Austra international research facility.<br/>Located far from the reach of civilization, in a part of the world that untiringly and sternly rejects human presence.<br/><br/>Austra research facility is a home away from home for the Austra scientific team, whose main mission is to monitor the effects of global warming on the polar ice sheet and the antarctic ecosystem.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40FF80"><span style="font-weight: bold">March 20, 2016, 19:02</span></span><br/><br/>The sun was swiftly descending towards the line of the horizon somewhere beyond the vast, barren white on the other side of the window's glass.<br/>The still pale, yellow rays were the last that the facility would see of it for around half a year.<br/><br/>"Everybody praise the sun" Cornelia fell down onto her knees and stretched her arms into the air in an embracing gesture.<br/><br/>Smiling amusedly Masahiro placed his steaming bowl of chunky and rather bland fish soup on the nearby table and joined her,<br/>prostrating himself for the celestial body until his forehead reached the cold floor of the dining area.<br/>The aformentioned room was a motley mix of decorations and influences.<br/>The curvy and rather tasteful Norwegian-designed wooden table stood on a ghastly dark orange carpet that Victor had once described as "regurgitated out of the 70's"<br/>which was probably accurate considering the facility's age.<br/>After about a minute of their mystic ritual the two returned to their feet, and their respective bland fish soups.<br/><br/>"I'm gonna miss the sunlight, it's gonna be tough" She said, blowing into the bowl<br/><br/>"All artificial lighting from here on" Masahiro replied<br/><br/>Cornelia continued "Wouldn't it be nice if this place had a tile stove? Sitting around a living flame, they could have thrown in some marshmallows in a supply shipment"<br/><br/>"Sigvard wouldn't have appreciated that, it would have violated safety regulations"<br/><br/><br/>Eyes like the open antarctic sky, cold sapphire.<br/>never wandering, transfixed on some distant point.<br/>Rhythmic panting, uninterrupted since departure, rhythmic and untiring plunging of paws into the bitter snow, never halting.<br/>Behind, the ever more weary, dreary rays shot over the plains, turning the endless snow golden, soon it would turn burning orange, and within not too long stark crimson, and then deep black.<br/><br/>Night was about to fall over Austra station, the pole's special blend of thick darkness, unspoilt by alleviating light,<br/>and a cold that would effortlessly wring the life out of any one of the facility's inhabitants were they to brave it.<br/><br/><br/>"Vad i hel...?" Passing by the entrance window Sigvard furrowed his brow. The two creatures's eyes lock, cold sapphire.<br/>The humid warmth of the creature rhythmically erupting and perishing in the antarctic atmosphere.<br/><br/>"HEY! ANY OF OUR DOGS MISSING?" No response came.<br/><br/>"Did you wander out of the sunset?" He mumbled to himself as he reached for the handle.<br/>Incredulous he opened the door, and the canine, happy to avert an icy death swiftly slipped into the shelter.<br/>"Welcome inside, hope you brought your own dog food"<br/><br/>The dog made its way through the corridor, casting fleeting glimpses through the passing doorways while continuing into the dining area, with it's cornucopia of scents.<br/>"Ooh, who's this fella?" Cornelia smiled her wide smile at the visitor approaching the table, with the two until just now engaged in idle chit chat.<br/>The visitor's unflinching gaze wandered between the faces of the two.<br/>Masahiro moved his hand over the black cloak of the animal's back in a single long stroke, and then withdrew it.<br/>"Oh, wow, you're freezing, this dog must be dangerously cold, we've gotta find a blanket for it"<br/><br/>"He's not wagging his tail at all" Cornelia observed "but he seems alright, i'll fetch the blanket"<br/><br/>"Here, you can have it, it's all yours, i promise" Masahiro put his bowl down,<br/>the faint snakes of steam contorted around the dog's muzzle.<br/><br/>Sigvard poked his head into the room "That pooch is not one of ours is it? Ours should all be inside the kennel,<br/>the kennel is closed i trust?"<br/><br/>Back in the kitchen the appointed chef Victor poured a laddlefull of soup into the waiting bowl.<br/>"Hey uh, Lee, just a thought, why do we have that rack full of rifles in the supply room again?"<br/><br/>"Huh? Oh, apparently there are some regulations about that, whether you're in the arctic or on antarctica the facility is supposed to have at least five rifles"<br/><br/>"Is it because of the penguins? Lee, is there something i should know about the penguins?"<br/><br/>"It's like, bureauocracy. The penguins are good guys"<br/><br/>"Are foreign powers after our ice samples?"<br/><br/>Lee chuckled "Yeah, i get it, it's a little weird, makes no sense"<br/><br/>"Wanna play some Smash bros later?<br/><br/>"I'm gonna get some soup for myself, then i've gotta go check the generator, can't have it acting up, that would be a game over, just play with Masahiro"<br/><br/>"Uh-uh, There's no way to defeat him when he's Kirby, i've really tried, not happening, there's no fun to be had playing against Masta hiro"