The Nature of Predators - Nova's Children (1/?) (Patreon)

Children are known for asking many questions. That wonderment over their surroundings and that zeal for learning about everything is like lightning in a bottle. Elia and Ari Williams were an experiment on what would happen when two different species—in this case, Venlil and human respectively—were raised side-by-side. There came a time when the children were old enough to recognize how different they looked, both from their parents and from each other. Perhaps, before they noticed that other kids weren’t in the same boat, they would’ve thought such massive differences were normal. Noah and Tarva knew there were many things they needed to explain, before their mischievous pups went off to school.

“Why don’t I have a tail?” Ari whined, on the fateful morning. He’d gotten in trouble for pulling Elia’s tail during a fight. “Elia does! I want one!”

The discussion was bound to come up sooner or later; the blissful ignorance of the distinction between different species wouldn’t be permanent. It wasn’t like Tarva and Noah were going to have the talk with toddlers, but they needed to explain that the human astronaut had no actual relation to Elia—that it wasn’t possible, because he was not Venlil. Ari would also have to be told that he bore no genetic link to either of his guardians, and that his biological parents were out there, having given him up. A difficult thing for a child, or really a person of any age, to grasp. One that might be worsened by the fact Tarva was Elia’s biological mother and not his.

In the prior discussions, it was decided to emphasize how much Tarva and Noah wanted them both, as well as the biological reality. The two parents sat down, with the human rebuffing Ari’s attempt to sit on his knee.

“When you go to school, you’re going to realize you’re different from other kids,” Noah started. “I’m from a species called human, on a planet far, far away from here in the stars. That’s Earth, where we visit and vacation at.”

Tarva flicked her ears. “I’m a Venlil, from Skalga. Venlil and humans are unable to create children together. It’s simply not possible. We’re too different, as alien species from separate worlds.”

“But what about us?” Ari’s look of confusion was enough to melt both parents’ hearts; they were prepared to sweep him up, if he started bawling at the realization. “I’m…human, aren’t I? Elia is…Venlil? Really different?”

“That’s correct. What I want you to remember is how much Tarva and I wanted to have children, and that we love you both so deeply,” Noah responded. “You’re not different in the ways that are important. You are our children, who I am so proud and so fond of.”

“What Dad is saying is that you and your sister aren’t related by blood, Ari,” Tarva finished, with a somber expression. “Noah and I wanted a human child to pass along the parts of his species. We looked far and wide for a kid that needed a home, who was beautiful and perfect. We chose you; we went looking for you; we wanted you.”

“But since the only way we could have someone as special as you is adoption, Tarva didn’t give birth to you.”

Tears welled in Ari’s eyes. “Then who did?”

“We don’t know, but we know they were unable to take care of you in the way you deserve,” Tarva whispered. “Watching you grow up alongside your sister has been the greatest joy of my life. No matter the unique difficulties we face, I wouldn’t change it. I wouldn’t want any other husband or any other son.”

Elia’s tail swished back and forth with curiosity. “Ari’s not my brother?”

“Ari is your brother.” Noah’s face was stern, a rarity from him. “Family are the people you choose to love.”

“You said that humans and Venlil couldn’t have children! Was I adopted too?”

“No. I have pictures of Tarva holding you right after you were born.”

“I don’t get it. Why does she get to be related to Mom?” Ari wailed.

Tarva pinned her ears back. “Noah has male body parts, so he can’t birth children. We wanted both of you, together, but I can only give birth to Venlil because I’m a Venlil. And yes, humans and Venlil can’t pair up for biological children. Elia, that does mean that Noah didn’t give you the other half of your genes.”

“He’s not my father?” the Venlil’s nostrils twitched, as she shied away from Noah. “Who is?”

“Noah is your father because he is who loves you both, and will always be there for you. Just as I’m Ari’s mother. I’m only saying on a biological level, we needed a donation from a kind person who offered the other half. It helps people who can’t have kids, but want them very much.”

The human astronaut smiled sadly. “I know this might be difficult for both of you to accept, and we’re sorry that we aren’t fully related to you. I hope that our love will be enough.”

Memory Transcription Subject: Elia Williams, Venlil Athlete

Date [standardized human time]: September 29, 2152

Having a track setup at a high school was a novel thing, a recent introduction like many sport-related venues; only institutions with large populations and funding, like the one in Dayside City, had invested in them. Venlil who could run and participate in athletic adventures were a novelty. We’d been inspired by some of humanity’s competitions, and decided to test the limits of the Skalgan body in a public forum.

I remembered standing alongside my mother at the opening ceremony, when Earth first reopened their Olympic games. Tarva laughed when I pointed at the Terran sprinters, and said I wanted to be like them. Noah was the one who seemed to take me seriously, helping me train on our home’s cul-de-sac; I didn’t have a human’s endurance, but there was no reason I couldn’t set an impressive time in the shorter distances. There were no running “shoes” for Venlil, so he had them custom-made in San Francisco. I remembered opening up the box for Christmas, and finding that they fit perfectly from a mold he’d taken of my hindlegs.

My legs, without the standard crookedness, could generate a lot of jumping power. I participated briefly in something called long jump, but I never felt as at peace as I did running. Even before I’d taken up track-and-field in a serious manner, I’d joined pickup soccer games with the humans. I could put on bursts of speed as a striker, and put as much power into kicking the ball as any of the Terrans. It’d made interplanetary news, when I was recorded holding my own. Perhaps that video was what took me to this moment, training for the first Venlil Olympics. Now that the first unmodded generation were turning fifteen, and reaching adulthood, Skalga was bringing together our world’s top Venlil athletes in two weeks.

What I wanted was to set the mark for the first world record for the 100-meter race. It was one of a pawful of running events that we’d adopted to mirror our close allies from Earth. There were other events, of course, including a few to play to our unique strengths—including dropkicking and headbutting—but those weren’t for me. I measured my breathing as I finished the final lap of today’s conditioning workout, grateful for my enhanced lung capacity. The air smelled fresh, as I pushed myself further approaching the finish line.

I raised my paws, practicing my celebration as I cleared the threshold. “What’s my time, Ari?”

My brother was sitting on the bleachers, a blank stare in his forward-facing eyes. The timer app pulled up on his holopad was still running, as he hadn’t tapped the stop button to record my time. What had gotten into him? He had been supportive of my training efforts, sometimes even jogging alongside me and trying to keep up; I could usually tear ahead of him at the start, though he’d catch up slowly the longer we went for. Today, however, he’d told me he wasn’t in the mood for running, and promised to time me. His body language looked downcast, and it seemed that something had been eating him up all day.

Ari knows how close we are to the inaugural Venlil Olympics, and how everyone there will be watching me, because I’m Tarva’s daughter. Why is he so unfocused, when he knows how important this is to me? Something must be wrong with him, because he wouldn’t be doing this otherwise.

“Huh?” my brother said, snapping out of his trance. “Oh, I…I zoned out. I’m really sorry, Elia. I know the big day is coming up, and you want to be sure you’re ready. I’m proud and excited for you, really; Mom and Dad will be too.”

What’s wrong? I signaled in tail language.

Ari gestured “Lonely” in his own adaptation, using his forearm to mirror the movements. “It’s bothered me, for a long time, not knowing who my real parents are. Now, you’re an adult in just a few days, and I’ll really be left all alone. I’ll be way behind you…two-and-a-half years left behind.”

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere, you big doofus. I don’t have plans to move out.”

“No, but it just amplifies that feeling that I’m…different. Tarva and Noah are great parents, don’t get me wrong. I know I’m lucky to have gotten a second home with them, but I don’t know who brought me into this world. I don’t know why they couldn’t keep me. No matter how good everything else is, it’s like some intrinsic part of me is always…missing.”

I scrunched my ears with concern. “We both know how hectic Earth was after Kalsim’s attack. How many lives were lost, and how many people were penniless and heartbroken. Things were very difficult, to say the least. Your parents could’ve had any number of reasons for not being able to keep you.”

“I understand that they could be dead. I understand that maybe they’re alive, but they don’t want me to find them at all. I know that, but I don’t know who I am. Not in the way you do, Elia. You have answers, and certainty, and an exact lineage of what traits and tendencies you inherited. The worst part is not knowing a damn thing, and having my imagination run wild every day.”

I placed a paw around Ari’s shoulders, as tears welled in his eyes. How people were afraid of humans was beyond me, when I felt like I understood them implicitly; their mannerisms may as well have been a direct window into their soul. There had been many times where I’d worried about my brother, and I usually had such an excellent grasp on when something was troubling him. We had shared everything with each other from the time we could talk, the entire story of our lives. Ari was supposed to be the predictable, dependable one, while I was the firebrand who would take on the world on a dare.

I’d never understand what it was like to not know either of my biological parents, but I could recognize how it seemed this had been eating him up for a long time. If it would give him peace of mind, then maybe it would be worth it to try to take some steps to investigate who’d brought him into this universe. Ari hadn’t been smiling much lately, and as much as I wanted to succeed at the Olympic games, seeing my brother this miserable made this a greater priority. There had to be some attention I could devote to helping him on this mission.

“There’s ways to get answers. But you know I’m not more their child than you are, right?” I asked.

Ari sighed, features twisting with defeat. “That’s just the thing, Elia. Whatever anyone says, you are. It’s not your fault, or theirs; and it’s not anything you should feel guilty about. It just is.”

“They planned for—wanted—both of us. There’s nothing Tarva and Noah wouldn’t do to support you. I’m here to support you too, because whatever the outside world says, you’re my brother. My partner in crime.”

“I know that. I already sent in an ancestry test; shipped it back to Earth quietly. I don’t want to talk about it, in case it comes back inconclusive and I got my hopes up for nothing. I don’t know how these things work, but I’ll settle for anything. Knowing what country I was probably born in…what my lineage is, any of my predispositions. A name would be a bonus. I hope Mom and Dad don’t take it personally. This is just something I had to do.”

“I’m certain they’ll understand you wanting to learn more about yourself, and that they’d help and support you if you opened up to them.”

My brother raised his hands in protest. “There’s another reason I wouldn’t do something like this. I know the timing sucks, and I don’t want to detract from your big moment—the example you’re going to set for your whole species! I want everyone to focus on your competition, and give their all to cheering you on. If I could get it out of my head…if I could bear to wait another week, I promise I would. It’s selfish to do this now at all.”

“Whatever is important to you is important to me. To all of us. We’re a family, Ari. We always will be, regardless of what’s on that test. You’re right that I can’t run off during the ceremony, but there’s plenty of time before; we can do both. I mean, if I’m not ready now, let’s face it—I’m not going to be.”

“You were born ready. You’ve worked for this your whole life. Guess I should kiss the days goodbye where we could play together, huh?”

“And when was that exactly? I got plenty of reminders of how fragile you are, and not to play rough with you.”

The human smirked. “Well, I’m sorry toddler-me wasn’t built like a linebacker.”

“What’s your excuse for teenage-you, right now?”

“I live with herbivores. Hard to beef up with your diet of leaves and twigs being slopped on my plate.”

“You’re a dick. And they’ve always given you meat, so that’s not even true! I don’t know why I agreed to help you with this whole ‘tracking down your parents’ thing, after all.”

“Because I’m a good brother, and I hassle you out of love. Don’t worry, I’m aware you could kick my ass. That’s the fun of poking you, sis.”

“You better be careful just how much fun you have. It’d be a shame if I hurt my legs right before the Olympics, teaching you a lesson.” I hissed with a mocking threat, before swatting his ear with my tail. It’s good to see Ari smiling again, and messing around. I must’ve cheered him up. “We’re going home. When you get the results, keep me in the loop. We can take a look at whatever you find out, together. And for what it’s worth, I think you should tell our parents what you’re doing.”

“I’ll think about it. I have plenty of time where I’m going to be thinking about nothing but what comes back from those results. Let’s head back, and…try to talk about something else, whether it’s the Olympics or that boy you have a crush on at school. Anything for a distraction.”

“I’m always down for ‘girl talk’, big bro. Time to get walking, before we miss curfew—you know they’ll blame me if we’re late.”

“And they should. They have a little over a week left to tell you what to do.”

“Me turning fifteen won’t stop them from seeing me as a child. Don’t kid yourself.”

Ari raised his eyebrows in acknowledgment, before rising from the bleachers. I stretched my tired legs, taking a much slower pace after my exertion out on the track. Tarva and Noah would be waiting at home, having cooked up something scrumptious that would tickle my nostrils when we arrived. I’d never thought of my human brother as any less than me, even if he was intrinsically different; I was certain they didn’t either. If anything, he was the poster child! Whatever difficulties and judgment from our classmates his species designation had caused us, I wouldn’t change my quirky family for the world.

Part of me was conflicted about whether Ari should go ahead and meet his birth parents, if he could locate them. There were a lot of variables, and he could be setting himself up for disappointment. However, that was his decision to make, and I intended to help him with whatever his wishes were—and whatever news arrived on our doorstep. Those tests could bring answers on an issue that struck at the core of Ari’s intrinsic sense of identity; I hoped that he could find the closure his heart desired.

Next

A/N - Part 1 of the Nova series! A bit of a stylistic experiment with the start of the chapters being a flashback in third person omniscient, before we see where the children are today. Elia is training to run in the Venlil Olympics, as athletics have started up after the unmodding, and Ari is trying to find his birth parents. Will Elia be able to make it to the big day and find success? What will Ari learn about himself, and how will it impact how he feels about his Skalgan family?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting! I hope you enjoy this first content of the NOP2 era!