Work Text:
Out of all the planets we’ve been to, I would’ve never expected this to be the one I fall in love with.
xx
As soon as we landed, a cloud of dust rose around us, reflecting light in small flashes all around us, like a light show. The dust particles were reflective, and once they settled, I could see that they were a deep violet-blue. This purple dust was everywhere, for what must be miles in each direction, building up to mountains on the horizon. The whole ground looked like a portal to a mirrored world, what with the reflective properties of the dust. Like if we made one wrong step, the world could literally be turned upside down.
The sky reminded me of the brink of night on a rainy day back on Earth, except there were no clouds. The sky was clear, but it was a dark mix of grey and blue, and the light cast on the planet was near the color of the dust, though it was a tinge more blue. I wondered what the sky would look like with clouds. If they’d be grey like on earth, or blue, or purple. Or if there are ever any clouds at all? Did Caliginios have water? I’m sure it’d be really pretty if it did.
Upon arrival, none of the Caligine people were visible. We’d assumed they were doing everyday things, with the exception of a few who knew we were coming, who should have been waiting for us somewhere. After walking around some, we found more of the terrain of the planet.
We found a forest, which was a bit strange because of the nothing we could see before. We figured it was okay, might’ve just been a trick of the light.
The forest had grass on the ground instead of the dust, and the air was thicker with humidity. The color scheme remained the same, with the grass resonating the same purple color as the dust. The trees were, what looked to be blue, but it was so dark it could easily be mistaken for black. The leaves varied in color. Few were light blue, light purple. More were medium shades of those colors. Some were black. The colors of the leaves weren’t separated by the trees. Every tree had every color of leaves.
We walked a while through the forest, taking in everything. How calm it all was, how soothing the dark was, and the muted cool colors, and how comfortable we all felt there. Being there was like being underwater: absolutely quiet, surreal, like a blip in time, except we could breathe.
I think that’s what I fell in love with, about Caliginos. The serenity that came with being there. I’ve never felt such solace on a planet that wasn’t earth, but I felt it on that planet. Nothing could ever replace my home called Earth, but this one planet sure could come in as a close second, if I was ever blessed enough to stay longer than two days.
We were found in the forest. Three Caligine approaches us, showing excited to have found us.
“Hello,” they said. “Welcome to Caliginos.”
The people of the planet looked like humans, save a few differences. They were taller, with long legs and arms and torsos, and they were softer. They had softer edges than humans did. Their skin was tinted purple, and if they had a lighter skin color, they might look sickly. Instead, they looked ethereal.
Their clothes were loose, light, opaque. Two of the people that greeted us had their clothes wrapped across their abdomen, held there with a belt of sorts. One of them had their clothes draped over their shoulders, not wrapped around them, not held in place. Simply draped over their shoulders.
It wasn’t like if a human were to do that, have their clothes entirely open, whole body exposed. The Caligine were seemingly genderless, nothing incredibly special or sexual about them, certainly nothing worth hiding. For lack of a better word, I’d say they were beautiful, in any and every way possible.
Those who found us in the forest led us wordlessly. It certainly made sense, that those who occupied a quiet planet would be a quiet people. Nothing they did came off as rude, or unappreciative, or unwanting, or disrespectful. The few words they spoke to us were warm, and the actions that followed were as well.
They led us to a part of the forest where the trees grew bigger, wider, the bases of them big enough to be a room, and indeed they were. One of the Caligine that were with us put their hand between the lines of bark on a tree, and a slab of bark popped up from the base of the tree. The Caligine picked it up from the bottom, and held it open. We followed the other two into the tree, and the last Caligine gently dropped the door.
The room had a table set low on the floor, and five other Caligine sat near it. Those who led us in motioned for us to sit as well, and so we did. And only once we had been seated, one of them spoke.
“Welcome to Caliginos. We’re looking forward to working with you.”