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"The wellness check. And solar event data collection. Will now begin."

Fae-Fae nodded at everyone making their final preparations to record and process the event - Naeria with her camera, Andreiya considering the database, Caerynn already planning days ahead with multiple trials over multiple variables. Sparks of curiosity and anticipation were flying between the flowers. As hints of color began to bleed further into the eastern sky, the tension grew.

At the same time, the small gathering of Velencians lining up for flower crowns from Vyn made the complexity of this event all too obvious.

"We are the first people born on Velencya to face exposure to a natural sunrise. The impacts of this are unknown. Please record any biometric shifts you experience. Our scholars back home will benefit."

It was quite a brief speech. It was also the most words she had ever been heard using at once. And it was enough. She joined her friends to face the east.

---

It happened so suddenly.

The sky only blushed at them for the longest time. The gray gave way to faint blues and purples, then a tinge of red bloomed in, deep and inviting. It stayed like that for a moment that threatened to last as long as they cared to stand there. Like the whole Earth was hesitating to show them what they came to see. It was already more color than any of them were used to seeing in their artificial atmosphere back home, but more was coming. More was coming.

The various chirps and croaks they heard from unidentified creatures around them settled down. There was a period of relative quiet. Then, the noise slowly started picking up again, brighter chirps and chatters to replace the darker noises of night. Bits of motion tugged at the edges of everyone's vision as various small animals emerged from their various nighttime hiding places. Suddenly, the grass around their feet was teeming with insects that had been completely invisible to them just a few moments ago.

And then the horizon burst with a brilliant surge of light. It pierced their vision, painfully bright, searing the landscape with vibrant color while throwing its warmth shamelessly at their faces. It bled out of the distant cityscape into the sky, and pulled a shawl of orange and pink upwards with it. The gentle noises of morning wildlife grew more animated.

For every Velencian complexion on the hill, there was a flower or piece of greenery or dawn-tinged cloud that matched. They were not just observing the scenery. They were a part of it.

A small entourage of butterflies and bumblebees fluttered and bobbled towards them, alighting on flower-colored foreheads and hands and faces in search of nectar.

And the Earth said: welcome.

Welcome.

Welcome.

Andreiya thought he knew what to expect. He thought he was going to watch light fill the sky--colorful!--but ultimately appear like any other passing star. A bright light on the horizon, and nothing more.

He thought the sky might stay dark, but the more color that filled the sky, the more his heart started to pound. Everything was so vivid, so vibrant.

So beautiful.

Maybe, in some distant part of his mind, he’d known that he wasn’t here for science, but he ignored that just like he ignored the strange, warm blurriness in his eyes.

It was too bright, obviously, he was practically staring into a star, after all. It wasn’t anything more than that.

His throat was warm and his lip trembled twice, but he was stubborn.

There was a reason he’d tried to stay a bit away from everyone, and it was because he was here to be professional, and he was not getting emotional, and this was fine.

He didn’t think pictures would do it justice though, so he tried his hardest to burn the image into his mind.

Andreiya didn’t know anything about Earth, not really, except that he was sure everyone who lived there must start their mornings by appreciating how beautiful their planet was.

Nessaela

There was little to no excuse for Nessaela to have missed the call for the optional wellness check that had come across her communication device from Fae-Fae. Well she hadn't exactly missed the communication it just happened to slip her mind even as she rose to complete her morning tasks. Morning maintenance and her other rituals completed Nessaela fastened her comtech to her wrist only to have the screen switch on with the forgotten message. Struggling to find her boots the cadet gave up on the idea of the appropriate footwear and instead dashed out of her assigned sleeping pod. There was no time to lose. The cadet took the time to check her frantic pace before realizing that her actions could draw the wrong attention to herself. Instead of continuing to run Nessaela gave a large sigh and slowed to a walk.

Whatever was the hidden reason behind Fae-Fae's message would have to be missed this time around. She would still attend the gathering and even as she walked to the southern field the cadet took the time to analyze the feeling of the shoots of vegetation that tickled the bottom of her feet. There was nothing to be lost in missing the true reason behind the summons if she couldn't enjoy the minute experiences along the way. There was something about this planet's lush greenery that had Nessaela turning her head back and forth every other second. There were so many specimens to scan and although she was tempted to do so the cadet instead pushed forward.

Reaching the clearing even as the sun had crested over the horizon had Nessaela pausing to drink in the sight of her fellow cadets taking videos and making observations. She had missed the sunrise it seemed but could she still partake in some morning conversation.

Valnyr

Was it right to be so overwhelmed by the sight? That was most likely debatable depending on who one spoke to. After all there would be those who regarded displays of emotion with scorn. Utter disgust might be appropriate as well considering that it simply was not the done thing - yet here she stood among several rather emotional comrades, each overwhelmed to a degree by the sights that lay before them.

She was comfortable enough to acknowledge that it stirred something in her, a warmth and admiration that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but she was at least able to avoid an expression that was a little too much to be considered proper. If this was what their elders had seen upon their planet then she could understand why they had fond memories of it, but one had to wonder if those who had not experienced such things would have quite so visceral a reaction.

...Would everyone care in quite the same way?

As the sun bathed the city in light she turned her gaze away from it to look towards the flowers beneath her feet. Once closed, the small buds were beginning to unfurl to greet the day. Similarly, the cacophony of sound that surrounded her was truly something she couldn't fathom. A dull hum of technology was all she had ever been used to, a ripple of conversation here and there, but this was a chorus.

How fascinating it was that what had once been so quiet had transformed into something with much more spirit. She had to wonder if the animals were the only thing that acted in such a manner, or did the city also spring to life at this time? It was safe to say that their new 'allies' had been awake later in the day which stood to reason that perhaps the city was always 'awake', but what if her assumptions weren't correct?

It was with a small and otherwise fond smile that she left her comrades to admire the view. She had much to study and a limited amount of time to do that in!

[Exit from Val for now. <3]

Caelyna


Itzenoch got a response that was distinctly a pout. Caelyna did not think that she was being unreasonable; they were all here for a reason, and just because that reason involved studying the planet didn't mean that they were no longer responsible. Someone needed to the thinking about their jobs, anyway!! And if it had to be her, it had to be her.

But there were so many of them here, and honestly, she couldn't be a stick in the mud forever, no matter how much she wanted to focus on the important things.

Still, she sat down, eventually, sinking into the grass to get a little more comfortable. She might as well not be miserable while she was here, after all, and standing for however long this took might begin to be uncomfortable.

She watched the others, watched Vyn's flower crowns and everyone trying them on, saw her compatriots interacting happily, and Caelyna smiled. This was a lovely outcome, she thought--all of them her,e together, observing a natural occurrence. She pulled up her ComTech to start recording notes on the experience, because that was what a good Cadet would do, but.

The colors.

Caelyna gasped, softly.

It came slowly, and then all at once: first, soft colors painted the sky, and then, there was a beautiful, bright light. She could feel movement all around her, and to her wonder, she watched a strange, delicate-looking insect with bright blue wings outlined in black flutter over to her and alight in her hair. It made for a lovely sort of living accessory, but she could barely take a moment to focus on it, because her vision, quite suddenly, began to blur.

She lifted her glasses off her face to see if they might be fogged or damaged by the environment, and realized, suddenly, that her cheeks were wet, and the blurriness was because she was tearing up.

How strange. How powerful. What an odd planet the Earth was, to be able to inspire such spectacular and dramatic reactions.

Caelyna could not help but wish that their home could be like this.

Nessaela

The glory of the world around them - bathed in sunlight was stunning. Even the appearances of her fellow cadets in pure sunlight struck some sort of cord in Nessaela. She was momentarily stunned by the various shades of skin that members of her race had. They were their own living sunrise one could say. Realizing that the blades of grass that her bare feet still tickled Nessaela was more apt to steal away from the group. The beauty of the sunrise was ingrained in her mind as she went about tasks that needed to be finished ... once of course she grabbed her boots and stuffed her feet into them.

[[ Nessaela exit ]]

Naturally, Lyndin would have noticed when nearly half of the Cadets were missing. At first, he might have expected that something was wrong, but he knew a little better than to assume they’d gone off and gotten into trouble so soon after arrival. He’d walked around the quiet, somewhat emptied camp, taking in what he could to assess where they might have gone or what they might have gotten into.

Caedus found them before he did, but it seemed as if that might have been completely accidental. He’d gotten up to watch the sunrise and just so happened to find out that he wasn’t the only one with such early morning plans. When Lyndin found him, he was just outside the barrier. Caedus had been so fixated on the colors spreading across the horizon that he hadn’t even noticed Lyndin until he felt his hand on his shoulder.

They were quiet, because in that moment there was no reason to say anything. They both understood.

Lyndin gave his shoulder a quick squeeze before he lowered his hand back to his side and observed the Cadets that had slipped out. He could have recognized them even without the growing sunlight, and he watched them closely as they watched their first sunrise.

Caedus leaned against him, shoulder to shoulder. “They are not in trouble,” he whispered, and it sounded almost like it could have been a question, if he didn’t seem like he was ready to ask Lyndin to brush this off if they were.

“No,” Lyndin answered, equally quiet. The light of the rising sun caught his eyes, and Caedus could clearly make out the little smile on his face. “I’m glad they got to see this.”

Caedus smiled and nodded, letting this sunrise burn into his memory. It was just as good as the first sunrise he’d ever seen on Earth after clawing his way out of the Rift. “They will get to see many more.”

Lyndin nodded. If not here, on Velenia, one day. Their trip to Earth was supposed to be short, and he wanted the experience to be meaningful. He wanted them to experience what a living world was like. He wanted them to know what they could have--what they would have.

He had chosen them for a reason. He couldn't be mad at them for wanting to see this. To experience this.

He’d missed it. He felt the tug in his heart, the longing for his home. As much as Velencya was now, Velenia was, too.

He wanted to share it with these Cadets. He wanted to build a future with them.

Looking at them now, he was proud. He was optimistic. He was happy.