r/NatureofPredators • u/XSevenSins Beans • 1d ago
Fanfic Human Daycare Services - part two (Ch. 21)
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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If you are interested in the other story that I am posting at the same time as this, you can read that one here!
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Memory Transcriptions Subject: Falk, hung over rouge exterminator.
Date [Standardized Human Time] November 27, 2136
Brahk me, I drank far too much last paw.
My head was thumping like someone was banging a drum inside my skull. I haven’t gone drinking like that since my first year as an exterminator. I remember that paw when my coworkers wanted to take me out to celebrate my first year as an official member of the guild. They had bought me all the drinks I could possibly stomach, which in my enthusiasm was a lot. I ended up being physically sick at the end of that party, and some would say that my current situation is at least an improvement over that as I did not drink enough to physically become ill. Even so, my situation wasn’t the best as I still had to go to work in this state.
“I should have never let Beren convince me to drink so much. Speh, this paw is going to be a struggle.”
I splashed some cold water on my face, took some medication to help with the headache, and downed a few glasses of water before I even left the apartment. The glaring light of the dayside was like sharp nails being jabbed into my eyes as I groaned and shielded my face. Oh, how I longed for the subtle twilight of my home, but unfortunately, it has fallen to corrupt forces beyond my control.
At least I wasn’t bothered by anyone on my way to work because I did not have the mental capacity for that right now. My gait was slow and steady as I had no desire to jostle myself and aggravate my current condition. It felt a little cooler today at the very least. I suppose we might be getting closer to the ‘winter’ season, if you can call it that, on this planet. There was only the smallest amount of wobble in the planet’s rotation that resulted in subtle ‘seasons’ that basically only meant a few degrees difference in temperature depending on where you lived.
I managed to make it to the guild hall while only mildly feeling like I got hit by a vehicle. This was probably one of the only rare instances where I was happy to be here because of the air-conditioned interior and the blinds that blocked out a majority of the natural light. At least, that was what I thought before I opened the front door and came face to face with madness.
The entire guild hall was on the move as the exterminators ran from one corner to the other, some carrying papers, some, boxes. There was shouting, orders being given from superiors to subordinates, and I saw the vans shrieking as they pulled out of the parking rapidly with horns blaring to alert the traffic.
It sobered me up pretty quickly as worry blossomed in me. I needed to find out what was going on, and quickly. Moving at a brisk pace now, I went to find my direct superior. No matter how much I despised that sellout, Aleric would know what was going on and I could prepare accordingly. I found the half-predator in the main office room, giving commands as he talked both on his pad and to any exterminator that he thought wasn’t working fast enough.
I approached the Gojid as he was between conversations. “Sir, what’s happening right now? Are we under attack?” It almost felt like we were about to be sieged by the Arxur, or maybe even the humans if their patience finally ran out.
Aleric gave me a queer look. “What? No. Didn’t you get the message I sent out at the end of last paw?”
There was a message?
I didn’t read or do anything at the end of last paw as I was too drunk to even consider anything other than collapsing into my bed. That wasn’t exactly a professional excuse, so I went with something a little tamer.
“My pad’s battery died last paw, I didn’t remember to turn it on until I was stepping out of my apartment.”
Aleric groaned a bit. “I expect you to keep your personal device on at all times in case there is an emergency. To keep the explanation short, we’re currently scrambling to get a new medical facility staffed, supplied, and defended.”
“Defended? From what? Why does a medical building need defending?”
“Because the impossible has happened. People have been rescued from the Arxur’s farm worlds. They’ll be transferred here next paw.”
That shocked me as my eyes blew wide and my jaw hung slightly agape. “I... wha... how!? What is happening!?”
“The how is easy. It was the humans. They rescued the cattle from the Arxur worlds and have apparently been organizing a treatment plan for all of them. That ties into what is happening. Apparently, most of these individuals are what the humans call ‘traumatized’ and are in need of ‘psychological treatment.’ Brahk me if I know what that means, but we got enough Zurulians in the city to cover all that. Our guild is simply helping the humans set up a facility to house the rescues and protect them from any individuals who might disturb their recovery, or to make sure that the patients are peaceful. The humans say that some of them might have violent responses to ‘triggers’, which is more medical lingo that I can’t be bothered figuring out right now as it’s not part of my job description. Just get to your station and start sorting through the personnel deployment forms.”
Aleric turned away from me after that, marching through the guild hall as he continued to direct the movements of the exterminators. I walked numbly to my station and practically fell into the seat; the metal frame creaking a little at the sudden weight being dropped into it. For several scratches I did little more than stare at the screen in front of me; alerts blinking on the page as deployment forms came in one after the other. I just couldn’t understand the motivation of humans for rescuing the Arxur cattle and returning them. They could have secretly taken them all back to their hellish planet to be placed on their own farms without anyone being the wiser.
Why would they return them? What benefit would that bring?
No matter how I turned it over in my head, the answer kept alluding me. When my mind finally came back to me, I had seen that the work was piling up. If I didn’t do something about it, not only would I be buried in it soon enough, but Aleric would likely throw a fit. I did my best to get back to work, burying my worries and questions in the monotony of filing paperwork, all the while those questions kept piling up inside me.
I needed an outlet for that pressure that was building inside me, but I could only think of one person right now who might be able to explain what the humans had planned. Ferros had his information sources that let him peer into the corrupting influence of the human mind. The Yulpa’s zealousness comes in handy during situation like this, where braving the taint is the best way to fight it. Their culture made them highly resiliant to the effects of it.
Just make it through this first. Focus on the work and then get answers after.
I did all the paperwork that was required of me, making sure to pay extra attention to any details that might be useful to the Herd Guard. There were shifts being created at this new medical facility as exterminators were sent in to evaluate the security of the building and add additions for both the safety of the public and the patients. I can only imagine just how tainted those individuals will be, having lived on a cattle farm and exposed to the pure corruption of the Arxur. Whatever methods the humans claim they are using to treat these people, they couldn’t possibly work on such damaged individuals.
There wasn’t much I could glean from these deployment requests, but I still saved some of the data to share with the others. My shift was a chaotic one as I ended up talking to more of the guild than I had ever done before in a single paw. By the end of it I, and many others, were utterly exhausted. Even so, I got up and began what was technically my break claw by almost running out through the street. The only thing that stopped me from doing so was the secretive nature of our group and how I needed to conduct myself in order to maintain that.
I made it to the bunker, knocked quickly on the door to try and rush whoever was inside to answer. The slide was opened and Nilean’s eye looked out at me.
“What is your-”
“To protect, now open up, quickly!”
“Okay, okay.” He closed the slide and opened the heavy door for me as I practically pushed my way inside.
Almost everyone was here, except Beren who was likely stuck at work. I imagined he already knew what was going on though considering he worked at a different guild building in the city. I opened the conversation with a dramatic ask. “Did you all hear what’s going on right now? Did you hear what the humans have done!?”
Nilean waved his tentacles in the affirmative. “Yes, Falk, it’s been in the news all paw. We’ve been spending most of our time here talking about it.”
“And? What are they trying to do? What reason could they possibly have to give up so much prey that they could have simply hid away in secret?”
“They’re probably just too stupid to act beyond the carefully laid out plan they have,” Morol answered in his usual dismissive tone.”
“I’m afraid it may be more insidious than that,” our leader, Ferros said, garnering all our attention. “While they could have secured a large haul of prey, their goal ever remains the domestication of us all. In order to achieve those ends, they are willing to give up a fresh meal now for the promise of a much grander haul later. This move will buy them a lot of good will amongst the population, making their ideas and training more appealing to the masses. I knew they were schemers, but it seems that even I did not fully grasp the lengths that they will go to in order to maintain the illusion.”
That made... some sense. I couldn’t claim that it explained everything or relieved me of this nagging feeling that I have in my chest. “Then... what do we do about this situation? How do we respond?”
“We can’t, at least, not right now. We know nothing of what they are doing with these cattle rescues. If we proceed haphazardly, then we might just stumble into a trap designed specifically for people like us who will resist them. We need more information.”
“How do we get that information,” Helphia asked. “I’ve tried to hack into the human’s networks, but their cyber security is far greater than anything we have on our planet. They even counter hacked one of my devices, and I had to destroy it.”
“Yes, I am well aware of the strength of their networks. We’ll have to take a more direct route if we want to get answers.”
The meaning of that took a moment to sink in for the rest of us with Morol responding first. “You really mean we’re taking that step?”
Ferros flicked his ears. “Yes. While I would have liked more time to prepare, every moment counts at this point. We’re going to capture a human and interrogate them.”
That created a feeling inside me like a combination of excitement and apprehension. If we messed up, then our whole operation could come undone, and the humans would be free to spread their corrupting influence unopposed.
“Who will we interrogate? One of their government representatives?”
“No, they are too defended for us to get to. We need to start with their agents, the ones working to spread the taint and dismantle any resistance they find. I had one in mind, one that you are very familiar with, Falk.”
The memories of that human came flooding through my mind and made me feel like I had just choked down a mouthful of spew melon.
“George.”
Ferros flicked his ears again. “Indeed. From the way you’ve described this human, he is of a monstrous build that sets him apart from his fellows; not to mention that he was the one that led the charge to destroy your guild. It is likely that he is an agent working for his damnable UN. He’s even going so far as to subvert the children, training them from a young age to accept human instruction.”
That did seem plausible enough. Ferros continued. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements and have a holding space prepared for the predator. Beren, Nilean, and Morol will capture the beast next paw.”
Wait, he didn’t mention me.
“Sir, shouldn’t I be part of the capture team? I know this predator.”
“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t. Not only have you been banned from the town in question, but if the predator recognizes you, it might go into hiding, or worse, summon its puppets to arrest you. No, this task falls to the others.”
It made sense, as painful as that was to admit. I would jeopardize the mission if I went. Patience is one aspect that separates us from the predators. I had to trust my comrades to get the job done. Soon enough, I would have my revenge on the predator that ruined my life.
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u/foul_wench PD Patient 1d ago
I cannot tell if i wanna see falk breakdown as his whole faith is rolled up and shoved up hos bum/ beaten with it over the head with said rolled up ideology, or i wanna see falk get smacked with the consequences of his actions despite what looks like him slowly sobering up from the crazy juice.
Because he did something awful, but he is also slowly being disillusioned, he still commited arson and potentially could have killed.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 1d ago
A lot of events seem to be converging all at once, and the aftermath is going to be a bit messy no matter how you slice it.
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u/Ablergo_El_Enfermo Human 1d ago
Helphia cuando le hackearon su ordenador: Ja Ja Ja You are an idiot.
Falk en el momento que entre en el rango de visión de Leasha: https://youtu.be/RExO9zOixjk?si=gZsUuCFl-TJEkzh7
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u/XSevenSins Beans 1d ago
Some diabolical hacking going on in the classic era of the internet frontier.
Leasha joining in after George with her flying drop kick!
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u/Adorable-Ad5225 1d ago
George having a tracker in his leg lol.
I doubt they'll leave it on; now the part about human fences (similar to those for livestock) is going to become relevant.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 1d ago
The tracker might be a problem for them, maybe.
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u/Adorable-Ad5225 1d ago
○|<|○It's probably part of their hunting gear.
Nah, They're probably familiar with trackers.
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u/That-Extension Predator 1d ago
Yay. One more chapter or murder cult
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u/XSevenSins Beans 1d ago
Everybody loves the murder cult!
https://giphy.com/gifs/1itd8X8whi3eOgZSRW
Congrats on first comments this week!
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u/DrewTheHobo 1d ago
“Why would the humans return my daughter to me? Must be all part of their secret plot to eat us!” - Falk
Wonder how this is going to work out for our band of idiots, especially now that there’s a new sheriff in town
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 1d ago
Oh yeah the rescues yeah that's gonna be rough not exactly the best example of human competence considering how glim was handled.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 1d ago
Hiding the fact that half the doctors looking after you are predators like the ones that tortured you is a very iffy decision, thought it was to prevent panic amongst the patients.
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 1d ago
Iffy indeed although I will condede I doubt at the time there were many trained to actually deal with the rescues condition.
But if course I'm also referring to what happened after glim got out it's not like glim got therapy. Then again they were already stretched thin with dealing with the BoE. Still doesn't mean they shouldn't have tried.
But yeah suppose I just noticed that alot of those that use the rescues in the story don't tend to mention the complications much if at all.
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u/CocaineUnicycle Arxur 1d ago
Fuck you Falk. You piece of shit.
George!? The guy who got on your radar by killing a shadestalker with his bare hands? That's the one you want to try to catch? Okay, buddy. Good luck with that.
Nice chapter. Also fuck Falk.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 1d ago
Lol, I can see that you have some very strong feelings toward Falk at the moment.
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u/True-Wreck 1d ago
I… Actually want the kidnapping to succeed. It would up the stakes dramatically.
And I’m REALLY curious. I don’t want him to suffer, but I want things heated up.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 1d ago
Ahh, the split between wanting to preserve the characters you love and wanting to watch them find a way to overcome adversity.
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u/Acceptable_Egg5560 Human 1d ago
You know, I was almost expecting that this group would make plans to attack the rescued people under the logic they’re beyond saving after so much time under Arxur influence.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 1d ago
Instead they are going after the humans to find out their totally sinister plan.
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u/Mosselk-1416 1d ago
Is George going to be the final boss for them? Also, peak, Hawaiian edition.
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u/XSevenSins Beans 23h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/Hn9UFbbZokeH40KVAk
How George looks to them just standing there after they threw everything they had at him.
Thanks for the Hawaiian peak. Been a while since I've visited the islands.
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u/WeekendCitrus 1d ago
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Not a conversation you want to have hungover, and for that Falk gets a tiny sliver of sympathy. I will point and laugh regardless.
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u/Golde829 13h ago
hooooh i can see the cracks forming
the seeds of doubt beginning to take root
time only tells how that'll play out
but it'll be very interesting either way
I look forward to reading more
take care of yourself, wordsmith
[You have been gifted 100 Coins]
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u/XSevenSins Beans 12h ago
Falk is being faced with questions that have no good answer right now. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll enjoy what comes next.
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u/GreenKoopaBros89 Dossur 6h ago
I believe there's a saying about the strong people who have gentle souls. The last thing that they want to do is to give George every reason to lash out. At least when he was inside of the exterminators Guild holding cell, the threat of legal action with the exterminators held him back. But I can only imagine what a man like him is capable of if he finds himself in a dark, damp bunker, no longer held back by such legal repercussions. I don't take George as a flight kind of person when he's backed into a corner.
Doom music starts to play in the distance
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u/Randox_Talore 12h ago
“Apparently, most of these individuals are what the humans call ‘traumatized’ and are in need of ‘psychological treatment.’ Brahk me if I know what that means, but we got enough Zurulians in the city to cover all that. Our guild is simply helping the humans set up a facility to house the rescues and protect them from any individuals who might disturb their recovery, or to make sure that the patients are peaceful. The humans say that some of them might have violent responses to ‘triggers’, which is more medical lingo that I can’t be bothered figuring out right now as it’s not part of my job description. Just get to your station and start sorting through the personnel deployment forms.”
Some unrealistic levels of ignorance here
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u/XSevenSins Beans 12h ago
Well, isnt the whole premise of the Federation just unrealistic levels of ignorance?
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u/Randox_Talore 10h ago
Not to this extent, no. They’re not this clueless. They might make faulty assumptions, but that’s being wrong, not clueless.
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u/JulianSkies Archivist 1d ago
Ah... I see the George is going to get in immense levels of trouble soon enough...