Tales of Yibixus: Green

Green

It’s a pleasant evening. The warm wind blows gently on Green’s face as he ambles down the street. Having spent years living in Vastin at this point, Green has never visited Ursula’s home, and knowing he’s going around uninvited brings a smile to his face.

Clutching a small box that’s filled with Javi cake, Green has a skip in his step as he approaches a cross road. Standing at the edge of the pathway, Green watches a Vastin tram roll slowly across his path.

He watches the faces in the tram as it passes, and like usual, once they’ve clocked him, they all give him a strange look. He’s the only hybrid on the entire planet and still a sight to behold.

Joining him at the crossroads is another Grimalkin family. Being much, much taller as a hybrid, Green turns and looks down. He smiles at the father, mother, and their kitten.

Reacting to him, the mother of the family soon hides the kitten out of sight—clearly thinking Green is a danger.

“Afternoon,” Green says politely, used to receiving odd looks.

The mother and father share with him an awkward smile but quickly look away trying to ignore his presence. However, the kitten pokes her head out from behind her mother's and gives Green the widest grin.

“Well, hello there…,” Green says and winks.

“What are you?” the kitten asks rudely—instantly scolded by her mother.

“Curious little one,” Green chuckles lightheartedly. “Don’t worry. I’m not offended. As a scientist, I encourage curiosity,”

“Scientist…,” the mother mocks, shaking her head. “We know what you are, and you’re deffo not a scientist. You’re a monster.”

Before Green even has a second to acknowledge what they’ve said, the tram has passed and the family scurries away from him as quickly as possible. Watching them walk away, Green lets out a breath and wonders if he’ll ever be accepted by the people of Yibixus.

Looking up at the yellowing sky, he takes a moment to remember Earth. Transformed into a hybrid of both species, he knows he’d get the same treatment from humans. The start that Yibixus orbits feels so very similar to what he remembers of the star in the sol system.

It feels the same as its rays gently warm his skin.

Looking down at the floor, a wry smile forms across his face. If only he knew what portal leads back to Earth, he could test the theory.

Shaking it off, Green crosses. Soon, Ursula’s home comes into view. He mentally thanks Sophia for the tip. Ursula never invites people to her house—so leveraging her best friend was the only way.

Standing at the small, very unassuming home, Green chuckles to himself. Although she’s confident and fearless, she’s a woman of few words. It makes sense to him that she’d live a simple existence and not the extravagance of the royal families.

Still clutching the box of Javi cake, Green approaches Ursula’s door, and his heart skips a beat. He feels like a teenager again. Knocking several times, Green reaches up to his ears and fluffs them up.

Eventually, after what feels like an age, Ursula answers the door, and she has a face like thunder. Having never seen her out of her armor, Green Is a little shell-shocked himself. It’s like she’s actually a person and not a machine made only for war.

“Green!?” Ursula growls, standing at her door with the fiercest look in her eyes. “What are you doing here!?”

Before Green can even answer, he’s grinning wide. He’s never seen Ursula looking so timid. Although she’s glaring at him, he can tell she’s blushing under all the fur. There’s a softness to her he’s never seen before.

“Oh erm…,” Green coughs, holding up the box of cakes. “I was in the neighborhood, and I thought you’d like some Javi cake.”

“What?” Ursula sighs, annoyed at him. “Are you joking?”

“No,” Green smiles, shaking his head. “I wondered if you wanted to share them with me.”

Ursula brings her paw to her face and lets out a long breath. “I can’t believe you.”

“Have I done something wrong?”

“I should kill you for this,” Ursula says sarcastically. “How did you even find out where I live?”

Not wanting to give away his source, Green bites his tongue and gives her a stupid look. After a few seconds of not talking, he gives her a silly smile and shoves the cake box into her hands. “Let’s enjoy some cake, Captain; we’ve earned a bit of downtime.”

Ursula doesn’t move out of the way to let him in. She stands just as firm as her stern expression. “I don’t know what you think Is happening between us, GREEN…,” she replies sarcastically, which is very out of tone for her. “But I don’t like unannounced visitors.”

Green is undeterred, and the silly grin on his face becomes wider. “What's that behind you!?” he exclaims, pointing behind her like he’s playing a childish game.

Not privy to that old Earth child's trick, Ursula looks around and sees nothing. Only the sight of her empty front entrance of her small home. Annoyed she’s been tricked, she’s about to turn and scold Green for being so stupid, but she finds herself being picked up by him and forcefully moved inside.

With his much larger hybrid frame, she’s easily picked up from her feet. “Get off me!” she growls, kicking her feet and whipping her tail.

“This is how we say hello where I’m from,” Green teases, only putting her down once he’s firmly inside her kitchen and safe from being kicked out.

Ursula doesn’t appreciate the disrespect, and as soon as her feet touch the floor, she swings for him. With a fist as fast as a bullet and as hard as a rock, she slams a direct hit to his chest.

Green, winded by her unexpected attack, keels over, breathless.

“That’s how I say GET OUT….!” Ursula hisses as she’s made to feel so incredibly embarrassed by the man who’s tricked his way inside.

Still catching his breath, Green nurses his sore chest before starting to slowly giggle. His giggle soon turns to a laugh and it leaves Ursula completely bemused by his reaction.

“Wow…,” he coughs, standing upright and beaming a smile. “Not a single broken rib…you must really like me…huh?”

Ursula folds her arms tight and sighs. “What?” she asks rudely, glaring in another direction.

“The Ursula I know would have killed me for that disrespect,” Green explains, still rubbing his chest. “You held back with that punch—I know you did. Is that your idea of flirting?”

Speechless, Ursula doesn’t know what to say. Maybe she did hold back. Maybe she is warming to him. He’s like no other man she’s ever met before.

“Shut up,” Ursula grumbles, unable to bring herself to look at Green’s stupid grin.

Green then claps his hands together and starts looking around Ursula’s kitchen. It’s extremely clean, and everything is well organized. Just how he imagined it. Stepping towards the counters, he almost bangs his head on the low-hanging cupboards.

“Might be hard to cook in here…,” Green comments, touching the ceilings with his hands.

“Cook?”

“Yeah. I thought I’d also cook for you.”

“I eat a controlled diet,” Ursula answers sourly. “All my meals are prepared and ready to reheat.”

Green rolls his eyes and lets out a short sigh. “Ursula…., let me cook for you. Sophia was so right! She warned me you’d be this difficult.”

“Difficult!?” Ursula squeals. She then turns away and almost bares her fangs. “Sophia….?” she grumbles under her breath. “I knew it…! She’s in deep trouble!”

Green, who’s now making himself familiar with the contents of a particular cupboard, is soon interrupted as Ursula snaps the cupboard door closed—almost trapping his fingers inside. “She told you where I live…didn’t she?”

Surprised, Green moves onto another cupboard and starts looking inside. “She’d never do that to you, Ursula. She’s a loyal friend who cares deeply for you—why would she give me your address?”

Annoyed that Green keeps looking through her stuff, Ursula snaps. “What are you even looking for!?”

Stopping for a moment, Green turns to face her, and he reaches into his satchel with excitement. He’s like a giddy schoolboy wanting to show his mother what he’s found. Seconds later, Green pulls a small metal tin out and holds it out to her.

“I thought…,” he says, opening the tin to show her its contents. “…If I’m sharing this javi cake with you, I’d like to share something from my world too.”

Inside the tin is a brown substance that almost looks like dirt. Ursula pulls the most confused face and frowns hard as she sniffs at the bitter-smelling substance inside.

“It’s coffee,” Green explains with a worried smile, reacting to her sour expression.

“C-offee?” Ursula asks, genuinely curious. “It smells awful. How did you even get this?”

“Secrets.” Green snaps the lids closed and laughs, “Maybe someone helped me…seeing as you won’t tell me which portal goes back to Earth.”

“Oh my goodness,” Ursula laughs, cracking a smile for the first time. “So this c-offee substance that smells like soiled mud is your idea of flirting!?”

Green winks.

“We’re in for a long night them,” Ursula giggles uncharacteristically. “The two of us are awful at this, aren’t we?”

Green’s face lights up. He’s only ever seen her smile at the end of battle. He’s amazed at how different she’s acting around him in private.

“Does that mean….,” Green says, focusing on how elegant she looks when she’s smiling. “…I can stay?”

Ursula turns away bashfully and folds her arms. “Yes, fine, you can stay,” she huffs. “Just don’t tell anyone, okay? I’m only letting you into my home because you’re so darn fascinating.”

“Fascinating, huh?” Green replies with a smug grin. “Is that your way of saying you…. like me?”

In the blink of an eye and with a rush of wind, Ursula punches Green again directly in the chest. He keels over a second time and splutters as he tries to giggle in reaction.

“Yup…,” he coughs and chuckles simultaneously. “You held back even more that time. You deffo like me!”

Ursula rolls her eyes and lets out the longest sigh. “You’re so annoying.”

“I am?” Green asks, standing up straight after being punched a second time.

“Yes, very.”

“So why are you smiling at me?”

Ursula shakes her head and forces a frown. “I’m not smiling. Shut up.”

“Sure you aren’t…,” Green chuckles to himself as he opens another kitchen cupboard. “Go and put your feet up, Cap,” he continues, pointing to the kitchen door. “I’m told the way to a Grimalkin woman's heart is through her stomach, and I fully plan to test that theory.”

“Seriously?” Ursula asks, blown away by his frank and honest behavior. “You’d do that for me?”

“You betcha,” Green replies honestly as she searches her kitchen. “I find you….erm, fascinating too…”