Cherry Blossom Snow

Added Company

The Sualget themselves were a captivating sight, strolling gracefully through the streets. Tailored suits, flowing dresses, corsets, intricate lacework, ornamental buckles, high collars, delicate gloves, and top hats were common sights, often accented with vibrant colors and adorned with ribbons, beads, embroidery, and metallic trim, while ruffles embellished collars, cuffs, and hems. Luminescent fabrics, embedded light-emitting diodes, holographic details, mechanical trinkets, and extravagant glowing accessories created a feast for the eyes.

Upon their arrival at the planetary government building, Ruby, Henry, and Ur found that submitting their proposal meant first filling out thousands of pages of digital forms, something which Ur took care of in under a minute. After the submission was accepted, they then had to wait in a line for fourteen hours to have their proposal heard. Meanwhile, Ja and Io took Olivia and Schkalmfeld for a walk with them. They wandered around for a while before finding what they had been searching for, but they soon got bored. Ja left Io to supervise Olivia and Schkalmfeld to go his own way. Then, Io left them behind and went her own way. Olivia and Schkalmfeld were admiring the colorful auroras in the sky above when they realized they had been abandoned.

"I think they left us," said Olivia.

"Good riddance," Schkalmfeld signed.

"I understand the sentiment, since they were supposed to be watching us, but they were also the ones who knew their way around. Now we're lost."

"This is bad."

"We should try to get back to the ship. At least there we can count on someone coming back for us."

"I agree," Schkalmfeld signed. "I can't let myself be lost here. I promised my love that I would return to her."

"You don't mention her very much. Why is that?"

"The pain of being apart is intense, and it makes such discussion difficult. We both understood that I had an opportunity unlike anything our people had ever known, and I had to take it. Her place is with our people, though, a decision I respected. We intend to marry upon being reunited. No matter how long we are apart, my love for her remains as strong as ever."

"What's she like?" Olivia asked.

"She is the daughter of the leader of our people. She has the softest and thickest fur, which gives great warmth and comfort to her embrace. In addition to her unmatched drumming skill, she is the finest metalworker our people have, and she is also an excellent digger. She and I loved making tunnels through the snow to play and sneak around."

Olivia tried asking around for directions. It was rather difficult, largely due to the language barrier. After giving up on trying, Olivia realized that she had become separated from Schkalmfeld, and thus they both became even more lost. When at last Ja and Io met up again, they started to panic, realizing that they would be at fault if anything bad should happen. Ruby, Henry, and Ur, having had their request approved by the Senate, went looking around and by chance encountered Ja and Io.

"Weren't you supposed to stay on the ship?" asked Henry.

"We got bored, so we decided to go for a walk," said Ja. "We took Olivia and Schkalmfeld with us."

"Where are they now?" asked Ruby.

"Well, Io said that she would watch Olivia and Schkalmfeld if I went elsewhere, and I assumed she could handle it. Once we arrived at the Pesonkt War Memorial, I left to visit a nearby theatre where they were performing a musical about the life of Trakshmalav Zafquilyad."

"Right," said Io. "Then, I got bored, so I went somewhere else. I guess I forgot about them."

Ruby screamed. "Where the fuck is my baby?"