Alien Stuff/ One on One

Abby smiled giving Nyt’s hand a gentle squeeze in thanks. She felt much more confident with Nyt and Adar aiding her point.

When they first walked up to Toby, a lot of the work around them came to a slow stop. Now everyone was at a complete standstill as they listened, some with skepticism others were curious but no one was brave enough yet to approach.

For a few moments Toby simply stood there, listening and watching their expressions. Slowly a soft smile settled on his face as he looked at Abby. ”It ain't gonna be easy bringing this to the council. But there is that open ”suggestion” meeting in a bit. Get a public audience.”

Nyt was a bit confused by the concept of 'meetings' and 'council' but she nodded. "We never thought it would but we are willing to try."

"The council is going to freak when they see a Sylvian though. Their imeadit reaction will be either to kill them or put them in chains." Caleb pointed out.

”Over my dead body.” Abby stated firmly before calming down. ”Uncle Toby, I know this is going to cause all kinds of conflict but aren't you the one who always said the strongest metal goes thru the hottest fires?”

”When did you grow up so fast, kiddo?” Toby nodded, smirking. ”Your folks would be proud of you. H€ll, I am too. And don't worry about any happening to your friends here.” He chuckled. ”No one’s gonna get close enough to do anything.”

Peter twirled his machete. ”That goes for me too, Abby. All you gotta worry about is mean old Mr. Myers.”

Nyt frowned when she heard what the council could do but smiled once everyone showed their support for them. "Thank you!" She said.

Caleb nodded and she pulled out his hunting knife. "I won't let them lay a finger on Ada-them! I won't let them lay a finger on Adar and Nyt." He said, blushing a bit at his mistake.

Adar's seemed worried but his ears turned a light gray when he heard Caleb's comment. "Th-Thanks Caleb!" He sputtered.

Abby and Peter shot each other a knowing look catching Caleb’s slip up while Toby just raised a teasing brow.

”I’ll be careful of the cranky soldier. I won't let him push me around.” Abby smirked.

Toby nodded. ”We should head over to the main hall. Meeting should start in a few minutes.”

Nyt took a deep breath. "Ready when you are." She said with a nod of her head.

Caleb grabbed Adar's hand and Adar held Caleb's hand.

(Do you want me to do the council?)

Abby smiled and was about to take Nyt’s hand to lead the group when Toby smacked his own forehead. ”I can't believe… I almost forgot something.” He reached behind his desk and opened a small box. ”Your mom always said we had enough soldiers. She wanted you to have this.” he smiled holding a curled metal armband. ”I had to adjust it a bit so it would fit.”

Abby stared at the piece of jewelry, her eyes tearing up. ”Uncle Toby.” she choked out as she clutched it to her heart.

Nyt watched Abby tear up at the jewelry. It made her realized Abby had never mentioned her mother or father, only Toby as sort of a family member.

Adar watched awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

Caleb gently squeezed Adar's hand, seeing him uncomfortable.

Abby took a shaky breath and dried her eyes before putting the band around her upper arm. She smiled tracing the design for a moment. ”Thank you.” She stood up straighter and looked at the group, more determined than before. ”I’m ready.”

Toby nodded with a smile that was a mix of pride and sadness, turning to lead the five of them to the meeting.

As Peter walked past, he gently gave Abby’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

(Sorry. If you want to be the council you can.)

Nyt nodded. Her tail curled around Abby waist to comfort her. "I'm ready when you are." She as she straightened herself up.

Adar and Caleb nodded. "Where is the meeting?" Adar asked.

(Alrighty!)

Abby smiled at the familiar touch. ”This way. It's the only building all four walls and a roof. We use it as a town hall and infirmary but I think it used to be an old warehouse or factory.” she explained as she walked towards the structure. ”Fair warning Nyt, I'm probably going to have to say some stuff maskless.”

Nyt nodded. "Be careful though alright." She said as she followed Abby and the others.

Caleb lead Adar ahead to the town hall. "Is Mark already there?" Caleb asked, guessing he probably was.

Abby shrugged, ”I hope so. It’d be nice to have another supporter in the stands.” She turned to Nyt and Adar. ”These meetings aren’t mandatory but almost everyone shows up.”

The inside of the building was as massive as it was outside. Despite that fact, it was still fairly crowded. There were even a few kids sitting on the beams overhead.

(How should the council act? Because I was planning on them being really against the idea.)

Nyt looked at the building. "It looks pretty old. I hope Mark is there too." She said as she walked in slowly with the others.

The council sat inside the building, talking among themselves. Their eyes caught on Nyt and Adar when they walked in the door, freezing.

(I’m not sure… I’m expecting great difficulty in convincing them. Especially Mean Mr. Myers; head of the guards.)

”It is,” Abby whispered. ”This building was built sometime before…” she trailed off as the council stared at them, hoping Nyt understood how long ago she meant. For a moment she just stood there looking at the group of the most important people in the community. She was just a scavenger. She didn't talk directly to the Council! She was still practically a child to them. Why would they listen to her? A nobody. …

Toby noticed her hesitation and placed a large calloused hand on her shoulder, his face serious for the first time that day.

Abby took a deep breath, fortified by her uncle’s support, and calmly spoke. ”Council, I request an audience to speak with you.”

(Real quick before I post, does the council have gaurds or some sort of militia?)

(Sort of? I imagine everyone knows how to defend themselves, mostly from wild animals and such but the guard that I mentioned earlier would be more like a patrol guard. Which is what Peter was doing when he greeted them. If you want a couple of guards around the actual council, I’ll leave that choice to you.)

Mr. Myers got an anger look. "Guards!" He yelled. He liked calling them that. "Grab them! Quick!" The gaurds held no objection to this, as it was the race that tried to kill them off. They probably came to do just that. They started to close in around the group.

"We mean you no harm." Nyt said raising her hands in a surrender position. "We just want to talk."

Adar held up his hands as well, mimicking Nyt.

Caleb readied his knife. "Over my dead body." He growled. "Don't touch them."

Following Caleb’s example, Peter drew his machete and twirled it quickly disarming the one closest to him while Abby gripped her spear tightly in both hands and pointed it at the nearest attacker.

Toby, on the other hand, didn't move except to cross his arms in an intimidating manner and frowned deeply at the so-called guards. ”Now, boys. There's no need for you to get hurt over this.” he warned coldly.

Some of the guards near Toby lowered their weapons but others kept their weapons pointed at them, but not advancing.

Caleb knocked the pathetic knife out of one of the gaurds hands.

"What are you doing?" Mr. Myers asked, anger and partially scared.

(Might I add that I just love how influential Toby is and he doesn't even react to Abby bring home an alien.)

(I know! Thank you for your kind words.)

”If you’d pay attention, old man, you’d have heard what Abby just said.” Peter grumbled just barely loud enough to be heard. ”Ow!” he yelped soon after as Toby gave the boy a slight slap on the back of his head.

Abby pointedly ignored their exchange. ”We are only here to speak with the council. None of us have the intention to harm any of you.” her voice firm. ”If you have noticed, you attempted to attack us first. We only responded in self-defense.”

"Why in hell have you brought an alien into camp? Have you lost your minds?" Mr. Myers asked.

Adar flinched slightly at his words. He wasn't used to this type of stuff.

”No. I haven't.” Abby stated firmly, lowering her spear. ”I brought my friends here to publicly discuss the possibility of peace between our species.” Despite not raising her voice loudly, her words echoed clearly in the large room.

"Peace? Why would we want peace with them?" Mr. Myers asked. There were mummers on the council board and some of the gaurds lowered their weapons.

"Because I don't think you want to live in the woods anymore." Nyt said calmly. "We can help you."

Abby nodded at Nyt’s comment. ”Would you rather continue living like this, hiding in fear… Waiting for us all to die? Fighting a pointless battle? Or would prefer to be able to truly breathe again?” she questioned, removing her mask as an example. ”To be able to hear someone’s voice clearly? To whisper something to a friend? To kiss your husband or your wife or your children anytime you want… As much as you want without worrying about suffocating them or yourself? Nyt and Adar have mentioned the possibility of being able to fix what happened to the air so long ago.” she put her mask back on refusing to show weakness in this moment.

"And how many Aliens have agreed to this?" Mr. Myers asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nyt helped Abby put back on the mask, despite the gaurds raising their weapons closer when she did that.

"Who here doesn't want to breath with out these things? Raise of hand." Caleb said sarcastically. No one in the room moved though there were muffled whispers. Some of fear and some of hope.

Abby smiled gratefully at Nyt’s help and waved aside the guards response, showing she wasn't in danger.

Seeing no one react to Caleb’s question, Peter chuckled raising his hand over his head. ”Who would like to be able to eat without fumbling with these things?”

”Honestly, I could go to lose a few pounds but I would like to give my goddaughter a real kiss more often.” Toby smiled broadly, raising his own hand.

Slowly everybody in the room began to raise their hands.

Mr. Myers huffed. "How many Aliens are on board with this plan?" He asked again.

The gaurds backed up slightly when they saw what Nyt were doing. Nyt helped adjust the mask back on.