Prologue 1- Greet the Sun

The sun shone bright in the sky in this early morning, the heat already starting to creep into the red stones of B'haddu's desert, waking the city up from its slumber and frigid desert night.

The small blue figure stood out against the red sandstone as he sat on the edge of the cliff outside his house, looking as the sun climbed its way in the sky.

His ears were drawn back- not in stress, but in serene calmness as he watched the day rise out of the night, taking a deep breath as he greeted this new morning.

That is, until he heard a pebble being accidentally kicked behind him, and a familiar nervous muttering.

"Hey Raf-"

"Morning, Dezha." He greeted, not even looking back at the small sergal who made his way out of the shared house, clinging to the cliff face for dear life- even though there was a meter and a half from the edge.

"C-can you move back from the cliff please? It's making me nervous-" Dezhaxx pleaded, nervously gazing down towards the cliff they stood on as his claws subconsciously sunk into the soft stone.

"C'mon Dezh, it's not that bad. There's plenty of safety space, I can fit four more of you before your tail tip crosses the edge." Rafio teased, his own soft, cat-like tail swishing lightly at his mirth.

"Do not. I am not going close to the edge, not even as a joke." He shook his head, voice rising an octave.

"Please? I want us to talk normally."

"This is normal."

"Raf…"

"Fine, fine. Hold on." The xero relented, getting up nimbly and stretching, his back popping in the most satisfying way.

"Here, scaredy serg. Let's talk." He said, walking towards the house as his friend gave a sigh of relief, slowly making his cautious way back.

Once inside, Dezhaxx was far more confident, handing Rafio his morning coffee and smoothing out his maroon and ocher fur.

"So. I've got big news for you."

"Oh? Well, now you have my full attention." Rafio grinned, sitting on one of their high bar chairs in the kitchen.

While he was still taller than the Xero, Dezhaxx was a small sergal of the southern variety, with bright green eyes and a somewhat shaggy mane of hair.

He tapped his black claws against the countertop, waiting patiently for the other to finish his sip of coffee and actually focus.

"I got you a new gig."

The sentence almost made Rafio choke on his drink, looking at the other with wide blue eyes.

"What? Already?" He muttered, tail swishing with unease.

"I only just recovered, and besides, the physical therapist said-"

"I know what xe said." Dezha cut him off, shaking his head.

"I consulted with xem before setting out to do this." He admitted, looking at the other guiltily.

"Raf, it's been over 8 months. You are my best friend, and I love you dearly, but staying cooped up here like this- It's not like you. It's driving you mad, and I can see it." He said, pushing through regardless of guilt and fear.

"I get that you are afraid- hells, i'm always afraid- but both your physical therapist and psychologist agreed with me, and you know they did, we were all there in that talk- you have got to try going back to normal, or you will never get over this."

Dezhaxx spoke clearly and quickly, not leaving any room for protest.

"But we are not stupid, or cruel. We know that pushing you into extreme jobs like you were used to won't be any good. So we found something small, low energy, and calm to start with." The sergal finished, putting down a datapad in front of the other.

Rafio, frowning in silence, took the datapad and started reading.

"I know I told you to be harsh with me when you are in manager mode, but I may be regretting that decision." He muttered under his breath, reading the details of his new job.

"...an escort mission as a security detail for an… entomologist?" He frowned, nose wrinkling lightly as his eyebrows furrowed, eyes half hidden beneath the bangs of his mullet.

"You are literally sending me to help a bug nerd."

"Like I said, it's low key, low energy, and good to get your feet under you."

"You are sending me, Rafio, adrenaline junkie extraordinaire-"

"...ex-adrenaline junkie extraordinaire, at the moment."

"...to be a bug nerd's bodyguard?"

"Yes, I am. Problem?"

"I have a few, actually-"

"Too bad." Dezhaxx said, giving a cheeky grin.

"Come on, Raf. Its two weeks tops, in and out easy, on an uninhabited planet two solar systems down. No cameras, no fans, no paparazzi. Just you, in nature, hanging around a bug nerd for a bit before coming back home with all of your usual confidence and bravado." He said, his smile now genuine.

"At least give it some thought, okay?"

"...fine." he sighed, picking his mug back up.

"But it's not because you are right, or something. It's because I'm sick of being cooped up."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever helps, bud." He grinned, lightly ruffling the Xero's hair, making him snort and laugh as he pushed Dezhaxx's hand away.

Sure, he wasn't one hundred percent certain he was ready yet, but Rafio decided he would accept the job.

After all, it's just a simple two week excursion.

There is no way for it to go wrong. Right?