{-:-:-:-=}=Multiverse Mysteries={-:-:-:-=}
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Imbedded Alien Verse*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*~5~*
Chapter 2:
Aliens In The Office...
{:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-*} *-Simon-*-Simon-*-Simon-*-Simon-*-Simon-* {:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-*}
"Here they are! I knew I'd just seen them an-Simon? You okay?" Jay paused, oddly iridescent blue feathered head tilting, oversized glowing yellow eyes blinking, shifting over Simon in concern.
Simon started, giving a somewhat flailing nod, reaching up, scratching at the back of his neck, quickly glancing away in an effort to keep from gawking like an idiot at his oddly avian coworker.
"O-oh, um…y-yeah, yeah fine. Just a little birdbrained today-um-" he stumbled faintly, huffing, just managing to keep the exasperated groan internal, feeling his cheeks warm, mentally face palming.
Oh dear god he sucks at this!
Agent Byrd blinked, head tilting the other way, peculiar, crest like tuft of feathers atop his head shifting faintly, catching in the florescent light of the office. Simon swallowed, shrugging helplessly, flashing a sheepish smile, feeling his cheeks warming even more, quickly shaking his head, a nervous little giggle slipping out.
"Sorry, Guess I'm kinda spacey. I met someone this past weekend and it's just going really, really well."
Jay chuckled, giving a bit of a shrug, nodding understandably.
"Eh happens to all of us. Must have been some date, huh?"
Simon giggled, nodding, flashing a beaming smile.
"Completely out of this world…" he took a deep breath, just managing to keep yet another eyeroll internal.
Oh good lord, there's only so many accidental stumbles and puns you can make before someone catches on. Get it together man!
He shook his head, nodding like a bobble head, smile tugging up to something that was somewhere between the Cheshire Cat and the Joker. With any luck he could just play off his spacey idiocy as he got lucky and was just still a bit lust loopy.
"Y-yeah, totally. Definitely one for the books. A-and I know this is really quick and it's just been a couple of days and it probably seems way over the top cause it hasn't been anywhere near enough time to be much of anything real yet but it's one of those that just feels like a whole new world."
Uh! Enough with that! Someone's gonna pick up on them!
He took another deep breath, pulling his smile up a bit wider still, trying to go for besotted and loopy rather than gob smacked and flailing. Byrd just smiled indulgently, giving a politely interested, faintly amused nod.
"That's great Simon, sounds like someone really special."
"Oh he is; most incredible person I've ever met." He trailed off on a slightly dreamy sigh, flashing yet another somewhat dopy, overly wide smile, quickly nodding, relaxing, relieved that it seemed like his lust addled cover worked and that he finally managed to get a sentence out that didn't have any avian or alien related stumbles.
"No question. I totally hit the jackpot." He took a deep breath, nodding yet again, flashing one more smile and a bit of an awkward little wave before turning, beginning back over to the elevators.
Okay not even remotely smooth but at least he's done with tha-
"Uh…S-Simon?"
He paused at the slight chuckle, head tilting, glancing back. Byrd smirked, head tilting, mirroring him, the odd, crest like brow feathers quirking impishly in amusement holding up the file.
"The report?"
Simon started, feeling his cheeks warm.
"Oh, shoot, sorry…a-again little distracted." he mumbled, quickly scrambling back over to his desk to grab the file.
Byrd gave an odd, cooing like laugh, feathers fluffing up, shimmery blue head bobbing animatedly, giving a fluttery wave with his free hand,
"No problem, hopefully you come down a bit before you go out into the field though. Paperwork and filing is one thing but it might be a bit of a hazard if you're out communing with aliens or tracking Bigfoot or whatever craziness it is you all get up to down there in the SCD."
Simon gave a bit too loud of a laugh, nodding, smiling, scratching at the back of his neck.
"Uh y-yeah. Probably a bad idea. Thankfully right now Magnus and his new partner are out of town on a case so I'm just on cleanup and maintenance in the bunker."
Byrd chuckled, feathered brow quirking in amusement.
"Bigfoot or Aliens?"
Simon laughed, shaking his head.
"Neither, Jersey Devil. Though it is a hidden, mystery creature so kinda like Bigfoot…but then again I have heard it might be some kind of an alien so maybe both?"
Byrd blinked, bright yellow eyes widening before giving a faint chuckle, head shaking disbelievingly.
"Man, that's wild. And you actually believe in all that craziness? Bigfoot, The Jersey Devil, Mothman, reptilians, aliens…all of it?"
Simon froze, blinking, giving a bit of a hesitant shrug.
"I-w-well, yeah…I mean…I don't know for sure- like SURE, sure that they exist- I mean I've never actually met any of them or seen any for myself or anything like that so I don't like 'KNOW' know, you know, but I do believe there's a lot out there that we don't understand, we don't really see or we can't really explain. I've always believed that, for as long as I can remember. I mean what's life without a bit of mystery and excitement, right?"
Byrd chuckled, head tilting concedingly.
"Mysteries and excitement, sure…Monsters and aliens? Yeah, no, maybe not so much, seems a bit out there."
Simon gave a nervous laugh, eyes flickering over the smirking alien bird man, shrugging, not really sure what to say to that. Byrd just chuckled, faintly shaking his head.
"Well, better you than me. I don't know how you deal with that insanity. Especially with that flighty, preening Agent Bane in charge."
Simon blinked, shifting nervously.
O-okay wait…is he screwing with his? Does he know he can see him? Was he trying to trip him up with bird puns or is it just a quirky little in joke non-humans toss into conversation to amuse themselves? Is it a cultural type thing, kinda like queer code? Is that intentional or is his brain just going into overdrive and over analyzing every word?
Oh crap! You've been quiet too long! Stop with the spinning and deal with this now. You can freak out When you get back to the bunker.
Until then focus damnit!
Simon swallows, forcing himself out of his mental spiral and back into the moment, nervous gaze flickering over the bizarre bird man, subtly checking for any signs of anger or suspicion. Thankfully Byrd seemed to take his silence and awkward staring as affronted on behalf of his friend and lead agent. He blinked, quickly shaking his head, flashing a faintly apologetic smile, placatingly raising his hand, giving another cooing laugh, shifting forward a bit, holding out the folder.
"Hey now, No offense. I didn't mean it like that. I know you two are pretty friendly. Don't get me wrong I like the man, I really do. He's a real kick and one hell of an agent and it's a total lark getting to see just how twitchy he makes some of the other agents- especially when he's down in the firing range. I really didn't mean anything bad. It just seems like he'd be a LOT on a daily, close quarters kind of bases, that's all."
Simon blinked, trying to avoid another mental spiral and seem at least somewhat capable of functioning normally today. He swallows, giving a slight shrug, slowly taking the folder, tucking it under his arm, reaching up, brushing a few loose, caramel brown locks behind his ear, flashing a faint smile.
"Uh, y-yeah…well…I mean I guess he is but to be fair you can say the same about me. That's most likely why we clicked. He is a lot but it's a lot of really exciting and really unique and really off the wall craziness which is really right up my alley.
Hey, if anything it's never boring. Well, right now it is but thinking that's for the best. Probably not a good idea to take someone half lost in their own head out into the middle of the woods trying to track down a mythical animal.
Seems like a really good way for me to end up in my own mystery." He chuckled, glancing back up at the bird man, checking those odd, oversized avian eyes for any hint of suspicion, relieved to just see the standard amused disbelief that was the usual response from the majority of the agents to most everything related to the SCD.
Simon relaxed faintly, lightly bouncing on his heels, nodding again, giving a bit of a shrug, gesturing vaguely towards the front entrance of the bureau.
"Anyways since they're out for a few days I have the bunker all to myself. Figured I'd use the time to get things in order. Agent Lightwood seems like a great agent but also pretty uptight and high strung and unlike me he didn't knowingly take this assignment he was just, well, assigned to it. Seems a bit out of his depths. Thinking organization and a lack of clutter might help."
Byrd chuckled, those large avian eyes widening all the more, shaking his head in amusement, giving a bit of a fluttery wave.
"Eh, probably couldn't hurt. I mean I don't know that much of anything could make that assignment ruffle his feathers any less but a bit of organization to the crazy might make it a little more manageable.
Although when it's organized you can actually SEE just how much crazy it is you're dealing with so there is that. But then again I guess he has already met Magnus and hasn't ran for the hills like the other six so that's a plus." He chuckled again, brow feathers quirking, head tilting curiously.
"How's he handling it by the way? I haven't really got a chance to talk to him, just kind of seen him around but he doesn't really strike me as the alien hunting type."
Simon swallowed, blinking, shifting, giving a nervous little laugh, quickly shaking his head.
"Uh…n-no…no he's really not. Not the alien type at a-uh alien believer type at all. He doesn't believe in aliens or bigfoot or the Chupacabra or the Jersey Devil or Nessie or any of the rest of it but I think that's actually okay, provides a good balance, a nice counterweight to me and Mags's belief. I think that's exactly what the department needs. That's probably why Luke partnered the guy with Magnus."
Byrd chuckled, shrugging.
"Well either that or he did something to really piss him off."
Simon snorted, emphatically nodding.
"Yeah, I could see that."
Byrd blinked, head tilting in surprise, brow quirking.
"Problem?"
Simon started, rapidly blinking, quickly trying to backtrack.
"Oh, um…no, no, n-nothing…sorry. We kinda got off on the wrong foot for a sec-just a bit of a misunderstanding, we're all good now. He really does seem like a great agent and a good person and all of that and his credentials really are totally out of this worl-er uh, y-you know he's trained in like tons of different scientific and medical disciplines and he has a lot of experience in that and that'll really come in handy to rule out natural type explanations to our cases and his and Mags really do seem like they're getting on great." He shrugged, smiling a bit too wide, shaking his head, glancing up, again meeting the bird man's eyes.
"Sorry, I'm just yammering, don't mind me. Like I said my head is somewhere else today. I can't believe I'm so spacey-not that I'm generally like un-scattered or anything like that but even so this is a lot even for me.
At least I have some time to get it under control and cleaning and organizing is a really great way for me to mentally reset- or at the very least burn off enough of my excess manic energy to get me back to just my usual level of mental spiraling." He nervously giggled, once more giving an awkward wave and an overly bright smile.
"I'm sure once the buzzy thrill of the new relationship calms down I'll get a handle on it. I'm pretty adaptable I tend to adjust quickly."
Byrd chuckled, nodding, giving a bit of a shrug, feathers fluffing faintly, head tilting, luminous eyes catching Simon's.
"Yeah, you'd have to with that loon as your leader."
Simon swallows, blinking rapidly, eking out a faint almost laugh, nodding, fidgeting. Byrd blinks, glimmering yellow eyes flickering over him curiously, faintly shaking his head.
"Again no offense. I do genuinely like the man. Agent Bane's one of a kind. This place wouldn't be half as interesting without him."
Simon nodded, smiling.
"Yeah, I know."
Agent Byrd nodded back, flashing a faint smile.
"So we're good, yeah?"
Simon smiled, nodding animatedly.
"Yeah, totally."
Byrd smiled.
"Kay, good."
"Good." Simon parroted, nodding even more.
Byrd shifted, head tilting the other way, the crest on his head rising a bit, kind of fluffing, brow feathers quirking in amusement.
"Simon? Did you need anything else?"
He yet again starts, realizing he's been flat out staring-yet again- and nodding like a bobble headed idiot. He flails faintly, eyes widening, quickly shaking his head, fumbling the file out from under his arm, holding it up, animatedly waving it, smiling back.
"N-no, this is good. Again, kinda spacey, don't mind me; I'm just somewhere else today. Thanks again bird-I-I mean agent-uh, Jay."
Byrd laughed, the sound again almost like a coo, shaking his head, flashing an impish little smirk.
"Man they really must be something special."
Simon laughed, feeling his cheeks warm.
"Oh you have no idea."
Byrd chuckles again, flashing one more smile before giving a fluttery little wave, effectively dismissing him, perching back in his seat, turning his focus back to his computer, beginning to type away. Simon blinked once more, eyes quickly flickering over his oddly feathered, claw tipped hands flying over the keyboard. He swallowed, head shaking as he turned, quickly forcing himself to move away from the birdman before he said or did anything else suspicious or embarrassing.
God, he has got to get it together; that was outright painful!
He groaned to himself, rolling not only his eyes but his entire head at the flailing, fumbling train wreck of a conversation, beginning for the elevators to the basement before thinking better of it, instead making a beeline for the break room and the coffee machine.
Yes…coffee…caffeine. That'll help him process better. Hopefully it would at least. He definitely needed something to keep his from gawking like an idiot at his suddenly supernatural coworkers.
Okay so as point of fact they're not supernatural, they're extraterrestrials but…dude! It's like comic-con come to life! He came in today knowing he was going to see some of his colleagues as aliens but he had been expecting ALIEN looking non-humans. Greys or reptilians or Vulcan or something identifiably extraterrestrial. Beings that actually looked like cosmic beings and he has seen a few that look more traditionally alien-y but most just seem like something less out of sci-fi and more out of fantasy or fairytales.
Seriously, he's seen what looks like eight different types of fairies, trolls, ogres, gremlins, goblins, elves, pixies, harpies, Cyclops, Satyrs, Minotaur, wraith looking beings, a dude down in records who looked like a dead ringer for Gollum, shimmery translucent people who look like full on ghosts and seemingly every kind of Werecreature type being possible.
He swears he's even seen someone who looked like some kind of were-dragon! Like full on wings, scales smoke coming out of their nostrils dragon!
It is freaking insane and amazing and overwhelming and he is totally geeking out like some newbie at comic-con but he's trying to keep it together and keep his nerdish flailing to himself because they're trying to stick to plan A because plan B sucks and gives him the start of an anxiety attack if he even thinks about it.
Plan A is for him to simply feign ignorance and act like everything is normal. No complicated lies, no excuses or explanations or covers or anything overly complex or easy to screw up. Plan A is by far the best way to go. Plan B is much more complicated and is basically nothing but downsides and drama.
And it wouldn't be just him that those downsides and drama would affect. The majority of the fallout would be on Devin.
The thing of it was technically there are no rules or laws against a non-human revealing their truth to a human. There was nothing strictly forbidding it however these revelations are seen as foolish, a taboo and generally expected to be kept as the last of all last resorts. Every time the truth is revealed to a human it risks the truth getting out to the masses, earth losing its status as a neutral zone planet and basically the entire world descending into years or even decades of violence, panic and chaos.
So yeah, technically there's no out and out 'rules or laws' against doing it but you do it at your and the humans own risk.
Both the human and the non-human involved in a reveal are highly monitored and highly scrutinized to ensure that the human will not prove themselves to be a liability to the continued existence of non-humans on earth. If they are found to be a liability…well…neither Raphael nor Devin would really elaborate on what would happen but it definitely didn't seem like an aspect of non-human society he'd want to find out about first hand.
Devin explained that any non-human who reveals the secret is automatically responsible for whatever come from that revelation. Both Raphael and Devin said if it is at all possible he should avoid the other non-humans finding out he can see them. That if they do realize it could get really bad, really quick.
Raphael said that while it's not in any way condoned or legal it's not exactly uncommon for other non-humans who discover a human is in the know to see this as a grave violation and take it upon themselves to ensure the truth did not get any further than that one human.
Devin tried to reassure him, reiterating that it wasn't in anyway 'allowed'. Aliyah agreed it wasn't but explained that humans finding out is most non-humans biggest fear. It has the potential of putting their lives and the lives of everyone they love in jeopardy. A human finding out whether it's intentionally or accidentally generally scares the holy hell out of most non-humans and scared, panicky people can do some very irrational, desperate, even at times brutal things.
Any human who finds out the truth is automatically held to all the non-human laws, rules and regulations that every non-human on a neutral zone planet are required to follow. Raphael, Devin and Simon had a very long, very in-depth conversation about these rules- the Accords- over his two days off. It was very informative…
It was also pretty intense and freaking terrifying.
Any non-human who reveals the truth to a human is responsible for ensuring that human follows the accords. If they don't both the human and the non-human are held accountable for any transgressions, no exceptions. Raph and Dev both were noticeably evasive about what exactly 'being held accountable' for these violations exactly entailed but Simon got the feeling he was much happier not knowing.
So revealing the truth to a human was basically putting a neon target on both the non-human and the human's backs and opening the door for both of them to untold possible issues, complications, animosity and dangers. Simon really hated the idea that he could put Raphael in that kind of danger. He couldn't think of much of anything worse…
And then it immediately got worse.
They realized thanks to his apex camouflage no one actually knows Raphael is anything other than human. If someone finds out he's the one who outed the secret than people are gonna wonder how HE knew. Which would mean people sniffing around, investigating and interrogating him and could potentially lead to them finding out exactly what he was…which…uh, yeah, no.
That could not happen. It just couldn't.
Devin pointed out that as Simon's Gemenima he'd be the most likely way he would find out. He suggested should Plan A not work Simon should say he's the one who told him. Raphael hated the idea of him taking on the liability but as the risk of someone looking into him would likely devolve into untold violence, terror, pain and fear and him having to flee the planet likely leaving a trail of bodies Devin really was the only option.
Well Devin or Simon but he figured Simon would rat them out in a second flat so much as he and Raph hated it Devin it was.
So plan A; simple, easy, straightforward willful ignorance. Plan B; putting him and his best friend under the microscope with a target on his back…and Devin's back…and almost certainly Magnus's back too as they'd most definitely want to ensure he didn't share the truth of the vast alien conspiracy with the alien hunting conspiracy nut he worked with in the FBI basement…so…yeah…Plan B was a hard no.
Plan A all the way.
Ugh, maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should have left the necklace at home. Maybe he needs to take it off and put it up for a bit. Give him a bit of a breather. Kinda pace himself…maybe…
He reached up, absently fiddling with it before giving a faint sigh, head shaking, yet again tucking it back into his shirt.
No, stop backtracking. You've already been through this today -multiple times. You're in it now, you can't chicken out, you need to just power through and get yourself to adjust. The more you see the quicker you can.
Plus now that he knows what's there it's not like he's just gonna forget. Hell if he took off the necklace he's likely gonna be staring even more trying to figure out what he isn't seeing. Yeah no, best to just stick to it and work through it fast. He wasn't lying to Byrd, he did adjust fast and he was pretty adaptable he just had to tough it out.
He had to be smart, stay cool, stay calm and stay collected. He had to get it together and keep himself in check.
He had to…and he would…
But oh dear GOD was it harder than he thought!
He came into work today knowing he was going to see non-humans. He knew this. He had prepared for this. He spent two days combing over shows and going to various touristy type places with his necklace and Raph or Devin in tow in order to ease himself into it and get him through the shock and he really, genuinely thought he was good. He thought he was ready. All three of them did…
All three of them were wrong…SO wrong.
He knew some of his coworkers were non-human; Raph had already told his as much. He knew some of the types he would see. They'd gone through easily a dozen along with some of the most common just to cover their bases and they really thought he was in good shape. He had some idea what to expect, knew some of the types he'd see and he knew that likely about ten to twenty percent of his colleagues were gonna be something other than human.
There were around five hundred people working in the field office so he was expecting anywhere from fifty to a hundred of his colleagues were something other than human. He expected a fair amount, was genuinely curious just how many of the people he interacted with on a daily basis were something other than human but…just…oh my god.
It's not just a handful here or there-it's not fifty or a hundred or even a hundred and fifty. They are freaking EVERYWHERE! Easily over half of his coworkers are something other than human. It's amazing and insane and feels vaguely conspiratory and he has been spiraling since he's got here.
Over half the people in the FBI field office were non-humans! Over HALF! More of his coworkers were non-human than human!
That…that's just…like…what? He was so confused. Was it just a one off, quirky L.A. kinda thing or was the majority of government agencies in actuality ran by non-humans? Was it just some kind of fluke with this specific office or was that like…a thing?
Neither Raph nor Devin had mentioned anything like that but…hell, maybe they don't know. Human civilians aren't really privy to a lot of the goings on in federal agencies; maybe it's the same thing with non-human civilians.
Maybe it was a common thing. Maybe non-humans really do largely run the majority of government agencies. Or maybe it really is just L.A.? Like Los Angeles was just some kind of non-human hot spot/hub kinda thing? Maybe it's as simple as more non-humans lived here so more non-humans were also in his office.
I-it'd kinda make sense. I mean Raphael had said about the carnivals and all the touristy type places drawing in non-humans who's disguises didn't really blend. This whole city was basically one giant tourist trap.
It'd definitely stand to reason.
God he had so many questions. He couldn't wait till after work. Raph was picking up some takeout and him and Devin were going to answer all his questions about his newly revealed non-human coworkers. He was positively giddy…
But man, the list was getting long. And yes, he did have an actual, literal list.
He glanced around subtly before pulling his phone out, scrolling through his notes for today before clicking to add another, quickly typing out the Byrd related questions before closing the app, slipping the phone back into his pocket as he moved into the break room, chuckling faintly to himself.
Ooh! They just made a fresh batch! It just barely finished.
Perfect…
He hummed happily, quickly snagging one of the to go cups off the stack, adding in a bit of the cinnamon creamer and a few pumps of caramel syrup figuring the extra sugar boost would be a nice addition this morning. Besides, he's already spinning like a top, may as well add the sugar buzz to the mix as well. Maybe it'll help cancel out some of the alien crazy…or at the very least he could blame his flailing, chattery idiocy on too much sugar. The people here knew how he got when he was on a sugar rush…it's actually track pretty well. Plus it just sounded like exactly what he needed right now.
He hummed softly to himself, moving around the coffee station, lost in thought.
Hmm…so apparently agent Jayden Byrd is a literal bird man…okay then. Byrd is a bird…huh…Is THAT a thing? Are ironic, literal type surnames a common thing or is it just a kinda quirky coincidence?
That seems kinda odd and kinda like a weird way to out yourself. But then again if people don't know there's actually something to be outed then it's not really outing, is it? And yeah there's plenty of people who believe in aliens but with the exception of the crazy reptilian/lizard men type thing he's never heard anything about animalistic aliens. So maybe the name thing is more common.
Really when you think about it it does make a kind of sense. A lot of surnames come from occupations or where someone comes from. Maybe this is the same thing. Smith comes from blacksmiths, Miller comes from someone who ran a mill, Baker is from bakers, and Byrd apparently comes from birds…or like the planet of the birds…
Hmm…is it like a mix of The Birds and the planet of the apes? Oh that's a really weird mash up, wha-
"Hey Lewis, what's new?"
He starts, jolted out of his thoughts at a voice not even a foot from his ear. He gasps, whirling to see the speaker, gaze landing on the smirking red headed man. The smirking redheaded man with the soft looking, velvety black ears poking through his orangish red hair, reflective, somewhat beady yellow eyes and sharp vaguely canine looking features highlighted by velvety orange red fur.
Oh, Todd…His Were-fox coworker.
Who was also a vampire...
And a jackass…
At least this was one he'd been expecting.
"Damnit Todd! I hate when you do that." He huffed, glaring faintly.
Todd just chuckled, slinking around him, grabbing a cup from the stack, bright, gleaming yellow eyes flashing.
"Sorry kiddo, couldn't help it." he chuckled again, settling against the counter next to him, head titling, those odd eyes shimmering curiously, flickering over Simon, soft ears twitching.
"You should know better than to stand in a room with your back to the door. Usually you're more on it than that. What's up?"
Simon swallowed, giving a faint shrug.
"Uh…y-yeah…um…I'm kinda off today. Met someone this weekend. It really feels like something special. Guess I'm just a bit preoccupied." He chuckled nervously, holding up his cup.
"Right now I'm trying to counteract the loopy, moony, spacey-ness with a good old fashioned caffeine and sugar rush. Don't know if it'll help but I figure it was worth a shot."
Todd chuckled, shrugging.
"Couldn't hurt…" he hummed softly, nodding, giving a faint smile, the expression flashing a faint glimpse of sharp, wicked looking canines.
"So you met someone? That's nice. How'd you meet?"
Simon blinked, fidgeting.
"Uh, h-he's a friend of Magnus's. He'd been out of town for a while and he just recently got back. Magnus really missed him and was eager for me and Simon to meet him. We met and just kinda clicked…you know?"
Todd gave a soft chuckle, oddly reflective eyes seemingly glowing, nodding.
"Oh, that's really sweet, kinda a love at first sight kind of deal, hmm?"
Simon gave a faint laugh, shaking his head, feeling his cheeks warm, relaxing faintly.
"I-uh-I don't know if I'd quite say 'love'. I mean I really like him and It's amazing being around him- I feel like I'm flying and my head spins and when he smiles at me I feel like my heart is gonna beat out of my chest but I'm really trying not to get too far ahead of myself. I don't want to rush things too much and end up screwing it up before we even have a chance to really get started. We haven't even known each other a week.
Probably a bit too soon for the love thing…but yeah…it's definitely something special."
Todd hummed softly, giving a faint shrug, head tilting concedingly.
"Understandable…then again sometimes when you know, you just know."
Simon gave a soft laugh, feeling his cheeks heat up, nodding, a soft little sigh slipping out.
"Yeah…even so you do want to be sure."
He gave a soft, growly hum, nodding.
"Quite true. Even so it must have been something else." He smiled, head tilting the other way, those odd, beady yellow eyes flickering curiously over him before glancing up, catching his eye, brow quirking pointedly.
"It feels like there's something different about you. That date must have been one for the record books."
Simon swallowed, nodding.
"Uh-i-it was…but like I said, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself."
Todd gave a soft laugh, shrugging, giving a fluttery wave, sharp black nails glittering in the harsh fluorescent light of the break room.
"I really don't think you are. Pretty clear the connection's mutual."
Simon blinked, head tilting.
"I-w-what?"
Todd shrugged, looking over the array of coffee syrups, adding a few different types to his cup before glancing over, flashing a faint smile, gesturing towards him with the cup.
"Well I mean one date and he's already giving you jewelry. I'd say you definitely made one hell of an impression."
Simon froze, gulping.
"I-j-jewelry?"
Todd smirked, brow quirking, those bright yellow eyes shimmering, catching reflectively in the light.
"Your new necklace? You've been fiddling with it all day. They really must be something special."
Simon started, shaking his head.
"O-oh um…n-no…no that's not from him. It was a gift from Devin, my roommate. This weekend was kinda like a quasi-anniversary type thing for us. It's kinda silly but it's the anniversary of the day we met. We've been best friends since fifth grade. He got me the necklace for it…I'm not usually a jewelry person but he said it made him think of me so he had to get it for me."
The odd Fox man blinked, those reflective yellow eyes flaring bright, ears twitching as if he's listening to something beyond just words. He hummed, the sound trailing off into a soft, growly kind of chuckle, brow quirking curiously.
"Hmm…anniversary gift, huh? And now he's suddenly getting you jewelry? I don't know it sounds kinda like he might be just a bit jealous of your new special someone. Hope there's no drama there."
Simon gasped, shaking his head, laughing, waving him off.
"Oh gosh no. Not with him. We've known each other forever- he's basically my family. There's no romantic anything there, never has been on either side. We've actually both had flailing panics when we thought the other wanted more but even when we were confused we were always on the same page- even when we didn't know it."
Todd hummed softly, flashing a seemingly relieved smile, approvingly nodding.
"Well that's a relief. Sounds like a great guy. And that's really sweet that you have your little friend-a-versery. Sounds like you guys are really close."
Simon chuckled, relaxing faintly, nodding, taking a quick sip of his coffee, smiling over the rim of the cup.
"Yeah we are. Closer than close. He's the best."
"Oh he most definitely sounds like it…." Todd smiled, revealing a glimpse of sharp canines, slinking over next to Simon, grabbing the pot, pouring some of the steaming coffee into his own cup.
He hums softly, reaching across him, grabbing the same cinnamon cream Simon did, adding a bit to his cup before putting it back. He stirs his coffee, humming happily, casually leaning against the counter next to him, taking a sip of his coffee, catching Simon's eye over the rim of his cup, shimmering golden eyes flashing curiously.
His head cocks to the side, soft, furry, pointed black ears twitching, giving a fluttery wave, long, sharp black claws catching in the light.
"Kinda small world though."
Simon blinked, head tilting, subconsciously mirroring him.
"What do you mean?"
He shrugged.
"Well what are the odds that your totally platonic soulmate would get your friend-a-versery gift from your new special someone?"
Simon blinked in confusion.
"He…what?"
"From Magnus's friend? The one you had the date with? Small world."
Simon swallowed, shaking his head.
"I-wha-he didn't…why do you think he got it from him?"
He smirked, shrugging casually, giving a fluttery little wave.
"Hmm? Oh just kinda feels like him. Magnus's best friend, Raphael, right?"
Simon swallowed, nodding faintly, feeling an odd, prickly sensation slipping down his spine, taking a deep breath to try to counter his nerves, wrapping both hands around his coffee cup to try to hide the faint tremor, lifting it to his lips.
"Y-yeah…how did you know that?"
Todd smiled, giving a fluttery, dismissive little wave.
"Oh just a feeling I got. I'm pretty intuitive. I met the guy at one of the Christmas parties and I don't know, it just kinda feels like him. I liked him, he was quite fun. Our conversation did get cut rather short but what there was of it really was quite enjoyable.
It's such a very small world…rather interesting." He hummed soft and content, the sound taking on a faintly growly hint, taking a slow, relaxed sip of his coffee, glancing back over at him, head tilting curiously.
"Very interesting actually…I thought he was in tech. I had no idea Magnus's little Diflino-gwydn BFF also dabbled in jewelry design."
Simon startled, nearly spilling his coffee, looking over in shock.
"Magnus's what?!"
He hummed, taking another slow, languid sip of his coffee, a near impish smirk tugging at his lips, giving another flash of those sharp, wicked looking canines that now looked a bit longer than they did just a moment ago, brow quirking, leaning in a bit closer.
"Raphael? Raphael Santiago? Magnus's best friend. About yay tall, great hair, lots of swagger, snarky, really swanky suits, Phoenix soldier?" He gave another one of those soft, growly hums, casually shrugging, taking another sip of his coffee, settling more comfortably against the counter next to Simon.
"Must have missed that when we had our little chat at the Christmas party. Guess we didn't get to it before he decided to tap out and used his Recollection Reconfiguration on me…or at least before he tried to use it on me…" he smirked, leaning in near conspiratorially, voice slipping into a whisper, flashing a playful wink.
"Doesn't work on Vulpucubi. Psychic abilities tend to simply cancel one another out. They should however work like a dream on a regular old Itheoir-fostvulpe, no problem. I toyed with the idea of letting him in on it then but ultimately decided against it. I didn't want him to feel backed into a corner at an FBI shindig…figured that could be uncomfortable…and get rather messy.
Not the first impression I was really going for. Figured best bet was to simply play along in the moment and find a way to catch up with him later." He hummed happily, flashing a bright, fang revealing smile, eyes once more catching in the light, seeming to all but glow, reaching over, clasping Simon's shoulder, squeezing firmly, those sharp, wicked black claws showing in sharp contrast to Simon's sunny yellow dress shirt.
"And now I have you! Isn't that a lovely coincidence…see what I mean? Such a small world. So very fascinating how things tend to play out."
Simon blinked, shivering, frozen, totally confused and terrified, nervously looking from the claw tipped hand clasping his shoulder over at the door of the break room trying to gauge just how quickly he could slip out of the grip and make it to the door and out into the more public area of the office.
Todd glanced over, catching his eye, following his line of sight to the door. He hummed softly, raising his free hand, giving a fluttery wave towards the door, claws extending faintly, a shimmering flickering light dancing about his claw tipped fingers. Simon starts as an identical odd yellow shimmer flickers in front of the break room door, looking almost like a shield or some kind of veil.
"Oh don't worry kiddo, I got this covered, this convo is strictly between you and me. I don't want the people around here knowing me and my boyfriend are here anymore than your pretty little phoenix solider does."
Simon just stood there for a moment before starting, quickly glancing once more at the door before turning to face Todd, shifting out of his grasp, leaning in, whispering frantically.
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
Todd chuckled, totally at ease, settling closer, mirroring him.
"He told you the big secret, yeah? About him, us…the whole shebang, yeah?" He reached up, holding up one claw tipped finger, pointing at the spot where the crystal necklace was nestled beneath his dress shirt.
"Even made you that pretty, fancy, shamancy necklace to let you see through all the other cammos, glamours and various disguises we use to blend in with humanity…yeah?"
Simon swallowed, feeling clammy, trying to take a few deep breaths in order to keep himself from panicking.
"I-I don't…I don't really know what you're talking ab-"
Todd sighed, shaking his head, giving a fluttery wave, the odd, yellow shimmers and flickers dancing about his fingers.
"Relax Kiddo, breathe. You're fine. But your little bladed love buddy made a teeny bit of a mistake. It's perfectly fine though…easy fix."
Simon blinked, totally lost.
"I-w-what fix?"
Todd chuckled, shaking his head, settling a bit closer.
"See, I think I know what he was doing. He wanted to show you his world and let you see all the wonderful, fantastical, amazing things you've been missing. Made you that pretty bauble to give you a peek into our world and made it strong enough to see through his admittedly impressive all-encompassing camouflage…yeah?"
Simon swallowed, taking a deep breath, giving a kind of shaky nod, not really sure what else to do. Todd smiled, nodding back.
"That's lovely- The guy really was pulling out all the stops to impress you." He chuckled, settling closer to his side, head shaking, brow quirking, impishly waggling.
"Damn kid, you must have been on fire that night. Had to make one hell of an impression for him to be willing to take that kind of risk. That really is quite sweet and romantic and all kinds of lovely things but unfortunately there's a tiny bit of a fly in the ointment with his grand romantic gesture…." He sighed, glancing up, catching Simon's eye, expression near apologetic, giving a flickering wave, those odd yellow shimmers and sparks dancing about the wicked black claws, reflecting ominously in his beady yellow eyes.
"You see Simon, the thing of it is he was a bit too skillful in his little art project. He made it too strong; made it so you can see through things you really shouldn't see through. See beings you aren't really meant to see…beings like me…"
Simon swallowed.
"Like you?"
He hummed softly, nodding. Simon swallowed, nervous gaze again shifting over to the door and the shimmering veil like barrier before slipping back to him, head shaking faintly.
"I-but-sorry what do you mean?"
He sighed, shrugging, waving towards the door, the odd incandescent veil glimmering brighter in emphasis.
"Yeah, here's the thing…Raphael is not the only non-human whose presence on earth would cause panic, drama and chaos. Phoenix soldiers are greatly feared and the stuff of nightmares and campfire stories and blah, blah blah but quite frankly they don't exactly have the market cornered on that.
there are a lot of scary, fearsome, terrifying nightmare beings and campfire story villains. There's plenty of different types that strike fear into the hearts of most 'good, upstanding, acceptable' non-humans. Many whose mere presence on earth would be seen as a threat, an attack or a nightmare come true. There are a lot of them-a lot of us- that exist. There are a lot of us that exist on this planet…even in this very office…
A lot that thanks to that pretty little bauble your bladed dreamboat gave you you can now see clear as day. You see us, so now you're with us." He gave a soft, low, growly kind of chuckle, shrugging, flashing another sharp, fang revealing smile, brow quirking, beady yellow eyes catching in the light, near glowing.
"Just think of it as being an honorary member of a very selective club. Congrats, it's generally pretty exclusive. We're all in the same boat now, welcome aboard. It's gonna be one hell of a trip." He chuckled again the sound trailing off into a low unsettling, growly kind of hum, glancing up, yet again catching his eye.
Simon swallowed, shaking his head, holding his hand up placatingly, beginning to inch towards the door.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about. I don't see anything…I don't know anything I'm not supposed to, I don't know any of this-"
Todd slinked around him, settling casually against the wall right by the door, the odd, glimmering veil like barrier seeming to pulsate like a heartbeat. He hummed again, smirking that odd, fang revealing smirk, shrugging, giving a fluttery totally at ease wave, jet black claws extending.
"Well, then by all means, let's remedy that, shall we? Your pretty little boyfriend is a phoenix soldier, my wonderful, amazing boyfriend is a Draigivrăjor and I'm a Vulpucubi– both of which are types of beings that generally make phoenix soldiers look downright cute in comparison."
Simon shifted, setting his coffee on the counter, wrapping his arms around himself, head shaking.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Todd brightened, smiling.
"Like I said, you're in our club now! You're practically one of us. You got the fancy membership token and everything." He smirked, pulling out an old fashioned copper pocket watch with an overly dramatic, shimmery flourish, holding it up for Simon to see, showing the elaborate crystal, platinum, cobalt and titanium filigree design embedded in the watches cover.
He hummed, waving with his free hand, running one claw tipped finger over the watch, giving a bit of a shrug.
"I've never really been the necklace type. Some of us are; it's usually the easiest most basic method but others find something that's more to our tastes. A watch, bracelet, ring, earring, broach, hair clip, a fancy, decorative pen; they really do run the whole gamut. All of the hidden non-human beings have something or other to allow us to see each other.
Now you do too.
You may have got it from another source and kind of stumbled ass backwards into it but we're just gonna call it a happy accident and move on. We're perfectly happy to have you on the team.
Well…At least we are so long as you actually are just as intelligent as I think you are and you manage to keep it and our presence to yourself…" He shifted, head tilting the other way, brow quirking.
"I don't think that's gonna be much of an issue…not with your oh so pretty, oh so very vulnerable little Diflino-gwydn love buddy completely alone here and in nearly the exact same position as the rest of us. I'm sure our trust is well placed…right?"
Simon swallowed, giving a kind of shaky nod.
"R-right…"
Todd gave a bright bark of a laugh, clapping eagerly causing a cloud of odd iridescent yellow sparks and shimmers, the dancing lights reflecting perfectly in his eyes.
"Wonderful! I thought as much. You always felt like a good one kiddo. Even so we do have to be rather careful; the stakes are pretty high after all.
We have to hash this out…but…not here. I can only get us so much privacy and while it's hidden from the other side it's the break room and there's only so long before someone we don't want in the conversation comes in.
We will have to collaborate and ensure we stay on the same page." Todd positively beamed, giving a dramatic wave, an odd shimmery yellow glimmer trailing the movement, flashing an uncomfortably wide smile, putting those long, wicked fang like canines that are far longer than they were a few moments ago on full display, eyes glowing ominously.
"I'm thinking dinner."
Simon blinked, eyes widening, flickering anxiously over the long, vicious looking fangs, hand subconsciously coming up to his neck, rubbing nervously.
"D-dinner?"
Todd outright laughed, rolling his eyes, waving him off.
"Okay, again kiddo, breath. Sorry couldn't resist having a bit of fun with you. I'm just teasing, I don't mean that kind of dinner. No offense. You're very sweet and all but you're really not my type. I've never had much of a sweet tooth." He smirked, playfully winking.
Simon couldn't help a surprised almost laugh, swallowing, frantically nodding.
"G-good to know…so wha-"
He shook his head, smiling, waving him off.
"Once again, not here. Too many eyes, too many ears, too many panicky, prejudicial, holier than thou goody, goody alien types to muck everything up and stick their noses where they simply don't belong. Come by my place tonight about six, that should be good." He smiled, pulling his phone out of his pocket, long, nimble, claw tipped fingers flickering over the buttons before glancing up, catching his eye.
Despite the warning Simon still starts faintly when his phone blips, pulling it out, looking over the incoming message from an unknown number. Todd just shrugged, still annoyingly totally relaxed, giving a fluttery wave.
"I got your number out of your file; That's our address. You don't have to bring anything but if you are so inclined I wouldn't say no to a nice bottle of wine. We're really not too picky but generally prefer red. Just don't bring any food, Caleb is a wiz in the kitchen and he has a tendency to go all out so it'd just be a waste.
We'll have a nice, relaxing, no pressure little meet and greet. A nice meal, a drink or two and just hash everything out, get us on the same page and get this all squared away." He chuckled at Simon's no doubt panicked expression and rapid blinking, shaking his head, holding his hand up placatingly.
"Now, now. Don't worry, it's nothing like you're thinking. It's not a trap or shakedown or god forbid a timeshare condo sales pitch or anything else scary like that. I promise, this is a good thing. We can even make it a fun little double date! You bring your cute little phoenix solider friend, I'll bring my gorgeous Draigivrăjor boyfriend and we'll just relax and see where the night takes us."
Simon swallowed, shifting, shaking his head.
"O-oh um…I uh…I don't know if Raphael can make it tonight…I think he said something about being busy."
He gave a bright laugh, shaking his head, waving him off.
"Oh I'm sure he can clear a bit of space in his schedule for something like this. Just tell him what I am and what I said Caleb is and I have no doubt in my mind he'll insist on coming with you."
Simon swallowed, shifting.
"I-I uh…I really, really suck at pronunciations I don't know if I could-" he trails off as Todd again pulls out his phone, happily tapping out a message before hitting the send button, those beady yellow eyes shifting from the screen up to Simon, brow quirking impishly.
Simon sighed as his phone pinged with the message. He swallowed, fumbling it up, looking over the screen, glancing back up at his bright, smirky, fanged expectant gaze, giving a kind of shaky little nod. Todd grinned, clapping again, sending another cloud of shimmery sparks dancing through the air.
"Oh wonderful! I've been dying to get in touch with him since the Christmas party. I told my boyfriend all about him and he really wanted to meet him but there was just never really a way I could reach out to him without going through Magnus and…well…that just didn't seem like a good idea.
He's thrilled to get to meet the both of you. I texted him about you and him before I came in and he was absolutely over the moon. He's already trying to figure out his menu for tonight, I could tell by his tone he's pulling out all the stops. You're in luck he's an amazing cook. You're in for a real treat."
Simon blinked, swallowing, feeling a cold shiver slip up his spine.
"Uh…y-yeah…sounds good. You uh…you texted him about me and Raphael before I even told you about us?"
Todd smirked, shrugging.
"Yup…"
Simon swallowed, nodding like a bobblehead.
"H-how uh…how did you-"
He hummed softly, chuckling, shaking his head teasingly.
"Uh uh…again…time and place. Not here. We can go over all of that tonight. I can't wait. It'll be a lovely evening a-" he trailed off, soft, velvety ears perking up, twitching and twisting faintly.
He shifted, a soft, annoyed little growl slipping out, eyes flashing ominously, shooting a sharp glare towards the door, quickly shaking his head, lips curling up into a vicious, fang revealing little snarl.
"Not now, look sharp and keep your trap shut. Garroway's incoming. Last thing any of us need is some pompous, hoity-toity Dyn Haearn foisting himself into the mix."
Simon blinked, wondering if going by the tone and sharp inflection the word was some kind of alien insult or slur.
"Some wha-"
"Shh!" he exclaimed, eyes widening, head jerking towards the door, giving a quick, fluttery wave, the shimmering veil by the door dissipating just as Luke slips through, heading straight for the coffee pot, flashing a distracted smile and a bit of a wave at the two of them.
"Hey, guys- please tell me there's still some coffee left."
"Y-yeah, just finished a fresh batch."
"Oh thank god, I need it today." He muttered, slipping between them quickly setting about fixing his coffee.
Todd pasted on a clearly fake smile, slinking over, giving a faint chuckle, brow quirking teasingly.
"Rough day boss man?"
Luke scoffed, shaking his head.
"Oh you don't even know the half of it! To start it off my alarm didn't go off and I hit traffic and then there was this huge back up over on ocean drive a…"
Simon gulped, the meandering words totally going over his head, freezing, eyes widening in shock. He blinked, and blinked again trying to clear the odd apparition but it did nothing. He swallowed, glancing back at Todd in confusion. Todd just gave a faint shrug, meeting his eyes, holding one clawed finger to his lips, eyes blazing yellow.
Distantly he registered that as a possible threat, nodding shakily but can't totally stop himself from gawking.
M-Luke…Luke was…
W-what the hell?
The being puttering away fixing his coffee is beyond bizarre, easily the most alien looking non-human he's seen so far.
His skin is a glossy, polished to a shine metallic that reminds him of liquid mercury. It shimmers and shifts in the light with the slightest movement. The metallic skin seems almost like a membrane; just on the verge of translucent. Just below the metallic liquid looking exterior Simon can see faintly illuminated neon green veins and various musculature details throughout the parts of his body not covered by his suit. All throughout his head, neck and especially his hands. Hands which now end in overly nimble looking fingers that are a good deal longer than normal and with twice as many as usual on each hand. When he moves his hand it looks like two fingers function as one though they seem like they can all move independently as well and they all taper to what look like needle sharp points.
From where Simon's standing he can catch a glimpse of his facial features. The features surprisingly do still look like the Luke he knows though a fair bit sharper and of course metallic. Well, everything but his eyes. His normally brown eyes are now shimmering neon green voids. His usually deep brownish black clean cut, close cropped curls and immaculate facial hair was just as it always was, only now it was a glossy, almost sharp looking greenish black.
Simon swallowed again, blinking, gaze shifting over the bizarre, android looking being in the charcoal grey suit and deep forest green shirt that was apparently his boss. The head of the FBI field office…
Their boss was an alien…
The head of the FBI field office was an alien…
One of the most bizarre looking aliens he has seen up till now.
Oh woah…what in th-
"-and then I'd have to recalibrate the entire thing or…Simon? You okay?" he paused, those bizarre, neon green voids landing on him, head tilting in concern.
Simon swallowed, shifting.
"O-oh uh I-"
Todd gave a loud, bright laugh, shaking his head, slinking between them, casually slipping his arm around Simon's shoulders, squeezing faintly, giving a dismissive little wave.
"Ah no worries boss man. Kid's just a bit love loopy today. Apparently he had one hell of a weekend and is having a bit of trouble coming down."
Luke blinked, glancing between the two of them, holding up two of those odd, needle like fingers hesitantly pointing between them.
"Uh y-you two-"
Todd gave a bright laugh, quickly shaking his head, waving him off.
"No, no, nothing like that. No one with the agency, starting something with a coworker is just asking for trouble. You know the kid's a hell of a lot smarter than that. We were just talking about what a small world it is though." He smiled shrugging, giving a bit of a fluttery wave, smiling brightly.
"Apparently his new special someone is an old friend of my boyfriend. They haven't seen each other in years. Simon mentioned their name and it clicked I remembered Caleb mentioning them all the time. Neither Caleb or his guy knows, we thought it'd be a great surprise for the two of them. We were just making plans for a double date tonight. I texted Caleb and just told him I wanted to invite my work friend and his new beau. This is gonna be a real kick. I just can't wait!" He gave a bright laugh, smiling, glancing over at Simon, eyes widening faintly.
"You said six was good, yeah?" he paused, brow quirking pointedly, squeezing his shoulder, lightly nudging him.
He starts, gasping slightly, giving a quick, bobble headed type nod.
"Y-yeah, six…six is great. I got the address. We'll be there."
Luke looked between them in concern, glimmering green eyes shifting over Todd curiously before shipping back over to Simon, head tilting faintly in concern. Simon took a deep breath, doing his best to pull himself out of it, nodding quickly, giving a far too wide smile.
Todd smiled approvingly, once more squeezing his shoulder, nodding.
"I can't wait to see the looks on their faces."
Simon swallowed, nodding, pasting on a hopefully convincing smile.
"Me neither."
Todd smiled, squeezing his shoulder once more before gasping faintly, holding up a finger, turning back to Luke.
"Oh, hey I'm glad I ran into you though- saves me a trip down to your office. I had a few follow up questions about the new system updates that's supposed to be going online today. I think we might have an issue…"
Luke blinked, groaning, shaking his head, shifting away from Simon.
"Ah damnit, what now?"
Todd flashed an apologetic smile, slipping over to their bosses side, subtlety resting his hand on his arm, giving a fluttery wave, gesturing towards the door.
"Sorry boss man, that's why you get paid the big bucks."
Luke snorted, shaking his head.
"They're not that big."
Todd chuckled, settling closer, slipping his arm around the taller man's shoulder, patting firmly, nodding.
"True, but you're the one who drew the short straw so you're were the buck stops. Come on, it's way too complicated. It'll be a hell of a lot easier to explain with the visuals."
Luke groaned exasperatedly.
"Hell, that never bodes too well…" he sighed, glancing quickly over at Simon, giving a faintly distracted wave, the pair beginning for the door.
"Have a good one Simon, at least one of us should…" he shook his head, reaching up, those odd, multiple fingered hands slipping through the glossy greenish black curls, glancing over at the smirking vampiric fox man, brow quirking.
"So how bad is it?"
"You really don't want to know…" Todd chuckled, eyes sparking impishly, gaze flickering over, catching Simon's, flashing a quick wink.
"See you tonight kiddo, don't be late." He chuckled once more as the two slipped through the doorway making their way through the bullpen, Simon standing their frozen, feeling rooted to the spot, one thought spinning frantically through his head in a never ending loop…
Oh…CRAP!
{:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-*} *End Of Chapter Notes* {:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-*}
Itheoir-fostvulpe= Vampiric Werefox {What people think Todd Is}
Vulpucubi fox incubus {What Todd Actually is- appears similar to an itheoir-fostvulpe but is a separate species, not a hybrid and extremely powerful/dangerous/feared/suspicious to most non-humans. See them basically as parasitic thieves who prey on others in basically every way, steal essences and powers.}
Draigivrăjor= Dragon-Warlock {What Caleb is}
Woo Hoo! Another chapter! FINALLY!
Oh my god guys, I am SO sorry for it being such a long wait. It's just been one thing after another. I know it's been really slow going but I'm really trying. I had Covid about a month ago and it always wreaks havoc with my thought process. I get the worst brain fog and it seems to take forever for me to really shake it. I don't think I'm all the way through it but I'm trying to push myself through it. Add to the brain fog random life drama and the ulcer in the making that is the presidential election and I'm happy I got anything.
I know this one kind of meandered and went a bit long but I do really like it. I like agent Byrd, I like the idea of their being hidden beings hidden from other hidden beings and I really got a kick out of Todd. He's a lot of fun; him and Raph will get on worryingly well lol. I don't know how many of you read all the stories but Todd and Caleb have already made an appearance in my Psychic verse. They're some of my fave OC's and I have a feeling they're gonna be tossed in quite a bit. They seem like a lot of fun.
So I hope I didn't get too into the explanations of the rules, I tried to pull back on it some but I figured a couple paragraphs of a recap of them was better than multiple chapters of them going over them.
I know Luke's description is a bit out there but I figured we need at least a few aliens that actually sound like aliens and I didn't want to just cheap out and go with the standard grey or whatever.
Anyways this is chapter two for this one, before we go too much further into the new set of stories I'd really like to finish up the last set. Here's the update list:
Verse 5- Devil Went Down To Jersey {Ch 2}
Verse 1- You Can Go Home Again {Chapter 9}
Verse 3- Death Was Just The Beginning {Chapters 10-12}
Verse 7- Trust Is A Tricky thing {Chapter 2}
Verse 1- You Can Go Home Again {Chapter 10-12}
Verse 2- Family, Friends And Freakouts {Chapter 1}
Verse 9- Nosy Neighbors {Chapters 10-12}
Verse 6- Opposites Attract {Chapter 1}
Verse 4- Magical Meetings & Mysterious Strangers {Chapter 1}
Verse 8- Raptor Run {Chapter 1}
Okay so as always this is a very loose idea of what is to come. I will get to all of them eventually but between the covid brain fog and the political turmoil which always ties my stomach in knots I can't promise it'll move very fast. I think after the first week of next month I'll be able to pick up a bit- hopefully because I feel like I can breathe and not because I'm frantically trying to bury myself in fiction to tune out the panic inducing real world.
In any case Yay progress!
Anyways we what do you think so far?
*~Page 37 of 37~*
{-:-:-:-=}=5*- Imbedded Aliens Verse*-5 ={-:-:-:-=}