“I’d like to see you try to wrangle aliens this stubborn into suits and ties.” Human Corbin turned up his nose. “At least none of them are wearing Band-Aids.”
Ezra rolled his eyes. When they became straight again, they landed upon Titan, and Titan was delighted to see him become red in the face. He fixed Ezra with his most charming smile, only for Ezra to quickly look away as a chorus of small, bright voices cut through the room’s ambient chatter. A gaggle of young offspring in human disguises—some more accurate than others—had entered the venue and were rushing down the aisle, Titan’s parents trailing behind. “Uncle Ezra! Uncle Ezra!”
“Good morning, kiddos.” Ezra stepped out of place and squatted down at the edge of the dais, smiling at the offspring with genuine warmth, as though they were his own. “Are you excited for today?”
The offspring cried out in enthusiastic agreement and immediately started talking over each other.
“Our daddies are going to get married, Uncle Ezra!”
“Later there will be a party and Grandma Leon says I can have cake if I am good and do not throw any tantrums!”
“Observe my dress, Uncle Ezra! Do you think I am beautiful?”
“You look different without a t-shirt. Why are you dressed so funny?”
“I feel happiness because Daddy and Papa said that they feel happiness today, too!”
“Do you think the wedding will be boring? I do not feel desire to be bored.”
“Grandpa Adler said that I look very human, but I heard his mind with my mind and I think he was lying! Do you think I look very human, Uncle Ezra?”
Titan observed the offspring without speaking. Judging by the Darvrokian traits that peeked out from beneath their human disguises and the fact that they occasionally slipped between speaking English and Darvrokian, he deduced they were his nieces and nephews, whom he had yet to meet in person. They spoke so quickly and with such disregard for one another that it was difficult to pick apart what they were saying, but Ezra seemed to have no trouble. Even with the occasional Darvrokian word slipped in, he deciphered each of their comments and questions and responded to each individually with unparalleled patience all while the offspring gazed up at him in reverence.
Seeing it, the prickling feeling came back to torment Titan all over again.
“Offspring,” Titan’s mother chided, coming up from behind them.“You have given many words to the ambassador, but have you provided a greeting to your Uncle Titan?”
“Who is Uncle Titan?” asked one of the boys. He was amongst the best disguised and looked passably human, although he still had four arms and was presently covered in scales.
“Do not be foolish. He is standing right here.” She gestured at Titan, and as she did, the offspring all fell silent. Seven sets of eyes swiveled as one onto him.
“Um.” Titan swallowed, feeling strangely intimidated, which was something that did not happen to him with any kind of regular frequency. “Hello.”
The offspring continued to say nothing until Ezra nudged the one closest to him and whispered, “Be polite and say hello.”
After another beat of silence, all seven offspring said, “Hello,” in flat unison. They then mechanically turned back to Ezra and seemed to come alive again, resuming their rapid-fire chatter as though Titan was not there.
The prickling got worse, but Titan pushed it away.
It was understandable that the offspring would not be interested in him. They knew Ezra, as they had spent their entire lives with him. Titan was a new face among the many other new faces they were seeing that day, and they had no reason to know that their uncle was extraordinary. Al certainly would not have spoken of his accomplishments to them, as wrapped up in his imagined competition with Titan as he was… which meant that as far as the offspring knew, he was average.
Titan tried very hard not to be upset by this.
He did not succeed.
“All right,” chirped Titan’s mother with a sweep of her arms, herding the offspring away from the dais and toward the distant door through which Titan had seen Human Jude. “There shall be no more talking, as we must now make forward progress. Your fathers are waiting for you. Come, now, offspring. You shall engage the ambassador in conversation at a later time.”
“Make sure you knock first,” Human Corbin called out after them, while Ezra promised the offspring—who continued to talk at him over their shoulders—that he would find them after the ceremony.
“They enjoy your company,” Titan remarked once the offspring were out of earshot.
Ezra shrugged. “They’re my nieces and nephews.”
“This is factually incorrect,” Titan countered, feeling argumentative for reasons he couldn’t explain. “They are my nieces and nephews. You do not share relation with them.”
Ezra paused. He clicked his tongue a couple times and then shrugged again. “Family doesn’t always have to be blood, man,” he said, then turned away once more.
Titan’s cheeks grew warm, which was a bizarre sensation he was not used to, and he was not sure why it was occurring. He placed the back of his hand against his face and found that it was warmer than average. Was this blushing? While it wasn’t a trait his kind shared, he knew humans blushed for a myriad of reasons, but the reason he heard cited most often was embarrassment. Was he… embarrassed?
