Chapter Text
Chota never considered himself a religious man. But on a crashing spaceship, with his students on board, he couldn't help himself.
"Mayday, Mayday!" He repeated for the fifth time since they’d left the USJ. "Mentor Chota A-Zawa, I have nine cubs on board. I need direction!"
His species has no religion, the Errasees are predators whose food depends solely on their strength, not lucky or the weather. But Hihazi comes from a species with a god, and always prays softly when things get complicated. He tried to think of what to do. They couldn't find anywhere to land before the spacecraft ran out of oxygen. He heard the cubs in the background, some crying, screaming, trying to calm their companions. He heard hidden prayers in languages he didn't speak.
"Coordinates are -250.780, 46, 238.900." He fought the urge to throw the radio against the wall. "The ship is malfunctioning; we aren't in a recognized zone."
He tried to pray, even though he couldn't lower his head like Hihazi does. He tucked his wings behind his back and begged that, if there was any god protecting these children, that he would help at least one of them to survive.
“Professor!” He heard Yida beside him, but he didn’t have time to tell him to put up the safety bar. “Right there, I think you can land on that planet.”
"No, it's not recognized as habitable."
"Is there any planet we can reach before the oxygen runs out?"
A-Zawa's silence was the answer they needed. The planet was only twenty-two thousand jumps(198 kilometers) away and, if the panel was working correctly, they still had oxygen for less than a gap (9 billion kilometers). But, with the route so diverted due to the explosion and the sabotage of the controls, they were no longer in a habitable zone. The nearest landing station didn't even appear on the map, and the only habitable moon was a gap and a half distance away.
“Return to your seats, we are going to initiate emergency protocol X4.” He told the students, wrapping his wings close to his bodie to prepare. “I’m going to land.”
The good side? The pink planet they landed on had trees with leaves, which means it has oxygen. The bad side? The pink planet they landed on had trees. Lots of trees and no space big enough for them to land.
He snapped his beak in pain, feeling a deep cut under his left eye, and several feathers torn from where he hit the steering wheel. He stood up carefully, spreading his wings to balance himself as he walked towards the students. The crash was nasty, and if he had to bet, the smell of nitrogen in the air indicated there was a hole somewhere in the craft.
"Is everyone alright?" Nine heads looked up to confirm.
Yida nodded in agreement, but A-Zawa saw him holding his inert front paw to his side, much lower than it should be. Yaomomo was beside him, part of her metal skull cracked, with Quioka exasperated beside her, even though the girl didn't feel any pain.
Kiri Shimá had lost some scales, Tenki's fur stood on end, obviously accumulating static electricity. Xolto rubbed his shoulder where Tsu-tsu's horn had pierced him when she was thrown against him. She seemed alright, half-crushed against the wall and quickly being comforted by Och'ako. Miana remained motionless, the acid leaving a trail around the seat like Kiri Shimá's scales.
When they stood up, Chota could see the injuries better. Och’ako’s lower right wing, made of thin cartilage, was bent at an awkward angle. Chota theorizes that she hasn't noticed yet, having no feeling in this limbs. Tsu-tsu vomited all over her seat, but he didn't know if it was from the turbulence or Miana's scent. Talking about the girl, one of the antennas was facing backward, and Chota doesn't know whether or not he should tell her.
The metal around Yaomomo twisted in the fall, and although her body was intact, her clothes were almost completely torn around her torso. Girou desperately tries to keep them in place, and Yaomomo clearly didn't understand the cultural problem of being naked in public. Tenki clearly forced himself into survival mode, so whoever first touched him would receive a painful shock; No one seemed to take the risk, staying away from his fur. Kiri Shimá, on the other hand picked out each one of the scales as if he could shove them back in, ignoring the dark blood that oozed from the holes.
"Can everyone get up on their own? Tenyida, I see that paw."
"I have three other paws, Professor. Yaomomo, can you see yet?" He turned to the camellia girl. Lacking eyes, his student navigated her surroundings via scents and vibrations, leaving her effectively blind during turbulence.
"Synensis are resilient; I designed this armor myself." The voice was mechanical yet carried an arrogant lilt.
"That’s not what I asked."
"Xolto." She changed the subject. "You smell like blood—do you need bandages?"
"You should be more worried about Tsu-tsu; she’s the one who got thrown against the wall."
"My soft body was built for going down waterfalls; I’ll be fine. But what about you, Ochako?"
A-Zawa’s attention to the conversation quickly drifted away once he realized they were just going to keep up this cycle of ignoring their own injuries. Frankly, the only one he trusts to be honest about it is Tsu-tsu, so he doesn't have to worry about her. The rest of the pack, however, are a bunch of self-sacrificing idiots.
“What about you, Teach?” Quioka appeared beside him, and now every head was turned his way. “Is that eye okay?”
“I’m fine.” He rubbed his eye against the feathers on his neck, watching pinkish blood stain the light gray.
He was the one entitled to be the self-sacrificing idiot; he was the adult. The teenagers, as always, seemed to scoff at the irony. He didn't care.
Xolto and Tenyida always seem to get along, being the only two felines in the class, and they're already whispering to each other. A-Zawa has always feared that the two would lead a mutiny, and he's certain which students would follow them if that happened.
"Grab what you can, we're getting off the ship before it explodes."
Tenyida’s paw was practically dragging as he hauled the food supplies, with Xolto beside him helping to drag the bag across the white sand. Quioka, Yaomomo, and Tenki carried the technological devices that still functioned, and judging by the bristling fur on Quioka’s wing, she was the one chosen to receive the shock.
Miana and Och'ako were carrying first-aid supplies, or what was left of them. When asked, the girls said that it was crushed through the closet and they had to dig through the wreckage to save anything. Tsu-tsu and Kiri Shimá brought the weapons (unloaded, defective, or both) and blankets from the bedrooms. The Froppy girl would easily freeze overnight if they went camping.
A-Zawa was the last to enter, searching the deck for anything the students were looking for. Xolto, however, entered a few minutes later, mentioning the smell of fuel in the air. They quickly crawled away from the ship after that. They were on a beach, the strong smell of salt making it clear that drinking that water wasn't an option. But the remaining choice was to wait for the rain or venture into the thick trees, obviously supported by an entire ecosystem. He gets distracted, and when he comes to, the cubs are setting up camp.
A tarp is stretched out to keep moisture out, a few sleeping bags carelessly scattered everywhere. Chota had to intervene to divide them properly. Och'ako, Miana, and Yaomomo don't depend on warmth, and Xolto is resistant to extreme temperatures, so the four of them were left without blankets. Tsu-tsu would stay among the mammals to take advantage of the warmth of their fur, the five of them sharing three blankets.
Not for the first time, he was proud of how well they responded to the conditioning. Less than one turn(Year, 288 days) and Quioka has already learned not to sleep upside down, and Kiri Shimá has learned to use his scales to block Tenki's static electricity.
With shelter sorted for now, they focused on provisions. Chota, Tenyida, and Xolto easily divided the meat rations based on size. Tsu-tsu, Kiri, and Miana got the insect rations. The original plan was for Quioka, Och'ako, and Tenki to share the herbivore rations, but this plan was scrapped when Yida reminded him how sensitive Uraraka was to anything that didn't have maple leaves. They would have to test the surrounding plants to feed the two, leaving the necessary rations for Och'ako.
Night fell, and they must have been fewer than six tics(six hours) before twilight conditioning forced them to sleep. The emergency kit contained three fire-building materials, so they needed to be found within two nights. The water wouldn't last longer than that, nor would the rations. They always made it clear, with or without pups, that they would have three cycles(Day, 30 hours) to adapt to the environment if they got lost.
When A-Zawa finally checked the cats' injuries, he realized they were both trying to pretend it was nothing serious. Xolto's shoulder was still bleeding, needing two bandages to close. Tenyida, on the other hand, was practically walking on three legs, his sensitive hand inert and probably broken. He didn't have the courage to do much besides immobilize it; the Íngeenus front paws were too complex for an amateur to attempt to fix.
Quioka had part of her ear torn, but it only affected the skin; her wings and hands appeared intact. Yaomomo was already producing flowers and pressing them against the fuel tank on her chest, proving that the dent in her skull hadn't affected the neural implant. Tsu-tsu had abrasions, but she was aware of her surroundings and could walk.
When he told Miana about the broken antenna, the Pynkini simply ripped it out like a weed, saying it would grow back in less than a period(week, 12 days). Och'ako wasn't so lucky with the wing, pretending not to be bothered by her newfound inability to fly. She admitted that, with the right diet and rest, she should recover in a lunar(month, 2 weeks), but until then she was confined to the ground.
Kiri Shimá was unfazed, saying that losing his scales was like losing tufts of fur, but A-Zawa was sure it was more like losing some claws. Tenki looked dazed, and A-Zawa suspected the rodent had suffered a concussion. One of his ears was drooping to the side, both three-fingered hands extended forward as if trying to balance himself.
"I'm going to do a quick reconnaissance." He spread his wings, moving far enough away to flap them. "Stay here."
"As the class vice-leader, it's my duty-"
"I'm going by air." He took to the sky, not ignoring Quioka following close behind.
They had perhaps a reache(29,5 fts) between the forest and the water. Girou followed closely, her super hearing compensating for how blind she was in the dark. A-Zawa, on the other hand, maintained perfect night vision, even with one eye still swollen.
There was a waterfall about half leap(2,79 miles) from the camp, he could already see a small mammal approaching to drink the greenish water. It was chubby, walking on six short legs with hooves and eyes on the sides of its head. A prey.
A-Zawa seized the opportunity and dove in, catching it in his claws and returning to Quioka. The girl remained unfazed as her teacher cut the creature's jugular with his dominant claw.
They roasted it over the fire, eating the tough meat to save on rations. Tomorrow, they would try to use Och'ako's keen sense of smell to hunt for truffles or roots.
The stress of the day finally arrived, and against all his efforts, A-Zawa fell asleep, still holding the small radio that was supposed to reveal their location to UA.
A-Zawa woke up to a painful poke near his thighs. Yaomomo was beside him, completely fascinated by something other than the trees.
Right there, almost hidden behind a thick, purple tree trunk, was a bipedal animal. It must be less than two spans(6’5 fts) tall, with light, almost hairless skin that looks like Kiri Shimá's beneath the carapace. Talking about carapaces, the animal had one covering part of its chest and abdomen, magenta and furry. The planet’s two moons were full, revealing a head with a hairless face and a green mane similar to Xolto's. It had a thin rounded snout, with large eyes facing forward, staring at them. A predator.
It walked like Yida, but with its knees bent backwards, showing that it didn't run fast. But its legs were too long to be comfortable walking on all fours. Two thin arms held… bones? He came to a chilling conclusion when he looked where they'd left the remains of their dinner, realizing that only the skin was left. How had it gotten so close without anyone noticing? The creature seemed to sense it was being watched and turned, disappearing into the darkness. A scavenger, probably.
“It appeared a few moments ago." Momo whispered as the creature's scent faded. "It approached slowly and moved closer when I stopped moving. If it’s a carnivore, it was either intimidated by our size or thought we were dead.”
“Did it just want the bones?”
“It rummaged through them and took a few. Then it slowly backed away and kept watching us.” If she had eyes, he guess that she would be looking in the direction where the creature disappeared. “Why do you think it did that?”
“It’s probably just as afraid of us as we are of it. No need to worry.”
The next day, he would remember to leave any trace of food far away from the camp. But while everyone slept, he and Yaomomo remained staring at the trees, afraid the creature would return with a pack if it decided bones weren't enough.