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“Hey, Rocks?” Grace looked over at him with a gentle smile.
For most of the afternoon, they had been lying on the floor of the Projection Room, looking up at the artificial stars of the Milky Way Galaxy. Grace pointed at each constellation and Rocky sung their names, until they had discussed all 88 patterns in the sky. Now Grace had been attempting another solve at his rubix’s cube (although, he was really just using it as a stim toy), and Rocky was playing with his own xenonite contraption beside him.
“Grace have ask for Rocky, question?” Two arms carefully placed the contraption down, and he scattered closer to Grace to lean against his side.
Humming, Grace sat up, and gave Rocky’s carapace a gentle rub through his suit’s xenonite layer. “Nothing bad.” He reassured him. “I was just thinking—“
“—Dangerous—“
“—I-I was thinking t-to-to myself,” Grace continued, half-stumble, half-laugh, “and I realised I don’t know anything about your family.”
“Adrian is—“
“—I know, pal, I know, but what about your parents? Siblings? Parent’s parents? Parent’s siblings?” He chuckled. “When you told me how big Eridian families were, you never said how big yours was. There must be hundreds of Rocky-lookalikes running around on Erid…”
“Rocky has typical family.” He replied. “Not biggest. Not smallest. Somewhere in the middle. Rocky from cluster of 3. Hatchmates called 🎵🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶 and 🎵🎵🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵. Rocky and hatchmates have 115 older siblings and 112 younger siblings. 229 other Rockys plus Rocky makes 230 siblings total. 230 very typical number. 230 is divisible by 5 and Eridians always come in 5’s.”
“Whoa!” Grace gasped, blinking back at him with wide eyes. “That’s a lot of other Rocky’s to remember. How do you tell each other apart?”
“Easy. Easy. Easy.” Rocky scoffed at him through playful, smug notes. “Other Rocky’s all sound different. No Eridian sing same note exactly the same.”
“Like an accent?” Grace asked.
“Bit like accent but also biology of each Eridian make sound differently.” Rocky explained. “Different carapace, different tone, different pronunciation, different sound. Accent becuase of elements in hatch region and chords used. Rocky Adrian sound different becuase beloved mate Adrian hatch region has solid nickel chloride. Also beloved mate Adrian can make notes in lower octaves than Rocky because beloved mate Adrian much bigger than Rocky.”
“Bigger?” Grace choked out. Oh god… “How much bigger?”
“Oh, beloved mate Adrian big big big!” Rocky sang, happily. “Rocky Adrian born same year, but when Rocky leave Erid, Adrian at least double Rocky size. Beloved mate Adrian will be even bigger when Rocky return. Beloved mate Adrian is beautiful beautiful beautiful. Every Eridian at the research facility wanted to sleep on top of beautiful beloved mate Adrian, but only Rocky allowed to sleep on top of beautiful beloved mate Adrian because Rocky mate, Rocky only mate; not them. Adrian Rocky’s. Adrian mine mine mine.”
“Yeah, pal, they’re all yours.” Grace chuckled. “Do you get along with Adrian’s family well?”
“Yes! Rocky love Adrian family!” He chirped, waving two arms. “Adrian sibling 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶 is 52 Earth years older than Rocky Adrian and gift Rocky Adrian lots and lots and lots of important maths books and lots and lots and lots of important engineering books! Rocky Adrian love when 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶 visits Rocky Adrian home! Adrian from cluster of 5, one of 108 siblings; one of oldest. Adrian siblings scattered all over Erid! Some… some die, but 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶 and Adrian hatchmates all alive when Rocky left Erid.”
Grace made a mental note to remember “🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶” as Paulie to continue with the Rocky theme.
“What about Adrian’s parents?” Grace asked, steering the conversation away from Rocky’s deceased in-laws. “Do they visit a lot?”
Rocky shuddered. “Adrian parents massive. Scary.” He whined. “Adrian parents could crush Rocky like human nut. Rocky say no thanks. Rocky say don’t come to Rocky Adrian house. Rocky say you no fit. No, no, no. Please no come. Thank you.”
“I take it your parents are much smaller than Adrian’s?” Grace chuckled, raising an eyebrow at his trembling, overdramatic friend.
“Yes!” Rocky whined back. “Rocky parents smaller! Rocky parents normal sized! Rocky parents not heavy boulders! Rocky parents fit in Rocky Adrian home without destroying Rocky Adrian home! Rocky parents much much much less scary than Adrian parents!”
“Whoa, okay, so Adrian’s parents are super sized, huh? What if we get to Erid, and Adrian’s now the same size?” Grace teased.
“No!” Rocky gasped. “No! No! No! Rocky love beloved mate Adrian, beloved mate Adrian very very very beautiful, Rocky love big big big Adrian, but mate Adrian not scary giant size! Adrian fit in Rocky Adrian house! Beloved mate Adrian big but not big big big big big big big big big big big like Adrian parents!”
Grace laughed.
“No! Grace no laugh! Rocky say no funny!” He exclaimed waving his arms in protest.
“I’m sorry!” Grace laughed. “I just— big big big big big big big big big big big?” He parroted back.
“Yes! Big big big big big big big big big big big!” Rocky exclaimed. “Adrian parents that big! Grace will know when Rocky Grace reach Erid! Grace get scared! Grace hide! Grace leak like Human baby!”
“Okay! Okay!” Grace laughed. “They’re big. I get it, pal.”
“Grace no understand.” Rocky huffed, doing his little non-face pout. “Grace no understand how scary big Adrian parents are.”
Grace rubbed gentle circles into Rocky’s carapace. “I’m sorry, pal. I’ll stop teasing you, alright? Why don’t you tell me about Adrian’s older sibling, Paulie, instead?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Rocky jumped back up, buzzing from excitement, and waved his arms. “Rocky tell Grace all about good friend mentor Paulie! Paulie very smart Eridian! Paulie work at Science Facility before Rocky Adrian even graduate adult education! Paulie work on very very very important projects in Eridian engineering and publish lots of important books! Paulie one of the engineers that designed Rocky ship! Paulie…”