Our Existence Is Scandal

✦5✦

I was woken up by Astra ripping off sheets from my body, I'd barely begun to open my eyes when she then grabbed me by my shirt and forced me upright. "I knew there was something off about you!" I was still blinking the sunlight out of my eyes as she continued to drag me to my feet wobbled causing me to stumble into her back, making her shoot me a fierce glare "Stars. Sol wake up! We're leaving."

I reached up to rub the sleep out of my eyes "Before breakfast?"

"We won't eat with a liar," She hissed at me before turning her head to face an unbothered Tempest whom I had just noticed. She stood by the entrance of her tent with her arms folded across her body, feathers up in a defensive manner but remained calm despite Astra making it difficult for her. "I knew there was something off about your little, 'alone on this planet', it's all bullshit!"

Tempest rolled her eyes "If you just calm down I can explain to you what you saw."

"Explain what? I think I have a pretty good idea of what's going on here and don't even try to feed me some more lies because I know what I saw!" Astra pointed at her accusingly before turning her finger in the direction of the hole in the tent she'd spent the night looking out of. "We're not alone here!" This time she was looking at me.

I followed the direction of her finger to the break in the tent that revealed the same sand we were walking through the day before. I glanced back at Astra and I think she could see the confusion on my face because she huffed "They're gone now but they were right there!"

She turned back to Tempest who looked as done with it as I was. "I know what I saw, they had the same suit she is wearing, they were like two of them."

"Astra," Tempest tried to cut in but was silenced by Astra put her hand up.

"They were right there Sol, I just saw them," She began to point outside of the tent once more "At first I thought they appeared from nowhere but that didn't make sense, none of this- nothing on this planet is making sense! Especially not her little story, trust me if Mars were empty I would know! But it's not, it never was!" She ran a hand through her hair and let out a dry laugh "They're here, we just can't see them because you live in that mirror thingy, I was wondering why the sand only seemed to be colliding with something but I just couldn't see what it was until that door opened up-

"Door?" I cut in, my eyes widening "You saw a door out there?"

"Yes!" She told me, jumping on the balls of her feet slightly "It opened up this morning right before the sun rose, out of completely nowhere! And then people- her people! Walked right out of it."

It took me a second to absorb all the things she'd told me, along with the contrasts to what Tempest had said before she stormed off. Turning to the feathered girl in the corner, what I didn't expect was her eyes to already be on me. They were narrowed and accusing like I was the one who'd just screamed at her.

"She's the liar," She spoke softly, her eyes still on me "Why are you lying to her?" She asked me.

I frowned and opened my mouth to answer when Astra jumped to my defense. "No don't turn this on her, own up to what you said," Astra demanded, "Is this some sort of joke? Is this how your people welcome others to your planet?"

"I don't know why she's pretending she doesn't know what's going on like she doesn't know what happened!" It was now Tempest's turn to raise her voice, her attention still on me "It was broadcasted everywhere, we sent a signal everywhere, so-" Her voice cracked "It's either you're a shitty actress or you have no idea."

I put my hands up "Look, I'd love to tell you that I'm just messing with you to get a laugh but unfortunately for you," I gestured around us "I don't have the slightest idea what's going on right now."

This made her confidence waver and her bottom lip wobbled "What?" This seemed more like a question for herself "But we sent signals, we called everyone- anyone who we thought we'd answer," Her eyes searched mine, seeming to be looking for an indication that I was lying "We asked for armies, any soldiers you could provide, we begged for even your worst weapons-

"Weapons to fight what?" Astra blurted.

Tempest ignored her "In our last hours we turned to the galaxy for help and the stars were quiet," He fists clenched "My people, my planet, reduced to dust and planets who could've lifted a finger to help us? Watched."

I looked her up and down, feeling defensive at her accusations "Look Tempest, I don't know what you think I know and quite frankly I don't care what you think I've done," I told her honestly "Believe whatever helps your feathers stay fluffy but for you to stand there and talk to me as if I ignored your planets cries for help is laughable because look," I held up Astra and I's hand, showing her the silver cuffs "Handcuffs, you know what they are right? So you would also be happy to know that I've been in prison for a bit a second, you hear that? Behind bars. No outside contact to anywhere, certainly not to your planet."

"This is the first time I have been free in years," This made Astra's eyes widen "So no I didn't turn my back on your people when they needed people to fight, Stars, I don't even know who they are fighting."

"Fought," She corrected me in a softer tone, her voice still trembling "Who we fought? The battle happened a long time ago, if you can even call it that," She chuckled dryly "Genocide is more the word I should use because that's what it was, one day we were here and the next all of us...just gone," Her eyes found Astra whose jaw was almost touching the ground "So no, curly, I didn't lie, I am never going to see my people again but I guess there's just no easy way of saying why."

"B-but," Astra shook her head as if she didn't believe it "The people in the suits outside, I saw them," Her head snapped back to look at me, her eyes shining with 'believe me' in them as if she thought I would call her a liar "They were right there I promise."

Tempest ran a hand over her face and nodded "You're not crazy, you did see those people."

I tilted my head "Safe to assume those are the victors of the war then?"

Her eyes narrowed at my choice of words "Fancy way of saying murders," She sniffed, "I stole their suits to blend in more when I go out hunting," She explained her attire "I think the sand irritates them or something like that."

"You seem to know them personally," Astra observed out loud "Might be a stupid question but have you met one?"

"Seen? Yes but met not exactly, I was young when they took over and grew up under their rule. All I know is a bit of what I was told before they became so hostile and after that...well there isn't much time for conversation when people are cutting you open and sowing you back up," She sighed, "They call themselves humans."

*+:｡.｡　　｡.｡:+*