It was a strange trade, or so you'd been told. A travelling astronomer, documenting the stars, the events in the sky. You were close to something big. Something game changing for the world of astronomy. You'd always had a pull to the world above, learning as much as you can, but the big pusher was 9 years ago, the discovery of a planet by the name of "Pluto". It had taken the whole world by storm, especially the astronomy community. Since that day, you'd been travelling, documenting your findings in the sky with your telescope and your journal that you held close to your heart.
Your focus at the moment were the stars. To be more specific, finding different types of stars. Your investigations had taken you to Europe, which under normal circumstances, you would avoid due to the war. You were on the cusp of finalising a new type of star, a massive star. You just needed the solid evidence here, then you could take your findings to be published.
The sun had begun to sink below the horizon, washing the sky in gorgeous hues of orange and pink, clashing with the warming tone of blue from the day. You watched as Sirius began to twinkle in the sky and had decided this field would be the best place to watch. Casting a glance at the abandoned keep in the near distance, you let out a soft exhale into the cooling air. "No one should be there, so I'm not breaking any laws." You mutter out loud, turning to your telescope and beginning to set it up in the field.
You watched as the sun slowly sank further and further below the mountains on the horizon, the sky growing redder and redder, and the wind chilling you as it blew against your small frame. "Red at night." You mutter the old proverb to yourself, smiling at the dissipating clouds as they seemed to pardon themselves for your research. You continued setting up your temporary camp for the next few nights, rolling out your sleeping bag on a softer part of the plain and then moving to set up your fire to cook.
Not long after you'd eaten, the fire began to be your only source of light, drowning out the soft luminosity of the stars and moon above you. It was time. Your stomach knotted in excitement. This would be your first big breakthrough, something that could change the understanding of the universe as everyone knew it. Who knows what kind of discoveries could come from the addition of this new type of star. You extinguished your fire, blinking as your eyes adjusted to the harsh change of light.
In about 2 minutes, the starlight was illuminating the ground below you. You made your way to your telescope and began pivoting it to the direction of the star. Hours passed, you'd been avidly writing notes on the star, adding to previous notes you had made. You were so close now. The light it emitted was so different to that of the sun, you wondered what qualities it had on life. The colour, the size. It was astonishing. Rough diagrams and notes were filling up the pages of your book, your mind scrambling for answers as you scribbled onto your book. The hours passed, and your body grew tired, thoughts becoming lazier and lazier. You sighed. Tomorrow you could gather more evidence. Closing your book slowly, you let out a yawn. The telescope would have to stay out tonight. Your feet dragged along the ground as you stumbled over to your sleeping bag, not bothering to change into more comfortable clothes, you slipped into the warm, plush fabric and dozed off into a deep sleep.
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The dull moonlight washed over the rolling hills surrounding the temporary hideout of the Pillar Men, painting the landscape in a soft cold hue of blue. Three tall, well built men stood high on the run down keep, scanning the landscape. The shortest of the three stands in the middle, seeming to be analysing the landscape the most with a serious expression. The other two rested behind him, awaiting his evaluation.
The shortest parts his lips slightly, catching onto a smell of smoke. His eyes immediately move to the general area of the smell, and low and behold there seemingly was a small campsite 2 or 3 kilometres from the keep. "My Masters," he begins, bringing the campsite to the attention of his superiors. The first one to react was the man with the nose ring. "Yes, Wamuu?" he asks, watching the man with intense eyes. Wamuu nods "There is a camp not far from here, it seems a human as wandered in unknowing of the dangers." His face remains serious and his tone stable. The man with the nose ring flashes a smile "Excellent. Lord Kars, what do you want to do?"
The final man, Kars, nods "Yes, I suppose some hunting will do us good." He says just loud enough for the two to hear.
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You stirred during the night, though not knowing why.
Rubbing your eyes, you took a glance at your watch under the soft moonlight. "Twenty past three..." You mutter, glancing up at the stars, eyes immediately falling onto your object of study for the past few weeks. A small feeling of pride kindled in the bottom of your stomach. That star was your discovery, your very own special kind of star. You let out a small yawn and smiled, burying yourself down into your sleeping bag once again and closing your eyes.
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Wamuu arrives at the camp ahead of his masters, looking around cautiously. The man with the nose ring spoke first "What strange contraptions humans have invented." He says, peering into the wrong end of the telescope. Kars looked down at him with an unreadable expression. The two taller men continued to search the site and its surrounds for the human. Kars spies a small leather book laying beside the strange sack on the floor, and reaches down to pick it up. The bag moves ever so slightly and he pauses, sharp violet eyes examining heat under the thick fabric. 'A female. Only 160 centimetres tall, and asleep.' He internally notes, watching the lump under the fabric. He moves again, swiftly scooping the book up from the ground, and studying the cover. There was no title on the cover, nor any inscription on the spine. Letting the curiosity get the better of him, he flipped the book open, revealing neat notes and diagrams of stars, planets and moons.
The more he read, the more he learned. Even the existence of more suns, different suns, bewildered him. Different effects? Intensities, heats, spectrums? This small human might prove useful in his journey to conquer the sun; she has valuable information that he would be a fool to let slip through his fingers. He gives a small smirk and returns to the book, absorbing the information frighteningly fast. He'd be sure to stay near the girl when she woke up, a conversation with her would bear some fruits.
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You woke up again. This had to be one of the worst sleeps you'd had. You sigh and poke your head out of the sleeping bag, checking your wrist watch under the moonlight again. "Quarter to four, ugh seriously?!" You whisper to yourself angrily. You squirm out of your sleeping bag and turn to your journal. Your heart dropped.
It was gone.
"Oh no." you murmured anxiously, lifting your sleeping bag and shaking it, scanning the floor where you slept. "No, no, please!" your voice was escalating, becoming more desperate. You got up to check your telescope, but froze in your tracks.
There was a man there. Barely clothed, and hair hidden away under a tight, black headwrap, but most importantly, he was reading from your precious journal. You opened your mouth to speak, but fount yourself too stunned to even produce a noise. The man lifts his head to look at you. Your heart skipped a beat. He was stunning, especially under the moonlight.
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The girl caught him off guard, causing his breath to hitch in his throat. There was something about her already. Just her face was appealing to him. Ridiculous, a human? Making him feel such a way. Not even the finest Pillar Woman could make him feel that way.
Then how does he find himself standing here now, at a loss for words?
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"Is that my journal..?" you murmur softly, still stunned and slightly panicked.
The man nods "The contents interest me." is all he says. He took you aback slightly, his fluent English. His voice was deep and very assertive. The tone in which he spoke sounded like he was used to being above people.
It suddenly dawns on you why he could be here. An image flashes in your mind of the abandoned keep you saw in the distance, dread talking place of the subsiding panic. "Good lord, I deeply apologise for trespassing." you blurt out to the man, who seemed to watch you with a gaze you couldn't distinguish any emotion from.
The man ignores you "Explain this to me." he says, pointing to some of your notes. For a moment, you hesitate, unsure of whether you should give away your hard earned research. Nonsense, you don't even know what he's asking yet. "O-oh, of course." You mutter, moving closer to him cautiously. His gaze was unbreaking, even predatory as he watched you shuffle closer to him to read the notes. You look down at your book. "Oh, that's a yellow dwarf star." you begin, then adding "Like our own sun."
He says nothing, but you get the feeling he is listening, so you continue speaking. "It's a relatively small star, well I think. Not much study has come out about stars just yet, but I'm hypothesising larger, much larger stars in our universe." you explain "Hence why I've dubbed this a 'Yellow dwarf'".
You look at him to confirm his understanding, but his gaze is unchanging. Though, in his eyes, there was a certain shine in it. You couldn't pinpoint what it was, but at last he brings his gaze up to meet yours, the soft starlight casting sharp shadows across his long face. "I'd like to know more about your research," He says suddenly, standing up to tower over you. It was only now you'd fully understood how inhumanly muscular he was, and how little he was wearing. You take a step back to meet his gaze properly. "You want to know more..?" you ask distantly, mesmerised by his face.
He nods, breaking his gaze to look into the distance. The sun would rise soon. "I can offer you shelter, whether you choose to accept it is up to you." he simply says, turning to extend a hand to you. His hands were incredibly large and calloused. You slowly extend your hand to meet his, accepting his offer without a word. The man gives you a smirk, the first bit of emotion you'd recognised on his face since you'd met him.
"My only request is that you lend me your knowledge of the stars."