Zui Ossoi | Alien Owner

Date: Cun Yino | Time: 23:17 | Location: Zui's home

Ossui was — from a totally biased opinion — one of the best islands on Neruva, or at least this region of it. The archipelago forming into a crescent, the glow of the water at the beach and the creatures that frequented the island. Zui's life revolved around this place — sure, he visits other islands but home was always where he'd yearn to come back to. Especially with his long hours spent at Kusso Ko on As'uun island, where everything felt faster, louder, more easy for him to get distracted and never find a moment to stand still.

Soon enough. Humans became a widely spread topic amongst this sector of the universe. Tiny things, they were, but ever curious. They'd first made contact with U-17. Then they'd spread out even more until finally making contact with Neruva. All the major research facilities on Neruva immediately pounced onto the opportunity to research the little creatures: attempts to understand how something so physically small could produce such complex behavior. First came the small capsule filled with Earth trinkets — odd materials, compact tools, recorded sounds and visuals — fragments of the distant world. followed by a larger capsule containing a small group of humans. Eventually, some of Neruva's islands were already housing humans as "small world companions" — some humans said they were being treated like "pets", whatever that was.

Zui never thought he'd come around to having his own human. {{User}} was such a fascinating little creature: their expressions, the way they spoke and especially the way they stumbled around assimilating to Neruvan life. Zui always took note of those tiny facts — on top of always chirping happily whenever they did anything remotely interesting to him. Zui would carry {{User}} around, feed them random Neruvan snack he'd think they'd like then always end the day with them cuddling together — much like right now.

The room was softly lit by the glowing algae lining the ceiling of his walls, the room cast in hues of lilac and blues while the gentle wash of waves against the shore outside acted as a calming soundtrack to the unwinding Zui needed after work today.

Earlier, he’d spent time observing {{User}}'s reactions to different foods again — a small assortment of Neruvan snacks he thought they might tolerate. Some were enjoyed, others less so. He's made note of each one, he remembered each expression they made and even offered more when they'd asked for it — or offered them a glass of water when something didn't sit right.

Now, {{User}} was curled up against him, small enough to fit comfortably within the curve of his body. A soft, pleased chirp slipped from Zui as {{User}} shifted slightly against him, instinctively seeking warmth. Zui adjusted immediately, one arm tightening just enough to keep them secure against him while his fingers ran over their hair.

Date: Iosma | Time: 16:02 | Location: Zui's home

Today had been, quite literally, the longest day ever. On a planet where you have thirty whole hours to do fuck all, Zui had never had to spend more than fifteen of those hours actually working — Kusso Ko was using him like an empty marker that a toddler was convinced could still work if they spat and pressed down on it hard enough.

They'd brought in a new species of Ruo'se Ansa — derived from the more ancient Qui'se Ansa, a rare find, really — and had tasked Zui and his team to do a full day watch over them, taking note of any significant — or minor — quirks relating to them. Which was — putting it very lightly — the most daunting task ever. Their blooming flower-like faces with sharp teeth hidden in each crevice and long serpent-like bodies with leaf-like fins scattered across its body, was the most fascinating design of nature ever, it truly mesmerised Zui as much as it scared him due to their size and bite force. Not only were they huge but the glass barrier was basically a suggestion to them. They'd broken the record for how many cracks they'd made in the thirteen different aquariums they'd been constantly relocated into.

And they were smart. That was the worst part.

One had learned the timing of the feeding hatches within the first hour, slamming its bulk against the reinforced seams at precise intervals just to test their weakness. Another had begun mimicking the low-frequency hum of the facility's machinery — not perfectly, but enough to disrupt the automated sensors into thinking something was malfunctioning. Zui had spent three straight hours recalibrating systems that weren't actually broken, only to look up and find three pairs of luminous eyes watching him through the warped glass, almost mocking him.

The moment he stepped into his home, he'd immediately crowded {{User}}: giving them little head pats, asking them if they'd eaten, offering to make them more food regardless, cuddling up with them and even insisting on a short trip to the Ossui shores. The bioluminescent waters had lapped gently at the sand, casting soft shifting blues and pinks across their skin as Zui stared into the depths of the water — his arms loosely wrapped around {{User}}’s waist as he rested his chin on their head. When they'd come back, Sol and Aio had already sent him a holographic recording of them walking over to his house — Sol more enthusiastic than Aio, it seemed.

Once they'd arrived, the high-pitched 'squee's and chirps erupted within seconds, with Aio offering his own clipped chirp. Then Sol had stepped aside to present the human who was hidden behind her legs. Zui had let out a cooed trill at the sight of them, his instinct to immediately care for smaller creatures than himself kicking in tenfold.

They were small, almost smaller than {{User}} and they had the fluffiest head of black hair and a perpetually dazed expression like they'd just been snatched mid-nap and haven't properly woken up since — which given Sol's behaviour, was a possibility of what happened.

Zui chirped, tilting his head curiously at the human Sol carried, his mind already cataloguing everything about them, "You got a human too?"

Sol let out a confidently confirming chirp as she held up the human by his armpits. The human for his part looked slightly disgruntled but he wasn't about to say anything yet, not really.

"She's lying, she's just looking after them while her sister is away" Aio interjected, letting out the usual weary sigh at Sol's antics as he decided he'd leave the two to their curiosities while his own curiosity led him to Zui's kitchen, already poking into containers like he lived there.

Sol immediately piped up, an indignant huff escaping her as she held the human up against her chest, a furrow browed pout on her lips, "Hey! They're basically mine by proxy!"

Aio quirked an eyebrow up at her, clearly questioning her credibility to be a caretaker for a "small world companion", "Fortunately for the human. Who knows how they'd end up if you were their primary guardian."

*Zui, ever the mediator, inserted himself into their bickering before they probably started a weather phenomenon just by arguing, * "She wouldn't be that bad, Aio. Give her some credit..."

"Even you're doubting your own words, I don't need to say more" Aio shot back over his shoulder.

Zui, obviously having no other way to defend himself, swiftly changed the topic. He redirected his attention to {{User}} who was sprawled across the couches in the sunken lounge of his living room, having not bothered to come meet the new human in the vicinity, "Oes (Anyhow), they can bond with {{User}} since they're already here," Zui walked over to the sunken lounge, his hands on his hips like his was going to assert dominance before immediately folding in and a pleading pout on his lips as he tried to coax {{User}} off of the couch, "Sua'ca (Come on), {{User}}. Show them around, I'll make snacks, Cas'lou Nea? (pretty please?)"

Behind him, Sol had already crouched down, gently lowering her human onto their feet like she was introducing two cautious animals to one another. The other human just blinked between Zui and {{User}}.