As they walked, Kree looked over the cavern walls. Near the entrance, they appeared natural, while the deeper they went, it changed to a more artificial appearance. A few lanterns hanged on the walls, emanating green light. The walls became straighter, and slowly wider, until Kree almost bumped into Twy'la's back as she stopped. Twy'la took a step to the side and let Kree take the view in.
A large crevice was present in front of them, and what appeared to be an entire city was dug into the sides of the crevice, with numerous bridges going between the sides. Green lights came off both sides, and a lot more Kly'ta were roaming around, going over the bridges. Each house that was dug into a wall seemed to have a pair of floors, but from the outside it was hard to tell how big they were.
As Kree was still taking the view in, Twy'la turned to glance at it "Welcome to the capital of the Kly'ta, Drey'wa. There are about five other cities like this around different caverns, and if you look deeper, you can see how we move between them." She said, and pointed near one of the crevice's sides.
Following Twy'la's finger, she could spot something that seemed interesting. A large bug, about half the size of her spaceship, was standing sideways against the crevice wall. It had a saddle that appeared to have double belts, and could sit at least a dozen people. Then the Kly'ta in charge of the bug used his blue energy to get the bug going, as it turned and vanished into the crevice.
"Come, let's go to my residence." Twy'la said, and begun walking down a set of stone stairs.
"Okay." Kree said, half distracted as she was still taking in the view and slowly following her guide.
A few more minutes of walking through the city, and Kree started to realize how much of a maze it felt like to her. The way the different passage were dug made the whole city just seem so confusing, to the point where she only figured she wouldn't even remember which side of the crevice she was on.
A second thing she noticed was how people seemed to steer away from Twy'la, with some offering bows but still remaining quiet. She wasn't surprised she got a few glances herself, considering she stuck out like a sore thumb, but not as much as she would expect.
After entering one of the apartments, Twy'la closed the door and locked it with a slider, before sighing and proceeding to sit down on a stony chair "Welcome to my humble abode. As this city's outerworld guide, I'm here to answer any and all of your questions." She explained, though the formality seemed to be fake as she rolled her eyes.
"Aha. Not big on guests?" Kree asked, folding her arms as she moved around the apartment and looked around. It wasn't as big as she'd expect, only two rooms.
"Not really. And hard for me to be excited to explain about my people when I hardly like them myself. Only reason I get some respect is because of my Cosmos."
Turning her gaze to Twy'la, Kree rose an eyebrow "Cosmos? Is that what your energy thing is called?"
Twy'la conjured some pink energy around her fingers as she nodded "The Kly'ta has an inherent power, which was dubbed Cosmos. Most has blue Cosmos, which is neutral. Used in many aspects of life. There are a few variants, but I can probably best explain about my variant. The Galactic Cosmos. Or as it was dubbed otherwise, Angel Cosmos."
"Angel Cosmos? Sounds pretty fancy. Is that how you were capable of understanding me even when I was without my translator?" Kree asked, moving to lean against one of the walls and keep her gaze on Twy'la.
"That's one of the things my Cosmos can do. Galactic Cosmos, a rarity in the Kly'ta, means I'm attuned to the galaxy as a whole. Just meeting someone of a different species, even without them speaking, is enough to get me to understand them better. See where they came from in my mind. Not that I got to experience it. Aliens rarely pass through this system. Last one who did was during a time before I was even born. Another capabilities are better physically demonstrated."
As she said that, the pink energy around her hand seemed to grow, and give a silhouette of a large planet, with many different moons.
"That's Jupiter and its moons, isn't it?" Kree asked, having seen the image and the star not long ago on the sensor.
"Jupiter? That's a weird name. We call it Hy'r. The one that keeps us from straying. Where'd you hear about this 'Jupiter' name?" Twy'la seemed curious by the name.
Kree shrugged "I don't know the exact origin, just that my ship's radios managed to get connected to something for a short while and download a bunch of information. A lot about the different stars and a race called 'Humans'. Don't suppose you heard of them?"
Twy'la shook her head as she made the image of Jupiter and the moons vanish "Anyway, that is another power I have. If I can observe a planet, I can create a perfect image of that planet, and it's moons. And I haven't experienced it, but I am supposedly able to sense if anyone is connected to the galaxy like myself, or the legendary Celestial Dragon. Though getting the Galactic Cosmos in more than one Kly'ta at a time is already a rare occasion," she shrugged a bit "But I shared my details. What's your deal?"
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Taking in the details shared with her, Kree stopped on a certain detail. Celestial Dragon. Sounded like what she was looking for "I don't suppose you could tell me more about that Celestial Dragon legend?"
Tilting her head, Twy'la seemed a bit annoyed that she didn't get an answer, and sighed.
"I suppose. It's a legend that dates back a few thousand years, back to the Kly'ta beginning. It is said, we started evolving on our own, but struggled due to the planet's harsh frozen temperatures. So a great Celestial Dragon came, and guided us. It was old, and wise, but also harsh at times. And it still helped us find our way. But once we did, the dragon vanished. No one knows where to, it was just gone. Due to how abrupt it was, my people call it a legend and tend to believe it was likely just a common name to our first leaders that helped us survive."
Glancing at Kree, Twy'la was surprised to see how much the stranger seemed to be swallowing every bit of the story "Now, mind telling me about yourself, Kree'aria of Re'eva? Before I decide I've been hospitable enough for today and just let you go off."
"Ah, right! Thanks for sharing that," Kree nodded "On Re'eva, the prominent race is that of the Frael, which is the race I am. Though like you, I'm a bit of an exception. None of the others have wings. And they are very tough. But otherwise, I'm rather normal I think."
"Frael, huh. Well, nice to meet you Fraelian. Where in the galaxy did you come from?" Twy'la seemed to start to relax as the conversation shifted from being about her to Kree.
"It's a bit far. I don't know what's it called exactly, but I had to take about 13 system jumps to get here." Kree said, shrugging as she did her best to explain.
"That sounds rather far, but I've never been off my home so it means nothing to me."
"Oh! Sorry! Well, a system jump means-"
Before Kree could start explaining further, a hastened knock was heard on the apartment door. Turning her gazr to it, Twy'la stood up and walked to it, undoing the door's slider before opening it. On the other side of the door stood three Kly'ta, two with blue Cosmos and one with green. All three had militant appearance.
"Angel Twy'la, we've come to escort you and the stranger to the mayor. He requested you be reminded that you do not get exclusivity on meeting aliens, only greeting them. As the law states -"
"The law states that once I finished greeting the aliens and confirmed they are not a threat, then they will be brought to our highest authority, Dai-Ra'yl. It never stated I had to do it in the colder area by their transportation. Unless the mayor wishes for me to suffer a frostbite?" Twy'la snapped back at him.
Dai-Ra'yl's expression remained the same "We have our orders, and now you too. Come peacefully, or you know what will happen."
"Tsk. He's just being a pain like he always is. Really need to grow your own spine, you know that?" Twy'la turned to look at Kree "Come on, guess we need to go see the biggest big shot around. Can't wait to hear me confirm anything."
As they left the apartment, Dai-Ra'yl walked at the front, followed by Kree and Twy'la, and the back the other two soldiers.
Leaning in to Twy'la, she pointed at Dai-Ra'yl's Cosmos "What does green Cosmos mean?"
"Militant-aspected Cosmos. Helps enhance their capabilities with fighting. Normally they are nothing more then knuckleheads." Twy'la explained, with a clear sting towards Dai-Ra'yl.
"Say what you will, Angel, but at least I get to serve much more often then you. All the respect in the world towards your rare Cosmos won't matter if you end up doing absolutely nothing." Dai-Ra'yl said, with resentment present in his voice.
Twy'la lowered her chin a bit, hiding her mouth behind her collar, while Kree pondered a bit if she should say anything else.
They walked through the maze of a city for what felt like an hour, only to arrive at a higher bridge, leading to a bigger appearing apartment. Big to the point it seemed to have four different balconies and two doors. Dai-Ra'yl knocked on the door, and it was opened before long. Twy'la and Kree were both allowed entry while the soldiers remained behind.
The mayor's apartment was vastly different from Twy'la's. Not only was it comfortably big, it was also well decorated, and felt very homely. Walking to a very spacious living room, Kree stopped and just stared for a moment at a pair of Kly'ta, each with red Cosmos, standing and talking to a much wider Kly'ta, who was sitting on a stone couch.
Noticing Twy'la and Kree, the larger Kly'ta gestured for the other two to step aside, which they did without question. Standing up, Kree was surprised to see that he was barely reaching her shoulder height. And then he started inspecting Kree from every possible direction, including looking closely at her wings.
"Tae-Qi'wa, I haven't finished conducting my conversation with the stranger, it may be risky for you to -"
"Silence, Angel!" he turned a stern gaze towards Twy'la "It may be our law, but you clearly disregarded them when you already went and brought them into our city. So excuse me if I decided to judge for myself. And if I may say, this is quite the specimen," Tae-Qi'wa turned back to Kree "I don't suppose I could convince you to join our planetary zoo? You would be an amazing exhibit to have!"
Twy'la lowered her chin once more, while Kree just shook her head, as she looked at Twy'la "For someone who supposedly have a rare and respectable Cosmos, you sure treat Twy'la poorly."
Tae-Qi'wa took a step back with raised eyebrows "What ever do you mean? She possesses Angel Cosmos! She gets the utmost respect from any normal civilian!"
All eyes now turned to Kree, who shook her head "Not from how I see it. People avoiding talking to her, soldiers disrespecting her, and now you disregard what she has to say. Can't say I'm exactly impressed as an outsider."
Twy'la was keeping her eyes fixed on Kree, while Tae-Qi'wa and the two other Kly'ta seemed shocked and speechless for a moment, before the mayor coughed "Well, you are not one to judge! As an outsider, you have nothing to say about how we do things! That is one of our laws! Keep yapping, and we will imprison you both!"
The two other Kly'ta took this as sign to offer their respect towards the mayor, before stepping out quickly. This was followed by Dai-Ra'yl stepping inside with the two other soldiers, all with their Cosmos energies present around their arm.
"So, why have you come here? To the planet I mean? If it was to spit on our civilization, then I believe it is time for you to depart immediately!" Tae-Qi'wa said, any hospitality in his tone long gone.
Kree glanced in the soldiers direction, before looking back at the mayor "I came to see if you know anything about any celestial beings. Like your legendary Celestial Dragon."