It had been a couple of days since Javqua had confessed to him, and soon, they would be going back to school - their break slowly coming to an end.

But even then their spirits - especially Javqua’s, were as high as could be. Thomas was still a bit confused, suddenly having a girlfriend and all, (something he thought would never happen) but he was happy seeing Javqua so happy.

As this was his first serious relationship, Thomas wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do - so he just decided to go with the age-old mindset of winging it, and hoped for the best.

As far as Thomas could tell, no one in Javqua’s family had noticed the change in he or Javqua’s mood - but then again, that may be due to them thinking he and Javqua were together to begin with. He wasn't sure.

Mr. O’dea definitely thought so, at least jokingly, with his not-so-subtle comedic comments and jibes on the matter. But as far as Thomas could tell, it was just that, jokes. Just a way to make one of his daughters embarrassed - a custom that all dads, no matter the species, time or distance seemed to share.

It was after one of these jokes that they decided to spill the truth.

“So, Thomas - your first date’s ending in a few days. How’s it been going so far?” Mr. O’dea jokingly said, giving him a comically large grin.

With a quick glance at Javqua, Thomas gave her a knowing smile before turning back to Mr. O’dea.

“All jokes aside, we actually started a few days ago,” Thomas declared, a dumbass grin on his face. Mr. O’dea was stumped for a second, his face going blank, processing what he heard.

But as the moment passed a delighted and knowing smile spread across his face - a genuine one. “Took you long enough!” He cheered, laughing deeply.

For the rest of the family, it wasn’t so obvious. “What are you two on about? I - are you serious?” Mrs. O’dea asked, confused, as the room went silent, only for it to be broken by the sound of Javqua doing the krakovak equivalent of facepalming.

“Dear,” Mr. O’dea spoke as he gently placed his clawed hand over his wife’s. “Our little girl is finally...growing up.” Using all his willpower not to burst out laughing, Thomas waited for Mrs. O’dea’s response.

“WHAT!?!” The female krakovak sputtered, and Thomas, expecting her to be upset, worriedly readied himself for a verbal assault - only to be surprised once again.

“Finally! It took you two long enough!” Mrs. O’dea all but screamed, shaking her head. She looked over to her daughter, wiping a prideful tear from her eye. “I think it's time we have that important talk, don't you think Javi? About...activities between different species and genders?”

“Mom!” Javqua groaned as Thomas blushed, trying his best not to laugh.

Thomas looked over to Mr. O’dea, who smiled knowingly and shook his head. “Luckily, the talk isn’t my job.” He said as Mrs. O’dea dragged Javqua upstairs - loud arguing heard moments later.

Mom, I'm old enough to know this stuff! Please - not now! Not after dinner!

It’s my duty as a mother to make sure you understand this Javi. When a male and a female - or two females, or two males, or...when two people, or...multiple...people, for certain species, like each other very much -

“She’s not very subtle is she?” Thomas said, staring up the stairs as Javqua and Mrs. O’dea’s voices echoed down.

“She never was - and that's why I love her.” Mr. O’dea replied.

Javqua’s siblings just sat there at the dinner table, confused as to what all the fuss was about.

----------------------------------------

Valus was at school a few days early - once again doing stuff for his now most hated person.

He had been tasked with going through the information they had on the soon-to-be new human students - three to be exact, all different subspecies. Two more in his year - just his luck, and one a year ahead.

Okay. So...first, I need to see which classes they have. Valus walked down the empty halls, no longer filled with the ambient sounds of students and teachers.

The emptiness and silence gave Valus a heavy sense of unease - like something had happened to all the students. But pushing the thoughts aside, he continued moving towards the headmaster's main office.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Not long after, he found himself standing in front of the intimidatingly large doors - once again forcing him to push away his conflicting thoughts.

Slowly pushing the large door open, Valus stepped inside; to see the highly decorated room.

He thought back to the last time he stood in this exact place; back when he had heard the headmaster ranting about “predator” species. He hadn't thought much of it back then, but thinking back on it now, it just showed him how naive he was - how much he had glossed over.

Valus could’ve done something right then and there - told other teachers, immediately cut ties with the feathered buffoon...but he hadn’t, and he sure couldn't now. No - instead, he had to make up for his past self.

Walking towards a table in the middle of the room, he briefly admired its large and ornate nature - before realizing it showed a lot of the headmaster’s true vain self. He opened the second drawer on the left side, as he had been...instructed.

Pulling out a small drive, a piece of technology that hadn't needed much development for well over a couple decades, Valus put it in one of his satchel’s pockets. Taking one last overarching look at the office, he began to leave at a brisk pace, his footsteps echoing throughout the halls.

----------------------------------------

Valus walked through the busy streets of Clevin 4, dodging the many pedestrians in his way. His satchel bounced off the chitin of his leg as he moved, and his antennae began twitching to the rhythmic shallow beat.

Lost in his thoughts, he nearly walked into a small figure looking around with wonder and amazement in their gold-coloured eyes.

Stopping himself just in time, he took a closer look at the strangely familiar-looking tiny being, before his breath hitched. In front of him stood what was most definitely a human - but different from Thomas. Their skin was pinker, and their head fur was also different - being an earthy brown instead of the light gold he had become accustomed to. It was also a bit taller.

The human looked fascinating. So fascinating, in fact, that he remained standing there, instead of running away. Of course, they noticed him.

The human, turning to him, smiled and gave him a small nod - their strange gold eyes locking onto his own.

He daintily returned the gesture and watched as the human's smile widened, and they walked by him, wandering into the crowd of average-sized Xenos that towered over him like trees.

His mind still stuck on the image of the human, Valus nearly got knocked over by a large group of Q’intalis, their loud squeaky voices the only thing alerting him of the infamously oblivious balls of fluff.

Their bodies seemed almost round to Valus, but he knew for a fact that that was just attributed to their copious amounts of criminally soft fur.

Berating himself for not paying more attention, Valus moved with renewed vigour towards his home. It soon came into view, and he spotted his twenty or so vinsal siblings through the windows - running around and making a rucas. He truly felt sorry for his neighbours - soundproofing could only do so much.

Once inside, he immediately headed for his room - expertly maneuvering through the many, many bodies. Closing the door, he finally relaxed, knowing he’d finally have some peace.

As he was about to begin going through the information, he heard someone run, seemingly head first, into his door. Valus stared at the abused metal barrier for a moment, before shaking his head. Little siblings. Why can’t they be as quiet as they were in their larva stage?

Clearing his mind, Valus powered up his holo-computer, once again telling himself he would one day be able to afford an implant; maybe even a high-end one - before plugging in the small drive and booting it up.

Three folders opened up automatically, and Valus clicked on the first one he saw - Rylan Rivera. Taking a look at the photo, he recognized the golden eyed-human as the one he had seen earlier on the street. Well, he seemed friendly enough…Valus thought as even in the photo, the human could be seen with his seemingly trademark smile.

For a brief second, he contemplated attempting the gesture but quickly realized he was biologically incapable, and a depressed sigh breached his mandibles.

Valus continued reading, finally getting to Rylan’s subspecies - The United Systems of America.

Did this subspecies, called American… have...multiple subspecies within itself…what? How does that work? Valus thought, before deciding to check back on that bit later.

Reading further, Valus found out that The United Systems of America had an affinity with bionics and cybernetics - and judging by some images, they certainly weren’t what the galactic council considered safe.

Because a human isn’t a human if it isn’t really dangerous… he thought as his mandibles twitched. Apparently, the Americans installed cybernetics and bionics to themselves all the time; not because they got injured frequently - because they just… felt like it.

-The average age at which an American gets their first body mod is sixteen…- Valus stopped reading for a moment. What…? Scrolling back up, he re-read the sentence to make sure he hadn’t misread it. He hadn’t.

Humans are...certainly something else. Valus thought, as he realized just how badly he needed to make up for his misdeeds. Hopefully, he could become friends with Thomas - if nothing else, he was at least going to try.

Going back to the photo of Rylan, Valus realized that he was definitely modded, as his eyes were in no way a natural colour for his sub-species.

Once again sighing in exasperation at the sheer oddness of humans, Valus decided to move onto the next document. Opening it up, he once again paused.

Is that… paint? No… no, it… it isn't. Valus slammed his hand into the table.

This new human subspecies - the Weltraum Deutsch, or more commonly known as New Germans, completely shattered his narrow view on what humans looked like. They had… grey skin, and red eyes, and they were short - much shorter than the Britanians and Americans.

“Why? What is with this species!?!” Valus shouted, his voice still unheard from all the noise outside his room.