Hail Mary, full of Grace.

Dvylikh sat up straight, his eyes bouncing between Ryland and Rocky. There seemed to be a fine print somewhere between their conversations that felt as if it was alluding to him being the main reason why everyone was so busy. Is that too far a reach? No, definitely not. These two were practically dancing around the topic and he wasn’t sure if they knew he’d caught on.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ryland. I know you’re very intelligent, but you’re a biologist.” Dvy mumbled. “Not an astrophysicist. Though knowing you, you’d teach yourself astrophysics if I asked.”

[ GRACE LOVE SCIENCE. GRACE WILL DO BECAUSE GRACE LOVE SCIENCE. ] A bait, of a proportion even Adrian would perhaps chortle at. [ GRACE DO THINGS HE LOVE VERY WELL. ]

“To a fault, yeah.” Dvy shrugged. “You didn’t answer Ryland’s non-question about Adrian. Adrian is your mate?”

[ YES. TOGETHER VERY LONG. ADRIAN TALK TO GRACE ABOUT CELLS. ADRIAN TALK TO ERIDIAN SCIENTIST ABOUT GRACE AND CELLS. ]

“Ah, a liaison.”

[ <LIAISON>. ADRIAN ALSO DO RESEARCH LIKE GRACE. ]

Dvy cocked his head to the side. “And… are you trying to spend time with Adrian?”

There was a long pause then. A whistling sound came from his carapace, perhaps something of an analogue to a sigh.

[ HARD. ]

“What’s hard?”

[ ROCKY NOT KNOW HOW TO SAY. ]

Dvy moved to the side, observing the boulder-creature fully now. “Is it.. hard to find time, or hard to find reason to find time?”

[ VERY LONG TIME IN SPACE. MISS ADRIAN EVERY DAY. COME BACK DIFFERENT. ]

“It’s…” Dvy moved and looked at Ryland with a slightly alarmed expression. “…if it’s something you want to talk to Ryland privately about, I can toddle back home.”

[ ROCKY NOT KNOW. ]

“I can’t say I’m an expert in any of this, given that I was imprisoned from a really young age. But… I can empathise. Being away from someone you love does make you feel like you’ve missed something when you get to see them again. Time that you won’t get back. And in that time you’ve probably developed different habits,” he gestured at Ryland, “and different friends. Something slightly unrecognisable. Makes that… that gap bigger.”

[ MAYBE JUST BUSY WITH DVY GRACE. MAYBE ONLY ROCKY PROBLEM. ]

“Have you… tried to talk to Adrian about this?”

[ NEGATIVE ]

“I don’t blame you. It’s hard.” Dvy sighed. “You need a liaison.”

Rocky lifted his body. It was a gesture of, why didn’t I think of this before, a slow-rising realisation.

[ DVY PRISON WHEN YOUNG? DVY KILL AS SMALL HUMAN? ]

“Yeah, well, yeah, there weren't that many adults around that weren't ill or gone stark raving mad from the rapture to -- Hey, don’t change the topic on me!”

This made Rocky stand on all legs again. [ APOLOGY. ROCKY NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY. ]

“Okay, alright. Help me up.” Dvy leaned onto Rocky’s carapace, and with one of its limbs’ help, Dvy stood up. “I think both of you need some time to chat privately. It’s nearing lunchtime now so I’ll head home and get the table ready.” Huge excuse. “Today went well. We didn’t argue. That’s good, right?”

[ VERY GOOD. ROCKY DVY TALK MORE LATER. ]

Their hands had separated and Ryland remained there in the sand, looking up as Rocky aided Dvy in standing. It was heartbreaking all around. Grace was not a psychologist. Furthermore, he was not an Eridian psychologist. What Rocky was experiencing was something humans went through, though, Maybe he could help. Or at least try.

Ryland didn't argue as Dvy insisted he make his way back alone. ❝ Be careful on the steps. I've tripped on that last one like...well, I'd need more than the two hands I've got to count. ❞

His gaze lingered on Dvy and once his back was turned and he began making his way back to their home, his expression grew more thoughtful and troubled.

❝ Rocky, you know human relationships survive stuff like this, right? And we aren't together for nearly as long as you and Adrian have been. I've never played relationship counselor, but if you think having someone in the middle would help... ❞ At the very least he could be there to provide emotional support to his best friend and his mate.

Grace rolled his wrist and shrugged his shoulders and settled in for a long conversation.

It was close to sunset when he returned and the home was dim. There was LED lights that lined the walls and some other warm light fixtures, but the home mostly relied on the 'natural' light of the day cycle. Ryland took his glasses off and held them by his side while his other hand dragged down his face to rub at his eyes.

Near the door, he stood there for a few beats. Fingers dug into his eye sockets while he enjoyed the blissful darkness and calm. So many working parts, so many problems. So much happening. It would be fine (it HAD to be fine). Just one day at a time. If he spiraled into stress, he'd be useless.

Armando waggled from the corner, the sounds of its movement finally drawing Grace from his moment with a transitional sigh.

❝ I'm fine, I promise. All good in Graceland. ❞

“I wish. I think that’s the point of it calling for me. Says some bullshit about how it’ll be able to feed me. We should really be careful about that.”

A few more clicks of his claws, this time urgent, deep in thought. Rocky shifted his weight as he did so, lifting his face, then lowering it, clearly in hesitation. He turned to Dvy, who returned his glance with a quirked brow.

[ ROCKY NOT CHEMIST. NOT SCIENTIST. MAYBE ADRIAN BETTER EXPLAIN. ] Oh dear. Adrian is not going to like the fact that he’d tried to weasel himself out of it, they’ve discussed this in great, painful detail. [ BUT ROCKY TRY. ]

Good, yes, try. [ DISCUSSION WITH SCIENTIST STUDY GRACE. ROCKY MAKE DISCUSSION SHORT. ROCKY WILL TALK UNTIL 🎶🎶🎵 HOUR IF NOT. ] He wriggled slightly. [ ERIDIAN UNDERSTAND HUMAN NOT LIKE IDEA OF EAT SELF. SAME FOR ERIDIAN. NOT GOOD EAT SOMETHING OF SAME SPECIES. MIGHT MAKE SICK. SO WHEN DVY CRAFT APPEAR ERIDIAN SCIENTIST TEST TO SEE IF CAN USE AS DVY GRACE FOOD. ]

Of course they had. Why wouldn’t they? It fell into their researcher’s laps during a time where the only reliable thing they had was from Grace himself, and what little they can supplement from their planet.

[ VERY QUICK NOTICE CRAFT MEAT IS NOT GOOD, YES. ] Crazy as it sounded. Their first contact with outer space had now led into further cosmic madness that they were unprepared for. They had tightened their biohazard security measures three-fold since. [ ROCKY ASK TO SEE IF GRACE KNOW. ROCKY ALREADY KNOW. ROCKY APOLOGIZE. WEIRD MEAT CANNOT EXPLAIN WITH SCIENCE. BUT SO IS GRACE. GRACE ALSO WEIRD MEAT. ERIDIAN HAVE MORE EQUIPMENT NOW BECAUSE OF GRACE. SCIENTIST THINK WE CAN EXTRACT CELL AND CUT TRAIT OUT. LIKE GRACE DO WITH TAUMOEBA. ]

 “Genome editing? If Ryland’s the first species you’ve done this with, you’re looking at centuries long research, buddy,” Dvy snorted, shaking his head slowly. “We’d be long gone well before that.”

[ ERIDIAN HAVE RESEARCH BEFORE DVY GRACE. SO NOT START FROM ZERO. ]

“Well, at least there’s that.” Dvy sighed. “How do you even do cell imaging if you don’t perceive light...?”

Rocky swayed. [ WRONG ERIDIAN TO ASK QUESTION. ROCKY VERY GOOD AT FIXING. VERY GOOD AT ENGINE. NOT GOOD WITH CELL. ADRIAN GOOD WITH CELL. ADRIAN WILL EXPLAIN. ] He clicked his claws. [ NOT WHY ROCKY BRING UP TOPIC. DVY GRACE SAY MEAT IS OWN ORGANISM? INFECT DVY GRACE? ADRIAN WORRY. ROCKY WORRY TOO. WILL BE OKAY? ]

“Ryland can explain it better, but it’s just our working theory. We’ve been experiencing hallucinations from it. It’s... not common, but present. Maybe it’s my prolonged exposure, and Ryland got it from me, but I noticed that -- that we’ve not been having any since we’ve removed ourselves from the submersible for a few days now. More than that. Probably week and a half, and the last time Ryland went down to check it, he was in protective gear.” Dvy held Ryland’s hands in both of his, cupped and pressed for warmth. Rocky tilted its head to the side, then at the two humans, but said nothing. “So I have hope that our bodies are slowly growing some sort of resistance from it, or whatever it was, it needs to be close to the main network.”

[ TALK ABOUT MEAT HURT. TALK SOMETHING ELSE. OTHER TOPIC]

“I thought you’d never ask, buddy.”

[ WHERE DVY COME FROM? ]

“A space station called Eden, near Mars, in Sol. But not Ryland’s Sol.”

[ WHAT DVY MEAN DIFFERENT SOL? ONLY ONE SOL. ]

“Not really up for science talk today Rocky. Science talk hurt Dvy. Wormholes. You know what that is?”

[ ONLY THEORY.]

“Let’s leave it there, then. I’m not where I’m supposed to be, and I’m glad for it. No, I don't want to leave. This is my home now, with Ryland. Unless Ryland chooses to leave Erid, I will stay.”

[ DVY WORLD STARS DIE? ALL? ]

“All 400 billion of them and then some. Planets with life were gone too. The space was dark. It’s always been dark, I know. But there's always been the sun and suddenly one day it's... not there. I was a child when it happened. I watched Mars... disappear.”

[ HOW SURVIVE? HUMAN LIFE PLANT LIFE NEED RADIATION OXYGEN WATER ]

“We don’t. Hence the...” Dvy grimaced, “the killing part.”

[ OH. APOLOGY.]

“Don’t worry about it.”

[ QUESTION FOR DVY. ]

“Yes.”

[ WHY CALL GRACE <RYLAND> ] 

Dvy blinked. “It’s his name.”

[ GRACE SAY GRACE IS GRACE NAME. ]

“In my culture it’s a taboo to call someone alive by the name of someone who’s already dead. Which is what Ryland’s name is. It’s a family name. There must be hundreds of Graces in his family.” Dvy shrugged. “And I think Ryland sounds better anyway.”

[ ROCKY LIKE GRACE MORE. ]

“You do you buddy,” he smiled, subtly leaning against Ryland’s shoulder.

Oh. Oh these two are doing something with their appendages, alright. And their heartbeats are almost synchronised. Wonder what THAT meant. Good thing Rocky is not Erid’s leading expert on humans, right? Right. Rocky moved its front claws forward.

At some point, Dvy had taken up his other hand and Grace was left to listen and nod attentively while left unable to fidget about with the sand like he usually did.

❝ If you guys already knew why did you-— Never mind. You're right. It's... technically possible to do what you're suggesting. I still don't know if it'd be smart but it's doable. Theoretically. ❞ It would mean a good and long conversation with Adrian to brainstorm. If Rocky and Grace together was enough to give anyone around a headache, just imagine what it was like when Grace was with other scientists.

❝ We're running with the theory it's some sort of fungi. It's unlike anything that existed on earth, but the foundation and general behavior seems in line with a few certain opportunistic fungi strains. In summary: it's the closest we've got so I'm kind of running with it and hoping for the best. But it's sentient to some degree, to a big degree actually. It can communicate with us, it can interact with our brain functions. At least to the point of being heard and seen when anyone not inoculated like you or the other Eridians can't. ❞

Grace fiddled with Dvy's fingers in one hand as he continued.

❝ It was most likely an infection via direct contact or maybe it was airborne... which is why you guys are pretty safe. Still incredibly important to treat it with the utmost care, though! Which clearly, we were all on top of that. But I think it needs direct contact to infect enough to take over, to destroy its host-— or consume it and bring it into the fold. Or whatever the heck it does. I think whatever batch of it I got from Dvy is just enough to patch me into the freaky hivemind talking line but not much else. ❞

He gave a sort of helpless shrug. A nice talk with Adrian and then Adrian could pull all the scientists in for a collective thrum and some sort of breakthrough would be reached. They just needed more brains chewing on this was all.

❝ We're fine aside from the mental strain. But physically I don't think we're in any danger unless we go playing patty-cake with the meat. And, yeah. Talk about meat does hurt. I'll vote yes to that topic change. ❞

Ryland leaned some against Dvy in turn, closed his eyes. Sitting still was hard for him, especially when he was contending with the dull thrum of pain in his joints. It wasn't bad all the time, or even most of the time. But long days and shorter night of sleep and a whole bunch of physical activity in a short period of time usually put him in a spot like this: annoying background pain that was relatively easy to ignore as long as he continued to move.

Another smile played at his lips and a rumbled chuckle. ❝ Rocky, we've turned theories into objective realities by ourselves. I know it's weird to think about, humans hate the idea of it too. It's nothing anyone has been able to prove. And even with Dvy right here, with technical evidence of there being a different Sol... we can't DO anything with that knowledge. There's not really a way to backtrack and figure out how it works. ❞

He opened his eyes and slid them over to Dvy. ❝ I would have figured it out if you had wanted to go back home but... I guess it's really convenient for me that you don't. I think I'm getting to be a little too old for all these drastic first-time discoveries. ❞ His gaze lingered a bit too long and then ventured to Rocky.

❝ You guys can call me whatever you want. There's no rules on my end and that's what would matter. It's rude to call someone something they don't want to be called. But both of those are my name and I don't much mind who calls me what. Single names have been easier for translating purposes and 'Grace' was what I was most used to. If Rocky likes 'Grace' more than Rocky can keep using 'Grace'. ❞ It was just that simple.

[ QUESTION FOR GRACE...]

❝ I'm okay, buddy. I'm...sorry I've been neglecting you. I miss hanging out. It's just another busy arc, you know? Like when we first touched down. I remember you would visit just about every day but you could only stay a minute or two some days. I've been trying to get Dvy back on his feet and get him... comfortable here like I am. It's a lot. I'm kind of a weird human, you know I am. I adjusted a lot faster than Dvy or any other human would. Dvy has been doing a fantastic job but it's still a lot. And then there was that period where we weren't sure how contagious this was and I didn't want to put you or anyone else or even the entire ecosystem of Erid in danger. I've been busy trying to figure out what this is, how it ticks. I'm sure your mate has been busy with it too. ❞

Which saddened Grace. Rocky had been away from his mate for so very long and even longer still when things were so busy and hectic the first few years of his time on Erid. And now? When things had finally started to settle, now Adrian was likely out and busy and buried in work. And once again, it was technically because of Grace. Oh god. If he was the reason for an over a century-long relationship to end in divorce... he didn't know what he'd do.

❝ I'll talk to you more, Rocky. I promise. Even if it's coming out here for an hour or two and just... sitting. We'll get this figured out. We'll get the food situation figured out. Everything will settle again and we can hang out properly. For now... just keep me up to date with things. I'll get with Adrian in the next few days so we can share theories and possible solutions. We'll figure this out. ❞

He only wished he wasn't trying to tackle two very important issues at once. Feeding Dvy and solving this fungi issue. It was admittedly... stressful and he was trying not to let it all weigh on him. Perilous and immediate danger was stressful enough but he was also having to worry about Dvy overdoing it because of his avoidance to the cloned tissue. What if he got sick? What if his organs started to throw a fit because of the malnutrition? What if he had to force him to do something he didn't want to do? It all made Ryland feel so sick and miserable.

❝ You just need to promise me that you're trying to spend time with Adrian too. ❞

Domesticity did not come naturally for someone like Dvylikh. It fell gently like a slumber, bone-tired, and suddenly they woke up warm in each other’s arms. When he could not justify arguing with his mind anymore — that he should sleep on the couch, or the floor, or quite frankly anywhere as far away as he possibly could from Ryland Grace — Dvy surrendered himself to any interpretation of this vulnerability, and pulled the other warm body closer against him.

Malnutrition. That was it. He was beginning to think much slower than he’d like, caring much less about details (which in one way helped him from overanalysing every little aspect of his designs), and had grown colder each night around his extremities. He’d lost weight, easily discerned from the way Ryland’s shirts were beginning to hang loose around his chest and arms, but hadn’t dared to ask Armando to measure the rate. Figuring out the rate meant that he’d need to figure out a solution, and the solution was staring right in front of him this whole time: meat.

First you hold his hands (or rather, let him hold yours), then you sleep on his bed, and now you’re thinking about eating his flesh? If this is how the infection is progressing through his brain, he’d better ask Rocky about fashioning himself a gun, since it sounded to him like he was going to lose his mind soon.

“Yeast.” He cleaned up the sink thoroughly and gave his face a quick wash. Walking out of the bathroom with a small towel in one hand, he handed Ryland a comb and a hair tie. “The answer is yeast. I’ll be fine for now, I might lose a lot of weight but I’m not doing too horribly just yet. The seeds will hopefully take, and we will have yeast.” That would mean a few more months yet, not including the fermentation process. Eridians are clever folks, he thought — if they’d managed to clone Ryland’s cells in vitro and made him lab meat for him to chow down on, there was no reason why they wouldn’t be able to culture yeast. Fast, too.

“Maybe we’ll even have beer by the end of the year.” Hopefully that would be sufficient to staunch the worry in Ryland’s tone. He made a dissatisfied face when Ryland offered him a chart, and sat in front of him with a grunt.

“I hope it is as good as you say. Last time I went, it was calling to me. I just had to see it. Tell it to fuck off.” He sighed. “And—-“

[ —LONG MUST ROCKY WAIT OUTSIDE. HUMANS TAKE TOO LONG TO—-]

Rocky barged through the unlocked door, and paused at the threshold, looking at the two men in the living room. Dvylikh’s heartbeat rose and Rocky swerved to the side, two claws up in surrender.

[ APOLOGY. APOLOGY. APOLOGY. NOT USED TO DVY. ROCKY COME IN PEACE.]

“You better be,” Dvy answered. Ooh, the little rock guy was so lucky Ryland was holding a handful of his hair then. “We agreed at—“ Dvy whistled, “—hour.”

[ WRONG. DVY MADE SOUND THAT MEANS <MOLTING CARAPACE >. THE CORRECT HOUR IS 🎵🎶. DVY GRACE LATE, STRONG STATEMENT.]

Dvy glanced at a clock ticking away on a console table. “By three minutes.” He raised an arm to silently beg for Ryland to help him up, and when he’d managed, the back of his hand trailed down Ryland’s forearm, lingering near his hand. “Fine, let’s go. But there’s a rule you have to agree to adhere to before we go.”

[ WHY RULE FOR ROCKY? ]

“Because you’re a d—“ he took a deep breath, “impatient. And I don’t like being rushed.”

[ SECOND HUMAN SLOWER THAN GRACE. INTELLECTUAL DEFECT? GENETIC DAMAGE FROM SPACE? HEAD INJURY BRAIN DAMAGE? ]

“Lack of nutrition. And patience.”

There was a long silence then, with Rocky looking up at Ryland but saying nothing. He’d been well advised to tread any conversation about food lightly. He wasn’t sure what ‘lightly’ meant, but had gathered by inference that Dvy was just not up for the line of query, so he moved on to the next, while they slowly made their way to the beach.

[ DVY SAID RULE FOR ROCKY? WHAT RULE ]

“Oh. Right. One question, one answer. No chaining like you did when you first pissed me off.” At least this word was already in his dictionary, Dvy thought. “I’m already nursing a headache from this, and we haven’t even started.”

[ BECAUSE DVY CONDITION ROCKY AGREE. ONE QUESTION ONE ANSWER. DVY CAN ASK TOO. ROCKY ANSWER. ]

“Deal.”

[ ROCKY ONE QUESTION INCOMING. DVY BETTER NOW? ]

“In what way?”

[ ALL WAY. ANY WAY. ]

“In general. You mean in general.”

[ YES. ]

Dvy took a deep breath, grasping Ryland’s hand tighter in his. He knew then that he couldn’t possibly lie. “I don’t know. I’m healing. And Ryland keeps me company. I was expecting nightmares but it’s been quiet on that front and I’m worried about that. But in general, I’m… I don’t know.”

[ ITS OKAY NOT KNOW ANSWER. GRACE TAKE LONG TIME TO HEAL TOO. HUMANS TAKE TIME TO HEAL. LOTS OF TIME. ROCKY HELP. GRACE HELP. DVY REST. ]

Oh, okay. Dvy could see why Ryland was so attached to this guy. “You forgot your question. That was a statement.”

[ OH. YES. ] Rocky moved this way and that. [ WHY DVY INSIDE CRAFT NO DOOR? DVY SAID PUNISHMENT. ROCKY ASK GRACE WHAT < PUNISHMENT> MEAN. NEED CLARIFICATION ]

“I…” they were facing the ocean then, and Dvy paused in the middle of his sentence. Ryland’s hand felt like an anchor, rooting him to the ground before he could plummet again. “I won’t lie to you. I killed people. That’s why I was punished.”

Rocky flinched, turning his head to look at Ryland urgently.

[ DVY KILL? OWN PEOPLE? WHY? ]

“Resources. Our stars died. People get hungry and… and they kill each other for it.”

[ DVY KILL PEOPLE SO DVY CAN EAT? ]

“If I hadn’t done it, someone else would.”

A long, uncomfortable pause before Rocky managed to say anything again. [ WHY NO WORK TOGETHER TO SHARE. WHY MUST KILL? ]

“Pass. Too philosophical.”

Rocky’s claws clicked together — a quiet protest — but managed to contain himself. For now. Grace will have the brunt of it later.

[ DVY KILL GRACE? ]

”No, of course not.” Dvy answered quickly. “He saved me. You saved me. Erid saved me, I wouldn’t do that to any of you.”

[ WHAT DIFFERENCE? ]

”You weren’t trying to kill me first. That’s the difference.”

Okay. Fair. [ UNDERSTOOD. ] Rocky swayed and settled on the sand. [ DVY QUESTION LIST TEMPORARY HALT. ROCKY ASK GRACE QUESTION NOW. ]

”Thank the stars,” Dvy rumbled.

[ PROGRESS ON RESEARCH? DVY INSIDE CRAFT WITH MEAT. MEAT FOLD GROW WHILE GRACE AWAY. NOW BLOCK WAY TO CENTER OF GROWTH. ERID SCIENTIST SUGGEST CUT MEAT AND PUT XENONITE CAGE AROUND CENTER GROWTH. BUT WAIT FOR GRACE RESEARCH. ]

Ryland Grace was a big proponent for free will and choice-— for very, very obvious reasons. But he was also a man of logic and of fact and a man who knew how it felt and what it looked like to slowly wither away due to malnutrition. The whole body suffered it and it wasn't something to play around with. He wanted Dvylikh to be the one to make the choice, he wanted Dvylikh to believe that he had a say in what he ate and what he didn't. He wanted to not force the whole cloned tissues situation onto him because it was understandable for another human to not want to cannibalize the other-— no matter how pretty and scientific you made it... a Me-burger was a Me-burger. It was hard to overlooked even from the standpoint of the owner of that original tissue.

But they were running out of time for there to BE other options and Grace had to wonder if it came down to watching Dvy fatigued and bedridden and a body begging for what it was not receiving or sneaking the meat in like vegetables with a stubborn toddler-— what would he be more willing to do? Would the broken trust be worth seeing his new companion up and about and not swimming in his shirts far more than he ever should have? Grace couldn't answer that. Not right now. Maybe not until he had no other choice but to answer it.

❝ It's more than just losing some weight and you know it. ❞ Stern but not argumentative. Dvy had stated his wish and Ryland could do nothing but honor it until desperation drove him somewhere unsavory. He took the comb and hair tie and puppeteer the man around until he could stand and put his hair up for their planned day.

❝ Gosh. I haven't had a beer since-— ❞ A crowded room, karaoke, a blur of foggy faces. Some he recalled names of, others were just ghostly outlines of people. Stratt he could remember clearly, down to the lines on her face. A beacon of detail in a room full of foggy shadows. He wondered when she'd started to gray, she must have at some point. The stress didn't seem to touch her, but the years would have.

❝ Awhile. It has been awhile. I had hard liquor more recently than beer. ❞ Grace smoothed a few stray strands of hair behind Dvy's ears and was just in time for Rocky to come barging in.

His head had whipped around, a scolding on his tongue-— but Rocky had merely shot up his appendages in apology. Aw, man. He could be upset at the guy. Grace GOT it, he did. He wasn't as strict and as anal bout time as the Eridian was, but it had always frustrated him when he'd been given vague estimates for meetings or get togethers only for the other party to fall completely outside of that range.

Ryland finished securing the hair tie and gave Dvy's shoulder a pat to signal that he was finished. He allowed the two the room to engage, has a certain nostalgia for the computerized voice that translated his friend's replies. The smallest of smiles crawled onto his features as Dvy made a valiant attempt at mimicking something in the language.

❝ He's right. But points for trying, starshine. ❞ He hoisted Dvy up and drew in close to whisper: ❝ Three minutes late is like...a crime punishable by death. ❞

[ ROCKY HEAR GRACE WHISPER. UNDERSTAND JOKE. JOKE NOT FUNNY. STATEMENT. ]

Ryland's face split into a grin and he leaned away, his hand finding the man's own as ground rules were established. Whenever Rocky would look for him, Grace would simply shrug.

One question, one answer. It was a fair rule and reasonable limitations for his Eridian pal.

The walk down the stairs was as lengthy as it always was. Rocky's movements were deliberate and precise-— this was a marvel of Eridians that Ryland was still absolutely enamored by. They didn't move with a muscle system like humans did; it made everything all the more fascinating. Their hands swung idly as the walked (most propelled by Grace, ever restless).

The matter of wellness came up as they walked for a place to settle and he peered over and down at the man, mouth pulled into a slight frown as if to say 'don't avoid the question.' It WAS fine not to know and he nodded along as Rocky said just that.

❝ Oh yeah. Grace took a little over a full year just to start acting like a person again. ❞ And that was just the physical. He was still trying to deal with the mental of it all.

When they came to a spot in the sand, it was less so natural and more so because the truth was out and about now and Rocky was admittedly not happy about it. At least he was trying to understand, Grace thought. The scientist had somewhat worried the guy would launch himself at Dvy, no questions asked.

The calming hand he'd raised slowly lowered as Rocky calmed and settled into the sand. Oh, yeah. He could tell he and Rocky were going to get reeeeeal philosophical later and the Eridian was not going to like the answers he had to that. Grace gave a comforting squeeze to Dvy's hand and urged him to sit.

And then it was his turn to face interogration. Gulp.

❝ I think that would be wise, buddy. It's reacting to my visit. It doesn't like that I harmed it there-— that seems to be the place of growth origin. The cells and cell damage seems to be the most dense there I think an extra later of isolation would be smart. It'll also let us see how the rest of the sub reacts when its been cut off from the central zone. ❞

[ WHY NOT EAT CRAFT MEAT? PROTEIN GROW NO STOP?]

Grace leaned back on one arm while the other hand continued to remain entwined thoughtlessly in Dvy's own.

❝ I don't think it's that simple, Rocky. I've been introducing Dvy's tissue to samples of the meat and it's shown just that... protein growth. Exponential growth. But the issue lies with the fact this thing is a pathogen. It's a hivemind microorganism of sorts and we're both already infected to the point of hearing it. It speaks, Rocky. I don't think eating it is a smart idea... ❞

His head cocked to the side, his glasses hanging now from his ears. ❝ And I worry that if we find a way to isolate what makes this thing tick, we'd lose the magic that makes the tissue mutate and replicate at such a large volume and short time. Which would kill the idea of using it for food anyway. ❞

Grace slid his gave for Dvy, grinning lazily. ❝ Maybe we can ask it really nicely to let us have some of its genetic mass without screwing us over. Haha. If only it was that easy, right? ❞

Well then, if Rocky is just like Ryland, but he's the engineer than a biologist, then Dvy knows exactly what Rocky is too. Manufactured urgency. They need something to do because they are engines that can not be switched off. A reactor, even. A highly volatile reactor. Dvy resisted rolling his eyes at this thought, taking his gloves carefully and setting them aside for reuse. Materials are scarce after all, and he could use the gloves to handle things at the nursery.

But first. “Okay. I'm going to head back home after watering, if that's all the same to you. It wouldn't take me long to come up with a very basic model, I think. With luck, the Eridians might already have industrial fabricators.” Maybe they'd laugh at his sketches and shove modern equipment through the airlock he could use fresh from their factory. That would be true winter solstice magic and he would be the happiest boy on Erid, most certainly.

“Don't choke on my blood,” he said, gesturing with two fingers on his forehead and flicking it off over the bridge of his nose: a Martian greeting, and a crude one between friends. “Af’ari shta bari, sbat’af nari,” he shouted from the hallway connecting the lab and the nursery, already on his way. “Ass in one piece and unfucked. That's good luck in ‘Hasi.”

Alone at home, his mind stampeded almost immediately. He stumbled around the house, searching for a place he could hide in, considering the bathroom at first and thought otherwise given its size. Armando pinged with concern, following him around at a wide berth.

“I need a private room that isn't Ryland’s room or the bathroom. I need a mental health break. Where can I go?”

Armando took a while to process the query, turned around and wheeled around the kitchen towards a small room. Dvy flung the doorknob open to reveal a closet: long metal spare parts rested against the back wall, bits and pieces of xenonite on shelves, and some old Earth cleaning supplies. The closet was just deep enough for him to sit within with the door closed.

“Okay. Thank you. I need privacy, please.”

The bot swiveled once, twice, and headed back to its charging base.

Inside, Dvy pressed his back against the door and turned the lights off. The darkness worried him briefly, scared him almost, but what he was going to do next was something he wasn't proud of as a human person and something he needed to do without being able to look at himself.

He knew what this feeling was, it was a bodily demand for attention, and attention he would give it. Until then, he could wave all his focus goodbye.

It would have been embarrassing. It should have, too. Some closeness, the wrong breaths landing on the nape of his neck, the things Ryland had said and the way it was said. Dvy listed it all down in his head, snaking a hand over a desperate body part, promising himself that this would be a one and done. It might just be the problem he was having all along. Biological demand, yes? He's young, in his prime, part of a living species wired to continue passing down his genetic lineage by rewarding the process with arousal. He couldn't fault his body for it, but why in the name of all burnt stars must it happen while he was pipetting water? This was the only point of contention he had.

Just keep going. Can you do that for me? Right here...

Unceremonious was the rise and fall. In the dark, he cleaned up as best he could, stormed out (Armando was suddenly in front of the door, he was sure it left him before he locked himself in?), and took a very cold shower before taking Ryland's bedroom desk to work on the mill project.

Thankfully the little care session did help with his focus. Sharpened and feeling rather good about the prospects, he worked till late, and decided to take a nap on Ryland's bed, hoping to return to work after a few hours, work of which had now covered all of Ryland's desk with complex calculations and design specifications. He'd worked on them so intensely, that the side of his right hand was stained grey from pencil graphite from all his writing. Resting on his open laptop was what was left of his pencil -- an inch and a half stub of wood and lead.

His nap slipped slyly into a full sleep, once an alarm was ignored one too many times. Over the course of the night he subconsciously took his sweatpants and shirt off in a bid to get comfortable, and for the first time in a long while Dvy was finally able to sleep rather deeply without medication.

─────── SLEEPING IN RYLAND'S room has now become a normality. There was a huge unused desk there, and he was well enough that he no longer required the medical bed, which had now been folded out of the way by Armando; all the space the bed had taken up was now returned to a relaxing living room arrangement once more, which Dvylikh preferred. Both of them were preoccupied with their respective work in the next couple of days, but Dvy ensured that at every mealtime, he'd turn up at the lab with lunch in tow and make Ryland have it with him, sometimes edging near argumentative over it. And, like any well kept routine, this too became Dvy’s normal, something to be expected, something that brought him a profound sense of comfort.

-— Oh! To be so blissfully unaware as Dr. Ryland Grace. The kicker of it all, was he wasn't stupid when it came to this... stuff. Had he been paying closer attention, he very likely would have caught onto things before much later when he actually would. But with so much on his plate at the moment, you could have screamed it in his face and there was still a chance he might not have heard you.

Ryland had started the ball rolling on a more longer-term project that day. It turned out: when you fed some of Dvy's cells, some his organic matter, to bits of Arby's... it behaved differently than he'd expected, than he'd assumed based off all previous available evidence. The cells did not burst and die but rather began to clump and multiply until they formed the beginnings of some sort of lump. Interesting.

And interesting enough for him to set up an experiment to see just what this did over the course of a few days...

At some point, shortly after, Armando had initially pinged him with concern for Dvy's heartrate. Then had immediately cancelled it as a false positive. How had it flagged a false positive it itself had made? Weird. But, again, he was so nose-deep in all of this that he was more than happy to be soothed by it.

He finished what he could, cleaned up and packed up, and returned well into the hour of 'super late' to find Dvy curled up in his bed and sleeping like he'd hadn't slept before. The couch had been entertained, but no. His joints always, always protested the couch and as polite and as self-sacrificing as Ryland was, the two of them had curled up together before and both men had been fine with it. It was a completely human thing to want to huddle for warmth and survival. Or whatever.

The two of them were so busy they did practically cycled turns with the bed. But not fully and not all of the time; they were absolutely curled in on each other for at least some of every night. Dvy usually woke up first (an EXTREMELY early riser even compared to Grace) and Grace was typically in the bed last every evening cycle. It was a nice routine. It was comfortable and safe and he admittedly looked forward to it after a long day and poking at cancerous-like clumps and seeing how far he could push the limits of them.

They ate together every meal and that too was calming. It soothed something in him and he couldn't really put a finger on it. Ryland was used to eating alone save for his ritual with Marissa. Otherwise it was quick and cheap and easy food he could shovel into his mouth so he could focus on more important things. Meal time had never really been... sacred. But now it kind of felt that way.

Dvy was losing weight. Lots of it. It made Grace anxious, drew his focus from the maybe-fungi situation more than he'd have liked. It chewed on him particularly hard as they made their way around the home to get ready for what Grace had lovingly described as a 'little beach episode'.

His arms were still up in the process of squirming into a shirt when he peered around to catch Dvy's gaze in the mirror. God, they were so casual. Everything about their lives had become so casually interwoven and it wasn't awkward or stifling or anything. He had the occasional bursts of feeling happy(?) about it, but otherwise it just WAS. It was just a completely normal thing to not really make much note of.

❝ You can do that. If that's what you need to do, do it. We both teacher-hand each other a lot. ❞ And it was highly effective.

❝ I'm going to talk to Rocky about any potential protein substitutes besides what we have. I know you really, really don't want to. But you have to eat something more than what you are. You're dropping body mass. Keeping that here is a really delicate blend of nutrients and Me-meat. ❞ Grace had continued to not push it; he didn't like to push anything onto Dvy even when he KNEW it was the right call, knew that he was right.

Grace threw on his shoes and his worn cardigan and waited as patiently as he could for Dvy to join him. ❝ I can set you up a behavioral chart. ❞ A deep and throaty rumble of a laugh. ❝ Get you little stars to give you when you do something good. Toss you a 'Good job, starshine.' with it. ❞

He jested, but he was very proud of Dvy for agreeing to this and to giving the dynamic another chance. Grace was so sure that a good relationship between Rocky and Dvy would be integral to a lot of important things that needed and could be accomplished.

As normal as their bed-sharing was their casual touches. Everything from hair-touching and tending to leaning against one another, occupying personal bubbles. All of it done often and with ease. One of these instances being Ryland apparent openness with holding Dvy's hand just about anywhere they went.

❝ You'll like it. Water-trauma aside, it's a really nice place to sit and just think... ❞

‎⋆˚☆˖°⋆｡° ⋆˙⟡ ⋆.˚ ⊹₊⟡ ⋆ ✮˖

rocky had found out the hard way that he could no longer speak in his native language, because the first thing he had tried to utter when he woke up in immense pain was, "adrian?! adrian, help..." but the fact he'd been reduced to having only two vocal chords instead of five made it impossible for rocky to speak in eridian, and he never got his message out; only made a strange array of noises for a short time that lacked a translation.

"rocky try to speak eridian. did not work." he angled his chin up slightly to give ryland room to feel at his throat. "so, rocky try to replicate how grace speak. it did work." he decided to spare ryland the heartbreaking details of what he'd tried to say, or how he'd started choking on the acidic air mid-attempt. all ryland needed to know was that he'd tried and failed.

the human-eridian looked away, casting his gaze anywhere else as he drifted into his thoughts while silence filled the space between them. his thoughts primarily surrounded the strange situation. how could this have happened? did he catch some sort of space sickness that altered his DNA to match that of a human and, subsequently, changed his body in the process? his thoughts shifted gears, albeit fleetingly; how was adrian handling this change? were they okay, or were they distraught? he sure hoped it was the former.

he hoped that somebody was watching them sleep.

he was snapped out of his spiraling thoughts when ryland finally broke the silence, and it urged rocky's full attention to settle back on the human, new eyes and all. his brow twitched downward, and a slight frown tugged at the corners of rocky's lips. 'i should have been more pushy about seeing you.' those words hit rocky like a physical punch, and it hurt more than any of his burns could've ached. they sounded so regretful, so self-accusing, and rocky wouldn't stand for it.

"grace." the name came out firm, like a warning plea to please stop talking. rocky leaned forward to place a hand on ryland's shoulder, gentle as a feather. the last time he'd touched ryland, he'd burned his skin. but, now? now, he could freely touch the human without fear of harming him. "is not grace fault. grace-friend did not know," rocky continued, his voice softening. "rocky did not know same. only know sleep, wake, tired; sleep long time, wake, tired still; sleep big long time, wake — biiiig circle of event-plural." he gave ryland's shoulder a delicate squeeze before drawing his hand back, settling it in his own lap instead. "eridian scientists no lie to grace; thought rocky was sick in normal eridian way. rocky sleep, rocky wake up, rocky... mmh... rocky different."

rocky paused, remembering exactly what he'd experienced. he was surrounded by total darkness, but he could hear the concerned eridian tones of his mate from somewhere nearby. that's when he'd made the strange chirping sounds that didn't translate to anything, and that very first instinctive inhale as the pain really settled into his flesh made him start to cough and choke on the eridian air. he remembered the way his chest thumped rapidly (which he would learn was actually his heart) as he struggled to take in a breath, the way his head began to spin the longer he went without taking in a breath. he'd been so afraid when the eridian scientists ushered him through the darkness and towards the biodome in their xenonite suits. but at that point, it wasn't just worry about adrian that had filled his mind; worry about ryland began to seep into the crevices of his brain, too. what if rocky had died? he hadn't yet 'made peace' with death! he wanted to live, wanted to be able to see his mate and best friend!

he wanted to live.

his eyes searched his empty hands like they might hold the answers to everything, but they held no answers for his condition. "...would not have wanted you to come, statement," he admitted, lifting his head again to find ryland's eyes with his own. "would not want grace to see rocky sick and sleep all time. not when grace-friend was feeling bad." ryland had been improving when rocky last visited, but he'd still been in a bad way. rocky wouldn't want ryland anywhere too far from home in that state, never mind reaching the biodome's airlock just to see him.

It was a somber collection of realizations to sit with. All of it. At a surface level, he was overjoyed Rocky was here and he was okay and things were REALLY WEIRD, but he was okay. He was alive. But when Grace ventured beneath that surface it just got worse and worse. Rocky had not woken up like this in the biodome. He had been with his mate. Among other Eridians. The stress they all must have felt at seeing Rocky sleeping so much but only get worse. The anxiety Adrian must be feeling now...

Grace nearly shot up from his chair. He had to go inform them, he needed to let them know Rocky was stable and okay and he needed to-—

The hand at his shoulder rooted him where he was, the small squeeze allowed his tensed shoulder to sulk and relax.

❝ I know. Not my fault. But I should have, Rocky. I was worried. But we've been attached at the hip for years and then it was constant rushing to get me off of death's door and it's just been biodome maintenance and development and further food research and... and there's something new every day just so I can survive. I wanted you to actually live your own life. You've been away from Erid for so long and it feels like you haven't been able to rest since we've gotten here. ❞

Ryland knew he was cared for and he did not take that for granted and tried his best to not diminish that with his own less than peachy opinions of himself. But it'd been years at this point of the focus being on just Grace, just him. Who wouldn't feel guilty about that? Who wouldn't feel like a burden?

❝ I don't think either of knew you'd change like this. It doesn't seem possible. Gosh. I hope it wasn't me somehow. Humans have a tendency of doing that to each other, you know? Um, spreading diseases. Not making each other morph into completely different species. ❞ And awkward and humorless laugh conveyed that Ryland really was truly shaken up about this.

Chill out, Grace. Nothing was going to get fixed or figured out if you just moped the whole time. Focus on the positive: Rocky wasn't dead.

....

That was about it. That sort of encompassed all the other positives. It really just boiled down to the fact his best friend was alive.

❝ I think I need to go down and relay that you're okay. If I promise to be real, real quick about it will you promise to drink that for me? ❞ He pointed bluntly to the remaining water where it sat. With how poorly Rocky had reacted to it initially? Grace could tell there was going to be a lot of bargaining involved to get him to indulge in things he wasn't used to. Unfortunately, a lot of being human was just... weird and unpleasant.

His hand dropped and he stared for his friend, gaze cataloging everything he saw. It was impossible not to stare, wide-eyed and sharp. Greedy for detail. ❝ It is so... interesting how things translated. I never... and I'm being truthful here, cross my heart, I never tried to anthropomorphize you but if I did, I don't think I'd have landed anywhere near this. ❞ He gestured to Rocky in a circular and all-encompassing motion.

❝ But it fits. It just-—yeah. This is just you. Same song, different tune. But anyway! Alerting the others of the good-but-also-very concerning-news. ❞

Oh. Right. The class. That was worrying; he vaguely remembered Ryland telling him about it, but what else was new? His memory was shot after the incident, and this was yet another example of how poorly he had been since.

“Sorry, Ry. I can hardly remember you telling me about the classroom you teach,” he admitted freely. “I have a very good working memory, too good for my own good; and ever since AT-5, I can't recall some basic things anymore. I guess it's the concussion. But if I'm forgetting things again in a few months, please take it seriously.”

Dvy raised an eyebrow at the response Ryland gave him, and very openly gave him an eyeroll.

“I'm not a child that needs minding. Yes, you're a leading human expert in star eating worms and boulder shaped xenospecies and--” he gestured slightly at a microscope, “--molecular biology on Erid, but I know what I know and I know some things you don't. I appreciate that you wanted to keep me safe and not do a damn thing, injuries notwithstanding, but I can't sit still and watch you do everything on your own either.”

“And I can't do anything if you're not laying down any foundation for me to work on. There's no information as far as I know about Erid, for example, for me to know that they're sensitive to radiation. There's so many gaps in knowledge and you owe me those explanations, explanations you can't give me if you're out of reach and remain that way.” He turned to look fully at the scientist; he knew very well how to appeal to researchers so lost in their jobs they'd forgotten certain responsibilities they have. “I’ve been asking for parts to work with and all you've handed me thus far is a tablet and a laptop. I don't even know if I should be speaking to any Eridians by the airlock.”

Dvy swiveled in his stool to look at the consumables on the workbench. “You need a lesson plan for me too, it sounds like. All over the place and busy trying to chase… Chase what, exactly? The stationary, psychic fungus-flesh riddled submersible? You love being busy. I know what you are. That urgency is manufactured.” He lifted his head again. “With all due respect. If you let me in there with something that can be set on fire, it'll be over in,” Dvy shrugged and made a face. “Ten minutes. A project timeline with me in consideration, Ryland, or I make that timeline for you and you wouldn't like mine one bit.”

Thanks again, mom. Learnt how to say all that (manipulative facts included) as a five year old, by the way. Why'd they ask for a child when they're going to abandon him home with a nannybot anyway? Oh, right, the marriage.

All his charged negotiations seeped out of him the moment Ryland drew closer to teach him how to use the pipette. These seem mechanical with no electronic control like his mom used to have in her laboratory. He wondered about how they're cleaned and serviced, how Eridians managed to synthesise consumables for Ryland throughout his time here. It must be Eridians, yes? Simple things like isopropyl alcohol. How would they synthesise that? Did Ryland teach them? Have they known how to do that all along--

His breath caught as their hands met again over the pipette, the running theories tumbled away from him, possibly drifting around by the beach helplessly. His hand trembled on every push of the button, unsteady from the lack of practice and the closeness. Sick again; he felt so sick of how sick he would randomly feel whenever Ryland leaned against him. Was it heat? Carbon dioxide from his exhalation? Oxygen intake? Whatever it was, it gave him a flush so red his ears felt as if it would fall off his head.

Focus. FOCUS. He was silent through the demonstration and lesson. It took him a while to understand the plunger stops and what the pipette was actually doing, picturing the systems inside broken apart in his mind, component by component. How it was calibrated to know how much force is required to pull a very specific amount of liquid into the tip. A small, overengineered system made of a piston and a spring, definitely, each turn on the volume knob corresponding to---

“Thank you. You're a really good teacher,” Dvy commented as he transferred some water over into a few practice tubes as he was told. “I do prefer being taught this way, step by step, equipment in my hand and with you walking me through the process. Most people would toss a book at me and call it a day.” Most people being both moms and half of his teachers back on Eden. COI wardens notwithstanding. “It helps a lot. Thank you.”

He reversed the steps, drawing water out of the practice tubes back into the small container of water. “Science is fun and botany is second nature to me, but I really need to make something with my hands or I will start tearing Armando down.”

“Need to get that mill set up if it kills me. I don't think old Earth developed industrial mat-fabs like we've had. Saw some mentions of a thing called a 3D printer which is close but…” He snorted, “is a toy printer in comparison. I guess filaments are easier to manipulate and cheaper to produce. A toy printer is better than no printer. And I don't even have a fucking soldering iron. I don't know where to start. I know the Eridians can help me. I just don't know if I should or if I'm even allowed to. Not a single SOP around here understandably but I am utterly lost and overwhelmed.”

Well, fudge. When it was all laid out like that right in front of his face, plain as can be... yeah. Yikes. He'd really been dropping the ball.

Grace had pulled back to observe Dvy's independent attempt, but his mind was churning with solutions to this problem HE had helped cultivate. ❝ I'm... really sorry, Dvy. You're right. You're not a houseplant and even if it's implied you can do whatever you want, I suppose you don't know any parameters or limitations. That's... that is my bad. I'll work on it. ❞

When Dvy had finished, he approached to look everything over and nodded. ❝ We recycle these where we can. I use metal ones when possible that they've whipped up for me. ❞ But there were really only specific instances he could justify using those sort of pipette tips.

❝ Puh-leeeease do not dismantle Armando. We'd quite literally die without it. I'll get you something to do or I'll arrange things to where you can start something up yourself. How about some homework, hm? ❞

Grace grinned, peered at Dvy from the top of his glasses even as he began to clean up their practice components so he could prepare for the real deal.

❝ You get me a list of everything you'd need for that mill. And get me a list of otherwise things you'd like to work on. I'll see what I can do and we'll see how the science team can assist. Does that work? At least to start? ❞

The idea of Dvy simply marching into the remains of the sub and blowing it all to bits was... oddly appealing. But that didn't solve the actual issue: he and Grace were infected with it. ❝ Now, if you wouldn't mind standing pretty over there, I've got to get real close and personal with your blood. ❞ He clicked off the practice tip into a container and began the formal process over to begin running his tests on Dvy's own blood.

❝ You can talk to whoever you want, starshine. Most Eridians that come into direct contact with the biodome are fluent in English at this point. The problem is going to be that you'll need a mobile translator since you aren't fluent in Eridian. There are usually 1-2 by the main airlock section and they'll help you get into contact with any others you may need to talk to. ❞

Ryland worked the whole while he spoke, moving the samples to another part of the table to be loaded up into a device that he set a timer for.

❝ By the book teachers are never popular. Not saying I was a popular teacher but... kids aren't stupid. They know when someone is just showing up because they need the paycheck. If you wanted them to give a hoot about anything, you had to care. So...thank you. I'm glad you find my methods useful! ❞

A glance cast over his shoulder, a beaming smile. In his coat, gloves, and goggles it looked absolutely ridiculous.

❝ Unfortunately, a lot of what we have to do is to work backwards from what we have to get to the building blocks. Sometimes we have to reinvent things with the materials we have here. In some ways, we've found faster and more efficient methods and solutions. In other ways? Well, you've seen the sunlight situation. ❞ A vague gesture over his head as he maintained his back towards the other man.

❝ You can talk to Rocky too later when we have our sanctioned beach rest day, haha. I know you guys got off on a, no pun intended, rocky start... but he is the one you'll want to talk to most. Genius engineer. He's your Eridian for most things you've got in mind, I think. And he's real hungry for things to solve like I am. Don't be afraid to tell him to tone it down, though. With us, we're... we just go. We feed off each other. Sometimes it feels like we're part of the same brain. But I know our energies are not your energy. He's adaptable. You just have to let him know how he needs to adapt to you. ❞

They just started Star Trek.