"You were right, Kanata", Aries said. "It doesn't look as bad as it did from space." She felt slightly uncomfortable wearing her new clothes as the group disembarked onto the planet. In favour of practicality, the girl had chosen shorts and t-shirt instead of the dress. While it closely fitted around her neck, Quitterie had added a slit just above her chest, much to Aries disliking.

The blonde herself had been unable to decide on a design and still wore her uniform. Quitterie imagined that once she had found a pink dye, Luca would figure out how to transform her vision of the perfect outfit into reality. The girl now sceptically looked at the unfamiliar environment. What had looked gloomy and hostile from space, had turned out to be perfectly ordinary after landing.

Luca had made himself shorts and a sleeveless top, which he wore under his vest. The teen had briefly considered making a dress just to annoy Ulgar, but given up on the thought as he had realised that he would not feel comfortable wearing a dress for the rest of the trip. "So vast!", the purple-haired teen described their sight.

The Astra had landed on a grassy plain, stretching as far as the group could see to the West, surrounded by woodland from the North and East and bordering a vast lake to the South. It was a cloudy day, yet the climate was temperate.

"Looks kinda normal", Quitterie commented the scenery, shielding her eyes with her hands, although the sun did not manage to penetrate the clouds. "Maybe it won't be that bad here after all."

"I wonder what kind of animals we will find", Charles wondered. "Would they be similar to those we have at home? Given that the environment is very similar, we might see cases of convergent evolution." Visibly excited, he left the ramp of the Astra, and examined the soil. "There are footprints! And they're huge!"

Suddenly the ground was shaking. "Another earthquake?!" Alerted, Kanata considered their surroundings. The lake, albeit huge and stretching to the horizon, would not be large enough to give rise to another tsunami. This time, nothing could possibly happen to the space travellers. But he could not take any risks. "Everyone! Let's go back into the Astra."

"Wait", Zack suddenly halted the group. Standing in the doorframe, he continued, "I think this is not an earthquake. Listen."

The shaking had a regular interval to it, rhythmically like a heartbeat, and continuously became stronger. "It's those animals!" Luca pointed at a group of animals emerging from behind the forest. Occasionally crying out, a herd of around thirty animals slowly came closer, slowly heading towards the lake. The animals were of brown colour and looked like a strange crossing of a horse and an elephant, except thrice as tall as the latter.

Kanata was happy. "Seems our dinner is approaching!" If they would manage to take one of them down, it would provide more meat than the Astra could carry.

"They are so huge", Funicia commented as the animals had reached the Astra and passed by without showing any interest toward the ship or the group. "I want to name them Horfants."

"They are certainly big", Charce agreed, exiting the Astra again. "Yet they don't seem dangerous, and look, they are eating grass."

"Herbivores?", Funicia remembered the term the other had taught her. She was visibly proud and smiled at the Astra's cook, who nodded in recognition.

As they were approaching the herd, who still showed zero interest in the group, Kanata pictured all the meaty dishes Charce could make for him. "We only need one of them", he said. As they had rationed their food, the storage of the Astra was nearly empty. The quicker they could fill it back up, the better.

"Edible", Zack confirmed after testing. Next to the huge animal, he seemed tiny. At his full height, the bespectacled student was still shorter than the animals' legs. And their mass was enormous, a colossal rump and a tail reaching to the ground.

"I doubt we can kill it though." Ulgar did not hesitate and slammed his spear against one of the animal's leg with one swift motion. "Their skin is tough." His arm was hurting after the impact, not that the black-haired teen would show it though. The Horfant casually turned its head and looked at him, perhaps mistaking the attack for a mosquito bite.

"What are you doing down there, Ulgar?" Taking advantage of its long tail, Luca had climbed onto the back of the same animal his friend had casually attempted to kill. Now he waved cheerfully downwards from seven meters above ground.

"Kanata, tell him that's dangerous. He wouldn't survive the fall", Zack urged his captain. However, when turning around, the genius realised that the other was no longer by their side. Instead, Kanata was attempting to join Luca on the animal's back. All Zack could do was facepalm.

"True, their skin is surprisingly thick", Charce had appeared next to Ulgar who was examining the animal more closely. "I wonder whether is to protect itself from predators." However, even he did not want to imagine a predator that could attack an animal this large.

Suddenly, the Horfant stopped grazing and slowly moved towards the lake. From below, the group could see Luca struggling to keep his balance, finding no hold on the smooth, thick skin. Kanata, still close enough to the ground, quickly jumped off. While the group was holding their breath, worried about the safety of their comrade, Luca, smiling widely, slit down the tail. Upon his friends scolding him, he simply stuck out his tongue.

Meanwhile, Yun Hua and Quitterie had examined the lake and now returned to the group. "I don't think we can drink the water", the blonde shared their findings. Despite being perfectly clear, the water had a sour and strongly acidic taste. "It tastes absolutely disgusting, I nearly burned my tongue", she added. Yun Hua showed the red markings the water had left on her hands.

"I can probably make a filter", Zack said calmly, looking at the body of water not far from the ship. "We should have the necessary materials on board."

"Ok", Kanata acknowledged. He was upset that the Horfants remained unkillable but was also aware that the group needed to set priorities if they wanted to survive. "Let's split up!"

xxx

"There is nothing edible here!", Quitterie complained. She and Yun Hua were surveying the edge of the vast plain, where the sea of grass was interrupted by rocky ground. The soil was dry and stony, only allowing for small vegetation and low shrubs.

"How about these plants?", Yun-Hua suggested shyly and pointed onto a shrub bearing fruit. However, a quick test revealed that they were inedible. It was a shame, the fruits were coloured brightly and looked mouth-wateringly tasty.

"Oh well, let's take some anyway." Quitterie shrugged. She was hungry and in a bad mood. The clouds had become darker and the area did not look inviting at all. "Maybe Luca can use them to make dye for my new clothes. He said people used fruits to make fabric dye, or vegetables, whatever. Which colour do you want for your clothes, Yun Hua?"

The other remained silent but started to pluck the fruits. "Purple would be good", she answered finally. The fruits had the size of a pineapple, yet were shaped more like a tomato. Yun Hua's stomach growled. "Sorry", she apologised immediately.

But Quitterie paid no attention to her, she had moved deeper into the shrubs. "Look, Yun Hua", she exclaimed pointing towards the soil. A sandy spot within the shrubs clearly revealed footprints. As the ground was dry, there was no indication of how old the traces were.

"Humans?", Yun Hua asked surprised. There were some obvious differences between a human footprint and the traces on the ground. The marks on the ground were bigger with the big toe being more distinct and shaped like a crescent moon. However, it was clear that who- or whatever had left its footprint was walking upright.

"Probably just an animal", Quitterie tried to calm her friend. Yet her voice was shaken and failed to have the desired effect. "Let's go back and tell Kanata and the others. Charce can have a look at this." As the two girls turned to return to the Astra, it began to drizzle. "Great, no food, weird footprints and rain", the blonde complained. "I already hate this planet!"

"Look." Yun-Hua showed her arm to the other. Were the rain had touched her, her skin had become red. "It hurts", she added. "Just like the water in the lake." Looking up to the sky, the clouds had become darker and it did not seem like it would clear up soon.

"Even the rain is trying to kill us", Quitterie grabbed Yun Hua's arm and the two hastily made their way back to the Astra with the fruits they had collected.

xxx

"You still haven't told me what your favourite colour is." Luca and Ulgar were exploring the woodland closest to the Astra. The purple-haired teen was as cheerful as ever, despite their unfriendly environment. Upon entering the tree-dominated habit, occasional animal cries were audible, some being closer than they two would have liked. There was hardly any light and even the rustling of the leaves seemed menacing.

"It's like those old dinosaur movies", Luca commented, still unimpressed. On this planet, even the trees and shrubs were huge, making the Horfants seem tiny in comparison. "Anyway, I can't make your clothes if I don't know what colour you like", the lively teen urged. "You will be the only one wearing your school uniform."

Ulgar glanced at his friend. Talkative as usual, with Luca by his side, hunting would be difficult. Perhaps this was the reason the two had not seen a single animal. "Black", he finally gave in, attempting to shut his friend up. After Ulgar had made a fool of himself and confessed that he would have liked to see his friend in a dress, he felt awkward around Luca. Yet the other acted normally and appeared to have forgotten about the incidence.

"Black is so gloomy", Luca replied, happy that he had gotten a reply. "How about yellow?"

"Shh!", Ulgar made suddenly. He grabbed his friend by the arm to prevent him from going further. Something large was approaching. They heard twigs and branches breaking, followed by loud footsteps. The woodland was suddenly quiet and seemed even darker than before.

Luca was alerted as well. "Let's hide", he said, his voice now lower and completely serious. However, this was easier said than done. The two did not know whether the animal used sight, smell or sound to locate its prey—if it was a carnivore at all. Nor had they any idea where it was headed or what it was doing.

Ulgar nodded, his gun in his hands. However, he felt no reassuring from the cold metal. If the skin of this new animal was anything like that of a Horfant, the gun would not be able to penetrate it. Still looking for a hideout, it started to rain. At first, the trees were enough to keep the ground dry, but as the two went deeper into the woodland, the water reached down to them.

"What kind of rain is this? It's hurting", Luca exclaimed, louder than appropriate. Where the rain had reached his skin, red marks appeared.

"Over there." Ulgar led his friend underneath a large leaf. With a large rock to the right and thick undershrub to the left, the spot gave them an illusion of safety. The overhanging leaf was as large as a car tyre and thick enough to withstand the rain.

Meanwhile, the threating noise emitted by the undoubtedly dangerous animal had come closer.

"Don't treat me like a girl", Luca complained but Ulgar just silently pointed at the other's clothes. A hole had already formed in his vest, revealing his shoulder. "Oh, it's not like you don't want me to be naked, is it?", he teased half-heartedly but became serious again straight after. "What about your cap?"

By the time Ulgar had arranged a second leaf so that there was space for both of them, a hole had formed in his cap. Never mind his arms that were red and hurting "It doesn't matter", the black-haired teen commented and sat down next to Luca. Sitting side by side, their knees tucked up, the small space was just enough to keep them dry.

The rain was getting stronger and the mysterious animal had now reached the other side of the shrubs where Ulgar and Luca had stood not too long ago. They could hear it breathing, accompanied by the sound of breaking branches. None of them dared to say a word.


Let me know what you think!