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 Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2025 11:35 pm
Autumn smiled awkwardly as she finally guided the freshly glamoured alien up the porch stairs to the front door. Her cat friend had set Emer up pretty well, and she'd have to teach him how to use a smartphone later. He could probably take one of her old ones, so he could practice without needing to be powered up and using that one... Well. She liked her current one, but maybe she could upgrade, so at least he'd have one that wasn't already five years old. Just three years old would be a big step up these days. Something to think about when she wasn't trying to keep her story straight for taking a boy to her parents. "Sooo, my parents aren't like, the best," she said, clearing her throat. "Just don't talk much, go along with the lies I'll tell, and if they start asking questions... Try to be as bland and depressed as possible. Which, uh, may not be hard? Sorry. They're just... a lot." She winced at herself. "I'll do my best to handle most of it."
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 12:38 am
Emer felt...confused. By just about everything. By all the changes in the world, in the universe. Even having most of them explained, it still felt...wrong.
He fiddled with the bracelet around his wrist, the one that hid his feathered ears and changed his blotchy freckles into much smaller, more "human" ones. Having to hide who he was didn't sit right with him, but it seemed it was necessary, in this new world.
He rubbed at his nose, briefly.
"Pathetic and sad, yes. I can do that," he said, and as if to demonstrate, he wilted in on himself a little, folding his hands in front of himself and making his expression as demure and pathetic as possible. "I'll follow your lead."
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 12:50 am
Autumn nodded and finally unlocked the front door. "You're home early," Theodore, her father, noted from his position on the couch. The TV was on, some sportsball game or another that Demeter couldn't tell clearly from the foyer. "Yeah, something came up," she said as she kicked her shoes off and put them on the rack by the door, gesturing for Emer to do the same and closing the door behind them. "Uh, one of my old friends from college turned up. He kinda got kicked out of his parents' place for being gay and I told him we could have him here for a little while. They found out because he broke up with his cheating jerk of a boyfriend, so he doesn't really have anywhere else to go, not when the shelters struggle to accept men." She huffed indignantly. "Absolutely ridiculous. Anyway, the attic still has a guest area set up, right? I mean, he'll need fresh, not dusty sheets, but—" "Autumn!" Evelyn scolded as she came out from the kitchen where she'd clearly been making some cookies, coated in flour as she was. "You just said yes without asking?" "Mom, I know him," she pleaded, internally wincing at the lie. "Please, he needs a place to stay, just until he gets on his feet. He's one of the sweetest guys I ever got to hang out with in college, and he only really knew me and and that jerk he dated, Adam. You remember me telling you about him, right?" Theodore made a face. "Yes, the young lad that tried to ask you for help cheating on his exams. No wonder he cheated on... your friend here. What's your name, son?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 1:57 am
At least it wasn't hard to act distressed. Emer felt genuinely out of his depth, in this brand new situation. Probably this was a very mundane life for the Earth of today, but it all seemed...strange, to him. Out of place.
Perhaps hew would get used to it, with time.
It was funny, being treated as young--perhaps not a child, but certainly not a responsible adult. He was absolutely older than any of these people. And even not accounting for his chronological age, he had life experience none of them could ever imagine.
And yet. He had to make himself into the person they needed to see.
Well. It was just like any other infiltration job, wasn't it.
"Emer. Emer Donlevy. I'm sorry, I don't want to inconvenience you, I won't put you out for very long."
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Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2025 6:24 pm
Evelyn sighed. "No, no, it's not your fault your parents are being heartless, especially in this day and age. Honestly. With rent so sky high and everything else!" she said disgustedly, shaking her head. "We do have the attic set up. Don't worry about it, Emer. We'll work out the details in the morning." Theodore nodded. "Get some rest. I'm sure you've had a long day. Damn, you've only got the clothes on your back, too? They didn't let you take a damn thing, huh?" He scowled, though not at Emer, as he realized the young man hadn't come with even a single bag. "I'll take you shopping tomorrow." Autumn apologized to Emer in her head. Knowing her dad, that would be... an Experience. He'd probably start with some strange idea of what gay men, in his mind, usually wore. "Thanks, guys," she said softly. "I'll get him set up, show him the bathroom and everything." She gestured to him and led him to the spacious upstairs hallway. "We can talk freely once we're up. Here, press this button on the wall and the ladder will drop down from the trap door." She pressed said button and there was a soft whirr as the mechanics worked to open the door and lower the ladder. "It's kinda fancy. It used to be just a cord and some hinges, but one day, Mom got really pissed at the cord constantly whacking her in the face so she got the mechanical one installed. There's an emergency release in the up there in case the mechanics break, but we keep it well oiled and stuff. Uh, do you need to use the bathroom before we go up? Or do you wanna take a shower first? Oh, crap, you'll need clothes. Uh, we're kind of the same size, so if you don't mind wearing something kinda girly by Earth standards, I can lend you a pair of soft sleepwear so we can get those washed for your shopping trip tomorrow."
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2025 1:30 am
Well. This was going far better than Emer had feared. Apparently, whatever particular image Autumn's parents wanted to create, it would not allow them to cast out someone in need, particularly if they believed that person had been the victim of some sort of unfairness.
...Useful. Emer expected he wouldn't have much chance to make use of that, but some chance was better than none. And it meant that he had a home secured, and it seemed as if he would have many of his other basic needs taken care of as well.
"It was...very messy," Emer said, wringing his hands a little. "They might cool down and let me come back for my things, but...I doubt it."
Apparently this was a common enough story that Autumn's parents accepted it without question and knew what details to expect. The thought of it was puzzling to him, but then, Elkurud had not had much use for those sorts of divides when half the universe couldn't even tell what gender an Elkurudan was at a glance.
"I appreciate all your kindness," he said, "and I'd appreciate getting to pick out some new clothes. I can only wear this fro so long." He picked at his sleeve, glancing down at his outfit--a vest over a button up and slacks, not per se his usual style but it was what he'd had when he was on his world.
He followed Autumn, and laughed a little at her concerns. "I promise, whatever you consider 'girly' is probably closer to what I prefer to wear than this. And I...think I would just like a chance to sleep somewhere restful and relatively safe. We can sort out the rest in the morning, if you don't mind."
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