Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

He wasn't expecting the most dangerous of hurdles to occur after they got away from the planet Adrian's attempt at killing them both. No, he foolishly expected everything to be smooth sailing. Sure, a little bit of starvation sprinkled in there, but smooth, nonetheless.

Four years was an astonishingly long time to spend together in such a small ship, especially when half was overtaken by an atmosphere he could not go into, but they managed. Rocky and Grace were friends, after all, and trauma bonded tighter than crossing his fingers. Even starving, the time passed by pretty quickly. They were almost to Erid.

Disaster, of course, struck.

Grace thought, huddling next to the xenonite walls and watching Rocky sleep, that maybe this couldn't have been worse timing if they tried.

They'd found out that Grace could mimic some Eridian words, enough so that he could speak to people if Rocky wasn't around. It was a good back-up plan, definitely, but now Grace wondered if they haven't been inviting trouble by doing such a thing.

Rocky didn't tell him anything about the asteroid field surrounding his solar system! His best guess was that the Blip-A had been so massive that asteroids probably hadn't made a dent in it at all. He had no need to mention it.

The asteroid that smacked into them was big, sure, but it hadn't breached the ship. Structural integrity aside, it had been a jarring wake-up call to him, sleeping most of the day away as he had been. He heard Rocky's startled screech, a loud thump, and then, alarmingly, nothing at all.

He didn't know if Rocky was dead or not! The thought frightened him more than he wanted to admit. He didn't think so; a fall from the height he had been probably just caught him horribly wrong, but surely Eridians could take a beating? Their shells were made of rock, for Pete's sake!

He assured himself that Rocky was alive. If he could go into his atmosphere, catch on fire, and live to tell the tale, a fall wouldn't kill him. Probably.

He worried his lip between his teeth, taking care not to split the entire thing open. Scurvy, osteomalacia, and anemia were killing him, literally. Now that Rocky wasn't here, communicating with the Eridians fell to Grace.

And he could speak what, a hundred words? At least he could understand more than he could speak. Small mercies.

It was a little nostalgic—and not in the good way—pointing heat lamps at Rocky and trying to make him as comfortable as he possibly could on this side of the walls. He wished he could do more, but he was hard-pressed for time. He was going to reach Erid in a little under a few hours, and he needed to start slowing the ship down. He needed to be calm. First contact with an alien species—well, for the good of all humanity, at least. At least he knew they'd be friendly.

Probably.

Oh, God, he should probably think of something to say. What if he messed up and accidentally threatened to blow them all up?!

He whistled, notes choppy because he was parched beyond belief, "Hello, am Grace."

There were many greetings to use in... Erdianese, he supposed he'd call it, but Rocky told him to use the most basic one. He likened it to a human's handshake gesture, as it didn't really have a word-for-word in English, but at least he had something. There were all sorts of honorifics that Grace couldn't hope to pronounce without an instrument at hand, but he managed to basics. It made sense; baby Eridians probably didn't have the vocal cord strength to do all the crazy noises he's heard Rocky say. The simplest words were the shortest, after all.

Rocky had told him he could call the other friend-Rocky, with a trill wrapped around the end of it. Supposedly it meant something akin to great affection, and he had to admit that maybe the starvation was making his impulse control a little unsteady, because he definitely cried.

"Friend-Rocky hurt," he said, hopefully saying what he thought it said. He pulled up his musical spreadsheet, whistling slowly and deliberately. It was with some relief that the notes were semi-picked up and deciphered. "Have..." cure... what word could he do for that?

He ran through some of their earlier conversations, finding what he was looking for. The word repair. Fix. That could probably work? He played it back. A stream of layered notes met his ears. Oh, God.

He went over them slowly, picking out what he hoped were the main chords, and whistled them out. His translator beeped up at him: fi-x.

Good enough! Eridians were smart; they'd figure it out.

"Have fi-x," he whistled. "Life eat. Hurt bad."

Oh, God, this was not gonna work. Not one bit.

He didn't get much time to freak out about it—and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing—because as soon as Erid came into view, his radio crackled to life.

And oh, Erid was beautiful! Big, wide rings that he was steering away from (he did not want to get knocked out either) with big Jupiter-esque storms and winds waving around. He couldn't see any light down there, obviously, but there was the elevator Rocky had told him about. Some big metal tube. The architecture was quite beautiful for creatures who couldn't see.

"Ship," someone warbled on the other side of the radio. They sounded a little worried. Grace couldn't blame them. At least they weren't immediately shooting him down. "Identify yourself."

Well, here went nothing. He licked his lips and pressed the button, hesitating only for a second. "Hello, am Grace. Am al-ee-en," he stumbled over the word but pushed forward, "Have friend-Rocky. Hurt bad, bad, bad."

There was silence for the longest time, and Grace tried not to worry about it too much. If he were in their shoes, he'd be calling everyone he possibly could. It made him, briefly, think of Stratt and what her reaction might have been. He quickly stopped thinking about that.

"Greetings, Grace," they eventually said. The polite greeting made something anxious in him untwirl. "You have First Engineer R♫ocky aboa♬♪rd your ship."

Grace thought it might have been posed as a question; there was no helpful question? at the end, but it had that same sort of cadence he sometimes heard from Rocky, so he tentatively whistled back, "Yes. We friend. Friend-Rocky alone, Grace alone, am friend. Have fi-x for... bad, bad, bad. Life eat. Fi-x bad, bad, bad."

Choppy Eridian aside, he thought he did a pretty good job explaining.

"Can y♬♪ou land ♬♪♫ ship next to ♬♪ele♬♪v♫tor?"

Oh, man. Rocky did not teach him all this.

"Not understand," he said, embarrassed.

The notes came in slower this time, more used to what he was accustomed to from Rocky, "Can you move ship to big ♬♪♬♪♫."

He was assuming ♬♪♬♪♫ meant the elevator. He whistled back, "Yes."

"Good, good, good," the other side of the radio chirped. "We come up, help R♫ocky. Help you. Get cure."

Relief flooded through him. "Good, good, good! Friend-Rocky need help."

"We come in ship and get him."

Excellent! They could help Rocky out and—wait!

"No, no, no," he whistled, panic making his tunes a little harsh. "Bad, bad, bad for you. You catch on fire!" He didn't have the word for fire, could possibly imagine the equivalent. He supposed his panic was audible, though, because they hurried to reassure him.

"Is okay, is okay, Grace," they attached something to the end of his name he wasn't quite sure of. "How R♫ocky in ship?"

"He in..." how on Earth is he gonna pronounce xenonite? "se-on... shape. Good for him, bad for am."

When the radio crackled back to life, he heard some titterings and chitters in the background. Oh, my God, they were laughing at his pronunciation! This was embarrassing.

"Is he in xenonite," they said, but now Grace was slowly figuring out when they meant it as a question.

"Yes. My shape bad, bad, bad for him. You."

"Okay," they told him. "You almost to elevator. We will be okay in your ship."

Right. They probably had suits ready. Thankfully Erid's magnetic field was so large, otherwise he'd be worried about all the solar radiation anyone would encounter while boarding the Mary.

"How old you, Grace?" they asked him; this time he knew it was a question.

He thought for a while. Physically, he was probably pushing fifty or sixty, but mentally, he was still in his early forties. He decided to go with mentally; he did not want to explain time dilation to Eridians with his limited vocab.

Forty, he'd go with forty. In Eridian base-six, that'd be... +ℓ, right? A two-syllable word, and a one-syllable word. He could say that, easy.

"+..." Oh, God he was panicking, "ℓ."

"Forty." they asked. "Grace is +ℓ years old."

"Yes!" he said, pleased he didn't butcher those numbers any more than he thought he would.

"You alone on ship," they stated-asked.

"No. Friend-Rocky here." What an odd question.

"No other aliens," they said. Oh! Duh.

"No."

"Okay. Grace-" they added that little jingle at the end of his name, again- "You get to elevator. It will be okay."

He wished Rocky was awake. Docking against the elevator was the most stressful thing he's ever done in his life. At least at the Blip-A, it was only him and Rocky, and the latter already knew how terrible his piloting skills were. He only bumped into the elevator a little. It didn't even move! He called that a success.

They agreed to wait just a little while to allow seals to adjust and ensure nobody was at risk of falling if Grace's parallel parking skills weren't up to snuff. He also thought they probably needed to assemble the right team of people. It wasn't like they'd given them ample notice.

Grace peered out of the airlock's small window and into the darkness. He could only just make out the railings his ship was attached to, but he couldn't see anything further. So it was a complete surprise when several Eridians came into view. He jumped in fright. The Eridians immediately stilled, shifting their bodies low to the floor in surrender. Grace tentatively smiled at them, waving. Only one of them mimicked him back. Aw, well.

He shuffled out of the airlock and allowed them to cycle in. They were all wearing xenonite suits, though they were not clear in the slightest. Ambling spider-like aliens climbing into his ship was a little off-putting, especially in zero-gravity. He pressed himself close to the walls as he could, suddenly wondering if this was a good idea after all.

"Hello, Grace♫," the smallest Eridian said. He had no idea what they looked like, but it was the one who had waved back at him.

"Hello," he said politely. "You help Friend-Rocky?"

"Yes," they said. Their notes were slow and simple to understand, thankfully. "Do you know how get in."

"Yes!" he said, twisting around and propelling himself over to the airlock. He glanced backwards to see if they were following him, which they were, and showed them the airlock in the dormitory. Rocky lay motionless, and Grace picked at his skin nervously. "You help? He okay?"

Three Eridians climbed into the airlock, cycling in and bringing what he assumed were some medical supplies. Whatever they did involved a lot of beeping and noises, but they didn't seem alarmed, so he tried not to panic.

The smallest Eridian distracted him by asking, with a tap on the xenonite walls. "Is good for hearing. Grace♫ hear this well."

Oh, they were asking a question. "Yes. Am good." He pointed at the walls. "Yes."

The Eridian made a wordless noise of approval, something Rocky often did when he finally figured out a problem. Grace glanced over at him. They were manhandling him!

"No hurt," he said, knocking against the glass. "No good."

"Is okay, Grace♫," the one outside the airlock crooned. Grace decided to call them Waver. "They help. They get R♫ocky out and down elevator."

"Yes," he agreed tentatively. "You help am?" He needed to explain his food situation, preferably sooner rather than later.

"Of course," Waver chittered. Relief slumped over his shoulders, and he let out a big breath. That was good. He was half-worried they would take Rocky and get the heck out of Dodge. "What Grace♫ need."

He lowered his voice slightly, even though he knew the three other Eridians taking care of Rocky—they were putting him in a suit, and the visual of him disappearing was a little upsetting, so he quickly looked away—would be able to hear him anyway, and said, "No food Grace. Not eat Friend-Rocky food. Bad."

Waver chittered with concern. "Why no food. Is your ship."

Grace hesitated. He didn't really want to throw humanity under the bus, here. He just shrugged. "Not know."

"You don't understand," Waver asked.

"Am understand. Not know no food Grace." He didn't want to explain it. Saying he didn't know why they had no food was a white lie, but something he figured was probably necessary. Oh! Rocky's laptop! He pointed over to where Rocky usually kept it, hoping the asteroid hadn't messed that up, too. "Friend-Rocky have... shape. Is Friend-Rocky only."

Waver didn't turn around, but he knew they were probably looking—uh, listening—to where he gestured. He hoped it was obvious what he was trying to get at.

"R♫ocky belongings," Waver clarified.

"Yes. Grace food, needs. Have..." he looked around for something. A pen! That would work. Puppet shows were, apparently, not a thing of the past anymore. "Have for hear." He waved the pen around before pointing at the laptop.

"Tools to hear. Good, good, good, Grace♫. Very smart!"

"Friend-Rocky made," he said, putting his hands up as if to ward off the praise. "Not am."

"Very smart to tell us," Waver said. "Now can help Grace♫. Grace come down in elevator after take R♫ocky down and set up place for Grace♫."

He bit his lip nervously. He didn't really want Rocky to leave, comatose as he was; he was the only Eridian he knew. He also knew it would be bad if they didn't take Rocky down to get treated right away, and that he shouldn't be so selfish about the entire thing. He was a grown man; he could spend a few days alone on his ship!

He must have hesitated for too long because Waver started making encouraging clicking noises. "Not for long. I can stay with Grace♫ entire time. Ask questions if ready."

Right, they probably had a thousand and one questions Grace couldn't even begin to answer. He'd try, though, for Rocky.

"Yes," he finally said, watching as they cycled out of the airlock and floated Rocky out of the Mary. It was hard, watching him go, and the knot of anxiety kept growing and growing.

"Is okay, Grace♫, R♫ocky in very good claws. Will be back soon. Nothing serious," Waver reassured him.

Grace nodded, wishing he could hear sound like Rocky could. Already he was out of sight. Ugh. This wasn't how this was supposed to go at all!

"Okay for questions," they stated-asked.

"Yes."

They asked him about Earth, and while he didn't have the words, he managed to tell them it was very far away. He managed to get across that his sun had the same issue as theirs, and that they had the cure in plastic boxes right over there. Scientists, at least he was assuming they were scientists, eventually came by in clear-xenonite suits (and an extra one for Waver) and took the samples down the elevator for implementation. He hoped Rocky's notes were well-written enough to get across the point. Otherwise, they were screwed until he woke up.

Waver looked iridescent, like a particularly shiny piece of bismuth. They were very pretty, in Grace's opinion. The visual sight of something other than solid xenonite was an added plus, too.

Waver asked him about healthy human guidelines. He was supposed to be double his weight, not so dizzy and lightheaded as he was, and the amount of food and water he needed. He let the scientists take a packet of water with them, because he wasn't entirely sure he explained the concept well enough. Eridians did not need water; they got it entirely from their food. And since that was laced with human-killing heavy metals... yeah, he'd rather them take a water bag than try to make something up from scratch.

Waver was very nice. They made sure to talk slow and never got impatient with him, which was a relief. Grace was getting impatient with himself for not knowing enough words. The hours stretched on, though, and Grace had an abnormally eventful day. Added starvation made his energy supply low, low, low. He definitely needed to sleep. He didn't know if he could drift off without Rocky, though.

"Waver," he said before switching to Eridian to say, "Need sleep."

"Okay," they said. "I will watch Grace♫ sleep."

"Not need," Grace said a little self-consciously. "Waver do shape?"

They had sorta agreed that shape was the stand-in word for things, which was a word Grace definitely couldn't pronounce.

"No," they crooned reassuringly. "I will stay here with Grace♫. Watch it sleep. No one watch Grace♫ sleep."

It took him a second to realize it was a question and not a statement. "Not on home. Friend-Rocky watch Grace sleep," he said, whistling dying out with a fizzle. Okay, so what if he got a little emotional that Rocky wasn't here? It wasn't like they've been attached by the hip for four years straight. "He okay?"

"Not heard anything yet," Waver said gently. "Sleep. I will watch."

He was unaccustomed to sleeping in zero-gravity again, but he grabbed his thick quilt and wrapped it around him a few times before shutting his eyes. He must've been more exhausted than he thought, because he was out like a light.

***

He woke up sluggishly, confused and groggy. The lack of gravity made him panic briefly.

"Is okay. Grace♫!" someone hummed. "You are okay and safe!"

"Friend-Rocky?" he hummed, blinking away the crust of sleep as he attempted to twist to face... Waver. Right. "Sorry. Hello."

"Good morning," Waver said gently. The lights buzzed on and it flickered and refracted off them. Shiny. "Did you sleep well, Grace♫."

"Yes," he chirped out. He would've slept better with Rocky there... "Friend-Rocky okay?"

"He is stable, now. Took a very hard fall. He will wake up soon."

Soon needed to be now preferably.

Waver urged him to follow whatever his normal routine was, but did not give him privacy when he said he was going to eat. He knew Rocky had become used to it out of necessity (and also maybe morbid curiosity at first), but he'd been told over and over again that eating was gross, gross, gross. Maybe it was different for scientists? Because that's what Waver surely was; some very important scientists tasked with babysitting the big alien.

Well, he didn't mind. He liked the company, at least.

"Eat not bad, bad, bad for you?" he asked, just to be sure.

"It's okay, you can eat," Waver said encouragingly. He just shrugged and attempted to eat the taumoeba as quickly as he could. He could tell Waver was disgusted—he did that same slight shudder that Rocky sometimes did; the sight of it made him ache for familiarity—but the Eridian didn't say anything.

Grace explained as best he could that he had no human food and that he was eating the cure instead. He hoped they wouldn't get mad and jump to conclusions; they definitely had enough to save the star. "Is okay? Have many, many, many. Need eat to life."

"Do not worry about that, Grace♫. ♬♪♫ are working on more food for you." The unfamiliar word was probably scientists, if he had to guess. Context clues for the win, he supposed.

"Safe home for Grace♫ almost finished," Waver continued gently. "Ready to go down if Grace♫ ready."

Oh, good, it sounds like they figured out Rocky's notes. He hoped. At least if he imploded, it'd be quick.

"Yes," he agreed past the flutter of nerves. He never expected to take the trip down to Erid without Rocky. "Am hear Friend-Rocky?"

A few Eridians came into the ship, holding what looked to be a clear xenonite-suit, but shaped all weird. It took him a second to realize that it was for him.

"Not yet," Waver said firmly. "Must take care of Grace♫. You very sick."

"No," he said loudly. "Want Friend-Rocky." His health could take a back-burner! He wanted to see his friend.

"R♫ocky would not want Grace♫ to be sick," Waver pointed out patiently. "Would want Grace♫ to visit when healthy."

"Want Friend-Rocky," he demanded insistently. "Please. He friend."

His accent must be insane, because Waver shuddered and gave an audible sigh. "Must ask R♫ocky partner if is okay for Grace♫ to visit."

"Adrian!" he trilled out, knowing he missed a few notes here and there. "Friend-Rocky family."

"Yes," Waver said, some cheer coming back into their tunes. "You know of ♬♪Adrian." All the unfamiliar notes Waver seemed to add to names were probably honorifics.

"Friend-Rocky love love love ♬♪Adrian," he said, attempting to add the honorific himself. Based on Waver's shudder, he definitely missed the mark. Ouch. He wished he had the vocabulary to tell Waver how much that guy yapped about his mate.

"Get into suit, Grace♫, and we go down to see R♫ocky," Waver told him. He didn't need any encouragement, slipping into his EVA suit just in case. It wouldn't help, not at all, but he felt a little better with it regardless. Plus, it had a lamp. Better than nothing.

He glanced longingly at his quilt; they'd probably have to come back to fetch his things.

"Do you want covering, Grace♫?" This time he knew for sure it was a question.

"Yes," he whistled, but sighed right after. "No. Bad," he pointed outside. "Bad for blanket." It would probably catch on fire the moment he stepped out with it.

"Scientists have container for Grace♫ supplies. Will not break. Can fit covering in. Some food and other things."

He perked up. Awesome! He smiled at Waver, giving them a thumbs up. "Good, good, good!"

He hemmed and hawwed on the items he wanted to bring, wishing Waver had brought this up before he was in the suit. Still, he folded up the quilt as best he could in his EVA suit and put it in a pile. He brought a few packets of taumoeba, hoping that they'd either figure out his food situation or be willing to grab him some more, several bags of water, a pillow he hoped could fit, and a few of the puppets Rocky made him. Maybe they'd come in handy if he needed to communicate anything bigger than his vocabulary. Which was a lot.

"What are those," Waver stated-asked as he put in the little xenonite models. One of them was an Adrian model, he was pretty sure (he'd find out soon!), one was a ball that Rocky made to twist around when Grace needed something to fiddle with, and a replica of Grace himself.

"Friend-Rocky made for am," he said. Maybe he'd keep the ball. It'd withstand the atmosphere out there, wouldn't it? Plus he'd be in a xenonite-suit himself. He gently put the two figurines in the container, which had been brought in while he was rummaging around, and squeezed himself into the suit. It was a little clunky, but they included hinges at his joints, so he could walk when they reached gravity.

Grace was not looking forward to the double gravity. His bones were going to ache.

Waver carried his box of stuff while Grace focused on not floating away to the abyss. He was pretty sure it wasn't possible, but he didn't want to tempt fate. He gripped the railings as tightly as he could—they were, of course, a little shorter than he was used to. When he saw the elevator, though, he hesitated.

It was... cramped looking. Grace had never been claustrophobic, but lately there had been a sort of... itch in the back of his brain. Something that yearned to run around as far and as fast as he could. He did not like to think about the last time he ran as far and as fast as he could. He did not like it.

"Grace♫ okay," Waver asked. "Go to elevator to see R♫ocky and ♬♪Adrian."

"Small," he whistled. "Am not small."

"Bigger on inside," Waver assured him.

Grace quickly found out that Waver was a big, fat liar. It was cramped as all heck on the inside, especially with four Eridians and Grace's box of stuff. He hunched in on himself as much as he could, pressing himself into a corner. Don't freak, he told himself. It's just an elevator.

An elevator that was going to crush him and pop his eyes out of his skull, oh my God he was going to die as a stain on the walls forevermore. What's that? You want to see the alien monument? Take the elevator!

"Grace♫," Waver said. Grace did not answer, fighting back the waves of horrified nausea threatening his stomach. "Grace♫."

"What?" he said miserably. Waver obviously didn't understand English, but took the word for what it was: communication.

"Elevator will not take long. Only IIℓIλ seconds. Grace♫ can do it. Grace♫ is very brave."

They were right; this was the worst first impression he could give. He lifted his head, illuminating the small elevator with its small four walls he could probably touch all at once and—yeah, he was gonna put his head back down.

Waver didn't try to encourage him anymore, instead humming a wordless song. It was nice and soothing, and it made something unclench in him, just a little. He was still very nervous, though.

IIℓIλ seconds... an hour, give or take?

He wished he could ask how long it's been. He resigned himself to a miserable hour.

The gravity got harder and harder to ignore as they descended. He had to continuously shift around to relieve pressure on his lungs, feeling as though he were getting crushed with every meter they descended. When they finally eeked to a stop, he needed help to stand up. It shouldn't surprise him anymore, but he was still very shocked with how strong Waver was. The bismuth Eridian pushed him to standing with absolutely no effort.

"Are you okay, Grace♫?" Waver asked gently. That was nice of them.

"Yes," he whistled. "Friend-Rocky."

"Let us go to Grace♫ room first," Waver suggested gently. "Put supplies away, tell us if anything is missing. Air will be okay for Grace♫; pressure, too. Cold temperature. Followed R♫ocky's notes."

It was sensible. He didn't know how sturdy this suit was. Probably very, if the Eridians were half as good at manipulating xenonite as Rocky was. He also didn't want to carry around his stuff—or rather, make the scientists carry it around for him.

"Friend-Rocky?" he asked, hoping Waver would understand what he was asking. Thankfully, they did.

"Then we can go to R♫ocky afterward. We still need to ask ♬♪Adrian if it is okay to visit."

"Yes," he sighed dejectedly.

The habitat was dark. He wondered if he could ask them to pilfer some lights on the Mary to prop up around. As it were, the only light was in his suit. He hoped it lasted.

There was a little bed in the middle of the room, as well as something akin to a toilet and shower. Wow, Rocky must have put everything in those notes.

Waver and the other Eridians stayed outside of the habitat while Grace cycled in. He was a little nervous to take off the suit—he wasn't entirely sure he could put it back on without assistance—but he pried it off. He didn't implode immediately, so be carefully took off his helmet. Fresh air. Good temperature. He lived!

"Good, good, good!" he whistled, walking over to the bed. The airlock cycled behind him and he glanced over to see them putting his container inside it. "Thank."

Another round of chitters from nearby. He whipped around, but with the flashlight from his suit pointed toward the majority of the room, he couldn't see into the blackness. He got it, his pronunciation was bad! He only had one set of vocal cords!

He twisted his hands nervously, going to the airlock and opening it up. The stink of ammonia greeted him, and he tentatively touched the box. Still a little warm, but he thought he could pick it up without burning himself. He dragged it in, the box surprisingly—or maybe not so—heavy in the double gravity. His poor, aching back. He did not have the energy for this.

He carefully unpacked his stuff, making sure the figurines were secure before dropping the food and water packets off to the side. Given that he had a shower, he figured the scientists had figured out his water situation. That was a relief. He fluffed his quilt out onto his bed and made sure to not test it out. He wanted to see Rocky, first.

"Go Friend-Rocky?" he whistled, grabbing his suit and pointing the light outward. There was no Waver. Or anyone. He whirled around. No one in sight. "Hello? Hello?"

Nerves settled in his stomach and curdled. Oh. God. He was here on an alien planet all by himself. He was gonna freak.

"Grace♫," hummed Waver, coming back into sight, thankfully before Grace freaked out even more.

"Not go!" he whistled loudly. "Bad, bad, bad!" He'd been worried!

"I am sorry, Grace♫; it was only for +I seconds. Spoke to ♬♪Adrian; they said you can visit R♫ocky. They are excited to meet you," Waver said, putting two of their limbs up in the air for jazz hands. Grace couldn't even do it back; his heart was still trying to calm down. "Get into suit and then we go visit R♫ocky."

"Yes," he whistled a little shortly. He tried not to hold a grudge. The only other Eridian here he knew had up and vanished on him! But it was for a good cause; he got to see Rocky again! it felt like it had been a million years since he'd seen the guy. He fumbled his way into his suit, sweating profusely by the end of it. His whole body ached, and he was exhausted. His new bed looked more and more comfortable as time passed.

"Grace♫ okay?" Waver asked.

"Go Friend-Rocky," he whistled. Then I'll be okay. He just wanted to see his friend again.

He was so tired that the prospect of meeting Adrian for the first time didn't even make him that nervous. Sure, he was nervous, but if Rocky had been the one to introduce them, he'd probably be throwing up and making a horrible impression. He did not want to ruin his best friend's mate's impression of him.

But the closer they got to Rocky—Waver led him through seemingly endless hallways and tunnels, matching his speed, thankfully—the more nervous he became.

"Grace good?" he whistled quietly as they neared the hospital wing, as Waver so helpfully informed him. It wasn't a far walk from his new digs, but underfed, tired, and achy, it was probably the longest five minutes of his life. "Not bad for ♬♪Adrian?" He wanted to look nice.

"Ohh, Grace♫ very, very, very good, do not worry," Waver reassured him kindly. "R♫ocky inside this room. We tap on door before enter. Polite."

Grace nodded. Knocking in both cultures! Good to know Rocky was just rude.

"Grace♫ want to knock?" Waver asked. Before he lost his nerve, Grace reached out and knocked on the door.

"You♫ ca♬♪n come ♬♪♫in," the voice of Adrian filtered through the door. His heart leapt into his throat in nervousness. He let Waver open the door (they were probably way too heavy for him), and followed them into the room.

His lamp shone on Rocky, and he made a keening noise in the back of his throat. He was hooked up to a lot of sensors that he couldn't make sense of, nestled in a wad of soft-looking fabrics. "Friend-Rocky," he whistled mournfully, glancing at Adrian.

He straightened a little. "Hello, ♬♪Adrian. Am Grace."

Adrian was big, much bigger than Rocky. They almost came up to his height, probably just below his chin. They were a brilliant turquoise, shimmers of lighter blues and greens wrapping around them like conformities. They were laying down beside Rocky, limbs pressed up against him. Grace itched with the urge to touch Rocky, too, just to make sure he was still there. Still, that ball of anxiety somewhere in his chest was slowly unloosening the longer he stared at his friend.

"Greetings, Grace," Adrian hummed back, a note of curiosity in their notes. "Th♬♪nk ♬♪♫yo for brin♬♪ging ♫♬♪Rocky♬♪ ♬♪♬♪."

"Grace♫ und♬♪and sim♬♪e Eridian, ♬♪Adrian. Grace♫ spe♬♪k ♬♪ +♫ℓ."

Wow, he understood almost none of that. Rocky had really dumbed himself down for him, hadn't he?

"Sorry, Grace♫. Will talk slower. Okay now?" Adrian said.

"Yes, ♬♪Adrian, thank," he whistled politely. Adrian did the little shudder that Waver and the others had done when he mispronounced things. He huffed in annoyance. He had more important things to worry about. "Friend-Rocky good?"

"Rocky let you call him this," Adrian said. It took him a second to realize it was a question.

"Yes, ♬♪Adrian," he said, twisting his hands together. It didn't offer nearly as much relief with the panels of suit in-between him and his flesh, but he felt awkward just standing there. "He good, good, good friend. Help am." I definitely wouldn't be here without him.

Adrian let out a contemplative hum at that. "You can call me Adrian," they said, dropping the honorific. Grace perked up. Rocky had said that was a good sign! They held out a limb toward him, and at Grace's confusion, said, "Come sit by friend-Rocky. He would want you here."

Grateful, because his back was really starting to ache, Grace lowered himself onto the floor next to Rocky. He reached out hesitantly, and at Adrian's encouraging croon, patted him lightly.

"Wake up soon, buddy," he said, trying to fight the sudden welling of tears in his eyes. He blinked them away quickly. "I miss you."

Adrian and Waver talked over him—he didn't mind all that much; they were talking in a way that he could only catch the third word, maybe—while he rested against the cushy bundle of blankets and watched Rocky sleep. He felt himself beginning to grow tired, eyelids drooping. He shuffled into a slightly more comfortable position.

Yawning, Grace let his eyes fully close. He knew nothing more.

***

"...expe♬♪cted... ♬♪♬♪ry you♬♪g... imp♫♫ted on R♫ocky."

"Rocky," he mumbled, dragging open his eyes. He was confused, for a brief moment, on where he was. There were no walls of the Mary surrounding him, no fidgeting clink of familiar tools... just unfamiliar beeping and unfamiliar voices. Something touched him, and he flinched. "Huh?"

"Is okay, Grace♫," someone crooned. "You are with R♫ocky and ♬♪Adrian. You fell asleep."

Oh, right. Gravity. Heavy. Rocky. Rocky.

He struggled to sit up, muttering a quiet thank when Waver reached over to help him up. Rocky hadn't moved in his time asleep, unfortunately, and neither did he look much closer to waking up... His disappointment must have been fairly obvious to Waver, because they hummed out, "Don't worry. R♫ocky will wake up soon."

He held his tongue in an effort to stave off the complaints that he wanted Rocky awake now. He wasn't five years old, for Pete's sake. It would be a giant relief when the Eridian woke up, though. Waver was nice and all, but he couldn't wait to communicate with someone who understood most, if not all, of what he was saying.

His stomach growled. He almost startled at the sensation. Hunger had faded away to something inconsequential sometime on the trip to Erid. It was really only Rocky who made him eat anything. The taumoeba was less than pleasant.

"Need food," he reluctantly whistled. Food meant leaving Rocky, and while he thought Adrian liked him well enough to let him visit again, he was loathe to depart in the first place. He didn't want to step away from the only familiar face.

"We can come visit later, Grace♫," crooned Waver. "♬♪Adrian would like to see you again."

He looked at Adrian to see if that were true. The turquoise Eridian didn't nod or give any visible sign that they were agreeing with Waver... but they also didn't disagree.

"Thank, ♬♪Adrian," he said politely. "Want Friend-Rocky good."

Thankfully, they figured out he was wishing for Rocky's health to get better. "Rocky would want his ♫♯♪ to feel better, too. ♫ver, take care of it." That last part was for Waver, who ducked down slightly.

Grace rubbed his hand over his arm in an imitation of farewell. Adrian chittered with amusement, almost the exact way that Rocky did. They strummed their goodbyes back, and Grace added a little wave before following Waver out of the room. "Bye, Rocky, I'll see you soon," he told his sleeping friend. He knew the Eridian wouldn't hear him, but it made him feel better, regardless.

Waver led him back to his new habitat. He had no idea how much time had passed during his brief sleep, and he had no way of asking, either. He should have grilled Rocky for more question words! At least the wall back felt shorter, this time.

Everything was still horribly dark. He kept tripping over random dips and inclines in the floor, even though it was building they were in; it should've been level! Maybe Eridians just didn't care about that sort of thing... they did have five limbs, after all.

He knew there was a turn coming soon, but his meager lamp was not very adept at cutting through meters of pure darkness. He bumped into the wall before he could stop. Unfortunately, the gravity made him wobble off balance.

Waver caught him before he hit the ground, thank God. He probably wouldn't have been able to get back up without the Eridian's help. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," he whistled repeatedly. That was embarrassing! He was making himself out into the biggest klutz ever! This was a horrible first impression. He wished Rocky were here. "Not good..." ugh, he wished he had the word for gravity, "big, big, big." He squeezed his hands together.

Waver cocked their carapace to the side, reflecting his light into small rainbows across the hallways. It was pretty. "Is very okay, Grace♫, do not worry. You hard hearing."

For a second, he thought Waver was insulting him. But he swiftly recognized it as the stated-asked sort of question. "Am hear. Am hear... heat."

"Hear hearts?" Waver asked, wiggling again. Grace huffed.

"No. Hear," he gestured to his eyes before realizing that was a stupid, pointless thing to do. He sighed in frustration. "Friend-Rocky have shapes?"

"R♫ocky's notes?" Grace hummed an affirmative. "We will go through them again. Scientists doing many things to help Grace♫, do not worry."

Oh, he was worrying.

"Okay," he whistled out. Waver walked back to the habitat a little bit slower this time, pointing out when they were going to turn and if there were anymore bumps in the floor. He was grateful. He needed a bigger flashlight.

He didn't even know they were here until Waver stopped suddenly. He almost fell on top of the Eridian at the abrupt stop. "We are at your home, Grace♫. Go inside. I will be right back; get new food from scientists for Grace♫ to try."

He obeyed, and Waver waited for him to cycle into the habitat before scuttling away into the darkness. There was absolutely nobody around, and while he knew that he was probably being monitored by at least a few someones, he couldn't see them at all. It was unnerving to say the least.

He dragged his EVA suit around, shining the flashlight where he was going. He eventually found the bed again, trying to mentally map out the place. It wasn't very big; only about five by five meters. The walls of the place were clear xenonite, though Rocky must have emphasized for privacy in his notes because surrounding the little bathroom were thicker, opaque xenonite walls. But pacing the room and dragging his heavy EVA suit around tired him out quicker than he'd like to admit.

He fumbled around until he got the light to shine somewhere between his bed and the airlock before he cuddled up in his quilt. Grace reminded himself to thank Waver and the scientists when they came back again; that box to carry some of his belongings down had been a good call.

He sipped at some water packets, squinting suspiciously at the taumoeba ones. He didn't really want to eat them anymore, but he knew he should probably choke down a pack at least. He'd wait till Waver got back with the new food they mentioned; maybe it'd taste better than that crap.

He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep until he woke up to the sound of the airlock engaging. Groggily, he sat up, which was much easier without an EVA-xenonite suit on.

"You are awake!" Waver said, surprised. "You have good timing, Grace♫."

"Can... uhwake any timing," he whistled, trying to copy some of Waver's notes.

"You can wake up any time," they stated-asked. Grace nodded, humming an affirmative. "Interesting. How long do you usually sleep."

He squinted, trying to do some mental math. Eight hours was the norm... five and some odd hours was an Eridian day... A little under two days. "V," he whistled.

"V... seconds," Waver asked, tilting their carapace.

"No," he said, spreading his arms out wide. Waver mimicked him, and he hoped they understood what he was trying to say. "V big seconds."

"Ah. Days. Two days you usually rest. Long time. Unusual," Waver commented.

"Long timing," he repeated. "No need watch Grace. Many shapes to do?" He didn't want to monopolize all their time! They probably had a family to get back to.

"Grace♫, I want to watch you sleep," Waver said, stepping forward and handing him a quickly-cooling packet. "Is no trouble at all. Scientists made this for you. Food is okay for you."

"Fast," he commented. "Hungry. Food now... no need watch."

"Just in case," they sang. Right. If Grace had an allergic reaction or something, it'd probably be better if someone was inside his habitat. Shuffling the quilt up and around his shoulders, he struggled to unscrew the cap for a second. It was only until Waver reached out and twisted it the other way that he remembered: righty loosey, lefty tighty. "Thank."

Waver trilled out a response and shuffled backward a few steps, presumably to give him some privacy. He sniffed the contents, but it didn't smell like much of anything. Maybe a little ammonia, but he'd gotten used to that smell pretty quickly with Rocky aboard.

It was a slurry; he expected as much. It was probably easier to make mush than it was to make a burger. Mmm. Burgers. He wanted one.

He took a cautious taste of the slurry. Thicker than his coma slurry, but it had none of the flavor. It was simply... slightly acidic. Tangy in a way he couldn't quite place. He didn't like it, but he didn't hate it, either.

He took careful sips, knowing his stomach would probably rebel at anything other than the taumoeba it's gotten used to for the past couple of months. He managed to down half of the packet before his stomach rebelled.

"No more," he announced to Waver, who made a few clicking noises, probably to see into the packet.

"Cannot eat anymore, Grace♫?" Waver stated-asked. Grace shook his head negatively.

"No," he said. He did not want to introduce the Eridians to vomit this early. "Friend-Rocky?"

Waver chittered, like him asking to go see Rocky again was funny. He huffed. "Grace♫ stay here a little while. Scientists monitor Grace♫ health with food. Grace♫ need to sleep?"

"Friend-Rocky shapes?" he asked instead. "Hear heat."

Waver bobbed their carapace up and down. "Scientists go to Grace♫ ship and fetch Grace♫ hearing. Found in R♫ocky's belongings. Notes on your biology."

"Good, good, good," he said, relieved. He did not want to be in darkness for much longer. At least his little EVA light was still going strong. But he didn't know for how much longer. They weren't meant to be on for days on end like it has been. "Not want not hear."

"Of course not," agreed Waver. "Grace♫ need sleep."

"No," he whistled, though the sound cut off with his yawn. "Want Friend-Rocky please."

"Need V days sleep. R♫ocky might be awake by the time you wake," reasoned Waver. It was a tempting offer... Waver suddenly chirped out something and Grace jumped in fright at the sudden appearance of a large Eridian emerging from the darkness.

"Grace♫ heart going quickly; R♫ocky's notes state that is not normal. Are you okay?" Waver asked.

"Scare," he chirped out. "Not hear. Scare."

Waver cooed, "It's okay, Grace♫, this is ♬♪♫♫♯♪, they are a doctor. Fixes hurts."

"Fi-x hurt," he repeated to show he understood, nodding his head. "Hello, Doctor..." now that he was looking probably, this Eridian looked like a flat slab of mudstone. Awesome. Grace called him Muddy. He attempted his name as best he could: "Muddy."

"Hello. You are very polite," Dr. Muddy said.

"Friend-Rocky teach am," he said, glad he hadn't fumbled any polite greetings yet. Speaking of Rocky... He turned back to Waver, frowning. "Want go Friend-Rocky, please." He'd probably get lost if he tried to find his own way.

"Doctor is here to listen to you," Waver said, brushing over his request. "Wants to know how Grace♫ is doing."

"Sad no Friend-Rocky," he said impatiently. "Go Friend-Rocky." He could probably just sleep in his room, couldn't he? He had enough air filters in his EVA suit! Sure, it wouldn't be the most comfortable, but he was tired enough that he could probably drop anywhere and sleep in seconds.

"R♫ocky wants Grace♫ healthy," Waver said. "Grace♫ let Doctor listen to him, then we can go see R♫ocky."

Stupid health. Rationally, he knew he should agree. But he had food in his stomach, and obviously it hadn't come back up yet; the scientists were on the right track. They could poke and prod him later! He wanted to watch Rocky sleep.

"Watch Friend-Rocky sleep," he said, standing up. Waver reflexively put their claws out to steady him, but he was feeling a million times better already. "Go." Man he wished he could say more words.

"No, Grace♫, you need to be listened to. Otherwise, how know if Grace♫ healthy?" reasoned Waver.

"You aren't listening to me," he huffed in English, grabbing his EVA suit and putting a foot inside. Dr. Muddy made concerned chittering noises, something that seemed to echo all around them. Maybe more Eridians? "Theoretically or physically."

Waver chittered something he couldn't quite parse, "Ge♬♪tle need ♬♪Grace♫ re♫♫an impo♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯ten ch♫♯♪s."

And then suddenly, there were three more Eridians in his habitat. With several trays of supplies he wasn't sure the purpose of. Either way, he started to get a bad feeling in his stomach. Something primal prickled at the nape of his neck.

"Grace♫," Waver said firmly, like he were a misbehaving child. "Let Doctor listen to you, or we will not see R♫ocky."

His heart thumping in his throat, Grace struggled to keep his eyes on all of the Eridians. The three new ones spread out and into the darkness; his suit light couldn't cut through it too well. He could only hear scuffling and tinking tools as they messed with their supplies. Medical supplies, he thought. Nurses, maybe?

But he was a little freaked. "Am scare," he told Waver. "Not hear. Want Friend-Rocky."

"It's okay, Grace♫. They are friends. Help Doctor listen to you. Want Grace♫ healthy. Need to listen to hearts, breathing, blood inside. Agree," Waver said. The way they said it made it seem less of a question and more of a demand.

Grace, in all his primal wisdom, did not want Eridian doctors he did not know doing weird alien stuff to him when his best and only friend lay sleeping twenty feet away. He felt cornered. Trapped.

(Alarmingly, but maybe not so much, he had felt this exact sensation before.)

He knew there was no point, but he couldn't just lay down and let them poke and prod him, not when he was this freaked out. He wanted Rocky.

"No," he whistled, his tone choppy. He could barely purse his lips enough to make the sound. "No, no, stay away from me!"

Waver let out a rattling, clicking noise, and he caught a few words, "♬♪♫gen♫ be ♫Grace♫," before he felt xenonite-covered claws grab his ankles and limbs. He yelped like a wounded animal, twisting and writhing to get them off him. It didn't work; not in the slightest. Eridians were far too strong.

The feeling of limbs and hands and needles and everything sucked the breath right out of his lungs, and he wheezed with a raw, feral panic. They immediately deposited him onto the pallet of blankets, and several more hands pressed against him to keep him still. His breathing was strained and shaky as he yelled, "Stop! Stop it! Please! Waver!"

Waver and Dr. Muddy were whistling and humming back and forth over his head. Someone knocked over his EVA suit's lamp, because he couldn't see anything, and he was frightened and he just wanted Rocky here!

He whistled shrilly, "Help! Help!" hoping, hoping, hoping someone would hear and let him do this all over again—he wouldn't struggle, he promised, he didn't want to die, he didn't want to get on that ship, he didn't want to get murdered, please, please, you're murdering me!

Something warm and pointy and needle-like pricked his arm and he screamed as loudly as he could, thrashing with force that got him nowhere. More hands fell on him, and oh, God, this was it, they really were going to send him into space—

"No, no, don't do it," he begged anyone, whoever, Stratt, Rocky, Mary, someone, anyone. "No, No, No!"

Limbs suddenly disappeared from him as loud, angry trumpeting filled the room. He was suddenly bereft of touch, hissing in pain as the needle yanked out of his arm. He clapped his hand to it, feeling the warm gush of blood pooling under his fingers. He quickly scooted himself backwards, moving until he slammed the back of his head against the wall.

His breaths were rapid and shallow; he still couldn't see a thing. But he could hear.

"Fu♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯 Grace♫ doct♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯r!!! No♫!!! Pa♬♪—!♬♪ Sa♫ You—" Adrian's angry hissing and honking made his entire body thump with the sound. He could almost cry with relief.

No. No, he was definitely already crying.

"Friend-Adrian," he attempted to whistle, notes getting scrambled with his panic. "Not hear you!" Someone had definitely stomped on his only light source.

The yelling fell away and claws brushed against his legs. He flinched, pressing himself further against the walls to no avail. "Help! Friend-Adrian!" he shrieked out a whistle.

"Is me, Grace♫," Adrian crooned. "Please I touch you, question?"

A kind touch or eternal blackness? Grace reached out and found a xenonite-suit underneath his hands; he launched himself forward, latching onto Adrian. The Eridian didn't know what to do, but they clung onto him regardless. Grace's seemingly endless well of panic overflowed, and he clutched to Adrian as he tried to stifle his sobs.

Fuck, this was terrifying.

"It's distressed," chittered Waver, sounding far away. "Need—"

"N♫ fu♬♪i♫ id♬♪!!! Grace♫ frag♬♪!! Trea♬♪ ♫♯♪ this way??" Adrian hissed. The entire sound rumbled through his body. Adrian's hold was gentle, thankfully. He didn't want to become a Grace pancake.

Waver, Adrian, and Dr. Muddy argued for a long time before Dr. Muddy let out a trumpeting sound of defeat and the airlock hissed again. He could hear several sets of Eridian limbs following them out, and he hoped that meant everyone was leaving.

"Grace♫," Adrian hummed.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," he whistled out. The combination of no light, unfamiliar Eridians, and touching had freaked him out more than it should've. Adrian was a buzzing warmth and the only thing holding him together. "Am scare. Many, many, many scare."

"Is okay, Grace♫, I got you," Adrian crooned. "No doctors anymore. You not hear, question?"

Thank God, someone was adding the question modifier at the end of sentences, now. "Not hear many," he said, lifting his arm to scrub at his eyes. He misjudged the distance, though, nearly poking himself in the eyes. It was pitch black. "Need help."

"Grace♫ he♬♪ the li♬♪," Waver chirped from across the room. Grace held onto Adrian a little tighter, shuffling closer. Adrian swiftly picked him up, and the loss of contact to the ground was a little startling. "Scientists ♬♪fe♬♪ no♬♪w down."

They seemed to be done talking; or at least, Adrian didn't say anything in return. They simply hummed a low, deep song that didn't have any words. The sound rattled his bones, but it loosened the ball of anxiety he had lodged somewhere in his chest. Adrian didn't let him down on the ground, which was just as well—he couldn't see a dang thing.

"♬♪Adrian," he whistled.

"You can call me Friend-Adrian," Adrian hummed, squeezing Grace ever so slightly. Oh! Amazing! He was already getting along with Rocky's mate, and he wasn't even here! The thought of Rocky sent a jolt through him.

"Watch Friend-Rocky?" he asked, a small note of panic seeping into his whistle. He hadn't known whistles could sound panicked, but here he was.

"Someone is watching him," Adrian reassured. "Heard your calls, rushed to help." Oh, jeez, that was a little embarrassing.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," he hummed. "Doctor scare am. Not know."

Adrian let out an annoyed rumbling noise. "Not your fault, Grace♫. Fool-Waver should explain better."

There was a shuffling across the room, presumably Waver, and Grace tensed up at the unexpected sound. Adrian let out a low, buzzing noise and the sound stopped.

"Doctor needs to listen to you to help you," Adrian said lowly. "Only if you say yes. If say no, can come another time."

"Need hear," he said. He was not doing that again until he could actually see something. "Scare, scare, scare."

"Scientists bring down Grace♫ hearing," soothed Adrian. "Then meet doctor. Agree?"

"Meets only?" he hummed his question, knowing he butchered that first word.

"Yes, Grace♫."

"Okay," he whistled shortly. "Then hear Friend-Rocky."

"Grace♫ need sleep," Waver piped up from across the room. "Need I day, λVVℓ+ seconds of sleep. Only slept λλℓ++ seconds."

He was too emotionally and physically exhausted to do the math, but he was pretty sure he hadn't slept more than three hours lately.

"Not sleep," he mumbled. "Want Friend-Rocky."

"Rocky-love would want Grace♫ resting, too," Adrian reasoned.

Yeah, he was pretty tired. He honestly could fall asleep right here, if it weren't for the occasional scratching and scuffling from Waver. Rationally, he knew that all Waver had wanted was to check him over and compare him to Rocky's notes, but with the limited light and unfamiliar faces... Grace felt a little betrayed. He didn't want to sleep without Rocky watching over him, but he knew that was not a possibility.

He was pretty comfortable, right now, though...

A lot of noise from outside his habitat jerked him out of the light doze he had fallen into. He couldn't see anything, of course, so he clung a little tighter to Adrian, who murmured in a croon, "Is okay, Grace♫, is just scientists with Grace♫ special hearing."

It didn't take long before they flicked the lights on, washing the entire place with light. He breathed a giant sigh of relief when he was able to see everyone. He felt comfortable enough to squirm his way out of Adrian's arms. "Thank, thank, thank," he whistled cheerfully. "Is good, good, good!"

Waver was on the other side of the room, as far away from him and Adrian as they could get. They were as low to the ground as they could, the light reflecting off their carapace and painting the room with small rainbows. It was pretty, but he was still kinda cheesed off at them. They could've explained a little better! Or at least waited until he had lights to see.

He carefully picked his way over to the pile of blankets on the floor, grabbing his quilt and wrapping it around him protectively. His arm had stopped bleeding, thankfully, but he knew the blood was probably going to seep into the quilt eventually. He didn't really care at the time. He could wash it some other day. Grace shuffled back to Adrian's side, eyeing Waver suspiciously the entire time.

There were Eridians outside of his view; the lights obviously made it a little trickier to look out into the void of the room. Sometimes, if they passed by just so, he could see glimpses of their limbs. It was a little creepier than he thought it would've been. He had thought himself used to the weird scuttling of rock-spiders... he was obviously just accustomed to Rocky and Rocky only.

Grace shuddered. Spiders.

He looked at his EVA suit; yep, the light was crushed. It looked like his helmet had taken a beating too... he supposed he could go visit Rocky without the EVA suit and just go with the xenonite-suit, but he hadn't seen any air filters or anything of the like attached to it... it had been pretty dark, though.

"Can the doctor come in, question, Grace♫?" Adrian asked him, reaching out to pull him into their carapace. Their suit was pretty warm.

"Okay," he agreed reluctantly. "Friend-Adrian stay?"

"Yes," they hummed.

Dr. Muddy stepped inside the airlock again, walking very deliberately. They clicked out, "I am very sorry. Grace♫. I did not mean to scare you."

Silence descended over the room, and Grace very abruptly realized they weren't going to do anything if he didn't speak. "Is okay. Doctors home hurt am... you scare, scare, scare am."

"Doctors on your planet hurt you, question?" asked Adrian.

"Yes," he answered. Sorta. But enough that being held down like that... Revulsion filled his throat, and he swallowed thickly.

Adrian crooned out a few soothing, wordless notes. "Is okay, Grace♫. Doctor Muddy not hurt you. Just want to listen. Agree?"

Grace wavered, but ultimately, he knew he needed to agree. He chirped out a feeble yes, and Dr. Muddy got to work. Eventually one Eridian he didn't know but was introduced to—Grace called them Chalk—came into his habitat with some extra tools. They left right away, which he was pretty grateful about. It was cramped in here with Adrian, Dr. Muddy and Waver.

The doctor listened to his heart, commenting that it was increased compared to Rocky's notes. Adrian scoffed and said something he didn't catch, but was probably sarcastic, based on the way Dr. Muddy scuttled backwards nervously. They checked all of him—his breathing, his reflexes, his hearing—before they started asking questions.

"What is normal mass for you, question. Grace♫?" Dr. Muddy asked him.

He thought about it. Seventy-five kilograms... He probably weighed about half that, now... Seventy-five in Eridian numbers was Vℓλ, he thought. Half of that was... IℓV?

"V...ℓ...λ," he whistled out slowly. "Am not Vℓλ, am IℓV."

"Small," commented Adrian. "Need more food and sleep. Get healthy for Rocky-love." Aww that was kinda cute: Adrian's name for Rocky.

"Love Friend-Rocky, too," he hummed.

"Yes," Dr. Muddy said. "Eat well, sleep well. Get better for ♬♪Adrian and R♫ocky." They turned to Adrian and started speaking quickly. Whatever they said seemed to appease the big blue rock, because they gestured toward the door languidly, and Dr. Muddy left without any more yelling. Phew.

Waver piped up, and that annoyed, whistling honk erupted from Adrian again. He had no idea what they said, but Waver quickly scuttled toward the exit, too. Poor guy. Adrian was a little intimidating.

Without letting him go, Adrian shuffled toward the bed of blankets and deposited Grace in the center of it. "Sleep, now, Grace♫," they said gently. "Hard day for you. Scary. Adrian will watch you entire time."

That was a relief. He was exhausted.

"Friend-Rocky?" he whistled out. Adrian pushed on his chest lightly—even though the force was enough to topple him backward entirely—and settled beside him.

"Is being watched. Will wake soon. Grace♫ sleep. Wake up and hear Rocky-love."

Adrian's limbs settled onto his legs, a firm weight that wasn't too heavy, but just warm enough to remind him of where he was. His eyes slipped closed without him meaning to, and he was asleep before he could whistle anything else.

***

Running, running, he was running as quickly as he could. He couldn't dare look behind him, he simply couldn't. Looking back meant defeat, meant distraction, meant getting dragged back into the underworld and right into Stratt's grip—he couldn't look back. He could only run.

He looked up instead. The air was fresh in his lungs; it had just rained. The dew and moisture was heavy in the air, and he could feel his shoes and socks getting soaked, and he had never before been so frightened in his life.

A fence. He needed to climb this fence. He had never before done such a thing, never, ever, but now he needed to, because if he did not he would die, and Ryland Grace did not want to die.

He crashed into the steel like he would burst through it. It did not yield. He got one foot in a chainlink before hands, hands, hands were grabbing him. Something ripped from his mouth—a scream, a plea, he was not certain—before the breath was knocked loose from his lungs. The grass was damp, and the dirt in his mouth tasted raw and wet and earthy and

"No, no," he begged anyone who would listen. "Please!"

He knew no one would yield to him.

He looked to the sky. The grayish blue sky. There was a rainbow. Something pinched his neck. It burned.

Red, green, orange, yellow, blue. purple, gray clouds, green grass, a yellow stone, the brown dirt, the metal fence. He opened his eyes as wide as he could even though it felt like boulders had attached themselves to his lids. He was tired. He did not want to sleep.

Ryland Grace did not want to die.

***

Panic lurched him out of his dream with sharp, shallow gasps. There was something touching him, pressing down on him, and he squirmed and struggled and whined until it moved away.

"Grace♫," something musical chimed beside him. The sound was so familiar, so calming, that he stilled in his half-awake, panicked efforts to get away.

Darkness, all around him, but there was light, too. Shining within xenonite walls and onto blankets and pale, bony hands and stony, blue-green limbs and oh—Grace was on Erid. Not Earth.

(Never Earth.)

"Adrian," he mumbled in English before flopping back into the pile of blankets. "Scare."

"What scared you, question?" they asked, running a limb up and down Grace's arm lightly. It was very soothing.

How did he explain dreams to a species that didn't experience anything like that?

"Am sleep. Am hear sleeping. Shapes," he gestured vaguely in the air.

Adrian tapped his arm twice. "You hear in your sleep, question?"

Grace nodded, "Yes. Is good, is bad. Is bad, bad. Scare."

"Sometimes good things, sometimes bad things," Adrian clarified. Grace whistled out a yes. Adrian was smart! All Eridians were smart, he figured. "But was bad this sleep."

"Yes. Scare. Doctor hurt am," he whistled, frowning.

Adrian cooed, petting him again. He didn't know if this was how Eridians showed affection—given that Rocky had been in a ball or separated by walls the entire trip here—but he was not complaining. Four years without any contact, and simple petting felt heavenly.

"It's okay, Grace♫, I will protect you. Rocky-love will, too," Adrian reassured him.

"Friend-Rocky okay?" he asked. Adrian didn't say anything for a moment, and Grace felt his stomach drop. He sat up quickly, feeling a little light-headed.

Adrian made low, consoling noises. "Rocky-love needs more rest. Damaged heavily."

"He fall," he whistled almost tearfully. He swiped at his eyes. "Big shape," he smacked his hands together loudly, "Grace ship. Friend-Rocky hurt."

Adrian chittered something he didn't understand, and he faintly heard other noises beyond the room's walls in return.

"Sleep big timing at bad, bad, bad," he said. "Friend-Rocky go Grace, help Grace. Hurt, hurt, hurt. Sleep big timing. Uhwake many, many, many big seconds."

Adrian clicked to themselves. Then hummed out, "Rocky-love entered your air to help you, question?"

"Yes," he whistled. "Bad, bad, bad."

"Not bad," Adrian corrected gently, though their tones held quiet mourning for what almost could have been. "Very, very, very brave."

"Friend-Rocky braves," he whistled in agreement. "Help Grace... Give Grace bad for go home. Ship not give. Only for go bad, bad, bad."

"Rocky-love gave you astrophage to go home, question? Your ship only had enough fuel to go to the undying star... question?" Adrian sounded a little mad, for some reason.

"Yes," he affirmed. "But fi-x..." he struggled with explaining how, exactly, taumoeba could go through xenonite, "Fi-x eat se-on-shape."

"The cure goes through xenonite," Adrian clarified, tensing all their limbs.

"Am go for Friend-Rocky. Help Friend-Rocky go home," he said, yawning. He probably hadn't slept for very long with that nightmare interrupting him... "Love, love, love Friend-Rocky."

"Grace♫ very, very, very brave. Thank you for bringing my Rocky-love home," Adrian cooed, rumbling a low frequency that vibrated his entire body. It was like laying on a massage bed.

Grace shrugged, a little embarrassed with the gratitude. "Is okay."

"It's very, very, very amazing, amazing, amazing. You amazing ♫♯♪, Grace♫," hummed Adrian.

Grace smiled, "Thank, Friend-Adrian."

Adrian shifted slightly, rising to their claws slowly while a knock sounded at the airlock. Waver stood outside, nervously tapping their claws together. Beside them stood an Eridian he hadn't seen before. They were slightly sloped sideways, like with striations of banded reds and golds. Immediately, the Grand Canyon popped into his head. Both of them were in suits but they made no move to enter.

"Can they come in, Grace♫, question?" Adrian asked him.

"Oh!" he said. "Yes."

The pair walked in after cycling through the airlock. They didn't get too close; Grace supposed there was no need to huddle like humans had to during a conversation, since they all had excellent hearing except for... well, him.

"Greet," he said politely. Adrian cooed and rumbled beside him.

"Greetings, Grace♫," said Canyon. "I am ♬♪♫♫. I am scientist leader. Want to check on health."

"Not doctor?" he asked, looking at Waver a little nervously. Adrian was here, though, and surely they wouldn't let him get held down again.

"Doctor got all d♫a," the unfamiliar word made him squint, but Canyon kept going, "Want to talk more ha♫t."

"What?" he whistled. Adrian rumbled.

"They mean this home, Grace♫," they explained.

"Oh. Is good, good, good." Maybe a little cramped, a little lacking in some privacy... but it was fine. He definitely couldn't complain.

"Need more space," Canyon said.

"Question?" Adrian added.

"Need more space, question?" Canyon clarified.

"More hear," he said, pointing to the lamps. "Many hear. Bad hear no hear."

Canyon let out a hum. They didn't write anything down, but Grace suspected one didn't need to when one had eidetic memory... Lucky!

They said something to Adrian he couldn't quite parse, "♬♪Adrian, si♬♪e gaur♬♪ Grace♫ you R♫ocky ma♬♪ de♬♪sion."

"Friend-Rocky?" he asked Adrian. They didn't respond to him, only pausing to tap lightly on his legs. Adrian responded to the lead scientist and it seemed that he'd been kicked out of the conversation. He huffed. Well, whatever. Trying to listen along would've given him a headache, anyway.

He glanced at Waver, who was standing back and still tapping their claws together. Their entire body language read guilt—that lowered tilt of their carapace, and he was certain if he were close enough, they'd be humming very quietly—so he decided to take pity on them. He waved.

Waver waved back, perking up. They scuttled to the airlock and grabbed something. It was too dark to make out, but when they inched closer, he could make out a weird shape. Some sort of geometric shape, but he had no idea how many sides it had.

Adrian stopped talking suddenly, stomping a limb. "You scare Grace♫," they hissed. "Wh♫ he♬♪??sti♫!? Out!"

"Wan♬♪d Grace♫ give," Waver said in return, holding out the odd shape. "A♬♪ apo♬♪."

Adrian hummed in disgruntlement, but asked him, "Grace♫, Fool-Waver wants to give you present. Do you want it, question?"

Ouch. He was pretty sure fool was an intense insult. Waver must've pissed Adrian right off.

But sue him, he was curious... and it wasn't like Waver meant to dredge up buried trauma. He hoped.

Grace nodded, whistling out a little, "Yes, want hear."

Waver shuffled closer, making sure they were going very slow. Probably so they wouldn't startle him. It was nice of them, if a little unnecessary. They held out a little... polyhedron was the best way to describe it, he supposed. He hesitantly held out his hand, and Waver lightly gave it to him.

It immediately rolled out of his grasp and onto the floor with a loud bang! Grace might have screamed a little.

Honking trumpets and short, sharp chords of angry orchestra filled the entire room, and he clapped his hands over his ears as Adrian rushed to stand over him protectively. Like, literally stand over him; he had to crouch down so he wouldn't be smushed to tiny Grace-bits.

"♫fu♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯not♬♪Grace♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯♬♪yu♫!!!" Adrian bellowed, vibrating the inside of his brain. Waver cringed backward, pressing themselves to the floor like a smashed spider. Canyon was talking, too, but Grace honestly couldn't hear it over Adrian's loud shrieking.

He knocked insistently on Adrian's suit, whistling, "Is okay, Friend-Adrian!" over and over again until they quieted down enough so that he could hear himself whistle. "Is big. Am fall," he tried explaining. It had been heavier than he expected! He should've expected that, though. Double gravity... eight hundred pound aliens... yeah, nothing they made would be light enough for him to carry.

Adrian let out a low, angry snorting noise at Waver before shuffling to the side and folding their limbs to sit right beside Grace. "Fool," they buzzed like a nest of wasps at Waver. "Give ♫♯♪ heavy things! Grace♫ is sick and injured, and you j♫ dec♬♪♫giv♬♪, idi♬♪!!"

"Is okay, Friend-Adrian," he hummed again, trying to calm them down before they get worked up again. He reached out to inspect the polyhedron again. It probably weighed about thirty pounds. Jeez Louise. "Hehvee," he tried whistling, wincing. Adrian batted his hands back into the pile of blankets, clicking repeatedly at Waver, who was not moving.

Adrian let out a rattling, grumbling noise, but their tone was gentle when they said, "Heavy. Heavy."

Alright, he couldn't do the two tones layered on top of each other, so his accent was gonna sound horrible. "Heavy."

"Very good, Grace♫," Canyon chimed in, breaking some of the tension in the room.

"Am want hear, Friend-Adrian," he said, reaching out to grab the shape again. Adrian let him this time. He pulled it closer to him and inspected it. It had several flat faces; honestly it reminded him of a Dungeons and Dragons dice—what was that one called...? Oh, the D20! There were flecks of shiny material on the surface, but overall, it simply looked... like a plain, black rock. Maybe basalt, if he had to guess. The grain was pretty smooth.

When he flipped it over, though, he found odd, little etchings all over it. Bumps on this side, divots on this side, crunchy-looking knobs on this side... It took him longer than he'd like to admit to realize it was a puzzle cube. A fancy Eridian-Rubik's cube!

Eventually Waver spoke up, talking in that quick Eridian he had no hope of following just yet, "Ind♫t pla♬♪♫ important Grace♫, imp♬♪ed on R♫ocky and ♬♪Adrian. Se♬♪s the pre♬♪t is we♬♪-liked."

Adrian didn't get mad this time, but Grace got the feeling they were still pretty annoyed.

His stomach grumbled, a feeling he was so used to that it didn't even really register. He turned his attention back to the interesting alien cube. What was its purpose? A fun puzzle Eridians usually got each other as a gift? Was it popular? Or was it something else entirely? He probably couldn't solve it completely; he was not an all-hearing Eridian. If human puzzles were based on visual light—what with colors and matching cues and everything all—then it stood to reason that Eridian puzzles were based on sound.

He scooched forward and bent down to put his ear to it. Honestly, with all the chittering and humming the three Eridians were doing in his habitat, he couldn't really hear anything.

He huffed. He'd probably have to take a crack at it later. When there wasn't so much noise.

The hiss of the airlock made him startle in surprise, whipping his head around Adrian—they were huge when he was kneeling on the floor like this—to see his latest visitor. It was Chalk, the doctor's assistant. Or maybe they were another doctor. He didn't know.

Either way, he still sorta hid behind Adrian. They were right in front of him, anyway, so maybe it was less of him hiding and more of him getting a little more comfortable on the blankets and sitting down. Yeah. That was it.

They had something in their claws. He couldn't tell what it was; the lights didn't exactly shine on the doorway, after all.

But when they stepped closer, he realized it was another packet of food. Oh!

"Hello," he greeted over the chattering Eridians. When they heard him speak, however, they quieted down. "Thank, Chalk."

"Here you go, Grace♫," Chalk said, stepping forward and presenting the packet. Grace struggled to get to his feet for a second—ouch, his knees—but with a little nudge from Adrian—to which he whistled out a thank—he got there in the end.

The packet was a bit smaller than the previous one. They'd probably noticed how he hadn't been able to finish that completely. It was a bit slushier than the last one, both chunkier and smoother. He tried unscrewing the top and grew increasingly embarrassed the longer it took him. Especially in front of so many witnesses.

"Uh," he turned to Waver. "Please?"

Thankfully, Waver knew what he was trying to say. They took a couple awkward, hesitant steps toward him before untwisting the cap.

"Thank!" he said, holding up the packet to sniff it. It smelled stronger this time, and somehow, grass-like.

"We will alt♫r opening for next time," Chalk commented.

"Good, good, good," Grace said. He'd hate to have to inconvenience someone anytime he wanted to eat. He knew it was weird for them. Speaking of...

"Am eat now," he whistled out. The four Eridians didn't start their way to the door. Or even pretend to listen to anything else. "Bad?"

"You can eat, Grace♫," Adrian hummed.

Alright, maybe Rocky had been pulling a fast one on him. Maybe eating was just a Rocky thing, something he was embarrassed enough about that lying about it seemed inconsequential, especially when it was to an alien. One who had he thought wouldn't meet another Eridian! somehow tease him when he woke up, he decided.

The food-mush was not grass-like in flavor, and it took almost all his willpower to drink some of it down. He coughed a bit as he finished most of it, trying to reign in his natural reflex of disgust from showing on his face. "That was... interesting," he said, mostly to himself.

"What think, Grace♫. R♫ocky notes say taste important. Did food taste," they stated-asked.

He let out a little half-laugh. "Taste," he confirmed. "Not good. Um, sorry."

"Do not be sorry," Chalk consoled him, hesitantly reaching out one of theur limbs. Confused, Grace awkwardly handed over the packet. Chalk took it, so he guessed correctly. Phew. "Is great joy to work on this for Grace♫."

"D♫have you ♫y♫♯♪ ow♬♪, Chalk," Adrian chimed. Chalk hummed out a chord that sounded like it had gone flat. Whatever it meant, Adrian waved their carapace side to side and hummed out another wordless noise. Chalk walked back into the airlock, taking care to slide the packet into another box. Probably to test it in his atmosphere, he presumed.

"Am hear Friend-Rocky, please?" he questioned. Adrian and Canyon probably didn't need his input on this habitat—he could breath, he could sleep, and he could (probably) pee in peace. It didn't help that he could barely speak their language, either. It'd probably be best if he waited for Rocky. He didn't have the tools, brainpower, or energy to try and teach English again.

But he wanted to see Rocky. And now that he had a handy little suit—oh. His lamp was busted.

"Need hear," said Grace, pointing to one of the lamps.

"Do you need to sleep. question?" Adrian asked. "No sleeping in suit if we go to Rocky-love."

He supposed that made sense; while he could be easily awoken if need be, sleeping in the suit probably wasn't a good habit to start. And well...

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't tired.

Grace sighed. "Sleep," he hummed. He pointed to the lamps again. "Sleep need not hear."

"You do not hear when you sleep, question?" said Adrian, confused.

"No, need not hear. Am sleep good. Hear, not sleep good," he whistled, licking his lips. He needed some water.

"You do sleep good if Grace♫ special hearing is off," Adrian clarified. Grace walked over to the pile of water pouches while he did some jazz hands. Waver and Canyon did them back. Delighted, Grace did them a few times back and forth. "Le♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯 Grace♫ ha♫t sleep," Adrian sang, rising to their claws from the pile of blankets. He really needed to explain what a mattress was and how to get one out of the Mary.

"Sleep well, Grace♫," chimed Canyon as they started toward the airlock.

"I ♫watch♬♪ Grace♫ you sleep vi♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯 R♫ocky," Waver hummed out.

Adrian visibly wavered at whatever they had been told. "Grace♫," they crooned. "Do you want Waver to watch you sleep, question?"

Was he okay with it? Sure, he didn't mind. It was obvious Waver hadn't meant for that to go down the way it did. Everyone makes mistakes. "Yes," he chirped.

But Adrian started to go to the airlock, and he panicked. "No, no, need Friend-Adrian," he whistled, almost tripping over the blankets in his haste to get to Adrian. The large Eridian kept him upright with one of their limbs. He clung onto it.

"I need to re♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯 suit, Grace♫," Adrian said. "I will be back soon."

Right. It was fine, Grace told himself. He knew Waver, and Adrian needed to refresh their suit. And they also did not know Grace; it was a wonder they had helped him out in the first place. Besides, he was a grown man, he could handle awkward, stilted conversations on his own just fine.

Probably.

"Okay," he hummed reluctantly, walking back to his blankets. It reminded him of a nest, really. Maybe that's what Eridians like to sleep on?

Adrian said their goodbyes and disappeared into the darkness. He startled when the lights went out. He'd have to try and tell Rocky that maybe a lower intensity light would be fine for sleeping. It was weird not seeing anything.

He jumped again when Waver hummed out, "Sleep well, Grace♫." He'd almost forgotten they were there.

He fumbled around for the blankets and settled himself in, yawning already. "Good night, Waver."

***

His foray into awareness was sluggish and disorienting. It was pitch black, and Grace can admit that when something touched his foot, he might have freaked a little.

"Is just me, Grace♫! Need special hearing, question?" Waver hummed out something low and vibrating underneath all the words.

"Yes," he hummed. The lights quickly flicked back on. Phew. He blinked at the sudden sensory increase.

He carefully got up and walked over to the bathroom area. He squinted over at Waver. "No hear am," he told them.

"Is soundproof. R♫ocky notes said important for Grace♫." Thank you Rocky!

He splashed some water on his face afterward, marveling in the sensation. He can't remember the last time he did that. He didn't even mind that the water was uncomfortably hot. At least it wasn't scalding.

When he finally stepped out, there were a lot more clicking and humming noises than he was used to. Waver seemed to be listening to whatever it was they—because he really hoped it was people talking and not some scary alien animal—were saying, rocking back and forth like Rocky did when he needed to focus.

"Friend-Adrian?" he asked when the noises started to die down Waver shuffled nervously back and forth, clicking their claws together. Grace, in turn, grew uneasy. "Friend-Adrian?"

Waver pulled themselves together, rattling out a few low chiming notes. "Grace♫, ♬♪Adrian is visiting R♫ocky for a little bit. You sleep for I day and IℓIλλ seconds. Feel okay, question?"

Grace squinted while his feeble human mind did the conversion. A little over six hours, give or take? He was feeling okay; still light-headed, aching, and weak, but the best he's felt in a long time.

"Am feel good. Hear Friend-Rocky and Friend-Adrian?" he asked.

Waver hesitated before perking up. A little louder than they normally chime, they said, "Scientists working on portable special hearing for Grace♫. Do not want to bump into ♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯."

He was pretty sure ♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯 was walls, as well as he was pretty sure he just got insulted somehow.

"Okay," he hummed out a little glumly. He should probably count himself lucky he even saw Rocky in the first place. If he were an alien on Earth, they would've never let him wander about looking for a friend.

He decided he'd pass the time by working on that puzzle cube. Waver would probably be glad their gift was being appreciated, and he did want to figure it out, too.

It took him a few hours to pop open one side. He likened it to picking a lock on a safe; the side he focused on had knobs to turn and slide around the flat face. He eventually realized that the clicking he occasionally noted as odd was intentional, and after losing his spot a few times, popped open the face with a hiss of success.

"Yes, take that!" he cheered.

"Good job, Grace♫," Waver praised.

"Thank," he said.

A tapping noise at the airlock had him sitting back up and turning around. Adrian was in view, though their limbs behind them seemed occupied. He couldn't see what they were doing, though.

"Hello, Friend-Adrian!" he whistled out.

"...here♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯my♫♯♪to♫ Grace♫," the Eridian told someone before cycling in. They said something to Waver in that confusing mess of notes and chords. The bismuth Eridian chimed out something to Adrian before speaking to Grace.

"I am going to sleep," they said. "I will come back, Grace♫."

"Sleeping well," he tried to mimic their goodnight. He messed up somewhere, because both Adrian and Waver let out small laughs. "Sorry."

"Is okay, Grace♫," Adrian said, walking over to the blanket pile while Waver exited the habitat. The light twinkled off their carapace as they went, reflecting bits of rainbow of nearby structures. For a second, he thought... Man, this darkness was really pulling some tricks on him. "Come s♬♪ by me."

The new word probably meant sit or something similar. He sat cross-legged next to Adrian.

"Something important to tell Grace♫," Adrian said, shuffling a little closer. Grace basked in the heat. "Rocky-love is awake."

He perked up. "Really? Go hear Friend-Rocky!" he whistled, attempting to stand up so he could scramble into his suit. His friend was awake! But Adrian put a limb onto his legs and dropped him back onto the ground. "Ow." His poor, aching butt bones! These blankets had no cushion.

"Still important things to say to Grace♫," Adrian continued, one of their sets of vocal cords making a continuously low drone. It made his whole body feel like liquid. An interior massage, almost.

"Okay. Am hear," he said. He worried his lip between his teeth. "Friend-Rocky okay?"

"Rocky-love is p♬♪hys♪𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯."

"What?" he asked, but Adrian kept talking, claws tapping on the blankets repeatedly. Grace hadn't seen that action from them before, but he knew Rocky did it when he was nervous.

"Rocky-love mind is... not okay. When he fell, he got hurt in carapace," Adrian said slowly. Something in Grace's stomach dropped. "He is okay, but he... does not remember things. Does not remember you."

Grace's mouth dropped open as he realized three things:

1. An Eridian's brain is incapable of forgetting things, and yet, this was happening,

2. Rocky has amnesia,

And most damningly,

3. No one knows who he is.

...

Grace is fucked.