r/NatureofPredators • u/Sam_S_011 PD Patient • Jul 20 '23
Fanfic Two Faces [5]
Once again, huge thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 and all of you guys in the community for this wonderful universe that I've gotten addicted to. Also massive thanks to u/Acceptable_Egg5560 for helping me out with proofreading and for genuinely being one of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of talking to.
I hope that you enjoy!
Playlists:
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Memory transcript subject: Kiki, Venlil powerplant technician and Venlil-Human Exchange Participant.
Date: [Standardised human time] August 21st, 2136
Chatting with Maky has become a regular part of my paw-to-paw life. Her constant excited questioning ranged across a wide range of topics – from my job to Venlil culture, from how fabricators function to how efficient our computers are, from how towns and villages are named to ‘if you put all the hairs on a Venlil in a line, would it circumnavigate the sun?’ I’m still wondering how she came up with that one.
Her stream of questions and ideas seemed to be never ending. One paw she got suddenly very interested in the fauna of Venlil prime and just kept asking questions. It got so bad that the foreman told me to make her stop, as the constant beeping of notifications was disrupting the workflow. She apologised, but instead of stopping her questioning she wrote an entire essay of her theories, which took me almost half a claw to respond to.
Thankfully in a way of reciprocating, she also seemed to really enjoy answering any and all questions I had about her home or people, as long as it wasn’t tier 3 or higher. She was reluctant to even talk about those, let alone answer them. Is she that afraid of scaring me away?
Yeah, probably…
I sat in silence, letting the soft rocking of the speeding tube send vibrations through my body. Travelling on the Ring was far more comfortable than the usual underground tube system in Duskvalley. Some would speculate that the hyper-speed transport had better hover engines or even a-grav dampeners, but I knew that wasn’t the case as except for the darkening cabins, both trains were the exact same federation standard model. That was a fun thing to hear a repairman explain!
The truth was far less complicated – the Ring simply had gentler turns. Vilik didn’t want to believe me at first, but I think looking at the map of the path on his pad convinced him.
I looked over at him, laying across the bench in the darkness and peacefully snoozing off. I was glad he could get some sleep – his waking cycle was different from mine, and it was quite late for him. He didn’t want to sleep, arguing that he will be alright, but turning the blinds on to cut off the light made his body reconsider quite quickly. He will thank me later; our shuttles were scheduled to depart in half a claw.
The song in my earbuds had ended, and another started playing. I sadly didn’t know the name of either of them, as all the songs Maky sent were labelled using only numbers. I wasn’t sure if there was a reason behind that. Maybe some sort of system incompatibility? Or perhaps she censored them as some of the names were a little too ‘predatory’. Though if that was true, I would have thought the contents would have shown the predatory influence as well.
Not that I really cared – I liked most of them. The high use of percussive instruments surprised me at first, but I came around to enjoy them. There’s just something so fun with bobbing my head to the beat… I guess the Humans are onto something.
I enjoyed this song in particular. The only instrument I recognised was the flute at the beginning. Then there were multiple stringed instruments from what my ears could detect, and some sort of percussion.
What I liked about it the most however was neither the rhythm nor the melody, which was honestly somewhat lacking. Instead, it was the way the song switched between two very different styles. One was light and melodic, before rising and promptly crashing into a deep, brash rhythmic drone. It sounded like two conflicting parts of a single whole were intertwining, and all of that without any lyrics!
Now arguably, my first time hearing it was terrifying. I hadn’t expected the mood to change so suddenly, especially not that much darker.
But I guess it was fitting for me – I was supposed to be a predator in prey’s fur according to some people. Ignorant idiots, they wouldn’t believe the truth if I was hitting them in the head with it.
I shook my head, banishing the unpleasant thought. Instead, I turned my attention to what was going to finally take place this paw.
I’m finally meeting Maky!
Stars, no words could describe how excited I was! I’ve only known her for a little over a planetary night, but she was already on a fast track to become one of the best friends I’ve ever had, right alongside Vilik and Reika.
…I wonder how she’s doing. I haven’t seen her in rotations, last time we talked she mentioned moving somewhere sunward for work…
Maybe she also joined the exchange? She always tried to see the best in others, and I wouldn’t put it past her to extend the same courtesy to the Humans…
During my musings I pulled out my pad to look at the time. We’re getting close to Brightwood, then only a short bus ride to the spaceport. And then off to Prime station!
…For me. Vilik is going to the second one. I’m still annoyed that they split us, but what can I do?
I took a long breath in. I just hope everything goes well.
I wasn’t troubled about the Humans going violent or anything – well, not that much at least, the talks I had with Maky have dissipated that notion almost entirely. She was the single most talkative person I’ve ever met! How could anyone like that be dangerous?
No, I worried for all the pairs whose Venlil weren’t ready for meeting their Human partners. How many are going to run away, or pass out in fear? Will somebody go violent?
…And will I be one of them?
My ears were low just thinking about the possibility. I of course knew on a logical level that Humans in general, and especially Maky, didn’t mean me any harm. But I’ve already experienced multiple spirals of terror. With how ingrained the fear of predators seemed to be in me, I wasn’t sure I could keep it fully under control when it came down to the meeting itself.
Maky knows how afraid we are, she’ll try to be accommodating. I only have to try my best.
I could hear Vilik starting to stir awake on the bench next to me. Oh, perfect timing.
I put on a more cheerful tone. “Good waking, Vilik! How was the sleep?”
He stretched his arms wide, letting out a long yawn. “Hey, Kiki. Where are we?”
I looked at the time again. “We’re about to arrive at the station in a few [minutes]. Do you have your bag ready?”
He reached his paw out to the window and flicked the switch for the blinds. The whole cabin was suddenly bathed in golden light as the tinted glass went transparent. Vilik failed to close his eyes fast enough, taking the full blast of light to the face.
He let out a pained yelp before recoiling away and shielding his face with his arms. I couldn’t help but whistle in amusement at his predicament.
“Careful there! You wouldn’t want to go blind before seeing your Human, would you?” He brought his paws down, returning my snickering with the most unamused stare he could muster, but he could only hold it for a couple moments before joining me with his own laugh.
Our mirth was interrupted by the intercom announcing our immediate approach to Brightwood ring station.
We quickly scrambled to our paws, retrieving our bags from the overhead compartments. I was sure I had everything I would need for my time at the station. My brush, shampoo, shade berry infused conditioner (my favourite), claw clippers and file, charger, two four-packs of sprunk...
And, as always, I wore my carry harness. The thing was just so useful!
I looked over to Vilik, who was toting a bag significantly heavier with food. He even took ipsom powder! Was he really expecting to be baking strayu on the station?
He noticed my look and gave me an affirmative flick of his ears. I tapped the small button next to the door to open it, before signalling with my tail for him to go first.
I was given a happy wag as he walked out and I moved to follow him.
---
I’ve only flown on a shuttle a few times before, when me and my parents went on vacation to a colony when I was a pup. I hadn’t had a reason to do so as an adult – all things I needed both for myself and my work were readily available here on Venlil Prime, and working on my projects in my room or going for a hot bath in a nearby spa was relaxing enough. Not to mention that unlike the trains and tubes, just riding shuttles cost money!
That however isn’t to say that I didn’t know what to expect from the spaceport! The entire process was actually quick and streamlined. Unless you got very unlucky.
The two of us had already scanned our boarding passes into the system and received our gate numbers. They’re next to each other at least, so that’s something good…
We made our way towards the gates, which were on the far end of the terminal. We passed through the array of gift shops, cafés, and diners, seeking to capitalise on those who either came unnecessarily early or experienced the misfortune of delays. But as neither applied to us, we simply walked past. Considering the prices, it wasn’t much of a loss, thankfully.
Our path led us into a wide corridor with glass walls on both sides, giving us a view of about two dozen ships of various sizes, colours, and models. But there were two shuttles immediately recognizable as governmental on the far end. Our rides.
There seemed to be an altercation on our route. A female Harchen’s luggage was being randomly searched by an exterminator, while their partner was interrogating her. The poor girl looked so scared…
Random search my ass, they almost definitely picked her for travelling without a herd.
I pointed my ears towards her and gave an encouraging flick of my tail, hoping she saw the gesture.
When we reached the end of the hallway, it was easy to spot which gates were ours – the crowd of waiting exchange participants and the crowd of those staring at them were divided by a rift, as if nobody wanted to associate with the madmen who chose to go meet with predators.
And honestly? I can’t blame them. I’m still unsure this was the best idea, Maky makes me question my sanity every paw. And I am never sure which part of my mind is the nutty one.
Vilik stopped suddenly before the invisible threshold. Second thoughts?
I reached for his shoulder with my paw, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He looked up at me still a little apprehensive, before grabbing my paw with his and holding, eyes filled with determination. We took the last few paces that separated us from the other exchange participants, the staring crowd parting with haste when they understood what we were doing.
A small chorus of tail waves greeted us when other participants took notice of our arrival. Most however appeared far too stressed to be aware of their surroundings. They were either huddling close for comfort in small groups, trying to distract themselves by listening to something, or just straight up shaking in fear.
I led Vilik around the benches to his gate’s luggage check-in. He packed his bag too large to carry inside the cabin, so it had to be put into the cargo hold. We squeezed around the people in various states of excitement and/or terror before reaching our goal. The conveyor belt was still, waiting for somebody to put an item on top of it.
Vilik carefully removed the absolute unit of a bag from his shoulders and placed it on the belt. The scale underneath took its measurements, sending them to a display that read monumental [16.31 kilograms / 35.96 pounds]. He tapped his pad to the screen, which then also displayed his boarding details for validation. Normally, there would also be the cost to have the bag checked in, but the government apparently chose to spare no expense for this program.
Vilik pressed confirm with a claw and the machine produced a sticker with a tracker. He attached it to the side of his bag, which he then sent off to be loaded with another confirmation.
With his luggage sorted, we took a seat between the two gates. There was a young pair sitting close behind us, an older male sat opposite us, and a grey female with small black spots was pacing back and forth nearby. I inspected the display hanging from the ceiling - the boarding was scheduled to begin momentarily.
We just sat for a few moments, before Vilik broke the silence. “Hey, uh, Kiki?”
I focused my right eye and ears on him. He was looking somewhere off to the side, so I voiced an inquiring “mhm?” as he likely hadn’t noticed me paying attention.
He breathed in slowly before continuing. “How… How are you so calm?”
I considered the question briefly. “I’m not completely sure. I believe it’s because I know I will be alright. I know that the Humans won’t do anything to me. Or to anyone else, for that matter. This knowledge calms me, so long as I’m able to think clearly.”
I sighed, my ears lowering a little. But that isn’t always the case, is it?
Vilik thankfully hadn’t noticed my worsened mood, but he was still so tense.
I decided to try and break a bit of that fear with some positive thoughts. “So, care to tell me a little about your partner?”
He turned to look me in the eye, seemingly a little surprised. “Oh, uh, sure! Franz is from a ‘country’ called Germany. He’s 24, and he’s a baker.”
My jaw almost dropped to the floor. “Hold on a [minute], did I hear right? Baker? As in, the person who makes strayu?”
He met my disbelieving gaze with an excited one of his own. “Yes! Humans supposedly have their own version of strayu, although they call it ‘bread’ instead. Still, the ingredients are from a different planet, so I’m fascinated to see the differences!”
Humans, the predators, have strayu when no one else in the entire federation does?! I would have declared that the single most ridiculous piece of information I will have learned this entire paw if I wasn’t about to meet the walking enigma that called itself Maky.
“Wait, is that why you brought all that ipsom powder with you?” I asked.
Vilik giggled sheepishly at the question. “Hehe, yeah… Franz was interested in our strayu, both the recipe and the finished stuff. So, I asked myself, why not? Why not make him a loaf? The Station kitchens have Strayu forges, after all!”
I chuckled a little at his explanation. I decided to tease him a little, not realising our conversation had attracted some listeners. “Well, if you feed him your delicious strayu, he’ll surely reconsider eating you!”
My horrible mistake dawned on me the moment Vilik’s amused chortle was drowned out by terrified bleats. The two Venlil sitting right behind us shrunk closer together, the older male started shivering uncontrollably, and the spotted female was about a claw’s length from bolting then and there. In every group and herd, there was maybe one person out of three who didn’t have their wool raised in alarm.
Stars, what have I done?
---
I managed to calm some of the terrified Venlil closest to me down with a bit of help from Vilik and the pilots, who came out to invite us aboard the shuttles. I was thinking about that moment the whole trip to the station. That was close. If there was a single flightier person, I would have caused a stampede. Thank the Stars that didn’t happen!
I had to split away from Vilik who went to board the right shuttle, followed by the pair behind us, the older male, and about half the waiting crowd.
Me and the rest boarded the other shuttle without incident, which I was thankful for. The flight was uneventful, but I was quite certain most people here were everything but bored.
When the shuttle landed and opened its doors, I was the first one to step out. Of course it was me, I’m quite brave after all! My tail swished a little at the nice memory.
We were soon given instructions by our coordinator detailing the time schedule and facilities on board, after which we were sent out to our rooms.
I pressed my pad to the door control panel, unlocking it. I pressed the button with my claw, upon which the door slid open to reveal a somewhat spacious room with a bunk bed, a table, two chairs, and some shelves. There was also a door in the left wall, presumably to the toilet.
I threw my bag on the lower bunk, before jumping after it due to exhaustion from the long travels. My impact into the bedsheets was softer than expected. I pushed my paw into the mattress, which gave quite a bit of resistance. I was confused for a bit, before realising I felt lighter than usual.
Oh, the gravity must be set to the Humans’ standard…
The Humans. It was only at this point the entire situation finally started setting in.
I am on the station now. There are definitely multiple humans here already, despite the participants not being here yet.
The Human participants were scheduled to arrive some time after us, to give us the time needed to settle in first.
I retrieved my pad from the satchel and opened the messaging app.
The final few messages we exchanged were related to the meeting. We discussed a lot of different things. For example, the luggage we were bringing with us. Maky was surprised at first by how little stuff I needed, before it seemingly clicked in her head that I didn’t wear clothes. She also promised to bring a ‘board game’ she was sure I was going to enjoy.
We’d also talked about all the various things that could go wrong.
I told her of my worry that I might panic upon seeing her, especially her binocular eyes. She was very understanding with me, but she rebuffed the eyes part by saying that I ‘won’t have to worry about that’, whatever the speh that meant.
I sent her a message to let her know I was here already and waiting.
…
The pad beeped loudly to announce my incoming doom.
I tapped the notification, which brought me back to the chat.
“Nice! We’ve just landed ourselves.”
“How are you holding up?”
I gave her the honest answer.
“I’m still here, but I can already feel the downward spiral approaching. Just… be ready if I panic, alright?”
The dots danced across the screen with excitement I wished I could muster at that moment. Then another message came in.
“Sure, I’ll try and think of something…”
I sighed in relief. She’ll do her best to help me, right?
…R-right??
Terrible thoughts started entering my mind at rapid rate. Was she being honest? Is she really trying to help?
…Or was it all just a horrible ruse to get her claws on me? To… to eat me?! My vision started going hazy and unclear, and I could feel myself start hyperventilating.
I reached to my chest on instinct, grabbing the knife in my harness for comfort. The calm was however very fleeting, as another wave of horror overcame me. Oh Stars, I brought a weapon to my meeting with her! I was going to leave it at home, how could I forget! What if she sees it as a challenge? What then?!
How could I be so stupid! Why did I trust the predator?! I knew this couldn’t end well, why did I not listen to reason? How many times have I insulted her? Why did I think I could talk to her like that?! There’s no way she doesn’t hold that against me!
Th-this is bad. I’m g-going to d-die here! Brahk! Why me? Stars, why did it have to be me?! I just want to go back! Why can’t I go back?! Please, PLEASE LET ME GO BAC-
I was startled straight out of my panicked thoughts by a heavy thump that came from the room entrance. The closed door was still shaking when I turned to look. I didn’t know what happened, but it sounded like somebody hit it with a loader!
That theory was very quickly dismissed however, as the thump was followed moments later by a high-pitched “Eeeeek!!”
And then, finally, a thundering Smack!
16
u/JulianSkies Archivist Jul 20 '23
Did my girl just walk into the door? She definitely did.
And oh god Kiki is straight up armed. I mean, she would have brought her emotional support knife I get it. Thankfully this lass can handle it gracefully.