[P&L] Dusk Chasers

Desiderio found that the best place was an unfamiliar one, although this may be his penchant for trailblazing speaking. Never on one planet for too long, he was always on the move towards bigger, brighter and more extravagant things. The stars were his home, after all, and it was just him and his small spacecraft against the wholly unknown.

His favourite places, however, were usually ones where laughter could be heard from miles away. Where glistening lights danced on every surface well into the nightfall, and all manner of people celebrated the joys of life in all its forms. This was his favourite, for it left him learning about so much; food, culture, joys and despairs all in one go.

In one such occasion, the self-named “Galactic Cowboy” found himself on a planet where night lasted months. The rotation of the axis was so slow, indeed, that many of the people there travelled along the sun’s path – travelling cities existing in the between of day and night: “Dusk Chasers” they called them.

The prospect wasn’t the most interesting part, for there was someone there he had met, whose eyes glistened like deep blue seas. Her smile was gentle and soft, and her voice like a song he couldn’t ever forget. A sodacat by the name of Priya, whom he met whilst travelling.

He could have sworn in the moment their eyes locked that this Sodacat was the woman he’d been searching for his whole life: like a dream bursting to life from the inner recesses of his mind. She smiled. He smiled. They made their way across the room of the longue he had stepped foot into after docking at the dusk chaser’s port.

“Priya.” She hummed. Her accent was distinct. “You aren’t from around here, are you?” She then asked, looking him up and down.

He swallowed. “Desiderio, ma’am.” Suddenly his accent became the centre of his consciousness. The twang in his voice like a lull. “Pleasure’s mine. I’m a spacefarer.”

She holds a paw out in greeting. He plants a kiss on the top, tipping his hat. “Quite the charmer?” She asked.

“When there’s a gorgeous woman in front of me, I’d be amiss not to.”

A blush, a sound like a heartbeat pulses in his ears, The popping of her bubble tail draws him near. “It’s nice to make your acquaintance.” She smiles. “Maybe I can offer you a drink?”

He nods. “Quite the charmer.” He accompanies it with a wink, she blushes. “Please, let me buy you a drink as well.”

They sit down, watching the moving landscape from the large lounge windows, sky suspended in a perfect atrophy of dusk as oranges and deep purples cascaded. “Where I’m from; dusk only lasts a few minutes.” He hummed. “Here it seems to last forever.”

Her eyes follow the horizon. “The city makes it last a few minutes, before moving into the dark cycle.” She explains. “Tomorrow morning, they will ride against dust again into the day, and vice versa over and over.”

“Have you ever been to other planets?”

“No, not yet. Although I’d love to one day. Just haven’t found the time… or the right reason… or the right ship.”

He gives her a small glance. “You should. There’s lots of gorgeous places like this one. I think you’d love it up there.”

She smiles bashfully in reply, nodding, and they fall into comfortable silence for a while, enjoying their drinks and the music. In her head, she’s swollen with thoughts—crazy ones. Running away to the stars with some galactic cowboy, like all those novels she’s read.

“Maybe. Maybe if someone as charming as you came along.” She screams inside. So corny.

He looks back to the port from the window view. “Well, I could come back ‘round if you ever wanted to.” He slides his universal code to her. “You can send me a message.”

They shared some more drinks, laughing into the night.