The Nature of Predators - Venlil Foster Brother (6/6)

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Memory transcription subject: Jimek, Venlil Art Student

Date [standardized human time]: February 2, 2137

There had been a time, long before Cylek’s torment or Dustin’s arrival, that I admired the exterminators. A guild job was a launchpad for young artists to make a name for themselves. However, since the officers abandoned me against a predator-diseased brat, I didn’t have much respect for them. Besides, I’d learned that humans weren’t monsters that needed to be slain, so the profession was a threat to my brother’s existence. I wasn’t afraid of predators anymore, so it definitely wouldn’t sit well with me to draw fearmongering sketches.

Luala claimed that the exterminators wouldn’t have me draw that kind of art, but what else could they want? What could they request that would benefit humanity’s interests? Maybe the guild had changed its lines, and it had turned staunch anti-predator employees like Rauln into human advocates. Still, at the end of the day, their job was to burn animals that had eyes like my brother did. It was an oxymoron that William worked for them, and believed in this “Volek” figure’s agenda to co-exist.

Now that I have a choice whether to take the job, without the pressure of Cylek getting loose, I am curious. It’s shocking that Callsi is even considering it, though!

The Krakotl tilted her head. “I heard the guild hired a human graphic artist. I was able to get you into that team. Among other things, you’ll be working on designs to improve our relations with humans through ads and posters, to recruit forward-thinking individuals, and to stymy prejudice against refugees. Infographics with accurate info about Terrans…”

“Details on the new procedures, or maybe ecological reports on Terran animals. Several of them smuggled their predatory pets, so it’s best that people know what they are,” Fyron commented.

William narrowed his eyes. “And, while I was wrongfully left off the art committee, I imagine one goal will be to have people stop calling the exterminators on us for existing. I know Rauln thinks it’s fucking hysterical, but I don’t think it’s funny that the sight of us makes people cry, ‘Summon the flamethrowers!’ I doubt Dustin does either.”

“I don’t,” Dustin mumbled. “That was in the back of my head when I went to your apartment. It doesn’t even matter if I wear a visor.”

“Don’t wear that shit! What’s next: blindfolding yourself so they can’t think you’re looking at them? Isn’t it spooky that you look straight at them?”

“It is weird how you stare directly at us, and can only see what’s right in front of you,” Rauln remarked. “Or in your case, you can’t even see that.”

“You know what I see right in front of me? A suspended, washed-up exterminator who shouldn’t even be talking. The only thing you know about art is how to burn it. Shut your trap, no-nose.”

“Shut your trap, no-tail. Your entire life is a trainwreck. This predator leaves literal razor blades on my bathroom counter—”

“That’s completely normal. I told you, I don’t want facial hair.”

“You’d think you wouldn’t lop off what little fur you have. That scattered hair on your limbs doesn’t count.”

Callsi pinned her ears back. “Can we focus? I liked what William said about not having exterminators called on my son.”

“Oh, so my perfectly reasonable question about hygiene weapons is invalid? I still don’t get why humans’ fur is so patchy. It’s like you all have mange!”

William snickered. “Someone’s feeling better.”

“And for what it’s worth, humans still have the genes to grow a full coat of fur, but it’s not expressed anymore. There’s lots of theories about why,” Dustin remarked. “Being furless has benefits for thermoregulation, and our ancestors lived in hot savannas. Our upright position also means fur isn’t as useful for reflecting solar radiation, except on the tops of our heads! Oh, and not having a full pelt reduces the amount of parasites that affect us!”

Rauln twisted his ears. “Let me get this straight. You still have the genes for fur, you know what they are, and you haven’t reactivated them?”

“Yep. I don’t know if you’ve seen humans get ‘goosebumps’, which are, uh, a bunch of little bumps on the skin. But that’s basically the equivalent of how your fur stands up when you’re afraid or cold. The muscles in our skin’s hair follicles are doing the same thing!”

“Ugh, your slimy skin doesn’t need…raised patches. You think fluffing up those tiny hairs makes you seem apex? It doesn’t! If you have the genes, grow back your fur!”

“Nah, that sounds really hot and annoying to clean. It evolved away for a reason.”

“I can see your mother wants us to move on, but it’s just difficult to…envision you with fur. I suppose some species who are native to hot environments, like the Angren, still have fur, so you could’ve adapted another way. Their homeworld is—” Fyron began.

“Almost too hot to sustain life! The hottest in the Federation. Though the Verin’s savanna conditions, on one of the life-bearing Twin Moons, are more similar to our ancestors’ habitats. Obviously, they don’t have fur; they’re iridescent insects.”

I nudged my brother teasingly. “Maybe you should hand over the xenobiology textbook you read cover-to-cover, for Fyron’s book club.”

“Honestly, I’d come if there were educational books! Would they do that?”

The Farsul scrunched her nose. “That’s not really…what we read. I’m just making a point…species like the Tierkel live in the desert, and kept their fur. They’re drawn to heat, even, but they haven’t adapted as well to other environments as you. How did all of your genes transform just right for you to dominate every environment?”

“I guess we had specific genes to boost stamina, and make us really good at bipedalism. The leftover fur stuff is hardly the only redundancy in our coding. For what it’s worth, we still have the genes for tail formation too. We actually develop tails in early embryo growth, but then they die.”

“Well, I can’t imagine a tail fitting on Chimp Chowder’s fat ass,” Luala trilled.

Callsi recoiled with distaste. “Dustin told me you’re not supposed to call humans chimps, or any kind of lesser primate! It’s highly offensive.”

“Good!”

William waved his fist. “I can’t wait to slather you in butter, Chicken Piccata. You’ll make a wonderful dish on my table!”

“Our table. Better than crunchcakes,” Rauln grunted.

“Obviously. She’s a main course, not a snack!”

As another conversation with the exterminators devolved, the purpose of describing my job’s duties had quickly evaporated. Rauln lobbed an insult at William, and everyone joined in the festivities; Dustin somehow wound up discussing goosebumps, tails, and the Angren. It was entertaining to be around these bickering idiots, but unless they needed something else to keep Cylek locked up, I wouldn’t be working with these individuals directly. Even if a human artist was leading some coexistence initiative, it didn’t guarantee that I could trust their organization. Still, seeing how much this band changed, I was inclined to give the job a chance.

It’s a decision we all need to make together. It looks like Dustin is relaxed, so I doubt he has a problem with it. I should see what my mother thinks.

“I don’t understand, but I think William just threatened to eat Luala…and nobody cares.” Callsi had given up prompting the group to focus, instead returning to her earlier posture of defeat. “I guess I should forget learning anything else about what Jimek will be working on.”

The Krakotl folded her wings, trying to look serious. “Honestly, we told you most of it. New hires. Public relations. PSAs about humans and their animals. Not calling us about Terran refugees. Let me say, if there’s anything Jimek doesn’t feel comfortable drawing, he can talk to me and I’ll see he doesn’t have to.”

“I…I see. Jimek, I want you to be happy and successful. I’ll love seeing anything you create. If this is what you want, I’m willing to sign off on it: as long as you promise me two things. That you’ll never lie to me again, and that you’ll think before you put Dustin at risk. He might be your big, predator brother, but you have to protect him too.”

“Like I have to protect William from his lack of intelligence,” Rauln remarked.

“Dammit, let Jimek answer!”

“Fine, but then I have something to say. Are you taking the job, kid?”

I swallowed, taking my cautious, internal optimism as confirmation. “It could be really good experience, make humans safer, and be a chance to work with some great artists. The extra money will make it easier for our whole family. Plus, it’ll kill Cylek and Vana to see me being the one who becomes respected! I think I should do this.”

“Okay. Then you can, but I’ll make sure your studies don’t suffer as a result…and I’ll be watching your pieces, to make sure you don’t wind up drawing anti-predator garbage after all.”

“Awesome! You won’t regret it; thanks for letting me take it! I never thought you’d let me work with the guild, and I promise, I’ll do all my chores, and be better for Dustin. I know how important it is to support him, and I’m not gonna let either of you down!”

Dustin smiled. “You never let me down, Jimek. You’re a blast to hang around, and anyone who doesn’t see that is stupid. I have your back.”

“Now, I hope you have my back, Dustin,” Rauln butted in. “That’s right, I said I had something to say; and it’s about you. I might’ve derailed the conversation earlier, but you proved my point with how much you know about animals and evolutionary history.”

Callsi hissed in warning. “I don’t like you talking to Dustin like this. You have no right to ask him for anything.”

“What I’m asking is a good thing for him; it lets both of your sons be involved with improving Skalga! I think that we need human animal experts working for the guild. Where Will’s role is to capture them, Dustin’s could be to catalog them. I want him to join as a zoologist…a part-time advisor, to help with a case…the case of the species that killed my mother.”

“I…I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I love animals, Rauln. Helping burn them wouldn’t sit right,” my brother answered.

“This is the brood of a murderer! Please, I’m desperate for any information that could help. I don’t beg for much from anybody, but this is about protecting people. Doing for us animal trackers what Will did for the other guild divisions, like the psych team that made reporting Cylek possible. You could learn from experience about Skalga’s animals; study them, and keep kids like Jimek safe from them.”

William grimaced. “Rauln. What would threaten Jimek is not knowing that approaching a wild animal is dangerous, whichever way its eyes face. I know you don’t want to hear that, but Dustin shouldn’t give you the info to wipe out its whole species. That’s not fixing the problem.”

“Damn you! Do you have to undermine me, the second I find a way to get a scrap of justice for her gruesome death?”

“It’s okay, Rauln. He didn’t undermine you at all,” Dustin murmured. “He’s right. I could help you and the guild, but not for the purpose of tracking down any particular animal.”

“Then why would I ever even talk to Volek about hiring you?!”

“I want to research wildlife behavior, and collect data so we all have complete information about the biosphere. You can understand any threats creatures pose, versus their ecological benefits. You should know their habitats, movements, total population, diets, mating season, body language, and natural aggression. We can study their interactions with people, and the reasons for any incidents: learning what startles or provokes them.”

“I still don’t see why this helps me, or why I’d want that. I studied its behavior in my mind, over and over. That creature is predatory. What I want is to kill its entire kind!”

Dustin shook his head. “No, what you want is for this never to happen to anyone’s loved one again, from any animal. The way to fix the problem and protect people is to educate them, on how to handle encounters with native wildlife…and the warning signs of any dangerous behaviors. Forget this killing mission. Ignorance is a much greater threat than one beast! We have to give the Venlil back their power, which was taken away from your mother.”

“It’s like William told me,” I mused. “Hate parade, or be there for the Venlil. Other people will suffer if you just want the animal to pay. It’s your choice though.”

Callsi’s features twisted with displeasure, at Dustin’s counteroffer to work for Rauln; she still seemed to think the smoke-furred Venlil was a threat to humans, and given that he burned that “Malthe” guy, she wasn’t entirely wrong. It might be an uphill climb for the pyro to convince Volek to hire Dustin, with how precarious his position with the guild was. After my brother had supported me throughout this entire situation, I liked the idea of working with him. We could both jumpstart our careers in our area of passion, and undo the anti-predator ignorance! I’d do whatever I could to convince my mom, if he wanted me to.

It wouldn’t be fair to let one of us work for the guild, and not the other. Two part-time jobs would be a better source of income than any lemonade stand! People like Vana won’t pick on us, for struggling to make ends meet, after this.

“I’m not you, Jimek,” Rauln grumbled.

Callsi raised a paw. “You still sound vengeful. I don’t know about sending Dustin to work with you, among exterminators who are trained to burn him alive, without any supervision.”

“Let me finish! All of us, as well as Jimek, will keep him safe. You don’t have to decide now; you can talk about it as a family. To be clear, I’m not backing down from revenge against that beast. But I guess I have to support something that’d be beneficial to my people; it would be selfish to use someone so gifted on one case, when he could look at all of them. Dustin’s request has my blessing. But I’ll need help with Volek, because my blessing isn’t worth much.”

Fyron’s whiskers twitched with amusement. “You mean that you can’t vouch for Dustin, since you’re suspended.”

“I could use someone to ask her that’s still trusted. You owe me, after you freaks crippled generations of innocent people!”

“Hold on. I don’t owe you anything. You owe me an apology for blaming me for the sins of a planet I want nothing to do with. You don’t treat me like a person, the same as when you threatened those human kids. You have been belligerent, and accosted me in my own workplace. I might’ve just taken it then, but I don’t deserve that! Whatever you think, I didn’t know. I was as horrified and outraged as you are. Founder’s Day and all that predatorshit is presented like it’s normal and benevolent, not like they ripped children from their mothers.”

“I’m actually supposed to believe that? I thought you were my friend, but how can I ever trust a Farsul?”

“I haven’t changed at all as a person, Rauln. I’ve done nothing but try to be your friend, and to have pity for you. I was the first one to welcome Will, a predator who acted like a prick, before I liked…I mean, because that’s who I am. So tell you what: I’ll put in a word for Dustin, since he’s a good kid, but not until I hear a sincere ‘sorry’ from your lips.’”

“Hmph. Having to grovel for you to help a child; typical Farsul bargaining. Sor-ry. Now do it or don’t…I don’t give a fuck.”

“No. I’m tacking on one more condition.”

“Fuck no. I’m not doing shit for you.”

“But you’ll do it for William. Because I could use some advice on what humans do for dates. I don’t imagine they go straight to biting each other.”

“Oh…you could tour a predator disease facility. Will loves those.”

“I’m serious. I have no idea!”

Dustin raised a tentative hand. “Go out to a movie, or a nice restaurant?”

“Assuming it’s safe for a Farsul. I heard what you said about being attacked. You might want to do something low-key and quiet, or at home,” I pointed out.

“So something like a fruit basket picnic in the park?” Fyron suggested. “That seems sweet, but I don’t want it to be too tame…”

William looked dumbfounded. “What? Are you asking me out? You said two days ago you had zero interest in ‘courting me’, and I respected that. Don’t do this just because Rauln is needling you.”

“I’m not! I…was embarrassed you thought I saw you like my fanfic character, so I just reacted. You asked if he’s based on you, but the truth is, it doesn’t matter. Maybe I wondered if it’d be dangerous to…court you, but I don’t care anymore. Whenever I’m around you, I’m…happy, and feel special. How would you feel about a…romantic picnic tonight? Is that something humans do?”

“Wow. It’s something this human does. I, uh, thought that you thought I was a prick.”

“She does,” Luala teased. “She has bad taste in men. It’s tragic.”

Fyron glowered at the bird. “Fuck you! I think you just said ‘yes’, Will, so let’s finish this discussion later. Where they can’t make fun of us.”

“Fine. Text me when you’re home from work, and I’ll come over to your apartment,” William said. “Nuh-uh. I know you said picnic, but first off, I’m walking with you so no crybaby like Rauln attacks. Second, we’re having more than a fruit basket; I’ll help you make some real food.”

Dustin smirked. “You might want to wait until at least the second date to eat baloney sandwiches. You’re not gonna starve.”

“Yeah, I would prefer if you…didn’t fix predator meals quite yet. I’m not ready for that, and I’d like to enjoy our time together without…things in the back of my mind,” the Farsul admitted.

Mr. Kane rolled his eyes. “How insensitive do you guys think I am?”

“You threaten to eat Luala so much it’s normalized, so very,” Callsi sighed.

“That’s different! Fyron, I was going to suggest making smoothie bowls together…any fruit you want, all nice and pretty. It’ll be exotic, hm? Much better than the boring fruit mash you’ll find in a Venlil market, and we can combine foods from Skalga and Earth. No reason for you to do all the work, just because I’ve been beaten senseless and you pity me.”

The Farsul snorted. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s take Cylek back to the office, so I can finish up on time. But I will vouch for Dustin…it’s been nice to work with your family. There’s a place in the guild for both of you.”

I signed farewell with my tail. “Sweet! Thanks to all of you, for standing up for me. I wish I could see the look on Cylek’s face, when he gets thrown in a cell!”

“And I’d like to see Vana’s, when she finds out she can’t buy her way out of trouble,” Callsi snickered, distaste evident in her voice.

“You might see her expression on the news, very soon.” Rauln straightened his ears with feigned innocence. “After learning who sells those flamethrowers, honestly, it’s the only thing that gives me solace about losing mine!”

“You deserved to lose yours. Now, you four aren’t the only ones who have to get back to work so…let’s go our separate ways. I’ll be in touch.”

My brother pleaded with wide eyes. “In touch? That means I can take the job? Me, an orphan…working as an alien zoologist? That’ll make my year!”

“Slow down. I want to think about it more, Dustin, but I might be able to tolerate the idea of you working for the guild, if it brings change. I don’t want you feeling left out. I just want to do a little investigation of what it’s like for humans—not William—working at the guild.”

“Yay! I’m taking that as a yes! Thanks Mom!”

William made a pouting face. “Why don’t my experiences count?”

Callsi made a vague gesture at his scarred features, then angled her tail at Luala.

“Fair point. Goodbye, Jimek and family. I hope…we all hope…that things get better for you. Remember, you can get through a lot when the people who are close to you prop you up.”

I placed a paw on Callsi and Dustin’s shoulders. “I know. I love my family, so, so much.”

“That’s all I needed to hear. I’ll see you around the office, kiddo. You’re all part of our family now.”

I liked the idea of having a larger extended family, similar to how Olek and Lisa had looked out for us. The Terran exterminator flashed his teeth, before Fyron and Rauln helped him back to his feet, while Luala held his crutches: a Farsul and a Venlil working together out of love, despite words of animosity. These officers had closed the book on Cylek tormenting me, at long last. Once the squad had receded into the van, a tired Callsi rose to her paws. Recalling how she’d squared off against armed officers to protect us, after racing down here in worry, I knew how much she loved both of her children.

No matter how deeply I was suffering, I should’ve trusted my mother to begin with. As long as we were safe and happy, Callsi would support us, regardless of how she felt or what it cost her. I wanted to give the same selflessness to my mom and Dustin. They were my herd, there through thick and thin. Whether the guild job worked out or not, my life would be happier after realizing how lucky I was. William was right to warn me about following his vengeful footsteps. From now on, the people I loved were going to be more important than the ones I hated.

There was nothing I couldn’t handle with my family on my side.

A/N - The end of Jimek's adventure! Callsi is amenable to letting not just Jimek, but Dustin work for the guild, after hearing the details of an artist and a zoologist job. Rauln isn't past wanting to wipe out the animal species that killed his mother, though he makes a concession for the greater good; Fyron gives it to him about how he treats her for being a Farsul, then pivots to asking William out...and the duo plan to go for a smoothie bowl picnic. What do you think of the children getting part-time roles at the guild? How do you feel about the exterminators' mental state, and do you think Fyron and Will can be good for each other?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting! There's a two-parter about an alien meeting a human with an eating disorder up next.