On Earth, it was the year 2250. Travis, being a historian, was proud of the accomplishments that the planet had made in the last two centuries or more. They had created transmitters that could be directed in any corner of the universe; it had taken a while before they could actually transmit outside of the galaxy. They had also created receivers as the years proceeded. Around 2099, they had begun to search for other carbon-bearing planets-"just in case". In the last century, the population had exceeded the liking of the Governments, and nearly half of Earth had been sent away in favor of colonizing nearby, livable planets. But Travis was still one of the first civilians to make contact with a sapient alien race.
Travis sighed and attempted to relax. His eyes still turned upward, he began to think. Ket never told Travis why he was so Hell-bent for going to and staying on Earth. Travis had decided to let it alone then, but now he severely wanted to know what was wrong, if something was.
Then there was an explosion. At least, that's what it looked like from Travis's vantage point. An explosion in space, Travis thought. How strange.
"OWEN!" Travis called for his nephew in a bellow. "Come on! Something's happening!"
A slender, brunette teenager erupted from the nearby house nearly two seconds later. He ran to his uncle and bent over his knees, trying to catch his breath. "What?"
"Look up," Travis commanded somberly. "Something's happening."
About five seconds later, a smaller explosion erupted, causing both Travis and Owen to gasp. Stunned, neither could move for a moment.
"I think that was Ket and his family," Travis told his nephew dully. "We should mourn them."
"Yeah," Owen agreed, blinking away the remains of sadness. "We should. Soon."
But their thoughts of bereavement were interrupted by a loud splash. They looked at each other and simultaneously ran for the large pond beside Travis's house. They stopped abruptly when they reached the pond's respective shore, Owen nearly falling in.
"What was that?" Owen asked his uncle breathlessly as he retreated.
Someone cleared her throat. "That was I," a feminine voice intoned.
Travis looked up at the owner of that voice. It seemed to be a female Purplish. She looked like Maja, Ket's wife, except younger. She was climbing out of the pond, dripping water lavishly.
The Purplish took her pale blue hair in her hands and began to wring it out. She sighed at the hair and let it drop.
"What is your name, miss?" Travis asked softly. He glanced over at his nephew briefly and saw that the boy had his head tilted at the alien.
"Violet. Would you be Travis? Father said we were going to meet you." On the last sentence, Violet's tone turned sad.
"Yes," Travis answered. "Where are Ket and Maja?"
"And Red," Owen interjected softly.
"Th-they are not here," Violet answered numbly. A bright pink ball of light suddenly removed itself from Violet. "I am sad."
Owen stepped closer to Violet, wary of the floating light. "Why?"
Since Owen was the closest to the Purplish, she folded her arms around his neck. After a brief moment, she began to cry against his shoulder.
Travis noticed detachedly that the color of the light was quickly changing from bright pink to deep blue.
"They are in space," Violet said between bouts of hiccups. "Dead." She continued to sob against Owen.
Owen looked down at Violet worriedly. "What do I do?" he mouthed at his uncle. The Purplish was clinging to him like a lifeline, not that it was a bad situation.
Travis made a signal for Owen to follow him. Then the historian made his way back to the house.
"C'mon, Violet. We're going into the house," Owen told her softly. He led her to the house right after she responded with a faint nod.
For a moment, the light floated in the air. Then it shot into the house before the door could shut.
"Here, Dalla," Violet whispered softly. The detached ball of light shot into the Purplish's open palm.
Owen smiled at this. The Purplishes were alien, yet Violet seemed so human! Owen wanted to ask her so many things at once, but he allowed his uncle to question her first.
Violet stood gracefully, Dalla following her at a close distance. The long, flowing nightshirt that she now wore belonged to Owen. She was gratuitous for his generosity.
"I'll just put this in the dryer," Travis told Violet, picking up the wet jumpsuit out of which she had changed in favor of the dry nightshirt.
"No!" Violet shouted almost immediately after. She ducked her head, her shoulders slumping somewhat. "I am sorry."
A blond woman wandered into the room suddenly. "Is something wrong?"
Violet shrank into the shadows instinctively. It was an instinct of halibs of hiding. She restrained from whimpering, but almost didn't.
Travis sighed, setting the jumpsuit back in its place. He nodded at Violet's shadows. "Come out, Violet."
Violet stepped out slowly, her wary eyes on the blonde. "Who is she?" the Purplish inquired softly.
The blonde yawned with a slight smile. "Hello, dear. How are you?" The blonde stepped closer to Violet.
Scared, Violet stepped back with each of the blonde's steps forward. "You scare me. Please, stop."
The blonde stopped abruptly, her lower lip trembling uncontrollably. "Travis, baby? Why?" She trailed off, not able to finish her sentence.
"Kelly, dear, you're scaring Violet. She doesn't know you," Travis told his wife slowly.
"Oh, I'll-I'll just go back to bed." She smiled warmly at Violet. "I'm sorry for frightening you. I hope you'll stay." Then she turned on her heel and left.
Violet looked over at Travis with a small smile peeking through. "She seems nice. I am sorry for disrespecting your spouse."
"You know Earth's language so well," Travis complimented Violet musingly. "But she didn't know. She'll get over it."
Dalla brightened slightly and hovered up and down repeatedly. Then it began to circle the jumpsuit in what seemed to be anxiety.
Travis smiled nervously at the ball of light. "Why can't I put your jumpsuit in the dryer? It needs to dry," the man admonished slightly.
"I know. And it is not a 'jumpsuit,' whatever that may be," Violet answered primly.
"A jumpsuit is a one-piece outfit," Owen offered. "Stretchy."
"Earth's version of a Witek-Suit, I presume?" Violet inquired. "That is what my outfit is. A Witek-Suit."
"What is a Witek-Suit?" Travis asked the Purplish warily.
"Can you excuse me for a moment?" Violet smiled when both nodded to her question. She turned to the hovering Dalla and her Witek-Suit. "Witek-Suit," she said, her voice suddenly hard and cold.
Then the Witek-Suit jerked upward. It floated stiffly in the air, saluted Violet, and then returned to its stiff upward posture.
"Yalik," Violet commanded sharply, a militaristic glint in her silver eyes.
The Witek-Suit inflated itself as if an invisible version of Violet herself was in the suit. A slight steam arose from the Witek-Suit suddenly, surprising Violet as well as the humans.
"It steams?" Violet inquired almost too softly for them. She turned back to the men. "That is the correct term, yes? Steam?"
"It hasn't steamed before?" Owen asked before he could stop himself. He smiled an uneasy grin at his uncle. "Sorry," he mouthed.
Violet ignored the slight exchange. "It hasn't," she confirmed. "On Talus, there is not gas." Violet's lips thinned slightly at her grammar, but then she shrugged. "And, since the Zhelmik Invasion, we had not liquid also. My Aunt Namari specialized in drilling deep into the ground of Talus to find life-water."
" 'Life-water'?" Travis echoed inquiringly.
"The liquid we need to live," Violet answered, waving off the question.
"Is it clear?" Owen asked, a smirk resident on his face.
Violet clucked her tongue. "Tsk. I know what you are thinking, but it is not." At Owen's downcast expression, the alien amended her sentence. "No, it is clear with a slight blue tint. But our studies did not go far enough to tell us if your water is also our water."
"Ohh," Travis and Owen murmured softly in unison, both in comprehension.
"Yes, well I must sleep. Do you have a spare room?" Violet asked with a tilt of her purple head.
"Yeah. I'll show you." Owen came up to Violet and took her by the elbow, showing her into their guest room.
Travis sighed happily, his eyes following Violet and Owen until they were swallowed by the darkness. His little fosterling of a nephew was growing up.
Dalla-that annoying ball of light-spun once around Travis's head and bopped the man on the forehead once for good measure. It made a frustrated hum and settled on hovering on Travis's eyelevel.
"What do you want, you-thing?" Travis spat at the light.
Dalla emitted a short, sharp hum. It began to glow a deep red and pulled away from Travis until it was nearly half a room away. It began to spin horribly fast and Travis was startled.
It spun and spun, faster and faster, until Travis couldn't take his eyes off of the glowing orb. As it spun, the orb began to lengthen and gain a humanoid shape. Seconds later, the spinning slowed and Travis noticed that the "orb" had now taken the shape of a teenaged male. Then, the-whatever it was flashed deep purple and stopped, its color dulling almost immediately.
Now that Travis saw Dalla-the new version of Dalla-he saw that the orb was actually a Purplish, a younger version of Ket. He was wearing a replica of Violet's Witek-Suit, which was still hovering in the middle of the Communing Room and steaming. The boy's blue hair was clipped into a crew cut but what Travis noticed most of all was the way Dalla was glaring at him with those silver, silver eyes.
"I am not a thing!" Dalla informed the human.
"I didn't mean it," Travis apologized, shrinking in on himself.
"It does not matter," a female voice could be heard saying then.
"You need sleep," Travis heard Owen say.
"You do not know what I need. Besides that, I want my Witek-Suit. And I will strain myself to get it," Violet told Owen sharply.
"Violet," Owen said, stating her name frustratedly.
Violet reentered the Communing Room and glanced over her Witek-Suit once. It was still steaming, but the steam was minimal. "Oh, it is not finished."
"Violet," Dalla acknowledged in a whisper.
Violet spun on her heel and smiled almost automatically. "Dalla!" she shrieked happily. She jumped over the table in the center of the Communing Room and hugged the Purplish formerly known as "Glowing Orb," bringing them both down in a crashing thud.
Travis turned to look at Owen and wasn't too surprised at what he saw there. Jealousy swam through the boy's eyes consistently as he glared at Dalla.
Dalla emitted a purring hum. "Violet, this is a compromising position," he reminded her happily.
Violet rose haughtily. "Dalla, you perverse-minded byhul!" she spat at the male Purplish.
"Violet, my sister, do not overreact," Dalla admonished softly, a hurt expression on his face.
Travis tilted his head to look at Owen again. The boy looked shocked, then smiled. All jealousy was removed from his eyes. Then his smile turned sad. "I thought you said your family was dead," Owen mentioned to the female.
"I had forgotten," Violet told Owen. "Dalla had been my friend and light-part of me-for so long that I had forgotten he was my double."
Dalla gasped indignantly. "You forgot me?"
"I did not forget you, dearest," Violet told her brother, hugging him briefly. "The Zhelmik had convinced my mind to neglect my original relationship with you."
" 'The Zhelmik'?" Travis echoed Violet, the second time that night.
Violet turned to her new guardian with a pleading expression in her silver eyes. "Can we finish this tomorrow? I am weary."
"As am I," Dalla said, slumping down and leaning on his sister. And at that moment, Violet's Witek-Suit stopped steaming.
"Oh, good." Violet sat Dalla back up to a standing posture and then hopped over the table to her Witek-Suit. She picked it up and frowned when it slumped over her.
Dalla emitted a giggle. "What's with your Suit?"
"Rilt, both of you," Violet commanded, her voice hard and cold again.
Dalla's smile disappeared and he straightened. "You've really mastered the commandant part, haven't you?"
Violet emitted a low growl deep in her throat. "Bed. Now." She tilted her head, daring her brother to rebel.
"Yes, ma'am," Dalla whispered with a faint nod. Then he skulked into the guest room.
Violet's hard expression melted away in favor of her more pleasant one. She turned to Owen. "Could you find a nightshirt for Dalla and give to him? Please?"
Owen nodded once and left.
"How did you do that?" Travis asked the female Purplish.
"Do what?"
"You know, the commanding your brother and then, even with your more pleasant visage, commanding my nephew?"
"Easy," Violet answered. "Experience." She smirked at the man before turning. "Kelly would probably say the same. Good night, Travis." Then Violet left for the guest room where Dalla had finished changing clothing.
Travis shook his head with an ironic smile and headed for his bedroom.
Dalla smiled at his sister as she waltzed into the guest room, her nightshirt fluttering slightly behind her. She sighed audibly and plopped down on the bed uncharacteristically disgracefully.
{Are you okay?} Dalla asked softly in his thought-voice to Violet.
{Not the best. But I am okay.} Violet lifted her feet onto the bed, her silver eyes pleading with her brother to sit beside her.
{You're sure?} Dalla sounded anxious as he sat down next to his sister.
{Gag me with a nelvik,} Violet spat. {I'm utterly sure. Let it alone.} Then she spontaneously hugged her brother tightly, taking in his warmth and safety. {I missed you.}
Dalla hugged his sister back willingly, oh-so willingly. {I know. As have I. You, I mean.}
Violet sighed. "Maybe we should try talking in their standard linguistics," she suggested, her brow furrowed somewhat.
"Uh why?" Dalla gazed at his sister, his pupils wide pools of lavender.
"That's not gonna work," Violet told Dalla. "I perfected that technique." She stated that sentence slowly, working her way through the words sharply.
"Glaknos," Dalla spat, slightly angry at his sister's superior tone.
"Yanok," Violet responded mockingly.
Dalla harrumphed, turning away from the Purplish that he happened to be a brother with.
"As for why, we need to know certain idioms for comprehension in socialization." Violet stuck out her blue tongue at Dalla's back.
Dalla turned around slowly. "Do we have to?" he whined in a low voice.
Violet sighed. "We don't have to now." Then Violet's silver eyes hardened, gleaming over metallically. "But we're going to in the morning," she told him, sharply poking his clothed chest with every word. "Okay?" she asked, her voice brightened again.
Dalla emitted a whimpering hum as he nodded.
Violet smiled and kissed his forehead softly. "Night," she responded before laying down and turning away from her brother, quickly slipping into unconsciousness.