Water gently lapped at the shore as footprints were left behind in the soft moist sands of an alien shore. In the distance a fish could be seen leaping out of the water only to be snatched out of the air by a tentacle that quickly pulled it back beneath the waves. A reminder that while the sea was beautiful it also hid many dangers. A thought that reminded her how something ugly had been hidden beneath the pretty facade that had been her life. Dad had always seemed so kind and loving, until that day. Mizu blinked as her stomach roiled, forcibly pushing the thought aside. He was over a thousand light years away, he couldn’t hurt her or mommy anymore.

As those thoughts disappeared she watched the water for a moment, before looking over the alien shore. It was untouched, there were no beachgoers here, nor were there any beach houses. There were simply the sands, the wind and the water. There was something to this, but she didn’t know what. Her gaze turned to the sand, she knew mom wouldn’t let her go swimming, but she wanted to play with the sand for a bit. 

Right here the sand was drier than closer to the shore. Squatting down, she brushed the top sand aside, smiling when she saw the wet sand beneath. Feeling it her smile broadened. The sand here was perfect for building. Not too wet and not too dry. Pulling it up with her hands she began to shape it. Nearby her mother joined her. The two soon formed some walls and little houses. It wasn’t much, but she was happy with it when she was done.  Smiling she looked it over, back home her work wouldn’t have lasted long on the beach. She wondered how long this little sand village would last before it too was knocked over.

Standing up, she stretched and looked to the woods. Her Mother smiled, “Done with the beach?”

Mizu nodded and the pair started walking to the woods. They were on the side of the river closer to the woods. The tower was a good distance from the shore and built on the shores of the river. The woods were some distance from it, separated by grassland with the woods seeming to stretch endlessly. The ancient trees going right up to the beach. The other side of the river was just grass for as far as the eye could see. Well there were a few scattered trees and bushes but it was pretty much just grassland. Mizu had seen mountains from space but there weren’t any in sight here on the ground. The tallest natural formation she had seen in these parts was a hill. There were a few scattered around, gentle rolling hills and flat stretches all covered with alien grasses. She thought the area was pretty and thought Mom picked a good area to build a new house in. Even better, they were so close to the beach!

Stepping into the woods was like entering another world entirely. The trees towered above them as the light filtered through the canopy taking on a reddish-gold hue. Her Mom commented, “Not many great forests like this back home.”

This wasn’t the first forest she had walked with her mother, so she replied, “No, the trees are, are... grander!” Hoping she had found the right word to convey what she meant, she looked to her Mom.

Her Mom smiled, “This is an old-growth forest, untouched by Elfirian hands, or well, any sapient race.” She touched one of the trees, “It’s quite something to see so many towering and ancient trees.”

Mizu nodded and looked at the grand trees. Closer to the ground, the forest floor was covered with decaying leaves. Yet smaller plants could also be seen, alien bushes, some laden with berries and even flowers. They were so pretty too! A bush suddenly rustled and then a small animal burst out into the open. It was furry with long fluffy ears, a bushy tail and cute little head with button eyes and a single horn with a weird shape. The fur was a mix of reds and browns. It saw her and then hopped into a hole she hadn’t seen before. “What was that?”

“A harmless herbivore, it eats leafy plants and hides in burrows. The survey teams reported that they use that horn to dig or protect themselves if caught in the open.”

“It was cute.”

Her mom smiled, “It was. Maybe we will see it again?”

Mizu pouted but nodded, she didn’t even follow her mom’s gaze. Not noticing that her mom had already noted that the little creature was watching them from another burrow. Instead of noticing that, Mizu headed deeper into the woods, something else had caught her eye.

Sticking out from behind a large tree was a bit of a flower. Drawing closer, she realized it was part of a large bush. A big bush full of cute flowers, drawing closer to one, she touched the petals. It was a shade of blue with a trim of white and to the touch it felt like silk. Incredibly smooth and soft, she turned to her mother to see she was looking at something else. Mizu shrugged and went back to studying the flowers. A stem moved and her gaze was drawn to a bug she hadn’t noticed before. It wasn’t small, but it wasn’t big for a bug either. It had a large fleshy rear end that looked smooth and tight. Its back had an interesting star-like pattern on it in blue. Its head was a little oddly shaped with what looked like little feelers or tentacles on the underside. Its feet had little barbs on them that helped it hold itself on the stem. It shifted about as it moved on the stem, soon looking her way. She giggled a bit, it was kinda cute.

Suddenly it reared up and released a weird mist right into her face. She blinked and then stared at it. Sniffing, she found it smelled kinda sweet. What was that for? It didn’t hurt, she could still see and it didn’t smell bad. Giving the bug a second look before reaching her hand out towards it. When she drew near the bug climbed onto her hand like it was the most natural thing. She smiled, this was so cool. Looking at her mom, she noted she wasn’t looking. Glancing back at the bug, she felt a sudden urge to put it in her panties, so she did. It felt a little weird having the bug crawl around in there, but somehow right as well. After a moment the bug found it’s way to her young pussy and pushed its way in. Mizu let out a little gasp, more out of surprise than anything else and then wondered for a moment about why the bug crawled into her body.

When suddenly her mother said, “Enjoying the flowers?”

She nodded, the bug forgotten for the moment she turned to her mother to enjoy the flowers with her. The two started to amicably discuss the local nature. The events back with her father fell away from her mind as she fell back into the familiar routine of a nature walk with her mother. The new woods simply made it more enjoyable.

Meanwhile at the tower, the receptionist leaned back in her chair. The wave of new arrivals had all finally finished their business. Now she could take a break while the poor sods in the office processed all the new resident forms, property claims and work order requests. There was a lot of administrative overhead in building a new colony. It was why outposts like this were built before any colonists were allowed on the surface. The colonists also needed food, clean water and shelter. Some would also argue about clothing, but she knew all about a previous incident in which a failure of logistics left a colony without regular access to clothes. It thrived regardless since they had access to good shelter, a local supply of food and clean water. To this day that particular colony had a large nudist population.

In fact she came from there and honestly wasn’t very comfortable in her current outfit. She had grown up naked so wearing clothes was a bit weird for her. At least she was free now, so she slipped out of her chair, stretched her limbs and headed back to the break room.

As she stepped inside a fellow coworker greeted her, “Hey Kophi, how are you holding up?”

She shrugged, “Well enough,”

“Well feel free to strip, I won’t tell and I know how much you dislike that outfit.”

She smiled, “Thanks!”

Closing the door behind her, she stepped further into the room and then started to strip out of her uniform. Tossing it all into a bin before lounging out on one of the chairs and looking at her coworker. The other girl was kinda cute, if a bit small. “So how about you? Everything going well with that boyfriend of yours?”

The other girl groaned, “It was until yesterday.”

She blinked, “You didn’t catch him cheating or something?”

“No it’s not this. He got into this really big university back on the homeworld. It's a big opportunity for him, but....”

“Ah! You don’t want him to leave. Yeah I get you, I’m not even sure I want to try a long-distance relationship. I’ve never had one, but I’ve heard it's difficult enough on the same planet. I can’t even imagine trying one on different planets.”

“I can’t either and that’s the problem!” responded the other girl.

“Well I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve never been in a long term relationship.”

The other girl gave her naked pussy a pointed look, “I can tell. You haven’t exactly been in any relationships.”

“Just because I don’t do guys doesn’t mean I don’t have relationships.”

Her coworker deflated a bit, “Um.. sorry. I didn’t mean to...”

Shifting a bit in the chair she replied, “I know I know.” then she giggled, “I was just teasing you a bit. Changing the subject, any plans before he leaves?”

The other girl lit up, “Yeah actually. I was thinking about taking him out for a walk in the woods and then a boat ride down the river then we could finish with a nice dinner in the tower.” then she sighed, “and then I’ll dump him.”

Kophi couldn’t help laughing, “You planned out a nice date like that just to dump him?”

Nervously the other girl nodded.

“Honestly Kholi, that’s a stupid plan.”

Kholi gulped, “I know, but how am I supposed to have a relationship when I can’t see him? The homeworld is over a thousand lightyears away, and there is no way I can afford to visit him on any kind of regular basis.”

Kophi was quite aware of that. Her own home colony had been a victim of irregular transport, so she knew how much a nightmare that could be. Especially for regular back and forth. In a few decades maybe, but right now? It wasn’t going to be easy. “You know you could try to maintain this. Everything I’ve heard about him indicates he is a great guy. Didn’t you tell me that you loved him?”

“I do, but I just can’t do this.”

“Well, have fun!” she glanced at the clock and then sighed, “I guess I should get dressed. Break’s about over.”

The other girl nodded and the two soon left the room.