hiding out in dustveil

concepts and doodles and shit for this story that's been in my brain will get uploaded here as they come to me.

"in seabreeze or ever?"

"ever. It's beautiful."

"it sure is. It's cold, though. And we don't know what else is waiting out there. Be so careful."

"I will, I promise"

"no? Is it worse than I thought?"

"no dude! They sent a probe into the cracks, and it almost instantly hit another probe, one of theirs. The cracks have nothing to do with you, it was one of their so-called expeditions."

"but-"

Eventually, they create a land bridge to the place where pillow fell from the sky. No one had been there since then, the impossibly deep pond frozen in time. Kirbun looked at the pond, and then craned his neck to look at the hole in the sky, shimmering with suspended water.

The girl must've seen the longing in kirbun's eyes, because she lowered her head and mumbled "You don't have to stay here anymore."

"You asked me about this, once. This is the one." She was quiet, voice shaking.

"Where?" Pillow couldn't pull their paw away from the screen, they couldn't stop staring at the image.

"In a place that's different and similar to your home. A city guarded by dozens of water towers. You'll save each other. At least, I think so."

Pillow pulled themself away from the television to hug the girl.

"We'll come back, we'll find a way to get you out of here. Kirbun, JD, me, and the rest. I promise."

"I'll keep an eye on everyone and do what I can, too."

Pillow rubbed their paw over the bloody spots where their antlers had been a moment prior. That explains the awful itch they had the last couple days. They sighed, wrapped their head in a thin layer of gauze, and continued packing.

"Thanks, Ross. Sounds like it's about time for me to start bundling up! And speaking of bundling up, channel 5 news has a reporter on the ground today, as the Southwest Coastal Space Exploration Association prepares to launch a probe into the cracks at 11 am today."

Pillow looked at the clock. Ten forty five. This had to be enough stuff.

They plodded to the door. JD hugged them, tightly.

"Don't die in there."

"I'll try not to."

Pillow covered their wounds with a bucket hat, hefted their backpack onto their shoulders, and opened the door.

no one in this world cares about gender. it's fluid and personal. in this world, "boy" and "man" are considered different genders, same with "child" and "adult" or "girl" and "woman" they fulfill different roles in society, so why wouldn't they be different?

pillow fucking hated leo.

they feared that they would never get anything better. leo felt the same.

a collar can choke hard enough to make you dizzy and taste a fake freedom.

School-in pillow's world, all children are expected to attend school starting at age 3. there's no distinction between the different levels of school (eg. elementary, high, university, etc.) everyone's education is standardized for the first 15 years of their classes (until age 18). afterwards, a student must take 2 more years of classes, this time classes of their choosing. a student may stay in school for as long as they please after this point. if they are offered a position in an academic program, the student will continue to have their financial needs met by the state.

Work-after the age of 20, if a student isn't accepted into an academic program, or if they decide to leave school entirely, one of two things happens.

job-if they already know what they want to do, a young adult has a six month grace period, where their needs will continue to be met by the state while they find a position in their preferred field. a job is permanent in this world, leaving one is very rare as many find an unpleasant job preferable to the tedium of gig work, which is expected of all adults who don't have jobs.

gig work- this is what most young adults do once they leave school. (as well as students who weren't accepted into any programs, who work part-time.) there are many divisions of gig work, and while someone may choose which division, they will then be cycled between jobs every 90 days, until they find a job or position they enjoy. if someone so chooses, they can remain a gig worker for their whole life. not many do though as a gig worker's schedule changes frequently and tends to be the uninteresting tasks no one else wants to do.

pillow took two extra years of sculpture classes, before leaving and joining the gig working force. they would have stayed, but their parents' house didn't have room for an adult who wasn't working at the apiary and taking care of the kids. they knew this would happen at some point and made peace with it, using their last two years of school for fun.