what I am?"

"Where I am either," I added.

This seemed to greatly confuse her as her pale slightly yellow skin darkened with humiliation. "You have never met a Martian before?" She asked in disbelief. I was about to shake my head when Astra stepped out from behind me.

"You are a Martian?" She spoke nervously, her wide eyes sparking with panic "This is the planet Mars? Fourth from its star?"

The stranger looked her up and down with a raised eyebrow before turning to me "And what is she?"

I shrugged "Your guess is as good as mine."

She seemed displeased by my reply "You do not know where you are? What I am? Or who this companion of yours-" She eyed our joint arms "...Who you seem to be handcuffed to is?"

I sighed, reaching up to rub the space between my eyes "It's been a wild day for me too."

We continued to ignore a quiet but panicky Astra as she began taking nervous glances at the sky. "And it's about to end soon, the camp you found was one of my abandoned ones but I have another close by," She explained to us before making a clicking noise with her mouth. Responding to the command Deimos began to bow his head "We'll get there quicker if we ride-

"We can walk!" Astra cut in quickly, not completely convinced that such an animal wasn't built to kill. I agreed with her reluctance nodding my head.

"It looks like a saddle for one anyway," I commented eyeing the small seat that I assumed she would use. "No offense..." I glanced at her realizing she hadn't told us her name yet.

"My name would not be translated well by our devices, the closest word to its meaning would be Tempest, a storm in the flesh," She made a clicking sound with her mouth again and her beast retreated into the sand. "If you prefer to tire your bodies by walking I will respect your bad decision and we shall travel there by foot."

Now that I thought about it more I didn't feel fond of the idea of more walking "You do not have vehicles on this planet?"

"Deimos is my transportation."

Astra raised an eyebrow "So everyone on this planet has their Deimos?" She questioned before grumbling under her breath "I know traffic here is a pain."

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