funky station

It's another long shift and despite the sounds of life from the other patrons the bar is beginning to feel cold, muffled, and mysterious. It feels like whatever big is going to happen this shift is awfully close, but you can still push it away if you breathe deep enough.

The vox next to you is nursing a half-drunk jungle bird and out of a mix of curiosity and boredom you follow its red eyes over to the two human bartenders, evidently locked in to some kind of debate about the nature of things. Somehow, even with your ears full of the sounds of life, the silence of outer space never seemed so loud than right now.

You hear the vox expel a clicking noise from deep in its throat, and then it turns to you.
“It is s-still strange s-sometimes to Teki, to be in a p-place w-with so many who are not k-kin. Teki did not even meet other k-kinds until it c-came to Nanotrasen. N-now Teki has g-gained many friends who are not kin. S-s-something to be thankful for, yes?”

Teki raises its chin a little in an expression you assume to be curiosity. Must've seen something in your face that processed its words, even if you did want to hide it.

“W-what do you think of t-them?" It rasps, nodding over to the bartenders who show no signs of stopping. "What was the first time you saw a human?”

Suri's eye drifted from the bickering bartenders to the Vox beside him. He cradled a Sui Dream, that sickly sweet garish green-blue, the kind of thing that made his feathers puff and his tail curl. The ice had long since melted, diluting the syrupy concoction into something almost palatable, but he nursed it anyway, letting the familiar taste ground him in the noise of the bar.

The first time I saw a human.

He let out a soft, breathy laugh, not quite humor, not quite anything else.

"I was terrified."

He set the drink down, his talons tracing the rim of the glass, leaving faint smudges on the condensation. His voice was quiet, almost lost beneath the hum of the bar.

"I had stolen a skiff from my tribe. Left everything behind. Didn't know the language, didn't know the customs, didn't know anything except that I couldn't stay. I flew for days, maybe longer?" He shrugged, "Time moved differently back then. I was running on fumes and desperation, following coordinates I had been hoping they would lead me to a better life."

He paused, his eye going distant.

"When I finally arrived, I was lost. Completely, utterly lost. I couldn't speak. Couldn't understand. Couldn't even breathe the air without a mask. And then someone approached me. A human… I think they were... may have been a felinid now that I think about it, her face is fuzzy. They asked for my identification, and I didn't have any. I didn't even know what that was at the time."

He glanced at Teki, a faint, wry smile tugging at his beak.

"I stood there, in this bright, clean ship bay, and I had no idea what to do. I couldn't even understand what she was saying. I just nodded and said 'thank you' because it was the only word I knew."

He shook his head, a soft, rueful sound escaping him.

"Now, I work with them every day. I've learned their language, their customs, their strange, complicated ways of being. Wild how pervasive their culture is."

He yawned, taking another sip of his drink.

"But I still remember that feeling. The fear. The confusion. The desperate, overwhelming certainty that I had made a terrible mistake."

He looked back at Teki, his eye soft, almost fond.

"And I remember the relief, too. When the human didn't attack me. When they didn't turn me away. When they just... talked to me, even though I couldn't understand. Even though now I realize she was just some tired dock keeper that didn't want to have to deal with some asylum seeker, I don't blame her."

He shrugged, a small, helpless gesture.

"I think that's what I think of them. Humans, I mean. They're strange. Complicated. Sometimes frustrating. But they're also... kind. In their own way. They'll help you, even when they don't have to. They'll talk to you, even when you can't talk back."

He picked up his Sui Dream, took a long sip, and set it down again.

"That's more than my tribe ever did."

Damned-By-God:

*Damned watches the liquid move in his glass

first time ah saw a human huh?

*Damned pauses for a moment

ah was barely eighteen and still recovering from being disemboweled...

*Damned moves his free hand towards his scarred stomach

ah got ambushed by an animal, ah only lived because ah feel nein pain and was able to limp back to mein village after putting mein knife through ze brain of the poor bastard- ah had to keep my organs inside meinself, it was nein fun...

*Damned snorts

ah suppose am getting off topic...

*Damned sighs

it was a NT recruitment team, zhey were looking for strong folks to work security and mein village just so happened to be on the list, mein vater said to zhem "ach! this one survive boar attack! he strongest in village!" und offered me to zhem...

*Damned stares at nothing

last thing vater said to me was "no worry mein sohn, you make family proud."
next thing ah know zhey put me in cryosleep for first time und ah was off to security basic training.

ah'll never forget zhat recruiter bastard's face.

Those pink eyes shining behind those red glasses, akrszale scratches behind her frills and remains silent for a few seconds
"..... Hrrr..... Firssst contactsss, they where ssscientisssts, interdyne? Doesssnt matter, they ssspoke with ssseveral eldersss, weighted me and my hatchmatesss back when we were little, sssome ssstayed, taught usss many thingsss like thiss horrid lenguage we speak to you"

Erie seems entranced in the music, and a mix of her own thoughts. She processes that someone asked her something about a half-minute later.
She apologizes profusely, then starts to answer.
"I 'zink i was young-ish... It was just me and dad- I was like, four.
We round a corneur- And boom! 'uman. Now like, feur context, I grew up somewhere Cold cold. I 'ad only been outside like, twice so far. Fur had 'ad only grown in. Couldn't 'af wi'zstood 'ze cold before 'zen."
She quiets down for a moment.
"Anyways, I look at 'zis person- Way taller 'zan me, no fur- And I just like, start crying, I guess?
I dunno, little old me was really uhm- emotional. Anyways, I start crying and sobbing and stuff-
And my dad's all like- What's wrong, 'oney?"
She laughs a bit.
"I'm like, still four at 'ze time, so like, good luck getting a straight answer!
Anyways, after a bit more crying and stuff, I start like- tearing out tufts of my fur, and 'anding it to 'zem..?"
She looks aside for a while, before resuming her ramble.
"Dad stopped me from doing that REAL quick. I was still crying a LOT, but I think 'e was worried about me getting cold again."
Her tail whips back and forth behind her as she concentrates.
"But yeah, that was my first 'uman. Lots of crying, and tearing out my own fur to 'and it to 'zem, so they could warm up!"
She flashes a smile, before going back to listening to music.

Bound Curiosity tilts her head, beret shifting slightly,luminescent blueeyes scanning the two bartenders. She takes a sip of her sentai quencha, black lipstick slightly staining the rim of the glass. One of her ears flicks, pendant earring jangling like a tiny bell.

"Mmhm, let me think" Her green nails click against the glass. "I guess it was when I was..eleven?" She pulls her lab coat back onto her shoulders. "I was born on the homeworld in an all Thaven commune... which I recently found out was a bit of a cult. And said cult wanted to spread its good message to new colonies. They told me we would meet all kinds of aliens on our new home, so everyone started learning different languages. Some learned the Vox-tongue, some Arachiss, and me and my parents were learning English. Then our ship malfunctioned during descent, and I woke up later in a strange white room that smelled like nothing I had ever smelled before. And there it was, this, alien, with its small eyes and round face staring right at me."

She giggles and takes another sip of her drink.

"Otherwise known as a hospital, with a human nurse waiting for me to wake up. I had some warning, and knew a few basic words, but I was still pretty freaked out. I mean, they don't even have scales! Not even just a few! Talk about a weird sight."

She runs a finger around the rim of her half-empty glass.

"It is strange though, how living among them has made me see the universe through their lens. We're both 'humanoid', rather than 'thavenoid' or 'voxoid', you'd think they have a monopoly on the whole two arms two legs and speaking through a mouth thing. Ah, but speaking of two arms...STEEEEEVEE!!"

She yells across the concourse, attracting the attention of a teal Arachnid pulling a cart laden with mail and boxes. He makes his way over, leaving the cart at the bottom of the steps. He rolls his shoulders, muscles flexing under his brown turtleneck. He tips his head in greeting and chitters.

"Madame Director, if you need materials I can be easily reached on our command comms."

Bound sticks out her tongue and grins.

"This ain't about mats" She gestures to the Vox sitting beside her. "Teki and I were just discussing our first time seeing a human."

"Ah well, I'm not as interesting in that department, I've been around humans all my life, or at least, as long as I can remember. Our papas best friend is a human, and he helped raise me before papa met our dad. If anything, it was weird seeing other Arachnids for the first time."

She nods.

"And after living on Ouros it's weird to be around other Thaven, but I guess every species is weird in one way or another."

Steeve gives a small nod before they both straighten up.

"Ah, duty calls, time to go see our human captain. Nice talkin to you Teki, always good to take a break. Come along Quartermaster!"

Bound jumps off the stool and breaks into a sprint, Steeve throwing back the rest of her drink before tipping his head once again, grabbing the cart and jogging away.

Roseystar gives out a hum, looking at the humans for a good while before turning her head to look at the Vox. She had just finished her drink, setting it down on the ocunter. She taps the side of it as she starts to speak. Her voice was gentle.

"First time I saw a human? I think I was around 10, maybe 11? I remember our interaction though, and I swear it was just at the border of my village that leads into the forest, two humans!"

She stood up in her seat a little, her wings giving out a flap or two.

"I was heading out ot the forest to go find some food for everyone, and just before I entered, I saw two humans. They looked around the same age as me, so I didn't really see a problem talking to them. All though, I don't think my village knew what humans were before that."

A pause, taking a breath and sitting down in her seat properly. Calming herself down.

"I don't remember their names, but I highly doubt they're here. I would go out to the forest border to see if they would come back, but they never did."

Her hand slips down form the glass, onto the table and tapping her claws against it a few times. Just a moment more of silence, thinking of it was hard since it was years ago.

"I think humans are cool, and it feels great working with so many. I do enjoy my time here with them. Sometimes they're really funny, or really rude, but I think that applies with everyone."

It is one of the rare moments Eix is out of uniform, and they'd been nursing a beer bottle nice and slow, as if there was a flavor in it worth savoring. They had been strangely off today, you had noticed, but you hadn't actually known the secoff that well to actually check in. They take another slow drink straight from the bottle, a cigarette resting in the ashtray in front of them.

"Technically," they answer after a moment, "I've been around humansss my entire life."

They sit with that for a moment, introspective. Then, their gaze returns to you.

"Mining colony I grew up in produccced enough that we had tradersss from all over comin' in to buy materialsss," they continue, "Sssome of which were human. Never paid much attention to them asss a kid, though."

Their gaze goes far off again, like it has been the entire shift.

"Then the collapssse happened," they say, hardly above a whisper.

"The minesss apparently ran parallel to a xeno colony," their hand grips the bottle, and were they human themselves, one could easily bet they'd be white-knuckled, "And the collapssse brought the bugsss right down on the poor bassstardsss working that day."

Their hand goes to their mouth with the cigarette, shaking as they take a drag from it and swallow dryly.

"My parentsss included."

It's a disaster you can't look away from, them reliving this- but it's also clearly something they've been needing to talk about for a long time, so you let them continue.

"I wasss in ssschool at the time. Had jussst turned ssseventeen," their voice shakes as they recount it, but they forge on with the story, "And the reassson I sssurvived wasss becaussse I locked myssself into a locker."

A shaky, humorless laugh leaves them as they take another drag from the cigarette.

"I wasss a coward that day," Eix admits freely, and as you instinctively open your mouth to rebuff them, they stop you with a gesture.

"Don't argue otherwissse," they say, shaking their head, "I wasss sssupposssed to be going into sssecurity detail, like they did, like my sssiblingsss did."

"But inssstead, I ssstayed in that locker for what mussst have been hoursss, hearing the people I wasss sssupposssed to protect ssscream and die."

They are silent for a moment, and you are certain from the look in their eyes that they can hear it just as clear as when they were there.

"That wasss the day I really sssaw humansss," they continue, "When every other reptilian colony on that planet ignored the automatic dissstresss sssignal and left usss to die, left me to die, it wasss an off-world, human organization, the UNMC, that took down thossse ugly thingsss and busssted me out of that locker."

They sigh almost wistfully.

"Ssso when they took me up to their ssship and asssked me if I wanted to join, I didn't care that I wasss technically too young to sssay yesss," they chuckle dryly, "Not like they could find the papersss to prove otherwissse."

Their gaze hones in on you, intense and serious.

"I sssigned them without a sssecond thought."

Eix takes a swig from the beer bottle, wiping their mouth on the back of their sleeve. The sigh that comes out afterwards is one of both relief and dry humor.

"Bessst and worssst missstake of my life," they admit, "Went through Hell and back again, then went into cryosleep to do it all over. But if I were to find myssself back in that sssituation again, I'd do it again. I'd do it every time."

They frown, gaze dropping to the bar counter.

"Guesss I'd call them my heroesss, or sssomething equally cheesssy," Eix polishes off the bottle finally, chugging a good amount of its contents that still remain.

"Today wasss the anniversssary of that day," they finish, looking slightly embarrassed that they'd just dropped all that emotional baggage on you. "Ssso, uh, thanksss for lissstening."

"You, uh, want another drink?"