AN: Chapter 2 has been slightly updated as per recommendation from readers.
First Impressions
"I'll kill a man in a fair fight, or if I think he'll start a fight, or he bothers me, or if there's a woman...
or I'm gettin' paid. Mostly just when I'm gettin' paid."
-Unidentified Marine Corps Serviceman
It was still early.
Logan busied himself folding the rest of his clothes into the dresser. Lacking a tail, he doubted most pants on the planet would carry anything less drafty for someone like him.
He opened up the marine daypack and took out the portable computer he had packed. Like the TACPAD, it was able to network with the local human Battlenet, so he would be able to reach Adrian in orbit. It wasn't equipped to patch into the ODST TACCOM, so he'd have to either send messages normally to the online mailbox or access the E-Band if it was a crisis. After booting up the console he checked to see if it was working properly and then returned it to shutdown.
The Datapads were encyclopedic reference for most of the relevant subjects he might be taking in school from back home. While he'd need to get his hands on the appropriate class materials, being able to look up science, history or literature files from Earth might come in handy.
Satisfied the room was squared away, Logan closed the door behind him and came back downstairs, finding Mr. Lynx in the kitchen washing the last of the dishes.
"Can I help you kiddo?" The feline asked good naturedly.
"Do you have time to talk?"
"Sure thing," The older man wiped up his hands and shut off the faucet, "What's on your mind?"
Logan shifted on his feet and crossed his arms as he thought about the issue he'd been meaning to bring up.
"I know it's not easy inviting a complete stranger into your home, so I wanted to say... Thanks for being willing to put up with me."
The lynx blinked, "Well, to be honest we were excited to get a chance to be the host family. It's not every day you get to meet an alien. That doesn't offend you, does it?"
Logan grinned, "No not really. That's kind of what I also wanted to ask you about."
"Hm?"
The teen scratched his cheek, "I don't really know the cultural norms here, language aside, so is there anything I should be aware of as far as insults or body language go? Is it wrong to say you're, you know, a cat?"
A look of realization crossed the feline's face.
"I see what you mean, kiddo. Well, first of all don't go tugging anyone's tail; that's basically asking for a fight. Second, try not to get the species wrong when you're referring to somebody, they might get mad if they think it's a slur, same thing with offering apes bananas or canines a bone, just don't. If a girl bats you in the face with her tail deliberately then she's not trying to piss you off."
Logan frowned, curious, "What does that mean then?"
Mr. Lynx grinned a tad widely, "You'll find out kid."
Jones sighed as the older feline laughed, already picking up on that particular message.
"Anyway, now that I'm staying with you folks, is there anything you'd like me to do around the house? I'm used to the whole duty roster thing after living in garrisons for so long, so it's not a problem at all."
Mr. Lynx clapped him on the shoulder and led him to the window.
"Sure thing, glad you've got initiative, unlike some kittens around here..."
A dismissive meow came from Miyu's presumed location in the living room.
Kyle shook his head, adjusting the glasses on his muzzle.
"Well if you're willing to lend a paw, there's vacuuming around the house once a week, trash and recycling at the end of the week, raking leaves in the back yard and mowing the lawn once a month. I've also got a few repairs I want to get around to on the house itself, but if you wanna help out I'd appreciate it."
"Sure thing."
"Great, I'll let you know when I start working on some of the repairs."
Logan stood in the hallway for a moment, not sure what to do, when Miyu called out to him.
"You wanna take a spin around town?"
He shrugged, "Long as you're offering."
"Daaad! We're heading out for a bit," the girl called to her father in the kitchen.
"Be safe you two!"
Logan slipped on his jacket and did up the lacing on his boots. Miyu had thrown on a pair of Cornerian boots that fit her well enough she didn't need to tie the short laces, slipping out the door without a care.
"C'mon, my ride's in the garage."
He followed her to the front where the lynx tapped a button on her keychain, prompting the garage to open up. What looked like a decently maintenance family hovercraft sat on the left, while a cherry red light cycle of some sort, covered in stickers for companies Logan didn't recognize was parked on the right.
Lost in thought, Logan walked around the two vehicles and knelt to the floor, peeking underneath the vehicles.
"What's the matter?" the feline asked, watching him inspect the place.
The human startled, shaking his head as he got up again and face the shiny light cycle with his arms crossed and a sour look.
"Something tells me I'm gonna regret this..." he muttered in a deadpan.
Miyu stuck her tongue out at him and smoothly mounted the bike, flipping the switch with a high pitch whine coming from the engine, "Suck it up princess."
To hell with it, can't be worse than riding shotgun in a Mongoose.
Logan kicked his leg up over the rear fender, sitting just behind the feline as she cracked her knuckles. He grasped onto some handholds on either side of the back rather than try holding on to the fuzzy girl in front of him and risk a face full of claws.
"I hope you know what you're doing," he said over the noise of the engine being revved, also mildly concerned they weren't wearing helmets.
The lynx looked over her shoulder to give him a particularly nasty smirk, before twisting the throttle and gunning it out of the driveway.
Logan grit his teeth as the two of them whipped down the street at an unbelievable acceleration. Clearly these hovercraft light cycles didn't suffer from the kind of limits the old tire-based vehicles back home did.
The soon passed out of the residential section, and for a moment he enjoyed the feeling of wind on his face.
The white skyscrapers of the city limits loomed up and past them as Miyu took one of the intercity routes. A complicated mess of vehicles intersected with one another, the colors muddling together as Logan couldn't keep up with the surroundings blurring by. He tried to ignore the stares that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, it wasn't easy being the new guy in town.
The sidewalks were filled with passerby, and the teenager couldn't help but liken the diverse crowd to a zoo, seeing canines, felines, avians and even reptiles all walking upright and milling about on their day-to-day. Trees were planted sporadically along the way, adding some organic touch to the futuristic scene.
It was a little blinding looking around at the sunshine reflecting off the architecture. Neon glowed in abundance, even with it being daytime, and the sweeping arches of highways and underpasses intertwining that functioned off some sort of gravity-based technology for the hovercraft impressed the human.
"So where are we going?" Logan managed to shout over the blare of traffic and the engine's thrum.
Miyu's ears twitched in place, and she called back to him, "There's a little coffee joint I like down this way, might catch a few of my friends if they're there this early!"
After a few turns that nearly sent Jones skidding onto the pavement, the lynx pulled up alongside a cozy looking patio with large windows looking into the dim interior of a small cafe. Miyu parked the cycle among two others on the curb, killing the engine with a dull whine. The pair of them stepped off the vehicle, walking past the tables and chairs out front, with only an old Eagle sitting at the far end sipping from his cup.
A bell tinkled as Miyu pushed her way in through the main door and Logan followed. The inside wasn't too busy, with couples huddled about the booths and holding hands over their own little tables. The smell of dark roast filled the air, and a white Collie was taking orders in a dark red apron.
"Heya girl, how've you been?" Miyu called out to the waitress.
The pale canine tapped her customer's order onto a tablet and looked up with a wide smile. She had her long ears tied back with a brilliant red bow, and an earnest look about her that made her seem younger than she probably was.
"Miyu! I haven't seen you in a while!"
The two hugged briefly, when the girl looked up and saw Logan standing there. With wide eyes pulled back from her friend and appeared in front of the human teen so fast he did a double take.
"Oh wow! You must be the human that's living with Miyu! No fur...do you get cold? You must, but you're not much taller than us! I heard on the 'net that humans evolved from carnivores and could jump higher than-"
"Fay..."
"-a person, but here you are in my cafe when I'm working! Oh geez, here I am in some plain getup-"
"Fay!"
The collie paused in her tirade and turned to look at the exasperated lynx behind her.
"Let's try saying hello first, m'kay?"
The canine blushed furiously, the inside of her ears and her muzzle going bright red underneath her white fur, as she fidgeted in embarrassment.
"Eh heh, sorry," She beamed up at the boy and held out a dainty paw, "Fay Spaniel, very pleased to meet you."
Logan, momentarily taken aback, put on the best grin he could having just been ambushed by a caffeine-stimmed puppy girl and shook her hand.
"Logan Jones, pleasure's mine."
Fay rubbed the back of her head bashfully, "I have a tendency to run my mouth when I get nervous, I was really looking forward to meeting a real alien ever since I heard Miyu's family got accepted for the exchange program."
Logan leaned back and crossed his arms, "Don't sweat it. This is all a bit overwhelming for me too."
She gave him a brilliant smile, and Miyu jostled him with a leer.
"Flirting with my friends already, stud?"
The teen stared at her with a flat look, "Like that's gonna happen, I've got the personality of a brick."
They shared a laugh, and Fay led them to a booth by the window, wrapping up an order with her earlier customer before plopping down next to Miyu with a coffee cup for each of them.
"Here you guys go, two creams two sugars."
It was a bit sweet for Logan's taste, but nothing like the insta-caf from back home. You could actually taste the flavour of the bean roast.
"A guy could get used to this," he said quietly as he put his cup down.
The collie beamed at his approval and nudged her friend.
"So, looking forward to school tomorrow?"
Miyu rolled her eyes as she took a sip, "Ugh, I'd rather just sleep in. At least we finally get to use the firing range this year."
Logan looked between the two, puzzled.
"Schools here have weapons qualification?"
Fay cocked her head as she answered him, "Well, only some. The academy we're enrolled in is for those who plan to work in the CDF or the Navy's research division. We have a core curriculum of subjects you'd take anywhere else on Corneria, but also courses like small arms fire, flight and tactics you can take as electives."
A look of realization swept Logan's face.
"I get it, so it acts like a sort of bridge between basic training or officer qualification?"
"Yup yup!"
Miyu idly filed one of her claws as she sat by, relaxing in her corner of the booth, "A lot of the trainees get help from family training on their own time, so they come in to class good enough to handle the tests easily. Kinda makes it unfair for the kids who come up from nothing."
Fay giggled, "Yeah but Falco loves rubbing it in other people's faces, doesn't he?"
Miyu looked up at Logan with an arched brow, "What about you, Lo? Ever shot a rifle before?"
There was a tightening in the human teenager's brow, and he stared at a point just above his cup. He didn't answer, prompting the girls to exchange a glance, when Fay reached forward and tapped him on the arm, "You alright?"
The boy startled, and looking up at them again, waved off the concern.
"Yeah, yeah, just lost in thought."
Fay seemed to accept his statement, but Miyu was examining him more closely now. Logan tried to ignore the feeling of unease in his stomach as he finished the rest of his coffee.
"You know what class you'll be in yet?" Fay chimed in with a wag of her tail.
Logan shrugged.
"I'm meeting the faculty early tomorrow, then they'll point me to whatever homeroom I'm assigned for the year."
"Well, be sure to say hi if you catch us in the hallways."
"Will do."
The pair of girls returned to a lively conversation between each other about some net show they watched, and Jones leaned back to just enjoy the company for a moment. It was nice to experience an ordinary sort of social scene, he'd gotten too used to the sterile and lonely transit between colonies back in Sol. He smiled when the girls would pipe up to ask him something about Earth, and answered as best he could. It was a nice change of pace.
It helped him forget the fire and screaming.