Sashataakheru (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wolfanfics) wrote2009-05-18 12:10 pm
wolfanfics) wrote2009-05-18 12:10 pm
Wild West Heroes/Rainbow Nation Excerpt
Y halo thar, random scene that appeared in my head just then. Written for the prompt 'culture shock', which should become obvious when read. XD
Anyway. Yes. Hai, have some fiction. :P
Starlight had always lived in the outback. Wide open spaces, few people, the bright stars shining in the sky. The biggest city he had ever been in was Darwin, and even that was still very much your average outback town, albeit with a larger Chinese population than usual. So it was with utter trepidation that he agreed to go with Rogue and Puppy back to Sydney. Across the quarantine border. Into the Big City.
It was a very different world for a cowboy used to doing his own thing. He stood on the edge of the city, unsure what he was looking at. It was late at night. They had been discreet to avoid attracting unwanted police attention. From there, Starlight could see a sprawling city, with gigantic buildings towering into the sky. The stars were dim and soft, hard to hear. Even this far out, there were far more people than he'd ever seen in one place in his entire life. He reached for Centaurus, not sure he wanted to go into the city, not if it was like this.
"I'm going to get killed in there. Where did all these people come from? What are those things?" Starlight said as a convoy of cars sped past them on the road.
"This is what a city is like. Far too many people than you really need, all crammed into tiny little houses. And they were cars. Everyone has them here," Rogue said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"I'm already feeling claustrophobic. Where's all the space? Where are the trees? What did you do to the sky? This is so unnatural. Why would anyone want to live here?" Starlight said.
"Dunno, it's just how we live. We're used to it," Puppy said, somewhat unhelpfully.
"Man, I knew cities were big, but damn. I'm sure it's not that bad though," Centaurus said.
"You reckon? Nah, dangerous place, cities. More people fighting over less space always leads to conflict. Plus there's more people watching and far too many rules. Can't get away with anything there. Not that that stops us trying," Rogue said.
"Centaurus? Can we go home? I'm not sure I want to go in there, not like that. I miss the stars. I can't hear them over all this noise," Starlight said.
"You need to come. The twins are eager to meet you. They serve Ara. They told me we're not allowed to return without you. Ara's words," Rogue said.
"Ara..." Starlight was shocked at the familiar name. No one else knew about Ara. Why did they...?
"I'll hold your hand the whole time. It'll be okay," Centaurus said.
But it wasn't. If Starlight thought the noise was bad on the outskirts of town, he hadn't realised just how bad it could be. The noise, the sheer number of people, all these things, all these rules, all this technology he'd never seen before... I mean, what the hell was a traffic light? What was the point of a revolving door? With all those cars driving on the roads, how was one supposed to get to the other side? It all terrified him and he was sure he'd have merely run back to the border and gone home if he hadn't had Centaurus with him.
He didn't settle until they got back to Rogue's headquarters. He sat in the lounge, with Centaurus at his side, trying to cleanse himself of the mess of the city. He was beginning to realise just how far from home he was, and how very much out of place he felt. This was not his home. Everything was strange and cramped and it smelt bad. He missed his bike and the freedom to just ride through the arid country, across all that red dirt, and just be one with the land.
But there was no land here to be one with. It was all covered in concrete and bitumen and dirt, and strange machines he had never seen, let alone been able to imagine. Technology in the desert was basic and adequate. This was far beyond his comprehension. They had books, but they weren't real books. It was a device and words appeared on the screen. It didn't even smell like a book. Starlight hated it, and threw the strange thing against a wall. It was not a book. It was a... thing. Starlight had no word for what it was.
"So, you're the one Ara sent," came the soft voice of one of the twins, Xavier.
Starlight looked up and wiped his tears away. He could feel her. There was a small comfort in being in the presence of someone who knew Ara too.
"Apparently so. How can you hear her in all this mess? I can't hear her anymore. There's too much noise," Starlight said.
"It's not easy. I don't hear her myself. Only my brother talks to her, and I have to keep him as pure as possible," Xavier said.
"She says not to worry, you are safe. The stars are always around, even if humanity wishes to silence them," said Azarius, the other twin. He knelt before Starlight and clasped his hand. Their eyes met. Starlight felt his anxiety lessen, just a little.
"If I could just hear their voices..." Starlight said. He'd never been so cut off from them before. It was doing nothing to ease his nerves of being in a big proper city for the first time. He missed silence. Real silence.
Azarius brought him into a hug, gently holding him. "She always speaks to your heart, even if your ears cannot hear. We are never deaf to the stars, not while we live," he whispered.
Starlight wanted to cry. He had felt that in his heart. Those were Ara's words. For a brief moment, he was safe. And then a truck thundered past their building and blasted its horn into the night and Starlight remembered where he was. He just wanted to go home. The city was too scary. He wanted his desert back now.
Anyway. Yes. Hai, have some fiction. :P
Starlight had always lived in the outback. Wide open spaces, few people, the bright stars shining in the sky. The biggest city he had ever been in was Darwin, and even that was still very much your average outback town, albeit with a larger Chinese population than usual. So it was with utter trepidation that he agreed to go with Rogue and Puppy back to Sydney. Across the quarantine border. Into the Big City.
It was a very different world for a cowboy used to doing his own thing. He stood on the edge of the city, unsure what he was looking at. It was late at night. They had been discreet to avoid attracting unwanted police attention. From there, Starlight could see a sprawling city, with gigantic buildings towering into the sky. The stars were dim and soft, hard to hear. Even this far out, there were far more people than he'd ever seen in one place in his entire life. He reached for Centaurus, not sure he wanted to go into the city, not if it was like this.
"I'm going to get killed in there. Where did all these people come from? What are those things?" Starlight said as a convoy of cars sped past them on the road.
"This is what a city is like. Far too many people than you really need, all crammed into tiny little houses. And they were cars. Everyone has them here," Rogue said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"I'm already feeling claustrophobic. Where's all the space? Where are the trees? What did you do to the sky? This is so unnatural. Why would anyone want to live here?" Starlight said.
"Dunno, it's just how we live. We're used to it," Puppy said, somewhat unhelpfully.
"Man, I knew cities were big, but damn. I'm sure it's not that bad though," Centaurus said.
"You reckon? Nah, dangerous place, cities. More people fighting over less space always leads to conflict. Plus there's more people watching and far too many rules. Can't get away with anything there. Not that that stops us trying," Rogue said.
"Centaurus? Can we go home? I'm not sure I want to go in there, not like that. I miss the stars. I can't hear them over all this noise," Starlight said.
"You need to come. The twins are eager to meet you. They serve Ara. They told me we're not allowed to return without you. Ara's words," Rogue said.
"Ara..." Starlight was shocked at the familiar name. No one else knew about Ara. Why did they...?
"I'll hold your hand the whole time. It'll be okay," Centaurus said.
But it wasn't. If Starlight thought the noise was bad on the outskirts of town, he hadn't realised just how bad it could be. The noise, the sheer number of people, all these things, all these rules, all this technology he'd never seen before... I mean, what the hell was a traffic light? What was the point of a revolving door? With all those cars driving on the roads, how was one supposed to get to the other side? It all terrified him and he was sure he'd have merely run back to the border and gone home if he hadn't had Centaurus with him.
He didn't settle until they got back to Rogue's headquarters. He sat in the lounge, with Centaurus at his side, trying to cleanse himself of the mess of the city. He was beginning to realise just how far from home he was, and how very much out of place he felt. This was not his home. Everything was strange and cramped and it smelt bad. He missed his bike and the freedom to just ride through the arid country, across all that red dirt, and just be one with the land.
But there was no land here to be one with. It was all covered in concrete and bitumen and dirt, and strange machines he had never seen, let alone been able to imagine. Technology in the desert was basic and adequate. This was far beyond his comprehension. They had books, but they weren't real books. It was a device and words appeared on the screen. It didn't even smell like a book. Starlight hated it, and threw the strange thing against a wall. It was not a book. It was a... thing. Starlight had no word for what it was.
"So, you're the one Ara sent," came the soft voice of one of the twins, Xavier.
Starlight looked up and wiped his tears away. He could feel her. There was a small comfort in being in the presence of someone who knew Ara too.
"Apparently so. How can you hear her in all this mess? I can't hear her anymore. There's too much noise," Starlight said.
"It's not easy. I don't hear her myself. Only my brother talks to her, and I have to keep him as pure as possible," Xavier said.
"She says not to worry, you are safe. The stars are always around, even if humanity wishes to silence them," said Azarius, the other twin. He knelt before Starlight and clasped his hand. Their eyes met. Starlight felt his anxiety lessen, just a little.
"If I could just hear their voices..." Starlight said. He'd never been so cut off from them before. It was doing nothing to ease his nerves of being in a big proper city for the first time. He missed silence. Real silence.
Azarius brought him into a hug, gently holding him. "She always speaks to your heart, even if your ears cannot hear. We are never deaf to the stars, not while we live," he whispered.
Starlight wanted to cry. He had felt that in his heart. Those were Ara's words. For a brief moment, he was safe. And then a truck thundered past their building and blasted its horn into the night and Starlight remembered where he was. He just wanted to go home. The city was too scary. He wanted his desert back now.