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Cold.
The first thing he remembered in his life…was cold.
His sight, gone. Or, that's what it seemed like to him. He never actually saw anything to begin with, so his sight never left.
He reached out, hoping something would fly in and fill his empty hands. But, alas, there was nothing. Just this cold sensation wrapping around his body.
Like his surroundings, he himself felt barren. Nothing was inside him, nothing filled this gap somewhere deeper within him. This gap clawed at his stomach, begging him to be filled with something, anything.
But, there was nothing.
Nothing, but cold silence.
And he hated it.
He grunted, whined, and whimpered for something, someone, anyone to hear his pleas. To replace this emptiness all around him with something…different.
He didn’t know what he needed, but he needed something. Anything to make this hollow feeling in his heart go away.
His hushed whimpers grew louder. More desperate the longer he calls. Those calls end up echoing across his empty environment, bouncing off the absent walls before disintegrating into nothingness.
Thus, his cries went unheard. Fading away into his desolate surroundings, becoming one with the cold that seemed to pierce him at this rate.
Cold.
…Cold?
As if Nova themselves answered his wailing, the bitter sensation began to fade little by little as something else entered the picture…
…Warmth!
At last! His calls were answered! A glowing sensation of warmth hugged around him, filling his insides with much needed fuel. He let himself fall limp, every tension in his body giving out and letting the toasty warmness take hold. He cooed, his mouth curling up to a small smile as he lifted his hands up and…
…There was nothing.
The warmth was still there, yes, but it was nowhere near his grasp. His smile dropped. He swiped the air again, but still, nothing. Where was it? Where is the warmth? It feels so close but it’s just so far away!
Something hit. A blinding light flashed against his closed eyelids, resorting him to try and block said light with his hands. He squeaked, using his hands to rub the blindness out of his eyes before finally having the chance to open them.
His surroundings were mushy and blurry, hard to make up any details when they all merged together into one incomprehensible mess.
Although, there was one detail his gaze managed to point out.
The warmth.
Right there in front of him was a golden beam of light, brightening up every dark corner of this barren location he found himself in. This. This is what he was looking for! A luminous force of warmth to wipe out all the bitter cold that had him in its hands just moments before. A beam of light to bask in and let it take over all his senses with a smile! This is just what he wanted. No, this is what he needed.
At last, he won’t be cold anymore.
…
…Wait. What’s this? Something else was hidden underneath the warm embrace of the light.
A sound ringing in his ears? A taste left in his mouth? A feeling in his body? He can’t quite put a finger on what exactly it is. But, there’s one thing for certain.
The way it makes his body tingle and jiggle, the way it makes him reach out to grab it, and the way he wants just a small bite of it…
This thing…it’s mixed in with the light. Dancing around his body and fueling him with an itch to just get up and run! He wanted to sing along with the cheers ringing in his ears! He wanted to grab something big and juicy and stuff it in his mouth!
Most importantly, he wanted more than to just bask in this light from afar.
He wanted to be in it.
And his wishes were answered.
Just as he reached out a hand, something scooped him up with such speed that he heard himself yelp! When he looked down, he saw something yellow and bright, something very similar to the light in front of him. It spoke, sounds of dings and dongs flowed into his ears. Although he didn’t understand what they meant, something in his mind told him that this thing was here to bring him to the light! Wow, what great timing!
Suddenly, his movement quickened. What started at gentle floating through emptiness, steadily turned to a swift ride towards the light in a snap!
He felt a cool whoosh of wind brush against his skin as they took off. But, instead of leaving him feeling bitter and empty, the chilly sensation felt so refreshing that he decided to close his eyes and let it balance the warmth and cold on his body.
However, this soothing wind switched to a swirling storm.
The thing began to accelerate. Zipping closer to the light faster than he expected. As he squinted his gaze, he gripped tightly onto the thing in hopes to not go flying into the abyss.
They flew faster. The blackness around them began to fade away to make room for the many blues and greens of the world. His adrenaline rushed through his body, a pounding beat ringing through his ears as the small greens began to grow bigger and bigger until-!
The rushing wind halted to a stop as they met the ground. He felt himself collide with the ground, bouncing up and crashing back down with a loud thump. His head throbbed with a sensation he was unfamiliar with, lifting a hand to hopefully remove this pain by force.
But, instead…his vision began to fade as everything went to black.
“....heard it from here..”
The silence ended.
The sounds of leaves crunching against the ground filled the air around him.
“-Oh, Nova.”
“AH! What is that?!”
“It’s…a ball?”
“No no, a baby!”
Voices he isn't familiar with followed afterwards, three voices to be exact.
“That's a baby?? They look so weird though!”
“Yeah! They all swirly and stuff!”
“It could be a species from the underground! I hear that things get pretty weird down there…”
With each voice, he felt something as they spoke.
“But, didn't they fall from the sky? No way they came from the underground!”
The first voice, squeaky and soft, but bold when loud. Hearing this voice gave him a feeling of wanting to do something bigger…something past his limits and fears. Even if he doesn't want to do it.
“If they came from the sky…what if they're an alien!”
The second voice, slippery and wacky. Each word he says fills him with curiosity and wonder. Additionally, a deep desire to socialize and befriend all, no matter how evil.
“As much as I want to disagree…Kine is right. It's the only right answer.”
And the last voice, calm and steady with a confident tone. This voice gives him feelings of knowledge and experience, but also loneliness. What if this knowledge pushes people away?
“An….alien baby??” The squeaky voice exclaimed. “What are we supposed to do with an alien baby?!”
“Well…we take care of them, right?” Said the slippery voice, “Taking care of a baby…sounds fun!”
“That's a lot of work, though.” The calm voice corrected. “Especially an alien baby.”
“Yeah, we can't take care of an alien baby! We're too young for that!!”
“Weren't you the one who said that being ten makes you old enough to be on your own?” Said the calm one.
“YES BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I CAN TAKE CARE OF A BABY!”
He jolted, the loud voice from the squeaky one made him yelp as he protected his ears.
Things seemed to go silent after that.
Only for a minute though.
“...Guys, I think it's awake.” The slippery voice pointed out.
It was in that moment when he felt a whoosh of wind brush his skin as he was lifted into the air.
“Okay, we should just bring him to my house.” The calm one said. “Father should know what to do.”
Something soft hit his skin. A warm sensation rushed into his body once more, soothing all his pains from earlier.
“Coo- you don't seriously think that you can-”
“-Rick, I said my father should know what to do. He works at a daycare in the south.”
“Yeah but, this is an alien we’re talking about! What if he-”
“Since when were you so concerned about…”
…All his senses began to fade out as he fell limp against this soft texture he was put upon.
His first memory of his life may have started out cold.
But, it ended warmer than before.