🌃tampikept🌃

But, Grace survived so much gear: malnutrition, burns, knocks and bruises... at first it seems like he recovers, but as the years roll on, the damage starts to take its toll.

He lived longer than he was originally meant to, based on standard human life expectancy. But, obviously, by Eridian standards... Grace hasn’t lived long enough, has he?

I digress.

Grace passes away, the Eridians throw a funeral for him, and they put up a memorial statue at his grave inside the habitat dome they built for him. This dome stays open to the public for a bit of remembrance and for scientific and academic study.

The thing is, Rocky is clearly gutted by the loss of his human mate. And it takes Adrian an absolute age to pull him out of that depressive state.

For at least a couple of decades, Rocky goes almost every day to spend a couple of hours near Grace’s grave. It’s his way of finding a bit of solace.

Work getting a bit much? He heads to Grace’s statue. Had a barney with Adrian? He goes there to calm down. Want to hear the ocean waves where his best mate loved to swim? He’s there.

But then, tragedy strikes.

Since Grace’s dome had become open to the public, plenty of folk could get in. Usually, it was Eridian scholars or those wanting to pay their respects. But some Eridian committed a murder. The dome was shut to the public for the crime scene, then for decontamination.

For a couple of years, Rocky couldn't get in, as the contamination was proper rank and they had to restore a lot of the gear in the dome.

But it was enough.

When Rocky finally arrives at his usual spot inside the dome... the first thing he clocks is a tiny Eridian egg, half-hidden in a dodgy excavation in the disturbed earth of Grace’s grave. And, miraculously, the egg seems to be sound. Its shell and the earth seem to have protected it well enough.

All hell breaks loose.

The authorities rock up, wondering how any absolute shithead could do something so atrocious. An unhatched egg left in such a shambles. No one to blame, no one to take the fall. Whose egg was it?

Rocky refuses to budge from that tiny egg.

They haven't found a parent. The Eridian version of Social Services doesn't have a clue what to do with the egg 'cause they’re terrified it’s a dud, or that suddenly plunging it into Erid's atmosphere will snuff it out.

Rocky—with Adrian backing him up—decides to keep the egg.

And, weirdly enough, it seems to help Rocky a bit.

Adrian sorts out a nursery, a proper nest, some blinding toys, and anything else a pebble might need.

Rocky knocks the toys up himself, builds a kid's version of the Hail Mary in his cave (like a treehouse) for when the pebble grows up and can have a bit of a play. He makes sure there’s a load of recordings of Grace teaching his students available so the pebble can learn from the best teacher in the world.

But nothing happens.

A bit of time passes. Rocky and Adrian take turns keeping it warm, tending to it in the nest, slowly getting it used to the proper Erid atmosphere... well, they do what they have to do to make sure it becomes a healthy little pebble.

...And he’s the clumsiest pebble of the lot, tumbling and rolling about inside the nest until he ends up on his back. Rocky wanted to blub (just like Grace did), absolutely chuffed and overwhelmed seeing the little lad make it.

After staring at him for a few seconds, Adrian names him Grace.

Grace the Pebble! He doesn’t seem to have a cracking echolocation system. He needs Rocky and Adrian to even know where he’s got to inside his nest.

Grace the Pebble! Despite all the graft to get him used to the Eridian atmosphere, he’s... "soft" by stone standards. (I don't know much about rocks; someone would have to tell me what kind of stone is considered soft or malleable, but that’s Grace all over).

Grace the Pebble! He seems to feel both "cold" and "hot," always wanting to be wrapped up in something. And he starts squawking if Adrian or Rocky nick the blanket or cloth he’s wearing.

Grace the Pebble! Who doesn’t seem to have a shred of decorum when it comes to eat, seeing as he’ll tuck in right in front of Rocky and Adrian or any other adult looking after him.

Grace the Pebble... well, he’s anything but graceful, 'cause he’s incredibly clumsy; one of his paws is a bit dodgy, so he almost always uses four to get about.

Grace the Pebble!... when he finally learned to chatter, the first things he came out with were "Rocky" and "Mary."

It took a couple more years, and a fair few strops and therapy sessions. But both Adrian and Rocky realised that, somehow, Grace had come back to them.

Though, a tiny Grace the Pebble! telling Rocky that he’s a shameless, bossy git was all it took for Rocky to put two and two together.

Grace was back, with them.