a/n: Welcome to Apriltober, the follow-up to Inktober, where I hope to write a story a day for a month. This time, I have specific limitations: it has to be in-game characters, it has to be fairly canon, and it has to be 1-2 pages max. I'll pick the best of the litter to submit to an XCX fanzine (I need 5 options), and the rest we shall never speak of. They'll get uploaded as I can, and they'll probably get re-edited often.

First up: Orphe like to eat things, and have little consideration for personal property, which has gotten them in trouble with Prone in the past. In the present as well.

Written on Easter, 2018.

Dead

It had been a lovely morning, if a frantic. Hosting an Easter egg hunt for the littlepon of NLA had been fun, and some of the little ones had been adorably decorated as eggs themselves. Hope noticed that she wasn't the only one working across species. There was a small of Orphe and Prone on the edge of Residence Park, tending the vegetation. She smiled to think of all the diverse species working together to celebrate and beautify New Los Angeles. Then the fist fight broke out among them.

She hurried to intervene, but by the time she'd reached them, the confrontation was over. Two Orphe were stretched motionless on the grass, flanking a small tree stripped bare of leaves. A female Prone, glowing with fury, stood above them. Hope bent to check for signs that the victims were still alive. She hadn't the first clue about alien physiology, but surely she could check for breathing.

"It is dead," screamed the Prone. "You and your selfish hungers have killed it a third time. I have forgiven, and forgiven, but once you revive my Great Tree again, I will kill you to protect it."

"It makes no sense to kill us," groaned one Orphe, sitting up after a struggle. Hope noted his feathery feelers and realized he must be one of the swarm of new xenos born in NLA. The other Orphe still bore the jagged antennae of the original settlers. Hope gave the older one a gentle shake, but his eyes remained closed. Hope was relieved, however, to note a small movement in his face, almost a smile.

The Prone continued to scream. "I blame you, Yun'tonam. I trust the strange professor not to repeat the same mistake, but you are one of the fools of the world. You must be beaten into wisdom." She paused. "You are not dead, Professor, are you?"

The motionless Orphe shook his head slightly. "You struck well. I believe I am 98.67% uninjured."

Hope tried to calm the situation, at the same time propping the older Orphe up. "Please. I don't know the situation but violence is never the solution."

His eyes fluttered open. "Even we Orphe can be pushed beyond endurance." His voice grew more precise as it grew stronger. "Do not blame young Yun'tonam, Miss Tenpanzi. I must admit, I do not understand all of this mystery myself. But I can assure you, no Orphe consumed your tree this time."

"It is dead! Or do you think this is a false tree, to replace the one we have been tending? In which case, my tree has been kidnapped!"

"I am quite certain it is the same tree, but as you well know, we Orphe consume our subjects down to the root. None of my species would leave this much delicious stem behind."

"Stop speaking of the Great Tree as delicious."

"I merely state a fact, and one that both Yun'tonam and I have sworn to ignore." He stood up shakily, explaining quickly, both to avoid boring Hope and irritating the fuming Prone. "My name is Mon'barac, and this is Naza Tenpanzi. She is the protector of a Prone religious artifact, their Great Tree. A month ago, she requested my help as a research botanist to regrow one here in NLA. Through cultural misunderstanding, both I and my colleague ate successive saplings. But I assure you, we did no harm to this one. Am I correct, Yun'tonam?" he ended, sharply.

The other Prone stopped chewing something and swallowed suddenly. "I did nothing! It was like that when I got here. I found that leaf on the ground!" Hope positioned herself between the Prone and the hungry indigent, shoving hard against the once-more screaming blue alien. It was up to her to prevent the fight. Yun'tonam seemed too frightened (or guilty) to move, while Tenpanzi was reaching over Hope in an effort to remove the Orphe's head from his body.

Meanwhile, the one that Tenpanzi called Professor was crouched on the ground, examining the litter at the base of the sapling's naked trunk. He rose with a handful of five-lobed leaves, mottled olive and red edged with a light that was slowly fading. He sniffed this bouqet.

The Prone had noticed his action. "You use the cover of your disciple's righteous punishment to fill your stomach! I will kill you first!" Hope couldn't prevent her from turning and smacking him back to the ground. The leaves flew in a tiny whirlwind, before decorating the Orphe like an autumnal shroud.

Hope gripped the furious Prone more tightly. Would it be fair to use Brainjack to prevent further injury, she considered, then rejected that. To take away the freedom of a Prone, only recently redeemed from slavery, was too cruel. She would just have to physically restrain the alien.

Mon'barac spoke from the ground. "Before you kill me, I have a question about the Great Trees of your home planet. Did they ever enter a period of dormancy?"

"No, never! They grow forever, from one rainy season to the next."

"Then, during dry seasons, they retain their leaves?" he asked.

The Prone stiffened in Hope's arms. Hope feared she had been insulted, but the alien's voice held tones of realization. "Yes," she said slowly, "but those are shed shortly before the rains come." She twisted her head to look down at Hope. "I believe you need not clutch at me now."

"If this tree recognizes the seasons on Mira, then maybe that's to blame," Yun'tonan said eagerly.

"Mira has no seasons," Hope pointed out, gently. "At least, none that we've seen so far."

This time Naza pulled Mon'barac to his feet, very carefully. "I still remember when the rains would come. So does the sapling. This is a Great Tree of my people, for all that it lives in your city. Its roots reach all the way to Tormein." The Prone drew a ragged breath. "To my home."

The professor stood and bent over the tree. Then he gestured to the other three, gently holding the tip of a wispy branch in one claw. Even Hope's limited knowledge of forestry allowed her to notice the tender swelling buds dotting every twig.