Childhood
Chapter 1.3
Drop-off.
Celerave woke up to the blinding light of the sky above, and the slowly fading view of her parents staring down at her before their voices were clear.
She felt terrible. Her fingers felt cold when she reached for her pounding head.
"Don't try to move." Rhuba told her as she stroked the girl's hair.
"where'd dad go?"
"He went to get you a drink. Are you okay?"
Nodding weakly, Celerave tried to sit up, but she was pushed back down.
"Mum, I need up!"
Rhuba looked her over one more time before carefully lifting her onto her lap.
Celerave kept trying to climb away, but Rhuba held her close.
"Woz'nt we out side?" She asked, realising she was suddenly the inside of their living room.
"We carried you back after you collapsed." Rhuba forced a smile. "You blew yourself out like a bulb, little lady. So stop trying to move."
Before Celerave could respond, she saw that Garagus suddenly returned. Not with a drink like what was promised, but a book in his hand.
Without warning he grabbed his daughter by the ankles and lifted her feet up.
"What are you doing?" Rhuba asked as Celerave immediately and frightfully wrapped her arms under the back of her thighs.
"Says if someone faints, you need to lie her flat and get their legs high." The problem was that now Garagus was stuck on the one page unable to turn it.
"Let me go! Pleaze!"
Rhuba glanced down at Celerave's fearful face and noted how desperate she was to pull her feet free from the awkward position.
"Just listen to your father, it's going to be fine."
Celerave looked up at her with wide tearful eyes.
"But I need to go to the bath Room!"
"Oh. Let her go."
"But the book says she needs to-"
"If she pees the couch, You'll be sleeping on it tonight," Rhuba warned, and on those words, Celerave was immediately released so she could run into the bathroom.
"Book also says it's unhealthy for a person who just fainted to run around."
"Let me see?" The book was tossed across the room as soon as Rhuba had it. "The girl needs the bathroom. I don't care what the book says."
After washing her hands, Celerave heard turbine engines start to shake the house.
Pulling the bath curtain aside, she climbed up to the small window peering outside to where their family's ship is parked, and where a small transport ship was preparing to land.
Celerave was too young to remember when the house was built. But the installation came with a tank that collected and filtered rain for drinking.
A wind turbine could have been installed for power, however, the area they lived in had to follow the structural rules of the land.
Nothing could be built taller than the surrounding trees, and the woods were so dense that any turbine built below the treeline wouldn't generate enough power to justify it.
Because of this, the house runs on two batteries.
The smaller battery can hold a 10-hour charge under full stress and only gets replaced if damaged. It siphons, stores, and distributes all required power from the larger battery.
The larger battery only acts as a power bank and gets replaced once a month. The spent battery is returned to the energy plant that taps power from the sun, sea, and even has geothermal harvesters to keep the lights on for anyone that relies on power.
But none of that was of concern to Celerave.
She just wanted to go out and see the men work.
Other than the Al'colic natives and watching TV, the workmen are the only interaction with the outside she ever gets to enjoy.
Dashing out of the bathroom and through the living room, Celerave nearly bumped into Rhuba just coming in to unlock the utility room for the workmen.
"Whoa, Where are you going?"
"I want to watch!"
"Not like that you're not. Go put your brace on."
Celerave pouted as she turned and ran into the bedroom.
Before being around strangers, Celerave needs to put her tail away.
But practice has shown that she's not too good at keeping it hidden.
So Rhuba and Garagus tried a few methods of keeping her tail in pace.
A wide stretch of fabric worn like a belt was promising, but too much running around would lead to the tail slipping out.
The latest design is a sock with string ties and a hook.
Celerave wears the sock on the end of her tail, and carefully tightens the ties to keep the sock on, then she needs to wrap her tail around herself and latch the hook on at the base of her tail, keeping it in place.
Her parents are able to keep their tails wrapped like belts on their own, but the little girl needs the extra support.
When she came back out, Rhuba finished the look by pulling the girl's shirt out, so it hung over more.
"Good girl." Rhuba nodded before leading her out. "Remember, no showing off."
"I know I know!" Celerave skipped forward to watch the men unload the new battery.
She loved to tease her father as he 'helped' the delivery men manoeuvre the new battery into position and also 'help' them get the old one back into the ship.
It's typically a four or five-person job, but he could carry the thing over his head and softly put it in place.
But advertising such a thing would be bad for the family.
"Can I help?"
Rhuba and Garagus turned to Celerave, ready to tell her off.
But it wasn't her.
From the delivery ship, a boy was already running down the ramp.
Celerave watched him run by. She'd never seen him before.
He didn't look much older than she was, but he went right for the new battery and helped lift it just half an inch higher off the ground.
"Be careful, Flint. It's very expensive." His father warned as the four men and one boy carefully stepped their way towards the back of the house.
Celerave kept her distance as she followed behind. She caught Rhuba standing close by just in case, but she was being careful.
She wasn't walking normally, more jump-skipping with every stride as she watched the men hook in the new battery before taking away the old one.
Once the battery was loaded, Garagus had to sign for confirmation of drop off and pickup. However, instead of the usual man handling the paperwork, it was his son this time.
"Thanks very much Mr, Dweller!" He said with a nod to the customer.
Smirking, Garagus looked to the boy's father.
"This young man yours, Clay?"
"Flint is my boy, yes." The man tapped him on the shoulder, telling him that first names are allowed with more familiar customers.
"Oh, uh… Gus!" The boy said with another bow.
"He's my apprentice for today. Schools are striking again and I couldn't call a sitter."
The boy noticed the customer's daughter hiding behind his legs.
He was about to say 'hi' to her, but when she peeked out, he felt an icy chill run down his body.
"Demon…" He gasped backing away.
Celerave blinked. No one else heard what he said, but he was definitely afraid of her.
"Flint? Where are you going?" His father asked as the boy ran up the ramp.
Clay saw Celerave behind her father and suddenly pieced it together.
"Flint!" He boomed before excusing himself with the client to fetch his son.
Garagus saw Celerave looking upset as he knelt down to ask.
"He called me a demon…" She whimpered.
Clay and Flint suddenly appeared again. The boy being towed by his father, forcing him to apologise to her.
"I'd never let you watch those cartoons if I knew you were going to be rude to people! Rave is a sweet girl, and you better not make her upset again!"
Flint reluctantly said sorry, but Celerave still hid behind her father's leg.
He knew his daughter was called a name, but still didn't understand why.
"Realmsong. It's a cartoon about a monster hunter. The demons they…" Clay wanted to be delicate. "Coincidently, are pale with white hair and red eyes."
Looking at his daughter, Garagus lifted her up.
"Little Rave has silver hair, don't you sweetie?"
Celerave hid her face into her dad's shoulder. Closing her eyes tight and could be heard whimpering.
"You've made her cry, Flint. What do you say?"
"… sorry…" Flint couldn't keep his eyes off the ground. He did get a fright, but demons don't cry.
And it's one of the least cool things to make a girl cry.
It's actually really uncool. To a sinful degree of uncool.
"I'm really sorry!" He said, forcing himself to look up at her.
Celerave couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, the things that made him so afraid to begin with.
"Excuse me." Garagus started walking Celerave towards the house. Rhuba took her halfway and carried her inside.
Being only an observer, and didn't actually hear what happened, Rhuba simply sat with Celerave on the sofa until Garagus walked in.
There was a moment or two of silence as the delivery ship powered up and flew away. Once it was quiet, Celerave heard once again that the way she looks is enough to make people scared of her.
"Open your eyes, Celerave," Rhuba asked after getting the full context of why she was upset.
"No." Celerave shook her head. Even went as far as to cover her eyes with her hands.
"You'll have to at some point."
Celerave climbed off her mother's lap and ran around the sofa.
Her destination was the windowless utility room. She entered without bothering to switch on the light.
Between the washing machine and the new battery, a desk supported two fridges on top.
The space underneath the desk had long since been known as Celerave's little hideaway for whenever she needs to be alone.
A towel overhanged, forming a curtain to keep her hidden as she curled up in the pitch blackness, where Celerave snuggled into the padded quilt keeping her off the stone only interruptions from the darkness or the rhythmic hum of the various machines surrounding her, would be the few times the door was opened to let one of her parents in to take something from the fridges.
During those irregular moments, Celerave would unknowingly open her eyes, but not take in anything. Her mind was a million miles away, almost in a trance-like things would wake her from this. Either the curtain being pulled aside, or hearing her name be called.
Eventually, she would hear her name beckoning her for lunch.
As much as she wanted to be left alone, she couldn't bring herself to ignore the hole in her stomach any longer.
Rhuba watched Celerave slowly emerge from the utility room. The stone floor usually acts as a heatsink, keeping the room relatively cool.
But somehow Celerave always manages to come out with her hair damp with sweat.
The first unusual thing Celerave noticed when she stepped into the light for the first time in over an hour was the tv had been moved to right next to the sofa.
"We brought the tv over so you can watch your cartoons while you eat."
"Thanks mum." Celerave hopped into her seat where a mouth-watering bowl of stew was laid out for her.
The spices and seasons used were all fresh from the garden, creating an aroma that pulled her forward to grab the fork.
Her parents sat with her, mostly in silence to let her watch her shows.
Although they called her viewing choices cartoons, Hero Team Prima wasn't far from real life.
It was based on an actual team of people who fought to defend the weak, though Rhuba and Garagus were hesitant to call them warriors or even soldiers.
The dramatizations for tv are obviously tailored for children, but despite the conflicts the planet Dapume had overcome over its brief introduction to the greater universe, Rhuba and Garagus both knew that there wasn't a soul in the entire world who would be able to hold off an attack against the real villains out there.
Hero Team Prima is keeping the peace, but if the time came, they'd have just as much hope of saving the world as their stand-ins for the tv show.
So for most of their shared meal, Rhuba and Garagus just focused on eating.
If the theatrics kept Celerave happy, then it's worth it.
But Celerave wasn't so much paying attention to the screen as she was staring at her parents.
She looks up to them.
Her mother and father are the strongest people she knows, but like her, they need to hide it from people.
Why? They never say.
But as she finished her bowl, Celerave stared at her mother's face.
Under the right light, her gentle but almost black eyes revealed their true dark purple colour.
Her hair was blacker than the night sky, the same as her husband. But unlike Garagus, her thick hair hung from her head, while his was permanently windswept from all his time flying as a child.
His jet-black eyes always seemed distant and cold, but his smile would betray any idea of him being anything but caring.
He had lines on his left cheek between his jaw and eye. It was faint, but noticeable.
Rhuba was just about to refill her bowl and offer more to Celerave when she caught the girl staring.
Getting a fright at the sudden attention, Celerave stuttered out a question about the scar on her father's face.
"Oh this?" Garagus' eyes did that distant stare he does as his brain kicks in. "I got it from a fight. I think."
"With mum?"
"No. Yes…" Garagus sat back, glancing to Rhuba. "With her, but not against." He remembered the fight well, but the look on her face told him to stop talking.
"Your dad and I can get heated when we battle. Sometimes we get carried away." Rhuba swept her fringe aside, to show off a scar she had just below her hairline. "We try to be careful with you," Rhuba gave Celerave a gentle pet over her hair, even feeling her lean into the hand.
After dinner, Garagus and Celerave did the dishes together while Rhuba moved the TV back into place.
On the ship, the utensils for eating were made of metal. For take-offs and landings, metal plates could be magnetised to keep them from sliding all over the place.
But in the house, the plates were plastic, and the cups were hard rubber. Making them difficult to accidentally break while being handled.
After washing up, Celerave went to strip off for her bath.
Another thing Celerave can't remember, but the struggle is real.
The feeling when you want a bath, but the ship only has showers.
So when the house was built, Rhuba demanded a proper tub large enough for the family so they could have a proper soak.
Not knowing any different, Celerave treated bath time like any other part of their daily routine.
The water was heated to perfection from the moment she stepped her foot in.
Letting her body splash into the middle, ensuring not one cell in her body remained dry, Celerave shook her head free of the running water before climbing up onto the benches at the side.
Celerave felt the water lap over her arms as her parents sat in behind her.
The pair were relaxing in the water as if they'd been waiting all day for the privilege.
Usually, they'd get all of 15 seconds before Celerave would want to play with them in the water.
Which would typically be followed with her parents giving her a proper scrubbing.
They were always rough, but also playful with her so long as the splashing didn't sacrifice too much water to the drains on the floor. But this time, Celerave just stared into the mirror on the wall. She could see her parents soaking in the water, but like with her distraction at the dinner table, she was looking at their hair and eyes.
With a worried curiosity, Celerave ran her hand through her silver hair.
Even her soaked tail had white fur that was different to her parents.
But the one thing in the mirror that drew her attention was her set of red eyes.
Never has she seen anyone with red eyes before. She saw hair of all colours on people, and animals have different fur.
But red eyes?
Are those the eyes of a demon?
Breaking the norm, it was actually Celerave pulled from her thoughts when her mother dragged her into the deeper water.
As it was actually the first bathing session they'd had since the end of the last moon cycle.
So five days at least without a bath.
Five days of dirt and sweat to wash off.
With no mercy, Celerave felt the soapy sponge rub up and down her skin, it tickled far more than usual and there was no way Rhuba was letting her go until she was looking brand new.
But she wasn't alone.
Celerave was sitting on Rhuba's crossed lap while her mother was sitting between Garagus' knees.
While the mother washed the girl, the husband washed his wife.
Every now and then Rhuba would jump slightly when Garagus' fingers edged just a little too close under her arms.
Rhuba bit her lip, giving him warning looks through the mirror on the wall.
"You're too jumpy~" He chuckled, planting a kiss on her head.
"I'm trying to wash our baby, stop touching me~"
"I'm not a baby…" Celerave puffed her cheeks as she looked up at her mother. "I'ma big girl…"
"I know~" Rhuba reached under the water and squeezed the girl tightly.
After their bath, Celerave shut her eyes and puffed hair from her lips as a rough towel ran over her face and head.
She watched as her father dried himself off before changing into his night clothes. He left the two ladies in the bathroom to go flip off the unneeded power switches.
By the time he'd left the utility room, Rhuba had just got Celerave ready for bed and was leading the yawning girl in.
Celerave crawled into bed first, pressing herself right up against the wall before Rhuba snuggled in beside her.
Resting her head on her mother's chest, Celerave felt Rhuba hug her warmly under the covers.
Then as predictable as rain in a thunderstorm, another hand would slither over, rubbing the girl's head to wish her goodnight before the words got said out loud.
"Goodnight, girls."
"G'd'night dad…" Celerave mumbled, feeling completely drained after the day she'd had.
