12:35pm

Feels like I haven't done a good ol' logicality in awhile!

I watched Avatar on Tuesday and it was so good! I can see why it was so popular back when it was made, you know that scene? Near the end? With the elephant/rhino/things with heads like a hammer head shark? When they appear? O H! I was fucking pumped

Then when she-!!!!! I won't spoil but oHMyGOD yEESS

Anyway yes this is kinda based off the idea of Avatar, but also not the same at all

Trigger warnings: homophobia, battle scene, blood/gore, mentions of dead bodies/remains, death, bad parent, wounds, bullying, physical violence, brief mentions of past suicide

Au
—

Patton didn't know what was happening at first.

"Damage to the left wing! We need to make an emergency landing!"

But the ruckus quickly woke him up.

"We can't land! It's just trees!"

He sat up on his bed in a start, breathing already laboured in panic as he looked at all the people he worked with running around the small plane, trying desperately to salvage the situation but nothing was working. Patton didn't know what happened, how the plane was damaged, but he knew it was bad - even Fredrick was panicking. Fredrick, more commonly known as Rick (and only Rick unless you wanted to be pummelled) was the strongest, bravest person on the team. When Patton saw his fear, he knew the chances of any of them making it out alive were slim.

"Get out of bed, Ambrose!" He heard a yell and quickly tumbled from his uncomfortable ledge, pushing himself up from the floor and hurrying over to help, but he didn't know what to do. Everyone was pushing, shoving, he could barely see anything, or hear. It was screams, yells, the plane roaring in pain.

Patton couldn't do anything, he was the medic! Not the engineer! Not the person who got them out of tough situations! Grabbing his medical supplies just in case, he swung the bag over his shoulder, catching a glimpse out the window as he did. The fire was spreading across the whole wing, black as tar smoke filling the air.

"Incoming!" Someone yelled before everyone let out a scream, tumbling to the side as something hit the side of the plane. Patton didn't have much to grab onto before he was sucked out of the freshly made hole through the metal, his shrill echoing across the land as he was suddenly submerged under water, wildly flailing his arms enough to yank his head back up, gulping down air while he watched the plane explode before anyone else could think about jumping off. Metal flew everywhere, fire and smoke blew out in all directions, the force of it all sent Patton back under water and gushing down the river that was already quite vicious.

Unable to swim to the ledge, he turned around and gasped...

Of course, just his luck. The river led to a waterfall.

Trying everything he could, nothing could prevent him from going over the ledge, his screech of fear not close to being as loud as the crashing waters. Before he knew it he was smacking into water again, the heavy water pushing him further and further down until he reached the bottom. Even if he was freaking out, in desperate need of air, he was trained how to handle stressful situations. He wasn't completely useless, even for a medic.

Grabbing whatever he could, he yanked himself out from the beating weight and kicked his legs harshly to breach the surface once more, spluttering and coughing for air as the much more gentle river took him along, almost as if he was being carried by a parent - in that soft yet secure way.

Paddling over to the edge, he grabbed the land and tugged himself out the water, dripping wet as he flopped onto his side. Thankfully his bag was waterproof, meaning if he did need any bandages or stitches he had everything he needed. However he couldn't feel any specific pain, just an overall numbness where he hit the water. Twice.

He didn't know how long he laid there, maybe an hour to two before he slowly pushed himself up. Still sore, shivering, and utterly exhausted but he knew staying here wouldn't do much good. Using a tree to help him to his feet he checked himself over (just in case the adrenaline prevented his pain receptors from working properly) but thankfully he was okay. Mostly. Not near death, anyway.

But the forest was dangerous - so maybe he was.

He followed the river for awhile, wondering how the heck he would get back to base. He was already a long way away from the plane flight, but now he was even further, with no idea how to climb back up the waterfall, even then with no real idea how to get back from there. He had been asleep for most of the journey due to them leaving so early in the morning. Now he cursed himself for it. And for not taking a map - but the others would make fun of him for it, saying; "as if this idiot knows how to navigate a map" and they'd all laugh while Patton wanted to cry.

The only reason why he was here was because of his father, the human race had explored many planets already at this point, and usually the team they recruited were all specially trained how to handle the different terrains and possible dangers. Patton wasn't. Well, not as well. But he was a doctor, a brilliant one at that, with the team lacking a medic his father (who was head of this specific mission) paid him to be able to come here.

Patton never had ambitions to go to space, he preferred to watch the movies and see the photos, hear the stories from past teams and learn about it in his own way - but his father had been interested since he first discovered the missions as a young child. Most famously taught was the Second Earth. And really what kick-started Earth into exploring space. When the planet became so overpopulated people were dying at tremendous rapid rates simply because there was no space, no resources, governments moved most their fundings to corporations such as NASA.

So far ahead with technology, and already having a new, safe planet in their sights, it didn't take long for people to move over to the planet. Second Earth it was called, half the population was moved over after settlements were built. That was decades ago now, exploring new planets wasn't new anymore. But never any less exciting. Patton's father grew up with nothing else on his mind than space; he went to training every day, learnt about explored planets, planets in the works, everything he could get his hands on.

He was one of the best the world ever seen, praised and awarded medal after medal for things like getting all his team back to safety in tricky situations, saving thousands of people from aliens. Oh, the aliens. For so long it was believed humans were alone; or at least the most evolved species out there, but they were wrong, incredibly wrong. They've made peace treaties with some, made enemies with others. It really depended on luck - they've visited planets where they received tremendous help, while others didn't want the human presence at all.

This planet was one of the larger ones, they scanned everything they could of the land time and time again, but every time it came back with nothing. It seemed impossible an intelligent species didn't live here, but apparently it was true.

Patton thought it was beautiful; but didn't want to be here. Flying through space was fun, at least the parts he saw, everyone was cryogenically frozen for the majority of it, and the first few days were great - until he had to start leaving the base and go out exploring. It was terrifying, especially some of the beasts he saw. Unable to comprehend how he had survived this long he supposed he should feel grateful, but he wouldn't have to if he was allowed to stay home. His mother died an unfortunate death while he was young, leaving Patton alone with his father who encouraged him to follow the same path he did - but Patton refused. He put all his time and effort into medical school, his father was off on missions most of his son's childhood so he didn't really have the chance to say no and forcefully turn his education towards space.

Nevertheless, after everything he did to try and get away from his father, he was now stuck on a new planet with him. Probably going to die from dehydration or starvation, or from simply being cold. Or worse, eaten alive. Would his father care? Would his father regret taking him here when he knew he didn't have the proper training? No. At least Patton assumed no. He didn't really think his father cared at all; and simply brought him along for the reputation of; "his son is brilliant in space too! What a wonderful family"

"It's a human"

Patton snapped his head up, eyes hurriedly searching through the trees to the right of him, the left was just river. But he couldn't see a thing.

"Shh!" He heard again, trying to find who it was but he couldn't.

"Maybe it could help?"

"It'll kill us! Just shut up!"

Patton drew his eyebrows together, that... that couldn't be a human, could it? Whoever they were pointed out he was human, would another human do that? They'd simply call out to him, right? Could it... no, it was impossible. Their equipment has never failed before, they would've known if this planet was inhabited by another intelligent species. Was he going insane?

"So? I'm gonna die here anyway"

"Don't say that! Please.."

Patton's eyes softened, whoever was speaking sounded young and terrified. Taking a breath, he stepped closer to the forest edge. "Hello?" He called gently, "I..I can help you, I'm a medic? My name's Patton..uh- Patton Ambrose" He then clarified, waiting a few moments in the silence.

"It said it can help"

"Can we trust it?"

"I don't know... I can protect you! Let's just try"

"I won't hurt you" Patton reassured, hoping whoever they were would trust him.

"You promise?"

Patton felt a small smile flutter across his lips, "I promise" he called back, and slowly opposite him large leaves pulled back to reveal two human-like creatures sitting on the ground. Patton's eyes widened. They were aliens. This planet was inhabited by an intelligent race.

They both had two long tentacle-like appendages coming from their heads, reaching down to their shoulders. The one on the right had skin of patches and green and brown, like the camouflage pattern on a military uniform. The one on the left was a soft red and orange. They had no hair but their eyes were bright and round.

Patton's eyes caught sight of blood and he gasped, taking a few steps closer to see a gash on one of their legs, the alien on his left. The one on the right held out his hand to him, eyes narrowed, obviously ready to protect his friend. Patton held up his own hands to try and settle them but that only made them more tense so he quickly lowered them to his sides. "I can help you" he murmured, kneeling to the ground. "Will you let me?"

The two shared a glance and whispered quietly to themselves.

"You promised you wouldn't hurt us" the right one said, Patton nodded. "And I haven't, have I?"

They shared another look, the one with the wound sighed, "just... please, help, it hurts" he begged quietly and Patton nodded, opening his bag and pulling out the needed supplies. "I'm going to near you now, okay?"

They both nodded and watched in trepidation as Patton shuffled across the ground, pressing a cold, wet sponge like material over the gash. "This soaks up all the blood and disinfects the wound" Patton explained, an invention made around three decades ago - medical equipment had to buck up the pace as people were coming back from alien planets with diseases and injuries never seen before.

Patton waited a few more moments before slowly pulling it back, wiping over the wound a few more times before dropping the sponge into a small bag. Then he brought out a needle and some stitches, ready to close the gash but the two gasped in surprise.

"What's that!? What are you doing?" The uninjured one panicked, Patton shook his head. "I need to close the wound, otherwise it won't stop bleeding" he explained, "but...but.... our matercula heals it with leaves"

Patton assumed this planets wildlife had natural healing abilities, it has been seen on other planets, but the aliens weren't willing to allow the humans to take it home. "How far away from home are you?" Patton questioned, if they were close by he could carry him there, but they both paled. "We're... lost" the injuries one admitted.

"So.. I'll have to close it this way, because I can't use the leaves like your...matercula can" he struggled a bit on the word, yet managed. Still the two giggled softly at his attempt which made Patton smile. "Trust me, I promise you won't feel a thing"

"You don't break promises, do you?" The uninjured one asked. Patton shook his head, "never"

"Okay..." they both nodded and Patton set to work, first numbing the area so they wouldn't feel any pain before threading the thin needle, glancing at them for a moment to see the injured one tightly holding his friends hand. Patton smiled gently, placing a hand on his thigh, next to the wound. "You'll be okay" he murmured gently before stitching the gash closed - slowly at first to let the creature get used to it before he began to pick up the pace. He knew the forest wasn't entirely safe and didn't want to accidentally attract some beast by the scent of blood.

A few minutes later Patton was cutting the thread and tying it in place, the aliens looked down at it, then examined it closely. "Woah... you did it! It's closed!" The friend cheered, "thank you, human!"

Patton giggled, "it's okay, Kiddo. You can call me Patton"

"Pat...Path..Patt..on" he managed, the human grinned and nodded happily. "Where's it from?" The injured one asked curiously, head tilting to the side.

"My mother came up with it! My father told me she thought of it after seeing the word Pathos"

"Pathos" they both repeated, then smiled, "what's a mo..ther? And a f..ather?"

"They're my parents, the people who care for me from birth"

"Oh! A matercula and a patercula!"

Patton assumed that was their own version, he nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, but my matercula died" he explained while pulling out a roll of bandages.

"Oh, how?" 

"There were issues with the birth. She lost her life having me" he explained, throat tightening at the thought. It would upset him for the rest of his life knowing he never had the chance to meet his mother. His father never spoke about her either so he didn't know much.

"What!?" The alien on the left said, the appendages on their head shooting up, "that's impossible! That only happens if it's done on purpose!"

"Maybe here, but on my planet it isn't always so safe" Patton replied, beginning to wrap the bandages around his leg. "But-but...that's not fair" they frowned, Patton managed a small smile. "Life isn't always fair, kiddos" he murmured, fixing the bandage so it wouldn't become undone before clasping his hands together. "All done! Do you need help getting home? I'd hate to leave you all alone" he offered while closing his bag and putting it over his shoulders.

Their head-appendages lowered, like an act of shyness, "we do, please, I..I- we want to go home"

Patton nodded and gently wrapped an arm around the injured one's shoulders, another under his legs before hoisting him up into the air. His friend let out a noise and jumped up, gripping his hand tight. "Don't- don't hurt him" he spoke softly, Patton looked down at him and smiled. "I won't, remember? I promised"

He nodded softly and the three carried on through the forest, Patton making small talk while they ducked under branches and over fallen trees, pushing past bushes and using stepping-stones to get over small lakes.

Abruptly the alien walking stopped, slowly turning his head to survey the space around them. "Pathos, Pathos" he whispered, gripping his sleeve and tugging him towards some shrubbery. Patton didn't hesitate to follow, gently laying the injured one underneath the hedge, knowing it wouldn't hide any of them at all but to his shock and surprise (and slight fear) the bush around them began to grow, grow until they were enveloped by the plant. Patton looked over at the two who kept their eyes glued through the small gaps of the leaves, Patton did the same and watched as a creature he didn't even notice before slowly climb down a tree, it's large tail swishing back and forth, breathing heavily through two holes on the side of its head, opening and closing. It's skin was a harsh black, somehow darker than the night sky, and it's eyes were completely white. Patton assumed it couldn't see but when it slowly moved it's head around he thought again.

The aliens beside him barely breathed as they watched, silent as they could, the creature lifting its head up as high as it could go before letting out a noise - sort of like a disappointed gruff before turning and disappearing off through the trees, tail knocking over and destroying everything in its way.

"That's a habiela" The uninjured alien whispered, their head-tentacles tense and poised in the creatures direction. "She's a girl- you could see from her eyes. Males, habielos, have completely brown eyes. But habielas are usually more aggressive... they don't need a male to create babies, just a lot of food! They don't always make them, they can choose when, but from her smell she has already started - and needs three times as much more food she eats usually - and she eats a lot" he explained, "the males stay at home and protect the nest, they're never seen out in the wild unless abandoned or ran away" he added, then his tentacles slowly lowered shyly. "Sorry.."

"No! That was very useful, thank you" Patton smiled and the alien beamed. He liked being helpful. "Is it safe to go back out?" Patton pondered after a moment, he didn't know how this species coped with wounds and wanted to get the young one back home as soon as possible. The uninjured one sat up and sniffed the air, then slowly lifted his hands, pressed them together before slowly pulling them away - the hedge surrounding them copied the action, parting away from them until the shrubbery returned to normal.

"Woah.." Patton breathed, "you did that?"

"Yeah! I control nature" he explained, brushing his hand across the ground, flowers blooming from the dirt and growing about a foot tall, their petals all different colours and absolutely beautiful. "My brother controls fire, but he's still practicing, and can't use it outside of the special zone! Unless he wants to set the whole forest on fire"

His brother rolled his eyes, sitting himself up, "I can do it" he grumbled, rubbing his hands together before a flame appeared on his hand, danced around then slowly died away. "That's... incredible!" Patton gushed, "we don't have that where I live" he added, both the aliens jaws dropped, "you don't? But our people say everyone can control their planets elements!"

"Not us, I don't know about others but.." Patton shrugged, the two shared a look. "Everyone can control at least one element! Maybe... maybe because you didn't get to visit Poityhi"

Patton tilted his head, "What's that?" As he spoke he picked up the injured alien again, the three setting off. "It's our sacred circle! When we turn five we go there to see which element we are. We won't get to choose"

"Oh" Patton nodded slowly, "anyway, let's focus on getting you two home, huh?" They both giggled and agreed.

A little further along, the walking alien made a noise of surprise, "we haven't told you our names!" He declared as if that were a horrid mistake on his part; "I'm Petal!"

"And I'm Claficent" the injured one spoke for himself, Patton giggled softly. "Those are great names, kiddos!"

"What does.. kid...kiddo mean?" Petal asked, "it's a term of endearment"

"Oh! Our matercula calls us āneoha" he explained with a soft look in his eyes, "that sounds sweet" Patton murmured, "āneoha" he then repeated, quietly so the two couldn't hear, but he did pronounce it well. The three didn't make it much further until they heard a loud rustling from the side and a twig snapping, Patton whipped his head in the direction, but after Claficent leaned up and sniffed the air he relaxed at the grin overtaking his face.

"Ahiano!" He called, Petal looked over too, the three watching as a big, black, thick-furred beast crashed through the bushes and let out a roar. "Ahiano!" Petal yelled in excitement rushing over and wrapping them in a big hug, but the small alien practically disappeared under their thick fur coat.

"This is our companion" Claficent explained to Patton, "she a trica and protects us from the wild. We lost her earlier today, but she's back!" He exclaimed in relief, but when the beast rose her eyes to see one of her master's kids in the arms of something unrecognised, she lowered down and pulled back her lips, revealing very sharp, very big teeth. "Oh-oh, oh gosh-!" Patton worried, taking a few steps back. Petal jumped to action, "Aniano, no! This is our friend, friend" he directed his hand at Patton, but she still growled and glared. Understanding she wanted both the alien-kids Patton gently laid Claficent on the ground, taking another few steps back. Ahiano quickly neared Claficent and began to lick his face, then gently over his wrapped up wound.

"It's okay, Ahiano, it's okay" He whispered, pressing his face against hers. The beast looked up at Patton again, he had lowered himself to the ground to look like less of a threat. Narrowing her eyes, she stepped over Claficent and neared Patton's face, he tensed and didn't move a muscle as she sniffed and took her time deciding whether or not he was a threat. After what seemed hours she finally leaned back, sat down and let her tongue hang out of her mouth, tail wagging behind her. She was happy.

"Aw, you're so cute" Patton gushed, letting her sniff his hand before he began to pet her, amazed at how long her fur Really was. "Beautiful" he added, laughing as she licked his face.

"Ahiano knows the way back! C'mon!" With Patton's help, the two got onto the beast who waited patiently on the ground. "You can get on too" Petal assured Patton who looked a little hesitant, "it won't be too much for her?"

"Nope!" Petal shook his head, rubbing his hand across her neck. "She's very strong! Trust us"

Claficent nodded in agreement and Patton finally got on, one arm wrapped around Claficent's waist, the other holding onto Ahiano. "Take us home!" Petal called and the beast rose to her feet, sniffed the air then began rushing through the forest faster than Patton originally anticipated but he didn't fall, just let out a noise of surprise and gripped onto her tighter, pressing his face into Claficent's shoulder. He simply laughed and didn't say a thing.

The world, all new to Patton, passed them by in a flash - he caught glimpses of creatures small and big, beautiful and terrifying, but once they caught a whiff of Ahiano they were sent running the opposite direction. He supposed many creatures were scared of her species, she does look like she could put up a fight.

"We're almost there!" Petal called, and that was what struck Patton with realisation. He was going right into the home of these aliens, these aliens who have hidden so well from the humans. These aliens who... must've shot down his plane. Where else could such power come from!? It must've been an alien who could control fire! Like Claficent but much more trained. And he was being led to his death. But he couldn't get off now, at such speeds he'd probably badly injure himself, and part of him wanted to make sure the two got home safely, even if they had such a beast like Ahiano.

His worries camp to fruition when Ahiano slowed down to a stop and the three looked around at the aliens who neared. A few had the same skin colour as Petal, green and brown patches, others the same as Claficent, fiery red or soft orange, but others were different - some were covered with different shades of blue and there were grey ones too, grey and white, the shade of grey differentiating on each. They all stared down at Patton with their tentacle-like appendages poised tensely in his direction - some holding a weapon, others holding out their hands.

"Petal, Claficent, come here right now" a fiery red alien called, the two looked over and smiled. "Matercula!" They both exclaimed, Petal jumping down to rush over to her but Claficent still couldn't walk without his leg aching. "I'll take you to her" Patton murmured, but when he reached for him the circle of aliens all bared their sharp teeth and hissed loudly. Both young aliens frowned.

"No! No, he helped us- he saved Claficent!" Petal tried but was hidden behind his mother. "Please don't hurt him, he saved me!"

"Claficent, here, right now" another fiery red alien called, but his voice was much deeper. "I can't, patercula, I...I hurt my leg. I can't walk"

"What is that around his leg?" Patton heard a hiss, "must be the work of that human" another responded, spitting the word 'human' like it were a curse.

Patton tried to say something but he couldn't, he was yanked into the air by thick, growing vines that circled around him tight. "No, no, please!" He cried, struggling to escape but it was no use. "No! No!" Claficent cried as his father rushed over to him, "don't hurt him!" He wailed, but it was no use, as he was carried away he shot his arm in Patton's direction, a bolt of fire breaking the vines from beneath him. As he fell to the ground the aliens around him all jumped out the way, hissing at Claficent in shock.

Taking his chance Patton turned around and bolted, hoping to hide in the forest again but this particular section of the 'forest' wasn't a forest at all, it was a few row of trees before he was at the beach of a giant river, where mostly blue aliens resided, all walking across the water, using their arms to pull liquid into the air and send it elsewhere. Awestruck for a moment he forgot he was being chased, but quickly carried on dashing across the beach to the right, past aliens who all watched him in shock and slight horror.

"Someone grab it!" He heard from behind him, but luckily running was one of his strong suits. The further he sprinted across the beach the more populated it became, and he realised he chose the wrong direction to run. Although that didn't matter, for he was overtaken by Ahiano and he sighed in relief, assuming one of the alien kids sent her to help him. He jumped onto her back and she sped up, faster than before, but he wrapped his arms around her neck, clenched his legs and buried his face into her fur, allowing her to take him wherever she would - just away from the aliens who wanted him dead.

They reached the end of the beach but the beast didn't stop running, she crossed over on the field of flowers and bounded across the terrain like it was nothing, reaching the mainland where all the aliens lived. Right in the centre was a tree, a tree bigger than anything on Patton's home planet. Bigger than anything he had ever seen, if he were looking at it, rather than closing his eyes.

As they passed the tree Patton's body froze up, then.. every muscle in his body relaxed. He looked up and over at the tree, "wait, wait, stop..." he murmured, the beast slowing down to halt. The aliens that were nearby either rushed away with their young or held out their hands to fight - but they all seemed hesitant to.

"Go...go that way" Patton pointed towards the tree, he didn't know why, or where that would lead, but something felt like it was tugging every cell in his body in that direction. So Ahiano did as Patton told her, turned in the direction of the tree and sprinted towards it, its roots large and thick, but she managed to jump over them rather easily. A path led directly into the tree, but Patton didn't want that, he carried on past the tree and through tall plants that towered him like buildings, their leaves casting great shadows across the ground.

They kept going, further and further, down a hill that led to a large crater in the ground, around it rows of benches going up and up - like a colosseum. In the centre of the crater was a tree stump, incredibly wide but small in height, barely a step up onto it. Ahiano allowed Patton to lead her there, where the two stopped right in the centre. Patton felt his body relax again, that tugging sensation disappearing, allowing the fog to disperse from his mind. Why the heck did he want to go here? Why was the temptation so strong? Why did it feel like he was being... hugged? By an invisible force?

He looked up to see crowds of aliens walking across the benches, all glaring down at him. Behind him the pathway was blocked, he didn't have anywhere to go. He dropped his head and sighed, for whatever reason he took himself here.. now he was surely going to be killed. This is why he never wanted to leave Earth. Slowly sliding off of Ahiano, he pressed his face into her fur and smiled sadly. "Go make sure Petal and Claficent are okay for me" He whispered, Ahiano stared at him for a moment but acquiesced, turning around and jumping down from the stump, running past the aliens who easily let her go.

Standing up in the centre of the stump, he dropped his bag from his shoulders. If this is how he were to go... at least he brought back two kids from danger.

"Grab it, before it escapes again!"

"No! Just kill it!"

He clenched his eyes shut, listening to the roar of fire, the splash of water and the growth of plants around him. The wind began to pick up speeds too, sending his hair whipping across his head.

Before anything could attack him he suddenly let out a gasp, like someone punched him in the gut - all air escaped his lungs and he collapsed to his knees, swaying in and out of consciousness, everything around him so loud. And everything hurt, a pain he's never felt before burning through every vein in his body, reaching his fingers, toes, ears. It managed to fill all of his body - he assumed it was their magic.

Letting out a small cry, he began to pass out, but before he hit the ground he heard;

"Wait!"

Before the world went black.

—

"I can't believe you haven't killed it"

"They saved my brothers lives- besides did you see what happened at Poityhi? Nothing like that's ever happened before... you can get Logos to fucking argue all you want- it's never done that before"

"But you're letting a danger into our home!"

"Danger? Look at him- he's nothing like the other humans!"

One of the strangers sighed, then marched out the room aggressively. Patton shifted where he laid, letting out a gentle whine. His body still ached, and he could feel rope bound around his wrists, digging into his skin painfully.

"Is he waking up?"

"Wh-? Petal! What the cheoka are you doing here!?"

"I came to make sure Pathos was okay!"

Patton felt comforted by the familiar voice, but he could barely move.

"You really don't give up, do you?"

As the stranger spoke Patton felt a dip beside him, then a small hand brushing his hair from his face. "No, he saved Claficent and me... without him we'd still be in the forest. And I'm going to save him too!"

Patton heard the stranger snort, footsteps nearing where he laid. "Matercula and patercula are pissed you sent Ahiano to save him" Petal let out a huff, still playing with Patton's hair. "Good, they would've killed him!" he whined in response, the stranger older than Petal snorted again and seemingly sat down on a chair beside them - at least from what Patton could sense.

"How is Claficent?" the stranger asked, "he's fine, but our people... they're scared. They tried to remove the string thing but every time they did they just hurt him"

That was what Patton needed to wake up fully. He groaned and shifted, trying to open his eyes but the bright light blinded him. "I'll...I'll...help" he whispered, "don't remove stitches- you could hurt him" he barely rasped out, Petal and his older brother shared a look before Petal rushed out to make sure the 'stitches' were still in his younger brothers leg.

"Can you sit up?" Patton nodded and allowed the stranger to guide him up, rubbing his eyes with his bound hands before slowly cracking them open. Before him sat an older alien, older than Petal - his skin was dark blue but his eyes much darker, yet kind. Kinder than the other aliens. Patton felt safe with him.

His head-appendages were much longer than Petals and Claficent's, he supposed because he was much older. His clothes were two beautifully stitched pieces of fabric, covering his upper half across his shoulder and around his waist, while the other around his hips and crotch. They were styled to look like waves, crashing, ferocious waves.

"You're Pathos, right?" Patton nodded, he knew it wasn't exactly his name but hearing it reminded him of his mother, which left a warm feeling in his chest. "I'm Vergilius, people call me Virgil" he introduced, Patton managed a shaky smile - "cool! Can I- can I see Claficent? I should remove those stitches if you want to heal him" he explained, not wanting anything wrong to happen. Who know what rash decision the aliens would make.

Virgil chewed his lip and looked towards the entrance, "barely anyone here trusts you, I...I doubt-"

"Virgil! Bring him out here!" Petal called, Patton began shifting out of the bed, which only had a single sheet underneath him. It was like a hammock, but rather stretched out across a wooden frame without support underneath. "Okay, c'mon" Virgil urged, helping him to his feet and taking him out of the small wooden building - Patton froze when he saw the eyes of the aliens land on him, their hands raising, ready to use their powers and attack.

Patton shuffled closer to Virgil who held up his own hand to defend the human, taking him down the pathway towards the entrance to the tree. Inside it was hollowed out, with ledges and stairs leading all the way to the top. Aliens perched on them and looked over to watch, right in the centre laid Claficent with his mother, father, and few other adult aliens around him, all analysing his leg. Patton squeaked when he saw the trickles of blood pouring down his thighs - they must've been picking at it a lot.

"Try anything and we'll kill you on the spot" an alien hissed but Patton didn't register they even spoke, just focused on Claficent who smiled when he saw him. "Pathos, please, it hurts" he reached out to the human who knelt beside him, his parents glared and raised their hand but Patton didn't pay them any mind.

"You'll be okay, Kiddo, do you know where my bag is?"

He nodded and pointed to the side, it was open with a bunch of his supplies on the floor. "They tried to use your stuff..it didn't work" Patton nodded in understanding, crawling across the smooth wooden floor to pick everything up and put it inside, then returned to the young aliens side.

"You shouldn't have done that" Patton gestured to his leg, his parents glares hardened. "We didn't know what it was!" The mother hissed, "you could've made his injury worse" Patton replied back calmly, grabbing some numbing solution before gently wiping it over the wound. Everyone watched on in concentrated silence, ready to burn Patton to ashes if Claficent made so much as a squeak of pain.

"Told you he was good" Petal murmured, opposite Patton. His mother sighed and gently played with the end of his head-tentacle, "not right now, āneoha" she murmured gently, he pouted but stayed silent.

Once the area was numb, Patton grabbed his tools and began pulling out the stitches in a much safer and proper way, it took only a few minutes for them all to be removed, and Patton smiled at Claficent. "All good - you can heal him now" he looked at his parents who gazed closely at the open wound. "Quickly, before he bleeds out" Patton added.

"We know what we're doing, human" the father growled, holding Claficent still as the mother reached to her side and picked up a leaf, bringing it to her lips and murmuring words Patton didn't understand. Slowly the inside of the leaf began to glow, when she pulled it apart thick goo oozed from its contents. Squeezing it onto her hand, she rubbed it all over the wound, Claficent visibly relaxed as the the wound instantly began to heal.

Patton watched in amazement as it worked, no time at all passed, all that was left behind was a small, white line. A permanent scar.

"You feeling better, Kiddo?" Patton asked, Claficent nodded and sat up in his fathers lap. "Yeah, good" he nodded, brushing his hand across the skin.

"I should hope so! Look, it's all healed. Much better than my stitches, huh?" He joked, both him and Petal giggled at his words, but the other aliens still weren't pleased. "Alright, send him away" one demanded, Virgil and his two younger brothers glared at the one who spoke.

"Send him away? He just helped my brother!" Petal exclaimed.

"It's a human! You've seen what they've done to the land already! What else will they do!?"

"Please I.. I don't want to cause a fight" Patton shuffled back from the enraged aliens.

"You won't cause a fight" another alien stepped up, his skin pale, wisps of grey coiling around in delicate patterns. "You're also not going anywhere" he added, staring firmly at the other aliens directly around Patton. "I explained to Koiāku what had happened with this human, he was most curious after all, and commanded me to ensure of the humans safety. He told me the last time something like this happened at Poityhi was centuries ago, with his (surplus amount of great's) grandMatercula" Virgil visibly relaxed and looked over at Patton with a smile, silently telling him he would be alright.

That calmed down his nerves incredibly, but Patton barely managed to see it between gazing at the new alien intently. His tentacles were perched on his shoulders neatly, keeping out of his way unless he were to need them - while for the children they had to keep brushing them away periodically, same for a few of the other older aliens. It appeared without the utmost control they didn't really work in favour. That and this alien dressed differently, more 'human' than other aliens, with fabrics covering his body as would normal clothes. But the top was sleeveless and the trousers stopped at his shins. Either way, he didn't look uncomfortable in them.

He held himself in a poise, professional manner. Back arched, shoulders squared with perfect posture. His facial features were angled sharply, something that would get a lot of looks on his planet. Probably why Patton himself was staring- he quickly snapped his head away, blushing at the thought of how gay he was.

"So what? We let an enemy in our home? Just like that?" Virgil's father roared, jumping up from the ground after handing his son over to their mother. "He cannot cause us harm. We are much stronger than his species - we can also garner knowledge from him as to what his kind are planning to do to our planet"

The aliens began to mutter and stare at Patton with resentment, he knew staying here would cause quite the rift between them but he wasn't going to argue and instead be killed. Or be let out into the danger of the forest. Virgil helped him to his feet and with the new alien led him away from the tree and back towards to the small hut Patton woke up in.

"I cannot stress how important it is you stay on your best behaviour" the new alien stated once Patton sat back down on his cot, Virgil taking off the ropes around his wrists. "I am sure in a moments notice someone will kill you for looking at them the wrong way"

"I understand" Patton nodded, gently rubbing his wrists. "What's your name?" He then asked, looking up at the attractive alien. He paused momentarily, completely taken off guard - he didn't expect the human to care. "This is Logos" Virgil answered for him, "he's like- one of the smartest of us, and the first to nail your language, even if he didn't need to" Patton cocked his head questioningly, Virgil snorted. "I thought only animals did that..." he murmured, Patton quickly snapped his head up straight and blushed in embarrassment.

"Woah- wait, what's happening to your skin?" He fretted, gesturing Logos to take a closer look. Patton touched his hot cheeks and chuckled, "I'm blushing. It's a thing humans can do when we're embarrassed or flustered, or nervous... or if we laughed to hard, or if we cried" he began to list, Virgil rose an eyebrow. "So... how do you tell the difference?" Logos simply listened on in piqued interest.

"Well- if we laughed too hard, we're usually smiling and happy! If we cried, our face is wet because of the tears. If we're embarrassed we sometimes fidget or... hide our face or stumble over words" he explained to the best of his ability, Logos nodded slowly. "We cry, too. When our emotions become too overwhelming. But our faces do not turn red" he explained and Patton smiled, "lucky! It's kinda embarrassing sometimes" he admitted while gazing down at his legs. Virgil looked up at Logos and shrugged.

"Oh- the language thing? What did you mean?"

"Ah, he means on our planet language isn't a barrier. You can understand anything, if you haven't realised most of us have not been speaking English to you. It is our language, but translated" Patton's jaw fell open, "really? That's... interesting" he murmured, "your planet is cool" he added with a soft smile, gazing between the aliens. Logos visibly swallowed and tore his eyes away from Patton's face, "yes, quite" he mumbled and swiftly left the hut.

"Oh-did I say something wrong?" Patton worried, Virgil chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, he hates feeling so just... bails from a situation if his emotions are running high"

Patton nodded in understanding, infinitely curious to what made Logos feel a surprise of sudden emotions. The cloth over the doorway was pushed aside again, two aliens rushed on through. "Petal, Cent!" Virgil hissed, "what are you doing here!? You know our parents don't want you around him" he jabbed his thumb in Patton's direction but the two didn't stop until they were by the humans side, smiling at him sweetly.

"But he's safe! Besides, they're at a stupid meeting and Ahiano likes Pathos too!" Petal gestured to the door, Ahiano peeking her head inside and letting out a gruff yet happy roar before she left, keeping guard outside.

"So-what powers do you have!?" Claficent turned back to Patton who gazed at them with wide eyes, "powers? Kiddos, I told you I don't have any" however they both shook their head, not taking his response as an answer. "Guys, wait-" Virgil tried but Petal already opened his mouth.

"But you stood in Poityhi and it worked! It only gives powers to creatures from other planets if they're worthy! And you were!"

Patton looked up at Virgil for a better explanation, but before Virgil could explain Logos came back into the hut.  "Koiāku is ready to see you" he held his arm out of the door as a gesture for him to follow.

Patton worried his bottom lip between his teeth the entire trip there, Petal and Claficent insisted he rode Ahiano because no one of their kind would dare purposefully hurt a trica. Trica's have made a bond with their species, they weren't owned and didn't follow all orders if they didn't want to, they were friends and protected their young in exchange for food and shelter, which they gave in plentiful amounts. Ahiano became irreversibly close with both Petal and Claficent, and looked over them with a motherly love, which means if they want their friend to be protected she'd sure do it without hesitation.

Koiāku lived in the centre of their village, his house was the biggest but it didn't overcompensate. It wasn't a castle, or even a mansion. A simple two story hut kept to the same standard as all the other well built huts around. Patton admired that, whoever this was obviously thought more about the people than himself. "Who is this?" He then thought to ask, looking at Virgil who walked beside him.

"It's Koiāku- he's our ruler"

Patton made a soft noise of understanding, trailing his hand through Ahiano's fur to keep him calm and grounded. He didn't know how he managed to keep (mostly) calm during all of this and not break down completely, but he was glad he didn't, more glad he hasn't had a panic attack. Not that he was prone to them, but he has had a few in the past, one or two already on this planet before ending up here.

"He's very sweet" Petal began to explain, skipping beside them. Claficent was sitting on Ahiano in front of Patton, his brother Virgil wanted him to stay off his leg while it was still freshly healed.

"And is never mean! He'll love you" Patton smiled gently at the young alien, "thank you, Kiddo"

"No problem, Pathos!"

And his heart blossomed.

"We will wait outside" Logos gestured to himself, Virgil and the two young aliens. Many other aliens had followed but kept their distance and watched from afar. "This is a private matter between you and Koiāku"

Patton nodded and slowly slid off Ahiano, pressing a kiss to her head. "Thank you" he murmured and she let out a snort of gratitude. He parted from them and slowly walked in through the doorway, surveying the room it led to.

"Ah, Pathos, is it?" A tall alien appeared at the top of the stairs, a robe covering his body modestly. His tentacles were longer than any other's he had seen and wrapped around his torso like snakes. His eyes were bright, and atop his head sat a crown, bounded by vines with small crystal balls, inside each balls were sprits of fire, water and swirling winds.

His skin was patches of green, Patton deduced he had powers of nature.

"Yeah, and you're, uh... Koiāku?" He replied, butchering the pronunciation. The alien simply laughed fondly and Patton relaxed, then quickly bowed down in respect. "What is that you are doing?" He questioned, reaching the bottom of the stairs.

Patton blushed-, "bowing" he replied timidly, "it's a sign of respect in my... culture"

"Ah" Koiāku wasted no time in repeating the action, Patton felt safer in his presence already. He obviously handed out as much respect as he expected, and Patton adored that. "Let's sit down, shall we?" He gestured to a room and Patton followed through, sitting down on a chair made from thick vines and stems of plants.

Koiāku took a seat opposite and folded his hands on the table. "I take it you are rather scared, confused" he offered, Patton nodded. "I... I didn't mean to come here, I just wanted Petal and Claficent to get here safely. Claficent was injured and I worried something might've happened to him" he explained himself, the alien nodded. "Even with such a beast like Ahiano? I admire you for that. You put yourself at risk for another, a common trait in our kind. But I am not curious to how you ended up here, moreover how you found us"

While he spoke he waved his hand around and from the table between them rose a cup-shaped object made from leaves.

"Oh- well" Patton watched as Koiāku stood up with the cup and over to a small fountain in the corner of the room, filling it with water. "I was on a plane with a few of my kind, we were mapping out the-... your land when suddenly the plane went up in fire. I...I was pulled out and landed in the river before it exploded, I..." now he finally recalled what had happened instead of ignoring it, accepting the people he was with were all dead, tears sprung up in his eyes.

"I think they're all dead" he whispered, Koiāku's eyes softened in concern, placing the cup of water before him.

"Fire, you say?"

Patton nodded and quickly sipped the drink, he was parched. "I see. It must've been one of our own. I apologise, they're quite fearful of your kind. Rightfully so, but I can see you're not too bad"

Patton nodded, "we weren't coming here to attack. We search planets for their resources and species, if it's home to an intelligent race, we either make peace with them and exchange items or we accidentally make an enemy and quickly leave.. when we scanned this planet, we couldn't detect your kind, which is why we haven't tried to communicate with you"

Koiāku nodded, taking a seat again. "That makes sense, we hide ourselves from most because of an attack decades ago. We almost didn't make it, but fortunately we're now thriving better than ever. Knowing this has settled me greatly, thank you. I am sure with this explanation not as many of my kind will hate you. I am sorry about them"

Patton shook his head dismissively, "it's okay! They're just scared. It's okay to be scared"

Koiāku smiled, "you are most understanding. I appreciate that. Now, onto important matters. My kind can control the elements, it is born within them and brought to life when they step into Poityhi. While it is unknown to us if other species can do the same, it is assumed they can. But without such a place as Poityhi, they can never use them. However only worthy species can have their powers activated by our sacred circle. And you are worthy" Patton's mouth formed an 'o' shape in surprise, he was worthy? Just like Virgil's younger siblings explained, the sacred circle chose him, activated his powers.

"How... what?" He whispered, Koiāku chuckled fondly. "It can be rather shocking. But unfortunately you lost consciousness before Poityhi could taken in it's full affects. You must return there immediately for it to finish"

Patton wilted at the thought, "but it... it hurt so much" he murmured, voice small.

"Hurt?" He repeated, eyes narrowing in confusion. "It is not supposed to hurt. I assume it was my kind hurting you, I can assure you it won't happen again"

Patton nodded gently, "when... are we going there?"

Koiāku rose from his chair, "now"

—

Patton rode Ahiano with Claficent again to Poityhi, Koiāku led them while hundreds of aliens all followed like it were a parade, many already sitting on the benches surrounding the sacred circle.

"You should be fine" Virgil voiced, "should" Patton repeated meekly. Virgil winced, he wasn't great at comforting people if they needed it - usually he made it worse or sat with them silently as company. "It won't kill you" Logos stepped in, walking beside Virgil. "The worst it could do is cause you immense pain. However it won't linger once your powers have come alive, as soon as it as over you will feel normal" Virgil wanted to elbow his friend but it appeared to calm Patton down (to an extent) so he stayed silent and joined the crowd where his parents were, his siblings following after giving Patton a quick hug each.

Ahiano took Patton all the way to the circle, growling softly at any alien who stepped too close. Everyone kept their distance much to Patton's comfort but he knew they could all hurt him from a distance. He shuddered as the memory of the plane going up in bits filtered through his mind. Maybe it's a bad idea to stay here, become close with them. It could all be a trap. He should try and get back to base to tell his people of what was out here, but... for some reason that didn't settle right with him either. Whether or not an intelligent race is hurt all depends on the team of humans visiting. Some are kind, others... others force aliens into submission if they don't comply. A whole fight could potentially break out if the aliens won't want the humans on their planet.

Patton knew his father would do that. He's overheard him congratulate himself to friends about how he made an entire planet of aliens listen to his small fleet of troops.

His eyes swept over the thousands of aliens - he couldn't let that happen.

"Thank you" he whispered to the giant beast who gently licked his cheek before turning and stalking over to her two children. Claficent was once again put onto her back.

Unknown to what to do, Patton stood in the centre of the tree stump, avoiding the thousands of eyes locked onto him. Many had their hands raised, ready to attack of necessary. They still didn't trust him, Patton didn't blame them.

Slowly kneeling to the ground, he swept his hand across the smooth wood. "Hello" he whispered with a small chuckle, "you don't have to, um... activate my powers if you don't want to. I couldn't imagine what element I would control anyway" he had no idea if Poityhi could hear him or even understand him, but talking comforted him which he really needed in that moment.

The last time he was comforted was by a friend, a childhood friend. It was a few weeks before he'd be sent off to this planet, he showed up at his house one day with snacks and movies. Patton adored that friend, Thomas, more than anything and misses him terribly. Patton promised him he'd be back safe and sound later that year, but... he didn't know if he'd be able to keep that promise after all.

A single tear landed on his hand that pressed against the wood, he sniffled and wiped his face with his sleeve. "I love you, Thomas" he felt the urge to say. A soft whisper that Thomas would never, ever hear yet... felt right to say.

A moment later he felt the air leave his lungs, like the last time he was here. Doubling over, he gasped for a breath but instead let out a cry, a searing cry of pain that made even the toughest of aliens silence and watch in concern. Koiāku stood up, taking a few steps closer but he didn't want to disturb the circle. This was uncharted territory, what if him stepping upon the circle made Pathos' pain worse?

Petal and Claficent both began to cry, hating hearing their saviour wail in such agony. Virgil hugged them both to his chest, hiding them behind Ahiano who barely held herself back from sprinting up to Patton and protecting him.

The human spasmed where he laid, curled up in a tight ball, muscles so tense he could barely move. Not that he'd want to. Any movement caused excruciating pain, his constant shivers and uncontrolled sharp jolts made it worse, so much worse. Tears cascaded down his cheeks and in that moment he wished death upon himself.

"Please" he whimpered, "stop.."

He couldn't tell how long it went on for, all he could feel was a numb, throbbing pain and flurries of wind sweeping across his body.

The corners of his eyesight started to turn hazy, then black. He felt himself slipping away, the more he did the less it hurt. Not a second later he blacked out where he laid, and everything around him stilled.

—

"I cannot fathom why he would be in such pain" Koiāku murmured to Virgil and his parents, they were the 'closest' to Patton after all, through their two youngest who were currently knelt beside the cot which Patton laid upon. He had been asleep for three days and they were so worried they couldn't eat, sleep or barely talk. Which was scary for Petal, the kid who talked every second.

"Maybe he's not actually worthy" their Patercula offered, "and the circle wanted to harm him for stepping foot on it"

Koiāku shook his head, gazing at the ground in thought. "Not possible. Anyone not worthy couldn't cause Poityhi to do a single thing. No, no... this is different. My many great's grandmatercula went through the same thing, unfortunately she was attacked and killed by a lone habielo before it could be discovered what happened to her, or what powers she may have had"

Virgil's matercula stepped forward, "powers? Are you suggesting...?"

Koiāku paused, took a breath and nodded. "More than one. What happened those three days ago, Pathos here had everything around him. Spiralling water, burning fire, chunks of earth flying around him like it was natural. And the wind- oh the wind... it nearly blew me away. I cannot tell you what power he may have, but I fear he doesn't have just one"

Both the adults paled, "is that a bad thing? Why should we fear it?" Virgil looked over at the sleeping, weak human.

"Because he will be stronger than us. If he can control both fire and water he cannot drown or burn alive, that is many of our people powerless against him. If he can control three, that's even less, and four..." his matercula brushed away her tentacles that started to move about in her stress, "we could be seriously hurt by this... this dangerous creature"

Virgil shook his head, "I've spoken to him. I...I don't know him but he seems nice"

"Seems nice" his patercula repeated, then shook his head angrily. "We should've killed him- we should kill him now"

"No one kills anyone" Koiāku held up his hand, and his word was final.

"It would be more ideal to learn and study the human, rather than kill him from fear"

They all turned to the doorway to see Logos holding up his parchment paper and pencil. "When did you get here?" Virgil pondered, grateful to see a friend, a friend who doesn't want Pathos dead.

"Only a minute ago. I am here to note down Pathos' vitals" he gestured to the human, Koiāku nodded in agreement and the alien walked on by the small group. Petal and Claficent both glared at him, standing before Pathos' protectively. "Alright, you two" Virgil rolled his eyes, stepping over. "He'll be fine"

The two young aliens glared at Logos again before slowly backing away, still watching closely as Logos checked his pulse and his body for any signs of discolouration. When an alien of their species is born, their skin is pure white and changes over time once they activate their powers. Sometimes their skin doesn't change at all, possibly because of a genetic mutation, but it doesn't mate them any less powerful. Patton's skin hadn't changed.

"Peculiar" he noted, swiftly closing his notebook. "He is stable, but growing thinner. Force feeding him won't cut it forever. He must wake up soon"

Petal and Claficent both knelt by his side once more, holding his hand in case he needed comfort, even if he was unconscious. "He'll wake up in due time" Koiāku eased, "for now let's give him space. No one can hurt him if he stays in here" he added for the kids who were always reluctant to leave. A few minutes later the room was empty, but not for long.

The curtain was drawn back, and a pale alien with beautifully patterned grey wisps walked back in. He sat beside Pathos' cot and analysed his face. Round cheeks littered with freckles, perfectly curled lashes, pink lips parted preciously. Every time he saw the human he couldn't help but stare... it was very confusing indeed. His skin was an incredible honey glow, and his hair looked so soft.. thick, curling over his forehead.

Logos slowly reached over and brushed it from his eyes, a small smile lifting his features. How one human could throw his life off track he didn't understand but... he felt it necessary he stayed here. Many talk of dealing with Pathos themselves, and he couldn't have that. Sitting comfortably beside his cot, Logos leaned on the wall and let out a soft sigh. He may be here for awhile.

—

It was the dead of night when Logos awoke, he groaned and stretched his body, tentacles floating in the air to detect any dangers in the unfamiliar territory. He stood up and pulled a lamp down from where it hung on a hook, sitting it on the table beside Pathos' cot and using some flint to light it.

The orange glow illuminated enough for Logos to see Pathos untouched, unharmed by anyone who might've snuck in. Relaxed, he sat down beside his sleeping body and watched him sleep for a time, not too long, but he didn't have much choice. Pathos shifted and let out a small whine.

Surprised yet thrilled by this change, Logos stood up, allowing Pathos some space if needed. The human moved their arms and scrunched their face, trying to determine something in his sleepy state. Then his eyes fluttered and slowly opened, finding their way to Logos.

"Lo...Lo" Patton breathed softly, a smile encompassing his face. "How..what...where am I?"

"You're in Koiāku's home. Three days ago you passed out-"

"Three days?" Patton repeated, going to sit up but groaning. "Do not try to move" Logos suggested, "you must still be adjusting"

"Can I... have some water?"

Logos instantly obliged and left the room, coming back a minute later with a cup of leaves filled with cold water.

"Thank you" Patton smiled, trying to lift himself but failing miserably. "Uh, here" Logos awkwardly placed his hand underneath Pathos' head, helping him lift and sip the drink. "Thank you" he repeated once finished, laying back down.

"What happened to me?" He asked curiously, Logos sat down and explained. "You were in serious pain while on Poityhi. Fire, wind, water and nature all came alive and swarmed around the sacred circle. It all settled instantly when you passed out. You have been laying here for three days and this night since. How are you feeling?"

Patton took a moment to understand what Logos had told him, surprised. He didn't know what would have happened on Poityhi, but he didn't expect that.

"I'm... I'm fine" he nodded, "a little sore but nothing too bad"

Logos nodded, "I suggest you sleep until morning, we can discuss our plan of action then"

Pathos nodded, "are you going to leave me?"

Seeing that frown made Logos heart twist. "Not if you don't want me to"

Pathos smiled and shifted over on his cot, lifting the blanket to allow Logos to lay beside
him. "Oh, ah... are you sure?"

Pathos nodded sleepily and Logos obliged, laying down beside the tired human who dropped the blanket over his body, shifting closer to rest his head on Logos' shoulder. The alien waited until his breathing pattern changed to one of which indicated he had fallen asleep before letting his body relax. Subconsciously his tentacles laid across Pathos in a protective manner, and soon he was falling asleep too, secure in the knowledge that Pathos would be okay.

—

Distant chirps and shrieks of winged beasts woke Patton early in the morning, he whined and hid his face against the comfiest, oddly warmest thing closest to him. It took a moment for him to realise it was a body. Leaning back, his tired eyes gazed at the sleeping face of Logos, a swift smile adorning his features when he remembered waking up to Logos watching over him. He decided to stay... how sweet.

But Patton needed some time to think, anyway from everyone. Easing out of the cot, he tucked the blanket securely around Logo's body to keep him warm before putting on his socks, shoes and grabbing his bag in case necessary. Remembering he was in the house of their ruler, he assumed he was here too, and certainly didn't want to wake him.

Creeping down the staircase, he walked through the front doorway to the outside world. The sun was just rising, he couldn't see an alien for miles. They were all still asleep, thankfully.

Walking through the village was peaceful, surrounded by the noises of nature, some he's never heard before. He lived in a city growing up, never able to experience true nature while falling asleep, or waking up to birds outside his window. It was... nice. Really nice. Even if some of the creatures sounded quite terrifying.

Walking without a set destination in mind, he was happily surprised to end up before a lake between some trees. He sat down at the bank, resting his bag beside him. He was still internally conflicted. If he returned back to base (without dying) they'd all wonder what happened to him, how he survived for so long. He'd have to tell them he... didn't know either. Luck, really, but they wouldn't buy it.

On the other hand, if he found the alien race, they eventually would too, with or without their technology. He didn't want to think what his dad would do to them, or what the aliens would do to them. Their technology was powerless against water and flames of fire. Their helicopters could be thrashed around in the wind, or their troops buried alive.

Even with guns, misiles, never ending weapons and a seriously trained military Patton worried... worried the humans would lose. Without his dad he'd have no family left.

"Thinking of leaving?" Patton whirled around where he sat, facing an alien he had never met before. His skin was mostly passionate red, with marks of orange and yellow scattered across too. And, unlike every other alien Patton had seen, he only had one tentacle.

"I-no.. I just needed some time to think, I-"

"Don't fret" the alien waved off dismissively, walking closer. "I don't harm innocent creatures. Pathos, right? My name is Roman" he spoke his name with pride, puffing his chest out lightly. "My parents named me after romance! Which means-"

"Love" Patton spoke at the same time, Roman looked a little surprised, but grinned even wider. "I like it. It's nice to meet you Roman"

"Don't distract me with flattery" Roman neared again, "we were given command to protect you, and make sure you don't escape. So, answer my question human. What are you doing out here?"

Patton chewed his lip, then sighed. "Can I... can you keep a secret?"

"Under oath" he held up his left hand and Patton managed a shaky smile, sitting down on the grass which prompted Roman to do the same.

"I'm scared" he admitted, "my kind aren't always the nicest, the people I'm with they... they might hurt your kind if they find you. But I.. I know you're stronger, and if you kill them all then I'll be stranded here, but I'll also lose my fath-...my patercula. He's the only family I have left, even... even if he doesn't like me I love him and-" he sniffled, "I don't know what to do"

Roman watched him begin to cry, he was one of the royal's guards, best at his job. He could protect the whole village if necessary, and hearing the humans won't want peace made him instinctively not want to trust the human before him, and maybe use him as bait to lure and trap the others - but that's just his 'guard' side talking, the rest of him.. feels for the human. He lost his parents too, and it still hurts, even years later.

"You cannot convince your kind to leave this planet?"

Patton shook his head, "no, no. They'd never listen to me"

"Why ever not?"

Patton slowly lifted his head and sent Roman a sad smile, "do you know what 'runt of the pack' means?"

"Yes, the weakest of the group!" He replied back confidently. "That's what I am to them"

Roman narrowed his eyes, irises red and filled with confusion. "But... that only happens with animals-"

"I know, but.. I'm the weakest to them. I feel more empathy then them, I'm more sensitive. To them that makes me weak, they'd never listen to me. If I told them to leave because you'd kill them my patercula would take that as a challenge. I'm.." Patton covered his mouth to sob, curling away from Roman to silently cry into his knees. He was stressed, filled with anxiety over what to do, and simply... sad. He could've lived a great life on Earth, saving lives in a hospital where he should belong, not an alien planet. Not with activated powers. Not possibly being the cause of a war between his kind and this.

Roman reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, "you're not weak" he stated firmly, "I've never met you before and I can tell you're a brave soul. You didn't run away from me, you trusted our kind, you walk through crowds without cowering in fear even if we could easily kill you! You ride a trica like you've rode them since birth! Being scared comes with being brave, they're... connected" Roman hesitated, then sighed and shifted closer.

"I was only young when I lost this" he gestured to where his second tentacle should be, Patton wiped away his tears to watch and listen intently. "I wanted to explore the forest because I was told so many times not to! I couldn't help it, I wanted to explore. My friend didn't want me to, told me of the dangers yet still came along to make sure I'd be okay. We... became lost, and with not a lot of training with our powers in defence we were vulnerable" Roman took a moment to breathe, remembering back to the horrible day. "Then we were attacked, a beast going straight for my friend. I pushed him away but didn't move in time, the creature caught and tore it straight off" Patton covered his mouth, wincing as he simply imagined it.

"I knew I needed to protect my friend, in a last ditch effort I threw a ball of fire at it. Luckily that scared it off, but it used so much energy I passed out. The next time I awoke I was in my bed, all safe" Roman finally smiled, "I was terrified even walking into that forest, when we were lost even more so, my friend too but he told me it was okay to be scared. The more scared I was the braver I could be. And it worked, I saved him because I was scared and used that to be brave. And you, human, can do the exact same thing" Roman finished, finally removing his hand from Patton's shoulder.

The human began to smile, "thank you, Roman... that makes me feel better" he spoke earnestly, but still felt turmoil over the choice he'd have to make. "It's my pleasure" Roman replied with a smirk.

"Roman! Roman!" A voice suddenly came into the clearing, the two looked over to see Virgil crashing through the shrubbery, "Pathos, he's- he's-" his words cut off when he noticed the human sitting there, safe and sound. "He's here-" he fell to his knees and breathed heavily, "what the cheoka Pathos?! We've been searching for you!"

"I'm-I'm sorry I just needed some time alone" he replied, hurriedly shuffling over to Virgil and rubbing his back softly. "I'm sorry" he repeated, still a mess of emotions from before. Virgil noticed his red eyes and cheeks, realising he must've been crying. Easing up, he shook his head. "It's fine, really, just... give me a warning next time"

Patton agreed, then slowly pulled Virgil into a hug. The alien sighed and hugged back, the three standing from the ground and returning to the village.

"You two know each other?" Patton started conversation, Virgil and Roman glanced at each other. "Since birth" Roman replied with a cocky grin. Virgil rolled his eyes, "yeah and he's an arrogant arropolas" Roman threw his head back to laugh, throwing an arm around Patton's shoulders. "He's only jealous because I mastered my powers before him"

"Hardly" Virgil spat, "I was more focused on other shit anyway"

"Like what? Writing poetry?"

Virgil's tentacle whipped over and slapped the back of his head, Patton giggled into his hands as Roman gasped and glared at him offendedly. "Who came running to me, yelling my name in distress earlier?!"

"You're the head guard! Who else would I call!?" Virgil countered, Patton rose his hand before they could continue arguing. "Now, now kiddos! No fighting, be nice to each other" they both scoffed and rolled their eyes, Patton giggled once more. "I want you to both compliment each other"

"What!?" Virgil exclaimed.

"Ew! No" Roman shook his head in disgust.

"Do it or I won't move" Patton threatened, suddenly sitting down on the ground. Virgil and Roman stared at him then to each other, "fine" Virgil gritted, crossing his arms. "You're cool or whatever"

Roman rolled his eyes fondly, letting a small smile spread on his lips. "And you, my friend, are as beautiful as a sun-kissed flower, glowing in the dark for all to see it's mysterious wonders"

Virgil shot him a glare filled with anything but hatred or anger, tentacles tensing and covering his face. Roman laughed and helped Patton up to his feet, "that means he's flustered" Roman explained with a coo, Virgil groaned and hurried along the pathway. Patton smiled up at Roman, then booped his nose. "You sure he's just your friend?" He teased, then walked away to catch up with Virgil, however looked back to see Roman's tentacle covering his face sheepishly.

—

"Guys! He's here, he's fine" Virgil called, entering the house of Koiāku. The ruler, Logos, Virgil's parents and his two younger siblings all relaxed in relief, the two youngest running over and crushing into Pathos' arms. "Where did you go!? We missed you!" Petal exclaimed, Claficent smiled up at him with teary eyes. "You're awake" he whimpered happily, Pathos felt his own eyes well up as he hugged them both tighter.

"I'm so sorry kiddos, I'll never leave you two again, I promise" he reassured the two who wrapped their tentacles around him too, not letting go for a few minutes. "Āneohas" their matercula smiled lightly, "let him be"

Pathos smiled up at her kindly, which settled oddly in her heart. She still didn't trust Pathos but... she didn't hate him as much as before. While the two walked over to their parents, Logos headed to Patton's side. "Why did you leave without telling anyone?"

Patton smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, I needed some time alone.."

He then looked up at Koiāku, "can we talk? Alone?"

Everyone waited outside as Patton and the ruler headed to a different room, sitting down at a table. "What is troubling you, Pathos?" He inquired, eyes caring and concerned.

"When my kind visits a new planet, they can either be really nice.. or not. My father isn't nice to intelligent races, and if they don't agree to him he'll start attacking them. I don't want the same to happen to your kind, but I know you're all stronger than them-... than us, but if you kill them all I'll be stranded here and.." he looked down at the table made from leaves, feeling a single tear slip down his cheek. "And I'll lose my patercula. My father. I'll have no family left" he admitted in a broken tone, Koiāku watched him speak in silence, while worried he felt for the poor human who obviously had a lot on his plate.

Koiāku walked around the table and sat down beside him, underneath him thick vines grew to make a small stool. "I understand your worries. Thank you for telling me. But I can assure you, Pathos, they won't find us for quite some time. While I decide what to do, you focus on yourself, my kind still wants to see your powers in action, and I'm sure you do too" Patton fumbled with his sleeves, the knowledge of his possible powers had been bouncing around in his head, always there but not given any attention.

He met Koiāku's eyes, "how do I know what I have? What do I do?"

"Once a young one is given their power they start training a few weeks later. To give time to embrace their true self and gain the energy back which is lost at Poityhi. Their power is shown by which element comes alive around them, for you they all did, so we are uncertain which element you have. As you are older, and have slept for quite some time, you can start training now. The most common element is water, you can start there and see how it goes" he explained, Patton listened closely and processed everything a few seconds later. He wouldn't mind which element he had, they all sounded like fun, something he only heard about in tall-tales and stories.

"Okay... I can start now"

—

"I'll be training you" Virgil explained as he and Patton arrived at the water-element training area. It was a large circle of water surrounded by a bench. Patton watched a bunch of young aliens, all with pastel blue skin, reaching in and pulling out a bubble of water, then placing it on the pile beside them. Sometimes they'd pop, or wouldn't appear as a bubble at all, but their trainer (an adult water element) would reassure them to try again, it took much practice.

"Each training area usually has two people, but one's busy and the other is sick, so... you have me" he shrugged, Patton smiled and reached over to hold his hand. "I would want you anyway, I'm sure you'll do great teaching me, and after all... I like you, we're friends right? Friends spend time with each other" Virgil looked over at Patton in surprise, his tentacles slowly brushing against his cheeks in a state of flustered embarrassment. Patton giggled.

"Sorry, it-uh... I just- only have two friends and one of them is Roman, so that... means a lot" he emphasised his 'friends' name, Patton laughed fondly and leaned closer. "Just friends, mhm? And aw Kiddo! I'm glad" he enthused, kneeling down on the ground while Virgil became further embarrassed at Patton's insinuation. Batting away his tentacles, he sat down beside him.

"So.. it's simple, really. You just need to work on control. Reach into the water like this-" he demonstrated, dunking his hands under. "And just...imagine holding a ball of water, I guess, and then you..." he drifted, slowly pulling his hands up, a bubble of water placed perfectly in his palms.

"As you get better you can throw it around and stuff without it exploding" he let a small smile grace his lips as he threw the ball up into the air, catching it easily.

"That's so cool!" Patton gushed, reaching over to poke the ball, gasping as it popped. "Oh-I-I'm sorry!" He tried, but relaxed when Virgil laughed. "That wasn't your fault, I did it on purpose" he winked, Patton rolled his eyes fondly.

"So- reach into the water" he repeated, "imagine a ball..." he did, seeing the bubble of water in his mind, vividly imagining it in his hands. "And pull it out"

A frown encompassed his face when a ball didn't appear in his hands. "Hey, don't sweat it" Virgil nudged his shoulder in a friendly manner, "it takes dozens of tries to get the hang of it"

Patton smiled again, and repeated the action many times, but every time he came up with nothing. "Maybe water isn't your element?" Virgil suggested meekly. Patton shook his hands and sighed disdainfully. "Yeah, maybe.." he murmured, gazing at the water intently, so deep in thought he didn't hear anyone else nearing.

"How is everything going?" The sudden voice of Logos interrupted his thoughts abruptly, gasping Patton spun around, instinctively holding his hand towards the alien who took a few steps back, eyes wide.

Patton took a moment to realise before him was a wall- or shield of water, protecting him. He... did that, in a moment of instinct he made a barrier to protect himself. Virgil's jaw slacked, as shocked as the children on the other side.

"So... maybe water is your element" Virgil stated with a chuckle after the initial shock wore off, Patton pulled back his hand, the water falling onto the ground. "Uh... maybe. I.. I don't know how I did that"

"Some of us like to work on our element alone" Logos suggested, "that is what I did when I was young. I found it much easier. You needed some time alone earlier today, maybe you need the same conditions now" he suggested and Patton slowly nodded along, "that.. makes sense" he agreed, smiling up at Logos a moment later. "Thank you, Lolo!" He chirped brightly, Logos tentacles lifted from his shoulders just slightly, something only Virgil noticed, and instantly a smirk landed on his lips.

"If you go through there" Virgil pointed across the training area to thick, blue vines hanging all the way from its branches to the ground, "there's a secluded spot you can practice alone. Don't worry, you'll be safe there" he reassured, Patton sent him a soft smile and headed over, pushing the heavy vines aside and walking in.

Logos stood beside Virgil, "we still have to consider the possibility that he has more than one element"

Virgil sighed, absentmindedly twirling water up in the air to his hand, wrapping the tendrils of liquid around his fingers. "Does he have to know...?" The question made Logos' face twist with surprise, "what do you mean?"

"I mean" Virgil sighed, shoulders slumping. "I mean tension is already high around the human. If we let him have more than one element think about the worry it'll cause- what if he has all four?" He whispered to his friend, finally revealing some of his own anxiety. Logos went silent for a moment to think, eyes drifting from the vines to Virgil. "We cannot say for certain which elemental powers he does or does not posses. However if he does not utilise all the power within him it can hurt him over time, you know this" Virgil winced, scratching the back of his neck.

They've heard the tales from the past, members of their kind not giving into their power either because they didn't want their element or they didn't want to live with powers. It destroys them. Makes them lose their mind until...death.

"I will not let Pathos be hurt by this anymore than he already has. He has a lot on his plate and I will do what is necessary to protect him" Logos nodded his head firmly, Virgil let a sliver of a smile onto his lips, "so... you like him?"

Logos rose an eyebrow suspiciously, "of course I do"

Virgil laughed, raising the water from his hand higher, "you like him enough to do anything in your power to protect him?"

Logos nodded his head again, although he could tell something was up. "Yes, is that wrong of me?"

Virgil chuckled fondly, watching the tendrils of water move so delicately in the air. "Not really, although I know why your childhood nickname was 'clueless'" with that Virgil sprayed the water into Logos' face and walked away laughing, Logos gasped and glared as he did, using wind to quickly dry himself off.

What was he so clueless about now...?

—

Patton looked around the shaded, hidden area in wonder. Trees bent around and over it, growing to cover any light from seeping in. He couldn't see the sky, or between the thick trunks. The only entrance appeared to be the vines which fell back into place behind him. The source of light came from the pool of water, smaller than the public one but still able to be used for practice.

Patton knelt down on the side furthest from the vines, gazing at his reflection calmly.

"I miss you, Thomas" he murmured to himself, "everything's so confusing now...I..I controlled water, made it move with my mind. That's impossible, right? But... right now everything seems so possible, so real. Maybe this isn't even real- maybe I'm still on the plane, and this is an elaborate dream. Maybe I'll wake up soon, and later this year come back home and see you. We promised to spend time together, and I... I'll promise to never return to another planet. I like home, I.." Patton sniffled, wiping at his tears which were uncontrollable today. "I want to go home" he admitted, staring at his face through blurry vision.

"But I can't. Not now. Maybe not ever..." he whispered forlornly, "I don't know what will happen to me, but I hope you're okay. I love you, Thomas"

Silence encompasses him again. The water sat still, waiting. He was always an optimist, from birth to now, he should look at the bright side. He isn't being held captive, people aren't... trying to kill him as much, he has friends and now powers. Something any human could ever dream of. Magic powers.

A small smile graced his lips as he drifted his fingers through the water, pleasantly surprised at the nice warm temperature. He looked up at the vines. "I'll probably be alone for awhile" he murmured, "they won't mind if I swam for a bit" he recalled swimming on Earth, either in pools or at the beach, it was always calming.

Taking off his shoes, socks, trousers and top he slowly sunk into the water, not completely nude just in case. He kept on his briefs, although it still would be embarrassing if someone came in. The water hugged around him perfectly, the comforting heat perfect in easing his body from stress.

He ducked his head under, slowly sinking to the bottom which was only a few feet away. Sitting there in complete silence was a nice break from everything that had happened in such a short span of time. Maybe he could visit here more often.

Pushing up to the surface, he breathed deeply while combing his wet hair back. Now was as good as time as any to practice his powers. Sitting on one of the few ledges under the water, he rested his hands beneath the surface, closing his eyes to imagine the ball of water in his palms.

Pulling his hands up his eyes remained closed for a few moments, taking some deep breaths before the big reveal.

And when he looked a soft smile brightened his features, in his palm sat a ball of water, perfectly round and beautifully encompassed. Maybe things weren't all too bad.

—

Time passed by in a haze, Patton didn't realise how long he was in the water, not noticing how his fingers pruned or how hungry he had become. Only when he heard the vines moving did he finally snap from his daze, "oh I'm sorry I-" he began instinctively, twirling around to see.. a stranger. An alien he hadn't met before.

Their skin a fiery red, eyes narrowed, tentacles poised. Oh no...

"We finally meet" he began, and Patton recalled that voice, the second voice he heard waking up in that hut, the first time he met Virgil. From what he recalled, they didn't like him at all.

"Uh- yeah, I should be going" Patton chuckled awkwardly, pulling himself out of the water beside his clothes. The alien shook his head, standing right at the edge of the pool opposite him. "You're not going anywhere, not until I'm done with you"

Inside, Patton felt his blood run cold. He knew the aliens didn't like him, without the protection of his friends or Koiāku he was practically...fudged.

"A lot of us don't like you, Pathos. Don't like humans" they began, hands glowing. "You're ruining the land of this planet, and have already killed more creatures than necessary. Peaceful creatures. That gives me all I need to know about your kind" as they spoke, they slowly neared Pathos who hurried to put on his clothes and run, but he didn't think running would be so easy.

"I destroyed your flying-thing"

Patton's eyes widened, this was the alien who killed all his crew...?

"I saw you fall into the water. I should've killed you but I never thought you would've survived. Instead you found two of us, brought them home and earned the trust of the idiots. They don't see how much of a danger you are! And now look what they've done!" He suddenly roared, crackling fire lighting up in his hands, up his arms and across his shoulders.

"Given you our powers. You don't deserve them- or my kind's forgiveness. You deserve death" he snarled, Patton finally stood up, clothes damp from the water left on his skin, having no time to dry off before putting them all back on. He shouldn't have stayed for so long, it was idiotic of him.

"Please, I don't want this- I- just let me go" he begged, slowly walking away from the alien who laughed. "You think I'll let you go!? And kill my people? No, instead I'm going to kill you. Then I'm going to find your friend Vergilius, bring him here and kill him too. Make everyone believe you were the cause of his death, and I defended his honour by killing you too"

Patton gasped, kill Virgil? No... he couldn't let that happen. Virgil has been here for him since they first met, he couldn't- wouldn't let anything happen to him. As Patton's eyes narrowed, the water in the pool began to bubble. "You'd kill one of your own? For what?"

The alien neared still, "because Vergilius is an idiot. Made Koiāku believe you were good. Vergilius has brought nothing to our kind, he's the reason our best guard lost one of his houchia's"

Patton shook his head, "that wasn't Virgil's fault. Roman was just protecting him!"

"Protecting him from something that was his fault!"

"They both agreed to-" Patton shook his head again, "this doesn't matter! Just leave me alone! And don't lay a hand on Virgil" he threatened, the alien laughed again which made Patton clench his hands. "What will you do? A weak human? You're pathetic. We're stronger than you'll ever be. And Vergilius will die because of you. How does that feel, human? To be a cause of your friends death" Patton kept backing away from the laughing alien who's eyes gleamed in delight and hands glowed with a raging fire.

Beside them the water bubbles ferociously, spilling over onto the sides and slowly raising further into the air.

"Any last words before I kill you and torture your stupid friend?"

Patton finally felt something within him snap. "He's. Not. Stupid!" His yell echoed off the trees surrounding them, surprising the alien who hadn't expected Patton to say anything. He flinched when the human began to scream and throw his arm towards him, unexpectedly the water from the pool shot through the air like a bullet, smashing the alien into the trees where he was knocked unconscious, bleeding from a gash in his head. The water fell and slowly tricked back to the pool, leaving it mostly empty as the rest sunk into the dirt.

Patton collapsed to the ground, chocking on sobs as he stared at what he had done.

Moments later the vines opened and Logos rushed in, kneeling at Pathos' side. Too soon he was followed by Virgil and Roman who both gasped at the sight of the alien bleeding out by the trees.

"I-I-I didn't mean to" Patton staggered on his breath, "he-he-" he sniffled and heaved, clinging onto Logos tight. "He was goin-going to k-kill Virgil"

Roman whipped his head towards Pathos, then gazed at Virgil in concern. The alien just stood in silent shock, eyes flickering from Pathos to the body of an alien he never liked. That always wanted more power. That from day one wanted to take Pathos down. He clenched and unclenched his hands, backing away from everyone. "I'll... I'll get help" he whispered, quickly leaving without another word.

"Will-will he be okay?" Patton worried, he didn't want to be the cause of a death, he just wanted... to protect Virgil. He didn't know what came over him.

"I am sure he will be fine" Logos replied, although he didn't look at the alien for long. "Roman will you bring him to the medical hut?"

The alien snapped from his thoughts and nodded, rushing over to easily pick him up from the ground. Meanwhile Logos turned to the human in his arms who's eyes were leaking incredibly quickly, mouth taking in air far too quickly.

Logos reached up his hand to place against Patton's cheek, his thumb pressing lightly into his bottom lip. He's done this many times for Virgil, and it always worked. First, he prevented Pathos from being able to breathe (which as this was unknown for the poor human made him cry out and grip onto Logos, but the alien had it under control). He then took in a deep breath, forcing the same amount of air he received into Pathos. This repeated many times before the human began to relax in his hold, eyes slipping shut but never letting go of Logos.

He figured out how to control others breathing at a young age when Virgil went through a panic attack, he didn't know what else to do to help so he worked on instinct and controlled his breathing to match his own, making him relax with such deep breaths.

He was more than relieved it worked for Pathos.

"Are you feeling better, Pathos?"

The human slowly opened his eyes, gazing up at Logos. "Am I in trouble?" He whispered, Logos softly shook his head. "If we manage to keep this from the public than you will be fine. As for how we deal with Myron.." Logos glanced away. "We must consult Koiāku, you can tell him exactly what happened"

Patton nodded and slowly say up in Logos' lap. "Thank you" he whispered, pressing a hand to the aliens chest, and managing a small smile. "For coming so quickly. I..I can control water" he gestured to the pool, then paled when he realised it was mostly empty.

Logos nodded, "I can see that. But there is a chance you can control more. Once you feel comfortable controlling water, we will move onto the second most popular element. Earth" Patton nodded in agreement and allowed Logos to help him up, the two leaving and walking by the public pool which had been empty for quite some time.

Patton noticed how late it had become, blushing sheepishly. "I didn't realise I was there for so long..." he admitted, Logos glanced at him. "It is alright. We would have allowed you all night if you wished. We were simply coming to check on you, then we heard you scream and I..." he paused, "I didn't know what came over me. I ran to you without hesitation and rather than checking the area for danger I..." he looked at Patton, vividly confused. "I held you"

Patton smiled gently, slowly intertwining their hands. Logos looked down at them curiously. "Thank you for helping me calm down. And it's okay to hold people, shows you care about them" he explained with a light chirp in his tone. Logos nodded, for he didn't know what to say.

"As you have had an eventful day, and in my opinion far too much action for waking up after a three-day coma, I will take you home. Would you prefer Koiāku's home our my own?" He suggested, pausing their walk across the pathway. Patton beamed at the idea of staying with Logos, as talking with Koiāku right now didn't seem so appealing.

"Can I stay with you?"

Logos nodded, inside he felt his organs almost do a flip... which is impossible, so he brushed it aside.

"Of course. Us who can control air can fly, our homes are up there" he pointed to the main tree in the centre of the village, the trunk reaching for miles and miles and miles into the air. It was so big Pathos could barely even comprehend it, and chose to ignore it whenever he saw it. But far up from the ground where thick branches grew were plenty of houses for all air element aliens like Logos.

"How do I get to it?" Pathos wondered, finally looking back to Logos who had his arms open. A blush fell on his cheeks when he realised what Logos had intended. "I will carry you. You can trust me, I have done this many times with Virgil" Pathos nodded and stepped into his arms without a moments hesitation, he trusted Logos quite a lot, for someone he only met a few days ago.

Wrapping his arms around his neck, he relaxed against his body when Logos' arms looped around his waist. "Comfortable?"

Pathos nodded with a soft hum, "yeah, ready when you are"

Logos nodded, the next moment the two were up in the air, flying high towards the tree. Logos avoided branches and leaves swiftly and easily, Pathos could tell Logos was extremely skilful at everything he did. They passed by many houses, some small, some big. Some built on the branches while others hung from vines. Logos' house was quite far up, pretty secluded from everyone else, at the end of a branch unused by others.

Pathos was placed down on the thick wood, still holding Logos tightly as the breeze swayed him. "Oh my gosh- please don't let go" he whispered, Logos noticed his fear and held him tight once again.

"Do not worry, I will not let you fall. I told Virgil I would protect you and I plan to uphold that promise" he reassured, Pathos' heart burst in his chest. Logos promised to protect him...? That made him feel a certain way towards the alien, something he hasn't felt for anyone before.

The two shuffled across the branch until they were on the porch of Logos' house, he pushed open the door and allowed Pathos inside. He all but flung himself in, holding onto the table in the foyer. "Wow" he breathed, "I...hope I get used to this" he admitted, looking around the dark room.

"You will if you plan to keep staying with me. Virgil was the exact same the first time" Logos explained after shutting the door. He went around and lit up the lamps, creating an orange glow around them.

"You must be tired. I have a spare bedroom Virgil stays in-"

"Can I stay with you?" Pathos asked, "it's just— I'm still shaken up from before and I don't want to be alone" he admitted, voice soft. Logos stared at him for a moment in surprise, then nodded in agreement. "Of course. My bedroom is the first door. I will be up there soon" Pathos sent him a smile and followed his direction, opening the door to see a double bed in the centre, a long desk to the right and a set of draws on the left. Plus shelves stacked with books Patton wondered how he read them all.

He grimaced at his clothes that had barely dried, and he's been wearing them for quite some time now...

Hoping Logos wouldn't mind, he opened his draw and picked out some clothes. Thankfully they weren't as confusing as other clothes he had seen aliens wearing, and quickly put them on. Leaving his clothes out to dry, he sat down on Logos' bed and sighed out. If he was going to be put in this much danger all the time he didn't want to leave any of his friends sides, but he didn't want to annoy them either with his presence. He knew they'd willingly protect him, but he really needed the aliens to see he wasn't a threat.

At least, he hoped he wasn't. After what he did to Myron he didn't know anymore.

Slowly laying down, he pulled the blanket over his body, just about to wonder where Logos was when the door opened and he stepped inside. "Have some water before you sleep" he suggested, placing the cup on the bedside table. "You must need it" he added, sitting beside him on the edge of the bed.

Patton sat up and sipped the refreshing water, smiling at Logos timidly in the dark, their only light from the moon shining heavily through the window.

"Ah, you are wearing my clothes" he pointed out matter-of-factly. Patton blushed. "Yeah- is that okay? My clothes are still wet" he gestured to where he left them, but Logos didn't look, he kept his focus on the human. "Of course it is. I would have offered anyway" he assured, Patton smiled wider and gently rested his head on the aliens shoulder.

"Thank you, Lolo" he murmured, finishing the water.

Logos smiled, "you are welcome, Pathos"

—

Patton laid still and peacefully in Logos' bed, his dreams fading from one story to another. He had grown back much energy which was lost since the coma two weeks ago, and had become quite skilful with his power over water. He's advancing quicker than the younger aliens, but that was to be expected. Koiāku is especially proud of him but wants him to move onto another element soon, for he didn't know how long his human pack would stay in their zone.

During those two weeks Patton hadn't heard much from Myron, he told everyone who asked he was attacked by a creature after taking a walk through the woods. Neither Patton or his friends protested to the lie, but Roman has kept a closer eye on both of them, specifically Virgil now knowing he was in danger. But Logos made sure Pathos was never along for long, so Roman didn't worry over the human too much.

Patton is still fearful though.

And still very much conflicted on what to do. He could quite easily return back to his base now he could defend himself in the forest, but... he didn't know if he wanted to go back. Would he be doing an injustice to his kind if he stayed here? Would it really be betrayal? He didn't think so, he just knows right now humans live on two planets indefinitely and that hasn't changed for many years. Humans only visit other planets.

But did Patton even want to stay here forever? Did he want to go home? Could he go home at this point without being taken in and experimented on for his powers? It was all too much to think about, all he wanted to do now was focus on himself and his potential powers. And his friends.

An hour later Patton finally arose, he yawned and stretched his arms above his head, searching around on the bed beside him for Logos but sitting up curiously when he couldn't feel him. Putting on his glasses, Patton quickly realised Logos wasn't in the room at all. It wasn't unusual for Logos to wake up first, but it's become habit he doesn't leave bed until Pathos is awake too... huh.

Already slightly on edge, Patton changed into some day clothes (having become quite used to the aliens attire) and left the room.

"Logos?" He called curiously, slowly inching down the staircase. "You here?" He repeated. Maybe he'd slept in and Logos needed to go do something in a hurry? But Logos never leaves him up here without means of getting down.

After searching around the house, he realised Logos wasn't here at all. Dread filled his heart as he looked out the window beside the door, able to see far down to the ground where other aliens were walking around, living their lives normally. There wasn't an attack, or seemingly anything serious happening.

"Hey, Pathos! Come outside!"

Patton quickly looked across the branch for any signs of who called him, but he couldn't see anyone, nor could he recall the voice. He wanted to ignore it but the stranger called again, and again.

"... I'm coming!" He eventually replied, nervously fidgeting with the edge of his clothes before slowly pushing open the front door. Being so high up the wind was rather strong, but if he ducked low nothing that could rock him off the branch. Shutting the door, he stood on the edge of the porch, chewing his bottom lip in worry.

"Hello?" He called uncertainly, but the stranger had fallen silent. Maybe he wasn't there at all? Maybe Patton had imagined it. Still, he walked off the porch, shuffling across the branch. "Hello? Anyone? Logos?" He called louder in case his voice didn't reach the alien, but again... all that met his ears was silence.

He stood on the branch confused, looking at the other houses on the tree but he couldn't see anyone else. Did he really imagine the voice? It didn't seem likely, he wasn't anywhere near insane, maybe this was one of Myron's tricks?

Patton's blood ran cold when he made the connection, of course! And if Myron was here, that meant he probably wasn't safe at all on the branch. Slowly turning around, he inched back towards the house, but the alien who called finally made a reappearance, unfortunately not to politely greet him.

Patton gasped as hands clutched his waist, then let out a shriek as he was easily picked up and thrown off, away from the tree to avoid grabbing another branch. He hurtled through the air with no means of stopping, his throat ripped to shreds from how much he screamed. Without any hope of survival Patton cried out horrifically, the world flipping around him like he was a spin-top.

He screamed, and screamed, and screamed, until...

"Pathos!?"

Patton screamed again as he shot up in bed like a bullet, tumbling off the side and collapsing onto the floor. Logos quickly rushed to his side, helping him sit up as he clutched onto him. "Are you alright? What happened? Are you hurt?"

Pathos shook his head to the last question, taking in a shaky breath, cold air hitting his skin from the lose of blanket. "I...I had a nightmare" he murmured, leaning heavily against Logos and closing his eyes. It was still dark outside which wasn't a bad thing, he'd happily fall back asleep for another few hours.

"Nightmare?" Logos repeated, confusion laced in his voice.

Pathos nodded, "yeah... like a dream but.. scary"

Logos gave him a quizzical look, "I do not know what a 'dream' is"

Pathos nodded in understanding, a communication error. "When you fall asleep and you... live out a story in your head? Or sometimes it's not even a story, and it's completely random" He explained simply, assuming Logos' kind had dreams too, but when he looked even more dazed, Pathos' jaw slacked.

"You... really don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"

Logos felt his tentacles shift in embarrassment, "I..do not. Would you teach me? I dislike not knowing important information"

"It's not really important" Pathos shrugged, "but can we get back in bed first? I'm cold" he murmured, rubbing his arms. "Oh! Of course" Logos acted quickly, helping Pathos back up into bed where the human shuffled under the warm blanket.

Logos settled beside him, watching in slight concern but mostly piqued interest. Pathos glanced at his face and laughed fondly, whenever he taught Logos something about his kind he'd always get this wondrous gleam in his eyes, Pathos loved seeing it every time. He found it adorable.

"When humans fall asleep, they sometimes have dreams, but not every time. It's... the brain functioning 'cus it never really shuts off. They're like hallucinations! But we usually forget most of it when we wake up, only remembering the extra weird ones. I remember when I was a child I dreamt about meeting a dog! But after awhile the dog started to grow reaaally big" he stretched his arms out wide to show, "and it grew so big it crushed a building! That's all I remember though..." he admitted, a little shyer after he realised how childish he seemed.

"So when a human falls asleep, there is a chance they... hallucinate random, mostly impossible, scenarios in their brain?"

Pathos nodded, "yep!" He chirped, Logos seemed content at understanding, but then went back to questioning. "What is a nightmare?"

"They're bad dreams" Patton explained simply, "the only nightmare I can remember having is seeing a tall figure standing at the bottom of my bed! It was super scary, but I woke up pretty quickly" he shrugged off easily, but Logos' eyebrows furrowed in concern. "How do you know it wasn't an actual... person?"

Patton chewed his lip, "well... I guess I won't. There wasn't any traces of a person breaking into my house though and usually it's easy to differentiate dreams from reality, sleep paralysis is much worse though"

"What is sleep paralysis?" Logos instantly asked, shuffling further to Patton in his excitement to learn. The human giggled softly, happily moving closer back. They hadn't really cuddled much during the two weeks, Patton wants to but he feels awkward asking, and would hate if Logos felt pressured to saying yes.

"It's like a really bad nightmare, where you can't move any of your body, maybe apart from your eyes. And usually you see a creepy figure in the darkness, sometimes they move towards you, or they just stand there. It really changes per person! I've never had one, but they're super scary" once he finished explaining, Logos paled a little. He didn't realise that sort of thing could be possible, and it was rather freaky to learn about.

"What was this nightmare about?" The alien then asked tentatively.

Pathos frowned slightly, "I..woke up and you weren't here, I searched everywhere for you but I couldn't find you. Then I heard someone calling me from outside, I followed the voice but I couldn't see anyone. Then out of nowhere someone grabbed me and threw me off the branch, I... fell through the air really quickly before you woke me up"

Logos watched him talk in fierce worry, subconsciously taking a glance out the window. "You screamed, it is what woke me"

Pathos frowned, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I don't have frequent nightmares, so you don't need to worry! It won't happen again, I promise"

Logos shook his head, "it is alright. I would rather you wake me up to help than leave you suffering" Pathos felt his heart warm in his chest, so much so he smiled delightedly and leaned his head against Logos' chest. The alien tensed but secretly he had been waiting for Pathos to cuddle him like this every night. Not wanting to lose his chance he wrapped his arms around the human, laid them both down fully and held him there securely. His warmth felt incredibly cosy, him being there felt... loving. Comforting. Nothing he's ever experienced.

"I feel the need to add I would never leave you up here by yourself. And I will never let anyone hurt or frighten you in that way" Logos murmured into his hair. Pathos smiled wider, nuzzling his chest affectionately. "Thank you, Lo, you're so sweet to me. I hope I could repay you back somehow?"

Logos let out a breath, "you can..." he paused, swallowed nervously and continued. "Simply be my friend, and do not abandon or forget me"

Pathos went silent, slowly leaning up so their faces were parallel, "Lo, I'd never abandon you, we are friends, I promise. And I don't think I could forget you even if I tried" he giggled gently, watching in wonder as Logos' tentacles moved to cover his face completely, nothing Pathos had seen before with the ever-stoic alien. He grinned brightly, this time allowing Logos to hide his face in his chest.

"You're so cute" Patton whispered, Logos' tentacles spasmed a little, the laugh Patton let out was infectious.

He was falling hard for the alien in his arms, but knew for certain he definitely didn't mind.

—

"Virgil!" Patton called, skipping through the path between beautiful lilac flowers and tall looming trees. Virgil's house was quite far from any other, he liked to be alone and in the dark. "Virgie?" He called again, pushing through the growing hedge to his small garden.

"What's up, Pat?" He heard the all familiar, low-toned voice from behind the building, so with a smile Patton headed down the small space between the side of the house and thick shrubbery before finding the alien knelt down in his back yard, a pond surrounded by blue, purple and black glowing plants.

The first time Patton visited he was mesmerised.

"I think I'm ready to move on" Patton explained, squatting down beside the water-controlling alien. "To another element" he added after, watching as Virgil watered his plants. "Cool, why are you telling me though?" He replied genuinely confused, assuming he'd talk to Logos or Koiāku about it, and either let Virgil find out himself or tell him in passing conversation.

"Because we're friends, remember?"

Ah, that. Virgil's tentacles twitched and he smiled shyly, unused to friends he was still getting the hang of things. "Right. Yeah, sorry. That's great Pat, what do you uh... think you'll try out?"

"Well Lolo said earth was the next common one so that! I'd love to grow plants and flowers, they'd all be so pretty! I could make a garden as beautiful as yours!" He threw his arms around to gesture what a wonderful job Virgil had done. The alien covered his face slightly with his tentacles, shaking his head while letting the rest of the water return to the pond. "No it's-... it's okay-"

"It's the best garden I've ever seen" Patton corrected, making Virgil hide his face further, but let his smile grow wider.

"Do you wanna meet uhm... Melo?" Virgil suggested after a brief pause, Patton looked to him and grinned. "Sure! Who's that?"

"My uh.. pet, she's a pisnā" he then pointed to the pond, lifting up a large bubble of water inside of which a fish, or at least what Patton would call a fish, floated. Their body was found and pink, with a thin black tail behind and long, flowing fins either side, both black too. "She's more friendly than the other two" Virgil explained a little more confidently noticing how intrigued Patton was, gently Virgil lifted his hand into the bubble where Melo bumped into his fingers happily. Patton giggled.

"She's so cute! How many do you have?"

"Only three, the other two usually stay at the bottom. Purple pisnā prefer the dark, they only come in two colours" he explained, Patton nodded in understanding, copying Virgil's actions in poking his finger through the bubble, giggling again when Melo bumped his hand.

"What are their names?"

"Kore and Anas" Virgil replied, pleasantly surprised Patton wanted to know so much about his pets. Others found them boring, he could have so many cool pets but he wouldn't give up his three pisnā's for anything. "I love them already" Patton confirmed with a strong head nod, controlling the water to allow Melo back into the pond where she continued to swim around like nothing had happened.

"Virgil, I need some-" the two were abruptly interrupted by Logos who walked through the backdoor of Virgil's home, looking at Patton in surprise. "I thought you were visiting Koiāku?" He questioned, not moving from where he stood halfway in, halfway out. "I was! But I wanted to see Virgil first" Patton explained, quickly 'reading the room' and realising Logos wanted some alone time with Virgil.

"But I'll be on my way! Stay safe kiddos" he stood up and brushed off his clothes, pressing a kiss to Virgil's forehead, skipping over to Logos and pressing one to his cheek. With a cute wave he was gone, leaving Virgil smiling and Logos brushing his tentacles across his cheeks, flustered.

Virgil noticed, smirked, but didn't comment. He turned back to his pond and continued tending to his plants. "What's up, Lo?" He prompted the alien who unfroze from his moment and stumbled over, settling down beside him.

"Pathos had a nightmare this morning" he explained, Virgil looked up in urgent confusion, he didn't like the sound of that.

"He said all humans have them on occasion. When they fall asleep the organ in their head, 'brains', don't stop functioning, and sometimes hallucinates weird and random scenarios for them to barely remember when they awake.  I have come to the conclusion 'dreams' are the nice ones, 'nightmares' are not" he explained as briefly yet simply as he could, Virgil stayed silent, marvelled by this new information.

"I fear I am not the best at comforting others and-"

"Lo- you think I am? I'm terrible!" Virgil cut him off before he could even suggest asking for his help, yet Logos pressed on. "You need to give yourself some credit, you have helped me calm down many times when I have been stressed or overly emotional. Please, I do not want to ask Roman as I know he will tell Pathos, I simply need to know how to comfort him. He awoke frightened, how can I help those who are scared?" Virgil flickered between Logos' eyes, he could see the desperation within them. He really cared for this human. Letting out a soft sigh, Virgil looked down at the murky water.

"Alright, fine. He really likes cuddles, y'know? He hugs me whenever he can- so just... hold him, but not in that uncomfortable, tense way you do. Relax your body and hold him close, remind him you're here and he's safe. If it's just a hallucination it's not real, right? So tell him whatever happened isn't real, and just... repeat that until he's calm" Virgil shrugged the ending, timidly looking at Logos to see if he helped, relaxing when the alien seemed satisfied with the response.

"I still don't completely understand dreams. I asked more about them while we ate breakfast, he told me dreams can sometimes reflect the real world. In his nightmare he was here, in our world, and thrown off the Ulaquioa. I..." his tentacles curled closer to his neck, "I fear he may not be entirely safe. What of Myron recruits more people?" His voice fell hushed, Virgil (who was also in danger from Myron) tensed at the implication.

"I..I don't know what else to do other than tell Koiāku what happened"

Logos shook his head, "and risk Pathos being killed for almost killing Myron? No, we must protect him. And you" Logos looked at him with determination glinting in his eyes, Virgil trusted Logos to keep them both safe, but he didn't know for how long.

"Let's go find Pathos" Virgil suggested after a moment of contemplation, "make sure he's with Koiāku learning about the nature element" Logos nodded in agreement and the two set off to the village, staying alert just in case.

—

"I found out I could control water when I was scared" Patton explained, sitting in the practice area for earth elementals with Koiāku opposite him. "Logos came up behind me and I defended myself with the water out of instinct"

Koiāku nodded, rubbing his chin in thought. "I see... that is one way to start a power after it has been awoken inside of you. We dare not use it in practice to keep our young ones safe" he explained, "but it can work with you, if you so wish?" He offered, Patton knew they didn't have all the time in the world, so after a short moment to think, he agreed.

Koiāku led Pathos away from the training area and down a long pathway, away from the village and towards the forest. This area was heavily guarded as creatures were more likely than not to come through here and attack their people.

The guards let both Koiāku and the human pass through, Pathos wasn't too afraid with Koiāku by his side, assuming he was extremely good at using his powers in self defence. This part of the forest wasn't as thick, the sun shone over top easily, leaving little areas shaded. It was beautiful, but dangerous. Pathos was told multiple times not to touch certain flowers for even if they were breathtaking they were deadly poisonous.

"Here is where we used to train young who couldn't start their powers by any other means" Koiāku pointed to an opening, it had become slightly overgrown, benches were either broken or covered with foliage, and the centre stone was covered with vines and grass growing through the cracks. "Guards would stand nearby and entice a creature, the young would stand on the stone and be protected, but the fear will still grow strong. Their powers will break free and they will defend themselves" Koiāku gestured around them as he spoke, leading Pathos to the stone circle.

"I cannot be out of our home limits for too long. If something happens to me I cannot give my heir onto the next, and it causes quite the fuss between our kind. Will you be alright here on your own? There is a river not too far away where you can take water from. Or, of course, all creatures on this planet have liquids within them. You can effectively kill them from the inside" he spoke so calmly yet Pathos shifted uncomfortably at the idea, he never liked killing bugs, let alone living creatures. Even if they were to hurt him first.

"I'll be fine" Pathos nodded, he didn't need to be caught next to an injured Koiāku, he couldn't imagine what would happen to him.

"Good. I will be back in an hour" Patton nodded and watched Koiāku leave back towards the village, letting out a soft sigh Patton sat down on the circle and gazed around, assuming he'd be alone for awhile he cupped his hands around a head of a flower at the edge of the stone circle, gazing at the orange petals. The poor plant was dying, wilted over in his grasp.

"Hey Thomas" he murmured, "I hope you're doing okay out there. At home. It must be nice... it's gotten better here! The aliens are starting to like me... just two days ago Virgil's matercula gave me a gift! It was a book bound together by leaves and vines- leaves here are so thick! I can't even rip them apart. Anyway- she said I could write or draw whatever I wanted to inside. When I opened it there was a small note, I couldn't understand so Logos translated, she said sorry for being so mean to me... it was so sweet" Patton closed his eyes as he spoke, talking to Thomas had become a common occurrence for him during his alone times, it made him feel closer to home.

"I think I like Logos, more than... in a friend way. He's so sweet and- and cute! And smart too, he always wants to learn stuff about our kind to help me in anyway he can. He's the best" the human giggled softly, "and-"

Snap

Patton's eyes whipped open, a loud gasp escaping his lips when he gazed at creature across from him. It's skin was a dark brown, not a tail to be seen of, but walked on all fours. It's whole body was thick, skin taunt and presumably very tough. Patton didn't know what to make of it until it's lips pulled back to reveal sharp black teeth, a low growl emitting from it's throat.

"Oh shhh...oot" he whispered, crawling to the edge of the stone. "I-I don't want to hurt you" Patton tried, but the creature didn't understand him (and wouldn't have cared it it could), carrying on stalking over to the quivering human.

"I-I.." he shook his head, he didn't want to make it bleed from the inside. That was so inhumane! His eyes then caught sight of something by his foot, the flower...the flower with orange petals wasn't wilting anymore, it was standing up, soaking the sun with a new vengeance for life. Patton brought it back. He could control nature... he didn't even need a scare, just a powerful force of emotions.

Whenever he spoke to Thomas he always felt calm and settled, but insurmountably happy, mentioning Logos must've amplified that, and allowed him to use his control over nature.

"Please stay back" Patton warned again, but the creature was close, closer now, he didn't have any choice. Sticking out a hand towards him, he clenched it into a fist, the grass around the alien's legs grew, grew and wrapped around it like long tendrils, stopping it from moving. The creature growled and tried to struggle away, Patton saw his opportunity to escape, while the creature was trapped he jumped up and sprinted towards the village, letting out a squeal when he noticed a bunch of the same creature hidden in the trees. They must hunt in packs.

He screamed again, fear striking his heart and the tree beside him, which fell to the ground behind him, blocking a creature which was about to pounce. Guards heard his screams and rushed over, using their powers to keep the creatures at bay while Patton rushed back towards safety. He didn't stop until he was back at the large field where many other young aliens were practicing their control on nature. Everyone was turned in his direction. Of course they heard his screams.

"Pathos!" Logos called, flying over to him in an instant, checking him over worriedly. "Why were you out there?" He fretted, holding Pathos by his shoulders. The human shuddered, resting against his friend. "I told Koiāku I first controlled water when you scared me. He suggested I could do the same with nature so-"

"He took you to the old training ground? It was outlawed years ago! Does he not realise the dangers-!? What happened!?" He demanded, cutting his previous sentence short. Patton hugged Logos gently, swaying them both back and forth to calm down the alien. "I... I was bringing a flower back to life when a creature appeared. It was brown and didn't have a tail-" 

"A venepoma" Logos supplied, "did any of it's saliva touch you?"

Pathos looked down at himself, shaking his head. "Why?"

"It is poisonous. They evolved to survive eating the poisonous plants when they weren't getting enough meat. It is why their teeth are black" he explained, tentacles lifted from his shoulders and tense. "Koiāku shouldn't have taken you and left you there. You cannot defend yourself well yet and-"

"Logos" Pathos soothed, cupping his face and meeting his gaze. "I'm fine. I accidentally forced a tree down in fear but I'm fine!"

"You did? Peculiar. Your powers are much stronger than that of our kind when it is first awoken. I suppose you are much older than a child" he pointed out, looking in surprise at Pathos who gasped. "Hey!" He laughed, swatting his shoulder. "Not that much older!"

"Ah, my apologies. Does your kind not like being called old?"

Pathos smiled to show he didn't mind, "sorta, it depends who you tell it to. My english teacher always said she was 'sisters' with her daughter to new people... she was odd" Pathos frowned a little, but shrugged and put on a bright face. "It doesn't matter! I was only joking, here" Patton grabbed Logos' hand and forced his palm upwards. "Close your eyes" Patton then requested, Logos gazed at him curiously but did as told, waiting until he felt some weight on his hand.

Looking at it, he realised Patton had grown and placed a flower into his grip. "For you" he explained, then skipped over to Virgil and Roman who had both come over but stayed back to allow Logos and Pathos to speak. While he went, Logos delicately took the flower with light blue petals, tucking it into his pocket.

With a warm in his chest, he followed after Pathos, making a mental note to talk to Koiāku later.

—

After the scare of Patton screaming in the forest, nearly being killed and promising to never go outside of the perimeter by himself Roman decided to go on a stroll around the boarder to check for any creatures who may be lurking or any parts of the fence that may have been destroyed.

"How can they think it's a good idea to let a human stay here?" Roman paused in his tracks as he overheard a conversation nearby, ducking by a tree to listen in. "I don't know" a second voice replied, "it's so dangerous! And letting him have our powers? He's waiting here to earn our trust before he tells his people about Poityhi and lets them all have our magic. Then what? We'll be killed! Or worse" Roman shook his head, he trusted Pathos to not do that, he seemed way too friendly for it to be a lie, then again... it would make sense. The only limiting factor is Poityhi doesn't give powers to just any other species. In fact Pathos is extremely special, he would be to have one, but two? And possibly more? He was more worthy than any of them.

He didn't want to imagine Pathos betraying them, but he has already hurt one of their people, even if he is a jerk. But would it be possible for him to act so... well? Roman dabbled in acting himself, but his panic attack seemed so real. He didn't know what to believe, but knew if Patton did betray them, he'd be the first human to suffer the consequences of visiting their home planet.

In the mean time, he'd straighten these two aliens out.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation" he butted in unannounced, surprising the two nature-wielding aliens who quickly stood up from where they sat twisting vines into stronger ropes.

"Uh, Kingsley, sir-" one stammered, but Roman held up a hand to silence him.

"My dear friend Pathos would never do such a thing. Besides- we are all still much more powerful than he is. He hasn't had the chance to live with his powers all his life like we had, don't be so fearful, he won't hurt any of us. I will protect you all, the guards have never failed you before, right?" He prompted, eying them both. They sighed and agreed begrudgingly, gazing at the ground.

"Right" he clasped his hands together, "don't go spreading false information about our human. He's under a watchful eye, don't you worry" with one last lingering look Roman disappeared into the shrubbery, carrying on his walk around the perimeter. He'd need to talk to Koiāku about this, but the ruler already had a lot on his plate. He was ageing and soon he'd need to appoint a new ruler, which does take a toll on all Koiāku's.

—

"Do you think he'll have my element?"  Claficent pondered to his sibling who was currently skipping ahead of him, Ahiano following close behind to keep the two safe. "Maybe! I'm just so excited he has mine!" Petal gushed, in his excitement conjuring up a bunch of flowers along the pathway. "And he can already grow flowers! He's sooooo good" Petal continued, often he'd ramble about the human but Claficent understood why, he was so... amazing. And saved both their lives.

"Do you think... if he does have mine, he'd let me teach him stuff?" Claficent asked, Petal turned and smiled softly to his sibling. "Of course he would! He let me teach him how to make a flower crown, he'd love to know your cool tricks! Like, hmm... aha! Making those cute fire balls that roll around in your hand" Petal ranted hurriedly, bringing Claficent's hands up as a silent prompt for him to do his trick.

The younger brother chuckled and did so, a ball of fire no bigger than a human bouncy ball rolling across his palm and fingers. Petal watched mesmerised. "You're getting so good! One day you can use fire inside without the worry of burning everything down!" Petal laughed happily, Claficent rolled his eyes but still bounced on the spot in excitement.

The two young aliens continued their daily walk through the forest, thankful their parents still allowed them to do so after what had happened to them two plus weeks ago. They loved exploring, nicknamed the 'little adventurers' by everyone who knew them.

"Do you think one day we could have a sleep over? With Pathos and Logos? I've always wanted to visit one of the sky homes!" Petal pointed towards the heavens, Claficent shrugged, but was filled with excitement at the prospect. "Maybe? We can ask! He's never said no to us before, right?"

Petal shook his head in agreement, "nope! And no one can say no to my pout" Petal giggled, twirling around as he walked, far to much energy built up within him for walking normally.

"And- oh!" Petal stopped, turning to the right curiously. "What's that?"

Claficent hurried to his side, Ahiano stood behind them protectively, sniffing the air for any signs of threat, but nothing was nearby.

"It looks like a... bowl? But it's made with fabric" Petal guessed, reaching forward to pick up the item caught in a bunch of nettles. "What's the red stuff?" Claficent pointed out, the two leaned close, both letting out a gasp simultaneously when they realised it was blood. "Someone could be hurt!" Petal exclaimed, "Ahiano! Sniff them out!" He pointed to the hat, the beast leaned down to sniff, then followed the scent, making sure her two kids hopped us onto her back just in case they needed to escape quickly.

They were led through some bushes which were easily pushed away, they still kept their heads low and eyes peeled for anything. "Look" Claficent whispered, pointing to the ground. "More blood.."

Petal looked too, seeing spatters of the liquid across plants and trees. Then they realised the ground had been disrupted, like something heavy was dragged across it. "This can't be good" Petal whispered, tugging on Ahiano to stop. She did so immediately, looking around for danger.

"Oh no" Claficent gasped, Petal looked forward and gasped too, horror shining in his eyes. Before them, through a small gap in the bush, they could see an arm. A human arm detached from it's body. "Wait here, please" Petal murmured to Claficent, sliding down from Ahiano to get a closer look. He couldn't see any signs of the creature who attacked, so wasn't too worried, but rather scared for the humans life.

Although, he realised soon enough they were all too late. Through the bush it was worse, bits of human blood, guts and body parts littered around, ripped from the body like they were nothing, bones peeled of meat completely in a pile towards the side. The young alien tumbled back, tears springing in his eyes.

"We-we need to find Pathos"

—

"And that's how you grow a sapling" one of the trainers for the nature element explained, allowing Pathos to repeat the slow yet rewarding process of making a small tree. He had already made a couple, messing up a few times but getting the hang of it. "Do you think I'll be able to grow a tree as big as that one?" He pointed to the biggest tree in the land, the trainer laughed gently.

"Ulaquioa? No, none of us can. But you can move the branches if you want, and make more branches grow from it, but it's advised not just in case"

Patton's eyes widened, "it has a name?" He whispered in astonishment. The trainer laughed again, "yeah, has no one told you?"

Patton shook his head, "nope! Although I don't ask many questions- maybe I should.." he added shyly, but she waved him off dismissively. "No, makes it all the more fun to pick up names in conversation, right?" Patton smiled and nodded happily. "Yeah! It does"

"Now, I know you can make flowers, but-"

"Pathos!" Virgil gelled, running up to where he and the trainer sat. "Petal and Claficent need you- it's urgent"

"What!?" Patton jumped to his feet, "are they hurt?"

"No, but they're in distress, they won't tell us anything but they want you" Patton nodded and turned to the trainer, "I'm sorry, can we-?"

"Yes, we can continue later, now go! Go!" She ushered, Patton thanked her before running off with Virgil, finding the two children sitting in the medical hut with Ahiano waiting outside, lifting her head when she spotted Patton. Before allowing him inside, she dropped something at his feet.

Virgil watched Patton gaze down at it in confusion which quickly morphed to shock and fear.

"What is it?" Virgil asked quickly, Patton bent down and picked it up.

"It's a hat, human's wear it on their heads" he explained quietly, focused on the blood stain.

He didn't say a word and moved into the hut, both their matercula and patercula were there, trying to calm the two aliens down, but when they spotted Pathos they jumped from the cot and rushed to his legs. "We need to show you something! Please come with us!?" They begged, Patton could already guess what they might've saw from the hat and agreed instantly.

Before protest, Patton was riding Ahiano with the two young aliens while Virgil, his parents and the medically trained alien watched them go. "We should follow them" Virgil's patercula stated strongly, "what if they're in danger?"

"No, knowing you you'll try and kill Pathos if you even think he has anything to do with it, I'll follow them- you get Roman and Logos, meet us in Koiāku's home" with that Virgil was rushing after the human and his younger siblings, praying whatever they found wouldn't be as bad as he assumes it is.

"We were just walking and found that" Claficent pointed to the hat in Pathos' hands, "then we saw blood and followed and-" he swallowed, not wanting to say what he saw, it would only make it more real. "We saw a human... they're dead" Petal finished for him, they had stopped a few feet away from the hedge where the human's body laid.

"Wait here with Ahiano" Patton commanded, gripping the hat tightly while pushing on past the bush, letting out a gasp then a soft cry when he saw the scene. Human remains scattered without care, a pile of clean bones, and clothes shredded apart with no mercy. "No, oh, oh gosh no..." he whispered, falling to the ground and covering his mouth, ready to throw up his lunch but managing to keep it down from years of being faced with terrible wounds.

He shuffled across the ground, avoiding any of the remains while searching through the clothes, able to pull out a metal badge. Rubbing away the blood, he read the name engraved.

Howard

Howard. Christopher Howard. He knew him, he was one of the people who actually left him alone rather than bully or tease him, or remind him he doesn't belong on the planet with his lack of formal training for the job. He gripped the badge tight in his hand, if a human was this close to be attacked by a creature, he feared the secrecy of the aliens, and wondered if it still existed!

A gasp made him flinch, gazing at Virgil who stood frozen after climbing through the bush, eyes gazing at what was left.

"I'm.. Pathos, I'm so sorry" he whispered gently, Patton turned back towards the badge, feeling tears slip down his face. They were only acquaintances, yet it was still terrible. He looked towards the clothes again, narrowing his eyes on a... book. A brown, leather bound book. Reaching over he grabbed it, flipping open to the first page.

He skimmed over the words, only five of the pages had been used thus far, but the last page made his skin crawl.

Early morning report: Intelligent species discovered. Must report back to home base.

Midday report: I think a creatures is on my tracks, not entirely sure yet.

Ten minutes +: Hiding from vicious creature. Wants to kill me. If this is found intelligent species is powerful. Can control the elements of the planet. Must take closer analysis before planning attack

They know. At least they're onto the alien species. They obviously sent someone to go explore and find more, Pathos didn't want to know what would've happened if Christopher made it back to base. Even still, they're going to be on the search for him, whether they think he's dead or alive.

They'll find the alien's kind one way or another, he had to warn Koiāku.

Staggering to his feet, he reached over and gripped Virgil's arm, Virgil instantly supporting his friend's weight, gazing at him in concern. "I... I need to talk to Koiāku" he murmured, Virgil nodded and helped him over to Ahiano, such a strong beast as herself she managed to carry them all back to Koiāku's home where she waited outside while everyone went in.

"Pathos, is everything alright?" Logos asked once spotting his friend, helping him sit down at the table. Roman, Koiāku and Virgil's parents were there too, watching him silently. Pathos nodded, shaky hands resting on the table. "There was a human" he managed, Roman sat up, tense with his hands clenched.

"He was dead. Eaten..." his voice quivered, a few tears escaping him. "Eaten alive by something- his-his name was Christopher Howard" he explained as best he could, laying out his name badge where the aliens could see. Virgil's parents hard expressions softened, they knew how hard it could be to lose someone. Especially in such a horrific way.

"He- he wrote down notes" Patton brought out the book, sliding it over to Koiāku before even thinking he'd be unable to read it. "About.. about your kind. He hasn't- he wasn't able to tell my kind in time before.." Logos placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, which gave Patton permission to lean against him, hiding his face against his neck as his body wracked with sobs.

"So we're still hidden from the rest of the humans?"

"This isn't the time to be interrogating him" Virgil stepped in, "please leave him alone" Petal added, standing next to Patton's legs with Claficent. "Why don't you two young ones wait outside?" Koiāku suggested, the two whined in protest but after receiving looks from their parents they acquiesced.

"We need to know, Virgil" his patercula insisted, before he could protect Pathos again Roman stepped in. "It is vital information in keeping us protected"

Virgil shot him a glare but silenced, they all waited for Pathos to calm down before he mumbled a response, "no, they don't. But they're close to finding you. They won't make it, you'll kill them because they'll attack and I'll... I'll be stuck on this planet"

"Is that such a bad thing? You've loved living here so far. If you aren't anything like your kind, why would you want to go back?" Virgil's matercula rebutted. Pathos shrugged. "I mean, no! I love all of you but-... I'll never see home again. I'll never see my best friend again, or.. or my patients, or dogs I used to walk in shelters, or...my own patercula" he felt the weight of sorrow crash down on him, every time he thought about being able to not return to home made him want to sob endlessly, because it is his home after all.

This planet was lovely, the aliens even more so (mostly) but he didn't belong here, he belonged on Earth.

"We cannot read this" Virgil's patercula stated, waving the book around. "I will translate everything" Logos replied, making the book fly from the alien's grasp and into his own. "For now I will take Pathos home. He has experienced a lot in a short time and he needs to rest" helping Pathos to his feet, he turned to Virgil and whispered; "whatever you do, do not allow us to attack the humans first"

He looked uncertain he could do it, but nodded strongly anyway. With that, Logos scooped Pathos up and flew out the building.

"Will he be okay?" Petal called, jumping up when he saw them. Pathos looked down at them and sniffled, "can we bring them?" He whispered, Logos contemplated the idea before agreeing, Patton held the children in his lap while Ahiano watched them go, trusting they would be safe away from the dangers on ground. Plus she trusted Pathos. She moved onto her next priority, Virgil, after all he was the child she used to protect just as much as Petal and Claficent.

They made it up to Logos' house, the two young aliens were seated downstairs where Logos told them it would be best to wait until Pathos was ready for their company. They agreed and entertained themselves with drawing while Logos took Pathos to bed, laying him under the covers gently.

"I don't want any of you to get hurt" Pathos' voice was shaky as he spoke, Logos knelt down and held his hand. "We won't, Roman would never allow that. We still have some time before the humans find us. For now, you let out your emotions if you need to. I will be here for you" Logos reassured him. Pathos managed a small smile, then shuffled back on the bed.

"Cuddles..?" He requested meekly, feeling less bad when he saw how Logos lit up at the suggestion. "Of course!" He instantly agreed, a little too eager for someone who would feel "pressured to agree". Patton smiled wider, Logos genuinely want to cuddle him.

The two laid down, Pathos shuffled into his arms, wrapping his own around the alien's waist, while Logos kept his arms around his torso. "Can I... sleep for a bit?" Pathos murmured, "I'm tired.."

"Yes, sleep for however long you need" Logos replied, the human smiled and closed his eyes, the warmth and comfort Logos brought helped him settle into an easy sleep, all the while Logos never left, wanting to bring as much comfort as possible.

—

Two days and passed since Patton was faced with the remains of Christopher Howard. He had opted to staying inside of Logos' home during that time, he'd much prefer to avoid other aliens and their prying questions until he wasn't so upset over the ordeal.

He had practiced both his elements in the mean time, pouring water into cups without touching them or making flowers to place in vases to make the place more homely. Logos didn't mind, and in fact liked his small improvements quite a bit. He's never been one for interior design, and left Pathos to do whatever he wanted.

Living with each other had improved them both, Logos' friends Roman and Virgil notes how happier and friendlier he was ever since Pathos arrived, and how much Pathos seemed comfortable around them now, after spending so much time with Logos, being invited into his home and sharing their secret intimate moments. (Cuddling).

Even if Patton loved to stay here and tidy up like a housewife, he couldn't stay here forever. It would be nice to hide away from his problems but eventually they'd catch up on him when he least expected it.

Logos was currently in his 'kitchen', Patton pointed this out one day and Logos was infinitely curious to know what a 'kitchen' was, and ever since called the room a 'kitchen' as it was filled with his food, drinks and things alike.

"Hey, Lolo" Pathos called happily upon entering the room, the alien perked up from washing his hands in his small fountain. Every house had one. Smiling at seeing Pathos' emotional improvements he stepped over. "Hello, Pathos. May I help you?"

He nodded, reaching over to slowly slip his hand into Logos'. The alien's tentacles lifted, mouth parting just slightly as he looked down at their intertwined fingers. He secretly <adored> whenever he could hold Pathos' hands, it felt right, that warmth he could never get enough of it. And Pathos secretly knew this, Logos wasn't at all subtle and any time Pathos made slight affections he'd react, oblivious to how obvious he was being.

"Can we go on a walk? I've been inside for so long, seeing nature again would be beneficial for both of us! And~" he took a step closer, smiling shyly. "It could be like a... date, if you want"

Logos floundered like a fish with no idea what a 'date' was, but Pathos seemed so cute yet sheepish at the same time, often he'd get like this when asking for cuddles, so a 'date' must be as good as cuddles, right? He nodded which made Pathos jump onto his toes and giggle brightly. "Great! I'll change and get ready" with that he pressed a kiss to the alien's cheek disappeared upstairs.

Logos touched the spot and melted against his wall. He'd noticed how... affectionate Pathos had become the longer they had spent time together, something he had only seen in couples of his kind, but conducted rather differently. It was rare for two of his species to flirt with one another unless they were already dating, so it did feel a little odd, but Logos had no idea if Pathos would ever want to date him, and if flirting meant much less to humans.

He wouldn't dwell on the thought, spending time with Pathos was enough for him.

Once the human had changed and made himself look presentable, Logos picked him up and flew him down the tree, taking him to a favourite walking spot of his, one many people didn't take for his close it got to the boarder. "We must be careful" Logos stated once they followed the stone path, "but it is a very nice walk. There are many flowers to marvel at, and kurias" as he said this he pointed to the bug that flew past them, long billowing wings taking them through the air.

They were just bigger than a butterfly and looked rather similar, but their wings were more complex and rather than having one they had two pairs of wings. Pathos watched it go with a smile, while Logos was distracted he held his hand again, squeezing it lightly to get his attention. "Is this okay?" He tilted his head, glancing down to their shared grip. Logos swallowed and nodded, "y-yes. Perfectly okay" he replied, voice shaky.

Patton laughed softly, stepping closer to Logos' side. "Cutie" He purred under his breath, urging Logos along the pathway before his knees became too wobbly. Any compliment had Logos covering his face with his tentacles and silencing himself to avoid embarrassment, like the time he squeaked, squeaked when Pathos called him beautiful. Never again would he allow himself to make such a noise.

"You're right!" Patton gushed, leaning down every so often to smell the flowers. "Everything here is so pretty!"

Logos nodded in agreement, then with abrupt curiousness asked, "what is your planet like?"

"Earth?" Pathos prompted, "it's pretty too!" He stated, "but not like this... our flowers are much smaller, and our trees don't have such a... blue tint" Pathos pointed to the trees around them, "but we have redwood trees! They're really big and really red" he giggled softly, "we don't have as many vicious creatures as you do either. We have lions! And tigers! Ooh, and hippos and crocodiles, but they could all be taken down by a uhm.." he pushed his lips to the side in thought, "a habiela?" Logos nodded to show he was correct, he did a little hop in excitement. "Or a venepoma. But hey! That's why they're on different planets" he shrugged.

"What does a lion look like?" Logos questioned, eager for more.

"Oh! Well, they're ginger, walk on four legs, smaller than a trica but not by much. Males have these manes of hair around their necks!" He gestured by waving his hands around his own, "while females don't. Ooo! That reminds me! We have this bird called a 'peacock' and they're soo pretty! Males have these tails made from long feathers I think? That are blue or white, or green and blue! They have these patterns that look like eyes on the end, and when they see a female to mate with they shimmy around until all the feathers spread out to create a sorta... fan of feathers! It's so cool" he marvelled, thinking back to the animals back on his planet.

Logos wished he had brought something to write all this new information down, hopefully he could ask Pathos to explain more when they returned home and he could make note of everything.

"What about a hippo?"

Pathos began gently swinging their arms, "hippo is short for hippopotamus, and I think they're one of the biggest land creatures? Well, maybe not as big as a giraffe... but giraffes are tall while hippos are... wide, I don't really know! But they can be really big, and usually purple. They weigh a tonne and are quite fat- which isn't a bad thing!" He added quickly, "and their jaws are really strong, their teeth are enormous too! If you get caught in their mouth there's no way out" Patton laughed softly at his less-than-humorous comment, but nevertheless.

"What about giraffes?"

Pathos then went off into an explanation about giraffes, cheetahs, rhinos, zebras, horses, cows, sheep, anything he could think of. His description of dogs was the most detailed and filled with most stories - Logos worked out from all the creatures he had named, dogs must be domesticated. They had their own 'pets' too, but Logos was never interested in keeping one.

Pathos talked and Logos listened for so long, they didn't realise how far they had gotten on their walk, but when Logos took a brief look around, he stopped walking in surprise. Pathos turned to look at him confused, "we have gone too far" Logos pointed out, noticing how they weren't walking on stone anymore, just grass. "We should turn back" he then suggested.

Pathos nodded in agreement, the two ready to turn towards home when a voice made them freeze in place. Pathos ducked down with the alien, hiding beside a bush. They would've assumed it was another one of Logos' kind, but not when what they were talking about was heard.

"There's no point in looking for Howard!" A human hissed, stomping down on shrubbery that caught around his legs. "He's dead! Eaten alive somewhere and left to rot"

"But he was closer to discovering an apparent 'intelligent race' than any of us. Even though there isn't one" a second human rebutted, "and bosses orders. You know how feisty he's gotten since his son died"

Pathos squeezed Logos' hand, then pointed to himself and mouthed; "I'm his son" to which his friend nodded in understanding.

The first human scoffed, "Ambrose? I'm surprised he wasn't jumping for joy. Imagine being tied to that sensitive crybaby. If my son was anything like him, I'd shoot him on the spot"

The second human laughed, "couldn't agree with you more. Can't believe he was ever brought here- I bet he was what got the crew killed. Our helicopters don't go up in flames for no reason"

Pathos tried to ignore them, but being reminded of the constant remarks and bullying he had received while living in the human's base made his heartache. Logos noticed his change in expression, he didn't know what a 'crybaby' was, and being sensitive wasn't notoriously a bad thing in his kind, but he could deduce the 'shoot him on the spot' remark meant to them, Pathos is a disappointment, or embarrassment, and Logos wouldn't let that continue.

He was about to stand up and punish them both, but Pathos grabbed his forearm, shaking his head vigorously. "No" he mouthed sternly, Logos' jaw clenched, he wanted to ignore his friend and do what was right, but knew if the humans escaped they'd know of the 'intelligent species', he didn't want to be a cause of a war. So he stayed low, sending Pathos an apologetic look.

"Whatever, he's dead now, no need to think about that faggot"

Pathos' face twisted and he held a hand over his mouth, Logos' eyes flickered from him to where he could see the legs of the humans. Having no idea what faggot meant he instantly knew it wasn't a kind word, and must hurt Pathos a lot. Anger burned inside of him, how dare anyone speak about his friend like this?!

"Woah- what's with the sudden wind?"

"Whatever man, this planet is fucking insane. Meat tastes good though"

"Well let's head back before a full blown storm breaks loose. I'm starving and my legs ache, they can send someone else to search for Howard's remains"

"I'll take a quick look over here" the second human called, Logos' tentacles rose when he saw him turn towards where they were hiding, walking over rather quickly. He silently notified Pathos and the human looked caught up in an array of thoughts, which all led down to a quick decision. He pushed Logos down and wrapped a bunch of roots from the nearest around his torso, pinning him to the ground.

The alien's eyes widened, watching in horror as Pathos jumped up and stood before him, Logos heard both the humans gasp in surprise.

"...Ambrose?"

"The fuck!? You're alive?"

Pathos glanced between the two, feeling odd seeing a human after so long. He knew them to be Clive and James, meanies who never left him alone.

"Yep" he replied, stepping over the bush to lead them from Logos, "I'm alive" he sighed, "somehow. I was rather lucky, what are you doing out here?"

Clive and James shared a look in disbelief, shock, a mixture of emotions. "We're... fuck man, how'd you survive this long? It's fucking impossible! Not even we can stick out here for a day!"

Patton let a small smile play at his features, "guess I'm just better at you"

That got under their skin, Clive who was closest reached forward and grasped his arm, yanking him over to James. "C'mon, lets get you back to base. Bet your father will give us a hefty reward for finding you"

"Hey!" Patton squirmed, "I don't need your help! Let me go!"

James laughed and grabbed his other arm, "what? Forest made you insane? Just shut up Ambrose before we make you" Patton sent a glare at them both but knew he couldn't win, instead he looked over his shoulder as he was shoved inside the back of their helicopter, as soon as the doors were closed and they were lifting off the ground, Pathos let up his powers, seeing Logos quickly stand up and rush to where the helicopter was flying away from.

Pathos pressed his hand against the glass but Logos couldn't do anything, forcing the flying object down could cause Pathos harm, so he watched hopelessly as he was taken away.

Half an hour later they were landing back in base, Patton quickly shoved himself out and darted away from where Clive and James could grab him, but he found himself in a worse position when he realised everyone who had been walking around outside doing their jobs spotted him, froze in shock and simply stared.

"Running off so soon?" Clive gripped his arm tight, making him wince but he kept a strong face, turning away from the man who practically dragged him towards the building and down the hallways.

"Where the fuck did you even go anyway?" James asked, Patton kept his head down and didn't say a word, which made James roll his eyes and clench his fist, sending a punch directly into his gut. Patton doubled over, wind escaping his lungs while the two men laughed at his pain. This sort of physical bullying had lasted throughout all his time here, whenever he told his father he was told to "man up" and "fight back".

Patton wondered if he was finally killed, then his father would realise something.

He was taken up flights of stairs, passed faces of shock, ignoring questions called to him and remarks such as; "the faggot survived!" Or "I wish a creature took him out"

Everyone there hated him, and he longed to be in Logos' arms again. Even if he was surrounded by humans now, he felt much more at home with Logos and Virgil and Roman, Petal and Claficent too, they were so sweet. They were all so sweet.

"Hey, Sargent?" Clive called, the tall, built man who stood before his holographic screen, revealing much of the mapped out land across the planet simply grunted in response. "We have a gift for you" James added, thrusting Patton forward where he fell onto his knees, wincing in pain.

Patton's father grunted angrily and turned on his heel, ready to berate the two men when his eyes landed on Patton staggering to his feet and staring at him timidly. Patton was much smaller than his father, and weaker too. His father's hair was cropped while Patton's almost reached his ears. His eyes were icy cold, and Patton's were round and warm.

"You're... alive" he commented idly, Patton lifted one shoulder up. "Yeah, happy to see me?" He asked, not entirely sarcastic, but he knew the answer. His father stepped forward, eying his clothes. "The fuck are you wearing?"

Thinking on his toes, Patton responded. "Extra clothes I packed, Thomas made them for me before I left"

He knew Thomas, Patton never stopped badgering on about the boy when he was younger. "Now, tell me how you survived out there" he jutted his thumb behind him where a long window revealed the view of the giant, never ending forest.

"I just... did" he squirmed, "I don't know! I didn't really come across anything that wanted to hurt me-"

"Bullshit" his father spat, "I know when you're lying. And when you decide to stop, you can leave the hold"

"Wh- what?" Patton stuttered uselessly, "Jones, Mont, take him down to the hold. We don't know if you're actually my son or a shapeshifting beast. Besides, without you telling me the truth you're useless to me"

Patton started hopelessly at his father who turned his back to him, arms being grabbed once again by Clive and James, but this time Patton had enough.

"I'm your son!" He yelled, tears glinting in his eyes. "You're not even happy to see I survived!?"

His father held up a hand to stop Clive and James who paused, watching as their Sargent turned towards Patton, reeled back his hand and slapped him across his face. Patton cried out, heart breaking in his chest.

"You're not my son" his father replied coldly, "in fact- the only reason I brought you were was so you could die"

Patton lifted his head slowly, "what...?"

"Dying on a new planet is heroic, living your life as a stupid doctor is pathetic. Can I not make it more clear you are nothing to me? You made your intentions clear when you went against my orders, threw away your life as an explorer of new worlds, and ruined yourself to help the needy. I never want to see or hear your voice again" he sneered with full resentment and clear disdain.

Patton didn't know what to say or think, he just watched with tears streaming down his face as his 'father' turned around back to his work. Clive and James simply chuckled and took Patton down to the basement where the 'hold' was, a sort of made shift jail for anyone who were to act up.

"Hey, we have a new guy" James called to the man sitting behind a desk. He didn't even look, just simply held up a small device and pressed a green button. Before Patton the green, holographic screen disappeared and he was thrown inside of the cell, before he could even turn the green screen appeared once more, he could see James and Clive smirking at him from the other side.

"Have fun, Ambrose, oh wait... you don't deserve that last name, do you? Guess we'll just call you fag" the two laughed horrendously and left, leaving Patton to stare at the green screen in dismay. It was built in such a way that if it were touched the shock it sent through you was enough to leave you unconscious for a few hours.

Sobbing softly, he crawled to the corner of the metal incased room and cried endlessly. And to think- he was worried about losing his father all this time, when in reality he already had. The man said it himself, Patton was nothing to him. He guessed not for a very long time. He didn't bring him here to say his son was also an explorer, or to hopefully change his mind, but to let him eventually die.

That stung.

He stayed curled up for the rest of the day, by evening something was thrown into his cell. His puffy eyes looked over to see a tray, half the food on the floor, his water spilt everywhere.

If he wasn't going to die out there, he would starve in here.

Burying his face back in his knees, he only looked up again when something wet touched his hand. Looking down, he saw the water had trickled all the way over to him and lifted to his bare skin. His powers... he forgot all about them.

But the mere thought of trying to escape now made him feel even more tired, so with what energy he had left he pulled himself up onto the bed, which was a hard pillow and a thin blanket on top of a metal shelf.

He cried himself to sleep that night, all with the unbearable green glow across the room.

—

"We have to save him!" Logos slammed his hand against the table angrily. "Save? He's with his kind!" Virgil's matercula fired back, "so much saving we'd do- we'll just be bringing him back to a place that was never his home" her voice softened, although initially feeling worried for the human she had grown closer too, she knew he was with his kind now, and he wouldn't be stranded here anymore.

"But he was dragged away without his consent! He's told us many times that his people didn't like him!"

"Logos is right" Roman stepped in, "he told me many of the things he went through the first time we met. It seems none of them like him at all"

"But he can get back home now, there are people on his planet who like him" Virgil's patercula pointed out, which did make a lot of sense.

"I hate this too, Lo" Virgil finally spoke up, "but if the humans leave us alone, and eventually leave our planet then... we can't keep Pathos here. He can go home too and we can just.. I don't know- forget this ever happened"

But that's the problem. Logos didn't think he could ever forget Pathos, not now, not ever. Over the few weeks they had known each other Logos fell for that human, he found himself adoring everything he did - the way he skipped while he walked, nudged their shoulders together as a sign of friendship, or to make him feel better. How they cuddled, fitted together so perfectly, and his laugh- his smile!

Everything. Everything Pathos did made Logos fall further and further in love. Now that he finally admitted it to himself he wanted to cry, he never told Pathos, now he might never have the chance.

He took a step back from the table.

"Logos, I know this is hard for you-"

"You don't know me" he cut Koiāku off, "just..." he dragged a hand down his face, tentacles coiling harshly, "leave me alone!" He cried out, storming out the room and instantly flying off to his home.

They all watched him go in sympathy, Logos had grown the closest to Pathos after all. This would take a lot of time for him to get over. If he ever would.

—

"You still alive?" A gruff voice woke Patton from his sleep. It was early morning and he'd barely managed to stay asleep during the night, waking up every hour to some sort of noise, or simply the ache from laying on metal.

"I said, you alive?"

Patton pushed himself up and blearily gazed towards the green screen where the man who opened his cell yesterday stood, he was rather small and large, a scruffy beard and balding head. "Ugh" he muttered, turning on his heel and walking to the other cage. If he wanted to make an escape Patton supposed he'd have to make a layout of the room.

He stood as close to the green screen as he dared, peering out to see the man calling the same thing to another prisoner. Although this one didn't respond. Finally the short man sighed and opened his cell, walked in and supposedly checked him. Patton couldn't see from his angle. Suddenly he heard the sound of a small siren.

"Yep, he's dead" the small man spoke into a walkie-talkie, Patton watched in horror as a few men entered and picked up the body from the cell, stuffing them into a bag and dragging them away. "How did he die?" Patton called to the short man who turned and stared at him.

"No one survives in these cells forever. Built with a gas that leaks out over time, slowly kills ya until... well, until you're dead" he shrugged, Patton's eyes widened and he took a step back. "You're sick" he whispered, which made the man grin wide, revealing yellow stained teeth.

"Thank ya kindly" he remarked, then hobbled out the room, leaving Patton alone in deadly cells. He looked around his and quickly realised he wouldn't be safe here at all. He could see two ventilation shafts on either side, so he rose his hands towards them and grew thick vines which clotted inside, preventing any gas from further escaping. At least for now.

He then turned towards the man's desk, spotting a bunch of the small devices left in plane sight. They didn't take many precautions here he supposed - although it was impossible to escape.

He noticed beside the computer was a small plant growing inside of a clay pot, narrowing his eyes in concentration he made plant grow all the way to the devices, where he used the stem to press against the green buttons. He repeated this three times before finally reaching the last device. Of course.

Suddenly the green screen disappeared, he was free. But he still had to be discrete. Making the flower return to it's original size, he stepped out the room and rummaged through a pile of clothes in a box, picking out some of the camouflage's pants and jacket. Way too big on him he didn't care, hurriedly putting them over his clothes and grabbing a hat, stuffing all his hair inside of it before pulling the cap over his face.

Before he left he checked for any cameras, realising they were all pointing away from the desk. Thankful they couldn't see him use his powers, he slowly snuck towards the open door, peering down the hallway. It was barren at his end, but to the left was led to another hallway which people crossed continuously.

Turning right instead, he found himself facing a set of stairs. Taking his luck, he grabbed onto the banister and slowly walked up, keeping his head ducked low when one or two other people passed but didn't spare him a glance. He was lucky, being so used to hiding himself from everyone.

The stairs only led him to the ground floor, but that was the perfect place to be. He looked through the window in the doorway that led to the staircase shaft, waiting until the coast was clear before slowly stepping out, silently shutting the door behind him.

He could see a window not too far away, so hurriedly he crossed over to it and tried to push it up, but it was no use.

Unfortunately voices were nearing, so he abandoned the window and ducked into the nearest, emptiest, room. It was mostly for storage but once glance up he could see a shaft leading to a ventilation pipe. Dragging over some boxes to give him a boost, he wrapped vines around the corners of the panel, forcefully knocking out the screws and putting the panel on top of the shelf beside him.

Hauling himself up he was thankful the shaft wasn't going straight up, and instead either went left or right. He went right last time, so he took a left, crawling as quietly as he could through the metal, every so often crossing a panel to see people in the rooms below.

This was nerve wracking, he had never done anything like this before and he was honestly quite scared. What if he was caught? He might be killed on the spot, well... he was already being killed anyway. That thought made him shudder - he couldn't believe his own kind sometimes. It was outstanding the lengths they'd go, and how much they just... wouldn't care.

"Those bastards keep attacking our fence! Why doesn't the electricity work against them?" He heard someone spit, quickly halting his movements to peer through a panel. A room full of people below. "Maybe their skin is too thick?" Someone suggested, the original person huffed our in annoyance. "Well strengthen the fence to max power! I'll blast the fuckers with bombs if I have to" Patton shook his head and carried on.

He kept crawling through the shafts until he was on top of an unused room. Pushing off the panel, he jumped down and rushed to the door, turning the lock and covering the window to give him privacy.

A window on the wall led to the back of the building where many people didn't go, it was a direct route to the tall fence that surrounded the place. It would be impossible to climb, mostly because it was electrified.

However...

That 'creature', it wasn't affected by the fence at all. If Patton could get the attention of one, he might be able to use it to take down a part of the fence.

He gripped the bottom of the window and tugged with all his might, able to slowly slip it open, enough for him to get out. It was raining heavily but that worked in his favour, as more people stayed inside while it poured. Around him he couldn't see a soul, so rushed across the slippery concrete to the fence, able to hear the buzz of electricity.

He looked around the forest directly behind, not able to see anything. He didn't want to make a loud noise either. So he began to shake the trees roughly, side to side against the wind, waiting until he saw movement that wasn't his own.

And eventually, by some miracle, he did. Amongst the commotion he was causing brought the attention of a creature. They had a long tail with spikes across it, swishing from side to side strongly, able to bash a tree out of it's way. It's skin was a dark, dark purple, and eyes a chocolate brown. They gazed at Patton for a moment before it's lips pulled back, sharp teeth revealed. It instantly went for the fence, claws appearing at the end of it's feet, digging into the metal too.

Patton watched in astonishment as the beast took down part of the fence with ease, throwing it to the side.

Now they had a direct path to Patton.

He held up his hands and stepped backwards, but the beast stopped growling, instead let it's tongue loll out his mouth. They fell onto their side, revealing their stomach while panting happily at Patton.

"Oh my gosh" he whispered, a smile overtaking his face. "You just want belly rubs!" He exclaimed, rushing over and scratching the underside of the beast. Their legs began to kick and they grunted happily, letting out what sounded like a yawn mixed with a content whine.

"You're so cute" Patton complimented, "just like dogs back at home! Super friendly..." he eyed the hole in the fence, "and would do anything for human attention"

"There he is! The escaped prisoner!" He heard a distant yell. Twirling around he saw guards in the distance running over to him.

"Shoot, shoot!" Patton left the beast behind and darted through the hole, running through the forest as fast as he could but he knew he wasn't faster than the guards. Behind him he heard the heavy footsteps of the beast, which stopped at his side.

"Can you take me home?" Patton begged, rubbing it's side. The beast sat down and leaned to Patton's, keeping one leg propped up which Patton used as a lift to climb onto, holding onto his skin tight. "That way!" He pointed forward, the beast let out an earth shattering roar, which made Patton scream at and cover his ears, nearly falling off when the beast took running.

He looked behind him to see guards just making it to the fence, but the beast under him moved so quick they were quickly hidden by the trees. His cap flew off, leaving his hair to be whipped back by the wind.

The rain pelts began to hurt his skin, so he controlled the weather and made it avoid him completely (and the beast too, he wanted to prepay their kindness). They travelled for quite some time, Patton barely saw any other creature, he assumed due to the rain. But eventually through the gaps of trees he could see it - the Ulaquioa. He'd only been gone a day but he already missed it so much. And everyone who lived there.

"Hey, hey, stop!" Patton yelled, patting the beasts side. The creature under him dragged their claws through the ground to halt themselves, letting Patton slip off. "Thank you" he murmured, pressing a kiss to the beasts face. "Stay safe, okay?" Patton smiled and gave their stomach one last rub, they let out a much softer roar before turning and storming back through the forest.

Tugging his jacket closer to his body (even if he felt disgusted wearing it) he turned and hurried over towards the boarder, climbing over the fence and thankfully avoiding any guards.

The rush of being back home made him relieved, all he wanted to do was see Logos again, hold him and never let go.

"You're back"

Pathos stopped, slowly turning towards the voice. Myron. He smirked at him, pushing off from the tree. "Didn't think you'd have the courage to return" he stated, slowly circling Pathos like he was his prey. "What made you come back, huh?" He asked once in front of the human, sneering down at him.

"My kind didn't want me" he stated plainly, "they were going to...kill me" admitting it was difficult, he almost choked on the words.

Myron rose his eyebrows, then let out a roar of laughter. "Not even your kind wants you! You don't belong anywhere, filthy human scum. And this time I'm not letting you get away lightly-"

"I've been bullied by worse than you" Pathos cut him off, "I've been torn down and ruined by my own people" he took a step back from Myron, "you can't hurt me anymore. If..." he closed his eyes, hugging himself tighter. "If you killed me now I'd be happy. You're right, I don't belong anywhere. Not even my patercula wants me"

Myron gazed at him with squinted eyes, "you're lying"

Patton sighed, "I'm not lying. If you're going to hurt me, do it. I've realised no matter what I do I can't win" he muttered in defeat, for it was true. However much he wanted Logos didn't matter, in the end would he really ever find himself dating a human? Will they eventually kick him out where he'd die in the forest? He knew he would never be returning home, it would be impossible.

It was either with Logos' kind, or out in the wild for however long he could last. If he didn't belong with his people, how could he belong with another?

Myron watched in silence, looking down at his hand which glowed red. "I lost my brother like that" he muttered, "killed himself. I never asked what was wrong with him when he was here, I hate myself for it everyday. Thought I could make a name for myself by 'avenging' Vergilius from you, but that didn't work out. Now I have the chance to protect my people from a human but..." his eyes slowly turned to Patton's face, "you're not the real threat, at all. You're weak... hurt" he closed his eyes, clenching his hand sight tight.

"If I get to kill a human, my first won't be you. Now... get away from me before I change my mind"

Patton's eyes softened, he walked closer to Myron and placed an arm on his bicep. "If you need me, I'll happily talk up you, Myron. About anything" he promised quietly, but didn't take his threat lightly. Afterwards he quickly parted and hurried out the trees to the village, the rain was diverted from the village and instead to the river or to water crops, lives weren't bothered by the torrential weather, he guessed he should've assumed that.

Walking through the village many people didn't stare at him twice, they didn't even realise he had been taken back home. At this point they were all used to his presence here, and didn't really mind.

That made him feel a bit better. At least he didn't have to hear insults or laughter again.

He made it to Koiāku's home where he entered dripping wet, hearing voices coming from the main room, he looked inside the doorway.

"Logos is distressed, it won't be long before he goes out looking for Pathos himself!" Roman exclaimed, Koiāku who sat at the head of the table nodded grimly.

"I am afraid you're right, Roman"

"Well we can't let him go! The humans will kill him!" Virgil fired back.

"Why are we only trusting Pathos?" His matercula pointed out, "because he told us straight they'd hurt us if they knew we existed"

"What if he's already told them?" His patercula spoke up, "no one could survive out there forever and they must know that, Pathos might've told them he survived because of us"

"I didn't"

The room silenced as all eyes turned towards the doorway, shock morphing their features at seeing Patton, safe and sound, right before them.

"Pathos.." Virgil whispered, pulling all the water off his body and out the front door before pulling him into a hug. The human leaned into it gratefully, but wanted to speak to the others, so leaned back and sent him an apologetic smile.

"I managed to escape" he began, tugging off his jacket and dropping it onto the floor. "They put me in a cell, which for humans is a place to keep us trapped if we're a danger to others, or if we've broken a rule" he explained, "I was put in there because they wanted me dead. My fa-.. patercula told me I was nothing to him, that I'm not his child. They want me to die on this planet, so I'm stranded here if I stay with you, or if I go back. So I was crying for nothing" he stated, empty eyes staring down at the pile of clothes he had stolen. 

"Where's Logos?"

"He... he went home" Roman spoke up, no one in the room really knew what to say, all heartbroken over Pathos' tale.

"If the humans do find you, don't listen to a word they say. They'll lie and try to manipulate you. You need to protect your people, but don't kill them all. Leave a few behind so they can go home and warn Earth this isn't a safe planet for them. Trust me... they leave planets like this alone when they realise it's a threat" he spoke earnestly, yet emptily. Everyone in the room knew what that meant. No one would return for Pathos.

"Are you... okay?" Virgil's matercula spoke up, the human's shoulders sagged. "No, maybe one day. Not right now, but don't worry, and don't feel bad for trying to kill me the first time we met" he turned towards the doorway.

"Apparently you're not the first who wants me dead" with that he left, as soon as he did the clothes went up in flames, surprising everyone who jumped back. The fire only lasted a few seconds before dying out, leaving the ashes of his stolen clothes behind.

Everyone silently shared a look.

"We must protect Pathos" Koiāku stood up, "from his people... and himself. I cannot begin to imagine what a terrible toll that must take on him"

Everyone in the room was in agreement, but Roman ushered everyone away afterwards as he needed to begin making plans with Koiāku about how they would fight the humans when they discover them.

"Hey, Pathos!" Virgil called, hurrying after his friend who was slowly making his way to the tree. "I'm so sorry, about everything"

Pathos stayed silent for a few minutes, trying to think of anything to say, but his mind was blank. "I.." he drifted, feeling tears well in his eyes. "I don't- I don't know what to do, Virgil-"

"You can stay here, with us" he stated firmly, holding a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not letting you be taken back to that human base, and I'm not letting you leave either. You belong here, with us, with Logos. We want you here"

That was enough to make Pathos burst, falling against Virgil and crying his heart out. Aliens nearby looked over in shock and concern, Virgil knelt to the ground with the weeping human, gesturing an air-element alien over and quietly asking her to get Logos to which she agreed instantly.

"Pathos" Virgil whispered into his ear a few minutes later, "Pathos, look" he prompted, helping the human sit up. He scrubbed his eyes and looked to see logos sitting beside him, merely catching his gaze made Pathos cry heavily again, crashing into his lap and falling back against the ground. Logos didn't care, he gripped onto Pathos tight and hid his face into his shoulder, a few of his own tears escaping him. Tears of relief. He truly thought he'd never see Pathos again.

"Pat-Pathos, may I do something?" He requested urgently, sitting them both up. The human sniffled and nodded, gazing at him to see what he wanted. Logos looked at him intently, reaching up to cup his cheek. "Can I kiss you?"

Pathos felt the tornado of emotions within him calm to an abrupt stop. His thoughts that whizzed in his mind blurred into nothing. All he could see, feel, hear was Logos. And right now that was all he wanted.

"Yes" he whispered breathily, "please"

Logos didn't waste a moment, leaning in and kissing him for only a second, but when he leaned back that didn't last either. The two were wrapped in passion, a breathless kiss they never wanted to escape from. Pathos felt the tentacles from Logos' head press against the back of his so softly, caringly Pathos didn't want it to stop.

They kissed and kissed until they couldn't any longer, breaking apart to pant heavily, a string of saliva hanging between their lips.

"I love you" Logos admitted, hand pressed against both of Pathos' cheeks, "I love you" he repeated, voice softer, eyes slipping shut.

Pathos smiled wide, even letting out a few giggles. "I love you too" he replied, leaning in to share another heated kiss.

"I love you too" he whispered again, gazing into Logos' shy eyes.

"Really?" He murmured, needing that confirmation.

He smiled brighter, "really"

His tentacles slipped from his head to his shoulders where they hugged him tight, the two held close in a sweet, loving embrace that Pathos really, really needed.

"Take us home?" He murmured, Logos agreed and rose from the ground, taking Pathos up to his house and laying him gently in bed. "Never prevent me from saving you again, promise me?" He requested as he began to lay down too, still feeling the left over fear of watching Pathos get dragged away.

"I promise, and I'm sorry I did that, I just wanted to protect you from them" he replied, cuddling close to his warm body.

"I know, I am honoured you did so. But next time let me protect you, I could never forgive myself if you got hurt" he murmured, running his hands across Pathos' arms and to his waist, firm fingers pressing against his skin.

Pathos shivered, manoeuvring his arms around Logos' to bring him closer for a kiss. "I will, we can protect each other" he replied upon pulling away.

"Rest now, Pathos. I won't let anything hurt you"

Pathos managed a smile, sharing one last sweet kiss with the alien before resting his face in the crook of his neck, humming softly as Logos' fingers brushed against his back. "Don't stop" he requested gently, Logos didn't need to be told twice. He carried on smoothing across his skin under his clothes, the two falling asleep in each other's arms, warm and wholeheartedly in love.

—

"Pathos, Pathos!"

The human was vigorously shaken awake by the alien sitting up beside him, he quickly sat up, rubbing his tired eyes. "What? What is it?" He asked quickly, but didn't need an answer for he abruptly understood what was happening. Overheard he heard the roar of a helicopter and distant yells from the alien people.

"Shoot!" He hissed, leaping out from bed and pushing open the window, leaning out to see two planes crossing over the land. They had found them.

"Shoot!" He slammed closed the window, turning to Logos who stood up in a rush. "I led them here! I-I led them to your home, I'm so sorry!"

Logos stared at him, perplexed yet betrayed, "you led them here...?" He whispered, then Pathos realised his poor choice of words. "Not on purpose! When I found my way back I must've... not been so discrete. I'm so sorry" he repeated, gently reaching out to the alien who once realising it wasn't on purpose quickly encased Pathos in a hug.

"Don't apologise" he whispered against his hair, "this isn't your fault. Eventually they would've found us"

Pathos pushed himself back, gazing up at Logos with fear shining in his eyes. "What do we do...?" He questioned weakly, for he was all out of ideas, energy, everything. Logos shook his head and gripped Pathos' hands tight. "Not we. You must stay here and protect yourself, we will deal with the humans-"

"No" Pathos cut him off firmly, "I'm not going to stay and watch as my kind will be killed. I've already betrayed them enough, just-" he closed his eyes and sighed, "don't leave me up here, let me help you, I know their weapons, how they attack- I can benefit all of you, please... I'll be okay" Pathos stared at him with great determination, and such a glint Logos knew if he did leave him here he'd find a way down himself.

"...fine" he eventually agreed, "but if you are hurt-"

"Logos, don't focus on that. No matter what happens, just know I love you"

Logos closed his eyes and let out a breath, pulling Pathos into a quick kiss. "I love you too" he murmured, and the two got ready. Changing into more protective clothing, Logos flew Pathos down to where he knew Roman would be, with Koiāku readying the attack against the enemy.

"No interruptions-" Roman tried but when he saw Pathos he cut himself off, "I'm here to help" the human explained to the ruler, head of guards and the other few guards in the room. "The humans have weapons called guns, they shoot small-ish bullets that can kill you but not every time. Don't let them aim for your head or any vital organs- and if you are shot find shelter and put pressure over the wound, I know exactly how to remove a bullet and stop the blood, but guns aren't a joke. Don't let it shoot you more than once" he spoke firmly and a little aggressively, but everyone in the room was preparing for a war, so they couldn't care less. Everyone nodded to prompt him further.

"Take down the the flying things and any machinery they might have. But please don't attack yet, I know my father, he will surround you and try to make you surrender so he can take control of your people and planet. Make sure you have people further out the barrier of humans - and please don't agree to anything he says. He doesn't want peace, he wants power" Pathos turned his attention to Koiāku who stood head of the table.

"Don't make if obvious where important structures are either, if everyone is surrounding Poityhi to keep it safe they'll just aim their attack and not only hurt your people but destroy the sacred circle. And if-" Pathos looked around the room then crossed over to a set of draws, pulling one open and grabbing some paper plus a pencil.

"If you see something like this" he drew a sketch of a grenade, "this is a bomb. It will explode and kill you if you're too close. Don't try and throw it back, just run, okay? Please tell all of what I told you to as many people as you can. And don't worry about humans, they're..." Pathos hesitated, placing the pencil onto the table a bit too loudly. "They're easy to take down. Burning and drowning is the most effective" with that, he took Logos' hand and rushed out the building. Not even minutes later the guards in the room left too, passing word to every guard who then passed the same onto anyone they came across.

Pathos watched more and more planes cross over heard, circling the land steadily.

He clasped his hand around Logos'.

"Remember; don't let them kill everyone"

Logos nodded and watched, panicked, as Pathos turned on his heel and rushed away, he wanted to chase after him but knew whatever Pathos was doing he needed to do alone. Instead he went towards the village and helped everyone relocate to the tree which was the safest place for them to be.

Pathos rushed down pathways and round trees, pushing past plants until he could see the sacred circle. Running down the hill, he jumped up onto the tree stump, panting as he sunk to his knees and pressed his hands against the wood.

"I don't know if you can hear me" he began, "or even have the ability to understand anything- you're a tree stump! A living object but... just a plant. But if you can..  I'll do anything to keep my friends and their kind from danger. I'll give back my powers, I'll... I'll die for them, please" he closed his eyes, resting his forehead against the wood. "Please don't let any of my friends die. They don't deserve this, I should've tried and stopped my people, I... I should've died in that plane crash" he added quietly, "I never should've made it here to you, to witness all of this, but I hope my survival means something- anything..." a tear drop slipped from his cheek, splashing against the smooth wood.

"Please..." he ended, not really knowing what he was pleading for, simply pleading for the aliens he had grown to love, for their survival, protection, everything.

Slowly pushing himself up, he readied himself to return to the middle of all this when the ground underneath him had a violent quiver. He yelped, stumbled and fell to his ass, watching with wide eyes as the sacred circle beneath him... cracked. The noise echoed for seemingly miles, splitting down the centre, all the way to both ends.

A rush of blue wind hit his face, and in a moment his body fell back onto the wood.

Unconscious.

—

"Where's Pathos?" Virgil demanded when he found Logos outside of the tree, ushering everyone inside. "I don't know" he replied, trying to keep strong but his voice wavered. "He didn't say where he went. I didn't follow. I don't know what I'm doing, Virgil, I-"

"Hey" Virgil planted his hands onto Logos' shoulders, "breathe buddy, you're gonna be alright. C'mon, Koiāku is about to speak with the humans...ruler? Leader? Whatever, c'mon, everyone is safe, let's go" he urged, taking Logos' hands and pulling him towards the open plane of land, towards the back end we're a few trucks with armed men standing beside them or sitting inside them. Directly in the middle stood Pathos' father, a proud smirk on his face.

"Guess our scanners were wrong, eh boys?" He called, earning an eruption of chuckles behind him.

"So, are you going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

He stared at Koiāku who didn't respond right away, simply glanced at Roman who clenched his hands, glaring at Pathos' father with resentment.

"Why don't you get off our planet instead?" Roman fired back in response.

"Oh! You do speak English" he completely ignored him, Logos opened his mouth to correct his statement but was elbowed in the gut by Virgil who didn't want any attention drawn to them.

"We request you leave our planet" Koiāku spoke up, "or what?" The man challenged, taking arrogant strides closer, Roman stepped halfway between their leader and the Sargent who cocked an eyebrow.

"Or we won't give your son back" he replied smoothly, the Sargent actually stopped momentarily, eyes gazing over the crowd behind them to possibly catch a glimpse of his child, but quickly snapped out of it.

He then took a step back and threw his arms out in a sort of declare of space, "go ahead. Kill him right here, I won't bat an eye"

Anger quickly twisted into disgust as everyone realised the truth about this man, he was truly evil, crooked, and definitely not willing to give up without a fight.

Koiāku wasn't either.

He glanced at Logos, "find him" he stated simply. The alien took a step back, slowly shaking his head.

"Ha, not even your own people will listen to you" Sargent noted with a mocking laugh, Logos glared at the Sargent, gaze softening once returning to Koiāku. He knew his ruler wouldn't kill him, but he didn't trust the humans at all.

He didn't know what to do.

—

"Ow...my head" Patton whined, pushing himself up from the ground to his knees. "Shoot, where's-?

"Pathos?"

Pathos jumped, looking around him to see who called his name, but finding no one. He looked down and gasped once spotting the state of the sacred circle, a large crack down the middle... he did this, he requested too much, this is his punishment-

"Why would I be punishing you?" The same soft, feminine voice questioned.

Pathos' eyes widened.

"Poityhi...?" He whispered in disbelief.

"Yes, I'm in your head. Is that alright? I can relocate if you want. I once lived in a plant for a thousand years"

"No, no" Pathos waved his hands around, "it's fine. Uhm- may I ask what happened?"

"Yes. But let me first tell you a story. I have been around for longer than time, longer than the universe itself. I have always been quite lonely, with nothing to see, or no one to guide. But then everything began to form, shape, planets and rocks, moons and stars, black holes, explosions of atoms and gas. To watch was incredible, to exist amongst it even more. I am formless, unseeable to your eye, or anyone's eye. I simply exist. I started to visit planets, watch things grow, come alive. I have lived inside many things, to the largest beasts who roam the land, to the smallest insect you could imagine. I've been the water you drink, the food you eat. And even a plant. My favourite, y'know"

Patton chuckled breathlessly, "plants are pretty" he murmured in agreement.

"Aren't they? I found this planet after much exploration. I saw the first creations of these people, and quickly realised I never wanted to leave. I watched them feed the land, give back to their home, only kill when necessary and live in perfect harmony. Which hasn't changed for centuries upon centuries. I finally deemed them worthy, worthy of so much more. I grew this sacred circle for them, allowed young to grow with powers, so their young could have them too. And that was how they continued to live. They named me, and I love it much more than any other name I've been called" the voice continued to explain, soothing Pathos into a state of relaxation and calmness, completely trusting to everything they said.

"But then you appeared. I felt you as soon as you landed here. But I couldn't go to you, find you. Out of pure luck you found these people, and I couldn't let you go. I drew you to me, I felt near insane until you stood on the circle. You are special, Pathos, more special a creature I have ever known. You are selfless, kind, and won't hesitate to help those around you, friends, family, lovers, or strangers. I am sorry awakening you powers hurt, but I only envisioned giving them to young. Would you ever forgive me?"

"Of course" Pathos responded instantly, "I forgive you. It's okay"

Poityhi hummed gently, "incredibly special"

"So... everyone has sleeping powers within them?"

"Yes" Poityhi replied, "the four elements of any planet. But only given to those who treat the planet like the planet does to them"

"You heard what I said, then? You're willing to help us?"

"Of course" Poityhi replied, "these are my people, the ones who have protected me, worshipped me, loved me since I arrived. I cannot let them be hurt by an invasion, but I felt it necessary I work with you. Without a body I am powerless"

Pathos nodded in understanding, pushing up to his feet and looking up the hill he ran down to get here.

"What can we do?"

—

"Well? We're waiting" the sergeant called teasingly, guns strapped to his person, filled with ammunition. Logos shook his head, he didn't know where Pathos was, nor did he want to bring him to the humans.

"Looks like you lost your bargaining chip" the sergeant sighed with false sorrow, drawing a gun from his hostlier and clicking down the back. "Guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way, my favourite" he grinned, ready to order his men into war, when someone called out; "wait! Sergeant, look!"

The man followed where one of his soldiers pointed, spotting the crowd part to let through... Patton. His blue iris' glowed, but other than that no one could tell a difference of him. Logos wanted to reach out and touch him, but something told him to wait, to see what will happen.

Pathos boldly moved in front of Koiāku, in front of Roman, only a few feet away from the man he once called 'father'.

"So... you're not a prisoner at all" sergeant remarked, eyes narrowing. "You left us for these aliens. You betrayed your whole kind, Ambrose"

"You were going to kill me" Pathos reminded, "I had no choice but to leave"

"It's only your fault, you threw away everything, including our family name" he spat back, righting his hold on the gun.

"You're wrong, I didn't want to upset or disappoint you, I just wanted to do what made me happy. Why don't you care about my happiness?"

The sergeants eyes hardened, angry he was being questioned. Scoffing, he replied; "I never cared about your happiness, you were nothing to me from the beginning"

"Really?" Pathos challenged, "I wonder how mother would feel knowing that"

His eyes widened, not realising he would go that far, but they quickly narrowed, arm stretching the gun towards Pathos' head.

"I've wanted you dead since the beginning. Guess I'll have to do it myself" no one had time to react before the echo of the gunshot boomed across the land, Logos nearly fell to his knees in horror and fear; fear of losing Pathos again, but everyone was frozen in shock to see the bullet hovering directly before Pathos' eyes, encased by a blue glow, just like his left hand which was slightly risen.

"It's over, Dean" he murmured, "turn around and go home"

Dean didn't know how to react, aliens were all different from humans, but none have ever had such pure powers as these, and he's never seen it in humans before either. His confusion fuelled his anger, a moment later he was sending his people to attack, which made Koiāku do the same.

Instantly warfare filled the land, the machinery which were thought to be indestructible falling apart after fireballs shot in their direction, or water ruined the intricate wires inside. Aliens flying into the air to take down the people inside planes, or prevent them using the guns attached knowing they were the worse weapon the humans had.

Patton himself flew into the air too, a blue glow started to form around him, covering his eyes entirely white. "I give you full control" he consented to Poityhi who thanked him softly, pressing his knuckle to his open palm, Poityhi closed his eyes and took control of as many bullets as they could, stopping them mid-air from hitting any of the aliens they were directed at.

Tsunamis of water came from the rivers, forming balls around the humans for them to suffocate and drown.

And around them; nature came to life. Trees rooted from the ground and swung their branches at the nearest enemy, either dragging them underground or crushing them to death. Vines shot up from the ground and immobilised the humans, pulling them high up in the air before smacking them harshly against large rocks until blood was splattered everywhere.

And the wind; the winds were strong. Focusing their attack on the planes mostly, especially the bulkier ones that could withstand the fire and water. They were thrown about in the air, flipped upside down and forced down to the ground, explosions kept to a minimum by the aliens who controlled fire, forcing most of it into a spiral upwards, avoiding lighting their whole village in flames.

And this continued for hours...

Logos found himself desperately checking the bodies of humans for anyone alive, but he couldn't find a soul. He was getting more urgent, pleading with the aliens to not kill everyone but they weren't listening. Understandably so, but he didn't want to go against Pathos' one order.

He rounded a building and froze, eyes focused down the centre of a gun.

The noise pierced his ears, he expected pain, but instead the bullet froze before him, then fell to the ground, blue smoke vanishing into the air. Snapping from his revere and silently thanking Pathos, he threw his arm towards the human, forcing any oxygen around him to disperse, leaving him grasping at his neck, choking for a breath.

As quickly as he could he found some nearby rope and tied it around the human, stringing them up somewhere they wouldn't be found. Letting the human breathe again he turned and hurried away, ready to find the next human alive.

It wasn't a surprise to the aliens the humans were quickly taken over and killed. With the help of Pathos those who were shot were protected and thankfully they weren't surrounded, gaining the advantage of taking down anyone hidden almost the shrubbery in the forest surrounding their home.

Inside the tree the aliens waited with bated breath, hearing the screams and rage of war just outside. Children were huddled close with their families, absolutely petrified that there was a chance they'd lose... and the humans would come for them next.

Pathos suddenly woke from his half asleep state when he felt a searing pain in his right shoulder, he fell from the sky and collapsed on the ground, grasping the gun wound. He looked around frantically for who shot, eyes focusing lastly on his father who threw his gun to the side.

"Fight me like a man, Ambrose. Come on, get up" he ordered harshly, kicking Pathos' shin with his boot. The boy winced and rolled over, using his good arm to push himself up, shakily staggering to his legs.

"Stop this, Dean. I know you only hate me because your wife died. It wasn't my fault!" Pathos tried, watching his father's face explode with rage, his fist colliding with his cheek. Pathos was sent flying to the ground, crying in pain after landing on his wound.

"You don't know anything about us" Dean hissed from over him, breathing heavy.

"No.. and I never will" Pathos murmured, "you'll never forgive me for what happened, you'll never forgive yourself either. You're suffering, but won't admit it"

Dean yelled out and kicked Pathos again, this time his stomach, which made him curl up and wheeze painfully.

"Shut up Patton, before I kill you" he seethed.

"No matter what happens, Dean" Pathos ignored him, managing to look up at his face. "I'll always love you and mom"

Dean glared down at his son before pulling another gun from his belt, Pathos turned his face towards the ground, ready for it all to be over when he heard the familiar roar of fire above him. He watched in shock as his father was blown back by the blast and pushed to the ground, his screams dying out pretty quickly as he was cooked alive.

Myron's face appeared above him, hand outstretched. Pathos smiled slightly and used it to help himself up, "don't speak of this to anybody" Myron warned before rushing off back to battle.

Pathos slowly turned towards what was his father, but didn't feel so sad.

"His corruption his over now" a delicate voice soothed him, "he can rest... his sorrow is over"

Pathos' head dropped, eyes closing. The trickle of blood traveled down his arm to the tips of his fingers, blood splashing against the grass beneath him.

"May I rest?"

"Of course.."

He felt his legs take him to one of the few trees that hadn't moved, letting him sit down and curl against the bark. "Rest now, Pathos. Everything will be fine"

Pathos' eyes slipped shut, the pain quickly soothing into numbness. He trusted Poityhi, trusted the humans would be bested, hoped all of his friends were okay.

But for now... he could sleep.

And that's exactly what he did.

—

The sun glowed an orange hue against the land basked in blood, littered with bodies and covered with metal.

The ground shook as trees took themselves back to their rightful places, their roots hidden underneath the soil once more - where they belonged. Many aliens fell to the ground in exhaustion, not used to using such excess of their powers in a one day. But they were helped by their families who slowly came out the trees, taking the injured to medical huts where they were treated as best they could.

Water from rivers all trickled back, any fires were quickly quenched, and the air around them stilled for a moment of calm.

They had won, the aliens. It wasn't much of a surprise, they did have the upper hand after all. With knowledge from Patton and their powers, they were able to protect their people and planet without so much hassle.

Everyone was quiet; expect for one.

"Pathos?!" Logos called frantically, searching everywhere he could, under bodies, beneath the carnage of the humans machines, even the outskirts of the forest. But he couldn't see his love anywhere.

Losing hope was the worst feeling, the tears stinging his eyes, sobs clogging his throat was even more terrible. He couldn't stand not knowing where Pathos was, if he was safe, injured... killed.

"Please, Pathos, where are you?"

Between the trees, hidden by the leaves, Pathos lay peacefully yet weakly.

"Are you ready to stand and help your people?"

The voice woke him up the rest of the way, the human shook his head. "They're not my people, I'm a human. They would all be better off without my kind, without me"

Poityhi hummed, "you must've forgotten how much you have helped them. Warning them of your kind's weapons, preventing many of them from being shot and killed - you saved these aliens lives, Pathos. And Logos needs you. I fear he may do something idiotic if he cannot find you"

Pathos looked above the bush to see aliens retracting back to the tree, or carrying the injured to the medical huts nearby. Everyone was safe now, without the threat of human life destroying their homes, their peace.

"Bad apples are quick to rot the apples touching - but not all apples are grown together, or stored together. Just because you are human does not make you bad; would you want to die here and leave behind these people who are counting on you for help?"

"No.." Pathos whispered, "I want to help, I do. You're right, I'm sorry"

"No need for apologies. Logos will help you"

Pathos used the tree to get to his feet, stumbling through the bushes and falling onto the ground, in the open. He could see Logos flying through the air speedily, checking everywhere he could find.

Using the rest of his energy, Pathos began to rise into the air, taking himself slowly over to Logos who took a momentary pause in the air, tentacles flying out wildly.

"Please be alive!" Pathos heard him cry, which broke his heart.

"I am alive, Lolo"

The alien spun around so fast Pathos worried for him, but that left his mind when his face was ever so gently cupped my Logos' quivering hands, and his warm lips were pressed against his own. "I thought I lost you again" he whispered brokenly, Pathos used his good arm to press his hand against Logos' cheek, thumb wiping away his tears.

"Oh Lo, you could never lose me. I promise"

They kissed again and again until Logos finally noticed Pathos' injury and gasped, wrapping his arms around him and gently taking him to the ground. "Pathos, what do I do? How do I help you?"

"Take the bullet out" Pathos replied, "and then... use the healing sap from your leaves" Logos chewed his lip, "will it hurt?"

Pathos braved a strong face, "not much, promise"

Logos didn't trust him at all, but didn't want him to die. Holding his hand above the wound, he focused his powers on the bullet, slowly retracting it from his body. Pathos winced and gripped onto Logos' other hand tight, the alien didn't want to do this, hurting him felt excruciating, but he'd do anything to save his life.

Finally, the bullet was in his grasp, but quickly thrown away. He requested a nearby alien to bring him a healing leaf while cradling Pathos' head in his lap.

"Hey, Lo?"

The alien looked down at him, watching his smile grow. "I love you"

Logos felt his stomach flutter, "I love you too"

Pathos watched through tired eyes as Logos was handed a leaf, before he let the alien go he told him strictly to tell the medially trained aliens remove the bullets before healing the wound.

Whispering softly against the leaf, he waited until it began to glow before snapping it in half, the insides oozed out across his wound, a sharp coldness took over his shoulder before he couldn't feel a thing, but watching Logos' face relax, he knew his wound was healing.

"Will everyone be okay?"

Logos looked at his face again and smiled, "yes, thanks to you. Home?"

Pathos nodded weakly, "home"

—

"And that's how you make a swan from paper!" Pathos finished, handing the small origami to Roman who grinned widely and took it gently from his hand, staring at it closely. Unfortunately Roman was one of the few aliens still resting in the medical huts a few days after the battle - he badly injured his leg and it needed more than a simple leaf to heal, but his friends gave great company, especially Virgil who came over to them at that moment.

"Hey" he smiled lightly, bringing out a cold container of water for Roman who gazed warmly at him. On the battle field Virgil had found Roman laying on the ground, immobile and bleeding out. Poor alien nearly had a heart and panic attack at the same time, but he managed to compose himself enough to rush over and help Roman in any way he could, holding onto his hand tight and demanding he didn't die.

Roman had looked up at Virgil's face with such a soft expression, still smiling while in pain. He said; "we're winning... and now I'm winning too" which of course made Virgil's tentacles quiver but he ignored his flirtatious behaviour to instead try and take Roman somewhere safer, but the alien didn't let him just yet.

"Virge... Virgil, can I tell you something?" He breathed out, the alien kept a shield of water around them as he spoke. "What? What is it?" He had hissed urgently, putting pressure on his open wound like he remembered being told to.

"I love you"

That made Virgil freeze, eyes slowly training on his face, "I...I love you too" he replied but knew Roman meant it more than that, meant he actually loved loved him, but he didn't know how to react, especially not now, during all of this warfare.

"You and I both know I've loved you for awhile" his voice became weaker with each word, yet still as powerful in meaning. The truth shone in his eyes - he wasn't trying to trick or deceive him at all. "Why here? Why now?"

"Because I might lose my chance.." Roman had pushed up from the ground and brought Virgil into a kiss - it was soft and delicate, just how their relationship started out once Roman showed signs of getting better and they had actually talked about their feelings to each other, in a room full with other aliens healing from their own wounds, but thankfully noise didn't travel much with all the other chatter.

"You're wonderful to me" Roman chuckled while sipping the water, Virgil merely rolled his eyes and turned to Pathos. "You doing alright?" He asked, everyone had been more cautious around Patton since the battle - after all they did kill many of his people, and of course he was a traumatised from the ordeal, seeing so many bodies in different states of disrepair. It was disgusting and had already dealt with one nightmare about it, but knew with the help of his friends and Logos he could get through it.

"I'm... okay" he eventually responded, in that tone that told Virgil he wasn't entirely truthful, but not lying either.

"I'll be better soon" he added to comfort them both before slipping off of Roman's bed and pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads. "Anyway! I'll leave you two alone~" he cooed, giggling brightly when they both partially hid their faces with their tentacles. "Get better soon Roman, and treat Virgil like the royalty he is"

Roman grinned enthusiastically, looking at his lover intently. "Of course! I couldn't imagine treating him any other way" he teased which did earn a swat from the blue alien, but quickly they were cuddling on their cot together, Pathos watched from over his shoulder as he left the room.

Poityhi left his body as soon as Logos had found him, when he checked on the sacred circle the next day he couldn't see any crack, it was back to normal, but there was a slight mark in the wood - only noticeable if you were looking. He had knelt down on top of the circle, pressed his forehead against it and smiled softly.

"Thank you" he had whispered, and that was all he needed to say.

Now he was taking a scroll through the village, all the carnage had been cleaned up by this point - and the prisoner Logos had tied up was sent back to base with a warning, a warning to tell the human race never to return. He had taken the ship back home, operated by robots who put him into cryogenic sleep. Pathos was able to access base now it was empty, it was odd to walk through the hallways without hearing the mixture of conversations around him, or being bullied by the soldiers, but it was... freeing too.

With access to Earth's databases, he could see that the planet he was on had been marked as "off limits", to be avoided and never touched by human hands again. That made him relieved, he couldn't imagine why he worried that they'd come with troops to take down the race - he just worried over his friends too much.

He also discovered he could return home, all he needed to do was send a message and wait for a rescue team, but the more he thought about it, the less he wanted to leave. Life on Earth was great, and he'd miss Thomas incredibly, but much as it hurt to admit he was better here. His life had gotten better here, and he would be able to avoid all the questions about what happened, plus being caught using unnatural powers would've gotten him locked up.

Besides, he didn't think he could live on without Logos.

Speaking of which, he found the alien inside of Koiāku's home, the two in the main room running over reports of the injured and how well they had gotten since.

"Pathos" Logos immediately stood straighter, his small yet ever heartwarming smile brightening his eyes. "I was about to go and search for you. As we have no further worries about your kind, we can focus on your elements and control over them. You can use all four, which-"

"Shh" Pathos cut him off, wrapping his arms around his neck. "Not yet, I have to go on at least four dates with you first before training starts again. You're my main priority, Logy" he ended with a sweet kiss, watching happily as Logos' tentacles covered his face in embarrassment yet utter joy. He'd still be deeply effected in the best way possible about all the kind things Pathos would say to him.

"Is it okay if I take him on a date, Koiāku?" Pathos turned to the leader gleefully, already swinging his and Logos' arms.

"Of course. But may I speak to you first, Pathos?" He requested, the human cocked his head curiously, assuming this was about the battle. Logos respectfully left the room and waited outside, Pathos sat down beside Koiāku once gestured to do so.

"Pathos - you are special" he stated, "more special than I originally assumed. Unfortunately for me my time as ruler is nearly up.." he trailed off, admitting it was difficult, but when he thought about who he chose to take his place it brought back his familiar friendly smile.

"What... does that mean?" Pathos prompted, incredibly worried this meant more than simply passing the crown.

"When a Koiāku gives their power as ruler onto the next, they die" he spoke gently to not freak Pathos out, "but don't fret, Pathos, for I feel no one should be sad I am leaving - instead happy about the life I have lived, I have lived quite awhile you know. I am also not here to tell you I'm making you ruler" the statement alone made Pathos feel relieved, which Koiāku could see in his eyes.

"I am merely telling you because you made the last week's of my life incredible. Such excitement and of course getting to know you. I wanted to formally thank you for the short time we have shared. I'll cherish it" once finished, Pathos quickly wiped a tear away from his eye.

"Thank you, Koiāku, I've enjoyed our time together too"

The alien smiled, but didn't comment further. "There is no debacle or celebration for the new Koiāku. They announce the news when they see fit, I have a person in mind and I trust their judgement. He may be arrogant at times, but can be the greatest leader I've ever seen. Now, you and Logos have fun. I'll see you again Pathos, for now live your life here in freedom and safety. I promise no harm will come your way again"

The human sniffled and nodded, clearing his eyes before he'd start bawling before the ruler. "Thank you, Koiāku. Until we meet again"

"Until then" Koiāku agreed, watching gently as Pathos rose and swiftly left the house. Logos of course worried over his tears, but calmed down when Pathos brushed them off as Koiāku complimenting him too much, making him feel overpowered with emotions.

Logos took Pathos to one of his favourite spots near a river, they had collected a basket full of food a long the way and cuddled together while having a picnic.

Right now, Pathos was happy. In that moment life couldn't get any better, even if it could he wouldn't want that - he'd still want to sit there with Logos, eating fruits while murmuring about anything coming to mind. Even sharing a short kiss or two.

He never saw his life coming to this, but no one knows what tricks and turns the future would throw at them.

And with Logos by his side, no matter what the future had in store, he'd get through it knowing each night he'd be cradled in the arms of his love.

—
Pheewwwiiieeee, welllllllllllll, that was a lot!

Can you tell I've never written/read a battle/war scene before? Yeah? I know I'm so sorry it was bad-

I hope you liked this?

Word count: 38,200

4:18am