Azure

Kel-Mar was 25 years old, he had purple skin, twin pointed ears, (two sets of ears on each side) black almond eyes and long blonde hair and he wore a silver metallic jumpsuit. He was 6ft tall. He was an Azureian and his home world was Azure, which had a purple sky, a green ocean and orange grass.

He looked at his mate, Zarax, who looked almost identical to him, only that he had long white hair, he was not old, in fact he was 25 years old, white was just his natural hair colour, some males have either blonde hair, red hair, or white hair, which is always long. Whereas the females of their species had short hair and their hair colours ranged from black, green or brown.

“Zarax, where are the girls?” Asked Kel-Mar? As he stood in a dark alleyway where he told Zarax to meet him. He was out of breath, from running. He and Zarax had been caught kissing each other at work and that was against the societal norms. “I do not know but they said that they would be here. We cannot hide and go on the run without them.” Said Zarax, who was as almost out of breath as Kel-Mar was and he had a worried look on his face. The girls that Kel-Mar had referred to were Ferral and Teala, Ferral had green hair, whereas Teala had black hair.

Both Ferral and Teala came running into the alleyway. “What took you two so long?” Asked Kel-Mar. “We were making out with each other.” Said Ferral with a grin on her face. “What again?” Remarked Zarax in mild humour. “You had us worried, what are you two doing making out with each other when we are on the run?” Asked Kel-Mar “We simply could not help ourselves.” Said Teala with a laugh.

“Did you bring the clothes like we asked you to?” Asked Zarax, still looking worried. “Yes, and getting such clothes in your sizes got suspicious, but we got them. But why you two want to look like little girls is beyond me.” Said Ferral with a smile on her face. “Because we want to look and be like cute little girls.” Replied Kel-Mar with a smile on his face.

“Hurry, we need to get changed now before we get discovered here.” Said Zarax, in an anxious tone of voice. Ferral removed the backpack that she was wearing and took out a red satin frilly dress that had short puffy sleeves and it was in the style of a little girl’s dress, only it was made to fit Kel-Mar, as so was the pair of red satin frilly panties, a pair of frilly white socks and a pair of red Mary Jane’s.

Whereas Teala had taken out of her backpack for Zarax, was a yellow satin frilly little girls like dress, but made to fit his size, along with a pair of yellow satin frilly knickers, a pair of frilly white socks and a pair of yellow Mary Jane’s. Teala had put Zarax’s hair into two cute pigtails tied with yellow silk ribbons and Ferral had tied Kel-Mar’s hair also into two cute pigtails with red silk ribbons.

“There now, you two look like a picture of cuteness.” Said Ferral with a laugh. “This is no time for jokes.” Kel-Mar snapped. “Have you two-thought of names for yourselves?” Asked Teala. “Yes, my new name is Keli.” Said Kel-Mar with a smile. “And my new name is Zola.” Said Zarax and then he went over to give Keli a great big kiss on the lips. “Okay you two knock it off, we do not have time for that. We must get going, or we will all end up getting caught.” Said Teala in an authoritative, yet firm voice.

The four of them moved swiftly through the twisting alleys of the Azureian city, the purple sky casting long shadows that swallowed them whole whenever they paused. Keli—formerly Kel-Mar—kept stumbling in the unfamiliar Mary Janes, the stiff leather pinching his toes. “I didn’t realize cute would hurt this much,” he muttered, gripping Zola’s hand for balance.

Ferral smirked, adjusting the straps of her own pack. “You wanted to look like a doll. Dolls don’t complain.” Ahead, Teala signalled for them to stop, pressing a finger to her lips. The distant hum of patrol drones echoed through the alleyway, their searchlights slicing through the violet haze. The group flattened themselves against the wall, hearts pounding. When the drones passed, Teala exhaled sharply. “We can’t stay in the city. The outer districts are crawling with enforcers.” Zola chewed his lip, the yellow ribbons in his pigtails fluttering as he shook his head. “Then where? The wilderness? The acid storms out there eat through skin.”

Ferral’s grin returned, sharp as a knife. “Not if we hit the old mining tunnels. They run under the Orange Expanse. No patrols, no storms.” Keli’s eyes widened. “You want us to crawl through *collapsed* tunnels?” “Better than getting dissected in a purity lab,” Teala shot back. Keli’s grip tightened around Zola’s hand, his knuckles turning a deeper shade of purple under the strain. “Mining tunnels,” he repeated, as if the words might rearrange themselves into a better plan. The acid storms were bad enough—every Azureian child grew up hearing horror stories of wanderers dissolved down to their bones—but cave-ins? Ferral was either brilliant or suicidal.

Teala nudged Ferral’s shoulder, her voice low. “You still remember the way?” Ferral nodded, her green hair catching the dim light like phosphorescent algae. “Third access hatch past the derelict refinery. Rusted shut, but I’ve got a hydro spanner in my pack.” Zola let out a nervous giggle, the sound high and girlish—a habit he had leaned into since the ribbons went in. “So, we’re really doing this? Crawling underground dressed like... like *this*?” He plucked at his yellow frills, the fabric whispering against his thighs.

Teala rolled her eyes. “You wanted to be cute. Cute doesn’t get logistics exemptions.” She turned sharply, leading the way through a narrow gap between two corroded storage units. The scent of oxidized metal clung to the air, sharp and metallic. The refinery loomed ahead, its skeletal remains jutting into the purple sky like the ribs of some long-dead beast. Ferral moved first, her boots silent against the orange-tinted rubble. Keli hesitated, his red Mary Janes sinking slightly into the spongy ground. “If these shoes get ruined—” he started, but Teala cut him off with a glare. “Priorities,” she hissed.

Zola adjusted his pigtails; the yellow ribbons now smudged with dust. “I think I prefer the enforcers to *dirt*,” he muttered, but followed Ferral anyway, his dress almost got caught on a jagged piece of metal that he almost walked into. “Watch where you are walking young girl. You would not want to completely ruin your pretty dress now.” Said Ferral with a giggle, but her warning was clear all the same.

The access hatch was exactly where Ferral said it would be—rusted shut, its hinges weeping orange corrosion. She dug into her pack, pulling out the hydro spanner with a triumphant smirk. The tool whined as it bit into the bolts, sending flakes of rust spiralling to the ground. Keli watched, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Every second out here felt like a countdown.

A distant *thrum* cut through the air. Teala’s head snapped up. “Drones. *Move. *” Ferral swore, wrenching the last bolt free as the hatch groaned open. The smell of stale air and damp metal rolled out. Zola did not wait—he slid in feet-first, his socks disappearing into the blackness. Keli followed, his dress riding up as he scraped through the narrow opening.

The tunnel swallowed them whole, the darkness so thick Keli could feel it pressing against his eyelids. His frilly socks snagged on something sharp as he landed, and he bit back a yelp. Above, Ferral and Teala heaved the hatch shut just as the drone’s searchlight skimmed the edge of the refinery. The metal clanged into place, plunging them into silence—broken only by Zola’s uneven breathing.

“Did—did anyone bring a light?” Zola whispered, his voice trembling. A click, and Ferral’s palm glowed with the soft blue bioluminescence of a smuggler’s fungus pod. The light painted their faces in eerie underwater hues. Keli blinked. “Since when do you carry *contraband*?” Ferral shrugged. “Since always. You think kissing in supply closets was my only rebellion?”

Teala snatched the pod, holding it aloft. The tunnel stretched ahead, its walls streaked with mineral deposits that glittered like frozen tears. “Stay close,” she ordered. “And *quiet*. Sound carries down here.” Keli’s Mary Janes squeaked against the damp metal floor, and Zola stifled a giggle. “You sound like a *toy*,” he teased. Keli elbowed him. “Shut *up*, Zola.”

The tunnel branched. Ferral traced a finger along the left wall, where someone had scratched a symbol—three intersecting circles. “Old miner’s code,” she murmured. “Means ‘safe passage.’” Teala frowned. “Or ‘collapsing ceiling.’” Ferral shot her a look. “Optimism, darling.” in the tunnel, Ferral identified a miner’s symbol suggesting safety, though Teala sceptically suggested it might indicate danger instead.

The blue glow of the fungus pod flickered as Ferral’s fingers tightened around it, casting jagged shadows along the tunnel walls. The air smelled of damp earth and something sharper—like the electric tang of old machinery left to rot. Keli’s frilly socks we are already soaked through, the fabric clinging to his ankles. “This is *not* how I imagined wearing these,” he muttered, lifting a foot to shake off a clump of orange-tinged mud.

Zola giggled again, the sound bouncing off the narrow walls. “You look like a drowned doll.” He reached out to adjust Keli’s crooked red ribbon, his fingers lingering a second too long. Teala cleared her throat. “Focus. Unless you want to *hold hands* in a cave-in.”

Ferral snorted but did not slow her pace. The miner’s symbol led them deeper, the ceiling dipping low enough that Teala had to duck, her short black hair brushing the dripping rock. A sudden *scritch-scritch* made them freeze. Keli’s breath hitched. “What was that? Asked Keli in dreadful fright.” Something small and many-legged skittered over his Mary Jane’s. He yelped, kicking out, and the creature—a segmented thing with too many eyes—plopped into a puddle with a wet *Splish*. Zola clapped both hands over his mouth to stifle laughter. Ferral rolled her eyes. “It’s just a tunnel crawler. They eat rust. And *panicking sissies*, if you keep squealing.”

The tunnel curved sharply, the walls narrowing until Keli’s frilly sleeves brushed against the damp stone. The bioluminescent glow flickered, casting jagged shadows that made Zola’s pigtails look like swaying vines. Teala held up a hand, her ears twitching. “Do you hear that?” she whispered. A faint, rhythmic *drip-drip* echoed from ahead, punctuated by something heavier—a wet, sloshing sound, like footsteps in shallow water.

Ferral’s grin faltered for the first time. “That’s... not miners.” She pressed the fungus pod against her chest, dimming the light. The group edged forward, Keli’s red Mary Janes squelching ominously with each step. The tunnel opened into a cavern, its ceiling studded with glowing orange crystals that refracted the dim light into a thousand tiny stars. Below, the floor was a shallow pool of greenish liquid, its surface disturbed by something moving just beneath.

Teala hissed, grabbing Ferral’s arm. “Acid springs. One wrong step and your *pretty little shoes* melt off.” Zola whimpered, clutching Keli’s hand. “I *told* you I preferred enforcers.” Ferral crouched, probing the water’s edge with the hydro spanner. The metal tip sizzled slightly. “Not full-strength. We can cross if we’re fast.” She pointed to a series of raised stones, their surfaces worn smooth by time. “Hop. And *don’t* fall.”