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It’s been...a week since the incident. The man, who introduced himself as Sung, offered to bring the small child aboard his ship. He had agreed, and is now sitting on a bed in a small, bedroom of sorts. The man in orange was kind enough to bring him supper for the last week, often making small talk with Strive. He’s left small presents, so to keep the young alien occupied on their flight home.
Strive hasn’t seen eye or hair of the thugs, nor of the other three people who were with the man in orange. Strive slides off the bed, padding over to the small table pressed against the wall. He picks up a plush duck, hugging it close to his chest then heading back to his bed. He climbs back up, snuggling the plush close, and nuzzling his face against it. A light knock on the door jolts him out of the little trance he was in, making him look up.
“Strive? I brought some friends with me..” When he receives no response, he knocks again. “May we come in?” There’s more silence, then a small voice speaks up.
“C’min..”
Sung pushes the door open, stepping into the room. He smiles at the sight of the kid, going over and kneeling in front of him. “I see you’ve found the duck plush I left you. It’s actually a gift from a friend of mine. He wanted me to give it to you instead, since he wasn’t sure if you were up to talking to anyone besides me.”
Strive nods, hugging it close. “Thank you..I love her..”
The older smiles, sitting back on his knees. “Would you like to meet my friends? I promise they won’t hurt you and are rather concerned after we hauled those thugs off..”
Strive nods a little, hiding his face into the plush. He’s cautious, however, not one hundred percent ready to meet other people. But if they’re anything like Sung, then he’ll trust them. Sung gets up, motioning for his friends to come in. Two other people enter the room, both holding some sort of object in their hands.
“Hey little dude..” One of them says quietly, kneeling in front of him. Strive stares at the taller in awe, slightly mesmerized. He slowly walks over to him, reaching out a cautious hand. The other holds his hand out, and Strive places his hand in his. The other purrs softly as he watches the taller in now full, curiosity. The other person in the room makes a small noise, looking away from the pair, making both look over at him.
“Meouch, I didn’t know you could purr.” Sung teases, a grin on his face. “Shut it...and don’t tell anyone else this, yeah? No one. Especially the other two.”
Strive looks back and forth between the two, a bit confused. He looks over at the other, wondering who he is. The man in red notices, looking over and giving a small wave. “That’s Phobos, our local guitarist. He took a vow of silence a long time ago, meaning he doesn’t talk verbally. He does use sign language to communicate with us.” Phobos walks over, sitting across from Strive. He gives a head tilt, moving his hands. “Translation: Hello Strive. It’s nice to meet you.” Sung relays.
Strive looks between the other two, then looking at his duck. “It’s good to meet you too..” He says quietly, nuzzling her. He looks up at Meouch, reaching out and petting his arm. “A kitty..”
Sung snorts. “You could call him that. Our definition is more...adult.” The small child looks over at him. “Adult?”
“Meaning words you can’t know till you’re older.” Meouch says, giving his friend a look. Sung only laughs, grinning widely. He goes to speak, when someone runs up to the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.
“Doctor Sung...you’re..you’re needed in the..the..bridge..” They pant, completely out of breath. Sung turns to them, standing up. “Hey..breath. I don’t want you passing out on me, okay?” They nod, doing a couple deep breaths. “You’re needed in the bridge..” The look into the room. “You too Lord Phobos..they need you too.”
The other gets up walking over. Sung goes over to Strive, kneeling in front of him. “Will you be okay by yourself?” Strive nods, hugging his plushy. Sung smiles before getting up and following the recruit, leaving Strive and Meouch on their own.
"Well..now that they're gone..I guess it's just you and me, kiddo." Meouch looks over at Strive, offering the kid his lap. "I can read you a story if you'd like. Or I can tell you about one of our missions."
The little one pads over, looking up at him. "Missions? Like...what kind of missions..?"
Meouch gives a toothy grin. "Oh you know. Fighting bad guys, going light years to find things and bring em home. Those kinds of missions."
Strives eyes widen, widely showing interest. He gives a quick nod, climbing into his lap. "I wanna hear about your missions!" Meouch grins, pulling something out of his pocket. He pushes a button, and it hums to life. All around them, holograms of stars and distant galaxies fade into view. Strive looks around in awe, reaching out to touch a passing star.
The older leans back against the bed, starting to tell the adventures of the great, Starlight Brigade.