King of the Hive

Chapter 12: Morning

Jake padded down the beaten path to the tavern. He yawned as he pushed the door open with his head lazily, finding it more comfortable to walk on all fours, especially indoors. He hopped up on bar stool and cocked his head at Garry expectantly.

“Hi, do you need something?” Garry inquired uninterestedly.

“Uh, yeah. I would like one ‘hello brother, how’s the new body?’ and a beer thanks.”

“Jake?” Garry asked in disbelief. “Oh god, I’m sorry! It’s so damn hard to tell Xenomorphs apart...” Jake chuckled softly; he knew exactly how his brother felt. The only two Xenomorphs he could recognise were Advena and Ostea because he had spent almost their entire lives with them, and because he was their host he could sense their presence and take a hint from that. Garry handed Jake a beer and leaned against the serving bench. “So, how is the new body anyway? Bet it’s cool being an Xenomorph now.” Jake nodded and took a tentative sip of the beer. Whoa, that tasted very different. Not unpleasant however. In fact, whilst he described his new body to Garry, he consumed three bottles of it. Garry raised an eyebrow at him when he asked for a fourth. “Er, don’t you think that’s enough beer?” he inquired. Jake tilted his head.

“I suppose so... it’s weird; I don’t feel affected at all by it. I guess Xenomorphs have a higher tolerance for alcohol... still, best not to push my luck,” Jake mused. There was a call from across the room and Garry gave Jake an apologetic look.

“Sorry, duty calls.” Jake nodded his understanding and watched Garry leave. He yawned and scanned his... well, he didn’t really have eyes... he scanned his vision around the room, looking for anyone else he knew. He was surprised to see Nathan hiding in a dark corner of the room surrounded by a few unopened bottles. His curiosity piqued, Jake wandered over.

“Watcha doin’?” Jake inquired as he sauntered over to the chair opposite Nathan. The Xeno-Hybrid jumped and jerked his head to face Jake. “Oh, I see...” Jake realised. “You’re sneaking a drink ay? Does your mother know about this?” Nathan, seeing no point in lying, shook his head sadly. He had been caught, red-handed. Jake grinned mischievously. He popped the lid off one of the beer bottles and passed it to Nathan, who stared at Jake with surprise written all over his face. “What, you thought I was going to tell her? No, I know how Jeica is; if she finds out you were even thinking of doing this, she would flip. You’ve come this far, may as well get some fun out of it before she gives you hell. And who knows? Maybe she won’t find out after all.” Nathan brightened visibly and Jake popped open a bottle for himself. Jake shed all his wisdom of drinking as he taught Nathan how to handle the alcohol. He made sure to inform him that beer was one of the least alcoholic alcohols there is, and he should adjust to that before taking on anything stronger. All the while, Jake kicked back a few and finally felt a tinge of dizziness at the back of his skull, signalling he was going to start getting drunk if he continued. Jake helped Nathan to his woozy feet and bid him farewell. Jake grinned to himself as he left, hoping to god that Jeica didn’t find out he’d been not only allowing her son to drink, but helping him along in the process. Jake’s stomach growled. Beer didn’t exactly count as a substantial meal, so Jake headed over to the butcher to get some meat. He wondered if anyone had noticed his growing appetite yet, or if what he was up to would actually succeed in being a surprise. He smirked as he imagined the look on Advena’s face when she found out. He sighed wistfully and finished his meal of raw beef and mutton. He then headed back home to see if Advena and Ostea had woken up yet.

I yawn and stretch my legs. I glance at Ostea’s unconscious body and smirk. The first few times do tend to take a lot out of you. I rub her head affectionately and wander out into the kitchen only to find Jake there, sitting on a stool and watching over some bacon and eggs he’s cooking.

“Advena,” he greets me with a smile. Rather than answer, I rub my body against his legs like an affectionate cat. He chuckles and pulls me onto his lap. I yelp, and immediately feel stupid. It’s just so... different having him pick me up. He’s so strong now and I kind of miss his fragile human form; it made me feel stronger and more special. Though I suppose he was just spoiling me, and I will always love him no matter what he is. He strokes my head and hums to me, almost lulling me back to sleep until he gently places me back on the floor and tends to the meal he’s cooking. He slides a plate over to me and puts another aside, presumably for Ostea. I take note that he isn’t eating anything. When I question him about this, he tells me he has already eaten.

“How long was I asleep?” I ask, quite surprised that one, he had woken up a long time before me, and two, that the sun was quite high in the sky. When he was a human I would usually wake up at least ten minutes before him on most days.

“It’s ten o’clock in the morning,” Jake answers. He shivers slightly and grunts in discomfort. I peer at him worriedly.

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” Jake replies, too quickly for my liking. “Nothing’s wrong.” I let out an unconvinced ‘Hmm’ and eat my meal slowly. “Anyway, I’ve got to go now; I’ll be back in... I dunno, shouldn’t be more than a day. Tell Ostea, and I love you both.” He gives me a quick kiss on the forehead before trotting out the door, pulling it shut behind him with his tail. I finish eating and ponder what that was about. Is he in trouble? Maybe this ‘two mate’ thing isn’t working out after all? Oh god... is he going to find another mate? I panic and barge out the door, startling Jeica who was just about to knock.

“Oh, hello,” I say, almost as confused as she looks.

“Hi, er, I’m looking for Jake. Is this a bad time?”

“No no, but Jake has just left... why did you need him?”

“That irresponsible bastard has been helping Nathan drink alcohol. Alcohol! He’s not even a year old yet!” Jeica explained protectively. She seemed more than a little annoyed at Jake, but not so much that she was screaming and charging down the streets with rage filling her heart and flames in her eyes. I laugh silently to myself at the image I created in my head. I think perhaps I have watched too many cartoons with Jake. It’s clear now; Jake just wanted to avoid the fuming Jeica until she had calmed down a bit. Personally, I would do the same. Then again, I would never give a baby alcohol. In Jake’s defence, it is incredibly hard to deem the age Nathan is equivalent to. He must be equal to a seventeen or eighteen-year-old human now. I don’t know. I explain to her that Jake won’t be back very soon, about a day at the most. She sighs frustratedly and thanks me, before leaving. I feel a sudden weight on my shoulder, and turn my head to see Ostea’s chin resting there. Her tail swats my butt playfully before she skips into the kitchen to eat the food prepared for her by Jake. I grin and shake my head at her antics. I can’t believe we were fighting over Jake a mere week ago, and now I don’t think I could live without her... and Jake of course. I think we are the first case of homosexual Xenomorphs... then again, if we have sex with Jake, I guess that makes us bisexual. Confusing. One thing’s for sure, just because Jake’s gone doesn’t mean the bed won’t be used tonight...

 

Alistair gazed up into the sky, shielding his eyes from the blazing sun.

“Hey!” he called. “Josh. What’s that?” His friend and colleague approached and mimicked his pose.

“I dunno,” he replied. “A ship of some kind – definitely not human.”

“Maybe Xenomorphs? A few have been coming out of hiding lately to come here.”

“Yeah, but they usually hijack human ships. They can’t build their own.” Alistair pondered this. Josh was right, Xenomorphs did tend to use human ships, and they had already established that ship wasn’t human. The ship in question set down in a nearby forest. “Should I gather a scouting party?” Josh inquired.

“That would be wise...”