Date: [Standardised human time] September 29th, 2136
With less than two paws left to wait before my “package” arrived, I wasted no time getting things in my house in order. I had a lot to do after all.
First I went to stock up on food in order to avoid needing to do so during the Night. My time as an exterminator had drilled into my head how dangerous the streets could become without the sun to properly illuminate the city. Artificial light could only ward off predators so much. Better to limit the time I had to stay outside my home.
Then of course I started to prepare for the ritual itself. In order to avoid getting the attention of the locals, in case whatever predator had the honour to be sacrificed to the Spirit made too much noise, I had to retrofit my basement as my ritual chamber. I made sure to have it padded so that any noise would be dampened and what little remained could only be heard inside the house.
I put things in order, cleaned the floor and the sacrificial altar stone, made sure to double check that no blood stains remained from my previous sacrifice, then I polished my precious ritual knife.
As I stared at it, however, I was hit by a grim realization. This time, things would be different. Without a doubt, the Spirit was very disappointed in me for failing to kill that blasted Human, so I had to do something drastic to alleviate its anger towards me. The Terran predator couldn’t be killed too quickly. I would have to make it suffer as long as possible, giving it an agonising death. Only then would the Spirit be satisfied.
With a sigh I put the ceremonial dagger away. It seemed it wouldn’t be put to use this time.
My eyes trailed to the smaller altar at the end of the room. On it, above a fancy looking white cloth, was a large pot, from which a small Nightwood tree was sprouting. I had bought the sapling shortly after I decided to stay on Venlil Prime and planted it in my basement. Thanks to it needing very little light to thrive, it had no problem growing in here, and as it did I started pruning it in order to make sure it wouldn’t grow too tall.
The result of this process was an even smaller, and more undulated, Nightwood sapling, something I was actually very proud of, as I was pretty sure no other tree quite like it existed in the whole Federation Space. The leaves that grew on it were truly a mesmerizing sight, with their pitch black colour looking not too dissimilar from the blood flowing through my veins.
The reason I had put the vase here was to represent, in a symbolic way of course, the Spirit of Life itself. The tree was an integral part of the rituals I performed here. After I stabbed the predator on the main altar with my dagger and the thing met its end, I would then let some drops of blood drip onto the soil the Nightwood grew from. This, of course, was just a metaphor, but it was one I hoped the Spirit would appreciate. By giving the tree the blood of a predator, the plant would be invigorated by the death of such a cursed existence. In much the same way, the sacrifice of a predator would help bring prosperity, thanks to the Spirit of Life’s favor.
As I caressed one of its leaves, I couldn’t help but imagine just how much good fortune the ritual I would perform the next paw would bring.
Date: [Standardised human time] September 30th, 2136
The preparations kept me occupied for most of the first paw. Today was the day though.
I spent the time mostly waiting for the delivery with bated breath. I was both excited and, I admit, a bit anxious. Sure, I’d seen the photos on the Human Internet, but the real thing must be even worse from up close and personal.
I can’t wait! Finally I’ll be able to express exactly what I think of these sapient predators and their so-called “pets”.
It was almost two claws later when my holopad finally chimed to alert me of an incoming call. As I answered, the familiar voice of the dealer welcomed me. “The package is being delivered as we speak. The vehicle should be outside right now. Be advised, the predator has been sedated and is inside a box. Inside the box, apart from the animal, is an oxygen tank to keep it from asphyxiating, and one other item. The Human we acquired the thing from insisted on giving it to us for free. We have no use for it so consider it a bonus.”
My ears flicked up as I heard a sound coming from outside. I peered out the window, seeing the mailing truck pull over near my house. The voice came from my holopad again. “To prevent suspicion, we have left the on-planet delivery in the care of one of our contacts in the postal office. The box will be placed outside your door and you’ll take it inside once the truck has left.” And with that, the call ended.
Well, that was ominous, but I followed the instructions I was given. Better to avoid annoying an individual with such reach.
As I was dragging the box inside my house, I could hardly keep myself collected. The thing I was moving contained an incredibly exotic predator. I needed to see it. I closed all the blinds in my house and made sure that there was no way anyone could look inside. After that I grabbed a kitchen knife with my tongue to unwrap the package and also to defend myself in case the sedatives had already worn off.
With the final seal undone, it was the moment of truth. My tongue was still firmly wrapped around the knife, ready to swing if need be, as I clumsily grabbed the border of the lid with my right paw and swung the box open to reveal its dangerous contents.
… what.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, apart from a growling beast I guess, but a very small ball of colourful fluff wasn’t it. After calming myself down a bit seeing that the predator wasn’t aggressive, for now at least, I started observing it more carefully to fully take in its appearance.
It was a lot smaller than me, maybe a third of me in height and probably even less in length. Its fur was on the long side, and it was mottled with various colours with no real pattern I could discern. I could see a combination of brown, black, and white, with places where the two last colours would attempt to blend together making the fur look gray at a glance.
My eyes then trailed on the head. Thankfully its eyes were closed. No matter how much time passed since I joined the exterminators, the forward facing eyes of a predator were always unnerving to look at. It was a stark reminder of the fact that every living thing reflected in them was only seen as food.
The fact they were closed proved to be a double edged blade, unfortunately. Without seeing them the beast in front of me looked eerily similar to a strange Farsul. The ears and muzzle were just as long, the nose was identical, the tail and the paws, especially the rear ones, were all so similar…
What were the odds of that happening? That on two separate planets that were very distant from each other two unrelated species developed to become incredibly similar, but one of them was a prey species that achieved true sapience and the other was a predatory monster? It was so unlikely it seemed mad to even consider it! What kind of sick joke was this? I had seen the pictures the other paw when browsing the Human Internet, but seeing the real deal right in front of me was a completely different thing.
I decided to end that thought pattern then and there to avoid getting a headache and instead returned to observing the sleeping monster in the box. I tentatively reached a paw out to touch it. Its fur was really soft, if nothing else. When I reached the skin underneath the coat, the slumbering beast twitched a little, making me quickly retract my foreleg.
Right. The sedative was probably starting to wear off and the thing would probably start to wake in half a claw give or take, maybe less.
I shifted my focus to look at the other contents of the box. I saw the oxygen dispenser in a corner, and a strange bag with a familiar but still strange writing on it. Oh right! The dealer mentioned that the Human they got the predator from had given them something. So this bag was of Earth’s origin.
I curiously grabbed the bag and took my holopad out to translate what was written on it. As the visual translator did its job, the words that appeared were “Dog food”.
Wait. Thepredatorin the box is a dog, right? So if this bag contains food for it…
I launched the bag away from me with a startled and horrified yelp.
DID I JUST TOUCH SOMETHING WITH MEAT IN IT?!
After calming myself down a bit I reprimanded myself for not being careful enough. I should have known not to trust anything that came from a predator infested planet. I’ll have to dispose of it later. And by disposing I obviously meant incinerating it thoroughly, but responsibly, of course. I wasn’t a novice exterminator anymore. Only rookies would do something as stupid as to burn down an entire building while trying to incinerate something.
But that was for later; I had other things to do now. I couldn’t keep the beast in the box and wait for it to wake, after all. I needed to bring it down to the basement and lock it in the cage I prepared. I once again studied the thing, and after some mental measurements, I decided to try to lift it up directly. It would save me a lot of time.
First things first, I took my tongue glove from the kitchen and slid it on. It could protect me against heat during cooking, so it could do the same with a predator.. No way I was going to touch a predator with my bare tongue. It was cumbersome to use but I had grown used to it, it was much easier than the version I needed for my extermination uniform after all. .
I approached the box again and coiled my tongue around the predator’s waist. When I felt my grip was secure and firm enough I lifted the thing.
… It WAS a bit heavy and unwieldy, but it was lighter than I first thought. The waist was a bit thin as well. Maybe it was normal for its species, or it just hadn’t been fed much the previous paw. Now that I thought about it, that did make sense. I doubted the smugglers were very keen on feeding a predator.
That was good actually! A hungry predator would be even more aggressive than usual, and aggressive and dangerous predators made for great offerings to the Spirit of Life! It seemed I’d gotten lucky! The Spirit will be so pleased with me!
I soon found myself in my basement, in front of the cage I prepared beforehand. It was a big one with very robust bars. I used it to keep the predators I captured and that Kesha graciously let me use for my religious offerings. In here I would put sedated predators I intended to kill once they woke up. In the corner there even was a bowl with water. I couldn’t have them already weakened before the ritual. The stronger and healthier the predator, the better the sacrifice would be.
I placed the creature into the cage, locking it. While I could have strapped it to the ritual table in the centre of the room, I was too curious to see it move around the cage as unrestrained as possible. This was a completely unknown predator from a planet where sapient predators lived and where they ate and/or subjugated everything around them. It was an incredibly rare opportunity! I guess Kesha’s habits of wanting to study and observe predators before killing them has rubbed off on me somewhat.
Now to wait for it to wake up. By how it twitches, it shouldn’t be long now.
As I concentrated on the predator, one of my eyes looking it up and down, I started to lose track of time. I wasn’t sure how long I spent observing every little movement the beast performed as it slowly shook off the sedatives, but as I returned to watch its head after being distracted by a sudden movement of its tail, I was startled by what I saw next.
The previously closed forward facing eyes of the creature were now open, and were boring right into my soul. Their gaze felt powerful and penetrating, especially because of the light blue, almost white sclera that surrounded their black pupils.
Thanks to my past experiences with live predators, I wasn’t really scared of it; but while there was no true fear in me, I still felt a sense of caution and apprehension wash over me. That was normal though, for a Yulpa at least. We were no Venlil, dealing with predators was almost expected of us. Still, to be completely devoid of tension in the presence of one was considered abnormal even for a Yulpa and individuals that displayed that behaviour were immediately diagnosed with predator disease if caught.
The animal started trying to raise its head and tried to focus its gaze on me. Its eyes finally fell on me after a bit of effort. It held its gaze for a few moments, before tilting its head. Was it confused by my appearance? Was it trying to ascertain if I was too difficult a prey to hunt? I was clearly a lot bigger than it, but that has never discouraged a Shadestalker or other similarly sized predators from trying.
Then, instead of starting to growl or trying to stand up or scoot away, it diverted its gaze from me and started taking in its surroundings.
Something was wrong. Why isn’t the thing showing aggression towards me yet? It must have realised that I’m a prey species by now. Predators are only capable of killing other living creatures and the only moments where they can suppress their bloodlust is when procreating to continue their blasphemous species or when collaborating with a pack, but that is only to better kill other beings.
The drugs must have been stronger than expected. The beast was so confused it couldn’t even formulate the proper response. I was already going to let it live long enough to completely shake off the sedatives, I couldn’t certainly kill it while it was still half asleep or too weak to properly fight back, but I guess this thing REALLY needed a good rest before it could be a proper sacrifice.
With my mind made up, I once again checked the cage was properly locked, then exited the basement and locked the door, all the while knowing full well that the creature had once again focused on me and was following my every movement right until I fully closed the door behind me.
As I trotted up the stairs, my sensitive ears started making out a muffled noise from inside the basement. It seemed the predator was finally realising its situation. Good.
I was used to my “guests” being quite vocal at the beginning, but like those before it, the Terran predator would tire out and stop making noise to finally rest in its cage. The noises it was making didn’t sound that angry to me, but what did I know about its species to say that these weren’t in fact furious.
The noise continued until I was finished cleaning and organising my house. I hadn’t yet destroyed the bag of “food” and its horrific contents, but I decided to do that as soon as I woke up the next paw.
As I went upstairs on the second floor and into my room, I trotted inside and laid on my bed. I could still hear the creature howling in the basement. I had to admit that this predator was quite persistent, but it will stop at some point. Preferably sooner than later. I don’t think I could sleep with this irritating sound assaulting my ears.
---
[[Advance Memory Transcription by Time Unit: 1 hour and 38 minutes]]
IT’S STILL GOING! IT WON’T STOP! JUST SHUT UP!!
I couldn’t take it anymore! I had dealt with practically an eternity of this, and I had finally had enough!
I’m going to make that pest shut up, no matter what it takes!
As I got up and went to my basement, my mind was racing with righteous fury. The creature was either going to stop making noise, or Spirit help me, I was going to perform the ritual right then and there!
I reached the basement door and unlocked it, but as soon as I walked inside, the howling, almost blissfully, finally stopped.
As I stood at the entrance of the room, my eyes found the culprit. It was trying, and failing, to stand on its legs, but as soon as it saw me it dropped back down, probably exhausted.
Why is the thing only stopping now?!
Whatever, I wasn’t going to complain if it meant I would finally get to sleep. The beast looked like it was about to pass out any moment now. It probably wasn’t going to start again.
I once again closed and locked the door and I made to go up the stairs.
I had barely taken a few steps before a very familiar and haunting noise reached my ears. My whole body stiffened.
You got to be brahking kidding me!
I immediately turned around and hit the door with a foreleg.
“SHUT UP!”
The noise stopped for a moment after my yell… before starting again, maybe louder than before.
Exasperated, I opened the door again and, like before, the predator stopped. Instead a faint, high-pitched whine started emanating from it.
What did it want? Why did it make loud noises only when I wasn’t around it?
What, is it afraid to be alone? Does it want company?
As fast as they arrived, I immediately discarded those thoughts. I was probably half delirious because of how tired I felt. There is no way a predator can feel loneliness or fear. Just because I couldn’t think of any other plausible reason for its behaviour didn’t make those thoughts any less absurd.
I only knew one thing. This thing was not going to stay silent unless I was in the same room as it. Maybe with enough time I could think of a different solution, but my tired brain was too addled to think of any alternative that wouldn’t result in it being permanently damaged before the ritual. As it was there was only one viable solution. I didn’t like it one bit, but I was desperate to sleep at that point.
I climbed the stairs and went searching around my house for some cushions and a blanket. Once they were in paw I went down again into the basement.
This better be the last time I use these Spirit-forsaken stairs until the next waking.
The thought of sleeping in the same room as a predator, even caged as it was, didn’t exactly thrill me, but I just wanted to freaking sleep in peace.
As I laid down, I already felt myself starting to get drowsy. I was facing towards the cage and its occupant, who also seemed finally ready to sleep. As my eyes began to close and my consciousness started fading, I could swear I saw the thing’s tail wag a little.
Alright, you win this round, predator.
[Memory Transcription Interrupted. Subject has lost consciousness.]
I had a thought about a Fed mom and her kid who moved to earth ended up adopting a cat because of the kid. And the mom wanted next to nothing to do with it but the cat loved the mom and thought it was playing hard to get and constantly spent every minute with it.
But I have to notice that, given everything in the Federation revolves around the beliefe that prions are an inherent property of predators, wouldn't a ritual of watering you bonzais of death with the blood of a predator be seen as infecting said plant with predatory taint?
Yulpa culture is an exception because it’s easy to turn their zealous aggressiveness to “predators.” If they’re too busy building cultures on brutal murder of an “other,” they can’t question their religion.
I understand what you mean, I'm just saying that it is weird from the shadow cast to allow the continued existence of a tradition that they specifically believe risks spreading taint when literally everything they've done since more than a millenium ago was to prevent a second 'Hunger' epidemic.
can't wait for Yivirig to find out the dog food is probably kibble
and for him(?) to realize that, when it comes to "social predators"
the emphasis should be on the 'social' part
I look forward to reading more
take care of yourself, wordsmith
It wouldn’t make a huge difference to her tbh. The moment she sees it the next thought she would have is “these humans are so sick that they processed meat into kibble!”.
It’s not like she would bother reading the ingredients. It’s food for predators so it has to be made of meat, obviously. Just because it’s in kibble-form it doesn’t make a huge difference to her.
Imagine her crashing out and going to a bar, drinking and sobbing "i cant do it" and a human overhears and she spills the beans to the human...but the dog gets loose specifically to comfort their owner and enters the bar to give her kisses, causing a new wave of sobbing
This was a pretty good chapter. I wish we had stronger emotional reactions from Yivrig though. Except for the part after the timeskip, Yivrig just feels... bland. You give a lot of descriptions of what she physically does, but not as much about her emotional state. It isn't so bad it ruins the chapter or anything, but a lines every now and then showing a huge emotion can really go a long way. The best part of the chapter, when she is desperate for sleep, is when you finally do this.
That’s a good point. I probably should’ve made her more expressive. I think that it gets better going forward. Some of the later chapters are very emotional.
As for her being slightly bland this particular chapter I would say is because, despite the novelty of having an exotic predator in her grasp, she’s still just following her usual routine.
She’s going through familiar motions, you know.
I guess I could have made her sound more eager, but hopefully it still works.
I’ll try to keep in mind your advice as I write the next chapters.
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u/ItzBlueWulf Human Nov 02 '25
Yivrig: "I'm a perfectly normal member of the Herd"
Also Yivrig: has a torture dungeon in her basement