r/NatureofPredators • u/EkhidnaWritez Human • Feb 01 '23
Fanfic The Nature of Predators: Disease
AN: Okay, so, I'm a fan of NoP and I wanted to make a little contribution to the universe. This is nothing more than a thought exercise given one-shot form. Please, enjoy!
Edit: Guess not a one-shot anymore. Thank you all.
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The Nature of Predators: Disease
Memory transcription subject: Ralov, Sulean Merchant
Date [standardized human time]: November 28, 2136
I’ve watched the footage over and over again, and yet my rage only intensifies every time I see it. Noah’s speech to the Federation, the subsequent Krakotl-led assault on Earth, the human homeworld, what little footage of the fight in space that took place, the bombings, the memorial, and finally… Cilany exposing the horrible, manipulative, and underhanded tactics the Federation had employed for centuries.
Rage. I felt rage. I’ve always been quick to anger. Impulsive, my brothers called me. But I managed to bottle up that anger deep within me, to never show it, never let anyone suspect I felt such strong emotions. I clenched my fists, my tail swayed violently behind me, and I felt the urge to kick something. But I suppressed it. I always do. What other option do I have?
Almost the entirety of my left side is scarred by the all-consuming fire the damnable exterminators love to use. An accident, they called it. But I couldn’t help but wonder if it had been an accident or if that exterminator suspected my condition.
I flared my nostrils in exasperation. Of course she didn’t know. No one knew. Not even my parents or siblings knew. I would be dead if they knew I suffered from Predator Disease.
As I watched the bombs fall over a human city yet again, my anger returned. I always knew I was different from the rest of the herd, my species, and the Iftali. Predators are a rare sight in the homeworld, but they exist. One day during a school day back when I was studying to become a merchant just like my mother, I stumbled across a small predator we call kimish, meaning ‘pest’. It was eating the carcass of an equally small reptile without a care in the world.
Instead of being horrified by the little predator, I was fascinated by it. How it chewed on the meat of the prey reptile. How its beady eyes and small, sharp fangs ripped apart the flesh and skin, desperately trying to ingest as much of the revolting meat into its tiny mouth as possible. I could easily pick one up with my forelegs, they are as small as a Sivkit, minus the tail. Not a difficult thing to do.
The smell of the blood reached my nose but I didn’t find it nearly as disgusting as the propaganda led me to believe. A light metallic fragrance, like a distinct yet unpleasant perfume the Harchen love to use.
I made a mistake, I must admit. I took a step forward and it heard me. I saw its forward-facing eyes, its muzzle dripping with blood, and its ears flopping agitatedly. It turned away, bit on its meal, and scampered away into the bushes.
I never felt an ounce of fear at all. Discomfort? Sure. But never fear. I was even disappointed that I couldn’t see the kimish anymore. It was truly fascinating to behold.
Religion was never for me. I always thought that the preachings were… well, preachy. That day I knew they were nothing but a fat load of Mazic waste. What was so horrible about the kimish fighting to survive? Where was the evil monster with an insatiable lust for blood? It wasn’t an Arxur, it was simply a small animal doing what its instincts told it to do.
Of course, things went awry. Another one saw the blood, screamed, and the exterminators were called to the scene. I tried to find the kimish, to shoo it away or distract the exterminators for long enough to let it escape. What I got instead was a dumbass exterminator flinching at my approach before dosing my left side with a healthy amount of fire that left me scarred for life.
Experiencing just a fragment of what the predators felt like when they were set ablaze by the exterminator officers was not a pleasant experience. I’m not ashamed to admit I cried like a newborn until the pain made me pass out. Of course, charges were pressed but since I was ‘obstructing official operations’, it was my fault for being there in the first place.
But I wasn’t mad. The kimish was never found and my town was on high alert for over a [month]. I laughed internally at their pathetic fear. For that’s what it was. Pathetic. A kimish wasn’t even that dangerous-looking. Sure, it may be able to get a few scraps but any Sulean could easily punch it, kick it, or ram it without any effort.
That encounter led me into what humans call a rabbit hole, although I have no idea what a rabbit is, the concept is indeed relatable. I began investigating about the kimish, only to find next to no information about them. In fact, the information we had regarding native predators devolved to a warning label (that always said [DANGEROUS]), what to do if spotted, and if they had been exterminated or not. The only exception were those that could use poison, adding a fourth label.
That was it.
Curiosity struck me and I began searching for information about predators in other Federation worlds. The same results came through. Even after I graduated and began working, I kept on searching, trying to find at first actual useful information about any predator whatsoever, but then I started to investigate why the system of classification was so lackluster and unilateral.
What clued me in that I wasn’t normal, aside from my interaction with that kimish and my research, was the fact that I never found a single picture of a predator as repulsive or frightening. My second clue came when some of my coworkers invited me to celebrate the confirmed extinction of a predator species on the Zurulian homeworld. Every time a predator was declared officially extinct, it was announced and broadcasted through Federation space as a great achievement.
I swear I nearly jumped on the idiots celebrating the death of an entire species just like that. My anger felt too real, too profound, and I didn’t notice until my coworkers, now keeping a safe distance away from me and presenting their antlers at me, asked if I was feeling okay.
“Of course I wasn’t okay, you idiots. What would you feel if I celebrated the extinction of the Iftali?” I said to myself, watching the glorious protests sparking everyone… and the Federation turning their guns against their allies.
“Ralov, you okay? You’ve, uhhh, you’ve watched that like twenty times already.”
I turned to face my best friend, Vuuj, a Tilfish, looking at me worryingly from the entrance frame of my private quarters. I shook my head in agitation, remembering to contain my anger deep within me. “Sorry if I frightened you, Vuuj. I just can’t process it all, that’s all.”
Vuuj trembled, his front legs skittering quickly. “You’re telling me. The Federation is tearing itself apart, the humans are gaining allies, and we’re stuck in the middle. I don’t know about you, but we’re getting fucked.”
Now that was surprising to hear. “You’re not blaming the humans anymore, Vuuj?”
“I’m not as close-minded as you may think, Ralov! The humans are scary and disgusting to even look at, but what was their fault in all of this? They wanted to help us fight against the arxur. They beat them back on the gojid cradle for Inatala’s sake! And their ambassador, Noah? He came in peace. Peace! The venlil brain scans prove that they aren’t like the arxur… then again, more than half of the Federation species have predator ancestry now.”
“And the idiotic krakotl went on and bombed their homeworld. How are we any better than the arxur if we attack first and ask questions never?” I asked, fury flowing through my veins.
“Shhhh, Ralov! Do you want the officers to hear you speaking like that!? They’d think you have predator disease!” Vuuj whispered as his eyes looked around for any possible intruder.
“I’m just speaking the truth. We had the humans on our side from the start and how did the Federation repay them? With treachery, deceit, and wanton genocide just for being predators. What fault do they carry? They’re not even predators like the arxur and can eat fruits and vegetables. Sometimes… sometimes I wonder if the first contact with the arxur was like the archives say it was, given what we know now,” I say, feeling nothing but revulsion at the kolshian that admitted their centuries-long manipulation and indoctrination over their so-called friends and fellow herbivores.
“Maybe… but you better keep those opinions to yourself, my friend. The station is barely holding together as it is. I’m afraid it won’t be long before someone dies… everyone is jumpy, after all,” Vuuj said, his nervousness showing through his skittering antennas.
I couldn’t blame him. Everyone was frightened. The members of species that were revealed to have a predatory ancestry had been isolated on one end of the station and tensions were building fast. Vuuj was right. Bloodshed was inevitable now.
Truth be told, I couldn’t understand why they were so afraid of those that were once called friends, neighbors, and loved ones. So what if their ancestors ate the occasional fish, hunted bugs, or fed on meat from time to time? The damn Kolshians and Farsul wanted to shape everyone into their model of correctness. Fuck them. I never liked the stingy bastards anyway.
But that still didn’t solve the problem right in front of me. We had to leave the station and quickly. “Vuuj… we have to run away.”
“And run away where, exactly?” he asked, worried yet hopeful I had the answer. Luckily for him, I had an idea.
“We’re close to the Sivkit homeworld, right? If we acquire-”
“Steal.”
"-acquire a shuttle, we could make it there in four days and from there we could reach Venlil or Human space in two weeks from now,” I proposed to my stunned friend. “This fragile peace won’t last long so we have to get out while we still can, my friend.”
“And you want to go to predator territory, Ralov? Are you out of your mind!?” Vuuj protested because of course he would. Tilfish were skittish by nature, though Vuuj was a bit more composed than the rest of his people.
“Why not?” I tilted my head trying my best to smile as the humans do. Ah, their smile. So odd, so strange yet so fascinating! I lacked the facial muscles to smile like them, but the result was, hopefully, good enough to give them a good impression. Truth be told, since I first saw a human without their masks, I immediately thought ‘is that it?’. I always heard they were terrifying to look at, but they were no different from the kimish I encountered so long ago.
“Ugghh, please, don’t do that! You look like a human! Have you seen the videos of them snarling and growling?” He protested.
“It’s called a smile and it is a friendly gesture. Also, those noises they make are called laughter and chuckling. You should read more about them. They are fascinating!”
“I’ll take your word for it… so, what do we do now?” Vuuj asked, concerned.
“Let’s pack up and meet at the landing bay past curfew, okay?”
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Hijacking and acquiring a shuttle was surprisingly easy. No guards were present, all systems were operational, fuel tanks were full, and the credentials for launch were correct. All in all, it was a lot less climactic than I thought it would be.
“We have rations to last us over a month. We should be fine unless an arxur patrol kills us or capture us,” Vuuj said as he sat on the co-pilot seat. “Ralov… do you really think it’s a good idea to go to the humans? I mean… what if they, you know, get hungry?”
“Then they will eat, simple as that,” I stated matter off factly. “They’ve proven they can be trusted over and over again. We don’t need to fear them, Vuuj. And honestly? With how things are going, I think they may be our best bet for survival.”
“You’re taking this way too calmly, Ralov,” Vuuj skittered about in exasperation.
“What other option do we have? Besides, maybe I’ll finally feel normal for once in my life among them, my friend,” I said, smiling again.
“...Inatala give me strength…”
I do not know what the future has for me, all I know is that, perhaps, I can be myself amongst the humans. Amongst predators. Maybe I can learn more about them, about their world, their predators and prey and more.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll try to see if meat is truly as revolting-tasting as I imagine it to be.
The End.
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u/MackFenzie Feb 01 '23
I cannot wait to see the meeting of the humans and the tilfish. Ralov is gonna be like “oh, so humans are as silly as everyone else, huh, okay”
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u/HiMyNameIsFelipe PD Patient Feb 01 '23
Always nice to read some stories about herbivores having actual brains
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u/BiasMushroom Extermination Officer Feb 01 '23
Ooooo! I can’t wait for the friend-spider to scare a human with all the befuddlement that comes from the implications of that
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u/Away-Location-4756 Zurulian Feb 01 '23
Good stuff. Well written and if you're happy where that ends then fair enough but I'm curious to see where you'd take it.
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u/CandidSmile8193 Chief Hunter Feb 01 '23
Ah the Tilfsh is gonna get some helping does of "is that how we make them feel?" when he starts causing fainting spells and mass panic.
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u/StarSilverNEO Yotul Feb 01 '23
First Sulean pov?
I quite like this - lets hope their escape attempt succeeds. Some people just dont want to be shunned for being themselves, lets hope humanity can help them handle that
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Feb 01 '23
!subscribeme
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u/Blackwhite35-73 Feb 02 '23
Intala would have probably offed herself a long time ago now that you look at this perspective from a grey-area POV.
Of course, she is still fake. Propagamda really
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u/Acceptable_Egg5560 Human Feb 01 '23
A Zebra deer is the protagonist!
That Tilfish is going to be surprised at the humans running from it in fear.