Hybrids

Breakfast

It had been a few days since the three arrived aboard the Golden Bellows, it had been a relatively relaxing time, with the most intense thing that they had to do was undergo a bit of a medical overhaul. 
Their wounds were cleaned and fixed up, using a very small and narrow laser to seal up any open cuts. 

But now they had some time to themselves to get used to being on the ship, and to familiarise themselves with the layout of the area they were allowed to be in. 
A lot of the children and teens brought in were aggressive and unstable due to the horrific pit fights they were thrown in, they weren't used to people trying to help them.
Too many times to count in the days they had been there they had seen the scientists and guards in the hangar below resort to long poles with neck clamps just to keep themselves at a safe distance from the more violent victims.
Tameen had even watched Coco from her spot by the window. Always feeling bad for the woman when she saw her protecting the younger kids from those lashing out at the medical equipment. 
Coco had been bitten, scratched and bruised every day, but she never had any hatred or anger on her face. No matter what, she would walk into the hangar with a smile, and cared for those kids like they were her own.
Even when she visited them three, she would smile even when her arm was bandaged, or her face scratched.
She just acted like she wasn't hurt and put them first.

Rez sat on the edge of his bed as he woke up in the early hours. Although there was no real way to tell the time in space, the ships were all designed with that in mind. Using timers, the ships had an artificial timezone. The fleet's time was synced up to where the fleet's Admiral, Dasyil Treyton, was born. A small town in England. So whenever it was daytime there, the lights would be brightest, and whenever it was night, the lights were dim.
The temperature was also regulated by those timers as well. Not by much, but enough to trick the brain into relaxing and getting ready to sleep when it gets a little colder at night.
However Rez wasn't asleep, and was sitting there in a cold sweat. He was wearing a comfortable, loose fitting pyjama set that had Ironclad's symbol on the back.

He held his head as he took deep breaths, before standing up and walking over to the door, and pressing the button. Nothing happened. 
He sighed and walked over to the bathroom, flicking on the light and walking over to the sink and splashing cold water into his face. He looked to himself in the mirror above and took in the features.
His face was all pale and gaunt, and dark rings were around his eyes. The food was helping him gain some weight back, but he still was extremely thin. 
He let out a heavy breath as he rubbed his eyes and turned to leave, flicking the light back off.
But as he stepped back into the main room, a voice startled him.

"Rez. What's wrong?" a gentle, whispering Riza asked.
When he looked over to her bed, he could barely see her silhouette. The only thing that told him where she was, was the faint light coming in from the window to the hangar below.
Her red eyes glinted in the darkness, like a cat's eyes would. It definitely gave him an uneasy feeling for a few moments, but he walked toward his older sister's bed. 

He let out a sigh "...I dunno. I just can't sleep very well" he spoke quietly, to not disturb the sleeping bunny just a bed over.

Riza nodded and moved over, patting the mattress "Me neither. Every time I try to sleep, I feel like when I open my eyes, I'll be back where we were, and that finding you was just a... Cruel thought of hope"

He nodded and laid beside her, placing his head on her pillow, and taking notice of her much larger and bushier tail. He held his own and stroked it, looking up at her.
"Why do you think they did this to us?"

Riza was silent for a few minutes, just watching him with a caring look, before responding with a simple "I don't know"
she laid her head beside his, and smiled gently "Whatever it was they wanted to do. It just made us adorable and pettable" she smiled and let out a quiet chuckle as she ran her hand through his hair and over his new set of ears, which twitched in response.
She wasn't happy, but she didn't want Rez to know that. 

Rez smiled and giggled, squirming slightly under her touch. Then he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, burying his face into her neck. 
He let out a muffled "I love you"

She was a bit confused for a moment, then smiled and hugged him too, rubbing circles along his back "I love you too Rez"

The two siblings embraced one another until the lights began to brighten in the hangar below. It wasn't long before they could clearly see one another, then turned to the window. 
But two green eyes caught their attention.
Tameen was laying there with the side of her head on her pillow, facing them with a small smile on her face

"You two are so cute" she giggled, then covered her face
Rez's face reddened at being caught giving affection, and he hid under the covers.
Riza just smiled and waved "Good morning Tameen"

She smiled and cooed, before hiding her face. Only her two big ears stuck out of the covers.
Riza chuckled and sat back, looking up at the ceiling for a few minutes. She opened her mouth to say something, but there was a knock on the door that interrupted her.

Rez and Tameen looked out from under their covers, and Riza looked over without having to move.
The door slid open with a quiet hiss, and Coco was there with a trolley of food. There was a teapot with steam rising up out of its spout, and a selection of breads, cereals and fruits.
She rolled it in with a smile on her face, with the wheels quietly clicking as it crossed over the lip between their room and the hallway. 

"Good morning you three. You're up early" she smiled, bringing the trolley to a stop in front of the table in the corner.

"I noticed a lot of movement on the motion detectors, so I looked at the camera and saw you were up. I figured I would come by and visit since I don't have anything else to do right now" she sat down and smiled warmly, her green eyes reflecting the light of the hangar below.

Tameen and Rez were quick to join Coco at the table, sitting down and looking at the choice of food. 
Riza watched them for a few moments before getting up herself, stretching and pushing her chest out as she let out a deep yawn. Which Coco let out a small laugh at.

"You still tired there Riza?" she asked with her head slightly tilted to the left, to which Riza nodded and walked over, sitting beside Coco.

Riza enjoyed Coco's presence, as she was another woman that she could talk to about things she couldn't talk to about with Rez or Tameen. 
She was always eager to strike up a conversation with the brown haired caretaker, as she seemed to be very knowledgeable on many different topics. 
Just the night before, Coco took Riza back to her quarters to have some food, a tea and had a conversation that went on for a little longer than Coco originally anticipated. But she was very happy to see that Riza felt she could come to her without worrying. But that was the goal as their caretaker, to be a new mother.

Coco smiled and turned to the three "You can choose anything you'd like from the tray here" she said, gesturing to the food that sat atop the trolley. It was in plastic containers with sealed lids, but a cylindrical container of milk was on the bottom level of the trolley. It was a large flask about the size of a two litre bottle.
A blue light went down the flask vertically, it seemed to be a tiny refrigerated flask to keep the milk nice and cold.

Soon the three chose their breakfasts, Rez and Riza taking the cereals, and Tameen enjoying some fruit.

Coco sat back and poured herself a tea, before looking at them "I suppose this is a good time to talk about your future here with Ironclad"
Those words caught the attention of the hungry three.

"I'm afraid there isn't any way we can safely return you to a normal life. Your...augmentations make you stand out too much, and the people we rescued you from are trying to keep it a secret"
she sighed, feeling a little disheartened at having to tell them this.
"They don't want you to end up joining us, they would rather kill them all and bury the labs rather than let them become Ironclad in the future"

Riza looked upset, she tilted her head and looked to Coco "...How many of us have you guys saved?" she asked, with a concerned expression.

Coco placed her hand on Riza's shoulder in a comforting way "We've rescued thousands of you all. They're spread out across the system in our medical ships and stations"
She exhaled and flicked her hair back "I'm, not sure if you'll understand, Rez and Tameen. But recently the governments of the outer planets have condemned the actions of the new Head of System, Theodore. As soon as he got into power, he's clamped down on everything. Taking away a lot of human rights and silencing anyone who talks against him"
Coco had an irritated expression on her face. And she was right, Rez and Tameen sat there with confused faces, but they continued to eat their food.
Riza did understand however, and she looked angry. Furious even.

She gripped the edge of the table so hard that her sharper, augmented nails dug into soft, plastic like material. She grit her teeth.
"On the day of the election. We went out for dinner. We took a train. And he was there. He spoke to us. He even paid for our dinner. Just to, do this to us?!"
She was enraged, and rightfully so. But Coco looked to her with a heartbroken expression and embraced the angry wolf.

Coco wrapped her arms around her and rubbed her back, making sure that Riza's chin was gently resting on her shoulder
"Shhh, shh.. I know, I know Riza. I know.." she hummed gently, rocking side to side in an almost hypnotic way.
"I can't undo, what he did to you all. But I want to help you all heal"

Riza was taken aback by her words and her embrace, she slowly hugged back and pressed her face into her neck. She was silent.

Coco smiled gently and continued to rub her back, but was confused when she felt something warm run down her neck. Riza was crying.
There was a sob that escaped from Riza's lips, and she couldn't hold it back. The tears streamed down her cheeks and down Coco's neck. 
"I just want to be normal again" she said, barely above a whisper.

Coco looked hurt, her heart aching for these innocent souls. And how every single kid that came out of the laboratories must be feeling the same way. She rubbed her head and pecked her gently.
"Riza, honey... You are normal. You're better than normal" she rubbed her back, and Riza seemed confused for a moment.

Coco let out a smile and flexed her arms "Your muscles are stronger than any normal human"
She pointed to her ears "You can hear and smell things that I can't even think of"
She stood up suddenly and jogged on the spot "Your legs can work a hundred times better than any soldier!"
She picked Riza up by the armpits and hugged her, rubbing her back
"You take these things, and you use them against them. You show them that you aren't a scared child anymore"

Riza was in thought for a few minutes, looking down at her hands and legs, the white tail that was attached to the base of her spine, and the muscles that she was given. She looked up, nodded, and wiped away her tears
"Okay, Coco. I will"