Mirage

Dren peered far in the distance where the edges of the sky seemed to ripple. Not clouds, exactly, but the kind of distortion you’d see when heat rose from the ground. Dren squinted at it, leaning forward.

“Hey, does that look weird to you?” he asked his construct.

The construct stopped, tilting its head toward the horizon as if considering his question. It gave a low whirring sound, then resumed its pace.

“Yeah, thought so,” Dren muttered, interpreting the sound as agreement.

The ripples grew more distinct as they traveled, and he began to notice other signs: a faint charge in the air, a bitter taste on the wind. Dren’s clueless charm kicked in as he tried to make sense of it.

“You think it’s a Mirage? I heard those are common out here,” he said aloud. “Or maybe it’s… Oh! What if it’s one of those, uh, energy field things people used to talk about? Like the ones the Creche can make?”

The construct’s silence offered no confirmation, but Dren grinned anyway. “Yeah, probably that. Mystery solved!”