The creature was stunned, so much so that it lost its grip and fell from its hiding place in the ceiling. Of all the tricks and traps it was prepared to deal with, the sight of various foods, heaped high upon the metal creature, was not one of them. Its stomach rumbled with longing, it had spent so much time and energy dealing with the metal creations the Human sent out of its burrow, that it had not had the time to eat a proper meal.
It shook its head, both to clear it from the fall and in chagrin at the rookie hunter mistake it acknowledged it had made. It had let itself get too focused on the Human and its creations and placed itself in an undesirable situation.
The creature looked around, the machine hadn’t moved from where it stopped in the center of the room. No other machines could be seen or heard. The hairs on its body kept trying to rise, this is obviously a trap the creature thought, but how to spring it without being caught.
This type of trap was not unfamiliar to the creature, the tribes used food bait to lure in the great birds and other creatures in the ruins.
Slowly, it circled around, moving to that its back was towards the large opening in the surface burrow, spear at the ready and its muscles coiled and ready to react. As it got a better look at the bounty of food sitting there on the machine's back, its stomach let out a rumble of protest. Many of the foods looked familiar to the fruits and vegetables that hunting parties sometimes brought back when raiding Human settlements. Some things however, it had never seen before.
Using its spear to sweep for hidden wires or sensors, it found none. Carefully, it selected what looked similar to a fruit that grew on some trees and stabbed it with the spear, and quickly withdrew a few steps from the machine. The creature sniffed at the sweet smelling juice that ran down the spear, carefully inspecting it.
Thomas suppressed a chuckle at the level of paranoia the creature was showing. It wasn't surprising, anyone would be suspicious of a giant plate of food being delivered after spending several days fighting, trapping and disabling robots that kept trying to capture you. It was just so adorable to watch though, as it speared an apple from one of the trays and began inspecting it.
It was time to end this, Thomas thought, and he stepped through the shelter's door, shotgun in one hand, with the muzzle pointed at the ground. He coughed loudly to get the creature's attention, raising his free hand to show it an open palm “Hey there little, um raccoon?” Thomas awkwardly said.
It saw the movement out of its peripheral vision before hearing the Human make a coughing sound. The Human was the same one it had tracked here, it had one paw raised high and open and the other was wrapped around a death stick. It dropped the fruit and slid into a ready stance, spear raised and feet braced.
Then the Human spoke, and that startled it more than the food. Humans never spoke to their kind. Oh, they would shout and scream at them, but never talk like this. It felt vindicated, this Human was different from the others, at least a little. Otherwise it would have just attacked with its death stick.
Slowly, it shuffled to the side, closer to the burrow entrance, keeping a close eye on the Human. It saw the Humans facial expression change as it moved, but it never raised the death stick. Interesting, it thought. The Human was clearly not trying to be hostile. “What you want Human?” the creature said.
It spoke, it could speak, and that revelation shocked Thomas to his core. He hoped it would be able to communicate, but he didn't truly expect it to be able to speak. The creature tilted its head to the side a bit, “of course I speak, how else talk” the creature said, causing Thomas to realize he had spoken out loud his thoughts.
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“Oh, of course, sorry” was all Thomas could get out, his mind still whirling. “Um, the food isn't a trap” he continued, “more of a peace offering.” Thomas moved closer to the side of the machine opposite of the creature and picked up a grape and ate it to demonstrate.
The creature felt the hairs along its back try to rise as the Human approached, bracing itself in case the Human attacked, it watched as the Human picked up a piece of fruit and ate it. Further proof that this Human was different it thought, but wariness kept it rooted in place. “Why?” it asked, staring at the Human.
“Because you are fascinating,” Thomas stated, “and while I wasn't sure initially that you were sapient, but after watching you and seeing you in action, I came to believe you were”.
Thomas reached out and picked up an apple from the pile on the machine. Taking a big bite, chewing and swallowing, “see, not a trap”.
The creature seemed mollified by Thomas’ actions. It reached up and pulled the apple off the tip of its spear and took a bite. Thomas was thrilled beyond belief, this was going so much better than he feared it would. The creature was still eyeing him warily, its eyes particularly lingering on the shotgun.
Thomas held up his empty hand, “please don't be frightened, i am going to make us some seating if that is ok with you” he said. When the creature nodded its head, Thomas reached down and pressed a button on the small controller he had on his belt.
The Machine began to shake slightly and two sections on the sides began to slide outwards, creating two seats. Thomas sat and gestured to the creature to do the same. After it was seated across from him, Thomas asked one of the questions that had been burning in his mind. “Do you have a name?”
The creature looked at the Human. This whole interaction had been so far out of its normal experiences with Humans that its mind was still trying to make sense of it all. “Delvik” it said without thinking, and then kicked itself for speaking before thinking.
The Human sat back with a big, toothy, scary smile. It kept saying Delviks name over and over, as if committing it to memory. “I have question, why you not kill me?” Delvik asked the Human.
Thomas was taken aback by the question, and had to think for a moment. “Honestly,” Thomas said while rubbing the back of his head with one hand, “I thought I might have, with that kick, and besides, I was in no condition to fight anything, and why did you attack me?” he asked back.
Delvik had been picking through the assorted foods while the Human took his time answering, He nodded his head at the answer, it made sense. Delvik had had the wind knocked out of him by the kick, and as he finished chewing and swallowing the orange root it found particularly tasty, said sagely “Human in burrow is bad, Humans bring death to tribes, couldn't let you lead others to burrow”. Delvik gestured around to the surface burrow they were in, and continued “followed you across ruin, tracked you here. Curious you came here instead of back to Human tribes burrows.”
Thomas’s heart stopped and he nearly choked on the celery he was snacking on. “Human tribes here?” he sputtered in confusion, a spark of hope rekindling itself in his chest as Delvik nodded and gestured vaguely to the south-east.
Then Thomas’ mind caught up to what else Delvik had said, not only did it know of Humans, but apparently their interactions were all negative. Frowning slightly, he asked “Why are you talking with me then, if humans are such a threat to you and your people?”
“You seem different, normal Human would kill Delvik before fleeing to warn others. You did not, then you came here to hidden burrow.” it said with what may pass as a smile among its kind, “Delvik watch and study strange Human, see what it does”.
Thomas let out a loud laugh at hearing the explanation, nearly doubling over. So they were both studying each other, trying to figure out what the other was up to and if they were a danger. The laugh seemed to have startled Delvik, and Thomas leaned the shotgun against the side of the table with the muzzle on the floor, and raised placating hands, “sorry, sorry, it's just so funny. I was doing the same, well sort of.” he said to Delvik’s obvious confusion.
Straightening up in his seat, “lets try this again, my name is Thomas, and it is a pleasure to meet you Delvik” he said, reaching one hand across the machine. At Delvik's confused look, Thomas explained shaking hands, and after a moment of thought, Delvik's paw grasped the proffered hand.