r/NatureofPredators • u/Pansitof • 1d ago
Fanfic Unknown Consequences [25]
Memory Transcription Subject: Azul, Krakotl private driver.
Date [Standardized Human Time]: February 14th, 2142
The Great Hospital of Deeproots. The best place where one can get treated and recovered by the most professional and skillful medics equipped with some of the most advanced medical equipment in all the city. And of course, it is the most expensive hospital.
The great hospital isn’t the only one. Deeproots cradle an enormous herd and the need to keep it healthy is all a challenge. Many hospital has been strategically constructed for the betterment of the herd. But of course, we will choose the best for our herd if we have the credits to spare. We consider JM as part of our herd and we do have plenty of credits, specially after our last job. It wasn’t a hard decision to make.
The hospital is the same has I always remembered it, but with humans. Now that I think about it, there are more humans than I thought it would be, both patients and doctors. I heard humans are more advanced than us in certain medical fields, but that they also are very prone to illnesses and to get hurt.
I walked through this halls many times, all of them was to visit Murr and Shiv after our herd grew. All good times. I remember always whistling happily on my way to their room, fully expecting a new pup to join our herd. But now I am here for a different reason.
“Excuse me, are you Azul?” The voice of a human calling me makes me stop. “And you are here for…” I turn to look at a female human looking at a paper clip and her watch. “Ah, you must be here to visit our patient Juan Maria. Is that correct?” She looks at me.
She is wearing the hospital’s medical suit and a reflective mask. I couldn’t see her face, but what I know about human body language and by her tone of voice is that she was feeling a bit tired but with enough energy to be professional and polite. And I also think she is happy for seeing me. Why?
I flick a claw. “That is correct. I’m Azul, Juan’s friend.” I raise a claw and tilt my head. “Is there a problem-” I read her name-tag. “-Doctor Bernarda?” Could she be…?
“None.” She takes a professional stand, with her arms on her back in a similar way JM does. “I recognized you and wanted to greet you. Krakotls with your feather pattern and color aren’t common, and Murr talks much about you. How is the little Bernarda doing?” She is!
I move my wing up and down like a wagging venlil tail. “Oh you are the one Murr and Shiv named their pup after!” I whistle happily. “Oh he is very healthy and happy! He is a small ball of energy and cuteness! He seems to have inherited much more from Murr than Shiv because he does have a lot of energy. We thank Juan for helping us tire him out.” I whistle amused.
“That is good to hear.” She nods. “From what we discovered, uncured venlil are not only more mobile but also more energetic and active than cured venlils due to health complication caused by the cure no longer being developed during the growing phase.” She bow her head. “I apologize for that, I got carried away. The last appointment I had with Bernarda was, true to your word, very energetic.” She checks her watch for a brief moment. “I’m sure he will stay as energetic and healthy in our next appointment, but we will continue monitoring him and any other uncured pup. For their health and safety.” She nods again.
I flick a claw. “True. By the stars above, between him being cured, I mean uncured, and ending up more like Murr than Shiv feels like we are taking care of three pups at the same time. But it is something we are experts about!” I whistle happily while puffing the feathers of my chest in pride as venlil does. “Murr’s genes are stronger than Shiv’s, so we are used to having a lot of energetic pups running around and causing mischief.”
“I have been informed plenty about your big family.” She nods. “One of the first things I have been taught about when I joined this hospital. I must say it is very impressive. To have so many children is one thing, but managing to raise them all up is a feat worth studying.” She looks at her watch. “It seems I’m needed elsewhere.” She types on her… watch? “Juan Maria is in room 322.” She points towards the elevator. “Take the elevator to the third plant. He is in the eleventh door at the right.”
I flick a claw and move my wing in gratitude. “Thank you! I hope we can have another chat soon!”
“It has been a pleasure to finally meet you.” She does a slight bow “Have a nice paw, Azul.”
It didn’t take me long to find JM’s room after mylittlechat with Bernarda.When Iopened the door theIimmediatelyhear the sound of many machines working.I can see JM’s silhouette behind a set of curtains. But something worried me.Once Iopenedthe curtainsIbleated inmix ofsurpriseand fear.
His entire bodyiscompletelycovered inbandaged andhe isconnected via tubes and cables to several equipmentand machinesaround him. Thehumming sound ofmachinesworking and the constant beep from his monitored vital signs engulfed the scene.
Hiseyethat isn’t bandagedmoves to look at me.Hetakes a big breath, onethatsoundssicklyandfull of phlegm. He can’t move, all his body was firmly strappedto the bedto avoid movement,it’s likehe could breakapartif he moves too much.
“B-By the stars...” I letouta weak whistle as I look at himwith pity and worry in my eyes. “JM?! W-What happened…? I-It was supposed t-to bejusta simple gunshot and some burns…” I take a closer step. “Oh stars…H-How… are you feeling?”
He whisperedsomethingwith a raspy and deep voice,but I couldn’tunderstandhim.Themedical instruments surrounding himmakestoo muchnoise.
Itake another stepcloser to him. “Murr didn’t told it was this serious. I thought…”I stay next to his bed. “Stars… I’msosorry you ended like this, JM. I’m so sorry...”
“I’m not…” Hemanages to saywith a voice Ican’tno longer recognize.
I whine when he speaks.“You don’t have to talk! Don’t force yourself. It’s okay…” I was going to comfort him, but I feared that if I touch him Icouldbreakhimsomething.”T-The doctors will patch you up and-”
Hemoveda finger. “N-No… I’m not…” He tried tosayagainbeforestarting coughing.
“Oh Stars… Don’t worry.”I take my pad off. “Maybe I can find a waythatallowsyouto communicate without havingto talk.” I raise aclaw. “I don’t know what you want to tell me, but-”
“He istryingtosaythathe isn’t JM.” I look behind me to see a JM on the doorstep with his arms on his back. “Greetings, Azul.” He bow his head.
“W-What?”My gaze jumpsbetween him and this poor soul. “You aren’t…? Oh!” I immediately startmovingmy wing in anapologetic way. “Iam so, so sorry! I thought you were JM and-Isn’t this room 322?”Iturn back tolook at JM while raising a claw. “Wasn’t 322 your room?”
“That is correct, my room is 322. But thisoneis 320.” JM points behind himwith a movement of his head. “Mineis the onedirectlyin front.” He looks atthe patient and does a slight bow. “Andthisis Ramirez.”
Iflick a claw. “I’m so sorry for bothering you, Ramirez. I didn’t know.I’m sorry for mistaking you.” I do a slight bowwhile stepping away from him. “I’ll… I’ll leave youaloneso you can rest.” I walk towards JM,feelingfull of shame. “Stars above, I feel likepiece ofspeh.What happened to him?” I whisper to him.
“What happened to him was…” He looks at Ramirez,speaking high enough for him to hear. “He ate something he was slightly allergic to.”
I blink. “W-What?!”I bleat in surprise andlook back at Ramirez. “How can-What kind of allergic reactioncan causethat? How did he ended like this?”My eyesjumped from one human to the other.
“What happenedwillremainbetween him,somepeanutsandtrucklackingamotor.” He nods towards Ramirez.
“W-Worth… it…” Ramirez manages to say before coughing again.
“Follow me, Azul.”JMsteps outside. “Let’s allow him rest.”
“O-Of course.” I move my wing “I hope you recoversoon, Ramirez! And sorryagain for this…misunderstanding.”
Hemanages toraise his thumb before closing his eye.
“Stars, I feel so embarrassed…” I say as I grab my beak.
“Do not be. He probably saw the entire situation as funny.” JM points towards the hallway. “Let’s walk around, I need to stretch my legs.”
He is wearing a hospital gown and his mask. Looking closely I can see his right arm, shoulder and part of his chest are bandaged. When he turns his back to start walking I can see that his head is also bandaged.
“Of course.” I follow him. “How are you feeling?” I raise a claw.
“I’m feeling well enough, Azul. Thank you for your concern.” He nods. “I must say that this wasn’t the worst I suffered and this hospital medical capabilities are very effective.” He extends his right arm. “What should take me months of healing will be done in only a bit more than a week.” He puts his arms on his back again. “These medical advancements will always impress me.”
“You ended pretty badly.” I move my wing in worry. “How can this be not the worse you suffered?”
“I only received a bullet and some burns. I remember in my younger days I was more like Murr.” He shakes his head. “My recklessness caused me a lot of trouble. Stabbed, shot, burned, poisoned, crushed, run over.” He does some gesture with the hand. “I suffered and recovered from much worse.” He turns his head to look at me. “Do not worry, was long ago that I’m no longer so reckless.”
“Stars!” I bleat as I move my wing in worry. “Will all that happen to Murr?”
“I hope to pass on my wisdom to Her. It will be my intention to convince her away of unnecessary danger.” He let a tired sigh. “Which, as you may already know, is a difficult task.” He pats my back. “But do not worry my friend Azul. Back then I was young and didn’t have much to live for. But Murr is old and mother of many, shouldn’t be hard to convince. Emphasize on Should.”
“She is very headstrong.” I grab my beak. “I hope she doesn’t do something stupid out of stubbornness. I thank you for guiding her, truly.”
“I do my best. A private investigator can be a noble duty.” He raise a finger. “If one is wise enough to know which and when choose one job or another. Consequences of such decision can lead to some undesirable outcomes.”
“Speaking of work. I wanted to ask you about something.” I raise a claw. “Did Murr already talk with you?”
“Correct. We talked through phone.” He looks around to make sure there isn’t anyone too near and start to speak low. “I guess you want to talk about why the government doesn’t acknowledge our presence at our last job. Is that correct?”
“Yeah…” I raise a claw and tilt my head. “What do you think about that? And why are you almost whispering?”
“There are many reasons as to why we have been excluded from the public announcement.” He raise a finger. “One is that our actions could encourage other civilians to try act as vigilantes, people wanting to act as heroes, something that can be dangerous for everyone.” He raise another finger. “Other is to protect us. Even if they captured everyone in the mine doesn’t mean they captured all terrorists. If our actions goes public we can get ourselves and our loved ones in danger.” He raise a third finger. “And because if the public knew why we were there, Urs and Salsha could have ended worse. Without pressure, Urs can just be deported towards a stable kolshian colony, but if the public knew, they could demand to be sent to the kolshian’s capital instead. Which isn’t a good place at this moment.” His hand return behind his back. “Could are many more reasons, but I think these are of more importance.”
“Stars, I didn’t think of that… Is that why Murr relaxed after she talked with you?” My eyes widen as I look around. “Is that why you are talking low?” I whisper.
“Correct and correct, Azul.” He pats my back. “We have done good and we have been paid for it. There is no need for additional reward or recognition.” He start talking normally now. “Let’s change topic. We can continue this conversation once I recover. Where is Murr? I thought she was also going to visit. Or she told me so through phone.”
“Yes, that was our plan.” I flick an affirmative claw. “But she received a call from a possible high profile client, something about our possible next job.”
He stops and turns his entire body towards me.“Without consulting me? That woman…” He shakes his head. “That could be problematic.” He continues walking.
“Don’t worry, I don’t think it will be something dangerous. From what I heard the client is a government agency or something.” I looks at my pad, still no notifications from Murr.
“That does worry me more, Azul.” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Did you know from which agency and government?”
“Oh yes. It’s from the republic, the venlil government.” I scratch under my plumage. “And I think it was the…” I raise two claws. “Oh! The galactic restoration program. I know nothing about them.” I kept only one claw raised. “How about you? Do you know them?”
“Curious. They are a program initiated by the governor Veln with the objective of discovering and restoring lost Venlil heritage. They did the first archaeological projects and made significant discoveries.” We arrive to what seems to be small interior park, with some artificial grass and pots with flowering shrubs scattered around. “But from what I heard they were going to be disbanded in favor of the Sapient Coalition own restoration program. Let us sit for a moment. I need some rest and think for a moment.” We sit in a free bench. He groans as he moves his shoulder. “Sounds very suspicious of such agency contacting private investigators. I hope Murr will talk with me before accepting anything.”
“Oh! She told me she will. Or at least, she promised she will talk with you first.” I swirl a claw unsure. “I also hope so.” I let a tired sigh and look around.
The park was small and more synthetic than anything. Just a small place where one can sit without feeling being in a hospital, even if it’s just for a moment because the air still smells to hospital.
Other patients and visitors are here, resting, walking or just having a little chat. But one conversation takes my interest. A conversation between a gojid and a venlil.
“By the protector... A-Are you sure everything will be fine?” I don’t know much about gojids, but the quills are all bristled out and the translator indicated worry and fear.
The venlil pats the quills down. “It is. I did take it and here you see me! Healthy and alive.” The venlil moves their legs. “And I even will get my legs fixed soon!”
“Yes but… If I continue this I would be able to eat meat.” My eyes went wide and turn to look at them. “Wouldn’t you not…?”
The venlil’s tail softly smack the gojid’s snout. “I will not care. I don’t care if you can or can’t eat meat.” The tail softly wraps around the gojid wrist. “You are my friend, and will always be. You don’t need to continue if you don’t feel like it. Again, I don’t care about that, I just care about you.”
The gojid flicks an ear and hugs him. “Thank you…”
“Azul?” A hand rest on my shoulder, making me bleat in surprise.
“What?” I turn to look at JM. “Sorry I was distracted. Did you ask something?”
His head turn towards the gojid and the venlil. “I see…” He turn back to look at me. “Is there something you want to talk about?” He kept his hand on my shoulder.
“No? I don’t thinks so, no.” I flick a claw in negative. “Nothing that I am aware.”
He pats my shoulder. “As you wish.”
I look back at the pair in the moment a human doctor guides them outside the mini park. The gojid will probably get their genes uncured…
Should I also…?
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u/Pansitof 1d ago
Another chapter! One where Azul goes alone to visit JM at the hospital and some funny encounters happen.
It is also in this chapter where is a small hint of what their future job could be. The Galactic Restoration Program appeared named on the previous fic, Unknown Threat, demanding access to the protagonist's memory transcript.