#protective human

[magicspace119]

New faces - pack bonds

It happened not long after you'd shielded Toby from Freddy but now, the little alien had started putting more trust in you. They were no longer passing out when they needed sleep but blissfully curling up on your lap while you watched movies.

Your understanding of alien family bonds was very unclear after hearing what Toby had told you about their own parents. You were still caught up on the fact that they were somehow involved with Toby being sent here on their own.

Your hand moved down from their curly hair to the rings of metal around their wrists. Restraints, they'd called them. Restraints for a child. It wasn't right. You ran your thumb over them, wondering if there was some way to release the kid from them. Your older brother was pretty good with locks, perhaps he could help.

Of course, there was the other problem; telling your family. How do you tell your very scary family that you've essentially adopted an alien child that had broken into your apartment and put a hole in your wall?

You sighed and took out your phone, calling up your mother. She answered after the first couple rings. "Mayflower! It's been a while."

"It's been three days."

"And we only met up for half an hour before you had to leave."

"Right, sorry." You nodded, "listen, I've got someone to introduce to the family and I think you'd be the best person they meet first."

"Oh? Another boyfriend? As long as he's not like that Freddy guy-"

"No, mum," you shook your head, "this is a kid. They need help and I've been taking care of them."

"How young?"

"About fourteen."

"O-kay," your mother sounded unsure, "I am good with kids but so is your father and your brother's not too bad himself. Is there something wrong?"

"Well... I can't say over the phone. You wouldn't believe me."

"You're sounding a bit... ominous. Are you in trouble or something? You haven't illegally acquired this kid, have you?"

"Uhhh," you paused, "technically I have but I didn't kidnap them. They just appeared in my home and I'm not their legal guardian."

"May," your mother scoffed, "you're supposed to be my little perfect citizen out of my children."

You let out a huff, "mum, if you wanted children who followed the law to a tee, you shouldn't have married dad."

"I know, I know," she chuckled, "I can come around to meet this child today if you're free."

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks, mum."

"Anything for my little flower." Your mother hung up and you looked down as you felt Toby shift.

They blinked open their eyes and let out a small bleat as they looked up at you. You chuckled, "hello, sleepyhead."

"Huh?" Toby looked around, realising they were laid on your lap in front of the TV before slowly sitting up. "Sorry for sleeping on you."

"It's fine," you kept an arm around them as they sat up, "listen, my mum's gonna come over today to meet you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I didn't say too much over the phone so we've got to do a bit of explaining when we see her."

"Will she... accept me?" Toby asked.

"I think so," you nodded, "you're still a kid and she knows it so she'll treat you well."

"Is- does this mean I'll become part of your pack?"

"Pack?" You tilted your head.

"Yeah, your pack, or herd? I think it's meant to be pack." Toby quizzed over the words. "There's talk that human pack bonds are some of the strongest bonds in the galaxy and that you create these bonds with things that aren't even other humans."

"It's weird to hear it be called 'pack bonds'" you chuckled, "we usually use the word family to describe our groups and yes, we create these bonds with some animals like cats or dogs."

"Would I become part of your 'family'?"

You smiled, "yes. If all introductions go well, you'd become part of my family and have not only my protection but my parents and older brother's protection too."

"H-how do I make a good impression? Is there something I should do?"

"Just be you," you pat the top of their head, "I can do a lot of the explaining but like I said, you're a kid and my mother knows this so you'll get more consideration." Toby let out a bleat. "It's going to be ok. How about we get some food while we wait." Toby nodded and followed you into the kitchen.

~

Some time passed before there was a knock on the door. You and Toby were still eating lunch in the kitchen. You put your sandwich down, "stay here. I'll get it." You wiped your hands on your jeans before opened the door a crack.

On the other side was a brunette woman that was only slightly shorter than you and carrying a small backpack on her shoulder. Despite being older, her skin was in good condition with only crows feet showing at her eyes and a large collection of freckles on her tanned cheeks.

"May," she smiled, opening her arms in invitation.

"Mum," you hugged her immediately, happy to see your mother again, even if it hasn't been that long since you last saw her.

"Now where's this kid I'm meant to meet," she asked as you let her inside, closing the door again.

"First thing, mum, they're very different from any kid you've seen before," you said carefully, "and they're also pretty nervous about meeting other people. When I first saw them, they ran from me."

"What's that hole in the wall?" Your mother immediately pointed out the large dent.

"Yeah, they kinda ran into the wall while running away from me."

"Are they alright?" Your mother asked.

"They were already hurt before that. I've put stitches in to help heal it all." You looked over at the kitchen to see the top of Toby's hair sticking out over the counter they were hiding behind. "Toby? Would you like to come out here?"

Toby crept to the doorway, peeking their head out carefully but still not getting any closer. Your mother squinted on seeing them, her brain needing a chance to catch up with the non-human features Toby had. Just like you, your mother went very quiet and still on meeting the kid, not really processing fast enough that this was a real alien.

"Toby," you held your hand out for Toby to grab and they left the wall they were hugging to stand in your shadow, hugging your arm to their chest.

"Toby is- is uh-" your mother blinked.

"That was my reaction the first time too," you chuckled, "they're an alien. This is why I didn't want to say over the phone."

"Uh- is it ok to call them an alien? Is that not offensive?" Your mother asked.

"That's true, what is your species called, Tobs?"

"I- I'm an Ovec," Toby let out a nervous bleat.

"An Ovec," your mother nodded. "How did you get here?"

"I- was sent here," Toby squeezed your arm, "my- I- uh-" they let out more nervous bleats.

"Breathe, Toby, it's ok. You're safe, just keep breathing." You said, running your free hand over one of their hands.

"I'm sorry," Toby said through bleats, "I don't mean to make so much noise, sorry."

"It's alright," your mother said in a voice like honey. You knew right away on hearing that voice that she had softened from her previous surprise. She crouched to a similar level to Toby and Toby looked down. "I'm May's mother, Julia."

"I- I'm Totobyc M-Maechislovic III but May calls me Toby." Toby introduced, purposefully avoiding eye contact.

They flinched when your mother reached for them. She didn't stop her movement but she was still slow and gentle as she put her hand on Toby's shoulder, "it's lovely to meet you, Toby."

"Really?" Toby looked up briefly to see your mother smiling.

"Of course," she said, "you don't have anything to fear from us."

"You should have seen them when we went grocery shopping, they were very excited and it was adorable," you said, booping their snout.

Toby let out a bleat of offence and your mother laughed. "Oh, my husband will love you. I'm not sure how James will be though."

"I actually need James' help with something actually," you said, crouching down with your mother and showing off Toby's wrists where the metal bands are, "I was thinking of a way to get these off and he's always better at this sort of thing than I am."

"I don't think you can," Toby said, "they unlock with a specific digital key. You'd need the key to unlock them."

"James specialises in not using a key," you smiled.

"What are these bands?" Your mother asked.

"Restraints," you and Toby said together.

Your mother got this dark look on her face after hearing that and while Toby shrunk under it, you felt the spark of righteous fury reignite in your chest and you returned the look with a nod.

"I'll call your brother and tell him to bring his tools," your mother nodded at you and took out her phone.

< Previous

Next >

[magicspace119]

New faces - recovery

Once Toby was sufficiently wrapped in blankets and had a heater pointed at them, you decided to leave them alone for a bit. They were asleep now and you didn't want to wake them.

When you wandered out, your family was all sat in your living room. Your brother had his head in his hands while your parents sat together, discussing quietly with each other. They all looked up at you as you entered the room. You hugged your arms, standing in the doorway between both rooms so you could monitor Toby.

"May, I- I'm so sorry," James said, his face twisted in pain, "I didn't mean to freak him out like that. I-"

"It's fine," you said, "you didn't know what would happen." You looked back when Toby made a noise in their sleep but they didn't react any more.

"May?" Your mother started, "what are you not telling us?"

You sighed and moved into the room, pulling a seat up to sit opposite everyone, "I don't know all the details, I just know snippets."

Your father leaned forward now, "then tell us those snippets. We can't help you if we don't know."

You nodded in agreement. "Well, first, Toby knows humans as one of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy. When they saw me, they were terrified. They ran into that wall to escape me and knocked themselves out." You pointed to the dent in your wall.

"I can fix that for you," your dad said quickly.

You smiled briefly before thinking about everything you knew about Toby. "I don't know how they got here but I think it was meant as a punishment of some kind. I know their parents were involved somehow." You stood up and rooted in one of your higher cupboards in the living room, "they came with something else. I'm not sure what it is, some alien tech."

You pulled out the thin shocky stick you'd first taken from Toby. It was made of a dark grey metal with a pretty minimal design. There were no fancy lights or even any alien writing that served to identify the buttons.

Your brother snatched it from you, looking it over. You had only pressed one button on it. You didn't risk fiddling with it more after it shocked you. You decidedly didn't warn your brother when he proceeded to do the same thing you did and shocked himself.

He dropped the stick on reaction, "what was that?"

"It seemed like some taser to me." You chuckled quietly.

"You knew that would happen?" James glared.

"Payback's a bi-eautiful woman," your eyes flickered to both of your parents sitting opposite you. Your mother was giving you a pointed look while your dad was trying his damnedest not to smile and failing horribly.

Unlike you, your brother gingerly picked up the stick again and pressed another button. This one made the stick extend into a much longer staff.

"Wow."

While your brother fiddled with the staff, your mother grabbed your attention again. "Why do you think Toby was sent here as a punishment? And how do you know it's to do with their parents?"

You rubbed your arm, "when I found out they were still young, I asked about their parents. They were terrified of them, so I asked."

"Did you get an answer?"

You nodded. "They didn't say why they were here but... I know their parents were involved. Toby seemed to believe they deserved to be sent here alone."

"Do we know he's alone?" James asked, still fiddling with the staff and trying to get it to close up again.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as a race of apparently deadly creatures, it sounds like they wouldn't want us to know about them. I mean, best way to hide is to make sure we don't know they exist, right? Seems a bit odd that they'd send people here for punishments. Maybe they'd threaten to."

"Spit it out, James," you said, sending a glare his way in hopes he didn't turn this into your dad's first reaction.

"I think he escaped," James set the stick down on the table. "This has electromagnets in it." He pushed a button and the staff retracted again. "He could have stolen this and used it to free his hands and feet. Then maybe took an escape pod that landed around here somewhere."

"So-" You leaned forward, resting your elbows on your knees.

"This is just a theory but I think he was a prisoner," James said.

You blinked. It made sense. You couldn't think of anything that Toby could have possibly done to warrant being sent here. It just seemed too over the top for any crime. Now though, it could have been a conscious effort to get away from their parents, hiding somewhere they knew they wouldn't be followed to.

You caught sight of movement in the corner of your eye and spotted the little alien hiding behind the door frame. You smiled softly at them, "hey, Toby. Wanna come out?" You opened your arms in invitation.

Toby looked around the room then spotted the staff on the table. You kept your arms out and Toby eventually ran to you. You engulfed them in a hug and set them on your seat beside you, keeping one arm around them at all times.

"Hey, Tobs. You feeling better?" James asked. Toby nodded quietly. "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I-it's ok. Sorry for freaking out." Toby leaned into your side.

"You don't need to apologise for that," you said, "as long as you're ok." Toby looked down at the weapon on the table.

James tapped it, "it's pretty smart what you did. You used the electromagnets, right?"

"Electromagnets can interfere with each other," Toby said, still staring at the weapon.

You were watching them. "Toby?" You asked carefully, "did you come alone?"

Toby grimaced and shrunk into themselves. "I'm sorry." They said, "I didn't want to lie but I didn't know you could be trusted." They grabbed their horns, breathing picking up.

"It's ok. You're ok," you said quickly, "we're not mad. We just want to know the truth."

"I- I wasn't sent here," Toby said, "I was... an inmate." You nodded. "We were being transported and... there was a riot." Toby's breathing picked up again, "I- can't- I had to-"

"Breathe, Toby," your mother said, "we don't want you going into another flashback. You can tell us everything in your own time."

"Hey, bud," your dad got down on his knee in front of Toby, blocking their view of the weapon. He reached carefully and unravelled Toby's tight grip on their horns. "If that's too scary a memory, we can move on to something else. Did anyone make it out with you?"

Toby whined a little, dropping their hands. "Tillen."

"Tillen? Is that a name?" You asked. Toby nodded. "Do you know where they are now?"

Toby shook their head. "They landed away from me. I don't even know if they landed safely."

"Well that's ok," your dad said. "We can take a look."

< Previous

Old Shadows >

[magicspace119]

New faces - pack bonds part 3

Toby was quiet but you could still see a glint of curiosity in their eye as your brother pulled out strange tools from his case. You were worried at first that they'd be scared but if anything, they were in awe.

They sat themselves up a little straighter on the couch and carefully reached for James, stopping when they'd gained his attention before they'd even touched him. "Um, what do these do?" Toby asked, voice quiet but not mumbling.

Your brother's eyes flickered to you before looking back at Toby. "These are some lock picking tools," he explained, picking up a set of lock picks, "these are for manual locks like the one on that door." He pointed to your front door. "For this though, they won't be much help." He looked over his shoulder, "mum said this would be a digital lock."

"Isn't it?" She asked.

"No, digital usually has a combination or something. There isn't anything like that here," James took Toby's hands, turning them over to see if there was anything he could use. "How does this work normally? Do they use a key? A fob?"

"They have a button," Toby said, "it activates the restraints or releases them. The button looks like it's tied to a network of switches that send wireless signals to the restraints."

"Alright," your brother took out a clamp meter and attached it to one of the bands.

"What is that?" Toby asked.

"It's a clamp meter, it can measure any electrical signals in the bands so I can see what I'm working with." James said, not looking up from the screen.

"Will it work with this?" Toby asked, "this tech won't be anything like yours."

"If it's still AC or DC it should be fine," James shrugged, "you may be alien but basic physics should still work, right?"

"I-I guess." Toby nodded.

James hummed and looked at the readings. Remarkably, he was getting them. It looked like it wasn't all too different after all. The problem was, there were no visible wires to cut, seemingly no power source to drain. These were simple, black, metal bands. They were too tight against Toby's wrists to just pull off too, not without hurting the kid.

"I have an idea."

"I'm not going to like it, am I?" You mumbled, knowing James wouldn't have stopped there if it was a good idea.

"It's kinda a 'see what happens' type of deal," James grinned, pulling out a small device. It was like a taser but you know, mostly because he's used it on you, that it was a lot weaker than a regular taser. It was mostly to stun electronics.

It was a homemade device with the odd couple wires sticking out and the grip made by wrapping duct tape around rubber insulation. There was a metal tip that delivered the shock.

Toby looked between you and James as you glared. "Don't you dare," you said.

"Look, we gotta figure out how this works, right? Besides, it's not a dangerous current. It's just a little sting," James said, "see?" He jutted it at you and you shrieked before he even pressed the button.

"James!" You shoved him when he laughed.

"See? It's fiiiine," James looked at Toby, "don't mind her, she's a drama queen." You hit him again on the shoulder.

"Drama queen?" Toby tilted their head then turned to you, "you didn't say you were royalty."

James paused then burst out laughing. You rolled your eyes, trying not to smile yourself, "it's just an expression. It means someone's a very dramatic person." James was laughing so much, he was leaning against you for support. You quickly moved and let him fall to the floor.

"Ok, I like this kid," James chuckled, finally starting to calm down, "can we keep him?" Your dad just chuckled in the background until you shot him a look.

"They've probably got parents looking for them," your mother said and the light mood wore off both you and Toby. "We might need to find a way to reunite them somehow."

"No," you said immediately as Toby's breathing picked up.

"May?" Your mother asked.

Toby crawled over to you and small panicked bleats escaped him. You lifted an arm to let them curl into you. "They don't get to call themselves parents." You said stubbornly.

"I can't go back," Toby whined, "I can't-"

"Wow, wow," James said, "calm down mama bear, we won't take him away from you." You gave your brother a look and he gave you a nod back, a serious look falling over his face. He went back to picking at the bands around Toby's arms. "Ok, this might sting a bit but it'll only be for a second, ok?" He looked up and Toby nodded at him.

James shocked the band and suddenly both lit up blue along with the metal collar around Toby's neck. The bands magnetised and pinned his wrists together and two more that were disguised in the fur on their legs pinned his legs together.

Toby shrieked and tripped over themselves, falling off the couch and onto the floor. They fought for their hands, bleating and whining in vain as the electromagnetic force was too strong.

"Wow, hang on." James said, getting down on the floor with Toby but the alien kicked out, propelling themselves along the floor and squirming away.

"Wait," you took your brother's shoulder, keeping him in place.

Toby backed themselves up against the wall and curled their limbs up close. They shivered and squeezed their eyes closed. You approached slowly, coming at them from the side. They didn't acknowledge you as they mumbled to themselves.

"Toby?" You asked, quietly.

Toby let out a quiet bleat and started mumbling to themselves. "S'not my name." You overheard them say in their mindless rambling.

"Tobs," you said, "do you know where you are right now?"

Toby didn't acknowledge you as you crept closer. You caught movement in the corner of your eye and you turned to see your brother fiddling with wires and a large nail. You decided to figure that out later.

"Open your eyes, Toby. Just take a look around. You're safe."

"I-I'm good," Toby said slightly louder than their previous ramblings, "I'm good, I swear. I'll be good." They let out another whine that twisted your heart painfully in your chest.

"You are good, Tobs." You carefully put your hand on the top of their head, in between their horns. Toby flinched initially but when your hand did nothing more but ruffle through their hair, they sunk into the touch. "Open your eyes, it's ok, you're safe with me. It's May. I promise, you're safe."

Toby didn't open their eyes yet, still too scared but they leaned towards you. You shifted your body to be beside them and you pulled them closer, keeping physical contact light but supporting.

Your mother stood up from her seat and sat against the wall perpendicular to you. You watched her move, unable to keep the kicked puppy expression off your face. You felt horrible that there was nothing you could do for the little alien. Your mother started humming.

The hum was soft but audible. It was a lullaby, one you were familiar with. Your mother was always a lovely singer and even after years of not hearing it, the song was just as beautiful as when she'd sung to you after a nightmare. You rubbed circles into Toby's back while she sang.

Your brother snuck close now. On seeing what he had in his hand, you recognised the electromagnet in his hand. It was simple and rather crude considering the tech he was using it against but you could hear a faint buzzing as he got closer with it. He held it up to Toby's collar and the lights dimmed a little before turning back to the usual flashing yellow. Toby's arms fell away from each other and their ankles were also able to separate.

Once they were freed, you pulled Toby onto your lap, picking them up and taking them to another room so they could better calm down.

< Previous

Next >

[magicspace119]

New faces - pack bonds part 2

You really wanted to introduce your family one at a time in hopes that Toby would be more comfortable but that went out the window when your mother called your brother. Your brother proceeded to bring your father with him and the pair barged into your apartment without even knocking.

"Of course you wouldn't knock but dad?" You crossed your arms, glaring at your dad.

He looked a little sheepish at least. He certainly showed his age more than your mother did, with more of a weather beaten face and some grey starting to pop up in his thinning hair. "Sorry, honey," he said, "it just sounded from your brother that this was serious. Are you ok?"

"I was trying to gradually introduce Toby to you so they wouldn't be so scared." You looked down at the Ovec who was now burying their face in your back as they hid behind you.

"Oh, sorry squirt," your dad crouched down, not noticing the hooves and tail and just trying to see their face.

"Uh, dad?" James started, having already noticed those features and looking between you and your mother for an explanation. Your brother was a lot like a younger version of your dad, with nearly black hair and the same freckles as your mother.

"They're an Ovec," you explained, "and they're just a kid so don't start freaking out. They're much more scared of us than we are of them." Toby trembled but poked their head out from behind you.

Your dad startled on realising they weren't human and jumped back, "what the hell is that?!"

The sharp movement and loud voice just scared Toby, making them bleat in fear. "I'm sorry," they said, "sorry."

"It's ok," you turned back and started soothing them while your mother reprimanded your dad.

"Michael," she said, "do not speak to the kid like that."

"You're kidding, right, Julia? That's not a kid." Your dad said, "what even is that? Some mutant animal? A demon?"

"Alien," your mother said, "called an Ovec."

"An alien," your father said, "and you want us to treat it like that's normal?"

"Dad," you started. Your brother was going to say something but on hearing your tone, he immediately shut his mouth.

Your dad though, didn't hear it and continued, "how do we know that thing isn't dangerous either? It may be cowering now but that could be acting."

"Dad!" You said through gritted teeth in a tone you haven't had to take with him since you announced you were moving out of the family estate.

Your dad knew it well and knew that he'd reached the end of your patience. You'd like to say you didn't have a temper or that you had a lot of patience but really, it was about average. You weren't quick to blow a fuse but when you did, your family knew not to dig themselves a deeper hole.

"They've just been stranded on an alien planet with no supplies of their own and with creatures that could easily kill them. Have some damn empathy." You glared.

Your dad bit his cheek. You could tell he wanted to say more but he knew you too well. "Flower-"

"Those next words better be an apology to Toby," you said, looking down at the shaking kid. Toby was back to hiding their face in your back and staying in your shadow. "They're the equivalent of a fourteen year old and they were hurt when I first found them."

Your dad sighed and crouched down, still keeping plenty of distance between him and Toby. "Uh, kid?" He said, "Toby?" Toby poked their head back out again but stayed close to you. Even if their features were alien, their wide eyes and trembling lip was translatable. "I'm sorry for yelling. I was just a bit startled. I didn't mean to scare you, I got scared, myself."

"B-but, you're a human. Why would you be scared?" Toby asked, "you're bigger than me."

Your dad nodded, "I am bigger than you but I was worried you were a danger to us and I was just getting protective of my family."

"I'm sorry," Toby shrunk back into your shadow.

"No, you don't need to apologise, it's not something you did. I just jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry for scaring you." Your dad said.

"Uh, May?" James asked, "why is there an alien in your apartment?"

"Uh, good question," you chuckled, "still not really sure but every time they start to explain, they get all panicky so we're just gonna let them take their time when sharing that stuff."

"How about some proper introductions now," your mother said with an edge to her voice as she looked between the two men.

"Right," your dad said, still crouched down, "I'm Michael, I'm May's dad."

"And I'm James," James said, "her brother."

"I'm Totobyc Maechislovic III," Toby said, "just use Toby though."

"Wow, ok," James smirked, "so uh, why exactly was I called?"

"Did you bring your kit?" You asked.

"Yeah, got it," your brother held up a case, "not sure what type of lock I'm dealing with, you guys just said it has a digital key."

"It's for Toby," your mother said.

You crouched down and showed off the bands around Toby's wrists, "they're restraints. Not sure how they work but they're pretty tight on them so I'd like to get them off." Your brother crept closer too, interested in the new tech but also cautious of the alien in front of him.

"Hmm, first look at some alien tech," he muttered, "will be difficult."

"I mean, if you can't handle the challenge..." you started. Predictably, your brother jutted his elbow at you which you easily caught, "don't touch me with your knife elbows." You shoved it away.

"Play nice," your mother said behind you both.

"Ok, time to get a little look." Your brother cracked his knuckles and opened his case.

< Previous

Next >

[magicspace119]

Old shadows - trust exercises

The atmosphere in your apartment had turned a bit hostile. The major causes for it were from Tillen and James. The pair were glaring daggers at each other from across the room. Somehow, this was the height of everything.

Lovik was trying to be friendly and though he was a bit worried, he trusted Toby and Toby was showing him that you and your family weren't bad.

Your dad was in a similar boat to Lovik with you acting as a vessel for empathy, explaining how they didn't mean you harm when they took you. He was just worried but not hostile and was willing to get to know the aliens.

Your mother was... neutral. It was hard to tell her thought process, she didn't outwardly show anything though she would scold James if he sounded too aggressive.

"Who wants to eat?" You asked, "we can cut up some of that watermelon we got last time we were out." Toby's eyes lit up and his tail wagged like crazy. You just giggled at him.

Toby was going to follow you into the enclosed space of the kitchen but Tillen let out a growl, pulling him away. "Tillen," Toby huffed, "stop it. I know she's safe."

"Well I don't. I'm not letting you out of my sight." Tillen said.

"Tillen, I think you're going a bit overboard here." Lovik started.

"Shut up!"

By this point, you had enough of this hostility. It was really clouding up your apartment and mood. You leaned over the counter, staring into the room. "You know, Tillen, I get you're untrusting but you've gotta step back and look at the facts." You gave her a flat stare, pointed the knife you were using to cut the watermelon away from you while you folded your arms.

"And the facts are?" Tillen snarled.

"You're in my home with four humans. You've already caused me harm, accident or not, and right now you're still being actively aggressive. We've had the means and reasons to be aggressive back to you and we haven't. Why haven't we?"

"Because you're trying to trick us." Tillen growled.

"For what?"

"For information. We're creatures from outer space. Of course you want to know about us and how we got here."

"I don't really care about that," you shrugged, "if I did though, I wouldn't have needed you. I already had Toby with me and he's already trusting. At most, I want to know what you eat so I know what to feed you." You flicked some watermelon juice at Tillen, "you don't have to trust us right away but you can at least be a little less hostile."

"What did you just throw over me?" Tillen hissed.

"Juice from the watermelon," you chuckled, "we got lucky, Toby. This one doesn't have a lot of seeds in it." You turned back and finished cutting it up, putting it on plates before bringing it into the room.

"It's pink inside!" Toby yelped.

You just smiled at the kid, "yup. You don't eat the outer shell, just the red stuff. The seeds are fine too." You picked up a piece, your family all taking some pieces too.

Toby eagerly ate his piece, his tail still a blur of white fluff. James lightened up on seeing the kid eating, chuckling when the juice stained the white fur around his mouth. Toby grinned.

"You like it?" You asked. Toby nodded, humming in agreement.

Lovik got curious now, landing on the table and taking a small bite of one of the pieces. "Sweet," his wings buzzed as he had a similar blissed out look on his face.

That just made Tillen's suspicion grow and she glared at you. "What's in that?" She asked.

"It's fruit," you said, "it's sugary and got lots of water in it. I think the seeds are meant to be nutritious too." Tillen glared. "Don't knock it till you try it." You went back to eating your piece.

Tillen looked down at an untouched piece, picking it up in her clawed hands and turning it over. Her claws sunk into the soft flesh of the fruit, the juices dripping down her hands. She lifted it up to her nose, taking a whiff then licking it. She paused, almost waiting to drop dead or become intoxicated and complacent or something.

Obviously, this was just a watermelon. You haven't done anything to it but cut it open so Tillen was unphased. You made sure to try to not pay attention to her as she took a tentative bite. You internally celebrated when she started eating the rest of her piece with you all.

This was one step closer to trust. If she could just understand your intentions, you could all get back to the peace you had before.

< Previous

Next >

[magicspace119]

New faces - outside

"W-what do I do if I see another human?" Toby asked.

"Just stick close to me, I'll deal with everything, ok?" You said, taking their hand. Their hands were now hidden in gloves.

You had some difficulty finding shoes to fit over Toby's hooves and you had to stuff paper up into the front of the shoe so it could be filled out. Their tail and horns were easily hidden under clothes but their snout protruded a little and you had to find a bulky enough scarf to cover it.

"Everything ok? Nothing too uncomfortable?" You asked.

"No, I'm fine," Toby said. It was going to be colder outside so you were happy that a lot of your solutions to hide their alien features was piling on the layers. "Do we have to go outside?"

"Well, I don't want to leave you here on your own and I need to go out to get more food and things for you."

"Ok," Toby sunk into your side, hugging your arm to them.

You smiled at that. They were already getting close to you. "You'll be ok. We won't be out for long and there shouldn't be too many people around at this time." You put on your own coat, grabbed your bag and keys and headed out, leading them out with you.

You were in a rather quiet apartment complex so you got them down to the car park and into your car with no incident. While driving though, you caught them sitting up by the window, staring at the sights that went by.

You chuckled, "put your seat belt on, Tobs, we don't need you going flying if I need to brake suddenly." You reached over to pull at the seat belt.

"How does it work?" Toby asked.

You pulled over to the side of the road on realising you'd need to help the alien out. "Here," you pulled the belt over, "click it in here. To undo, you just need to press this red button here." You pointed it all out for them.

"May?" Toby asked.

"Yeah?"

"Are all humans like you?"

You sighed, "no. We're all very different from each other. I don't think a lot of them would be as calm about finding out about you as I was."

"Why were you so calm?"

"I was a bit tired in general," you chuckled, "also you knocked yourself out before I could really panic and by then, I wasn't really afraid of you."

Toby blushed at that, "I-I didn't-"

"The dent in my wall proves it," you smirked.

"Hmph," Toby turned away, crossing their arms. You just laughed and started driving again. The car was quiet as you drove up to the grocery store and though there was traffic, Toby just ducked their head when a car passed by.

The grocery store was empty like expected. You found a parking space close to the store but away from other cars. You looked at Toby now, "welp, we're here. Do you need any help getting out?"

"Um, I think I got it," Toby undid their seat belt like you'd shown them and turned to the car door.

"That handle right there," you pointed out, "just pull it then push the door open." Toby did as instructed then hopped out, prancing triumphantly about doing so. You chuckled and followed suit. "Ready?" You held your hand out.

"Ready," Toby grabbed it, heading back to your side but with more energy.

"Let's do this."

The doors opened and Toby's eyes widened at the shelves and shelves of food out in front of them. They left your side to peek at some things while you grabbed a basket.

"May! May! What is this?!" They picked up the biggest watermelon of the pile.

You just laughed, "that's a watermelon. Want to try it?"

"Can I?"

"Not here. We gotta buy it first. Put it in the basket," you nodded to the basket. Toby put it in and already you were starting to regret going for the basket and not the trolley. The watermelon was heavy and you haven't even made it into the first aisle yet.

"Ok, now lets look for things you might like." You led them first to the fridges where things like spinach or lettuce would be and picked up a package of those. "Green leafy plants, right?"

Toby nodded, "yeah and Pola."

"I'll get a fresh loaf from the bakery at the back. They always smell nice." You smiled, "how about some milk while we're here?"

"What's milk?"

"It's uh..." you paused, "you know what? I don't want to explain what milk is." You picked up some more strawberries too while there.

You went around many of the aisles, looking at different things. If seeds were ok for Toby to ingest, you figured many grains would be fine and added some cereals and peanut butter. Toby looked at it curiously as you put it in the basket without a word.

"What's peanut butter?" They asked.

"Trust me, you're gonna like it. Oh, maybe some jams too." You thought, "if you're ok with fruit."

"Yeah," Toby smiled, growing more excited by the nearly full basket. It was growing even heavier and your arms were screaming at you for it. "Can I help? If it's too heavy, maybe I could carry it for a while."

"It's alright," you said, "I'm ok. I just need to set it down for a while." You put the basket down and shook out your arms.

Toby tried to lift the basket and couldn't even get it off the ground. "Wow, you can lift that? That's so heavy! How do you manage that? Are all humans that strong?"

"Nah, I'm just buff." You smiled, flexing your noodle arms.

Toby just stared at you for a while in silence. "What's buff?"

You sighed, "nevermind. Let's just pay for this stuff and get it home. We can always come back for more things." You picked up the basket again and headed to the check out to pay, deciding to avoid the human interactions by going to the self scanner.

Toby got the chance to help out by carrying a bag. You made sure only a couple heavy things were in it and the rest were light. It was a little heavy for Toby but they could manage.

On getting to your car, you noticed a huge, silver SUV parked up close to the driver's side of your car. It was far too close to open that side of the door.

"Great," you muttered as you saw someone sitting on their phone, leaning on the hood of the SUV. "Toby? Stay close to me, ok?"

"Why?" Toby asked, already sinking into your shadow. "Are they dangerous?"

"It's going to be ok, I'll handle it. Try to stay quiet and don't bring attention to yourself."

As you got closer, the person noticed you were there. "Hey, Flower." They walked up to you. If it was any other person, you wouldn't have thought twice about them getting between you and your exit.

It was a tall man, much taller than you or Toby wearing ripped denim jeans and jacket. He sported red hair and a rough beard with broad shoulders and a neck tattoo of some swirling snake. He had everything but the semi truck and accent. Perhaps next time you saw him, he'd be chewing a piece of barley.

You glared when he already got too close for comfort. "You don't call me that unless you want something," you said.

The man sighed, "I just want to talk."

"And I want to never see your face again," you said, "we can't always get what we want. I'm busy, right now."

"Five minutes."

"I'm kinda busy right now. Move your car."

"Five minutes, then I'll leave."

You put your bag down and took out your phone. "You get two minutes on the clock. After that, I'm heading home and putting these groceries away. I've got ice cream in here that I don't want to melt." You pressed start on the timer, "go."

"I know we ended things badly and I want to say, I'm really sorry for how things ended up. I just want a second chance. I promise, I'll never do it again and I know you feel similar, right?"

You raised an eyebrow, "how so?"

"Well, you dropped the charges."

"That is such a low bar, does that really constitute interest in your mind?" You scoffed.

"Look, May, let me make it up to you." He stepped towards you and you tensed up, stepping back and remembering Toby behind you when you stepped into them. Their hands twisted in your coat now as they hid.

"Fredrick," you said in a low tone that immediately made the man freeze.

His face twisted into hurt. "Why?" He asked.

"We are done. I'm done with you. If you come near me again, I'm filing for a restraining order."

"May!" The man grabbed your arm, "I won't just give up on us." Toby made a startled noise that sounded like a muffled bleat and suddenly your blood boiled and breath became hot like you were breathing out fire.

"Well I have," you hissed, "now get your damn hand off me before it leaves another mark!" You stepped towards him now, twisting your wrist away.

The timer went off on your phone and you managed to dislodge yourself from Freddy. By now, you were on the offensive. You couldn't see Toby but you could feel them trembling behind you. You wanted to end this conversation, quickly.

"Get back in your car and leave. We don't need me having to call my dad or big brother to pick me up because you blocked me in, do we?"

"No ma'am," Freddy grumbled, backing away now.

"Good." You stood straight, watching as the man got back into his car and inched back, freeing your side of the car. He still sat in his car behind yours. "He wants to be a trucker so badly." You looked back at Toby and smiled softly, "let's get these bags in the car and go." Toby didn't say anything, they just nodded.

< Previous

Next >

[magicspace119]

New Guardians part 4

You think you've made progress with Tillen. She doesn't hate you now. In fact, you think she's actually starting to care for you. She was anxiously pacing as your mother saw to your injury. She'd already built a nest and put Toby and Lovik in it. The pair huddled together, Toby eventually falling asleep and Lovik blinked out of sync as he fought to stay awake. Tillen never settled, glancing at you every time you hissed in pain.

It was basically a large burn. It wasn't the shoot-a-gaping-hole-through-your-chest laser. Still, it wasn't just a little singe. The skin had turned pale and was starting to blister. It hurt every time your mother touched it but she had to apply ointment.

"How long will it take to heal?" Tillen asked.

"Can't say for sure," your mother said, "it can be a week or maybe three."

"I don't know what weeks are."

"7 days," you said, "I'll be fine."

"As long as you don't aggravate your injury." Your mother said sternly.

You went quiet while your mother continued to care for your wound. It was a rather large burn and your mother had made you take your shirt off so she could tend to it, meaning your brother and father were not allowed in the room.

Without your shirt, Tillen could see more scars on your body. You could feel her eyes linger on the largest one that ran from the top of your left shoulder, diagonally down to your mid back on your right side. It was still red and raised like you'd got it recently.

"What are you thinking about, Tills?" You asked, not looking round at her.

Tillen paused at the nickname but having heard one already with Toby, she didn't dwell on it. "That's a back stab. Right?" She asked.

You nodded. "Yeah, it's an old one now."

"Was it that man who broke into your home?"

"Yeah, Freddy." You said, "he uh..."

"Got angry?" Tillen asked, clearly remembering what you'd said about him. Your mother silently nodded while continuing her work.

"He gambled money, he lost it. He took it out on me." You said shortly, not really wanting to explain it.

"Neighbours called the police about the screaming." Your mother said, "that was the last time she lived in the same place as him."

"Did he suffer for it?" Tillen crept closer, her tail swishing in agitation.

"I dropped the charges," you said, "I wasn't in the best place to pursue the issue with the law. Living under him, I didn't have the strength to fight back at the time. I'm better now though."

"Her brother and father paid him a visit after she'd moved back in with us," your mother said, "so he didn't get away unharmed."

Tillen hissed lowly, "but not as hurt as her."

"Correct," your mother nodded.

You just smiled at the pair, "oh, he will be soon. Once they find him again. I know I'm back to fighting strength."

"You're not fighting anybody, little missy." Your mother said.

"What?! Not even to knock him out?!" You huffed, "I think I'm entitled, it's me he kept harassing. Do you know that idiot thought that because I dropped the charges that meant I was still interested in him?"

"You need rest." Your mother said, wrapping your shoulder in dressing, "I trust that Tillen will make sure you stay in bed." She looked at the alien expectantly.

Tillen seemed a little surprised to be given the task but gladly accepted, "definitely. I'll take care of her."

Your mother smiled at her, "be careful, she's a slippery one when she wants to be."

"No more slippery than my younger siblings after bedtime," Tillen's tail wagged as she guided you to the nest with Toby and Lovik.

"Is this you starting to like me, Tills?" You grinned.

Tillen twittered scoldingly at you, "absolutely not." She wrapped you carefully in blankets, padding up your injured shoulder and immobilising you.

Your mother just smiled, watching Tillen's rather practised ease at settling you to the point that you started getting tired. The warmth from the nest and the warm bodies inside made you want to drift off. Toby rolled over and onto you which made you glad that Tillen padded up your shoulder so well. You curled an arm around Toby, closing your eyes.

As your mind faded, you could hear your mother talking lowly and Tillen's melodic twitter respond to her. Toby's sleepy bleats made you smile as you rather quickly fell asleep.

< Previous

[magicspace119]

New Guardians

You'd slept on your couch last night where you could see your front door in case someone else came in. That's how you'd woken up to the knock on your front door.

With bleary eyes and hair sticking up, you scrambled to the door, tripping over the blanket that you'd found yourself wrapped up in. You opened the door a crack to glare at the man in a suit outside your door.

He blinked at your appearance before holding up a coffee cup and a brown paper bag with a sweet smell coming from it. You sniffed, taking the bag and opening it to see a pack of blueberry muffins.

"Breakfast," the man smiled warmly.

"I don't fall for the nice guy routine, Charlie, you know this." You said, taking the coffee and muffins offered anyway.

"Your dad wants to move you back to the estate," Charlie grimaced, "I'm sorry, I know you won't-"

"No." You took the stuff and closed the door on his face.

"I must insist, this is an order. I can't just refuse orders," the man called through the door. You put the items on the table, pretending not to notice Toby sneaking into the room to have a peek at the commotion.

You straightened up again, fixing your hair somewhat before opening the door again. "Charlie, here's what I want you to do-" you said.

"I'm not defying your dad," Charlie said quickly.

"It's fine, you're not betraying the family or anything, you'll be following my orders." You said, "head back to the bakery you got those muffins from, see if they've got any fresh crusty bread and get some for me."

Charlie paused, confused at how non-defiant you were being. "Is that all?"

"That is all," you nodded, "go on now. Make sure it's fresh."

"O-k," Charlie nodded, side-eyeing you before leaving.

You closed the door, noticing Toby taking the lid off the hot coffee and taking a sniff, "no, no, don't drink that." You said, quickly taking it off him.

"Why?" Toby tilted his head.

"It's coffee, it'll make you hyper. Unless it's poisonous to you, it's poisonous to a lot of animals here."

"I smell caffeine," Tillen hissed, "what is that?"

"It's a caffeine drink, it gives us energy," you explained, "listen, there's muffins in that bag for you, we're gonna go for a drive and find a good spot to eat these so go get your disguise." You smiled at Toby as he rushed back into his room.

"Why are you moving us?" Tillen asked, leaning over the back of the couch as you put the lid back on the coffee and took a sip.

"My dad is trying to move us closer to him," you said, "he just gets overprotective about stuff like this so I need to remind him of a few boundaries." You smiled at Tillen, "don't worry. We'll only go missing for a couple hours. I know a nice park walk that Toby might like, how do you like nature?"

"Are you telling me we can't trust your own family?" Tillen asked.

"Oh, don't tell me you've never scared your parents by running away from home before," you scoffed.

"Sure I did, as a chick when I was too young to understand the dangers of the world," Tillen said, "you're an adult."

"Correct, I'm an adult. I can handle the dangers of the world." You said, "however, my father can't see past me being his precious little girl, that's when we have problems."

"I don't like this running away," Tillen fiddled with the couch blanket you'd yet to pick up after the sudden awakening.

"Just follow my lead, I've done this before," you smiled, "I know what I'm doing. Besides, we're gonna have a nice picnic, it'll be great."

There was a knock on the front door again and you opened it to find Charlie there with your fresh bread. He seemed pretty surprised to still see you here. "I figured you'd have run off while my back was turned."

"Charlie, I have a child with me." You rolled your eyes like that wasn't your entire intention. "Maybe if I'd been alone while he broke in but I wasn't, now do me a favour and give me some time to pack."

"Right, sorry." Charlie nodded and you closed the door.

You turned back, "got some fresh bread. You haven't tried this yet, right?" You showed off the large tiger loaf to Toby who just hopped excitedly.

"No," he said, "where are we going today?"

"It's a surprise, I just need to get a few things first, then we'll go. Ok?"

"Ok." Toby smiled.

Tillen had started straightening up her posture, curling her tail and wings up in her coat and pulling her scarf up over her face. Lovik poked out of her top front pocket, eyes blinking out of sync and all in all, barely moving.

"He'll need a shot of sugar but it's best not to give him it before a car ride." Tillen shrugged.

"Will juice work?" You ask, packing up a few food items and Tillen just nodded. You also pack a change of clothes before pulling a few things from your fridge and handing them out to Charlie outside, "I'm gonna need you to donate that, I'm not having that go to waste."

"We'll do that on the way."

"I still need to pack, you have time." You said before closing the door on him before he could protest. You give it a few minutes after hearing Charlie walk away from your door and smirk, looking back at Toby and crouching in front of him. "Alright, Tobs? We're gonna head out soon, you ready?"

Toby nodded excitedly, "is this gonna be like when we went to the grocery store?"

"No, this is a place outside," you said, "but I think you'll like it and we're gonna eat too." Toby let out an excited bleat. "We just need to be a little sneaky first, alright? There's someone that's gonna be looking for us in the apartment building so we need to pretend we don't know them."

"Are they dangerous?" Toby asked, excitement quieting a little.

"No, they'll just ruin our fun if they catch us. It's ok. We won't be in any danger." You ruffled his hair under his hood, pulling on your own coat and backpack. "Everyone ready?" Tillen and Toby both nodded, Lovik was still a little catatonic. "Alright, let's go."

< Previous

Next >

<< Old shadows

<<< New faces