Catfish's Pod

Catfish’s life began as all living Xeros do, born from a capsule that had been genetically engineered by ARC Laboratories. Unlike most Xeros, Catfish has the glitch status, as some researchers wanted to see how a Xero’s body would react to gaining new sequences of DNA not originally included in the samples collected.

Catfish seemed normal at first glance, but through a medical exam, something was noted: the lack of completed vocal chords. While he could make a few sounds, it wasn’t enough to communicate effectively.

A few other Xeros were noted to have the same defect, so Catfish was placed with them while the scientists analyzed their code. Being surrounded by other Xeros like himself allowed him to not feel isolated in his circumstance, and the caretakers all treated them with respect and love. 

Catfish liked a particular caretaker, a Korso by the name Mrs. Olunavi. Mrs. O, as she let the young Xeros call her, acted as the universal sign language teacher. USL them the ability to communicate without having to use their voice, which was a great relief to Catfish. 

Mrs. O had a soft but creative voice she used to tell stories from all over Owai-6. She had a fondness for telling stories belonging to indigenous communities, like that of the ancient Korsos, which Catfish loved to hear. His mind was constantly filled with wonder as she told the tales, and afterwards he’d draw what he imagined the ancient Korso stories looked like, which Mrs. O admired.

Now 6 years old, Catfish was at the age where he could be adopted by a family in the planetary system. Though he liked all the potential parents and siblings, he couldn’t imagine leaving Mrs. O. She was the one present caretaker he had for so many years, and who would tell him stories of the ancient Korsos as well as she did.

Catfish was given the news that one family had agreed to take him in, and while everyone had made a nice party for the farewell, he was saddened to see that one face seemed to be missing.

But then he saw her.

Mrs. Olunai and her husband had turned out to be the family in question willing to adopt him! He was filled with so much joy he was crying in her arms, and both of his parents embraced him.

Life afterwards was filled with nothing but joy. Mrs. Olunai still worked as a caretaker for ARC Laboratories, but she was still Catfish’s mother, scheduling her time to be able to look after the young Xero. Mr. Olunai was a bit unfamiliar, but he turned out to be very friendly! He worked on fixing planes that went around Torini, and occasionally had the time to fly them! Catfish couldn’t forget the first time he flew on a plane, watching the world below.

It wasn’t long after Catfish settled down in their home that he was put into school. School was fun, and similar to the life he had growing up on the ARC. The only difference was leaving to go somewhere else for dinner and spending some time with his new parents. He never really had trouble adjusting to his new classmates, and there was always a student in the classroom willing to translate USL for him. Catfish wasn’t a straight A student by any means (math always confused him), but he was far from a trouble maker. In fact he liked being helpful to teachers, and always treated them with respect.

As Catfish grew, so did his love of storytelling and drawing. Now 14, Mr. and Mrs. Olunai allowed him to have a small portion of his time back from school to let him use a computer. There he found the world of animation, and others just like him were inspired by ancient stories using their ability to draw to bring them to life. Beyond that were others who created ceramics, paintings, comics, murals, all for the love of art.

Art. That’s what Catfish wanted to do. To become an artist, to let his hands depict the stories that Mrs. Olunai told him for so many years. He told his parents that dinner was what he wanted to do, and both were supportive of his decision. After graduating high school, Catfish studied at Torini University. Having a particular fondness for animation, he pushed forwards in his endeavors to succeed in his classes. But while he was proud of his work, he didn’t seem entirely satisfied.

That’s when a professor stated that his drawings seemed to be more suited for storyboarding and comics. It allowed other artists to have a framework for what to draw, and Catfish had a knack for figuring out the timing. It was perfect! Suddenly his passion returned, and he was drawing once more.

Catfish graduated, and was able to pick up a job in the comic industry. He prefers to sketch and ink, and always takes any spare time to draw the stories of the ancient Korso. He has a pet boolew who he calls Bleu, and lives in Torini, a little drive away from his parents’ home, but still close enough to visit on the weekends.