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It was supposed to be a quick stop at a local station to refuel the ship and gather snacks. Keyword, supposed to. Turns out the crew had more time on their hands than expected as apparently one of the ship’s fuel lines had a leak. That's what they get for taking one of Scar’s fixer-uppers. Now they were stranded here for a few hours while some folks from the station helped Etho and Tango fix the fuel line.
The group who decided to explore the station consisted of Scar, Oscar, Grian, Wels, and Stress. They tried to get Hex to come along but they were insistent on staying with Xisuma. For whatever reason, Oscar didn’t know.
The Vex walked towards the back of the group, not saying much as the rest chatted on. He was happy to listen especially as whatever tale Wels was reciting this time around was actually intriguing. Something about Lady Death and her Angel. Oscar wasn’t much for the gods but it was certainly entertaining to learn about their affairs.
Though his attention departed from the story as his eyes caught on a shop sign. Something in a tongue he didn’t know, but the common underneath read “Pet Store.” He had time, it couldn’t hurt to take a look, right?
“Hey uh, everyone. There’s a cool store. Wanna go check it out?” Oscar awkwardly hitched his thumb towards the direction of the store, indicating to the group that had now stopped walking. It was a tad bit awkward as he’d interrupted their conversation.
Stress was the first to react, making a scratching noise with the spines on her more insectoid arms. The first time she did this was a little unnerving, but the crew later discovered it meant she was excited.
“Of course! Oh, a pet store, that’ll be interesting! I’d love to look around as well,” Stress grinned and made a b-line for the store, not waiting for anyone else’s response. The Vex mused at how she never used to grin. Must have picked it up from Scar.
Oscar turned to look at the rest of the crew expectantly, all who shrugged and made little notes of agreement. Well, it was settled. Pet store time.
As he pushed open the door, a little bell jingled to signal their arrival. The store attendant waved with two out of their four hands from behind the counter as the crew dispersed to different areas of the store. Grian seemed particularly entranced by some colorful bird in the corner. Oscar snickered as he realized the cooing and clicking noises the elytrian was making was an attempt to communicate to it. The bird just looked offended, however.
Scar and Wels were glued to a glass cage that had a bug inside of it. Scar kept saying something in English, perhaps the name of the earth bug it resembled. Oscar tried to repeat the words, but it sounded garish on his tongue.
Stress was in the center of the room playing with a fuzzy floating creature. It made odd noises that reminded Oscar of what Scar thought a laser gun sounded like. The weird creature kept clinging to her arms, which Stress seemed very entertained by.
But none of those interested Oscar very much. They were neat, sure, but nothing piqued his interest. He kept rounding the isles until he came across a wall filled with aquatic critters. All sorts of things swam or hid in the enclosures. Some with bioluminescence, some long and slim with pearly teeth, some lumbering crustaceans that were half burrowed in the sands. Schools of fish no bigger than his thumb swam about in tight formation, flashing brilliantly colored scales in the water. He was about to leave to look at some other creature, but a movement in a darker tank caught his eye.
Oscar crouched down and peered at the tank, curious. Staring at him from under a little stone hide were two beady black eyes. For some reason, this fascinated him. He sat down on the store’s floor and rested his head on the heels of his hands. After a few minutes of staring, the little creature slowly crawled out to a more visible light.
It was about the size of a football, but just a bit chubby. It’s coloration reminded him of the glaciers back home, a shockingly deep blue. Little gills sprouted from the sides of its head, three on each side. The creature had a delicate membrane lining the top and bottom of its tail.
“Oh, a little guy! You are really cute. I like you.” Oscar whispered to the little creature. Maybe it was a trick of the eye, but the little thing looked like it perked up.
Oscar looked at the little plating under the tank. It read in several languages, but the biggest was scrawled in common with some kind of erasable marker.
“Axonukul…. I have never heard of that before…”
It was another half an hour before the rest of the group got bored and mingled about the door. Though Oscar did not share the same sentiment of leaving. He really liked this little creature. Though he didn’t have any means of purchasing it or even a home for it. The Vex's eyes shifted from his new friend’s tank to the door. He didn’t want to leave without it but… He had no choice.
“I’ll come back for you, ok buddy? Bye-bye, I promise I'll come back.” With a little wave, Oscar stood up and rejoined his group.
The rest of the excursion went by like molasses. He wasn’t interested in whatever weird bit or bob Scar waggled in front of his face or the stories Wels told. He kept thinking of that little creature in that tank. He didn’t stop thinking about it as they walked back to the ship. He didn’t stop thinking about it as he went to sleep that night. Nor did he stop thinking about it as he researched as much as possible about the care and keeping of Axonukuls.
And he definitely wouldn’t stop thinking about it as he boarded a solo pod from the Hermitcraft station and headed on a journey back to the store.
The bell once again jingled open as he returned to the pet store on that random space station. The shop’s attendant barely got a word out in greeting before Oscar was talking all about purchasing the Axonukul. The shop attendant’s feathers flattened a bit as she told him the animal wasn’t very social. But Oscar was determined and very heavily insisted on it.
So the shopkeeper sighed and gently scooped Oscar’s new friend from its tank and gently put him into a carrying capsule. The transaction was made and Oscar was out of there. He didn’t take a moment to himself until he was safely on the pod with a cruise set for the station. He sighed and held the capsule up to his face, grinning as the Axonukul placed its little paws on the glass.
“I promised I’d be back for you! There’s a really big tank for you at home. I’m sure everyone will love you. You are very cute.”
The Axonukul just stared at him, its little head tilted ever so slightly to the side.
Oscar smiled and continued on, “I need to find a name for you. I’ve been calling you little guy all week. I don’t think that's a name, really. But that’s ok. We have all the time in the world to figure that out.”
And he watched as the little creature’s eyes lit up in delight, and Oscar was certain it knew exactly what he was saying.
The ride home was uneventful. The return was less so. Everyone was raving about why he left without a single warning, but he only lifted up the capsule in response before bolting to his room. The tank he set up was cycling nicely, full of gently waving plants, soft substrate, and plenty of hides or places to explore. He fiddled with the capsule for a second before figuring out how it worked. In just a few seconds, the little guy was in his new home.
Oscar couldn’t have been happier to watch it swim around and explore, seemingly just as happy as he was. Its little gills kept twitching up and down. Curiously enough, it kept chirping at him too. And according to all the articles and books he read, it meant that it was happy.
Eventually it floated to the edge of the tank and placed its little paws on the glass, chirping all the while. Oscar put his fingers over where the paws were and grinned. He could see his bioluminescent markings flashing happily reflected on the glass. And as the little Axonukul trilled in joy, he knew that fuel line breaking was absolutely worth it.
“Welcome home, Buddy. Welcome home.”