In the midst of war, a lone protogen sets out to survive rather than thrive, after his ship crashes on earth. Will he make it back to a home he never had?
Disclaimer: this is a fictional work. Correlation between real world events and this story's c...
The walkway of large square tiles made a pleasant clicking against the talons on his paws as he entered the heart of town. Most of The roads seemed cleaner here. That's not to say that he could see all directions exactly; the blocks of brick buildings that lined the streets made it pretty difficult to even see past a few streets over.
Rows of shops lined the walkways with a mix of lights, plants, and signs scribbled in symbols he didn't understand. The one thing he could understand however, was that this place was alive and bustling with curiosities. Every intersection was filled with the vehicles he had seen, only now there were even more varieties.
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The protogen had finally gotten to see what lay under the mysterious mask of the species from his first contact. Honestly he found them to be a bit ugly, with their flat pink faces and oddly placed hair. There was one aspect in particular that gave him uncomfortable shivers. Seeing an intelligent creature's eyes without a visor was... in many ways unsettling.
Although their glassy eyed gazes made him deeply anxious, he found one familiar comfort in them: expression. The creatures walked like him. They smiled like him. Living without a mask—without a cover—it looked freeing.
Sure he was surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the odd groundlings that lived here, but the experience was strangely inviting. Apparently they were the dominant species on this planet, and they seemed to fare quite well for themselves.
The clouds were beginning to turn a rosy pink as he weaved his way through the little groups of pedestrians that dotted his line of sight down the path. Staying hidden had become a challenge now as the shadows began to stretch. Sure, he was invisible, but no matter how well the protogen could disguise himself, there's was no way to hide a shadow...
Suddenly, an excited family of three rounded the street corner—hand in hand—headed straight for him! He lunged under the awning of the nearest building. In the shade he pressed flat against the wall, sucked in his gut, and prepared for the worst.
Twice already someone's hand had accidentally brushed him, to his discomfort, on the fur of his hips and side. The first hadn't noticed, but the second had looked up, startled. If they reacted to fur, he didn't want to stick around for what would happen if they bumped right into his metal.
So there he was, slowly inching away from an oncoming groundling, when one of the adults abruptly pulled their child backwards out of the way. He spun around to see who his saving grace was and narrowly grazed another arm. This was his chance! He spun around behind the bypasser and followed them down the sidewalk.
So that was it; just like their vehicles. He needed to stick to the right...
The protogen relaxed a little as he followed the strange elder through the heart of town. He really was lucky, all things considered. Surviving an interplanetary crash, recovering his equipment, and making it this far was absolutely wild, even if it all happened on accident. The difference between luck and fortune though; that was a different story.
