Themaine Robinstar lounged in the fading light of Adrazenith's collapsing star; its phase now exposed. Her back was resting comfortably against the warm side of a dozing Pegasus; it was Torrac. Her sleeveless, wraparound tunic fluttered along the breeze of the farm's golden winds. Her hair was a bit messy, bangs hanging in an arch that obscured her vision, but they drew no protest. Her elongated Bayoe ears were lightly slouched in a resting manner. Dust clung to her clothes, hands, and mud smeared along her forehead. The hakama pants cuffed at her legs were drenched in a shimmering dust of sorts. A golden rope, her makeshift belt, blew along the side and back of Tarroc, the Pegasus, who was both annoyed and hypnotized by the wisp-like motions.
A stalk of golden crop dangled from her lips as she gazed across the farm; a deep, overwhelming scent of sharp, odd ozone, fermented crystals, and Pegasus stalls lingered. The soft orange-tinted crayon prism colors, beaming from the star above, made everything look like a literal representation of rose-tinted glasses. Suddenly, a small rabbit hopped out of a small tuff of pink grass near the Stella farm's golden crops, a pear-like well of Eden fruit, with a root-stemmed carrot leaf dangling from its mouth as it leapt onto Themaine, who lay resting.
"Ooouhff. " The grunt came raw and billowed as Themaine's face lit up with a tinged golden hue. Her spiraling spirit orb core's swirling motion sped up due to shock. Themaine picked up the bunny by both its pointy ears, holding it mid-air to scold it. The rabbit fluttered its feet with kicks, thrashed its small paws, and wiggled its whiskers as though it were trying to warn Themaine of something. " Shouldn't you be with Ederi? She brought you back here from off-world, so go flare up her day or something."
Just then, a loud, deafening, muffled hissing, like a bird cawing, shot out from somewhere ahead, the unnatural noise seeming to come from three separate sources at once. Thumping and bouncing rippled through the golden crops stretched in front of Themaine.
Something burst out of the golden crops, a hulking shape, armored in jagged plates of obsidian-black. The Zanzeebar stands as tall as an elephant, its body broad and hunched, built like a living battering ram. Three thick, muscular trunks hang from its face, each one ending in a cluster of sharp, crystal-like clubs. As it moves, those crystal tips strike the ground with the sound of shattering glass and heavy stone, sending up shards of dirt and broken crop stalks.
A mane of copper snake-like rattling feathers runs down its back, hissing and undulating with every movement. Its eyes are small, deep-set, and cold, burning with a fierce, alien intelligence. The Zanzeebar's mouth is stuffed with torn golden crop leaves; azure colored sap and fragments spill from its jaws as it shakes its head, corrosive drool glinting in the fading light. Its feet are wide and clawed, churning the earth wherever it steps.
"Sun… sun of a glare," Themaine muttered, her legs barely supporting her as the trudging, thumping steps of the Zanzeebar grew closer. Its three heavy, sharpened, spiked clubbed trunks reeled back, poised to strike at her and the two creatures resting beside her.
Tarroc spread its wings and shifted its back closer, cupping Themaine by the thigh to lift her up with a swift swing. Ederi's rabbit, still tightly grasped in Themaine's hand, as Tarroc burst all of them aside just in time to avoid the blow. One of the Zanzeebar's trunks skidded along the ground, pushing up soil before it swiped up with a whip-like lash that scraped along the mighty pegasus's wing, sending golden blood splashing along the Zanzeebar's maw, white feathers scattering across the ground and into the air like ripped-up clouds.
Tarroc stumbles in pain, its attempt at flight hampered by the immense force of the strike. Golden, spirit-imbued blood seeped from the wound along the pegasus's wing, pooling in luminous streaks on the ground. Themaine and the rabbit tumbled off Tarroc's back as it plummeted, slamming into the farm's thick soil.
"What the Flare, where's the dang Surnsine at?" Themaine muttered, her words muffled by the mud as she lifted her face from the ground. Ederi's rabbit hopped from her foot to her shoulder, then to the top of her head, its tiny paws covering its eyes as it shuddered in fear. Together, Themaine and the rabbit looked over at Tarroc's shivering body, the Zanzeebar looming above, preparing to consume the Pegasus piece by piece. Another thick, deafening cacophony of hissing-caws erupted from the beast's three trunks.
"HEY YOU DIM-WITTED LIGHT DEVOURER," Themaine screamed, her hand clutching the Well of Eden, pear-like, carrot-stalked fruit the rabbit had dropped earlier. She took a fierce, thick bite, juice running down her chin. Shivering but defiant, Themaine's spirit orb spiraled, her core swelling and swirling faster as a bright golden hue spread through the veins of her body. "I DON'T GIVE A FLICKER IN A SHADOWED SHELL HOW SCARY YOU ARE. GET AWAY FROM MY TARROC!" She shouted, flinging both arms upward and bawling her fists as she thrust them into the air.
The Zanzeebar three trunks shot a repeated crow-like, hissing caws as it drew its massive feet back into a stomp, then charged directly at Themaine. In the next instant, snapping out of her shivering fit, Themaine pivoted to the right. Her feet crunched against the soil as her toes dug in, veins lining her calves and forearms glowing with a thrum, as the swirl within her spirit orb core grew more violent. With a burst of blinding light trailing her movements, she darted aside.
A small forest of orange and purple-leafed trees shrouded her, but instead of hiding, a loud, pounding snap erupted from a cluster of trees beside the trampled golden crops. Four-winged birds with long, teal-tinted tails shimmered in the dust as they scattered, shooting from multiple trees, startled by the chaos. Their beaks were lined with pink, canine- like omnivore teeth, stained from eating and drinking the pink-shaded leaves; the birds honked odd squeaks.
Another loud thwack echoed through the woods before the crack and snap of timber signified a falling tree. Multiple other trees shook and bent as Themaine ran through the forest, clearing a path. She grabbed a tree full of orange, pink leaves, and snapped branches, wielding it like a battering ram. With a powerful swing, she slammed its pointed top into the Zanzeebar's flank like a spear tip, flexing her curled arms around the base to adjust her grip. The tree shot upward with her force, but its top snapped, shattering a great mass from the core. The roots near Themaine's hands began to lose their magical glow as the Zanzeebar swung one of its massive trunks, clipping through the remainder of the tree.
As the wood and roots cracked and splintered in Themaine's hands, she let go and leapt across the scattered rubble, hopping and skipping along the broken chunks of wood. She flipped and clomped her way through the debris, nearly slipping as her foot landed on a crumbling, splinter-shedding piece. Regaining her balance, she leaned forward, putting her full weight into a darting sprint toward the Zanzeebar. With a swift somersault, she clasped both hands together, interlocking her fingers, letting Adrazenith's golden winds lift her arms before she brought both clenched fists down on the beast's head like a sledgehammer.
The Zanzeebar's trunks let out a shuddering screech of pain. In response, the rattling feathers along its mane and back shot upward, bunching and darting at Themaine's unprotected body like a volley of darts. The feathers whipped past, swiping at her arms and torso. Ederi's rabbit peeked out from inside the neck of Themaine's wraparound tunic, both ears slouched in concern; it had hidden there during her batter ram assault. As she landed, the rabbit tucked its head back inside to hide.
Themaine frantically brushed her forearms and legs where the feathers had pricked her, black, smoking ooze beginning to leak from the wounds. Her swirling spirit orb core dimmed, black particles lining the inside of her golden veins as fear crept across her face. The Zanzeebar swept away the remaining leaves and debris with a furious thrash of its trunks, then hurtled toward Themaine, its elephantine mouth splitting open to reveal massive, inverted spider tusks. Just as it lunged, two Surnsines plummeted from the orange-Streaked sky.
From above, the sky split with a rush of white as the Surnsine descended. Their immense, thick-boned frames cut through the orange-tinted clouds, bodies suspended by giant wings draped in pristine white feathers. Each beat of their wings sent ripples of wind rolling across the field, scattering debris and loose feathers like a sudden, swirling blizzard. Their dense, snow-white fur, heavy as curled clouds, caught the Adrazenith's starlight and shimmered with an icy brilliance.
As they fell, their long, skunk-like tails, lined with white feathers, streamed behind them, curling and flexing to steer their descent with surprising grace. The weight of their landing shook the cosmic soil. For a moment, their wings unfurled wide, casting vast shadows over the battered brops before folding protectively along their sides, cloaking their bodies.
As the Surnsines positioned themselves between her and the beast, Themaine seized the moment, darting through the debris and torn crops towards Tarroc, who still lay shivering and bleeding golden blood nearby. The rabbit clung inside her tunic as she skidded across the mushed soil and slipped, tripping to Tarroc's side, her spirit orb core flickering with a mix of fear and determination.
Just as the two Surnsines charged the Zanzeebar, before the three-trunked beast could even roar again, a sharp, piercing slash along the sky. The shining light from Adrazenith's star, shifting out of its exposed phase, crackled and exploded with orange explosive glares. From that break in the heavens, a silhouette dropped, a shadow shrouded in thick, lush white dove wings, descending with the deafening thunder of breaking winds.
For a breathless moment, everything stopped. Themaine, the rabbit, both the Surnsines, and even the confused behemoth Zanzeebar all looked up as golden winds erupted outward, sending debris, shattered wood, and torn flora flying in all directions. Bracing herself against the injured Tarroc, Themaine felt the blast whip her black hair behind her. Ederi's rabbit, wide-eyed, pressed its small paws to the hem of her collar from within her tunic.
Finally, as the winds subsided and the glare faded, Themaine lifted her head, adjusting her eyes to the miracle descending from above. Through the swirling debris and golden light, she saw it!
From the torn orange sky, Jevohan Robinstar (cowboy of the clouds) plunged down like a comet, six foot seven, broad-shouldered, white-haired in windswept cowboy waves, wide-brimmed cosmic black hat sparkling with gold-thread and starlight. Spirit-woven scarf split in two, forming both his massive Dove wings, Saint Elite Bayoe armor, its white and gold plates gleaming in the light, boots and gloves battle-worn, crashed down straight into the chaos below.
He landed fist-first, driving a five-knuckled sandwhiched punch into the Zanzeebar's face so hard its three crystal-tipped trunks snapped sideways, reeling from the force. Still mid-descent, Jevohan shifted forward, light grasping and seized one of the beast's inverted fanged tusk, twisted, and wrenched it free in a single brutal motion. Then, in the same motion, he flipped the rattle-feathered monster over his back in a suplex, which shook the whole ground like an earthquake.
Not stopping, Jevohan wrapped his arms around all three of the Zanzeebar's trunks, curling them tight between his biceps. The golden veins in his arms throbbed so loud it sounded like a war drum mixed with a panicked heartbeat. His spirit orb core flared within, an explosion on strobe light so bright it blinded everything nearby for a moment. Then, he arched his back and planted both his boots in the ground, lifting the beast as he began swinging it in circles, smashing the Zanzeebar into pink-leafed trees and jagged rocks, before hurling it full-force across the floor with a thunderous crash.
As the dust settled, Jevohan stood framed in the silhouette of Adrazenith's star, its phase finally shifting from Exposed to Collapsed, the last gold draining from the world as a deep azure swept the land, coloring everything in a blue twilight.
"Dodmaaaaaa!!!" Themaine shouted, a crying scream for her father, her head still pressed against the injured Tarroc. Then, in one slow, calming movement, Jevohan's heavy dove, feather wings began to dissolve, flowing like spirit mist and settling as a bandana scarf around his face. He turned to his daughter and said,
"Aww.. is that my little glimmer? What's got the dimmed angel ?"