From The Borders of Pandora

Chapter 1 (page 1)

There may be more. More of these stars. More of these moons elsewhere. More of the seemingly invisible insects that create music in the dark. More strands of galaxies filled with unknown wonders. There may be less. Less gravity holding other planets together. Less gravity than what held her here. Less suffering than what some were forced to endure-

"Tria what are you doing? Just because it's dark out does not mean you don't have responsibilities. Get in this house."

-and less nagging parents who feel the need to give their grown children chores. Tria let herself relax for a few more minutes in the warm air, staring at the ceaseless stretch of the sky; the vast amount of stars, the two moons, Nearseen and Midnis. From what she could remember from early schooling, Nearseen was named because it looked like it was so close that it touched Pandora's sky. Midnis, because its full circle could only be seen during midnight, while the light from nearby stars reflected off of the surface of Nearseen.

"Tria!"

With a sigh, she removed herself from the comfortable patch of grass and walked slowly to the house. Making sure Dukino followed.

She gave one last glance to the nightly scenes behind her before turning the handle and going inside.

"If you had just a little more respect for me as your mother you wouldn't make me holler for you. Now get busy." Her mother was annoyed, but deep down she knew how much Tria loved the outside. She just worried.

"I'm sorry, momma." She was busy sweeping the floor; her head down in focus, but she replied, "It's alright, dear. I've made dinner. Why not get you some before settling in on your chores."

With a little smile, Tria grabbed a bowl and filled it with some of the Rakk soup. Of course, her mother was not able to hunt down the hostile birds. That was Tria's job when her father was away. She had spent much of the morning carefully luring a few of the birds away from the rest of the hive, then firing them out of the sky. However, it was her mother who cooked and prepared them for supper. Her mother who made a bloody corpse into a meal.

She ate quietly, savoring the texture of the meat. She slipped tiny bits to Dukino under the table when her mother wasn't looking. After putting the last bite in her mouth she dropped the spoon into the bowl and placed it into the sink. Her mother had moved from sweeping the floors to wiping down counters.

"Thank you for supper, it rocked."

"It was nothing dear. I wouldn't have been able to make any Rakk soup if you hadn't- Oh, well aren't you funny. Get on with your chores then." Tria didn't miss the smile playing on her mother's lips as she walked away with a smirk of her own.