* ~ \ Sp | it / ~ *

|| Nosocomephobia || W.I.P. Early Release ||

In the end, most travel was done by End Ships or simple Shulk Ports that would levitate Enderians to higher End Island levels. Most End travel relied on the power of the Shulkers, thus Enderians made it a habit, of upmost importance, to treat them politely and with genuine respect and admiration. Without the assistance of Shulkers, Enderians would have to relentlessly train to increase their teleportation range, which would leave them continuously exhausted. Therefore, any Enderian, regardless of the location at which they dwell, must treat them with respect. To insult a Shulker was to insult a higher being, or the very creation of God, of which they genuinely were.

Sedram and his father awaited their turn in line of those who desired access to the Shulk Ports. Shulk Ports were more commonly used for singular travel or of one Enderian and an accompanying young kin. His father hummed as he gently bounced Sedram in his arms, who was afraid of the stares he would most definitely receive due to his appearence. 

They had been putting off the restoration of his veil, as the band that held the transparent piece before his eyes had broken. At the time, his mother was in her later stages of pregnancy, but was not due for at least another 2 months. As time slowly passed by, he had regretted not asserting himself sooner, as the surrounding Enderian stares pierced through him as if he were only Plaeric and not amongst his own kind. He felt targeted.

"It's only a few levels up. It'll be okay," his father assured him with a gentle smile, petting his stiff, yet soft, hair. "You can always hide your face against me if it bothers you so," he added.

"How long will it be until we get there?"

"About five minutes, perhaps."

Sedram sighed as his laid his head on his father's shoulder, staring off into the distance, into the void. It wasn't long before he noticed his surroundings moving and his eyes came back into focus. A Enderian woman had been whispering to her kin, that stood beside her, fingers interlocked with hers. She had gazed in Sedram's direction. This made Sedram's anxiety spike as he wondered what they were saying about him. Surely it was about him, right? Why else would they been looking directly at him as they traded quips and mumbles about XD knows what?

He squirmed in his father's arms as his tail threatened to tap in an anxious tick. He attempted to ignore everything and everyone that stood around him and tried to hide his head fins has he buried his head into his father's shoulder. He let his scaled, pinkish-lavender, half of his face hide behind the broad shoulder and hoped no excess Enderians would spot his abnormal traits, at least from behind. From the front, he couldn't control the wild motions of his tail as his mind raced with self-conscious thoughts.

At least his father was considered normal, after the Aetherian war ended. Aetherians were granted entry to the End islands, but were only allowed limited access unless they had familial ties. Although, some Enderians still had some form of resentment towards Aetherians, so Sedram expected an uncensored Enderian to exclaim something soon. He awaited comments in full anxious dread as the line inched its way down. It wasn't that the travel process was entirely slow, it was the verifications that kept things at an endermites pace.

The verifications kept rouge Aetherians from accessing the Shulk Ports. A rouge Aetherian was an Aetherian that refused to succumb to the End Islands rules, that were made to maintain peace amongst the Enderians and Aetherians. If a rouge Aetherian were to attempt to access a Shulk Port, they would be taken away, but no one knew exactly where...

Rumors spread, that those who were taken by force were fed to the mother dragon, and others who came willingly were simply locked away for some time or sent back to the Aether. Although Sedram did not know if the rumors were true, he hoped that he would never have to witness the forceful eviction of a rouge Aetherian. It seemed scary, being there to witness such an aggressive sight, and unsure if they would submit to their impending consequences or go down swinging.

Sedram shook his head, as if to shake off the unwanted thoughts that crept into his mind. He then glanced back at the Enderian woman and her kin. Her kin wasn't exactly determinable gender wise, but that tended to occur commonly amongst younger Enderians. Eventually, they would grow into their specific features, or become accustomed to another they preferred. It was just flexible like that in the End. They were all just dark, lanky, creatures after all.

Unexpectedly, he noticed that the kin began to smile, their pointed ears raising in a small twitch upwards. It was genuine. Sedram's head perked up slightly, his father still holding him close in his arms as they took a step further down their line. Sedram didn't look directly at the kin, as it would bring discomfort to both of them, but rather, looked at their nose. It was small for an Enderian, but it suited them. If gave the illusion of them looking at eachother, without the anxiety that came from the eye contact of another.

The kin pointed to the side of their head with their free hand, and mouthed something like, "I like your fins." Sedram blinked in surprise at the positive comment. He had always expected negative things from Enderians, who didn't understand who or what he was. He smiled back, but it was short lived as the Enderian women gently tugged at her kins hand to bring them closer. She glanced back at Sedram with an almost disgusted expression. Sedram once again hid his head against his father's shoulder, who in response patted his head and whispered, "One day."  He sadly couldn't risk standing up for his son, and Sedram knew that. Aetherians were still heavily untrustworthy to most Enderians, and any potential trial held against him was a sure loss. They could only wait for things to change.

* ~ || Welcome To The Shulk Ports! Please Provide Your Desired Location Upon Arrival! || ~ *

* ~ || All Non-Purebred Enderian Please Provide Your Identity Tag When You Enter! || ~ *

* ~ || Please Always Be Kind To The Shulkers And Happy Travels! || ~ *

*Krrt*

The same audio would play whenever you were near your turn in the shulk ports. The announcement used to startle Sedram, but with passing time he had become accustomed to it. Now it was only annoying, because he heard it every time they passed through. Eventually, his father would need to put him down for a quick look-over to be sure he's able to travel safely. Some things that would be unsafe for him to travel with would be things like stomach sickness, injury, and even heavy objects. However, Sedram was just him, and rather light compared to most Enderian kin, obviously due to being a hybrid of fish as well as Enderian. He wasn't sick, because he had only eaten what his stomach could handle, even if the cookies at the top of the pantry were tempting.

As their turn arrived, Sedram's father set him down to give the Enderians working at the shulk port their identification tags. They knew Sedram by now of course, but checking the tags was part of protocol. Sometimes they would wave at him or even talk about some food they have at home they could bring, that wouldn't upset his stomach. Sedram felt better inside the shulk ports rather than outside of them. In here, people could see that he was just a kin who wanted to see his mother and happened to be a part of something else less known to Enderians. Rather than finding it weird or disturbing, they found it interesting and unique. They're very open minded at the shulk ports, as to prevent bias against newcoming Aetherians.