Becoming Human

Duo looked at the pick-up\'s fuel gauge, considering. Looking back up, he saw a sign for an upcoming gas station. He looked over to his two youngest siblings.
\"Roanna, Karick, how\'re you holding up?\" The two so addressed drew their gaze away from the window.
\"Well,\" Roanna began. \"I\'d be completely fine if Karick weren\'t poking me with his toe.\"
\"I wouldn\'t be poking her,\" Karick began hotly, \"if she weren\'t hogging the whole damn seat!\"
\"Karick!\" exclaimed both Duo and Dad, who had heard through the window. Duo let Dad take over, as he pulled onto the exit ramp.
\"Karick, where did you learn such language?!\"
The youngest boy pointed toward the middle boy, who was also in the back of the truck. \"Ian! He uses those words all the time when you an\' Mom and Litza and Markin and Duo aren\'t around!\"
Dad pulled his head from the window, swiveling it around to face Ian. \"Is this true?\" he asked. Ian began to shake his head in denial, but was pre-empted by his twin sister, Ylan.
\"Yes! It is true!\" she exclaimed, jumping on the opportunity to see her brother get in trouble. There was a moment of silence as Duo pulled into the gas station.
\"Okay guys,\" he said, \"I think we\'ll have to postpone the chewing out until later. Right now is potty and fuel brake.\" No sooner has the truck stopped than one human and eight cliff-hoppers leapt out, stretching stiff muscles and muttering about the humidity. Duo pulled out a bill and gave it to the girl behind the counter, as his siblings meandered through the convenience store, searching for the washrooms.
Duo returned to the truck, and started pumping as Dad came back out with a bag of snack food. \"How much farther today, boy?\" he asked, offering his adopted son a candy bar.
\"Well,\" Duo replied, unwrapping the gift and taking a bite. \"We just crossed the state line into Louisiana. From the time we\'ve been making, I\'d estimate about three, maybe four hours to New Orleans. And then two more days driving from there to reach Calvert Point. Weather wise, tomorrow will be the worst. Two nights in New Orleans then the next night I plan on stopping on the far side of Chattanooga, in Tennessee. We\'ll be in the Appalachians by then, and farther north, so things should start cooling, even if the humidity stays.\"
\"So,\" Dad leaned against the truck. \"What\'s at Calvert Point?\"
Duo watched the numbers on the pump flash by. \"Nothing. Calvert Point is the Southern entry onto Chesapeake. That\'s the goal. I don\'t know what\'s there, but Shinigami came from there, and there\'s something there I have to find. I asked the Gonzales\' about it back in El Paso. They said that Chesapeake was known for their tolerance concerning interspecies relationships of all kinds. They said that people there don\'t judge you on what species you are. That it\'s very common for saur and human to be best friends.\" Duo sighed. \"I hope so. It\'d be a nice change.\"
Dad grunted in agreement. The Gonzales family in El Paso were a rare type, accepting Duo as part of a saur family without protest. The other humans they\'d met so far since they left the desert. Well, it would have been illegal to do anything, but humans were very good at \"all but\" doing something. His boy had been ignoring most of their behavior and whispers, but Dad heard them and hoped things were better somewhere. However much he and the rest of the family may love their adopted son, Duo needed the company, and more importantly friendship, of other humans. But even the Gonzales\', accepting as they were, had done nothing more thaceptcept them for a night.
The pump clicked as the Mom and most of the rest of the family came out of the little store. Duo walked back over to get his change, and decided to get a soda for himself.
Inside, Roanna was backed against a corner, to terrified to move or make a noise. She wasn\'t quite sure what this big fella wanted, but he was between her and her parents, and that frightened her. She\'d never seen a saur like him before-he was taller than Mom, with yellow-green skin and long, thin feathers covering all, and a long twisting neck that doubled back on itself as he stared at her.
\"C\'mon, girlie,\" he whispered, almost hissing. \"you got something I want. And in exchange, I\'ll give you,\" he chuckled \"a lollipop.\"
Roanna shook her head, the movement freeing up her nerves enough for her to draw breath to scream. The feathered saur saw this and placed a razor sharp claw against her throat. \"Don\'t,\" he said.
Just then a voice spoke from behind the saur. \"Just what the hell are you doing with my little sister?\"
He twisted his neck to see a young human male dressed in black, leaning insolently against a display, a slight smirk on his face, his eyes hidden by sunglasses. The saur grimaced. \"Blind human, this isn\'t your little sister. She\'s a saur, and none of your concern.\"
The young man sighed, then looked beyond to the little girl. \"Roanna,\" he said. \"What was he saying to you?\"
She took a breath. \"he said thatIhadsomethinghewanted, andinreturnhe\'dgivemea lollipop-\" she cut off when the claw pressed harder against her neck.
While she had been spilling, the station attendant had come back, concerned by what she\'d been overhearing. She now spoke up. \"Get away from the girl or I\'ll call the police!\" she said, but the offending saur just chuckled.
\"What is it with you humans that you think to threaten me?\" he asked, flicking his tail at the young woman, sending her flying into Duo, who caught her aet het her on her feet. He sighed, closing his eyes, and removed his shades. \"Can you hold these for me?\" he asked, handing them to the girl.
\"Sure,\" she said, at a loss.
Duo addressed the saur. \"Tell ya what,\" he said. \"You beat the crap outta me, you win. I beat the crap outta you, you leave her alone. That sound fair?\" The saur looked incredulous, but released his grip on Roanna.
\"If you wish,\" he hissed, and lunged at the boy whose eyes were still closed. Duo anticipated the move, ducking then reaching up to throw the saur clear across to the other side of the store. He then opened his eyes to look at his sister, who gasped as their eyes made contact.
\"It\'s alright, Roanna\" he said. \"No one will hurt you.\" The saur had recovered, shaking debris out of it\'s feathers.
\"What are you?\" the saur asked. \"No human is that strong!\"
Duo grinned, turning his golden eyes to look the saur straight on. \"I am Shinigami,\" he growled.
\"Well, Shinigami, you may have have caught me off guard, and you may be stronger than I anticipated, but it\'s impossible for a human to beat a Vegetian! \" The saur advanced in a slow run, but Duo sprinted forward, leaping to meet him in mid air, his foot connecting and sending the Vegetian through the front display window, while the latter\'s claws ran harmlessly of the rock-crusher leather encasing Duo. Duo leapt again, clearing the window, landing directly on top of the stupefied saur, as Mom and Dad moved away from the truck, wondering what was going on.
\"Duo,\" Mom said. \"What\'s going on?\"
Duo growled, eyes never leaving the saur beneath him. \"Nobody threatens my sister,\" he said, \"and fewer touch her!\"
A chorus of enraged hisses met that statement, as the entire family began to move forward. The Vegetian suddenly realized how hopeless his situation was.
Duo stepped off his back. \"If you run now, we won\'t follow,\" he said. The Vegetian was just intelligent enough to accept the offer, and sprint away.
Mom stepped up to Duo. \"Look at me,\" she said. \"There\'s something wrong with your eyes.\"
\"I know,\" he said. \"The same thing happened when I fought Shinigami.\" The tension began to flow out of him, and as he relaxed, his eyes changed to green, then darkened to blue, and then to their customary violet.
Mom sighed as she saw him become human again. \"I suppose we should try to help clean up the mess you made.\"
\"Mess?\" Mom took Duo by the shoulders and spun him nd tnd to face the shattered window. \"Oh dear,\" he said, with an abashed grin.
Duo walked back and gingerly opened the door. The attendant was back at her front counter, hovering protectively over the still trembling Roanna.
\"Uh, sorry about the mess?\" he said, taking off his cap.
\"Oh, Duo!\" Roanna exclaimed, jumping into his arms. \"Are youy? Iy? I mean, your eyes were all funny and I thought something was wrong and-\"
Duo squeezed her. \"Yeah, I know, but I\'m fine now. Are you okay?\" She nodded, and then transferred to the protective arms of Mom.
The attendant found her voice. \"So, are you Duo or Shinigami?\"
Duo glanced briefly at his toes. \"Uhh, kinda both. . . but, mostly Duo. I mean, I am Duo, but I gained some extra memories a little while ago and they sometimes surface.\"
\"Oh,\" she said, eyes wide. \"Well, my name\'s Hilde. Nice to meet you!\" She held out her hand, and Duo looked at it blankly for a moment before realizing a long ago conversation with Solo.
Awkwardly he reached out and clasped her hand. \"It\'s nice to meet you. Even if I did trash the store. . .\"
She laughed. \"Would you believe,\" she said. \"That we have insurance for this sort of thing?\" They both politely withdrew their hands, and Duo frowned.
\"Insurance?\" he asked, wondering what she was talking about.
She gave him a wry look. \"Not been around humans much, huh?\"
He stiffened. \"Well, no, what\'s wrong with that?\"
Hilde held up her hands. \"Nothing, as far as I know, except it makes ya stick out a little.\"
Duo looked at her suspiciously. That was hard to believe. \"You have no problem with the fact that I\'m human but my family is not?\"
Hilde sighed. \"Look, I know everyone seems to have a problem with it around here, but I don\'t. Then again, I\'m not from around here, I\'m from North Virginia, and we\'re so close to Chesapeake that things are different there. I mean sure, it\'s damned unusual, but you all obviously care for each other, so what could be wrong with it?\" She noticed how his eyes lit up when she mentioned Chesapeake. \"Chesapeake where you\'re goin\'?\" She asked.
He nodded. \"Yeah, we\'re gonna stop in New Orleans, spend two nights there-I have some stuff I want to sell at the Market, then the next day head up through Chattanooga, then the day after that go on to Chesapeake.\"
\"Oh, oh!\" Hilde exclaimed. \"I know just where you can stay in the city! Auntie Lulu and Uncle Zechs own a hotel in the French Quarter!\" She reached under the counter for a pen and some paper to draw on. She leaned over and started drawing a map excitedly. \"I\'ll call ahead, and I\'m sure they\'ll give you a discount, and Uncle Zechs can take you to the Market and make sure you get good deals on whatever it is ya wanna sell, cuz some of those merchants can be real slimey, and if ya aren\'t very familiar with humans, which you\'re not, you\'ll get ripped off in no time without Uncle Zechs there to make sure they behave!\" She finished her work with a flourish, offering it to Duo. Taking it from her, he saw a map and written directions to the address she gave for the \"St. Anthony\'s Garden Inn.\"
\"Uh, thanks,\" he said. \"Why are you helping me?\"
Hilde grinned. \"Well, despite the fact that at first you scared the b\'geezus outta me, and you fight like a mofo, and you smashed the window, you are one of the nicest guys to ever come through here on my shift, and I want to see as best I can that you makeout out there in the human world. Let\'s face it, that Vegetian won\'t be bothering any humans for a while, so you did the world some good.\" She glanced at the clock on the wall. \"Hey, if ya leave now, you\'ll get there in time for dinner. My shift ends in fifteen minutes, so once I\'m off I\'ll call ahead and let them know you\'re coming. Ok?\"
Duo blinked. \"Gee, ok, thanks!\" he said as he walked out the door. Mom had walked back out with Roanna while he and Hilde had been talking, and the whole family was waiting for him as he climbed back into the driver\'s seat. Roanna and Karick were once again sitting shotgun, with the rest of the family in back. Duo put the paper with the map on the dashboard, stillnnednned over Hilde\'s kindness. Mom leaned in through the window.
e?\"e?\" she said. \"There are other good humans out there. Now let\'s get going-the sooner we arrive, the sooner I can get out of this darned truck again.\"

Fifteen minutes later, Hilde\'s replacement showed up. By this time, she\'d cleaned up most of the mess, except for the window, for which she\'d already placed a call. Walking back to the little locker room, she pulled out her purse, then made her way to the pay phone. Dialing the number, she was relived when the screen lit up to show a familiar face of an older woman, the dark hair trying desperately to hide the violet eyes.
\"Auntie Lulu!\" she exclaimed.
\"Hilde!\" came the just as happy reply. \"We haven\'t heard from you in a while. What\'s up?\"
\"The hottest guy was in here just a little bit ago,\" Hilde gushed. \"And you won\'t believe what he did!\" She then proceeded to relate the entire tale, down to the littlest detail. Anyone overhearing would think it was just a girl gushing over a member of the opposite sex, but \"Auntie Lulu\" knew better. \"Anyway,\" Hilde concluded. \"I sent him your way, and I know you\'ll just love him!\"
The older woman lifted an eyebrow. \"Really?\" Such speech was unusual for the girl.
\"Oh yeah,\" Hilde replied. \"He\'s perfect!\"
Hilde was really laying on thick. \"I think I understand,\" was what the older woman said, a grin slowly making its way across her face. \"I\'ll make sure your Uncle Zechs looks after him while he\'s in town.\" She said.
Hilde smiled wide. \"Thanks Auntie Lulu! Look, I\'d talk longer, but I\'ve got to get home so I don\'t miss my cartoons! Give my love to Uncle Zechs!\"
The woman laughed. \"I will, darling! Now run along!\"
Hilde grinned and her image faded from the room in New Orleans. The woman behind the phone there took a deep breath, running her hands through her short hair. She then got up, and walked down the hall to another office where a man sat pouring over the accounts for the hotel. She entered, pulling the door shut behind her. The man looked up with a grin, scooting his seat back, which allowed the woman access to his lap. She sat down, laying her ear on his shoulder. She sighed. Then looked up into the man\'s blue eyes, brushing away a few errant sunlit strands of hair.
\"Hilde thinks that the missing one just left her gas station. She sent him too us, since he was on his way to the city anyway.\"
The man\'s breath caught. \"Tell me what she said.\"
The woman relayed everything Hilde had said, though without the gushing. \"She may be right,\" the woman concluded. \"He certainly isn\'t your average young man. Eyes turning gold, hurling a Vegetian through a window. Certainly fits what we know.\" She sighed, dropping her eyes again as the man digested the information.
The man looked up at the opposite wall, above the door, to where a silver Mardi Gras mask hung. He knew what she wasn\'t saying-how she didn\'t want to get their hopes up, how desperately though hope was rising within her that the boy might just be the one.
\"Oh, Lucrezia,\" he murmured, arms squeezing her close as he looked back down to nuzzle her hair. \"It would be nice if we could finally shed these masks we\'ve had to were. If we could have our own names back, and leave this god-forsaken town.\"
She grinned against his chest. \"Definitely. \'Lulu LeBeau\' is a hideous name! It would be a blessing indeed to be finally rid of it, back to good ol\' Lucrezia Noin and Milliardo Peacecraft. Your real name is much more fitting to you than Zechs Marquise.\"
He grinned in response. Not a day went by that they didn\'t both lament having to assume false identities those years ago. \"But,\" he mock protestetd, \"Lulu LeBeau is sooo New Orleans!\"
She poked him in the side. \"Yeah, but I don\'t look like a \'Lulu\'. That name should belong to a middle-aged Creole woman who tells fortunes in Jackson Square. And Zechs-what the hell kinda name is that anyway?\"
He laughed. \"It keeps your male fans from doing anything more than cheering when you get on stage. The name, along with my \'icy\' looks keep anyone from getting to close. Which,\" he added, touching her nose, \"is exactly as it should be.\" His face turned a little more serious again. \"But we digress. Hilde\'s in Lake Charles? Then it should take about three and a half hours for him to get here. Do we have a suitable room available?\"
Noin sat up straight, back to business mode. \"The only room reserved thus far for tonight is 301. All of the second floor is free, though, so we can reserve both the South facing room and the suite. That\'ll give them a nice view of the Garden, and they can choose if they want one big room or two smaller ones. They\'re both ready and set up, so we don\'t have to go do anything for them. However, since he\'s coming with his family, which just happen to be cliff-hoppers, I suggest we brush up on our cliff-hopper manners. If I recall correctly, they\'re highly matriarchal, unlike their forest cousins, but that\'s about all I know.\"
\"Hm.\" Milliardo frowned. \"They\'re one of the rarest species on the planet, and I\'ve never known of any families that even left the desert. Let\'s see what I can find,\" Noin stood to allow him up. He walked over to a wall covered in bookcases, running his eyes along their spines. At length he pulled a few down and returned to his chair, Noin resuming her former place as well. As they opened the first book, summer rain began to drum on the window outside.