Submission (#3939) Approved

Word Count: 579

Fire crackles under the open sky, the smell of a rich campfire permeating the air for miles.
Under the stars sits two terra’s, one of soft yellows, oranges, and browns while the other sported soft grays and rich browns.
The Yellow terralien sits back against their hammock as their antennae twitch softly, their whale body resembling the features of a bee; from small and translucent wings to a fluffy abdomen sporting a small stinger. They seemed to be relaxing and stargazing as the gray colored terra sat by the fire. They gray colored one was the smaller of the two, their features between a cat and wisp of smoke. They smelt strongly of chocolate as they sat with a stick in hand. They chose to roast marshmallows while the larger of the two relaxed.
Wisps of smoke rise and fall from their tail and ears as they watch the fire flicker.
“Thanks for inviting me over this week, Bee. We miss you in the city, y’know?” They speak up after a little while.
To this the larger terra sits up in their hammock, sighing softly and swinging their soft paws over the side of it to join the smaller one at the fire.
“I know. But you all know why I had to move. I needed some space to breathe. To be in nature. You know I’ll still visit everyone every once in a while but I like it out here. Much more peaceful. Quiet.” Bee responds, offering the smaller one a smile. “Plus now I get to drag you out here for camping during the summer!” They pull the smaller terra against them, wings buzzing excitedly as they ruffle the smaller one's hair with their hand.
The smaller terra sputters out an objection before squirming their way out of Bee’s grasp, huffing as they cross their arms
“Yeah well! It's a long drive. It’s annoying. But I can see why you stayed. It’s nice to get out of the city every once in a while, see the stars and roast marshmallows by the fire.” They reply before finally settling down once more.
The two fall quiet shortly after, the crackling of the fire starting to fill the air around them. In the distance, the droning of cicadas could be heard alongside the occasional thrum of a frog. They sat like this for a while, the warm glow of the fire illuminating them under the soft sky full of stars, an occasional falling star streaking across the sky and grabbing the attention of the two before they turned their attention back to the fire. Soon, they both get up and move to their respective hammocks, gazing at the sky and stars as they make small chat. They continue like that well into the night, catching up with each other until the fire slowly dies to nothing more than embers and sleep comes to take them both.
As morning comes and the sounds of the birds above stirs them from their sleep, the two terraliens finally begin to pack up and clean up the camp site. They stop for a moment to admire the mist and morning dew hanging in the air before finally bidding farewell to each other.
Their outing had finally drawn to a close, leading one to return to the city, and the other to return to their cabin until they met again for a weekend of sleeping under the stars and catching up with each other