In the Nexus : [glimmer in the mind's eye]
Back in the Nexus again; there was just too much going on at home for Xiao to feel comfortable.
Or useful, for that matter -- unless he was staying with Harpuia, maybe, but Harpuia slept most of the time while his internals regenerated from the nanite damage. Xiao's inexperience dropped him into the category of 'tagalong' (if you asked him, anyway) and he didn't like that one bit. Neither did he like the spectre of yet another day of schooling.
Luckily, Xiao had had an answer for all of the above. Nexus time! More precisely, time for Nexus-hopping portals to get to that forest world with all the bees. Bees were fascinating, and watching them flit around and over and in their hives was a good way to kill some time. Filching a bit of honeycomb didn't hurt either ...
Unfortunately, that particular portal had shifted somewhat from the location he was used to, moving further into the 'wilds' of the Nexus. Xiao padded through the trees and moss and sandy patches -- either a lake was nearby, or a beach -- to find his portal when a flutter of activity caught his eye.
What --?
There was an awful lot of commotion over to his left, in a sandy spot filled with ferns and a few trees. Curious now, Xiao started off in the direction of the rustling and squeaking ... and wondered whether he was going to find a nest of baby ducks having some serious issues. What he found was a nest, certainly -- but no duck was a scant few inches long, with long neck and tail and delicate membraneous wings.
Fluttering of green and blue and brown and bronze surrounded him as, startled and fascinated, he sat down next to the nest and the tiny creatures whirled away -- or scrambled, their wings not quite dry, or teleported clear out of sight. A good tree-quarters of the clutch or better had already hatched, the little creatures squeaking and creeling as they disappeared into the ferns or chased down the odd bug trundling through the sands -- or turned on each other, ravenous.
No!
"Stop it!"
Horrified, Xiao snatched a fern-frond and waved it through the fair of hatchlings in an attempt to drive them away from each other. Creeling, a handful fled; the remainder ignored him and resumed their display of intended cannibalism.
An egg -- one of three or four -- cracked open, a little blue body uncurling and already creeling its hunger; Xiao reached for it to try and keep the hatchling from its fellows, but the little creature winked out even as he scooped up the shell.
Damn it --!
Trying again, he reached for an unbroken egg as two more -- blue and bronze -- cracked. The mottled shell fissured and fell away in his hands, revealing a tiny body, glittering gold, that craned its tiny wedge-shaped head up at him with a creel both piteous and demanding. Tiny eyes like burning red rubies whirled, looking at the Xiao ... and then the fighting hatchlings.
"Don't! I'll feed you if you want it, but don't do that!"
The little golden creature creeled at him again, and Xiao felt the distinct pang of hunger and curiosity -- but especially hunger. The strange-yet-familiar sensation registered almost instantly.
Like Zero. It's like Zero.
"I'll protect you from them, I won't let them go after you. Here --"
Reinforcing his words by trying to feel at the hatchling, Xiao dug into pockets and subspace to pull out a variety of small nibbly tidbits and energy-bars. Quickly sorting out the meaty protein ones, he offered one to the little flit --
"I know it's not perfect but it's better than the alternative, believe me ..."
-- and promptly had his hand pounced on with a hungry squeak.
Suppressing a squeak of his own and squelching the thought of how tiny claws in flesh hurt like little points of fire, Xiao broke off smaller bits with his free hand to feed to the little creature before it tried to choke itself on the bar (or one of his fingers) by accident.
By the time the little gold had gorged, calmed, and finally seemed likely to sleep clinging to his sleeve, the rest of the clutch had died or fled. Feeling a pang at the little bodies scattered about, Xiao weighed his options.
Eventually he settled on nestling his hatchling in a little neck-sling made from his ponytail wrap, and then burying the little corpses in the sand before heading home to consult with X and Zero.