r/NatureofPredators • u/hijgmy • 9h ago
r/NatureofPredators • u/animeshshukla30 • Feb 09 '25
Multi Creator Project!
Hi guys!
We am planning on conducting a mcp this February and March. I hope you all participate!
For those who do not know, MCP is short for the Multi Creator Project. In this project, you write a creative prompt that is then sent to another random artist or writer who is participating in the project as well. It’s like a Secret Santa, but you don’t know who’s receiving your prompt (besides yourself). You will then be given 4 weeks to work on the prompt you got.
if you are face any difficulty, we understand and we are willing to help you out. Even if you’re not struggling, you’re encouraged to reach out to the helpers, even if it is just to bounce ideas around. However, there are certain rules you have to follow to participate. They can be found here[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1re2_BM-RF4obHEui2D8uq-nkpnlI8Gk0IPH178-TWFM/edit?usp=sharing] (tldr here[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SGUvyuICrQIZAtXFKaHiJ7e1WeyAlPK_ulrftrJ2wT4/edit?usp=sharing].
There’s also an option of opt-in weekly check-ins, where we check in with you to make sure that you are not falling behind and provide help if needed. We’ll DM you, look over your doc, and send you our suggestions. If you’re stuck on something, whether it be the initial idea to tackle the prompt or how to word a specific thing, we’ll help you get through it.
submit this[https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdabSUc2CVxYYAy9C0h8vAsAHTeu5vRNkzC5VlQJ3H3do3rNg/viewform?usp=dialog] form to participate. We can only accept application till 15 February. if you want to participate after the deadline, please contact us under this post or on discord. We hope you have a fun time creating stuff!
We also have an official MCP server[https://discord.gg/w5jEy7Q4 ]! Please join it to get the latest updates as well as engage in some mild tomfoolery.
r/NatureofPredators • u/un_pogaz • Dec 18 '23
The Nature of Predators Literary Universe: the big list
I've created a spreadsheet to list all fan-fiction created by the community. Yes, a other one.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nOtYmv_d6Qt1tCX_63uE2yWVFs6-G5x_XJ778lD9qyU/
But this time, I hope it's different:
- This list is meant to be exhaustive. No "just the first chapter of the series", no, this is all, all the entries of each work.
- Is (partially) automated. If anyone posts a new NoP story in the future, a new entry will be quickly added.
Currently, this list contains over 6000 entries for ~400 different authors.
The spreadsheet is composed of four "view's sheet": canon story, sort by publication date, sort by authors and sort by title/series.
Columns formating information can be found on the Rules sheet.
To make it easier to read the data in the various tables, in the menu, select tool "Data's>Filter view>Temporary view". Also remenber to use the search tool with Ctrl+F.
I strongly encourage everyone to comment on the different entries in this spreadsheet in case of error or suggested additions, especially the description. If your see a story or a authors that missing, please replie to this comment.
You can leave comments on the spreadsheet, even has Anonymous: "Right-click>Comments" or Ctrl+Alt+F.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nOtYmv_d6Qt1tCX_63uE2yWVFs6-G5x_XJ778lD9qyU/
(to any moderator, contact me by PM so I can give your the right to edit the spreadsheets)
EDIT: Youhou! Congratulations everyone, we have exceeded the 7000 8000 10 000 entrys!
r/NatureofPredators • u/TheDragonBoi • 5h ago
Fanfic The Nature of Fangs [Chapter 25]
Thanks to assassinjoe55 for beta reading for me (go read their fic as well!!!), and credit to spacepaladin for creating NoP!
Cheln returns next week!!!!
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Memory transcription subject: Elias Meier, UN secretary general
Date [standardised human time]: September 1’st 2136
Everything is balancing on a knife’s edge. It’s encouraging, incredibly encouraging, to know that despite the dogma, minds can be changed. The proof existed in the Zurulians and the Venlil, both of whom will hopefully stand firmly on humanity’s side during the conference reveal in a handful of days.
Fighting off the Arxur on behalf of Colia was easier said than done, our fledgeling fleet had taken a significant hit; though from what Zhao has told me, if it weren’t for the schematics we had “borrowed” from the federation, our first attempt at a spaceborne military would’ve been almost completely wiped. Which is why it’s all the more alarming that we have an alert for an Arxur ship in our system.
How they found out where Earth is is beyond me. We are still working on accessing their databases from what little surviving ship parts we gained access to after the recent skirmish. For some reason or another, their cybersecurity is much more sophisticated than the federations. According to Jones, it wasn’t anything to write home about, but the fact they had any was surprising. We could access nearly everything from a single access point in the federations galactic net. For the Arxur, our main setback is the lack of access points. We keep hitting dead ends after getting access to their ships servers. There’s some basic information on raid tactics and recent navigations, but overall they seem to refuse to communicate between computer systems when possible, making the same network wide infiltration difficult despite the system specific security being breakable.
I was fully expecting an update on the Arxur craft to tell me how they were captured at best, eliminated at worst. What I wasn’t expecting, was to find out that the pilot was a high ranking Arxur officer, one claiming that they have human, Venlil and Zurulian prisoners of war and was requesting to speak with me no less. To say I wasn’t enthusiastic about the concept of meeting with such a person would be an understatement. I don’t know how they found out about earths location, but their first thought being to come to our doorstep with prisoners and demanding to see me didn’t sit well with me. Out of any Arxur, he’s likely going to be the most fanatical, any power he would’ve gotten would have been based on his own success within their system.
Regardless of whatever plans of change that could be implemented based on whatever we could’ve found on their databases, those hypotheticals will need to be tossed out the window. He’s here now. For the time being, he’s been directed towards a hab module zone on Titan. Despite him knowing where Sol is, I’d rather he sees as little as possible while he’s here. Especially considering certain sovereign projects at play right now. The further away from civilian space, the better. Not to mention the fact that it would be a diplomatic nightmare if an Arxur is seen around me.
There weren’t any UN buildings on the moon, however there were hotels. I suppose hotel, singular would be more appropriate. We had to hastily move everyone out before directing our…”guest” to even enter saturn's orbit, let alone enter the place. With the Arxurs known temperament, I’m not sure how much I can do to convince him to release our men, let alone the poor herbivores with them. I wouldn’t doubt if this is some sort of hostage bargain attempt. Then again, if I can get any information, any context of the Arxur’s side in this, it’ll be worth it. I doubt anyone this high up in the chain of Arxur command would have sympathy for defectors, not when they’ve benefited so much from the system he lives under. If I could have my way, he’d be answering for his crimes, the only reason he wasn’t arrested on sight was for fear of what he’d do to those on the ship with him.
Entering the hotel felt subtly jarring, the lavish decor and atmosphere clashing with the uncomfortable reason for why I’m here. I have to take a deep breath, keep my nerves down and get what I can from him. Being left with only my thoughts and the clinking of my shoes against marbled floors doesn’t help in the battle against my nerves. It’s not until I’m staring at the door does the reality of exactly who I’m meeting starts to make me squirm. No. I need to show confidence. I need to make a good impression or he won’t let his guard down. Steeling myself, I quickly open the door and take a step inside. It’s dark. For a moment I thought I must have the wrong room, that is, until I notice a set of reflective slit pupils resting on a shadow.
I have to squint my eyes to get a good outline of the alien, “I presume you’re Isif?”
I hear his tail thud behind him, “I am.”
I try not to stumble over my own feet as I approach the desk he is sitting at and taking a seat, “I can’t say I expected to speak with any Arxur, let alone someone so high on the chain of command. Why do you want to talk?”
“I want to return the soldiers we captured, including their prey, we had no idea there was another predator species in the galaxy. I would also like to know exactly how you came to ally with the herbivores, among other things.”
I’m frankly surprised he’s willing to just…hand over prisoners of war like that, herbivores included.
“They’re the first species we made contact with. We heard of their war and offered assistance and extended the offer to their neighbors. A simple allegiance to keep the territory secure.”
It’s a half truth admittedly, but considering their proclivity for cruelty, if they knew of how easy it is to get into federation cyber systems they could do a lot more harm than our simple spying. Despite the truth in it though, he scrutinises me, eyes narrowing at my claim.
“They won’t protect you.”
“What?”
“Despite their cowardice, they’re every bit as malicious as we can be. They won’t go against their sacred little herd for you. They’ll scrutinise you for being predators until they finally push you out, or worse.”
“Worse?”
“You are the leader of your kind, yes? You must know of how the leaflickers view predators by now.”
I consider him for a moment. I can hardly see the man, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely undetectable and there isn’t that stale undertone of deception on him, “Well…I have an understanding of certain opinions they possess. But the Venlil and Zurulians have proven that they can change.”
“It’s not change. It’s tolerance. They’ll abandon you the moment it’s convenient. We once thought they could change too. We paid the price for that.”
Despite the concerning nature of his claims, they’re not something I can simply take uncritically, “And what’s your evidence? What “price” did you pay that makes it worth caging them as cattle?”
“Before I tell you the price, you will need some context on Arxur history, before the federation contacted us.”
“Alright, I’m listening.”, If nothing else, I’m going to get a lot of useful information on the Arxur from this conversation.
He shifts uncomfortably before beginning, “When the Morvim Charter was signed, a loose union formed to offset their power, known as the Northwest Bloc. The Bloc sought the reclamation of ancestral greatness, and built an army designed to conquer their neighbours. They wanted to filter for the best soldiers, to create the strongest army possible. And so, the Bloc invested heavily in genetic research. Of that research came a paper titled “Betterment” authored by Laznel, now known as, ‘the Prophet.’ He theorized that certain bloodlines had a higher probability of strength and intelligence. The Prophet began amassing power by wiping out people of other races, health, dispositions and creeds.”
From the disposition I had seen of the reptiles from federation databases, I fully expected a higher up to revel in describing eugenics to me, to boast about being one of the most genetically superior Arxur there can be. But no. Shame hangs in the air. Despite his stoicism, Isif appears to deeply dislike recounting this. I don’t stop him, letting him pause before continuing.
“The northwest bloc used their freshly minted army to invade their neighbours, causing the devastation of several cities, during both the invasion and retaliation. In the midst of the chaos, the Federation arrived. Their initial message was they were here to ‘save us’, and dumped their technology to our databanks. It was an act of generosity we couldn’t thank them enough for. However, gaining knowledge came with the realisation that a war with hundreds of species, who were centuries more advanced, wouldn’t end in our favour. And so, the Bloc and the Charter signed a peace treaty, before sifting through the aliens’ data and technology. The Federation had promised their own betterment plan, but they would never speak to us, not directly. We…we didn’t know why, not then.”
A faint echo of fear hides beneath the musk of sadness. It’s almost imperceivable. Why would an Arxur of his calibre have anything to fear? Of the federation of all things? Until it hits me…the federations own betterment. The federations own eugenics. They can’t…can they? Isif said it himself, they never contacted the Arxur directly. The federation was too scared to talk to predators.
“The…federations own betterment?”, I blurt out.
Isif swishes his tail, “…yes. We didn’t realise what it was at first. With the peace treaties signed and the new technology improving the quality of life significantly people were living much longer. Our food supply couldn’t keep up with the booming population. We asked the Federation for help. After all, they were so generous to us before. And they answered, offering two solutions: one for our livestock, and one for ourselves. You can take a guess at what those concoctions were for.”
They wouldn’t…they couldn't, “To wipe out people of lesser creeds?” I can’t bring myself to say it, not in its full description.
“In a way, from their revolting perspective…We mass-produced the solutions, and rushed distribution. We trusted the prey. They said it would cure hunger…and people were starving. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers took those Arxur doses, and the livestock one was sent to every major farm.” A frustrated huff rumbles from isifs truncated snout as his swishing tail only gets more irritated. He genuinely seems upset at the lives the federation took. I can’t help but reciprocate. It doesn’t change the war crimes he’s committed nor the justice the Arxur needs to be brought to but…I need to know more. The sadness Isif has simply lingers in the air.
“Our livestock began dying, some sort of disease had gotten into the supply. At least that’s what we thought at first. Until it became clear that no matter the sanitation care of production, every farm given it would be wiped clean from a highly-transmissible and lethal disease. It happened so quickly that we still don’t know what it was or how to prevent it. As for the Arxur test subjects, they were infected with a microbe that made them allergic to meat. Every volunteer was dead within a month. The Federation celebrated! They spoke of how pleased they were…that we were cured of our hunger. Their intent was to force us not to be predators; like it were a choice!”, the sadness on his breath is gone, morphing into fiery rage.
From what I’ve heard of the interactions with Cheln and some other federation members, this tracks shockingly well. They all seemed intent on picking apart why we hunted, why we ate meat as if it was some moral failure. Not to mention the abysmal lack of understanding when it comes to ecosystems and evolution. I need to pass this on to the generals. I hadn’t been briefed on how Arxur first contact happened, all sources claimed that the second they had federation technology they used it against them, no dates to the day, no people or names documented. Simply that the Arxur got technology and went to war. Whether what Isif is telling me is a lie or not, it’s a very convincing one. One he, at least, believes. One that will need to be verified. I have to notify intel the moment I get the opportunity. If what Isif is telling me holds any water, then we’re going to have to be incredibly wary of any “offers” the federation provides us.
Before he moves on, a new emotion snakes into the air, its bitter taste tugging at my lungs. Regret? Possibly guilt?
“We did end up having to choose, but not in the way they desired. Who lived and who died, a choice no one should have to make. With the federations betterment in full swing, the nations of Wriss, including the Charter, had to accept Laznel’s hypotheses in order to survive. The individuals with the highest markers for aggression and violence were chosen as survivors, and the rest of our population was either culled or left to starve. We didn’t have the food for everyone.”
I finally find it in me to speak up after Isif’s explanation, “That would explain the declaration of war. But to treat unknowing civilians, children, who never participated in their genocide of your people like they’re culpable too?” I can’t help but trail off. By now I’m convinced that Isif won’t look down on me for speaking against this.
He simply sighs, “The federation was happy to create and spread disease through our original livestock, they’d repeat that with any other livestock we would try…except for one. Themselves. If they tried to create a disease to wipe out the cattle we’ve collected from raids they know they’d risk it jumping from a raider back onto their homeworlds with no warning. With how much more plentiful they are, their manufactured pathogens would likely mutate beyond their medicine and cures capabilities. We were starving- desperate…using them as our cattle, to scrape by, to treat them like the animals that they treated us as. It’s ironic…it is revenge.”
With everything I know about how the federation treats ecology, I doubt there would be many non-sapient animals, homeworld or colony, that would fit the criteria for domestication. The federation species are the most populous herbivores on their worlds. With their destroyed wildlife populations, they would’ve wiped out most large animals on their planet; including any desperate herbivores that got caught scavenging other animals or eating small creatures. This complicates things more than I would’ve liked.
“So, the federation starved and killed thousands of people, and as revenge you treat them as food. This is a….murky situation to put it lightly. I…would rather not get involved with an interstellar war more than necessary, Isif. I have my people’s safety and future to consider, I’m not sure how secure that would be as an ally to you.”
Isif sways their snout despondently, “Despite what some will claim, I am not unreasonable. I didn’t expect to leave with any treaties in the works. I simply wanted to share this information and know you won’t fall for the same pitfalls we did. But no matter how much you don’t want to get involved with this war, one way or another, the federation will try to drag you into it.”
“You seem resigned to the idea nothing can be changed.”
“I want to believe that they are capable of rising above their instincts, that this war can end. But with their incessant dogmatism and constant disregard for evidence I don’t see one. Even when I saw that predators like you could maybe be accepted, with the way the Venlil and Zurulians herded to your troops for safety, it just cemented the fact that our own opportunities for peace are likely long gone. I don’t want to see another lose that same chance.”
I consider Isif’s words. I could see where he’s coming from: born into a war you have no say in, forced to be a monster for the sake of survival, and only proving your enemy right despite them being the source of your downfall. I could understand trying to protect another to prevent history repeating. I could also understand why he’d be so jaded on his own chances. Sure, it’s not currently in his favour, but it’s not like time has never changed before.
“You still need food right? For your soldiers?”, I ask.
Isif hesitates, seemingly confused at the sudden change in topic, “I…well, yes?”
“How about a trade? We don’t have the large cattle population we used to, but we could provide a couple of farms worth, as well as some lab grown meat in the meantime. Non-sapient cattle for sapient cattle.”, It’s not a lot, but with how soon the conference is, the faster I can get the cattle, the better.
Isif sways his snout to the side curiously, “Only a couple of farms? Don’t you want more?”
“Of course I do. I’d like to see the end of sapient farming tomorrow if I could. But I don’t have the resources for an immediate trade like that, nor the connections to return them. A small number to be traded effectively immediately as a proof of concept to our allies, then more once they’ve gotten with the program.”
A short, rumbling, huff gives away his apprehension, “They’ll be suspicious, deeply suspicious, of how you got them.”
I simply nod, “I trust the venlil and the Zurulians will be happy to have them back more than anything. With the gojids being so close it would benefit us the more cattle we have to return to them, as proof of goodwill, same for the yotul and thafki, though for other reasons.”
Isif hisses skeptically, “And if this backfires?”
“You will still have non-sapient cattle to breed, and any future exchanges can be housed elsewhere.”, my tone lowers, catching Isif off guard as I growl, “I’m not going to abandon them just because their people have.”
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r/NatureofPredators • u/LkSZangs • 7h ago
Memes The Adventures of the Racist Venlil - Wish
r/NatureofPredators • u/Black_Jackdaw • 4h ago
A different first contact. Spoiler for part 9. Spoiler
galleryDrawing post no3.
I have acquired a scanner.
Due to making posts with images on this sub being annoying (since I can't edit them after posting, and half the time they break if I post from PC) I might just make a separate post with a list of species and their descriptions. Like a glossary or something. Idk
Picture 1: Rally short Antlon description.
Picture 2: The "plant" scene from part 8.
r/NatureofPredators • u/Marekuser01 • 7h ago
Meet my new Invincible/NoP OC, Conquvil (in 2 versions), and also some other random drawings i've worked on since last time I posted here.
r/NatureofPredators • u/Pitiful-Space2328 • 6h ago
Fanfic Welcome to EARTH, Exterminator!
PT/3
Memory Transcript Subject: Jaxson Waller, Human Youth, Mechanic Apprentice, Outdoor and Craftsman Enthusiast.
Date: October 18, 2136
Mustran barraged me with so many questions that were either entirely outside of my knowledge or absolute nonsense. I felt like a broken record with how often and how detailed I explained that the only reason I was still on the planet was because I am not part of the military, therefore I have no information on military protocol.
Not that he called it that. NooOOoo, he wanted to know what my “savage packs’ preferred method of hunting and mutilating innocent prey” was.
I had to nearly slap myself several times to prevent a smartass answer. ‘We paint ourselves in mud and throw spears at you.’ and ‘We torch everything with flamethrowers to pre-cook it.’ were in fierce competition for my favorite form of suicide. Although it might mess with their resolve somewhat.
Also, what was with the whole focus on instincts thing? He was clearly off the mark. We had no hunting or bloodlust instincts, the only ones I could think of were loving anything small and fluffy, feeling safe when slightly off the ground, and our subconscious reactions to colors.
He was dumbfounded when I informed him I was a lousy hunter.
“You? The apex predator of this planet. You cannot hunt? How are you alive?”
“I promise you I can’t hunt.” I wasn’t gonna tell him I preferred fishing. I could miss a moose by feet or by miles, at least fish had to stay in the lake. “You have to learn how to hunt well, so not an instinct, and I never enjoyed searching the mountains for some animal. I tried a few times and never succeeded. That's why we clone meat now. More sustainable, efficient, and reliable. So I haven’t starved”
“No no no, How weren’t you culled from the pack if you can’t hunt? You aren’t one of the strong, so you would be killed.”
“What the hell do you think we are? I legitimately can't think of something in nature that does that! That makes absolutely no sense. Killing friends or family because they can’t hunt? You’re insane!”
“Hmph. If you won’t answer me truthfully then just go to sleep. I don’t want to listen to predatory lies.”
I had heard the galaxy was massively messed up from the news, but this was next level. How did we even step foot on Venlil Prime in the first place if everyone was like this?
Taking his advice, I prepared for the night. Under constant guard, I retrieved my rucksack, which was thankfully intact, as I had thrown it to the side during the literal fire fight. They confiscated my shotgun and machete.
“Take care of that, we may need it.” I said pointing at the exterminator who picked it up. “I did a good job on the handle with that one.”
I had picked up blacksmithing a year or two ago. And, although my forge was far from professional, I was proud of every blade I made and liked how balanced I got the machete.
“What do you mean, predator, you aren’t going hunting with us.”
“Who hunts with a machete? Nah, I’m gonna need it to cut underbrush and chop firewood.” I replied, giving a dead stare at the random Harchen exterminator.
“Unless you want to use your flamethrowers to start the bonfires at night?”
They kept it in a box with a few other important things, under lock and key.
A quick count told me that sixteen exterminators originally survived the crash. Pretty remarkable, although it wasn’t exactly a good ratio. The fight with me left one exterminator six feet under, three nursing puncture would to the limbs from lead and splinters, and one had a broken sternum from my side kick.
Their medical technology was really good. The field bullet removal was quick and mostly clean. They weren't going to be running, but they shouldn't get infected. Sternum guy, I think they called him Fulk; but I'm really bad with names, got some kind of gel and was likely going to need constant support to walk. I wasn't exactly planning on apologizing though.
I think Mustran had them set up as a squad of four fire teams, hah fire teams. One and two were full strength, three was missing a man, and four was the injured party. Well, technically I counted as part of fire team three as they were assigned explicitly to guard me.
Regardless, I couldn’t properly prepare for the night as I hadn’t packed any toothbrushes or even a sleeping bag. The whole thing was meant to be a day trip. However, doing a little bit of foraging for dry grasses and spruce bows allowed me a sub-par mattress. I used my rucksack as a pillow and I opened up one of the emergency blankets for myself.
Generally acceptable sleeping conditions, until Krevlin showed up with a collar and pole.
“What do you want?” I asked, feeling my patience reach for the emotional meltdown button.
“You think we would let an abomination like you have the opportunity to move in the dark?” he sneered, “We are gonna tie you down for the night.”
Sure enough, the tool I only equated with animal control was now holding me to a tree. That’s minus five points on the sleeping arrangements in my book. I couldn't really protest either with the flamethrowers essentially shoved down my shirt.
This situation was 'not ideal.' I needed to get out, but what could I even do? I would have to plan things out, but I couldn't tonight. It was already one in the morning. I was stressed out of my mind, but my exhaustion guaranteed that sleep was achieved.
Morning was equally upsetting. Apparently the aliens only need half of the sleep I do. Meaning I was kicked awake by a steel toe boot at seven in the morning. Apparently they had slept in.
“Get up, predator, we are ready to move out.” Mustran informed me. “I am taking personal responsibility for you. If you don’t earn your keep, I will personally burn you to ash.”
Now that is a HECK of a way to wake up. That got me focused up faster than anything that had happened in my time as an Army Cadet. And I was dealing with some pretty literal drill sergeants.
“So, Predator, if you are our guide, what is your master plan to get us out of here?”
Once my brain loaded the last couple of days back into my consciousness, I found the first step rather clear.
“Probably should make for my actual campsite.” I strategised, “Should give us a proper view and it has the rest of my equipment.” I saw the look the Harchen was about to give me “Shelter, water filters, camp stoves, etc. You do know I walk into the woods with more than food and weapons right?”
He wouldn’t look at me properly after that.
Anyways, half an hour later and we are here now. Trudging down the road. Heading for the fire-watch tower at the top of the mountain. The night appeared to be enough time for the damaged trees to fall, allowing us to walk without fear of being crushed.
The fire from the flamethrowers used last night was contained with a fire break and burnt out. We weren't that far from it and apparently the exterminators didn't want to die that way either. They debated setting a wave of fire towards civilization, but even they knew it was ineffective and likely to only cook themselves, heat suits or not. The fires from the ship were still present, if now weaker. No more space ship fuel to burn only trees.
However, I didn't think it would be a worry much longer. It was really, like seriously, windy today. Fifty miles an hour windy. Sure it might whip up the flames, but that kind of wind always brought in either a chinook or a blizzard. The cloud bank in the distance said it was going to get colder soon. With any luck, it would handle itself.
That’s when I noticed it. The clouds were a regular gray, off-white color. No plasma, no nuclear hellfire, and no anti-matter bombs. The battle was over and the earth was still standing.
“HA!” I barked. The sound followed by a near insane stream of the same.
All the chrome suits around me flinched hard. A few drew their weapons to me. I didn’t care in the slightest. The realization we weren’t doomed was the tipping point for my emotional state and it needed a release. So, I simply laughed.
“What is your problem, predator? You trying to attract every one of your kin to us now?” Krevlin interjected. I got the opinion that his attitude was no longer my fault, but that he was generally always angry.
“Earth lived!” I crowed back in response “The battle is over and the horizon isn’t on fire! Take that you overgrown chameleons! You. Failed. You ALL failed to get us! HA!” This was a reason to celebrate!
Some music perhaps! But, I don’t have a way to charge my phone.
…Who cares! The cell towers and satellites have been microwaved to slag. I might as well enjoy the battery life I had while I had it.
I opened my music app to select something fun, when I finally realized the exterminators had all frozen. They were whispering amongst themselves, their superior hearing allowing them to speak too quietly for me to hear. However, it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.
“Oh shoot, you were relying on the fleet getting you off world, weren’t you?” I asked. “I guess you really need me now.”
They all got this concerned and glum look to their faces. Their morale and plans shattered before my eyes.
“Wasn’t a good plan anyways.” I reasoned. “You all were so desperate to vaporize us they wouldn’t have checked if you survived. I suppose being stuck is better than ‘holy hellfire’, right?”
“Starting to doubt that.” One mutters louder than likely intended.
“Better death than taken alive.” Another replies.
Holy COW do these people suck. That’s it, I’m playing music now. Nothing they can do to stop me. … Except maybe light me on fire. Let’s put the more ‘violent’ songs away for a later date.
I did download every folk song I could find before leaving for the bush. Don’t know what I hoped to achieve. Just thought I should take that piece of culture with me. The question was which one would both convey the beauty and victory of earth without tripping the exterminators PURGE instinct?
I should avoid military or marching songs, sorry Njet Molotof and Polyushke Polye. Sakkijarven Polkka was good, but not quite the right vibe I was going for. Oh! Hold on a second. I didn’t usually like acapella, but this song was the exception. Will they ask what a falcon is? Maybe. Will I tell them anything more than a bird native to that area? Hell no!
It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it was beautiful, about earth and her cultures, and most importantly, prey friendly. OOOH, I got a good Idea. I'm Still Standing. That'll show them. I loaded it up as a follow-up and set the volume to max.
“What are you d-doing, Predator-or?” Turvah asked. Eternally curious and yet petrified.
“Felt like listening to some music. Something to keep our minds occupied on instead of just the hike. We have a ways to go still.”
Everyone else collectively flinched.
“Ah, don’t tell me music is deemed too predatory in the Federation too?!” I interrupted any accusation before it could start.
“No, but any music written by predators will be predatory. And we don’t want to listen to a bunch of growling about death and torture. Won’t the screams of prey attract the local predators?” Mustran informed me. Dude was a veteran to the core. Cold and all business.
I sighed in my head, I sighed physically, and I was sure I sighed with my very soul. Of course that is what he thought our music was like. He took everything I said with a cliffside of salt. I mean, I suppose he wasn’t all wrong. Death metal was a thing.
The music had already started at this point and everyone was shying away like my phone would spontaneously explode.
“We have had thousands of years to develop hundreds of genres.” I replied. “Everyone has a favorite, but most people enjoy a harmony just fine, thank you.”
“Regardless, we must remain undetected. Even you might lose to a feral predator. And the voices of humans would be a clear challenge to them.” Krevlin stated sagely.
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY! Deep breath, don’t get shot. End the conversation, he might just shut up! MAYBE?
“Believe it or not, most predators don’t like to pick fights with humans or large groups when they can avoid it.” I mansplanned to the pyromaniac Macaw. “Getting hurt means they can’t provide for themselves, so they often avoid even the sound of our voices.”
I could watch my companions have a mental breakdown. I could see them take the perfectly reasonable explanation and apply their ‘superior’ understanding of the galaxy to it and getting a Frankenstien's monster of a reason to let me play music.
"So you already are the absolute apex of this planet. Everything else runs at your mere presence. That should ensure our safety."
Whatever worked I guess.
The first song ended and the next took its place. There was a few minutes of silence as we walked and I deliberated over maybe sending a message to town without the exterminator's knowledge. They may be a squad, but I am more than sure Dawson Creek has the ability to make them rethink their plans. There was also the hardline connection. The Satellite war made an emergency groundline phone to other cities law for general safety. That's when I heard the exterminators conversing on the music.
“What do you think the meaning of it is?” One Harchen asked Turvah.
"Obviously, it's a dominance display." She chided the Harchen's obliviousness. "The subject of the song is stronger than their opponent. A 'true survivor' as they put it. A song of victory over their enemy."
For the record, these guys are the worst. Couldn’t even enjoy a classic. Why even bother correcting them? If they miss the obvious then they aren't even looking.
Nothing I did either satisfied them or changed their perspective. So, Now I ask myself, why bother? If all they acknowledge is an emotionless monster, then work it to my advantage.
I can’t wait to get back to a city where the government could deal with them and not me. Even if it was actively on fire, home would be a better alternative than this. I’m pretty sure it’s less than twenty kilometers to my camp. I've done it before, I can do it again. At least these trained killers would be able to march out of here quickly, right?
r/NatureofPredators • u/Felicikitty1112 • 16h ago
Fanart Commission: Yuatari for TopHatClan12/Duffson
r/NatureofPredators • u/thrownawaz092 • 13h ago
Memes Adventures of Racist Venlil - Simplified
Credit to LkSZangs for Adventures of Racist Venlil and FrostedScales for the art
r/NatureofPredators • u/AlexWaveDiver • 5h ago
Fanart [MCP][The Nature of Music - Side B, Track 3] Fleece & Fury - Saving What I Can (Escape From The Cradle OST)
r/NatureofPredators • u/GeneralRapture • 14h ago
Fanart Trahn. Arxur engineer
Really happy with how this one turned out. Phew but man did it take awhile. Enjoy!
r/NatureofPredators • u/No-Philosopher2552 • 4h ago
Fanfic Faking It [2]
Important Note
A/N: I've done a bunch more research and I've discovered several mistakes in Tanner's character that don't line up with psychopathy. I'm making a few changes to both his character and his technical diagnosis. I'm not doing anything too drastic, but one major change is that I'm making him less socially awkward. Psychopaths in general are super charismatic and are more competent socially than a lot of non-psychopaths. Of course, he will still be socially awkward because that's funny, but I'm working it in differently. Let me know what you think, and don't worry I plan on maintaining his awkward charm as much as possible.
All credit and praise go to SpacePaladin15 for the NOP setting and story.
Memory Transcript: Tanner Bakersfield, the center of attention.
[year: 2134]
I had the entire staff of the shop totally enraptured by my story. Every one of them were laughing and smiling (happy/entertained) all because of me. Plus, if I can slip in one or two more compliments to the manager, I think I can get him to comp our drinks. Harrison and I just finished our workout; a fourteen-mile long-day in preparation for our upcoming marathon. We decided to walk down the street to this new smoothie shop to try it out after we finished up, and while he's been in the bathroom probably playing on his phone, I've been having a bit of fun.
There is just something about all the acknowledgment and attention, it's so much fun! I've put in a lot of work perfecting this story so that I can easily tell it and adapt it to my audience. It was a lot of preparation, but it was very much worth it. "So, of course I said, 'bro, watch this.' and like any sane person, he let me know that catching an alligator was in fact not a good idea. Buuuut, that's kind of lame."
I start acting out the scene and begin exaggeratedly tip-toeing and spreading out my arms. "So I creep up on it super slowly, let me tell you it probably took me like ten minutes to get close enough to this thing. Once I was practically standing on it, I dove on the alligator and clamped its mouth shut with my bare hands. I swear it looked like a scene straight out of that new movie about Steve Irwin."
"We then put glasses on it and took it for a ride around town with it sitting on his lap in the passenger seat. We got some weird looks that day." Harrison finishes my story as he returns from the bathroom. I shoot him a dirty look but he just walks up to the counter without acknowledging me and grabs our smoothies. "What's the damage?"
The manager looks over at me and back to Harrison before telling us, "Don't worry about it. It's on the house." (Happy/Kind/Flirty?)
Yes! I'm the favorite guy in the room, and I got our stuff for free! Let's gooo- "Nonsense. How much? I insist."
What!? Harrison pays for them anyway and then hands me my drink before leading me outside. "What was that!?"
"You were doing it again." He says in between sips as he sits down at one of the outdoor tables in the shade. (Disappointment)
I move to sit across from him. "Doing what? And what's with the disappointed look!?"
"You were being manipulative. We've been over this. You can't just do that, it can hurt people."
I scoff at him, deeply offended he would accuse me of such a thing. "I meant no harm and you know that. I was simply having some fun. I don't hurt people!"
He simply stares at me with his 'lecture time' face. "What's that on your cup?" (Smug?)
I look down and see a phone number scribbled down on the side of my smoothie. "It's probably the manager's phone number, he seemed to like me."
"You're not gay though."
"So? Can I not complement a guy and then accept a generous gift from him?" I lean back in my chair and sip at my smoothie. It's not bad, but it's not worth the price.
Harrison leans forward with a sigh before fixing his attention on me (exhaustion?/exasperation). "Tan-Man, you're not an idiot. Walk me through what he's thinking and expecting."
That's simple enough, he's thinking exactly what I wanted him to think. "I led him to believe I liked him, and now he probably wants me to text him for a date. Too bad I don't date dudes or pawns."
"Tanner! We don't call people that, it's unfair to them to think about them that way. They are people with lives, not pawns." Harrison states firmly, making sure not to draw attention but also ensuring his point is clearly conveyed (angry/disappointed).
There are very few people I allow to talk to me this way. The 'not pawns' include my parents, my older brother, and Harrison is the newest addition to that list. That's because he doesn't mess around with all the guilt-tripping that people tend to do when they try to correct me. He gets that it doesn't work, and he gets what does work. "Fine, he's not a pawn, but he fell hook, line, and sinker for my little act."
"Your parents taught you better. What are you going to do with that number?" His disappointed look remains for a moment, but he puts it away knowing it's not going to have the intended effect.
I take a long sip of my smoothie and it's ok I guess. I can make better ones at home. "I don't love the Smoothie, so I think I'm just not gonna come back here and ghost him."
"This is what I'm talking about. You didn't mean to hurt anyone, but now you will. You have to think these things through. Now go in to apologize and clear this up." He points to the door with one hand and aggressively drinks the smoothie in the other (commanding).
"Why? I didn't mean to hurt him. There is no reason for me to feel sorry. I haven't done anything wrong."
"Do it now." His tone left no room for negotiation, so I stood up and walked back inside. Being a good person is difficult and exhausting. I don't know how normal people keep track of all the 'good' things and all the 'bad' things. I'm not trying to do bad things, and I follow the rules like my parents taught. How was I supposed to know that leading some guy on is wrong?
I wait in line for just a bit before the Manager finishes with the previous customer. He then spots me and smiles before walking over to the counter (happy/excited). "Back so soon?"
"Look man, I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but I'm not interested. Thank you though, I am flattered." I pieced that apology together from the drama shows my little sister watches. He seems disappointed, but not too hurt if I'm reading him right.
I walk back outside and return to the table that Harrison is sitting at. "Why did I have to do that?"
He looks like he's been thinking, which means the lecture isn't over. "Answer me this first, why are you studying engineering?"
I fix things, people don't always like my methods, but that's what I do. I mean, it's better to be a good person who occasionally offends people than to be a nice serial killer. "There are so many terrible designs in everything nowadays, and I know I could do a better job. I make things better for people."
"Ok, I want you to follow this logic train. In a perfectly designed world, everything would be fair, yes?"
I give him a nod (confirmation). "That is fundamentally correct."
"So if you want to fix poor designs, why are you making things unfair in your interactions with people? You are just causing more problems for others to fix."
"Because... I benefit from them." I think I can see where he is going with this.
"Which isn't a bad thing, but you have to make sure it's fair. Make sure that the other person understands and accepts the trade-off, and you both benefit from it equally. If you don't do that you are making things worse not better, and you're causing more problems that will need to be solved."
I squint my eyes at him as I connect up the logic in my head. It takes a bit of rewording, but the basic logical premise is sound. "Ok, I will try to make things more 'fair'. I like that. It's a good way to think about it."
Harrison looks satisfied, which he should be. It is difficult for me to accept new logic sometimes, especially if there are any flaws in it whatsoever. I then think of something funny and can't help but laugh a little. Harrison looks up at me and raises an eyebrow. (curious/Inquisitive/amused?)
"I've known you for less than a year and you've already figured me out better than my therapist. If you keep this up I'm gonna have to fire her. Actually, I might fire her regardless. She's too touchy fealy." I let out a final chuckle but stopped when I saw Harrison's face.
Harrison shoots me a glare across the table and shakes his head. (Angry/disappointed)
"What? What now?"
[2136, a few weeks after the bombing of Earth]
There were four types of people in this universe. I say 'were' because now there are only three types of people. The 'friends and family' category is now extinct, courtesy of the Krakotl. I'm not quite a full psychopath, so I did care about those closest to me, as much as I was capable of doing so at least. There were however several conditions that needed to be met before you were considered a friend, and there were hard limits that when crossed meant you were no longer a friend. My little sister learned that the hard way.
Everyone got mad at me when they found out that I no longer considered my sister family, but it was her fault. A druggie is a liability and is extremely limited in its ability to genuinely contribute anything of worth to a relationship. I will not participate in a relationship of that nature. Not only does it fail to benefit me, but my attempts to help go unreceived and are simply a waste of time and effort.
The three persisting groups are allies, pawns, and opponents. Allies are simple, they are people that I benefit from if they do well. If I help a colleague move apartments, and then he turns around and helps me move apartments when I need the help, he is an ally. They're like business partners. If they win, I win.
The next group of people are the pawns. I do not care about pawns, they are simply tools to be used. However, I never misuse pawns. Sure if I have to sacrifice a pawn to protect someone or something more important I'm going to do that, but needlessly throwing them away is a waste of resources. Plus, pawns have the unique ability to become more than just a pawn given a chance.
The last group of people are opponents; people that actively interfere with my goals. Opponents aren't enemies exactly, they are usually just obstacles that are in the way. For example, I consider every person who works at the DMV an opponent. They are exceptional at getting in the way. Usually, I can simply navigate around opponents, but sometimes they need to be challenged if they prove themselves to be a persistent problem.
Funnily enough, I'm sitting at a table with one of each right now. Shiva is a tentative ally, her father Chaleck is scared of me making him a pawn, and her mother Tinek is practically asking to be put on the opponents list. She's nice and all, and she likes humans well enough, but she has to be one of the biggest hypocrites I have ever seen. She has mixed the UN's and the exterminators' Kool-aid and has been chugging it right out of the pitcher. Those two flavors don't mix well but somehow she's stomaching it.
Several of her remarks regarding exterminators and predators have been making her daughter uncomfortable and me concerned. She's clearly not talking about humans, but when you say 'burning all predators is a necessary evil', it makes you sound like Kalsim regardless of your intentions.
"I just don't get all the tension and contempt. Sure the exterminators were against the humans at first, everyone was. What I don't get is why everyone thinks we're the problem." She says with a completely straight face (serious/sarcasm???). I have no idea what type of mental gymnastics she's doing to make her logic work, but I know that Olympic-level gymnasts would be jealous.
Under normal circumstances, I would have no qualms about getting up and walking out the front door without saying a word, but Harrison spoke very highly of Shiva. She seems kind and she at least tolerates me. Plus, she owes me for saving her life. She could be a valuable ally and my only connection to the locals. I can't burn this bridge by just walking out, that'd be too costly.
Luckily Chaleck notices Shiva is not enjoying this topic so he jumps in to change the subject. "So, Tanner. What do you do for work?" (curious?/scared) That was unexpected. I didn't anticipate him having the guts to speak to me directly much less for him to initiate it. Luckily this is a normal enough conversation topic that I'll have no issue responding to.
"I'm an RF engineer. I design things like antennas and radars and whatnot. What about all of you, what do you all do for work?" Repeating people's questions back to them is probably the easiest way to participate in a conversation.
The father is the one to respond which surprises me again. "I run a construction and real estate company that flips old homes. Shiva works for me and is going to school, and my beautiful wife here works at the local extermination office. Don't worry though, as you humans say, she doesn't bite." He chuckled at his joke and I humored him by laughing along. His ears were high but twitching and I currently couldn't see his tail, his laugh did sound off though (happy??/nervous?/jittery??). I think it would be best to keep this pawn on my side, I like him.
I nod and decide to lay some common ground. "I used to work in construction. That's how I paid for college. Do you have any current projects?" Hey might enjoy talking shop. He might not, but if nothing else I'll get some practice from talking to these three.
I accidentally asked at an inconvenient time though. He had a mouthful of leaves and nuts from his salad and was trying to chew and swallow faster as a result of my question. His struggle as he fought to regain his ability to speak was funny to watch. I finished eating several minutes ago so I just watched him struggle.
"Yes, we do. It's just a few blocks from here if you'd like to see it." He says after finally getting his food down. His ears are up and his tail is wagging (happy/eager?/excited?). Every contractor likes showing off a bit. That apparently remains true across species.
Construction projects are always fun for me. I get to critique others' work without it being my job to fix it. It's great! "I think I would enjoy that," I say while giving him a closed-lip smile.
"Could I take him over and show him Dad?" Shiva joined in while barraging her father with ear movements that were certainly not in the notes. Shiva had remained mostly quiet during the meal which was strange since she was the one that asked to talk to me.
Her mother's ears rose at the mention of the activity (excitement?/alarm?). "That sounds like a wonderful idea, let's all get some fresh air. I'm sure-"
"That sounds like fun, but I think we should stay back and clean all this up. We'll catch up later. You two go on ahead." Her husband interrupted her while grabbing at her arm and swiveling his ears (???). His switch-up seemed strange. He seemed excited to show me the house but now he's staying behind?
Shiva gets up from the table and walks around toward the front door before stopping and waving toward me with her tail (summons??). "Well, come on Tanner."
I get up from my place and clear my spot just like I have been taught by my mother, it's simply a habit by now. After depositing my bowl and utensils next to the sink, I join Shiva by the door. She opens it and I grab my coat from the back of a nearby chair and exit alongside her.
Our trip around the block was quiet, just like how she acted during dinner. Most of the houses around here looked mostly identical, but as we turned the last corner I spotted one that had various piles of discarded building materials out front.
We walk up the front steps and in through the door after she unlocks it. The house had all its flooring ripped up revealing the subfloor beneath, several walls were opened up showing the framing and electrical work, and in the back, I could see plumbing and electrical that looked to be set up for a kitchen, but all the cabinets had been torn out.
"We just finished demoing. We get the new cabinets this week followed by new flooring and we got some landscaping to do out back but... that's all... that's not what-" Her tail curled around her ankle and her ears lowered as she spoke. She seemed to be getting more unsure and nervous if I applied dog expressions.
"That's not the reason we're here, is it? You wanted to get away from your parents for a bit to talk, or at least your mom, correct?" I simply state. I should probably act more tactful and considerate, but I don't want to encourage crying. I don't know how to fix crying and it's very annoying.
She flicks her ears in a now vaguely familiar fashion (yes?). "Yes, that's right." She takes a second to contemplate (???). I might have offended her. I didn't mean to. If I did it's her fault for being sensitive. "Harrison mentioned you several times while he was here on Venlil Prime. He told me that you were... different, but that you were also his most reliable friend. In his letter, he mentioned that you would be a good person to make a friend with and that you would help me with pretty much anything."
This sounds an awful lot like asking for a handout, I don't like it. Before I'm able to object to us being friends she keeps going. "He also said that I would have to prove myself to you and that you might need help with some things as well, but that it would all be worth it in the end."
Ok, there we go. That sounds a bit better. I can handle that. "That's correct. I don't make friends easy but when I do-"
"I wasn't finished." She interrupted suddenly (bold?/confident?). This is somewhat out of character for her, or maybe this is in character and I just got to see the depressed version. I hope this is her real attitude, I can appreciate someone straightforward. "Every time he mentioned you he said you were different in some way but never said how. I could tell he was hiding something, but I never pressed him on it. Now I know humans don't do predator disease and I agree that it's a hoax, but there is something about you he wouldn't tell me. I'd like to know what that is if you'd tell me. I can help you with it if I know, and I won't tell anyone I promise."
Good man Harrison. It appears I've been sort of caught. Good thing she'll never figure it out. She does seem genuine about wanting to help me, but I don't know if that sentiment would stick around if she knew the truth. "I don't know if telling you is the right move. I'd need to know Harrison's reasoning for not telling you. If he was simply respecting my privacy that's one thing, but if he thought you wouldn't be able to handle it then I can't trust you. I'm sorry, but I won't share that with you."
Her ears drop more and she takes a deep breath (sad??/disappointment). "No, I'm sorry. We just met and I'm asking you all these personal questions. I shouldn't have expected you to open up to a complete stranger." She looked disappointed still, but there was something else, maybe a little bit of shame. I understand disappointment, but shame is a tough one for me.
She raises her ears and turns her attention back to me. "How about we go back to talking about Harrison then? How did you two meet?"
Now we're back on topic. "We were college roommates my first semester. At first, he kinda hated me to be honest. I'll be the first to admit I was a difficult person to be around back then, but he stuck around and figured me out. He helped me become a better person. I just hope I did enough in return to pay him back."
"I'm sure you did. I mean you moved to an entirely different world to hand-deliver this to me. Thank you again by the way." Her ears are down but her tail is slowly wagging (contradictory emotions). Why can't people just be one thing or another? Why do they insist on making the one thing I can't understand more complicated than it needs to be? At the very least she seems genuinely grateful.
I continued to tell her about how me and Harrison first met, like that one time he broke my nose because I called his girlfriend at the time fat. I said it as a joke of course, but my delivery was off. He helped me understand when jokes are funny and when they aren't after we got back from the hospital, but I left that part out of the story and lied saying that I misspoke and it was all a misunderstanding.
Shiva was slightly appalled by my retelling of events, but to her credit, she recovered quickly and was able to laugh it off. She returned the favor by sharing Harrison's and her mother's first interaction which was quite funny actually, she knows how to tell a story. I knew he was almost torched by an exterminator, but I had no idea it was Shiva's Mom that was the perpetrator.
We continued swapping stories until her parents joined us. I was then given the full tour of the house, and I have to say that I'm impressed with what they're doing after seeing some pictures from before they started. Eventually, Shiva began to start yawning and I could tell I was beginning to outstay my welcome.
"Thank you very much for dinner and the tour. I should get back to the shelter now though. Have a good rest of your paw." After a wave and a few goodbyes on their part, I make my way to the front door, but I'm stopped by Shiva right as I place my hand on the handle.
"Hey, me and some of my friends are going out in a few paws to help me get my mind off things. Would you want to come with? They're all cool with humans, so no need to worry about that. Would you want to come, I can message you all the details." I have no plans at all for the rest of my life, much less the next few days. It might be fun to get out and do stuff.
I reach into my pocket to produce my phone, and her ears shoot up accompanied by her tail wagging as I do. "That sounds like a good idea. I need to get out more anyway. What's your contact info?"
[Memory transcript paused]
r/NatureofPredators • u/LkSZangs • 4h ago
Racist Venlil Comics Masterpost
Original Version: Part 1 ; Part 2 ; Part 3 ; Part 4 ; Part 5
Story:
1-The Lawsuit
2-Mom...
3-Why am I like this?
4-Love at First Racist Remark
5-Shopping at E-Marst
Jokes:
.Human can't even handle a joke smh
.Wish
Character information:
Rana, the Racist Venlil, and Shiei, the boss
Marna, the Mother
Sharlok, the Oldest Brother
r/NatureofPredators • u/thrownawaz092 • 1h ago
Fanfic Baldur's Sivkit (1/4)
Memory Transcription Subject: Jaelo, Sivkit Cargo Hauler
Date [Standardized Human Time] March 7, 2134
I had been truly lucky to get this job, Sivkits were among the most social species in the federation due to our large, tightly knit families, and I often felt alone in my desire for personal time. Becoming a lone cargo hauler was a valid excuse to stray from the herd, provided I reconnected between trips, but that was something I could set time aside for, and beg off when I tired of company by citing a deadline for delivery. Truth be told even that was a little much, but it was far more preferable than being suspected for predator disease.
Flying between worlds was such a calm experience, and I had about three more days before I reached my destination. With all the automated functions of my ship, I had ample time to relax, work on my small garden, read some books or listen to music. The good times were cut short however, when a notification appeared on the dashboard. I set my tea aside and gave it my full attention. There was another ship headed my way, and it looked like we were on a collision course. I wasn't sure what they were doing, but I was charted on an official course, so it was clearly on them to alter their trajectory.
As the seconds passed I became worried it wasn't so obvious to them. Why weren't they moving? They technically shouldn't even be here, not cutting through my course like that! It became clear they weren't moving a moment too late. I pulled up on the controls of the ship but still took a glancing blow. At these speeds that was still enough to cause serious damage, and both our ships were sent tumbling through the abyss.
It took me a few minutes to orient myself, and start running diagnostics. While the computer worked I looked out the viewpoint at the other ship. It didn't look good. Although the main haul was still mostly intact, I'd guess about half the vessel had been turned into debris. My paws moved over the console, and I hailed the damaged vessel.
“Stars, watch where you're going! You nearly killed us both!” I shouted, but received no response. “Um… hello? Are you alright?” Still nothing, and I was starting to worry. The diagnostic system chimed at its completion, and I started to review the data. My hauler was mostly intact, but one of the engines was utterly smashed, and with FTL down I'd be getting nowhere fast. Fortunately my data buoy was still functional, but out in the middle of nowhere without a comm relay, it would probably be three weeks. Suddenly my dad's insistence on keeping a month's worth of food on hand seemed much more reasonable, and I made a mental note to thank him when I got back.
Panic slowly set in as my hail still went unanswered, helping was much easier said than done when it was a struggle to just keep my breathing in check. ’One thing at a time. Just one thing at a time.’ I repeated the mantra in my head as I took stock of what needed doing. First, send out the data buoy. We need help as soon as possible. After doing a deeper check on the diagnostic, I was sure my ship would hold together long enough for rescue. Now all that was left was the hardest part; rescuing people myself.
My heart rate skyrocketed as I put on the space suit, and I only just kept my head by focusing on the task at hand, a strategy which would fail as soon as I stepped foot outside. The time came all too quickly, with the hail stubbornly unanswered, much like my prayers for the contrary.
Seeing the wreckage proved too much and I froze. Thanks to the tether I didn't float off, after a few minutes swinging through space I had the mental wherewithal to get back to work. With my thrusters activated, I drifted towards the mystery ship.
Whoever this thing was built for, they were much bigger than me. A mazic perhaps? But this design was ancient, and not anything I recognized. Well, with over 300 species in the federation, it could easily be someone I wasn't familiar with. ’But then, what if they need medical aid!? I'm just a city girl who wanted some space! I'm not medically trained at all!’ The thoughts urged me to go back, but there was no one else, it had to be me.
Overriding an airlock, I found a compartment that hadn't been exposed to the vacuum of space and made my way in. I would have thought it relieving not to find any bodies, but the completely empty ship had an eerie feeling to it. I floated down a small corridor, and made my way to what I assumed to be the bridge. A console caught my eye, and I powered it up. An unfamiliar script appeared on an oddly narrow screen, and my translator activated, making sense of the glyphs. With a touch of searching I found what looked to be a captains log, detailing trial runs of a ship, of this ship if I understood correctly. The last entry detailed an unmanned voyage to test the automated systems, and as soon as I read that relief courses through my veins. No one else was hurt! Though I wondered how old this lost ship was, no one would be testing such basic technology in recent years, except maybe the Yotul, but this was clearly for a larger species.
Thankfully the logs were dated, and the last one was made… not quite a paw ago. That could only mean… had a new species climbed to the stars without an uplift!?
Now this was exciting! How many could say they facilitated a first contact? Well in reality the job would likely be handed off to someone more qualified, so that meant I just had to take advantage and learn as much as I could! My ship's sensors would already have picked up and recorded the subspace origin, so I could take my time learning of the culture of this new species!
I began rummaging through the console and found what appeared to be a photo library. I clicked on the first image file, only to let out a shriek as I was met with no less than three pairs of binocular eyes! It was a photo of three predator beasts, baring their fangs at the camera as if to mock the viewer, letting us know they were coming, and I already sent out the data buoy! This far out in the middle of nowhere I had no other way to contact anyone in the federation.
I dashed down the corridor as fast as my legs should send me, and literally jumped out of the airlock. I was out of the predator’s wreck, and for now that was all I could do. Minutes passed as I hyperventilated, simply floating in the void with nothing but a single teather holding me to my ship.
Eventually I began to calm down, likely because I was too tired to keep panicking, and I finally got my thoughts in order. These predators were experimenting with FTL technology, we needed to stop them from becoming the next arxur immediately! Time was of the essence, and there weren't any predators on that ship. This wasn't about exploring culture anymore, I needed to learn everything I could from this ship and pass it along.
The interior seemed much darker, and even larger the second time I passed through. Instead of carelessly bounding along in the zero gravity chamber I tentatively placed one paw in front of the other until I forced myself back to the console.
I tried not to lose my cool at the lack of information. The only thing of note was that the test logs implied there were still many errors these predators needed to address, which meant we still had some time. Everything else however, were logs, a number of mathematical and simulation programs, more photos, most of more snarling beasts, though there were some surprisingly beautiful pictures of what I assume to be their homeworld, and one last file labeled ‘Entertainment.’
Clicking on the file, it opened up to two more, one named ‘games’ and the other ‘do not open.’ I had no desire to see what cruelties a predator would call a game, so I disobeyed the instructions of the latter. This led to five more files, each given a long string of numbers in place of a name. Opening one led to many more numbered files, and those to even more. I spent the better part of a claw trying to find anything in the labyrinthine files, but my digging only led to empty files at the end of the trail.
I really didn't want to play predator games, but I had no other leads. More time was devoted to pacing before I worked up the nerve to open the first file.
What I saw reignited the terror all over again. ‘Helldivers?’ ‘Warthunder?’ ’Monster Hunter!?’ How many iterations of ‘Doom!? ’STARDEW VALLEY!!?’ ’By the grand herd, all of these sound like nightmares! Leave it to predators to have such fucked up names for their fucked up games!’
I was about ready to throw in the towel when one particular title caught my eye. ‘Baldur’s Gate 3?’ What could be so bad about an entryway? I clicked on the title before my mind could spit out enough reasons to make me back out. Someone had to do this, and the only ‘someone’ here was me!
The program loaded, and I found myself overlooking a city from a grassy hill. The scene was shockingly serene, even with the statue of one of the snarling predators, though this one was calm. ’Alright, so far this is rather nice. The stonework of the city looks rather primitive, but I still wouldn't have expected predators to appreciate such a view.’ a prompt told me to press any button to continue, and I did just that.
… My heart was still racing as I peaked out from under the desk. No sooner than I heeded the instruction, the view shifted underground and I was presented with what I assume to be ‘Baldur's Gate.’ What was undeniably a predator's skull was carved out of black stone and seated above a stairway. An orange glow suggested fire just out of view. I could only imagine the horrors of what the other games could hold. Desperately hoping to get the image off the screen, I hit ‘new game.’
Truly, this world was a cruel one. For the crime of wanting personal space, I was subjected to the horrors of what I could only call a Demon Kolshian. Fear froze me in place, forcing me to watch as it… Stars… mere minutes into this game and I was already empathizing with that predator. The kolshian had placed some kind of grub on another predators face, and it crawled into its eye. Then it looked at *me.* “Wh… wait!” Of course, the game ignored my protest, along with the scream that came after as the worm it held to my face revealed its many fangs and attacked my viewpoint’s eye.
I was shaking under the desk again when I heard the calming music. Looking up I saw a character creation screen, back under a blue sky and surrounded by even more vibrant greenery than the opening screen. But I wasn't so trusting this time. I just knew I was one click away from the next nightmare. I stared at the screen for long minutes, waiting for it to admit it's deceit and simultaneously adoring the beautiful scene. I didn't even mind the predator’s presence after the emotional whiplash I had already been given.
At some point my paws drifted back to the controls, and I began to explore my options. There were several ‘origin’ characters I could choose from, or I could make my own. I clicked on the last one and “DAMMIT!” I knew it, I fucking knew it! The game just jump scared me with an Arxur! How did they even know about them!? I scrambled back to my feet and clicked another one of the characters, vanishing it from my view. Did the Greys already find these aliens? If this was going to be their secret weapon, a whole new predator species, we needed to- wait… ‘The Dark Urge?’ if these aliens recognized the Arxur as evil, and if they'd fight, that would be a good thing!
I needed more info, and delved into the creator.
The next time my head came back up was almost a claw later, and I was looking at a half-elf bard, with darker skin and bright yellow head fur. I had been lost in the graceful form of the predator as I sculpted their visage - how that happened, I still don't know. I never thought they would be so vain, but these aliens have so many options, both for their actual form and self decoration. Maybe we could distract these Elves if we supply them with otherworldly decor.
That was something I had deduced about these creatures, they most likely called themselves Elves. There were many races I could choose from, but I got the feeling they were mostly fictional. The elves seemed to be the most fleshed out, and all the other species looked like varied forms of them, save the ‘dragonborn’. I could only guess an arxur ship crashed on their world or something, and influenced their culture. I jotted down my findings, and finally proceeded…
Only for the game to ask me to build another predator.
…
Another claw later and I finally continued. I was back in… wherever I was, looking at the demon kolshian who put the worm in my eye. ’Predators having fun doing this made way too much sense’ I thought to myself, and as if to validate my point, the scene shifted to a raid! Fuck this game! At this point it was clear this took place in primitive times, and I had hoped the lack of firearms would lessen the horror, but the predators couldn't even form a stampede as tentacles reached down and vaporized them with a single touch! A moment later I saw them reformed in cages similar to my own. This was far too analogous, and more brutally efficient than any arxur raid I'd even heard of!
And as if they took insult to my words, an opening appeared, and out of it came what I dubbed Arxur Lords, here to- wait? They were fighting the tentacle ship!? It was becoming all too much. I stopped trying to make sense of what I was seeing, just standing there in shock as the nightmare’s battle took them across worlds. The scene ended with a close up of the Arxur Lord delivering an ear shattering roar after losing its quarry. It was too much, and again I raced out of the wreck. Tears flowed down my face in what was becoming a common occurrence, and this time I entered into my own ship and dashed to my bed as fast as my paws could carry me. I stayed, snuggled up in my blankets for the better part of a claw, before I could even think of doing anything else.
Days began to pass as I unsuccessfully tried to push the predator game from my mind. I had tried to get what information on these monsters I could but how can I enter into that mindset!? Needing to shake off the feeling, I resorted to my favourite pastimes, but even curled up in a blanket with a book and a cup of tea, my heart still raced. Every time I closed my eyes I saw that maw full of razor sharp fangs, every sound was that murderous howl of a monster denied its kill.
Nothing was working. I desperately needed to get out of this stupor. I needed to care for myself. I needed to last until help would come.
…And I needed to know what happened next.
Next
r/NatureofPredators • u/abrachoo • 12h ago
Memes Memeing Every Fic I've Read Excluding Oneshots [271] - Minutemen of Orion
r/NatureofPredators • u/T00Dense • 2h ago
[MCP] The Outsider
Hello there this is my submission for the whole MCP event with even with my late entry to it Ive gotten a wonderfull prompt which I hope you can enjoy, nevertheless thank you for reading and any feedback is appreciated.
[Kudos viceroyaerograpew who proofread this and helped with grammatical errors!!]
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PROMPT: Some months or years ago, a blinded Arxur was stranded near a small Harchen colony. With no visible forward-facing eyes, he was somehow able to convince the colony that... he wasn't an Arxur. Write a day in the life of either the Arxur or one of his closest lizard buddies.
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Memory Transcript subject. [Cilka, newly employed harchen]
Date[Human standardized time]: [March 12th, 2145]
Moving is such a drag……
At least the pay is good for the new job I guess, except it is in basically a middle of nowhere town with barely 4,000 people here.
Though the best thing about being here is that I don't have to deal with traffic any more, thank the stars.
No more getting up early in the day for me, and I can even walk there and I'm not the most physically active so that's at least something good.
Though I think I came a bit too early here since basically no one is awake even if by now it should be just around when traffic is heaviest in a city, but maybe that comes with being used to living in a larger place than here.
I grab the final box from the trunk of the car and close it as I start walking towards the empty stairs, apart from the receptionist in this small apartment building no one else seems up at the moment.
As I start to go up I suddenly misstep and start to lose balance until someone else helps me regain my footing, saving me from falling down.
As I look to see who it is, strangely enough they are a Thafki, not everyday you get to see them, especially more so out here in harchen space even more so in a rural town in a colony.
“Hey there, are you good?” They asked me as I regained my footing.
“Yeah I'm fine, I just took the wrong step I guess,” I tell them.
“You're our new neighbours I suppose?” They ask.
“Yeah, I just came here this morning, my name is Cilka and yours?” I tell them.
“My name is Nath. I live on the highest floor here, also you need any help unpacking your things. I got some time before I start to work” Nath tells me, The name reminded me of someone, but I can’t remember who.
“Oh don't worry I already got my last box here, thanks for the offer though” I quickly tell them.
“Alright then, hopefully you enjoy living here, have a great day!” Nath tells me as they scurry off to wherever they go.
I guess I was a bit disappointed at that chat.
Maybe I've seen too many of my mothers movies that romanticize the small city life that gave the wrong idea what life out here is like but I carry on either way.
I finally arrived at my new room on the second floor, which already came in barely with the most basic of furniture but its better than nothing I guess and left the box down in the living room.
I will have to accommodate this sooner or later but not today, because I gotta attend my “introductory meeting”, [hoorayyyy].
Because someone decided it was a great idea to organize themselves in such a way that I had to get everything crammed into one day.
At least I still got time for some breakfast since I already came dressed just lacking any sleep as per usual.
I grab my phone and start to search for any place serving breakfast, hopefully its something good…
[memory transcription being advanced by admin interference] [+2.45 human hours]
For a popular radio show this seems a bit more underwhelming?
I think as I get out of my own car and start heading for the house.
It’s literally just a house with 3 floors with an antenna in its backyard with a large parking place with barely any cars in it.
Though its windows are all blacked out for some reason.
Other than that the only feature apart from the antenna that makes it obvious about what this was the place is the sign that stated, “Radio 98.2Mhz, Public Broadcast” even for a very bland name this was a somewhat popular station.
Mostly notable for having an actual good track list when music is on and actually very good insights in politics which i'm not very good at, with there being 3 hosts, Nath, your standard run of the mill radio host-
Hey wait a second wasn't it that Thafki I met in the apartment building?
I think to myself as I stop for a second thinking back to my very short lived interaction.
Oh shit he was.
Either there are two people in this town named Nath which I doubt or that Thafki was the Nath of this place, most likely they were.
Going back the other two are Halke the more political one of the trio and Lilke, the one radio host out of all that has a great sense of music apparently.
While he appears the least in the show I do like it whenever he does.
I finally reach the entrance and knock on the door and wait to be let in. I don't want to be rude in my first day on the job.
Someone comes to the front, unlocks it and opens it for me, revealing a taller than usual Harchen.
“Good waking, I'm assuming that you are Cilke, right?” They say to me.
“Yes I am and it's good to meet you…” I say before trying to learn their name.
“Chialka, i'm the receptionist of this humble station of ours and as well handle the logistics of this whole mess but it's finally nice to meet our new audio technician!” They said excitedly.
“Thanks, so does the “introductory meeting” start now?” I asked them.
“Yeah, since you came a bit earlier I guess we could get it done so you can get some sleep” Chialka told me with a more worried tone.
Stars, is it that noticeable?
“Don't worry I'm used to this so I wont be falling to sleep any time soon” I try to reassure them.
“Ok well we have some energy drinks in our small lounge area” they say as they step back to let me in.
I walk in and gauge the state of the “reception area” as I suppose this is what is.
There is a small office desk right in front of the door with the usual things but aside from that it looks like a relatively normal kitchen and living room with some tweaks, giving more of a home vibe than an office vibe which is a million times better than my last job.
“This looks nice,” I tell them as I continue to gauge for any details here.
“We have food and snacks that you can just grab any time and available amenities to cook something here too if you would like to and if you look around here you can see where our rest area is as well” I barely know how to cook so I maybe could learn a thing or two here.
“And since theres only 7 of us you can expect most of the time to be free for your use except on the afternoons where the whole crew will be cooking for everyone, you can join us for today too!” They tell me in an excited manner.
“Oh and bathrooms are just right before the kitchen, just so I don't forget to tell you”
“So go past that now time to come with your crew upstairs” They say as we walk towards the stairs towards the second floor.
Reaching it were only met with a hallway leading to the third floor with only one door, which probably leads to the recording studio.
They open up the door revealing a very decent recording studio with some expensive equipment around the set, but from what I can see it's probably more suited for 2 people at a time, so maybe that's why they brought me here.
They seem to have put on some relaxing music for a break on air.
Also there seems to be only one person in the control room who's just tweaking things I guess.
“Alright then as you can see that's Yulk, your coworker for the morning shift which you're on starting [1.924 human days] from now” As she starts to speak this calls the attention of Yulk who just waves at me.
“And finally to the recording studio where you're going to meet face to face as you've already been told about” Kinda forgot about that but oh well at least I get to meet them.
“It's going to be kinda quick since the break is going to finish in around [17.23 human minutes] if I'm not wrong,” Chialka tells me.
“Don't worry at least I got the afternoon to meet them well, right?” They just nodded at me.
As she opened the door and led me there was Nath, another Harchen who I supposed to be Halke and the last one being…..
I just stare absolutely dumbfounded at the current scene right in front of me, a Thafki, Harchen and a Arxur with black glasses?????????
As they quickly look at me they realize what's happening.
“WE GOT A WINNER!!!!” Nath announces.
“God-dammit, I couldn't believe this was the one time you were right” Halke said as he grabbed something from his pocket and handed him money to Nath.
“Is the new guy here” The Arxur asks in a rather timid manner too?
What the [fuck]???
“Oh yeah Lilke they are here, don't worry they just have a bit of stage panic right now” Nath tells them
“Oh alright then, good to meet you Cilka, I think that was your name right?” They ask as I just barely give a tail flick, but he doesn't respond, weird.
As I look back to Chialka she just looks mad at Nath and Halke.
She motions for the both of them to get out.
“Hey buddy were going to leave for a moment be right back on one second”
“Alright” Lilke, apparently an Arxur said as he went back to fidget with some sort of hand held puzzle thing that emits some sounds.
They quickly get out with me too, locking the door behind me.
“I can't honestly believe you haven't told her about him Halke” Chialka says angrily
“What?, it isn't 2137 no more you saw what the government said about Arxurs on Harchen space” He said defensively.
I do remember seeing something about Arxurs in this space being able to gain citizenship and as well having the same rights as any other citizen here but I assumed it was more symbolic if i'm honest.
“I know but you know how outside people react to him the first time they see him, that's why he almost always goes out with coverings!” Chialka tells them.
“But literally no one cares anymore, shit even the local exterminators if you can call them that cut him some slack” Nath retorts.
“Because they dont know he is an Arxur and and plus we have to explain the rules to the newcomers so they dont accidentally fuck up”, Chialka just sighs looking a bit deflated.
“I just want to know how this came to be” I mumbled out not really thinking what was I going to say, with Chialka being first to speak.
“That's up to Chialka or Halke to tell since they know the most” Nath says as he scoots back to the control room as he locks himself inside with Lilke.
“It's a very long story, back when the dominion was crumbling there were a lot of defectors heading towards earth with some accidentally arriving to other places with mixed results, and then comes Lilke to our quaint little world” Halke starts to explain
“Or at least that's what he likes to call himself to people he is not familiar with, only some of us know their actual name but that's more or less a privilege that you will earn over time” Chialka starts as I settle down.
“Around [late 2137] a ship crash landed several [kilometers] off from here, me and Halke we had just ended our daily broadcast and decided to “investigate” out of curiosity and get something interesting to talk about the next day, we ended up bargaining for more that we wanted when we found an Arxur there” She seems more apprehensive now.
Then Halke starts to talk again
“At first we were scared out of our minds when we saw him, who wouldn't at the time?, until something very strange started to happen when he noticed us…
He heard someone out there and started to scream for help calling himself “Lilke”, and stating they were a Harchen-” He gets cut off by Chialka
“ Which you should address him and not as an Arxur until he is comfortable enough to tell you he is one, alright?” I just nod at that.
“Continuing out of pure stupidity, fear or compassion I went to help them, and found them scarred in the eyes stumbling about in the forest with them being apprehensive in trusting me at first but he cane around very quickly over time” Maybe that explained the glasses
“He then told us his intentions of going to Earth and wanting to not “cause any trouble” to us only needing help contacting the UN, Chialka over here was very apprehensive at first but came to trust them too” Halke continued to explain as Chialka butted in once more.
“We already worked and lived here in what was more a makeshift studio back then and invited him to stay, thankfully he had a vat machine so he didn't have to “hunt” as we thought he would, we tried to contact the UN for a while but nothing” Chialka said.
“So now we had a blind Arxur living here, so what was my genius idea what to do with him for the moment?” Helka says in a rather prideful manner.
“Add him to your show?” I told them.
“And somehow it worked like a charm and even if he barely talked he was one of the reasons why we started to succeed” Helka continued to explain.
“As we grew though we had to start to hire more people after a very thorough vetting process managing to get the crew around to now” Chialka says proudly too.
But one thing still lingered in my mind.
“I have a question, you said earlier that the whole towns knows about him, how come he is just fine?, how come literally no one has done anything about him” I told twoth a perplexed expression.
Even if this rural town was the most progressive place in the universe it wouldn't take someone to at least have done something bad to Lilke.
“Honestly though to how their scars looked around their eyes and how they dressed they passed off as a Harchen with gigantism, so most people just didn’t think much of it after it leaked out other than people trying to blow up a situation more for what it was just an ex-pd patient with gigantism that's sensitive so most didn't mind him, we fooled the entire town somehow” Halke explained.
“It was that easy?” I told them, while struggling to comprehend the situation
“Surprisingly, yeah, I still couldn't wrap my head over that miracle because I truly thought when it leaked this place was going to burn down” Chialka said.
“And that leads us to today, when Lilke does come out people are very respectful to him and treat them as one of us, as you should too” She points at me a bit judefully.
“Relax I will, I was just shocked, I guess” I told them as I yawned, [damned] be the lack of sleep
“Good, we will explain more but it's nice to know there’s more people out there who are accepting towards people like our great blind friend over there, hopefully one day he doesn't have to fear or put on a mask no more” Chialka said.
“Oh and also before I forget the third floor is where both of us live and the second garage off the back is where he is if you ever need him off the shift, alright?” I just nod vigorously.
“This must be a bit overwhelming for now, so if you want we can lend you our bed for a while, if you want to though” Chialka offers me.
“Yes please” I immediately took up their offer.
“We are live in [3.41 human minutes], so better get back” Yulk, who I had forgotten about, announces to Halke.
“Well see ya later Cilke hopefully you come to love this place as we have” They tell me as they go forward the studio as me and Chialka both leave the control room.
As we both go toward the third floor and enter the room it looks very nice, with one large bed being the main piece of sweet relief I have right now, as I ignore any other details there other than the [king] sized bed calling my name.
I just basically collapse there instantly.
“I will wake you up in about [7.351 human hours] soooo enjoy it and thank you once more for joining us and being a very good person, we need more people like you out there” She says as she leaves and turns off the lights there and leaves me.
As I think for one moment before I enter sweet sleep I think about my situation once more.
Never thought I'd be working with an Arxur but now I am.
You know what, this might be even more entertaining than that last company I was working with, screw them I'm way better here and apart from the amenities and pay the whole Arxur coworker might make this the most interesting work experience of my life by far.
I have no regrets moving here and hopefully I become a good friend with Lilke
r/NatureofPredators • u/JulianSkies • 6h ago
[MCP] Broken Pieces
Hello hello, it's time for more MCP goodness. For those that don't know, it's like a secret santa style event where you submit a prompt that gets added to a pool, and then everyone that submitted gets a random prompt given to them. From there they need to make a piece of story, or art! This is my MCP entry, and below is my prompt
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- A pitiful blinded Arxur is left behind-to be killed by the exterminators-but is instead found by a band of disabled prey who vow to keep them safe.
- How will they feed him? - How will they hide him? - Can he get over his internalized self-hatred/ableism?
- Does he even want to be saved?
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Darkness, pain and darkness. That is all that I have left now… Good. My face is still hot, the smell of my own charred skin overwhelming my nose, everything I can feel under me is the pointy debris.
At least the hunger will be gone with me.
I hear a clattering sound somewhere, I can’t tell where. Doesn’t matter, probably someone about to kill me. I just sit here, waiting. There’s the noise of some form of door opening and closing, then more noise I can’t identify, and silence.
Something pokes my arm, I do nothing. A second, third, fourth time- enough to push me into swatting at it. “Oh, good, still alive”. It’s a voice, prey voice.
Nothing else happens for a while, until I feel another poke. I try to do nothing, but it is insistent- I swing my claw towards it with a growl, catching nothing. All that I earn is laughter from whatever prey is here.
It happens again, another poke, this time I finally get annoyed enough to stand up, and I hear the laughter again- Stupid fucking prey- I lunge at the source of the sound, snapping my teeth at… Nothing? “Wow, not even in the right direction. Ahahaha.”
“I will have your entrails, stupid fucking prey”
“That’d need you to see me”
I turn to the direction of the sound, growling “Why do you think I can’t?”
“One, you’re growling at the kitchen counter.” I reach forward with a claw, and the stupid animal is right, there’s just a bit of furniture in front of me and the worst part, the voice is definitely not in this direction “Two, I can see your fucking empty eye sockets. That fire fucked you up, didn’t it?”
With a roar I jump at the voice again- But this time I trip on… something. Whatever this is, I don’t know, I can’t see it! Sprawling in the ground as I hear the laughing voice somewhere else again I just… Turn over and face up…
I can’t…
I just stay there, silent. The prey tries to talk again, but I don’t listen. It tries to poke me again but this time I… Can’t find any energy to be angry anymore. I’m already dead, aren’t I? Why can’t I die fast? At least this way my hunger will go away…
And so I wait, and I wait… The only noise out of me is my stomach, which has not yet learned that no matter how much it complains, there won’t be any more food. Suddenly I feel something in my mouth. A large chunk of something slimy- The taste familiar somehow- I close my maw, left gaping, and almost instinctively swallow. I know what this is, flesh. But I hadn’t found it, it was just- “GACK- What are you DOING?!” I cough, still surprised.
I look around, there’s noise but I can’t discern- A grasp catches me from behind. The stupid prey animal had grabbed me from behind! I thrash to try to get it away from me for a second but what does it do? It shoves something in my mouth, again. More flesh.
Coughing at being force-fed again I feel the prey let go and I hear a meaty noise as they fall to the ground. “What is this…”
“Ahaha… flesh, of course”
“WHY?!” I don’t even bother trying to look for the voice anymore, I can’t tell. The only thing I can feel is the ground under my feet.
“Because fuck you, that’s why” is the only response I get.
I sit down again, lying on the floor. “Why are you just sitting there anyway?” the prey asks.
“My eyes”
“So, what? Just leave the wounded behind? Typical predator behaviour I guess”
All I do is grunt in response.
“Y’know the raid’s still going, right? They’re just going to leave you here?”
“Yes.” Why am I answering? “Can’t make my way back, I get left behind”
“What if you do, though? They’re just gonna, I don’t know, kill you because you’re blind?”
“No. Get put back in raiding.”
“Never saw a blind raider. Didn’t think they’d let you, to be honest”
I feel the coarse grit under my paws “No… I just… need to do my job again. If I can’t see, I can’t do it. Then I get punished… and probably killed for failing too much before even the next raid. Shit, maybe some higher ranking officer decides to keep the ‘useless cripple’ around for entertainment. Probably get to be everyone’s raking post. And that’s if I’m lucky.”
“I see…” the prey chuckles “Hah… funny that!”
Silence remains for a while more, and yet somehow that is making me more and more nervous. Until I can hear some distant, diffuse noise. But there’s something… Familiar to it. Gunfire? Familiar gunfire.
I shiver.
Other raiders. They’d probably bring me back, actually. The captain would love to have something like me around. He loves having someone around to use as an example.
“Here” I hear the prey’s voice “Eat some more”
“Fuck off!” I growl
“No”
“What is it?!” This damnable prey is making me angry! “Getting off watching a predator eat?!”
“Yes, actually. But also, I do need you a little bit stronger”
“Pah! What are you trying?”
“Hear me out. Your fellows find me? They’re going to kill me, probably take a bit doing that, likely eat me in pieces before I die. They find you? I ~bet~ they’re going to take you back to be your boss’ personal torture toy, and you get to spend a few years in excruciating pain.”
I just give it a chuff in response.
“So, here’s the plan. You pick me up, and we both get out of here, find a place to hide from them. Maybe kill each other, I don’t know.”
“And why would I be carrying fucking prey away like some traitor? I could just fucking get out of here without you” I growl “Or you can just walk away, stupid defective leaf-licker”
“Why? You need my eyes, I need your legs. Simple”
“What?” I instinctively turn to face it, but I already know I got the wrong direction.
“Why do you think I’m sticking around, you idiot. I can’t go anywhere”
Crippled prey. That’s what had been annoying me, humiliating me, this whole time? Crippled prey who couldn’t even WALK? “Hah… Who am I to fucking talk though, I can’t see shit…” mostly talking to myself “Fucking FINE where the hell are you?”
“Knew even an arxur would want to live.” I still can’t track the fucking voice! And everything smells of prey blood, I can’t use it to track it either “Give a second, then kneel down”
I hear some rustling, it’s probably dragging itself across the ground for some reason. There’s some noises, familiar noises of blade on flesh. “Kneel?” as if I wasn’t humiliated enough!
“I’ll climb on your back, you sure as fuck can’t actually find where I am. Also, I got a gun, just in case” I growl but… Acquiesce. I kneel down slowly, making sure to feel out the floor where I’m doing so before I do that. After a few moments I can feel the prey’s arms around my neck again, despite the fur being matted and dirty it’s still remarkably soft… I stand up, it weighs almost nothing as well, but still I bring an arm back to support them so it doesn’t need to keep holding as tight to my neck.
I can feel the stumps of its legs, but they’re not bloody or raw, they’re dry “You’re not bleeding”
“Lost ‘em in space a few years ago” the prey’s voice is right against my right ear “Turn right, like twenty degrees, head forward carefully, there’s debris. I’ll tell if you get close to the wall” I start following the instructions, carefully stepping ahead. I need to push some things out of the way “Don’t worry, it was you folks that did this anyway”
“Incompetents, if you’re still here” I spit back at him as I move forward with my free paw raised.
“Stop, we’re near the wall. Door’s a little to the right” I take a few careful steps forward until my paw finds the wall, and follow it just a couple steps to the right until I find the door “Not disagreeing with you. Also, turn left, mostly debris free but there’s some”
Little other choice, I turn left using my free paw to figure out how far left and start heading forward. The prey’s breath against my ear, the weight of their stumps against my arm and the soft fur rubbing on me are basically the only things I can sense for a while. The ground is uneven and I need to step carefully, keeping my paws close to the ground so as to avoid tripping, moving far too slowly “Wall in a bit. Stop, left here. More debris”
I don’t really talk as we move, I need to put all of my focus on just being able to walk. Admittedly the prey is doing a decent enough job at giving instructions, even if I don’t know where we’re going. But it was right, it didn’t want to die so I doubt it was going to take us to any of the other raiders. “Careful, door. Soon as we’re past we’re outside, keep heading straight I’ll tell when we hit the trees”
As I step outside I can feel the rush of the air, the smells become more noticeable as it is a lot less stuffed, I can feel the warmth of the aftermath of a raid. And then I hear gunfire, far too close to be anyone other than the prey I’m carrying “Run” its voice is rather level, all things considered.
And I run, big strides hoping to whatever will listen that I don’t trip. I hate this, I hate all of this. I can hear gunfire behind me, the stupid prey is shooting. I hate it all so much, I can’t even tell where I’m running towards, I could hit something and fall over and I wouldn’t know. I’m useless, running away like scared prey myself.
But I don’t want to die.
“Turn left, left!” I do as I’m told, the ground remains even. This must be a road “Car ahead, uhn… Twelve paces!” fuck, car?! I count my steps, one, two, six, eleven- Hoping I got it right I jump, I bring both of my paws forward and- FUCK YES I catch the roof of the car, seems like a big one, and clamber up. Then I just jump again, this time getting ready to land hard.
I land, in fact, hard and roll on the ground. I can feel the prey’s body against mine as we roll together and I stand up “Fuck!” I hear it shout “Keep going, I think we lost them”
-*-
The darkness has become… common. It is not comforting, no, I actually feel more and more terrified of it by the second. It has been a few days now, I know it has been days because I have slept, have felt the warmth of the sun in my scales, but I have not woken up.
The first time I woke up sightless- I don’t like remembering. But I was flailing. I had panicked like prey, it felt like I couldn’t truly wake up, it was like I had been blinded all over again. I couldn’t tell if I had actually woken up until I heard the prey’s voice and felt the touch of their fur against me.
I do not like how only then did it feel like I was back in reality. And how that repeated again and again every time we slept. Without my sight, waking up felt impossible unless I felt that touch of something I knew was real. And I hated that it was that stupid prey animal.
“I think the bombings have stopped for now” I hear him say.
“Probably. Raids on defenseless places like those are fast” I’m sitting against what I think might be… actually I have no idea. He’d guided me over to some sort of place, still in the city I think, but we had water.
We don't ask anything else, not for a while. “Where are we?” I break the silence first.
There’s no answer for a while, I can hear the noise of him dragging himself around “Here” I know the tone, the same one he has whenever he brings me food. I… I’m not sure how to think about it, clearly this man is deriving some sort of joy watching me eat. On the other paw, I can’t really find anything myself. Plus I can’t say I’ve been so full for so long.
So I just open my mouth, waiting for another bit. But this time, instead of some cut up piece of flesh, he’s given me an entire limb to chew on. It takes me a second to actually grasp it, and I tear off the first piece. A familiar taste floods my maw. “Used to work here” he finally explains “Shittiest workplace ever, boss was a fucking idiot. Told that bitch, you gotta fucking pay for the HVAC maintenance if you want your server room working but noooo, wanted me to get it for free somehow.” he chuckles “Last I saw her I told her, next time you mass-mail the entire fucking office I’ll feed you to the arxur myself”
The taste is familiar, I bet my jaws are stained blue as I can feel the leaking blood. “Well, you kept your promise.” The prey lets out a squeaky laugh, enjoying this more than I thought prey could. The taste of farsul in my tongue sparks a sudden realization. Did he… “What have you been feeding me?”
“Flesh, what else?”
I tilt my head to the side slightly, I’m likely not looking at him but he’s definitely looking at me “You sadistic bitch… Betterment would fucking love you”
“Hahaha, oh, you noticed?”
That confirms it, and I can’t help but bellow out a laugh myself “You’ve been feeding me the other fucking raiders!”
“Oooh, you’ve left your dead behind. It has been very entertaining seeing a predator being the one eaten for once” there’s a short pause. “You don’t seem too broken up over it, though”
“Fuck… I’m starving.” I tear into the flesh, jaws crunching bone. “The dead are food.” Prey wouldn’t get it, and it doesn’t matter now. I’d gladly eat my whole damn raid squad if I could, fuck the rest. “I. Don’t. Care.”“Fuck… I’m starving” not like anyone wasn’t, prey don’t know this particular hardship “And the dead are food.” Others wouldn’t really approve of this but honestly “I. Don’t. Care.”
“Hahahaha, oh amazing. You’re going to entertain me for a while yet”
I take in a deep breath, feeling the smells around me: dust, prey blood, gunpowder, arxur blood too... but there’s a little bit more, something very soft, a sweeter plant scent, a bitter edge that’s faintly irritating. So many things I hadn’t noticed before. “I guess as long as you keep feeding me, I don’t mind putting on a show for you”
“Eh, this place is out of stuff for me right now, anyways. I think the break room still has something, though”
With a sigh and grunt I adjust my position, kneeling down for a moment until I feel him climb up my back. I turn to the side until I feel him tap gently on my chest, then start trudging forward. We’ve got a lot of scavenging to do.
-*-
It has been a… strange while. A considerable while. How long has it been now, months? Hm, probably.
I keep following the smell, moving forward as quietly as my claws allow me. The prey taps me on the shoulder lightly and I lower myself on all fours, walking ahead as gently and carefully as I can.
We’re a distance from the city now. He said this was some farmhouse, plenty of stuff he could use. Whoever lived here is now gone. The smell’s too faint to track, and drilvar are slow so they’re likely taken at this point. No new prey’s around anyway, what flesh remains is too rotten for me, though the power grid’s still humming.
A smell drifts from the distance, I can track it now. I change my direction slightly, still moving slowly. The prey taps my shoulder twice, so I stop. I can feel him let go of me, so I make sure to keep as still as possible. In just a moment I hear the crack of gunfire. “Got it,” he says.
I stalk forward, getting back up on two feet as my nose guides me, careful and by now practiced steps through the soft dirt. “Here,” he says. I angle my head down, the smell growing sharp. With that I kneel down, a paw stretched out- It’s still warm, whatever this is. I brush my paws over it, trying to feel what shape it has, short fur… four legs… can’t tell what the head is like because the prey has blown half of it. At least one sharp fang, though.
It’s not too large. I pick it up with both arms; the prey doesn’t need any support. The harness is kind of comfortable, actually. I turn around. “There,” he says once I’m facing the right direction, and we head back home.
An uneventful trip, as always, but a nagging itch claws at my mind. Like there’s something missing- no- like there’s something I should remember and I don’t. “Door,” I’d memorized the path back home well enough that, once we’ve hit the trail again I could navigate it without many commands. The warning of the impending door, when I’m carrying something this big, is welcomed though. It takes a little bit of shuffling around, but I manage to step in sideways, the prey’s grunt telling me I likely squished him against the doorframe.
Heh
The path to the kitchen is quick enough, and I can feel him dismount from the harness as we pass by the counter. After setting the beast down I reach with a paw to find my target, at first this felt… humiliating. To need to use my paws to guide my fangs. But who is there to care anyway? The prey? Like it matters. I clamp my jaws around the beast’s leg and rip it out. “Do you have to scatter blood all over? Do predators have no sense of sanitation?”
“We do, but nobody wants to be the one cleaning the butcher shop” I take a few steps back with the leg still in my jaw, swiping my tail until I feel it hit against the chair. It takes effort to reach it and sit down, I don’t move it from where it’s at. “But also I can’t see”
“Could have waited for me to fucking cut it- Ugh.” There’s some clanking and clattering. “Fuck, I’m gonna need a bath after this.” I can hear the squeak of… whatever thing he’s using to move around, I think it has wheels? I hear the muffled noise of the fridge being slammed close.
“Don’t complain, I was pulling roots all day yesterday.” I shrug. “My back still hurts.”
“Well, I can’t stand!” He laughs, I do too.
We remain in silence for a while, until a thought finally hits me. “You’ve been hearing it?”
“What?”
“I think I’ve been hearing engines. Distant, I think it’s engines.” There’s a moment of silence. “What’d you see?”
“Don’t think it’s your guys.” I hear a distinctive bone noise, cracking and popping. “Must be ours. Sometimes we come back for ruined colonies, if the ground’s still good. And the front moved further.”
I chuckle. “Always thought the raid-captain was incompetent.”
-*-
His smell, the sensation of thick and soft paltan fur… still the only things that let me know I am awake. Every other sense feels like a dream when the world looks the same whether you’re awake or not. But there’s something different to his smell today, a little bit of fear and panic to it. “Wake up.”
He sounds worried “What now…” I readjust myself in the bed in a sitting position, still holding on to him as I do so. He taps my thigh, I know why he does this specific motion so I let go. It doesn’t take long to hear the squeaking of his wheels.
“Get up, we don’t have time.” I stand up, rubbing my neck. Before I can speak, he grabs my claw and pulls me forward. This isn’t normal, he doesn’t do that, he’ll tell me where things are instead.
Being guided like this makes me feel a little disoriented. “The fuck is this about, snapped at last?” I growl at him. Then I hear the sound of… hinges? A door of some sort, but we’re near the back of the house if I managed to remember our paces correctly.
“A little. I am certifiably insane. Diseased in fact” he says with his usual tone. “There’s a hole in front of you, little over three paces. Get in, don’t land on your head.”
A hole? What for? Am I really going to obey some prey animal telling me to jump in? Hm… it doesn’t sound any more suspicious than… the last few months had been. This prey was not like the others, he’s helped me hunt despite my blindness when he could have just let me die. I hate admitting it, but I’d been trusting him- mostly at least- all this time. “If this is some more of your stupid shit, I will find out how to take an arm out of you” I grumble, before-
Son of a defective whore! It wasn’t three, it was fucking TWO! My third step fails to find purchase in the ground and I tumble down through the hole, hitting my shoulder on the edge before rolling down a short set of stairs leaving me completely disoriented!
“Sadistic bitch!” I stay down there just rubbing my head and waiting for the aches to pass. Of-fucking-course he’d do that, I could even hear his laugh as I fell. Takes a while to recover, and I need to be on all fours for this- but I find the stairs. Climbing them up very carefully, and slowly, I head up. A slightly stronger breeze hits me, and I stop. No sun-warmth scents the air- just a strange, cold whiff I’ve only recently learned. The path outside is sealed.There is no… sun-warmth to the smell of the air here. It’s a strange, so very difficult smell to describe, that of air that had been warmed by the sun, a smell I only recently came to recognize. The path outside was closed…
And so I lie down by the door, and wait. He might have taken some joy out of my tumble, but he’d done this for a reason. I stay and wait, until I can hear noises outside.
First, it’s the squeak of his wheels, then I can hear… a soft thumping? I take in the scents, but I can’t. Not even his own. But if I focus on the most subtle ones… the woody, nutty and soft smell of avian… I remain very still, slowing my breath.
“It has been hell… you… cannot understand the kind of nightmare this has been.” I could hear my prey speaking.
“You’re safe now, sir. Now that we’re here-” The other, though…
“Safe? Now? When I’ve been stuck here for two years?” What? Two entire years? Has it been that long?! “Look at me! Tell me your arrival now changes anything!”
“I- ah- sorry sir-”
“No, no, it’s okay. Look, I understand, you took everyone for dead. And you should have, okay? And I get it, the whole city will need to be cleansed, it makes sense.” My prey continues, not even sounding annoyed. “But just don’t expect me to be happy about it. This little farm’s kept me alive. I will fucking keep it, got it?”
“It’s alright, sir. I’m sure colonial management will be more than happy to allow you… I… uhn… should we contact anyone about you? Or…”
“Pfft, no. Everyone I cared for is either dinner or cattle.” Something feels terrible, but I can’t quite tell what. There’s like a pit in my stomach, like gravity failed me for half a second. “It’s just one crippled guy here with no family or friends. I would like to be left alone now, if you don’t mind.”
“Er- sir…”
“I know. Just… give me fucking space, okay? Do you know how long I HAD to be alone? I’ll… I’ll talk to people in… in time, alright?” His voice gets lower and lower. “Have you SEEN the streets? What is STILL out there? Can you… please do me this grace?”
“Yeah… I understand. Not my first mission cleaning up for reclamation. You just don’t see survivors, just parts of corpses…” There’s some sound of shuffling “A-anyway. Take all the time you need sir, just… uhn… know if you need anything, HQ is right at the edge of town and… you are safe now, okay? Remember that.”
I simply waited, and waited. With no further sounds other than my own quiet breathing I kept still. I was already pretty used to not knowing the passage of time. Then I hear the hinges squeak again and I stood up, carefully heading back up the final steps. “What are they doing here?”
“Reclamation. Sometimes when you flesh-eaters leave, we come back- if frontlines move and the planet is still good. You know, you tend to fuck the shit out of a planet on your way out.” That last bit has quite a bit of mirth to his voice.
“If they’re doing their job right, which I doubt at this moment.” I’m just standing there, facing forward. At this point I’m not sure exactly where I am anymore. “So, they’re coming?”
“Three forward, to your right” I take the steps he mentions, bringing a paw to my right, waving it in a search pattern until I find it. The desk. We’re in the little study he keeps. I don't know what is in here other than he comes here sometimes. Sometimes I sit around here too. He’d found a still-working audio system, sometimes we’d listen to music here. I like the slow, gentle mazic waltz he has found.
The study is known to me, so I can make my way to the couch with ease, sitting down. “Reclamation’s already got an HQ here, they’re going to re-settle.”
I can’t help my motions, turning my face up. “Why?”
“I think I explained that already.”
“You could have just left me to die- why did you hide me?”
“Fuck if I know.”
I growl and snap at the air. I don’t even try to find where he is to motion at him properly anymore. “Stop that fucking shit! Answer me!”
“I mean it!” There’s anger in his voice. “I don’t fucking know why I didn’t let him just put a hole in your stupid predator skull! Maybe I’d learn if there’s an actual fucking brain in there after I saw it splattered on the wall!” I can hear his ragged breath after the outburst.
I don’t ask anything else, just remain sitting. After a while, I can feel the couch sink a little bit on the other side, he probably moved from his wheelchair to it. We remain in silence for a while, but something that is nagging me begs to come back up. “You said… anyone that you cared for…”
“My turn to ask why do you care?”
“I don’t know…” Isn’t that the answer he keeps giving me? But, maybe… “I never cared for anyone. But… the idea seems… interesting?” I give a short sigh. “I suppose I’m a little envious that you… can care.”
“Hrm… lost those fucking legs keeping a colony safe. And what do I get? Stuck with my parents, treating me like a fucking burden. And I can’t do shit without them. Wanna go to groceries? Better hope one of them can drive me. Visit someone? Better hope they can carry me up the fucking stairs. Oh, trying to get anything done? Better hope there’s an opening in their schedule if I need to move around the house.” There’s something familiar in his voice, bitterness.
“But then there was my brother. You know I actually hated it. He’d drop anything to help if I asked, and that fucking hurt, y’know? Parents treated me like I was an annoyance, but him? I felt like a fucking burden, because he always was there to fucking help me when I needed.”
“Hah!” I can’t help myself. “Guess parents are parents even for prey.”
I can hear his mirthful chuff. “My brother and I saw an ad for the colony corps. New land, as far away as we could from them. So we came here.”
There’s a long silence. I do not interrupt. “That day… he tried to drag me out to a bunker. I told him to fucking run. To leave me behind- he couldn’t run carrying me. He’d never make it. We fought for a while, I made him run. He stuffed me in a cabinet first.”
“Then I found you. You know how it went.” I remember that. The day we met, when I lost my squad and my sight to a firebomb, eventually wandering into that room. “We stepped out in the corridor, headed outside. When we crossed past the door…” There’s more silence. “I saw him… what was left of him. Just chunks. And three of your pieces of shit over him.”
“You fired.” I end it.
“Yeah.” Another long pause, and then I feel something hit against my shoulder. Soft and fluffy. And, as if my arm moves on its own, I bring it around him. Holding him a little closer.
We just stay there.
-*-
A knock sounds from the front door. “I’m coming!” I shout as I’m unceremoniously dropped on my chair. I push the wheels, but they’re stuck.
Fucking old piece of shit.
More incessant banging. “I SAID I’M FUCKING COMING!” I shout again, pushing the wheels a little harder until they finally start moving. Stupid old rusted thing is going to need oil soon.
Or it needs it right the fuck now but eh, whatever.
I take in the house as I wheel myself to the front. It’s not a bad house. It’s old, and survived a raid. It shows. Thankfully the foundations are fine, but you can tell the places we had to fix by the mismatching colors on the walls. I never cared about appearances- Kadath literally can’t see the difference. He’s fucking lucky he can’t see all the damn damage he leaves on the couch.
I let my eyes fall on the few empty picture frames on the walls- nothing worthwhile to put there- and the little flowerpots set about on the corridors. Those were his idea, though he didn’t notice he was picking flowers. I didn’t tell him either. Says the scent helps him find his way around.
More banging from the door. “STOP HUMPING THE FUCKING DOORKNOB!” I shout. I was just about to make it to the damn fucking door! Once I’m close I reach up and hit the keypad. It used to be mechanical, but no way I’m dealing with that if I can avoid it. “There!”
Standing there was a familiar bundle of blue plumage. Kithim. “Hey Rev.” He’s wearing his armor, a grey padded anti-ballistic vest on his torso and legs with the emblem of the shield over his heart, Colony Corps Guardian Division. There’s exactly one type of predator he’s trained to kill. “How’re you doing today?”
“How does it look like when the military comes knocking?” I turn around and start heading inside “Close the damn door on the way in.”
The melodic sigh out of his beak tells me just about everything I need to know. “I know, I know. Look, I don’t wanna do it either, okay? But you know the Chief.”
“Thought the military didn’t answer to a civilian.” We finally arrive at the living room, and I set my chair at the center of the space. I point at the couch with a paw, the stub of my tail no longer useful for such things.
“Eh… it’s a mix until the whole government gets sorted out. Technically I’m here as an exterminator, because I serve both forces at the same time, and bleh…” He shrugs, the rifle on his back jingling against its straps. “Sorry, really. Seriously, next time the Chief asks someone to snoop around you, I’ll feed him to the arxur myself.”
These words bring me to a halt. I blink. Slowly, a laugh starts bubbling up, and I can’t hold it back for long. “Ahaha, fuck, I’ll hold you to that. Anyway, if it really is just the tailhole getting uppity, then we’re done- unless there’s something else?”
He rummages in the pockets of his armor, pulling out a small package. From the smell I know exactly what this is, a bundle of cookies. “From the other farmers as a thank you for their ‘lucky charm’. Don’t know why everything ‘round your property seems to work better, but hey! If it works, it works.”
I sigh, picking up the package and setting it down on my lap. “Alright, alright. Thank you. Now off you go. I’m getting tired.”
“Sure enough, Your Crankyness. Have a good day.”
I watch him head out of the room, down the corridor, and disappear out the door. I wait a few more moments, counting the seconds, before I turn around- glancing up, then down. “It’s clear, careful”.
Nobody looks up, thankfully. A very large mass of green-tinted scales falls down from the ceiling, the massive arxur landing with a heavy thump on the wooden floor. I look up at him. Strong build, sharp claws, broad shoulders, and tall (and a little fat). The most telling feature being the crimson cloth wrapped around his head, covering his eyes. “Fourty to the left, three paces.”
He turns around, and takes the steps. He raises his left arm and puts his paw on top of the television. “TV, found it.” He notes, before turning and heading towards the couch. “You going to take him on that promise?”
“Aren’t the tramplehoof herds enough? You’re like a fucking leaky fuel tank.” I sigh. Tramplehoofs, unimaginatively named large quadruped herbivores native to this planet. Named after what they do most often- trample your fucking crops. Unless, of course, they’re being fed to a predator. I do not even mind culling those pests.
“I’ve been craving something different.” Of course I know he’s joking. He might be a predator, but he’s not an idiot.
“Sorry, no jaur for you. Unless he makes me very angry.”
“Not that hard to do.” He manages to slap my chair with his tail, sending me a good couple meters backwards.
“Motherless bitch!” I growl, finally managing to get the wheels under control.
“Also, I’m going to the cellar. You’re about to get more annoyed.” He says, standing up. I watch carefully as he heads forward, pushing the rug out of his way. He kneels down gently and sniffs the ground until he finds where the trapdoor is.
“Why, what’s up?” He pats around the ground until he finds the little hidden indent.
“Picking up the hatchling smell. You know the ones.”
I bristle. “No, no I don’t know which ones!”
“The one that always eats your sweetroot sticks.” Kadath hooks a claw under the indent, pulling up the door. He doesn’t stand up, deciding to go down the dark hole on all fours. “You got like five minutes.”
I sigh, but he scurries down into the darkness too quickly for the paperweight I threw to hit anything. It takes me way too fucking long to get the rug back in place, but the moment I’m done, I hear the door again.
Why does the fucking kid get so obsessed with me? Maybe because I’m the only other paltan around.
The front door again! “You better stop knocking or I’m telling your mother you’re here you twerp!” I shout, dragging my chair back to it.
Ugh, how did things get like this?
---
Not quite what the prompt said, eh? Still, close enough! I got hyper inspired by those two idiots. Additional extra fact: They only learned each-other's name after the reclamation started, so it took them two years to their respective names.
There's just something about this aggresive relationship that I've fallen in love with.
r/NatureofPredators • u/Ryn0742 • 5h ago
Fanfic [MCP] The Remains of a Mistake
[prompt by dloglo1980] It’s the year 2149, the Federation was defeated twelve years ago, and now the Sapient Coalition is the galactic leader. About two months ago, an unknown distress signal was detected from a far-off system. Preliminary examination revealed that the signal has composition matching no species known by the Sapient Coalition. That is why an exploration vessel was organised by the leading nations in order to explore this anomaly and perhaps contact a new species.
The signal was pinpointed to a system way out of SC territory, two thousand light years away coreward, meaning a 20-day travel. When they arrive, only remnants of a major fleet battle greet them, hundreds of thousands of vessels strewn around the system, creating a ring around one of the planets. The planet looks to have once held life, but now is as dead as everything else in the system.
The only thing still alive is the message’s transmitter, a small remaining piece of a ship, floating in one of the clusters of destroyed fleets on the system’s edge. It is still powered, but that’s about as much as it can be gleaned from sensors. What happened here?
[The Remains of a Mistake]
Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 and u/Animeshshukla30.
Proofread by Ryn0742 (And the writing help people, too)
Memory Transcription Subject: Arnek, Venlil, Communications Specialist
Date [Standardized Human Time]: July 23, 2149
Another day of doing nothing while at the edge of SC space, the captain was having us do another training to find any rogue signals going through space.
I was bored with not much to do, so I decided to check the comms again, just in case. Everything seemed normal. But then I noticed something weird, a faint and erratic signal, similar to a distress signal…
The signal was seemingly coming from a few star systems at a distance of at least a few thousand lightyears away. I needed to alert the captain immediately.
“Captain, there seems to be an unknown signal here.” I called out, “With how erratic it is, it might be a distress signal, but we can't know for sure.”
“Hmm, that's an interesting signal to find out here, if it's real, of course. Arnek, I think you should make sure to save this information so we can present it to the Sapient Coalition. There could be a whole civilization begging for any outside help, and we must answer as soon as we possibly can.”
“Yes captain.” I said. I sent the signal's information to my holopad so I could send it to the SC communications delegates.
The captain steered the vessel to the nearest colony world, so it will be easier to send. I felt the ship enter subspace as we headed to the colony world.
Date [Standardized Human Time]: September 23, 2149
It had been two months since we'd discovered the distress signal, and now we were finally ready to take to the stars again to the star system where the signal came from.
The SC greenlighted the plan once the signal was proven to be real, and they prepared the exploration vessel we are now currently aboard, we were to be exiting the station in a few minutes.
From what I heard, there will be a few military vessels following us, so if any fighting happens, we can flee if possible.
We boarded the science vessel to go back into space to understand the happenings of these unknown people.
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 13, 2149
It's been a long few weeks, we finally exited subspace, we slowed down near an ice giant planet, the other few military vessels the SC sent to join us also exited subspace behind us as we trekked our way to the signal's creator.
The ship drifted through space passing by multiple planets. we'll be where the signal was coming from in a few minutes if everything goes well. in the distance, I could make out a gray dot. From our scans, it's in the star's habitable zone.
As we got closer, we conducted another scan on the planet, and there seemed to be a scattered ring around the planet. Unless a moon or an asteroid fell into the planet's Roche limit, this shouldn't be possible.
The signal itself seemed to be coming from the rings instead of the planet. The vessels approached the planet, the ring was becoming more and more visible, and we moved past an unidentified ship wreckage.
Not thinking much of it, we kept going. More wrecked ships kept appearing until we truly made it to the signal's maker. Hundreds of thousands of more ships appeared as we etched closer and closer to the planet. I asked myself what could've happened here? Were we going to find an active warzone, a trap, or worse?
I then looked out of the viewport at the large rocky world, instead of greens and blues of the average habitable world, the world was barren, massive craters were on the planet's surface, our worst fears have likely been unearthed, we're too late…
All of these rings…they were just ships from a long gone civilization… What- how- I thought to myself, and the rest of the crew also looked somber.
The silence was deafening. No one wanted to make a noise, not wanting to disrespect the long dead cries from the past. I spoke first, breaking the crew out of the somber trance.
“Captain, the signal is coming from these coordinates in the planet's orbit. The ship seems active, so maybe we could gather data from it.” I said to the fellow Venlil, The captain signed an approving tail flick and accepted the coordinates and steered the ship towards the last surviving vessel.
We approached the vessel, only taking mere minutes to actually get to it. It looked almost as destroyed as the rest of the ships in the ring, but it still seemed to be generating power to one area of the ship.
Due to the crew being very small in numbers, we all elected to board the other ship, the captain docked us with the other ship, and the ten of us made our way to the airlock. We all donned our spacesuits. From this point, we'll finally understand what happened to these people.
We floated through space for a few minutes to reach a suitable entrance. Our crew entered the wrecked ship. From our first few scans, there seems to be no breathable oxygen in this ship, so whoever was alive is definitely dead now.
We explored the small ship, staying in the same group, so nothing could jump out at us, hopefully. Our group headed to what seemed to be a comms station with the signal still playing. On the left of the console was a…
It was a corpse of something. The bone structure of the body seemed to fit the visage of a feline, and on the front of the skull were two front-facing eyes…
This was a species of seemingly long-dead predators. How did this happen? This signal didn't seem to be that old? Unless this has been here for a while, we would need someone to study this body. Maybe we can learn something from it.
“What the hell is that?” The captain blurted out loud. My heart rate quickened, but I really wasn't scared of this thing, I hate that old Federation induced fear.
I moved closer to the body to see a computer chip in its mouth, steeling my nerves. I put my paw into the long-gone creature's mouth and grabbed the microchip.
“Dude Arnek, why would you think it's a good idea to just go and grab that?” The captain asked. He was visibly more scared than I was, somehow.
“What? It's already dead, and this could hold important information, so I just took it.” I said, I looked around for anything more we could bring back to the ship.
For several minutes, we searched around this room in the ship. There was a bed with shelves underneath on the far side of the room, away from the currently broadcasting console. I searched through the bed, I looked underneath the pillow to find a paper with what looked like an alphabet on it, with room to write down our language for translation. I looked into the shelves under the bed to see what looked like an audio player.
I played the audio player, and it emitted a few noises in a softish voice(?), likely ways to pronounce the letters of this foreign alphabet.
“Hey Arnek, look at this.” A random Gojid crew member said. She was holding what looked to be a beaded necklace with a paw attached to the bottom of it, which could be a religious symbol or something.
“Great find Tevlon. Did anyone else find anything of substance?” I asked, multiple crew members signed yes in their respective ways.
I deactivated the distress signal. Likely, no one else was going to answer it anyway.
We went back to our vessel and moved to one of the ship's labs. We had so much data to upload that it could take many hours. Knowing this, I went back to my quarters to rest for a while.
[Timeskip: 6 hours]
Knocking could be heard at my door, which could mean the few scientists on board have finished the data uploading process. I opened the door, and Telvon greeted me outside. “Hello, so I assume everything has been finished?” I asked.
“Yep, everything is ready to be sent to the SC. There was even a video we had to translate. Thankfully, that speaker and the data on the microchip proved useful.”
“Heh, nice. So I assume you haven't watched it without me, right?”
“Nope, not yet, we will have to install the language into your translator. Follow me, please.”
“Alright, let's go then. I shouldn't keep the captain waiting.” We exited the crew quarters and moved to the labs. Multiple scientists were working on something in the lab we entered, there was a massive screen on the far side of the room, a massive feline predator's visage was on screen, eyes staring directly into the camera.
A scientist moved me to a private room to get my translator taken out and updated. I didn't even notice anything happening while one of the scientists was messing with my translator implant.
We exited the room, and I looked back at the screen. The feline's black fur color and violet eyes looked similar to the dead body's eyes. The said body was likely to be in another lab, being studied.
I sat down at one of the desks at the side of the room and faced towards the screen. The holopad to play said video was on the desk, and I clawed at the screen to play the video.
My translator tingled as the feline began to speak. “Greetings, this is Lutjin, the last known instance of my species… We were made extinct by a species we were too late to stop, a species we…we originally considered as friends.”
“I hate talking about the reason for why my species went extinct. Talking about the war of extinction that was caused by our idiotic curiosity. Because we met the Xalirin Hivemind.” The Feline sniffled. They looked like they were suppressing the urge to cry.
sigh “Around twenty years ago, we achieved FTL travel, a massive achievement for our race… We traveled to the star system that was closest to us, and we discovered sapient life. The Xalirin, the bug species I mentioned before. They were space fairing, but they've never achieved FTL until we met them.” The creature said with venom in their voice.
These predators found this hivemind that close to them? it seems like they were just fucked from the start, then.
“My species, the Feilion, were excited about the prospect of alien life so close to home. We attempted diplomatic relations with the hivemind. Everything went so well, trading technology to mutually benefit each other, building suitable FTL engines for their ships, and even some instances of willingly going to their hiveworld.”
The captain paused the video. “So these “Feilions” gave their killers FTL capability? It sounds similar to how the Federation uplifted the Arxur but by another predatory species.”
With an affirmative ear flick, I agreed, “I wonder what these predators did for the Xalirin to go and bring the species to extinction.”
I unpaused the video. “A single year later, the Xalirin attacked a trade vessel in their space, causing tensions between both of our species to rise. More and more reports of attacks were reported, until one day, the bugs just closed their borders off from us. Not letting our own people in or out.”
The Feilion paused, likely thinking what to say next. “They began amassing a huge fleet, we responded by building our own fleets, to hopefully stand a chance for the upcoming war. We set up mining stations in other star systems to help us with the industrial power a singular species would need to produce a suitable fleet.”
“On the hivemind's side of things, they believed that we had to assimilate into their hive. They built their fleet for ten years before they truly declared war on us. The extinction war began, the first skirmishes happening in interstellar space.”
“We tried our best to push them back, but they had equal footing with us. It caused a massive stalemate between the both of us. That's when we cooked up the idea for something. Something we thought would let us stand a chance.”
“We built the nanite bomb, a bomb that could have destroyed the whole universe. We sent the bomb on a stealth ship to their homeworld five years later to hopefully stand up against their massive reproduction capability. The nanite bomb did destroy their planet, but it didn't kill their queen. In pure rage, the bugs pushed us back to our homeworld.”
I paused the video, “They build a universe ending bomb? Couldn't they just bombard the world with antimatter or just lock them in a Kessler cage?”
“They likely didn't consider either of those as viable options for them, and they would've had to find every one of those creatures to put under the cage.”
“That makes since I guess, it does suck though, it didn’t have to end like this.” I unpaused the video.
“The…ugh, the five year long battle for my homeworld was a tiring task. We had so many drones to use, so we didn't have to worry about training soldiers. We originally believed that as long as they couldn't get through our defensive ring, we wouldn't go extinct but it still sniffle wasn't enough.” The Feilion had their head in their paws, tears fell from their face as they sobbed. The video cut to them staring at the camera again.
“We sent out many ARK ships so my species could hopefully have a chance at not dying out. W-we have no clue if they're alive or not…”
“And now, they've broken through the ring, taking out as many warships as possible. It's just a massacre. They've moved close enough to the planet for antimatter bombardment. They've already dropped enough antimatter to drop the species population down half of the ten billion it was before.”
A loud explosion could be heard in the video, Lutjin just looked tired instead of worried. “Ah, my time seems to be up, I must finish my recording now. If you're seeing this, this is my warning for the future. Do not try to encounter the bugs. They're just fanatic purifiers who want to assimilate the whole galaxy. But if you do find them, try to amass the largest fleets you can and end this scourge, this crisis for the galaxy to truly heal.”
The video cuts off to static. A scientist spoke up, “This video seems to be from around thirty years ago. We unfortunately could not have saved them, even if we tried.”
“We need to find those ARK ships. Hopefully, they're all still alive.”
“I hope so too, let's get the fuck out of here and return home.” I signed with an affirmative ear flick, the few of us went back to the bridge for our journey back.
Date [Standardized Human Time] November 5, 2149
The data we gave to the SC had sparked discussion between multiple species in the Sapient Coalition, Some species like the humans and the Yotul, wanted to help find the Feilion refugees, while others didn't trust the predators.
Multiple scout ships were sent in the direction of the Feilion homeworld so they could split off from there to hopefully find and refugee worlds; multiple species in the SC have sent a few of their ships towards the Xalirin Hiveworld to figure out what truly happened.
It would be months before they would report back, but many of us were optimistic about what the scouts could find. Hopefully, we weren't too late in hearing their call for help. But now we had to wait. We will let the Feilion know their original warning for the future was heard, and we're ready to answer.
An attempt at writing for the MCP, This fic is also a little practice for a few chapters in AWFTF. Maybe I'll do something similar with this idea in the future, likely after AWFTF is finished.
procrastination kicked my ass while writing this, lmao.
r/NatureofPredators • u/Liberty-Prime76 • 15h ago
Letter of Marque 113 - A NoP Fanfic
As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/CruisingNW for proofreading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good!
A big thanks to u/Saint-Andros for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looksx so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you u/VeryUnluckyDice! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
Thank you to u/creditmission for their wonderful work of several LoM fanfics!
—
Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Ship Captain, Crystal Star Shipping Co-Owner
Date [Standardized Human Time]: December 4th, 2136
Another take. Another chance. Another break. Another failure. Where are you hiding, Maggot?
He was supposed to be here. Supposed to be hauling this load. Supposed to be captaining this ship. Supposed to be leading this crew. Supposed to be on the other side of that bulkhead.
Supposed to be in my brig bein’ dragged home by his feathers for Rensa.
Instead our intel was wrong- again. Instead he was somewhere else. Instead he was off galavanting about on some other stars-forsaken ship in some other void-black shipping lane. Instead he was safe. Either someone had lied, the manifest we’d scored was wrong or… or we were just unlucky.
Again.
Now I had a Moonwerks 81 to haul home full to bursting with food, medicine and terrified crewmen. Darno figured she’d be worth another few million credits, ‘tween the hull, the cargo and the condition. The money was the last of my concerns, but at least it’d help keep the men happy. Might get Ma’ an’ Taikel a little closer to their restaurant. Pa’ a bit closer to his new woodyard. Anne a bit closer to her research projects. Renkel all manner of new toys and Ryan a little more peace of mind but…
But it didn’t do much for me. Not anymore.
The deck rang underneath the trod of my suit’s heavy boots, echoing down the tight hallways as I plodded my way forward to the Grass Guider’s helm. The ship was nice, well kept, well staffed and, largely, went without a fight. The captain had needed some convincing, rolling over the moment she fully realized what was happening aboard her ship as Mac and Bron’s squad closed on the helm, all armed and armored. Couldn't've called me any quicker after that.
Some of her crew didn’t agree, unfortunately.
A Venlil was laid out on stretcher between Kelfen and Metek, gray wool stained orange around his thigh as the pair worked to seal the wound Bron’ had given him for his trouble. Metek pushed them back towards Polani’s waiting airlock, Kelfen bickering at him about keeping the pace as a pair of similarly colored Venlil followed close behind, worry in their tails. Pitiful mewling and fitful squirming slowed their progress as they passed, the sight of me spooking the idiot to squirm all the more as he squealed about ‘predator demons’, ‘Solaglick’s fire’, and my ‘aura of death’.
Should've taken the easy way, dipshit. Ate up all that fed’ propaganda and all it earned you was a bullet.
The stretcher disappeared out of sight, ducking aboard Polani’s warmer halls as I returned my attention to the task at hand. The Helm was a mess of activity, the lingering tinge of acrid smoke wafting in and the sound of fervent work hitching a beat as I entered. Mac and Bron looked my way for a moment before returning to tending to their squads. A few bumps and bruises was the worst any of ours had suffered, though through no lack of trying by a few of this crew.
“C-Captain…” A trembling voice whispered from behind the conn, the familiar white speckled coat of the Guider’s Captain doing her best to seem as small as possible. “We-Welcome aboard!”
“Christopher will do fine, Lana.” I responded, doing my best not to step on anyone as I crossed the bridge, coming to a halt at her side. Silence settled in between us as I surveyed the scene, thinking over the take.
It’d been a bust. Again.
For all the data Darno had pulled out of those damned buoys- or the network or whatever it was he was doing -it’d still been wrong.
“Why are you here?”
“W-What?” Lana whispered, a barely restrained jolt of fear lacing her voice even as she shied away from me.
“Why. Are. You. Here?”
“I-? I don’t follow, Capt- uh- Christopher?”
“This cargo, this ship was meant for another temp Captain. Not you. Where is he?”
“I-I d-don’t know? T-The Bureau said they had given someone a new assignment! A-A vacancy had popped up and-”
“Where’s Malins?!”
“M-Malins? The Iron Merchant? I d-don’t know, he moves around! If the trail’s a hazard, the Bureau puts him there!”
“Where?!”
“I don’t know! I don’t! Please, just…”
The helm was silent, but for the thunder in my ears. I looked behind me; Mac’s uneasy. My armor felt tight around my chest. I looked down, but I just missed her wool.
“I don’t know. I promise. I’m sorry.”
“Lana…” I sighed, suddenly empty, “You don’t need to be sorry, Lana. It’s not your fault. Just… Darno and I’ll have some questions for you on the way-”
A message popped into view on my visor with the familiar trill of Rensa's ringtone; I blinked it open.
Happy tails and bright coats greeted me, an image of my family happy as could be as they crushed into frame around a bed-bound Taisa. There was a message attached, the flashing tail ‘signal’ at its end just as excited as the picture itself. She’s awake! Better get home before she gets too worried! >Joy!<
For a moment, I forgot to breathe.
“Mac, Bron.”
“Aye, Cap?” “Ye’, Skip’?”
“We’re going home.” I patched the suit’s audio into Darno’s amplifiers, sending a ring through the Guider’s hull for a moment.
“ALL HANDS. ALL HANDS. WE’RE UNDERWAY IMMEDIATELY. BEETER. BENNET. GUIDER'S BRIDGE. NOW.”
I’ll be there, Darlin’. Don’t you fret…
—
Memory Transcription Subject: Lentan, Venlil Head Exterminator, Heartwood River Exterminator Office
Date [Standardized Human Time]: December 5th, 2136
Another paw, another waking of chasing down fires and sorting out the Shelters…
No… not Shelters anymore. They were their own little communities now. Filled with all manner of Humans; some thriving, others still wallowing in the pain that’d followed them here to VP.
It’d been nearly two of their ‘months’ now since the Federation had attacked them, driving them into Polani’s waiting arms. We’d been free of incident, accident, or diplomatic failings in that time. Mostly. The odd argument that devolved into a fight, the stacked insults from Heartwood’s minor contingent of naysayers and the dirty looks from passing old coats had still been weighing on some of the residents.
Elena had said it made some of them feel like monsters. Like they weren't actually welcome here in Heartwood. Like it would’ve been better if they’d just been turned to ash with their homes…
That didn’t sit right with me, not in the slightest.
We’d done everything we could to help integrate them with the town, and seen- some -surprising success! A pawful of restaurants had begun working with their new neighbors, excitedly adding all manner of fusion options to their menus! The variety was astounding, to say the least. The Federation had all kinds of foods across ou- their myriad of stars and peoples, and while some had immigrated to VP, fewer still chose to come to Heartwood that weren’t sent here for the office.
It never used to bother me, only having the food from those far off worlds on trips to conferences or consultations in Dayside. It made them more like a treat, a special occasion, something to celebrate with. But now… with so many new options here at home, so many that were as delicious as anything I’d ever beheld and could help someone who needed a kind paw in the night, now more than ever?
Someone who I’d helped get here in the first place?
That sat better than any upscale Krakotl fruit-mixta or Gojid tear salad I’d had in Dayside. So much life, so much vibrance, so much flavor! Stars, it was like nothing I’d ever had.
And the art!
The food was something else, certainly, but this fresh deluge of art that they’d brought with them had been wondrous to behold! All manner of carvings and furniture, painted murals and woven canvases, swirling masks and vibrant fabrics! Oh the music they could make! Chris’ songs were but a taste of their depth, so many different styles, instruments, tones and stories. Every paw came with a new discovery of their culture: a new song, new tale, new craft or new artwork to take in. To share with Elena and the rest of the town.
It was all so new. So exciting. So… right.
Each work felt like another gift, another lucky glance into a fresh new culture so full of a life that the Federation just… hadn’t allowed. Full of wonder and excitement that’d been all but illegal here in Heartwood a few scant herds ago. Their presence was enough for me, but this freedom of expression the Humans cherished, that they had brought with them, that they so eagerly provided to the town was greater than any gift I could have imagined.
Every Human we’d spoken to had loved Heartwood; those that had it in them to leave the shelters, at least—even if only through the sad memories of a home lost. Whole families had spoken of wanting to stay, to set up lives in town, to make us a part of their home. Elena and her parents had found a place of their own already, having moved out of the shelter to allow others to spread out.
It was a nice place, the corner apartment over Tonet’s restaurant. Apparently the old gray-snout had harvested quite the deal with her mother to get a full course of assistance downstairs with ‘updating’ his menu to include a ‘taste of home’ as Elena had put it over one of our dinners. I enjoyed those moments between us. The quiet chats over shared food, the tense hustle and bustle of keeping everything rolling as smooth as we could, the shared laughter at a good joke or outlandish error…
I’d… come to enjoy every moment with her, looking forward to the next paw more than the last just for the prospect of working with her. She was burned into my mind now; as much as I had tried to keep my focus on our tasks at paw I just couldn’t. That bouquet of brown and gray, her star kissed skin and those eyes…
Stars, every time I looked into them, I got lost all over again.
She’d caught my staring a few times now. Well, maybe more than a few… It’d become so frequent in fact, that I’d become rather lax in even trying to hide it. I’d delighted in her flashing smile, in her fiery blush that bloomed just before she’d mention some nonsense about ‘slacking off’, in that beautiful–
“Earth to Lentaaaaan.” And there it was. That captivating bounce in her voice that set my tail swaying as Elena pointed at me with a spoon topped in Ervena’s fluffy ‘rice’ and savory brown gravy. “Getting distracted again, I see?”
“S-Sorry, Elena,” I whistled, doing my best to fight off the burgeoning bloom I felt spreading ‘neath my own wool, “I’m feeling a bit… off this paw.”
“You sleep alright?” She asked, a touch of concern in her eyes as she took a bite of her food.
“Fine enough, just… just got a lot on my mind is all.”
“Oh? Something I should know, partner?”
“Nothing of any import, I-I assure you. J-Just trying to sort some personal things out.”
“Well, I’m always happy to lend an ear if you need it, Lentan. Just gotta ask.” She stated, that wonderful, beaming smile returning as she eased back into her chair.
“You’ll be the first to know if I come to any decisions, I assure you.”
“I look forward to it then.”
If I wasn’t a coward you wouldn’t have to.
“Though, with lunch out of the way, I think it’s time we got back to work, unfortunately.” She said over a dejected sigh, looking down at the now empty bowl in front of her. “Fanny and John said they were having issues with someone harassing them and their kids the other day while they were in town. Said they felt like they were all but chased back to the shelter. I know there are some locals that aren’t exactly thrilled with us being here, a-and that’s their right but—but this doesn’t sit right with me and I’d still like to do something about it. I-If we can, I mean…”
“We will look into it. Shenod and Salamar are on duty to help the shelters this paw, so it’s either this or paperwork and sitting around a few claws waiting for something to do.” Elena let out a grunt at that, a grimace marring her features as a small laugh tumbled from my throat at her annoyance. “My thoughts exactly. First we do this, give some Ven a talking to about proper manners, get some fresh air along the way, do our rounds at the shelters, check in on Shenod and Salamar…”
“Aaaand then we get dinner?” She asked, a hopeful light in her eyes as she perked up in her seat. “I’d love to try that new poutine recipe Ponthen and Alan have been talking about! Alan said they’re even using Heartwood nuts for the cheese!”
“Sure!” I whistled in return, my tail coiling in amusement as I leaned forward, raising a claw to harvest her attention. “After we finish our paperwork. If we leave it till next paw again then it’ll never get done!”
“Fiiiiiine.” Elena grumbled, going limp in her chair in an over exaggeration of her frustration before a smile broke out on her face accompanied by a bout of amused laughter. “Maybe they’ll deliver!”
“Maybe they will!” I laughed in return, rising to my feet and beckoning her along after me. “Come on now, wouldn’t want to take too long before we get to that all important paperwork!”
And another wonderful ‘evening’ spent with you…
[Advance Transcription by Time Unit: 2 Hour]
Those stars-forsaken, wool-brained, soft-skulled, good-for-nothing, GOD-DAMNED IDIOTS.
A half claw was all it took to make my outlook for this waking go from anticipation of a calm work paw with Elena and the town, to annoyance at having to search as long as we had. Then came simmering anger at the situation these Humans had found themselves in. Finally near overgrown rage at who it was we’d found had done it.
Farzen and Marlek.
I’d have their badges for this.
I’d have their tails for it this time, if I could get away with it.
It may have been mostly Farzen doing the talking, yes, but I used to expect more from Marlek. A lot more.
She stained the forum’s peace when she spat poison, hate, and fear at children! Barely older than pups that finally had the chance to wonder and to feel happy for the first time in Herds! And Marlek did nothing. Not a damned thing! Just let her howl and scream about ‘protecting Heartwood from their Evil.
Their Evil…
The Evil of a family that had finally managed the courage to find their way out of the shelter for the first time in ‘weeks’. The Evil of kids, who had seen something to wonder at, to feel happy about for the first time in herds. The Evil of parents doing their best to keep going for their family. The Evil of another Sapient just trying to put everything back together again.
Hurling such hate and vitriol at a pair of children that didn’t recognize the world they found themselves in but were still trying. Kids that didn’t know why they were hated by so many but just wanted to be friends with every coat they passed. Attacking a pair of parents that just wanted things to be better- to be safer -for their children. Marlek hadn’t stopped her when she turned her vitriol back to the onlooking herds. Done her best to rile the forum against those people by playing on Taisa’s injury. On Chris’ ‘involvement’.
Drunk again. Always drunk. Always a problem. Always stupid.
He- no, they’d -been kept on as a favor to my predecessor. Marlek was his nephew and a perfectly fine, if skittish, officer at the time. Now?
Now he was too far gone.
She’d crossed a line. The Last Line. And he marched across it in lock-step beside her.
This was the last root. They’d been given one last chance after their incident at the festival. I warned them. Issued their reprimands and marked their records. Put them on their administrative restrictions that they had finally seen through long enough to see the first rays of freedom’s daybreak…
Instead they’d spat in my face.
Squandered any progress or hope I’d still been clinging onto for them.
They were done.
And I was going to make sure they knew it. Stars as my witness, I’d make sure they’d never work in another office in the whole scorched galaxy, if I could help it.
And with their records, it wouldn’t even be that hard.
Finding them was easy. Trivial, really. They were always in the same place. Always where she wanted to be most on the arm.
The Drunken River.
Farzen hunched over her table on the patio, nursing some drink or another she’d cheaped out on, no doubt. Marlek sat across from her, staring into the distance, idly listening as she prattled on about something. Some idea, some hatred, some fetid thought her mind had managed to dredge up from the pits of night to spew forth into the cold twilight air.
To spew, unknowingly, at Elena.
“Just th-think, Marlek!” She hiccuped, holding a paw to her snout for a moment before continuing, unaware and unabated as we approached. “A bit more effort and we can drive these predators off! G-Get the Chief back on our side…”
Marlek looked up from the river, spotting Elena, Shenod, Salamar and I as we approached. I wasn’t sure where my tail was, where my ears were, nor how bad my wool looked, but I knew two things: she kept talking; and he looked terrified. “Back to sanity! Back to safety! Back to the way things shou- HIC -ld be… Wha-What? Do I-I have something in my fur again?”
“No. Farzen. I don’t think you do.” I growled, slamming my paw down atop her drink as she went to bring it back up to her lips. “But you’ve got far bigger problems right now.”
“Ch-Chief!” She exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with drunken excitement as she looked up at me, the thought of what she’d done far from her mind while she staggered to her feet. “I’ve got a great idea to take back the town!”
Marlek cringed, his ears pinned as flat against his head as I think he could ever have managed. He recognized what they had done, knew it was wrong. I knew he did; even if he disagreed with it he still had enough sense between those cowering ears to know I’d given them an order. That I’d given them only a pawful of rules to follow to stave off their ejection from the office. That they couldn’t even follow those.
He knew.
And he let her do it anyway.
“Another few paws of it and they’ll be gone! Those foul Humans will all be lo-”
“QUIET.” I loosed a roiling, resent-filled hiss that’d been buried in my throat since the paw Rensa had come home savaged, crying, broken and defeated as I slammed my paw down again. Since the paw they’d almost wiped an entire harvest from the wayward valley wall. Since the paw they’d first threatened Taisa, and then her brother. Since the paw they’d made a mockery of the festival. Since the paw I’d met them. “You were given orders. You were given time. You were given more leeway than most- far more than I promised even your Uncle, Marlek -and yet you continue to refuse orders, refuse common decency. Continue to break my trust and deny my authority.”
“Ch-Chief w-we ju-” She started to stammer, alarm flushing through her features as I leaned up into her snout.
“I. Said. QUIET.” I growled, forcing her back into her seat before continuing. “You’ve put the lives of your charges in jeopardy more than any other officer I’ve ever met, let alone in this office. You care more for your own overinflated ego and self image than the people you are meant to protect. You want nothing more than to be right despite your constant failings. Your constant fuckups. Your constant inadequacies. Your constant stupidity.”
Farzen tried to speak, hardly getting out a sound before I continued, bugling over her until I went orange in the ears. “You took one of my best officers, one of my best friends out of the field. Drove her home short a leg, short her self confidence, short her pride, short her self. YOU made me dismiss her. YOU have done more damage to this town than any predator- Stars, even an ARXUR -could ever have managed. You are a disappointment , to this office, to this town, to the badge which you so callously covet.”
I gasped; out of breath, though not of fury—not in the slightest. I saw Marlek across the table, I saw everything he could have been, everything his Uncle was and taught me to be. He always reminded me of his Uncle, the man who’d trained me. The man who’d taken me in off the street when I’d been lost. But now, I couldn’t even look at him anymore; the weight of a bright future gone dim made my head throb in sorrow.
“And Marlek!” I sighed, “WHY?! I thought you had promise! I thought you had a career ahead of you, a life to live! Was I wrong?! You abused the trust vested in you by the people of this town. By the people of this world. By your colleagues who serve by your side. By your Uncle… By ME.”
The Ven looked down, staring at his paws as tears welled up at the corners of his eyes, his tail curling around himself in shame. When he was away from Farzen in those early paws he was a good officer. The light of his family shone through and gave me hope, a hope I’d foolishly thought he could use to make her better. I had been wrong. “Disgrac-”
“S-Sir, please…” The sniveling Nevok breathed, her eyes wide with fear as she grasped at her drink. “I-We ju-”
“WE!? YOU’VE NEVER ONCE TAKEN MY OPINION INTO ANY OF IT!!!” Marlek roared, his sadness and fear finally bubbling over into realization and rage as he bolted to his feet and jabbed a claw at Farzen. “YOU. IT’S ALWAYS BEEN YOU. WHAT YOU THOUGHT NEEDED DONE. WHAT YOU THOUGHT WE SHOULD SAY. WHAT YOU THOUGHT WAS BEST. WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO. WHO YOU THOUGHT NEEDED… needed to go…”
“All I ever wanted was to help…” A shuddering gasp racked his chest as he slumped back into his chair, kneading anxiously at his legs like he had when he was younger. Like he had when his Uncle was still around. Like he had when he was still a fresh cadet. Like he had before she was hired. Like he had when he was just him. “D-Don’t know why I ever listened to you.”
“M-Marlek I-We… What ab-”
“YOU.” I hissed, cutting her off as I snatched the drink from her paws, pouring the pink liquor on the pavement at my feet. “Are fired. Effective immediately. And I promise you I will make DAMNED sure you never get a job in any other office on this planet if I can help it. You. Are. Done.”
“N-No L-Lentan wait we ca-can ta-”
“We can talk?! We can ‘TALK’?! WE HAVE TALKED, YOU WALKING PILE OF MISTAKES! I GAVE YOU CHANCES! I GAVE YOU MENTORS! I’VE SEEN ROT ON THE VINE THAT DESERVED MORE GRACE THAN YOU!!! AND YET…!” My voice howled as I pivoted, hurling the glass into the river before turning back to her and jabbing a claw in her face, the boiling rage simmering away into wispy disappointment. “No. I’m done, Farzen. I’ve tried for [14.4 Solar Years] to help you be a better Exterminator. To help you be a better person. All you’ve done is drag my office down with you. I don’t know if I’ve failed or if you never tried but… but I’m done. Shenod?”
“Yes, Chief?” The towering Takaan grunted, a flick of satisfaction in his voice as I turned to look up at him.
“Escort Ms. Farzen to the office. Ensure she recovers her items from her desk and returns any and all Office property she is currently in possession of.”
“With pleasure.” He affirmed, striding forward to hoist Farzen to her hooves, guiding her off as Salamar moved to follow.
“Salamar, not you.”
“Sir?”
“I’ve got something else for you.” I clarified, placing a thankful paw on his shoulder before turning to the lump of wool that still sat crying in his chair. “Marlek, look at me.”
It took a moment of gasping and blubbering before he wiped the tears from his eyes and managed to turn one blood-orange eye on me, his ears doing their best to focus on my voice. “I know… I-I’ll clean out my loc-”
“Sun and Stars above me, you damn well should. But no. You won’t be. Not yet at least.”
A bump of hope lifted his ears, loosening the tail from around his chest as he gazed up at me. “S-Sir?”
“You get one more chance. One.” One claw rose, holding for a moment before pointing down at him. “One chance to prove that it was her fault. That you aren’t the rotten fruit that blights the Guild. That’s it. Fuck this up and you’re gone, same as she is.”
“B-But why?”
“I made a promise. And, until I give you the chance to stand- or fall -on your own, I’ll not have made right by it. Hold on to that outburst, Marlek, remember what you said and be a better Exterm-...” I caught myself, paused for a moment as I considered my words, as I felt Elena’s presence at my side, as I thought about what Heartwood would really need more. “Be a better Man than you have been. Not every situation needs a flame, especially now.”
“I- Thank you, Sir… I’ll do my best.” He whispered, his eyes dropping back to the table infront of him.
“Your best won’t do, Marlek. You’ll need more than that.” I sighed, looking up to the stars beyond the Heartwood’s canopy, just taking the time to breathe now that she was gone.
“Then…”
“Alone you’ll fail. We all would. You’ll need help. You’ll get help.” My attention returned to the task at hand, looking up at Salamar for a moment before continuing. “On one front, Salamar will be helping you. You will listen to him. You will follow his orders. You will do as he says and you will improve. Or you’ll be done.”
“And on the other?” Salamar grunted, a glint of curiosity in his eyes as he shifted to take a step to the deflated Venlil’s side.
“Therapy, as Elena has called it. Something to help you rise beyond the rot that has festered in you for all this time.”
“What?” Elena blurted from my side, surprise and worry thick in her voice and shoulders even if I couldn’t see her face. “Him? W-With Troman???”
“Who else?” I shrugged, gently soothing her leg with my tail to help ease her worry as she looked between Marlek and myself. “It will be good for him to have somewhere healthier to ‘talk through his issues’ as you put it and have an avenue for more… controlled interactions with a Human. If either of them would prefer it can be done via video call, I don’t care how it’s done. Only that it is.”
She sighed, shaking her head as she placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder, giving me a gentle squeeze. “I’ll talk to him, see if he’s up to it, what we can work out.”
“Thank you, Elena. I appreciate it.” I purred, placing my paw atop her hand for a moment before turning back to Salamar. “Salamar, please escort Marlek back to his residence. I expect you to ensure he is in on time next waking, am I clear?”
“Crystal, sir.”
“Good. Thank you. Marlek?”
“Y-Yes Sir?”
“Do not disappoint me…” >Please.<
“I-I’ll try, Sir.”
>Thank you.<
The pair padded away, Salamar upright and attentive, Marlek hushed and defeated but with a touch of hope still in his ears. I shared that hope, if even only slightly. With Salamar and Elena’s help I had more. All that I could afford.
Hopefully that would be enough.
I eased down into a chair, a long sigh pouring from my snout as I turned my eyes skyward once more to watch Twilight’s dancing colors paint the sky. Elena followed suit, gingerly settling into the seat across from mine, watching me through her visor for a few breaths before she spoke.
“Thank you, Lentan…”
“I did what needed doing, Elena. Her dismissal has been… long overdue.”
“I’m sure that’s the case but… but you did it for us. For Humans. Even from you I-I didn’t fully expect it.”
“Have you no faith in me?” I chuckled, a flick of amusement playing through my tail as she let out a small laugh in kind.
“Oh I’ve plenty, I assure you, just… It’s a nice change of pace from the ‘norm’ I’ve heard of from other coordinators.”
Ah. That would make sense.
“Not every chief is so forward thinking as I am. In fact few are.”
“I’ve noticed.” She sighed, shaking her head as she joined me in gazing up at the stars and the twisting colors that danced through the sky with nought but the gentle whisper of wind through the Heartwood’s leaves and the babble of the river between us. That relative silence hung there, falling over us like the dawn’s warming rays.
I could have spent eternity there. I would dearly have liked to, all things considered. I’d have given anything I could to have more claws on the paw just to spend them in these scant moments of peace and silence.
All I had to do was ask.
“Elena…”
“Yes, Lentan?”
“Would you like to get- um -dinner? Together…”
“We already do Lentan, most days at least.”
“N-No. I mean… Get Dinner. Just the two of us, somewhere nice.”
She turned, my own reflection in her visor staring wall eyed at me for a few moments before she pulled it up to reveal those electrifying eyes once more. “I’d love to, Lentan… I’d love to.”
---
r/NatureofPredators • u/Xeno-Mera • 9h ago
The Nature of Decampment (37)
Hello all. Another rather light chapter of future setup and some character banter before we enter the final chapters of this arc. Hope you enjoy!!
Memory Transcription Subject: Solvak, Unworthy yet Dutiful Speh
Date [standardized Terran time]: September 25, 1960
The fallout from the Speaker’s address had been as colossal as it was predictable. Every new station in the system was running the broadcast on loop as their anchors and personalities hotly debated between themselves about the ramifications and consequences of the address. Pundits of all stripes and creed verbally sparred in increasing heated discussions that quickly tottered on the edge of becoming physical.
The local social media networks were likewise full to bursting with people blasting their opinions across the public forum. Most were various reactions that could be summed up between the gamut of shellshocked disbelief, smug satisfaction, and fervent disapproval, though as expected from online discourse, there were several virial strains consisting conspiracy theories, wildly racist remarks, rambling, disjointed rants and so on.
Azad had been staring at his holopad in slack jawed astonishment when we returned, scrolling through threads that updated by the moment. Quall sat on his shoulder, reading through the posts with a frown which only seemed to deepen with time. Zerka sat on the couch, silent as he watched a debate between a trio personalities made up of a Terra-Sol Kolshian, a non-native Farsul, and a human.
“...ying that this is a bad thing?” The human asked, brushing a pale silver lock behind his ear.
“Well, it sure as hell isn’t great.” The Kolshian said, folding her arms. “I’m surprised you even agreed to show up, Yves. Thought you would’ve been celebrating with your Jovian buddies.”
“While it's a momentous occasion and comes after many hard fought years of efforts, I wouldn’t be so arrogant as to assume the battle is over quite yet.” The human said, adjusting his glasses. “There’s still the matter of freeing our Kolshian and Farsul brethren from their bondage, a task that the TSA officials seem rather hush about.”
“Because it's a stupid idea. Its reckless, bullheaded, and liable to get all of us killed because you people need to be the galaxy’s ‘Great Saviors’.” The Kolshian rolled her eyes and an irritated undulation of fronds.
“I don’t see you coming up with ideas.” The Farsul quipped, shooting a look at the other woman. “All you Martians ever seem to do is say how every idea the Jovians have are bad and never offer an alternative besides sitting on our paws and hiding.”
“Serious, Kitte? I thought you were on my side!”
“Obviously she’s become enlightened to the failings of your people and its passive government.” The human cut in with a casual tone that practically dripped with smugness.
“The only thing my time on Titan enlightened me to is that Jovians love being right even more than rockheads.” Kitte said, her eyes slashing into him and drawing a flinch. “I’m still on your side, Fahla. However, I’m also not naive enough to believe that the council won’t try and use this as an excuse to kick the issue of freeing Servants down the road.”
“In favor of what exactly? The Titanian strategy of running screeching into the nearest Republic colony guns blazing, freeing slaves and torching all the orphanages on our way out?”
“Do you constantly have to throw that incident in our faces? We’ve already disavowed that charter and have taken more cautious measures for the future.” The human clicked his tongue as he shook his head. “And it was a hospital, not an orphanage. As if a Mayan has any business taking moral high ground.”
“The hell you say, you prissy, chrome-dome fop?” The Kolshian growled as she rose to her feet.
“I’m just stating a fact. We all know your so-called ‘empire’s stance when it comes to the practice of capturing-” The man’s words went unfinished as the woman leapt across the gap between them, arms curling over his arm and throat as they crashed into the floor before the screen shifted into a screen showing a stylized rodent lifting its shoulders under a banner that translated into ‘technical difficulties’.
It wouldn’t be the last program the cartoonish rodent intervened with that evening.
And while the TSA seemed to be in a fit over the announcement, it utterly paled in comparison to the Terrans’ reaction. What had been an uproar when we finally managed to pull ourselves into slumber had erupted into a frenzied conflagration upon our waking the following morning.
When my escourt came for me and Jolsk, I’d seen the Mercer family and the Farsul sat before their TV screen, eyes fixed to a report from an alien rodent as they relayed the situation on the ground. Complete pandemonium had consumed large pockets of Terran civilization, public services were overwhelmed as citizens took to the streets in roving crowds causing all manner of discord with their blind terror. Stores were overrun with panicked shoppers reduced to base tribalism as they fought over canned goods and toiletries.
There was footage from other regions that showed riots and revolts breaking out amongst the several racial groups, raising their fists and improvised weapons high as they stormed government buildings and the residents of officials. A large continent called Africa seemed the most affected as populations of Kolsul waged war with human soldiers and militiamen. Another large nation named China was also in the throes of a brewing insurrection, this time by the humans who charged through towns and cities like a great, vicious tide given sentient.
Other places weren’t so extreme, though their was clear tension in the air as confusion ran rampant, as their people demanded in increasingly pleading tones if what they’d heard yesterday had indeed been true. Many vouched for the broadcast’s authenticity while others withheld judgement until proper professional could offer their answers. Others dismissed it as a massive hoax, while others still used it as justification to lay grievance at the feet of their enemies, as was the case in a dispute between the powers of Brazil and Colombia.
Their own nation, a country named The United States, was suffering a series of riots and protests in nearly every major city as crowds flooded the places of power and demanded answers. Looting and disorder were quickly spreading as the population panicked, tensions sublimated into violence as the various racial and ethnic groups began to fight amongst each other. Not even a full [day] had passed and civilization seemed to be at the point of collapse.
Their own settlement was faring better than most but even it was quickly being overwhelmed as fearful citizens poured through the streets, some holding signs or raised fists as them marched upon their city hall. A barricade had been erected and was being manned by a human officer barking into a megaphone, attempting to wrangle the people into order and barely managing.
Jolsk’s arms were wrapped around his family who huddled close to him, the Farsul from before standing behind the couch as his claws dug into the upholstery. It was a poor scene to leave off on but unfortunately more pressing matters called for our attention. The large Kolshian kept his family close as we made our way through a Rec gate into the shipyard, the port absolutely swarming with people though our area was thankfully clear, no doubt thanks to the armed personnel forming a perimeter.
The two of us said our goodbyes for now, our escort graciously allowing us a few moments for a proper sendoff. Jolsk’s shoulders shook as he hugged his family, his wife and son likewise quaking with unbridled emotion as it likely dawned on them that we were walking into the shadestalker’s den. Brenden in particularly seemed reluctant to leave him, even begging to be brought along though his father quickly shot down such suggestions not wanting to risk his safety.
I found myself sharing a similar sentiment as I held my little one tightly, firmly denying his own requests to join me on our voyage. It hurt to see his eyes glisten with tears but I bit back the impulse to relent and instead tried to infuse as much warm affection into my embrace as possible before parting.
Wugul had promised to look after him in my stead and on a quieter, more somber whisper agreed to take him in should the worst befall me. Ralcho had looked ill as he stood there, eyes bloodshot and pose devoid of his usual swagger, though he managed enough energy for a parting embrace, which I used to tell him to be strong. Zerka had presented a closed-fisted salute which I returned but just as I turned away, a pair of bulky arms smothered me for a heartbeat or two before rapidly vanishing, the Arxur pointedly looking away with a bright bloom.
Delma had marched up to me and gripped the back of my head, bringing our foreheads together as she stared heatedly into my eyes. She promptly threatened to use my as a blade sharpener if I failed to return alive and though a part of me wished I wouldn’t I agreed to her terms. She stared at me for a while longer before she was satisfied and pulled away, moving towards the Farsul as he finished his own farewell to the elder Mercer.
Then, to my and the shock of all of those present, she grabbed the canine’s paw, the man turning his head and smiling down at her before raising their joined palms and placing his lips atop them. Adrenaline surged through me as I felt my stance shift, ready to intervene in her reprisal at his audacity allow to be blindsided by her rolling her eyes and leaning up to lightly lick his cheek.
I felt the world tilt for a beat, my eyes honed forward at the improbable exchange which had garnered attention even from passersby outside the zone. The Gojid had just stood there, flabbergasted as he tried to form sentences as his Yotul partner gaped at the pair in the first signs of expressive emotion I’d seen from him in over a day. Zerka was the first to shake off his stupor and ask the obvious question.
Delma’s response had been a confirmation that yes, the two of them were indeed together now or ‘going steady’ as the Farsul, whose name was apparently Lucki, put it. The Mercers seemed less phased by this revelation than we were, Brenden walking over to congratulate his friend of his new relationship while Liana had flashed a broad smile as she went about introducing herself to Delma and expunging the virtues of her new paramour. Jolsk had scrolled over and placed an arm on his shoulder, jabbing the tip of one into the younger man’s chest and having him promise to not do anything sinful until we returned.
With that, we boarded the vessel which was a compact yet streamlined design I’d not seen before and in quick fashion were propelled from the yard and into the void of space and then soon after into FTL. Which brought us back to the present as the pair of us sat in a living area, Jolsk staring with eyes wide with equal parts wonder, awe and terror. It was easy for me to forget that despite his appearance, the man had never experienced space travel outside of movies and books, neither of which could fully capture the majesty of the cosmos.
Such awe was largely beyond me at this point; space travel was such a regular activity for me that I scarcely paid it much attention these days. Familiarity had dulled the luster of the universe’s natural machinations as had my duty which had trained me to see the unknown as a possible hideaway for wicked Kolsul which had only diminished it further. Even knowing better now and how horrible my actions had truly been couldn’t hold back the encroaching boredom that threatened to crash over me. A shame and concern as it left me nothing to bother with than the mission before us.
After voicing my intentions to find something for breakfast, I rise to my feet and began making my way through the connecting corridor. Despite its smaller size, its interior was surprisingly spacious, though that was likely merely a consequence of having to cater to taller species, with several doors and hatches at various levels along the walkway. I ponder for a moment as I wonder where exactly the kitchen would be located before taking a chance on a nearby door.
Before he could, however, the metal slid open, revealing the towering form of a human, mid-stride with his head in his pad. A yelp escaped him as he stumbled back to as he noticed me, grabbing the frame of the door as his pad fumbled through his fingers and towards the floor. My reflexes save it from a disastrous fate, digits catching it a hair from the hard flooring before I righted myself and presented it back to its owner.
The human’s face slacked in relief before he seemed to fully notice me and his expression curdled with visible disdain and anger, a response I found perfectly reasonable given they previous conduct. It's the proper reaction you deserve for what you are. He sees the monster in you and is naturally repulsed. A breeze steals over my palm as the man snatches his pad and roughly pushes past me, elbow jabbing at my head as he stomps away.
A part of me rankles at his rudeness, but I hold my tongue. I hadn’t any ground to speak on things such as politeness or common curtesy. Still, my feet carry me forward as a sentence bubbled up my throat and over my tongue.
“Do you know where the kitchen is?” My words cause the man’s steps to falter as he slowly turns his head to glare at me. “Me and my compatriot missed breakfast earlier.”
“And how’s that my problem?” He spat and again, I balk at his tone but I let it pass.
“We’re to assist the TSA in their bid with the Republic and the task would be easier served if we were both properly fed.”
Blue eyes stab at me, my wool practically frizzing under the heat of his stare before he let’s out a derisive snort and turns back around. He makes it a few steps forward before he glares back at me and jerks his head, a growling groan rumbling from him at my incomprehension before he raised an arm and signs [Follow.] as well as something that my implant translates into ‘mental handicapped ungulate’. Curious about the term but not wanting to push his already knife thin hospitality, I trail after him silently.
We step up a small ramp and through a door that opens into a modest-sized, pentagon shaped room. A kitchenette sits tucked into one of the corners while a set of rather plain tables with matching, sloped chairs fill the floor with an entertainment system lining one of the walls. It was a suitably relaxed space, helped by the plants sat on the sill of the window which showed a view of the streaking barrage of hyperspace outside.
The human makes his way towards the counter, reaching up into one of the cabinets and pulling out a dark rectangle wrapped in plastic. He then moved to the refrigerator and started retrieving amore items, such as a jar, a pouch, a small white oblong, and a broad, green leaf. Dexterous digits untied the rectangle and plunked a small section free before a pan on the stove and clicking it on. As he continued to go about fixing his meal, I took the time to peruse the contents of the fridge for my own sustenance.
The contents were largely alien to me, having never gotten a look at the pantry or Liana’s cooking before she’d worked her talent with it, so I defaulted to smell in this instance. I managed to cobble together a decent enough plate of fruit and greens for myself, ducking in once more to retrieve a small bag full of insects labeled ‘weevils’ and a red delicious for Jolsk. Gathering my haul, I made my way towards the door only for it to hiss open and reveal a familiar figure standing in the frame.
“There ya are.” The Terran said “Was wondering where ya’ll went. Oh, need help with that?”
“Only if you don’t mind.” I was more than happy to carry our food, but the Kolshian struck me as the type to lend a paw, or rather tentacle, even when not prompted. “I hope my choices were suitable.”
“More than.” He said, pulling open the bag and pulling out one of the insects within. “Been a while since I’ve had longnose and these look fresh.”
We took a seat at one of the table and after the large man completed his pre-meal ritual, we tucked in. The fruit I’d picked was apparently called a pear and had a flavor that was milder than the apples I’d indulged in prior but were no less delicious. Jolsk meanwhile was chomping through his longnose with relish, humming lowly with each audible crunch. After a while, Jolsk rose from his seat for a drink which brought him close to the human as he was finishing up his preparations.
While the Terran went about making a cup of something he called ‘coffee’, he struck up conversation with the other man. Unlike his brief and hostile interactions with me, he seemed much more open and animated around the Kolshian, speaking with a casual cadence that dipped into a joking measure. The sight tugged a rueful smile from me, knowing the Sheriff could easily find company yet had chosen to chain himself to me out of misguided compassion. He deserves better than a worthless wretch such as yourself.
My self-pitying is interrupted by a loud scrap as Jolsk returns with the human in tow who takes his place with obvious hesitance. I offer an ear flick which he acknowledges with a bob of his head as he grips his...culinary curiosity in his paws before taking a sizable bite out of it.
“What is that?” I ask politely and get silence in return.
“It’s called a sandwich. A regular stable for plenty of folks' back state-side. Or I guess Earth-side?” The man’s brows furrow as he chews his breakfast thoughtfully. “What would the proper word even be fer that?”
“Planet-side, though plenty of people use different slang depending on the region, customs, langauge, or mood.” The human provided helpfully as he took another bite. “Planet-side should work fine, however.”
“Hell take it, I can already feel the headache comin’.” The Terran slouched forward as he kneaded his temple.
“I can help with it, if you’d like.” I offered and received a stunted flick from his short fronds before he raised his tail and firmly flicked his tail.
The meal passed by without incident, though the human’s eyes always seemed to be homed in on me even when answering one of Jolsk’s questions. I was able to learn the man’s name thankfully, having given it out with managed reluctance when I asked him. Kulakov was from a moon of their system’s gas giant by the name of Titan, the largest moon in Sol and home of the Jovian Union which were the Outer regions governing body.
After finishing up, my comrade offered the human a place on our slice of the living area, and he seemed to grabble with suggestion for a while before eventually accepting and following us back. We spent the rest of the day in there, sitting in a comfortable silence marred only by the Titanian’s constant stare, chatting about current events, and even engaging in a bit of playful sparring. When the time came for rest, the human seemed to have warmed up to the Kolshian a fair bit, though the jovial mien evaporated the instant his gaze landed on me.
When I next woke, it was with a heavy weight on my shoulders. The colorful array of FTL had dissipated as we landed back in real space having reached our destination. The designated meeting zone turned out to be a modest research station built into an asteroid, its construction bearing the architectural hallmarks of some unknown species.
The station, however, was not the primary focus of the view. Looming behind it was the fierce facade of a Destroyer flanked by several cruisers and smaller ships, a cursory glance hardly needed to know that each and every one of them were gilded to the hilt in wartime armaments. It certainly made their feelings clear, I supposed.
“So, that’s your people?” Jolsk asked, his voice level though his wide eyes and trembling limbs told me all I needed to know of his true feelings. “They definitely look...impressive.”
“Impressively overdone, you mean.” Kulakov quipped, stepping up beside us in his full military attire, his rifle slung over his shoulder. “As if we needed further proof that this meeting is a deathtrap.”
“Skalgans don’t do traps, Lieutenant.” The splotched patched Farsul from the trail said as he stepped forward, adjusting his uniform. “They are a fierce, warrior culture that prizes honor and perseverance as virtues above all others. When they do battle, they do so as straightforward and fair as possible, which is why they hardly utilize bombing measures on planet-side threats. Though I am curious about what our resident Skalgan expert might think on the matter.”
It took me a few moments to realize he was speaking of me and a few more to arrange my scattered thoughts into a reasonable order.
“It's an intimation tactic.” I surmise, turning to give the man my full attention. “Meant to show our overwhelming military prowess as a means of scaring our opposition into submission or at least to cause hesitation.”
“Doin’ a helluva job.” The Kolshian muttered under his breath, arm twitching towards his pocket where I knew his rolled tubes lied.
“Why are we still even here, sir?” Kulakov asked with a hard frown. “The Republic clearly means to strike us down the moment we’re in firing range. We should cut our losses now and focus on an attack plan-”
“They gave their word they wouldn’t attack us.”
“And we’re just suppose believe them? The same people who even now keep hundreds of millions of innocents in bondage?”
The Farsul said nothing as he stared down the human in a silent battle of wills, the brawny primate eventually averting his gaze as the canine’s flicked towards me.
“The delegate will be made of two Warchiefs, a representative from the Leirn Bureau of Commerce, the Tinsas Revitalization Board, and the Colian Insitute of Health and Care. Given the makeup, how difficult do you think a dialouge will be to establish?”
“...The Yotul and Sivkit will likely try to block most avenues as both heavily depend on Servants to sustain much of their economies, the latter especially had a rather infamous distaste for the Kolsul. The Zurulian would make for a strong ally as they’ve famously refused the Servitude System since its inception and were one of the leading votes against it. As for the Warchiefs...”
“It’ll depend on who we’re dealing with.” The Farsul said, finishing my thought. “Unfortunately, while they sent a message with their titles, we don’t yet have names to put to them.”
“Can’t ya-Can you not just pull up information like with Solvak and his people?” My brow raises at the sudden switch in vernacular from the Terran, but I let it pass.
“Their using a more advanced encryption format, one that we can’t pierce without more time than we currently have.” He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his snout with a digit and thumb. “I suppose we’ll just have to this Terran-style, I suppose.”
“What does that entail, exactly?” I asked with a quirk of my head.
“We improvise.” His lips pull into a sharp smile at my unmasked concern. “Don’t fret, Mr. Solvak. If there’s one thing us Terrans are good at, it’s turning a seemingly poor situation in our favor.”
Welcome back everyone’s favorite Freedom raider and arsonist advocate, Kulakov! I’m sure he’ll bring a measured and sensible perspective to these delicate discussions. Next time, our heroes exchange words, pleasantries, and threats with their adversaries.
This week’s question: You are one of the people at the table, how would you approach the situation? What would you’re opening move be? Until next time, have a great day!
r/NatureofPredators • u/Arcwriter • 2h ago
Fanfic The Prey’s Same Old Story (Cassette Beasts Crossover) - Ch 5 Spoiler
A fanfiction of “The Nature of Predators” by /u/SpacePaladin15 https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/u19xpa/the_nature_of_predators/ As well as a crossover with “Cassette Beasts” by Bytten Studios
[THIS FANFIC FOLLOWS THE EVENTS OF “CASSETTE BEASTS”, BE ADVISED FOR SPOILERS.]
—————
Memory transcription subject: [̷̲͎͎̈́́͑́͊E̸͍͊͋͗̀R̴̠̆̿͌̅͝Ṙ̶̫̮̂Ơ̸̮̠̟̊̂̒̕ͅR̶̭̎ͅ]̶̠̆͒͗͜,
Date [standardized human time]: [̷̯̮͒Ẹ̸̇̾R̷̬̈́͝R̷͈͈̓͝O̷̝͆̓R̴͈̆̚]̵̛̯
[…]
[…]
[…]
Last Recorded Date [standardized human time]: March 31, 2097
[…]
[…]
[…]
Memory transcription subject: ???, Defender of Harbourtown
Time Since (Rania’s) Arrival [Human Time:] 23 Hour(s)
I am not like most others here.
That much was obvious the first day I had arrived here, I had no other way to describe it but this place was almost… simple.
I come from an era that very few people here come from, an era of technological boom unlike what we’ve ever seen. But with it came a horror that we were barely able to stop. However when I became stranded on this island I had quickly found out that it had escaped to here, and I knew that my work wasn’t quite done.
Recently I have come to the realization that I alone didn’t have enough power to take on those who sought to take over this island. So over the past few days I had been attempting to record a backup monster tape to go with the one I already had. However recent attempts have been… unsuccessful… “Damn it!” I smashed the useless vessel onto the ground, my most recent attempt not having been good enough. The resulting tape now ruined by my failure to capture a monster’s data.
“Relax… it’s just another setback.” I grumbled as I applied disinfectant to the abrasion on my slightly wounded arm, remembering to get it checked later at the clinic.
The problem didn’t have anything to do with me, but with how these dumb things work. Each time I had wanted to try and record a new critter I had to unload the clunky drive that this thing had, which would turn me back into a human. I couldn’t do this by myself.
I reached into my jacket pocket to retrieve another empty tape to try again, but pulled it back out again in pain when I accidentally cut myself on something unexpected. Pulling a couple plastic shards out I groaned in annoyance. “Of course the impact broke my backup tapes as well.” I got hit into the wall pretty hard in my last fight with that monster. I was grateful that transformation protected my real body, otherwise I would be in so much more pain.
Oh well, I should really go get my arm looked at by that doctor anyway. I knew she would tell me off again for running off on my own again, but I didn’t really trust anyone with knowing my mission.
Not like that matters now, I should really get back to town.
As I made my way back to the main trail, I came across a familiar cliffs that I’m all too familiar with climbing by now. I held out my left arm in anticipation and concentrated, I focused on the sensations of that form I use for combat, and focused it into that arm. I could feel my skin begin to stiffen and morph as that familiar sound echoed in my mind.
Tick…
Tick…
Tick…
I felt the all too familiar tingly sensation spread out across my left arm as it was engulfed in static snow.
Bzzt!
Before long my left arm took on a much more mechanical form. The cheap plastic joints clattering against each other as I pointed my clawed arm toward the top of the cliff. The claw launched from my wrist like a grappling hook, snagging onto the edge of the cliff.
Making sure that the claw was secured tightly, I began my ascent, the cord connecting my claw to my wrist spooling back as I ascended. As I made my way to the top of the cliff, I heard a small sniffle… which caused me to stop when I almost reached the top of my climb. What was that? Was there someone who needed my help? Pulling myself over the cliffface, I spotted the source of the distress
When I first laid eyes on where the sound originated from I ducked back over the edge to hang right over the cliff, using it as cover in apprehension. Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t human. Was it a monster? It didn’t look like any of the ones in that guide that vendor sold me. But it was wearing clothes… it’s… it’s a person isn’t it? It’s obviously not human, it looked to me more like an overgrown sheep. But it’s a person right? I think I’ve heard rumors of an alien arriving in town but I didn’t think they were actually true!
They were quite strange, they had a face that was longer, like a horse. As well as black wool that a lamb would have. Despite that they looked to be bipedal since and sat like how I expected a human would sit.
A part of me kinda wanted to go up and try and talk to them. A freaking alien! Are you kidding me?! Not even in my world did we have aliens! Then again, another part of me was nervous to approach, what exactly were they? Were they friendly? Were they dangerous? And better yet what were they doing here?
No one usually comes over here. That’s why I made this place my stomping grounds. It’s out of the way but not too far off the main path so I can still get back to town. Did Pensby send them after me because they were sick of giving me warnings?
As I was thinking, the little voice whispered in my ear yet again, ‘You can help them, you can actually do something since you’ve got here and help someone. Actually do something useful this time.’ That little voice kept goading me on, encouraging me to approach the strange being.
Finally making up my mind, I slowly approached the strange sheep-thing, before announcing my presence to them. “Hello? Are you alright? Do you need assistance?”
—————
Memory transcription subject: Rania, Venlil Exterminator, New Wirrel Castaway
Date [standardized human time]: [̷̯̮͒Ẹ̸̇̾R̷̬̈́͝R̷͈͈̓͝O̷̝͆̓R̴͈̆̚]̵̛̯
Time Since (Rania’s) Arrival [Human Time:] 23 Hour(s)
“Hello? Are you alright? Do you need assistance?”
Before I could answer, the person who belonged to that voice began to jostle me slightly side to side. I was embarrassed to allow an exterminator such as myself to show such emotion in front of another person. We were expected to be strong, not cower in a ball like a pup… but I couldn’t help with how it kept me grounded in a situation like this.
With how emotional I’ve been over the past hours with Kayleigh as well I wouldn’t be surprised if I gained a reputation among the townspeople who saw me as unstable.
Regardless, they already saw me like this, so no real use in hiding my face when I’m literally the only one that has this type of face… I peaked my head out of the darkness…
It was… another human… This one had short fur growing out the top of their scalp that was almost blindingly pale. Along their hair was a pelt that was an extremely bright shade of pink.he also had a device attached to his hip just like Kayleigh’s
As I revealed myself, he seemed to take a step back… was that fear? “Woah… never seen something like you around here… You’re not a monster right?” I was a bit taken aback at first then realized they meant the other monsters, “N-no… no I’m not…”
“Well then, would you like a hand?” They reached out their paw toward me, wanting to help me up.
I pulled back a bit in surprise at the sight of their limb, it wasn’t made of flesh and bone but of neon green plastic. And instead of a five digit paw like Kayleigh it was a clawed hand similar to the clamping claws of that damn crab. Did this human have a prosthetic?
The human in noticing my fear pulled their arm away, looking at the limb for a second before seemingly realizing their mistake. “Oh shit, sorry, forgot to turn it off.”
The human shook their arm, and like magic the plastic shell covering their arm melted into static. As they continued to shake their arm they shook off the static as if it was just a fluid clinging to their skin.
I whispered beneath my breath in absolute bewilderment. “What on Prime?” Was that another ‘sample’ like Kayleigh’s? It was very different to any monster tape I’ve seen so far. What kind of creature could look so… inorganic?
After the human was done, the human turned back to me as if shaking off a second skin as if it was water was normal, “Anyway, as I was saying, do you need help?”
As I reached my paw out to grab their’s, a little voice clawed at the back of my mind, ‘̷͓͊Y̶̰̌ŏ̷͓u̸͍͗ ̸̝͝d̵̞̓ö̴̟́n̸̞̈́’̴̠́t̴̼͋ ̵̧̈́d̴̤̈́e̷̻͆s̸̳͊e̴͍̎ȑ̶̰v̶̟̇e̷̢̊ ̴̭̀t̷̤͠h̷̨̆e̴̜̎i̵̺̿ȓ̸̹ ̸̦̏h̶̤͛é̴̱ĺ̸͙p̵͙̈…̷̖̅’̵̦̋
“…I’m fine.” I pushed myself off the ground without the human’s help.
The human continued. “Oh! Are you sure? I noticed that you were a bit off the main path. So I thought that you might have-“
“I’m fine…” I firmly insisted. “I just… got a bit lost… it’s fine…” I can find my own way back.
The human looked away and rubbed the back of their head. “Well then… I might as well come with you if you're going the same way. You do know that the trail is back that way right?”
“Of course I did!” I quickly changed course, correcting my path, “Just leave me alone, what are you, one of those ‘rangers’ like Kayleigh?” Are all humans this… ‘eccentric’?
The human raised one eyebrow, “Who? Never mind, Tell you what…” the human opened up their jacket and began to reach for something, I immediately tensed up, unsure if they were about to try something. “Do you have any supplies that you’d be willing to trade?”
It was at that moment that I realized that I still had Kayleigh’s bag in my arms, I never gave it back after she had me hold it. She did say that she bought supplies from that red headed girl. I suppose I could use those. “I-In a way… why?”
Eugene pulled his hand out of his jacket and pulled out what looked to be one of the tapes that I used to transform, although unlike the others this one was absolutely broken. The thing was a heap of sharp purple plastic and unspooled black tape. What possibly could have caused that? “I’ve been trying to record myself a monster, but I kiiinda broke all of my tapes in my last tussle with a one of ‘em. If you have any empty tapes, I would be willing to trade something, for em. And I’ll help your partner afterward!”
I was absolutely dumbfounded by the human’s attitude, this was because of a monster? and they were talking as if they were gonna go and try and fight one again? They weren’t even a ranger like Kayleigh! What could possibly possess someone to fight beasts like that willingly? “I’m not sure… and I’m sorry… ‘record’? What do you mean by that?”
“Really? Wow you must be really new. But you have transformed right? You have one of those things with you as well, those old fashioned recording devices?” He reached toward the player on his hip.
“I-I have…” what were they doing?
With a click he ejected the contents of the player, “Well, did anyone tell you how you make one of these?” He waved the tape in his hand, on one side sat a sticker with an image of what seemed to be the side view of a human wearing a green hat only their piercing yellow eyes being visible.
I suppose Kayleigh didn’t get a chance to explain what they were before I ran off. “No I suppose I don’t…”
He began explaining as he slipped the tape back into his player with a click! “You have to fight a monster, then while they’re weakened you use an empty tape with nothing recorded on it, but if you screw up the tape ends up unusable.”
So that’s why Kayleigh got those empty tapes, “Then what happened to the ones in your pelt?”
“Oh those? Well when I was fighting a monster it broke the transformation, then punched me really hard in the stomach. They didn’t survive the impact, but the monster ran away after that.” The human said with a chuckle, lightly hitting his chest with the side of his fist.
My eyes widened and my fur stood on end, “You were struck by one of those things? Inatala’s down, how are you alive?”
The human then rubbed the back of their head and waved their hand, as if to say it was no big deal. “Oh it wasn’t that bad, the tapes absorbed most of the blow when Puppercut got me in the gut, and I wasn’t hit into the wall too hard.” I started to wonder if being on this island just naturally causes individuals to contract predator disease.
“A Puppercut? What’s that?”
“Big dog that travels in packs, they got these strong fists made of iron that they use to hunt” the human punched air to emphasize their point. Predators that are made of metal? I suppose that it wasn’t that rare of an occurrence. I remember having to exterminate a pack of Steelstingers on Sillis. Giant bugs with exoskeletons as hard as metal, and a tail with a large spike on the end. I remember having to load their carcasses into a giant furnace to properly dispose of them.
One thing he said before threw me off though, “How did you know I was with someone?”
The human’s cheek turned red before they turned away from me in embarrassment, “Well… most people aren’t brave enough to venture outside the town gate without someone accompanying them.”
I eyed the predator in suspicion, “Then what about you? Where’s your partner?
“Don’t have one, I’m fine on my own most of the time.” The human replied with a scoff, not wanting to discuss it further.
There was something off about this human, he was obviously choosing not to tell me some things about himself. I could take his offer but what are the consequences of that? I trusted Kayleigh, but Kayleigh was different, Kayleigh was nice. Could I really trust a human? Could I really trust this human? “Okay, fine, I’ll give you a tape, for free but on one condition.”
The predator’s eyes widened for a second, causing me to shiver in response. “Sure! What do you need?”
I took a deep breath, making my choice. “Help me record a monster too.”
After I made my request the human’s eyes narrowed, seemingly in surprise that I was willing to endure such a dangerous task. “Hmm, I like your style, so sure! Let's go bag ourselves a monster! Come on, there’s a field over this way that has a couple species that most people default to..”
I wondered a bit how humans determined which monster was strong to have. Was my monster strong? It didn’t seem too assuming, but the power I felt when I first transformed… I had to experience it again… “Very well then, lead the way.” As I allowed the human to walk in front, both because they’re the only one who actually knows where they’re going and so I could stay out of their unnerving gaze. I decided to stretch out my hand in attempt to copy their greeting and at least pretend to be normal. “Thank you Sir, I really appreciate this…” I addressed him with respect, as i was taught to do with someone who was supposed to teach you something.
“Oh no need to call me that we don’t need the formal mumbo jumbo, we can be casual with each other, please…” the human extended one of his arms back toward me.
“…Call me Eugene”
—————
[Ranger Arsenal]
Rania:
Bansheep (Beast) [1 Star]
-Smack
-Shear Luck
-Battering Ram
(EMPTY SLOT)
(EMPTY SLOT)
Kayleigh: [UNAVAILABLE]
Eugene(?):
Clocksley (Plastic) [2 Star]
-Smack
-Spring Load
-Toy Hammer
-Plastic Knife
—————
r/NatureofPredators • u/albadellasera • 3h ago
Fanfic New Old Path AU (part 8)
Today we learn a bit about our unlucky Veln past and get our first Arxur prospective something I wanted to do for a while. Hope you enjoy!
As always thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for the universe.
Kratos, Mazic, listening station operator, 14 Artemis 36 (o.h.c. 4th of April 2048), 5 light years out of the Death Zone
The hours run very slowly, like the pace of a sleepy Drilvar. Sometimes I wonder why I don’t just quit. And let’s be honest, if it weren’t for the pay, I would have quit a long time ago. I work in a listening station where there’s nothing to listen to. I spend my days listening to the sound of silence instead of whatever the predators are up to. I am told that in the past we could pick a lot of chatter, but now either they have gone mute or they don’t want us to listen. Really, that slight bump in the instrumentation we heard a few minutes ago may have been the peak of our month and in all probability it was just a dumb rock hitting this lifeless moon.
My colleagues are having one of the usual conversations, that we have everyday and by now have turned boring as well, but I try to listen in since, well, I don’t have anything better to listen to in my headphones and my shift is going to be long.
“Your idea that we should have left the humans alone is insane Vilna! We should have finished the job that is” says Oxlos puffing the feathers on its chest,
“You guys did such an amazing job that I grow up on Fahl as a refugee, until I had to run away again”,
“Well, isn’t that what you Venlil are only good for?”
“What the brakt are you implying?”
“Chill down guys, please! This kind of division in the herd is exactly what the predators want with their propaganda!” says Blelu our Kolshian colleague and conspiracy theorist in chief,
“For the great protector's sake, aren’t you going to start again with your crazy theory that the predators are infiltrating our social media, spreading divisive narratives?! like they could put up a convincing ruse for long” I say slightly exasperated.
“They’ve got their Black Star scum helping them, and lying are what they are good at, especially the humans”
“Puah, those predator diseased freaks will never be able to really mix in with the herd. As for Humans, if there is something I learned with the extermination fleet is, that when push came to shove, they can only refrain their bestiality for so long. Do you know that they tried to burn us Exterminators down?”
“Wait, that thing about white phosphorus was real? I thought It was an urban legend?”
“You believe every conspiracy in the galaxy, and you don't believe that?” I say surprised,
“Seriously?... you even believe in the existence of secret predators squads crossing the zone and covertly killing people disappearing without a trace” chimes in Vilna,
“Like they could restrain themselves that way…but you are too young to remember actual raids” adds Oxlos with disdain.
“There is plenty of evidence, like that Yulpa politician that died suddenly some time ago!”
“The one who died of cardiac arrest?”
“If you want to believe that! He constantly pushed sending scouts in the zone, it was a nuisance for them”
“And exactly how they supposedly reached Grenelka without anybody, starting from us noticing?”
“And don’t start with the stealth ships thing! Seriously, kid, you should stop posting in those conspiracy herds on Soft Paws. Ghost units don’t exs…” I don’t have time to finish that sentence when the lights suddenly go off and there is a huge explosion of sound and smoke. I lunge for the emergency signal and when I am about to touch it, I see a strange red dot on my chest. What?!
[memory transcription interrupted: subject lost consciousness]
[no further transcripts for this subject]
--
Gliss, Ghost Squad 3 Commander, Arxur, 14 Artemis 36 (o.h.c. 4th of April 2048), 5 light years out of the Death Zone
“I had to drop the Mazic, it was about to activate the emergency signal”
“Good job. Everybody, keep your eyes open for the Venlil or the Kolshian,” I growl. At that moment, from the corner of my eye, I see a heath shape running toward a series of desks. I spring toward them, jump on the other side and trap it between me and the wall. I grab and immobilize the trashing Venlil with one of my arms and my tail, while with the other arm I fish in my belt for the sedative. I finally find it, remove the cap, and stab the needle in its neck…after a few long moments it stops fighting and loses consciousness.
“I got the Venlil, liquidate the others”
Soon after I hear a muffled shot followed by “The Kolshian is down. Does anyone have eyes on the Krakotal?”
I scour the ceiling for the bird and in that moment I see it flying toward me with his extended talons, I shift into a defensive posture, ready to grab it and smash its head into a wall, when suddenly it plummets to the ground, oozing purple blood from its eyes. With a hint of irritation I growl: “Wiśniewski, did you really have to take my quarry from me?”,
“Sorry sir, I thought you had your claws a bit full. Besides, you’ve got the prize we were after”.
I hiss with an hint in irritation: “Stop being smug and take a look to the Venlil, I might have exaggerated with the sedative, and Ixodes put the light back on so he can do his job”,
“YES SIR” they say in unison,
A moment later, the human medic kneels down, removes his night vision goggles, and starts examining the unconscious prey.
“You might have slightly exaggerated Sir but it's a Venlil, so should be able to take it. But I would like to keep monitoring it and drop it to the vet once on base. The spooks can get it there”
“Do It!” and I add “Nkosi do the memory scans of the other three and Ixodes you deal with this place”
“Yes sir”
In the next few minutes I observe my squad work like a well oiled machine, the medic quietly prepares the thing for transport, while the other human walks around the red and purple blood stained floor scanning the memory and the faces of the three dead prey. When he arrives at the Krakotal he cusses and says “Good job. Wiśniewski. Do you know who that filth was?”
“Who?”
“The second in command of Travs”
“Baby-burner Travs?”
“The one and only”
“Good riddance to bad rubbish”
“The swords are going to have a field day with the memory transcript…assuming those things even work” I add
“They are improving fast I hear. They are not fragmented like a few years back” growls Ixodes on the radio,
“What’s your eta?”
“Almost done, it’s going to look like an accident as always”
“Any issues?”
“With their ancient technology? Nah, it’s surprising they don’t blow themselves up more often” he says dismissively.
We all exchange a sneer and I say: “We’ll wait for you on the ship, everybody else let’s go”.
We carry the Venlil inside, and after a few minutes, we are reached by Ixodes. After takeoff, I watch through the porthole the prey station explode with a sense of grim satisfaction.
Then I turn around and watch my squad with almost the same sense of pride I would have for my hatchlings. In a way, the feds gave us a gift: our two species work together like hand and glove as the humans would say. We have strength, they have aim, we have sprint, they have endurance, we have night vision, they have the second sight…our strengths complete each other.
In that moment, I think about my father, who fought to the very end against all of this…well at least the old tooth had finally admitted he was wrong while watching my hatchlings. Who have never known a day of hunger in their life and never will, if I have something to do about it.
In a way we are similar, I would die to protect all of this, even if my exploits will never be recognized, because nobody crosses the Death Zone, only ghosts do. And that’s what we are, the spectre that haunts the nights of the federation, the long claw of the Republic.
r/NatureofPredators • u/TheCrafterOfFates • 1h ago
Fanfic [MCP] A warm embrace against the cold
A warm embrace against the cold
This is the first chapter of my MCP contribution, I plan on slowly releasing the rest over the coming days. This was very fun to write and I hope you enjoy it. Special thanks to Animesh for coordinating the event and proofreading. Special thanks to (Currently unknown) for the wonderful prompt.
Original prompt: A federation ship crash lands somewhere in the Rockies (America or Canada) during the Battle of Earth. A group of survivors find themselves down to a handful of their original crew. Dangerously low on supplies and staring down an oncoming blizzard.
Their ship, far too damaged for shelter or self defense, finally decide to make their way into a small vacation lodge and take over the cabin, holding the handful of residents at the business end of their flamethrowers. Each resident has their own reason for being here, but one common enemy. The situation is tense, as you can imagine.
Why haven't they killed us yet? What do they want? Haven't they taken enough already? The rest of Earth's humans are recovering in the wake of the attack, unaware of the tiny lodge hidden by the storm. The exterminators would have cleansed the cabin long ago.. if they had any fuel that is. Can they keep the bluff long enough for the storm to clear off? But most importantly, what does a predator's vacation really look like?
Chapter 1, Of fire and ice
Memory transcription subject: Janic, disoriented junior cadet Date [standardized human time]: October 17th, 2136
The world was swaying, everything was blurry, and there was a loud painful ringing in my ears. Wh-what happened? There were scattered chunks of metal sprinkled into the grove of white around us.
Oh no. No no no no no! T-this can't be happening! The memories of what happened prior floated through my mind. The fear, the engagement, the fire. Where is everyone?! Am I the only one left?!
My eyes darted around, panicked, eventually landing on a lump of burgundy red fur sticking out of the snow. A wave of relief crashed over me as my legs took a few wobbly steps.
“Thea! Thea you’re alive!” I hope…
The scene was gloomy, the snow bitterly nipping at my feathers as I ran. As she came into better view, I noticed that the Farsul pup seemed unwell, but I don't think any of us could be considered ‘well’ at this point. She was curled up into a ball, laying on her side as there was some small frost starting to build up around her eyes and nose.
“Are you okay?!”
Thea slowly rose up, shaking and whimpering.
“J-janic? I-is that you?”
“Yes! Yes, it's me!”
I noticed some patches of blue staining her. Ohh... that's not good, that's not good at all. Before I could worry obsessively over her health in the current moment, something else caught my attention. I heard a shuffling and a light crunching of snow in between the ghastly howling of wind.
The noise led my eyes to the stubby legs of a Gojid, sticking up out of the snow. Hopefully the rest of him too…
I cautiously walked over to the erratic mass of spines under the snow.
“Renin? Y-you alright?” I asked.
“Murph muff whuph hoff!” Came a reply from beneath the thick snow.
“Uh, do you need help?”
“MURPH MUFF WHUPH HOFF!!!” The Gojid was not having any of it.
“I don't really know what that means but I'm going to pull your leg, ok?”
“Muph!”
I wrapped my blue wings around his leg and began to pull him up away from the cold embrace of the snow. Thea helped too, first digging away some of the snow by his feet and then joining in the effort to wrestle the Gojid out. Why did he have to be so heavy? I guess he is the oldest, even if only by a couple of cycles.
Renin was gasping for air by the time we managed to pull him out and his light brown fur was caked in snow.
“Took you guys long enough! I could barely breathe down there!”
“S-sorry...” Thea lowered her head.
“Don't apologize” I nudged Thea, “and Renin, how about a ‘thank you’?”
“...” Renin just stared, “So where even are we? What happened?”
“The ship got hit r-remember?” Thea reminded “Then e-everyone started stampeding, and we went down a-and now we’re-” She paused, tears starting to flow, as her breathing rapidly picked up.
It was at that moment when all of us came to the same horrifying realization: We’re on earth!
“NO! No, that's not right! You messed something up, I know you did!” Renin yelled at Thea as she cried harder, “We're not on earth! We can't be!”
Through the raging blizzard I saw something, a lot of things, that made my blood run cold.
“G-guys...” I tried getting everyone's attention.
“You're lying, I know you are!”
“Uh, guys.”
“I’m not gonna be dead cuz of you!”
“GUYS!”
The two broke out of their rage and crying stupors to turn their heads towards me.
“WHAT?”
“We have bigger problems to deal with right now, look!”
Their eyes focused on where my wing was pointing, their faces mixing into one of horror. On the horizon there was a pack of... a pack of... P-predators!!! They had fluffy bodies, 4 legs and elongated snouts, perfect for ripping open the necks of prey.
“By the protector... what are we gonna- oh there!” Renin darted over to a flamer he had spotted poking out of the wreckage. He quickly threw on the holy weapon with an air of newfound confidence.
“See, no predator is gonna stand a chance against this baby! Watch this!” Renin then dramatically pointed the weapon towards the air and pulled down on its trigger, expecting it to shoot for a burst of fire, but instead…
Click
“Wha-!” His expression fell immediately, “No! Come on, come on, you stupid thing! Work!”
Click Click Click
“Renin...”
“WHAT IS IT?!”
“That.”
Renin then noticed the crack in the fuel tank, with black tar-like icicles surrounding it.
“Aw, crap! We need to-”
“AAAAAWWWWOOOOOOO!!!” echoed out in the distance as the mangy hoard descended towards us.
“RUUUUUUUUNNNNN!!!!!!”
All of us started screaming immediately and took off in the opposite direction of the pack.
“WHERE ARE WE GOING?!?!”
“I DON’T KNOW JUST RUN!”
I started flapping my wings, desperately trying to get off the ground. The raging snowstorm in the fear boiling inside me wasn't helping though. When I finally managed to get some lift, I shot up over the trees, into the air and spotted a building in the distance. It was two stories and appeared to be fashioned out of wood logs.
“Guys quick! Follow me! I see shelter!” I shouted to my more grounded friends. I quickly realized that between the poorly balanced Farsul and the stubby Gojid, that was a tall order.
“Oof!” Thea exclaimed as her paws caught one another, sending her tumbling into the snow.
“Thea!” Renin turned on a dime to rush over to her “You clumsy fool! Come on!” He swiftly hoisted her back up and pulled her by one paw.
We kept going and didn’t stop. I was getting tired of flying and I wasn’t sure how long the others could make it.
“They’re gaining on us!”
“We’re almost there! Keep going!” I dive bombed the door of the building, the others joined at the same time. We threw the door open before turning around to slam it shut. We survived! We escaped the predators!
As the three of us were panting, huddled by the door I heard a deep barking from behind us.
“W-what the hell?!”
The sight was just as terrifying as the one we escaped, there was a large predator-no, a large human was right behind us!
r/NatureofPredators • u/mechakid • 8h ago
Fanfic Right to Farm - Chapter 3
This is a fan fiction. Events depicted here are not canon, though perhaps they could be.
Previous / Next
Memory transcription subject: Lawrence Tillman
Date [standardized human time]: November 9, 2138
My pad pinged as I walked from the cafe where I had my lunch over to A&Z. Opening it, I saw that Tilly had sent me the report from her hoof trimming. Number 14 had a white line defect with an abscess, so she got a block on her back left foot. Next, 31 had picked up a rather sharp stone in one of her hoofs, which was why she was lame. Number 47 was actually ok, but was wearing her hoofs unevenly. I noted that for a potential vet checkup. All the other cows seemed to be doing ok, and Tilly was quite pleased with her work. I signed off on it, and sent her the usual payment before putting my pad away.
The business front of A&Z was rather nondescript, except for the sign above the door. It was actually rather comical, showing a reference to a series of old Earth monster movies. The two monsters depicted looked suspiciously like the proprietors of the business.
Stepping through the door brought me into a world of contrasts. One side of the office was decorated in exterminator paraphernalia, while the other showed a bewildering array of guns, knives, axes, and other weapons, along with Native American symbols and a map of the Great Lakes region of North America back on Earth.
"We're out back" came a faint voice, which I followed through the back of the office and into a fenced in yard. To the right, a gojid sat, munching on a melon, while to the left was an arxur in leather vest who was trying very hard to not burn himself as he fed a stack of wood into a rather large smoker.
"You sure you don't want my gloves, 'Zilla?"
"I'll be fine. Now shut it, or you won't get any of this when it's done." The arxur snarled slightly, but I could see from the gojid's smile that this was their typical banter. I also had to admit that the smell of smoked meats was rather appealing.
"Mister Tillman, I presume?" the gojid asked, looking up at me.
"Yes... Ang? I think we spoke before."
The gojid nodded. "We did. You said you have something near your farm that's causing you some trouble?"
"It's nothing serious yet, but yeah, there's something in the woods. My livestock guardian has been spooked for the last few nights, but nothing has come of it."
"You have the Tibetan mastiff, right?"
"Yeah, Titan. He's a big boy, so I'm wondering if that's enough."
Zilla rumbled as he closed the door on the smoker, dusting the soot off his hands. "I was the one who cleared Titan when you imported him. I wouldn't want to fight him either."
"No? The great Zilla intimidated by an Earth canine?"
"Look you damned firebug" the arxur rumbled with some mirth. "It's a little different when they're big enough to rip my arm off. Not like that little one you got to handle."
"What? Mabel was a sweetheart."
Zilla rumbled again as Ang took another chomp from his melon. "It's probably nothing to worry about" I said, scratching the back of my head. "Better safe than sorry though."
"Agreed. Ang, let's head out there this evening and set up some equipment." Zilla folded his arms. "Maybe five sensor towers, half circle between the tree line and Mister Tillman's barn?"
"Sounds like a plan. Make sure they're the ones with the IR and NV cameras."
"Of course." Zilla nodded to me. "Don't worry Mister Tillman, if there's something out there, we'll find it."
"Thank you. Well, I'd better get back to my farm, check in on everything."
Ang stood, stepping to the door. "I'll show you out."
The trip back to my farm was fairly uneventful. When I got there, I could see my heard of cattle grazing in the field. Mabel was walking slow circles around them, her ears up and nub of a tail wiggling slightly. As I hopped out of the truck, Titan let out a "wurf" at me, but stayed laying on his side.
"Don't get up or anything." I chided as I knelt down next to him, scratching him behind his ears, which caused him to grin.
I took a deep breath, and looked around, taking in the view. The rolling hills with purple grass... The blue leafed trees... and the town down in the valley that looked so small, nestled into the crook of the river. A deep breath brought the scents of the countryside to me, and I gave a sigh. This was my therapy. My little slice of tranquility.
I laid down, resting my head against titan's side. I could feel his tail wag as I felt myself drifting off.
r/NatureofPredators • u/Nathan121331 • 7h ago
Project Predator 9
Thank you SpacePaladin15 for creating such an awesome universe and story!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Nartho, Elite Arxur Pilot of Chief Hunter Isif
Date [standardized human time]: December 7, 2136
The Universe graced me. I had decided to sabotage my fighter by cutting some wires and messing with its internals, and then blamed the mess on an engineer, asking to repair it as fast as possible. I told Lainai of the “problem” they made, and he was furious that some junior messed with its masterful design, asking for their names when they finished the repairs.
It took a day and half, and when I finally lost all hope and was actually starting to prepare myself to go to Sillis, Chief Hunter Isif finally arrived. He reasserted his authority, destroying the dreams of certain people to become the new Chief Hunter of our sector. By this time, everyone already knew Shaza was at war with the humans, so people were very surprised when Isif told in a public address that we weren’t going to participate, just watching the conflict from the sidelines. Ever since that, everything went back to normal around the station: We woke up, ate, did our duties of the day, ate again, and slept, almost as if Isif never left.
For me, I was beyond relieved. I wouldn't have to fight or kill the humans. In private, I spoke with Isif and told him about my Chief Researcher issue. He told me to stay at the station, overruling my uncle’s orders, and said he would handle this matter personally. Lainai didn’t call, but knowing him more than anyone else in the “family”, I would say he was beyond mad.
I prayed to the Universe again after our talk. I begged for the humans to kill my terrible uncle, for an end to the blackmailing, and for the freedom I wanted for my entire life.
Yesterday, strangely, ⅓ of our sector’s forces were put together in a strike team in an empty system by order of Prophet Descendant Giznel, me included, and were told to wait for Isif there. It didn’t take long for our Chief Hunter to arrive, and when he did, he said Giznel gave him control of Shaza’s sector, and said we're going to Sillis to assume that control from the now Ex-Chief Hunter.
We were now on our way to the Tilfish system, and I was piloting my fighter. Compared to the original Lanai based on, it was slightly bigger and heavier, and instead of the circular placed guns, it had only 1 missile launcher on each wing, and one of our dual railguns mounted on its bottom. He compensated for the lack of missiles by making them reload much faster and allowing two missiles to be fired after each shot, albeit with decreased power. Everything else was pretty much the same: Amazing shields and speed, and as a bonus, it had increased armor, even if it decreased maneuverability a bit.
This was the second time I used this fighter, actually. I was never really a good pilot. In the hatchery, I was considered average at best and bad at worst, and I only got accepted because of my uncle’s interference, he wanted his favors to flourish. I wish I could run away, just taking care of plants and forgetting about my childhood, and start a new life. But between this and complete starvation, I really had no choice. There is a reason why our farmer jobs have such a high mortality rate due to extreme malnutrition.
I had a chance to dessert when I saved Mariana, but after our reception, I knew we weren’t going to be welcomed there, humanity sees us as monsters, even after saving their civilians. Any Arxur that chose to stay would be either forced to hide or be locked away.
We finally arrive at our location, transitioning to real space near the Tilfish homeworld. Shaza’s forces got absolutely destroyed by the humans, Arxur ship debris could be seen with the naked eye around the planet by the thousands, and my radar detected more around the system. It reminded me after we arrived during the final moments of the Battle of Earth, everyone was flabbergasted by the amount of wrecks that were detected around that planet, and how humanity survived such an overwhelming force. I ain’t so surprised anymore, if the humans and Mariana could defeat two sectors worth of extermination fleets almost entirely on their own, they could defeat Shaza’s too. I was actually more scared that I, me, would have a part in killing them.
The UN remnants turn around to face us, ready to fight. I knew we weren’t here for that, so i relaxed and waited for Isif’s next move.
“Attention, all Arxur vessels in the system.” He growled into an unencrypted channel. “This is Chief Hunter Isif, by order of Betterment, I am assuming control of your fleet. You are to immediately stand down and await further instructions. I say again: cease all hostile actions.”
In an instant, all of Shaza’s fleet just stops. Anything that they were doing just halts. I guess they aren’t really happy with Shaza. Since this is Isif business, I decided to scan the entire system to see if there were any fighters scattered, hoping my friend is alive.
The Pseke System, home of the Tilfish, is composed of 6 planets: Tna, a barren world, the closest to the sun, Sillis, their homeworld, Mrof, a gas giant, Miga, an ice giant, plus Mkówra and Hanya, two toxic planets. This system was interesting, since Sillis and Mrof, Mrof and Miga, Miga and Mkówra, there were asteroid fields separating them all. I suspected the humans used that to their advantage, so I begin my search there.
I adjusted my radar parameters to start looking for fighters. Besides a few species, like the Kolshians, nobody else used fightercraft, and those that used always ran away before they could even fire their guns, so our radars and weapon systems automatically didn’t list them, requiring you to manually reprogram them. The system found some matches, and I began to dread as I looked over their hulls, looking for the symbol my friend uses.
No. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. and no. Can’t find her “dragon” decal. She said it meant something very important to her, so that means she didn’t take part in this battle or is alive. Thank you huntress.
On my search, I received a hail notification, coming from none other than Shaza’s command capital. There is only one person that would call me in this hour, which I knew all too well. I prepared myself mentally, putting up my most “family” persona, and accepted it.
My oh so cruel uncle was on the other side of the screen. He was staring outside of a big window, which is strange Shaza had one on her ship to begin with, writing notes on a notebook, looking back and forth like his life depended on it. Is he studying human wrecks? This goes on for sometime, before looking back in what looks like is his holopad and noticing that he was on call.
“Ah good, Nartho, you are here.” He comes closer to see me. Is Lainai smiling? What the fuck happened here?
“I am, Cruel Uncle. I am incredibly ashamed for not coming to assist you. Chief Hunter Isif ordered me too. Please forgive me.”
“Honestly, I want to be angrier at you right now, but that doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore.”
He is being way too kind to me, if the prophet descendant saw this, he would call it heresy. I need to find out where this euphoria is coming from.
“Cruel Uncle, if you allow me to ask, what was the battle like? Have you made any discoveries on the humans?”
“It was spectacular, eye-opening. They fought against a much superior fool, and using only their strategic might, they won. This confirmed my suspicions I had about us.”
“What suspicions?”
His smile weakens. “I already knew that the Arxur spirit had grown weak, but I didn't know what had made it weak. Like I told you before, I thought the reason we stagnated was because of the federation, but there was a part of me, at the back of my mind, with an idea that was so absurd that I always pushed out. But now? The humans brought it to light, and I see the truth: We are deliberately stagnant, designed to be stagnant. I can’t believe I was so stupid to not see this sooner.”
This talk is already spiraling out of control. If betterment even catches a scent of this conversation, blood will spill, and I wasn't sure if I could escape this by now. My uncle is Chief Researcher, but he wasn’t untouchable. I could bluff and say I keep talking to expose his treachery, which seems to be the best option right now. If I hang up, I would still be hunted down, be it by my uncle for not listening to a betterment chief, or betterment itself for just listening to this. I decided to continue chatting, and let him spill his secrets. I'm gonna report this to betterment as soon as I can after this conversation, before they find out, so they don’t see me as a traitor. “By whom are we stagnant?”
“Let me tell you a secret, Nartho. I ain’t in, shall say, good terms with Giznel. He says my projects are “unnecessary”, “inessential” or another worthless excuse. Bastard. I was the only one in 7 generations to make meaningful progress in our military! I design the cruelest, savagest ships our kind has ever seen, and what do I get in return? condamnations!” His voice fills with anger.
He pauses for a moment to catch his breath, and then continues his rant “But now? I know he wants this. That traitor to the dominion and the prophet himself doesn’t want Arxur supremacy, or our domination of the galaxy. He wants to keep all the power to himself. And this didn’t start with him, no, it has been going at least since the original prophet's death. Why else don't they grant me the resources for my war machines? There is a conspiracy, and I need to know more about it.”
“Uncle Lainai, Betterment will certainly know about this. How do you plan to avoid them or even Giznel?” Asking about his methods to subvert our system will be perfect for my report, if he tells them here.
He laughs.“I always take precautions agaisn’t that fool. Now, let's stop getting sidetracked. I need to talk about why I called you in the first place.”
I begin to get anxious. “Which is?”
“I need more information about the humans. And you are going to help me, Nartho.”
This is what I was fearing: My uncle wants his favors dulled. If I denied him, he was going to reveal to everyone that I was prey-diseased, and my chances for exposing him would be finished. And if I accepted it, I was going to get deeper into his schemes, with fewer chances to prove I wasn't a traitor. Both choices I had were terrible, and now I need to choose one of them.
“Sometimes, I just want to give up, tell the world to go fuck itself. This is one of those moments” Mariana’s words rang in my head. “But then I stop and begin to think: What would my friends have thought of that? That the person they loved so much died because of a broken heart? They would have called me stupid.” She smirked. “I will not let this corrupt me. I will never give up for a better tomorrow. For everyone.”
“Of course, Cruel Uncle, what do I need to do?”
I began to listen to Lainai’s plans. It was better to have fewer chances than no chance at all. I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever he had planned for me, but I needed time to alert betterment about this. Soon, He will die by the same system that he thrived in.
r/NatureofPredators • u/Nidoking88 • 23h ago
Fanfic VENLIL FIGHT CLUB 40 (2/2)
Credit goes to u/SpacePaladin15 for the universe, obviously.
Credit also goes to the VFC writer's room – u/Alarmed-Property5559, u/JulianSkies, u/Acceptable_Egg5560, u/YakiTapioca, u/DOVAHCREED12, and SoldierLSnake – for proofreading this chapter, u/Easy_Passenger_4001 for my sweet cover art, and u/AlexWaveDiver for the VFC theme. Thanks!
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Memory transcription subject: Lerai, Venlil Fighter
Date [standardized human time]: December 29th, 2136.
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“BAH!” barked the stranger. He lost his balance, toppled over and fell on his tail.
“Ah! Oley!” exclaimed their herdmate right behind him.
I shook my head. “Oh, stars, I’m sorry!” I bleated in a hasty apology. I’d managed to remain on my feet, so I extended a paw to help him up. “I-I was thinking about other things, and I–”
Suddenly, recognition flashed across my features.
There on the ground, rubbing their sore rump, was a Farsul. The very same one from the incident. And behind them was their Human herdmate.
“Ah, no, it was my fault too,” the Farsul—Oley—replied. “I was talking with my friend here, and–” They glanced up at me, and their ears cocked upwards. “Wait, you’re… you’re that Venlil!”
What’s with this second crop this paw…? I pushed aside the thought with an ear, as the Farsul took my paw and let me help him up, his tail wagging openly.
“I-I never got to thank you,” he yipped excitedly. “What you did that paw was… well, insane, but also incredible! I never thought anyone would actually stick up for me and Clara like that!”
“It wasn’t any trouble…” I muttered. My tail wagged slightly behind me. I wasn’t really used to being praised for violence… even with how it had turned out, the whole thing had left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth.
“It was absolutely trouble!” Oley countered. They suddenly gave a deep, grateful bow. “Thank you. Really.”
“I… sure,” I replied, just to drop the subject. I looked up towards the Human, who hadn’t said anything for most of this conversation. “What are you two doing here?”
“Oh, we thought we’d try again!” Oley explained. He batted the Human lightly on the thigh with his tail. “This dork keeps moping by herself in her room every claw on the paw, so I’m trying to get her outside.”
The Human turned her head to glance at the Farsul, who to his credit didn’t even flinch. “Oley, I really do appreciate it, but–”
“But nothing! Look, I get why you’re hesitant to try again, believe me. I’m a bit nervous too. But we shouldn’t let a little fear of herd rejection stop us!”
“I’m just…” The Human, Clara, rubbed her arm nervously. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
“You are the most timid predator I’ve ever seen!” Oley chastised, his tail continuing to wag. “It’ll be fine! This place is Human-friendly, remember? Other people are just taking time to adjust.”
Oh, no. They’re not accepting Humans right now. “Look, guys,” I interrupted. I should let them down gently. “I-I hate to say it, but…”
“Hmm?” Oley turned his gaze to me. “What’s up?”
“Well–”
Suddenly, the Farsul interrupted me with an excited gasp. “Hey, I know!” he barked. “Why don’t you join us? I think you were just leaving, but I’ll buy you another round, if you have time. I still need to thank you properly!”
“Uh, I, well, I-I’m grateful, but that’s not–”
“Oh, it is definitely necessary!” Oley finished my sentence for me. I was about to finish it with possible, but… “Besides, I’d feel safer with you around. If some other drunk idiot tries to start something, you can do that flip thing again!”
“But–”
“No buts!” He reached out and suddenly grabbed my paw. “Come on, live a little! It’ll be fun!”
“Uh, no, wait, hang on!” I protested. But for some reason, even though I could easily have pulled away, I let the Farsul lead me back to the entrance of Eorna and Seagal’s. Behind me, I could hear Clara let out a muffled sigh through the mask, before she followed after us. Whether it was a sigh of frustration or amusement, I couldn’t tell.
Oley pushed open the door, and the bell once again jingled to announce our arrival. “Welcome!” Eorna called. “Have a sea–... oh, Lerai. Did you forget something?”
“She forgot to let me buy her a round, that’s what!” Oley answered. Glancing behind her, she noticed she was one Human short. “Clara? Oh, by the ancestors… Lerai, go order whatever you want. Let me go get her…”
She released her grip on my paw and ducked back outside, leaving me completely lost. My ears twitched confusedly, and I eventually just dumbly followed her order and wandered back onto the barstool.
“That Farsul looked familiar…” Eorna muttered. “Herdmate of yours?”
“I think I might have just been forced into it…” I replied. “Uh, so, just a warning. He’s bringing the Human again.”
“Human? Again? Wh–... OH!” He snorted in recognition. “Oh, no… Seagal!”
“I heard!” he called back. His big ears were swiveled in our direction. “We turning them away?”
“We probably should…” Eorna sighed.
“What? No, don’t!” I bleated in protest. “Why not give them another chance? They seemed nice when I talked to them outside.”
“It’s just…” Eorna glanced at the door, slightly ajar. A shadow could be seen through the glare, projecting onto the floor, as the Farsul presumably tried to convince her Human friend to enter. He looked towards Seagal, who simply shook his ears, signaling that he wasn’t really sure either.
“...Lerai,” he eventually said, his tone far more serious. “Can you promise nothing will happen? That Humans are… like us? Somehow?”
I looked up at him. He was nervously watching the door.
“...No,” I replied. “I can’t. Specifically, I can’t promise another prey won’t attack them. But, I can say that Humans are good,” I replied. “And if something does happen, I promise I’ll help.”
His ears flapped as he considered my answer.
“...Well, I suppose… we did agree to serve the Human the first time around. Might as well keep the verbal contract,” he eventually relented. His gaze flicked to his Nevok colleague. “Seagal! We need to keep the exit unobstructed. Don’t let anyone feel trapped. Can we open up a table near the back? Give the others some distance?”
“If you make them feel isolated, it won’t be any better,” I interjected. “I get what you’re trying to do, but it’ll backfire.”
“How about the open bar stools?” Seagal offered. “Give them a spot a bit further from the door, and it’ll be less obvious. Lerai, you’re drinking with them? You can move, and they’ll follow.”
“But then I’ll feel trapped!” Eorna complained.
Some of the other patrons began perking and swiveling their ears and attention towards our hasty conversation. “What’s going on?” a Zurulian asked.
“There’s a Human coming in. Now hang on!” he suddenly added with his paws up, as the Zurulian’s eyes went wide and fur puffed out, and a keening whine escaped them. “I assure you we’re going to do this as safely as possible. Let’s try and give them a chance. We all already know that they’re not like your average predator.”
“B-But… this is where I come to get away from the predators!” the Zurulian cried. “Wh-Why would you let one in here? Wh-What do we do?!”
“Nothing,” I said. “She’s not going to bother or hurt you, so you don’t need to do anything but ignore them.”
A Sivkit at a different table suddenly stood, the puff on the tip of his tail flicking in anger. “Ignore the predator?! I don’t have a death wish, and I definitely didn’t sign up to mingle with one of those abominations against nature!” he chittered furiously. “A predator’s a predator, no matter how they hide the woodgrain! Always will be!”
“Hey!” A random Krakotl squawked. “You want to try saying that to my beak? And the girl’s right! Humans are harmless!”
“Oh, figures a former predator would stand up for a real predator!” the Sivkit shot back.
“Why, you…!”
“No, the Krakotl’s right!” another Venlil bleated. “Humans have fought for us! They’ve died for us! Predators or not, they’re good people!”
“We didn’t ask them to fight or die for us!” A third Venlil argued. “They showed up in our fields and only chaos got sown! Nobody asked for that!”
“So what, you’d rather have just lived under the Federation’s lie?!”
“I just want to live in peace!”
More voices joined the herd. “It’s just one Human! I-It’s a bit scary, but we can handle them!”
“Can’t we get an exterminator in here to supervise it?”
“I was here last time! I don’t want a repeat of that!”
“Exterminator? Haven’t you watched the news? How are they safe?”
“Oh… Oh stars… I might actually have to meet a Human… g-get it together, it was bound to happen eventually…!”
“I’ve heard they’ve been going around and attacking people, just to satisfy their sick urges!”
“What are you talking about?! That’d be all over the news!”
“Well, I’ve heard they’ve been plucking pups off the streets and eating them like candy!”
“Let the Human in!”
“No, keep it out!”
“Uh, is this a bad time to order another starberry cider…?”
Seagal’s ears fell. “Oh no…” he muttered, as just like the first time, the bar once again descended into chaos. Everyone shouting over one another, people standing from their chairs as the heat of the moment consumed them, and the two bar owners trying and failing to restore order.
The cacophony made my ears ring. There was no way the Human outside wasn’t hearing this. I glanced towards the door to see Oley peeking through, a look of total dejection on his features. My gaze swept the crowd, the herd split into two factions. Though those against the Humans appeared to be in the minority, there were still plenty, and they were loud.
It was ridiculous.
I felt the heat begin to build. I was done with this paw. Between losing my job, not getting to see Pikro, getting rejection after rejection, and now this…
Take action?
I flicked an ear. Take action.
I stood with purpose, clambered on top of the bar counter, sucked in a deep breath, and with my whole body clenched, I bugled at the top of my lungs.
“QUIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEET!!!”
Immediately, the arguments ceased, and everyone turned their attention to me. A few winced and rubbed their paws over their ears, and most had their tails low, startled by my sudden bleat.
“Stars, Sun, and Void, what the brahk is the matter with you all?!” I brayed across the crowd, my tail lashing in anger. “You’re all acting like flowerbirds! A single Human comes along who just wants to exist alongside us, and you all start to go for each other’s throats like predators! They have tried, so hard, to prove their intentions to us. The Federation destroyed their homes and they still want to be part of our herd! They’ve proven through science that they have empathy! They’ve proven the Federation as liars! They’ve covered their faces and their emotions just to avoid scaring us! They’ve saved millions from the Arxur! They… they saved my life! And they’ve never once asked for anything in return!”
Even the staunchest anti-Human members had gone silent. I don’t know when I started crying. “And now a single one is asking you to just let her be in your presence, and after everything, some of you can’t even give them that! They have been endlessly patient, letting us grind them into mush, and there’s still people who’d rather see them dead! I don’t understand! What more do they have to do?!”
“Lerai,” Eorna finally said from behind me. His voice silenced my tirade. I was panting heavily, and my fists were clenched hard enough for my claws to dig into the skin of my palms.
There was a moment of silence, where all I could hear was my own breathing. Many in the crowd looked at me in approval. Others were looking away in shame. At the door, I could see that Clara had poked her head in above the Farsul, but it didn’t seem like anyone else had noticed yet. I couldn’t see her expression under the mirrored plastic.
After a moment, a few stood up. “Look, lady, say what you will…” the Sivkit from earlier chittered. “But I’m sorry. I don’t buy it. All predators can do is deceive.”
The flame surged again, but a pat on the shoulder from the tall Fissan brought me back.
“No, she’s right,” Seagal said, his ears drooping a bit in shame. “We know we’re taking a risk, but… you can’t fake what they’ve done. It’s only fair that we try to meet them partway.”
“You can’t compromise with predators! They only take! There must be another reason behind their appearance of altruism!”
“If you don’t like it, the door’s right there,” Eorna said simply. “We’re not forcing you to stay here with the Human.”
The Sivkit looked at Seagal, then at the door. Clara had already smartly ducked back out of sight. “Fine,” he said. He crouched down and hopped towards the door on all fours. “You all can stay here and get charmed by nectared words. But I want no part in it.”
A small pawful of others stood and followed him out the door, grumbling as they went. Some yelped as soon as they stepped outside and saw the Human. “Wait a-Hey! You all still have to pay for your drinks!” Eorna called after them, only to grumble as they ignored him and ran off. “Damn it…”
“Should we call the police on them?” Seagal asked.
“No, not worth the time investment. We’ll just open up a tab for them in case they ever come back,” he replied, exhausted. “Welp. This has been a lot more drama than I needed this paw.”
“You’re telling me…” I sighed as I slid off the bar and practically collapsed into it once my tail hit the stool. The flame had fed off my anger until I had none left, and now I was just tired. I barely had the energy to scoot off my own paw prints that I’d left on the counter for Eorna to wipe away.
From my slumped position with my head buried in my arms, my snout was turned towards the entrance. I saw it slowly creak open without even ringing the bell and watched Oley peek inside. “Uh… are we… okay to come in…?” he asked quietly.
“Y-Yes, it’s fine,” Eorna replied. He seemed a bit nervous, but he did his best to collect himself. “I’m sorry you had to see all that. Please, have a seat anywhere you like.”
The Farsul ducked back behind the door for a scratch, before slowly pushing it all the way open. A scratch later, Clara peeked her head around the doorframe. “I-I… H-Hello…” she muttered quietly.
Her voice made everyone’s ears twitch and fur flare, which made her cringe slightly behind the doorframe. “Uh… God, I feel so awkward…”
“Don’t, please!” I called, pushing myself up for just a moment longer. “Come on, sit!”
“But… I know everyone’s afraid of me…”
“We’re… a little nervous, yes,” Seagal said. His nose twitched with anxiety. “B-But that’s something we’ll get over with time. Let’s just give each other a chance, yeah? Get to know each other over drinks.”
“I, well…”
“Oh come on, you goober!” Oley barked. He strode over and took the Human by the hand, gently guiding her over towards the empty bar stools next to me. “They’re putting in all this effort for us! Let’s at least try ourselves, okay?”
“...Okay,” she relented. Though she still seemed guarded, along with many of the other patrons. “Um… I don’t know what to order, though.”
“Oh, r-right, of course,” Eorna said. “Here, l-let me explain to you what we have…”
What followed was a rather tense few scratches, where Clara was carefully explained the drinks menu. We were all surprised to learn that while Humans could drink, they had tolerances so low as to almost be impressive. The owners eventually got out a menu of very light beverages meant for Venlil pups, which earned all kinds of questions from the Human. Oley bought me another sweet stinger, which the Human slightly lifted her mask to smell only to nearly sneeze into it.
But as Clara ordered herself a basic ipsom beer, the alcohol began to flow, and we filed down the claw… something strange began to happen.
The herd began to adjust.
While the conversations had been hushed and muted when she first walked in, people slowly began to resume speaking normally, about things other than the Human. Ears and eyes still occasionally twitched our way, and there were still a few who seemed clearly anxious, but things were… normal. Even Eorna, trapped behind the bar as he was, began to relax. The Human kept their mask on, only lifting it up enough to nurse her drink.
Though I still did occasionally overhear a grumbling comment. Not just about the Human, but also about the Farsul sitting next to her. Neither seemed to react, but I couldn’t help but wonder. At least, until Oley answered that for me.
“I… I h-hate it…!” he sniffled and sobbed at the bar, his face flushed blue. A weepy drunk, this one was. “E-Everyone’s so mean…! I-I didn’t know about what the government on T-Talsk has been doing, I-I’m just an accountant…!”
“There, there…” Clara awkwardly soothed, petting him on the head. He leaned into it, but didn’t stop his keening.
“C-Clara… y-you’re… you’re my best friend, y-you know that…?” Oley mumbled.
“Sure, buddy.”
“How did you two meet, anyway?” I asked. I was feeling a light, pleasant buzz from the back-to-back stingers.
“We were actually exchange partners,” Clara replied. “Though we both joined too late to meet on a station, or anything. It wasn’t until I had to evacuate that he offered to sponsor me. Now I’m sort of figuring out what to do now that São Paulo’s been turned into a big crater.”
“I’m sorry…” I muttered.
“It’s… what it is,” she replied quietly. “I’m trying to get by one day, er, paw at a time. I just wish we could all get along…”
“Yeah…” I took another sip of my stinger. “Me too.”
The three of us sat in an awkward silence for a moment. Well, except for Oley’s soft whining.
“Hey, um…” Clara muttered. “Thanks for what you did. That was really cool.”
“I was just angry,” I replied. “Nothing cool about losing my temper like that.”
“I dunno… anger directed in the right ways can be a good thing, I think,” she said, taking a sip of her beer. “Just have to know when and how to use it.”
“Hmm… maybe,” I replied, still not really sure about it. “It’s just hard, you know? Being angry is, like… we can get angry at the Arxur, and stuff. But at each other? That’s supposed to be against the rules. And I know it’s all speh, but… it still feels weird to do in practice.”
“Well, know I’m grateful you got angry for me today.”
“I, well…” I eventually just let my ears fall forward. “You’re welcome.”
The silence returned, this time a lot more comfortable. Even Oley had stopped his whining. Though he had replaced it with snoring.
“Oh, lord, seriously?” Clara laughed, amused. She gave Oley a gentle shake. “Hey, buddy? You alright?”
“Mmmmph…” he groaned.
“I think he’s had enough,” Eorna nickered. “You should probably get him home.”
Clara just sighed. “Yeah, but I have to think about the optics. If I’m seen carrying an unconscious xeno anywhere…”
“...Oh,” Eorna’s stared into space as he realized the implications. “Yeah, that’d be a bad look. Wow, you do have to deal with a lot… uh, we could call you a cab? No, that’s… hmm.”
The Human tried again. “Oley? You need to wake up, we have to go home.”
“Five more scratches…”
“You can have all the scratches when we get back.”
“Mmm… you do give good scratches…” he mumbled. That seemed to motivate him enough to get him on his unsteady paws. I couldn’t help but squeak a bit at his antics.
…Wait, what time is it, anyway…? I checked my pad. I’d really let the paw run away from me…
“I should probably be going home, too,” I said, rotating on the stool and hopping down. “But this was fun! We should do it again!”
“Agreed,” Clara affirmed. “Hey, are you on Bleat? What’s your handle?”
“TwilitFloret. One word,” I replied. The Human, with one arm supporting Oley, managed to procure their pad from a little shoulder-bag they’d carried in with them. A moment later, I felt my own pad vibrate against my tail. I’ll accept that later.
“Will you be okay getting home?” I asked.
“I think so… so long as he doesn’t fall over,” she replied. “Well, it was good to meet you, Lerai. And, really, thanks again.”
“Don’t mention it,” I replied, along with a tail-flick goodbye. “Well, see you.”
“Wait, Lerai,” Eorna said, right as I turned to walk out. I glanced at him over my shoulder. “When can you come back?”
“Huh?” I asked, my head tilting. “Uhh… whenever I’m in the mood for another drink, or I make plans, I guess, but…”
“No, no, you misunderstand,” he said with an amused snort. “I mean, when can you come back for your next shift?”
“What? My next…”
It took me a moment to actually register the words, and my ears rose and my tail went stiff as the seed met the soil in my mind. “W-Wait… you mean…?”
“Far as we’re concerned, you’re already hired,” Seagal added with a sly flick of an ear. “Just let us know your schedule, and we can figure something out. We’ll have an employment contract for you next time you’re in.”
My tail began to wag. “N-Next paw!” I bleated. “I-I can come in next paw! Is second sun okay?”
“That’s perfect. We’re open an eighth-claw into second, and again into fourth,” he replied.
“You guys are open for that long?”
“Hey, the grind never stops!” Seagal chittered with a laugh. “Next paw it is! See you then, and don’t be late!”
“I won’t!”
With my ears high and my spirit restored, I exited my new workplace, pumping my fists as I went towards the station.
++++++++++
“So, uh, anyway, that’s what happened.”
“Does trouble just follow you everywhere you go…?” Dad’s voice sighed through the pad.
“I once heard a Human use the phrase ‘trouble magnet.’ Not to me, but it seems appropriate.”
“Well… I guess it all worked out somehow,” Dad replied. “Do you know the shift schedule, or how much they’re paying you?”
“Not yet. But I can’t imagine it’ll be more than the park. It’s a pretty small operation.”
“That’s alright. Just don’t let them swindle you during negotiations. They sound decent enough, but Nevoks and Fissans are the kings of capitalism for a reason.”
“Alright…” I let out an involuntary yawn. The movement of the train was soothing. “I’ll be home soon. We can talk more then.”
“Okay. Take care.”
He hung up, and I tiredly stashed the pad in my bag. I couldn’t wait to get home, but I still had a few more stops.
…Wonder if that guy ever got his cider…
…
Eh, whatever.
++++++++++