Faraway

[Kitti]

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Hazy blue eyes peeked out from behind the silvery blue leaves surrounding her face, camouflaging not only her eyes but her smooth silver skin. Below the tree, a trap was carefully placed and concealed. Tenna had spent hours digging the hole and placing a fragile grid of sticks over the opening, as well as the placing of leaves and moss to hide her well-laid plans. The rustle of undergrowth in the distance made Tenna tense with excitement and anticipation.

The next events happened so quickly, she hardly had any time to react. Instead of her prey, Tenna watched a far more humanoid figure run out from the dense trees and into the clearing, limbs flailing as it toppled into the pit in the ground. Tenna sprang from her tree, landing on her hands and knees at the side of the pit. Messy hair, navy blue and spiky, fell across Tenna's cheeks,obscuring her view until she pushed it back so that she could look down to see what exactly she had captured.

"What the hell are you doing? You just ruined an entire day's worth of work. Who are you?" she was furious, and hungry as well. She had been planning on catching one of the meaty creatures that scavenged carcasses and plants in the brush of the forest, but at least the pit wasn't marred by the stranger's clumsy fall, or so she hoped. It would take less time to cover up the hole again than to repeat the entire process.

The sound of the creatures that Tenna had been trying to catch echoed from nearby and to Tenna's vehement anger, a beefy specimen strode into the clearing. In height, it reached up to Tenna's knees standing. Covered entirely in dull gray hide, the skin was so thick on it that arrows would glance off of it without causing the skin more than a nick. Beady black eyes set deep into its face mocked her and her inability to do anything about it standing by casually. She was weaponless and even so, if the creature was provoked, it had the massive jaws capable of crushing bone in conjunction with pointed horns that warded her away from trying to capture it bare-handed.
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[Locke Cole]

"Good lord, woman!" A rather shaken voice echoed up from the pit that he had fallen into rather unexpectedly. While her attention was elsewhere on the creature that had been chasing him rather inconsiderately, he was standing and brushing himself off of the dirt that he had collected in the fall. Not that it would make much of a difference, seeing as he was surrounded by the stuff. Plucking a leaf off his shoulder, he flicked it away from his body and squinted up out of the hole. "While I must thank you for providing me a due opportunity to shake my pursuant, it is rather undignified to build a giant fucking hole in the ground, don't you think?"

Yes, he had been running from the little creature that now stood before the girl, as vicious and life threatening as the animal was. It was quite obvious he was not accustomed to life in the wild, or wildlife that ran rampant in said zone for that matter. He was completely unarmed, for one thing. For another, he was trussed up with all manner of things hanging off his belt; things that ranged from a spyglass to a dusty journal and onward to tiny vials that held samples of the wild growth and vegetation. Even the dirt.

Dusting off his hat, he plunked it down on his head, wisps of brown hair flowing from under the brim. It was a hat like one would see more commonly on a tourist, though weather beaten and clearly used. So one would be led to believe he wasn't AS ignorant as he appeared ... though this assumption would be quite feasible. "Now would you be so kind as to get me out of this cesspit and back up there? I rather don't like being stuck here for other of those creatures to find and gobble up. Or perhaps bloody my ankles." He frowned, looking down at his calves that had been clearly cut up from the run through the jungle rather than by the animal she was hoping to be her next meal. His pants were shredded from thorns, and there was very faint amounts of blood beginning their trickle down his legs, staining ever so slightly his protective garments.

"Bloody mess of me the thing has made, that's for sure. No pun intended." He looked back up at the rim of the hole, waiting almost in what would be a semblance of patience if he wasn't tapping his foot irritatedly.

 

[Kitti]

[size=-2]
Tenna sat on the edge of the pit in response, eyeing the man with a frown etched on her elfin features. She swung her legs back and forth as she did so, reveling in the soft earth beneath her leather skirt that crumbled under the fingers of the hand she was bracing herself with. It would have been a fine day if it were not from this man. A study of both his visage and his items proved that her guess on his origin was correct, he was not from here. He must be one of the timid men with white leaves and shiny tools that had been sent to coax the land into what they deemed habitable.

"You're so ignorant" she replied caustically, at last. "Undignified, maybe, but I would have been able to eat him were it not for you, and without a single bloody mark on my body. Instead, I got some ill-tempered and foolish person. Maybe I should just eat you" she leered threateningly into the pit, but the malice really wasn't there. She couldn't exactly blame him for not noticing her trap, the point was for it to be hidden. With a resigned sigh, Tenna shifted to sit on her knees, casting a resigned look to her prey that was now placidly trotting away as she did so.

"Grab my hand, I'll pull you up" Tenna muttered, extending her arm down so that he could reach her at the same time as she bolstered her position so that she could tug him up with little difficulty.
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[Locke Cole]

Cautiously he extended his hand, then held it just out of reach for a moment, narrowing his eyes though they appeared that, with shock taken into consideration, they couldn't get much wider. "You wouldn't eat another humanoid, miss." There was a long pause as his hand was just out of reach for a moment more before he slapped his hand into hers. "Would you?" He seemed incredulous, but he gave her no opportunity to answer as he continued speaking almost as if to himself. "Of course you wouldn't. We were led to believe this world was full of savages, but certainly the people are not. Anywho, the name's Aiden. Aiden Drake, at your service."

He looked momentarily around him, clearly still flustered before returning his eyes to the girl in front of him, studying her up and down. She was really quite beautiful, general savagery not withstanding. Adjusting his hat and clearing his throat, he bowed before her once he had gotten his feet on the ground and the decency of introduction out of the way. "In return for your building a clever device forwith to save my life, perhaps I could offer you a meal at my bunker?" He offered as he stood, hooking his thumbs through his tool belt. For a researcher, he was really a bit unorthodox, at least amongst his brethren. Though undoubtedly she would not know that and take him for a pompous buffoon.

Which, he thought to himself, wasn't too far from the truth. His eyes glazed over in his reverie, as they always did when he got a thought or an idea into his head of any nature, be it scientific or mundane. He was kind of a joke, and it wasn't that he was upset about it - truth be told, he really hadn't wanted to be your typical researcher and terraformer in the first place. But he did like working with the land and other cultures and races, so he had jumped on the opportunity.

With a snap back to reality, he blinked, tilting his head to the side a little. "My apologies miss. Whatever you said just then -- I do believe I missed it. No harm done though. You really oughtn't be so timid." He reached out and grabbed her hand once more, assuming that she had taken him up on his most generous offer and began leading her back the way he had come before stopping, letting her hand drop from his. Looking down multiple well-hidden routes, he suddenly realized ... he had no idea where he was. With consternation, he looked over at her. "That is, of course, if I could just locate my bearings. Or even ... the general idea of the vicinity around me ... where to head ..." He trailed off muttering, still looking around, clearly perplexed.

 

[Kitti]

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Tenna was about to object, to pull away from him, when he admitted to being unable to find his back back to his own dwelling. She could not restrain the laughter that bubbled, unbidden, from her lips at the helpless confusion written clearly on his face. Convincing herself that it was because she was hungry and deprived of a meal, Tenna mentally conceded to allowing him to offer her sustenance. Just this once though, she decided, just this once she would take someone else's food.

"I don't know where your .... bunker? is, but I can take you to where your people have settled here. Surely you can find your way from there?" she began walking then, without waiting for his confirmation. She could hear him trying to keep pace with her, but his height was hindering him where normally it would seem his superior size gave him an advantage. Standing at barely five feet in height thought, Tenna ducked easily below any branches from the surrounding foliage, even the low and broken ones.

Suddenly, Tenna halted in her tracks, causing the man behind her to bump into her. This annoyance would surely have been addressed except that she held her hand up to silence him; in the distance the grunting of more of the creatures that had chased Aiden could be heard, at least by Tenna. A delicate fan of cartilage and skin flared out around her otherwise tiny ear, catching the sounds with greater efficiency than Aiden's.

"Chouli. Come this way, we can keep from running into them since you did not seem to be great friends with them" she took hold of his shirt sleeve in one small, bony hand and tugged him down a different direction. "Just follow me, all right?" she confirmed with him, pushing pat brambles as though they were nothing to her calloused skin, which was roughly true. "I am called Tenna. You told me your name, so I will tell you what they call me".
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[Locke Cole]

"Sure, I'd -" He'd get cut off with a smack of a branch every now and then, racing after her as fast as he could. He wasn't exactly sure where they were headed, though he assumed at her statement that it must be in the general direction of his camp. And that was enough for him.

Deciding to change what he had been going to say, he tried once more to make conversation on the run. "A pleasure to meet you, Ten -" thwap. Apparently talking and running through dense foliage was not going to work very well for him, so he just planted his hand on his hat to keep it from being yanked off and barreled after her. He wasn't used to much exertion, so he was tiring a lot easier than her, but one wouldn't say he was exactly out of breath. He was sweating, sure, but not out of breath.

During the flight, he got a chance to watch her as none of his fellows had been able to do with the people here since their arrival. She was a lithe creature, that much was apparent, but he could see the muscles working in her frame as well. And she hardly seemed to be out of breath, as if this were just a morning stroll through the forest. Her willingness to help him bespoke volumes of her people; after all, they had shown up rather unwelcomely to the planet, systematically begun tearing it apart to fit their views of what a livable planet should be, and she was so easily willing to help him?

Or perhaps she was an outcast amongst her people, the same as him. And she felt an iota of pity for him, having more than probably discerned that he was somewhat out of place in his world as well. But that possibility quickly released its talons from his mind, floating off into whatever space it had come from.

For now, he was just content to follow her where she was going to lead him. Which, he supposed, bespoke volumes of his own personality.

 

[Kitti]

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Tenna listened as the man tried to make conversation, failing miserably each time he was assaulted by an aspect of the foliage. It was hard not to laugh, he seemed almost comical. The confusion surrounding the village of Erdas could not be easily broken down, falling instead into a division of opinion. One side supported the aliens, to a degree. After all, they came bearing a sad tale, the saga of their planet which they called "Irth" and how it came to be that there were only a few ships left of their inhabitants. They detailed their lonely exploration of the neighboring galaxies for nearly twenty years in search of a planet they could live on again. To their supreme delight, they "discovered" Dias, and began to form a colony.

As for the other side to the story, they attempted to claim superiority, these aliens, at first. They had flashy machines and what they deemed advanced technology. However, this argument did not last, further investigation proved that the native inhabitants had once possessed such technology and instead of further developing it, they had instead chosen the route associated with the alien's barbarians. Initial scuffles had ended at an impasse, the natives were not motivated or equipped for war and had the uncanny ability to resist the weapons of the aliens with a large degree of success which they attributed to their evolution. There were many members of the natives that for the behaviors of the aliens and their belligerent activity thought that the aliens should be forcibly expelled from the planet.

Tenna, fortunately for Aiden, subscribed to the first point of view. She had the compassion and the wisdom to understand that the people needed a home. For this reason, she treated stray aliens in her forest usually with some measure of tolerance. Secretly, there had been whispers of a growing sentiment in the humans though that wished to carve out the land for themselves and a development underway of technology designed to wound the native people.

"We're almost there" Tenna declared, and sure enough the trees began to thin, the shapes of hastily crafted dwellings coming in to sight along with two of the airships, a third further back and currently out of plain view that housed the leaders of the aliens. "Where is your home?"
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[Locke Cole]

Looking around the clearing he squinted, pulled his hat off his head and scratched his hair. "Well, to be honest miss, I'm not ... really quite sure. It's under the wing of a ship ..." He trailed off a moment, looking around at all that was going on in his base, talking to himself the whole time and pointing to give her a reference to what exactly he was talking about. "There are the animals, that's not my territory. They're trying to tame some of the wildlife. I just don't have the whats-its for that, you know what I'm saying?" With a sheepish grin he looked at her, the smile quickly fading as it was quite apparent that she did not, in fact, 'know what he was saying.'

"Yes, well," he continued, scanning the hustle and bustle of everyone once more. "That's the mess hall, that's the soldier's training ground." His eyes came to light on the plane tucked off far in the distance, where strange colors of smoke were drifting into the air all around it. It was clear it probably smelled worse than the animal portion, and more than likely the noise would be unbearable, but Aiden lightened up. "Ah, there!" he pointed excitedly, clearly proud that he located the general location of his home. "In that section over there. All science and logic over there. The people aren't too pleasant, tend to keep to themselves. But look at me, running my mouth again. This way then, chip chip." He patted her on the back and started down the road into the base.

Reaching the edge of the complex, he stopped, making sure Tenna was with him. The outskirts here were homes for families and settlers, most of them quite young, some having already started families. His cheeks went a deeper red than they were previously from the exertion at the couple cat calls that were made at Tenna's presence beside him. "Don't mind them, miss." He spoke quietly aside to her, beckoning her follow. "Most the people here don't get good looks at the natives, so forgive them for staring and misunderstanding. I'm afraid there's not a whole lot I will be able to do to stymie the flow of rumor going around. My house is not far from here, and I've plenty of consumables I can whip up in a flush for you, eh?" He smiled reassuringly to her and held out his hand, attempting to make like he were going to protect her -- though undoubtedly she would be more than capable of protecting herself.

 

[Maskannai]

The military had been a part of her life for longer than she had memory to recall. Her father had joined when he was eighteen and had forged his way through many bloody battles. After fifty years of service he was a five star general and had retired very comfortably. For this reason Nessa had joined at eighteen as well, all to happy to give in to the pressure and follow in her fathers' grand footsteps. Vanessa Swift had had no illusions in life. Being a military brat she had grown up with strict rules and codes to live by. She was the mirror of her father inside and a striking likeness of her mother outside. Her waist length dark auburn hair, smooth olive complexion and green eyes set her off from others as a great beauty and she knew exactly how to use that weapon.

Nessa was thirty eight now, a Lt. Colonel, and still in her prime. She was tall and athletic and determined. It was not common to have the rank she possessed at her younger age, but she had worked long and hard for it. Being one of the head officers assigned to this particular off world expidition had come with her last promotion. She was proud of the great responsibility that was placed in her hands when she got the assignment. She didn't completely understand how terraforming worked in detail, but that was what all the other people who worked under her were for and she understood enough so no one could ever pull the wool over her eyes.

"Ma'am, you might want to come and see this," a private said, entering her office and saluting her sharply. She smiled, enjoying the freedom her rank brought and the respect others had for it.

"At easy private," she replied and waited as he relaxed a hair. "What exactly do I need to see?" She asked, curious what could be so important.

"One of the researchers ma'am. He just came back with a native on his heels," the young man replied in a very professional sounding tone. She narrowed her eyes then walked briskly out of the office, the private right behind her.

 

[Kitti]

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Tenna blinked at his hand before catching on to his attempts. Cautiously, she examined the soft skin, free of tough callous from work. Just a scientist, so far at least, she decided, grasping his hand firmly in her own to allow him to lead her. She had never seen the compound before, natives did not go near it and instead traded with the aliens at a small compound within the forest, the site was confusing and different for her. She glanced around at every which way, taking in the coarse, ugly dwellings they made and the monstrous, evil ships that seemed to be so different from the land, the ground wanted to expel it.

A human child approached Tenna in curiosity, clearly not one of the youngest members because there were no parents keeping guard over them like angry insects over a nest; Tenna was taken aback by the height of the humans, they easily made her look like a child in comparison even though she was one of the Elect, naturally a little taller than the rest of her people. The child had eyes full of wonder, devoid of malice and bigotry that Tenna was used to in the aliens. Truly one of their innocents, then, she decided as she and the child exchanged looks.

A woman called, sounding both fearful and angry, which caused the child to bolt. Tenna turned to see who the woman was, but thought her ears had deceived her greatly. This woman voice did not appear to belong to a woman but rather a man with stiff and uncomfortable looking clothing. Behind her was what seemed to be a poor copy of her, a different face and size but the rest looked the same.

Tenna eyed her suspiciously. She was going to speak when her stomach growled in protest. Without a word, Tenna turned to Aiden. "I hunger, are we going to eat now?" her back was now turned to the woman in the uniform and she appeared to have disregarded her presence entirely. The woman seemed flabbergasted and quickened her already brisk pace.
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[Maskannai]

Nessa was out of the door to her office so quickly that the young private nearly lost his balance trying to turn around, then he was on her heels as she strode through the complex, looking for the offending researcher and his tag-a-long. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for since there was a bit of a crowd gathered. Many of the scientists and even military personnel had never seen a native, despite the fact that they had been on the world for years. The presence of a native in their own compound sent out quite a stir, and since people are such good gossips news travelled too fast. As she approached the pair she saw that the native was exchanging glances with a young child and called out to the kid to get home, then strode quickly towards the researcher.

"Just what are you thinking of researcher?" She asked briskly, not knowing his name so just calling him by his job title. Relations with the natives were already tense enough without them gaining an inside look at the heart of what they considered to be their enemies territory. The native, a female, turned her back to Nessa and asked the researcher, his name Aiden apparently, when he was going to feed her. Nessa couldn't believe how forward the little thing was, her surprise showing clearly on her face.

 

[Locke Cole]

"I don't. Umm." He looked between Terra and what he considered his boss, scratching the back of his head, obviously flustered. A little too late, he made a show to salute the woman, but he hadn't the training that her subordinates in the military had had. So, he compromised and did his best. His first mistake was more than likely visibly relaxing immediately after saluting.

"Ma'am, I'm just ... see she saved me." Huffing, he gathered his thoughts for a moment. For a scientist and researcher he appeared to be quite a space cadet -- though it was true, if anyone knew him. He was just a deep thinking. "And in so doing, ma'am, sir, your honor ... Uh, I kind of let her lunch escape her. Not in chucking the meal up from the stomach, mind you. I mean her hunting trap. I ruined it, and her meal escaped, so I just thought I'd ... bring her here. Feed her? My food of course! Rations ... meal tickets. From my share."

Bumbling through his explanation, as he always did (even in his research; his explanations were sub par, but his mind and his tests always granted results that he seemed to understand thoroughly. He was one of their best minds, if not the ... brightest), he looked to Tenna and wiped his brow with his hat, sweating from the pressure. He had known this would make a scene, but one of the heads of the project?

"She's polite. She's on our side." He paused a moment and said under his breath, "I think." Getting his courage back, he stood a bit straighter and looked the commander in the eyes. "But I'll take full responsibility for her and her actions while she's here, miss. Ma'am." Huffing, he cut off his stream of honors as it was apparent the leader was getting irritated with him. Looking around at the gathered people, he seemed to shrink a bit in stature, embarrassed at all the attention he was clearly so not used to.

If Tenna watched them and understood any of their society, she probably understood what he had just done for her. She would have to be on her best behavior. Too late, he realized he was still holding Tenna's hand in his other, dropped it quickly and saluted with that one -- which, of course, was the incorrect hand. But he didn't catch the insult he had given by doing so to a commanding officer. After all, he wasn't military.

 

[Kitti]

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Tenna eyed the crowd with such a nonchalant air, it was nearly comical to see Aiden beside her, stressed and sweating. Tenna drew herself up to her full height, which was not terribly impressive considering that many of the human children equaled or outmatched her size, and faced the woman. "If I had any intention of harming your little settlement, I would not have docilely accompanied one of your funny little men into your encampment" she pointed out laconically. Her eyes were now half-lidded, giving her a sleepily arrogant look as she watched the townspeople.

"You seem to act like this is your planet, you forget who first showed you hospitality. Is this your way? Is this why you have no planet to return to now?" she asked, her head tilting to the side. She understood misgivings, but treating her as the enemy offended her, especially since it had never been explicitly stated that the aliens and the people of Dias were not to visit one another. Tenna did not bristle, did not anger, but her voice seemed more command than question.

People nearby seemed to scatter a little, some twittering madly and clearly hoping for a fight while others intended to distance themselves as much as possible. The tense air seemed to affect everyone but Tenna, who was still gazing around so carelessly that it was borderline defiance in and of itself.
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[Maskannai]

Nessa stood there and watched as Aiden sweated and stammered through his explanation, what little there actually was of it. He partially didn't even seem to know how to act around a higher military figure, and also didn't seem to know how to keep his thought organized. She knew his reputation as a scientist and researcher though. She had read his reports and seen his findings and knew that he had an amazing mind. Apparently he just couldn't function with normal society, which might be why he was such a recluse normally. She staved back her growing frustration as she half listened to his stuttering explanation and half wondered about this female native that had just waltzed into their compound with one of their most prominent scientists.

"That is enough researcher Aiden," she said in her own commanding voice once he seemed to have reached his explanation's conclusion. She didn't want to listen to any more and knew that as long as the native was under Aiden's watch she shouldn't be able to do much harm. To back this up the little thing herself spoke up, adding to his story that she was only here for him to feed her.

"Make sure that you do not use more than your own rations for this," she added, then turned on her heel and strode off, the young private still on her heels. Once she was far enough away and Aiden's attention was distracted again she turned to the private.

"Make sure that little thing is watched closely," she said softly, then continued with her brisk walk until she had reached her office again.

 

[Locke Cole]

Sighing, clearly relieved that the officer had left, he visibly slumped as if some great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Putting a hand on her forearm, he looked over at Tenna apologetically. "Don't take her wrong, she's just doing what's right by us. And she's a good leader, listens ..." He trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Jerking his head in the direction of his own rooms, sheltered near where the Officer had taken off to, he began leading her through the throng of people that were slowly regathering.

The walk took longer than usual, what with the crowd forming not only for viewing but for rationing of food and water, but they eventually made it to the virtually empty Science wing of the base. Motioning around himself, he indicated the countless animals they held for tests, some clearly treated much better than others. It was a testament to human originality that the prettier ones, while more than likely deadly, were treated far better than the uglier, more harmless species.

He lead Tenna to his door, looking around as he unlocked it as if he were trying to hide something from prying eyes, then shoved it open for her. His home was really more of a sterile lab, though with all the commodities of home. Kitchen, bathroom, sleeping quarters, etc. The only starkly different thing, not withholding the equipment and test devices, was that in the corner where multiple projects should be stood one single cage, housing a quite amazing, albeit unremarkable creature. It was clearly treated well, Aiden having a soft spot for any of his living experiments.

Ample food was in the corner in a bucket for it, with plenty of water and comfortable sleeping quarters. Add in the fact that it excitedly welcomed Aiden's arrival, and you could get no mistakes -- subject it might be, tolerant pet it was more.

"Ah, this is ... I call him Chimmy. I'm not really sure what he is or does yet, but, well." Shrugging as if that explained it all, he gave Tenna a brief tour of the small quarters, pointing out the vast amount of notes and research he was currently working on for the life on this new home, a lot of which she might be surprised to find was quite accurate to the way things were. After that, he quickly changed into cleaner clothes with no dirt or twigs sticking from them, then bowed to her in a very gentlemanly manner, holding his hat close to his chest. "I'm going to get some food to cook up. You ... stay here, alright?"

Without giving her a chance to respond, he opened and closed the door behind him, then almost as an afterthought he opened and stuck his head back in. "Please?" He seemed almost to be begging her, but he wasn't below that. He had a bad feeling she would undoubtedly cause more mischief while he was gone to call the attention of the officer from before, but ... what could an awkward scientist do?

(I left the description very vague and open, seeing as Kitti was the first to post it. So I was going to let her make her own creature for her world, but other than that ... it's time to force her along on the train ride! Derailment in 3 ... 2 ...)

 

[Kitti]

[size=-2]
Tenna's face brightened visibly at the sight of the animal in the cage. She entirely forgot to inquire why he would confine animals in his house like this, instead darting over to the create and opening up the cage jubilantly to release the creature inside. Tenna cooed at the animal in her native tongue, calling it Chimmy after what Aiden had said. The creature perched excitedly on her shoulder, chittering back at her while she talked.

Tenna would not understand why Aiden had chosen this little creature for a companion, but the real reason was one she would not understand. Of all the creatures on this new planet, Chimmy and his kind had looked most like an earth species, a stunning resemblance to a sifaka lemur. The differences were subtle, Chimmy was smaller, a nuanced mixture of silver and powder blue to blend with the native trees, and when Chimmy opened his adorable snout, he revealed two sets of pointed fangs protruding in front of his rounder teeth for grinding. These creatures were Neripac, the agile hunters of the canopy, preying on birds and their eggs as well as eating the native fruits and leaves.

When Chimmy grew bored of chattering at Tenna, he darted off around Aiden's home, scrambling onto the counters and slipping across the floor. Tenna proceeded to wander around, examining the unnatural dwelling with keen interest. There was so little natural here, everything felt cold and lifeless beneath her fingertips, which gave her a feeling of unease. Curious to see how these aliens slept, she looked around his house with more purpose and stumbled into his bedroom. The single pallet for his bed clicked in Tenna's mind a terrifying thought for her - he wasn't allowed to draw warmth from the community? He must have done something wrong, she gasped, casting furtive stares in all directions. Her pity and worry were cut short, however, when she spotted a patch of color on his wall.

There, in a painting, was captured a foreign landscape; life forms that looked like her plants except they were murky brown and sickly greens covered the background. In front of these plants, however, was an image of Aiden. Tenna tilted her head to the side as she examined the photograph; there were other people surrounding Aiden, smiling all of them, and even he looked happy. Was this picture the alien planet? She did not have much time to muse, a loud sound rang abruptly from where she had entered.
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[Maskannai]

When Nessa arrived back at her office she was still furious. She slammed around for a few minutes, trying furiously to think of what needed to be done. After she had scattered a pile of papers across the floor she realized that acting in this fashion was not getting here anywhere, nor was it very becoming for a head officer to be acting in such a childish way. She breathed and raked a hand through the loose strands of auburn hair that had fallen loose from her bun. She took in a few deep breaths as she cleaned up the papers and stacked them neatly back on her desk, all in the correct order they had been in before. She walked over and sat at the chair behind her work desk, then leaned forward and rested her chin in her right hand and began sifting through her thoughts.

The native definitely couldn't stay for very long. She neither wanted the little thing to begin feeling at home, nor could they afford for others to come looking for her. She knew that if other's began to think that the little female had been taken hostage that that would make the already fragile state of things even more difficult. As much as Nessa didn't mind a good battle now and then she didn't want full blown war with the natives. Earth was no longer habitable, which was why this settlement of humans had migrated to this particular planet. They just needed to play nice with the natives and find some semblence of peace that they could all live with.

She hated to think of them having to leave the beautiful world. In many ways it reminded her of Earth, though its colorings were completely different. It was such a magical place that helped her feel at ease even during stressful times and she hoped that they would be able to stay for a long time yet.

"Private," she said aloud suddenly and the young man jumped to attention. "We need to make sure that the little native girl stays out of places she shouldn't go, especially since she is currently being hosted by one of our most prominent scientists," she added, thinking of what all needed to be done.

"I will see to it right away ma'am," he replied crisply and saluted, then marched out of her office to complete his assigned errand. She was pleased with his work so far and thought that he might be able to look forward to promotion in the near future.

 

[Locke Cole]

(Sorry it took so long to respond, was working until 6AM on my novel last night and wore myself out. X.x)

With no idea what was going on in Nessa's quarters, much less her thoughts, Aiden walked plaintively through the hustle and bustle of the distribution of rations, shrugging off any questions and attention he was receiving. He was terrible with people, entirely more so with this many of them crowding around him. He always hated this time, but it was necessary in order to retrieve food to last him another day and to keep the base functioning without starving anyone. Sighing, he stood in line with the others, getting his ration tickets prepared -- two days' worth, in order to feed the both of them, but then he was accustomed to going without food. Most times his research on the lemur-like creature consumed his time so much that he forgot to eat.

"Ay, champ, got you a pretty native pet now, eh?" A gruff, crude voice sounded behind him, and without any intentions of doing so he blushed as the large laborer elbowed him in a friendly nudge, sending him stumbling a little bit.

"No, that's not ... I mean ..." He thought for a moment in silence, then nodded. Actually, this might be the best way to get Tenna some peace and quiet, so with a sigh he looked at the man. "She took a fancy to me right quick. Couldn't get her to leave me alone, but ... see if you can keep this quiet? Don't let anyone bother her?" He added a tone of pleading to his voice, which he was unfortunately accustomed to using to save his own hide from bullies that still, apparently, bothered him. The man that had been pestering him winked but thankfully said nothing more. Almost too graciously he handed his rations tickets to the chef, who raised an eyebrow but forked over the meal-stuffs in silence.

Taking the packaged meats and vegetables away from the hustle and bustle of the camp, he breathed a sigh of relief, pausing momentarily outside Nessa's quarters. She wasn't a bad lady, and he had always respected her in his own way. He just wasn't sure what her problem was with Tenna -- he didn't think much into the future, as his research accustomed him to more of a here and now mentality. He hoped things wouldn't get too hectic, and with that shifted his bundles and returned to his domicile.

Clicking open the door to his bunk, he dropped the packages, mouth open, at the trouble Chimmy had caused being released. He moved without thinking when the lemur leapt into his arms, chittering at him, holding him like one would a child. He just stared around the mess dumbly, at all of his notes scattered haphazardly about by the monkey. He couldn't blame Tenna, he knew she was releasing a creature of her jungle, and after all her action did kind of help him. It confirmed that Chimmy was a completely harmless animal in all ways.

Looking down at the lemur, he worked his mouth, but no sounds came out, and he sighed, bringing the thing back to its cage and closing it behind him. Regathering the dropped food parcels, he breathed deeply to calm himself and went to the kitchen, unceremoniously gathering his papers into a bundle and putting them on his working desk. He supposed he would sort all of his research out when he had a little more free time. He began to bustle about preparing food, lost in thought, so he didn't think to see what Tenna was doing, where she was, or if she was alright.

 

[Kitti]

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Tenna poked her head into the kitchen, enormous blue eyes aglow with wonder. Tentatively now, she strode up to Aiden, curiosity blazing beneath the placid blue of her irises as she prepared to address him. Remembering the picture, Tenna widened her mouth into what she hoped was a mimic of their smile, unaccustomed to the motion but assuming it was friendly. It came out more like baring her teeth at him, displaying a prominent pair of canines on either side of her mouth that were bestial enough to lump her smile in with the lemur-esque creature now busily chewing a leaf by grinding its back molars while allowing an unobscured view of its front fangs.

With this smile still in place as best as she could keep it while talking, Tenna finally spoke, "What was it like, where you come from? It must be sad to leave your homes in those weird green leaves for something like this..." she waved around at the sterile white room, pitying him for the unnatural feel of it. "You must have learned to use something like this, though, when you were flying around. You were flying around, right? Nesya Evton told us that your people flew around after something destroyed your Irth..." she was watching him, her blunt manner completely unintentional.

"Nesya Gheli says that I still have a lot to learn, and because many of our people have hardly broken into adulthood, your people think we are unrefined. Did you know we had ships? Ships like yours?" she had continued without giving him a chance to respond, her expression a little bit defiant thinking about the other aliens she had met that had dismissed her as a dumb alien, part of a species less advanced than theirs. Waiting for his response, Tenna hopped up onto the counter and allowed her feet to swing in the air. Small differences between the aliens and her people were apparent if you looked close enough, she realized, comparing her own tiny, calloused feet to his large ones that had padding. Was that why the people feared her? Little things like small feet?
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[Locke Cole]

He was taken aback for a moment by that grin she had, almost a sneer by his first glance, until she continued talking to him it plastered on her face and he realized she was attempting to smile at him. He snorted a bit in an obvious attempt to keep from laughing, then couldn't help himself and burst out, a big happy look spreading over his own features. After a moment, he held up his hand to her. "I apologize, my dear." He wiped a tear from his eyes, regaining his composure, his irritation at the ruined office space completely gone. He'd left it in a worst state of affairs before.

"I'm not laughing to aggravate you, it's just ... your smile. You don't have to hold it while talking unless you're happy." He poked at the side of her mouth, his eyes clearly locked curiously on her pointed teeth. Briefly, they flicked to the lemur, then back to her and an eyebrow was raised, but out of courtesy he decided to answer her questions first, looking around the small building.

"I suppose that I did get used to living in this, but not by any means because of the ships. I'm a researcher here, I ... study ... your people, your planet, in order for us to better understand the workings. You see we made horrible mistakes on Earth he pronounced it a bit heavily to try and let her know, in a polite way, the correct way to pronounce his ... or rather, his parents' old home. While he went about cooking the food in his pots and pans, he looked over at her and tried unsuccessfully to hide his interest in her other statement.

"Your people had ships like this, did they? I'm afraid we did not know." Looking around conspiratorially, he leaned in close to her, lowering his voice to a whisper. "I wouldn't go around saying that too loudly, here, though. Most here, they would ... well, they would rip your village apart to try and get to those ships and study them." His hand stopped from moving the food around in the pan, and he dropped onions into the mix of meats and vegetables that he was preparing.

"Are your people interested in meeting one of us, as well?" He again tried to sound uninterested, but failed miserably. "Perhaps I could teach them about us, in return for some of your own information? Purely scientific curiosity, of course." He looked at her from under slightly lowered eyelids, hoping for a favorable reaction. He hoped the notes and things scattered around his place were tell enough that that truly was all he was interested in.

Where normally he didn't get along with people, he was only so open to the ideas and hopes that came shooting through his mind because for some reason he was able to get along with this native far better than any of the people here, and let's face it -- when you're the outcast, anything is preferable.

There was no way he could have known about the wire tap in his study that all scientists had, linking the recordings to the head offices to be reviewed for any suspicious activity.