These Are The Beings In Your Neighborhood.

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

The Chancellor was busy travelling throughout the ship, mapping out the 'Dead Zones' in his mind. A ship-wide revolution needs good, cautious use of dead zones.  He traveled in silence.  So much silence.

He peered through a space he was too large to enter.

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[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

The Chancellor was too large, but a space would have to be very small indeed to keep Duuv from investigating it. He washed along the wall, every inch of him buzzing and muttering as he practiced making sounds. He looked like a bad special effect and sounded like a distant crowd.

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

The Chancellor looked for a while. "Is anyone present behind this phenomenon?" the rich English voice said aloud, though his lips did not move.

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

The chattering stopped and Duuv flooded backwards, interested. A thin little whisper came from his surface:

"Hi! Hihihihihi! Hi!"

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

As the pool of what resembles human blood comes towards the Chancellor, he is mildly bemused, but answers with a "Hello." Pause. "W-- I did not mean to interrupt anything of consequence." The 'I', so easy so far since his loss of the others, almost disappeared in his surprise. "I am called the Chancellor."

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

So many new words! Duuv understood about eight of them. He bunched up, forming a slug-like shape with a knob on one end, then suddenly furred over with hundreds of fine tendrils.

"Hi! Hihihihihi! Am Duuv! Hi!"

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

As the Chancellor has no physical sex, he does not possess any form of estrogen, but his parental instincts are nevertheless spiking with this little creature. "Hello, Duuv."

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

"Hi! Hi! Hello!"

Communication! He froths over in sheer bliss. Someone was talking to him, hooray!

Wait, manners. Right!

"How are?"

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

"Well enough myself, Duuv. But in truth, I am worried about my family."

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

"Worry?"

He edges closer, because nothing comforts like physical proximity to something like Duuv.

"Sad?"

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

"Normally, Duuv, I can always hear my siblings. I cannot hear them now. And I do not know where my daughters are, either."

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

"Oh. Sad. Big sad."

Poor guy. Duuv settled on one of his feet in a bid to comfort him.

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

It's been a few hundred years since the Chancellor's been covered in human blood. Well, except for that time when Veronica was twelve, but that was best forgotten.

But he takes it reasonably in stride, albeit looking down -- and down, and down -- bemusedly. "Yes. I hope they are all safe. Do you have family, Duuv?"

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

"Momma. Dad."

He was quiet a moment, thinking, then spread out in a stringy puddle.

"Mommy."

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

The Chancellor is not sure if that's two parents or three, and doesn't know how many reproductive sexes Duuv's species has. "Do you miss them?"

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

"Yes. Alone- alonely. Far, scared, small, alone. Scary. Miss. Sad."

He snuggles against the Chancellor's ankles, then starts climbing. It's so much easier to talk to people face to face. So to speak.

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

The Chancellor tells himself think of it like medmists. Wet, strange sensations, but not going to hurt anything. Technically, he has no confirmation of this, but better to risk it than frighten a child.

"Very sorry to hear it, Duuv."

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

The bulk of Duuv continues down the hallway, leaving a cat-sized lump to climb the Chancellor. It settles at his shoulders, leaving a trail of...well, nothing behind it. Duuv does not crawl about leaving stains.

"Want Mommy."

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

That the Chancellor continues to be bemused goes without saying, but four centuries of parenting human children 'corrupts' any amount of unadaptability, as he has said. He turns his head to look carefully at the part of Duuv on him. "Here is hoping you see your Mommy soon, Duuv. I do not intend to take this alone-and-far-away-ness lightly."

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

"Scary. Big."

A small bit of him separates and crawls up the back of his neck to investigate the top of the Chancellor's head for the possibility of dander and nits.

No one yet has had nits. But hope and hunger spring eternal.

"But - much play. People. Nice. No scream, cry, hide."

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

Near the top of his head, there's one small variant of tick, picked up by the Chancellor unknowingly when walking near hydroponics, just nestling into the scales.

"It is good that people are nice."

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

Hopefully it is not a symbiotic kind of tick, because Duuv is going to try to eat it.

"And - food. Much food. Good. Happy. Much food, much explore."

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, it was just a tick, and all is well: nothing interferes with Duuv's meal.

"Food is good. I have not seen much food of interest since being here. At home, I like pears."

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

Glee! There is a brief, happy snacking, and then that bit rejoins with the rest of him.

"What is?"

In a bid to be more polite, he extends a glob of himself on the end of a thick tendril, so that the Chancellor has a kind of head to look at, and doesn't have to twist to look at him.

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

The Chancellor looks at the 'head' pleasantly. "A pear is a fruit, grown from the plant. People enjoy eating the fruit, and the plant gets to spread its seeds around."

[nottheredsea.livejournal.com]

"Oh! Frooooooooooot! Yes, good! Good good! Here, no fruit. Here, mash. Lots. Lots and lots and lots and lots. Good lots!"