Space Tour with the Waddle Dees!

It was a bit tiresome, James kind of had no idea where everything was in regards to the ship. He tried to do it the right way, and by that, what he really meant was walk around without using his most natural movement from going from shadow to shadow. He understood that his actions could scare people and not everyone was fond of him moving in such a way. Even if that wasn't the case now, it was a problem in the past, something that he didn't want to repeat here.

"And that's why I would like a small tour of the ship!"

Little do you know, James was talking to a waddle dee the entire time!

The Waddle-dee's seemed to be omnipresent on the ship, a fact that no doubt hadn't escaped the new alien on bored, weather they were working on small maintenance tasks, cleaning the ship in some capacity or another, or just doing simple chores and errands for people or family's that lived on the ship, they seemed to be everywhere and almost constantly working, moving, or both, All in total silence except for the sounds of their little feet gently hitting the deck of the ship as they walked.

As the shadowy alien had approached a Waddle-dee it turned to greet him with a little wave, apparently not even phased by his looks, and greeting him kindly, as it stopped what it was doing as he started talking to it. As it listened to him another Waddle-dee appeared seemingly out of nowhere and took the tool from the Waddle-dee that was currently listening to James and it continued the work that the now Busy Waddle-dee had been doing, all without even a word or a glance exchanged between them, it had also given the Waddled-dee a note pad and pen in exchange for the tool.

As James finished talking the Waddle-dee nodded and started to write on the notepad making sure to make the writing clear as it then turned the notepad around and held it up for James to read "Hello there, and yes I can give you a tour if you wish, is there anywhere in particular you want to be lead to first?" it asked with the notepad.

Apparently they understood the common language that most humans spoke but were unable to speak themselves. Writing seemed to be the way to go when it came to discussing things with the waddle fees, which was a good thing that he was able to speak to them at all. "How about the common grounds area? A place where everyone tends to go to relax like a lounge of some kind? Is that something available on the ship?" He was curious if such a place was there, and he was also wondering about the waddle fees. "What kind of creature are you? You are obviously intelligent, but do you all share the same thoughts and feelings? There is no such thing as an invidivual among your kind?" This would be the first that he heard of something like that, much different from his own planet.

The Waddle-dee stood there and listened to his questions, and it could think of a few places that would match his request, and it started to write while he was still asking questions, though it would look up at him and listen now and again before returning to writing, Hearing his next set of questions it started to write more on the notepad.

All the while the other Waddle-dee's were walking around them silently and going about there tasks, it was about that time, one Mega Waddle-dee, a Waddle-dee three times the size of the normal Waddle-dee's happened on by and gently squeezed by them and then gave a friendly wave to James before continuing on it's way, wearing what seemed to be a harness that had a bunch of boxes on a platform on it as it seemed to be moving cargo around.

The work going on around them seemed to be done with perfect coordination, not much time spent gesturing for things as they were handed to those that needed it at the exact moment they needed it.

As the Waddle-dee finished writing it turned the notepad around and showed it to him, so he could read it "We are Waddle-dee's, thank you for the compliment, we are seperate, We are Waddle-dee's each one is a Waddle-dee" the writing said as a few more waddle-dee's of a different color pattered wandered by carrying some food that people asked for.

"I don't understand, does it mean that you all like the same things? Like for hobbies, would one of you like the piano and the other one would like to play the violin? Forgive me for prodding you while I'm trying to go through with this tour, but I would really like to figure you out, if you will. "James was trying his best, but maybe he would be able to explain more about himself?" Like let's start with origins, I kind of ended up on this ship as a stowaway. What about you waddle dees? Did you end up being employed, just jumping on or what? Also, did you all want to go or did some of you stay behind in your homeland?"

He followed behind as he asked them questions.

The Waddle-dee listened to his further questions as they walked along the ship, the other Waddle-dee's silently making space for them to walk so that none of them were in the way, honestly having a Waddle-dee guide was very handy to have what with how omnipresent the little guys were, and the fact that they always seemed to be running around doing work.

The Waddle-dee then started to write on the notepad as James questions continued, it was making sure it could get all the answers it could onto the paper as the alien asked them, and it didn't seem to mind at all with all the writing, as it continued to walk with James stopping for a moment to wave him down a different hallway before continuing to write.

Turning the notepad so that James could read it the Waddle-dee continued to walk with him, "We do like a lot of the same things, like flowers, music, a nice cookie to nom on, hugs, headpats, helping others. Also don't worry a lot of people as us questions Waddle-dee's do not mind." it seemed to answer the first question about if they liked the same things, apparently not fully understanding what her was asking.

Lower down was the answer to his second question, "We came from Popstar, our home was in danger, but more importantly we knew others were too, so we left to do something about it, we all left our home planet, we believe it may have been taken by the darkness, but helping combat the darkness helps everyone, We came to this ship as it moves around, our original ships are still here in the hangars, We needed a larger ship to get around faster however and the captain was kind enough to give us a place here, so we all help out here as the ship travels".

The waddle-dee continued to walk finally stopping in front of the main hall to the cafeteria "We may not be as strong as any of our heroes, but every Waddle-dee helps....Oh by the way here is the Cafeteria, a nice place to go to get food and relax a bit" the note finished off for the time being.

Looking inside the Cafeteria they could see people eating and generally sitting around, but another thing they could see would be the absolutely massive amount of Waddle-dee's swarming all over the place, staying out of people's way lining up to grab food and then rush out apparently Waddle-deelivering it to farther places on the ship, some apparently taking supplies from the place or bringing supplies to the Cafeteria, and others just grabbing food and sitting down and eating at the tables, all of this happening and not one Waddle-dee made a sound though looking at the ones at the tables they did seem to be conversing.

Another thing James may have noticed by now after walking so long with one in the halls, or just from looking into the Cafeteria, most people didn't even seem to pay any attention to the Waddle-dees wandering around aside from perhaps children.

"Your home in peril.... the darkness. Did.....they look anything like me by any chance or.......... was it something else?" James hoped that it wouldn't be the case, he hoped that individuals from his tribe weren't using their gifts to ruin the planets of others for their own personal benefit. Afterall their planet was in strife as well. "You do have my sincerest condolences of having to leave your home planet, but the darkness isn't from my tribe, then what is it exactly? Why did they attack such peaceful creatures? Have they no pride?" With how accommodating that the waddle sees seem, one thing immediately came to mind. Trying to enslave such little being seemed beneficial, but it was cruel. "Don't count yourself out, you are the heroes of your own story. It is my duty to tell you the reality of things my little friend, you shouldn't wait for people to save you. It might even be you that banishes the darkness to take back your home as we assist you. You'll never know. " As he looked around at the women and children, something struck him as a little bit odd. Most people weren't paying attention to the waddle fees, it was as if they were apart of the scenery or didn't exist at all. "Well, it looks like you guys do talk to each other. That's good, i understand that it might be stressful to speak another language all of the time other than your native one. You are also a big hit with the children, non intimidating and mindful, you could make quite the caretakers if you started your own daycare. "

The Waddle-dee noticed he seemed slightly distressed and so it started to write stopping now and again to look up at him to let him know he was indeed listening, he was just trying to make sure his answer was done in a timely fashion, didn't want to keep the person it was guiding around waiting after all.

After some time the Alien finished asking it's questions once more and the little Waddle-dee had been writing rapidly to make sure it could answer him, finally flipping the notepad around so he could what it had written.

"No the Darkness wasn't any other race, it was just....Darkness, Nothingness....it's what the Captain explained to us....our home may be gone and we have to try to bring it back, but our home is not our primary concern, others may have lost their homes already. We are going to help them first." The Waddle-dee waited a good amount of time before it then flipped the page so he could continue reading.

"I think you misunderstand, or perhaps Hero is used in a different manner for your kind? But We are literally not Hero Waddle-dee's, We are Normal Waddle-dee's with no exceptional skills or abilities, not like Bandana-dee, Sailor-dee, or Parasol-Dee. Though we all aspire to one day be counted as a hero-dee we would much rather use what we have now to help as many as possible" Waiting once more to make sure he has enough time to read the page, the Waddle-dee then flips the page once more.

"We like to play with the children they remind us a lot of home, and if it helps people by playing and teaching them things then we try to as well....what's a daycare?" the small alien looked up at James with curiosity in it's eyes.

At that moment some Waddle-dee's were marching by in a group carrying boxes of tools and pieces of bulkhead and ships hull, and while he couldn't make out any words, James would be able to tell by rhythm that the group or Waddle-dee's was perhaps singing? and in fact now that he managed to catch a little bit of it, he would notice the exact same rhythm coming from all the waddle-dee's currently working, except for the one that was guiding him. and the ones relaxing in the cafeteria

The Waddle-dee then seemed to shake off the curiosity for a moment and wrote on the notepad "oh right you wanted to see the resting area's follow me, the next place is this way" the note said as the Waddle-dee was walking backwards so he could read as it lead him around.

"One second, this might be a little bit tedious, having you write and all. Mind if I try something?"

strength

Spoiler:

He wondered if he could understand a language like this. James felt like he wouldn't be able to do anything too complicated, but after seeing the two waddle-dees at the table, to others, he started to get silent. But to the waddle-dees, he started to sound a little more distinct to them. However, it was just a sound, and he wasn't sure if they heard it

"I felt like something like this would be fair if i was to even try. However, it looks like i failed. Am I doing it right? It really does take me a little more tries before I pick it up, some are easier than others."

They seemed to not know what a daycare is.

"It's a place in human facilities where adults place their children because they have to work. It would involve temporarily caring for their wellbeing until the parents come to get them at the middle or the end of the day. You would have to govern over when they eat, and maybe even help a bit with their basic education. Cultivating the future of the species needs a soft hand, like yours. "

James said this as he looked around and followed them.

The Waddle-dee listned to James as he apparently tried something, but all that came out was jibberish....granted it was Jibberish in the Waddle-dee language...but it was still Jibberish though it was surprising to hear someone other then a Waddle-doo speak it and the Little Waddle-dee looked extremely excited as it started to write rapidly, apparently trying to communicate something.

But as he started to talk normally again the Waddle-dee stopped writing for now to listen to what he was saying, still walking backwards as it lead him around...how it knew were it was going was anyone's guess really. but it listend to him excuse his failure to speak their language and then he started to explain what a daycare was.

The Look in the Waddle-dee's eyes was hard to describe but it was fueled by the realization that if they did something like this they could help the whole ship even more, it's little eyes nearly sparkling literally with glee as it thought of this but then it shook its head and started to write out on the notepad once more, it was a great Idea but it didn't know how to make that all work, they have never really taught things before, they were usually the ones being taught after all.

Finally after finishing up what it was writing it held up the notepad for James to read as it continued to lead him down the massive corridors of the ship "Are you part Waddle-doo? maybe a Waddle-doo in disguise? they were the only ones able to understand us...so you MUST be a Waddle-doo right?....maybe just a little?" further down was it's next set of questions about the daycare.

"So...how does one go about teaching things to children? we have never really taught things to anyone" it said simply, though the eager sparkle had returned to the Waddle-dee's eyes, And once more as they walked James could hear that rhythmic beat from the Waddle-dee's that were walking by and working, and though he couldn't understand the words he could definitely tell they were singing.

"In all honesty, I'm not a Waddle at all. I have a bit of talent when it comes to picking up the languages of others. Or better yet, this is something that almost everyone in my planet can do. With access to things in the atmosphere, maybe air? Water? Earth, things like that of the sort. Something that's around you all of the time, eventually you two would have an understanding of each other, right? We are just more susceptible to that level of understanding people or things, even if doesn't make too much sense. Most of the time, that skill is neglected for others, but I travel quite a bit. "

He was pleased that the gesture made the little waddle dee happy, but he needed a little more practice in order to learn the language outright. This one was a little tricky, but James can manage it. He also noticed their singing, wondering if there was a little work tune they picked up on. However, he would ask them later.

"Teaching them about the world, the benefits, and the dangers. Trying to maybe minimize it into little storytelling so they have something to pick up on and reference. An increased use of the most commonly used language, maybe little puzzles. You have to sneak it in so it really just looks like fun activities overall."

The Waddle-dee nodded as he explained, though it seemed a little sad that he apparently wasn't part Waddle-doo, but that didn't seem to change it happy demeanor overly much, if anything it seemed happier after considering what he said and nodded a bit as they continued on, it then started to write in it's notepad once more as they walked along the ship.

All around them other Waddle-dee's continued their work, and as they did walk it would become more and more obvious that there didn't seem to be actual people or even other aliens working or doing the jobs the Waddle-dee's were doing, though it also seemed that most of the jobs the Waddle-dee's were doing was simple ones like Maintenance or moving cargo, supplies, Or delivering food or messages, he would even see a few of them in little space suits apparently about to head into a damaged part of the ship for some reason. Everywhere he looked it seemed the menial tasks were being done by Waddle-dee's even back in the Cafeteria when they were at the door he would have seen some working in the kitchen and serving at the line.

As they walked a wall light went out, and before they could even get to far away from it a Waddle-dee had taken the panel off, and another had rushed up carrying the replacement lights while another ran off with the spent light, the speed at which things got done would no doubt be mind boggling to most, and through all of it that same rhythm continued, that little song sung by all the little waddle-dee's that he couldn't make out yet.

Finally they got to another large door and inside was a a few Waddle-dee's cleaning, and the guide he had turned to look at James, Listening intently on his explanation of what Daycare was,  as he continued the little guys eyes were shining at the Idea of being even more helpful and it hastily wrote done a response after some time it finished writing and held up the notepad for James to read.

"This is the bar, another place people go to relax, it's very nice and has a wide array of drinks available, food is limited to Bar fare though but a lot of people come here to relax rather then the Cafeteria at times.....OH and We would have to learn how to do that properly, but that would be a great Idea to help out others! but...I don't think there are any teachers here that could teach us how to properly take care of or teach children" The part about teaching and the daycare was clearly just added on, but the Waddle-dee hoped he hadn't made what he wrote make less sense, he had been excited to ask and get his thoughts across about this.

"A bar! I heard about lounges like this that sell alcoholic drinks, it's a place that most adults tend to show up in order to relax after a hard day of work. However, I do have an interesting question in regards to that. Do Waddle sees drink at all? Is it a place for you guys to relax? I would  think that you would maybe have your own way of coping with the stress of being on the ship."

This was just James inquiring, he really had no clue how he would do so himself. It would be the first time he drank alcohol if he was given the option.

The Waddle-dee was glad it could help guide James around, and he seemed rather excited to have been lead to the bar, prompting a question from the alien to the little Waddle-dee, and it tilted gently to the side as he asked it how they dealt with stress, it looked a little confused at the question as it stood there blinking and simply looking up at the Shadowy Alien before apparently getting an Idea and starting to write on the notepad, writing quickly so as not to keep James waiting any longer for the reply.

"We rest in our quarters when we are not needed or another Waddle-dee takes up our job so it gets done, also why would a Waddle-dee feel stress on the ship?" the waddle-dee's note said as it held up the notepad for James to read, clearly the thought of being on the ship as stressful never crossed the little guys mind, and more then likely, it never crossed the minds of any of the Waddle-dee's

"Because everything that happens here is a collective of everyone's struggles. The fact that you are helpful says a lot about your innocence, even though there are people would would be willing to take advantage of such that. Keeping that in mind you have to be careful not to feel overworked or overwhelmed. It's k to ask for a day off, like those mental health days you see people take off from time to time. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

James hoped that he was getting through the minds of the waddle fees. Even though he wasn't human, he knew of some terms that the humans brought up when it came to work and everyday life. It shouldn't only apply to them, the waddle dees should get breaks and things of that nature too.

"What's next? This is quite an exciting tour!"