Hope

“Daddy,” a voice whispers by my ear.

I scrunch up my eyes, a smile making its way onto my face as little hands smack against my cheeks.

“Daddy, wake up!” the voice whispers again in a not so quiet voice.

Taking a quick peak, I can’t help but grin as I spot the toddler with his head on the pillow besides mine, fingers shoved in his mouth.

“Five more minutes!” I lunge for him, peals of laughter filling the quiet morning as I tickle him and pepper kisses all over his face.

“Daddy, stop!” he giggles.

~~~

My eyes open only to be assaulted by the sunlight. It’s only been a few hours since Lavere woke up, but the curtains in this room don’t block out the light as well as I hoped.

Rolling over, my eyes open once again, but my body tenses as I’m met with a different kind of view.

Caster. Caster, who is in my bed. Caster, who has his face tucked into a pillow with his mouth parted. Caster, who is still sound asleep.

Holding my breath for a few moments, I listen as the alien releases the tiniest of snores. The sound more of a purr than anything else.

I’ve never seen an alien so close before. They truly are not from this world. Well, Caster seems a little different to the other two aliens that live here. He seems a little more human. A little more human and a little more real.

Now that I’m so close to his face, I can see how his skin darkens across his cheeks in a deep orange. Gold flecks spill across his face like freckles, but the fascinating thing about them is that they shine like glitter in the morning sunlight.

It’s very strange to be so close to someone who looks so human but isn’t. Studying his face, it’s easy to see how his eyes and face shape is different to a human’s. How his ears poke through his hair in tapered points. How even his breathing sounds different as it hums through his lungs.

Caster is an alien, that’s a fact, but there’s something different about him than the others in the Mirker household. His skin isn’t near blue, for starters. His hair doesn’t cascade like silk, but instead curls up around his face in a fluffy, honey-coloured mane. He’s nowhere near as graceful as Aliston, and he lacks Avørek’s poise. What is it that makes him so different from the aliens of the same species?

“Caster?” I whisper.

He purrs in his throat, nose twitching.

“Caster, it’s time to get up,” I whisper again in a sing-song voice, poking his cheek.

He ignores me, rubbing his face deeper into my pillow as he releases a rather loud purr.

I can’t help the small grin that makes its way onto my face, but I know I can’t let him sleep in any longer. Gently, I grab his shoulder and shake him.

“Cas, you have to get up.” I chuckle.

“No,” he whines, turning so his face is completely hidden by the plushness of the pillow.

My pillow.

“The sun’s up,” I say, a little louder this time. “Aliston will want his breakfast, and you never did water your plants.”

“Flowers?” His muffled question makes me laugh.

He turns so he can face me, blinking open his big blue eyes still glazed over with sleep.

“Yeah,” I laugh, poking him once again. “The flowers need to be watered.”

He nods, slowly sitting up with a large, sharply toothed yawn.

Seeing his teeth is a harsh reminder that he is, in fact, a creature not from this planet. The way his lips peel back to show off the pointed edges sends a small shiver of fear prickling down my spine.

Turning away from the sharp display of teeth, I myself climb from beneath the covers, stretching my back. Caster stumbles from my bed, his sweater slipping down his slim frame as he shuffles to the door, eyes still struggling to stay open.

Last night was a bit of a late one.

“Wait, Caster!” I whisper shout as he opens the door.

“Yes?”

“I’m just going to have a shower. Come and get me if Lavere wakes up.”

Hopefully if Caster is looking out for the baby, no one will wake up to any cries for breakfast.

Caster responds to me with an unintelligible noise, shuffling away from view as he probably goes to the kitchen to start cooking.

I’d forgotten how nice it is to sleep with company. Having someone close to you, sharing the warmth of a blanket and the soft sounds of sleep. It’s different when you sleep alone. The nights feel as if they drag on forever, and the silence of an empty room haunts you when you wake.

Shaking myself from my thoughts, I begin to rummage through the dresser in my room until I manage to collect a towel and a clean pair of clothes that definitely aren’t mine.

I’m guessing Aliston made Caster go out and buy some human clothes.

It’s also so nice to finally be clean! The hot water that rains down on me in the bathroom is heaven sent. It has been far too long since I’ve gotten to have a real shower with real soap and clean water.

This is the second time I’ve been able to use the shower here, and I think I’m already getting too used to this luxury.

“Emery!” Caster bursts through the bathroom door.

I yelp at the intrusion, shampoo burning my eyes as I hastily try to cover myself from Caster.

“Caster! Get out!” I yell, turning my body so that his view through the glass doors is limited.

His eyes widen, and he squeaks before slamming the door shut with a, “Sorry!“.

Groaning, I rinse the soap from my eyes, my face flushing red in embarrassment as I try to erase whatever just happened from my brain. He saw me naked!

“Is- is there something you needed?” I call through the bathroom.

There’s a pause.

I’m honestly not sure if he was more startled by his actions, or by the way I just screamed at him.

“Ah, um, Caster came to say Lavere is tears.”

Turning the shower off, I wrap the towel around my waist and open the door to a very timid looking Caster. His cheeks are flushed a dark orange, His shoulders hunched in to make himself appear smaller.

“Caster so sorry!” The words burst from his mouth, a collection of high-pitched gibberish following.

“It’s fine.” I adjust the towel at my waist. “I’ll be there in a sec. Let me get dressed first.”

Frantically he nods as he scampers away. It’s only my second day here and I’m already causing drama.

Dressing quickly, it takes me no time at all to swoop down and capture the grizzly baby in my arms, shushing his cries as he settles into my hold.

“There we go, Lavere. No more crying. Caster’s getting your breakfast ready as we speak.”

The trip downstairs in uneventful until we make it into the back kitchen where Caster is looking very sorry for himself as he stirs something in a bowl.

“Look, Lavere! Caster’s making you, uh, pancakes!” Lavere smiles at my excited tone, his mesmerising eyes latching onto Caster.

I’m not sure if he is actually making pancakes, but one can hope.

Caster looks up, his blush still staining his cheeks as he chews his lip. “Emery-Emery not mad?”

I smile at him. He’s so gentle, and so scared that he might have upset me. Me, a human.

“No, I’m not mad. It was an accident,” I say, bouncing Lavere in my arms as he begins to whine, no doubt smelling the food.

Caster smiles, immediately perking up as he finishes cooking breakfast, soft little chirps filling the room. I’m assuming those are happy sounds.

Their language is very fascinating. Of course, the aliens have their own way of communicating. Human’s do too, I guess. I mean, people will sigh or grumble or yelp, but Caster uses his sounds in place of words. He’s not just chirping because he’s happy, he’s chirping specific lyrical notes that probably all have their own seperate meaning.

It’s sweet.