Hello, I used to be snugglyfluffle but I have deleted that account so I’m back with a new one
Of course we’ve got rules for this account but first
This is a tickle account okay? I draw tickle art and write tickle fics of characters I like or enjoy
Is it kinky? For me personally no, I just enjoy it for the comfort and happy feeling of it all
What kind of people aren’t welcomed here? Those who are racist, homo/transphobic, fatphobic, and creepy people in this or any community
What do you draw/write for? I draw/write for multiple fandoms I am in but they can change from time to time
Can I request you draw/ write something? Of course, just as long as it’s in the fandom list, fair warning I am busy with life and struggle with art block often so they might take time
Can minors interact with the account? No, I am an adult and don’t feel comfortable with anyone who’s not 17+ interacting with me. Please for your own safety find people you know are around your age and don’t interact with adults
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Summary: Three years into the journey back to Erid, Rocky has become familiar with all the things that once made Grace seem strange: his hands, his face, his habits, his emotions—and most of all, his laughter.
When Grace starts spiraling over his dwindling food supply, Rocky decides it is his duty as best friend and crewmate to cheer him up by any means necessary. What begins as laughter-provoking antics slowly turns into something deeper: a quiet reflection on joy, survival, and the strange ways two species can feel connected across the stars.
Words: 4445
Dynamics: Lee!Grace, Ler!Rocky
A/N: This was supposed to be a short writing exercise on how to describe laughter, but then it somehow led me to introspecting about the universe, as one does lol.
———
I don’t completely remember what was running through my mind when my ship’s cameras and the petrovascope spotted another ship in the Tau Ceti system. A ship that, by the looks of it, was alien-made. My thoughts were probably something along the lines of ‘holyshitholyshitholy–’ and ‘oh thank fuck I’m not alone anymore’.
Thinking back, it probably wasn’t wise to just assume they’d be friendly, and I didn't even consider what they would look like. I was too focused on communicating and connecting our ships so we could meet.
All of which is to say, I was totally unprepared when we were right in front of each other, and I couldn’t help the scream that came out of me. Grace looked like nothing I had ever seen or could ever imagine. He was so tall, standing upright on his two limbs while only having two others instead of three. And his whole body was covered with flesh while the harder material was inside. It’s like if you turned an Eridian inside out.
Don’t even get me started on his strange habits as well. Using the same orifice to talk and eat? Ugh.
He was freaky. Well… the keyword being was. Things are different now.
His fleshy hands aren’t strange anymore–they’re the hands that fly the Hail Mary, do complex calculations and big science, and make chains (many many chains).
Hands that bred taumoeba. Hands that pulled me back to safety.
And his body isn’t strange anymore either. It’s just his body, that does crazy dangerous EVAs, that has a beating heart that proves he’s alive, that shows love through a hug or friendly pat. His face and his mouth are now just his identity. A window to his emotions: a smile to show joy, eyes that tear up when sad.
Now, when I look at Grace and all the things that make him different from me, freaky is the word furthest from my mind. The only words I have now are… that's my best friend. Three years into our return trip to Erid, all the aspects that make up Grace have become familiar to me.
Most familiar of all is his laughter.
Ironic, considering how little of it I heard during our mission. There wasn’t much time for joking around, both hyper-focused on saving our species. But now, time is all we have.
Between keeping ourselves busy and entertained, and learning more about each other, the opportunity to hear all the different ways Grace laughs has been plentiful. I think I have each one memorized.
His chuckles are little more than a deep rumble in his chest, a sound almost meant for only himself. Soft, fond, and relaxed, they usually appear when he's recalling a time one of his students said something clever, or when he thinks I’ve said something funny accidentally.
When he does manage to let slip some giggles, they sound fluttery, bubbling out of him in a continuous stream before boiling over into full laughter. I think most of the time they happen because he's trying not to laugh, as he’ll often duck his head or cover his mouth to stifle them. Maybe he's embarrassed—they’re much more high-pitched than his normal speaking voice, but I always find them adorable. They're reminiscent of the flute-like voices of eridian infants.
It’s particularly funny when Grace is surprised into amusement. He lets out sharp barks of laughter, sometimes accompanied by a quick clap of his hands or slapping his knee. It’s like he's so suddenly taken by hilarity it needs more outlets.
It’s even more funny when Grace snorts. It happens rarely, and only when he's caught completely off guard, surprised into laughter that’s so deep and hearty it comes out his nose. I think it’s hilarious, not just the sound but because Grace gets so embarrassed by it—apparently even in human culture it’s a silly sound.
Perhaps the most rewarding is when Grace finds something really funny, like a joke I made (on purpose), or our silly banter, or even a dumb scene from one of his movies. His laughter comes from his stomach, loud and boisterous, and it makes his eyes water and squeeze shut, nose scrunching too. Sometimes it overcomes him so much that he has to hold onto something to keep upright, or wrap his arms around his abdomen. It’s like for a moment he feels completely safe and unrestrained, forgetting about the Hail Mary, the beetles, and the dwindling food. Instead there’s only happiness in its purest form—and it's one of my favorite laughs of his.
But not my all-time favorite.
My all-time favorite is the one he's making now, when I have him pinned to the floor of the ship, one claw digging into his middle and another two scribbling under his arms. The laughter that’s pouring out of him can only be described as cackles—loud, wild things interrupted by startled screeches and utterly beyond his control.
“ROCKY! S-STOP IT!” he shrieks. I don’t have his arms pinned, so he's torn between trying to wrench my claws out from under them and slapping at any part of my xenonite suit-covered carapace he can reach.
“Mmm,” I trill in mock contemplation. “No. I don’t think you’ve had enough penance yet.”
His head thunks against the floor in defeat. “Ngh–aHAH!” he tries to reply but he’s laughing too hard to get any words out. I am curious what he has to say though, so I move my hands from his armpits and instead trace around what he calls a ‘belly button.’ It still tickles him a lot, but less so he can actually get words out.
The smile on his face is stretched so wide that it shows all of his teeth. He takes in a shuddered breath and chokes out between his giggles, “P-penance for what?!”
“You were moping. No moping allowed on the Hail Mary.”
“Wha—but it’s MY ship!” he tries to protest but more giggles interrupt his speech. “Ehehe—I can m-mope if I want to!”
I let out a chittery laugh at that. He can be so whiny.
“Nope. Not allowed,” I reiterate. I use my fingers to skitter up and down his sides, making sure to tweak his bottom ribs whenever I reach them. It makes Grace arch his back and then flop back down with a cackle each time.
In truth, this isn’t made to be an actual ‘punishment’. I mean, Grace was moping, that part's true. Just before I wrestled him to the floor he was looking over the Hail Mary’s food storage, doing some calculations with his face pulled into a frown and muttering to himself. Based on his calculations, the last few months of our trip will be difficult for him. Grace is worried.
But I hate to hear him like that, and there’s nothing more we can do about the food anyway. So naturally, it’s my job as his crewmate/best friend to take his mind off it, cheer him up a bit. And if tickling him to pieces is the quickest way to accomplish that, well, then you really can’t blame me.
It also gives me the opportunity to hear his loudest, silliest laughs, the kind he only does when he's forced to let go of his worries and submit to this playful stupidity. As an added bonus, all that laughter sends sound waves bouncing off my carapace, giving me the clearest image of Grace yet. Hey, I gotta get something out of this too, ok?
Grace is shoving at me with both hands now, eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back in laughter. He's not strong enough to push me away even if he wasn’t laughing himself out of oxygen.
“Gah! G-get offa me, doofus!” he manages between desperate gasps for air, each one collapsing back into laughter.
I hum a high, amused note, and pull back on the tickling a bit. I still use one hand though to poke randomly around his stomach, enough to keep him twitching.
“Have you laughed all of your mopes out yet?” I ask teasingly.
Grace drags in deep breaths now that he has the chance, but each one has a leftover giggle or two tacked onto the end. He flops an arm over his chest and I feel him sag into the floor.
“Ugh…” he wheezes. “You’re… the worst…”
I dig sharply into his sides. “Answer the question.”
He yelps and his hands fly down to grab mine. “Ah! L-let me think, dang it!”
A few beats pass before Grace comes to a verdict. He crosses his arms, and schools his face into one of defiance—or at least he tries to. There’s a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth that gives him away.
“I think there’s one still rattling around in there,” he says, and oh, if I know a challenge when I hear one…
“Is that so?” I reply. I grab his wrists and start to slowly raise them over his head. That cracks his defiant facade immediately, his eyes widening and a helpless smile spreading across his face. He starts tugging fruitlessly at my hold, and I think it’s that moment he realizes the situation he put himself in.
“Wait wait wait! Rocky no! H-hold on!” he splutters. The second his arms are firmly over his head and there to stay, frantic, high-pitched giggles begin bubbling out.
Mhmm, I quite enjoy this part. Grace is absolutely terrible with anticipation, a fact I love to take full advantage of. With one of my arms pinning Grace's wrists, it leaves my other two open to hover threateningly over his underarms and upper ribs.
“Don’t worry,” I say, my voice laced with sticky sweetness. “I’ll help you.”
I feel Grace's whole body try to flinch away, but I’ve got a strong grip on him as well as some of my weight pinning his hips down where I sit on top of him.
“J-just hold on a second!” he cries, his eyes unable to look away from my wiggly, xenonite-covered fingers. Laughter is on the edge of each of his words.
Slowly, I lower my wiggling fingers closer to his body. As I do, Grace's giddy, nervous giggling gets louder and more frantic, and his squirming increases tenfold. When I reach just the edge of his clothes and brush them gently—not even technically touching him—Grace bursts out into loud, belly laughter.
“No no NO!” he screeches, and his legs kick out helplessly behind me. “S-stahahp it!!”
I pull my hands away, and Grace goes back to desperate, sputtering giggles. Hah, I can’t help but laugh along with him, his reactions are over the top and hilarious.
“Wow,” I say around my own chirpy laughter. “You are so fucking ticklish, Grace.”
I hear the blood rush to his face at that, and he tries to hide it in his arm. It’s a very subtle sound, one I only know to listen for because Grace explained that humans' faces flush when embarrassed.
‘Definitely sold yourself out there, friend,’ I think to myself.
“You’re the most ticklish human ever, aren’t you?” I continue to tease. Grace lets out a growly whine that trails off into more desperate giggling. He tries clenching his teeth together, but it does nothing to stop the embarrassing sounds, instead making his laughter come out in a hissy sort of way around his teeth and the wide grin he's wearing. He starts shaking his head helplessly, already accepting his demise.
Alright, time to stop teasing and get to the real deal. I drop both my hands to scribble his underarms and massage at his top rib. The reaction is explosive; Grace cracks into laughter so loud that he's absolutely glowing in my perception, every detail of his face and the playful torture he’s experiencing crystal clear to me. He even makes enough sound waves to illuminate every small detail of the room in my vision without my need to tap a claw or click a sound.
“No—! R-rock—! Gah-ahAHAHA!” is all he can manage between his hysterical laughter before he peters out into silence. I can tell he's still laughing though—his whole chest is shaking and I can feel his stomach muscles convulsing beneath me where I have him pinned. His mouth is stretched into a wide grin and he takes in a breath here and there too, but no audible laughter follows it. Just his feet slapping the ground occasionally behind me.
I really enjoy this type of laughter too. It’s not my favorite, but more so I just feel real smug anytime I manage to drive him crazy enough to laugh himself fresh out of sound. He even has a few tears leaking out of his eyes, and those are rewarding too. I’d much rather he leak from overwhelming mirth and laughter than from sadness and pain.
But the tears also signal that Grace is at his limit. I pull my hands away from his tickle spots and instead rub soothingly at his sternum, chasing away the last of the tingly feelings.
Grace does his best to melt into the floor as the lingering titters fade away. He wraps one arm around his middle and rests the other one on top of my arm that’s rubbing his chest while he catches his breath.
“Ohoho man…” he breathes. “I’m sohoho gonna get you b-back.”
I hum a note. “Can’t. I’m not ticklish. Not like you,” I tease. That’s totally a lie, but not one Grace is strong enough to disprove, an advantage of our anatomical differences.
We sit for a moment while he recovers until he finally props himself up on his elbows.
“You know, one of these days I’m gonna have Mary toss you out the airlock. See how well you can tickle me from the vacuum of space,” he says with a grin.
My hand stills on his chest, and I tilt my carapace. “You’d toss your best friend into space?” I ask, playing along.
“Oh, definitely,” he nods. He picks up the tool I use to weave xenonite that’s resting on the floor. I don’t use it much now, since I used almost the last of my xenonite stores to make my dexterous suit. (That probably wasn’t wise to do, but it’s worth it to be able to come into Grace's atmosphere completely and interact in this silly way.)
It also means that the tool, which I had brought to Grace's side to show him, has been sitting on the floor for a few weeks. Grace waggles the tool in front of me. “Place would be a whole lot cleaner without you leaving your stuff everywhere, don’t you think?” he teases, and draws his knee in to knock against my carapace.
Well then. Seems the moping is gone and replaced with sass. Not quite what I was going for.
I sing a low, jokingly offended note.
“I see. Well, before you do that, there’s one spot I’ve never tried before. We should fix that, in the name of scientific discovery of course.” I slide off his middle and move down towards his socked feet, grabbing hold of just one ankle.
Grace begins smiling immediately, and tries to tug his leg back. He's not using his full strength to do so, and combined with his smile I know he doesn’t actually mind this at all. We’ve never talked about it out loud, but I know we both think this silly, stupid kind of play is really fun.
“Wait, wait! Maybe we can compromise,” he says, voice wobbly with the beginnings of laughter. “I don’t have to toss you out, just your stuff—AH!”
He's cut off by me taking off his sock and swiping my fingers up and down the bottom of his foot. I was serious when I said I’ve never tried tickling here, and I regret that now because this is a really sensitive spot. Grace drops my xenonite weaver and falls onto his back again, laughter renewed. He's still trying to tug his leg away while the rest of his body is free to squirm now that I’m not on top of him anymore.
I only tickle him for a few seconds before stopping, given I already put him through the wringer before. When I stop, Grace throws an arm over his face while some lingering hiccupy laughs fade away. I’ve still got a hold of his ankle, though, and this time poke his largest toe.
“Are these ticklish too?” I ask, genuinely curious. It’s already surprising he'd be ticklish in this area, since he literally walks on them every day. Humans are fascinating like that.
Grace huffs a residual laugh and says “Maybe,” which I take as ‘Definitely yes.’
“Why are these ticklish but the ones on your hands aren’t?”
He shrugs and looks down his body at me. “I’m not sure,” he answers honestly. “Might be evolution-based. You need your toes to walk, but you can live without fingers, so maybe it’s the body’s way of making you protect those more.”
He pauses before adding, “I actually knew a guy once who’s missing six fingers—wha—?! H-hey!” He gets cut off by more giggles as I attempt to scribble at his toes.
“I was talking!” he laughs. “Rude! Nahahah—ouch! Hey, careful!”
I rip my hands away. “Sorry sorry sorry! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, you just pinched me a bit. Your fingers are a lot bigger than human ones.” That’s true. It makes tickling this delicate area difficult. I wonder…
I re-grip his ankle and slip my xenonite weaver over the suit-clad fingers on my other hand. The weaver is almost like a second skeleton, with braces hugging my forearm and hand. Delicate articulated prongs extend beyond each fingertip, tapering to points far finer than my own fingers could ever be so I can weave small strands of xenonite. With the tool powered down, however, they’re nothing more than slender metal finger extensions.
Using a second hand, I grip his big toe and pull it back, stretching his foot and other toes, then hover my third hand wearing the tool over them. Grace understands immediately what I’m about to do because his eyes widen and his mouth opens to protest, but he’s too late.
I dance the tips of the thin prongs at the base of his toes and in between them too, for good measure. This was a fantastic idea. Grace begins shrieking and yanking at his foot harder than ever before. It’s no use though, I have an iron-clad grip on him.
“Holy—argh nohoho!” he practically screams. “T-thahat’s terrible!!”
I chirp giggles along with him and decide to try something hopefully worse, scraping the prongs up and down the bottom of his foot in addition to his toes to see what happens.
“FUCK!” Grace yells before being consumed by more screechy laughter. His whole body does a funny sort of roll, and his free foot starts kicking at me with surprising strength. It’s not enough to stop me, but it does actually make me stumble a bit.
I burst into laughter and it mingles in the room with his. Wow, this really makes him lose his mind if it gets him to actually curse. I’ll definitely be doing this again sometime—this is fun.
Grace practically wails my name, the last note of it soaring to an impressive pitch. It’s time to stop. I don’t want to actually ruin the playful moment we’re having. I pull all my hands away and sit next to Grace, giving him the space to roll onto his side and pull his knees to his chest, catching his breath.
“I ha-hate you…” he huffs weakly into his knees. Mmm, liar.
Eventually his breathing slows and he uncurls himself. I move to sit beside his head with my legs tucked underneath my carapace. He always calls that position “loafing,” and when he cracks an eye open to glance at me, he huffs out a few chuckles.
Feeling a sudden surge of fondness, and perhaps a tad bit of guilt, I use the weaver to stroke through Grace’s hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. He hums a contented note and goes boneless under the touch, eyes slipping closed again.
“You done torturing me?” he asks sleepily.
I hum a note myself, amused. “For today.”
Grace smiles softly at that, eyes still closed. My amusement melts into something gentler. “Are you feeling better?” I ask, softer now. Sincere.
He opens his eyes and looks at me. “Yeah…” he says, a smile still on his face. I sense some tension pulling at his brows, though.
“It will be ok, Grace. We’ll work out a solution when we get to Erid. I promise.”
He nods. “I know.”
We fall into a comfortable, companionable silence and stay like that for a while. Grace’s breathing returns to a slow and steady rhythm as I continue to brush the prongs through his hair, lost in my own thoughts.
“What are you thinking about?” Grace asks softly. He looks like he’s on the verge of falling asleep.
I brush his bangs back and soothe them down. His hair is getting quite long. I like it, it makes it even more soft and fluffy. “I’m thinking about our theory.”
“Which one? Panspermia?”
“Mhm.”
It’s something we talked about early on in our mission, when we discovered that the planet Adrian did indeed have life. A lot of life, actually, in the form of bacteria, amoebas, and other single-celled organisms. What are the chances of Earth, Erid, and Adrian all evolving life separately from one another? Life that uses the same basic machinery: DNA, ATP, familiar cellular structures, and, in some organisms, even mitochondria?
To me, it seems low. Possible, maybe. But low. Our three star systems are not that far apart, really. Yes, Earth and Erid are sixteen light-years apart, with Adrian somewhere between us, but that is close compared to the vastness of the galaxy. The Milky Way galaxy spans about 100,000 light-years. We’re practically roommates, if you consider the observable universe and its trillions of galaxies.
That’s where our theory comes in. Panspermia is the idea that life didn't just start all on its own on our planets. It came from somewhere else. Where? Who knows, but the theory is that billions of years ago some ancient life form “seeded” Earth, Erid, and Adrian with life by way of a comet/asteroid, or something. Then life did what it does: evolved over billions of years into different forms that seem completely different from each other, but share many similarities if you look small enough. Humans, Eridians, and astrophage. We may have done billions of years of evolution separately, but the point is that if you go far enough back on each of our branches, we’re joined by one common but ancient ancestor.
We’re cousins. Very very very distant cousins, but family all the same. Or that’s what I like to believe. We don’t have real proof of this theory, but it makes me feel closer to humanity—closer to Grace. And it’s interesting to think about in these quiet moments of companionable space travel.
“I used to think you were as different from me as two things can be,” I say.
Grace smiles. “Oh? Was it the leaky space blob-ness?”
I chuckle out a chord. “That was definitely part of it. But now…”
“Now space feels a whole lot smaller, and we feel a whole lot closer,” he finishes for me.
“Yeah.”
He reaches up over his head and brushes his fingers against mine on the hand not combing through his hair, just absentminded touches. He likes to fidget while he thinks, and enjoys being close too.
“Isn’t it fascinating how both our species evolved to have laughter? I mean, that can't be a coincidence,” he says. It’s like he read my mind. That’s what I was about to bring up next.
“It would be a huge coincidence, yes,” I say. “I think it's further evidence for our theory. That we’re connected.”
It’s not definitive proof in the slightest, barely a correlation. But I choose to believe it is. The universe can be terribly ugly, but there’s also so much beauty in it, so why couldn’t this one beautiful thing be true too? That the sounds of joy prove we’re connected, even light-years apart?
“Laughter connects the universe…” Grace says wistfully, his smile growing. “That’s a nice thought. I like it.”
I like it too. I feel a deep warmth wash over me, a sense of happiness and belonging—and I’m still light-years from home.
“I’m happy I evolved to meet you, Grace,” I say. “I’ve never had a friend like you before. Someone who understands me in ways I can’t explain, because I don't need to with you.”
“And I’m so grateful I get to hear your laughter,” I add.
I hear that subtle rush again—Grace’s face flushing with shyness—and it makes me chuckle. I can’t see the color, but I trace a finger over what I know is his reddened cheek, just to let him know I’m aware of what’s happening.
Grace shoos my hand away playfully and huffs, embarrassed.
“You're such a sap,” he says. “But… I’m happy I evolved to meet you too. I’m happy we get to laugh together.”
———
We made it to Erid, and it’s good to be home.
The last few months of our trip—and the first stretch of time on the ground too—were indeed difficult for Grace. His coma slurry and taumoeba shakes were enough to keep him alive while we figured out a solution. But just barely.
Every day he slept more. His cheeks hollowed further. He smiled less. I stayed by his side through it all, diligently watching as he slept, thinking of the days where we talked about the universe and filled our ship with laughter.
Those were dark times. But I’m so grateful they're behind us.
Now, two years after we made it home, the scene looks quite different: My beloved Adrian and I are in Grace's biodome. It's stocked with plenty of nourishing food for him. His stomach is soft, his ribs no longer sharp beneath his skin, and his cheeks are rounded. He’s going to start teaching soon, and it’s the most excitement I’ve seen in him for a while. My Adrian says one of their dry, witty jokes, and Grace has to hold onto me to keep from falling over in laughter.
It’s a beautiful sound, and I hold it close to my hearts. I am so grateful I get to hear it again, and I know I'll hear it for years to come.
———
A/N: there we go! Hope you guys enjoyed! Here are a few questions that I'm curious what your guys answers are:
What do you think of Panspermia? It’s a real theory, that life on earth started because a life-containing asteroid crashed here. And if it happened to earth… perhaps it has happened elsewhere.
What other completely normal human things do you think Rocky would find fascinating/horrifying?
Do we like the Rocky pov? Would we mind another one bc I have a short one in mind, same dynamics but I swear I have plans to switch that up too lol
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
everyones talking about the scenes in the boys but no ones talking about the scene in episode 4 of jurassic park camp cretaceous chaos theory. only real ones know
After Caine comes back and is part of the group, he offers to let the others torture him to make up for him torturing them. But none of them want to hurt him. But he insists that they get their revenge.
So they torture him with tickles instead (which he was NOT expecting)
:3
I LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK
SPOILERS FOR THE FINALE!!!
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Rebuilding || The Amazing Digital Circus Tickle Fic ||
A/N: so this is kind of complicated AU-wise. this does not take place in the same universe that my two other Caine fics are set in. I imagine this taking place after the actual events of the finale. I make a brief reference to A Moment in the Dark but that's it. I know, super convoluted, but this is a tickle fic on tumblr, this is what you signed up for.
Warning: there is a short moment of intense tickles but Caine's boundaries are respected immediately
Word count: 3,541
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Caine fiddled with his hands nervously as he paced back and forth across the stage. The soft tip-tap of his boots echoed gently into the quiet arena.
It was strange how naturally walking had come to him. He had relied on floatation for so long, he worried that standing on his own two feet would feel foreign and awkward. The truth was, it actually gave him a much more grounding soothing technique. He could focus his attention on the smooth, hard floor beneath his shoes rather than his roaring freight train of thought. It took selective attention for him to place one foot in front of the other in time to catch himself from falling forward; it was just another task, he enjoyed those. That attention to balance and coordination made a surprising difference in keeping his mind off of- well, anything that felt too overwhelming.
His friends had been helping him learn to verbalize his emotions and identify them with descriptors rather than putting them aside. It wasn't easy. In fact, Caine really tried not to complain too much, but it was incredibly frustrating to hold onto an unpleasant feeling for that long. It was so much easier when he locked away his troublesome thoughts into a little box and hid it away, metaphorically and literally. To admit to feeling sad or angry or hurt, in front of an audience no less, was unbelievably terrifying. But his friends were patient, and gave him space and time and lots of assurances. Zooble especially was sympathetic to his struggles. Apparently, they had gone through similar issues when talking about their own emotions. They had to learn through years of experience and figuring it out on their own to speak your mind in spite of the fear. Being vulnerable with others is hard, but taking the leap and trusting others will catch you yields its own rewards. Caine can attest to that.
Despite the progress he had been making in being honest with the others about how he felt, old habits die hard (that was a human phrase Kinger had taught him). The nervousness building up under his digital skin made it hard to stand still, and he found himself returning to his old self-soothing rituals, like playing with his hands or clenching his teeth, or even building new ones like pacing.
It was his idea to get into the habit of walking. The others insisted it wasn't necessary, but Caine disagreed. It didn't feel quite right anymore to be constantly looking down at them from above. If he was going to be given another chance, he needed to come to them on their level and live as they did. (The first few days of walking really put into perspective how he must have looked from down here on the floor. No wonder they felt intimidated by him all the time.) He still floated from time-to-time, if the distance was too great, but only at a short height.
Caine's head snapped up at the approaching clatter of steps.
He had told the others to meet him on the stage whenever they felt ready. There was something he wanted to offer them.
That prospect alone would have brought curious smiles to their faces, were it not for Caine's anxiety-ridden body language. While everyone had been coaching him on how to verbalize his thoughts and feelings, it was made pretty obvious anyway how he was feeling because of the animatedness of his expressions. They had no idea what Caine had in store for them.
Caine himself wasn't sure how this conversation was going to play out, but he hoped it would help further build a bridge between them.
Okay, no need to be nervous, he told himself. They've started to trust you again, and this will help with that even more.
One by one, the players ascended the steps and crossed the stage to where Caine stood, cautious but friendly smiles on their faces.
"Hey, Caine," Ragatha greeted. "You wanted to see us?"
"I did, yes." Caine straightened. He took a deep breath.
"I wanted to talk about my... outburst. Toying with you all in a fit of anger. I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I knew... I felt how afraid I made you. I can't undo the damage I did, the hurt I caused, but I've been thinking... the least I can do is give you a chance to return that pain."
The group stirred, glancing at each other in confusion.
Caine continued. "You all now have the power to conjure and bend reality into what you make of it. I think- I hope that it might be cathartic for you to... do unto me what I did unto you. I won't hold it against you. It's only fair."
He paused, eyes training on the floor nervously. "What do you think?"
What did they think? They hadn't expected good news when they came to the stage, but they weren't expecting... that. They could see the logic in the gesture, how one might think that a balancing out of the scales would help heal some of those wounds, but it didn't. They all knew it by looking at each other's faces. They were in agreement. More agony wouldn't rebuild that trust.
Zooble spoke up. "Caine, we appreciate what you're giving us, but we won't accept it."
"It was scary when you lashed out at us" Ragatha said.
"But you've done a lot to try and fix it" said Pomni.
"We want to be your friend," Gangle sniffled, "and we don't want to hurt you. It wouldn't feel right at all."
Kinger, adorned with his bucket-hat, which he had brought along in case this was a serious conversation he needed to be present for, spoke up as well. "No one else should get hurt. That's the power we want to have over this world."
Caine stuttered. "But- I did- I did terrible- egh- but it's not fair. Please, I- wouldn't it help at all? You have the opportunity to do anything- literally anything to me. I think you should use it. I want you to use it."
It was true. Caine still felt terrible about how he behaved. This seemed the most beneficial solution, and he really wanted them to have it.
Again, the gang looked at each other, sharing conversations with eye contact alone.
Ragatha smiled gently at her friends.
"Okay, Caine. We'll accept your offer."
Caine looked up hopefully.
The others' faces filled with shock.
"I don't think this is such a good-" Pomni started to object, but cut herself off as Ragatha looked to her and winked.
Pomni calmed herself.
Ragatha looked between them. "I think we all know of something to do to you that would help us all feel better. A torture that only the best" she emphasized, "of friends know."
Kinger watched Ragatha, searching for whatever hint she was trying to give. He found it. "I think I know too. Let's do it."
Pomni, Zooble, and Gangle blinked, clearly still lost. Until Kinger wiggled his fingers where they rested at his side.
Zooble's eyebrows shot up.
Gangle's eyes widened.
Pomni smirked.
Caine readied himself, standing tall with arms out wide, leaving himself completely open to their retribution. "I'm ready when you are" he said bravely.
Moving synchronously like they were one being, the group surrounded him.
Caine prepared himself for hits, punches, pulls, pushes, tears, and rips.
He did not prepare himself for the faint tickling sensation under his arm.
He choked on his own giggle, turning to where the touch had come from. But before he could say anything, another came from behind, this time at his side. He felt his innards tremble with a small laugh.
What were they doing? He didn't understand. Were they playing with him?
He stumbled backward, breaking the circle around him. "Wh-What are you doing? You're sup- you're supposed to hurt me! You're supposed to be angry! I was being serious, I really hurt you guys! I don't deserve to go on like it didn't..." His voice started to tremble, eyes growing wet.
Immediately it was clear to the others that now was not the time to keep going. They looked at each other worriedly at how quickly the tone had changed. This needed a different approach.
Kinger walked up to his creation. "Caine... no one is going to hurt you. Not now, not ever. We're not going to punish you for not understanding, so please don't punish yourself."
Caine felt someone take his hand.
"I forgive you" Pomni said. "I forgive you, okay? It's gonna take work, but we're gonna make this better. Together."
"We can't change what happened," Zooble added, "but we can try again. That's what you've been doing, right? Trying again, for us?"
Caine looked down in shame. "I..."
"Just be here..." Pomni blurted, eyes deepening imploringly, "... with us. Can we just do that, please? Just- be here."
Keep trying. Be here.
That, Caine could do. That he could do.
"Okay" he relented.
Zooble's voice caught Caine's attention. "Now about that revenge..."
Caine's pupils constricted. "But- you- I thought we-"
"Oh yeah, he could definitely use some payback right now" Ragatha agreed.
Caine's teeth turned up, like a smile only he could wear. "Come on guys, you don't have to do this." He pleaded, arms outstretched in front of him, with no real fear in his voice.
Pomni raised her hands and wiggled her fingers in front of her. "We're gonna make you so sorry you ever met us" she threatened dramatically.
Caine turned to make a break for it, but was caught by Zooble, who was standing ready and waiting right behind him. In their trap of a hold, their claw and hand started to pinch and squeeze his sides.
Laughter began to bubble up out of him, and it tickled him from the inside out.
The sound of it was downright shocking to the others. It was warm and bubbly, bright and melodic and real, as human as an AI could get. It was precious.
And now the game had really begun.
Gangle stepped forward and fluttered her ribbon-hands around his shoulders, where a neck would normally be. He shrugged his shoulders up as high as he could with a sweet squeal. Her ghostly whispers of touch sprouted goosebumps all down his back.
"Nohoho... nohoho tickling!" He giggled.
"This is what you get for being a pain in the ass, just laugh it up" Zooble said smugly.
"This wahahas supp-pposed to be pahainful!" He laughed. This was so ridiculous. What on earth was he doing here getting the wits tickled out of him by a bunch of humans? And why was this exactly what he needed?
Kinger chuckled fondly at the scene in front of him. How he wished they had reached this point sooner. So many years were wasted fearing him.
He wondered then how Caine being able to react to touch was even possible in the first place. He certainly hadn't programmed that in.
Oh well. It's not like it mattered to Caine at the moment, who was now snickering and shaking his head at the finger tickling under his chin.
"No?" Ragatha teased, cooing as though Caine were a labradoodle. "You don't want me to scratch right here? Is it too tickly for you? Can you not take it?"
This was so embarrassing, and yes he could absolutely take it! He wasn't some delicate little child!
Caine glared up at Ragatha. "Of course I can!"
"Great! I'll just keep going then!"
Aw nuts. Probably should have kept his mouth shut.
Ragatha laughed at the ringmaster's plight, watching him twist and titter himself silly. She then noticed that it was getting difficult for Zooble and Gangle to tickle him the more he balled up.
"Here, get his arms" she suggested. She loved the way Zooble's eyes narrowed with mischief just as Caine's widened with terror.
As Zooble struggled to wrestle Caine's wrists into their claw-hands, Ragatha reached out to grab one of Caine's kicking feet. The moment she got a good grip on his ankle, he let out what could only be described as a shrill, huffy, screech, as though he were startled mid-giggle. The last coherent thought he had was how odd he found it that just clutching his ankle tickled so much. She hadn't even touched the bottom of his boot (which he knew vaguely was a very very bad spot on most humans). Whatever struggling he had been doing before was now exponentially more frantic as his laughter skyrocketed. The powerful volume reminded them all of his usual robotic laugh, but that was where the similarities ended. It was high and breathy, a desperate, whining sound. It began to spasm with chaotic rhythm, like his digital diaphragm was shuddering. It consumed him. His chest expanded with air like a balloon. His belly ached. His head filled with cotton, taking up too much space for there to be any thoughts left in there. His arms had become floppy, giving Zooble the chance to grab them and hold them over his head, but he didn't care. He didn't even notice.
And he couldn't stop laughing. Not even if his life depended on it. And there was something else.
Something pervasive and spreading and dizzying.
Something warm and fuzzy and tickly all in its own way.
He gasped it in with every inhale he took and puffed it back out with every laugh expelled from him.
Relief.
Pure, unencumbered, relief.
They loved him. They must have. Why else would they be blessing him with such a moment? It lit up their torturous fingertips tickling up and down his body, and shined through their great big smiles, and twinkled in their eyes gazing down at him like someone who belonged.
They loved him, and they forgave him.
Had he earned that? He doubted he'd ever know for sure.
But they all seemed sure enough, and that was what made this all so nice.
If he hadn't been laughing, he'd have been crying tears of happiness. He was grateful, then, that they were tickling him, because the laughter was a much less mortifying reaction to have then the crying.
Through all of this, his friends were too busy grinning to let their jaws drop to the floor. He was laughing. Really laughing. They doubted he'd ever laughed this hard before. Maybe it was time they changed that.
They didn't want to suffocate the poor guy, though, so Ragatha released her grip on his ankle.
It was as if she did nothing at all. Caine was still laughing like a crazy person. Gangle and Zooble paused their tickling as well to give him some room to catch his breath.
A couple minutes later and he seemed to have steadied himself.
Pomni made a move to suggest they call it a day when Caine raised his head blearily.
"Are... are we done?" He panted, sounding more than a little disappointed. He wouldn't ask them to keep going if they didn't want to, but he found himself waiting with bated breath for a very specific answer.
Ragatha knew that look, and she knew Kinger did too from their time in the Losers Corner.
It seemed Pomni had picked up on it too, because before anyone could reply, she parked two fingers at the top of Caine's ribs. The delicate touch made him gasp involuntarily.
"Not quite" Pomni smiled with faux darkness. She carefully raked her fingertips down the length of his sides and then started over at the top again.
The feeling wasn't quite as intense as it had been before, to Caine's relief, but it still kept those shamefully high squeaks flying out of his mouth.
"So, Caine" Pomni started. "Which one of us in the Circus is your favorite, huh? It's gotta be me, right?"
Caine may have still been in a state of delirium, but he had enough good sense to know he should not answer that.
But Pomni hadn't stopped dancing her fingers over his sides, and the constancy of it kept him dancing around on the floor.
"Now hold on just a minute" Ragatha said indignantly, having caught on to Pomni's new little game of antagonizing Caine. "I think he likes me the best, isn't that right, Caine?" As she said this, her plush hands gently swatted Pomni's away, not to end the tickly madness, but to contribute her own methods, as she took a finger on each hand and sharply jabbed into the center of Caine's belly.
The laughter took on a more manic quality, as each merciless poke sent another ticklish shock to his body, startling yelps out of him.
"You're all wrong" Zooble cut in from above, still holding Caine's wrists in one claw. "Me and him are super close, I'm obviously the favorite."
Ragatha paused her poking to give Zooble the floor.
Caine readied himself for what was surely another new kind of ticklish torture, but after a few long moments, he felt nothing. He dared to look up at Zooble and felt his stomach drop.
The others were watching Zooble closely as well, with some eyebrows jumping up in surprise.
How could they not? Zooble had just changed the game.
With dawning horror, Caine watched as Zooble conjured from nothingness a long, white feather. It looked unimaginably soft; it even had tiny fibers along the bigger fibers.
Zooble took this beautiful feather, and proceeded to twirl it quick and graceful into the exposed center of Caine's armpit.
The reaction was instantaneous, and loud. Caine's laughter was nothing but short, shrieking cackles for a couple seconds, until it descended into robotic static. This was too much. He was having fun, but this was just too much. Even for what was supposed to be torturous justice.
"STAHAAP!" He shouted, almost involuntarily. He didn't really expect them to stop. What kind of punishment would this be if he wasn't made to suffer? He had done far worse to them; this is what he deserved.
The feather stopped immediately, mere moments after getting his plea out, and his hands were released. Caine took this reprieve gratefully, rubbing his underarms to override the lingering tickles.
Appreciative though he was, he was also very confused. What had they stopped for? He thought the point of this was for them to do this to him.
He looked around him to find everyone had backed up slightly, probably to give him air, watching him with worry painted all over their faces.
"You okay?" Pomni checked gently.
He was surprisingly fine actually. He wasn't even out of breath anymore. It had tickled really badly for a few moments, but it ended before it got really bad. But why? Why had they listened to him?
Zooble couldn't seem to look at him, eyes darting to various parts of the floor. "I knew I shouldn't have conjured the feather" they said guiltily. "I'm sorry Caine for pushing too hard."
Caine didn't like how sadness looked on Zooble and he wanted more than anything right now to ease their worries. "The feather was kind of nice actually, it was just that one spot- Wait hang on, I don't understand. Why'd you stop when I asked you to? I thought this was supposed to be torture." (Everyone but Caine was stunned a little at such a straightforward admission of enjoyment, even if they could already kind of tell).
Ragatha looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Not... actual torture. It's just for fun, and it's never fun if you're uncomfortable."
Zooble leaned forward to get Caine's attention. "Your body needs to be respected no matter what; the control is in your hands, always."
Kinger agreed. "And that goes for all of us. Even you."
He wasn't completely clueless and unaware, he understood bodily consent and how important it was. He just didn't think such protections applied to him as well. It made him feel... safe.
"Thank you" he said.
"Bare minimum" Zooble replied.
"So," Ragatha said. "That enough penance for you?"
Caine brought a finger to his teeth, thinking it over. He hadn't expected to suddenly feel shy of all things.
"I... wouldn't mind if- if you wanted to keep going. You know- if you wanted to, I wouldn't mind at all." He stammered.
Caine might as well have written "please keep tickling me" on his forehead. He had no semblance of a poker face whatsoever, which Pomni and the others found adorable.
Pomni, feeling evil, asked, "But do yooouuu want to?"
Slapping his hands over his eyes, Caine grumbled, "Ugghhh yes."
Kinger chuckled, endeared by this pure being who had only ever wanted to love and be loved. "Wonderful, because... we never actually figured out which of us is your favorite."
Ragatha knew firsthand that when Kinger's tickle monster persona came out, you were in for a good laugh. She snickered in anticipation to watch this go down.
Pomni pointed a finger at Caine. "And no armpits?"
He nodded. "No armpits."
"Got it."
Caine practically lit up with giddy joy and readied himself to be once again enveloped by his friends' affection.
Before the fun restarted, he thought to himself only one thing.
How glad he was to have come home.
---
I had a lot of fun with this one, and I hope you all did too! Thanks for reading! <3
summary: first part of potentially a series 👀 in which rocky and grace argue over which of them is more of an evil deadly monster. they're both space orks.
note: i need all the fics about the differences in their evolution stat. i love the hunting trope (ambush vs persistence) so much, i think it's such a fun idea.
I'm really confused.
The Hail Mary is not a big ship. It took me less than 20 minutes to explore every room after I first woke up - and that's with having forgotten to walk after not moving a muscle in over four years. Just 20 minutes.
I've been looking for Rocky for over two hours now.
"Rocky?" I call out into the dormitory that I've already checked three times.
I frown with my hands on my hips.
We both have our days when we really need our own space. For the most part, we'll usually respect it and leave the other be as well as we can, but in living quarters this small and with a roommate who can hear through walls, me-time is always more of a we-time. Surprisingly, it hasn't been too bad. We both know what the alternative is like, and I think that's given us enough perspective to not just be tolerant of each other's constant presence, but straight up clingy for it. Even this late in the game. So I'm beginning to feel small-to-medium amounts of disturbed. I might not be able to see through walls, but I've never had trouble finding him before-
"What the-!"
I snap my head around, eyes bouncing from spot to spot. I feel the hairs of my neck stand and the flesh of my arm pimple with goosebumps.
There's nothing there. Nobody there. No Rocky there. Rocky is the only person who could be on the ship. Heh.
"Okay, buddy. If you're trying to mess with me because of what I said, I'm sorry! It's not gonna work!" I call out, trying my best to keep my voice from betraying the unease I feel in my gut. I feel like I'm being watched.
Before his sudden disappearance, Rocky and I had a bit of a discussion over who, in our scenario, would be the horrific monster alien that poses an extinction threat to the other's species, and who would be the chum. We've tallied up the points so far and learned the terrifying histories of each other's evolution and special adaptations. It got more and more heated as we tied in counter with each other over and over. I'd win the balancing on one foot contest, he'd win the 'has five legs and has no need for stupid balance' contest. So on and so forth.
After a few hours of this, my blood was up. I (cockily) suggested performing a live demonstration of a perfect monster for him when we touch down on Erid. I may have said something about getting the entire Eridian race under my squishy and opposable thumb. Starting with Rocky's mother.
So now Rocky's missing. For the first hour, I worried I took it a step too far. Maybe your mom jokes are a line you just don't cross in Eridian culture, and I offended him so badly he took his new EVA suit out through the airlock because of how much space he needed from me. But now, I'm pretty sure he's messing with me. Because I've felt him watching me for a while. I just don't know where from.
It's really quiet on the ship. I've never known Rocky to be light-footed, and it's starting to get unbearable not being able to hear him. I'm about to ask Mary to start singing for me when-
All of the lights suddenly turn off, with Mary's voice piercing through the silent darkness. "Automatic lighting disabled."
Mm no. I hate this. "Uh, no no no. Lights back on, please?"
"Automatic lighting disabled. Manual override required." Her voice is so much louder in the dark.
"Manual-" I huff. "How am I supposed to manually override if I can't see anything?"
"The manual override is located in control-"
"Yes, Mary, I know." My voice wobbles in steadily growing terror. I slowly feel my way across the dormitory before I stop suddenly in the doorway - the long, black corridor in front of me.
Rocky is in the control room. That's how he did all this fudgery with the lights. My heart picks up speed, and my nerves assure me that something (Rocky! Rocky is the only other person on this ship!) will attack if I go up there. Gulp.
I back up a bit from the doorway, turning over my options in my head - which is working in significant overtime. I feel sweaty looking down the corridor, but I refuse to take my eyes off it.
Rocky is currently in the control room, but he switched the lights off like this on purpose. He knows how useless I am in the dark. And he can see through walls, so he knows exactly where I am right now and there would be no purpose in hiding. He's probably on his way to me right now, and I'm defenseless. Unless he's already at the end of the corridor just staring at me.
I squint down the corridor. Do I see his figure at the end of it? Well, whatever I'm seeing, it looks nothing like him. Too big, too wrong.
My thoughts are starting to drift into stupid territory and my mind is playing tricks on me. I try to shake it off, wiping my sweaty palms on my pants and taking deep breaths. I know he's trying to scare me, so it's stupid that it's actually working. Rocky is my best friend. He's not a monster. He'd never really hurt me-
I hear the rapid sound of footsteps charging towards me from the end of the corridor. I scream, scrambling backwards as fast as I can. It's not fast enough. A shrieking invisible thing tackles me and I brace for-
A pillow softens the blow to my head from the ground. Once all my scream putters out, I wheeze from where Rocky is squeezing me tightly.
"Wh-whhhyy.." I gasp pathetically.
"Grace get too cocky. Needed to teach a lesson," Rocky's cheery, friendly voice chirps. It does good for soothing the terror bells still ringing through my head and body. So does the squeezing. "You were sooo scared. Did not know heart can get that fast!" he sings in joy.
"Ugh, whatever! I wasn't that scared," I grunt, trying to wriggle my arms free from the death hug. I can't help the small smile that forms in my relief. "I was more afraid that you were actually mad at me."
He titters at me. "You're lying. You're scared even now. Your body-nerve-system still think I will eat you," he shimmies his carapace onto my stomach, and I grunt and tense at the nuzzling. "Maybe will. Show who is the better monster."
"Ew!" I start to laugh stupidly - the energy built up from all the terror needing to be released somehow. "No, please! At least kill me first. Or start your process over there. Away from me."
My body-nerve-system has taken over and is wiggling uncontrollably, trying to avoid his consistent nuzzling. "Pf- stop it!" I snort.
"Why, question? Thought Grace not scared." He wiggles more emphatically.
"Ah- I'm not!" My knees knock against Rocky's back as my body tries and fails to curl in, my stomach feeling more sensitive the more he moves. "I'm worried your biology is going to take over and unload on accident, thinking it's dinner time. Okay- Rhhoc- hehehe- quuuit it!" I whine, embarrassed about not being able to hold back my giggling. He's doing this on purpose.
He trills a noise of offense. "You are disgusting. That could never happen. Eridians too dignified. Ripping apart prey must always come first." He moves my arms away from my body just enough to tickle my sides and, despite expecting it, I explode.
"AGH- No! hAhahaha!!" I can never really talk when he does this. What I'm trying to say is, no! hey! get off! but unfortunately all I can manage to get out is convulsive giggling. My arms snap in over and over to protect my sides, but they're blocked by his rock hands. I only succeed in bruising myself a little.
"Don't laugh," he says while laughing himself. "encourages hungry-feeling!"
Ugh. I never win this challenge. I hold my breath, clench everything, and put every ounce of willpower I have to try and contain my giggles. Surprisingly - still squirming and with my eyes squeezed shut - I almost manage it! Until Rocky moves further up into my ribs. I whimper and fall back into hysterics.
I try to flop around to deter his hands (too many hands!!! too many hands!!) but my torso can't move at all under his FAT body. My legs are free to kick in and out as much as they want at least, but it doesn't do anything to stop him either. I can't stop it.
I continue to strain, but my head falls back in resignation as I laugh. I regret it immediately. The position turns a desperate intake of breath into the loudest snort ever. Rocky stops then, but I hardly feel relief from it - he only stopped because he's laughing at me so hard that now he can barely breathe.
"G-gett offff..." I gasp through giggles. His laughter is making him shake over my stomach again, and I'm so hypersensitive that I can't stand it. I squirm to no avail.
"♫♪what♫noise♪♫♪~~!!" He dissolves back into his amusement without finishing his sentence. I burst out into full belly laughter again despite the heat in my cheeks. His giggles are so contagious. And his vibrations are still tickling me down to the bones. I think I might die. Atleast I'm taking Rocky down with me.
Mercifully, Rocky climbs off me after a minute. His legs are weakening from laughter and he doesn't want to crush me for real. I curl up the second I'm able to in a way-too-late reaction to preserve my vital organs from tickle torture.
"I see now," he giggles. "Sensitivity is good defense. You become so funny, nothing can eat you. Predators too busy laughing."
"Please be quiet," I groan. I take a steadying breath. "Alright, I admit it. You're scarier out of the two of us. You ticked all the boxes that scare humans the most. Silence, darkness, surprise attacks. You'd definitely be able to take over humanity before I can take over Erid. Your mom would destroy me."
"No," he sighs through his vents, and I frown in confusion. Rocky's not one to reject a win. "Grace scary too. Stealth is part of Eridian nature. Know how to stay silent. Not detectable," he shudders. "You detect anyway. Almost catch me many times with crazy light detectors. Scary."
I smile incredulously. Fascinating! "So, all that just for us to tie again?"
"Grace winning for now, actually. We move ticklish from weakness to strength," I gape at him, but he cuts me off. "Serious about good defense. Funny, funny, funny."
"What- that's not- it's.." I stutter helplessly. "You're ticklish too! You know what, I'm hunting you next time."
"Grace not stealthy. Cannot ever surprise Rocky."
"Humans don't hunt our prey like that anyway. We just keep following them until they get too tired to keep running," I lean in as Rocky shies away. "We get them in their sleep, you know. When they're the most vulnerable. You might hear me coming, but you won't be able to stop me."
"♫♪!" he shakes his carapace like he's snapping himself out of it, then rushes me to start poking my sides and stomach.
"He-hey!!!" I giggle and push at him.
"Grace not trick me," he trills, but I swear I detect notes of relief when he hears me laugh again. "Can not scare me. Grace is best friend. You are not monster."
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Comment from @junimotardis that inspired the fic: "That would be so cute! Maybe [Grace's] students if [they're] a little nervous about tickles get to try it on him before trying to get tickled themselves 💕 alternatively its break time and they all just team up on their teacher like a hoard of Little rocks running after grace hehe~"
Author’s note: HOORAY! I finally did a pebble fic! This is like the Project Hail Mary version of the Magic School Bus (kidding). I just kept being reminded of the show when I wrote it. There's science, there’s kids, there’s a teacher—you see the idea lol. Thank you to @junimotardis for the comment that inspired the fic! It was so good I couldn’t pass it up. This is also inspired by @cocoa-critter’s (I hope it’s okay if I tag you!) pebble fics, since I love that you gave them names so I gave mine names too! And inspired by the other wonderful pebble fics and art I’ve seen! I hope you enjoy! Oh, and I did research to remind myself of basic earthquake facts, but if my science doesn’t make sense just, uh, pretend it does 😭 Lol
Series: Project Hail Mary
Characters: Ryland Grace, Rocky, and six pebbles
Word count: 4,944
Summary: While teaching six young Eridians about earthquakes, Grace uses Rocky as a ‘demonstration’ of sorts to show how seismic waves work on Eridians. The pebbles, curious but weary of the new concept, wonder: Do humans feel seismic waves like Eridian’s do? Rocky, seeking a bit of playful revenge on his human friend, is more than happy to help answer that for the pebbles.
---
It’s no surprise that the Eridian kids love learning about Earth knowledge, and that Grace loves teaching it, but what did surprise him was there were a few young minds in the crowd who really took a shine to it. Even after the lesson was done, they wanted to know more or continue to hear Grace talk about the subject, and politely asked their teacher if they could do extra experiments.
So, Grace thought of a solution: A science club! It was actually something he did back on Earth for a bit with his students, and he always enjoyed being a part of it.
Of course, he had to explain what a club was first to the young Eridians, or the pebbles as they are also called, but once he did, these little rock creatures were all for it.
Today’s club meeting and experiment focuses on earthquakes. Grace holds the science club in his human biodome out on the dirt with six pebbles, each different colors, shapes, and sizes, and who are safely equipped in their own form-fitting xenonite suits. Rocky is also present as a special guest assistant for the club today.
Grace and Rocky place three pans of water in front of the six pebbles that are currently split into groups of two. The young Eridians stare at the rippling liquid curiously, some wanting to touch it already, but respectfully waiting for their teacher’s instructions.
Grace’s laptop, sitting nearby on the ground on top of a notebook, acts as the translator for both parties as he stands and begins his lecture, “Okay, so in front of you all are pans of water. As you can already see, the water is moving after we placed it on the ground. Those are called surface waves. Give it a second. Once the water stops moving, go ahead and dip your claws into it.”
Per Grace’s instructions, the little pebbles all watch the water become still, then one-by-one, they carefully tap the liquid with their claw. Grace knows it works from the happy trills and chirps of wonder that release from the creatures.
“See? Cool right? When your claws ‘disturb’ the water, it creates surface waves that make a ripple effect. Now try making one big splash- but be careful not to get it all over yourself or your partner next to you,” Grace adds with a chuckle after seeing Cole, a black pebble with dull points and a gradient orange pattern around each claw (like hot coals, which is how Grace gave him his name), just about ready to slam the water. Cole’s partner, a jagged reddish brown pebble named Flint, nudges his best friend and giggles at him.
Following Grace’s directions, all the pebbles carefully paw at the water.
“Ooh! Ooh! Waves are bigger!” a dark blue and more square shaped pebble with rounded corners squeaks with excitement.
“That’s right, Aqua,” Grace replies. The square, teal-colored pebble paired with Aqua leans over Aqua’s shell to get a closer look at the water. That’s her sister Marina. Grace thought it was cute when he named the pair of sisters after the aquamarine stone. Sue him.
In group three, Coral—a pink, rectangular pebble, who has thin brown stripes that look like branches—raises her hand. Beside her, watching Coral with admiration, is the littlest pebble of the bunch, Fossil. Fossil is a small brown pebble, shaped similar to a mountain range, with a few spots of green that look like dinosaur scales. They may be shy, but they've got a curious heart and a big roar when something sparks their interest.
Grace acknowledges the pink pebble. “Yes, Coral?”
“Are waves bigger because pebbles made bigger splash, question?” Coral asks.
“Exactly,” Grace says. “The more the force there is, the bigger the surface waves.”
Cole raises his claw. Grace nods at him for the pebble to share his question. Cole points at the sea in the distance in the human’s biodome. “Large pool of water is also made of liquid. Does large pool of water have surface waves too, question?”
“You got it, Cole. You might not be able to see them from here, but they’re happening,” Grace explains. The human paces as he speaks, “During an earthquake, the Earth also experiences surface waves, but the small ones we can’t see and can barely can feel. The big ones, however, can shake the ground beneath our feet. Sometimes they can even be dangerous, so strong that they can knock buildings down.”
The pebbles watch him and hold on to his every word.
Grace continues, “Then, there’s the second type of waves we talked about briefly in class—body waves. These types of waves travel inside the Earth.”
Grace takes a seat on the ground and crosses his legs. On cue, Rocky skitters up to his side. “As a matter of fact, Eridians can actually experience a mini form of an ‘earthquake.’ You can feel it inside of you.” Grace holds his fist out to Rocky. “Rocky, if you would be so kind as to demonstrate.”
Rocky lifts up his arm, curls up his claws, and provides Grace with a fist-bump.
“Now, we couldn’t see any waves, but Rocky, you felt the fist-bump right?” Grace asks.
“Yes yes. Rocky felt vibrations of human hand colliding with Eridian claw,” the older Eridian replies.
“As discussed before, earthquakes occur when the tectonic plates inside the earth shift against one another,” Grace uses his hands to mimic the plates colliding. “So, similar to an earthquake, when your shells collide with another object, you feel it. For Eridians, the collision causes a vibration inside of you that is similar to an earthquake’s body wave.”
The pebbles appear to nod with some understanding. Marina raises her claw.
“Yes, Marina?” Grace asks.
“Mr. Grace said there are big earthquakes. Is it possible for Mr. Grace to demonstrate big earthquakes in Eridians, question?” the teal pebble tilts her body like she's tilting her head.
“Hmm, good question Marina,” Grace taps his chin. He didn’t have a demonstration planned for a ‘big earthquake,’ but, if memory serves him correctly, he thinks he has an idea.
He turns his head towards Rocky, a small smirk curling on his lips.
“Oh, I know a way,” he wiggles his fingers at Rocky.
Rocky suddenly squeaks, like a gasp. “Grace! That was NOT part of plan!”
“Come here, Rocky!” Grace reaches for the Eridian, but Rocky leaps back and scatters. Grace immediately jumps to his feet and starts chasing his friend in a circle.
“Grace! GRACE!” Rocky’s voice exclaims through the computer. Their chase only lasts another half a second before Grace cuts him off with a side-step and dives his hands downwards, scratching along his friend’s xenonite suit. Rocky lets out a squeal.
The pebbles flinch in surprise at the noise, but they soon realize that Rocky’s shrill sound has been followed by the silly sound of laughter.
“Grahahahahace!!!” Rocky spasms and chirps out a flood of giggles as the human taps his fingers along his carapace, tickling him. Fortunately for Grace, he learned previously from Rocky that Eridian’s can feel tickling, even through their suits.
Grace chuckles and plops himself down on the ground next to Rocky, pulling him in closer and making sure to scribble at the sides on his rock face, right in-between his arms. Rocky flails, then flops into the dirt like a crab that was pushed over on its side, Rocky’s legs kicking at the air and shoving at Grace.
“Rocky, relax!” Grace giggles, “It’s just for the demonstration! Hold still!” Grace pulls one of Rocky’s flailing legs towards him, dragging the Eridian in the dirt.
“Fihihihine!” Rocky clambers back to his feet, wobbling, but trying to do his absolute best not to run from the tickling. “Huhuhuhurry up!”
Grace chuckles again. He speaks to his students as he has a squirmy Eridian beside him in his clutches. “Now, you see how Mr. Rocky can feel my touch? His reaction is much different than when we bumped our fists together. This is because my fingers are tapping along his shell, creating larger seismic waves that he feels not only on the surface, but through his body too.”
With the explanation finished, Grace stops and releases Rocky. The Eridian stumbles on his legs and takes a breath. He shoves Grace in the arm, to which the human chuckles. Yes, Grace was teaching his students, but he totally didn’t also use it as an excuse to play around with his friend. Nooo, of course not (Yes he did).
“Warning next time would be good!” Rocky stomps his back leg.
“Hehe, sorry,” Grace laughs again. Then, he turns to his students, a playful adrenaline still in his system. “So, who wants to experience an earthquake!” Grace wiggles his fingers at the pebbles, a big smirk on his face like a hungry tickle monster.
His students don’t react the way he hopes. The six of them squeak, some taking a step back or hiding behind their peers or in their own arms.
Grace changes his tone immediately. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you guys,” Grace comforts the pebbles. “I promise, it didn’t hurt Rocky. Tell them, Rocky,” Grace turns to his friend. He knows the pebbles will already believe the words of their teacher, but he also wants Rocky, a fellow Eridian, to give the pebbles extra reassurance too.
“Yes. Does not hurt,” Rocky confirms. “It is just a funny feeling, statement. It is like Eridian tickling with vibrations and sound waves, but humans use more touch.”
Grace bounces off of his friend’s claim, “Yes, like Mr. Rocky said, for humans, we use touch to tickle each other. When I tickled Rocky, my touch was creating waves, like an earthquake, that created that funny feeling for Rocky.”
The pebbles glance at each other and stay silent. He can still tell they’re a little weary of this new concept.
Flint, cautious but being brave, raises his claw.
“Yes, Flint?” Grace asks.
The red Eridian pauses, shyly tapping his claws together. “But Mr. Grace said that big earthquakes like that can be dangerous.”
Ah, he did say that.
“This is true,” Grace explains. “The magnitude, or the strength of an earthquake can be very high and cause destruction like I mentioned. However, in your case, even though Rocky had a ‘big’ reaction, it is comparatively very small. It also happens back on Earth all the time. Sometimes, an earthquake’s seismic waves are so small that humans can’t feel it. We need a special machine called a seismograph to record them.”
His six students appear a little more intrigued now, thankfully. Grace takes a breath, relieved.
To Grace’s surprise, Fossil is the first to raise their claw.
“Yes, Fossil?”
The little pebble speaks in a squeaky voice translated by the computer, “Do earthquakes work on Mr. Grace too, question?”
“Hm?” The question confuses the teacher for a moment, but he makes sense of what the little pebble is asking after connecting the dots with what they just saw.
“Oh, by ‘earthquakes’ do you mean tickling? The thing I was doing to Mr. Rocky?” Grace asks.
Fossil nods. Grace knows that his students are aware of the concept of tickling, but the human word and human version of it to them must still be a bit confusing.
Grace answers the little pebble’s original question. “Then technically yes, but it works a little differently for humans. Remember our anatomy lessons on the human nervous system?” Grace holds out his arm and points at his skin to provide his students with a refresher on the information. “For humans, we feel through tiny electrical waves that pass through the ‘branches’ of nerves under our skin. Those ‘branches’ inform our brains of what we’re feeling,” he drags a finger from his wrist to his shoulder and ends his sentence by pointing at his head.
The pebbles blankly stare at their teacher like he just sprung an explanation of quantum physics on them. It has been a while since they went over anatomy. Maybe he needs to bring this lesson back for the whole class.
Rocky also notices the pebbles’ confusion. “Grace, pebbles may need a demonstration of what Grace means. Rocky has idea.”
“What is it?” Grace turns to his friend.
Rocky, pleased with the answer from his human companion, wiggles his body. A faint clicking can be heard from Rocky and he turns to the pebbles.
Wait, hold on a minute… that’s the sound Rocky makes when he’s–
“Who wants to try earthquake on, Mr. Grace!” Rocky exclaims.
…when he’s about to pull a trick on him.
The pebbles cheer and chirp with excitement, some hopping up and down. Well, at least they’re not scared anymore.
The scientist leans back. “What?!” Grace can’t help but turn giggly already. He stands up on feet, watching the pebbles below him with a close eye. He supposes this is what he gets for using his friend as a demonstration for ‘earthquakes’ earlier.
“Rocky will also teach human version of tickling for pebbles to understand! First lesson! Approach Mr. Grace slowly with claws up. Movement already gets human giggling before the tickling,” Rocky informs them. “When Rocky says ‘go,’ run at Grace!”
All six of the pebbles chirp with joy and follow Rocky’s lead, holding their claws up and slowly, and almost menacingly, approaching their teacher.
Grace’s smile already wobbles. He takes a step back with his hands up in defense. “Hold on!” he giggles. “We’re getting off topic! We’re learning about earthquakes not–”
“GO!” Rocky shouts and all six of the pebbles speed towards him like a rocket.
“Eeek! Rocky!” Grace yells at his friend before running from the swarm of chirping pebbles right on his heels. They are surprisingly fast, like little crabs skittering after him if crabs were as fast as a litter of puppies. And he has six of them coming after him. Oh boy, he’s doomed.
Rocky gives pointers nearby like a coach, as if their science lesson just turned into physical education. “Humans have long legs to run fast. Grace has very long legs. Better to get Grace on the ground first!” Rocky informs.
“Nohohoho!” Grace laughs as the pebbles chase down their teacher. He circles back around, sprinting towards Rocky’s direction and gaining a little bit of distance between him and the pebbles. Maybe if he keeps this up, he can tucker the little Eridians out before they can get their curious claws on him.
Rocky sees Grace heading his way; the human is preoccupied with looking over his shoulder. Rocky, so smooth and calculating like a spy slipping through a maze of lasers, steps in front of Grace.
Not paying attention to where he’s running, Grace hits his foot on his friend and trips on Rocky like… well… like a rock.
The teacher flops into the dirt. Grace lifts his head up and scolds his friend, “Rocky!” Grace hears the scuttling of little feet behind him and suddenly he remembers—oh right. He’s in the middle of a chase.
His flight or fight response springs into action. He flips onto his back, only to see the stampede of little rocks coming at him. He tries to frantically crawl back on his arms.
“Oh no no no!” Grace giggles as the pebbles swarm him. In an instant, little claws are poking and squishing at his soft flesh, eliciting giggles out of the human. Aqua and Marina surround his right side, Flint and Coral at his left, while Fossil and Cole sit at opposite sides of his stomach, but Fossil only observes, for now.
Rocky chirps with joy. “Good good, pebbles! Best way to tickle Grace is to scrunch claws in and out and wiggle for maximum effect,” Rocky shows the example on his own claws to teach the small Eridians.
“Hehehehehehe-HEY!” the scientist jolts and wraps his arms around himself when the pebbles, like a sponge, immediately utilize the information Rocky shared.
Aqua, positioned at one side of Grace’s ribs, lets out a pleased squeak. “Hehe! Mr. Grace makes funny sound!”
Marina, claws on the upper part of Grace’s side, hops next to her sister, “Oh oh! Marina remembers! Human word for funny sound is ‘laughter’!”
“Marina correct!” Rocky says. “In fact, if Grace’s laughter is mentioned while tickled, it actually gets Grace to giggle more. Very fascinating, statement.”
“Nohohohot all the tihihhihime!” extra giggles spill from Grace, not helping his case in the slightest.
“Most of time,” Rocky replies to the ticklish human.
Grace feels a claw squeeze above his hip. He squeaks like a mouse through his laughter and notices the little culprit: the tiniest, and usually the quietest, Eridian in the club, Fossil finally joins in.
“Hehe! Mr. Grace produces lots of funny sound at this spot,” Fossil’s little computer voice beams as they add in more squeezes with their second claw.
“Yes, Fossil. Humans have different places where they’re more ticklish. Grace makes lots of laughter at sides, ribs, stomach, neck,” Rocky loses count on his claws, “almost everywhere, actually.”
“Rohohohocky! Yohohohou’re supposed to be hehehelping mehehehe!” Grace tilts his head back to look at his friend through the fence of pebbles.
“Rocky is helping. Teaching pebbles about electrical waves in human nerve system,” Rocky rattles with pride, his way of grinning.
“Rohohohocky when I gehehet ohohout of this, I swear I’ll–” a snort cuts off Grace’s sentence. He slaps a hand over his mouth and scrunches his shoulders, feeling a new claw fluttering against his neck.
“Whoa! Mr. Grace made a new funny sound!” Flint chirps, exploring around the human’s neck and by his ears.
Coral squawks from her spot by Grace’s other pair of ribs. “Mr. Rocky, Mr. Rocky! Mr. Grace is trying to muffle funny sound!” the pink Eridian points at the human like she’s tattling on him.
Rocky notices what Coral is talking about. “Ah, yes. Humans go into defensive mode and try to hide their laughter, even though it is pointless since we can still hear and see them.”
WOW rude. Okay pal.
Rocky moves over in-between Coral and Cole, positioning himself by Grace’s stomach. “Tickle another part fast, fast to make Grace’s arms move. Like this,” Rocky plunges his full-grown claw into Grace’s stomach. Grace yelps, shoots his arms down, and curls up like an armadillo.
“Rohohohocky!” Grace cackles, trying to nab at Rocky’s claws specifically.
“See,” Rocky says.
“Mr. Rocky is good at this!” Cole admires.
Grace tries to slap at Rocky’s arms, but Rocky easily grabs both of Grace’s wrists in his clutches and holds them above his stomach. “Had lots of practice,” Rocky replies to the pebble, a smile in his tone. With Rocky holding Grace’s hands, it allows Cole and Fossil to perform further tests on his squishy stomach.
Grace kicks out his legs, but is careful not to accidentally knock off one of his students, despite how much it tickles all over. “Cohohohome ohohohon! Quhihihit it! Ohohohor everyone is going to get a pop quiz on earthquakes!” Grace manages through his laughter.
All the pebbles freeze in place. Ha! That got ‘em.
Grace was hopping for a breather, but his few seconds of peace are cut short when he feels one of his wrists being let go and Rocky’s claw suddenly going for his belly. “AHA!” Grace yelps and spews out surprised giggles. He grabs hold of Rocky’s arm with his free hand, especially when Rocky slides his claw under his shirt.
“Do not listen to Grace. Humans say things when they don’t actually mean it to escape from tickling,” Rocky counters. He pulls his wiggling claw away and releases the human’s other hand to actually give the teacher a well-deserved breather this time.
Noticing that Grace’s shirt has been pushed up from his most recent squirming, Cole curiously tilts his body at the human's revealed torso. He carefully hops onto his teacher’s hip, perching himself there and not disturbing the fleshy being.
“Noho! I’m gonna do it!” Grace’s words are still giggly towards Rocky.
“No, Grace is not,” Rocky states, moving over to stand next to the side of Grace’s head.
Well, it was worth a shot.
“But I totally could!” Grace argues.
“But Grace will not, statement,” Rocky says, knowing his friend all too well. Grace is about to counter his claim, but a yelp in response comes out instead. Cole, wondering about the human's patch of skin, delivered a poke to Grace’s bare stomach.
The obsidian-colored pebble shakes and squeaks with excitement, “Pebbles! Pebbles! Look! Mr. Grace’s stomach has surface waves like earthquake!”
It's like all the pebbles gasp from amazement.
Coral slides up next to Cole. “Whoaa! Really?”
“Let’s see! Let’s see!” Aqua leaps on Grace’s leg and rushes to Cole’s other side, nearly crashing into him. The rest of the pebbles quickly gather around his stomach.
“Do it again!” Marina, next to her sister, leans on her teacher’s leg like a puppy awaiting a treat.
“Wahait, hold on-” Grace then squeaks from Cole gently tapping at the slight pudge of his belly. The pebbles awe as they observe the strange phenomenon of the squishy human skin bouncing gently from his touch like a wave.
“Yehehes,” Grace replies through soft giggles, “Tehehechnically you can see the waves of movement on my skin when yohohou poke me.”
Marina gurgles, “But Mr. Grace said tickling isn’t like earthquake for humans!”
Flint replies, “It’s not an earthquake! It's a humanquake!”
All the pebbles giggle.
Coral hops up and down. “Oh! Oh! Coral has idea! Let us try Eridian vibrations to make earthquake on Mr. Grace!”
“Yeah! Yeah!” Fossil chirps in agreement along with their friends.
“Wait, what?” Grace says with a wobbly smile.
“On count of three!” Aqua already proposes.
The pebbles nod and Cole leads the count, “One, two-” The pebbles pause to put their claws up.
“Hohold on!” Grace’s frantic voice to reach them.
“Three!!!” all the pebbles trill. In an instant, their claws touch down on his stomach, vibrating like a bunch of little raspberries are being planted on Grace’s belly.
Grace practically shrieks.
“EEEK! GUHUHUHUYS!” Grace flutters his legs behind the pebbles and waves his arms in front of his chest. Cole and Aqua, sharing the middle of Grace’s stomach, perch themselves closer on his hips so they don’t fall off the giggling human. “That- AH!!! Thahahahat tickles! That tickles!!!” Grace’s wheezy laughter goes up an octave. He leans his head back and slides his hands under his glasses to cover his face, giggling and snorting into his hands.
“Success! Success! Vibrations are working!” Coral cheers.
“Working like seismic waves!” Cole adds.
“Human nerves must be turning vibrations into electrical waves Mr. Grace can feel!” Flint chirps.
Marina giggles, “Vibrations produce lots of loud laughter from Mr. Grace.”
“So loud Mr. Grace shakes and rumbles!” Aqua exclaims, keeping herself balanced.
“Like earthquake!” Fossil happily squeaks.
All the pebbles giggle at Fossil’s statement.
Rocky rattles with pride. “Pebbles learn so fast,” he leans towards Grace and snickers at his friend.
Grace ignores Rocky’s attempts to get him to blush even more than he already is. The human waves his hands to signal the pebbles. “Ohohohokay! OKAY! Nohohohoho more guys! Mr. Grace neeheheheeds a break!” he calls out to them.
With happy trills and squeaks, the pebbles listen to their teacher and pull their claws back. As they do, they observe as the waves on Grace’s belly come to a stop like the water they experimented with earlier.
Taking a breath, Grace pulls his shirt down and hugs his torso, still letting out giggles from the ghost feeling of vibrations lingering at his tummy. Cole and Aqua hop off of Grace’s torso and they watch as their teacher curls up into a ball on his side.
“Mr. Rocky?” Coral’s voice asks. “Is Mr. Grace okay, question? Pebbles stopped tickling but Mr. Grace is still laughing.”
Grace braces himself for an incoming tease.
“Mr. Grace is fine. Humans need a second to adjust after tickling to recover, like Eridians do,” Rocky explains. Surprisingly, even his Eridian pal thought Grace could use the rest from the bombardment of flustering teases he just endured (whether the teases were intentional or unintentional).
“Yeheah, I’m okay,” Grace double reassures his students. He slowly sits up with an arm around his belly and his knees pulled close.
His students patiently await their teacher. They look up at him, ready whenever he is.
Grace can’t help but smile at the pebbles. “So, do you all see how surface waves work now?” Grace reminds them of their lesson.
All of the pebbles let out happy trills to agree.
Aqua moves herself from the pack and skitters up to Grace’s side. She tilts her carapace upwards to talk to him.
“Mr. Grace?” Aqua kindly asks, “Can Mr. Grace try making earthquakes on pebbles now, question?”
“Huh?” Grace blinks. He realizes what she’s asking. “You mean, you want to try being tickled?”
Aqua excitedly squeaks as a yes.
“Oh oh! Me too! Me too!” Marina dashes to her sister’s side.
“I asked first!” Aqua playfully nudges her sister, sounding like she’s being defensive but making it clear she’s just joking with her sibling.
“I know! I know!” Marina laughs. “Marina will be next!”
“Oh, so you both want to be tickled, huh?” Grace asks; a hint of a tickle monster smirk can be heard in the human. He shifts his body to face them. “Well, it’s a good thing I have two hands!” Grace exclaims before pouncing one hand at each of them, gently scratching and tapping his fingers at the xenonite suit covering their shell.
Aqua and Marina squeak in unison, already giggling. Grace sits on his knees to reach them better. Aqua curls herself up on the dirt while Marina scrunches her shoulder joints closer to her carapace.
“EEP! Mr. Rocky was rihihihight! It is ahahaha- a funny feeheheheeling!” Aqua happily squeals.
Marina gently holds onto Grace’s hand, but doesn’t push it away. “It tihihihickles! It tickles!” Marina repeats through her giggles, sounding like her teacher.
After a few more seconds, Grace pulls his hands back, allowing the sisters to giggle out the ghost tickles.
Cole and the other pebbles step forward. “Mr. Grace! Can other pebbles try too, please?”
Grace chuckles at the excited young Eridians. “Hehe, if you say so!”
And so each of the pebbles take a turn trying out human tickles, Grace giggling along with them. Grace thinks it’s adorable that each of the pebbles have their own laughs and the different ways they react. Coral shakes and wiggles with her laughter, Flint flails and tries to bundle himself in his arms, and Cole wobbles on his legs as he paws at Grace’s hand like a cat. Even Fossil tries, letting out squeaky adorable laughter as they hug Grace’s fingers. If he had to say, Flint seemed like the most ticklish of the six (don’t worry, buddy, Grace knows the feeling).
After each of the pebbles had their turn and a moment to gain control over their giggles, Grace smiles at his students, "Alright. I think that’s enough experiments for one day. That concludes our club meeting for today.”
“Thank you for the lesson today, Mr. Grace!” Fossil exclaims. The rest of the pebbles chirp to show their thanks as well, overlapping ‘thank yous’ coming from the translator.
Grace chuckles at the big voice from the smallest pebble. “You’re welcome. Now why don’t you all go play for a few minutes while Mr. Rocky and I prepare to take you guys home.”
The pebbles squeak in agreement. They go off to play, already making a game out of their new discoveries. Like baby lions, they playfully chase and pounce on one another, using the human version of tickling as a part of their game. He thinks he hears Cole say he’s an ‘earthquake monster’ before Coral and Flint tackle him to the ground.
As Grace observes the pebbles with a smile on his face, Rocky crawls up to his friend’s side. Rocky also observes the young Eridians.
“Pebbles appear happy,” Rocky says.
Grace nods. “They do.”
“Sorry not sorry for teaching pebbles how to tickle Grace. Had to get Grace back,” Rocky says.
“Heh, I know. I deserved it,” Grace lets out a huff of laughter as his eyes are still drawn by the happy chirps of the pebbles.
A moment of silence passes as Rocky and Grace continue to watch the pebbles play like they’re watching the calm waves of the sea in the biodome. They hear the gentle rocking of the water in the distance.
Rocky quietly speaks, “Rocky has said before, but Grace is good teacher.” The human’s eyes meet the gaze of his Eridian pal.
Grace replies with a warm smile. “Thanks, Rocky. It’s nice to hear that from time to time.”
Grace takes a breath, then gets up from the dirt. He dusts himself off, then he and Rocky clean up the pans of water from their first experiment.
After another minute or so, Grace picks up his laptop and places the open device lying in the crook of his arm.
Grace calls out to the pebbles, swinging his free arm wide as a signal. “Come on you little earthquake monsters! Let’s go!”
Hearing their teacher, the pebbles stop their game, hopping off of each other, and join Grace at his feet as he leads them with Rocky safely towards the exit of his human dome.
Today’s club meeting may be over, but Grace can tell, this is one meeting that will stick with the pebbles for a long time.
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