Ppnlak waited outside of Eyuy's spaceship for ten minutes before he realized that the officer had forgotten about him. Ppnlak wasn’t hurt as he knew that finding the ICC logo on those papers had shaken Eyuy a fair bit. The alien was loyal to a fault, and it must be hard for him to have to question that loyalty. 

Ppnlak wasn’t the loyal sort. He wasn’t ashamed to say that. For most of his early life, he had been alone, traversing a frozen planet encased in darkness. Then, he had been abducted by the Architeuthis. Pirates were loyal, but it was only to each other. Although he made friends, he knew that friendship was conditional as he wasn’t truly a member of the crew. A single misstep would lead to a bullet in his heart or a knife to the gut.

Ppnlak walked back to his pod, feeling the events of the day catching up to him. Ppnlak had never seen a city like the one they had found, but that wasn’t saying much as Ppnlak hadn’t seen many cities. The tenlaup didn’t have their own because they were nomadic, and Ppnlak had rarely left the Architeuthis. Ppnlak glanced up into the canopy. The planet's sun dipped below the horizon, so Ppnlak saw many stars in the sky. He wondered if any of the stars housed Eyuy's planet. 

When he got to his pod, it looked exactly as he left it. Ppnlak smiled when he felt a weight land on his helmet. He said, Did you miss me?

The familiar sensation of Isiuta's hunger drifted into his mind. Although, it felt stronger than normal. Isiuta pecked at the top of his helmet, sending another wave of hunger through their link. Ppnlak rolled his eyes, Can you not wait until morning?

Isiuta furiously pecked at Ppnlak's helmet. He grasped the creature in a tentacle, bringing it to his face. It struggled in his grip, but Ppnlak kept it from going anywhere. Isiuta stopped squirming, sending an even stronger burst of hunger Ppnlak's way. He chuckled, Fine, we can go get you some food.

Ppnlak let go of Isiuta, who flew back to its perch on Ppnlak's helmet. He gave a wistful glance toward his bed before walking down the path to Isiuta's food. Ppnlak was worried about the dependence Isiuta had developed. When he left, would it refuse to search for food on its own? He was sure Eyuy wouldn’t allow him to remove it from this planet. There was no doubt a rule against it. 

As soon as the insects' mound came into view, Isiuta flew from his helmet to it. Ppnlak sat down some distance away, watching as Isiuta mowed down the first bugs that had the misfortune of falling in the creature's path. The crunch of the bugs' exoskeletons never failed to make Ppnlak cringe. The unpleasant sound must be music to Isiuta's ears.

Click.

Ppnlak's skin prickled at the unusual sound. He searched the area, but nothing out of the ordinary could be found. His calm glow deepened into a blinding yellow. The sun had fully set, and the planet had descended into night. While Ppnlak could see fine, Isiuta's night vision wasn’t as good. Ppnlak sat up, rushing over to Isiuta. He grabbed it in his tentacles and started to make his way back to the pod. Isiuta gave an indignant squawk, but it knew that there wasn’t a thing it could do.

Click. Click. Click. 

The clicking was following them. Ppnlak walked faster, coming short of a jog. His pod wasn’t the safest place to be, considering that it didn’t have a door, but it was better than being in the open. Ppnlak tried to keep calm, but his heart betrayed him by pounding wildly.

Click, click, click, click, click, click. 

It was getting faster and closer. Whatever was following them had no intention of leaving them be. Ppnlak broke out into a sprint. He ran into branches and through sticky webs, not stopping for anything. A relieved sigh escaped him when the pod came into view. He slid into the space and crawled under the bed. Isiuta was cradled against his chest.

Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click.

Ppnlak's heartbeat thundered in his head so loudly he was sure Isiuta could hear it through their link. The bright yellow of his glow faded into a tense orange. Ppnlak saw the orange lit up the area where they were hiding, and he had never hated his bioluminescence more than he did right now. If he concentrated, he swore he could hear the steady breaths of whoever was chasing them. 

Ppnlak's eyes were peeled for any sign of movement, but he couldn’t see anything. The chaser wasn’t making a sound either. However, he had to muffle a yelp when Isiuta dug its beak into his tentacle. Caught off guard, Ppnlak released it and watched as it sped out of the pod. Scrambling out from underneath the bed, Ppnlak ran after Isiuta.

He called, Isiuta! It's not safe. I know you hate being held, but it was for your own good.

There was no reply from Isiuta. Ppnlak searched the surroundings, yet he couldn’t spot the feathered beast. He called again, Isiuta, please come out before you get us killed.

A welcome weight dropped onto Ppnlak's helmet. A tentacle reached up to confirm that it was indeed his nuisance. When he felt the coarse flesh of its body, Ppnlak almost collapsed under his relief. He scolded, Why did you run off like that? There's something after us!

As soon as the words entered Isiuta's mind, Ppnlak felt a presence behind them. He stiffened, and he flashed a dark magenta. Ppnlak heard the heavy sound of the thing's feet as it came closer. Each thumping step caused Ppnlak to flinch. Eventually, the thing was close enough that Ppnlak felt its breath caress his back. The impending danger generated a peculiar reaction from Ppnlak. Instead of cowering in fear, he relaxed, and his beating heart slowed down to normal. This reaction was because of the foremost tenet of Ppnlak's life philosophy. When death came knocking, it was easiest to welcome it in.

He let out a long breath, closing his eyes in anticipation. If there was one thing he was glad about, it was that he wasn’t going to die alone. The thought caused him to glow a beaming white. Then, the unexpected happened. Behind him, the thing let out a groan of pain, and Ppnlak could hear the thing backing away from him. Curious, he let his glow become brighter, wondering if that would provoke a reaction. It did. The thing reared back even further.

It seemed that Ppnlak wouldn’t be dying today. However, his luck wasn’t endless. The thing, apparently determined to get a meal, galloped toward Ppnlak, letting out painfilled noises the whole time. Ppnlak tensed, but the thing wasn’t coming for him. Isiuta's weight was removed from his helmet, and a sickening crunch resounded through the clearing before the thing disappeared into the forest. Ppnlak whirled around to catch a glimpse of the thing, but all he saw was rusty metal.

For a second, he stood there in shock. He regained enough of his facilities to move his feet in the direction of Eyuy's spaceship. He doubted the thing would come back for seconds tonight, so Ppnlak took his time. When he arrived at Eyuy's ship, he knocked on the door. It immediately opened to show Eyuy still covered in his spacesuit. 

Eyuy said, "I was able to read one of the papers we found. The ICC was working on something called the Metamorphosis project here."

The thing took Isiuta, Ppnlak replied.

"What? What are you talking about?"

The thing came, and now Isiuta is dead.