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 Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:47 pm
At last, it was accomplished - perhaps the natural way was a little vulgar, but it certainly worked. Nebilim carefully inspected her eggs, four of them, all showing an exquisite blending of herself and Jabril. They seemed healthy and strong, and so far her tests had shown no weakness in them. It seemed replicated DNA didn't pose a problem... at least not on the outside.
Then again, if one of them had two heads or extra limbs, or fewer limbs... well, she wouldn't be bothered by that, either. It would make things interesting.
She'd thrown Jabril out when it became apparent that eggs were on their way - strange, not giving live birth, but that was what this species did, it seemed - and if he hadn't gotten distracted and wandered out, he was probably still waiting. She paused and grinned faintly at the idea of him pacing about like any cliche distraught father. Would he have done that? The idea was amusing, even if that wasn't what the young scientist had actually done.
Nebilim stretched languorously, patted each egg once in the exact same place, then yawned and padded over into the next room. A quick bath, and then...
"Jabril?" she called, fanning her wings lightly so they'd fold into place just right. "You can come in now."
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 4:27 am
Jabril didn't know what the hell he was doing.
It was a new and unpleasant feeling for him. Jabril had long since mastered his own field of study, and never felt nerves when he was conducting a surgery or a dissection. He was a professional. A scientist. So long as he stayed true to his curiosity and followed the rules of the scientific method, he had no reason to lack confidence in himself or his skills.
But scientists liked categorization, and in this case, with this project, Jabril had no idea what classifications he was supposed to be using. Calling Professor Nebilim his girlfriend seemed patently ridiculous, even though they'd had to take care of certain pleasant necessities in the course of their research. And thinking of himself with eggs seemed even more far-fetched. What did Jabril know about fatherhood? If he followed his own Da's example, he'd be using the kits' spare limbs for snacks a few days after they hatched.
Outwardly, he had resolved to treat the litter no differently than he would Godiva, or Basilisk-12, or any of his other projects. Inwardly, he was perilously close to dithering.
It was Godiva, not Jabril, who first noticed that Nebilim was calling them in from her chamber. He was too distracted wearing a hole in the floor with his manic pacing.
"Omelette?" The Nightmare hissed happily.
"NO," Jabil said, flailing to a halt.
Godiva's snickers following him all the way down the hallway. She lived mostly on her own, now that she was grown, and Jabril strongly suspected that she'd only come home for the winter solstice in order to poke fun at her Daddy while he was in a delicate condition.
"I brought electrodes! " He caroled happily, as he trotted into the room. Work was the only outlet he had to channel his nervous energy. The walls in the cave where he'd been waiting were covered with half-finished chalk diagram. "I couldnae do it wi' G'diva, since she ha' those odd chimicals in 'er, but I was thinking, if we measured when th'first brain activity starts in th' wee eggs, then-"
He halted. The electrodes dropped to the floor.
"Oh. Oh, my. They-" He tilted his head, taking a moment to process what he was looking at. "They look just like their mum, do they nae?"
What he wanted to say was that they looked like him. Green, each and every one, and some ginger too for good measure, which sent reality crashing down around him like nothing else. Thankfully, the part of his mind that wasn't gibbering knew better than to say that, just like he knew better than to ask Nebilim is she was feeling weak after the birth, or wanted help. She'd never show throat to him in a thousand years.
"Hullo!" He padded over to them, careful not to touch, in case Nebilim decided to take his head off with those sonics of hers. His voice was full of wonder. "Oh, hullo, wee specimens! Yuir Daddy is here!"
Ordinarily, a fellow could be accused of acting like a father when he came out with words like those. But Jabril was no ordinarily fellow, so he congratulated himself on playing it cool. This was how he treated all of his experiments, up to and including the cyborg turtle that was languishing on a table in his lab as they spoke.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 2:29 pm
"Four is an excellent sample size, don't you think?" Nebilim nodded approval at the electrodes, though she kept one eye on Godiva - the hungry Nightmare was ordinarily just savage enough to be amusing, but the one small shred of maternal instinct Nebilim permitted herself was to protect the eggs.
If anyone was going to eat them, it was going to be her - and then, only if necessary.
"You may touch them, Jabril - the shells are quite hard already. Marvelously adaptable," Nebilim purred, her eyes half-lidded as she looked over the smooth, warm tops of her brood. "It seems the replicant DNA is quite strong. Perhaps even moreso, since it has always had to fight, to adapt... I'd like to confirm it with some tests. Do you have any high-strength thin needles to sap off some of the cytoplasm?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 8:25 am
"Oh! Oh, aye, abs'lutely," Jabril said, absentmindedly, as he took a violently orange egg in hand and carefully turned it around. It was glossy and heavy with life. "Second drawer t'the right in the room wi' the cages. Ye know the one."
His brow furrowed, and he let his heavy ginger bangs to flop down in his eyes.
"Ye know these sonics o' yurs better'n I do. D'ye think they're guin' t'need- elements?"
They didn't feel like they needed anything. They were only eggs, and for all Jabril knew, Nebilim's body had taken care of that by infusing the yolks with necessary phonons. But she had told him that none of these so-called Replicas had reproduced in her old world. Who knew what an experimental, trans-dimensional, three-species mutt would require?
"It willnae do if they start t'dissolve th'lab equipment around them, lookin' fer metals an' th'like."
More importantly, they had to eat properly!
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 8:56 am
Nebilim's smile broadened, became more predatory. "It could be, it could be. I myself lacked several fonons and had to draw them from... other sources... to remain stable." She licked at her lips in a way that left no doubt as to what those 'other sources' had been, let alone what 'draw them' meant. "But they do seem fairly stable, at least at the moment. I'll run tests on them for the Seven, and we'll see if they're missing anything..." She had some tuning forks here somewhere.
If they were, it might be problematic, unless they could somehow find someone else... or if she could find that lovely hole in the world that she'd come through, and drag some fonists through it to feed her little brood. Look, pathetic creatures of Auldrant... Her tails swayed from side to side slowly. This form might be animalistic, but she was coming to enjoy it. It seemed to suit her mind much better than human shape.
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:35 pm
"Oh? Tha's alright, then."
Kitsusagi were foxes, first and foremost, so Jabril wasn't phased by the idea that Nebilim stalked specialized prey. He himself had snacked on a wriggling dormouse that very morning.
He set the orange egg aside, and moved on to testing one with a thick tan stripe and spotty green flecks. They were all so solid. He'd seen eggs before, of course, but it was still surreal to think that soon a quartet of wriggling little kits would make their way out of these glossy shells.
"Though I do ha' t'ask- how on Earth did ye go 'unting wi' one o' those weak 'uman bodies? They ha' no claws, their senses are dull, they cannae run fast, their skin is unprotected from th'elements, an' they walk 'round wi' their bellies bared fer any passer-by t'swipe at. I do'nae know how they survive at all."
His parents had tried to explain, once, but Jabril had never been able to grasp it. He hoped that he never ran across a dimensional rift. Odds were that he'd turn human-shaped himself, just like Mum and Da had been before the entered this place. It was one of the few things in life that genuinely disturbed him.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:25 am
"With weapons, mostly, I suppose," Nebilim said, absently. She'd found the tuning forks and had brought them up to the first egg. "A set of opposable thumbs is a wonderful thing. Build your own armor, arm yourself with metal fangs... no kitsusagi industry alone could create the instruments we use, even now. Handy, they are..." A cold, amused smile played across Nebilim's face. "Tasty, too. I never was human, not me. Copies aren't like the originals. I was - am - better."
She struck the smallest tuning fork against the egg's shell and listened to it sing, then nodded, slightly. "Good, good. Here. Take these," she directed, nudging the tray with the other six tuning forks over in Jabril's direction. "Strike, thus -" she demonstrated again - "and listen to the song. If it wavers or sours in the ear, tell me. If it is sweet and true, then that indicates stability. We'll put on your electrode nets afterwards."
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 3:42 pm
In his heart of hearts, Jabril had more than few doubts about the efficacy testing the specimens with turning forks. He wasn't foolish enough to tell Nebilim, of course. He'd seen her sonics in action. Her knew that some wonder of physics allowed to manipulate the elements using resonance frequencies. But he was a man who liked his science measured in old-fashioned amperes and milileters, and rushing about with musical aides struck him as distatefully close to magic for a woman of Nebilim's obvious academic stature.
Ah, well. Soon his glorious projects would be lit up with pretty wires and crackling electricity. Indulging in Nebilim's strange practices was a small price to pay to see glorious Science writ large in his own flesh and blood. Perhaps her tuning forks were merely highly advanced mass spectrometers with an audio output? Yes. That must be it. Just so.
Jabril carefully tapped the tuning fork on the greenish-tan egg, and then the russet-grey-green. His sensitive half-rabbit ears picked up a light, melodious humming, slightly different in each case. It was very baffling, but it didn't seem wrong.
Then he came to the freckled egg, and hissed with surprise when it rang out a discordant waltz.
"Tha' one." He nearly cursed under his breath, cocking his head towards the offending egg so that Nebilim would know what he was talking about. "An' now fer th' last."
((How do you want your egg coming out? :3 I'm going to assume the other two are fine... at least for now.))
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:50 am
Nebilim was over at Jabril's side almost before he'd finished his sentence, before the discordant note had faded from the air. "Which fork was it?" she demanded. "Each one corresponds to a particular fonon... the First is Darkness, the Second is Earth, the Third is Wind, the Fourth is Water, the Fifth is Fire, the Sixth is Light, and the Seventh is Sound... or Memory." She scowled disapprovingly at the offending egg. So perhaps the transfer wasn't exact after all, that some of her own replica-born instability hadn't been healed at the genetic level by the murders... well.
She wasn't above committing some more murders if needed, and provided she could gloss it in a veneer of Science, she was quite certain Jabril would help.
"I was once weak in the First and Sixth, myself," she muttered, under her breath. "I thought I'd repaired that damage." Damn Jade.
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:02 am
"Fifth."
Jabril handed the tuning forks back to his research associate, unsure about how he was supposed to feel. Part of him - a large part of him - was downright giddy. This was what they'd been after! Unique life to analyze! A gateway into learning about Nebilim's unique elemental trans-dimensional physiology!
But giddiness could easily sour and turn to nerves. He didn't- um. He didn't want any of the specimens to die. Oh, no. That wasn't right at all. The project wasn't nearly finished.
Should he move it to someplace warmer? Or wrap it up in blankets? When it hatched, would it feel chilly, like his older brother? Bloody hell.
"We still ha' one t'go. D'ye wish t'do th' honors?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:58 am
"The Fifth?" That was a little startling; she had never lacked that particular fonon. Perhaps the original instability had just jumped to a different type... "Hm." She frowned at the offending egg, examined it once more, then shook her head and moved on to the last egg.
Beautiful tone, beautiful tone - buzzzzz. "Fifth as well," she muttered under her breath with a hiss. "Damn. Well," she said, turning back to Jabril, "your experiments certainly will be interesting. She caught the flicked of uncertainty on his face and smiled. "Oh, they won't die. They're lovely and strong. They'll just hatch... hungry. And remain so, until they take in enough fonons of the type they lack, in order to stabilize them. Strange, though... I myself never had problems with the Fifth..."
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:14 am
A sift sigh escaped the scientist's muzzle.
"Aye, well- this is what we wanted, yeh? Somethin' interesting t'look at. 'Cos the bloody deer get old after a while, I can tell ye that."
There were, Jabril knew, several curses that ran along those lines. He'd never paid them much mind. Superstitions were only supposed to apply to people who believed in them.
"When me older brother was born, he was as chill t'the touch as a glacier. Still is. Drags the frost around with 'im an' messes around with ice. He's good fer havin' a drink with, 'cos the beer never gets cold. Mum says he gets it from her."
His tails swished, reflexively, as he worked a theory out in his mind. Ordinarily he'd be panicking over whether or not Nebilim would kill him for this. At the moment, however, he was more than a little distracted.
"So... it could be partly me own fault. A recessive gene from me, an' a recessive gene from ye, an' we're lookin' at somethin' in the middle. That's the best I can figure wi'out any samples."
He grouped the two unstable eggs to one side, and kept the stable ones on the other. Luckily the lot of them were easy to tell apart.
"If they'll be hungry, ought we t'bring somethin' in before they get 'ere?
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:48 am
"Hmmm... an odd combination, to be sure... considering that the fonon-based system of my native world is so very different from yours... an unexpected meeting of sciences." Nebilim's irritation began to bleed away, just a little; it wasn't a failing on her part, it was an anomaly on his, and that was more acceptable.
The grin she turned on Jabril was toothy, though the predatory urge was not directed at him. "Oh, no, they'll need special food. Someone or something that is strong in the use and manipulation of the Fifth fonon." There was a low purr in the back of her throat. "I myself fed on fonists - humans who can manipulate fonons through will - until I was sated, in my own world. And they had the nerve to call me a monster." Her smile deepened.
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 9:53 am
Ah, now there was his Professor! Alive with the hunt for knowledge! When Nebilim got like that, Jabril couldn't help but start grinning in return. Intellect, drive, focus, and hunger were all that was necessary to make a top-class researcher. And she was-
The biologist quickly caught himself before he started mooning, and directed his gaze back towards the eggs. Their experiment had moved past that stage. As much as Jabril might feel heated when recalled certain incidents in the privacy of his laboratory, he wasn't fool enough to push his luck further than it had already gotten him.
He'd lived for most of his adult life without indulgences, hadn't he? He could live that way again. The research was the thing.
"We could search for Salamanders. Or try t'engineer somethin' fer them t'live on. Or-" He gave her a sideways glance. "There're always Kitsuagi, skilled in th' manipulation magics. But they ha' powerful families. An' I donae know if they'd be what ye need. There must be phonons somewhere in this world, if ye can use them, yeh?"
It wasn't that Jabril was eager to become a mass murderer. Unlike his father, he did not feel the pull of bloodlust. He simply didn't care what got hurt so long as he was allowed to continue his investigations. If he weren't wary of being hunted down by some neighborhood do-gooder, he'd probably have tried dissecting another kitsu years ago.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:03 pm
"I suppose we shall see how closely the elements of this world can mimic fonons... if they do have the same substance at root." She chuckled and laid one paw on the russet egg. "You do realize we've created a pair of infallible Fifth fonon detectors. They will hunger, and search, and consume until they are sated... but it will not be random. They will take only what they need with precision. Exquisite." She leaned down to the egg and breathed the last word into the shell.
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