The Nature of Predators - Venlil Foster Brother (2/6) (Patreon)

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Memory transcription subject: Jimek, Venlil Art Student

Date [standardized human time]: February 2, 2137

The call with Callsi had been too close of a shave yesterday, and I wasn’t sure if she still had suspicions. When Dustin picked up, I had gone totally silent; how was I supposed to explain the two of us running off without any communication? The human, by contrast, had been cool and collected, as if lying about our whereabouts was just an average day. Maybe he’d been used to covering his ass to avoid getting in trouble with his other foster families back on Earth, though given how worried he was about angering us and being sent away, I was surprised he hadn’t been nervous at all.

“Where in the stars have you two run off to?” Callsi hissed. “How am I supposed to know you weren’t carted off by exterminators? I can’t look out for you without knowing what you’re up to.”

Dustin didn’t even flinch under pressure. “Oh hi, Mom! Aren’t you at work? You know about our art portfolios; we need to research our end of semester projects. We definitely told you—Jimek needs more practice with his leaves, and so do I. Trees are different here than on Earth, especially the ones that look like an inverted umbrella—cozan trees. The reason trees evolve is about competition for water and all sorts of nutrients, requiring deeper roots, and then those tissues supporting—”

“I don’t need a science lesson right now. Look, I got permission from Kaulin to take the afternoon off, and was going to surprise you. My plan was to come home, and learn to make a Terran dish together. One of the humans at the bar brought me a box of pasta and a set of instructions…I thought it would be something sweet to do. Ever since you started art school, we don’t spend much time together.”

“Hey, we’d love that, Mom! Jimek doesn’t know what he’s missing with human food, and you have no idea how bad I miss it. I’ll get him to wrap up his sketch, and we’ll come home. I’m sorry if we weren’t clear about our plans; I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I would really prefer if you and Jimek didn’t go off without supervision—not without running it by me.”

“Like I said, we did. I’m pretty sure. I want to be home in time for pasta, so I’m going to go and hurry back. Bye!”

My brother had flashed me a thumbs up when he disconnected from the holopad, and I’d exhaled a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. Despite how tiring it was to scamper all over Dayside City, I hurried to the public transit stop, ignoring my aching lungs and legs. The predator, by comparison, hadn’t even broken a sweat. I wasn’t sure if we’d made it home in time for Callsi to believe we didn’t go far, but she didn’t give me any more than a brief scolding. What had rattled me was when she commented on how neither of us had art supplies on us. Dustin covered by saying that we did our practicing with styluses on our holopads, before gushing over the pasta boxes to change the subject.

We had a nice afternoon cooking pasta together: very starchy and acidic! Callsi used a can of some Terran fruit sauce, boiling it like water. It was nice, but why did she have to pick today of all days to check on us? Now she’s going to be watching us closely.

However, my concerns couldn’t be on the stress of lying, since we were walking into the school now. William, Rauln, and their friends needed to show up today, like they promised, or else this was going to be another miserable start to the week. I always dreaded when I had to go back to this place; it wasn’t fair that the herd labeled me an outcast, because I was quiet and liked art. There was nothing wrong or predator-diseased about that! The bad people were the ones who’d hurt me because of my interests, but they never got any judgment from the other kids. I found myself sulking again, as I walked over to my locker. Every morning, I felt like I couldn’t do another day of this.

Cylek stomped up to me at my locker, earning a scowl from Dustin. “Your little blood-drinker can’t watch your back forever, Jimek. He can’t lay a hand on me now, either.”

“How’s your jaw?” my brother shot back. “You know, humans are very territorial. You step inside my bubble, and I’m entitled by Earth law to defend my turf.”

I knew that was a bald-faced lie, but I went along with it. “Yeah, Tarva is pretty understanding of UN customs. They’re only predators, Cylek. I feel like Dustin might lose control!”

The whistle sounded through the PA system, signaling that it was time to head to class, and the Venlil bully shot me a glare. I wriggled my way into the herd of students going to math, wishing I could disappear. Dustin gave me a hesitant look, wringing his hands; he didn’t want to leave me, with Cylek on the prowl, but he didn’t have the same first period class as I did. My human brother turned the opposite way down the hall, and most herbivore students parted around the predator—like they did whenever any Terran walked past or looked at them. I hurried deeper into the herd, sensing my tormentor shoving his way after me.

The math door was in sight, but nobody was impeding a riled-up Cylek. It was a fresh week, and he was gaining back the confidence to put me in my place, more brutally than ever. Not even a predator attack had deterred him; the guild was my last hope. William needed to throw this fucker into a predator disease facility to rot! I’d love to see the look on Vana’s face when she visited her baby in that place. Before I could dart into my class, a paw wrapped around my neck. My bully pressed a knife to my stomach, and flicked his ears toward the bathrooms. I swallowed, not seeing the exterminators, and allowed myself to be herded near a water fountain.

“I was looking up the human alphabet, figuring out how to write Dustin’s name. I practiced a lot this weekend,” Cylek hissed, as his friends sauntered up to me, holding me still against the wall. “Keep still, Jimek, and it’ll be cleaner. I know it’s been a while since your last carving, but I’m sure you haven’t forgotten how to bite your tongue.”

I pinned my ears back, trying to keep them out of reach; two Venlil kids held them up by force. “STOP! Why are you doing this?”

Cylek didn’t answer, and feinted toward my chest with the knife. Fear rocketed through my veins, as I worried about a fatal blow; the bully pulled up at the last second, slicing the straps off my backpack. My books tumbled out of the satchel, and I was grateful I had the sense not to bring my drawings here, to be ruined; that would’ve been a major setback on my portfolio. Vana’s son laughed with sadism, before moving the knife up to my ear. To think he’d gone to the trouble of learning the human lexicon, just to rub it in to Dustin. I closed my eyes, and waited for the searing pain of my soft ear tissue being carved up.

I’m going to fucking kill Cylek, tonight. I don’t know how, but I’m gonna kill him! Rauln and William did nothing, so I’m done waiting for someone else to do something!

The serrated edge of the knife never connected with my ear; my eyes blinked open, as I heard a grunt from Cylek. A newly-arrived Rauln was much stronger than he looked, taking the bully’s legs out from under him with a strong kick. The smoke-furred Venlil lashed his tail, rage smoldering in his eyes. The exterminator pursued Vana’s son to the floor, connecting punches that were surprisingly impactful. The other kids in the tormentor’s posse went after Rauln, but he turned around and headbutted the nearest one with unparalleled aggression.

The exterminator raised his paws, as seven children formed a semi-circle around him, and gave the most blood-curdling hiss I’d ever heard. He almost seemed to be daring one of them to make a move, propelled onward by his wrathfulness; this must be what Rauln meant by bloodlust, when he saw someone being hurt. Cylek was sprawled out on the ground, struggling to get to his feet. After having his hindlegs swept out from under him by a brutal kick, he took a moment to put weight on them. The bully looked outraged by the incursion on his torture.

“You must be new here,” Cylek snarled. “Let me teach you a lesson you’ll never forget. You look like you might be a final-year student, but you are beneath me.”

Rauln issued a maniacal laugh. “I’m an exterminator, you fool! I’ve been one since I was your age. I burned a human with a gun alive, took another one in a fist fight, and you think I’m afraid of you? Take a swing at me. Come on, tough guy! Scared of a fair fight?”

“If you were with the exterminators, you wouldn’t dare come near me. My mom is Vana—of Vana’s Flamethrowers. I’ll have you fired for this.”

“Mommy’s clout isn’t going to save you, after messing with a guild employee. Jimek works for the exterminators, and we don’t take attacks on our own lightly.”

“What? But he’s—”

There was a blur of motion, as a metal crutch came flying through the air. Even off-balance and saddled with a bad leg, William managed to club Cylek squarely on the back of the skull. The bully crumpled back to the ground, while the black-haired human hopped forward on one leg. Luala, who I recognized from my stop at their office, swooped in with a flamethrower, and sprayed fire at the ground. The children’s posse scattered at the sudden rush of heat, and a fully-geared exterminator bearing down on them. A Farsul, presumably Fyron, swooped in with an extinguisher to put out the pocket of flames. I collapsed against the wall, trying to stop myself from shaking.

“How’s it going, Chicken Parm?” William shouted at the Krakotl, as she pranced up to him. “I might have to send you back to the kitchen. You could use some more breading, fix up that bland flavor.”

“You too, Monkey Wings. It might hide the fact that you’re all fat, no meat.”

“I am not!”

“Are too, Human Tartare. And by the way, why don’t you call Fyron food names?”

Rauln hauled a dazed Cylek upright. “Because Will likes—”

“Because she doesn’t look like food!” William shouted over his roommate.

Luala scoffed. “And I do?”

“You basically look like a blue stuffed turkey. I’d call you Thanksgiving-themed names, but ‘Butterball’ is the only one I workshopped there. I planned to use it once I run out of chicken names.”

Fyron wrinkled her nose. “Back up. What was Rauln saying that Will likes?”

“Hating on loud, chirpy Krakotl, obviously. Rauln, get the kid and take him to the van—quietly. It’s time for a predator disease investigation.”

“Jimek needs to come with us, to give a witness statement,” Luala chimed in. “Don’t worry. We’ll write you a pass.”

I hesitated, as the Krakotl ushered me toward the parking lot; Rauln had already begun marching Cylek down the hallway, pushing him with unyielding paws. What if Callsi found out I wasn’t in any of my morning classes? She might buy that the first absence was because of a bullying incident, but if she got wind that I was absent all morning…she might assume I was hurt, and leave work out of worry! There’d be no way to hide the exterminators’ involvement, or to explain their sudden interest, especially if Luala wrote me a pass. However, if this got Cylek locked in a facility, it was worth whatever happened at home.

Mom can’t get in the way of my job at the guild; I’m gonna have to provide art pieces to them on schedule, or else they’ll revoke their protection.

I would get in touch with Luala, whenever I saw a window of opportunity, to find out what she wanted me to work on. I didn’t like the idea of drawing anti-predator imagery, but it was worth it for the seal of protection. The band of exterminators was doing what I’d wanted the teachers and administration to go through with for years! Cylek shouldn’t be immune from the obvious existence of his predator disease, just because his family was filthy rich and important. My safety should be important too; a dangerous herd member should be removed, no matter who they were.

Fyron placed a paw on my shoulder, as Will lagged well behind us on his crutches. “Are you okay, kid?”

“I’m fine. Thanks for helping me,” I mumbled.

“Of course. I know what it’s like to be hated, and treated like you deserve suffering. William does too, as a human…and Luala was blamed and even assaulted because of the extermination fleet. When it puts your safety in danger, someone needs to step in. I imagine you must be feeling so isolated, just like I am. Sorry, this isn’t about me.”

“No, it’s alright. You feel isolated, Fyron?”

“My own neighbors write terrible things on my door; I don’t feel safe at my own apartment. Rauln stopped attacking me, at least, mainly because Will wouldn’t take it…but he acts like I don’t exist. My family is trapped on their planet, sealed off along with my entire species. I have no idea what’s happening on Talsk, and no idea whether the next Venlil I pass will attack me. If Will hadn’t been nice to me yesterday, I might’ve…he was so kind. I really needed that.”

I perked my ears up, and lowered my voice. “William? He doesn’t seem very…”

“William’s not as rough as he’d like everyone to think. He’s a broken person who’s lost everything, just like I am. He copes by pushing people away and lashing out, which I hope you’re not doing, Jimek.”

“No, ma’am. Dustin, my brother, has been helping me with everything!”

“Good. My point is, when William has his guard down, he’s fun and exuberant. It’s just hard to get him to self-reflect or to open up about anything. Actually, do you know what Rauln was going to say that Will liked?”

“Um…” I fumbled for my words, hurrying to get further ahead of William. There was no way I could lie convincingly, so maybe I should tell the truth? If it was a joke, Fyron would brush it off. “I think Rauln was going to say…you.”

“I beg your pardon? Me?! Rauln wouldn’t imply—”

“Yes, I would.” The smoke-furred Venlil pointed a single ear backward, with the slightest acknowledgement that he was eavesdropping. “Human hearing is shit, don’t worry. Just keep your body language calm.”

“Will does not have feelings for me,” Fyron hissed.

“Sure, whatever. Will’s never going to admit it to himself or any of us, especially after you said you weren’t interested in him.”

Luala shot an outraged look at the Farsul. “What? Why would you do that to yourself? He asked you, and you turned him down?”

Fyron squinted, a flustered look in her eyes. “Will put me on the spot about my fanfic. It was embarrassing that you ever gave him that, Luala! I hated that he read it, and it would be worse if that was how I…confessed. And why is Rauln even getting involved?”

“I’m pushing the issue. Playing matchmaker,” the Venlil pyromaniac answered. “I don’t like the Farsul, any of you, but I want William to be happy. You’re the only thing controlling his volatility, so you might bring out a better side of him.”

“The fuck are you guys whispering about?” Exterminator Kane shouted, a pained growl in his voice.

I noticed Fyron and Luala looking at me, so I tried to think of something. “Uh, I was just thanking all of the exterminators for handling Cylek! I wanted to know how rough the screening will be…and yeah. That’s it.”

William Kane looked skeptical at my explanation, while Fyron drifted off into deep thought. I didn’t know if Rauln was right about his roommate’s sentiments toward the Farsul, but I got the impression that she had developed those feelings for the human. It was weird to get dragged into these grown-ups’ personal lives, especially when all but one of them were aliens. I wasn’t sure whether to root for an awkward confrontation between the duo or not. What I definitely didn’t want was to piss off any of the exterminators, and wind up with Cylek released free of charges.

Whatever I had to do or say to put an end to my days of being bullied, it was worth it. These exterminators had the ability to resolve my problems, so now, I just needed to see how their plan played out. Dustin was the one who suggested making William fulfill his bargain, and I trusted my brother. It was nice to see Cylek as the one terrified, left mute with horror, for a change. If anyone could scare that spoiled brat away, it was a predator with a flamethrower and untempered power.

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A/N - Part 2! Jimek gets cornered by Cylek and his friends as soon as Dustin ventures out of sight, but Rauln swoops in...along with a questionably-fiery Luala, a crutch-swinging Will, and poor Fyron with the extinguisher. Cylek is taken off for a predator disease interview, while Fyron has an admission pried from her by Luala. What do you think of the severely sadistic bullying from Cylek; what resolution do you hope for, and expect, from the exterminators? Will Jimek's absence from class be noticed by his mother, and will he find a way to extol his anger?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!