Xu gathered all the courage he could muster and ventured closer, the closest he had ever been, to the cube at the farthest end of the unnatural field that had come into existence right before his four eyes not long ago. 

He thought about his eldest mother, AaiA's, wrath which he would undoubtedly incur if he did what he had decided to do despite his better judgment: inspect the invasive things- he was sure- did not belong in his world. 

The reason for his narrowing down on that particular cube was simple: it was the smallest of the lot and was a little removed from the cluster of bigger ones. 

Using his petite frame to take shelter behind the mammoth shadows cast by the Great range that dominated that part of the planet's terrain, Xu approached the cube that stood a little less proudly than the rest of its kin. 

The child's eyes, all four of them, bathed in the vermilion glow emanating from the structure that was, for all intents and purposes, visible only to him. 

Gingerly, he reached for the cube with his dominant finger but chickened out before making contact. 

"Wise choice," he heard a soft yet strong voice comment. It made him turn and jump back a few feet. Before him stood a creature much like the humans his AaiA had described in her bedtime stories. 

You are obviously imagining things, Xu. This creature can't be a human. Earth was destroyed ages ago. But then how had he understood the words that had exited the being? The native blinked at the upturn of the creature's lips, of which they had only one pair. 

"You are beautiful," the creature added, taking a few slow steps towards Xu whose legs seemed to have grown roots and bound him to the spot. Halting midway, they said, "Oh dear, did I scare you?" 

Xu cocked his head and blinked again. 

"I am such a fool," the creature continued with downturned lips, "Of course, I scared it. Blabbering on like that, I must have looked weird… dangerous even." Throwing their hands in the air, they stepped back. "Hi, I am Lily. Nice to meet you."

Yes, Xu thought, it was definitely one of the tongues spoken on Earth. But that still didn't make any sense. Humans were an extinct species. 

Or, were they? 

Unfortunately, though he could understand much of this particular tongue, he was lacking when it came down to communicating with the same. So he did what he thought to be acceptable behavior and waived. "Hi," he added, both sounding and feeling awkward. 

Green eyes widened and caught the rays of the setting sun, turning them a mesmerizing shade of blue. "Can you understand me?"

Xu blinked. Recalling AaiA's teachings, he followed it up with a nod. 

"How wonderful!" the creature said in what Xu presumed was a pleasure. 

'The Earthlings are easy to please, Xu,' the child recalled his mother saying. 'Just bob your head up and down and it will make their lips turn up.'

Yes, the creature was indeed happy. A sense of pride filled Xu to the brim. He reciprocated with a wiggle of his ears. 

A melody like nothing the native had heard before left the creature's lips. So enthralling was it that Xu couldn't help the resulting hyper-wiggle (as his AaiA called it) of his ears. It sounded like the ringing of bells, ones that AaiA had brought back from her trip to Earth. A trinket, she had called it. 

Alas, Xu's ecstasy was short-lived, for a moment later, a voice from within the cube interrupted their exchange. "Lily-shi," the loud deep baritone called, making the creature turn. 

"HyunSo?" they said, before looking over their shoulder at Xu and blocking him from the opening that had formed on one of the surfaces of the red cube. 

The native understood the assignment and took shelter behind the closest hillock, just far enough to make a dash for home, if need be, but close enough to hear what the intruder- who presently stood at the threshold of the opening- was saying. 

"Lily-shi, why did you step outside? Are you alright?"

Xu watched the creature, Lily, approach the other, a taller one with dark eyes and a broad build. "Yes," they replied with a nod of their head. 

"You know the professor's orders. No one leaves the ship without gear. Your presence here is not known."

"I know. I am sorry, but-"

"Pipaluk has eyes everywhere. There is something I need…"

Xu strained to hear more of what was said, but that's all his ears could pick up from his vantage point before the opening closed. Disappointment like he hadn't yet known, washed over the native as he continued to wait for the lovely creature to reappear, despite his instincts telling him that it was futile to do so. 

Xu had nodded off a couple of times, sliding down the slope that had kept him out of the intruders' sights, before he heard the now familiar voice again. 

"Psst! Are you still here?" 

Lily! 

Xu's eyes snapped open. 

"I am being stupid again…there is no way it would be here still, would it? HyunSo probably scared it off." 

The excited native dared a peek from his hideout. And sure enough, there they were, the lovely creature he had encountered a few gomies ago. Xu glanced at the brightening sky. It would be earning time soon. Though this part of the planet was sparsely populated, he could not rule out the possibility of someone looking for solace venturing here. Moreover, his family was known… he was known. 

No, Xu decided, he couldn't be here for much longer. 

"You're still here!"

The statement dragged the native from his reprieve. Oh.. oh. Busted. 

Xu didn't know how to feel. Not really. A part of him was filled with joy while the other shivered from the thought of the resulting consequence of this second encounter. The best course of action would be to hurry back home, but just like before, the enthralled one was rooted to the spot. 

"I am sorry that I left without saying goodbye. But you see, I wasn't sure it was right for you to meet him yet."

Xu's blue head tilted to his left. "Him?" His eyes narrowed to slits, and his snub nose that sported a single nostril crinkled like an unwashed catch net had been thrust right under it. "Who Him?"

Lily mimicked the native's head tilt. "Are you perhaps jealous, my dear?"

Jealous, the word sounded familiar. Alas, its meaning had evaporated from Xu's memory. His ears drooped, falling to his shoulder. "Jealous…"

The creature's brows crawled closer. "Your understanding of English is rudimentary, I suppose."

The words took Xu by surprise. The creature seemed more intuitive than what his AaiA's narrative had him believe. He bobbed his head. 

"I am a witch, you see. I can read your emotions… sometimes thoughts."

The word, witch, meant nothing to him. Did it mean that the creature wasn't an Earthling at all? 

"I am human…well, part of me is," Lily said, running their eyes over their surroundings and crouching to examine the dirt under their feet. "I can't believe I am here…so far away from home." Their eyes met Xu's. "When I was seven, all I wanted was  to get into Wands School for Witches. Everything was planned out. But then the pandemic hit. Humans all around us started changing into monsters. The world as I knew it ended… changed into something unrecognizable. Now I have to find where I fit in...the purpose of my existence. And you know what's the worst part? No one prepared me for it in Wands School for Witches."

"Monsters?" Xu knew what that word meant. He recalled his eldest mother's words: 'Every world has Daks. On Earth, they are called monsters. They are beings who harbor ill-intent.'

Lily nodded. "Monsters, both literally and figuratively." Their upper hands wiggled in unknown patterns. "Some were harmless, kind even, but for the most part, they were homicidal creatures only interested in taking human lives. I lost much of my family."

"My condlnce," Xu said after much thought. 

Lily blinked. The corners of her lips twitched. "Did you mean condolence?"

Oh, right, Xu thought, that's what I should have said. He wiggled his ears and bobbed his head.

"Thank you. Anyway, none of that matters now. No amount of tears can bring them back." Lily lowered their eyes to the ground. They dug their fingers into the dry ebony soil. "This is a beautiful planet. The air is pure. Pristine."

"Thank you." Xu found it extremely easy to talk to this creature who called themselves Lily. But the Him they had mentioned earlier lingered in her mind. "Who Him?"

The creature stared at Xu for what felt like forever, while he wondered if he had said something to offend them. Thus, he was relieved when they said, "Oh right, I never answered you. See, the Him I mentioned earlier is called Cha HyunSo. From the way you are communicating with me, I take it that you are aware of our existence."

The native flapped his ears. 

"This guy, HyunSo, was a human before the monsterization virus hit mankind. Now he is what his boyfriend calls: a Special Infectee. From what we know, he is one of a kind."

"Boyfriend?" 

"Ya," Lily replied, examining the vegetation in her vicinity. "They haven't come out. Heck, they haven't even expressed themselves yet. Frankly, they should just kiss and get it out of their system, but both are in denial."

Everything that came out of Lily's mouth fascinated Xu. The more they said, the more he wanted to know. Their stories were much more interesting than AaiA's, but of course, he would never let his eldest mother get wind of his thoughts. 

"I think Pipaluk, who is a jerk, by the way, is in charge of this mission- doesn't know what HyunSo is. At least not yet." Lily added, caressing the plant that was within her reach. "Hey?"

Xu looked into the creature's green eyes. "Hey."

"Do you have a name?"

The native flapped his ears. "Xu, he called Xu. Xu twelve years old. Xu mother know Earth… know human.”

"Xu," Lily repeated, “I like it. Short and sweet. Your mother knows the existence of Earth?"

"Yes. Mother know. Mother teach English."

"That's wonderful! This planet is full of surprises. Wait..." The creature trailed and fell silent before resuming, "Where are my manners!? I am Lily, as you already know. I am twenty-one, female, and go by she/her."

"Adult." Xu offered, disappointed that Lily probably wouldn't want to be his playmate. 

"Unfortunately, yes. I am an adult, HyunSo says I am more like a child than a fully grown person." For a moment, Lilly looked past Xu. Then fixing him with an unmoving gaze that reminded the native of his eldest mother, she said, "Listen, Xu, there is something I need to tell you. Something important. But first I need you to promise me that you will not freak out and run off to your boss."

"Boss?"

"Your leader. Your superior."

Xu contemplated for a few moments. In his community, AaiA was the smartest. After all, didn't even BaaA, the senior most member of their family, come to her for advice? Moreover, she had the most heads in all the lands. Four of them. Each more brilliant than the other. That would make her his boss, right? 

Right. 

"Xu, do you promise?"

The native flapped his ears and bobbed his head for good measure. 

"Great. So here is the thing: HyunSo thinks that Pipaluk wants to colonize your planet since ours is dying. And for this he intends to eliminate the natives… you… and your people."

Xu couldn't believe what Lily had said. If he had understood her correctly, his planet and people were on the verge of being invaded. Lily was not the friend he had hoped to make but an enemy!

"Stop freaking yourself out, will you!?" The earthling said, reaching for Xu's hands. However, she stopped before her hand could touch the native's skin. "Neither HyunSo nor EunHyuk, the boyfriend,"—Lily elaborated when the native tilted his head—“want that. But our jerk of a boss is just that: a jerk. And he wants the boyfriends to do it for him."

Surprisingly, Xu knew what freakout meant; Despite trying his best to remain calm and collected, he was doing just that: freaking out. Why wouldn't he? It was not every day that a lovely creature befriended you just to let you know- after a scintillating conversation- that her people were there to invade his planet! 

*****
[Word count: 2133]

Written for Round 1, Part 2 of The Spec-fic SmackDown.