Sightseeing

The winter clouds had set in, and a light snow fell onto the earth below. The white chill settled down on top of buildings, in the window sills of homes, even the sidewalks were covered in a thin layer of the powdery snow. It didn’t seem to bother the people of the world much however, the rest of them meandering around, going about their day.  

One cat especially seemed to be on a mission. This siamese cat, with two eyes colored different shades, walked along the sidewalk with such purpose, bundled up in their favorite winter clothes. A small drink in their hand, ambiently sipping away at it as they made their way out of the small town and into the surrounding forests. Juno was always one to enjoy the outdoors- Cryptids, legends and myth, if it supposedly wasn’t true they were instantly hooked on it!

This was doubly so for anything related to aliens, something they cherished close to their heart. They smiled, thinking about all the things they had seen and read about aliens, what they were apparently like from an outsider’s perspective, and what we could possibly learn from their “advanced alien technologies”. However, Juno thought… What if there was something to teach them instead? They wander out into the woods, trees standing taller and prouder than any building now surrounding them.  

The forest held within many mysteries- Cryptid sightings, all sorts of plants and animals the people of the world could only ever dream of caring for, while the earth tended to itself. Admiring the beauty of nature itself was secondary however, as Juno stood in an open clearing in the woods, looking up towards the clouds. They stretch out their hand, looking at their palm, then flipping it around to look at the back before stretching it towards the sky. A light glow comes from their finger, which shoots out into the clouds, piercing the sky fluff as it rockets into the atmosphere. Then… They wait, standing in the snow with their arms to their side, and their hot drink warming the rest of them.

It’s not long before there’s a slight rumble in the ground underneath them, and a whirring buzz in the air above. They peer into the sky, a smile on their face as a cylindrical beam of light pours over them. Their feet begin to lift off the ground, their body weightless as they ambiently glide up to the clouds, leaving the earth behind as they ascended. Their body breaks through the grey wintery clouds and into the atmosphere, spotting a large mechanism briefly before entering inside a large metallic opening.

Their body is pulled inside, their feet facing towards the metal ground that they were welcomed into as they slowly, carefully begin to float back down. The interior of the craft was filled with shiny screens, buttons, levers and pulleys- Like a boat that had been thrust into the future. Just then Juno stops their gawking at the familiar sights, and notices a being in front of them not unlike themself, but still different.

They looked somewhat like a cat, although without any hair on their body. Their eyes were larger- Far larger than Juno’s heterochromic eyes, and two antennae peeked out of the top of their head. A split tail wagged behind them as well, and their skin was somewhat scaly in places

as well. Their face was cat-like, but longer and skinnier in the snout, and their hands were equally longer than Juno’s.  

However despite the differences, Juno takes their beanie off, revealing two small antennae on top of their head as well, smiling at the floating being in front of them. “Hi mom! ” Juno excitedly greets them with an alien tongue, running forward to hug the individual. The being returns the hug, chuckling slightly with the exuberant nature of her child.

“Hello! ” Their mother replies, gleefully twirling around with Juno. “I’ve missed you so much- How is… Earth? ”
Juno giggles. “Yeah, it’s earth! It’s really neat- I think you might like it! ”
The pair hug for a second longer, before their mother sets Juno down, and rubs her chin. She hums gently, thinking to herself. “Perhaps, but Earthlings are so fickle. Especially when it comes to-”
“Is that Juno?! ” A higher pitched voice came from beyond the room, followed by a raspy, much quieter one.
“Juno is here…? ” From the other room stood two other aliens, one much shorter than their mother, and one hunched over with wrinkled skin and squinty eyes. Juno waved at the familiar faces.
“Hey grandma, hey cousin! ” They wave towards the approaching pair, their younger cousin practically barreling into them with an ecstatic hug. Their grandmother follows close behind, wrapping them in a much more gentle hug.
“Oh Juno, how have you been? ” Grandma lovingly holds her hands over their shoulders, tilting her head with a small smile. “We’ve missed you so! ”
“Yeah! ” Their cousin continues, letting Juno out of their hug. “What’s earth like- And what’s that? ” He wonders, pointing to the cup in Juno’s hand. Their head snaps to it, and they gasp slightly.
“Oh- I forgot I had this… Here! ” Juno hands their cup to him, and with a quick tip upwards he takes a gulp.
“...Woah… ” He admires the warm cup, and looks excitedly towards Juno. “What is it? ”
“Hot Chocolate! ” They gladly respond, taking the cup back with a sip for themself. “...Hey, why don’t you come with me and we can go get some? ” Juno smiles, and looks towards their other family members as well. “In fact- Why don’t we all go! ”

Their mother and grandmother exchanged a look, before turning to Juno. Before they could speak however, Juno wrapped their arms around the both of them, a smile stretching across their face.

“C’mon, it’ll be great! ”
“I suppose- But we aren’t exactly… Like the rest of the earthlings. ” Their mother motions to her body, floating above the ground slightly.  
“Hm… Well, first of all- You’ll need to stop floating. ” Juno points down, and their family obliges. “Great! About the other thing though… Eh, you look enough like me, you can just borrow my clothes!”
“I… ” Their grandmother starts, fidgeting her hands as Juno watches intently. They tilt their head as she continues to speak. “Juno, I’m not sure this will be a good idea- Earthlings are very… Wary of many things. ”
Juno huffs, and crosses their arms across their chest. “Grandma… ”
“She does have a point, Juno. ” Their mother adds. “It’s hard to know exactly what they’ll think of us- Or worse, what they would think of you! ”  
“They’re not that bad! ” Juno retorts, rolling their eyes with a well-mannered grin. “They’re weird, sure, but they mostly mind their own business- My antennae have slipped a couple times, and nobody said a thing! ”

Their mother and grandmother shoot a look between each other, hesitant to continue. Juno was adamant, folding their hands together and looking towards the pair.

“Please? I’ve come to visit you all so much- It’s only fair you come visit me! ”  
“Yeah, and I want more hot chocolate! ” Their cousin shouts, jumping around in excitement.  

Their mother crosses their arms, and ponders… Juno had a point after all, and they seemed to know what they were doing… She looks to her other two family members, then to Juno, lips pursed as she was deep in thought. Finally, she nods, and Juno pulls their arms in, an ecstatic ‘Yes! ’ under their breath.  

Their grandmother seems surprised, looking towards her with a hand to her chest. She opens her mouth as if to speak, but no words come forth. Instead, she sighs, drops her head slightly… And smiles towards Juno. “Well, I suppose you’re right. ”

“Well, not time to waste- To the apartment! ”

It’s not long before the small group is dropped back to the surface of earth, the ship disappearing into the distance as they make their way towards Juno’s apartment. The small space paled in comparison to the ship, being much smaller in size and far less technologically advanced- But Juno loved the space anyway, having decorated it with plants, paraphernalia and art alike.  

“What’s this? ” Their cousin points to a poster, with a large monster on it. Juno chuckles.
“That’s the mothman! ”
“Moth...Man? ” Questioned their mother, to which Juno nods.  
“It’s a cryptid, sort of like a monster- Half man, half moth! ”

Their cousin gawks at the poster for a while longer before the group makes their way over towards their room, to which Juno flings open their closet, full of clothes ripe for the picking. It wasn’t long before their cousin picked out an outfit for himself, but their grandmother and mother on the other hand…

“Juno, ” Their mother started up again, having tossed multiple pairs of clothing aside while Juno lay on their bed, their face blankly looking up towards the ceiling. “What about this one? ”
“I’m sure it looks fine mom. ” They curtly respond, stretching their arms up.
“But you aren’t even looking! ” Their mother turns around towards them, to which Juno groans.  

After a long while of back and forth debating, their little group was all set to venture out into the world. Juno decided to take them out into the nearby town, small enough to not be intimidating, but large enough to hide anything too strange. The cold air was more than distracting enough to keep eyes off of them as Juno strolled along the streetside with their family, absorbing the land around them.

Their grandmother and mother, somewhat familiar with the planet, knew what to expect. The atmosphere was about what they were prepared for this time of year, and the various city scapes weren’t too far off of what they remember aftering making a trip here once or twice for Juno’s father. However their cousin, eyes wide with amazement took in every sight and sound that the world had to offer him. He points to a theatre, almost bouncing.

“What’s that?! ” He points, pulling on Juno’s clothes slightly.
“Oh, the movies? ”
“Movie? ” He wonders, his mouth wide open. Juno thinks their hand against the side of their head and chuckles.
“Oh right- It’s like… It’s a bunch of moving pictures. It’s a story, and there’s all kinds of them too! ”Juno explains, to which he responds.
“Oh, so it’s like a holo-film then! ”
“...What’d I miss while I was out here? ” Juno laughs, and their cousin follows suit. “Hey, they’ve got some pretty good stuff playing- Let’s go see one! ”

Their mother and grandmother look towards each other for a moment wondering what to say about this. Should they go, or stay out of sight? Before they have a moment to think however, Juno and their cousin run off towards the theatre, making their relatives trail a bit farther behind. Their mother is about to scold them, but realizes the company of a stranger behind the desk when they arrive at the ticket counter.

“And… How many tickets?” The voice behind the intercom asks.
“Uhm… Four, tickets. Please?” Juno’s words come a bit slower in english than in the alien language they shared with their family. Their mother decides to leave them be- They seemed to be enjoying themselves, and their cousin was starstruck to be here.  
“Okay. Theatre 9 on your left. Hand these to the ticket counter.” Four slips of paper slide into Juno’s hand, which they hand off to each family member.  
“Grandma… ” They start again in their native tongue, looking towards her.  
“Yes dear? ”
“You’re uh… ” They point to the empty space between her and the ground.
“Oh! How careless… ” She quickly grounds herself, and the family enters the theatre.  

When the group walks inside, the ticket counter looks towards them for a moment, the covered up family looking… Somewhat similar to Juno, but still different… The family tenses for a moment, waiting for a snide comment or interrogation from the counter.

“Must be visiting, eh?” They comment, tearing the ticket stubs off and handing them to Juno.  
“Yes! Family, hah!” They nervously chuckle as they hand the tickets back to their family.  
“Well that’s good.” They respond, rather curtly as they look towards the rest of the family… Deciding not to dig anymore into foreigner’s personal details. They can’t help but notice something off about the way they move, but…
“Thank you!” Juno interrupts their thoughts, rushing off with their family. However, they’re stopped soon by the allure of a delicious smell wafting through the air, and point their attention to the snack bar.

Wasting no time, the family grabs snacks- various chocolates and candy, popcorn, and of course, hot chocolate for Juno and their cousin. He can’t help but take a sip almost as soon as he’s got it in his hands, burning his tongue slightly on the hot drink.  

Eventually the family finds their theatre, the space hardly half full.  

“Oh good! ” Juno starts, racing towards the middle of a row of seats, mid theatre. “Plenty of room! ”

Their family follows shortly behind, just having barely enough time to sit down before the screen lights up. The three aliens all coo under their breath at the display, Juno giggling to themself slightly as they shove a handful of popcorn in their mouth.  

“I love this planet… ” Their cousin mutters, to which Juno smiles and rustles the top of their head.
“Yeah, me too.  ”