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Shelby's first day in this new world, this new life, had been eventful. She awoke in the realm the sun had placed her, and got going to explore. There was so much in this world. Even from the first town she had visited, she had been able to see so much! All the buildings and people; not to mention the adorable animals. She was having the time of her life.
The sun quickly set on her first day though, leaving her alone. Shelby had yet to find a place to call her own, so she kept walking. The night was cold and unpleasant. She missed the sun, but surely she could last a night without it's bright presence. It wouldn't be that bad.
By the time the sun rose again in the morning, after a night of walking, Shelby had changed her mind. She was never going that long without sunshine again. The thought of doing so made her physically ill.
Still, she kept walking. There were homes along the way, belonging not to villagefolk, but to the others she knew inhabited the land. She wanted to meet them at some point, but not before she had a home to call her own. Many of them seemed to have an advanced technology that she would have to investigate. Some other time perhaps.
Speaking of time, the sun was creeping it's way through the sky above Shelby. She had still yet to build a home, so she would have to find somewhere else to sleep for tonight. She wouldn't survive another night awake without the sun. Hopefully there was a village nearby that would lend her a bed.
"Alright sun, you go down. I'll see you in the morning!" Shelby called towards the sunset, worry painting her tone. There was not any nearby villages. She had managed to find herself out in the middle of nowhere. Whereas normally she could enjoy the sights, dusk was upon her and the shadows of her surroundings were blending together.
Shelby jumped at the sight of a shadowy figure, before realizing, embarrassed that it was merely a tall strand of grass. Her face let out a yellow glow as she blushed in shame. She blamed this on the darkness making her panic.
Shaking her head, Shelby increased her speed as if to leave the incident behind her. If she could just find somewhere- anywhere with a bed, it would be okay. Otherwise, she didn't know what she'd do.
In the distance, something caught the sunshine girl's eye. No, it was not a piece of grass this time, no thanks for asking. It was a house in the midst of a flowery field. A pretty house, of white walls and a roof in shades of purple, magenta, and blue. There was still light shining out of the adorable star shaped window at the front, which gave Shelby hope. Hopefully, whoever owned this lovely house would let her spend the night.
The sunshine girl hurried quickly towards the house, ignoring the building nausea in her stomach. It felt like she hadn't seen the sun in so long, and her connection to it was fading. That wasn't good.
Shelby couldn't focus on that. Instead she, made her way up to the wooden porch of the house, stopping outside the door. Not allowing herself a moment to hesitate, she knocked her hand against the door frame.
For a moment, there was nothing. Then, a voice from inside called out. "Give me a minute, I'll be right there." After a short wait, the most beautiful person Shelby had ever seen opened the door.
As far as she could tell, she was human. At least, she had no obvious features otherwise, but that didn't make her look any less extraordinary. Her dark hair was wavy, as if she had just taken it out of its usual hairstyle. Her eyes shone in a reflection of Shelby's own glow, which had never seemed so lovely before. The light blue nightshirt she wore looked really soft; it was pretty.
"Oh!" The woman at the door startled at the sight of Shelby. "Hello! Do you want to come in?"
Now, Shelby probably should have started with her request for a place to sleep, but her mind was busy restarting from the sight in front of her. For the first time in her life, the sun wasn't occupying her mind near entirely.
After a moment, Shelby's brain had regained enough functionality to realize the other had said something. "Oh, yeah. I'd love to."
The woman nodded, opening the door all the way. "Come on in! My name's Katherine, by the way."
Her name was Katherine. What a pretty name. Shelby could feel her cheeks emitting a faint glow again as she blushed. "My name's Shelby. You have a lovely home."
Katherine smiled. In the light of her home, Shelby could see a sheep design across her nightshirt, which was absolutely adorable. Her eyes darted back up to meet Katherine's as the latter responded. "It's far from finished, but I'm glad you like it." Shelby nodded dumbly. "Now, may I ask what you're doing in the area?"
Shelby shrugged, before the reality of her situation hit her. It was surprising how easy it was to forget her lack of sunlight and the danger that posed when meeting a pretty girl. "I'm trying to find a place to call home my own self, but the sun set before I could get there."
"Ah." Katherine nodded. "It gets dangerous at night, and not in the least because of the darkness. That's smart of you to rest until it's safer to travel."
"Mhm." Shelby hummed, as if the dangers of the night were what she was worried about. Her issue wasn't exactly what the night held, more what it lacked. Still, there wasn't exactly a good way to explain her connection with the sun so she left it be. "Something like that."
The other woman glanced around, through the dark windows. "Well, I'd be happy to let you stay here for the night. I know I'd worry all night otherwise. I even have an extra mattress I could use."
Shelby's brain stalled for a moment. She didn't even have to ask. Katherine had offered to help someone she had just met. How was it possible for someone to be so kindhearted? Or pretty, really. Shelby's heart thrummed and she was certain she was blushing -and therefore glowing- fairly heavily again. Finally though, she nodded. "Thank you! I really appreciate it. Where is that mattress exactly?"
Katherine brightened. "Of course, I'm happy to help. The bed's just up the ladder."
"Thank you so much." Part of Shelby longed to keep talking with Katherine, to say anything to spend more time with her, but she was literally going to die if she was awake much longer. Instead, Shelby smiled at Katherine one more time and climbed her way to the second floor.
It was dark, and Shelby was tired enough not to register much of the bedroom. Her own glow guided her to where a spare mattress was laid out on the floor. It didn't matter what Katherine had said, there was no way Shelby was stealing her bed after all of the other's generosity. The sunshine girl laid herself down on the mattress, and fell asleep in, bathed in starlight from the star shaped window.
As soon as her guest, -Shelby, the name fit her so well- was upstairs, Katherine muffled her scream into a pillow. She had no idea how she had been able to keep it together so long. The other girl was just so pretty and Katherine's heart couldn't handle it.
She had had her doubts about this place; being one of the few humans amidst so many incredible beings was a disheartening experience. But Shelby, -human or not, Katherine didn't mind either way- made it all worth it.
Katherine smiled to herself, which turned itself into a yawn. She was pretty tired as well, might as well head to bed. She too climbed the ladder to her bedroom, moving quietly as to not disturb her guest.
Said guest was fairly easy to spot. A beam of light shone directly onto where she lay asleep on the floor. Well, that wouldn't do. There was no way Katherine was letting her guest sleep on a spare mattress.
She approached Shelby with the same purposeful silence. Her face seemed to radiate light, even without the other's golden eyes and blindingly bright smile. She really was the most lovely sight Katherine had ever been lucky enough to see.
Katherine carefully knelt down, gathering Shelby's sleeping form in her arms. She was lighter than the human was expecting, and as warm as sunshine. As Katherine gently set her down on the bed, the other's golden hair fell around her like a halo. Katherine could feel a blush dusting her cheeks at the sheer sight.
She ignored it in favor of tucking the blankets around Shelby. As warm as she was, the nights could get pretty cold. With one last glance at the other's peaceful face, Katherine gathered bedding for herself and slept on the mattress herself.
Katherine woke the next morning, several hours after dawn. The events of the previous night were still fresh in her mind, but the bed in her room was empty. She got up in a hurry, looking around for Shelby.
The other was nowhere to be seen, and Katherine felt a pang of disappointment. Yet, the sun shone its way through her window, and she had no doubt that Shelby was on her way again. As she looked out into the distance, Katherine smiled. She'd see that sunshine girl again.