//------------------------------// // Is That...Character Development? // Story: The Rock in the Gulch // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Caboose sat calmly and patiently for several hours, waiting for Tucker and Ferdy to return. He didn't really understand why Andy spent much of that time laughing, which made it difficult to hold a conversation. As such, he spent his time trying to come up with something nice he could do for Maud when they got back, or something nice he could pick up for her. He wasn't having much luck. He considered asking Texas, but she was doing the holding still thing that meant others couldn't see her, and he got the feeling she'd be upset with him if he messed up hide-and-seek. He considered asking the other person who was also doing the standing still thing, but he didn't know that person, and he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. He wished Dad was there, he made things make sense. Footsteps interrupted Caboose's wandering thoughts. Looking up, he saw Tucker and Ferdy returning...but Ferdy looked different. The alien no longer had an armored appearance, the horn protrusion was gone from the back of his head, and he looked...smaller and sleeker? Also, he and Tucker were holding hands? "Tucker!" Caboose called out happily. "Ferdy!" Tucker looked up and waved with his free hand. "Hey, Caboose!" he called out happily. "Hey Andy! You guys ready to get going?" "Well, we were waiting for you to come back," Andy countered teasingly. "So looking forward to fifty hungry pussy still, stud?" Tucker glanced towards Ferdy. "...nah. I think one's enough." "Blargh..." Ferdy offered in a melting tone, his free arm coming up over his face as his lower jaw split open to show the secondary hinge. Tucker surprised everyone by reaching over to stroke the split tenderly. "Why don't you go scout out the path while I deal with the friendly tormenting, huh babe?" he suggested warmly. "B-blargh!" Ferdy stammered agreement as he loped off. "Alright, spill!" Andy snapped out. "I thought I had a bead on you as a xenophobic player! What the he-" "Caboose is here," Tucker pointed out. "Fine! Hay, then! That's pony related. What the hay could get you acting...well, I can only call it smitten with a bigender alien dude?" "First off, don't call her dude," Tucker countered. "Ferdy considers herself non-gender, but understands why that's hard for me to wrap my head around and after growing attached to me has chosen to use female pronouns for my comfort. She's a real sweetheart once you get to know her." "...totally did not see that coming," Andy admitted in awe. "But I mean, how'd you get that after...wow, 8 hours of alien sex?" "Actually, two sessions two hours long with four hours of cuddling and pillow talk between," Tucker pointed out. "I can't believe you just said 'pillow talk' without choking on your own tongue!" "Hey, you think Church and Tex are the only ones Maud makes better people?" Tucker countered. "No, just figured you'd be the only one immune." "Ha. Ha." Tucker glowered at the bomb for a time, then continued. "Look, after the first two hours, let's just say I had reason to want to...hang onto her, ya get me? So we talked, and...what do ya know, we really click." "How would two hours of sex make you think like that?" Andy demanded crassly. "What, is she a real tiger in the sack?" "She could if I wanted her to be," Tucker pointed out. "But I shouldn't go too into detail in front of Caboose." "Ten words isn't too much!" Caboose spoke up happily. "Then I can make up my own story involving tea parties and video games!" Tucker shrugged. "Okay, I can sum it up in three qualities, ten words. The first are for all her race, the second to different degrees throughout the race, and the third apparently what Questers are chosen for." "Oh, this'll be interesting," Andy mused wickedly. Tucker held up his hand, one finger extended. "Tri-hinged jaw." He held up a second finger. "Low level polymorph." He held up his third finger. "Two-way. Tactile. Empathy." Caboose stared at Tucker for a time. "...I don't get it." "...I don't know whether to call you shallow or not," Andy admitted. "Hey, I'll freely admit it was interest in her body that made me interact with her," Tucker continued. "I am shallow. But we really work, so...there's that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can't find a Glarflga bush around here. I think a Flrbl salad will make a nice morning treat for Ferdy." With that, he turned to scour the the vegetation. "...what's a Glarflga bush look like, anyway?" "It's the one with the fruit that looks like snozzberries," Andy explained readily. "Oh, I see it!" Tucker declared as he began harvesting leaves. Flowers stared in amazement at the change in one of his soldiers. "Well," he whispered to himself, making certain it couldn't be heard beyond his own ears, "that's...certainly something I never expected of Tucker. Still...he seems pretty happy. I hope it works out for him." His eyes followed the alien. "...I guess she is kinda cute, in a way..." Texas slowly gathered herself after taking in everything she'd just heard and seen. "Alright," she said to herself. "So...Tucker apparently has an alien girlfriend now. ...well, if anyone was going to hook up with an alien, it was going to be him. Still...I'm not sure if I should find the situation hilarious, infuriating, or enviable." She stared as Ferdy came back in to tell the group the path, only to get flustered as Tucker handed over the salad. "...wonder if I can do those things?" Android Unit Beta capable of Shapeshifting within mass limits and neural uplink with Android Unit Alpha. Texas blinked at that update. "...huh. And what about him?" Android Unit Alpha's Shapeshifting limitations can be overridden through neural uplink with Android Unit Beta. Neural Uplink can be established via synthoskin-to-synthoskin contact. "Huh," Texas mused thoughtfully. "Hilarious it is. Definitely going to tease him about it. Wonder when she's going to tell him about her species simul-fertilization?"