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Chapter Text

Nolo was jealous of Team B.

Team B had Christopher, the tall, thick human with golden hair like the sun, and had muscles that could rival a jolack during its mating season. Now that was a human. That was someone Nolo wanted to travel with, to observe and talk to. Every team had their designated human, and when it was Nolo's turn to find who was theirs, he was severely disappointed.

First of all, her name was Grace. It was so simple, even Yulon, who lost two of his mandibles three cycles ago, could pronounce it easily. Grace was female, as short as Nolo, fat, and was much older than the other escort humans. She was nearly fifty. Once Nolo laid his five eyes on her, he felt nothing but disappointment. This was his companion? Why did Team B get the young man in his prime and they got Grace?

Nolo's teammates didn't see the issue. Of course, they've never seen a human before and fawned over her. They touched her hair, inspected her fingers, and were absolutely delighted to have her on their team. Grace happily touched them as well, running her disgusting digits over their mandibles, poking at their anttenae. Nolo was glad nobody seemed to notice he was keeping his distance.

Once they were ready, Team A was off into the wilderness to create their map. They were given only a few days to complete their task, but Nolo was confident they could it. If they kept going at a nice steady pace, there'll be no problem.

Except.

Nolo had forgotten humans needed to expel their waste. Nearly every hour Grace forced the group to stop so she could excuse herself and go into the bushes. Sometimes it only took a few minutes, sometimes it took nearly fifteen. They also needed to stop for her to eat, rest, and on one occasion, "Selfie!" On their first night out, they only traveled ten miles. Pathetic.

Nolo's companions didn't mind. They were in awe of every stupid thing Grace did, from the way she talked, ate, and when she sneezed, they chortled loudly and gleefully. By the third day they were forty miles behind schedule. Nolo had truly come to hate Grace.

The elders always told them to travel with a human. Humans were strong, courageous, and were a threat to be reckoned with. Surely they meant someone like Christopher, not someone like Grace who kept showing them pictures of her overweight cats.

On the fourth night as they sat around the campfire, Nolo angrily wrote his notes, pointedly ignoring Grace as she regaled her college years to the others.

Who cares? Thought Nolo. Who cares about your ability to imbide alcohol? Not me. Look at this. They should've hit the western mountains already. Instead they were here, miles away because, once again, Grace needed to rest. This was easily the worst assignment Nolo has ever been on and it was all because of that human's fault-

A sudden deep growl erupted from the darkness of the wilderness, startling everyone. Grace stupildy looked up from her can of baked beans and muttered, "What was that?"

"Rexrode," Nolo whispered, horrified. He didn't have time to explain when suddenly the animal leapt out of the bushes and was on top of him within a second.

Nolo has never seen a rexrode outside of his school books. They were large, hairy animals with more teeth and claws than evolution should've given them. This ungodly beast was right on top of him, crushing him, its front claw digging deep into his shoulder, making him scream.

The rest of Team A scattered. Of course they did. They had no weapons, no way of fighting this thing. Nolo couldn't blame them, he'd do the same. Still, he cried out in horror as the rexrode opened its jaw and leaned down to eat his face.

"HEY!"

Both Nolo and the rexrode turned to the voice. There stood Grace, holding her can of baked beans. "Get the fuck off him!"

She threw her can.

The can bounced uselessly off of the rexrode's shoulder. The beast huffed, and it struck out with one of its six legs, slashing Grace across the arm. She cried out and fell back, nearly falling on top of the campfire.

Nolo sobbed. Was this how it was going to end? It was bad enough he was going to be eaten, but the last person he was going to see before the lights go dim was Grace, the useless, pointless human assigned to his team.

Grace achingly got back up. She turned, and Nolo gulped at the sight of her. She was bleeding heavily from her wounds, a fat bruise was already forming around her cheek, and yet there wasn't a single ounce of pain shown on her face. In that moment Grace was as much as an animal as the rexrode. Her mouth turned into a snarl as she bent down and grabbed a burning log from the fire.

"I said," she bit out, holding the log tightly in her fist. "Get the fuck off of him."

The rexrode slashed at her again. This time she was ready for it. She ducked underneath its swipe, swung the burning log and smashed it against the rexrode's leg. The animal squealed and wrenched back its leg, but Grace didn't let up. She ran right at the rexrode, bringing the burning log down upon it over and over again, all the while screaming, "BACK OFF! I SAID, BACK OFF! GET OFF HIM! GET! THE! FUCK! OFF! HIM!"

She kept screaming, not letting up until the singed redroxe ran back into the wilderness, its tail tucked between its legs.

Nolo couldn't believe what he just witnessed. Even as his companions slowly came out of their hiding places, he continued staring at Grace. She stood by the edge of the camp, still holding the burning log, waiting. When she was satisfied the rexrode wasn't coming back, she huffed, muttered, "That's what I thought," and dropped the log.

She turned to Nolo. "Nolo, are you alright?"

He couldn't stop staring at her hand. Her entire right hand was severely burned, turned nearly black. It was bleeding horrifically, there were chunks of spliters sticking out of it, and yet she was asking him if he was alright?

Nolo burst into tears.

He always thought the stories told of humans were exaggerations, tall-tales the humans themselves spread in order to make themselves look better. Nolo knew better now. He was never going to doubt another human again, and he was never going to go on another mission again- not unless Grace was with him.

Chapter Text

Skyler was pretty sure Rose was just using her.

It was fine, Skyler didn't mind. She was glad to have a friend, even if said friend was only sticking around long enough to get... well, Skyler wasn't sure what Rose got from this interaction. It certainly wasn't popularity. Surely Rose had noticed the dirty looks thrown their ways, the whispered insults behind their backs. Maybe on her own Rose would've risen to the top, but no, by being Skyler's friend, she's doomed herself as a fellow freak.

"You know," Skyler said one day after three months of daily interactions. "You can stop."

Rose looked like she was thrown for a loop. "Stop what?"

"This. You. Me. Ask what you want of me and I'll give it to you."

Even by alien standards, Rose was beautiful. She had bright green orbs, long, thick red hair, and her arms were well proportioned to the rest of her body. Why would such an exceptional human bother hanging around a low level grunt like Skyler? It was asinine to think about it.

Rose snorted. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I..." Skyler turned to her, her head bowed. This needed to be stopped now before Skyler got her four hearts broken later on. "Rose, you don't need to lie to me. I know you're only hanging out with me because you want something."

"What? Skyler, I-"

"Let me finish. I've enjoyed our time together, but I cannot stand the anticipation... so please, just tell me what it is you want."

Rose rubbed a hand over her face. She huffed. "I've read this about your species. This... perceived hierarchy. Humans don't have that. I mean, we do, but it's not as strongly ingrained. I truly want to be your friend, Skyler. There are no strings attached."

Insane. "You don't need to insult my intelligence," Skyler said, getting miffed. "If you're not here because you want something, then it's out of pity, isn't it?"

"Stop, just stop. You don't get to tell me how I feel. I like you, I thought you were cool and I wanted to be friends. Isn't that enough?"

Cool. Skyler knew when humans used that word, it was to describe a state of mind rather than temperature. It meant Rose admired Skyler on a certain level.

Preposterous.

"If you won't tell me," Skyler lifted her head. "Then I'll end it here. Goodbye, Rose."

"Skyler, wait-!"

Skyler turned and walked quickly in the other direction, ignoring Rose's repeated requests to come back. Even if Skyler wanted to turn back, she didn't want to show the tears running down her cheeks.

Two weeks after Skyler ended their so-called friendship, the bullying started back up again.

As the runt of the litter, Skyler had been mercilessly teased for her uneven horns, her different colored eyes, and her small tusks. Skyler was used to it, tuning out the taunts and choosing to focus on other things. But now that her friendship with Rose ended, the insults had gotten worse, turning into physical shoves as Skyler walked down the halls.

A clawed hand stroked the back of Skyler's neck and she shuddered. She twisted around to see Darwin, the alpha male of her year. He towered over Skyler, blocking out the light from above, turning his presence even more menacing.

"Please don't touch me," Skyler said, averting her gaze.

"Don't tell me what to do," he snapped at her. "Why are you even here, little one?"

"I... I'm here to study-"

"False. You got here because some higher-ups felt sorry for you. You got here out of pity."

Skyler felt shame. He wasn't wrong.

"I do good work," Skyler tried again. "I'm not useless."

"False. You're taking up space, and it's quite clear you're too damn ugly to mate with, so you're just an eyesore. You should drop out."

Skyler struggled to keep the tears in. "I don't want to drop out. I like it here, I want to finish my studies-"

Darwin slammed his open palm against the wall above her, startling her into silence. Skyler shook and curled further into herself. She started to cry.

Then, a miracle.

"Hey!"

Both heads turned towards the voice. Skyler gave out a small gasp. It was Rose.

Rose ran up to them, shoving Darwin away. It was a weak shove, only forcing him to take two steps back.

"Leave her alone!" She snapped at him. "Can't you see you're scaring her?"

"Get off," Darwin snorted. "I'm the alpha here and I will do what I see fit. This doesn't concern you, human."

"Just... leave Skyler alone, okay? C'mon, Skyler, let's go."

Rose tried to lead Skyler away, but Darwin's large, beefy hand snapped out, grabbing Rose by the wrist.

"If you want her, then you have to fight for her."

"That's stupid." Rose hissed back. She tugged on her wrist and found she could not get loose.

"You're only saying that because you know you can't win. I am faster than you, stronger than you, smarter than you, human. Just forfeit this match and this runt, and you don't have to get hurt."

Quietly, Rose looked over her shoulder at Skyler. The small alien was crying, too scared to speak. Skyler knew what Rose must've been thinking: she was not going to risk life and limb to defend this loser. Skyler was not worth it.

Rose turned back. She strained her neck to look up at Darwin. "Your species can regenerate their limbs, right?"

Darwin grinned proudly. "That's right. Scared, are you? I know humans can't regenerate their body parts, so if you get hurt, you'll stay damaged-"

Rose's free hand suddenly snapped out, grabbing the sensitive gland between Darwin's legs. She didn't blink, she didn't yell, and before Darwin knew what was happening, Rose twisted her grip tightly, and ripped the gland off of him as easily as picking fruit off a tree.

With a breathless gasp, Darwin's grip loosened on Rose's wrist and she backed away. Darwin dropped to his knees and curled in on himself, his eyes bugging out in pain, his face turning red. Rose circled Darwin like a shark, the gland still gripped tightly in her hand.

"Listen here you little fuck," Rose snarled at him. "You don't mess with my friends ever again, do you hear me? If I even get so much as a whiff of you harassing Skyler, I'll rip this bit off in such a way it'll never regrow again. Do you understand me?"

Darwin nodded quickly.

"Good."

And with one last final insult, Rose dropped the gland over Darwin's shoulder. It tumbled to the floor with a wet splat.

"C'mon, Skyler," Rose said, leading her away.

Skyler was doubtful of a lot of things: her self-worth, the intelligence of her math professor, her ability to bake. But never again would she doubt Rose's friendship to her.

Chapter Text

Olaf bit down on his tongue, refusing to let the bile rise up in his throat. Now wasn't the time to be sick, not when he needed to keep a straight head, not when others were depending on him to fight. But the more he watched the human, Steve, the more he felt the need to be violently sick.

There was a large opened wound running from the back of Steve's elbow down to his wrist. The cut was deep, jagged, exposing muscle to open air. That wasn't the terrible part. Olaf watched as Steve took out an emergency sewing kit, a kit only meant for small tears in clothing, and began stitching his own fucking arm back up.

Olaf's mandibles vibrated at the sight. His breathing sped up.

At the panicked sound, Steve looked up from his stitching. "Hey, you okay?"

The only indication of Steve's discomfort was the trickle of sweat rolling down his forehead. Other than that, he made no noise, not of pain or disgust.

"I'm fine," Olaf said. He was not going to vomit, he was not going to vomit. "I just don't see how you can do that without screaming."

Steve huffed and went back to sewing. "I don't have time to bleed," he said in a deeper, pointed tone.

Olaf had no idea what the fuck that was supposed to mean. He turned his attention back to the door, gripping his weapon harder. Outside of that door was an entire legion of Qui'xons, ready to sluaghter them. All Olaf had was a plasma rifle- half used- and an injured human who was too dumb to know he was in pain.

"Alright, I'm done," Steve announced.

Olaf looked and grimaced. The stitches were an uneven ugly mess of twisted, bloody flesh. Obviously this was Steve's first time stitiching a wound. He wrapped his arm, his face never once flickering from that determine look, not even as blood soaked through the gauze.

Olaf admired him for that.

"Alright," Steve said, pushing himself up to his feet. He stumbled for a second, regained his balance and shook the dizziness off. He picked up his own weapon. "Let's fucking do this."

A week later, Olaf sat in the hospital's cafeteria, eating a small meal of seasoned mealworms, dried maggots, and a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. He ate slowly, his right arm still in a sling. Everytime he jiggled his arm too much, streaks of hot pain shot up to his shoulder. His compound eyes ached from the hours of crying he's already done. He was too tired to cry more. Still, as he moved closer to the table to eat, he gently bumped his elbow against the side.

"Gah!" He hissed out, dropping his fork and curling in on himself. Against his wishes, a single tear fell down his scaled cheek.

"Hit your elbow again?"

It was Steve. Still decked in hospital garb, Steve shuffled closer to the table, his food tray in his remaining hand, and slowly sat it down.

Olaf had no idea how Steve did it. They were surrounded by blood-thirsty Qui'xons, low on ammo, and somehow they managed to break through their lines and regain control of the ship. Olaf broke his arm in the process, and Steve...

The emergency stitch job saved his life, but the infection from the thread took his arm afterwards. Despite this, never once did Steve cry or complain about it. "I'm just glad to be alive!" He said, laughing.

He could laugh about losing an arm, and yet Olaf couldn't stop crying over the simple aches and pain of his own. It was shameful.

Steve carefully sat down at the table, still getting used to only having one arm to manuever. His meal only consisted of potatoes and a bread roll. He awkwardly picked up his fork, holding it the same way like it were a flashlight, and casually glanced over to Olaf's meal.

He blinked. "You got a cookie?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, it was one of the last ones."

"You serious? I haven't had chocolate since I left the colonies! Damn, I wish I came earlier."

Olaf picked up the cookie. He held it out to Steve. "Here, you have it."

"What? No, Olaf, it's yours-"

"My friend, you saved my life on that ship. I think you deserve some fucking chocolate."

It didn't take much to convince him. Steve smiled, and gratefully reached over to take the cookie. "Thanks, man."

He took a bite.

Olaf picked up his fork to start eating again and froze. He was startled to see thick, wet tears running down Steve's cheeks.

"Are you alright?" Olaf asked, panicked. "Are you in pain? Are you-?"

Stever shook his head. Tears continued to cascade down his face in streams.

"It's so fucking good," he said, sobbing, taking another bite.

Chapter Text

"For the love of-! Stop crying!"

The human girl only wailed harder. Thick tears ran down her face, making her cheeks an ugly, splotchy mess. She was on the verge of hyperventilating, her every breath a heaving, gasping cry. "Please!" She begged. "Please, I just want to go home!"

Gorlick wanted to shut her up. He imagined smacking her across the face, silencing that mouth of hers. He resisted the urge. Despite how she currently looked and sound, this human was a gem. She was only sixteen cycles, tall and thin, with skin soft as worn leather. She had long black hair and clear brown eyes. On the Black Market, she was going to earn Gorlick hundreds, if not thousands of credits.

The girl's bird-like wrists were bound in thick shackles. She tugged at them uselessly as Gorlick continued to drag her through the ship. He didn't understand why she fought. Her strength was like that of a child, and Gorlick barely registered her desperate tugging and pulling.

"Mama," the girl sobbed. "Papa..."

Her parents were dead. Why she was still crying out for them? It wasn't like they were going to come back to life and save her. When Gorlick boarded their ship, he made damn sure they dead, shooting them both twice in the back. He wanted a guarantee they weren't going to try to find the girl down the road, thus ruining his job security.

"Please... Please..."

Gorlick snapped. "Oh, will you stop it! You should be grateful! With your looks, you're likely to become a servant rather than a toy."

The girl sniffled. "Is t-that why y-y-you boarded our s-ship? To s-sell me as a-a-a-a... slave?"

"Look at that, the human has a brain. Now, if you're good and keep your mouth shut, you might actually get sold to someone who'll want to preserve that pretty face of yours. Humans are valuable in this part of space, and you're going to make me a mint, sweetie."

The girl bowed her head. "I want to go home..."

"You are home. Get used to it."

Gorlick didn't know what did it, but she finally quieted down and stopped fighting. She was still crying, silent tears ran down her wet cheeks. At least she now obediently walked behind Gorlick, allowing him to lead her.

Gorlick smirked in satisfaction.

On the way to the cargo hold, he passed fellow crewmember, Tulli. Behind Tulli trailed a line of new slaves, many of them under the age of ten cycles. None of them were as precious as the human, and the best use they would get out of them were cleaners or target practice.

The chain Gorlick was holding suddenly went taunt. He turned to see what was the problem. The girl had stopped. She was staring at Tulli's line of slaves in horror.

She swallowed. "Are those... children?"

"What? You've never seen Borio infants before? Don't you worry your pretty head about them. Most of them will be sold by the end of the week."

He tugged on the chain to make the girl move. She refused.

"You sell children?"

"I sell everything! Now, move it! We need to clean you up for the buyers."

The girl turned her head to him. Gorlick was startled to see her face. No longer she was crying. Something had settled over her eyes, a deep unspeakable anger that only intensified the longer he stared. Something had changed within her, and the fear that was present before was gone now.

"You son of a bitch," she whispered.

Gorlick reached for his electrical prod on his belt.

Before he could curl his hand over it, the girl launched herself at him, her mouth opened wide, teeth baring. She had no claws, no fangs, no sharp appendages to speak of. Despite she was as soft and easily destructible as fruit rotting in the sun, she sank her mouth into Gorlick's throat, biting deep.

Gorlick screamed, the sound coming out as a wet ripple. The girl bit down harder, breaking through skin, ignoring Gorlick's blows upon her back like it was nothing.

"Get her off!" Gorlick yelled to his companions as they came to help. "Get her off!"

Four hands grabbed at her, pulling her back. With an animalistic cry, the girl jerked her head back, taking Gorlick's throat with her.

Blue blood gushed out of Gorlick's neck like a river, and he fell to his knees, one hand coming up to stem the wound. Already he was dizzy, and with a groan, dropped to the floor, too weak to move.

Gorlick didn't understand. Just mere seconds ago this girl was a simpering mess, a pathetic fool who cowered under a harsh word. Now, as Gorlick's eyes slowly dimmed, he watched the girl fight off the other slavers, an unknown determination urging her on. How was this possible?

In the corner of the room, the Borio infants huddled together. Looking at them, a small quote blipped in Gorlick's mind.

The most dangerous place in the world is between a mother and her children.

But that didn't make sense. These infants weren't even the girl's kin. They weren't even the same species! And yet there the girl stood, her fury undeniably triggered by the sight of infants. Body parts and blood strewn about her, her shoulders heaving with every breath she took. She then proceeded to unlock the infants' chains, and guided them out of the room. She didn't bother giving one last glance over to Gorlick.

It doesn't make sense, Gorlick kept thinking, even as his breathing slowed. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't-

Chapter Text

On the day Jude turned twenty-five, she hid herself away, found a quiet spot where no one could see her and cried. It was embarrassing enough to have the world know her as a useless, pathetic old hen, but she couldn't stand the thought of their judgmental stares. Even now she could hear their comments, their sneers of her failure to find a mate.

It wasn't her fault her plumage was the color of piss. She tried everything she could to lessen the bright- almost blindingly- yellow of her feathers and failed. Nobody would want that ugly shade passed down to their kin. Now at the age of twenty-five, she was too old to have eggs.

Her mother eventually found her. "Jude? My sweet hen, come out, you haven't eaten all day."

"What does it matter?" Jude sniffled, burying her face into her wing. "It's clear no one wants me. So what's the point?"

"You're being dramatic. Come out here."

Jude lifted up her long head away from her wing. Her piss-colored feathers were a mess and needed grooming.

Her mother clicked her beak. "Oh, my sweet chick..."

"I can't stay here..." Jude whispered. "Momma... I can't. I need to leave this place. Go somewhere else. Start somewhere new."

"This is your home. Where would you go?"

"I don't know. I'll change planets if I have to. Like... Where was that place Lucie went to last year? Earth?"

Her mother's feathers suddenly fluffled, and she stood up, her beak snapping angrily. "You don't want to go there, sweet chick! Those humans are monsters! They eat lesser fowl."

So did Jude's kind. Many species across the universe did. Last night alone Jude ate four smaller birds, feathers, bones and all. But humans didn't eat their fowl raw. They liked to pluck, and broil, and boil, and bake, and deep fry. They did things to fowl no other species has ever done. It was seen as disgusting and cruel.

But humans were not their enemies. In fact humans were their allies back during the Great War three clicks ago. Surely that meant something.

"I need to leave," Jude repeated. "Earth can't be worse than being here. I'm going momma. I'm going."

Jude had no expectations of the small blue planet. She read a few books and watched a few videos to get a grasp of what sort of world she was stepping into. She was told many humans eat fowl on the street and she should ready herself should any unpleasant humans choose to use their food to mock her. Jude just hoped she wasn't immediately shunned the moment she got off the ship.

"Hello," Jude said, coming up to her first human. The human was bent over her desk, writing something. "I'm checking in. This is my passport."

The human woman looked up, saw the piss-colored feathers and her jaw dropped. "Oh my!"

Jude felt like someone slapped her. Not even five minutes on this planet and already she was getting looks of horror. Something must've shown on her face, because the human immediately backtracked, averted her eyes and said, "Apologies, ma'am. It's not often I meet an Aves. I hope you forgive me."

At least she apologized. Still, this first introduction on Earth did not forbade well.

"It's fine," Jude mumbled. Lord, she made a great mistake coming here.

After getting her passport confirmed and stamped with an Earth logo, Jude walked out onto the busy floor of the intergalactic travel hub. She was stunned to see it. There were hundreds of humans and aliens all around her, running or walking to their destination. Some were waiting in line for food, others were reading, many were on their devices. It wasn't a scene Jude was unfamiliar with, but this was the first time she's seen so many humans at once.

It took her a few seconds longer to realize while she stared at them, many of them stared back.

The humans were pointing, whispering amongst their own. Some even raised their devices to not-so-subtly take pictures of Jude.

What was this? Why was this happening? Have they never seen an Aves before? There was a fellow Aves by the window, a male with bright blue feathers, but he was being ignored by the humans near him. Only Jude was being stared at.

This was worse than being at home. At least on her homeworld, once someone took a look at Jude's hue, they ignored her. Here, she was a freak put on display. Unable to take it anymore, Jude turned around to get back on the ship. If she had to, she'll jump from planet to planet until she found one so remote, there'll be no one to judge her.

She barely took two steps when suddenly a small boy ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her legs.

"Mmm' bird!" Said the boy, giggling.

Jude startled. "Excuse me?"

"Mmm' bird! Mmm' bird!"

The boy's mother quickly ran up, grabbing her son and pulling him away from Jude. "I am so sorry about that! He just gets excited. Jonas, that's not nice! You don't grab people's legs like that!"

"Mmm' bird!"

The mother blinked, and then took a second look at Jude. She gasped. "Oh? Oh my! You look..."

Jude immediately flinched. Was this going to be her entire experience on Earth? People staring at her and recoiling? Jude curled away, ready to hear all the ugly taunts from home. Ugly. Frightful. Hideous.

"You look..." The mother smiled warmly, her cheeks turning pink. "You look like Big Bird!"

"I- what?"

Jonas broke away from his mother's grip and ran back to Jude, again hugging her legs. "Mmm' bird! Mmm' bird!"

The mother herself giggled shyly. "Oh, this is like a childhood dream come true! You look exactly like Big Bird! It's no wonder everyone's staring at you. I love your feathers! They're so beautiful!"

Jude couldn't even speak. This was the first time in her life someone said her feathers were beautiful. The mother wasn't the only one. The humans who stared at her repeated the same name, laughing and excitedly clapped their hands. Many young children were begging their parents to come over, and even humans who were old and greying looked at Jude with joyful expressions.

"It's Big Bird!" The humans said in a voice of pure delight.

Jude acknowledged on some level it was insulting to know the only reason humans flocked to her was due to an ancient children's program. But she didn't care. She came to this planet expecting sneers or outright disregard. Now, as she walked down the street, she reveled in the joy she brought to people's lives.

Without knowing it, Big Bird had made a home for her to come to.

Chapter Text

"...and then when I went into the train station, every head turned towards me! I said, yes, I am Big Bird. So many humans ran over to take pictures. One woman actually started crying. Crying! Isn't that a hoot?"

Jude's mother hummed and continued to stir her tea. She took a delicate sip, and then continued stirring.

"Lovely," she said, not at all sounding impressed.

Irritation slipped down Jude's spine, and the good mood she was in slowly died away. This was the first time she's seen her mother since she moved to Earth six months ago, and this was the attitude she was getting?

"What is it?" Jude demanded. "Am I boring you?"

Her mother sighed. "My sweet chick... it's just... every time we talk, that's all you focus on."

"What, my happiness?"

"You know what I mean. It's always 'Big Bird this' and 'Big Bird that.' Do you have any stories that doesn't involve that damn puppet?"

"I'm sorry, mama, but Big Bird is now a huge part of my life!"

Her mother put down her cup of tea with a crack against the glass. "You honestly think that? Jude... you're not Big Bird."

"You're not," she repeated when Jude slouched in her chair with a huff. "I know you're enjoying the attention because you never got it back on our world but... pretending to be something you're not is not going to make you happy. How long do you plan to pretend you're Big Bird? Sooner or later the novelty of it all will wear off, and then what? Where will you be?"

"You make it sound like I'm basing my entire Earth experience off of it."

"Well, aren't you?"

Jude said nothing.

Her mother reached over and gently groomed Jude's feathers. "My dear chick... you should learn to be yourself first. You can't live the life of another person... especially one that isn't even real."

Jude stewed over her mother's words for days after she gone back home.

For the first time in Jude's life, she found something just for her. Just because her mother didn't approve she should give that up? Her mother, whose feathers were golden instead of piss-yellow, would never understand where Jude was coming from. How could Jude ever learn to love herself when her whole life was spent ashamed?

And yet...

Her mother wasn't wrong. Did Jude really believe she could ride this wave forever? It's not as if every human came up to her with giggles and smiles. There were a few who ran up to her and ripped out a handful of feathers before taking off. A month ago two male humans tripped her on purpose and took pictures while she struggled to get back up.

It's not as if Jude was going on television and actually saying she was Big Bird. She was just... enjoying the ride.

Later on that week Jude pulled out her cloak from storage. On her planet the cloak was only worn on religious days. It covered an Aves from head to toe, only allowing enough space for their beak to stick out. This was supposed to symbolize their ancestors who once hid from predators by laying low.

Jude slipped it on. She looked at herself in a mirror.

She already knew what she looked like with it on. The cloak was dark grey, and covered her completely, hiding her hue from the rest of the world. She hated it. She's worn this cloak more than once to school if only to stop the snickering. Putting it back on just so she could stop people who enjoyed her feathers felt wrong.

But like her mother said: they only enjoyed it because of a puppet. Not because of her.

Jude sighed. She might as well give it a day.

For the first couple of hours, it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be.

When she first walked out into the street, the humans gave her a quick glance, then went back to their own activity. The Aves who came to Earth were often missionaries, so the cloaks were not an uncommon sight.

For the first time in months Jude walked through the park without people running up to her, demanding pictures. She was able to go grocery shopping that lasted less than an hour. She didn't have to stop her cart every five seconds to talk to someone.

She admitted it... it felt nice to gain back some privacy.

She went through her day without incident. She went to a bookstore, had lunch by the gardens, and she ended her day sitting down outside at a café with a cup of coffee.

Today wasn't... it wasn't too bad. She got plenty of stuff done and she had a fun time doing it. However wearing a cloak to hide herself wasn't the answer either. She came to Earth specifically so she wouldn't have to wear the damn cloak. And if people wanted to compare her to a puppet, so what? It's not like that was the worst thing people have compared her to.

Yet the words of her mother kept ringing in her ears. She wasn't Big Bird. No matter how many times she told herself that.

Jude finished the last of her coffee and stood up.

A sudden rumble rushed through the ground, rattling the cups in their saucers. Jude's own cup fell over, spilling the last bits of coffee over the table. The rumble was swift and gone before Jude understood what it was. All around her other patrons stoop up slowly from their seats, worry etched onto their faces.

Jude asked, "What was-?"

The earth heaved.

Jude was thrown to the ground. The violent shaking continued, hitting so hard it felt like Jude's brain was rattling around in her skull. People all around her were screaming as windows shattered into a million pieces, raining down glass. Entire portions of the ground was raised up, and cars fell into the depths that opened. Jude covered her head as the tables and chairs around her toppled over, spilling food and drink everywhere.

Just as quickly as it came, the shaking left. There was a pause as everyone waited. Was that it? Was more coming?

The moment stretched out and slowly they got to their feet. Jude checked herself for injuries. She seemed to be okay. But when she looked out into the street, she realized she was the lucky one.

There were bodies everywhere. People were still screaming, many were crying. Entire buildings had cracked down the middle like an egg. Every fire hydrant on the street was spewing out heavy streams of water. Smoke rose off in the distance as sirens wailed.

Jude has never experienced an earthquake before till now. Gods, she hoped she never have to again.

She didn't know what to do. So many people were hurt, so much destruction was around her. She wasn't a doctor or emergency personnel. Jude worked at the delivery room at the post office. She doubted her basic first aid skills was going to come in handy.

Across the street she spotted a man with a very young girl. The girl was wailing, crying so hard her entire face was beet red. She clutched to the man's leg, refusing to let go.

"Dana!" The man said desperately. "I need you to stand over there! Please!"

The girl, Dana, screamed. "NO! NO! NO! NO!"

"Please! I need to help your mother!" Jude could see a woman stuck underneath heavy debris. "I can't do that with you holding onto me like this! Just give me a second, she needs help!"

"NO!"

Jude took a step forward. Then another. As she walked towards the two, she grabbed her cloak by the front of it and tore it off, tossing it away.

"I can watch her," she said to the man.

The father startled and looked up at Jude, his eyes going wide. Understanding, he nodded and turned towards his daughter. "Sweetie, look! It's Big Bird! Can you stay with Big Bird?"

Dana hiccupped. Through thick tears she blinked up at Jude. She quietly calmed, popping a thumb into her mouth, her hold on her father's leg loosening.

"That's it. Stay with Big Bird and be a good girl."

"I'll keep her safe," Jude promised. She gently tugged Dana away from her father's leg, letting him to turn his attention back to the mother. Jude brushed Dana's hair with her feathers. "Hello little one. Do you want to sing the alphabet with me?"

Without meaning to, Jude became a pinnacle in the middle of the chaos. Children who were separated from their parents spotted Jude and ran over, wordlessly adding themselves to her care. A teacher who was on a class trip, kept bringing kids over to her, and then going off to find the others. Even teenagers found their way to her side, leaning against her while calling to their family on their phones.

All the while Jude kept gently singing.

Maybe her mother was right. She was living a lie, basing her entire existence on something that wasn't real. She could deal with that later. Right now she had a goddamn job to do and she was going to see it through.

It's what Big Bird would've wanted.

Chapter Text

Zollan almost didn't want to use his telepathy against this human. It felt like fighting against a child: a single harsh tap with a finger could probably kill them.

His opponent was a woman, barely in her twentieth-fifth cycle. She was short like a child, thin around the waist and breasts, and her face was so lean her cheek bones stuck out. Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and though she the reigning champion of Earth, Zollan found her to be cute- like a puppy. As Zollan watched her across the ring, he wondered what she was thinking about. Zollan's antennae flexed. Almost immediately the girl's thoughts came through his head.

-popular! I'll help you to be popular! You'll hang with the right cohorts, you'll be good at sports, know the slang you've got to know-

Instead of focusing on the match, the damn girl was singing to herself. It was laughable how easy this match was going to be. Zollan stood up, cracked the bones in his neck, and came to the middle of the ring. The girl did the same, still mentally singing that damn song. Upon seeing his height, the girl startled, and her next thought had Zollan smirking.

Wow... he's much bigger when he's standing up...

The referee held up his hand. The two opponents got into a fighting stance.

"Fight!"

Zollan's antennae flexed again. The girl was no longer singing, but thinking and strategizing on how to take down this behemoth of an alien. Her thoughts were a frenzy, one sentence quickly followed by another, making it almost hard to understand. Zollan was still able to make out what she planned to do first.

First I'm going to kick him in the chest!

Zollan purposely dropped his guard. Seeing this, the girl twisted, brought up her leg to ram it into his ribs. Before she could make contact, Zollan caught her foot, intending to throw her off balance-

WHAM! The girl's other foot slammed him against the face. The move stunned him and he let go of the girl's foot, stumbling back. What the-? She had used his grip like a springboard to lift herself up to kick him! She wasn't thinking that beforehand! Damn it, Zollan must've missed that thought. He needed to focus. Shaking off the hit, he got in close, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

I'm going to punch him on the right.

Zollan threw out his right fist intending to catch the girl. She ducked underneath his arm, slamming her knee into his gut. Zollan gasped.

"Damn you!" He bit out, bringing down his arm to crush her. The girl saw the arm and her panicked thought brought great pleasure to Zollan.

Oh shit, I'm gonna die!

She ducked out of the way, Zollan's arm barely grazing her hair, and then she was back up again, her fists pounding against his face. At one point he grabbed her arm, holding tight. He was going to snap this arm like dry wood-

The girl didn't think. There was nothing but silence in her mind as she suddenly kicked him in the back of the knee, collapsing his leg, and when he fell, she easily broke out of his grip like it was second nature.

There was a loud resounding CRACK as the girl's elbow connected to his face. Blood filled Zollan's mouth and he knew immediately she had broken his nasal cavity and two of his front teeth.

All the while her thoughts were still silent.

For the first time in Zollan's career, he was scared. He's never met an opponent who could block his telepathy before. What else could humans do? What else could the girl do to him? The pain was disorienting him and as he lifted his tear-filled eyes to the girl, he saw she backed away.

Oh man, is he crying? Shit, I hope I didn't hurt him too badly. I thought he'd be better than this.

The humiliation was too much. With a groan, Zollan lifted his arm, signaling the end of the match. All around him the audience screamed with equal amounts of glee and disappointment. Zollan had lost, and he barely fought for five minutes.

As the defeated Zollan walked off the ring, a towel around his mouth to stem the bleeding, he decided to listen in to the girl's thoughts one last time. He looked back at the new champion of the galaxy. She was currently holding up the golden belt, smiling triumphantly.

I think I'll try defying gravity, and you won't bring me down!

Chapter Text

On Jude's world, puffing up one's feathers was a sign of eagerness and excitement. It was to make themselves look bigger, fatter, ready to take on anything thrown their way. But as Jude was told several times by the tv executives, the puffing kept jostling her mic and capturing unnecessary feather rustling noises. Every time she felt anticipation rise in her, she stomped it down, keeping her emotions and fathers calm.

She was about to go on national television in a few moments and she wanted to look her best.

A human with a clipboard passed her by. "Five minutes till you're on!"

Shiiiiiiiiit. Calm down. Calm down. She had faced greater odds than speaking in public, so why was this such a mountain to overcome? Jude peeked through the curtains and watched.

On stage, two very beautiful-looking humans sat in giant comfy chairs. The female host, Melissa, addressed the cameras.

"Hello and welcome back to Good Morning America. A lot of stories came out of the earthquake that hit us two weeks ago. Some tragic, others heroic. But one story became a viral sensation when in the midst of all the chaos, the beloved character Big Bird was spotted helping others."

On the various screens surrounding the area, they show clips from the earthquake. They're from different angles as several humans recorded the incident, but they all show the same thing: Jude singing whilst surrounded by calm children. They cut back to the hosts.

"Or course this was not actually Sesame Street's beloved Big Bird, but an Aves," said Henry, the male host. "A species of alien out in Quadrant 17, Section T. Aves are primarily known for their similar looks to bird species found here on Earth, and their planet have become a rather popular tourist destination over the past few years. Please give a warm welcome to Jude, of the planet Endotherm."

The camera immediately cut to Jude who walked out on stage. The crowd sitting by cheered and clapped, holding up signs of Big Bird with her name on it. Jude shyly waved at them.

There was a short round of greetings and then Jude took her seat.

"Wow," said Melissa. "You do look a lot like Big Bird. It's amazing!"

"Thank you," said Jude.

"Please, tell us what it was like coming to Earth. Did you have any idea how popular Big Bird was before coming?"

"Oh, absolutely not. Back home I was in a bit of funk. I needed change in my life, so I decided to go to a different planet. I chose Earth simply because my cousin had came here for work a couple years back. She told me she loved it here so... that's why. I didn't know who Big Bird was until I stepped off the ship and realized humans were staring at me."

"That's amazing," said Henry. "And what happened afterwards? Were you offended or confused?"

"Delighted mostly. You have to understand... back on my planet my color of feathers are considered... not desirable."

The hosts frowned. "Not desirable?"

"They're very bright. For a female of my species, that's a very unattractive trait. But when I got to Earth and suddenly everyone was telling me how much they loved the way I look... I embraced it."

"I'm sorry to hear you had to come all the way here for validation. That must've been rough."

"Thank you."

"That being said, we do have a surprise for you." Melissa then turned to the camera and said, "Will everyone give a round of applause to our good friend, Big Bird."

Jude's eyes grew wide. She turned around in her seat, her beak dropping open. And there, coming out from behind the curtains, was the person Jude saw in her dreams.

"Hello everybody!" Big Bird said in that gentle soothing voice of theirs. "It's so good to be here. How is everyone?"

The audience cheered.

Jude stood up immediately from her seat. Darn it, she wished she had been told about this earlier! Was her feathers perfectly groomed? Was her breath clean? She knew there was just a man inside of a costume, but Jude's wings shook regardless.

Big Bird turned their gaze to Jude. "Hello," they said again. "I'm Big Bird. What's your name?"

"I'm J-Jude..."

"It's very nice to meet you, miss Jude." Big Bird blinked slowly. "My friends told me what you did during the earthquake. That was a very brave thing you did."

"I-I only did what I thought was right." Gods, she wished she could stop stuttering.

"Were you scared?"

Jude nodded.

"I know how hard it is to do the right thing when you're scared. Sometimes being brave when you're scared is the hardest thing to do. I am impressed by how many people you've helped."

She was going to cry. Jude screwed her eyes shut, determined not to embarrass herself on television. This was just a puppet, a costume made out of felt and faux feathers, yet Jude felt insignificant before it. No wonder millions of humans loved this creature. Big Bird was so soft, so gentle, while Jude was nothing more than a pale imitation, riding on their coattails. Really, how long did she expect to do this? Forever? She wasn't Big Bird. She would never be Big Bird.

Jude opened her eyes and a single tear ran down her feathered cheek. "Why are you so perfect?"

Big Bird cocked their head. "I'm sorry?"

"Why are you so perfect?" Jude repeated, loudly. More tears fell. Everyone in the studio was staring at her, but she couldn't stop her words. "Everything you do, everything you say is perfect. All I've done since I got to this planet is try to emulate you. But I'm nothing like you. Without you I'm nothing. My feathers are harsh to the eyes, offensive and unwanted. My beak is too long, I'm gangly and weird. Nobody likes me-"

"I like you."

Jude sniffled. "But you like everyone."

"Oh, that's not true. There's a big dog in the neighborhood who always barks at me when I walk past. I don't like the sound of traffic in the morning when I'm trying to sleep. And sometimes my friend, Oscar, can be a bit mean. But you, Jude. I like you. I know that's hard to to accept, but do you want to know a secret? There are days when I don't like myself."

Jude gasped. "But that's impossible!"

"It happens sometimes. There are days when I wake up and I don't feel like singing. Sometimes I don't feel like smiling. There are days when I look in the mirror and think to myself... why, I'm a terrible person."

"No!" Jude said. "No, you're incredible! You're wonderful! You're-"

Big Bird reached out and grasped Jude's wing. "I'm a big yellow bird with a long beak and gangly limbs."

Jude stopped. "I didn't mean..."

"I know it's not an easy thing to do: liking yourself. Sometimes the world tells you you're ugly. Sometimes it tells you you're unwanted. But that doesn't make it true. You help people, Jude. By being you, you helped during the earthquake."

"I was only imitating you-"

"I wasn't there, Jude. You were. You. You sang to those children. You kept calm during a time of worry. You, not me. I don't know what I would've done. But you do. You're brave and strong and sweet. I... admire you, Jude."

"... You do?"

Big Bird nodded. "I do."

From behind, the hosts nodded in agreement. "We admire you too, Jude!"

"Me too!" Said one of people in the audience.

"I do too!" Said another.

"Me too!"

"Yes, yes!"

One by one their voices combined together, harmoniously chanting not Big Bird's name, but hers.

"We admire you, Jude!"

Four years later

Though Jude spent the twenty-five years of life on her home planet, coming back to it felt foreign. The air smelled different, the sights, the sounds, even the gravity felt off to her. She also admitted seeing so many of her own kind walking around was bit of a cultural shift. As she waited for her mother to return, Jude sat down on a nearby bench, watching Aves pass her by. A couple of them gave her side-glances and she ignored them.

A familiar voice rang out to her. "Jude! As I live and breathe!"

Jude turned to see a tall, bright purple female Aves coming her way. Her purple feathers shined in the sunlight and her long golden feathers sweeping off of her temple was a sight to behold. It was Marrie, an old schoolmate. "Gosh, I saw you across the street and thought to myself, my goodness! My eyes are burning! That must be Jude!"

Schoolmate but not friend. Marrie had spent many a hours belittling Jude's feathers, laughing at her with great sadistic glee. Years ago that barb would've had Jude sinking in on herself in shame. Today, it barely registered. "Yes, I'm back to visit my mother."

"Oh right! I heard you went to Earth. How is it with those hairless apes? Did they try to eat you?"

"No, those are just silly rumors. I actually got my degree in teaching, and now I work at an elementary school, helping little humans learn their alphabet."

"Wait, you're serious? My goodness, I was joking! That's insane!"

Jude shrugged. "I enjoy the work. It keeps me on my toes and it challenges me. Oh, speaking of which..." She turned and waved someone over. "Mom, Jim! Over here!"

Marrie jumped as a little human boy with black hair suddenly ran past her, throwing himself into Jude's legs. "Mom! Mom! Grandma said we're gonna go see the flying races!"

"That's great, sweetie."

Marrie gaped at the sight, her long beak dropping open. She stuttered. "A-a-are you kidding me? You actually adopted a fucking human? My god, I knew you lost your marbles, but the gall you have to actually adopt a hairless ape!"

"That's enough," Jude warned.

"I guess I don't blame you. I wouldn't want those feathers being passed on either." She looked down at the boy, her face getting close. "That hair! It's so thin! You could've at least adopted one with-"

Jude suddenly reached out and plucked one of those golden feathers right off Marrie's head. Marrie yelped and jumped away.

Jude tucked the feather behind Jim's ear. "He then stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni!"

Jim giggled.

"The hell?" Marrie squealed. "Give me back my feather, you piss-colored-"

Jude turned to her. She pitched her voice low enough so Jim wouldn't hear and hissed out, "You say another word in front of my kid and I will pluck every feather off of you and stuff you into a turdurken, got it?"

Marrie didn't know what a turdurken was but she understood the threat well enough. Jude had the height and weight to do it if she wanted to. There was a beat, and Marrie backed away, her head still aching angrily from where the feather was plucked.

"Good," Jude said. She grasped her son's hand. "C'mon, Jim. Let's get back to grandma."

"Flying races!" Jim said, laughing.

Jude didn't bother to give Marrie one last glance before they disappeared off into the crowd. Her old classmate was no bother to her anymore. She had better things to do than dwell on the past. As they walked happily in the bright warm sunlight, Jude and Jim sang a familiar tune.

"Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?"

The End.