Worlds Apart Pt. 02

Ahead of them was the jagged shoreline, the ruins of old buildings jutting from the water like broken teeth, the vast expanse of the ocean visible beyond. The tide was low enough that he could make out the colonies of seaweeds and barnacles that carpeted their weather-worn facades, bringing to mind images of shipwrecked hulks. Steel beams rusted in the salty air, exposed like the bones of a carcass, making excellent perches for seagulls. The glass that had once covered their windows was long gone, leaving empty holes where more seabirds made their nests. Many of the buildings were listing, their foundations long since eroded by the tides, but enough of them remained standing to serve as a reminder of what had once been.

Despite the ominous backdrop, the seafront was now a tourist hot spot. The once-abandoned buildings that lined the street had been renovated, turned into beachside coffee houses and restaurants, colorful awnings picking out the many gift shops and arcades.

Their destination lay at the end of the boardwalk, a jarringly modern structure of glass and steel that protruded from the surrounding ruins.

"They're going to love this," Liz chuckled, a group of tourists gazing up at her in wonder as they moved to let her pass. "Remember their faces when they saw the fish tanks at the pet store?"

"You always used to love the aquarium when you were a kid," Jamie replied.

"Hey, I still love the aquarium," she added, giving him a toothy grin. "I still have that dumb clownfish toy you bought me on our first date after I came back to Earth, remember?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, remembering the baffled look on the cashier's face.

"I wonder if they've changed any of the exhibits since we last visited?" Liz wondered.

They made their way to the entrance, a few of the other visitors glancing up at Liz as she entered the lobby.

"We should start charging," she whispered, Jamie stifling a laugh.

After paying the entry fee at the front desk, they began to make their way through the building, following the route that was mapped out for them. One of the first exhibits they came across was a giant, wall-length tank that must have held thousands of gallons of water, tuna almost as long as Jamie was tall gliding past the glass lazily. There were shoals of smaller fish that flitted about, hundreds of them moving as a single entity, their silvery scales reflecting the sunlight that bled in from above. The kittens' heads were on a swivel as they tracked them, unsure of where to focus their attention.

"Daddy, the fish!" Toza said as he pointed at the tank. The kittens were starting to form more complete sentences now, and they had much larger vocabularies. They were becoming tiny people, as Liz affectionately referred to them.

"I never saw a fish that big," Hazel whispered.

"That's a tuna," Jamie explained.

"We had tuna sandwiches at playgroup!" Toza added, the revelation making Hazel gasp dramatically.

"That's right," Jamie chuckled. "Tuna comes from that big, blue fish."

"You could make a lotta sandwiches outta him," Toza chimed.

As they ventured deeper, the lights began to dim, the only illumination coming from the glowing strips that outlined their path. This part of the aquarium was where the deep sea exhibits were housed. As they rounded a bend, they came upon a cylindrical tank full of bioluminescent jellyfish, the animals emitting an eerie, blue light. They floated around lazily, their innumerable tendrils trailing behind them. The slow pulsating of their swimming was mesmerizing. Jamie glanced over at Liz, seeing that the three kittens on her vest were transfixed, their feline eyes reflecting the light.

"Those are jellyfish," Jamie explained to the kittens. "They float around on the currents, and whatever passes through their tendrils, they eat up."

The next exhibit was a mockup of a rocky seabed, creeping crabs moving slowly across the uneven terrain on their spindly legs. From the gloom, a monster emerged. It was a Japanese spider crab. Its carapace was covered in sharp spines, its comparatively small claws moving through the water sluggishly as it caught morsels of floating food. It was enormous, the span of its legs at least a meter, probably more.

"I don't like it," Hazel grumbled, turning her head away from the crustacean.

"It's alright," Jamie said, reaching down to give her a reassuring pat. "He's behind the glass. He can't get you."

"Another!" Toza exclaimed, pointing into the murky water. Jamie squinted, but he couldn't make anything out in such low light.

"Where?" he asked. "I don't see it."

"He's right there, Daddy!" the boy repeated. "Daddy, you got bad eyes."

Of course, the kittens had Borealan visual acuity. Their feline eyes could see far better in low light than his could.

"I'll take your word for it," he said. "Come on, let's give Hazel some reprieve from the sea monsters."

They continued on, emerging into a well-lit area once again. This exhibit sported a giant artificial reef that encircled the room almost entirely, a whole ecosystem of sea life swarming the colorful corals. Everywhere Jamie looked, there were shoals of beautiful tropical fish, their scales decorated with vibrant patterns. He could see yellow, arrow-shaped fish with stripes in streaks of brilliant azure, groups of them flitting between the rocks. There were fish with tiger stripes, fish with silvery scales, guppies with flared tails that were patterned with red spots. He could even make out the orange gleam of a couple of clownfish as they darted in and out of a sea anemone's protective tentacles.

Deeper inside the reef were the conger eels. They hid in their hollowed-out tunnels, their mouths opening and closing slowly as they filtered water through their gills, exposing rows of sharp teeth. There were seahorses, crabs, sharks. It was a feast for the eyes, like a painting brought to life.

There weren't many people here, only a few tourists watching a nurse shark on the far side of the room, so Jamie proposed letting the kids stretch their legs. After a few minutes of wrangling the restless kittens, they were set free to roam, their parents keeping a watchful eye on them. There wasn't much mischief for them to get up to in here.

Bren pressed his pink nose up against the glass, his breath misting it, the boy waddling along in pursuit of a shark as it weaved its way through the reef. Jamie and Liz took a load off, sitting down on a couch that was situated in the center of the room, Liz perching on the human-sized seating as best she could. The kids wandered around of their own accord, their claws squeaking against the glass as they leaned on it to get a closer look.

"They're so small. It must look like a whole new world to them," Liz sighed as she watched the kittens hurry back and forth. "Brings me right back to the first time I came here, do you remember? I wanted a human birthday party, so you blew your entire allowance on the trip."

"You were so happy," he chuckled, leaning back into the padded seat. "That trip was worth my allowance if you still remember it after all this time."

"This place is...weirdly important to us," she added as she glanced out at the corals. "We always seem to find our way back here, don't we?"

"I considered a few different places, but this one ended up at the top of my list," Jamie said as he watched a shoal of tropical fish float by.

"Considered for what?" Liz asked, cocking her head at him.

Jamie fished in his pocket, then slid out of his seat, dropping to a knee. Liz had figured out what was happening before he had even raised the little jewelry box, her tail standing up as stiff as a board, her claws sinking into the plush material on the edge of the couch. Her face flushed a deep shade of red, the feline pupils in her emerald eyes dilating into dark circles as he popped open the lid to reveal a gleaming ring. It was made from sterling silver, the band engraved with flowing patterns in the traditional Elysian style, an alien jungle depicted with an almost medieval flair that made the ring look far older than it actually was.

"W-where did you...how did..."

Liz stumbled over her words as she watched him struggle to put on a serious face and fail, her furry ears locked onto him. He had taken her completely off-guard. She didn't know what to do with herself.

"You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get a measurement of your finger," he began. "They don't exactly list Borealan sizes at the jeweler. I had to sneak in with a tape measure while you were asleep."

"Jamie..."

"So, will you marry me?" he asked.

She covered her burning face with her hands, overwhelmed for a moment, the fur on her tail puffing up to twice its normal size. When she removed them again, Jamie was greeted with a nervous smile, Liz extending a trembling hand. For just a moment, he had seen a glimpse of that same blend of nervousness and excitement that had preceded their first kiss all those years ago.

"As if I'd say no," she replied, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Jamie lifted the ring from the velvet cushion in the box, sliding it over her outstretched finger. It was almost large enough to serve as a bracelet for an average-sized woman.

"You engraved it," she gasped, her eyes glittering in the light from the fish tanks as she turned her hand over to admire it. "Jamie, can we afford this?"

"I started putting my overtime bonuses aside a couple of months before we took the trip to Jarilo," he replied. "No need to worry."

"I love it," she choked, rising from her seat to snatch him up in her arms. She squeezed him against her chest, his feet leaving the carpeted floor as she trapped him in a tight hug, her leather jacket creaking. The tourists on the other side of the room were watching them curiously, but she paid them no mind, burying her nose in his hair.

As she set him down on the floor, the kittens came waddling back over to them, wondering what was going on.

"Why you crying, Mama?" Daz asked as she tugged at Liz's pants.

She scooped the kitten off the floor, nuzzling her as the little girl started to giggle.

"Mommy's not sad," Liz chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. "Mommy is just very, very happy."

She held up her hand, admiring the engagement ring again, her warm smile infectious.

***

The mag-lev slowly pulled to a stop, the doors opening automatically. Liz corralled the children as they filed out onto the platform, the other passengers giving the towering alien a wide berth. Each kitten was carrying a little rucksack on their backs that was loaded with school supplies, the kids turning their heads to peer up at the glass canopy that shielded the station from the high winds that raged at this altitude. At three years old, they could be trusted to walk around without their safety harnesses, but Liz and Jamie still kept a close eye on them when they were out in public.

"Everyone got your rucksacks?" Liz asked, the kittens lining up obediently at her behest. There was a chorus of yes, Momma's, Bren shifting his weight restlessly as he watched the train glide away on its magnetic rail. Ken slotted what little was left of his spoon into the front pocket of his little denim overalls, straightening up as though he was standing to attention.

"Now, I want you all to take good care of each other," Liz began. "Remember, you're a pack, and that means you have to watch out for your brothers and sisters. I don't want to hear anything about scratching or hissing from your teachers, either, or there's going to be trouble. Got it?"

"Yes, Momma," they all replied in unison.

"You're going to have a lot of fun," Jamie added. "If you get scared, go find your siblings."

"Daddy, my shoe came undone," Daz complained as she raised her leg. He sighed, kneeling in front of her, the kitten watching as he fastened it up again. Liz might hate wearing Borealan booties, but they looked downright adorable on the children.

"I keep telling you that it's velcro, Daz," Jamie said. "You can figure it out. See? The strap just sticks to it like this."

The time had finally come for the kittens' first day of preschool. They would be attending a normal school with human classmates, some of whom they were already friends with thanks to playgroup. Hazel's friend Sammy would be there, which made Jamie feel a lot better about the situation. She had formed a strong bond with the boy that reminded him of his friendship with Liz during their early years, and she had overcome a little of her shyness as a result, even if she still remained a quiet girl.

Bren and Toza were as loud and as boisterous as ever. They were full of energy and functionally indestructible. Jamie didn't have to worry about falls from jungle gyms or tears from scuffed knees, not when he had seen them plow headfirst into walls and just keep going. Wherever children ran and played, they would fit right in.

Daz was a little chatterbox, with an impressive vocabulary for her age that she took every opportunity to flex. She mimicked the mannerisms of her mother in ways that provided no end of amusement for Jamie, and he imagined that she would get along well with the other little girls. Art was her forte, and her scribbles had recently begun to take on the recognizable shapes of people and objects. Smoke was her favorite thing to draw. There must be half a dozen crayon portraits of the cat stuck to the fridge in the apartment.

Kenneth was a little less confident than his brothers, but he was very social and seemed to get on very well with human children. He always seemed to make a new friend each time he attended playgroup, so Jamie was confident that he would do well at preschool.

"Come on, then," Liz said as she waved them towards the exit. "We'll take an elevator down."

They followed behind her like a row of ducklings, a few of the other passengers glancing down at them, enamored by the sight. For all intents and purposes, they looked like lion cubs dressed in baby clothes. Hazel hung back a little, reaching up to take Jamie's hand, walking beside him as they made their way inside the building.

"Are you excited for your first day of school?" he asked.

"I guess," she replied. "What if the other kids are mean to me?"

"Then you go find your brothers and sister," he replied. "Like your mom said, you're a pack. You have to watch out for each other. Don't worry, it'll be just like playgroup, except with more kids. You'll be learning all kinds of new things, like how to read. How would you like to read your picture books by yourself like a big girl?"

"Well...I want to read," she conceded.

"You pay attention to your teachers, and they'll show you how."

"Will Sammy be there?"

"Sure, he's going to be in the same class as you."

That seemed to cheer her up a little, her frown morphing into a smile.

"We'll be back to pick you up this afternoon," Jamie continued. "You'll be able to tell me all about what you learned."

They took an elevator down to the ground floor, then it was only a short walk to the school. As they arrived at the front gate, Jamie could already hear the shrill shrieks of children at play. There were a few other parents dropping off their kids, Jamie spotting a couple of people from the playgroup, making idle conversation with them for a few minutes as the kids milled about at their feet.

A woman emerged from the school building, walking up the path to the gate, where she greeted the group.

"My name is Miss Stevens," she began. "I'll be teaching the new preschool class for this year." After a few handshakes and introductions, she crouched to admire the kittens, Hazel clinging to Jamie's leg as she eyed the woman with her usual degree of wariness. "So, these are the Borealans I've heard so much about. I must say, they're even cuter in real life than in their pictures. Do they have any special needs?" she asked, directing her question at Liz. "I wasn't made aware of any."

"No, they're just like any other kids," Liz replied.

"Except for the ears and tails," Jamie added, a few of the parents chuckling. "Just treat them like regular children, they're quite well-behaved."

"We want to raise them in as normal an environment as possible," Liz explained. "They don't even seem to know that they're different from the other kids yet, and we'd like to keep it that way for as long as we can. They don't have any special nutritional requirements, but if you supply snacks or drinks, please keep in mind that they aren't sensitive to sweet flavors."

"They love dairy, so milk cartons would be ideal," Jamie added. "They like pretty much any kind of cheese, jerky, ham, pumpkin if you have it. They like to sleep in a pile during nap time, too."

"I'll keep that in mind," the teacher said as she watched the kittens stare back at her.

"Oh, and make sure Ken doesn't lose his spoon handle," Liz said. "He loves that thing...for some reason."

"I've seen some kids who wouldn't part with their security blanket or a pacifier, but never a spoon handle," Stevens chuckled. "Alright, do you guys want to come inside with me?"

The kittens looked to their parents, Liz and Jamie nodding.

"Go on," Liz cooed, giving Bren a gentle nudge with her tail. "It's okay, you go have fun. We'll be back soon."

Hazel released her tight hold on Jamie's leg, and the five kittens fell into line behind the teacher, Liz and Jamie watching them disappear into the building.

"I thought it was the kids who were supposed to have separation anxiety," Liz muttered. Jamie took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"They're going to thrive," he said confidently. "It'll be just like playgroup. By the time we come to pick them up, they'll complain about having to leave."

"You're probably right," she sighed. "I hope nobody gives them a hard time. I don't want to have to eat anyone's kids."

"Nah, there are five of them, they'll look out for each other. There's strength in numbers, right? You mess with one kitten, you mess with them all. Besides, they already have friends. By the time they're old enough for elementary school, I expect they'll have even more."

"The school has our number, right?"

"Yeah, they can call us if anything happens," Jamie replied. "Come on, let's go get something to eat, preferably with lots of grease and cheese. That always cheers you up."

"You know me too well," she said sarcastically, leading him away from the school by the hand. "I can't help but feel like things have come full circle."

"How's that?" Jamie asked.

"We met in a playground not unlike that one," she replied, nodding past the bars of the fence. In the distance, Jamie could see children playing on swing sets and jungle gyms, chasing each other around on the grass.

"I remember," he said. "You looked so cute in that little dress, the one with the duck patterns on it. You were still all fuzzy back then."

"Maybe one of the kids will meet someone here who they end up spending the rest of their lives with," she added with a shrug. "It happened to us."

"If they do, they won't face the same problems that we did. We've helped lay the groundwork for a new era, where anyone will be able to start a family, regardless of their species. They'll grow up in that world."

"It makes all the diaper changes and sleepless nights worth it," she said, reaching down to mess up his hair. "By the way, this should give us more time to talk about the wedding," she added as she flashed her prized engagement ring at him.

"You been giving that some thought?" he asked.

"Yeah. How do you feel about a Borealan ceremony?"

"I don't really know what that entails," he admitted. "Lots of meat, I'd assume."

"No, I mean...a ceremony on Borealis," she added with a toothy grin.

"Wait, what?" he asked, his eyes wide. She laughed at his reaction, giving him a hearty pat on the back.