Chapter Text
Slurping up the curl of plasma, the youngest of their eclipse trills to themselves, the cold warmth yummy as always. Fluttering up for another taste, they find themselves rolling to the side, their arm stinging.
When Smallest rights themselves and finds the Oldest looking to them, eyes crescent in humor and their fur scales puffed up to make them bigger.
Tilting their antennae, they try not to pout, but when they ignore them to take up eating in their spot Smallest is not accepting of that!
Fluffing up their own fur scales around their neck, they almost can’t see from it, but they charge forward anyway, hitting Oldest with all their force.
Really it just sends them flying away towards the superheated rocks orbiting the red star they found.
Looking up, Oldest is now joined by more of their eclipse, all of them looking down at them. Smallest plans to try again, ready to prove they are just as strong, but Oldest angrily turns their antennae down and points to the rock Smallest landed on.
Smallest shakes in anger, pushing themselves up to stand, refusing to be put in a sit-down when it was their plasma arc first! But before they could take off, the third oldest glides down and pushes them to sit back down, taking their claw and holding theirs so they can’t leave!
Smallest tries to pull away, but it’s no use, not with being the youngest. It’s why they went to the best spot, how else will they get strong enough for their eclipse to take them seriously.
Third gently pats their head, trying to stop their struggling. And looking up, Third points to their siblings, all of them turned away to feast on the corona they found, but not judging him anymore. Antennae wilting, Smallest sits down, sadly leaning into the Third’s side as they keep petting their head and then cleaning their fur scales of rock debris. They don’t mind it, but they wish they would stop crowding them and then pushing them away, it just wasn’t fair.
Third offers broken hunks of the rock they’re on, heated by the star. It’s good, but not as tasty as the star plasma. Smallest wishes they’d all just listen to them and let them do their own thing, or maybe something would happen that allows the eclipse to see they’re just as capable.
Just then the hum of the star rings oddly, but when they look up a large corona with loops and loops on it curls at the top of the star. A perfect meal for someone fast and they were fast even for their size!
Shaking off Third’s claw, Smallest flaps its wings, diving towards the heated waves that roll around the ball of gas and shoots up at speed to the near pole of the star and the top of the corona! Trilling to themselves again, the youngest starts to happily gorge themselves on the plasma without a care in the world.
“I have eyes on them,” Kraab hisses as he comes back into his ship, The Shield, a vid-screen already up with his employer frowning – He thinks – on the other side, “It won’t be a problem to get them.”
The Sepiidion’s blank black eyes widen and the slits at the front of her face flare before settling back against her turquoise scales as her grey headcrest lifts.
“Best news I heard all cycle.” She huff, fluffing up the magenta Vulpimancer fur shawl she had around her silver chain dress.
Walking to the control panel the screen follows, as overbearing as she was.
Thank the shells she pays better than her attitude. He huffs in the safety of his armor.
He’d handled all the pettiness if it got him the payday that could buy him a small planetoid. Vijsuq-Taeo Arwevew had the credits to do so with being one of the most respected conservationists in the galaxy. It just came with the caveat that she hustled those species she ‘cared’ about for her own personal off-the-record zoo and personal property.
Like others before him, Kraab had been hired to track, find, and capture alive some rare alien, this time being these little ice bugs that were wildly different from their species in coloration and were able to eat more items than just plasma. It was an easy job, he thought, and it was, but these little pests were quick. It was clear the leader of the group could tell that something was watching them because when Kraab read up on Necrofriggians he found that the little pods didn’t move as often as this one did. And with their weird dark coloration they could hide easier in the depths of space or in the shadows of debris, but he got them in the end.
“Good, but remember don’t damage them,” She hisses, “I need them in perfect condition. They’re one in a million.”
“Don’t worry, I have a plan.”
“It better be good and non-lethal,” Her voice clicks in a series, her species’ way of being dismissive, “You’re barely worth what I’m paying you, but I expect results.” Before signing off abruptly.
“Almost done, then I never have to see that bitch again.” He mutters to himself as he primes the thermal detentation.
It was a good plan, because it was a simple plan.
While the ice bugs had more survival sense then he expected, they still did gorge themselves on plasma. All he had to do was move the source of plasma to be closer to him and then he would reel them in.
Slowly moving The Shield from its position to have it crawl around and up the debris field, engaging the thermal force before going star-side and lowering it to make it look like one of the rock formations. Aiming near the poles, where the most volatile solar winds already were, Kraab launches the bomb and watches as it silently sails through space to hit its target, creating a mass of solar plasma to ripple out.
Kraab can appreciate the corona arch’s, it really was something to behold, but then he spies, a dot against the glow warm tones, one of the icy bugs. And as the first one parks itself in the center of the corona like he expected, the others start to follow it up too.
Claw ready on the trigger, he waits until they’re all clustered for the shot and giving him the easiest quarter mil of credits he ever earned.
Slurping up the plasma as fast as they could, Smallest feels full and very satisfied, even more when Oldest and the rest of the eclipse fly up to their side to start eating too. Oldest doesn’t, looking very upset at them before turning a mean look to Third and flickering their antenna at them harshly, making them curl in on themselves. But the youngest won’t stand for that, it’s not fair, because at least Third was being nice.
But trying to stand up for their other older siblings, the Oldest glares down at them, flicking its wings as they remind Smallest they were supposed to be resting and not overfeeding like last time.
And yes, they had, but blue star plasma was just so good. Red was good too, but not as good.
Oldest’s green eyes flash as they point back to a nearby rock, but Smallest refuses, puffing up their fur scales again. They can just see the Oldest’s wing sag in exhaustion before they’re stiff with alertness.
For a moment the youngest thinks they’re finally being taken seriously, but then the spots on their arms and legs start to glitter and shine.
A predator!
Before they can turn around, the Oldest is shoving them at Third and is off like a comet.
Turning back, as Third drags them away, the youngest sees the Oldest fly up to the rest of their eclipse, frozen in a pale light. Nothing they ever encountered had done that before. Usually they could scatter and hide, but this time, this time was different and Smallest feels a coldness in them they do not like at all.
Oldest starts blasting them with ice from their claws, shoving them out of the beam of light. But they only get three out before a second beam hits them, freezing them in place!
It wasn’t possible. No one could beat Oldest!
The coldness in them is stronger than it was before and makes Smallest look away, seeing that Third is leading them to a different rock, one with holes in it and pushes Smallest into it. They turn around, reaching out to them, but Third is crawling back out! Smallest is quick to grab their foot, but they shake themselves free and dart back out, leaving them alone. All they can see is the starlight shining harshly against the side of the rock wall, not a flicker in sight. The silence that always surrounded them was now filled with a rushing thud in their head as they waited, and waited… and waited……
Am… Am I the last?
The coldness within them was unbearable as the rush of sound grew and the youngest didn’t know what to do! How would they survive alone? Who would help them? What —
Suddenly shadows darken the opening and Smallest isn’t strong enough to fire ice from their claws – They weren’t strong enough at all. Body shaking, Smallest curls in and covers itself, hoping that whatever it is thinks their rock and not something alive.
The gentle touch scares the youngest back, jumping back into the wall, the inside thudding even louder than before they think the vibrations must be heard by the predator. But a moment later the Smallest sees its not the predator but their siblings! But the joy of that sours when they see only three; Middle, Middle, and Second youngest looking as horrible as they also felt. But then the coldness drops into their stomach. Third was not here and that meant —
The light at the tunnel starts to close, but not all at once but in little bursts until it’s all gone. After their eyes adjust, Smallest thrills and cries at seeing that it was Third, but that’s all they can do as it was too cramped for more movement.
At least that’s what they thought.
Middle with spots around their eyes starts chewing at the wall, opening up the space and with Middle with dark green eyes and Second youngest helping soon they have more space to face each other and sit. Smallest takes the chance to float over to Third, hugging them tight and vibrating when they hug them back.
But eventually, Third pushes them up so they can see and flickers their antennae and flutters their wings to tell them that they tried to follow, but Oldest sent them away. But Third had seen the ship that had taken the rest of the eclipse, yellow and oval.
‘Could not stop,’ Third tells them as they close their eyes, lifting their claws to cover their face, ‘I could not.’
Second youngest leans over to gently shake their arm, waiting until they look over to droop their antennae in question, ‘Do you know it?’
‘I will,’ Third’s shoulders drop, wings shuttering, ‘I will remember.’
‘What do we do? How do we get eclipse back?’ Middle with spots around their eyes’ wings hike up high, looking between them all.
‘Can we?’ Middle with dark green eyes ask, their antennae flatten back, unsure.
Questions and answers start flying back and forth and soon the flicker of wings and antennas turn into claw gestures and shoving. The coldness in Smallest rises up again, but warm as well. It was overall worse than the stomachache they had at their last star. This never happened with all of them around, not with Oldest around… Oldest always knew what to do and, and Oldest had saved them.
Frowning, Smallest thinks on that again, and again, and decides then they have to save them and all their siblings, they had to! They just needed a plan.
And just like that it came to them.
It had been because a time back that an eclipse like theirs, but not, was visiting a star but not eating from it. Those aliens had been doing something to it from their ship and let them eat from the coronas they were making or munch on the metal pieces they dropped out of the ship for them.
During one bad solar storm, Oldest and Fourth had made their eyes extra big in a way that would get them metal from passing ships and got the people to let them inside the ship. While they rested from the storm, the aliens in the ship put on something for the eclipse that moved on a flat surface. It was strange, a different alien than the ones on the ship was talking and showing things, but nothing they could understand. But the images were very neat to see.
Then, They appeared.
And Smallest wasn’t the only one to notice as the whole eclipse erupted into happy chitters at seeing the one that made them again.
For some reason they were on the screen fighting a large red and fuzzy creature, but the aliens on the ship didn’t find it weird. The way they pointed and talked about Them – calling Them something Smallest didn’t remember – it seems They were well-known. But what one alien called Them next Smallest does remember, because it rang true for all of them as they looked to each other, knowing it was right.
Smallest still remembers the kindness and sadness in Their eyes as They gently chittered at them and lifted them to follow their eclipse. It made Smallest feel all warm and safe inside and they wanted to feel that again – Needed to feel that now. And if They knew how to fight, then it meant They could fight for the eclipse, Smallest knew it.
‘Yes,’ They flare their wings out quickly, catching their attention, ‘Yes we get the eclipse back.’
Middle with dark green eyes gets off of Second youngest and tilts their head, ‘How?’ Looking around as they all look to each other before looking at Smallest.
It was scary when they all looked to them, but they knew they were right and lifts their claws up to make a circle at the center of their chest. Seeing the understanding in their siblings’ eyes gives Smallest the confidence to tell them the plan,
‘Get Mama. Mama will help.’
By Miss_Nomer
