by Lily Anton
“I believe she was what they call a bar-ees-tah,” Nelo offered up with a grin as he clutched the tablet his brother had shoved towards him, earning him a glare and the relief of everyone else who had been a witness to Ezon’s outburst. “Go submerge, brother. It has been too long for you. Everything is fine here.”
He wouldn’t admit it out loud but both Atens and Nelo were probably right; it had been too long and his headache was not improving.
“Let me know if--”
“Yes, yes.” Nelo waved him away as if he were an attendant coming to refill his cup. “Go away. You’re scaring everyone.”
Biting his tongue, he turned to leave, Nelo’s comm unit chirping an alert as he left his brother to his day.
“Where are they now?”
Ezon paused mid-stride, doing an about face at his brother’s tone.
Nelo’s usual light-hearted demeanor was replaced with brusque tones and matter-of-fact direction as he listened to the speaker on the other end while pulling up security footage.
Ezon was immediately back at his brother’s side, watching as the holo screen showed the visual feed from in front of the exterior embassy walls only forty or so feet away from the first security checkpoint.
Almost thirty humans were standing outside, all of them looking angry and upset as they held signs indicating their displeasure at having Debirs on their planet.
Demonstrations in front of the embassy had dwindled over the months, save for this core group apparently who did not think to find anything more productive to do with their time. They were an annoyance more than anything - one that Ezon did not bother with personally.
“Security team four. Two injured. Head to entrance one,” Nelo ordered, looking angrier than his brother had seen him in a long time. “I’ll be there shortly.”
Turning off the comms, he caught Ezon’s gaze and nodded before turning to a member of his team standing beside him, ready to take charge of the room. “Have the medical sector alerted.”
Apparently today was the day that the annoyance became a danger as the humans became violent, much to Ezon’s mounting frustration.
“Are you coming, Commander? Or is the battle not large enough for you this time?” Nelo teased although his eyes remained serious. They hurried out the building entrance and made their way down the outdoor path through the large park that was at the embassy’s center.
Already others currently in the park were realizing there was something going on outside the embassy walls as the volume of voices picked up along with the sound of glass breaking.
Nelo’s security team was already there, shields ready as they made their way out the main gate and off to the side, several feet down the public sidewalk.
Ezon clenched his fist and willed himself not to throw all the irrationally violent humans to the ground. He did not need to further complicate their presence on the planet with further revelations about what his people were capable of.
“You’re just like the rest of them! Alien lover!”
“God is going to send you straight to hell!”
“You should be burned at the stake!”
All sorts of colourful words poured from the mouths of humans up ahead, in particular those that had broken off from the main demonstration and were now focused on two figures by their feet.
Remove them, Nelo ordered, the four Debir on his team immediately forcing the humans back with vector shields now activated.
On the ground, pieces of glass and broken bottles surrounded the bodies laying there, one on top of the other.
To Ezon’s surprise, what appeared to be a human female was curled over one of his people, both breathing heavily. He could see a mix of red and green liquid, the both of humans and his own kind mixing together.
Carefully, Nelo moved forward, gently placing a hand on the human’s back and speaking in low tones, Ezon watching as the female flinched at the touch before realizing her attackers were gone.
It took some quick convincing from his brother to get the human to uncurl her body from where it was shielding one of their own but it was done soon enough; Nelo helping the human female to sit back so he could assess how serious her injuries were.
Ezon immediately went to the fallen Debir’s side, cursing as he recognized the injured female. She was young, and her status at the embassy should not have allowed her to exit the premises.
He could feel her tremble in his arms as he easily picked her up, but there had been no visible injuries that he could see save for a cut on her arm.
The human on the other hand, was bleeding from her head, blood covering the side of her face red as she blinked slowly to take in her surroundings. Her eyes came to a stop on the Debir she had been huddled over, her concern evident as Nelo slowly went to pick her up.
“I’m fine, honestly. I think someone threw a bottle that still had beer in it or something. I’m fine,” she insisted, the pacing of her words slower than they should have been as she attempted to pick herself up off the floor. “Is she okay?”
“She is fine”, Nelo replied, “but you are injured.”
“I am?” her voice slurred slightly, her hand going to face before pulling it back and seeing the red that covered it. “Oh.”
With the state of her injuries now clear, Nelo went to lift her.
“No, please don’t. I’m too heavy to--”
Nelo smiled that charming smile of his that females apparently liked.
Ezon found himself not liking his brother’s use of it at the moment.
“I assure you I am strong enough to lift you.”
The human made a funny face but remained quiet, allowing herself to be carried while Nelo kept up conversation, attempting to keep the human awake due to the head injury she sustained.
She saved me.
Ezon looked down as he heard the Debir in his arms repeat the phrase over and over.
She saved me.
His eyes glanced over at his brother, or more specifically the female he carried, noting her bloodied hair and disheveled appearance.
As if sensing eyes on her, Ezon saw her head turn slightly from where it rested against his brother’s chest, brown eyes catching his before she closed them.
Just a normal human female. Nothing special.
She saved me.
Ezon ignored the near chant, increasing his pace so that he didn’t risk looking back over at the human.
CHAPTER TWO
LEILA
F
lowers…
It was the first thing she registered as she stirred, eyelids heavy as she eventually got them to work and cracked them open.
The faint smell of flowers surrounded her, but everything around her was gray in color, not a flower in sight.
Thankfully wherever she was, it was relatively dark, with only blue underlighting allowing her to begin to make sense of things. It vaguely reminded her of the overnight flights she would take, falling asleep with the plane’s mood lighting.
But that was a lifetime ago now. Or at least, it felt that way.
Turning her head, she felt the softness beneath it, the pillow soft and plush, while whatever she was laying on felt like she was being gently cocooned by a cloud.
Was this heaven? If so, she’d have to apologize to God for not believing in their existence.
As the seconds went by, however, it became clear that this wasn’t heaven as a strip of light flashed above her, causing her to flinch at the brightness of it before it made its way down her body.
Where the hell was she?
A faint chirp registered as a door slid open to her left, her eyes widening slightly as she took in a massively tall being with violet colored eyes and silver skin.
Her heartbeat raced as she tensed up for a moment, the being quickly coming closer before her brain finally caught up and reminded her that yes, aliens were very much real.
“Are you in pain? Your heart rate has increased exponentially.”
The Debir now stand
ing beside her sounded concerned, but clearly oblivious to its cause.
“I’m okay, thank you. Just startled for a moment,” Leila managed to say while attempting a polite smile, still unsure of what had landed her here and trying to remain calm on the off-chance she needed to escape..
“I see,” the Debir replied, sounding like he didn’t actually believe her but let it slide. “Well, your scans have come back normal. Your head injury was superficial and there was no internal damage found. You lost some blood, but we were able to replenish that rather easily so you should not feel any lightheadedness or nausea.”
Leila frowned at that, lifting a hand to her head. Nothing was there. Why on earth would she have had a--
And then it hit her: the demonstrations, the angry protesters, the poor Debir who had been trying to get away, dark gray skin, gold eyes that glowed when they looked at her...
It was a bit of a jumble in her head, one that had her reaching up to touch her forehead and surprised to find that it was smooth and unblemished, no sign of any injury. She also noticed that the long sleeve blouse and the blazer she had been wearing were gone. A quick look down revealed she was in a hospital garb of some sort with her jeans nowhere to be found either.
She tried not to think about having been undressed.
As if reading her thoughts, the Debir stepped closer, offering up a small smile. “I am Opho, Chief Medical Officer of the embassy. You were brought in with a head laceration and minor cuts and bruises. Your clothes were...contaminated and you needed to be cleaned. I also took the liberty of removing the scar on your lower abdomen.”
Leila thought he sounded pleased about that, and for some reason it made her huff a laugh. “Thank you, I guess. It was an old appendectomy scar from when I was a child.”
Surprisingly, the Debir’s silver skin flashed white and she could feel his excitement. “I have read about what you humans refer to as an appendix. Fascinating.”
Leila shook her head, surprised that the grogginess she had felt moments before had already vanished, allowing her to focus.
“How is Caleza? That was her name, I think… Is she alright?”
She remembered turning the corner during a walk through the city, wanting to avoid the obvious demonstrations happening near the embassy. Hearing a scared cry had her reluctantly changing course, finding a Debir surrounded as they tried to get away. Leila had immediately rushed over, assuming she could calm the protestors down.
“Leave them alone. They’ve done nothing to bother you and are clearly scared,” Leila had said calmly, quickly moving to the Debir’s side.
With her being only 5’5 and the Debir beside her being only half a foot taller, she had gathered the Debir was either young or female or both. She had gently wrapped her arm around the scared form. “I’m Leila, what’s your name?” she had asked, trying to keep her distracted as she tried to tune out the slurs around them.
“C-Caleza…”
“That’s a lovely name,” Leila had remembered saying, attempting to walk them towards the embassy before someone had thrown something, clocking her in the head.
Next thing she knew, a large Debir...dark as night with deep green eyes…
But then there was the other…
Who had he been?
“Caleza is well,” Opho replied kindly, moving to adjust the bed she was on so that she could sit up. “You suffered the worst of it.”
“Lucky me,” Leila mumbled, watching as Opho reviewed something on the tablet in his hands.
Other than Caleza, this was the first time Leila had actually seen a Debir up close.
They were...large and fascinating and so very different from humans. Although, from what she had read, not too different that there hadn’t been the ability to help Debirs reproduce.
Leila had no idea how the hell that worked, being much more interested in their culture instead, although information on that subject was exceptionally limited. Unless you wanted to listen to humans with tinfoil hats that kept trying to make comparisons to fictional aliens from TV and movies.
No, the Debir were different, and in terms of appearances, beautifully so. All sorts of fascinating colors with hair to match, lean muscular builds, and skin that practically shimmered.
“Any chance my clothes can be saved?” Leila asked, seeing that thankfully her handbag was on a chair next to the bed. The demonstrators may have been violent assholes but apparently theft had not been top of mind.
“I will check,” Opho assured, setting down the tablet. “In the meantime, I will see about procuring some clothing for you. It may be...challenging” he admitted, eying her up and down, leaving the room before she could say thank you.
Leila laughed, if only to cover up the discomfort she felt at the comment. Being in her mid-thirties, with a body that could stand to lose twenty pounds and a face that simply would not let go of an annoying double chin no matter how many spin classes she took, she found other ways to keep her confidence high.
As one of the lucky ones who had not had their livelihoods taken from them during the ‘post-invasion’ economic crash, her clothes and appearance were her armor that she could thankfully afford. No one could say she did not dress professionally or with confidence, masking her insecurities. Although, laying there now in a hospital gown with no clothes, no bra (which she certainly needed), and just her underwear left on, it was hard to not to feel...frumpy.
“For fuck’s sake, now is not the time to feel self-concious. They’re not even human…they give zero fucks,” she muttered, slowly sitting up and swinging her legs around the side of the bed.
The sound of the door swishing open again revealed Opho, along with a surprise guest.
Leila smiled in obvious relief. “Glad you’re alright.”
She saw Caleza’s baby blue skin brighten at the sight of her, the Debir rushing over and giving her a hug, much to her surprise.
“I am so glad you are alright! I was so worried. Thank you so much! You saved my life!” Caleza continued on, not allowing Leila to get a word in edgewise.
It became apparent very quickly however, that Caleza was certainly young, younger than Leila had assumed. From the sound of it, probably a teenager.
Opho looked down at the young Debir with what Leila assumed was an amused expression.
“How about we allow her to change, and then you can speak to her, hmm? Wait outside for a moment.”
Caleza begrudgingly agreed, leaving Leila alone again with the doctor.
“It appears you have made a friend for life.”
Leila smiled fondly. “Apparently so. She is young though, right? She reminds me of human teenagers.”
“Teenagers?” Opho questioned, before his forehead smoothed out in understanding. “Ah, you mean adolescents. Yes, she is at the end of that stage. The fortieth...decade...as you humans call it is always an interesting one for us.”
“Did you say forty?” Leila questioned, clearly having misheard. “As in, four zero?”
“Yes, why? Perhaps my translator needs to be examined…” he muttered to himself, not catching her look of surprise.
“Perhaps the better question is, how long do Debirs live?”
At that, he chuckled, or what Leila supposed was a chuckle. The sound was light and airy, its songlike quality pleasant to her ears.
“Ah, I see. Forgive me. Our lifespan is vastly longer than your human one.”
“How vastly exactly are we talking about here?”
“The oldest among us live to be almost six hundred of your earth years. I myself am close to two hundred earth years.”
Leila blinked slowly. “That’s amazing. I suppose we’re in similar stages of our lifespans then… although math was never my strong suit.”
“I have been informed that asking human females their age is inappropriate unless otherwise specified, but...I am...curious…” he admitted.
“I don’t mind. It’s only fair. I am thirty-six earth years.”
“That
is surprising. Your facial features resemble a younger human.”
Leila grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“And your fertility levels are still quite high by human standards. That is very impressive.”
The grin that was on her face partially slipped off. “I beg your pardon?”