She took one step out over the ashen plains before her and he dove to offer her cover.

“Take this, and whatever you do, don’t reach out for the purple mist,” he said, a deathly serious look took his face.

With a firm grip on the umbrella, she continued to navigate the rough terrain beneath her feet. She couldn’t

Seem to hide the wonder in her eyes.

“This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen,” she mumbled to herself. Turning to look back she drank in the sight of him here, in his natural place. He blended in almost entirely with the field. His eyes intent on her now.

He began explaining the flora and fauna to her. The purple mist was acidic and caused the ashen color at their feet. “This is the winter season, you could say. The mist settles in and scorches everything. When the rain returns, it will be like spring. Everything will come back to life.”

“And it doesn’t hurt you?”

“Not like it hurts you.” He pulled back a sleeve and let the mist settle on his arm. She watched as it bleached patches of his skin. They shifted from opalescent to Stoney grey. “Our ancestors would settle in and let it overcome them. In deep hibernation, they would wait to be awoken but the planet in the spring.”

They had crested a the small hill before them, and she surveyed the sight of a stone structure ahead.

“Come on,” he tugged her onward. “Before my brothers come and ambush us.”

She looked nervous, and he smiled warmly in reassurance.