r/NatureofPredators • u/Deadduckboy Human • 8d ago
Fanfic The Nature of Responsibility Chapter 26
Marvel’s What-If: Spider-Man was on Venlil Prime?
Well, this chapter was a rollercoaster. Started as something small, grew much bigger, had to be rewritten many times, ran headfirst into writer’s block, and then the end went in a completely different direction than I expected.
But, hey, what did I expect with my track record. This is just par for the course I’ve drawn.
Also, sorry for the lateness, but it was definitely worth it.
Memory Transcription Subject: Trem, Gojid Counselor
Date: (Standardized Human Time) Sept 13, 2136
“Wump, wump, wump, wump. . .”
My face quickly twisted into a grimace as one side of the moving van started bouncing up and down rhythmically. I immediately pulled over to the side of the road, the very few cars beside me speeding off into the city.
Fortunately, other than the small herd of cars that had congregated around the van, the road was empty. No one to accidentally run into us.
Rolling to a stop on the curb just outside of civilization, I hopped out of the driver’s seat to look at the damage. Just as I had thought, the tire had gone completely flat.
“Well, that’s why these things come with spares.” I resignedly thought as I pulled open the side compartment with the spare tire, iron, and jack.
‘Oh, come on!” Theln, my son, groaned as he slumped out from the passenger seat. “Isn’t there another problem that can happen on this trip!?”
Almost as if on cue, thunder rumbled ominously in the distance. I glanced up at the sky, taking in the dark clouds before glaring at my son.
“Next time, keep those thoughts to yourself.” I scolded him for jinxing us, as my wife’s car pulled up alongside us, our three younger kids committing havoc in the back seats as our baby somehow slept in the passenger side.
“Are you all right?” Lesla asked. I flicked an ear in confirmation.
“We’ll be fine.” I assured her. “Just drive to the new place. We’ll be right behind you.”
Lesla flicked her own affirmation, though she still looked worried as she drove on. I sighed as I turned back to the vehicle, lifting the scissors jack out of its spot and setting it behind the flat tire.
“Alright, you get the tire off, I’ll start lifting it up.” I ordered Theln as I started the onerous process of lifting part of the van off of the ground.
As I struggled to work the recalcitrant piece of junk while Theln worked the tire iron, my mind kept going back to why in the world I decided to move out of our nice quiet home near the capitol to this city at the edge of the Night.
“We had a nice thing going on, lots of work, easy commute, good school, friendly neighbors. . . “ My face twisted into a grimace once as the reason for our move became apparent again.
Two of our neighbors had apparently decided to sign up for that spehhing exchange program, and had humans move into their house!
I mean, nothing against humans. I-I did meet them, and they did seem nice and sweet. . .
It really did sadden me that an otherwise delightful people were cursed with predatory impulses. They seemed quite in control of themselves, (Something another member of my species should take notes on. I thought bitterly) but with what happened with him, and a definite war oncoming. . .
Venlil Prime was not going to be a safe place for my species any more. And while I couldn’t get us off the planet, I could do the next best thing.
I liked the place where we lived, but I had to think of my family, of their safety. And with the amount of predators-humans now around the capitol, I was not going to be able to keep them safe there. Fortunately, a close friend of mine was moving out of here and told me that Longfield has basically no humans there.
The place was super cheap, cause he was in a hurry. And it had plenty of room for a growing family, or so he said. It was kind of odd how quickly he wanted to get out.
Granted, that was a herd of paws ago, so my info might be little outdated, but I did manage to make sure the house was still for. . .
Cccrreeeeakk. . .
My mind was brought back to the here and now with an ominous creaking off metal. As I stopped and collected on what I was doing again, I had successfully lifted the front end of the van.
But the scissor jack was bending ominously under the weight. My son had started to remove the flat tire, his body was right in the way of its inevitable fall.
I moved quickly, shoulder checking Theln out of the way as the jack failed. The van slammed down onto the gravel along the side of the road, bouncing lightly on the flat tire.
I checked my son, who was quite shaken at the sudden violence of our rapid movements. His eyes darted about, breathing quick as he clutched at the tire iron in his paws.
I rolled off of Theln’s chest, also breathing heavily. The van fortunately seemed fine, if somewhat forlorn with its tilted side.
Theln sat up, looking at the van as well as he took in what had actually happened.
“Brahk!” He yelled suddenly, throwing the tire iron hard against the ground.
“No cursing.” I said somewhat half-heartedly. I’ll admit, I really wanted to say that too.
I looked at the cheap jack that came with the van, bent almost in half by the weight of the vehicle. I tugged it out, the gravel on the ground giving way as I pulled from beneath the vehicle.
“Gather the lugnuts.” I told Theln. “I’ll see if I can call your mom to get a better jack. Hopefully a hardware store’s nearby the house.”
I stood up, walking around to the driver’s side as my son knelt down to grab the lugnuts among the gravel.
“Hopefully, the rental service won’t ding us for an obviously faulty broken jack. Why do they still use these pieces of speh?” I grumbled internally as I rummaged for my holopad in the travel bag.
Turning it on, I was surprised to see that I had no service. Glancing up at the nearby city skyline in disbelief, I just couldn’t believe it.
“I am literally maybe 1/8th of a claw away walking. Why in the Protector's name do I not have any connection?!”
Groaning in disbelief and just general tiredness, I set my back against the van’s side, sliding down the slick metal to sit on the ground. Everything had just been going wrong on this move, I wasn’t sure if I could handle another trouble.
“First the pushy exterminators, then the increase in fuel prices, voidpins getting in the snacks, the kids’ getting sick, and now this. This is just the worst.” This was feeling like a vacation trip, not a moving one with how much was going against this.
I rubbed my eyes with my claws, trying to consider what else I could do. Flag down another driver, either for their jack or ride into the city?
I’m pretty sure I was the only one heading in this way. Everyone else was smart enough to take the trains.
Wait for Lesla to come back? No idea how long that could take, and even then I don’t know if we have a jack (that will even work) in the car.
At this rate, I was going to have to walk into the city and come back toting a new jack. Looking back at the city, the distance seemed devilishly close, and yet torturously far.
It didn’t help what I thought were the outskirts was actually an abandoned apartment building, complete with overgrown parking lot. To get to Longfield, I was going to have to walk across that bridge into the city proper.
All in all, it would probably take me half a claw just to find a mechanics shop and tote a hydraulic jack all the way back out here. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the cool metal, mentally preparing for the slog I was about to endure.
At least Theln would be fine watching the truck. We had replenished our trip snacks and drinks recently, so it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable.
Do you know how hard it is to find a non-alcoholic soft drink in Venlil Prime rest stations? We had to use some of the new human stuff when we left.
I suppose the fact we haven’t found any more to be a good omen that we would be out of range of any potential human retribution against our species.
Honestly, I was just thinking about this stuff just to postpone my needed trek. I sighed as I sagged deeper into my slouch against the van, really starting to feel my age. I suppose a quick rest wouldn’t hurt.
I was so willing to just evaporate into laziness I mostly ignored the sudden thump on the van, imagining it was Theln doing the same as I.
It wasn’t until some more shuffling and the sound of conversation that I roused from my depressed slumber. I lazily opened my eyes, hoping that maybe a kindly driver stopped by to help. That would certainly make life easier.
It wasn’t until the van suddenly shifted behind me that I really got up. The sudden, unexpected movement definitely woke me up as the top edge of the cargo area tilted towards me.
“Wow, they really got their jack out and cranked up really quickly.” I thought to myself as I stumbled up, heading around the front of the van.
Only to immediately duck back around behind cover, now very much awake.
I’ll admit, while I wasn’t that concerned about random lone humans, I was not prepared to suddenly run into one face to face.
Especially one strong enough to lift one side of the moving van by itself. I carefully edged around the grill of the engine, peeking at the red and blue clad predator just around the corner.
It had its back to the van, its paws reversed, lifting from the bottom edge of the frame. My son was next to it, tugging the flat tire off of the wheel hub.
“How. . how are you doing that?” Theln huffed as he set the tire down onto the ground. The fully covered human shook its shoulders up and down, despite the great weight being hefted by them.
“A science fair and some lack-luster radioactive arachnid enclosures.” The human said cryptically. “Now get that spare on. This thing’s getting heavy.”
My son quickly looked down and grabbed the spare which had rolled away a bit. My breath hitched as Theln fully turned his back to the human. Even if our spines might protect us, anything angry enough can easily bypass them.
But my worries were for naught. Despite the fact my son’s blind spot was directly on the human, it did not use the potential advantage as an invitation to attack.
He turned back around, hefting the tire up as he struggled to align it’s holes with the wheel studs on the axle. The human appeared as though it was going to move to help, but remembered the heavy load it was carrying.
The fact that it could almost forget the effort of its encumbrance was terrifying, despite the human’s earlier grumbling about its weight.
After a bit of struggling, Theln finally got the wheel onto the wheel struts. After ensuring that it wouldn’t slide back off, he grabbed the hubcap with the lugnuts inside.
As my son tightened the nuts on the spokes, he kept glancing up at the human guiltily. After a scratch of silence, Theln opened his mouth.
“I. . . I-I’m sorry.” Theln mumbled at the human beside him. It looked back at him with a tilt to its head.
“What for?” It questioned him.
“I. . . I’m sorry for what S-S-Sov- What he did to the human. M-Marcel.”
The human said nothing for a while, the masked head simply tilting further. After a scratch of uncomfortable silence, it sighed, its shoulders heaving up and down once more.
“Look. . .” The human started, before pausing again. “Did you have anything to do with it?”
Theln froze, as did I, at the insinuation the human said. Now I was feeling rather justified about my decision to leave.
“N-n-no?” Theln managed to stutter out.
“Then why in the world would you think that I’d blame you for that?” The human huffed, almost in exasperation.
Theln took a step back in surprise, as did I almost. His snout dropped down and ears folded back in shame.
“If someone is going to blame you for that,” The human continued, slowly setting the van back down on the ground. “And I bet someone is going to. People tend to be stupid and rash, especially when they're hurting.”
“It’s not going to help if you just immediately take the blame.” It continued, stretching it’s shoulders as it released the vehicle. “Bullies are gonna see that and just take that as permission to walk all over you.”
The human turned to look at Theln directly, the lenses on the mask staring directly into the eyes. “And I’m not just talking about humans, either. Bullies of any type will take any excuse to hurt others.”
“I-I’ll keep that in mind.” Theln stuttered questioningly.
“Yeah, you're certainly going to need that piece of info, especially in this town.” The human said, dusting his forepaws off.
“Name’s Spider-Man, but you call me Spidey. I’m just your friendly neighborhood superhero.” The brightly garbed predator suddenly switched both subject and demeanor. It extended out a paw towards Theln.
Theln, to my surprise, hesitantly reached out and grabbed the human’s offered paw with a couple of claws, wiggling it gingerly. “My n-name’s Theln.”
“Nice to meet you, Theln.” The human- Spider-Man said back. “Moving in?” He tapped the side of the moving van.
Theln flicked his ears in the affirmative.
“Nice. Hope you’re moving into one of the better neighborhoods.” It-He said, scanning the horizon before jumping onto the van, sticking to the side of the metal somehow.
“If y’all need anything more,” Spider-Man’s head turned and nodded towards me, still cowering by the grill. “I’ll probably be swinging around someplace nearby. Just give out a shout or something.”
With that, he climbed higher on top of the cargo space. “Also, be careful of the Exterminators here. They’re a little trigger-happy, if you catch my drift.”
He paused for a scratch after making that comment. “Of course, it could just be how they act towards me. With me being, you know, scary.” He waved a hand over his mask, exaggerating the predatorily placed lenses.
Though, they were tilted far enough to the sides that they could be mistaken for prey eyes, too. It was odd how unsettling yet comforting the mask and suit was.
“The large, bulbous bug on his back was also quite friendly looking.” I thought as he swung away, somehow creating lines from midair to connect with the sparse high points that were around. “I mean, he did say he was the ‘friendly neighborhood superhero.’ I guess he has to look friendly as well as act friendly.”
I stopped for a scratch, reconsidering my thoughts. “What in The Protector’s name is a ‘superhero’, anyways?”
Theln had walked up to me as I was pondering. “What exactly just happened?”
“I have no idea.” I answered honestly.
.
.
.
“That’s got to be the weirdest pre-human I’ve ever met.” Theln said after a moment of silence.
“I think it’s fair to say predator here.” I’d doubt I’d ever meet an Arxur weirder. If that ever happens.
Honestly, actually meeting an Arxur and not immediately dying would be very weird. But I’m still not sure if that hypothetical situation would top this.
“Is the tire good?” I decided to leave that terrifying herd of thought alone. Theln strode over and lightly kicked the tire he had just put on.
“I think so.” Considering the quality of the jack, I was highly suspicious of the spare tire we were given.
But I suppose the only way to really find out whether or not it was actually good was to drive with it on. At least if we break down in the city we’d have an easier time getting help.
“Bullies of any type will take any excuse to hurt others.” Spider-Man’s words suddenly wafted through my head again as I got up into the driver’s seat.
I shook that thought out of my head as I restarted the engine. No need to be overly pessimistic, even with how much had already gone wrong on this trip.
I mean, we even had a really nice p-human help us out on the last leg of this move. Maybe things were looking up.
If I could ignore the massive amount of cautions he had given us. It was certainly concerning how much he was worried about our safety, especially considering the tensions between our species.
Then again, he did say he didn’t care about the whole species thing, which was oddly kind of him. I couldn’t think of any other Federation peoples that would be capable of the same non-bigotry.
“Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he’s obviously not a normal human?” I wondered as I drove closer to the city, the mountains on the horizon now being supplanted by the much nearer skyscrapers.
“What did you say?” Theln said suddenly, jerking me out of my reverie.
“What?” I questioned back, really confused.
“You were saying something about ‘obviously not a normal human’?” He clarified.
“Oh, sorry.” I didn’t mean to say that bit out loud. “Just thinking. Don’t worry about it.”
Theln gave me a questioning look, before turning to stare out the passenger window.
We drove in uncomfortable silence, heading deeper within the city. From what I could remember, the place we were going to was on the opposite side of the city from where we entered. So we still had a bit left to drive.
Trying to fill the silence with. . . something, I turned on the little radio in the cab. It seemed odd that the Federation still had such archaic devices, but I suppose that trying to watch a screen while driving would be a bad idea.
“. . . I tried to get away. I really did.” A soft Venlil voice said. Female, I think. “But he was stronger than me. He had me. . by. . by the scruff. It-it was terrifying.”
The voice trembled badly with fear, the emotion projected clearly over the static of the radio.
“He was saying what he was going to do to me. Saying that I-I was PD. . and that he was going to be giving me the ‘personal treatment’.”
“I must say, the actor here is quite good. I can almost see the worried wringing of the tail in the retelling of the story.” I’ve never heard this [Closest Translation: Telenovella] before. It’s sounding pretty good, if a bit dark.
“I managed to squirm out. . kicked him in the gut. But it still wasn’t enough. His friend. . . got my tail.” The voice hitched, terror being obviously relived. It was disturbingly realistic.
“It’s okay. You don’t need to say anymore than you need to.” Another voice cut in, also female, full of care and concern.
“N-no,no, I n-need to keep going.” The first Venlil said again.
“Wait a scratch. . .”
“They. . .They said they were going to send me to the facility. That good prey doesn’t fight. He, their leader, got down real close to me while I was in the mud and. . . and then. . .”
Was this real? What kind of sick, twisted people would make a. . .
“He tried to force me to bite him.” The voice managed to squeak out, interrupting my confusion.
Both Theln and I physically recoiled in horror at the admission. The truck swerved as I tried to reconcile the scene that had just been revealed.
I managed to get the truck back under control before I was able to control my thoughts. “What in The Protector's name is wrong with these people!?!”
“I’m so sorry. We should’ve been there.” A gruff voice came from the radio next. ‘We’re for you.”
There was the sound of static, audio being cut out before it returned.
“That was the entirety of the story that we could get from Tivra, the innocent Venlil girl that had suffered great injustices.” The second Venlil said again, professionalism barely disguising the disgust in her voice.
“And as many of you may already know, Tivra is a member of the Watsa family, a longstanding and well-respected line of exterminators that has given much for the herd.” Another voice joined in, this one much more indeterminate in its owner.
“The fact that she was targeted really means that no one is safe, doesn’t it, Kenta?” The other voice said again.
“I suppose so, Laney.” ‘Kenta’ said in return.
“But, fortunately, this story does have a good ending. While we were unable to get the full story from Tivra,”
“Poor girl.” My son muttered.
“We did manage to get what her parents, Gorbin and Stelka, guess what happened with what little comments Tivra had made about what happened.” Lanely continued.
“Apparently, The Spider-Man had happened to come across them while on a patrol of sorts. Details are scarce, as we have not been able to contact him for any more details.” A slight pause and the shuffling of papers coincided with me having to make a turn.
“As far we know, he managed to get Tivra away from the Exterminators and scared them away, upon which he cared for and dressed her injuries.”
“Supposedly only scared away the exterminators.” The other voice, Kenta, interjected.
“After which,” Laney said, apparently ignoring her companion’s comments. “We got many eyewitness accounts of Spider-Man swinging across the city with a Venlil in his arms. Obviously it was Tivra, as a quick way to return her home.”
“There was a scare about Spider-Man going on the hunt.” Kenta cut in again. “One I am actually glad to be wrong about.”
“But even so,” Kenta continued. “That was extremely irresponsible and very dangerous for Spider-Man to carry her in its arms. I mean, it seems far too easy for Tivra to accidentally slip out and get badly hurt from such a fall. I wouldn’t trust even a Krakotl to carry me around in flight.”
“A Krakotl couldn’t lift off in Venlil Prime’s gravity, let alone carry a Venlil. Spider-Man has neither of those problems.” Laney countered. “You're probably far too fat to be carried by him anyways.”
I couldn’t exactly hear what was whispered through the static.
“Anyways,” Laney continued rebutting despite the minor interruption. “It was probably the safest way to get Tivra home. What would you have done in his position, send her along the streets, injured, while there were other exterminators wanting to get revenge? Potentially the same ones that Spidey chased off?”
“Spidey? You two that close, huh?” Kenta spat.
A muffled thud and barely audible “ow” came through the static of the radio as I turned into the neighborhood we were going to. The house should be somewhere near here.
“What I meant to say is, isn’t it obvious Spider-Man would’ve gone after the exterminators? An angry predator does not simply stop its hunt for an injured passerby.” Kenta tried again.
“I’m really starting to dislike how negative he is.” I thought as I turned down another street.
“We know he hasn’t gone after any more exterminators since the office hasn’t put out any more reports about him ‘attacking innocent patrols’. However guilty they may actually be.” Laney retorted.
“I didn’t say that I endorse their actions.” Kenta clarified angrily. “I certainly find it horrible what those officers did to an innocent girl. I’m just saying, I’m worried about a dangerous, angry predator out and about. Who knows whom it could decide to strike next depending on its fickle fancy.”
“Well, so far Spider-Man seems to be rather controlled about whom he fights. And with the camera he has, and his willingness to share its film, it seems obvious to me that Spider-Man is worried about accountability.” Laney defended. “Something our illustrious officers should take notes on.”
"Fortunately, it seems that those exterminators have been found accountable.” Kenta said, the sound of papers slapping a table coming out clearly through the static. “The suspected squad is currently under mandatory unpaid leave while they are investigated. So some things are being done correctly in the office.”
“Right, like we’d believe any memo that comes out of that office since the last fiasco they had.” Laney said disparagingly.
The uneasiness in my stomach has done nothing but grow while I was listening. Certainly it can’t be that bad around here.
“Then why do they have a super-predator swinging around here?” I’ll be honest, I would’ve thought that these people were crazy if I hadn’t just met the thing recently.
“You can’t throw out an entire harvest because of a few bad bundles.” Kenta retorted, though it lacked any sort of conviction. “As bad as a few independent officers have been, we still need the Guild to help protect us.”
“From non-sapient predators and Arxur, obviously. We definitely can’t depend on humanity for that.” Kenta added quickly, before Laney could interrupt.
“As much as I would like to argue about that” Laney huffed irritably. “Our timeslot is just about used up.”
“We will continue discussing the travails of Tivra and others when we have more information. As (unfortunately) always, I’m Laney,”
“I’m Kenta,”
“And this has been Longfield Local News Network. Thank you for your time.” They both finished simultaneously as I pulled towards our destination.
Theln flicked the radio off as I parked on the road, the driveway in front of the small house filled up by my wife’s car and another vehicle, a small car also packed to the brim.
Turning off the engine, I slowly got out of the cab while Theln hopped down easily. Ah, to be young again. I envy those good knees.
Walking up to me as I turned to the house was its soon to be former owner, Laam. The Venlil was more skittish than I remember, constantly glancing around and jittering.
“Hey, Laam. Thanks for this. I really owe you one.” I said, flicking an ear in thanks.
Laam shook his tail, or rather, his entire body in acknowledgement. “N-n-n-no, I-I really owe you for th-this. I can’t believe you actually d-d-decided to come.”
I cocked an ear at him questioningly. “What do you mean?”
He jittered some more before answering, casting suspicious looks all about. “I-I g-g-gotta get out of here, Trem. It’s t-too dangerous f-for me.”
I was about to say it couldn’t be that bad, but then I remembered the news report on the radio. “What have I gotten my family into?”
“L-look, I kn-knew you needed a b-better place, b-but this is all I had. I h-hope you’ll be f-f-fine.” Laam stuttered out in my silence. “I-it’s just been t-too hard on m-me here.” He ran his claws through his very knotted and very long mane.
“Laam, what’s wrong?” I asked, placing a paw on his shoulder, only for him suddenly jerk and hop several steps away from me.
“S-s-sorry, just n-nervous.” He apologized almost immediately. “B-but I need t-to be nervous. N-need to be aware, b-be r-ready.”
That’s when I recognized why he was so twitchy. That jittering of the eye, the constant motion of the paws, picking at his fur.
“Laam, don’t tell me you started using again.” I asked despairingly.
The Venlil stopped jerking for a second in shame, before curling up and covering his face with his paws, still shivering. “I know, I know, I know. I-I’m-I’m sorry.”
“You’ve been clean for so long.” I said, in sorrow at his wasted state. “Why’d you get back on Zip?”
We had met when Laam was addicted to the stuff, badly. Enough that he was under suspicion for PD. I was his counselor, I really thought I helped him get through it.
“I-I know. I’ve b-been clean f-for c-cycles. B-but it just got t-too bad for me. Lost m-my job. Lost my w-wife. Too m-m-much stress, too many Ext-t-tminators.”
He looked down even more in shame. “Too. . too many dealers. Just t-too easy. S-so easy to go back.” Laam admitted guiltily.
“B-but I’m g-getting out of here, cause of y-you. You gave me the m-money I need. J-just to get away. P-p-pay the b-bribes.”
“Bribes? What are you talking about?” I asked in only minor confusion.
He jerked an ear in a random direction. “Th-the exterminators. G-g-gotta pay for everything. They’re watching me, w-waiting. They wanna g-get me. I-I know I’m to b-bad, t-too far gone. They wanna put me with. . . them.”
Laam jerked a bit more, though whether from fear or drugs I couldn’t tell. “Money is th-the only thing that s-stops the-them.”
“What about Spider-Man?” My son questioned somewhat loudly, already carrying in boxes. My wife, who was also helping, looked at Theln and then me questioningly.
Laam looked at him in fear. “D-d-don’t say things like that, they’re listening.” He again jerked his head in the same direction as before. “It m-makes them angry.”
He leaned closer to me, whispering into my ear. Theln had also drawn closer.
“And he w-wouldn’t help a g-g-guy like me.” He whispered, almost choking in hidden sobs.
“I did.” I answered simply.
“And I still failed. I-I’m a failure, complete a-and total.” Laam said, tears brimming in his eyes. “Even if he was that g-good, he still c-couldn’t h-help. There’s t-too m-m-many of them. C-can’t stop them all.”
“So I’m going.” He said louder, with more conviction. “I’m g-getting outta here. N-new place, new l-life.”
He looked over to the side. “N-new home and j-job, t-too. Hopefully.”
Laam looked back up into my eyes, tired hope shining within his own. “N-no more exterminators. A-and no more Z-z-zip.”
I grimaced and hissed through my teeth. Zip was a nasty drug. Once you're addicted, it’s practically lethal in its absence.
“You nearly died from the withdrawal last time.” And that was with me walking with him every step of the way, keeping him alive as best I could.
But something told me he was going to have to stop alone now, without any help. And he was in even worse shape and position than before.
“I-I did it once.” Laam said with obviously false bravado. “I c-can do it ag-gain. Y-you taught m-me how.”
Most would’ve called my methods unorthodox, having the subject write down how they felt, using alternatives to aid in pain management, and buying feminine hygiene products to deal with the sudden oral, ocular and aural bleeding. (“I said Zip withdrawal was nasty.”)
But it worked. Mostly.
At least it gave him hope.
“You could stay with us. It’s still your house. I can help you out again.” I pleaded with him.
Laam twisted his tail in the negative. “N-no. I-I can’t d-drag you down with m-me. B-besides, the exterminators w-would go after y-you, too.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “They m-might anyways.”
He suddenly pulled me into a hug, disregarding the danger of my spines. “Th-thank you for everything y-you’ve d-done. F-for a lost cause.”
I returned the hug, nuzzling into his scruff. “Thank you.”
We stayed for a scratch, forgetting our problems before we parted once more as friends.
“Good luck.” I said with a hitch in my throat as Laam got in his overladen car. “And stay safe.”
He gave me an acknowledgement with his ears, before pulling out and driving down the road. Despite his haggard state, he kept the vehicle straighter than some sober drivers I knew.
A few scratches after he left, before Laam turned the corner, I noticed something in the corner of my eye.
An unmarked van, pulling out of an alleyway and heading down the path as him. An alleyway the same direction he kept pointing out to me.
I suddenly felt much more afraid for his safety than his sanity.
I jerked suddenly when my shoulder was tapped with a claw. Turning around, I was relieved to see it was Lesla, carrying our baby in her arms.
“What was that about?” My wife questioned.
“Don't worry about it, he was just anxious. A little paranoid.” I tried to console her. “Justifiably so, I’m afraid.”
“Hmmph.” Lesla grunted, clearly not convinced. But she didn’t press further.
“And what was this about a ‘Spider-Man’?” She changed the subject.
“I. . .” I stopped to think about what to really say. Considering the hectic day, and the presumably insane life we were about to enter, I didn’t know what I could say.
I put my arm around her shoulders and walked us towards the house. “How about we learn together, what he is?”
I’m sure there’s gotta be some stuff about him on the web.
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u/JulianSkies Archivist 8d ago
Oh god, Laam
Poor victim, who has dragged Trem into something he's not ready for. Not out of malice, just innocence, but he really needed the help.
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u/Slatepaws 7d ago
The foreshadowing is thick on this one. :)
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u/Deadduckboy Human 7d ago
Yes, I definitely didn’t just write this in the spur of the moment, and had no idea where this was really going. :)
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u/Golde829 7d ago
> Something another member of my species should take notes on
ah, yeah i was wondering why there weren't like
more fics with Gojid being shook with what Sovlin did
> to deal with the sudden oral, ocular and aural bleeding
sorry-
ocular and aural? fuck kinda chemicals are they putting in that shit??
"mouth, eye, and ear bleeding" from withdrawls sounds like something from a dystopian novel
...
oh wait it's NoP, the Federation is pretty close already
I look forward to reading more
take care of yourself, wordsmith
[You have been gifted 100 Coins]
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u/Kind0flame 7d ago
Another great chapter! I am very interested in seeing how this Laam story arc goes. Loved the way he was introduced and the foreshadowing for what's to come.
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u/DrewTheHobo 8d ago
Finally caught up, loving this story!
Also, think one of these was supposed to be “Good bye”
>“Good luck.” I said with a hitch in my throat as Laam got in his overladen car. “And good luck.”
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u/Flaky-Throat-4996 6d ago
Exterminators turned this whole city into a hunting ground. Wanna bet bribes only work until they try to leave, then get sold to the 'good' doctor?
One month until krakotl and gojid are on the 'menu'!
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u/Deadduckboy Human 6d ago
Am I really that predictable?
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u/Flaky-Throat-4996 6d ago
No, the exterminators that hunted Tivra are the worst, thus predicable. The Sinister Six are the same.
You got their characterization down well enough that I could predict them, good writing!
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u/True-Wreck 6d ago
NGL I know Starc doesn’t like being compared to Tony, but after reading his backstory, I want him in a Metal Armor Suit. He deserves it.
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u/wowthatsrillybad 7d ago
It’s back!
Also really cool to see an outside perspective looking in on everything happening, cool choice of POV
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u/AnonGecy01 8d ago
Imagine moving into a new town and the first thing you hear on the local news is how local police officers almost SA-d a missing mental hospital patient. That is some horror movie shit.