Sadness and shame gripped his heart, and Tamelle seemed to grasp the sudden change in Zef and would coo endlessly. Its hands kept rubbing Zef's arms as if to comfort him, forgetful of the danger lying between the colored bamboo stalks.

Zef rubbed his face and smiled sadly at Tamelle, then coughed and wiped his salty tears.

"Thank you. We..we should leave," he said hesitantly, distraught still in his voice.

It cooed back as if agreeing with him. Zef didn’t even note the emotional intelligence displayed by Tamelle. Too troubled by the sudden scene of his dead sister, he hurriedly left the tropical jungle, and the environment around him shifted back to its earlier purple landscape.

It was no longer humid, just fine warm weather. He stepped back a few feet from the entrance, his sleepy eyes still dazed.

Zef stood there in silence, staring at the ground, his companion also quiet. Seconds turned into minutes until Zef got his baring and breathed out slowly, then stared at Tamelle. Their eyes met, and Zef both felt and saw a great sense of compassion from this tiny creature.

No words were spoken, but he felt he wasn’t alone for the first time in many years, not since his Uncle died in that Ambush some years ago.

That gaping hole at the pit of his being felt less so with Tamelle around. He couldn’t make sense of it but thought he could move forward a little bit longer.

A thought bloomed in his head if he was being played somehow, but too fearful of finishing that idea, he quickly brushed it away and whispered, “time will tell.”

He stared back at the grove that was much smaller than what he saw inside. The trees outside were normal-looking tropical trees, but inside that grove was a large and exotic yet very alien environment that was still similar to the jungles on Earth, well on the holograms, that is.

He tapped his index finger on his thigh, then asked Tamelle, "Where in the heavens am I?"

Pup cooed back, then cooed some more. Zef stared at it first, then slightly smiled and, without a word, continued his exploration. Sometimes he’d stare at the branches of lone alien trees, and other times, he would find metallic-looking shrubs with large thorns made out of gold and silver.

He also entered the different-looking groves but didn't venture far into them. Tamelle would always coo in warning as if to tell him not to venture away from the entrance. He did realize the wisdom as some groves lead to bizarre environments. It felt like someone scooped different parts of an alien planet and put them into these groves.

One such grove which he had entered earlier was practically a Tundra. Now Zef had never seen snow in real life, so when he emerged between two trees shrouded in literal ice, it was quite the experience for a desert youth. He looked in wonder and found himself on top of a cliff looking at the ocean, the cold air biting into his bones, and beyond the sea was practically black glaciers.

The glaciers were as dark as the coldest night, so dark that he thought he was staring at the voidness of space. Not only that, but they quickly reached the clouds and beyond that as his eyes extended upwards and his neck leaned back.

His body instantly shivered not from the cold per se but the fact that he entered into groves that led to off-world experiences. “So what would happen if I entered a place that had no oxygen?”

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That thought made him turn back; even Tamelle swallowed his coo when Zef got back and dusted off the snow.

This is quite scary. I should have noticed this from the beginning. How is this habitat being maintained?

There’s no sun, I can both see and feel sunlight or artificial light which must have a source, maybe the crystal at the center of the dome is the source, yet I can look at it, and my eyes aren’t burning, and yet its as bright as a sunny day, and the weather here is serene and well ventilated.

So weird?

He clucked his tongue and decided to walk to the pond.

Sometime later, Zef reached the edge of the pond. He stared at what seemed to be diamond-looking lilies. They were relatively few but still stunning. He stared at the pond and its milky texture. His eyes stretched forward towards the center of the pond, and he looked above towards the crystal up on that dome. He was about to enter the water, but Tamelle started to wave its arms erratically and almost fell off his arm.

"Hey, calm down," he grunted and moved back to his feet. His new friend dropped its arms in relief. Zef stared at him and looked back at the late.

Could there be something wrong with the pond, poison maybe?

He moved towards the shore, and Tamelle again starting cooing louder, waving its baby arms,

“Yup,” he concluded soberly. He rubbed Tamelle’s head and sat down a few feet from the pond’s shore.

He lowered it to his side. His antennas moved, and the creature did the same. Zef frowned, then sighed, “water must be bad for you to go crazy, buddy.”

He looked around and watched the surroundings around him, enjoying the silence and stared at the hard rock surrounding the edge of this habitat.

No way in, no way out.

His antennas moved; Tamelle mimicked him and tried to look stern and cooed loudly.

Zef snorted and looked at his comical friend. He felt an uncomfortable sting coming from his scalp as if it was being pulled by something. His eyes wandered to the side as he shifted to stare behind him and realized he was sitting on top of his hair.

He got his butt off the ground, grabbed his long-drawn hair, tossed it aside, and then grumbled about needing a haircut.

He didn't realize that Pup rolled towards the pond until his antennas sensed the movement. "Wait!" shouted Zed and quickly got up and leaped to grab it, but it suddenly bounced off the ground and slipped between his hands.

Zef grabbed air and watched Pup land in a splash, and instead of sinking, it stood there.

"What the,” he looked bewildered and watched it bounce off the pond’s surface, then float like a duck. There was a slight ripple on the surface, and he watched it sail in a circle then move towards the center of the pond. His eyes trailed it, mouth wide open.

There it floated at the center of the pond when it started making circular movements with its arms. Then it would stop for a few seconds and repeat the action followed by some cooing sounds. Zef anxiously looked in silence, and it didn't take long for large ripples to appear beneath Tamelle.

Zef stared at Pup. The sight of rippling water beneath the cooing white body felt cartoonish as Tamelle kept chanting. Its arms made circular movements numerous times. It then lifted its components in a sudden climatic effect, which made Zef’s eyes roll.

“What are you doing?'' shouted Zef. There was a clear note of confusion in his voice until he watched the water under Pup's body churn and bubble.

Tamelle ignored the chaotic scene under him and waved back at Zef in glee. Zef was more concerned with the shimmering light, which quickly appeared within the churning waves right underneath Pup.

Zef got up to his feet, but too late, Tamelle was hovering. The shimmering light lifted Pup as if he was some heavenly saint. It lifted him to two stories high when finally the pond underneath no longer churned, and the light disappeared, revealing a hovering transparent flooring.

Suddenly, a large tile broke off the transparent floor, quickly soared towards him, and landed in front of his feet. Zef observed the tile and realized it was made out of thick glass. He then heard Pup coo and waved his hands as if to signal him to jump on.

Zef closed his mouth, still wary he crouched and probed the floating tile with his hands, then his feet. It felt solid enough to accommodate him. He also noted that there wasn’t a drop of liquid on it as if it wasn’t submerged under the pond.