Chapter Text
The porch light clicked off with daybreak as Hassian and Tau stood under it, staring down the Phoenix painted on the door of the shared house Xula was staying in, likely decorated by the occupants. It was one of the handful of new housing structures the university had built when the dorms started filling up due to the surge of Humans joining and Majiri transferring to this branch. When he had suggested meeting her here, he hadn't expected her to reply with a warning. 'Sounds good, but knock at your own risk, there's a high chance someone drunk or hungover will answer.' He wanted to avoid both of those, however, he also wanted to get going and was about to knock when he heard movement and voices.
"Oh, you're leaving?" He didn't recognize the quiet voice through the door.
"Just going for a run with Hassian and Tau." Xula's voice he knew well enough after yesterday. There was a moment of silence then, "Kyky?" She sounded concerned. Hassian couldn't tell if Kyla was crying, laughing, or both and what she said was muffled, but Xula continued speaking to her. "It's ok, you're not alone, your sister is right here…" It got quiet for a few minutes, whatever Xula was doing must have been calming Kyla down. "There you are. How about some fresh air, have you slept yet?" ... "Didn't think so." The door opened and he was met with Xula holding her sister's arm over her shoulder to keep Kyla steady.
"Oh, hey. Give me just a minute here…" Xula greeted him before helping her sister, who smelled strongly of alcohol and looked like she had been crying, over to a cushioned bench on the porch. She pulled a blanket out of a nearby box and settled it over an already sleeping Kyla before greeting an excited Tau with neck scratches. "Hey pup, you two ready to go?" She glanced up at Hassian as she asked.
"Yes, but if you need to stay here-" He stopped as she shook her head.
"Now that she's asleep it won't matter if I'm here or not, she probably won't even remember half the night when she wakes up and I’ll be back before she does." Xula hesitated a moment before continuing. "I, um, I'm sorry you had to see, and possibly hear, that by the way… She’s not adjusting as well as she lets on and drinking too much makes it worse, she must have gone overboard at the emergence-day party last night."
"The what?" He wasn't sure he had heard her correctly.
"The emergence-day party." She sighed and began to stretch her legs as she explained. "Humans don't exactly have birthdays, at least none we can remember. So, instead, we celebrate the day we materialized and emerged here. Kyla insisted we throw a party for one of our housemates reaching a month of being around." Xula shrugged. “Seems early for it to me but it can help those having a hard time feel a little better. Kyky's been trying to convince me to throw one when our three month day rolls around." She smiled down at Tau. "Enough about that though, we're here to run and maybe figure out more about Tau."
Tau gave a happy yip when he heard his name and took off down the tree lined path, forcing Hassian and Xula to quickly start jogging after him. The plumehound was nice enough to keep a more steady pace compared to the sprints he had caused the last couple of times he made them run, though he was still often running back around them and bounding ahead. Between the pace, the quiet lacking the awkwardness from the day before, and the crisp morning air, the run started off enjoyable, though they both knew they'd have to talk at some point. They had followed the path out of the housing area and into one of the fields scattered with ancient ruins before Xula asked a question.
"Is Tau always this energetic?" He had run up alongside her and nudged her arm, begging for pets, which she gave him as she was asking.
"Sometimes." Hassian replied as Tau hopped behind them and reappeared to nudge his hand instead, getting ear scratches. He does get more wound up when she's around though.
"Really?" She sounded surprised. "Could have fooled me, it feels like I've only ever seen him full of energy." Her response confirmed his thought and Tau bounced ahead of them again.
"He gets bouncy when treats are involved, have you been giving him any?" Why didn't I ask this sooner…
She shook her head. "I don't know where to get any or what's safe for plumehounds to eat and I do not want a sick pup on my hands." While he was happy she didn't want Tau sick, it did mean that the easy answer wasn't the right one.
. . .
A calm quiet settled between them again, with Tau and their footfalls making most of the noise in the field, until Hassian realized the second set of footsteps had gone silent. He looked back to find Xula gazing out at the ancient Human ruins being bathed in the morning sun, she had stopped mid-stride and wrapped her arms around her stomach.
Why did she stop… He turned and walked up next to her, but she still wasn't moving. "Xula?" He had a hint of concern in his voice that even he wasn’t expecting. He startled her and she snapped back, looking around.
"Ah! I- What- oh…" She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize…" Her voice trailed off as she sighed and rubbed a temple, staring at their feet.
"Why did you stop?" He finally asked after a bit of silence from her. May as well ask, still need to 'get to know each other'. He mentally rolled his eyes and waited.
"Oh.” Xula continued from where her voice had trailed off. “I didn't realize how many ruins were out this way, haven't been over here yet." She looked at the ruins then at him, giving a small smile. "Seeing them just caused a flood of questions and I got lost in my thoughts. We can keep going now though, I'll visit it later. " She walked past him and Tau bounced around her until she picked up her pace.
Hassian glanced at the ruins a moment as he turned and went to catch up with her. She had switched sides on the path, forcing him to be between her and the ruins and caused questions to start swirling in his thoughts. What is it about the ruins that bothers her enough to put me in between her and it? She mentioned Kyla having trouble adapting but did not say anything about herself? How am I going to ask- He halted his own thoughts and chanced looking her way. She was watching Tau run around with an amused smile and he went back to watching where he was running and his thoughts. What do I mean ‘how’? Why would I bother-
“If you want to ask something, spit it out.” Xula said suddenly, shocking him out of his thoughts.
“It’s your turn to ask if we are still following Chayne’s advice.” He quickly turned it on her, he wasn’t sure if she had just made a lucky guess or somehow knew that he had questions running rampant through his mind.
“Alright, why don’t you like Humans?” She continued before he had a chance to reply. “And to clarify, yes, all the Humans here seem to think you hate them.”
“Hmph. I don’t hate all of them, I just don’t know them.” Hassian answered bluntly.
“Ha, you know what helps with that? Asking questions.” She pointed out with a smug smirk.
She had managed to turn it back on him. He found it annoying and impressive, which annoyed him more. “Fine.” Questions raced through his head and he grabbed the first one that didn’t sound like a jumbled mess. “Can you really not remember anything? From before.” As he asked he realized it was the one that had crossed his mind yesterday, after their argument. She stopped dead in her tracks and it took him a couple of steps to notice, turning around he found her giving him a look of disbelief.
“Do you really want to know or are you just mad and asking to get back at me?” Xula crossed her arms over her chest, the disbelief turning into a glare.
“If you won’t answer then why are we asking each other questions?” He countered, not wanting to admit that it was both. She glared at him for a minute more before uncrossing her arms and walking along the path again.
“Fine, but when you ask something like that, be ready to deal with the answer.” She took in a deep breath, slowly letting it out. “I really can not remember anything, not even Kyla, and she doesn’t remember me either. We decided to call each other sisters because we materialized together, look alike and have this… Hard to explain bond. There are rumors that some Humans remember fragments or get strong deja vu, but I have yet to experience either." Xula looked over at him, but her eyes were distant and dark. “As far as I know, I have no mother, no father, no childhood. The fact that I have someone to call my sister is considered rare, as ‘no siblings’ is often on that list for others. I try to keep myself busy to stop those facts from paralyzing me like they do many Humans when they first emerge, most get over it, some don’t. A few pretend they do, clinging to any shred of happiness they can find, hoping to find anything to ease the constant ache of missing something, of feeling empty…” Her voice faded as she went back to looking at the path.
Tau had been walking between them as if he could tell something was different but when Xula stopped talking he hopped in front of her and sat down. She stared at him, he tilted his head with an 'aroo' and she dropped to her knees, hugging him as he tried to lick her face. Hassian looked back to the ruins that they had just gotten past and folded his arms over his chest.
This is why I do not ask questions. He was still trying to understand everything she had said, it had been a surprising amount to take in despite it seeming like a simple explanation. And now she is upset because of me, again… But why do I care?
"Hassian?" Xula called from beside him, he turned just enough to see her and she looked concerned, which confused him. "Are you alright?"
"Yes…" He answered, still confused. Am I alright? She just had to answer a question that was obviously difficult for her and she is asking me if I'm alright? "Look, I-" Why is this always so hard to say? "I am sorry for bringing that up."
She shook her head with her ponytail swaying behind it. "I appreciate it but, don't be. I pushed you to ask a question, I should have expected a chance of that one." She shrugged and smiled brightly as the sun caught the gold in her eyes, making them look like they were glowing, a complete turn around from how they had been just a few minutes prior.
Has her smile always been that beautiful? Hassian's thoughts got away from him and he closed his eyes to reign them back. What? No. Stop.
I'm surprised Hassian actually apologized, maybe he does have a heart in that iron plated chest of his. Xula couldn't help but smile at the thought. She looked down at Tau, who had stood up when she had and continued to wag at her. Best. Pup. Ever. She wasn’t sure why Tau had hopped in front of her but his fur had been so soft that, even with him trying to lick her face, she had found comfort in hugging him and been able to recenter herself.
Now I just need an undisturbed run, soothing music or calming meditation… Her hand instinctively went for the headphones that hung on the new running pouch her phone was in but she stopped herself from grabbing them. Right, shouldn't… Still running with someone, don't want to be rude. She sighed and looked back up, finding herself slightly confused, Hassian had closed his eyes at some point. Okaaaay…
“Hassian?" Did my answer hit him that hard? I know some don't understand, or don't believe, the whole 'no memory' thing but he did ask. He opened his eyes and looked at her for a split second before focusing his gaze on Tau. Is he avoiding-
"We should keep moving." His simple statement cut her thought short as he turned and continued down the path. She quickly caught up with him, though he had sped up quite a bit, Tau rushed ahead obviously happy to be going again.
"I can head home, I understand if you want some time alone." Xula offered after a couple minutes of silence.
"No. I-" He cut himself off, still not looking at her. "You may do as you wish."
She narrowed her eyes at him. He is avoiding looking at me. He just apologized and now he's pulling this stunt? What did I do to tick him off this time? Hmph, fine! She sped up to pull ahead far enough to spin around into his path, crossing her arms over her chest and forcing him to stop. Even with less than a foot between them he was still managing to avoid looking at her, his gaze going just over the top of her head.
Of course she is not going to make this easy for me. Hassian thought as he managed to stop quickly enough to keep them from colliding again. He kept his eyes up but the top of her ponytail was still in the bottom of his vision.
"What I wish to do is find out why you're avoiding me all of a sudden." Xula got straight to the point.
"I am not avoiding you." He stated, though he continued in his head. I am just not looking at you so I do not risk my thoughts getting away from me like that again.
"I may have only been around a couple of months but I'm not blind and I'm not that clueless. You're clearly avoiding me, not even looking at me now. What did I do to piss you off?" She was struggling to keep her voice down.
How do I put this so she drops it before she figures out the real reason… He lowered his eyes to meet hers. “I am not mad at you, but I am not about to tell you all of my thoughts either.” She gave a slight frown and held his gaze for a moment before replying.
“Fine. Everyone has their secrets, I can respect that.” She said, holding up her hands and stepping out of his way. “Thank you for letting me know you’re not mad at me, at least.” She reached out to pet Tau, who had sat down next to them while he waited to run again, he got up with the pets and started trotting off with Xula following him.
Hassian sighed, letting out the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. That… could have gone worse and I was able to look at her without issues, good, should keep her from bringing it back up. He thought as he caught up with them. Why is getting to know her getting so complicated?
He was thankful for the quiet run the rest of the way around the campus, they had gone faster but, by the time they reached the center, a few other students had woken up and were starting to go about their day. Some of them did double takes at the fact someone was running with Hassian but Xula only saw one that interested her.
"Morning Jina." Xula called with a wave as they got closer, Jina jumped a bit and looked up from the book and paper that she had been so focused on that her drink and breakfast looked untouched.
"Oh, good morning Xula, sorry I didn't see you there. Just trying to figure this out." She gave a little wave before going back to the book.
"I'll be right back." Xula glanced at Hassian before heading over to the table Jina was sitting at. "Figure what out?" she asked Jina. Tau followed Xula over and sat next to where she stood, Hassian shrugged and followed Tau.
"This paper, I'm not sure why it's giving me such trouble." Jina explained, handing it to Xula as she walked up and giving a quick wave to Hassian, who nodded in reply.
"You're trying to figure out a grocery list?" Xula asked after a quick glance at the paper. Jina’s usually not one for joking around…
“Grocery list?” Jina looked quite confused.
“Yeah.” Xula flipped the paper so the writing was facing Jina. “It says so right at the top, ‘Groceries’, then ‘milk’, ‘eggs’, ‘flour’, and a note on the side about figuring out something for dinner.” This left Jina gawking for a moment before she collected herself.
“You can read that?” Jina finally managed to ask.
“Yeah… can’t you?” Xula replied. Why is it a big deal that I can read this?
“Kind of, it’s in ancient Human, I have to work on translating it before it makes sense to me.” Jina explained. “I’ve heard that some Humans can read it fluently, some can only read certain types and others have no clue. None of the ones I’ve asked on campus so far have been able to… admittedly I’ve not asked very many yet.” She adjusted her glasses and started gathering up her things. “Thank you for translating, you can keep the paper, if you want to.”
There was a delayed reply as Xula stared at the list. “Huh? Oh, you’re welcome, Jina. Give me a call anytime you need help with it, now that we know I can read it… While I'm thinking of it, would you be willing to go to the ruins? When we both have time, of course."
"With you? I mean, yes, of course. It would be nice to get a Human's… er… your perspective on them. We can set a time later though, I have to get going." Jina gave a shy smile and headed towards the library.
"Ok, that works, see you later." Xula gave a distracted reply as she took a half step to turn but got focused back on the paper. Does this mean I remember something? Maybe… but I don’t remember learning how to read this, just like how I don’t remember learning how to understand the Majiri’s language. Tau barked from right next to her and snapped her out of her thoughts again. “Oh, I didn’t realize you had actually followed me, sorry about the wait.” She folded the paper up and stuck it with her phone before scratching his ears. “Though I think we’ve run out of places to run.”
“I have to get to class soon as well.” Hassian pointed out and Tau gave a sad whimper.
“Awe, Tau, maybe you can hang out with me for a while then? I don’t have any classes today and I’m sure you’d be great at putting a smile on Kyla’s face, we can drag her out to the park.” The plumehound barked happily and did a little spin, causing Xula to giggle before she looked back to Hassian. “If you’re alright with it, that is, you can message me when you’re done with your classes and I’ll get him back to you.”
“Okay. If he needs anything, and I am still in class, then just bring him to Jel. He knows how to take care of him.” Hassian explained.
“Jel? Alright." She shrugged. Not sure if I've even talked to Jel yet… "That means we've got one more run, if you're up for it pup." She grinned at Tau as he bounced around her. "I'll take that as a yes. To Kyla!" Xula took off with him across the campus center towards the housing area and gave a quick wave back to Hassian, who surprised everyone by actually returning it.