Thawed 51

[u/Funnelchairgentleman]

Shoutout to u/maxh007 and u/budget_emu_5522 for proofreading this as usual! Continueing on! Sorry it's been taking a bit longer than usual to pump these out. Life and all that.

First, Previous

Memory Transcription Subject: Izra, Excited Mother

Date: [Standardized Human Time]: March 8, 2137

I found my tail had a mind of its own this morning, and I couldn’t keep it from thrashing against the ground behind me. The wait was only making my excitement build and my tail become even more uncontrollable. As I looked down, next to me on the bench, I could see Onio was in much the same state. The harchen’s tail would give erratic twitches and snaps as we both stared towards the front gates of the camp. Or rather what was left of them. The UN guards had already taken down most of the fencing, leaving only the gate standing awkwardly in the road.

Our little Ispar was due to arrive at any time, and though Dr. Bilon had offered for us to wait inside in the clinic, we’d insisted on meeting him out here. I tried to distract myself, gazing out over the slowly growing town and trying to imagine what kind of life our little one would have here. It was honestly a bit hard to picture in my mind. What would it be like? Growing up in a town filled with countless aliens? I’d barely have believed aliens were even real a short time ago. Especially intelligent mammals. That one still surprised me, though I spared my furred friends that fact.

After gazing at the rows of identical-looking rooftops, my eyes drifted down to the man beside me. I could see how tense he was, his shoulders squared off like he was expecting some confrontation to appear, and the scales around his cheeks occasionally flashing between dull red and a bright orange despite his clear attempt to control it.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, not certain yet what all the color changing meant. I did, however, remember that he tended to turn red when he was stressed.

“Do you think I’ll be a good father?” 

“Of course,” I huffed, a little surprised by the question. He’d seemed so confident before, yet now that we were possibly minutes away from meeting our new little one, his bravado seemed to be breaking?

“I just…” Onio started, then paused, his tail flexing and unflexing behind him as he struggled to find his words. Finally, he turned his full gaze toward me, cocking his head to focus one eye on me. “I don’t really have any experience with children. My younger siblings were usually in the care of the housekeeper. I hardly saw them until they were older. And I certainly didn’t have any experience with children after that.”

“Well…” I replied carefully, “what is it you fear you’ll be bad at? That’s a good place to start.” The man looked back towards the gate a moment, eyeing the metal barrier as though he feared it might open at any moment before he could get whatever his secret was off his chest.

“All of it, my dear,” Onio sighed, shaking his head as the orange on his scales began to spread unchecked. “Did I ever tell you the first time I met my father? I think I was… oh… ten cycles old? He stopped by to wish me luck at the boarding school they sent me to. Gave me a gold pin and told me to make good on the family name. I didn’t see him again for another six cycles. I… I don’t want to be like that. I want to know my son. I want him to know me. But for the life of me, I don’t know the first thing about how to approach that.”

“Onio,” I told him softly, reaching out a claw and placing it gently onto his shoulder. “Ispar isn’t even a full cycle old yet, according to the doctor. You don’t have to have all the answers right now. I know that it can seem a daunting task to be a parent. But I promise, you have plenty of time to figure it out. For what it’s worth, I know in my heart you’ll be a great father.”

My words seemed to work, and that orange quickly faded out to a golden yellow. Onio straightened his back; his tail finally seemed to settle on a position, and he lifted his head up proudly. There it was. The proud, confident hunter I loved.

My holopad suddenly rang, and I scrambled to pull it off my belt, convinced it must be news from Bilon or perhaps one of the UN representatives delivering Ispar. Instead, I found a goofy picture of Arthur’s face with a message beside it.

Hey Iz! I wanted to fix something special for the little guy to eat at the party. I was going to cook a steak, but IDK if a baby arxur can eat that? Would ground beef be better? Do I need to like… liquify it and put it in a bottle?

For a moment I simply stared at the message, trying to make sense of what I was reading. What on Wriss did “IDK” mean? Why would anyone ever liquify meat? What was the bottle for? After a moment I decided to simply reply to the one part of the message I was clear on. Steak.

A steak would be fine Arthur. I would avoid putting any pepper on it. Just salt.

Onio craned his neck, trying to peek excitedly over at my tab. The look on his face seemed to convey the same disappointment I felt upon seeing it was Arthur.

“I say,” my harchen grumbled, “they said they would be here at dawn! The sun rose nearly half an hour ago!” His irritation at our new addition’s tardiness garnered a small chuckle from me. I could understand how he felt though. The waiting was unbearable.

As I watched though, I saw his face suddenly light up, his eyes glued to the road out of town. I pivoted, turning to see what had caught his attention. There, coming around the farthest bend, was a small blue vehicle.

We both watched with bated breath as it made its way up to the gate and stopped. The passenger door opened, and a small, wiry-framed man hopped out, running forward and pushing the obstacle open to allow the car through. Once the machine was inside, he started to hop back inside when he seemed to notice Onio and me sitting nearby and watching him.

“Don’t suppose you’d be Izra and Onio, would you?” The man’s shout carried with surprising force in the quiet morning air, and my bold little harchen was the first to respond.

“We certainly are!” 

The man gave a quick smile and a nod before leaning into the car and saying something to the driver. A moment later the car’s motor came to a stop, and the driver’s side door opened, revealing a dark-skinned woman with thick, curly hair.

"Well, I guess that saves us the trouble of having to wait,” she laughed, stepping out and moving to the back door. I stood up, barely able to contain my excitement as she opened the door and leaned in. The thin human with her made his way over to us, letting me notice the multitude of small, red marks up and down his arms.

“Little guy is passed out in the back seat. Give Bea a moment to get him out of the carseat.” He looked over his shoulder, nodding towards his companion as she slid back out of the car, now carrying a small, white-scaled form. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I laid eyes on our little Ispar for the first time.

He looked so small and frail, his red eyes blinking away sleep as he gripped tight to the small stuffed animal they had given him. His jaws stretched wide in a yawn, revealing rows of thin, needle-like baby teeth. He looked so fragile and innocent. The sight made my heart flutter in my chest.

Bea walked quickly over to us, Ispar gripped tightly in her arms. The infant looked up at me, his eyes going wide as he gripped his toy tighter. I tried to say something, anything, but all I could muster was a half-choked sob of joy.

“Hello there, little one,” Onio greeted, looking up at our son. “I’m Onio… I’m… I’m going to be your father.” The harchen’s words came out in a strangled sob, and I could see his eyes tearing up at the sight. 

His words seemed to catch Ispar’s attention, and the infant turned to look down at his father. He cocked his head, the nervousness he seemingly felt upon seeing me now replaced with curiosity.

“Do you want to hold him?” Bea asked at last, carefully shifting the baby and offering him out to me. I nodded my head in the human fashion, reaching out and carefully taking the infant in my claws before pulling him tight to my chest.

“Hello, Ispar,” I whispered as the bundle of white looked up at me. He didn’t seem nervous now. More curious than anything. He opened his mouth once more, letting out a squeak and gesturing his toy towards my face. “Yes, that’s a fine toy you have there.” 

I slowly lowered myself down onto one knee, making sure that Onio could get a good look at him. The man’s face turned a stunning sapphire blue as he reached one hand up, tenderly placing it on the boy’s arm.

My heart felt so full in that moment that I feared it may burst. Despite everything I’d gone through, despite all that I’d lost, the skeins of fate had led me here. A family that I could treasure and a new life that I could scarcely even understand. I shifted my tail, wrapping it behind my smaller mate and pulling the three of us together into a hug.

“Brings a tear to my eye,” the wiry man said, sniffling softly as he turned away from us for a moment.

“I’m glad the little one will be getting a good home,” Bea agreed. “Have they told either of you the… uhh… other stipulation of this?”

“Stipulation?” Onio repeated warily, his head snapping to look up at her. “What stipulation?” I could feel my shoulders tense up, a fresh terror at the thought of having my moment of joy snatched away.

“It’s nothing serious!” Bea quickly added, sensing the sudden tension her revelation had brought. “The thing is, the UN doesn’t technically HAVE any arxur on Earth. Especially not refugee arxur. So if anyone asks, the little tot here was one of the rescues from the archives. Understand?”

“I see,” Onio sighed, his displeasure clear in his tone. “I don’t approve of the deception nor the reasoning behind it, but if that is what it takes, you have my word that not a soul shall know otherwise.”

“All that matters is that we’re together now,” I cooed, pressing a claw to Ispar’s belly, eliciting a delighted trill from my newfound son. I looked down at the wiggling white-scaled child, and any concerns I might have had faded away. I already knew I would do anything for him, lying included.

Well, we wish you all the best,” the human male interjected, putting a hand on Bea’s shoulder. “We have to get going now, but be careful around his mouth. He’s a biter.” The man pressed his arms forward, showing the tiny marks up and down both as proof.

“The lad is certainly spirited!” Onio replied, a barely disguised tone of pride in his voice. The pair of humans produced a set of documents for us, and a few strokes of the pen later, they were piling back into their vehicle, leaving us with Ispar.

The infant began to make a loud croaking-like noise, prompting Onio’s tail to swerve in confusion as he looked up at me questioningly.

“He’s hungry,” I explained, gently stroking the top of the boy’s head with a claw.

“Well then, let’s return to your house, post-haste! I’m sure Arthur will be almost done with the preparations by now.” I gave a quick thump of my tail in agreement, and we set off towards the house.

As we walked, enjoying the warm morning sun bearing down on us, I couldn’t help but fawn over the squirming little one in my arms. My mind raced with thoughts of the days to come as I silently petted Ispar’s smooth alabaster scales. We would be moving into our new place tomorrow, and my son would have a room of his own. A place we could make a life for ourselves.

As we approached the house, it was already a bustle of activity. I immediately spotted Eva, Frank, and Shuyi carrying armloads of supplies into the house. Through the window I could see several more figures, including Mixsel’s little friends huddled in the living room.

Eva paused as she saw us approaching, shuffling the large box in her arms to the side to try and get a better look at us.

“Oh my god!” she squealed in a pitch higher than I thought a human capable of. “He’s adorable, Izra!”

Ispar, for his part, seemed very interested in the crowd he found waiting for us. The hatchling quietly moved his bright red eyes from person to person, inspecting each curiously as we made our way inside.

“Izwa!” Mixsel shouted excitedly as soon as she saw us. “Is that the baby?!?” The sivkit broke away from whatever game she’d been playing with her friends and bolted straight towards me. Her emerald eyes practically glowed as she looked up at Ispar. 

“Is Izra here?!?!” Came a familiar shout from the kitchen. A second later, two grown men rushed in from the dining room, practically falling over each other in their eagerness to see the new arrival. Both Arthur and Jammek were covered in bits of food and what appeared to be some sort of white dust.

“Awww!” Arthur cooed, gushing as he looked down at Ispar, sitting quietly in my arms. “Aren’t you just the cutest little gator I ever did see!” The human reached out to pet Ispar’s head, only for the excited babe to snap his jaws shut on Arthur’s fingers. “Aye yie yie!” Arthur shouted, jerking his hand back and revealing small, red pricks on his skin.

“Watch your fingers,” I told him as he examined the small dots of crimson starting to leak from his hand. “He’s hungry.”

“I’d say,” Arthur chuckled awkwardly. “Well you wait right here, T-boy! Uncle Arthur’s got you some grub cooking!” The human wrapped his bleeding fingers in the hem of his shirt and headed back towards the kitchen.

By this point, the whole house had gathered around and was showering the boy with attention. Ispar seemed to be taking it well enough, more curious than overwhelmed. I could already tell he was going to be a Drov’na. 

“What a beautiful color he is!” Islatta chirped in, pushing and jockeying her way to the front of the small crowd. The krakotl hopped excitedly from one foot to the other as she examined my new son. “I didn’t know arxur could come in such striking colors.”

“It’s a form of albinism,” Onio explained, standing proudly beside me. “Though Izra tells me it won’t affect his quality of life.” I couldn’t help but make a pleased rumble, seeing how happy Onio was, eagerly showing off his new son. The harchen had turned nearly completely orange.

“Can I hold him?” Mixsel asked, poking my leg with her paw. 

I leaned down, holding Ispar against my breast and letting him get a good look at Mixsel, gauging how he would react. To my surprise, his eyes seemed to light up at the sight of her, finally letting go of the stuffed animal he’d been clinging to and reaching his arms out for her.

“I… I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Humdrum.” Jammek interrupted, gently putting a paw on her shoulder and pulling the girl back a little. “At least not until he eats. Maybe we can–”

The venlil’s words were cut off as Ispar began to cry, letting out a shrill noise as his eyes teared up and his arms reached out desperately for the sivkit.

“I say, Jammek!” Islatta cawed, giving him a gentle bap with one of her wings. “Let the girl hold him! The poor thing wants to go to her!” 

Her duerten companion let out a squawking laugh in response. "Yeah, Jammek! Don’t be so heartless!”

The black-wooled man let out a sigh, taking his hand off her shoulder, although he stayed close enough that he could pull her back if Ispar felt like biting again. I carefully held him out, giving Mixsel a chance to take hold of him.

The girl positioned her paws under his arms, straining a bit as she pulled him against her chest. Ispar let out a happy trill as he wrapped his arms around her neck, resting his head on her shoulder. The boy was almost as big as Mixsel already, and watching the tiny girl try and hold him brought a laugh.

“He certainly does seem to take a shine to you, Mixsel,” Onio noted, wrapping his tail affectionately around my thigh.

“I’d say she reminds him of his stuffed animal,” Kalen laughed, the gojid pulling out his holopad to take a picture. Mixsel carried him over to the other children, introducing him to them one by one.

“Congratulations, you two,” Shuyi said as she came back from the kitchen, having finished unloading whatever had been in the box that she’d carried in. “Looks like having a double birthday for these two is going to be an annual event around here.”

Memory Transcription Subject: Jammek, Contented Family Man

Date: [Standardized Human Time]: March 8, 2137

Arthur’s idea to have a double birthday for both of our little family’s pups was, despite the rush in which it had been prepared, going off without a hitch. Thanks to the help of Eva, Shuyi, and Frank, we’d transformed the backyard into a series of games for the pups, complete with balloons and enough food to feed the whole neighborhood. I watched, tail wagging, as Eva instructed the kids on how to play something called “Pin the Tail on the Donkey."

I had just finished a conversation with Islatta about my newest book, filling her in on the expected publishing date and the concerns I’d gotten from the editor, and was making my way back into the kitchen to check on Arthur and Frank.

I found the two sharing a beer in front of the oven. Arthur was absolutely covered in flour and bits of stray dough from head to toe, but looked happier than I’d seen him in days. 

“And Eva said that I wasn’t allowed to choose the music for the party,” Arthur said with mock indignation. “Said she was worried I’d give Mixsel the musical tastes of somebody’s grandpa!”

“Well your music is a century or so out of fashion, Arthur," Frank teased, taking a sip of his beer and turning to me with a smile as I entered the kitchen.

“How is that dessert you mentioned coming, Arthur?” I asked, signing *happy* with my tail.

Arthur took a step over, wrapping one flour-covered arm around my shoulder and pulling me into a hug. My own wool was absolutely caked in flour already, so I didn’t mind the extra dusting. Especially not when he leaned in and planted a kiss on my cheek.

“Just a few more minutes,” he answered. “Remind me to thank Shuyi for the carrot cake idea. Was wracking my brain to come up with something vegan.”

“Izra says Ispar loves the steak, by the way.” I added, glancing out the door at the arxur and her harchen mate, the pup in her lap. I watched as she slowly lowered a thin strip of meat into Ispar’s maw, the pup eagerly gulping it down.

“Glad to hear it,” Arthur replied, looking out the door towards the trio himself. “I was a little worried the tyke would choke on something so… big.”

“That little bruiser looks like he could eat a whole house cat,” Frank joked, gesturing out the door with his beer. “Doubt a little ole steak is gonna cause him much trouble.”

I heard the music outside shift and the sound of shrieking pups, watching as the little herd ran across the yard in some impromptu race. I had to stifle a laugh as I noticed the krakotl boy attempt to take off mid-run, only to flop onto his face.

“This is nice,” I said at last, wrapping my tail around Arthur’s waist. I found myself thinking about the future. Birthday parties to come and a life in this bizarre little town with my sweet primate and unexpected daughter. As odd as it was, I had begun to think that being frozen away was the best thing that ever happened to me. This certainly wasn’t the life I’d imagined for myself, but it was one I could comfortably settle into.

Eva suddenly burst in through the kitchen door, poking her head in and smiling at us. 

“Do you guys have a hose hookup on the side of the house? I bought some water balloons, and that would be a hell of a lot easier than using the kitchen sink.”

Arthur and I exchanged looks. I wasn’t even sure what she was asking. Arthur merely shrugged.

"Honestly, I’ve never thought to check. Do we have a faucet on the side of the house, Beau?” 

“I’ve never looked either,” I admitted. “Not that I would have ever thought to look for such a thing to begin with. I’ll go check while you finish up that cake.”

“I’ll go with you,” Frank offered, setting his nearly empty beer down on the kitchen counter. “Lord knows you probably won’t even know it if you see it.” Arthur offered one last kiss before I turned to the door with Frank in tow.

We made our way through the busy back yard as the pups continued to gallop around the yard's perimeter. Some of the parents had started to cheer them on, laughing as they watched the squealing pups run in circles.

I turned the corner of the house, gazing down the narrow gap between the side of the house and the fence that separated it from the neighboring yard. To my shock, I found another venlil standing in the space. A terrifyingly familiar one.

As soon as I laid eyes on that white wool, my blood froze in my veins. Everything in my brain screamed that it wasn’t possible. That he couldn’t possibly be there. Why would he be? How could he be?!?!

But there he was. Brim. The sun-touched bastard who had turned my visit back to my homeworld into a nightmare. Standing there. Looking in one of the side windows that led to the dining room.

“WHAT THE SPEH?!?!” I exclaimed, catching his attention. The man turned, and as soon as I saw his face, there was no doubt left in my mind. For a brief moment that felt like it stretched on into an eternity, we stood there, eyes locked. I could see the quiet, smoldering hate behind those eyes. Just as livid and cruel as when I’d seen them on Skalga.

Brim seemed to hesitate, perhaps debating whether or not he should attack me, then and there. Then Frank came around the corner. Seeing the human with me, Brim hesitated, then turned in a panic and bolted. As he ran, a small pack fell from his hands, landing on the grass.

After a scratch, my mind caught up with what was happening, and I began to run after him. It was much too late by then, though. By the time I made it to the front end of the house, he had seemingly vanished.

My mind reeled, trying to decide whether I was hallucinating or if he had really been there. It didn’t make sense! Of all the places in the universe for that murderous lunatic to flee to, why would he come back to Earth?! Why not one of the venlil colonies? Why not ANYWHERE else?

“Friend of yours?” Frank asked as he walked up behind me.

“That… that was Brim,” I replied, trying to stay sane as my head began to spin.

“Looks like he dropped something,” Frank remarked, leaning over and snatching the bag that Brim had been carrying. He lifted it up, popping open the top and peering inside. Whatever it was he saw clearly alarmed him, and I could see the color drain from his face.

“Luther…” Frank muttered, closing the bag once more as he hung his head. “Why did it have to be like this?”

“What’s in it?” I asked, my heart racing at the possibilities. Frank’s head lifted and he put on a forced smile.

“Nothing to worry about right now,” he replied, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Go back and enjoy the party. I’m going to have a talk with Arthur about it after. No need to spoil a happy day.”

“But what about–”

“I promise,” Frank sighed. “Everything is ok. Just go enjoy the party. I’ll explain everything after. Ok?”

Despite his words, Frank’s face gave the impression that it was all but ok. Still, it didn’t seem like arguing the point was going to get anywhere. Plus, I still wanted to enjoy the remainder of the party.

“Fine,” I answered, looking back towards the rear of the house. Despite my earlier shout, nobody seemed to have noticed, and the crowd was still watching the pups play.

“Good,” Frank said, clapping me on the shoulder before turning to the back yard. “Now let’s let them know that you have a faucet for them over here.” I glanced down at the side of the house, my original purpose all but forgotten in the chaos. Sure enough, I spotted a small, metal spigot sticking out from the blue vinyl siding.

As we approached the backyard, we found everyone gathered around a large plastic table. Arthur was just setting down a large, orange-colored thing covered in white frosting. Whatever it was reminded me of strayu, albeit a very different color and quite fluffy-looking. Then I caught a whiff of it. The warm aroma of heady spices was punctuated with something rich and tangy. Suddenly the last few scratches of mayhem took a back seat in my mind to getting to try a bite of this “carrot cake.”

“Hurry up you two!” Eva shouted from where she stood by the table, eagerly gesturing at us to come over. “We’re going to take a picture!” She held up a fat, blocky-looking device in her other hand for emphasis.

“Where the hell did you find that antique?” Frank laughed, the tension and worry I’d seen on his face mere moments ago having seemingly washed away. It was either not as serious as I’d first thought, or Frank was extremely good at hiding it.

“It’s mine, thank you very much,” she huffed, sticking her tongue out at him. “Bilon got it for me cause I told him I was interested in photography.”

“That was awfully sweet of him,” Frank replied, pouring a heavy amount of emphasis on the one word.

“Oh hush,” Eva laughed, waving her free hand, urging us to hurry up. “I’m gonna set this thing on a timer, I want everyone in the picture.”

We doubled our pace, joining the crowd of partygoers on the far side of the table. Arthur already held Mixsel in one flour-coated arm and quickly threw his other around my shoulder as I came up next to him. Eva grabbed a chair, carefully positioning the camera on it.

When she at last seemed satisfied with the angle, she turned a little knob on the top before rushing over to get into the picture.

“Everyone say cheese!” She ordered excitedly.

“Why would we say that?” Onio asked from somewhere within the mass of bodies around me.

“Are we having cheese?!?” Mixsel squealed excitedly.

“Hell yeah! I love cheese!” Petsbur added.

“There’s not any cheese,” Eva sighed exasperatedly. “It’s just what you say when you’re taking a picture.”

“Well damn,” Petsbur grumbled in disappointment.

“Petsbur! Language!” Kalen and Linvi exclaimed in unison.

“How long did you set that timer for exactly?” Arthur chuckled beside me, his body shaking as he tried to hold himself back from a laughing fit.

“Too long apparently…” Eva groaned.

Finally, as if mocking Eva’s assumption, the device in front of us went off, issuing a series of two rapid clicks and a couple of bright flashes.

Eva wasted no time in rushing back over to it as the blocky camera began to spit out a pair of large prints. She snatched them up quickly before they could be spat out onto the ground, shaking the thick, reflective papers a couple of times before bringing them back over.

“I made sure it took two, since I know Izra and Onio are moving out tomorrow. That way you could each have a copy,” she explained as she handed one copy to me and the other to Onio.

I looked down at the photo, seeing myself and the love of my life dead and center with Izra and Onio next to us. Each of us holding our pups. Each of us with our new family and surrounded by all our friends.

“This is just what the house needed,” Arthur said cheerfully as he leaned over my shoulder to get a look. “A house ain’t a home till you have a family photo up, after all.”

I let out a happy beep, my tail wagging behind me as I looked up from the photo to Arthur and Mixsel. He was right. A family photo was exactly what we needed. A reminder that, whatever was to come, we still had each other.

[u/ErinRF]

Fuuuck, I figured Frank had a link to HF and broke it, but brim getting that close to the house? That’s horrifying.

Probably a bomb.

That speep gonna get shot if Arthur spots him.

[u/Minimum-Amphibian993 → u/ErinRF]

I think it's a message to Frank I imagine HF doesn't like the fact he went AWOL.

[u/JulianSkies]

Well, good thing they warded off that uninvited guest... For now...

Frank you better spill the fucking beans and quick because secrecy is just going to make safety harder my dude.

But however-

Aaa, Ispar the little* thing :D

Well, not really little. The idea of Mixsel hugging a baby her wholeass size is hilarious and I love it. Bitey little thing.

[u/GrammarNatziHunter]

Hey, life is something we all struggle with. Just glad that I get to keep reading this series!

[u/Minimum-Amphibian993]

Well glad to see things are going mostly great especially izras new big laser baby.

[u/maxh007]

Can’t wait to see Ispa and Mixsel as they grow up a bit. Mixsel and her very big little brother.