Desert dwellers

When was the last time he had taken a moment to just sit down and relax? By this point he couldn’t remember anymore. Maybe that was why he had been unable to drift off to sleep that night. 

Instead he had decided to take a quick midnight stroll to clear his mind, coming upon one of the planet’s parks without meaning to. It all looked so peaceful, it almost reminded him of home. Slowly he made his way to a nearby bench and sat himself down, it wouldn’t hurt to stay for a while.

His ear then twitched at the creak of a wooden board, seemed he wasn’t the only troubled soul out tonight.

“Oh is that what gave it away?” Atlas responded with a light chuckle, his lips curling into a small smile. “But yeah, you’re right. When you’ve got the job I’ve got stress piles up fast.” With an over dramatic sigh he leaned against the bench’s arm rest and plopped his chin into his hand. 

“I assume the same can be said for you?” He asked, his gaze trailing over to the raccoon nearby.

As another cloud of smoke came out of the raccoon’s mouth, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the other’s remark. 

“ You bet! Work’s nothing I can’t handle, it’s a family business. But havin’ a kid? Raising a family is somethin’ I never thought I’d end up doing so soon, y’know? It’s feels like… “

 He placed his pipe back in his mouth and placed both hands behind his head, stretching slightly before laying back on the bench.

“ It feels… like nothin’ I’ve ever dealt with. “ Despite the laid back tone, the raccoon’s brows furrowed. Conner Cooper wasn’t a stranger to the unknown, he usually conquered it! But this was no heist, this wasn’t programming, this was all of that ON TOP of a whole new mess.

After a quick moment to his thoughts, Conner returned to the other.

He had been way off with his guess. “And here I thought you were just having problems at work. Well, I wish you luck, from what I hear it's not easy to raise a child.” 

The alien then fell quiet, unsure of what else he could say. His life had been so consumed by his work he had never even thought about starting a family of his own. He couldn't give this stranger any advice. 

Though at the mention of his own problems he didnt respond right away, instead he only stared at the other for a few moments, unsure how to explain them in a way that would make sense.  

“Well you might not believe me.” 

Yeesh, life keeps on changing, huh? One minute you’re at the top of the world stealing from the so-called best, and the next; you’re a father. Responsibilities piled up and seemed to ever let go. It was a lot, but the thief never regretted it for a second. Still, he longed to do more. 

One night, while his family slept, a restless raccoon gave his wife a kiss on the forehead, scratched his son’s head, and leaped out of the window. 

There was something about the night sky that was soothing, like all of his problems could just melt. It was just him, his thoughts and the stars above There were a few parks in town that were crowded during the day, but empty at night. That was where he was.  Exhaling, Conner pulled out his pipe and lit it. Before he could put it in his mouth, he noticed he wasn’t exactly alone outside. 

Raising his cap, he made his way to the other, and sat down beside them. 

“ You need some peace n’ quiet too, huh? I dunno anyone else who’d be willing to come to the park at this hour if they didn’t have anything on their mind. “ He blew a smoke cloud and gave a slight smile. 

Instead he had decided to take a quick midnight stroll to clear his mind, coming upon one of the planet’s parks without meaning to. It all looked so peaceful, it almost reminded him of home. Slowly he made his way to a nearby bench and sat himself down, it wouldn't hurt to stay for a while.

His ear then twitched at the creak of a wooden board, seemed he wasn't the only troubled soul out tonight.

“Oh is that what gave it away?” Atlas responded with a light chuckle, his lips curling into a small smile. “But yeah, you're right. When you've got the job I’ve got stress piles up fast.” With an over dramatic sigh he leaned against the bench’s arm rest and plopped his chin into his hand. 

A quick gift for @amberdiamondswords of her oc Delta and my boy Atlas hangin’ out on Ryllus. Also h oly shit I never realized until now how giant Atlas is. 

If she was willing to reveal her secret to him, she would have told him that her Zoni biology slowed down her aging process. Her body aged every fifty years or so. But that was info that she didn’t share with many outsiders, and she didn’t quite want to entrust this person with her secret. It would be better to hide it for now. But that didn’t mean that she had to withhold her name.  

Questions he decided to ignore for now. 

“I think it’s dayyy…one hundred and twenty six?” 

A soft click could be heard as Atlas hit the pause button on his holo-journal, his eyes turning to the sky as he tried to collect his thoughts. “Yeah I think that’s right.” He continued as he resumed recording. “I’m currently mapping out the Verdigris sector and have decided to land on Rykan V to explore the lava refineries.” Atlas’ eyes wandered around the facility as he silently glided above the security gates. 

The Great Clock was amazing and all, but she just needed to return home every once in a while, almost like she needed to see if it was still there. This colony had been abandoned for about five hundred years now. All because some greedy people wanted to make money by taking the lives of her people and selling their scales. Those people were definitely dead by this point, either dying on the job or just from old age. It made Azure jealous. She wanted to be the one to finish them off.

“Welp, I think I’ve stuck around long enough,” Azure said, standing up. She would stay a bit longer next time if she could bear it. But some things were just too hard to look at for too long. The Dragalith climbed out one of the cave’s exits and basked in the intense heat. God, she loved Rykan V. And everything always stayed the same no matter how many times she visited it…except for that person gliding over one of the lava refineries.

After deactivating his holo-journal he turned his head back to look at the other, his expression quickly turning surprised. Was that a Dragalith? He’d never seen one before. His eyes then darted to the nearest landing spot and he gestured for her to follow him, it’d be easier to talk when they weren't in the air. Atlas chose to land nearby a smoke stack, almost losing his balance once his feet touched the ground. Though somehow he managed to save himself from falling face first onto the cold metal below.