Drabble: First Encounters
No reading nor studying could have prepared Thea for what life was truly like outside of Rosteria. The idealistic pink planet was an outlier to the rest of the galaxy it seemed; everywhere she went she came across beings of all kinds that would cast her unpleasant glances. Thea could not fathom why it was happening, as far as she saw herself, she was fitting in, acting normal and wearing normal clothes- perhaps with a little more fuchsia than most others.
Thea sat quietly on a bench, reading a book from the Dreamborn series. She was waiting for the lightrail train. Outside of the glass-domed terminal rain fell heavily. It reminded Thea of when it rained back home, of course precipitation on a reed roof was a sound far different than glass, but the broad concept was close enough to stir her memory. The bell of the station chimed for the hour, it was now 2 AM, her train would arrive in fifteen minutes.
Thea worked as a server at Max’s Tymalian Cuisine, a small shop in the heart of the downtown of the city. It wasn’t a permanent position, nor was her stay on Bellatrix Prima a permanent residence. It was only a stop on her tour of the galaxy. She was making enough to pay her hostel rent and save up for a ticket to the next planet. Yet her money seemed to disappear faster than she could make it, that was due to her love and inability to pass up on anything pink.
Thea was plucked from the pages of her book when she felt a hard thud against her foot. She looked up to see a man, no doubt half Tymalian, gazing at her with an aggressive snarl.
“I said move.” The man repeated, shooing her as though she was a stray hound.
“Move?” Thea sat up, holding the spot in her book with her thumb. “I’m waiting for my lightrail? I’m not loitering or anything.”
“I don’t care what you’re doing, me and my friends are going to sit here, and we don’t want a chick like you up in our space.”
The strong scent of alcohol that drifted with his breath was enough to convince Thea that he wasn’t worth her trouble. “Right, I’m really sorry.” She said with a submissive smile, grabbing her bag and her water bottle before she moved across the terminal to another bench.
Thea sat down with intentions to continue reading until she gazed back at the blueish man and saw that he was accompanied by two others that appeared even more inebriated than he. Worse still, all three of them were watching her in a manner that made her shudder. She closed her book, tucking it away so that she could clutch her bag protectively against herself. She glanced at the time, seven more minutes until her train arrived.
Thea dreadfully felt the trio approaching before she looked up to acknowledge them. She stood to move as far out of the corner of the building as she could before they confronted her.
“You know,” one of the drunks said, “A little pink thing such as yourself must be looking for something being out so late...”
“Yeah, you Rosians are always looking for a good fuck.” The other said more bluntly.
Thea continued with her rather meek demeanor, replying calmly regardless that she felt her heart pounding in her throat. “I am only part Rosian. My father was an Earth human.” She took a step back to distance herself. “I am just on my way home from work, I’m tired, I’m not really looking for anything other than a good rest.”
The men closed the distance once more. This time, the Tymalian man came closest to her, grasping her wrist. Thea attempted to jerk her arm back, but he didn’t budge an inch. “Pity that half of you is Rosian scum.”
Enelden saw the scene from the window of his seat before the lightrail he was on came to a halt. This wasn’t his stop, but he pushed past Igrok and Deon and sprinted out the door. The other two had little choice but to follow him off, confused by his sudden burst of speed and urgency.
“Excuse me.” Enelden shouted running towards the group. “Excuse me!” He shouted again, this time with more aggression in his voice as he pushed himself in between the three men and the Rosian. The Tymalian let go of Thea’s wrist, and now all of the attention of the drunk group was upon Enelden, they didn’t look impressed. “I think you three aught to leave this woman alone.”
The men looked at each other then laughed at him. “What we’re doing is none of your concern.”
“It is my concern!” He shouted back. “You’re harassing her, I suggest you leave her alone.”
Now, Enelden on his own was nothing to be intimidated over. It was Deon and more-so Igrok, the muscular Engineer who made threatening gestures unbeknownst to and behind Enelden, that made the drunks less inclined to start something physical. “Come on,” the Tymalian said, “a Rosian and a dweeb aren’t worth our time.”
And with Enelden looking like the hero, the trio departed from the station.
“Are you all right?” Enelden asked, turning around once he was sure that they were gone.
Thea fancied herself to be excellent with words, but when she tried to answer him she was at a loss of what to say. His eyes were a soft blue, like the delicate powdery petals of a hyacinth flower. The longer she gazed into them the more she found her thoughts drifting into pleasant nothingness.
“Hmm? No.” It was a struggle to reply.
“May I see your wrist?” Enelden probed, lightly taking her hand in his when she held it up. It was difficult to explain, but he suddenly felt quite drawn to her. Her gaze was wide, her lips full with the cutest natural pout, her hair billowed around her like cotton-candy clouds. His gaze was locked on hers as his hands went through the motion of inspecting her wrist.
“Right, ah,” Enelden looked down to her wrist. “A little bruised, nothing serious, it should heal quickly but take it easy on it for a few days. Ice it if it hurts.”
She nodded. “Thank you for, you know, stepping in there. Not everyone would do that. You’re really valiant, a modern day hero!” They simultaneously blushed, Thea shyly glancing away.
“Oh it was really nothing.” Enelden let go of her wrist, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. “I was just doing what was right.”
“LightRail 713, via Heath Street approaching, stay clear of the tracks.” The station voice said.
Thea’s eyes widened. “Well, I- that’s my train.” She bit her lip. “What was your name?”
Before anymore could be said Thea smiled, “Thank you Enelden Silvak.” She stood on her toes to place a chaste kiss upon the bottom of his cheek before rushing through the closing doors of her train.
Stuck in a love-struck haze, Enelden watched her train go, hoping he could catch one last glimpse of her.
“Your boner is showing.” Igrok said, whacking Enelden between the legs.
“What?!” Enelden hunched over and covered himself, grimacing in a mixture of embarrassment and pain.
Deon laughed. “She was pretty cute.” He looked up to the listings of incoming trains. “I hope that she was worth the hour and a half that it’s going to take for our next ride to get here.“
“Of course it was worth it.” Enelden said defensively. “They looked like they were going to hurt her, they were all twice her height! There was three of them!”
“What was her name, Lover-boy?” Igrok asked as he lay down on the bench, fully prepared to sleep through the wait.
Enelden fell cold, “Oh my god I didn’t get her name or her number!” He pressed his hands to his face and groaned. It was going to be a long wait indeed.
