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“So…is he just…going to watch us? All night?” Simon questioned, glancing at Grace. The teacher chuckled, smiling fondly at Rocky as he answered.
“Yep. I know it seems like a strange thing, especially since as humans we…don’t really watch each other like that, but it’s an instinctual thing for Eridians. They become completely defenseless when they sleep, so they evolved to watch each other sleep for survival purposes!” Grace explained brightly. Simon’s face twitched in what Rocky had come to learn meant he was displeased or unhappy with something.
“Simon upset, question?”
“It’s just…it’s an odd thing to think about, Rock. I’ll…adjust, I suppose,” the second human muttered, shifting uncomfortably in place. “If anything happens, we’ll wake up, so it shouldn’t matter, right?”
“Yup! If there’s a problem, Mary will sound the alarms and wake us up. That’s actually how I found out about the Taumoeba leak originally, y’know, I went to sleep and woke up to blaring alarms and flashing red lights!” Rocky twitched unhappily at that.
Grace didn’t mention he WOKE UP to the Taumoeba leak.
“That…sounds rough,” Simon agreed. “I guess…if that’s the case…”
“Would you sleep better if we were in the same bed?” Grace asked brightly. Simon’s jaw dropped and he turned to stare at Grace incredulously.
Grace didn’t think that through, AT ALL.
Sure enough, Rocky could hear the way blood rushed to Grace’s cheeks before he began to stammer and flail his limbs about in front of himself.
“I- that’s- only if you want- I mean…” he sighed, smiling sheepishly. “I really messed up how I said that, didn’t I?”
“Grace go too long since last sleep,” Rocky answered, giggling slightly. Grace scoffed and rolled his eyes at Rocky with a smile.
“We’re literally getting ready for bed, of course I’m tired!” He huffed. Rocky giggled, the high noise echoing softly through the ship as Simon watched them both. Grace turned back to Simon with a soft smile. “What I meant was that if you feel more comfortable sleeping closer together, I won’t tell you no. Is that okay?”
Simon stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding. Rocky chuckled to himself as the two humans began getting ready for bed. Simon did elect to take the last bunk for the night, though Grace relinquished his favored quilt for Simon’s comfort.
Once they were lying down, Grace dropped into sleep quickly, soft rumbling noises that he’d explained humans called ‘snores’ slipping from his throat.
Simon on the other hand, tossed and turned for a good while, his sleep restless and shallow for a bit. He did eventually settle into a deeper sleep like Grace, though he didn’t snore.
Rocky hummed to himself before turning his attention to his light screen reader. He’d been working on refining it further, so that it could be easily replicated on Erid and spread to the wider public, allowing them to access and enjoy human media the same way Rocky himself had come to.
It was a few hours in when a low hum began to pulse through the air, making Rocky pause and tap a few times, clicking softly to check the surroundings. The ship seemed to be normal, Rocky couldn’t hear anything that might be causing the odd sound.
“Mary?”
”Yes Rocky? How may I help?” Mary responded automatically, voice muted for the nighttime hours of the ship.
“Is the ship operating properly, question?” If Rocky had missed something, there was almost no chance that Mary also missed it.
”All functions are currently at acceptable levels, crew member Rocky. Is there anything else you need?”
”No, thank you Mary.” Rocky stomped his foot irritably as he shifted, a habit he’d picked up from Grace, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.
Considering the humans…do they hear it?
Rocky turned his attention back to Grace and Simon, where they lay in their bunks. Grace was relaxed, leaking onto his pillow and still snoring away. Seeing him so limp and slow made something in Rocky unclench, knowing this was Grace at his most peaceful. It wasn’t always like this, and Rocky dreaded the nights when Grace would plead, begging invisible enemies to stop, to not hurt him.
To not kill him.
Rocky hated those nights.
Especially since Grace never told him exactly what he was dreaming about, pretending it was nothing important.
It made Rocky hate Earth a little bit.
With a small vent he turned his attention to Simon, limbs stiffening immediately in response as he observed the second human.
His muscles were compressing and releasing quickly, his breathing was quick and panting, like it was difficult to breathe even though there was nothing keeping him from breathing. As Rocky watched he rolled over, tangling the quilt around his legs, making him whimper in terror.
“…no…not…y’re…not real…no…”
Rocky hurriedly rolled his ball over towards Simon’s bed, crooning softly to try and help soothe Simon. Simon’s remaining hand flailed and briefly brushed against Rocky’s ball, only for him to jerk it back with a soft cry of fear.
“Simon, question?” Rocky called quietly, hoping he could avoid waking Grace up while snapping Simon out of his nightmare.
The low hum gave a pulse and Rocky jerked, new words and voices echoing through the sound briefly.
“Simon…Butcher! You promised! You…escape us? NEVER!”
With a low growl Rocky settled into what Grace called his ‘loafing position’ in his ball and began humming, a quiet pulse that matched whatever was trying to communicate with Simon. The thrum pulled him in and Rocky found himself in a cramped ship.
Not just any, but the battered, bloody mess they’d pulled Simon out of to begin with. The SM-13 as he called it.
And there was Simon, curled into a ball in the corner, hands over his ears. His form seemed to flicker in and out of Rocky’s perception, as though Simon were only partially present.
That makes sense, considering that humans are not a species that can thrum, Rocky thought. Simon wasn’t properly in the thrum, but was being attacked by whatever had started the thrum.
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Simon wailed, tears spilling from his eyes as he kept his hands over his ears. The mutations that had slowly healed during his time with Grace and Rocky were back, more prominent than ever. He even had claws on his left hand now, and odd fins coming off his left ear.
”YOU CANNOT ESCAPE US, BUTCHER! YOU ARE ONE OF US! YOU PROMISED US-“
“I DIDN’T PROMISE YOU SHIT! I JUST WANTED TO LIVE!” Simon roared back at the strange, overlapping voices, his voice cracking on a sob as he spoke.
“And how many died so you could, BUTCHER? How many lives stain your hands? You BELONG with us. This FANTASY that you have escaped, found a PARADISE, WILL NOT STAND! YOU ARE OURS!”
With a furious shriek, Rocky skittered across the small space, absently noting that he wasn’t in his ball in this dream. Simon glanced at him, face going slack for a moment in confusion before Rocky grabbed him and tucked Simon underneath himself.
It was something that shouldn’t be possible, considering that Rocky was smaller than Simon, but this wasn’t reality. This was a dream being poisoned by a hostile creature capable of thrumming.
“NO! Simon is NOT yours! Simon is Grace Rocky’s now! Now Simon will WAKE UP!” Rocky hissed, practically vibrating with anger above Simon. The human blinked up at Rocky in shocked confusion.
“…Rocky?”
The thrum broke as Simon jerked upright in bed, head whipping around as Rocky crooned quietly at him. Finally, the human turned his attention to Rocky, who was still crooning softly at him.
“Simon okay question? Simon have bad dream, question?”
Simon stared at Rocky for a moment before blinking and seemingly shaking himself out of whatever haze he’d fallen into.
“I- yeah, I…yeah,” he murmured. He stared at Rocky for a moment longer, when Rocky decided to speak up again.
"Simon want to cuddle Grace question? Should help keep away nightmares!" Simon frowned and tilted his head to the side.
"How do you know that?" he asked.
"Rocky see it on human thinking machine! Humans who have nightmare go to parents, friends, partners, or other humans in general to seek comfort!" Rocky said cheerfully. He didn't feel like admitting to Simon that Grace also had a tendency to seek Rocky out and curl up on or beside his ball or whatever wall Rocky was closest to whenever he woke up from his nightmares on his own.
It wasn't that often anymore, but it had been for a while before they found Simon.
Simon glanced over at where Grace was still peacefully snoring away, a log completely undisturbed by his surroundings.
Sometimes Rocky wondered if that thing about humans being able to wake up to anything was really true or not.
"He won't mind?" Simon whispered.
"Probably won't even notice!" Rocky reassured. Simon stared at Grace for a moment before slowly, carefully slipping out of his own bunk and creeping over to Grace. He delicately climbed onto the bunk, situating himself as far from touching Grace as possible while still being close.
Simon stared at Grace in silence for a few more minutes before his eyes shut and exhaustion claimed him again. Rocky stood for a moment beside the bunk, waiting suspiciously.
A low hum began to pulse through the ship again.
Rocky sat down immediately and joined the thrum, increasing the volume of his note to override the whispers and hissing voices that tried to creep into Simon's head. His sound practically bashed into the stranger, like two wavelengths hitting and the stronger one continuing on its path after flatlining the other.
Whatever the creature was, its confusion and dismay felt vaguely like a pebble first joining a thrum and being confused when the parents or guardians put their foot down to keep it from shouting over the entire thrum.
Only in this case, it wasn't an innocent, unknowing pebble, it was a monster trying to prey on Simon, trying to hurt one of Rocky's new friends.
"What is this??" he heard it mutter, bouncing off his thrum again, trying to get at Simon. Rocky growled deeper, reinforcing his shield with a second note, still too low to wake Grace or Simon, but enough to help confuse and weaken the creature.
"I/personal/individual am Steady-Claws/Strong-of-Shell/Mountain's-Echo born to Howling-Gale/Strong-of-Voice/Sky-Song and Sturdy-Voice/Deep-of-Caverns/Sharp-Shade from the Crafter/Artisan/Stone-shaper Clan/Family dwelling in the High/Regal/Ancient Mountains of Erid's/planet's Southern Ranges/Expanses. I/personal/individual am the First/Primary/Guiding Engineer of the Star-Voyager/Racer-of-Life/Hope-Beacon and its sole/singular/last surviving member/crewmate/passenger. Who are YOU/singular/angry that would trespass/intrude/attack my friend/companion's mind?"
The creature was silent for a moment, likely confused and shocked by the length of Rocky's speech. It had been a while since he'd been able to properly speak, though Grace had done his best with the translator. Unfortunately it couldn't convey multiple titles on top of each other simultaneously, so Rocky had to shorten and condense his speech more often than not.
"You would defend the Convict? Claim him as your friend? You must not know how much blood is on his hands," the creature replied. Rocky growled dangerously.
"Do not/never call him that. He, Quiet-Might/Strong-of-Life/Soft-Claws, is a good/kind/gentle person. If there is blood on his hands it was not because of his own choices/decisions/opinions. And he is/definitely/surely my friend/companion. Why would you/suspicious/stranger seek to poison/twist/warp my mind to make me question/doubt him?" Rocky growled dangerously, one claw stomping on the ground in a steady, soft, percussive thunk.
Grace vastly underestimated exactly how Eridians used their limbs in speech, he assumed it was mostly for punctuation, to show a statement or question was finished. And that was partially true, especially regarding questions, but it could also be seen as a cautionary sign or a threat display. An Eridian that was constantly attempting to observe another's every movement and get precise positioning could be an Eridian about to attack, after all.
But Rocky didn't feel the need to correct his human friend.
"So forgiving…of a MURDERER. His hands bear the weight of over seventy people, yet you would still support him? How confident…how…KIND. But no matter who you are, the Butcher-"
"I/personal/enraged told/informed/ORDERED you/stranger/attacker NOT/NEVER to CALL/ADDRESS/IDENTIFY him as that!!" There was a distant, pained shriek in the thrum as the creature yanked away from Rocky's voice, echoing through the thrum with all the finality of an earthquake, or mountain falling upon the enemy. Yet despite the pain Rocky's high notes had caused, similar to the reaction Grace and Simon had if Rocky used notes too high but still within their hearing, it tried to lash back at him.
"SIMON IS OURS!! HE PROMISED, AND YET HE LIED!! WE WILL CLAIM WHAT IS OURS AND YOU CANNOT STOP US!" It tried to roar back, bashing against Rocky's presence in the thrum like a wild animal slamming into a wall.
Rocky was unmoved and unbothered, he'd heard pebbles make a bigger fuss in thrums before.
No, whatever this was it was not an Eridian and was certainly not friendly. It could thrum but acted like a child that had never been denied a toy before.
Or like one of the abusers from some of the shows Grace has watched with me, who get wild and unpredictable when they learn their victim has found a supportive group of friends…I must cut this off now, before it tries anything else.
What Rocky planned to do was not done often on Erid, out of politeness. Thrums were for collective learning and understanding. Even smaller thrums were careful to make sure all members were alright and safe.
Rocky did not have the luxury of being kind to this predator, lest it try to hurt Simon again.
The concept wasn't difficult, no different than a parent bopping their pebble on the head lightly to quiet them during a thrum, but this would not be the gentle correction Rocky was used to it being. His notes, too low and too high for his human companions to hear, rose in volume and blasted at the creature. And what to an Eridian would be a mildly painful rebuke became a surgeon's scalpel cutting through the heart of the creature.
Its scream rang out, but Rocky refused to let it retreat from the thrum, too inexperienced to flee it and withdraw on its own, without making sure the lesson sank in.
"YOU/ENEMY/ATTACKER are NOT/NEVER to try/attempt to reach/contact/communicate with Quiet-Might/Strong-of-Life/Soft-Claws EVER AGAIN. Should you/enemy/attacker attempt to, I/Steady-Claws/Strong-of-Shell/Mountain's-Echo shall find/HUNT you and erase/eliminate/destroy you from existence/LIFE. Quiet-Might/Strong-of-Life/Soft-Claws is NOT yours to claim/possess/destroy, and he never was/will be! He is MINE/PERSONAL/POSSESSIVE now. If you/enemy/attacker wish to get to him, you must GO THROUGH ME." Rocky shrieked again, his notes making Grace and Simon twitch, likely sensing something happening, but still not waking when the creature shrieked again. "Am I CLEAR/UNDERSTOOD?"
"FINE! Just STOP MAKING THAT NOISE!" Rocky growled in response, still tapping his foot.
"Do not return. I will be listening/waiting/hunting."
Breaking the thrum was easy, and Rocky felt the creature immediately withdraw its wounded presence, fleeing in case Rocky decided to lash out again. It made him feel ill to hurt through a thrum, but his humans couldn't protect themselves from something like that.
And Rocky was watching their sleep to protect them.
Just like a proper Eridian should.
When Grace woke up in the morning and rolled over, realizing Simon was in the same bunk as him, Grace smiled. He laid back down, this time facing Simon, reaching out his hand to cover Simon's hand.
"Thanks for watching us sleep, Rock," he whispered, directing his eyes at Rocky. Rocky giggled softly, a quiet chittering echoing through the ship as he watched his first human get up and stretch. "I'm gonna check on the Taumoeba tanks, you mind…"
"Rocky will watch Simon sleep." Grace smiled at him and grabbed his glasses, slipping out of the room with a quiet, pleased hum. Simon shifted in the bed and Rocky turned his attention to the other man, listening as Simon's face scrunched unhappily and he shifted, wiggling closer to lay right on top of where Grace had been laying. He relaxed with a soft, pleased sigh.
Rocky hummed happily and returned to watching.
Rocky keep friends safe safe safe. Always.