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Adrian knows where they stand in the Eridian food chain. Obviously.
The pipette trembles slightly in their claws as they work, combining the delicate samples into their calculated reagents with years of practiced scholarly care and attention.
And yet, their claws were trembling. Adrian couldn’t focus.
They know where they stand in the food chain, Eridians are the apex predators of the planet, decided through eons upon eons of evolution. Pack mentality, brains evolved for problem solving, and a multipurpose exoskeletal structure all culminated into an efficient lifeform that could withstand many problems. Eridians were hardy creatures with a knack for technology, they had to be for such an extreme planet climate. There are few beasts in the universe that an Eridian couldn’t handle, or at least subdue. Eridians are past the days of watching each other sleep for safety, now it’s purely for comfort.
And yet, Adrian still couldn’t focus.
The laboratory ventilation system hummed in the empty room, the only real sound that described the environment in front of them. Other than the occasional test tube vial clinking against workbenches or the fume hood slowly whirring harmful gases away from Adrian's space, no soul existed in here.
That is, until a familiar chaos could be heard scuttling down the hall and into Adrian’s safe space.
Oh Rocky. The love of their life, the one they would wait an eternity for, is not allowed in their lab under most circumstances. Rocky is methodic, but clumsy in regards to Adrian’s line of work. Yes, he saved the stars and brought hope back to all of Erid, he is incredible and Adrian can’t believe they were chosen to be his mate.
Rocky is still not allowed in.
A lighthearted tune announced their presence in the new space, echoing around the room in a way that Adrian had missed dearly.
“My love, you know you’re not supposed to be in here.” They chittered, not in an unkind way.
“Yes yes, I know, came to see you. Came to check on you. Seemed off yesterday.” He was simple-spoken even before the launch, but his habits of shortening his speech for the alien’s understanding had not yet shaken.
Ah. The alien.
The mere thought of the creature made Adrian’s posture stiffen, legs shift under their carapace to give them a slight amount of height, as if projecting against an unseen threat.
Rocky noticed this, but before he could say anything, Adrian spoke.
“Yes I’m fine, it’s just that…” They trailed off. How could they even broach this topic with Rocky? It saved their mate’s life, not to mention the lives of the entire planet! It was their savior, and would be remembered for years to come as the hero of stars. Statues were currently being erected in its honor.
They may as well ‘bite the bullet’, so to speak.
“Rocky dear… it’s just that…are you sure that Grace is safe? For the children?”
—
Yesterday had started off quite pleasantly. The biodome’s temperature didn’t change outside of the random variance the engineers programmed in, but the weather outside the dome added a pleasant warmth on top of it all. Today marked a very important day in Grace’s teaching career, the little pebbles had finally been allowed inside the biodome!
Obviously the parents of said pebbles had strong objections to this, which was clearly detailed in the topic’s thrum. But Rocky, the charismatic bastard, had highlighted that cultural exchange was valuable to a child’s life at any age and development. Plus, it helped that the Eridian who saved the entire planet was in charge of constructing each and every one of the xenonite suits to be used by the kids.
The parents of the chosen children listened through the protective barrier as the bundles of joy climbed into their custom-made suits, which were truly a marvel of engineering. The suits fit awkwardly on the little students, but if they noticed, they did not care in the slightest. They were the physical manifestation of energy, climbing on top of one another with a vigor that Adrian could just barely remember from their childhood. Playful shouts and cries could be heard from the mass as the chaperones guided them away from the depressurization chamber(away from the disgruntled parents) and up the coastline. The lack of inhibition shone through their questions upon questions. Some loud, some quiet, others obscene, but all were filled with a naive wonder that the chaperones and Grace alike loved to humor.
Adrian had been pseudo-leading the group, though really their job was to make sure that nothing catastrophic went wrong in the biodome. They left the teaching to the teachers and decided to keep tabs on the outskirts of the crowd.
They scanned the area and recognized the pebble at the very back of the group, a sweet kid but always causing trouble of some kind. Rocky bemoaned to Adrian about the kid when he visited the class, complaining about their quick wit and their quicker mouth. Adrian hopes to have kids with Rocky just like that someday.
Adrian watched, their calm demeanor melting away, as the pebble lagged further behind the group, then suddenly made a run for the rocky outcrops that lined the shore.
This was bad, Adrian was at the opposite end of the crowd, they’d never get there in time! The little kid would run around the outcrop and straight into the ocean, their rebreather would fail from the seawater and they would become hypothermic at best, or at worst the suit would break and they would drown or oxidize-
Adrian’s line of hearing is broken by Grace.
Tall, lumbering, clumsy Grace is obviously staring at the escaped child, head turned toward them, all sensory organs trained on the sudden movement. The crowd mindlessly parts and continues around him, they’re too excited to notice the sudden change in mood.
Grace’s entire demeanor changes, something that they are shocked to see. Adrian shifts side to side, unsure of the events about to transpire but too frozen in panic to move to stop them.
No one aside from Adrian notices the way that Grace drops lower to the ground. Their skeletal structure shifts from something sophisticated and familiar to something much more primal, edges rough and loose, reminiscent of the native Eridian ♫♪♩, with ferocious jaws and quiet stalking techniques. They were the kinds of beasts that children were warned of, the kind of secret beast in front of them all right now.
They knew they wouldn’t be able to hear it, but they could imagine the way Grace’s pupils dilated once they caught sight of the pebble, focused with an eagerness that made them sick. The lithe body in front of them wasn’t built to be strong and ferocious because it didn’t need to be. The creature could last in a fight, or the creature could quickly finish the fight if it felt the need to. The squishy exterior was nothing more than a front. From the start, Adrian had felt uneasy when they noticed the claws that Grace kept on all 10 of their spindly digits. They had only ever seen him use them to pry open stubborn food containers, but of course they had an evolutionary purpose. Something vile was about to happen.
Grace stalked towards the pebble, body low to the ground, traversing the rough sandy terrain with apparent ease. The shift of his weight to the balls of his feet made for quieter steps, arms loose but poised at his sides as if waiting to strike. The child was so small, Adrian knew its hearing wasn’t well developed enough to hear what was behind it. They stood, helpless, as the child became increasingly cornered by two unseen dangers, but they couldn’t even tell which fate was worse for the little thing.
It stalks its way around the rock outcropping, its form raising from the predatory crouch to a full figure that was at least 3 times Adrian’s own height and oh my stars it was going to kill the child right in front of them and they could do nothing the child was going to die-
But it never strikes.
Grace uses the pent-up momentum to leap, putting itself in between the crashing waves and startling the mischievous child.
They only now notice their beloved teacher was behind them this whole time, and they give a little squeal of glee at being found out, rolling in the artificial sand from side to side. their uncoordinated arms flopped with them.
“Come on, bud. Let's get you back with the rest of the group.” Grace kindly instructs the child to hold onto their hand with one claw while he leads them back. The poor thing, its motor skills weren’t developed enough for this. It tumbles into the sand once or twice on the journey back to the group, but a careful human hand makes sure the tumbles are never dangerous.
Once they catch up to the rest of the group, that watchful head swivels around and locks directly onto Adrian's carapace.
A shiver runs through them. Grace’s face morphs into something unrecognizable. They’re sure that if they spent more time around the human then they’d be able to decipher this look, but for now it’s an empty and hungry gaze. They're frozen, instincts telling them to stay put and maybe this creature wont see them as the weaker lifeform that they are in this moment.
The pebble tugs on Grace’s sweater sleeve and asks a question about where the sand beneath them comes from, and suddenly the moment is gone.
The crowd pushes Adrian along, snapping them out of their stupor. The kids insist that they should be allowed inside Mr. Grace’s home (for research purposes) and its taking the strength of every adult present to stop them from succeeding.
They move to help corral the rest of the class, but the weight of the patterns they just witnessed is not lost on them.
—
Rocky listens to Adrian’s retelling with patience and care, but he reacts the way they expect him to react: Ignorant indifference.
“Grace is loveable! They would never hurt children or Adrian or anyone else, I promise.” He clacks his claws together to emphasize the point.
“My darling, you just didn’t see it! Their whole posture changed, I just don’t think they should be so close to the kids.”
“Grace…Grace is not a hunter. Grace can barely put shoes on feet correctly, let alone hurt child. But if you want, I will speak to them about boundaries.”
“... That may be preferable.”
Rocky trills a loving goodbye and leaves the lab. He’s gotten better at leaving Adrian alone, especially with the promise that they will both return home at the end of the day.
Adrian focuses back on their work. The conversation had lasted too long, and the samples had spoiled by being in contact with the atmosphere. They would have to start over from scratch.
They let out a few notes of frustration. Nothing irreplaceable, but the experiment was tedious and had already taken some time prior to Rocky’s interruption. They really had to enforce the ‘No Rocky’ rule more harshly.
Adrian moved to grab new vials and reagents, but their claws never ceased their slight trembling as flashes of the alien’s eyes and spindly fingers forced their way into their mind.
Hmph. Harmless.
Adrian was still not convinced.