Cosmic (18+)

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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The descent to Exodus was silent, each of them lost in their own minds. Charlie and Mariah landed the shuttle in a small clearing close to Eli's last location, then they all promptly put on their suits. Archie holstered a laser gun at his hip and stared pensively out the window. Charlie let Mariah take the remaining gun. She would figure out how to defend herself if it came to that.

When the heavy door groaned open and her feet hit bioluminescent blue grass, she didn't feel the wonder she once had felt at seeing the beauty of the planet's unusual plant life. With one glance at the rest of her team, it was clear they had similar reactions—or rather, lack thereof. Only one thing was on their minds.

Get Eli. Bring him home.

Or as much of a home the big metal box floating up in space was.

Charlie squared her shoulders and willed herself to not be afraid—which didn't last for long once she thought of how the creature they would potentially be up against literally tore apart two giant basilisk monsters, but she didn't show her apprehension. Not when her team was counting on her to keep a level head.

"This way," Mariah nodded toward the direction her handheld locator indicated. Its small flashing red light pulsed more frequently when facing the correct way.

Archie shouldered past them and marched ahead. "Keep behind me," the big man's accented, gravel voice grumbled, determined not to let anything harm a hair on their heads.

Charlie could tell the fiery redhead was having a hard time not retorting she could take care of herself. They knew letting him be their body shield would make him feel better, considering he hadn't been there to protect his brother who almost died after an alien monster bit off his arm. Charlie wondered if he felt guilty as well.

The trio walked through the forest, alert and paranoid. They passed some more of those uncanny tree bunny creatures clinging to the rough, ridged bark of their perch. Their unblinking eyes followed them as the group quietly made their way through the foliage between broad, veiny trees. How something could be both adorable and terrifying, Charlie didn't know.

Her gaze was drawn to a small head with big eyes poking out of its mother's pouch on an overhead branch. Charlie resisted the urge to react to the insanely cute baby tree bunny. They have pouches like kangaroos! If she wasn't so worried about Eli, she would have been more visibly enthusiastic about the discovery. She calmed herself and refocused her mind on the objective. Turning into a pile of mush over cute alien babies wasn't going to help Eli.

They continued on until they heard a rustling in the bushes up ahead and a series of distressed squeaks and hisses. Archie unholstered his gun and held it steady in front of him, prepared to take action if necessary. A frantic tree bunny tumbled out of the bush, blue liquid seeping from its wounds. A blue and violet speckled glowing frog creature twice its size hopped out into view, opening its round, gaping mouth wide to show rows of razor sharp teeth, poised to gobble up the small, shivering animal. Archie pulled the trigger.

The frog exploded in a burst of blue mush and the tree bunny squeaked in surprise.

Talk about turning into a pile of mush...

Charlie's nose wrinkled when she realized a fleck of frog insides had gotten on her suit. She flicked it off. "Yuck."

The big man approached the little gore soaked bunny. It was too injured to try to run away and its long tongue flickered out to lick its big yellow eyes in anxiety. He knelt beside it, his features behind his helmet softening as he took in its injuries. From out of his pocket he pulled a compact first aid kit that most everyone had on them. Its wounds were small enough on its little body that the mini sized bottle of freeze sealant was able to fully close its lacerations, stopping the bleeding.