DANDELiON_03

"Solar_Sailor"

Taeyeon stared at the woman. She couldn't help it. This was the first time in her life that she'd seen someone like that.

The woman's flawless, pale skin seemed ghostly and almost transparent, especially with how incredibly red and voluptuous her lips were. Her damp, long, black hair clung onto her skin, still dripping from the fluid she slept in. Her body was of a healthy weight, but her muscles weren't as well-toned as Taeyeon's were. Still, there was no denying her sharp, attractive, almost perfect image.

She tried hard to maintain the eye contact, but her uncomfortable embarrassment was partly due to the fact that the woman was .

Did she know she was ? The warrior thought. It had been sunny and nice outside, but down here, hugged by cold, lifeless material, the air carried an icy, unsettling feeling.

Taeyeon couldn't find the energy to move except that she was shaking uncontrollably.

"Who..." The woman started off strongly. A wave of nausea flooded her head. Memories came stabbing, grinding itself into her existence. Lightheaded and incredibly dazed, she tried to reach for something to support her. When her hands grabbed nothing but air, she collapsed onto the ground, muttering a couple words before going unconscious again.

The moment she fell onto the floor, Taeyeon found the strength to control herself. "H-Hey! Are you okay?" A battle began inside her; a huge chunk of her body screaming to leave, but there was a tiny, hopeful voice crawling from the ends of her consciousness. I should help her. It said.

Taeyeon was at a loss, but she knew better than to leave an unguarded female alone.

X X X

Carrying her back to camp was no easy task. Whatever liquid she awoken from made it difficult for Taeyeon to properly grasp her. It coagulated into chunks of jelly, sticking itself to her fur clothing. It was near impossible to clean her clothes now.

Propping the woman up against a tree, she ripped off her own shirt and placed it over her chest. Then, she made a little trip across the field to gather palm fronds, enough to make a makeshift bedroll and to cover the rest of the woman's body comfortably. She only had one skirt, after all.

"There's so much to do..." The warrior muttered, keeping an eye on the unconscious girl sleeping under the shade. "..What did I expect coming here alone? Was that the star that fell years ago? Who..and what the hell is she?"

For now, Taeyeon was confident that the woman wouldn't do her any harm. She'd forgotten in the midst of the frightening moment that she was a hefty, fine warrior that'd defeated many animals in the past.

Still, it was her lack of knowledge that made her so scared.

She busied herself with chores -- tending to the fire, gathering food, unpacking, and settling down. After some thinking, she decided she would stay in the area for a while, hoping to decode and try to bring back evidence of this unworldly situation. By the time the orange sky melted into a chilly, purple night, Taeyeon had finished most of her day's work.

Throwing some more wood into the fire, she used the burning light to help herself craft in the dark. Occasionally, she'd throw fugitive glances at the woman, afraid at one point she'd randomly disappear.

While she waited for her to wake up, she was busy mending together plant fibers into a quick dress. It wouldn't do much for protection, but she figured it was better than being completely . Unfortunately, she didn't have too much leather to work with. She'd have to do some hunting tomorrow, the warrior thought quietly.

Thankfully, she found her dagger on the same night. The fox must have dropped it at some point. Using one of her long spears, she spent a short time hunting for meat. As far as she knew, there were no villages around the area, making the wildlife population widely abundant.

When she returned, the first thing she realized was that the woman was no longer under the tree sleeping.

Curled into tight position, she was standing by the fire practically hugging it for warmth. Taeyeon's fear slowly began to boil again, but she felt confident and powerful with her spear tight in her hand.

"...Hello." Taeyeon's voice felt out of place. The woman shivered and quickly turned her head. She jumped back and stood on her feet, glaring hard.

"I won't hurt you." She said, slowly this time. There was no response, so she tried to mouth her words, wondering if she was deaf. Then, she began to gesture instead.

The woman said something back, but there was no doubt that they couldn't understand each other. The words that escaped her lips were crispier and flowed more quickly. Understanding that talking was going no where, she held up the rabbit that she'd recently hunt. "Hungry?" She asked.

She looked at the rabbit, and then the spear. It clicked in Taeyeon's head that she must have looked intimidating with the weapon in her hand. Carefully, she placed the spear on the ground, lifting her hands up to show that they were empty. Then, she pointed at the rabbit, then at her stomach, making a low growl to simulate hunger.

The woman took a long time to reply, but nodded a few seconds, patting her stomach. Taeyeon took wary steps forward, her hand extended for a handshake the entire time. At first, the dark-haired beauty thought about running, but when she took a moment to realize her position, she didn't think the girl was any threat.

She looked down on her clothes, completely unfamiliar and incredibly primitive to her taste. When she'd awoken, she was even on a layer of plants. The girl was taking care of her, without a doubt, and although she was still confused and frustrated, she understood that she had no means of taking herself in this unknown world.

She'd need the warrior's help, whether she liked it or not.

Taeyeon closed the distance between them, her hand extended firmly in front of the woman. Tiffany looked at it strangely but reached out to accept it anyway. She squeezed the primal girl's hands gently and shook it up and down.

X X X

As they waited for the stew to continue cooking, Taeyeon offered her some tea to drink. Everything the girl offered her was examined by the astronaut. Clay pots, her weapons, and even the plants she carried around. Taeyeon didn't seem to mind how curious the girl was and even gave her one of her smaller knives to play around with.

The astronaut took her time appreciating the intense amount of detail the knife had carved into it's handle. She asked out loud some questions, to which Taeyeon merely stared back in confusion.

"So we don't understand each other.." She nods, trying to pull up memories of herself. The warrior spoke back in her language, asking what the astronaut's name was.

She passed the knife over, looking at Taeyeon's gestures.

The warrior points a finger at herself, repeating her name slowly. Pointing at the warrior, she copies the word. "Taeyeon?"

Excited that she got her point across, she nods and claps. "Taeyeon. I'm Taeyeon, and you?"

The woman points the finger back at herself. "Tiffany."

"Tiffany.." She had a difficult time pronouncing it, the sounds rolling off her tongue uncomfortably. But now she knew the woman's name. It was a small step in their complicated situation. Taeyeon pulled out two wooden bowls and a hollow bone she used as a spoon. Filling up one dish, she handed it to Tiffany, tapping and blowing on the top to indicate that it was hot.

It didn't look appetizing. By no means were any of the meat and other vegetables inside something Tiffany recognized. The broth itself was thick, cubes of cut rabbit meat resting itself in the bowl. There were chopped red chunks of a vegetable mixed in with it, one of the items she couldn't identify. She watched as Taeyeon rummage through her bag, picking out small, sharp, green leaves before crushing it in her palm. She sprinkled it over the bowl, then slid another spoon inside for Tiffany to use.

Her nervousness was drowned out by the intense roaring of her hungry stomach. She scooped up a small amount and forced herself to eat.

The taste was new to Tiffany, but surprisingly, something she found herself enjoying the meal. Whatever Taeyeon had sprinkled on top helped amplify the flavor. The meat was juicy and tender, the broth was deliciously savory. She looked up and smiled at the warrior.

Taeyeon smiled back, glad that they understood each other through facial expressions and gestures.

After they finished their meal, the two relaxed in each other's presence. Sure, there was no proper way of communicating. Taeyeon said words, Tiffany said words, and they both just looked at each other in confusion. But there was a small connection of trust that sparked between them.

Taeyeon stood up and gestured for Tiffany to follow. She lifts her hand up, pretending she had a cup as she attempted to indicate 'water'. Then she waved her hand around her face, patting and wiping it. She was trying to portray and communicate for the girl to follow her to the river so they could drink and wash up.

She sensed that she understood when Tiffany trailed behind her.

It felt strange to know that she wasn't alone again. She'd spent most of her life living outside of the village with very few visitors, often times forgetting what her own voice sounded like. When they reached the riverbank, Taeyeon began taking off her clothes as she normally did.

"Ah..uhm.." A shy voice murmured behind her. She turned back, looking at Tiffany's pink cheeks. Was she uncomfortable with ? It was normal back in their village to take group baths together. Taeyeon gently ushered her to the water, cupping her hands and reaching out to drink. Tiffany did the same.

So the water is clean and drinkable. Tiffany made a mental note. The grounds are fertile, the air is breathable. There's fire, which means there's enough oxygen in this world...there's a sun and moon, making it almost identical to earth's day and night system. But..

Taeyeon's back was exposed, deep scars showing evidence on her strength. Tiffany looked at them with wonder and respect. Undoubtedly, she was human. They may not have the same language, culture, or mindset, but how she moved, thought, and operated herself was more-or-less the same. But this wasn't Earth. It couldn't be. This wasn't her home. She wasn't sure where her memories came from, but she understood her history.

A stranger in the world, she had no other choice but to rely on the warrior who found her. Step one..

Tiffany pointed at the water and made a sound. Taeyeon could sense she was asking a question with the way her eyes furrowed. "What do you want?" She asked out loud. "You can drink some.."

The astronaut shook her head and pointed again. She repeated the known words between them. "Taeyeon. Tiffany -- she aggressively points at the river -- what?"

"The..river?"

"ree..ver?" Tiffany tried to copy, her tongue trying to grasp the difficult language. Taeyeon was beginning to understand. She wanted to know the words! "River. It's called the river."

"River.."

"Yes!" Taeyeon smiled, hoping their expressions were universal and the same. The tension was gone and Tiffany was excited. Looking around hastily, she picked up a stone. "What this?"

"That's a stone."

"Stone."

Taeyeon nodded. "Or rock."

"..Rock..River..Stone.." Taking her time to properly pronounce all the words, Taeyeon realized how quick of a learner she was.

The two bathed in the cold river before quickly rushing back to camp where they sat by the fire to dry out. Now that she was conscious and awake, Tiffany clothed herself properly. The plant fiber clothing made her itch. As she sat by the heat feeling her skin dry out, she yearned for lotion or any ointment to aid her. Thankfully the fire kept the bugs and other bothersome animals away for the night.

"I know you can't understand me." Taeyeon said tentatively. "But I hope you do one day. But for now, thank you trusting me. I don't know who you are..or what you're doing here..but I want you to stick around until we figure out our questions together." She pulled out a daisy from her bag and handed it over. Tiffany looked at it gently, twirling the root between her fingers. 

When she turned her head to speak, she realized the warrior had already gone to bed. Unsure of what to do, she merely slid back into her own little nest, staring at the sky above.

Stars. To think that they'd be so far away now. She had come up there, she was certain, mainly because she didn't feel apart of this world.

But what happened to the rest of her people? She didn't remember much. She knew who she was, small remnants of living memories would occasionally pass by, but none of them meant much.

She tossed her head back, glancing at the sleeping warrior beside her. Why had she come help and wake her up? Whatever the girl wanted..Tiffany was certain she didn't have.

Her goal would need to wait until they could properly communicate with each other. For now, she needed to stay with the girl and slowly adapt to the strange, new world.

Tomorrow, she thought before drifting asleep, I will find a way to ask her to take me back to where she found me.

X X X

".....you heard that too, right?"

"Someone else is awake."

"But how? Before we left, we checked and confirmed which pods were still alive. You said we were the only two capable of awakening."

"I thought so too.."

"What do we do? Should we check it out?"

"Maybe, but not now. We took a majority of the tools available and stripped them out of the ship. Whoever is awake won't last long alone. They'll probably die in a few days, I think."

"Then we should hurry and go back. Let's check it out."

"It's too far, even if we go back now, I doubt we can help them."

"...That ."

"I know."

"I still want to know who it is..what if it's the Captain?"

"I highly doubt it. She died along with my original self. She couldn't have survived that crash."

"Then maybe it's her--"

"Shh! They're coming. Are you ready?"

"..That's him?"

"Yeah, they call him Kaiser. He's some sort of Chief."

"Remind me why we're kidnapping him again?"

"I'll explain later, let's go."

"...Fine."

Whee! It's super rare for me to update twice in a row, but I was really moved by everyone's support so I spent some time today just writing! It's a bit short (short as it is, still took me a few hours to write lol) but I hope you enjoyed it! I apologize if its starting a little slow, I haven't written in a long time and I'm trying to repolish my skills. There might be a few mistakes here and there.

If you're a little confused by how their languages differ, imagine Taeyeon speaking Korean and Tiffany is speaking English. Of course it's a little difficult to tell because the story is written in english by default.

But now we see the first couple hints of a plot. Who are those two talking at the end?

Anyways stay tuned o// - Wynteral

p.s // if you guys are into past meets future sort of concept, i def. recommend checking this video out :

it helped me grasp an idea of how they would react upon seeing each other.