Abby blushed a bit at the reprimand, ”Sorry, I was just… really worried.” she barely stopped herself from saying that she had been scared. She rolled her eyes giving Caleb’s hand a slight squeeze for the joke. ”Hey! At least I was awake when I first met him, instead of him carrying me like a ragdoll.” she teased.
Caleb laughed. "It's my fault for that anyways!" He said.
Adar's ears turned gray again. "S-Sorry!" He said quickly.
"You're fine, Adar. Abby's just teasing." Nyt said as she finished wrapping the last cuts.
Abby nodded. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you, Adar. I was actually teasing the invalid over here.” she gestures at Caleb.
Peter just smirked, watching the conversation more relaxed now that Caleb was taken care of.
"Who are you calling 'invalid'?" Caleb asked as he sat up.
Adar nodded. "It's fine!" He said. O stars! I'm messing this up!
Nyt chuckled. once she was done she fell back on the floor laying down.
”Oh please! Do you see anyone else shirtless with that many bandages? You look like you're practicing to be a Mummy.” Abby laughed, gently pushing Caleb back on the couch.
Peter rolled his eyes at the familiar antics, the formerly tense atmosphere seemed to have evaporated. Well, almost. He may not have been a cat person but the way that Adar’s tail was twitching, it wasn't too hard to tell he was nervous. ”You don't have to apologize for everything. Those two do this a lot.”
Adar chuckled nervously.
"I am not! It's not that many!" Caleb shot back as he tried to fiddle with them.
Nyt slapped his hand with her tail. "Don't touch them."
Abby laughed, holding her hands up in surrender, giving him a look that plainly said: ”Oh really?” before turning to the crowd. ”Now that that has been taken care of… I promised all of you an explanation. If you have any questions, please ask one at a time.” she smiled as she gave, what was basically, a rehearsed speech detailing what had happened to her and her reasons for trying to form peace.
(poke)
(Shot McDoot! I forgot!)
Nyt stood up next to Abby, ready to answer questions as well. It had to be a conjoined effort to make peace and not just Abby.
"How do we know the Alien isn't tricking us?" A person from the middle yelled.
(It's ok. Life’s been a bit busy lately.)
Abby sighed, withholding an eye roll. She had been expecting that question but it was going to be tiring explaining this each time. She reached for her mask and removed it. ”Nyt is not tricking anyone. She has been nothing but a kind and caring individual. She has told me that she and a few friends of her’s have been curious about human culture and I am willing to help them learn and learn from them. That way we can share this planet… hopefully as equals.” She tried to keep her hands from shaking too badly as she positioned her mask back into place.
Nyt helped Abby fassen back on the mask. "You didn't have to do that Abby." Nyt mummbled as she helped her.
The people murmured among themselves. "What is this…Aliens name?" A man near the front asked.
Abby nodded, focusing on her breathing. ”Yes, I did, Nyt. It's the only way they’ll really believe. And I’ll do it as many times as I need to until enough people listen. You don't waste your breath on lies when you can barely breathe.” she explained, holding Nyt’s arm for balance as she locked eyes with her.
Peter stepped forward, turning toward the small crowd. ”Abby said her name was Nyt. Or were you too stunned by what she was saying maskless that you forgot to actually listen?” he pressed with his arms crossed and a raised brow.
Nyt nodded and just helped Abby.
The crowd nodded. "Who is the other one?" A woman asked, pointing at Adar.
Adar's tail began to twitch when attention was turned to him.
Caleb looked up at Adar. "It's alright." He said as he put a hand on his shoulder.
”This is Adar. He is one of Nyt’s friends and a collector as well.” Abby answered quickly before Peter tried telling everyone that his name was Ackbar or something.
Adar waved shyly at all the humans.
"You're fine," Caleb said to Adar as he laid back down.
"How are we going to make peace if only two people like us?"
Peter huffed in annoyance. ”We’re starting small. What do you want Abby to just walk down a city street and hope she finds another friendly Alien?” he gave a hard glare at the person who asked the question.
”Peter, calm down.” Abby stepped up. ”Nyt and Adar have more friends for me to meet. Once I do and we can start working on speaking with larger groups. You were brought here to prove that not everyone that now lives on this planet, human or Slyvian, is hostile. That peace is achievable despite being a slow process.”
People began to murmur louder. "What if they kill us off?" A person from the back yelled.
Nyt sighed at this question. She couldn't tell them that, that wasn't possible. "Hopefully that won't happen." She whispered.
”They already tried that and we’re still here. We’ll still survive this if it goes south.” Peter rallied.
Abby gave a slight glare at Peter’s revolutionary attitude. She gently took Nyt’s hand in her own. ”Isn’t peace worth dying for? Besides, that’s why we're starting small. So no one has to.” she sighed. ”Any of you ever drop a pebble into a body of water? The ripples grow outward until eventually, you can’t tell the difference. That's the approach we are using.”
Nyt nodded. "I know you don't know me but I want this to work just as much as anyone else. I've always wanted to know more about humans but we thought all was left was artifacts and ruins. Now that I know that you're still alive I don't want you to hide anymore." She said.
"Then why did you try to wipe us out?" One person yelled in a rage.
Abby winced slightly at that question, not having an answer. ”It wasn't Nyt or Adar’s decision to go through with that action when they arrived. I doubt that either of them even took part in that movement.”
Nyt and Adar looked at each other and shifted nervously. Their ears laid down flat and their tails laid still.
"What can we do to earn your trust?" Nyt asked.
(What should happen next?)
(At this exact moment? I have no idea. Though I can see some people getting a little mad that they didn't answer the question.)
Peter raised a brow at their avoidance. But as much as he also wanted an answer, he knew that challenging their silence now would damage the already shaky truce they were building on.
As much as Abby wanted to reassure Nyt by petting her ears she stood firm. ”You took care of me when I was hurt and unable to safely return home and you helped treat Caleb’s injuries just now. I can not think of much more that either of you can do.”
Nyt nodded sadly. "I understand." She whispered. She let it set in that humans might not ever fully trust her.
The people didn't seem to know how to answer that question.
Abby gave Nyt’s hand a gentle squeeze to remind her that she wasn't going anywhere and that she wasn't going to give up. ”I trust you.” she told her softly before addressing the others, ”Does anyone else have any more questions?”
"Is Caleb alright?" Someone from the front asked.
"He's doing alright. He just needs to rest for a bit." Nyt expalined.
"I'm fine!" Caleb yelled from the back.