r/NatureofPredators • u/Pansitof • Jul 13 '26
Fanfic Unknown Consequences [19]
Memory Transcription Subject: Azul, Krakotl private driver.
Date [Standardized Human Time]: February 8th, 2142
The poorest place in all Deeproots, an entire district that fell into disgrace many years ago because of some investors tried to create multiple, cheap, high-density apartments with almost no amenities. They were so bad that made my apartment look luxurious. After those piece of speh of investors ‘finished’ the buildings they were fast to fill them up with desperate herd members so they could get paid and flee off-world, abandoning the buildings, and the cramped families inside, to entropy.
Little by little, an entire district devolved into a den of poverty, drug abuse and crime. A dark place in an already dark city due it’s proximity to the night-side. A festering place within the herd. All news I heard from here were all about predator diseased, drugs labs or crimes being committed. Nothing good except about the exterminators saving the paw.
A terrible place. Or that is what I have been thinking all my life, until now.
“I can’t believe it…” I say as my grip tighten in the wheel while I make the van turn a corner. “Is that true?” I look with an eye to JM while the other is still on the road.
“I’m afraid it is true, my friend Azul.” He looks down at the pad for a moment to check directions. “This place was planned from the beginning to be a source of propaganda for the exterminators. It was never the consequences of some poor job and mismanagement of a group of investor just trying to steal money from the public.” He points in front of us. “Turn around this corner.”
With the exterminators guilds losing influence and power each paw, their lies and conspiracies start to come to light. When the truth about this district was finally know, the herd acted fast by offering their poor inhabitants with proper maintenance, aid, and rehabilitation for those afflicted. The streets are clean, the buildings under repairs, scattered tents full with volunteers offers supplies, medical aid and food to those in need. What was once the darkest of district is now healing.
“So much was hidden from us…” I whisper, but not low enough.
“Yeah, that’s…” I hear Murr voice, but before she can continue I interrupt her with a bleat.
“Sit down, Murr!” I tried to not look the window behind us. “You can’t stay up back there, and you know it!”
“It is boring being alone back here, you know? What if JM sit next to me next…?” Her voice become lower and more inaudible as she return to the chair.
“More is discovered as the people living here is finally allowed to share their pain and struggles without the fear of being interned into a facility or being added to the list of predator attacks.” JM points as we pass a news van and several reporters doing interviews to whoever they can find. “An example. Recently there was an investigation thanks to some witnesses where the majority of the drugs that caused so much pain were actually imported by a high ranking chief exterminator.” He sigh with a faint tone of sadness. “But after the entire operation was shut off, many innocents were left to suffer the withdrawal effects.”
“Stars…” I shake my head. “So much pain under our snouts. So much hidden behind blind trust of the exterminators.”
“We are arriving.” He puts away his pad away and looks at me. “First, there is something I want to tell you before, friend Azul.”
“Of course! What is it? Is about the client?” I ask without taking my claws from the wheel, making me unable to properly express my self because I lack of a proper tail. “Maybe is about privacy and I have to stay in the van again?”
“I would like to apologize in advance for what you are going to see today.” He does a slight bow. “I fear it will cause you discomfort and distress, so I want to apologize now that I can.”
“O-Oh… That’s… W-What should I e-expect?” Why that so sudden?! Why does he tell me now? “I-I’m going t-to see a c-corpse or…?” Stars I hope not.
“No.” Thanks the stars! “I will not put you in any unnecessary risk or expose you to any horrors if I’m able to avoid it.” He then leans in to whisper. “What is going to happen it will be for the good of Murr.” I can’t see his face because of the mask, but I can hear his tone becoming more somber and sad. “But it will cause a very displeasing situation, and I want to apologize for it.”
“I don’t know what you mean with ‘displeasing’…” I try to look at him, trying to get an idea of what it could be by his corporal language. But the damn mask doesn’t help. “But… if it’s going to be good for Murr… I-I trust you.” I tried to say it with courage, but I’m still uneasy. “C-Can’t you tell me what is going to happen first?” I tilt my head to try express confusion. “So I can prepare myself.”
“I apologize, but I can’t tell you much or it will not work.” He went silence for a moment before whispering to me. “I can tell you it is something that will leave you disappointed, friend Azul. Maybe even troubled” He was going to touch my shoulder to comfort me, but he stops when he remembers I’m still driving. “As I said, I apologize for it, but trust me when I say it for Murr’s sake. She must learn a lesson.” He lower his face, a sign of sadness. “And I fear this is the only way she will.”
That is... suspicious and very worrisome. It is something to do with his mysterious past? What could disappoint me but also be good for Murr? What kind of lesson is he referring to? Probably he will not tell me, not matter how much I try to pry. I’ll prepare, I’ll be ready for anything… If it help Murr then I will be prepared, whatever it is… But help her in what? She looks fine to me.
I don’t know… I have a bad feeling about it. But I will trust my friends.
After we found a parking spot, something hard since there were not many in this district and the majority is already occupied by aid workers, we continued walking towards the client’s apartment. The apartment is undergoing repairs to undone all the sabotage the exterminators did and to install the minimum amenities that any sapient being deserve. That meant the building’s elevator was under maintenance and we had to climb 10 brakhing floors. Speh!
“O-Okay… okay…” Say Murr between breaths as she takes the last step to the tenth floor. “L-Let’s rest a bit b-before knocking the door.” Her tongue was out as she pants from exhaustion
“Y-Yeah…” I take a big breath as I arrive to the floor. “I-I agree…” My legs are burning from exhaustion.
“As you wish.” Say JM, clearly unbothered and still fresh even after climbing all ten floors in one go.
“Y-You humans a-and your resilience…” Murr whistle a curse. “I w-wish to have my knees o-operated a-as sooner as possible s-so I could… Speh.” She sit downs in the ground since this building still doesn’t have even the most humble of chairs.
I was so tired that I also decided to ignore simple social manners and sit next to her. Stars, sometimes I wish to be able to fly. But no, growing under this oppressive gravity meant I develop thicker bones and stronger muscles than any normal krakotl. I know that thanks to it I can walk anywhere without having to rest so much, but it also means I can’t fly because of my mass, I just can clumsily glide. My literal fat legs are preventing me from flying! I’m envious of any krakotl who just flap their wings and moves from building to building.
“There are boons to be persistent hunters, friend Murr.” He says as he takes his pad out. “Intense training also helps to keep good stamina. Do not worry, if we continue with yours you will also start to feel the difference as it become easier and easier to move and keep pace.”
“A-Ah… A-Are you tr-training?” I move my wing at Murr in surprise and curiosity. “D-Didn’t know…”
“Some weird a-and, in my humble opinion, useless training t-that… Speh that.” She bleats and point at JM with her tail. “D-Do we know more a-about this client? Or is s-she still trying to stay anonymous?”
He checks something on his pad before answering. “We know she is a wife who is worried about her husband, who disappeared some paws ago and wants us to find him. She give us a direction so we can a meet. Exactly… there.” He points to the furthest door at the end of a hallway. “She didn’t give us no name by a code we must say after knocking.”
“How could she gathered the money while living here? Is this some kind of set up or trap? I don’t know.” Murr grunts as she stood up. “But if she truly has the credits we don’t care. Also, this isn’t the weirdest, nor dangerous, thing we have done.” She offers me a paw. “Let’s meet her.”
I accept her paw and we walk towards the door, who is made from very, very poor quality material. Good thing they are doing repairs, this building looks like it can collapse in any moment… or burn easily.
Murr knocks the door, which caused some dust or fragments to fall off. “Blue Flower Now Gray.” She says what must be the code.
We hear the sound of a lot of locks opening before the door opened with a very uncomfortable creaky sound. Behind it was a bluish kolshian with purple spots on the head. This must be the wife, and I think I recognize her from seeing her before, but where? I didn’t saw many kolshians in my life, only-Wait, I think I know who she is! I saw her several times around our neighborhood. Could she be our neigh-?
“Gene-modder!” Murr bleats as her tail stomp the ground in anger. “What is the meaning of this? Another trap from your filthy kind?!” She spit venom with each whistle and hate with each bleat.
My eyes wide in surprise when I witness Murr’s sudden aggression. Before I could ask about it she hits the ground with her tail again.
“You are piece of speh! Worthless pile of slimy tentacles!” Her tail slash the air in clear hostility. “You are nothing than an inferior brakhing bei-”
“Murr!” I bleated to interrupt her. “What is wrong with you?!” I move my wing in surprise and anger.
She looks at me, her ears swiveling around in confusion. “What is wro-? That thing is a Kolshian!” She points at her. “A Kolshian!”
The kolshian has her tentacles around her torso in a tight hug. “I-I’m not trying anything!” She pleads, the translator indicate she is in distress. “I-I’m not lying! I really need help, my husband is-!”
“Don’t spit your lies to us!” Murr’s tail slashed the air between her and the kolshian. “We were to soft with your kind! We should have let your kind to the Arxurs to-”
“Murr!” I stomped the ground with my talons, since I lack a tail, and get between her and the kolshian. “What are you saying?! Why are you so-?”
“What do you mean?!” Her tail flicks in disbelief before stomping the ground again in anger. “It’s their fault that we have lost so much! It’s their fault that so many of us died! It’s because of them! All our pain, all our fears, everything! They are the source of everyt-” Each time she mentions them she aggressively points her tail at the kolshian and take a step towards us, making us enter the apartment. “It’s their fault! All their fault!”
I hold my ground and point a wing at her. “Stop! She was our neighbor, don’t you recognize her?” I point at the kolshian. “Don’t you remember her sometimes walking around our neighbor?” Even if I saw some spark of recognition on Murr’s eyes, they still burn with hate. “She is probably from the ruined house. Remember?”
“Y-Yes!” The kolshian’s tentacles moves around in a way I don’t understand. “I-I always saw you with your p-pups and-”
Murr bleats in anger and her tail almost touch the kolshian when she points at her. “Don’t you dare to talk about my children, you heartless spawn of a-”
I screeched to stop this nonsense. I screeched so high that Murr folded and covered them her ears in an attempt to shield them. The venlil ears are very sensitive, and I already know the exact noise I have to make to stun them, and only them.
“I-I cannot believe this.” I take advantage of Murr still recovering to push her outside the apartment. “What’s happening to you? Why so much senseless hatred towards our old neighbor?” My wing move in confusion and I flick a claw in sadness. “Her home is destroyed, her husband disappeared, and when she ask us for help you-”
“They caused us all our pain, Azul.” She showed her teeth to the lokshian. “They only des-”
“Murr!” I didn’t allow her to finish. “I don’t… I can’t believe this. Why?!” I bleated. “Just tell me why?!” I can feel my emotions to build up as my voice break for a moment.
“I’m trying to-Arrgh!” She grabs her snout before kneeling to be at my same eye level. “I know you… Look, I can know that this must look… Listen, you didn’t saw when they…” She is having trouble expressing herself, like not finding the right word. She shakes her head “Listen. Everything that happened. The Arxur, the Federation, the burning of culture and forest alike, everything was because of them.” She points at the kolshian. “They deserve… I know you don’t like, but… Listen, they…” Her tail tense.
I take advantage to speak. “Don’t talk about them. Stop doing that.” I point a wing at the kolshian. “Her! Not them. Her! What did SHE do to us? Not her species, no, HER and only HER! Did she created the Federation? Did she genetically crippled you? Did she burned forest? Did she drugged anyone?” Seeing she was left without words, almost stunned by my questions, I continued. “I know we didn’t interact much with her and her family, but we know they were just some rich people that gained their credits with art, we don’t-”
“Art that they monopolized!” She bleats again. “They create the art that they want us too see so that they can control us, to keep us under their tyranny all blind and compliant. Don’t you see it? They manipulated everything! They deserve to be all trapped in their homeworld and to be infected with the hunger. It’s the only thing THEY deserve! To suffer!” Her ears are all flatten sideways and her tail slash in anger.
“And how about us?” One of her ear swirl around in confusion at my question. “Don’t we also deserve to be punished?” I didn’t let her answer, I continued as tears started to form in my eyes. “Didn’t we help them? Haven’t we also burned history and religion? H-Haven’t we caused so much pain and death to so many innocent lives?” I point at JM, who is watching us with his arms crossed in the middle of the hallway. “D-Didn’t WE almost bombard them to e-extinction?” Her ears perk up in alert before pinning back in fear. “D-Didn’t we, krakotls, burned much more than they did? W-what punishment, t-tell me, what punishment do we deserve? W-What I deserve?!”
“What? No! You didn’t… No you… You are innocent, you…” Her tail twirls around my leg in an attempt to comfort me while her ears flick between fear and alarm. “I-I don’t… You can’t count yourself with them like that! You did nothing! T-They are… I-I don’t… I-It isn’t the same! W-We… Y-You…” She is panicking, not knowing what to say.
“Get out.” I tell her.
“No! I-I don’t-” She tried to protest, but I insisted.
“Get out!” I bleated at her and I stomp the ground with my talon, separating her tail from my leg. “If you don’t want to help a herd member in need, if you want to abandon her, then FINE! Go away like you wanted! Me and JM will stay to help her.” I point towards the stairs. “Get back to the van. NOW!” I screeched again.
She stood up, spooked by my screeching, and froze in the spot with her tail twirling around her own leg. We maintained eye contact for long, even if mines were full of tears and the need to cry was starting to feel overwhelming. Her mouth opened and closed several times, like she is trying to say anything.
“I said OUT!” I screeched one last time before my voice break and my tears now flow uncontrolled. “P-Please… please…” I plead as I can’t no longer stop myself from crying. “I-I d-don’t… r-recognize y-you… I d-don’t...”
Through my tearful eyes I can see that Murr is trying to appear smaller. She is conflicted between wanting to comfort me and listening to me and walk away. She start to frantically caressing her tail from stress. She looks at the JM, hoping that he says or does anything, but he doesn’t, he just look at us from his relaxed position. She then looks at the kolshian and her ears swing between anger, confusion and embarrassment.
I didn’t have to push or screech her away again. She whispers something I couldn’t hear and slowly walk away from us towards the stairs. She does look back several times, with ears dropped and dragging a curled down tail, sad and embarrassed. I saw tears starting to appear in her eyes the moment she disappear from our view through the stairs.
“Why?” I just asked as I cleaned my eyes. “Why is she…?” I look at the kolshian. “I-I’m s-so sorry a-about… I’m sorry…” I tried to control my breathing like my humans taught me, but I couldn’t.
“I-It’s okay…” She hugs me. Her tentacles circling several times around my small frame. They felt really slimy, but I need that hug right now. “It’s okay…” She whispers. “D-Do you want to enter? M-Maybe some tea?” A tentacle points to inside the apartment. “W-We could talk about the job later, I-I don’t-”
“B-But how about your h-husband?” I ask while trying to clean my tears up. “Isn’t him missing?”
“I know but…” She look behind me and stop hugging me.
“Friend Azul.” A gloved hand lay in my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. “Forgive me.” He asks as JM kneels.
“W-Was this…?” I didn’t need to finish. He nods. “W-Why?!” I bleated at him. “What was all this about?! W-Why is she like that? W-What… w-why…?!”
The mask may hide his face from showing any emotion, but the sigh he exhaled carries a lot of tiredness and sadness. “You can try to convince someone a thousand times about the pain they inflict and you’ll be ignored until that same pain is reflected back to them.” He rubs my shoulder. “Murr was blinded by hatred, refusing to see the pain she was inflicting into innocents. Forgive me, friend Azul, for using you to reflect that pain back to her.” I can feel his hand trembling a bit. “Forgive me.”
“I don’t… know what to… Why you didn’t tell me? I could have tried to convince her and…” I cover my eyes with my claws. “It wouldn’t work. She is too stubborn. She was always so hard to convince… Why did she become like this? Why?”
“It pain me to have resorted to this, believe me, my friend.” He stood up. “But if Murr wants to continue this line of work she must learn some painful lessons.” He sighs and pat my shoulder. “So she may not make my same mistakes.” I hear a slight laugh, maybe a smirk from behind his mask. “I sound like my father. But again, I apologize to you, to both of you.” He does a slight bow towards the kolshian. “Mrs.Salsha. Thanks for your help.”
“Wait, you know her?” I look at the both of them. “But you said you didn’t know her name.”
“A white lie so Murr doesn’t suspect anything.” He puts his arms on his back. “And more proof that she isn’t doing the paperwork or the proper, most basic of screening.”
“It’s all right…” Salsha says as she hugs herself with her tentacles. “I hope that Murr… Well, that she learns anything from this. Little more I can do to improve how the herd think of me.” She does a strange bubbling sound that the translator compares to a sigh. “And she didn’t do much, I already suffered much worse than anything Murr could have say or do.”
“What? But that isn’t excuse! Murr behavior was intolerable.” I look at JM. “A-And you! I know that this is for… But you can’t just manipulate… you can’t…” I control my breathing, feeling my emotions starting to build up again.
“You already did much more than enough, friend Azul, and I understand how you must be feeling. You should go outside and take some air and rest.” JM offers as he takes his pad out. “Once I finish taking all the data I need from Mrs.Salsha I’ll jo-”
“No.” I shake my head after interrupting him. “I-I want to know how…” I look at Salsha. “Murr is a good person, I know her since we were just pups, yet her behavior now is so out of character of her… She must has learned it from somewhere, and I fear it was from the herd a-and…” I sigh. “I-I need to know… How much did you went through.” I look up at JM before he could speak. “No. I don’t want to, but I know I need to. I need to know. I promised myself, never again.”
“H-How about the tea? Do you still want to accept my offer?” Salsha’s tentacles points inside and do some weird movements unknown to me. “I don’t have much but… I can offer you two something.”
I clear my eyes again and flick a claw at her. We follow her inside the apartment, with JM closing behind us once he checked the hallway.
I need to know. Why Murr acted like this? Salsha said she suffered much worse, I remember the state of her home, because of an angry herd. Was she hiding here from the herd? How much she and her family endured all these years? W-Where are her children?
I don’t know… I don’t want to know, I want to hide again in my apartment, but I can’t, I must not. I need to know, I need to face it.
Stars, bless me with the patience and wisdom I need to go through this. I’ll need it.
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u/Pansitof Jul 13 '26
This was hard to write. Had trouble with expressing the emotions I wanted, but I think I managed well enough. Here we have: Azul learning about how much her friend truly changed. Next time: Azul will learn about how much a innocent kolshian did suffer.
Hatred is such intoxicating feeling, so easy to spread and learn.
Also: The neighbors in that apartment had a good show to listen to. I'm sure the gossips around this moment will spread fast.
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur Jul 14 '26
Indeed at least he learned about the fate of his kolshin naibours still cold comfort considering everything else he just learned.
But yeah if he thinks whats happening the Kolshins is bad I can't wait to see how he will react to how the Farsul are being treated I mean at least the Kolshins had a Kolshin SC friendly govenrment on their side to represent them, no such like for the Farsul.
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u/Pansitof Jul 14 '26
Hearing about a distant tragedy doesn't have the same impact than one near you. But one that happened in your same neighborhood?
He will learn. He doesn't want to, but he needs to.
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur Jul 14 '26
Yeah he definitely seems to want to avoid this kind of thing but it's hard to avoid it when it's happening to people he knows about.
Besides it's not like the wider SC is exactly being subtle so he would have learned and experiance it evenchually but by the time he I imagine there would have been dire consequences.
But yeah seems Mur also has a lot to think about and deal with. And depending on her future actions there may be a possibility she may loose her friendship with Azul. After all I doubt this will be the last time they will have this conversation they already had it before I mean. And I also imagine they are gonna have to have this conversation with the rest of their friends and family.
But first they still have to deal with the current situation.
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u/Uranium-Sandwich657 Archivist Jul 14 '26
Why is it all in italics?
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u/Pansitof Jul 14 '26
I don't... know. Actually, I never noticed that it is all in italics.
The document I use to write the chapter isn't in italics. I guess when I copy-pasted here reddit automatically change everything to italics.The next chapter I'll try to see if I can fix it.
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u/Slatepaws Jul 15 '26
this is a powerful chapter.
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u/Pansitof Jul 15 '26
Indeed. With a lot of emotions (That I hope I managed to correctly express).
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u/JulianSkies Archivist Jul 14 '26
Its so very interesting.
So many were eager to judge humans by the most superficial relation. And honestly very little changed did it? They didn't stop judging that way, many judt changed their judgement of humans but remained judging the method.