Chereads / Starbound / Chapter 2 - Winter's Paradise

Chapter 2 - Winter's Paradise

Days passed as the golden eye scoured our surroundings. And it was certainly only a golden eye. The watcher, the being, it was too big. To the point that even from where we stood I could tell that it was not the full being.

From the only vantage point that we could see out of j could tell that the eye, the one watching us, was not the full thing.

At most it was the pupil but that really was only speculative at most as I was only able to take extended looks under the stopping of time and even that was only for ten seconds.

The pupil… how terrifying must a being be for just the pupil of their eye to cover the whole planet.

Even now I shivered at the thought.

How large, how big, or more importantly how powerful would a being need to be to be able to sustain that size. A size that was most certainly larger than even the sun.

And given that this sanctuary was on a new planet, certainly not on Gaia, then it could be several times larger than even my most generous estimates.

Because of that long lived terror, my fear of that being, I had tried on many occasions to leave. To summon the same door that had brought me to this place yet it was futile. There was no reaction.

No feeling of authority over the door as I had once felt. It was as if I was truly stranded here. But at the same time there was this sort of timer.

I had only ever felt it faintly and even then I could not tell the time from it. However I knew of its existence which meant, that from what I was feeling, that when the timer ran out I would be able to return.

The only caveat being that I knew that these powers would carry over. If it was only that then I would not be complaining however…

I looked to the side, the sight of wings of white filling the room.

It would be quite hard to conceal such an obvious change. Maybe if I learned some illusion magic but I had no teacher and I didn't even know if I had magic to begin with.

'But do I really want to go back?' It was a thought I had been having for quite some time.

'Not that I really cared for that' I thought while looking down to where my wings were wrapped around the same pink haired girl that had welcomed me here.

A small smile lit my face as I stretched my back and with it my wings. I felt a small tug as they were wrapped tighter around Emma. She seemed to take a liking to them. More than she liked her bed apparently.

Not that it was really a bed to begin with as we were pretty much stuck in this chapel. The only thing that could remotely be seen as a bed being the wooden benches and those were terribly uncomfortable.

Yet even still I didn't think that she would be so loose with her desires. She had taken one look at my wings and taken them for a hug before nuzzling up and falling asleep.

It was like there was this aura around or something around this ghost of a town that lessened our inhibitions. It was as if decisions were made more by emotions rather than logic as most would do.

Not that I was complaining. It felt nice… to be wanted for once, even if it was only for the fluff and warmth that I provided.

It was still a nice feeling.

I found my gaze locking onto Emma as she yawned, her eyes not yet open while she tried to wake up.

Yet a moment later I found my own golden gaze captivated by a pink one that seemed to lock onto my own. Only interrupted by a cute yawn that was stifled by her hand.

I found my own mouth gaining a smug smirk as I too yawned.

"Enjoy yourself, sleepy head?"

I watched her go red in the cheeks, simultaneously burying herself deeper into my wings.

"Yeah…" It was quiet but I heard it as clear as day. Despite the shyness I found her to be quite bold in other ways.

It was like she wasn't used to having to interact and maybe that was why she was so shy.

'Now that I actually think about it…' Yeah that makes sense, anyone would be shy and awkward after being alone for so long.

I looked to the window, the small covering allowing for barely any visibility but I felt something. It was as if the oppressive feeling of being watched was no longer there. And as I approached the window I couldn't help but uncover it for a second.

The world around me went gray, as everything stopped moving. The open window allowed me to see the sky.

The sight brought a smile to my face as I saw the clear sky. No longer was that eye always watching. It had gone away.

The watcher was gone, the eye that had constantly watched for movement had disappeared. Meaning that I could properly explore this winter paradise.

And it truly was one, the weather around us was one of eternal winter. As in the last days there was no stopping the snow nor was there stopping the cold temperatures.

It must have been in the negative degrees with how cold it was. But that could just mean that it was just winter. I had asked this exact thing, wondering if it was winter or if this was just how things were.

Yet the answer I got from Emma was one of confirmation, almost dead. She had answered that for as long as she had been here it was only winter. In fact every three or so months the temperatures would drop even further from where they were and in that time it was deadly to even walk outside.

However right now was not one of those times and since the watcher was gone I could go outside and explore for once.

I took my rifle and strapped it to my side watching as Emma dressed into heavier clothes. A thick coat going over her current clothes along with a scarf and all other manners of winter clothes.

It was cute how bunched up she was.

I opened the door, the cold air and snow blasting us.

It really was cold. Even after being bunched up so much.

My wings were especially cold. I had thought that because they were feathered that they wouldn't have been as affected but that was completely wrong apparently.

In fact I could feel the cold even more than my own skin.

Yet I ignored it as I took Emma's hand and dragged her through the door.

She had recoiled at the cold and decided that she wanted to stay.

I couldn't allow that. I didn't want her to close herself off even more just because of some cold.

My wings wrapped around her and warmed her up as I walked to the nearest building.

And boy was I glad that I did as nearly the moment we entered I felt the nice hot air surrounding me.

It was enough that even with the door open I felt I could take my clothes off and relax with just a shirt and shorts.

Emma seemed to agree as she sighed and fell into the nearest couch.

I still wanted to explore but for now I could just look around this building while she lay down.

When I looked around I found quite a few things. The best of them being a master bedroom and a couple more regular ones.

I had tested the beds and they were so much more comfortable than anything that I had tried myself.

Not to mention that for the last few days I was sleeping on a bench with Emma.

Not that sleeping with her was bad or really terrible. If anything it was really comfortable. But my biggest worry was that my wings wouldn't fit.

Or even if they did I would have to sleep on my stomach.

Something that I found uncomfortable.

"You done there?" I heard a quiet call from the living room.

"Yeah" I responded, equally as quiet as she was.

I walked from the room and found her sitting in the kitchen.

Something I hadn't noticed the first time coming in here.

"Can you cook or do I need to?"

"Nah… don't worry yourself about that"

With that being said I started making dinner? I think at least.

With the perpetual winter the sun almost rarely ever came up so it was hard to tell whether it was day or night. Let alone what time it actually was.

Nevermind that though, I needed to find out what ingredients we had.

A moment later, after digging through the cabinets and fridge I was surprised to find almost everything that we needed for a meal.

I placed the plate down on they table and sat across Emma.

"So…" I begin, watching her from the corner of my eye.

"So what?" She asked, noticing my pause.

"I have this feeling… It's weird. Like it's telling me of some threat that I don't know of"

"And?" She asks, seemingly annoyed at my inability to properly describe myself.

"And I just wanted to ask if there was any threats. Anything to be aware of?"

"Not that I know of… well there is the watcher but you already know of that."

"Yeah, I guess"

With that k quietly eat my dinner before heading back to bed where I almost immediately fall asleep.

Before I could though I found myself looking at a picturesque scene.

It was Emma, her clothes discarded in favor of lingerie.

She was red faced yet determined.

"Can I-" she stuttered, "can I sleep here, it was really comfortable sleeping near you the last few days so- so-"

I cut her off, "yeah I've no problem with that."

She mutely nods before climbing in and snuggling up against me under the covers.