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 Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:26 am
Earth was strange, and full of dangers that Andreiya didn’t quite understand. He was a guest on Earth, but without a host it felt like walking on eggshells (he learned the phrase, it didn’t mean he understood its origin). Danger was everywhere, and he didn’t know who was friend, who was foe.
He knew that they were after Caedus and were trying to recover his starseed so they could save Velencya. Or, they were supposed to find something else that could help restore Velenia.
Andreiya had decided he was going to study the soil, study plants and crops.
He needed to keep them safe. He needed to make sure they would survive the seasonal changes, but the more immediate concern were the wild animals that had been curious about his garden. He didn’t want to hurt them, he just needed to keep them away.
So, part one of his research involved creating and testing weaponry, and that was easy enough! Earth had so many supplies! Not all of which he was familiar with, but that was why he was out experimenting tonight.
He’d set up a string of motion activated traps; he’d already gotten the sensitivity downpat in earlier trials at home, but now he needed some space to test the strength of his traps.
He was a good few feet away and was crouched behind a little stone barrier that should have protected him if anything went wrong. If, being incredibly unrealistic, considering how much time and effort he’d spent preparing everything. He had a few marbles ready to go to test the power of his traps, and just as he was setting everything up to get started, his ComTech flickered. He glanced down and he saw the energy signature appear nearby on his radar. He frowned, looked down at it, looked back up and saw someone--too close to his traps--so he stood up quickly and shouted, “Don’t stand there! Step back, before you get hurt!”
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Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2021 6:40 am
There was another one. Another Cadet, another one of the actual aliens that had come to Earth, and Bellite was utterly delighted by the fact. She was hurrying over, hoping to have a quick chat, when he told her to step back? Not to stand…
And then there was a small explosion, and Bellite cried out, summoning her axe and moving away from the area as quickly as she could, her eyes flashing.
A moment later, she had teleported behind the cadet, axe raised to his neck. “Is that how you treat us? We who helped you? You set traps to blow us up?”
Her voice was dripping with unmistakable anger and she pressed the cold metal just a bit closer. “You have thirty seconds to explain yourself, or I slit your throat.”
She wasn’t hurt, but her boots were singed, and that alone was well worth the anger this had awakened.
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Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2021 6:48 am
Andreiya made a startled noise and squirmed, trying to avoid the blade against his neck.
“Stop!” he pled, desperate to avoid this very angry human. “I warned you! I am doing an experiment, the traps were not for you! And that one is too strong! You should not be blowing up, I just want to chase away the animals that come into my garden.”
He felt dizzy, because--were all humans like this? So easily worked up? So ready to slit his throat?
He could almost reach his ComTech, he could probably teleport out of here if he needed to, but he really didn’t want to leave his projects behind.
“Would you feel better if I apologized? I am out here because I thought I was alone, I just wanted to keep my plants safe. Please don’t slit my throat.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 11:48 am
Bellite huffed, feeling almost guilty. The poor Cadet sounded seriously terrified, and while that was somewhat thrilling...perhaps it wasn’t the best thing to do to someone who may or may not be an ally.
With a sigh she let the axe disappear and took a step away from the male, crossing her arms over her chest. “It is too strong. What kind of plants are you growing that you have issues with animals? Our growing season is over, so things won’t really grow until next spring, you’ll have more than enough time to perfect these I’m sure.”
Her voice grew more gentle, the anger fading away. “...I apologize for overreacting. What interests you about plants?” Now that she had a moment to think, what he had made was actually pretty neat, and she would like to learn more, if she could.
Besides, another alien friend wasn’t a bad idea either.
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 3:37 pm
In many ways, Andreiya looked like a scolded child. He knew he must have been a lifetime older than her, but he felt so small compared to Earthlings. He was a completely average height, but he just felt so obviously out of place, and he didn’t like being perceived as wrong. He didn’t like looking foolish.
“I want to be able to bring life back to our homeworld,” he answered, because that couldn’t have been a secret, right?
“Earth has fertile soil. I can grow some things even during the winter. You have greenhouses, I can do that,” he insisted. “I just want to study soil and plant properties. I can give synthetic living conditions, things I can recreate. I can get things to a growable temperature.”
He still looked a little worried, like suddenly he thought his answer wasn’t adequate; he reached up to rub at his neck, like he needed to make sure he hadn’t been cut.
“When we get our world back, I can only imagine the condition it will be in. The soil might need help to be fertile again. I want to study what makes Earth so successful. If the animals intervene, it will affect my data, so I need to be able to control what they get into.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 5:24 pm
Bellite listened, and after a few moments, she began to smile. “Come to the library, the south branch. I’ll get some books ready for you. Unless you’ve already done enough reading. You seem quite educated on the subject, but. I can find you information about building a greenhouse and about the soil. If you can come on Friday at noon, I’ll be there. I’ll have everything ready for you. Just ask for Emily, if you want my assistance.”
If anything...perhaps this would allow for her to get back up to space again. If she could go and visit their world...that would be...
Well. Fantastic, obviously.
“I would love to help you in any way that I can. If you would like my assistance.”
He might not, and it would be well within his rights to refuse but...perhaps fear would be on her side, if nothing else was. “Again, I would like to deeply apologize for frightening you. I’ve had a few bad experiences lately with being attacked, and I just assumed the worst.”
She paused for a moment. “My name is Captain Bellite.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 6:14 pm
Though Andreiya still seemed a bit nervous about the offer, he was obviously tempted by the promise of more information. He was not too prideful to deny help, though he found that he also very much wanted to stay on Bellite’s good side.
“I can be there,” he confirmed; he didn’t have a rigid schedule to keep that would have kept him from visiting. “I am Andreiya. I…” he wasn’t supposed to lie, but it took him a good few seconds to make up his mind on the matter, “Can forgive a misunderstanding. I won’t hold it against you. I really didn’t mean for you to be the target.”
He extracted a few marbles from his pocket, as if to prove that he had always intended to set them off in his own way.
“I am not so very good at reading. We have technology that translates for us. My communicator makes it so I can understand you but it is only adequate for translating words. I might need a bit of help. If you are offering, I would be very appreciative. What token of gratitude should I bring you?”
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Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 2:58 pm
Bellite nodded and gave a little smile, looking far more relaxed. “...Thank you, Andreiya. I don’t need any tokens of gratitude, but...I would like to hear about where you’re from. I’m fascinated with Space and with knowledge. The very chance to just spend time talking with you would be more than enough of a token.”
She had overreacted, truly, and now that the moment was far over, bellite was feeling even more guilty about it.
“I hope that you and I can move past this...unfortunate beginning, and can form a friendship, if you would be interested in one after the way I acted. I would understand if not.”
Bellite paused, eyes lingering on the marbles. “...Are those what exploded? And, really? That’s amazing, and I would love to assist you in translating, and teaching you the language, if you’d like. It wouldn't be good if you were to lose your technology, or if something were to break, there’s no need to be without the means to communicate.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:15 am
Andreiya was still a bit guarded, but it was hard to stay on high alert when Bellite was being so nice to him. Maybe it was a mistake? He understood mistakes. He still had a neck and he wasn’t dead, so maybe this was just an extreme accident.
Of course, now he was worried about something happening to his ComTech and him losing the ability to communicate; he could replace it, sure, and just copy the information from someone else’s, but he was always cautious and had that extra worry. He should learn English at least, just in case.
...He dreaded the prospect though, but he was committed to improving himself.
“I would like that, yes,” he said insistently. “Thank you. I will make our appointment. And I will tell you about ‘space’. And where I am from. I am very educated on those topics. I will share my information since you are sharing yours. Thank you, Bellite. I would much prefer to be your friend than your enemy. You are very scary.”
It was not an insult, just a blunt observation, and he clearly meant no offense.
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Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:46 am
Bellite laughed when he called her scary, sounding utterly delighted by the very idea. “I tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a thing, but I’m going to take it as a compliment.” Her, a cheerful librarian being scary? Oh, what a delightful thought!
She nodded and chuckled again, eyes sparkling. “I’ll get some easy books for learning to read too. I’ll take care of you, Andreiya. I’m glad you want to be my friend, and I promise it will be worth it.”
He had a point though. It was much better to be her friend than her enemy, and she did appreciate intelligence like that.
“I’ll see you at the library then. Don’t be late now, and ask for Emily.” She smiled and with a wave and a nod of her head, teleported away. There were books to get together now, and a curriculum to write.
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