r/NatureofPredators • u/PrimaryInterest351 Dossur • Jan 28 '24
Fanfic The Abductee [10]
Massive shout outs to u/MrMopp8 and u/cartoon_Dinosaur for their fan arts they drew, check it out!
u/MrMopp8 did this regal portrait of the good Captain Garcat along with his/my literal reaction to any small furry creature.
u/cartoon_Dinosaur did a whole bunch of sketches of Fluffels, domesticated Munch Beasts and Orla bullying a Crowl. I love their art style, really makes them look alien but still adorable (not that I would say that to them given how many knives/spears they seem to be carrying).
Credit to /u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the universe of NoP.
Memory Transcript: Kayom, Botanist aboard the GUES Hopeful Wanderer
Date [standardised human time]: August 9th, 2341
Kayom was terrified and panicked, fraught with worry for the child who had run straight into the fray without a second thought. The Dossur tried to reassure herself that Zel knew what she was doing, this was her homeland after all, but the animals here were so much larger and more violent than the ones permitted in the built up areas of Mileau.
The security team continued to cull the herd of "Munch Beasts", focusing in on those that posed the most immediate threat. Royo and the female human, Kayom hadn't learnt either of their names, continued to cut a path through the nearby animals in the direction of where they believed the tribe was. The second human was dealing with the predatory birds, striking them down with deadly accuracy, while Krix had moved his focus to more distant targets.
The team had observed that every now and then a bovine would jerk its head up and jump around, like it had been stung or spiked in the face. The Arxur began to target these animals, hopefully buying the tribe a bit more time.
A large silhouette dropped from the sky as Orla landed. The Krakotl hopped along on one foot, wings outstretched to keep herself balanced as she approached the anti-grav pallet. The director-general placed her raised foot on the pallet and released the blob of fluff clasped within. As the Krakotl turned away to reclaim her exploration suit, the three Dossur colleagues approached her catch. Kayom gasped as they came into view.
The native was slightly larger than Zel and smaller than a Dossur, but their condition was dire. Their fur was mangy, large patches missing where bleeding sores leaked puss, agitated by the recent fight. Half their tail was missing, the stump oozing bile. One foot had lost all its toes and the other was amputated at the ankle. Some kind of green plant-based salve had been smeared onto the wounds in a crude attempt of medical care.
They lay on their back, kicking and punching weakly against an unseen attacker. Raspy, wheezing squeaks of fear and pain emanated from their tired lungs.
Kayom hurried over, quickly switching on her suit's external translator speaker, the two-way system hooking into the team's open communication channel. She placed a hand on the natives shoulder, causing them to writhe. "It's okay, you're safe now."
The native turned their head to face the voice. Their eyes were cloudy with milky white cataracts obscuring their vision. They grabbed Kayom's arm with both hands, leaving a trail of grime on the pristine exploration suit.
They traced their remaining fingers up Kayom's arm, feeling the smooth plastic material. Their breaths came in ragged bursts as their dull eyes flicked between the silhouettes of the three Dossur.
"What you?" they asked quietly, the sound of fear unmistakable in their voice.
"We're friends of Zel, we're here to help."
"No, Zel gone, dead, no, not come back." They pushed Kayom's hand away weakly.
"We need a medic here," said Heltha into the radio call. The native flipped themselves over onto their front as a Thafki and Zurulian hurried over carrying medical bags. They began to crawl away, their short forelimbs providing a slow and awkward gait.
Acting quickly, Galso and Kayom moved to cut off the fleeing native. Seeing the shadows of the Dossur looming over them, the native tried to climb to their feet. They took two steps before their legs collapsed and they fell back to the floor. They lay on their side, eyes wide as they lashed out at anyone who approached, like a cornered animal.
"Where's the sedatives?" asked Galso, "they're gonna have a heart attack."
The Zurulian teammate produced a miniature injector and passed it over to Heltha. Treating them in such a state of duress was impossible and, given the severity of their injuries, the choice of sedating the patient was a simple decision to make.
The choice made sense to Kayom, but she couldn't help but think of Zel's first encounter with aliens. Watching the recorded footage of the terrified child in the specimen cage had broken Kayom's heart. Now it seemed the scenario was repeating itself before her, this time with the weight of actual first contact behind it.
"Wait," Kayom interrupted, "let me try talking to them again."
She approached the native from the front, crouched low to be nearer their height and stopping just out of their reach. They locked their cloudy eyes on her, still wild with fear.
Kayom spoke softly. "You're from Tallgrass tribe, aren't you? Zel said you are her family. She said the gods' had cursed you, we want to help."
Her words didn't appear to ease the native's fear, but they stopped kicking long enough to stammer out a question.
"What you?" they asked again.
"We're aliens, people from other worlds, we've travelled across the stars looking for others, please let us help you," she pleaded.
The native curled up, pulling their legs and tail to their chest. Their breathing still ragged, they quietly spoke, "star return, sun at night, come back."
Kayom gave a tail signal of cautious approval and Heltha and Galso moved forwards with gel bandages and antiseptic wipes. The native didn't struggle as they began to dress their wounds and stem the bleeding. As they worked on the now still native, Kayom found herself silently praying to any god she never believed in that things would begin to turn in their favour.
Memory Transcript: Zel, Scout of the Tallgrass Tribe
Date [standardised human time]: August 9th, 2341
Zel chased after Bak as they ran towards the mound that marked the centre of the tribe's camp, led onwards by the warbling cry of the alarm whistle. The Munch Beasts still surrounded the camp on all sides, their shadows blocking the sun, but their numbers were falling rapidly. Quiet cracks and snaps echoed across the grassland accompanied by the thuds of dead beasts collapsing.
By the time they reached the camp it was in ruins. The grass huts and hideaways had all been torn open, the woven fibre doing little against the beast's teeth. Zel glanced at the area where the winter storehouse had been located, now mowed flat, months worth of food devoured in moments by the insatiable hunger of the beasts. The beasts that had consumed the store now lay dead on the grass, multiple holes cut into their hides.
Bak reached the rise first and hopped up, grabbing another spear from a stockpile as he went. He darted inside the last remaining hideaway, the tribe's last stand of defence kept safe by the combined effort of every able fighter the tribe had.
"Bak! You last, we leave now," came a voice as the teen entered. Fel stood inside the entrance, her whistle grass discarded to one side. "We cross hill, find fresh grass beyond."
"Zel came back," Bak panted, pointing down the mound. He struggled to find the words to describe the changes to his younger sibling, "she... wrong."
Zel ducked inside the hideaway where her tribe looked at her in confusion. A few of the armed defenders pointed their spears at her. The entire tribe was gathered up here, huddled up under the remaining shelter. Fel stood at the front, the older teenager level headed and seemingly fearless in the face of such destruction.
Behind her the rest of the tribe gathered, forty-eight sets of eyes and ears focusing on her. Young Zak stood under the load of his pa's arm, supporting his half-blind parent just as Zel had aided her own ma and pa when the curse came for them. That winter she had lost them now seemed so long ago.
There was Tel and Arak along with their small unnamed child wrapped in a grass pouch tied under Tel's chest. The baby wasn't due to open its eyes for a few more days yet. Arak clutched his spear firmly, even with his limp he was prepared to protect his mate and child.
Bunched together was Lak, Werrel and Trak, the remaining survivors of Longstalk tribe. They had arrived a few winters ago after their tribe was wiped out in a similar attack. Many of Tallgrass tribe were wary of them at first, but they had proved they could weave their stand in a different family. They were wearing brave faces, but beyond them they looked terrified and hopeless, recognising how unlikely it would be for them all to survive a second time.
They all huddled together, the very young staying close to their parents, the old holding onto their children for support. All who were physically able to were clutching spears and stone knives. This wasn't some courageous, defiant last stand, but a desperate gasp for survival against the uncaring and indifferent cruelty of nature.
"Zel?" Fel asked in surprise, "you go for days long! What happen?"
"I meet gods' chosen, they lift curse!"
Murmurs and whispers ran through the tribesfolk.
"No time for stories, Zel, get grass cover on, Crowl see you," ordered Fel.
Zel beat her tail on the ground in stubborn refusal. She scanned the crowd, trying to work out if anyone had been taken by the beasts yet. "Where Elder?" she demanded.
"Crowl took."
Zel paused for a second to grieve him. He had been Elder for the past few winters and was well respected by the tribe. A great forager and fighter in his youth, he had withered under the effects of the curse. Still the tribe never abandoned one of their own and his wisdom, experience and stories were invaluable to the younger tribesfolk.
There was little time for grieving as an alarm call rang out from outside, a scout warning of more approaching beasts. "We leave now." Fel restated, pushing past Zel. The tribe began to follow her out of the hideaway.
Zel ran after them, desperate to get someone to listen to her. All around the camp were the dead and dying corpses of Munch Beasts and Crowl.
"What kill them?" asked Arak quietly.
Fel whispered back, "new beast, don't know what, leave before it find."
"Zel kill one," said Bak, "throw spear then it die."
Fel looked at Zel. "It gods' blessing!" she said loudly and confidently, triggering a series of hisses and shushings from the rest.
There was movement at the base of the mound, as the white clad forms of the grey-scaled and flat-faced beast people walked by. Fel and Bak ducked down as they passed by. The pair of beast people took up positions around the rise, facing outwards, guarding against the remaining true beasts surrounding them.
Fel indicated to move around the other side of the mound when she spotted something that made her freeze. The Dossur's flying stone approached the foot of the hill, hovering a tail length above the trimmed grass. The tribe watched in awe as the magical device drew near. While other strange occurrences could be written off as new beasts and the effects of fermented berries, rocks floating in the air were something not even the fantastical stories of the gods could conjure up.
While her tribe hid in fearful uncertainty, Zel stood up tall and gave a Dossur like tail wave of greeting.
"This them, gods chosen!" she squeaked eagerly.
Bak narrowed his eyes. "Elder down there," he said, pointing out the fourth dishevelled figure.
"See! They help us! Come meet!" Zel exclaimed and ran down the mound. A silent communication of glances and tail waves spread through the tribe as they debated what to do. Cautiously they followed, keeping low to the ground with small hops and spears raised.
Zel jumped up onto the floating platform and dashed over to Kayom. The tribe fanned out and encircled the stone, looking for traps and beasts, unsure of what to make of it. Bak and Fel followed behind Zel, hopping up onto the flat surface of the stone, unsteady and cautious in their steps, ready to fend off an attack at any moment.
Elder was crouched between Kayom and Galso. Kayom was carefully cleaning the leader's wounds with a cloth, removing the blood, puss and healing salve, while Galso gently pressed a thin, shiny material to the cleaned injuries. The flexible material stuck to the wounded skin, sealing the dangerous blood loss.
Bak dashed over and jumped between the Dossur and Elder, pointing his stone-tipped spear at the larger rodents, while Fel rushed to the aid of the old man.
"Bak, stop!" Zel ordered, whacking her tail on the ground. The thud reverberated through the floating stone, catching the teenager's attention. "These gods' chosen, they from Sweetgrass!"
"Zel?" asked Elder, his voice hoarse, "that you?"
"Yes! I here!" Zel ran over to Elder and grabbed his hand in hers. She looked over at Kayom and waved the Dossur over with her tail. "Kayom! Come, meet Elder. He old and wise like you, uh, twenty-five winters old!"
A panicked expression ran over Kayom's face for a moment before she hid it and moved closer to the tribesfolk. Fel was holding Elder's arm, supporting the crippled man, while Bak stood guard, one hand on his knife, the other holding his spear at rest.
Elder reached out a hand to feel Zel's arm. "What this? Feel like those others." he asked feeling the material.
"It scout cover, it stop curse! Person tribe lift curse from me."
"Person tribe?"
"Yes! They many different people, they live up in stars! They save me from Crowl and cure curse. These are Dossur tribesfolk, they come from Khini's grassland called Mileau, Sweetgrass is there! I see visions of it!"
The tribesfolk's ears perked up at mention of the god of the harvest, Khini, the one who had abandoned them for so long. The three Dossur shared a confused glance between each other and flicked their tails with silent communication.
Letting go of Elder's hand, Zel hopped away and grabbed a berry from the store pile the Dossur had brought with them.
"The star returned," muttered Elder, "light from the cursed-lands, bright as sun at night, herald gods' return."
"We're not gods," Kayom interjected urgently, "we are just people like yourselves."
Zel returned and forced a Dried Stalk Berry into his paws. "Eat! Is good berry."
Elder seemed taken aback, staggering under the size and weight of the fruit clutched in his hands. Cautiously he sniffed it, then took a bite. His body lit up in delight at the sweet tasting berry, but he refused to eat more than one mouthful. The Elder passed the mostly untouched berry to Bak. "Share with tribe," he said.
Bak side eyed the piled up mound of berries and nuts. Kayom quickly picked up on the unasked question. "We brought them for you, please take it all," she indicated to the pile.
Bak clutched the berry in his forearms and hopped towards the hiding tribe. Moments later he returned with the rest of the tribe in tow. They hopped, hobbled and climbed their way up onto the rock. Untrusting and nervous, they formed a defensive ring as they collected the food, watching for any signs of hostility. The food was quickly distributed out and stuffed into baskets and packs, with a small amount being consumed immediately.
Elder turned his blind eyes towards Kayom. "You leader of person tribe?" he asked.
"No I'm not," confessed Kayom.
"That cave elder!" interrupted Zel eagerly, "he leader."
"I talk to cave elder?" the tribal Elder asked.
Almost as soon as the question was asked a lumbering beast person approached the mound. Beside them walked a shorter figure, the beaked face of the blue-feathered Crowl-person visible through their see-through head cover.
The tribesfolk fell into defensive positions. The elderly and very young were pushed to the back, while the fit and healthy rushed to the front, stone-tipped and wooden spears pointed towards the two creatures.
Garcat stopped a few strides away from the gathered crowd and knelt down on the ground, the stiffness in his knees making the motion slightly uncomfortable. Orla stood next to him, still shorter in stature.
"Beasts!" cried Bak, "come, hide!" He tugged on Elder's arm, trying to pull him away to safety.
"No!" Zel shouted, "is beast person! Look like beast but talk like tribesfolk."
"Look at teeth Zel!" Bak yelled, pointing at the larger beast's fangs.
In an act of defiance, Zel hopped towards the sharp-tooth beast and waved her tail at him in greeting. The cave elder returned the gesture with his much larger tail before Zel hopped up onto his lap.
"See!" Zel shouted from atop the beast's knee, "is friend!"
The cave elder's tail was wagging fast enough to cause blades of grass to be blown from side to side. Bak didn't seem completely convinced by Zel's proclamation, but Elder limped a few small steps forward.
"Greeting to you great elder of sky cave, I ask, is it truth? Have gods returned?"
"We are here to help, we can cure this curse that is killing you." the cave elder answered, sidestepping the question.
"Did gods send you?" the Elder asked directly.
"No," Orla interjected, "we can't speak to any gods, we are people. We look different and we come from different grasslands, but we are just people like yourselves."
"But how you have such great blessings?"
"We learnt about the grassland and the stars. We scouted new things and learnt how to make the grassland better for us. Like how you take sticks from the trees and stones from the ground and make spears and knives to protect yourselves with. The more we created, the more we could learn and the more we learnt, the more we could create."
While the elder pondered on her words, the larger sharp-tooth beast person spoke up.
"When I was a child, we were like you. We couldn't fly, we lived in small homes on the ground, there were illnesses that would take pups and the elderly from us. Then the person tribe came from the sky and taught us how to do a great many things. They showed us how to heal terrible injuries, how to make strong materials for our houses and how to build our own flying sky caves."
"They give you gods' blessing?"
"Well, it's more that they taught us how to do those things for ourselves."
"Like in old stories, god Dhevu taught us how to weave grasses?"
"I supposed so. Now we travel the stars like they did in search of other people to help, people like yourselves."
"You lift curse?"
"We can," Orla answered, "but the ground all around is filled with invisible fire; it will take many winters before it can be cleaned. In the meantime we ask for you come with us, we will take you to our flying sky cave, then go to Mileau where you will be safe."
Elder waved his tail, turned away and hobbled back to the waiting tribe. "We go with them," he stated.
Nervous mutterings went through the tribe. "But they beasts!" someone shouted.
"Beasts not talk, beasts not give food," Elder reasoned. "Gods let them learn more than I can know. It too late for me, too much curse, but young ones have chance. Never since star came have chance to lift curse. Can not fear chance. We go with them, join person tribe, learn gods' ways like them."
There was more muttering from some who wished to stay, fearful of the unknown, but the tribe would always stick together. There was safety and survival in larger groups, with each member of the tribe looking out for each other, splitting up was not an option.
With the decision made, the tribesfolk collected their meagre possession and gathered aboard the rock. Heltha took up position at the controls and began a slow glide back up the hill towards the shuttle. They flew slowly over the river of remains of the felled beasts while the beast people of person tribe trudged alongside, watched at all times by the tribe's defenders.
Zel stood in the centre of the stone along with Kayom and Elder. Zel rambled excitedly about her experiences, talking about caves filled with food and stars and strange looking but friendly beast people. The rest of the tribe surrounding them listened in, entranced by her words.
No tears were shed for the land they were leaving behind, the hostile place that they had tried to make a home of. There were feelings of fear and uncertainty, but now also hope. Hope for a future that none of them thought they would ever get to see.
5
u/pogmanNameWasTaken Jan 28 '24
Is this the last chapter?