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Grace's ship was noisy. Thats was one of the first things Rocky noticed when boarding the Hail mary. Grace itself was noisy, skin acting like an acoustic instrument rather than a hardened carapace like rocky's own that hid Eridian's internal organs. Instead Rocky could sense and hear all of Grace's insides at all times, digestive track loud, heart; even as a singular was loud, breathing was loud. the alien constantly made noise. At every opportunity it made sounds, they weren't words. Rocky was sure. Just, noise.
But still *noises*, intakes of air though two holes on its 'face' that lead to its 'lungs', or random clicking from its mouth like it too were echolocating, it was not, or it would make random ugly disjointed and flat notes that meant nothing in eridian but sounded like some botched human attempt at speaking. Humming, grace had called it, humming songs. Rocky knew songs, knew music. This was not music.
Speaking off music, that was another random noise on the ship, Grace began playing human music to 'fill the background while he worked'. Rocky didn't hate it. It was interesting. And it was *alien* music. But he couldnt tell if he liked it or not. Grace seems to like it which made Rocky happy but the sound of the background itself kind of made his mind itch in an uncomfortable way. Like claws scraping against metal. But only occasionally sometimes it was enjoyable sometimes Rovky heard Eridian words hidden in the background of the music.
But all of that was grace noise. Rocky knew grace noise, it didnt bother Ricky. No. This was not Grace noise, what was so loud that it got into his brain and caused pain with something that was unfamiliar to him a high pitched wine that continued for days on end only settling when Grace slept. He could've tell where it was from of high-pitched whines. He couldn't sense the source it was like he was feeling artefacts that didn't exist. As a day stretched on more winds getting into the skull he found himself struggling to articulate the issue. Rocky rarely if ever struggled to speak back on Erid but now he had to monotone his speak to even be understood my Grace's thinking machine and he had only half the words in their shared vocabulary he would usually have. Not to mention that buzz was penetrating his concentration. It was making him stupid as they made their way to tau centi e, the astrophage breeding ground.
"Ugh! Grace! Stop noise now. Statement." Rocky finally snapped. Is brain felt painful. An ache deep in his carapace. Like his mind was being shaken roughly.
Grace stopped what his was doing, typing notes on the human thinking machine. "What? Typing? I'm not playing anythin-"
"No! The noise!" Rocky cut grace off "grace is stupid. Not hear loud noise, question? Buzz buzz buzz. Loud whiney. Like grace when stupid." He was being grumpy angry stupid but why didnt grace understand. Why couldnt grace just stop the noise. It stopped when he slept so clearly he had some control. Or perhaps grace *was* making the noise while awake.
"Woah woah. Rock, hey."grace said, tone suddenly different and he walked up to rocky's ball a fleshy hand on either side looking him over with those vision balls. "What's wrong? I don't hear anything but your hearing is better than mine. Where is it coming from? Is it the ship breaking or something bad?" Grace asked, its heart-rate increasing slightly at mention of the ships structural integrity but remained calm.
"No. Not ship breaking! it whiney! it loud whine. Hurt rocky. Loud, all over ship. Mostly up." He gestured generally above them. He started to make a self soothing hum, his frustration and pain from this unknown assailant was getting to him. Grace's jaw tightened slightly as Rocky began to hum.
"Okay. Okay. Its alright rock. Grace fix. Yeah? Uh... yeah, question?" Grace's tone was soft, he could tell rocky was distressed, so he was speaking at a volume he knew rocky could head with his superior hearing instead of his usual volume. "Okay. The sound is all over, right? So where is it not? Where is there no sound?"
Rocky tapped a claw to sense better, it was hard, there were like... fake artefacts everywhere, he would see them one moment then next scan they were gone. Like ghost objects. "Hmm. Under crew room. Control room. Boring room." He answered though in sensing around his mind had only hurt deeper. Like a skewer through the sense receptors to Rocky's brain. He deepened his droning. the sound covering over the loud whine which helped marginally. Like drowning out the noise. Like Grace's music.
Grace in turn made a movement with its face. A scrunch of his facial features, the two breathing holes flaring and Grace brought a hand to their face. Rubbing at a vision ball as it rolled its neck. But continued to think anyways. It was a long long moment before the human shot up to its unnnaural bipedal standing form. Making a noise it made when it made a discovery or was excited.
"Lights!" It yelled, Rocky whined, normally such a noise wouldn't bother him but now it added to whatever was causing him pain. Grace himself seemed to wince at the noise. grace's held a hand to his head covering one vision orb as he moved to the lab, rifiling through cubbords. The clanking only adding to Rocky's distress. He hummd louder.
After an uncoordinated one-eyed effort the alien found a strange cylindrical device, Rocky knew it. Grace had many taped together in a holder in the tunnel. Once the cylinder was in hand Grace called to Mary. And suddenly the buzzing stopped save for a small quiet concentrated version of it coming from grace's object.
"Fixed?" Grace asked, coming up beside him, still covering his eye. Their face making an expression Rocky didn't know well. Humans were complicated. Discomfort?
Grace sat beside Rocky's ball. Legs folding, 'crossed legs' Grace had called it. The quieter buzz also stopped as Grace clicked a button on the cylinder.
"Yes. Grace fix. Statement" Rocky sighed as the sound was suddenly released from his mind. It still hurt but would go away soon. The cause was gone. "What grace do, question?"
"I turned off the lights. I think you heard the electricity powering them or something. But all the rooms not hurting you had no light on in them." It muttered, voice still quiet. Perhaps slurred in laziness. "I can't see now. But its fine. I have a *M̸i̵g̴r̷a̴i̶n̶e̶* now anyway. Darkness is good."
"New word." Rocky said but Rocky's brain still hurt so it wasn't enthusiastic to catalogue a new human word.
"Uh... ache. In head, eye, brain... its-" grace gave up, lying on the floor. "Mmm idk how to explain right now. My head hurts too bad."
"Understand." Rocky said. And Rocky did, that was what Rocky was experiencing too. 'Brain hurt'. "rocky same. Rocky sing note make feel better"
He hummed louder again like it would help grace too.
Grace made a hissing sound like air sucked through tight space fast. Pain? Pain noise? Rocky had heard it when grace 'stubbed toe'.
"Hurt, question? Brain hurt worse, question?" Rocky asked. Worried. Rocky didn't like seeing grace in pain. He didn't know the alien long but it was his own companion and only chance to save the stars. And it was so fragile.
"Nmm" Grace replied. A yes, Rocky thinks. It was vague.0 "so, Is that you?" Grace asks in a mumble that takes Rocky a moment to decipher. "I dont hear anything but i feel it. like a vibration that is *killing* my head. Whatever note you are singing." they groan, rolling on their side away from rocky so their spine faced rocky's ball.
killing? Killing! That meant to make something die. Rocky's humming was killing grace?! He immediately stopped humming. Panic flooding Rocky's hot system. But what if it was already too late?
"Die, question? Grace dying, question?! Answer."
"Mm!! Loud! Dont yell" Grace replied with a signature whine. Growing more irritable and grumpy. Like when it didn't sleep. "No. Not die. Human expression. Exaggeration. Means to overstate something as better or worse than it is. Im not dying." It curls up tighter, Rocky can sense through its head to what it is are doing. Now poking fingers into the bone above its vision ball. "But thanks... the vibration stopped. I think you did that right?"
Rocky whispered this time, too quiet for the thinking machine to pick up. "Yes. Stop humming. Was hurting Grace. Rocky never want to hurt Grace." Rocky said earnestly. They aren't sure if grace got all that. Or if grace was even listening but the alien nodded anyway. before stilling. Heart still beating, breathing unchanged. "Grace sleep, question?"
"Hmm. No... resting. Waiting for brain to not hurt. You?" Grace muttered unmoving
"Waiting brain not hurt." Rocky replied.