Jaxon

Adopted

     Hace sat in the meeting room and started getting nervous again. His right leg started to bounce as his stress grew. 'What if I'm not good enough to take care of him? Maybe I should just pick one of the healthier Inchoates. What have I gotten myself into now?'

     The door across from him opened and all his doubts melted away. The Inchoate was beyond adorable, and it seemed so calm. He had read that wild Inchoates usually screamed and fought being held at first. This one just looked at everything with wide curious eyes.

     Hace stood up and smiled. The Inchoate looked at him and slightly tilted its head. It seemed to be trying to figure out what Hace was. He walked a little closer and the Inchoate seemed to cower a bit.

     "It's ok. Oh, he's so cute!" Hace already knew this was the one for him, even if he hadn't held him yet. "Can... Can I hold him?" He asked the shelter worker.

     "Of course. He's scared and injured, so just be careful. The calm ones sometimes can just snap." The worker carefully handed the Inchoate over to Hace. "Be sure to support his back and hips when you hold him. We don't know the full extent of the damage. I suggest you take him to the vet right away. We actually had an appointment set up for him this afternoon if you want to take the time slot."

     Hace carefully put his hands around the Inchoate's waist and brought him into his arms, supporting his backside like the shelter worker had just been. The creature seemed so small and fragile. Hace had watched lots of videos and seen several pictures, but to be here, holding such a small thing, that was something else.

     The Inchoate trembled in fear. Hace made a few shushing sounds trying to calm it down. Then he slightly pet the side of its face. Every time he's hand came back to pet it, the Inchoate closed its eyes and flinched like it was about to be hit. Hace sighed and just rested his hand lightly on its cheek. Slowly, he rubbed its face with his thumb and rocked it a bit.

     "Are you sure he's wild?" Hace asked. "He seemed to be scared that he's gonna get hit."

     "Well, all the other boys we found were definitely wild. They all acted the same when they were adopted... going out kicking and screaming. But this one does seem to be very docile. It could be because of its injuries." The worker pet the Inchoate's mane while they were talking.

     Suddenly, Hace felt something warm on his arm. He quickly held the Inchoate away from him by holding it up by its armpits. "You don't happen to have a towel, do you?"

     Jaxon was a bit shocked at how quickly the alien suddenly moved. It went from almost cuddling him to holding him as far away as possible. 'What happened? Why did he suddenly hold me a different way? What is going on here?' He didn't like being held at all, but being held like this made him feel like he was going to fall. He looked down at the floor... and immediately turned bright red when he saw his pants. He was so embarrassed. Nothing like this had ever happened before... and right in front of his first real encounter with an alien.

     "I'm sorry." He tried to apologize to the alien. "I don't think I have any control."

     He felt terrible. He had just pissed himself.

     The Inchoate put its head down and turned red. It yipped out something and looked like it was going to cry. Hace almost wondered if it was trying to apologize. The worker wrapped a towel around the Inchoate and set it on the table. They took another towel and cleaned up the small mess.

     "Oh, it's ok." Hace sat down next to the table and took one of the Inchoate's tiny hands. He gently rubbed it with his thumb. The Inchoate turned and looked at him. It sighed but was still red. "Is this because he was scared or from the injury?" Hace asked the worker.

     "I'm not sure." The worker left the room for a moment and came back with a few different things. "We can give him a new pair of pants and put him in a diaper, but if you decide to take him, you'll have another thing to do to take care of him. Hygiene is very important with these creatures to keep them from unwanted sicknesses."

     The Inchoate was looking back and forth at them as they talked. He seemed to be watching their mouths, almost like he was studying them. Hace knew this one was special. He'd take good care of it. "This is the one I want. Can... can you show me how to put the diaper on him?"

     Jaxon closed his eyes and tried not to think about what was happening. They had taken off his pants and cleaned him up, he could see it... but the thing that worried him the most, was that he couldn't feel anything.

     Then they were putting him in a diaper. The dark gray one seemed to be teaching the mint one how to put it on him. After they were done, they put a new pair of pants on him. Mint took him in his arms again. He seemed to laugh at Jaxon as he turned a deeper shade of red and kept his head down.

     'I'm just glad none of the guys were here to see this. I would never hear the end of it.' He thought as Mint bounced him a little.

     The two aliens talked a bit longer, and shortly a carrier was brought in. Jaxon knew exactly what this meant... he had been adopted by Mint. It didn't take a genius to realize what was happening. Even after all that, Mint still picked him. Jaxon just wasn't sure of one last thing... what was he to Mint? Were humans considered children or pets on this planet? Without knowing anything about their culture, he couldn't assume anything right now. 'If we are children... this is one shitty orphanage.'

     Mint turned Jaxon so he was holding his back now. Gently, he put him in the carrier and closed it up. Everything suddenly went dark as Jaxon assumed a blanket or towel was thrown over the top. He felt movement, lots of it. He was being carried away.