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I reached out tentatively, placing a hand on his arm.
The scales were surprisingly warm to the touch, absorbing and retaining the heat of our fiery entry into the atmosphere.
“Hey,” I whispered, nudging him gently. “Can you hear me?”
There was no response.
Feeling a bit desperate, I gave him a harder shake. “Wake up, big guy. I’m not carrying you out of here, and we’re kind of…linked if you haven’t noticed.”
This earned me a soft grunt and twitch of his eyes beneath the lids.
Encouraged, I continued my efforts to rouse him.
Gradually, his golden eyes fluttered open, gazing at me with a mix of confusion and drowsiness.
He tried to sit up but was hampered by the same debilitating weakness that had affected me.
He looked at our linked wrists, then back to me with a quirked brow.
I shrugged, a smirk playing on my lips. “I did try to make a run for it. But, y’know, you’re quite the anchor.”
Talan regarded me for a moment, the corner of his lips twitching upwards.
Then, with a surge of strength that had me marveling, he began to pull himself upright, using the side of the pod for support.
I stood back, giving him room, my eyes taking in the vast, beautiful landscape around us.
Lush, vibrant flora stretched out in all directions, and the sky above was a mesmerizing shade of lavender.
It was breathtakingly beautiful, yet also wildly alien.
I felt a gentle tug on my wrist, pulling me from my reverie.
He was now on his feet, dwarfing me with his imposing stature.
He gazed at me for a brief moment, gratitude evident in his eyes.
Without another word, we emerged from the pod, taking our first steps onto the mysterious planet side by side.
* * *
The vast expanse of the alien landscape stretched infinitely in every direction before me.
Towering plants with luminous leaves that shimmered like silk, interspersed with floating orbs of water that defied gravity, gave the environment an ethereal touch.
Every so often, strange winged creatures darted between the orbs, their wings casting a myriad of colors as they caught the ambient light.
Talan unmoving beside me, his golden eyes scanning the horizon methodically, his focus unwavering.
I couldn’t help but reach out and touch every plant and floating water orb and even made a half-hearted attempt at communicating with the winged creatures.
“Don’t,” Talan growled. “Everything here is dangerous.”
“Even this?” I said, reaching over to a plant that seemed to be made entirely of crystal.
I touched its surface, and it responded with a harmonious sound, not unlike a bell. “It’s like a living xylophone!”
He merely nodded, his expression unreadable. “Even that.”
