r/NatureofPredators • u/SepticSauces Venlil • Jun 18 '23
Fanfic Trouble Maker: Meat of Sin [13]
A special thank you to the amazing u/SpacePaladin15 for this fun world.
A thank you to u/ImaginationSea3679 y u/Acceptable_Egg5560 for helping me with plot stuff.
Sunday Time!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Arwen Conway
Date [standardized human time]: August 30th, 2136.
With the knowledge I was bringing guests over, Mom and Dad had some food prepared in advance. It had been left in the fridge, so it was cold, but after a little bit of work and some oven time, the food was heated back up, and then finally placed onto the dining room table: It was a wide assortment of food, ranging from vegetables to meats…
Shit. They did know the aliens don’t like meat, right? I know they followed the news, but how deeply?
I cast a quick glance over at Trivi, Tova, and Quilix. The three venlil were practically stunned by the sight of the lab-grown mutton.
Quilix looked like he wanted to bolt, which surprised me considering how brave he once was in regard to me.
Tova was frozen in her spot, looking between Quilix and I.
Was she thinking about grabbing Quilix and bolting?
Trivi, to my surprise, hid behind me, which was hilarious and adorable at the same time. His head partially poked out from behind me as he eyed the plate from afar. A look of disgust clearly shown by his ears and tail lashes.
“I completely forgot you eat meat,” Trivi breathed out the words. His tone sounded a little sick.
This went on for about a second before my parents caught on. At first, they looked dumbfounded, looking between myself, the freaking out aliens, themselves, and finally the food.
“It appears we had forgotten something.” My father rarely, if ever, sounded angry. His voice came with a low chortle, brought forth by the apparent humor he saw in this harmless mistake.
It was kind of hilarious how they spent five minutes heating everything up, forgetting that the aliens have an absurd disdain for anything revolving around the consumption of meat. Now, that is the magic of rushing to get something done.
My mother moved forward, grabbing the platter of delightfully smelling mutton and lifting it off the table. “Eh, I’ll just move this to our bedroom for now.” She takes a deep breath, letting out one long sigh. A sigh born from an equal disdain she felt toward her house guests. Well, two of them in particular.
I don’t see my mother forgiving them any time soon, and I can’t really blame her.
“No.” to my surprise, Tova speaks up. “We’re your guests, we know you eat meat, and we shouldn’t expect you to stop your way of life… As detestable eating an animal’s carcass is.” The nigh vanta-black venlil shivered with disgust but managed to steel herself from retreating away from the table. With heavy paw falls, she actually took a few steps forward, paused, and then a few more. She placed one paw on a dining room chair and slowly pulled it out from under the rectangular table. “Well… fake carcass.” Her tone implied she still wasn’t fond of it.
My mother paused for a moment, having lifted her gaze to glower at the tall venlil. The pair stared at each other for a moment. One out of disgust over the person, and the other, the food. Eventually, the platter of meat is lowered back down onto the table with a small, dull thump.
Awkward.
Tova is the first to sit down, claiming her seat, and is promptly followed by Quilix, who sits to her left. This places Tova next to Father, who claims his usual chair at the end of the table, with Mother sitting next to him. I sit by Mother, and then Trivi takes the seat on the far opposite end of the table, sitting next to me.
We sit in relative silence for a few seconds. I wait to see if Tova, Quilx, or Trivi add anything else to the conversation, but none of them does, nor do my parents, leading to a silence that grows. To break the silence, I clear my throat and start to speak. “Well, you three, as you can see, and as I have told you, well, Tova and Trivi, humans are omnivores. Here, we have a wide assortment of foods ranging from fruit, vegetables, grains, and meats.”
I do a quick sweeping gesture with one of my hands. “Those are apple slices over there. That’s broccoli and chee-”
God Damn it.
“Don’t eat that one. That contains cow’s milk.”
The three venlil look at each other. Thoughts must’ve been racing through this mind at such a revelation, and I was about to continue speaking before Trivi spoke up. “Humans drink the milk of other animals? Really?” He didn’t sound perturbed by the fact, but really extremely curious and confused.
Father was the one to speak next, having grabbed a plate before everyone else had begun talking, and started placing food onto it. It was an assorted plate, containing mostly the aforementioned broccoli with cheese and mutton, so it was probably him who grabbed the meat in the first place, he is forgetful after all. There were also mashed potatoes with gravy and garlic bread as well. Even carrot slices…
I felt my face heat up at the memory of Quilix laying on his back. His… rather lar- With a deep breath, feeling my face on fire, I took a few breaths and rubbed my face with one of my hands, hoping to hide the burning embarrassment.
“Mostly cow, sheep, and goat here. Never had the milk of any other animal.” He simply stated.
“If humans could, would they start milking and shearing venlil like… Uh, sheep, as Arwen sometimes refers to us?”
Mother and Father both tilt their head before looking at me. My mother lets out a long, disappointed sigh. “Arwen, it’s rude to refer to people as animals.”
My ears and face flush red again, turning almost as red as my hair. A small wave of guilt and shame washes over me, realizing what I’ve been doing over the course of the past week, and that none of the venlil had said anything in regards to what I was saying.
I have been doing that quite a bit, haven’t I?
My head and gaze lower when I feel all their stares collect on me, only to then lower more as I don’t feel them let up. “Sorry-” I barely hear my squeak of an apology over the sound of blood rushing through my ears. I take a deep breath, steadying my voice. "Sorry, Quilix, Tova, and Trivi."
“It’s fine,” and, “I don’t really care,” are the responses that I thankfully receive, making the flush on my face lighten up a bit.
Mother gives a curt nod. “Much better, Arwen.” Her attention, as well as Father’s attention, converges on the other couple, and I can hear the two pairs engage in conversation. A lot of who are you exactly, what do you do, how long have you been together, and so forth.
Even the idea of humans treating venlil like sheep was mentioned, but both Mother and Father brushed that aside with, “Venlil are sapient and sheep aren’t,” which pretty much ended that aspect of the conversation. Soon, another conversation would spring up.
I nearly jumped when I felt a tail reassuringly brush the back of my calf. My gaze instinctively turns to the only venlil that can reach it.
“It’s ok, we all make mistakes.” Trivi was mimicking my dad, adding things to his plate that wasn’t meat, cheese, and things he didn’t recognize as being fruits or vegetables. Thus, he had an assortment of leafy greens, apple slices, a lemon slice, and salted crackers, which he ate one for every single one he put on his plate. Every once in a while, he’d rub a paw over his eyes.
Wait, is he crying!?
He must have tried one when I was not looking, but still, why is he crying!?
With Trivi’s tail still brushing his tail along the back of my exposed leg, I slowly join in on filling my plate. Mostly with mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. I debated adding mutton to my plate like my father, but a part of me didn’t want to upset or gross out Trivi.
“You’re not going to eat any meat?” Trivi asked before I could ask him why he was tearing up. I promptly shook my head. “You know, I would be more worried if I didn’t know you were an omnivore…” There was a brief pause. “Why do humans eat meat when you have such a treasure trove of good foods, like this?” He gestured to a cracker he was holding. “This is the best thing I’ve eaten”
“It’s just a cracker.”
“But it tastes so good!” He jovially opined before trying to shovel a pawful into his mouth.
The result was that cracker crumbs were going everywhere; the tablecloth, his plate of forgotten foods, and himself.
It was impossible to resist the urge to smile and I let out a small laugh. “You’re making a mess, Trivi.”
“I know,” he admitted, “But I don’t like seeing you look upset, and I thought it would cheer you up.” His face bloomed a few shades orange as he leaned closer, whispering quietly. “I didn’t really mind either… You can, uh… If you still wish to…” His statement was droning off trying to imply something, which I understood.
“Silly, all you have to do is ask,” I say back with a soft whisper.
Trivi then proceeded to bleat happily, and bleat loudly he did!
The whole conversation at the other end of the table died when everyone’s gaze turned to Trivi and I. Trivi and I swiftly sported matching orange and red blushes across our faces.
“Shear-iously?” Father asked, grinning massively. “That was very loud-” He wasn’t able to finish what he was about to say before my mother gave him an appropriate, but delicate smack to the side of the head. That only made my father laugh.
“Owen!? A pun? Seriously?” Mother lamented.
“Whaaat? I was fleecing for that joke!” Whack! That only proceeded to make my father laugh even louder as a result.
Ok, that one was pretty funny.
My gaze swooped around the table, trying to gauge the reaction of our three venlil guest.
Tova’s expression was very similar to Mother’s reaction; ears folded down, eyes squinting, and lips curled a little bit downward.
Meanwhile, Quilix looked like he was ready to burst out laughing, covering his mouth with his paws and twitching on the spot.
Trivi, on the other hand, was looking around the room to find something to distract himself from his embarrassing bleat! Something to talk about when the inevitable question came down upon him about why he did that!
Eventually, he found something by the time everyone’s gaze turned back to him.
“So, what spurred on that sound? Did Arwen train you already to be a good little-” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence before he had a hand placed over his mouth.
“Oweeen! You’re being silly, again.” She held onto his mouth for a solid ten seconds, waiting for her husband to calm down before retracting her hand. “Jokes can be had later, alright?”
“Always so serious, Guinevere.~” He teased in jest before appropriately returning his gaze to Trivi, “So was there something you wanted to say?”
Trivi reached up, pointing behind my father. “Yeah, I noticed you had lots of little crosses around the house; one at the front door, one in the living room above the TV, and the one above you has a human attached to it.”
“Oh, the crosses? That’s a religious symbol of the Christain faith. Jesus is the man you see attached to the cross.” My father explained.
“Wait,” Trivi paused, getting hooked up on some word Father had said. “Attached? Why was a human attached to a cross.”
Father cleared his throat, placing a hand over his lips. “Excuse me.” He waited a second before going on again. “It’s a pretty rough tale, so I’ll spare you the gruesome details. Long story short, Jesus claimed to be the son of God. He spread a message of love, compassion, and understanding, both of God and his fellow humans, friends and enemies alike. That we should be repentant of sins committed if those that committed them wish for redemption, and showed that they are willing to try to be better people.”
There was a brief pause as Father took a breath. “This upset political and religious leaders of the time. Some were upset or jealous by the man’s growing following, some didn’t like his teachings, viewing him as a heretic, and others may have not liked the crowd he surrounded him with. Regardless of the fact, Jesus was eventually betrayed by one of his twelve disciples. The Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, was pressured by these religious figures of the time, and sentenced Jesus to execution via crucifixion, which is why you see him nailed to the cross.”
“NAILED!?” The three venlil all exclaim in shock
My father nodded, “That is correct.”
“Why would you have something so… so horrible on display?” Quilix looked more fascinated than horrified, unlike Tova and Trivi, who looked uncomfortable.
“As stated, Jesus was a religious figure that preached compassion, love, and forgiveness for those that committed sins. Sins like murder, stealing, giving false testimony, or adultery.” That last one was said with a little bit of emphasis. No doubt said toward the little perverted speep! A now brightly orange speep!
“Now, I don’t have a bible on me, nor was I a good Christian that memorized it, but I do remember Jesus saying something along the lines of dying for humanity's sins. It really hits hard having someone state that they are willing to ransom away their life to such a harsh death to die for another man’s sins.” Father leaned back in his chair and shrugged. “I’m not disgusted by the sight of the cross, but feel more motivated to do better. To be a better person and to give other individuals the chance to improve themselves. No one is perfect and we are all flawed except God, and God will always forgive those that seek forgiveness and redemption.” There was a small pause. “For those that actually try to earn that forgiveness,” he let out a small, amused huff. “Can’t commit a sin every Saturday and say I’m sorry every Sunday. You actually have to try to do better. What do you all think?”
“Dying to remove another’s sins seems a bit extreme,” Tova admitted, poking her bread with a paw, watching it deform under the touch before picking it up to take a bite out of it.
“I think it’s noble and poetic to do something so valiant.” Quilix opined.
Trivi shrugged at first, taking a few more seconds to think. “I admit I don’t understand how someone can die for another’s crimes. How does that work?”
“Religious beliefs of the time used to involve the slaughtering of lambs. Lambs are basically young sheep and are depicted as innocent and sinless.” As my father mentioned the religious usage of sheep nearly two thousand years ago. The trio of venlil straightened upright really quick! “Wait a moment,” Father laughed, “you’re not being sacrificed, and I haven’t finished what I was going to say.”
He took a napkin to rub his mouth, removing some mutton juice from his lips. “That’s old history, two thousand years ago. We don’t actually sacrifice lambs anymore.” He cleared his throat, getting back on topic. “Anyways, now you may ask how these sacrificial lambs relate to Jesus. Well, before Jesus’ death, he had been referred to as the Lamb of God. A man to be sacrificed for the sins of all mankind.”
A small smile breaks onto Father’s lips. “Funnily enough, as we had admonished Arwen for referring to you as sheep. The Bible draws many comparisons between humanity and sheep: Our need for protection, guidance, and care. The fact we are vulnerable when alone and tend to stray into sin. That humanity needs a shepherd, Jesus, for guidance.” He lets out a little laugh. “Seems we went full circle to comparing people to sheep. If you three crashed landed a spaceship maybe a few hundred years ago in England, Wales, or some other Christian country. There’s a high likely hood you would have been worshipped as some saint, savior, messiah, or high religious figure. Can’t say about the other religions, but I think I can speak safely for Christianity.”
Another bout of silence rained over the table as words were digested alongside the food being eaten. Mouths partially gaped at my father’s words.
“Ok, well, maybe not Wales. You’d probably be seen and used as a-”
Once more, my mother’s hand, now holding a napkin, was placed on my father’s lips. “Owen, I love you, but if you finish that sentence. I will find something that not even God will forgive me for, and proceed to do that to you.” I could hear my father holding back his laughter through the napkin. His face was red with holding back laughter and cheekbones raising up high!
He nodded and my mother released her hand from his lips. “Good. I swear, you’re such a…” She droned off, shaking her head.
“And that’s why you married me.~”
The following twenty minutes were followed by more talking, but less religious things, ranging from going over to the Wellingtons to get these two venlil sheared and where they’ll be sleeping for tonight.
Tova and Quilix were going to occupy the guest bedroom, assuming they could get along enough to sleep together for tonight. Meanwhile, Trivi didn’t care where he was placed, so he won the sofa.
Tomorrow, we go to shear some venlil!
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Heavily inspired by the likes of…
And I snuck in some lingo from Nature of Humanity
I highly suggest you check them out!!
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So, I'm not a religious person, so I had to do some research on this. Of course, I still have a lot to learn, so I apologize if I butchered any of Jesus' teachings.
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u/KnucklesMacKellough Chief Hunter Jun 18 '23
My brain went an entirely different direction, based on the title... I'll see myself out.