Chapter Text
the world around Ryland slowly but surely comes into focus. its like opening his eyes, yet its his hearing. it takes a moment to adjust and for the fuzz to fade. much like how vision is blurry when you first wake up, the same goes for echolocation after an eridian sleep cycle.
except this is new. he tries to gasp a breath, and the vents on the top of his carapace flutter. its all new. its all wrong to him. it rises him over like a tidal wave.
the sensations are too much, and he attempts to stand, but tumbles onto his side with a thump and a hint of a chord as he hits the floor.
Rocky chirps and scuttles over, ready to help. Ryland skitters his legs against the floor and ends up upside down, legs flailing panickedly. he lets out a static-like screech.
okay, chill out. you can do this.
he tucks in his legs, and then thrusts himself over onto his side, managing to stand. five contact points. not what hes used to, and the extra limb is proving to be hard to control.
the poor thing is trembling, and the first real sound that comes out of him is a horrible, broken wailing. sad, choppy chords. Rocky knows the sound. that’s what baby eridians sound like when they’re first born.
“Grace? you are okay…?” Rocky knows that all the new sounds must be scary right now. everything is so much louder and clearer. just overall different. he keeps his voice gentle.
another pathetic eridian equivalent whimper escapes Ryland, one arm collapsing under his weight from the shaking and being so unsteady, which he quickly pulls back up to stand on.
Rocky comes closer, reaching out to pet his front arm, running his paw over the only carving on Ryland’s new eridian body. its the only thing he requested. Rocky’s paw print on his front left arm from when it was burnt onto his human body’s forearm.
Ryland squeaks at the comfort and stumbles forward into Rocky’s prepared, already open arms. he assumed his Grace would want hugs as soon as he was put into his new body, although his sounds break Rocky’s heart.
“Grace…” he comforts, arms wrapping around Ryland’s carapace, paw rubbing the top of it, running soothingly over his vents. that’s an intimate gesture for eridians.
“h…hold…” Ryland manages, chords still not quite right. he’s unsure on how to speak properly yet. “hold…p-paw…?” he could never manage the word for ‘question’, so he taps a paw against the ground twice. the cries take over his voice too much to talk properly anyway.
Rocky quickly reaches over to hold one of Ryland’s paws in his own, intertwining their claws. he rubs his hand with one claw. he knew what his Grace liked. he’d had to comfort him multiple times as a human.
“Grace sound like pebble…newborn eridian.”
he lets out another pitiful whimper. he just cant stop. he’s overwhelmed but so happy to be in Rocky’s arms. no barrier between them. its like heaven, and he would be enjoying it more if it wasn’t so new and overwhelming. “Rocky fix.”
Ryland doesnt know how long he stayed there, and more importantly how long Rocky stayed there. the whole time he pet him and held him and held paws with him. he wanted to comfort him the best he could. he was mostly settling into the sensation of echolocation.
it clearly went on a while too long to not worry as Adrian enters the room. they scuttle over and chirp softly. “Grace in eridian body, question?”
he tries to answer. he really does. but only another pitiful whine comes out. he can see it breaks their heart. Rocky butts in to help. “Grace can’t talk well yet. need to help to learn. can’t walk well either.”
they tilt their carapace forward to “nod”. “we can help, statement.”
Ryland’s trembling has died down, and he’s no longer letting out the heartbreaking noises he was before that resembled an eridian hatchling’s cries. it’s something they learn to grow out of. Ryland possibly won’t grow out of it. he still feels emotionally as a human does.
he takes a glance at his human body. he looks peaceful. as if sleeping.