Stardust
A jump like that at the end of a long day is exhausting. I doubted I could teleport across the small clearing we were in.
Plopping down unceremoniously, I leaned back on my hands and took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Are you alright?" Vesserio asked timidly. I smiled so she wouldn't worry. "Oh yeah, we'll be fine. Just a long day." Glancing around, I saw Minor sitting a little ways off and leaning on his partner. They were so cute together that I couldn't help a giggle.
Qualin was looking all worried and protective. I knew Minor wasn't completely wiped out, at least not to the point of being unable to stay awake, but he was clearly enjoying letting his partner take care of him.
Next, I look for Major, who was on the other side of Minor. He made his way around the crowd and sat on a large log a few feet away from his twin. He looked like he didn't know what to do with himself. Normally, the twins leaned against each other when exhausted.
I almost got up to walk over to him when I saw Galaxy approach and sit on the log next to him. He ruffled his hair and Major relaxed.
"Come on." I stood up, Vesserio quickly offering her hand to help me to my feet. Keeping hold of one hand, I led her to my siblings. I knew I probably shouldn't be showing so much favoritism, but Vesserio was alone here.
"Are you able to understand the language the others use?" I paused and asked curiously.
"A little... Laforions are quick to pick up language, and some of their people are able to share thoughts and images in my head to help me understand."
"If you want, I can help."
"Alright..." She looked nervous but nodded, then bit her lower lip and nodded again, trying to look more confident. It was really cute.
"Ok." I placed my hands on either side of her head. This would be a little draining after everything else, but I had a feeling we'd be alright, and I wanted to help.
Closing my eyes, I focused on Vesserio's mind and the common language everyone here seemed to know. Letting the understanding flow into her, I was surprised how receptive her mind was. It took the new information and seemed to be able to process it fairly easily.
"Whoa!" She responded in the new language I gave her. "That's amazing!" Her accent was a little thick, but the way she rolled the syllables off her tongue sounded almost musical.
"You're a natural. Most people have a hard time accepting knowledge that way."
"It's definitely different, but it felt kinda nice. It feels a little weird to be able to make so many new words and sounds without practice." She touched her mouth. "Do I sound alright?"
"Yep!" I said with a bright smile, then took her hand and finished leading the way over to my siblings.
***
Galaxy
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as soon as we landed. I was pretty much drained, but this was why I had let my siblings do all the jumping around the compound while I stood watch over the prisoners. My energy was conserved so we weren't completely wiped. Worst case scenario, I could probably make one more jump with my siblings. Though, it might be a little rough, and I might pass out, but I'd make sure we got to safety if need be.
The Nehwalians we'd just transported looked alarmed at first, then amazement seemed to spread. "We'll be spending the evening here, so go ahead and make camp as best you can. We picked this spot because it's a warm summer. You can collect fruit and berries from the brush. This area will be safe, but don't wonder off too far because there are creatures you won't want to encounter.
My stomach growled. Acerbus was the perfect planet for us to rest. My siblings and I could hunt, but we had family friends here so this spot would be safe for our guests.
As I had spoken, I had started walking around the crowd to check on my siblings. I spotted Major first. He looked a little like a lost puppy. Then I saw why; he'd clearly moved towards Minor, but his twin was being cradled by his new partner. He awkwardly sat on a log near them.
'It's ok.' I sat next to Major and ruffled his hair. The twins had always been close, so it was natural he was taking this change a little hard, but I pressed reassurance into his mind. I felt a gentle brush from Minor's mind also pressing against Major's. Good. He was enjoying his partner's attention, but wasn't ignoring his twin.
Looking past Minor and Qualin, I spotted Stardust and her new friend. This person was definitely different from the rest. Not just in appearance. As they approached, I felt Stardust give them the common language the Nehwalians were speaking.
That wasn't something we typically did casually. Naturally, Minor would share all knowledge he had with his partner, but it generally wasn't a good idea to risk overwhelming someone new. Plus, it took a lot of energy and revealed more of our capabilities. It was also just kinda... intimate. Dad was pretty quick to make friends and share his mind that way, but the rest of us were usually a little more reserved. At least until we got to know someone a little more. It hadn't even been an hour since Stardust had met this person.
Fortunately, my sister's new friend was apparently pretty capable. They accepted the knowledge with ease and they chatted and giggled as they came over to join us, Stardust pulling her friend along by her hand.
"Galaxy, this is Vesserio. Vesserio, this is our brother, Galaxy. He's the leader of our group. We have another brother in our litter... but he took off earlier." She waved her hands dismissively, but looked to me.
"I haven't heard from him, but I'm sure he's fine." If he wasn't, those people would pay. If he was, I was gonna give him a thorough beating.
Major sensed my anger and snuggled against me, laying his head on my shoulder. 'I'd never actually hurt him... too badly.' I patted Major's back and winked. He laughed and gave me a playful shove.
"Umm... excuse me." I turned to a woman who had approached. She held up her skirt that had some fruits gathered in it. "You said these are good to eat, right?"
"Yes, they're safe to eat. And our friends who live in the area won't mind." I made a mental note to actually contact Marc and Alexa. We'd been friends with them and their kids for as long as I could remember, so I knew they'd be ok with us camping here.
"Thank you." The woman bowed, bringing me back from my thoughts. "We are very grateful." She knelt on the ground and careful placed all she had gathered. A couple others came over and started doing the same. It took me a moment to realize what they were doing.
"Oh, you don't need to do that. We'll get our own meal. Just make sure all of you have enough to eat."
"Please," the first woman placed her hands on the ground and bowed so her forehead was nearly touching her finger tips. "You have done so much. This is the least we can do. Please, allow us to gather food and set camp. If there is anything you need..."
"We're good. You don't need to do that." Stardust bent down and took the woman's hand, gently pulling her to her feet. "Thank you, but you don't owe us anything."
"Exactly. What we did was our choice. Our way of life. You didn't ask for anything. We didn't go out of our way. Any cost or risks were of our own making." I added. I could sense the meekness mixed with gratitude in these people. They were used to serving others. We didn't need to reinforce that.
"And this is no trouble for us." A man approached with a smile, bowed, and waved his hand slowly in a circular motion, his palm facing the ground. He slowly raised his hand and water began to rise up from the ground and gather into a clear bubble. Another man scooped the water up with a bucket they must have brought from the compound.
That was pretty impressive telekinesis. Glancing around, I could see several others doing the same thing to gather water. And several gathering fruit with telekinesis as well, reaching their hands out to summon edible fruits from the nearby trees and brush into buckets or crates. One or two people seemed to be talking to the plants and directing the collectors which ones to gather from, and how much.
Still others had already gathered dry wood and were starting fires by just holding their hands over the tinder. It was impressive how quickly they had all divided up the work. Even the kids were helping, even if it was just holding and watching the kids that were too little to help.
"Alright, but this is enough, thank you." I nodded to the people offering their gifts. They smiled and walked away.
"Well, it was kind of them. And a snack sounds nice." Stardust grabbed a few of the peach-like fruit, handing one over to her friend.
Minor also scrambled to grab a few, then snuggled back into his partner's lap and offered him the fruit.
"Guess you're not too exhausted afterall." Qualin smirked but continued to cradle him as Minor offered him a bite of fruit.
"You've had a long day too, let me know if you need anything. We'll probably go hunt for ourselves later. I can catch you some fish or anything you need." It was amusing watching Minor dote on his partner.
"I'll be fine. But once you've eaten and gotten your energy back..." He smiled in a mischievous way and pulled Minor tighter against him, a playful growl coming from his chest.
I reflexively flicked a berry at his head that I'd picked up from the pile. "Don't get carried away. We're still on a mission."
Minor rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Yeah, but in home territory now. And these people aren't a danger. And I'm sure Shooter is fine. He always is. So we can relax a little." He smiled and plucked the berry from his partner's hair, brushing aside the stay stands and licking the drop of berry juice from his forehead. Qualin kissed and nibbled his chin.
Stardust burst into a giggly fit and Major looked away awkwardly.
"I'll dump this bucket of water on you if I have to." I picked up the bucket and swirled the water menacingly with a wicked smile.
"Alright, I give up." Qualin raised his hands with a laugh. "Man, your ruthless." He relaxed, taking the fruit from Minor, but as his eyes settled on Minor again, he whispered suggestively through the mental link, 'I can be ruthless too.' He obviously tried to speak privately but didn't quite succeed.
Stardust broke into another giggle fit, drawing a curious look from her friend. Major and I both groaned in unison. Qualin obviously realized we had heard but just laughed and shrugged. Minor blushed and covered his face, but was also trying to stifle a laugh.
"Aww, you guys are so cute!" Stardust laughed. "Don't mind them." She added to her confused friend. "They're still in the honeymoon phase. They've only been partners for a few days."
"Oh. Congratulations." Vesserio smiled and bowed slightly. "It is good to see a beast-born living well so far away from home."
"What do you mean?" Qualin stared at them blankly, clearly confused by their words.
"Um... you are beast-born, yes? You're... partner... looks like one, but I saw how they can change. You all also feel so different..." They glanced around our group before turning back to Qualin. "But the magics coming from you feel the same as beast-born back home, so I just assumed... We're you taken by the same people who took me?"
"Wait, so you are from the same world as Qualin?" Minor's interest was clearly piqued. "I guess I just assumed all the people from your world were beastlings. That was the impression I got from you." He cocked his head and looked at his partner curiously.
"Well...I was really little when I was taken. I definitely don't remember seeing anyone who looked like that. I'm pretty sure there were only beastlings. Everyone I've met from there have been beastlings."
"That's not surprising. Leforions are rare. The common people are call Nefrions. But then there are beast-born, and even plant-born peoples. I've read that some live in their own villages, with their own unique cultures, names, and languages. Others are mixed among the Nefrions' villages. Even in my small village, I got to meet a few beast-born like you."
"Why are you calling me beast-born? That makes it sound like I was born from an actual wild cat or something. Pretty sure my parents were the same as me." He sounded a bit offended. Minor began to stroke his arm.
"I meant no offense!" Vesserio raised their hands and looked genuinely apologetic. "It's just a distinction of circumstance, but all our peoples are related. See, Beast-born are also Leforion-born." They glanced around, looking a little embarrassed but also as if hoping for understanding. "It's believed that all the peoples of Areshio were born of Leforions. That we were the first sentient people of the world, born of the wild magics."
I sat back and ate some of the sweet berries. It was always fascinating to listen to different legends and creation myths of various cultures. Many were quite fantastical but some were rooted in some truth. Vesserio's use of the word 'magics', suggested a more fantastical tale, but some cultures, even among transformers, used such words to describe telepathic and other such abilities. This person seemed to have power that could be described as magic, similar to Qualin. So I was curious what they had to say, and how Qualin would respond.
Major leaned against me casually, clearly just as interested but also equally uninvested as myself. Minor was clearly worried his partner would become upset and was already offering soft reassurances through the link.
Stardust, on the other hand, was watching her new friend with fascination. A bright smile played across her face as she pulled Vesserio to a sitting position and urged them to continue. At least this would be an entertaining way to pass time before the camp was settled and we could go on our hunt.