Memory Transcript Subject: Obour, FTL Comms Technician, Angry Refugee
Date [Human Standard Time]: September 24th, 2136
I spent two whole claws just digging.
No breaks. Mindlessly tearing at rubble and sand until my paws started to bleed.
At the time I would have said that I held onto some hope that my brother survived. Looking back I don't think that I was convinced for a moment that he was anything but dead. I just needed to see it for myself.
A chunk of the troop transport landed near the front door of the apartment complex. Large panels were dented, the doors were completely smashed in. Climbing over the shattered wing and reflective ribbons of exterminator suits, I forced one of the looser wall panels in. I made sure to have plenty of room for my exit. One way or another I was going to carry Lilen out of there.
After Climbing 4 whole flights of stairs my real work began. The whole top floor was a smoking, fire soaked mess. Nothing survived here. Anyone could look at this place from [miles] away and tell. But I had to see it for myself.
Chunks of plasteel, insulation, scrap metal, and other unidentifiable bits of garbage were flung down to the streets below. It was the easiest option seeing as we didn't have a roof anymore. When the fire got too bad I started smothering it. Any flamer fuel fires had to be worked around.
Two whole claws. My whole body stopped hurting at that point. I was just numb from snout to tail.
It's hard to explain what that sort of mindset is like. There is the euphoria of unrestrained emotion. To completely lose yourself to the deepest and most primal parts of your psyche. It would be a pleasant experience in a vacuum. But to reach that point is near impossible without a kick of some sort. True mania requires something to drive you forward.
Nothing has put more fire in my heart than anger.
Seeing those things descend on my home. Watching everything burn. The missiles rise and fall. It made me more mad than I've ever been in my entire life.
I didn't have an outlet just hiding in my old office where the exterminators locked us in “for our own safety”. The view was real good from the 2nd floor though. I could see our own anti-air shoot down a friendly transport in all the confusion. Would have been a majestic sight if it weren't for the fact that people were dying. That we were going extinct.
I can't remember much between watching that ball of fire turn towards his apartment and standing in front of it. No idea how I got out of that office. I don't even think I stayed to watch the impact.
Useless brahk asses. Every single one of them. Can't even lose a fight without killing a bunch of our own. Can't run without stampeding over each other. Bringing the fight to the predators is well out of the question and even then, I'm sure these bumbling idiots would find a way to ruin that too.
I also don't remember crying. My face felt wet so I must have. But when it started and when I stopped I don't know. Doesn't matter. I found Lilen's room.
He was near the windows. Must have been watching the transport fall the entire time, just hoping that it would pass him over. If I was here with him we would have argued about where it would have landed up until the moment it hit our heads. My final words would have been “told you so”. Would have preferred it that way. It would have felt more genuine. Now I'm stuck with the sappy speh of “love you, stay safe” as the last thing we said to each other.
…
Carrying him down the stairs took longer than I care to admit. I wasn't all that angry anymore. The haze had started to settle the moment I picked him up. With it my strength started to fade. It took everything to keep from falling down the last flight of stairs.
Not sure how I didn't hear them, though honestly I wasn't going to do anything differently even if I did. I wasn't really all that present at the time.
A few humans had let themselves in. Not the normal troops though. These lacked armor and their false pelts were littered with a certain icon that I was warned about. Someone from the outside shouted at these three for “being a bunch of fucking idiots” and “not waiting for the building to be cleared”.
I didn't care for predatory tricks. Even a lying predator is better than the feds at this point seeing as they weren't shooting down their own ships for Protector's sake. And for all this talk about ‘herds staying together’ the federation didn't make much effort to protect the Cradle either. Traitorous scum. If the humans started eating us now then they'd at least be more honest than any prey, and I'd have more reason to like them over the competition.
They didn't though.
They were gentle with both of us. Even though my little brother's body was cold by now, they still uselessly packed his wounds with gauze. They called for transfusions. One wrapped their arms in a jacket to make carrying him easier. They didn't so much as complain when his spines poked through to their forearm anyways.
The only ones who had really, truly worried about me and my people were these Red Cross humans. We weren't soldiers to be used in their wars. We weren't abandoned and left to the auxur when the second invasion began. They did not trample each other during the retreat. The horror in their eyes never left, even as I was carried away to their homeworld.
I still don't like humans. I don't really like a lot of people these days. The UN military ruined my home, the auxur obliterated everything, the federation abandoned us, but the Red Cross?
I saw enough. Just wish that their names didn't sound so similar.
Memory transcript subject: Liam Wahlburg, Owner of “Toki & Dave’s Hobby Store”
Date [Human standard time]: October 11th, 2136
“I just worry about you all the way out there! I know the news about the extermination fleet is scary, but nowhere is safer than here!”
My poor sister, at risk of making her sound like a terrible person, always argues with me over everything. It's part sibling thing, and part genuine worry. I haven't met someone who would fight harder for you than Olivia. It's just that she will also fight against you if she thinks she knows better. To her credit, she often does, but she is still known for being a bit too intense at times.
“Olive, I'll be fine. I'm not the one staring down an intergalactic barrel! If you aren't going to make the effort to come up here then please make sure you stay away from the city at least. I don't care how indestructible you feel. Stubbornness alone won't stop a bomb.”
“Oh calm down, I'm doing everything I can to stay safe. They'll have to land a pair of boots right on my head if those genocidal crazies want a chance at getting rid of me! What has me sweating bullets right now is that there's going to be some folks that take this invasion as their call to action. All it takes is one person to be a little too zealous and your whole store is gonna burn down! If anything happens to Toki then I swear I actually will fly out there and kick your ass.”
“Hey! What about me and Dave!?”
On cue, Dave lets out an indignant squawk from my shoulder. Toki is mostly silent, just watching the screen trying to figure out what Olive is doing in the fancy little box. Those two actually spent a whole minute gibbering to each other before I was allowed to speak in my own video call. At least he's polite enough to let me have a turn.
“Acceptable casualties. I expect you two to go full secret service and dive in front of flamers for my little baby.”
“And since he's your ‘little baby’ I can expect you'll be up every week to clean the cage out?”
“Oh no no no. I'm more like the cool aunt. You take care of Toki and I show up to spoil them and feed him treats.”
“And that's why this fat bastard begs every new person he meets for snacks like he's starving! I swear you have ruined this bird.”
“Oh shut up. Don't talk like you don't love him.”
I roll my eye. Tapping my paintbrush against the counter. The silver mask in front of me is halfway through having the large pink flower shaded. The green vines and stem twirl off towards the edges and frame the bloom perfectly. I figured that having the flower itself cover my blind eye would be both artisanal and a quiet clue as to my disability for anyone who doesn't know. At the very least it easily opens up the question.
“Fine, I guess Toki is cool or whatever.”
Toki breaks away from the screen and chirps at me. I give him a little pat on his back.
“He’s so precious! It's no surprise that people are taking a liking to you with those two as your mascots.”
“Hell, it's all in spite of these two actually. I've only ever seen them interact with one of those exterminators and a zurulian and neither seemed to be comfortable around them. Doesn't help that they keep nipping at people and begging all the damn time, Olive.”
She lets out that odd snorting laugh of hers.
“If I knew how much trouble I was making for you then I would have done it more! God I would love to have a video of a pack of those silver suits running away from those sweet little birds.”
“Might happen if I weaponize some papaya…”
Toki and Dave both perk up and point their eyes at me. Damn stupid mistake.
“Aw now look at what you did.”
“Hey, you did that yourself!”
“Yeah, I'm still going to blame you for it.”
“Of course, I couldn't expect anything less of you. Just make sure you don’t go light on those TREATS AND SNACKS AND F-”
“Oh you fucker!”
I couldn't hit ‘end call’ fast enough. My two brats were now in a full tilt fury over the promise of food. I had wanted to wait for the others to show up but now they might just become too much to handle. Leaving my mask to dry I turn to grab the food fr-
Someone's here.
My soul nearly left my body. Didn't yell, proud of that, but Sysill has stood just to my left. We both flinched and stumbled back half a step.
“O-oh I…My heart can't take you sneaking up on me like that.”
“Sorry! I-I didn't know when a good time to say something was.”
“You're fine. I might just need to put a bell on the door or something.”
As I started to stand up, I noticed something missing. Quickly I reach for an untarnished mask and snap it on. It was interesting that the odd stork looking guy wasn't more appalled.
“You know, I would have expected you to react more poorly to seeing my face.”
Sysill readjusted his wings before speaking.
“I thought I would too until I looked up uncensored humans last night. You humans don't make for good predators.”
Silence hung in the air for a moment. I wanted to say something but Sysill has a strangely withering stare when he isn't shaking himself apart. It's like looking at some ancient Victorian child in bird form. As every second passed his plumage started to swell.
“S-sorry, did I say something wrong?”
“No no, I'm … I'm just surprised. It's usually a lot harder to get folks to be this relaxed about us.”
His white feathers fell back to a semi-comfortable state.
“Thank the stars, I was worried I had agitated you after that argument with your kin.”
“Argument…? Oh! Me and Olive just like giving each other a hard time. I know it must sound weird but we aren't upset with each other.”
“That… so are you and Obour…?”
“Not sure honestly. I can see why he acted like that. I want to say that I respect him standing up for you, but really he was just so pointlessly hostile.”
Sysill started shaking again. The other birds were getting really upset at being ignored.
“I'm not going to argue with him like that again. If Obour being here is what makes you comfortable then I'll be quiet, so long as he doesn't go too far. Speaking of, where is he right now? I sort of assumed that you two would be a package deal.”
“H-he's on his way, I fly much faster than he walks.”
“Cool, let me grab something for those two and we can start getting everything set up.”
Today was a practice day for my new employees. I needed to show them both around and get them comfortable with opening and closing. Doing so on a day where people are coming, but we aren't technically open is a perfect no-stress method. I had wanted Halsk here too but she had classes this morning. They'll still be here for the actual painting and ‘closing’ however.
Walking back towards the mini kitchen, all three birds started following me over to the bar. It was an odd sight, leading this flock. Never thought this is where life would lead me.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Grabbing up a slice of papaya and a knife I wandered back out to find Dave and Toki stood on the counter and Sysill perched on one of the federation friendly chairs. Silently I started cutting out chunks of the sweet fruit and tossing them on a small plate. Dave greedily took the first piece just as it landed. Toki knew what was going to happen next though so he stepped back next to Sysill.
Slicing off a bigger bit of fruit I flicked it off the knife and right at the big gray bird. He is well practiced so Toki easily snatched it right out of the air. The best part wasn't even seeing him catch it, but rather that goofy little dance he does after. As Toki was bobbing up and down chirping in excitement I readied another fruit chunk and hurled it his way.
The louder clack of Sysill's long beak caused me to jump. Peaking back up at him I saw the odd duerten happily chewing away. He took a second to notice that I was staring at him. Slowly, he swallowed while returning the look.
…
…
…
“Was it good?”
“...very?...”
There wasn't much else to add to that I suppose. I ended the silence by cutting the papaya slice in half and giving Sysill his own plate. It seemed like he liked it a lot considering how quickly he destroyed his plate. Continuing to prep the last of Toki and Dave's little treat I motioned over my shoulder.
“There's a small kitchen back there. Not much use for it but I keep a few snacks and lunches in there along with some drinks. Got plenty of these papayas if you want more.”
“Thank you.”
…
“Everything in there is vegan by the way. I checked to make sure everything was safe.”
“Nice, thanks.”
…
What the hell even is this kid? Are all duertens this weird? The endless quiet is starting to drain on my sanity. I've worked with quiet, non-verbal, or otherwise socially challenged people before but Sysill seems to just evoke awkwardness even in other people. Never have I ever felt so out of step before but it's like he has this dork aura around him. I'll just have to remember to get the speakers and music running sooner rather than later.
After the world's worst snacking experience we moved onto opening responsibilities. Checking the inventory, stocking, cleaning, tills, cleaning after Toki and Dave, reaffirming that yes they are allowed here during opening hours, yes Dave is an asshole and will steal pens and paintbrushes or walk over your papers every chance he gets.
Obour finally came around after about 10 minutes but he just silently sat himself as far down the bar as he could and started fiddling with his pad. He did say hi to Sysill but unsurprisingly he just looked at me and made a weird face before walking off. Obour did turn an eye our way when I got to explaining how to physically handle the two living tornados.
“If they do get to being too much you can just bring them upstairs into the apartment.”
“How do I…?”
“Ah, they're used to me handling them so you can just pick em’ up.”
He didn't verbalize a response. Sysill just held his claws out grasping at the air between him and the other birds. His pleading looks between me and Dave made it clear that a demonstration was needed.
“Dave, come ere”, was the only warning I gave the little multi-colored bastard before snatching them up. I was gentle of course, and wrapped my hands around their wings so they couldn't flap away. Turning him over so his feet were pointing straight up made Dave give up the struggle right away. Both Sysill and Obour looked at me like I was insane.
“That's it. Just don’t go swinging them around and be gentle.”
Obour looked me up and down before blurting out, “What is with you and those animals?”
“Not really sure how I am supposed to answer that.” I place Dave on my shoulder where he shakes out his feathers and promptly nips my ear. I do my best not to flinch.
“Why go through the trouble? Why are they even here? All those things do is make a mess, eat, and make those creepy sounds. They don’t do anything useful for you.”
“Well, they make for better company than most people.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t get all riled up, they’re hard to compete with. Toki and Dave are simple creatures. I know exactly what they like, what they’re feeling, what they think of me, and they’ve never done anything all that harmful. They’re actually incapable of doing so I think. Humans like pets because they’re innocent and make for good company.”
“Not sure what company they’re worth.”
“Neither’s insulted me yet.”
“Yeah well it’s not like they can do anything nice either!”
“Hey dave?”
The little green rascal stops grooming themselves and turns an eye my way.
“Kisses?”
Without much hesitation Dave leans forward, gently taps the center of my mask with his beak, and makes a loud, squeaky, kissing sound.
“Good bird!”
Dave makes a few contented chirps when I cup my hand around his back and head for some scritches. Obour and Sysill both give me that intense side eye again.
“What the speh even was that?”
“They've learned to mimic human kisses as a sign of affection. Here. Toki! Kisses!”
I point a finger at Sysill as I half shout the command. Toki, already getting jealous with Dave, waddles over the counter towards Sysill at the checkout area. Same as before, Toki leans forward, taps their beak to a still-as-stone duerten's own, and makes that same squeaky kiss. Sysill is near impossible to read aside from general feelings of anxiety, but I swear I think his eyes are starting to water.
“They're smart birds. Needy, rambunctious, noisy, but very smart and very social. They'll do just about anything for attention. Sure, they're a lot of work, but it's nice feeling needed and appreciated.”
Sysill, quieter than usual, asks, “The [pa-pi-ah] is their favorite, right?”
“Sure is. Can't feed them too much but next time around I'll let you do it.”
Obour is a little easier to make judgments on. For all his flaws, that gojid does not hide his feelings at all. His shoulders started dropping and ears stopped standing at full attention after I promised to let Sysill take care of the other birds. There may actually be a time where that prickly thing calms down enough to be cordial.
The rest of the hour passes by without much fanfare. More work related stuff. At some point Sysill works up the courage to ask for what species of bird Toki and Dave are. But it eventually comes time to pick out a kit for our painting party today.
“So, we need to get some miniatures out for folks along with the art supplies. I can get the tools if you and your friend can pick out a set from the shelf there.”
I gesture broadly to the space behind the counter before wandering off to one of the many cardboard boxes laying around to grab out brushes, paints, cups, paper towels, etc. There's a few moments of silence before a quiet, muttering argument starts to become audible. I decide not to intervene and just get everything else ready.
With a pair of tables cleared, a thick sheet of paper laid over them, and everything set out, the scene is set for a good day of painting and needing out. The rest of the crew from yesterday rolls through the doors.
I almost immediately pick out the two spiders tilfish. I managed to get some reading done on them, and while I didn't sleep that easy, I am already a bit more comfortable. Though, a ‘bit better’ starting from crippling fear still leaves me at ‘sweating bullets’. I am at least able to enjoy the comedy and adorableness of young love from those two. Halsk and Nahlin seem to be doing that thing where neither wants to get too close, but still don't want to be away from each other so now they're locked in a goofy twin orbit situation.
The zurulians are the polar opposite in terms of approachability. I always said that life would have been a lot cooler if we found a way to raise bears alongside dogs, and now I get to converse with actual bear people in all their cute and fluffy glory. It takes a dizzying amount of willpower to keep myself from picking one of them up and giving them a squeeze, despite how xenocidal these little fuckers are.
The taller one bounds right up towards me, which actually feels a little imposing seeing as they almost never have the courage to rush straight towards ‘danger’ like that. She extends a single paw forward and says,
“I didn't introduce myself yesterday. Veski.”
I give a good handshake, but her arm is solid. It barely budges as I try to shake her paw up and down.
“Liam, but you already knew that.”
Veski's ears turn a subtle shade of green. She flicks them but I don't know what that sort of ear signal was. While we were handling our introductions, the others gathered around the bar where Obour and Sysill's debates had not settled in the slightest.
“You guys come to a decision yet?”
Obour speaks without turning his head, “No we haven't. Trying to budget this out.”
“Man don't look at the price tags, just grab one you like.”
Halsk climbs up one of the chairs to get a better look at all the options. They speak over their shoulder,
“Mr. Wahlberg, I am still interested to know; while the arts are a lucrative business, is it wise to give out something so expensive?”
I let out a tired sigh, this conversation topic has gotten repetitive real fast.
“Look, I'm going to tell all of you a big secret. I need you to keep a lid on this for me because I'm not sure what the reaction to this would be from pinwood, but from what I've seen from other locations, it's usually a poor one.”
Everyone turns to me, all wearing mixed expressions of interest and worry.
“The fruit I've imported from home is more expensive than this stuff. Unpainted miniatures cost less than a credit a pop. Each tube of paint costs me maybe 30 credits and that's just because of wartime shipping costs. The only reason I don't sell this stuff any cheaper than this is because some other stores on venlil prime tried it and everyone treated it like a scam.
Those kits are more expensive just because they're part of a whole set. The costs are more so about the actual labor or time going into designing them rather than material.”
The air was sucked out of the room. Simple stupid predators have made art accessible, and because of the Fed's greed I am able to blow all these people's minds with a 2 cent piece of plastic. Jalsung asks in a low whisper, “How?”
“Humans as a species have been creating art and telling stories since we first learned to communicate complex ideas and smear berries across the wall. We make tons of stuff like this. A better question is to ask why wooden sticks with a bundle of fibers on the end sell for as much as they do here?”
Halsk blurts out, “It's not so simple! These are specially designed tools made to very strict specifications! Even the smallest errors can create impossible to ignore mistakes in your projects!”
I can already tell. This isn't going to go very far. As smart as people are, sometimes they need to see in order to believe. I tell everyone to just pick a box off the shelf and open it up while I go to get something.
I step outside the front of my store and snap a few small twigs off of the shrubs that surround the building. My new handles are gnarled, one has a large knot in the center, and are all a bit too small for my hand. Perfect. Stepping back inside I pass by the others who have picked out a set for mythological creatures. All eyes follow me as I dip into the basement. Inside I grab a pair of scissors, thin string, small strips of malleable metal, glue, and some tape. I drop all of my things right on the counter in front of everyone before dipping into the kitchen for a towel. I also make a small bowl of part water and part starch.
Veski looks the pile of junk over and asks, “What is all this stuff?”
Parting a bit of my ponytail I respond, “Everything we need for a brand new set of paint brushes.”
The group burst into a mess of muttering and disbelief while I set to work.
First, fibers. Once I have my hair lined up how I want it, I snip a couple inches off the end. It pains me to butcher my lovely hair but sacrifices must be made for the sake of spite. With this pinch of hair, I have enough to make 3 different sizes of thin brushes. I sort out the piles, pat them down so all the hairs are even, and tie a string to the ends. I quickly trim the bundles to round out the edges of the brush.
With the strips of metal I make small cones to hold the hairs in place. I slide the bundles of hair in and make everything snug with the pliers. I don't press too hard for fear of creating flat or misshapen brushes. When everything is more or less secure I pick out the loose and uneven strands.
Holding the cones with the open end facing upwards and the hair pointing down, I start dropping in small drops of glue. There's a minute of waiting for all of these to dry and I didn't have the forethought to grab any sort of stand. While my hands were full I guided everyone to the table and had them pick out their first models.
While more decisions were being made I took the unfinished brushes back to the counter. Gently I tapped each of them against the sticky side of the tape to remove any more loose fibers that didn't adhere to the glue. Satisfied that the brush was firm I move onto making the final shape.
I dip the ends of the brushes into the bowl of watery starch, then work it into all the fibers by brushing it against a towel. Once the brush is fully soaked I start making circular motions against the towel training all the hairs to a fine point. With the brushes themselves complete, I roughly squeeze the open end of the cone over the twigs for a handle.
“While they ain’t the nicest looking ones out there, these here are three new brushes ready to go.”
I present my creations to the group. They all look at me like I just performed some magic trick, except for Halsk. That poor thing looked genuinely horrified. They might have had less of a reaction if I just threatened to eat everyone.
“T-there's no…way…That c-can't work…”
She's sort of right. Human hair sucks as a brush. Our hair is fragile, doesn't hold paint well, the qualities of hair varies a lot, this is going to be a nightmare to use. Still, I have a point to drive home. I step over to my unfinished mask project and tidy up the shading and a few details I missed. I suppressed a shudder as Halsk got right next to me to watch my work.
Little thorns across the twisting stems are added in. Dark and bright areas filled on the petals. Shade for the undersides of the stems. Every pass seemed to drain just that little bit more of her life. After a grueling few minutes the final touches of the flower and stem are done.
“See what I mean? This stuff is cheap. Dirt cheap.”
Obour lets out a hearty chuckle, “Ha! What a scam the predators up in those art exhibits are pulling.”
“Never thought I'd get to make you laugh pokey, you going soft on me?”
His good mood only waivers a little as Obour blows me off, “Oh stuff it killer.” With a quiet chuckle to himself he settles back into his spot next to the anxious duerten.
Halsk retreats to their seat while they process their own thoughts. I find my own chair next to Veski. The group all seems to have picked out their first models from the pile. Not wanting to keep attention on the poor bug while they deal with some life changing information, I decide to get to the actual point of this whole event.
“So, what have you all decided to start with?”
Starting with Nahlin who is, regrettably, on my right, as she holds up her first model.
“I decided to start with this odd tree thing? I am sorry if I'm being offensive. The text on the box translated to ‘Adventure & Adversity: Myths and Monsters Bundle’ so I assume these could either depict some sort of important religious iconography or predators from earth…?”
Jalsung chimes in, “I doubt that! ‘Myth’ just means old stories, they could be anything.”
Nahlin bites back, “Including religious stuff!”
This sort of light hearted chatter was sorely needed. I've been doing nothing but handling hospital stuff, talking with my therapist, stressing over my family, starting a whole damn business venture… It doesn't feel like I've had a chance to sit down and be somewhat normal ever since I got sent to the Cradle.
I let out a light chuckle, “You're fine Nahlin. Sometimes there may be religious themes, but myth itself is strictly not faith.”
Nahlin interrupts the answer to her own question, presumably out of eagerness, “But it looks like you humans take this very seriously. Why would you if it wasn't religious or productive?”
“Storytelling itself is a form of art that we take just as seriously as drawing or sculpting. It's cultural, educational, and philosophical. All of which are plenty worth preservation.”
As creepy as these tilfish are, seeing such genuine wonder from them is starting to do wonders for my soul. Even Sysill has that sparkle of wonder in his eye. I think this is the first time aliens were actually listening to what I had to say with real interest, rather than being made to tolerate my being here. Hell, the gojids back during my volunteer work only stood still because they thought I was gonna cannibalize them otherwise.
“To answer your first question, what you've got there is a treant.
A guardian of the woods. It cares for wildlife, allowing small animals to use it for cover or even live in their branches. For the most part they stay rooted in the ground where they rest and blend in with the rest of the trees. If they want to however, they're capable of uprooting themselves and walking around.
They're seen as forces of good. Wise, caring, patient. They only become aggressive when their forests are attacked. Heavy deforestation, pollution, or generally violent acts can all evoke the wrath of a treant.”
Halsk, having returned from her earlier stupor asks, “What drove this design?”
“A good question, but I want to know what your assumption is. Why would we create stories about creatures like this?”
Halsk leans back as she starts to think. The whole group seems to be at a loss for a moment. Eventually Veski says,
“I don't have an exact answer, but it has to do with lessons on ecological damage? Presumably at least some humans see the destruction of nature as a bad thing if you've created stories of special forest guardians.”
Nahlin looks at her treant miniature and mouths a silent ‘woah’.
Obour scoffs, “They're predators, they just like the idea of nature being something to break claws with.”
“Halsk is right actually.” I chime in.
Obour leans over the counter, “Complete speh. You. Eat. Meat. There's no reason for you to care about the well-being of your food.”
“Obour, we would die if we didn't.”
I should be used to everyone looking at me like this but I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the sea of dark eyes all wide open and glaring at me. Slowly he slid back into his chair looking for some sort of rebuttal. Everyone was stunned for the moment but Nahlin had this look on her face. If I'm guessing right she's thinking, real hard. There's something else in there too, like she's getting close to solidifying some terrible concept in her mind.
“Like us with plants. It's… because you need animals to survive…”
I snap my fingers, “Bingo. Up until recently, if all the animals on earth just disappeared then the vast majority of humans would have starved. Our diet ironically makes us reliant. If nature isn't happy, healthy, and flourishing, then we suffer for it.
A treant isn't just something that hurts people as retribution for doing something bad, it's metaphorical for the relationship between humans and our environment.”
While the room was processing the idea of humans actually wanting to not starve ourselves out, Veski pulled me aside and behind a shelf. She whispered so quietly I could barely understand her words.
“Liiaahm, should you be talking about these things? I thought it went against your special order for silence?”
“Wha, order 56? I'll be honest, Veski, why should I care about it anymore?”
“Sshhh! Don't be so loud! I'm trying to keep you out of trouble.”
“Look, the only reason for that order was to help with diplomacy. Right now there's a massive genocide fleet heading for my home planet. Lying to people isn't going to help much of anything anymore.”
Veski turned her head to the side as she thought about something.
“You made a promise to your home. This could do more harm than good.”
“My promise is to make a living and get people to hate humans less. If that order is getting in my way then I'll ignore it. Besides, I'm not good at lying anyhow.”
Veski was making a sour face at me until I brought up being made to lie. Her head tilts the other way while she thinks some more.
“Fine, just, be careful what you say. Some people are looking for excuses to hurt you.”
“I was well aware of that risk coming over here. It's worth it if this is what it takes to make things better for all of us.”
Her whole face softens. She squeezes my arm before letting go. Jalsung shouts over for us.
“Stop flirting with each other and get back here, we have another question!”
Both me and Veski clam up, blush creeping into our cheeks. Walking back over to the group I calmly sit down hoping to just let the joke pass by without too much attention. Veski crashes back into her chair, batting at Jalsung as she continues her teasing. Dave thinks it's play time and joins in on the adorable brawl by nipping at Jalsung's ears again.
Nahlin carefully prods my arm, even though Halsk was trying to pull her away. Despite my best efforts I still react with a shiver. Beads of cold sweat form on my brow.
“Sorry, I know you're still scared of us, I just wanted your attention…”
Her voice lowers, sounding ashamed. The guilt of making this kid feel bad fights like hell with my own phobias.
“D-don’t worry about it. I-I am getting better about it. It's just that getting touched still makes my skin crawl.”
Everyone looks back at me with disgust. Obour yells out, “What sort of protector damned phrase is that?!”
“Sorry man, that's just what it feels like!”
“What the absolute speh does that even mean?!”
“Look, y'all have thick fur, carapace, spines, I got nothing to keep me safe. Because of that insects have always been a huge threat to us and so humans are super sensitive to the idea of things crawling on us.”
Jalsung asks incredulously, “Look, I want to be respectful and all, but bugs, really? The rest of us have to deal with giant people eating reptiles and you humans fall apart because of some tiny, fragile insects?”
“Yes! Up until like, the late 21 hundreds, a bunch of studies estimated that roughly half of all known human deaths were because of a single species of insect known as the mosquito. They're a big part of why humans get this sensation of things crawling over us when we get creeped out.”
Halsk and Nahlin both recoil away from me. Nahlin sputters out,
“S-so we are l-like the a-auxur t-to humans?! I wish I knew! I-I could have been wearing a mask for you at least!”
Halsk buries her face in her hands muttering, “That is why I scared him so much yesterday…”
Obour and Sysill glance between me and the two tilfish with looks of shock and horror on their faces. Toki and Dave start hopping around the table squawking up a storm, not understanding the gravity of the situation.
Veski stands up while Jalsung's jaw swings all the way open, “We can swap seats if that helps with you?”
“No! Look, everyone calm down!”
The room suddenly goes dead quiet. My mouth feels suddenly dry as I search for what I wanted to say.
Pinwood Exterminator’s Guild Investigation Records
Date [Human standard time]: October 10th, 2136
Our away team has made good progress with earning the trust of that predator. So much so that it’s even invited them into its den. While I would like to give them more time to properly gather evidence, our timetables are regretfully short. Sooner rather than later, we may need to take the initiative. A strike team will be assembled to assist when the time is right. My only shame is knowing that the recon team will be locked inside with that monster when it happens.
At least we can have all our PD issues sorted in one night, assuming it all goes to plan.