Chapter Text
♫♩♫♬
♫♩♫♬ scrambled into work that day in shock. The news had been sudden and they'd had no time to prepare. A ship. Not the Blip A, they were told. A new ship. An alien ship. The scientists hadn't known what to do about it at first. It was real alien contact, arriving all while their sun slowly died. The possibilities were endless and ♫♩♫♬ knew that their species were too curious to just ignore the new discovery, but caution was required. All the careful planning and hastily gathered thrums in the world could not have prepared them. When the onboard radio had replied in eridian chords, that fear and concern shifted into confusion and happiness.
♫♩♫♬ flashed their ID at the door guards. After exchanging pleasantries, they were let through into the space agency headquarters. ♫♩♫♬ felt uncomfortable at the elevator looming above them; they were never good with heights. The elevator doors slid open and they stumbled inside. One of the science Eridians waited for them and kindly informed them it would take IIℓIλ seconds to reach the top. Too long ♫♩♫♬ thought. They preferred to keep all 5 claws on the solid ground if possible. What ♫♩♫♬ didn't understand was why they were the one being called on for assistance. They were good at their job yes, but they worked with pebbles for god's sake. What on Erid could the scientists need a pebble specialist for?
After donning the crude spacesuit they were offered, ♫♩♫♬ waited in what must have been the airlock to the ship. They tapped a few times, gaining a grasp of their surroundings. Through the hull of the ship, they could visualise the strange occupant. A tall lanky creature sat on the other side. It was all too long. A horrible wet sound emanated from its body, a gross sloshing that resonated through its whole being, all the way to the tips of its extremities. ♫♩♫♬ shuddered. The airlock hissed as the air cycled to what ♫♩♫♬ assumed was the aliens natural environment, a mix of oxygen and nitrogen apparently. They had been thoroughly warned about making sure the suit did not get damaged. Any holes or leaks could lead to a uniquely painful death as one of the technicians had explained.
"Hello?" They chirped softly into the room.
The top of the creature - a strangely shaped lump with a crop of thin strands on top - swivelled around so that the orbs in the centre of it faced them. Their carapace tilted in curiosity as the creature jumped a little.
"Hi?" It warbled out. It's voice sounded strained, painful even.
It was ♫♩♫♬'s turn to jump. It sounded just like a pebble, they realised. Oh gods a pebble? In space? A horrible coldness settled over their carapace. They understood why they were here now, and they did not like it one bit. Who in their right mind would send a pebble into space? They tentatively moved closer to the creature, taking slow steps forward only to stop as it stumbled further away from them.
"I promise I'm here to help you."
They spoke in that soft voice again. It was one they reserved for young pebbles, the ones that had gone through something traumatic and needed extra care in their early, vulnerable years.
"Do you think you could tell me your name?"
It paused for a second before responding. "Grace."
"And how old are you Grace?"
♫♩♫♬ was afraid to ask the question, but they knew they needed the information to know how to help the poor thing. It was taking a lot of self restraint to not touch the creature, to give it some form of comfort as it sat there shivering. It looked wrong somehow. They didn't know how they knew, but it looked sick, weak.
It froze. Its carapace contorted grotesquely and it seemed to be muttering something they couldn't understand. It took what felt like an eternity for it to finally respond.
"IV+∀λ∀λ you days Grace think"
♫♩♫♬'s fears were confirmed. A pebble in space? What on Erid had their species been thinking, sending a youngling into the perils of space? No, they couldn't get side tracked. While it didn't seem like there were any others of its kind in the ship, they asked anyway.
"Are there any others of your kind with you?"
It's carapace crumpled again, this time accompanied with a wetness dripping from the orbs embedded in it. ♫♩♫♬ tried not to think about how wet and leaky it was. It was a pebble who deserved to be treated kindly, not with distain or disgust.
"Was λ, now I. Not know how died. Woke alone."
♫♩♫♬ felt a twinge of sadness run through them. A pebble in space, all alone with no one to watch them sleep? They felt anger too, at the creatures kind for placing it in that situation.
"Hunger. Food."
It was curled up on the ground now, shivering more violently than before.
"We can get you food, but I need to ask you some more questions first. It's very important but as soon as we're finished, you can eat, okay?"
"No no no, you food bad bad bad for Grace. Grace need Grace food."
"Well where is your food stored? We can get it ready for when we've finished talking."
"Food gone. Grace eat star eater eater to not die. Rocky say you science make Grace food. Grace not die."
♫♩♫♬ didn't like where this conversation was going. If they had started with λ crew members they should have plenty of food left over, right? The creatures face was contorting again, and more wetness leaked from the orbs. ♫♩♫♬ resisted the urge to cringe away. It didn't look like it could control the leaking anyway. A horrible understanding that something was very wrong with the numbers sat in the back of their mind. They didn't ask the pebble to clarify. They didn't want to dredge up any possibly traumatic memories if it wasn't necessary.
"What kind of food do you need?"
"Rocky know. Where Rocky, question? Grace feel better with Rocky but eridians take Rocky away."
"Rocky is being taken care of too, okay? I have some questions I need to ask you now, do you think you can answer them?" ♫♩♫♬ repeated, not entirely sure if the pebble had heard them the first time. The rattling noise in its chest quickened to a concerning pace, and the leakiness got worse.
"Will try." ♫♩♫♬ didn't want to ask but they needed to know.
"What happened? Where are your parents little one? A young pebble as you should not be in such a dangerous place as The Silence."
♫♩♫♬ shuddered. The Silence was pure emptiness. It was like the final sleep, endless and still. The creature was shaking the top of its carapace aggressively at their words though. Having used up too much of its fleeting energy with the action, it flops back on the floor with weak limbs.
*"Not pebble. Grace live for only V∀λ∀I∀ℓ you days. Grace adult."
That couldn't be right ♫♩♫♬ thought. Such a short life span? How would a species do anything in that amount of time? It must be mistaken. It must just be a scared little pebble, trying to convince itself it was old enough to handle such big responsibilities. They didn't feel like arguing about it so they pushed the creature to continue with its answer.
"Sun sick. Star eater on sun. Grace job to fix star eater. Grace woke alone before Rocky came. Rocky Grace go find star eater eater, do big science! Rocky Grace say goodbye, very sad. But star eater eater escape. Rocky no fuel. Grace send star eater eater home with special mini ship, so Grace turn around save Rocky. Grace Rocky save Erid. Now Grace need food or Grace die."
It seemed to whimper those last notes. Its voice was slowly becoming more strained, now barely audible. It was clear its biology was not designed for such complex speech patterns and it's body protested the efforts.
♫♩♫♬ decided it was time to take a break there. They didn't want to hurt the creature anymore than it already was hurting. As ♫♩♫♬ turned to leave, the creature behind them made a sudden distressed cry, curling in on itself. It cried as if it were alone, unseen. Awful broken wails that pierced through their carapace. It was awful.
"Grace need need need Rocky, Rocky make Grace feel better."
It was begging them now in a bare whisper, clinging onto their suit and pulling on the connected ridges. ♫♩♫♬ froze. They couldn't move, if the did the seam might rip, exposing them to the oxygen surrounding them. The creature's leaky fluids dripped all over their exo-suit as it sobbed over their form.
♫♩♫♬ did the only thing they thought might help. They released a deep lulling hum, one used to send energetic or upset pebbles to sleep. It worked almost instantly to the relief of the eridian. The creatures hands slipped away, and ♫♩♫♬ wriggled out from under them, making sure to gently lower it to the floor as they did. They watched sadly, as the pitiful creature fell limply into sleep.