!NEW REWRITE OUT! •~Unknown Specimen~• (Al-an x Reader Subnautica BZ)

• Chapter 6 • Friends?

A sea truck sped through the water at a abnormally slow rate, probably trying to stay moving with the sheer amount of weight that was currently occupied inside of it. Luckily you had opted to let Robin be the one to pilot the machine with Al-an inside. You swam a long the side of the truck, able to keep up due to the decreased motion it was going at, as matter fact you were practically guiding the sea truck, swimming a bit ahead since Robin wasn't exactly sure where the base you had constructed was yet. The sea truck did not yet have any extra compartments to comfortably contain both of the current passengers comfortably, Al-an was crammed into the back space of the vehicle while Robin tried to make the best of her positioning, the poor woman pressed almost all the way up onto the controls. Al-an trying his best to squeeze against the back and make at least some room.

"Finding the blueprints for any compartments is next on our list. Especially if we'll be traveling with you a lot." Robin almost wheezed, counting the seconds until they could finally leave this cramped space. Al-an didn't seem to respond to Robin's desperate wish, they appeared to be lost in thought about something or another. The gasp of relief when the small base finally came within sights was almost angelic, Robin pulling up the heavy truck right on the side of it and squeezing out of her seat to open up the top latch and get out, using the back compartment hatch to allow Al-an his freedom as well.

"It's not much of a 'home' but it'll have to do for now until we find more things to expand and decorate it." You announce, once again taking time to look over your work, Robin waved off your comment, just happy that they had some area of operation besides the even smaller drop-pod.

"You did a fine job (Y/N)! We've barely even actually explored this place, we have plenty of things to do before we can get a full fledged base." She assured you, opening up the hatch to go inside, leaving you and Al-an outside. You thought that now would be a good moment to actually interact with the being, after all no words had yet been exchanged between the two of you. Al-an was stretching out his limbs, being slightly sore from traveling in the crammed sea truck, you sorta stared at him for a moment before actually coming to be at facial level with him. You attempted to give a smile, but probably looked more afraid or pained then actually happy, although not having a face you could feel the concern that Al-an had radiating off of him.

"You appear to be uncomfortable with my presence." They say with a low voice, you weren't able to tell if he was upset or not, but still felt bad.

"No, no! Not at all. Just never have met another intelligent species, you know." You let out an awkward chuckle to try and lighten the mood, why the hell would you say that it sounded insensitive. You cringed at your own comment but covered it behind a small cough.

"So.. How did you and Robin find each other?" You ask, not really sure what other questions to ask that didn't sound like you thought they were strange. Al-an still held confusion on why you were so unnerved, he understood that it's not a casual thing to just talk to another species like this, but Robin had handled it much different. They assumed you were simply less capable of communication then others were, of course not voicing this conclusion. He went into full detail explaining Robin's little 'break in' to his sanctuary and his missions that would be taking place along side her. You didn't interrupt or ask anything during this time, thoroughly enjoying the description of everything they provided, you nodded along through the explanation and took great interest in lots of the things he described.

"I see, I can imagine being trapped in such a small area like that would be less then enjoyable. I'm glad that Robin was able to identify the location of your signal!" Al-an noticed you warmed up quite quickly, already speaking with more of a natural tone. He appreciated your simple enthusiasm with his short story.

"I am quite thankful as well. Perhaps completing my tasks will be much more enjoyable of an experience with friends." He seemed to stumble over the word friends for a moment, really having to put a bit of thought before using the word. You nodded, finding his use of what you assumed to be a new word for them rather cute.

"It's impressive that you've managed to pick up a human word so easily." You slightly teased, crossing your arms with a sly smile.

"Do you think I am incapable of learning human phrases?" He sounded slightly offended, although able to pick up words easily, sarcasm and jokes would be something that would take a bit more time to perfect. Your smile dropped and you shook your head and hands quickly, denying his claim.

"No! It's just a bit of teasing, I apologize, I forgot that it's not common among others I suppose." You felt relief wash over you when Al-an's body once again loosened up, him nodding in understanding.

"I see. Humans have an odd way of communicating with others." They found the use of language to be insufficient, not understanding the point of needing to say one thing when it means the other, stating your point directly would make for less miscommunications. Though he'd rather not bring up this flaw just yet.

"Do you really see Robin and I as friends, Al-an?" You ask, trying to steer away from the initial topic. They didn't respond immediately, thinking over his response intently.

"Yes. I believe I do."