Spheri Society – Howling Snow 01
Spherindell Labs
"Diagnostics complete. The portal is now ready to accept passengers."
Sheryl fidgeted with her blue Spherus Band and her lavender hair, anxiously hoping that her first dimensional trip would be successful. Her light blue thigh-high boots would crinkle lightly as she padded lightly in place. She had all the necessary equipment – her band, which housed her orbs; pouches for various medicines; her Cylindell rod for tools she would need on the journey, along with backups; Sphere packs and a manual on Sphere synthesization; spare clothes and toiletries; and finally, her favorite hairpin – Cleinias had given it to her as a graduation present, on her becoming a Spheri. It had a lavender ribbon with a small sapphire signet of her family's crest. She smiled gently at the thought of being on a mission with him, finally.
Cleinias – tall, leanly muscular, lively, and always looking out for little Sheryl. His freckles and short brown hair would become a dazzling red in sunlight, perfectly matching his sunny personality. He was an Earth-elemental Spheri, complimenting her Water affinities. She looked up to him, lightly squeezing his much larger hand. His soft voice rang sweetly in her ears. "Y'ready to go, princess?" he asked. He always called her that out of affection – originally it was due to her noble heritage, but after they got together, he used it to calm her down as well. She nodded, smiling up at him.
I, Ieremiah, pushed my glasses back into place upon the bridge of my nose, carefully studying my book on various environments and their uses for Sphere Synthesization while mindlessly checking off everything in my satchel that I needed for the trip. My ponytail and violet trench coat swayed as I paced calmly back and forth on the launch pad, waiting for Commander Vilacker to give us the orders. Occasionally I checked my violet Spherus band, growing slowly more anxious for when we would depart – I always got a little portal-sick during transport. My boots clacked gently on the metal, attempting to be quiet so as to not disturb the others, though as usual, Jem, my de facto big brother, was still watching me.
Jemri, or Jem as we called him, leaned up against the wall near the computers, his cowboy hat covering his face while he lightly dozed from working on some specs for his red band. His auburn bangs lightly fell across his face as he almost nodded off. His striped tail swished below him, lightly furrowing his suede jacket as he did so. It was because of his tail, markings, furry pointed ears and eyes that he was easy to identify, even moreso than his odd outfit that he liked. I still say he loves westerns a little too much. He'd grown close to me over the time we were in the platoon, and I was one of the first friends he'd had. In exchange for help with adjusting to Spheri Society, Jem would protect me from potential bullies when we were younger – now, he'd fix the hardware while I fixed the software for the various computer systems around the base.
A tall, grayed man, just shorter than Cleinias, with a short beard and glasses, marched into the room in his full regalia, causing all four of us to fall in line. General Vilacker was well known for his deep, rhythmic voice, somewhat stocky build, and omnibenevolent presence, except when it came to suitors trying to court his daughter, who had recently blossomed into the marriable age. Clearing his throat, he gave the briefing: "Okay, team. Your mission is to investigate the origins of the spatial shift that's recently been forming over in Sector 3-B's Delta quadrant. We have reason to believe that Velias, the leader of the Delsi cult, is related to the formation of a shift of such magnitude. And- hmm?" He paused. Suddenly the base shook, causing all of us to lose their balance. Sheryl shrieked, causing Cleinias to grab on to her, while Jemri and I quickly grasped the other's hand in time.
A large siren wailed while the intercom came on. "Disaster alert. All Spheri shall report to the docking bay for emergency transport."
"Go, everyone, quickly! Things will be alright here, get going!" General Vilacker yelled. Everyone nodded, and set out for the gate. Just as we had entered, something struck the control circuits, causing the computer to malfunction. Jem clutched me to his chest while reaching for Cleinias' hand while I reached for Sheryl's. Unfortunately, neither duo was successful, and we were caught in the vortex to our new location. 'Knowing what went on, there's probably no way we could find our way back with any amount of reasonable time, nonetheless complete the mission… great… there goes my promotion… at least there's a chance we could-" That was all I could think of before everything went black.
"…Ow." Well, there goes the plan to not get hurt badly when transporting through spatial portals. Based on the feel of muscular arms around me, Jem is probably still holding me to his chest. Admittedly, it feels nice – he's basically become a big brother of sorts to me, so it's pretty comforting. That, and I like hugs from him – he's like a teddy bear once you bypass his initial aloofness.
I decided to open my eyes to see what's going on – we seemed to have crashed into a dense forest, with a thick canopy above us, but not the same air as a rainforest. It seems more like tons of deciduous trees, with a nice view of… well, more forest… no humanoids seemed to be around this area, either.
"Hey… Jem…" I whispered. Thankfully he's a light sleeper, so he awoke rather easily.
"Yeah? What's up bro?" he asked lazily. "Ergh… …A forest?"
"No signs of Sheryl and Cleinias. I would've gotten blips on my Spheradar. The only thing we can do at the moment is to make ourselves a home, I guess. We brought the kit, right?" I asked, checking my satchel.
"Yeah, I got mine. Urrrf…" he stretched, wincing a little at the soreness in his legs and back from our landing, as well as his tail. I was equally sore, with my shoulder and… well, my hips sure could use a bit of a spa treatment. "Aaaagh… remind me t'install seats next time… ow…" he groaned, cracking several places in his back with one backward bend.
Scouting a spot was rather easy, since it seemed we'd made a clearing when we landed. "I guess this spot is as good as any, Jem. Ready to combo?"
"Sounds good to me!" he said gruffly.
In unison, we commanded, "Spherus Shot, load the slots!"
"Foundation!" "Flooring!" "Walls!" "Wallpaint!" "Plumbing!" "Electricity!" "Doors!" "Windows!" "Roof!" "Décor!" we cast in tandem. Soon, we had a nice, comfy, two-story house reminiscent of a Japanese 2BHK*. It took us a decent amount of energy to shoot all of those spheres, but hey, it's a pretty sweet pad, if I say so myself. Surveillance, a comfy round sofa with an oak coffee table and round Persian rug for the living area, wood panel flooring for the first floor and plush carpet for the bedrooms, working bathroom, a square kitchen with a wide fridge (great since Jem can eat like a horse), a Sphere Synthesization lab, and a lush bed in a smaller space in the back for Jem & I. It seemed like the sun would set soon, so it was good that we got done in time.
"Ah, nice and comfy. Not too shabby, considering we just crash-landed into the middle of who-knows-where just a while ago."
"Gotta agree with that, little bro. We'll probably be staying here for a while, so I guess it's a good thing to get used to." Jem said while taking off his black boots at the door as I did the same with my blue shoe-boots. I'd used a quick Shower sphere to clean us off beforehand, so I didn't have to worry about us being dirty in the house. Allergens can be a pain, y'know. Then again, I should be the one saying that when my best friend is a western-loving weretiger.
After turning on the surveillance and security cameras, as well as perma-locking the doors, enforcing all of the windows with a quick Hearten sphere, and adjusting the AC for a good sleeping environment, Jem & I got into our pajamas and went to sleep, him keeping me close with his embrace. It'd be nice if we could be like this the whole night, but as always, there was a thought lingering in the back of my mind.
"Why am I getting the feeling we're being watched? There's something out there, isn't there… …Great. Now what'll happen…?"
* A 2BHK is short for "Two Beds, One Hall, One Kitchen", which is how Japanese apartments are usually laid out.