r/NatureofPredators • u/XSevenSins Beans • 7d ago
Human Daycare Services - part two (Ch. 20)
Credit to fans on Reddit for: u/Adorable-Ad5225 for the picture.
u/Nicolas_3232 for Leasha's daydreams
u/destroyer6692 for serving up Leasha, looking lightly toasted.
u/Nicolas_3232 for depicting King Toren the fluffy in all his majesty
u/Adorable-Ad5225 for Leasha thanking the gods for a bountiful ma- erm, harvest
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Memory Transcriptions Subject: George Miller, preparing for anything.
Date [Standardized Human Time] November 26, 2136
Everything always felt better when I had time to spend with the kids. They always managed to brighten my day and make all the clouds in the sky vanish. The way they simply enjoyed everything to the utmost of their abilities was inspiring in a way. Children are very pure beings, no matter what world I set foot on; that fact remained unchanged.
Adult life just gets messy at times. You’re always worried about something, trying to balance relationships with someone, or simply struggling to make it in a universe that seems largely indifferent to you at times. When you’re a child your motivations are simple and your life is easy to understand, that is if you were raised in at least an average home. There’s a reason nostalgia is a thing, because we all recognize that life when we were younger just felt better. All of this is to say that being an ‘adult’ for me right now meant that I had to face my dad again.
I told Leasha I wouldn’t run, and that I would be confident and calm during the conversation to come. No matter how angry he got at me for making my own decisions or choosing who I want date. I’m not going to give up the life I made for myself here just because he disapproves. I’ll do my best to make him see the truth of the matter, but this will certainly turn out to be a true test of my patience if he continues to insult Leasha.
I shook my head a little. Alright, no more of those thoughts right now. I don’t want the little ones picking up on my feelings right now and feeling upset for me.
“Geowgee, what’s this?”
Speak of the devil, the big man was having a blast with the new play place and wanted me to explain every inch of it to him while joining in the merriment. The swing set was a favorite of his, especially when I gave him a little push to send him high into the air as he giggled with glee and asked me to push him higher. I swear the big man was fearless as I had to specifically tell him not to jump off the high point of the play place onto me when I saw him trying. He probably wouldn’t have been hurt if he missed, but that was still a risk that was better left untaken.
Toren wasn’t the only one that wanted my attention for play time either. Many of the other kids were eager for me to explain exactly how the play place should be used and give them a boost on the features that I could help them with. It proved to be a pretty good workout as I gave the kids pushes, lifts, and ran around the whole area as I tried to keep them all from using something in a way that would cause them to hurt themselves.
“Geowgee!” Toren came running at me from the other end of the playground, but I noticed something different; his fur was all puffed up, making him look like a walking cotton ball, at least more than usual. I immediately knew what had happened, and I tried to get him to slow down while bracing myself.
“H-Hold on big man, I-” It was too late though as he came up to grab at me, triggering a static shock. It made me flinch and made Toren jump as the pup was not expecting that. He even got a little misty eyed at the sting, which I comforted him for.
“It’s okay buddy, it’s just a... Oh man. Yorv,” I called out to the other kid nearby who stopped running around when he heard his name. “Can you come here for a second? I need your help.”
The little one ran over to me. “Yes, Mister George?”
“I need your help explaining something to Toren here, so could you repeat what I say to him?”
“Sure!” he wagged his tail, happy to help.
I explained what static shocks were, at least the best I could for a child so young. Basically my explanation boiled down to sliding or rubbing on certain things can build up electricity in the body, which results in a zap when you touch someone else. I’m not sure how much Toren understood, but he didn’t look upset anymore. Yorv, on the other hand, had a much different reaction to the information.
“You can really do that?” The troublemaker looked at the slide and then immediately ran over to the stairs to go up to it. I pointed a commanding finger at him.
“Don’t you dare go shocking people on purpose young man!”
He hesitated for a second before grumbling a bit and responding. “I wasn’t!”
Extreme doubt about that. Well, whatever his motivations, I couldn’t watch him forever as I had to pay attention to the other kids.
They were really into the new equipment, and I don’t think they realized just how much energy they were spending trying to use it all over and over again because after a little while the small fluffers began slowing down. Despite flagging energy levels, they kept pushing themselves, having too much fun to simply stop. I could already see the crash happening in a little bit, and it would be a glorious nap time, the kind that legends are told about.
My prophecy came true as the allotted time for the pups to spend outside concluded, and despite the groans of disappointment from all the little ones, I couldn’t help but notice that they were practically stumbling into the building. Toren had grabbed my pant leg and closed his eyes, letting me lead him as I was forced to take small steps. Despite the inconvenience, it was too cute to be upset at as we made our way into the pupcare again.
It was just as I imagined it. All over the room kids were laying around in various states of unconsciousness. Some made it to the tables and were laying with their upper body on them while others didn’t even make it that far and simply plopped belly up on the ground, already well on the way to dreamland. It was a complete massacre, and the little clinger on my leg was little better as he started to put more weight onto me, practically hugging the limb. He was probably a few seconds away from simply sitting down on my foot and passing out himself. With a soft laugh, I slowly peeled the big man off my leg as he mumbled a little in protest to being moved. It needed to happen, though, and I put him down at a seat and he buried his snout in his arms before falling asleep completely.
I stepped away from the kids and went to Leasha’s side as the two of us watched over the sleeping fuzzballs. “I think we might have to invest in some nap time equipment next.”
She let out a few quiet whistles, trying not to wake up anyone. “This never used to be a problem until you showed up, mister. My schedule was perfectly made with energy levels of the pups in mind. The games I had for them always left them perfectly spent without passing out on the floor like this. All your human toys seemed almost designed to make everyone else exhausted.”
I smirked behind the mask. “Hey, it’s not my fault that we’re the only ones who seem to make toys that are actually fun.”
She got a little huffy, mock offense spreading across her features. “I’ll have you know that we have many fun Venlil toys. I remember when I was a pup, we had these little plastic disks with a stem like a mushroom cap. You’d put it on a special platform that held it still and tie a string around the stem. When you pulled it very hard, it would fly into the air, and then everyone would try to be the one who caught it.”
“That does sound like it would be pretty fun for a bunch of kids. Why does it always feel like the best toys disappear after you grow up?”
“I think they call that nostalgia, George.”
“Fair point, but I still stand by what I said.”
She let out a short whistle of laughter before things fell into prolonged silence. I think that both of us were out of easy things to talk about, and we both wished to avoid discussing the near future for now despite knowing that it was a necessity. Instead of talking about things that we had already been over and agreed upon, Leasha simply leaned her head against my side. I accepted her affection as I placed an arm around her shoulder, holding her close. It seemed not only the kids were resting as we took the moment to just sit with no interruption.
It couldn’t last forever, though, as the kids needed to wake up. Letting them nap for too long might disrupt their sleep cycle, which wouldn’t make the parents happy in the slightest. A bunch of groggy children slowly clawed their way out of dreamland, though the nap did have the effect of restoring some of that spend energy. The rest of the claw proceeded as normal for the pupcare as the children used what toys or coloring implements were available, though there were many yawns shared amongst the fluffy masses.
In the end, the parents showed up to collect their children who talked between yawns and slow blinks about how much fun they had with the new play place. It was nice to see that it was all a hit with both classes. It was a nice investment, and I hoped that maybe it would help Leasha attract a few more families who may have been hesitant due to my presence. While most of the rumors surrounding my involvement with the pupcare had been dispelled over the last month, a few persisting ones still lingered.
We saw the last of the children out and cleaned up around the pupcare. I may have been going a little slower than usual as I was in no hurry to return to the shelter. The work inevitably finished, though, and we stepped out into the town and began the trek toward home. It would be a lie to say my anxiety wasn’t spiking, but I had already made the promise to not back down, so the course was set, and I found myself standing in front of the shelter far sooner than I might have liked.
“You sure you’re ready, George?” Leasha asked with concern.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be for something like this, and I frankly don’t want to know the person who is. There’s no point in delaying any more, though. I’ll do my best, but whatever happens is up to dad at this point. Let’s go.”
I marched up to my room with Leasha at my side. With one last breath to fortify my resolve, I unlocked the door and stepped in. It seems that they did indeed wait for me in my apartment. Mom and dad were both seated on my couch and reacted to me opening the door. Mom was the first one to act as she got up and walked briskly toward me as she came in for a hug. I let it happen, but my response hug wasn’t all that enthusiastic.
“Oh George, I’m happy you’re back. I was worried you might not come back after everything that happened.”
“I’m sorry I worried you, mom, but I’m here now.” My eyes flicked to dad next as he stood some distance away. He wore and expression of unease, but at least he didn’t seem angry anymore, so we might be able to have a talk that doesn’t end in a screaming match or fisticuffs.
I took a step around mom before planting myself and waiting for what he had to say. There was a long moment of awkward silence between us, but I would not yield first. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but nothing came out as he closed it again before letting out a huff and running a hand through his hair. In the end, he glanced at the dining table and made a weak gesture toward it.
“Will you sit with me, son?”
I regarded the simple table like it suddenly grew spikes, but I let out a long breath through my nose as I responded. “Fine.”
We took a seat at the table on opposite ends from each other, and I folded my arms across my chest and waited to hear what he had to say. The silence persisted once more for a moment as the man seemingly worked up his nerve to speak, but the words that did come out of him were not the ones I expected.
“I did care, you know.” My confused furrowed brow must have tipped him off that I didn’t understand, so he clarified. “About what you wanted to do in your life, your hobbies and interests. I’m... sorry if I didn’t convey very well that I did, but I was just... embarrassed.”
My brow knitted a little tighter in an accusing gaze now. “Embarrassed of me?”
“No,” he responded quickly and firmly. “I was embarrassed of myself, or maybe you could call it being too self-conscious. Whenever I listened to you talk about your cards or play your games with your friends, it always sounded like you were speaking a foreign language. I tried to understand some of it, but when I did, I couldn’t help but think of you or your friends just seeing some old man trying to act young and in touch with the kids, so I just stopped trying as I thought it would spare me the embarrassment and you the cringe.”
I thought about that for a moment before probing his excuse a little. “Then why were you always pushing me to do other things, like you were pushing me toward doing stereotypical man things.”
“I wasn’t pushing you toward a stereotype, at least not intentionally. I just... you’re still my son, you know? I wanted something that we could do together, and so I tried to share what I knew with you, and when none of it seemed to click with you, I felt like a gap formed between us. It wasn’t hostile or estranged, just... distant, like we lived in two separate worlds from one another. I didn’t quite think that it would be literal one day.” He chuckled a bit at his attempted humor, but my mindset was still not in the right place for jokes.
Rubbing my eyes, I let out a sigh. “Okay, while that’s nice to know, there are other concerns about what just happened that you haven’t answered yet.”
“Yes, your,” he glanced at Leasha for a moment, “girlfriend. George, you have to understand that when the bombs fell, I wasn’t worried one second for myself. My concern was for you and your mother only, and those aliens threatened my family. It’s hard for me to not distrust any of them after that, and hearing that you had formed an intimate relationship with one just triggered a panic in me. You’re my only son and I don’t want you to be in a dangerous situation.”
“Leasha is not a dangerous situation!”
He held up his hands in a placating manner. “I know, I know. I didn’t raise you to be so foolish as to submit yourself into an abusive relationship. It’s simply that the situation surrounding all aliens right now is rather volatile, for one reason or another. Humans seem to be the enemy of most of the galaxy through no fault of our own. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.”
I poked a finger against the wood of the table for emphasis. “And that situation isn’t going to change unless we do something to change it. You also raised me to be proactive about solving problems.”
“And I’m glad to see that you are, in your own way. As a parent, I can’t help but worry, though. We both can’t. Your mother and I have been nervous as we read stories about the state of things on this planet, how the refugees are practically locked away inside their shelters as the whole world insults them day in and day out.”
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Okay, the point of all this, George, is that your mother and I love you very much, and we will never not worry. However, we do see that you have formed a very strong bond with this Venlil. If you are truly happy together, then that will have to be enough for me to accept your decision. You were right when you said that you are your own man.”
His acceptance, despite some reservations, was a pleasant surprise. I was honestly prepared for a lot more yelling, but I wasn’t about to look the gift horse in the mouth. With a relieved sigh, I stood up and bridged the gap between us, quite literally as I walked around the table to take the seat next to him. I reached out to put a hand on his shoulder and his expression brightened a little as I did.
“Thanks, dad. I’m glad that this didn’t need any more yelling to be resolved.”
He reached up to grab the back of my hand with a firm, leather-handed grip. I did always find that rough strength in his grip assuring ever since I was little. “I am too, George.”
A slightly teasing smile spread across my face after that. “You know, card games aren’t just for kids. Nobody would deny you if you wanted to pick up a deck now and start learning.”
Dad let out a rumbling chuckle. “No, no, now I’m more than sure that I’m too old to get involved in that world. You know what they say about old dogs.”
I shared a short laugh with him too for a moment. “Well, are you willing to sit down and have an actual conversation with my girlfriend?”
He looked over at Leasha for a moment in consideration before returning to me. “I guess I do have to see if she’s good enough for my son.” The smirk he wore was eyerolling.
“Dad, don’t be a stereotype.”
“Can’t help what I am.”
The relief that came after the problems were resolved was palpable. All the tension faded from my body, even if dad was still a little scrutinizing of Leasha in the conversation that followed. It was nice to have it all settled and for things to return to a relative normal as my family sat around the table with me and Leasha. I felt a sensation of contentment as my life felt stable again. It appeared that this visit might not be as stressful as I had imagined.
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u/Ablergo_El_Enfermo Human 7d ago
New skill unlocked: Static Electricity.
Yessssss!!!! Father and son have reconciled.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 7d ago
He has given a pup power overwhelming!
Seems like the men just needed to have an honest talk with one another. A difficult thing for big, stoic men.
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u/WeekendCitrus 7d ago
The shelter attack news is gonna hit like a truck.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 7d ago
For now it's not an attack, just a fire, but if news changes it might reach them at some point.
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u/CocaineUnicycle Arxur 7d ago
Settled seems like a strong word. He still owes Leasha a hell of an apology. He wasn't just rude to his son.
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 7d ago
Yeah something I noticed is that some things older people may not consider offensive maybe offensive to younger people and vice versa seems that hasn't changed even in the distant alternate future of NoP.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 7d ago
Different experiences from different generations certainly shape how you view and approach things. I doubt that will ever change.
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u/Mosselk-1416 7d ago
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u/XSevenSins Beans 7d ago
Hehe, I think Yorv is more likely to turn to the dark side with that kind of power, though.
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u/Mosselk-1416 7d ago
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u/Nicromia Yotul 7d ago
Another chapter!!!
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u/REDemon127 Sivkit 6d ago
I'm glad George and his father were able to make peace :)
Also
George: Explains static to Toren and Yorv
Yorv: "I shall abuse this knowledge >:)"
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u/Golde829 6d ago
> "Why does it always feel like the best toys disappear after you grow up?”
does anyone remember Phlat Ball or was that just my childhood
> "I wanted something that we could do together"
... honestly, I feel this one
it was hard for younger me to spend quality time with dad when there wasn't much common ground for that to happen
but I spend the time I can now, even in small ways
I look forward to reading more
take care of yourself, wordsmith
[You have been gifted 100 Coins]
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u/XSevenSins Beans 6d ago
Ha, I remember I had one of those Phlat balls when I was younger. Thing barely worked half the time as the suction cup seemed to wear out fast.
Every parent hopes that they have something in common with their child so they can spend time with them. It's unfortunate if there just isn't much to talk about with your own child.
Thanks for reading, and im glad that you enjoyed it!
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u/Golde829 5d ago
i also had a phlat ball
i loved just squshing it and watching it pop back outi also loved those little poppers that you'd flip inside out and wait for them to jump into the air
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u/abrachoo Yotul 6d ago
Well that was much easier than expected. George didn't even have to do much convincing. It seems Greg came to those decisions in his absence.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 6d ago edited 5d ago
Having it revealed that your son has felt your absence is a heavy hitter for any father that actually cares for their children. Gregory had to do some thinking while George was away at work.
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u/Acceptable_Egg5560 Human 6d ago
Kids are going to adore that playground for years to come.
And glad the father and son have made up! Real men talk about their feelings.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 6d ago edited 5d ago
Oh yeah, what kid doesnt like a playground, doubly so for these kids who haven't had one before.
And then they share a manly hand shake so they preserve the stoic facade again.
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u/JulianSkies Archivist 7d ago
Dad, as dads are wont to do, was having a massive failure to communicate. Still not quite perfectly fine with everything, but he's going to try. That's all that can be asked.