Starseeds

Part 7: Brother

                                                 (Lysol P.O.V.)

We got back home in the middle of the day and before we walked in I sat down on the ground. Bruce and Nikita looked at eachother in simultaneous confusion.

"Is everything ok?" Asked Bruce.

"Do you think we can just lay here for a little?" I asked after a brief pause.

"Sure." He replied.

"Of course." Replied Nikita. 

We laid with our backs against the grass looking up at the sky. The sun shone brightly against our faces before a cloud lightly hovered over it. 

"This is nice." I said. 

"It is." Replied Nikita.

"You know," I started. "I haven't really mentioned it at all, but I'm really enjoying having this experience with you guys. Being here, on Earth, it's kind of unreal, and I appreciate it so much more being here with the both of you." I said feeling relieved pressure from expressing my emotions.

"Awww Lysol." Nikita mushed. "I feel the same way, I'm so happy to be with you both." 

"Wow who knew Number 1 secretly has a soft side." Bruce joked nudging me.

"Don't make it a big deal." 

"No, I'm playing. We all do, and I'm happy to be here with you guys too. This feels...special." He said looking back up at the sky.

There was a moment of silence before Nikita spoke.

"Hey you never told me about your bad dream." 

"You had a bad dream?" Asked Bruce. 

I breathed in deeply and then exhaled heavily. "Yeah. But it was just a dream, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't happen, ever." 

"Well the more of us that know about it the less likely it will happen. We can help you to stop it, you don't have to do everything alone you know." Bruce replied.

"Yeah, I've gotten pretty good at taking advantage of bad situations myself, even creating new good ones." Said Nikita.

The clouds now completely engulfed the sun and the light outside dimmed.

"I had a dream that we were in some sort of facility." I started. "We weren't there by choice and we couldn't get out." 

"That doesn't sound like something we can't figure out together." Said Bruce.

"That's the thing, we weren't together. You were both trapped in these big thick glass tubes and I couldn't get to you guys. I did everything I could but I couldn't get you guys free."

"Well..." Started Bruce. "I'm gonna be really strong soon, I'll be able to crack open both of them." 

"Yeah and if anything I could just get someone to open them." Nikita added.

"You were both unconscious." I added. 

"Oh." She replied losing hope of her resolution. 

Bruce sat silently and didn't say anything. 

"But as long as we stay together and are on alert that can't happen...right?" I asked in a somewhat unsure tone.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to me or you guys." Bruce said.

"Me either." Comfirmed Nikita.

The cloud moved away from the sun revealing more light again. 

"That makes three of us." I added.

We came to the realization what we would be considered among these Earthly terms is brothers, aside from Nikita's transformation in which case she would be considered our sister. Based off of the emotions and bonds that accompanied the titles they were accurate to how we felt.

We went inside and as I turned on the television a show of humans preparing and presenting various plates of food played out. I studied their metrics and decided to mimic them for our own.

I chose to hunt for food earlier in the day as that was more likely to bring me success. Bruce was visiting what he called the gym and Nikita was indoors but I knew she would be unlikely to help me with this activity. I wore both daggers beneath the waistline of my pants to easily access them with less sound. I saw a herd of deer this time. They gathered around eating food off of the ground. I silently removed the daggers and hurled out one of them striking the small beast. As the group ran I did the same with another at a further distance but missed. I remembered my teacher from the television show.

"Find your zen." I reminded myself quietly. This was my next skill to master. I removed the dagger from the animal and brought it inside, preparing to conquer the skill of cooking now that I had watched a television show of that as well. 

I removed the hair and placed smaller sections of the meat on to a pan on the stove starting at a medium temperature working my way up to a higher one. I had seen the people on the show using a variety of spices. This is where Nikita's book would come in handy with the list of herbs. I walked downstairs into the basement to retrieve her help. When I reached the final step of the staircase and turned into the room I saw her sitting with her legs crossed just as my teacher was with her back facing me. She had small piles of herbs placed in a circle around her along with a small fire burning on a colored stick of wax. She quietly whispered words to herself as she pinched a small pile of one of the herns and sprinkled it into the flame. I sensed an uneasy presence in the room, deciding to no longer intrude. 

As the stove still cooked the meat slowly I occasionally checked it. I then noticed a familiar face, excited to see my teacher was on the screen again. I enjoyed his presence more than other humans we came across. After a short while Nikita entered the room from downstairs. 

"Did you need something," She asked.

"How did you know I was there?" I asked her.

"I could feel a subtle vibration when you walked in."

"I retrieved food earlier, i'm cooking it now. I required your help with the seasoning of it as you are more familiar with common herbs than I am."

"What did you need?" She asked.

"Rosemary, sage, and marjoram." I repeated the memorized order of herbs from the show as they cooked a different meat. 

"All of that grows outside." She said. "I have them." She went downstairs to retrieve them.

As the cooking of the meat was nearing completion I applied the seasonings exactly as I had seen them do. I lowered the temperature and it sizzled for a few more moments. The scent began to make me hungrier as it proceeded. Just before it finished Bruce walked in.

"Woah it smells different in here." He said with surprise.

"We are about to eat are you hungry?" Nikita asked.

"Yes." He replied. "So much." 

We sat down and divided the meal in the pan as it cooled. This time the taste was much more pleasurable than anything we had tasted in the cafeteria. 

"I'm so full." Said Nikita.

"Me too." Said Bruce finishing off the last of his portion.

I enjoyed the process of this activity almost as much as I enjoyed the outcome.