A New World

[Jayne]

A sweeping, warm wind rolled over the emerald plains of Metapha, blades of grass swaying softly with the breeze, reflecting the sunlight much like an ocean would. This wind did not come alone, it came with change.

To anyone passing there was nary a disturbance in the landscape at first, but soon that began to change as ripples appeared out of thin air, disturbing the view of anyone looking through. The ripples grew quicker and more violent and soon a bright green crack appeared, an otherworldly light shining through much like sunlight through clouds, projecting long beams forward. The shifting did not cease, it grew in size and speed, beginning to blow with a chilling wind of its own.

The crack grew, spiking and branching out as if space and matter was glass before everything shattered, opening a gateway some nine feet tall. The green light was blinding and visible for miles, but momentarily a shape appeared. It was like a stick figure, but it grew in breadth, several seconds bringing faint black lines to the solid shape of a young woman.

Then, in much the same manner as the gateway had appeared, the space of Dragonia splintered and broke the opening into a tiny singularity, before it disappeared completely, leaving no trace of its appearance, except for Jayne, who was looking all around wide-eyed. This was fairly different from her home planet, a world of sand and stone.

"Wow... This place... it's beautiful!" The sun shone in her face and the wind of a new, unfamiliar world brought smells and sensations she had never known. With a broad, excited smile she embraced this new world open-armed.

[kihaku]

I was sound asleep, laying on my side with my head pillowed on my right arm, when a crackling woke me up. Last night had been an absolute nightmare, swords flying everywhere, words being exchanged in a lethal manner, and, worst of all, friggin' ENERGY WAVES being thrown around like they're just another day on this god-forsaken planet.

The breeze was soft, the sun on my cheek even softer, but that wasn't long in changing. Soon the crackling changed to an almost grinding, shattering sound, and the wind grew in force until I had to squint against it and raise my arm to shield my face.

The light coming from the... wormhole was absolutely blinding, and despite the threat this could possibly be to my life, I had no choice but to shut my eyes tightly agaisnt it. When it finally felt as if it would never end, everything crashed into silence, the only thing left to hear was the ringing in my ears.

I opened my eyes to see a female form standing where the rip in time and space had been, and she seemed to be looking around in complete amazement. My senses were still on high alert from her unorthodox entrance.

"Wow... This place... it's beautiful!"

I looked around, but didn't see anything in particular that I would describe as beautiful. Sure, the environment had a certain pristine, untouched feel about it, but it was, afterall, just a meadow.

I stood and put my hands into my pants pockets, my jacket in a bundle on the ground, so my bare arms broke out into goosebumps in the cool wind under the shade of my tree.

"Hi."

That was all I could think of to say. I mean, what do you say to a girl who just ripped a hole in the fabric of the universe?

[Jayne]

Jayne's eyes took in her surroundings in big, giant gulps, looking around with a deep fascination of this place, unlike anything she had ever seen. Other than the sights, an extraordinary sensation grasped her Psychokinesis. "There's so much life here..." She stood up straight and spread her arms, closing her eyes as her extra-sensoral perception reached out and grasped this world that was teeming with life to a scale that she had never known. It breathed life into her, and-

"Hi."

The young woman froze and her eyes popped open. Slowly, wearily she turned her head to see a young man wearing some interesting clothes standing under a tree, greeting her. Her embarassed expression gave way to a wide, still slightly embarassed smile and she quickly turned around, her hair whipping around as she did. "Uhm... Hi!" Her pearly whites kept shining. "I... uh... I'm a little lost, to be honest. Could you tell me where I am?" She put both hands behind her back, clasped her palms and leaned slightly forward as she spoke.

[kihaku]

She seemed to be having a good enough time without me butting in, so I felt almost a little guilty for having interrupted her reveling. Almost. Still, when I spoke she instantly stopped, and turned around more... embarrassed? than anything else, so I began to assume she wasn't all that much of a danger to me. Still, after nearly escaping without my body intact last night, I wasn't going to take any more chances than I needed.

"Uhm... Hi!" Her face allowed a smile, and I took a moment to realize that she really did have a stunning smile, even though her clothing seemed almost native in nature. Leather outfits were far out of date, at least on my world, but her white smile and, from what I could see, silky hair belied one who took great pride in their personal hygiene. Definitely not a savage.

"I... uh... I'm a little lost, to be honest. Could you tell me where I am?"

Now, please don't misunderstand, I felt a twinge of sympathy, but God knows how hard it was for me to keep from absolutely exploding in raucous laughter. Whether it was from genuine amusment, or I had finally snapped and entered the downward spiral of insanity, I couldn't tell, but no one could fault me. I restrained myself and kept my amusement down to a small, sighing chuckle and a smile.

"That depends, is this geographically, or universally speaking? On the one hand," I slid my right hand out to the right, palm up, "You're on the continent of Metapha. On the other," same with my left, outwards, "You're on the planet of Dragonia."

I shrugged and put my hands back in my pockets. "Let me be the first to welcome you into the craziness." I started walking towards her, the sun feeling almost theraputic on my arms. I was wearing a brown flannel shirt that was open and unbuttoned, a white t-shirt underneath that, blue jeans, and quality brown hiking boots. My attire and my posture spoke of someone who'd never seen a good fight in a long time, and hopefully never would.

"I'm Brandon Haggardy, nice to meet you."

I held out my right hand, but I was still far enough away that, if she wanted to, she'd need to take a step forward to return it. This meant that I wasn't all up in her face and making her uncomfortable.

At least... I hoped not.

[Jayne]

The man's reaction wasn't quite what she'd expected, Jayne's question spurring a subtly hidden outburst of laughter which made the Psychokinetic almost chuckle as well, for whatever reason. Jayne nodded repeatedly as the young man explained the predicament hidden in the nature of her location, every word from his mouth stirring a vortex of giddiness and excitement that was already a gigantic torrent inside of her, she felt like she was about to pop. And yet, despite her own utter, brilliant glee at the threshold of the adventures of her odyssey, a tingling at the back of her mind alerted her to a certain lack of said glee in the person before her, yet before she said anything, he welcomed her to the craziness.

"Craziness? What does he mean by that?" she pondered to herself. Maybe this planet was in a state of anarchy or civil war. Heck, she had no idea if this place was anything like the world she was from, but apparently there was no choice but to set out and discover that for herself.

"I'm Brandon Haggardy, nice to meet you." Brandon's words prevented her from slipping into another semi-trance and she shook her head to free herself from the drowsiness. She took in a breath to reply with her name, but then noticed an extended arm and the smile on her face froze, eyes changing from happy slappy to slightly quizzical.

She let out the air and the smile shrunk. Jayne tilted her head to the side and said, "Uh... Yeah? Do you want something?" Was this guy a beggar? Maybe he was up to no good! Jayne's Psychokinesis gave not the slightest sensation of danger or malice on the part of this... Brandon, though it has been wrong on occasions. He DID seem to be waiting on her.

"I'm Jayne. It's... nice to meet you too." The forwarded hand still bothered her, but he seemed genuine enough, and, to be honest, he gave off a really pleasant vibe.

[kihaku]

"Uh... Yeah? Do you want something?"

At first, I didn't quite understand, but when I looked into her eyes and saw the confusion, I let my hand fall lamely to the side, another sigh escaping me as one more thing did nothing but remind me that I wasn't anywhere near home. Of course someone from another planet, time, dimension, or possibly all three, wouldn't understand the basic concept of a handshake.

"I'm Jayne. It's... nice to meet you too."

She was still eyeing my appendage, so I slid my hand back into my pocket. "Sorry 'bout that. I'd forgotten- well, not really forgot, per-se, but more like- geh." Fumbling about for a response was only making me more flustered, so I exhaled sharply and started again. "Sorry. It's customary where I'm from to clasp right hands and give a firm shake, a symbol of mutual respect and courtesy. It hadn't occured to me that you wouldn't know my customs, just as I don't know yours."

I smiled self-consciously and looked to the ground, my mind racing furiously to find something to talk about. With nothing coming to the forefront, I resorted to small-talk.

"So, where're you from originally?"

[Jayne]

Brandon retracted his hand with a sigh, bumbling a little while trying to explain his reasoning. His frustration at his own inability to find and say the appropriate words made Jayne giggle. "Sorry. It's customary where I'm from to clasp right hands and give a firm shake, a symbol of mutual respect and courtesy."

Jayne's face displayed clear, unashamed surprise and amazement, to a certain degree. "Really? Wow, I would have never thought of that.." She looked at her own gloved hand in a way she had never looked at it. "Well..." Jayne didn't raise her head as she spoke. "Since I'll be staying here for a while... I might as well learn the ways of my new home planet." She raised her head, took a step forward and extended her arm her head tilted to the side, a warm smile greeting Brandon.

"So, where're you from originally?"

"Me? well... I'm from the planet Quigon. I'm a Luukasian. My homeworld is quite different from here. Mostly sand and jagged rocks. In fact," Jayne wrapped herself in her cloak, "it's quite a bit chillier out here, but still pleasant." She looked around, pondering something for a couple of seconds, then just plain plopped down on the ground, inviting Brandon to do the same with a look. "This place is quite a bit more... colorful than where I'm from. Is the entire planet like this?" She paused, but before the man could manage a reply, she quickly added another question. "You know what astounds me? Here I am, on the other end of the universe for all I know. And I'm talking to you, someone from a planet clearly different from my own. And yet we speak the same language." Jayne sighed and laid down, arms wide, eyes searching the sky for nothing in particular. "This... everything about this boggles my mind."

[kihaku]

"Well... Since I'll be staying here for a while... I might as well learn the ways of my new home planet."

My face didn't change, a polite look of interest as she thought out loud. When she extended her hand and smiled, I infectiously caught it as well. Smiling too, I reached out and gripped her gloved hand with mine, giving it a firm, but gentle squeeze and shake before letting go.

Her own hand surprised me with how strong it was, as if she had been training all her life for hard work. Her body wasn't overly muscular, dispelling the assumption, but then again she didn't seem to have an ounce of fat on her, from what I could gather despite the clothing. 'Athletic, would be more the term, I think.'

I noticed her give a small shudder and gather her cloak about her. "Me? well... I'm from the planet Quigon. I'm a Luukasian. My homeworld is quite different from here. Mostly sand and jagged rocks. In fact, it's quite a bit chillier out here, but still pleasant."

"That's understandable. My home planet had deserts too, in fact one of them had the unfortunate name of 'Death Valley.'"

She sat, and I joined her, as was only polite.

"This place is quite a bit more... colorful than where I'm from. Is the entire planet like this?"

"Ah, well-"

"You know what astounds me?" I gave an inward sigh of good humor, and instead only shrugged and looked on inquisitively. "Here I am, on the other end of the universe for all I know. And I'm talking to you, someone from a planet clearly different from my own. And yet we speak the same language." She heaved a mighty sigh, though it seemed to me it was more of excitement and wonder than exhaustion. "This... everything about this boggles my mind."

"I'd personally not care to think about it. My mind is thoroughly boggled enough from last night." I too fell to my back, staring up at the fluffy white clouds scudding across the sky. "This place is just... not what I'm used to. Well," I corrected myself with a shrug, "I say 'not used to,' I mean weirder than normal. Well... I say normal."

[Jayne]

"I'd personally not care to think about it. My mind is thoroughly boggled enough from last night." Talk about raining on one's parade...

Jayne rolled to one side and rested her head on her hand, palm clasping a cheek. Her expression had a certain level of pout, one needed little Psychokinesis to tell there was something amiss with Brandon's mood, and he was not really trying all that hard to hide it. She did wonder if this last night had anything to do with the crazines he'd mentioned earlier.

Again, Brandon fumbled with words as he tried to explain his thoughts and emotions, apparently suffering from at least some internal confusion. Maybe it was Jayne's sudden, unusual arrival that had thrown the young man off balance.

She kept looking at him for a moment, pondering from which direction to approach this complex knot of a man. It seemed only natural to start as a normal conversation would. "You said that there was a Death Valley? Why is it called that? Was there some epic war in which millions died there?" The battle-centric history of Quigon shone through even in a character as pure as Jayne's. "In fact, tell me about YOUR homeworld. How long are you away? What's it like? Do you miss it?" She could go on and on with questions, but a bit of silence on her part was in order.

While she spoke, however, her thoughts drifted back to her own homeworld. It was so odd... she was back there with her mom and dad just fifteen minutes ago, her entire extended family and mentors had gathered to see her off. The curtains opened, everyone, Jayne included, was all smiles and cheers. It all felt so unreal, it still does... but slowly, almost creepily realization began to set in, and the very last frame she took in before she was gone from her world came to her mind. It was her mother, smiling while a tear rolled down her left cheek.

She was on an alien world. Alone.

[kihaku]

I've never been all that self-conscious, so when Jayne rolled towards me and scrutinized me, it didn't really bother me all that much. The pause between her thoughts had grown a little, which lead me to believe that she was considering her words a bit more carefully. 'Maybe she's genuinely curious now?'

"You said that there was a Death Valley? Why is it called that? Was there some epic war in which millions died there?"

"No, not quite."

"In fact, tell me about YOUR homeworld. How long are you away? What's it like? Do you miss it?"

My eyes started to look past the clouds, my mind's eye turning inwards to my memories. I rubbed the facial hair on the end of my chin, a habit I had when in deep thought or consideration. 'Start with the basics, I suppose.'

"I have no idea how far away it is, but my homeworld is called Earth, third planet from our sun, and is refered to as the 'Blue Planet' due to its surface being seventy-five percent water." I sat up at this point, trying to recall as many facts as I could before going into overall culture. "The world is a mish-mash of temperate climates like this," I gestured around us, "frozen tundra and peaks so cold, your body could freeze in just a few hours, or deserts so wide, vast, and desolate, a person wouldn't survive two days without water. Like Death Valley, for instance."

My gaze shifted more towards my shoes, for no reason in particular. "My people are called 'Humans,' and we've divided our land into quasi-peaceful nations with set boundaries. Only once every three or four generations will there be great conflict or war, and these are refered to as 'World Wars.'"

I gave a small smile and a chuckle. "A philosopher long before my time once wrote, 'I cannot but conclude the Bulk of your Natives,' meaning humankind as a whole, 'to be the most pernicious Race of little odious Vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the Surface of the Earth.'"

I turned my face towards her, my crooked smile cynical, but in overall good humor. "Pessimistic, I know, and we do have our good moments individually. What about you? What're your people and planet like?"

[Jayne]

It was interesting to watch a person reflect on his homeworld and species when parted from both. His home planet, Earth, seemed quite different from Jayne's geographically, and it appeared much more diverse. While Brandon didn't show an exuberant amount of enthusiasm when talking of the planet, she couldn't help but feel fascinated by what she was listening to. "It sounds wonderful." And it did, even if the delivery was a little dry. "Perhaps he's not into poetry..." she quipped internally, though little but a faint smirk betrayed her thoughts.

Then he began telling her of his people, Humans. Her heart did skip a beat when he mentioned their 'World Wars'. Darn Quigon upbringing. She was just about to pipe up when Brandon cited what a philosopher had said of their kind once. "That's... that's harsh."

"Pessimistic, I know, and we do have our good moments individually." Jayne, ever curious, wanted to ask about these good moments, but the question was turned to her, and she felt obliged to tell him of her home.

Her eyes stared blankly at the ground as she internally searched for the most representable words she could use to tell of Quigon. Her memories were fresh, since but less than half an hour ago she had herself gazed upon the Barren Plains herself, meditating for her journey. "If your Earth is the Blue planet... I guess Quigon would be the brown planet. The only water we have comes from deep down inside the planet, but most species don't require much of it for survival. Us included. It is mostly a monotone world with three predominant colors. The light brown sand and sky, the dark brown cliffs and mountains and the pitch black Bottomless pits. It is a rough world. Approach it carelessly and it will take your life in the blink of an eye." That's just great, Jayne. Now he'll never want to go see it. Quick, salvage whatever you can! "But, uhm... If you are familiar with it... If you know it, it can be... very beautiful." Something nudged her on the inside and her manner of speaking changed just a little.

Nevermind.

"And my people... I am of the Luukas. We are the ruling species of the planet and have established a reign of uninterrupted peace for eighty-nine years now. Quigon has also been through the World Wars you spoke of. On our planet, they were battles for pride, supremacy, power... rarely bare survival fought most often between my people, the Luukas, and our most prominent historical rivals, the Ja'Earnes, a rodent-like race of incredible cunning. There have been a recorded 47 World Wars on Quigon, though many historians believe that there have been more, simply the records of previous wars were lost in the latter ones." Unwittingly, but not surprisingly she'd basically talked only about the wars of Quigon. Way to represent your people.

"But... please, don't misunderstand. We're not warmongers. We're just..." She wanted to say something good about the Luukas. Their philosophies, their beliefs, their love of all things natural, their diplomatic efforts, their families and traditions, but when looked at in respect to their past, to their deeds and betrayals... Brandon didn't know any of this, of course, but she did.

Jayne gave a somewhat saddened chuckle and smiled. "I guess there's more in common between us than I thought at first."

[kihaku]

"But... please, don't misunderstand. We're not warmongers. We're just..."

I smiled and shrugged, looking at her with a face that clearly said I wasn't any less enthused about meeting an alien as I had been ten minutes ago. "'Ey, there's an old saying on Earth: 'Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.'"

"I guess there's more in common between us than I thought at first."

"Our differences are only skin deep, as my people say." After I'd said that, verbage of my good friend Mr. Darwin popped into my head. "But... then again, if your people evolved on a desert planet, than you'd probably have characteristics that Humans don't."

My smile widened a little, but my excitement was a little guarded. For possibly the first time, it truly hit me that I had been conversing with an alien from another planet, and that I was probably just as foreign a concept to her as she was to me. With this thought I cleared my throat and turned towards her.

"Jayne, if I'm not being... too invasive, I was wondering... how long can Luu..." I struggled to find the proper conjucation, "Luukasian? Er, how long can one of your people survive without water?"

[Jayne]

After Brandon had warned her of a possible invasion of privacy, Jayne had expected a question of a different nature, so she chuckled when he asked her what she thought a perfectly normal question. "Well, that depends on the Luukasian in question, but most of us can last approximately a month without any notable effects. After that, however, migraines and exhaustion begin to manifest." There was a short pause. "It becomes quite agonizing, really. It used to be a method of torture against the Luukas. My grandfather, (he was in the last two World Wars)" she quickly added, "said that the limit came and went suddenly, and it was so horrifying, he would prefer death over it any day. That's why it is custom to refill every three weeks. Nobody wants to find out just what their limits are."

For someone so cautious to ask such a question, Jayne probably unintentionally surprised Brandon with her openness. She had never been known to be secretive. "And you shouldn't worry about asking me questions." She smiled at Brandon in an inviting way. "Quigon is home to many diverse races, as is our sibling planet Obiwan. I know what it is like, to be curious of other species."

That was true, in fact, of this situation as well. "What about you Humans? Do you have a certain skill or trait that helps you live on your planet? What are your people best at?" Jayne sat up and put her arms around her knees, which were pressed against her chest, to listen to Brandon. She was genuinely quite curious about what the Humans were like, and how similar they were to her own people.

Also, she just plain enjoyed Brandon's company.

[kihaku]

"...Most of us can last approximately a month without any notable effects. After that, however, migraines and exhaustion begin to manifest."

'Yeah, thought it would be something along those lines,' I thought to myself. It seemed obvious that a race that evolved on a desert planet where there would be little to no moisture to speak of should create a lessened need for water to survive. If not, they would have died out millenia ago.

"Quigon is home to many diverse races, as is our sibling planet Obiwan."

'...' My mind suddenly went blank, and for a moment I couldn't think, speak, or do much of anything except make my heart beat and breathe. 'Did... did she just...?'

"What about you Humans? Do you have a certain skill or trait that helps you live on your planet? What are your people best at?"

I forced the thoughts of impossible probability out of my mind and instead to her question. It was one that I had often asked myself, as an individual, 'What role do I play in the grand scheme?' Of course, there is no real answer, but now it was asked of me as a representative of the species, and the answer seemed to jump at me.

"Well, first off, a Human can't go without water for three days even in the best of circumstances, and we don't have anything truly remarkable, but I suppose our strongest ability would be that of anatomical adaptation." I allowed msyelf a few moments to collect my thoughts, my thumb absently rubbing my chin-hair. "Humans have the innate ability to alter various bodily functions to help them adapt to a specific terrain. If a person is too cold, their veins and capillaries in their limbs will contract to provide warm blood to the vital organs to prevent shock."

I raised my right arm and pulled back the sleeve, revealing my bicep and its pale skin. I smiled, "Forgive my pasty complexion. Anyway, if a human, over a period of... oh... say, three days, maybe less, is forced to perform difficult, physical tasks, then their body will release enzymes to more efficiently convert meat into protein to build muscles, thereby making us stronger." As if in demonstration, I picked up a stone the size of my two fists, and flexed my bicep. It bulged to a satisfying size, not overly big, but no one could say it was small. With a flush I put it down, "But, I'm sure all humanoids do that."

I rolled by sleeve back down and put my hands in my lap, crossing my legs indian-style and looking Jayne in the eyes. It felt as if... I could start to open up to her, that I could trust her, at least for now, not to become hostile if I were to say something embarassing. "As a species competing for our niche in early evolution, we were pretty useless; weak, unintelligent, and we kept mostly to trees to protect ourselves from predators. We were carrion scavengers, slowly building up brain tissue over thousands of years until, one day, some primeval ancestor used a sharpened rock to cut away meat, use it as a weapon, a tool."

I shrugged. "From that point on, it was simply a matter of using these tools to better our lives, food, and simple societal structures. As our brains developed, so did our tools, our societies, and our ability to cope with stress without reverting to a primal state of panic. Don't get me wrong," I put my hand up to pause her thoughts for a moment, "People can still be dumb, panicky, and dangerous when they're afraid or impossibly angry, or in a group, which is what most armed confrontation on my planet stems from, but we are learning to be a peaceful worldwide race and to live in harmony. Once we do that..." I smiled wistfully.

"Maybe we too can harness inter-planetary travel." I cocked my head to the side and gave a good-natured chuckle. "I hope I haven't bored you to death?"

[Jayne]

Jayne little but giggled at Brandon's question. "You worry too much. You're a very good storyteller." She said it with a meaningful look. "Actually, you seem like you could talk about your world and your people for quite a while. You're very knowledgeable. Does everyone from Earth know so much about... well, everything, or were you a scientist back on Earth? Or a historian?" Jayne had always been fascinated by people that knew what they were talking about, and actually had something to talk about in the first place.

Almost apologetically, due to her lack of as much general knowledge as Brandon appeared to have, Jayne explained the educational system of her homeworld. "Luukas and, well, Quigon upbringing focuses not nearly as much on knowledge and academics as on discipline, philosophy, free, open thought and, of course, balance. Personal balance between rationality and emotions, selfishness and generosity, social balance between order and freedom, tradition and innovation, universal balance between nature and machine, the One and the All. Combat and Psychokinetics classes are not considered mandatory, but hardly anyone ever decides not to take them, for understandable reasons." Well, for HER they were understandable. But, assuming Brandon didn't miss the part about the 47 World Wars, he could probably guess why as well.

"Oh, hey, that's right!" Jayne almost had to smack herself on the forehead. She should have asked long ago! "Are your people familiar with psychokinesis as well?" There was suddenly a fire in her eyes, and reinvigorated enthusiasm flooded her fit, feminine frame. It was, after all, the burning question.