Predatory Mind - [9]
A/N: Credit and thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the Nature of Predators universe, in which this fic takes place in. And a big thank you to him as well for subsequently allowing fanfictions of said original story.
Welcome back everyone. I think it's safe to say that it has been awhile. To be honest, between school and a fair bit of writer's block work on this part has been way slower than I ever intended it to be. Don't worry, this fic is far from dead and I have a lot I still want to write, but the pace I've been chipping away at it has just been slower than I wanted.
Also If you see any grammar mistakes or lore errors feel free to let me know, feedback is appreciated!
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Memory transcription subject(s): Wylyn, Seth Baker; Venlil Citizen and Man Who has Never Experienced Venlil Alcohol Before
Date (standardized human time): May 31st 2136
I had been walking through downtown for quite some time, to the point my paws were starting to ache. The cold breeze that had started a few minutes ago made me shiver slightly, still I was happy to be in control of myself again. In my mind I was busy trying to process what had happened within the last few claws while at work.
In that time alone I had let the predator within me loose. Willingly. Twice. I still didn’t know what had gotten into me to do that. I should’ve stopped him as soon as he was done with the computer. Speh, I should’ve not let him take control in the first place! But I was so stressed at the time that my critical thinking had gone out the window.
Thankfully Seth had done nothing overtly aggressive, although his predatory tendencies were clear from how he interacted with Tayval… And that exterminator as well.
I shuddered remembering that interaction, when he first outstretched his arm a small part of me was convinced that he was moving to tear Kassym’s throat out. But I knew better than that, Seth had proved very good at suppressing the overtly violent side of his predator instincts.
Looking back, I wondered if the theft of Tayval’s strayu was some sort of method to suppress any predatory thoughts caused by hunger. At the thought, I made a mental note to try and make sure I was well fed whenever he inevitably took control again.
“So, where did you say we were going again?” The human Seth asked, breaking my slowly spiraling thought process.
Hearing his voice again after a break of silence, I lifted my head up in surprise. However, I made no other reaction as my fear response to his voice alone was completely dulled by this point.
Looking around, I saw that the street I was on was almost completely deserted, which made sense considering the time and the fact I had long since exited the busiest part of downtown.
“W-well you asked if there w-were any places I usually went after work, a-and I used to go to this bar sometimes.” I replied out loud. “It w-was the only place I could really think of…”
The bar in question was one located near my childhood home, on the outskirts of downtown. I used to go semi-frequently with a few of my old classmates. After we eventually went our separate ways, I still frequented it out of familiarity. Although in the last few years my patronage had become less frequent as my job grew more tiring.
But today was different. With how fast work went by I was actually feeling up to going somewhere for once.
You only got that break because you let the predator loose. The more negative side of my mind chimed in. With some hesitation I brushed that negative thought away. I reasoned that I would be more vigilant from now on with when and where I would let him take control. And besides, nothing bad has happened so far.
“Well if there’s one thing Venlil and Humans share in common, it's enjoying getting drunk with friends after a shitty day of work.” Seth said, jokingly.
So humans also enjoyed alcohol. I added that to the seemingly ever expanding list of prey activities that these supposed predators did. It was a small comfort but it went a long way in helping to put my mind at ease.
“O-oh, did you ever go drinking? Before… W-well this happened.” I asked, suddenly curious to know more.
“Eh, occasionally.” The human replied. “I’m not really much of an alcohol guy, but it's always fun to hang out with friends after a few drinks.”
Distracted by my conversation with the human, I failed to notice someone was now coming towards me down the street. Realizing this, I quickly shut my mouth and put my head down, hoping they hadn’t noticed me loudly talking to myself.
As the person drew closer, I kept my steady pace while avoiding eye contact. However, as they were almost in front of me, I quickly looked up to take a glance at them to see if they were showing any judgement towards me. Doing so, my eyes widened upon recognizing who it was.
It was that predator diseased bus driver I had met a few days ago, Vinnack if I was remembering his name correctly. Quickly I turned my head back down, hoping he wouldn't notice who I am.
“Oh hey, it’s you again!” Vinnack said, giving a friendly greeting in tailsign at the same time.
For a moment I heavily considered just ignoring him and moving along, pretending that I didn’t notice him. The last thing I wanted to do right now was to interact with the predator diseased Venlil, however his verbal greeting put a stop to those plans.
“H-hi!” I bleated out sheepishly, hesitantly signing back in greeting as well. “V-Vinnack, correct?”
“Ah, so you do remember me!” Vinack replied in a now more outgoing tone. I watched as his lips curled up slightly, before he quickly suppressed the expression and began to move his ears and tail to a more happy expression instead.
“Mind if I ask what you’re up to this claw?” He continued.
“O-oh… I w-was just going to get some uh- d-drinks after work.” I stuttered out.
“Really, all by yourself?” Vinnack replied, tilting his head in slight judgement.
“W-well actually-” I started to reply before immediately stopping myself. Now I was about to explain my current situation with the human, even to someone who was predator diseased.
“Y-yeah…” I meekly responded instead.
“Well, I’m actually headed down to the pub owned by the old Farsul lad a few blocks down, if you’d want to join me.” Vinnack swiftly replied.
“I’ll t-think about it… T-thanks.” I said, eager to end the conversation.
With that Vinnack seemed satisfied with the conversation and began to walk away, giving a small farewell flick of the tail as he left. Finally done with the conversation, it took a second to shake myself off and begin walking towards my destination again. However, what Vinnack had said last now made me nervous.
“Well he seemed nice enough.’ Seth said, finally feeling the need to comment on my current situation again. “Y’know Wyl, if you actually want to meet people it might be good to take people up on offers like that.”
“N-no… Not with h-him at l-least.” I replied.
“Hm? Is there a reason why?” Seth asked in an intrigued tone.
“Yes! H-he’s predator d-diseased for goodness sake!” I replied, exasperated at the human’s ignorance. “E-even if he’s out of a facility, he could still be u-unstable!”
Realizing I had once again blurted out something way too loud, I turned around to see if Vinnack was still in earshot. Fortunately it seemed like he was long gone.
“I’d give him a chance, y'know sometimes the people who are a bit unscrewed are the most fun to be around.” Seth replied, unfazed by what I had just said.
“I… Still d-don’t know.” I replied honestly. Despite the human’s best attempt to reassure me, I still wasn’t confident about the idea.
“Hey, if anything does happen, I can step in and deal with it.” The human replied. “How does that sound?”
I thought about it for a few seconds.
“S-sure…” I replied.
Finally working up the nerve, I spun around and now began heading in the direction of the bar Vinnack had mentioned. Thankfully I knew the place he was talking about, although I myself had never gone. In my head I tried to reassure myself that everything would be fine. He had acted normal enough, I reasoned, maybe he had been misdiagnosed. But that half hidden snarl remained trapped in the back of my mind.
Trapped in another nervous loop, I became distracted from my walk until before I knew it I was in front of the place Vinnack had mentioned.
Unlike the squeaky clean and friendly atmosphere of the bar I had frequented, this place felt far more shadowy. It wasn’t a dodgy place by a long shot, but the change in atmosphere to something far more dim and unfamiliar set off my anxiety. If it was any consolation, there was at the very least a bus stop directly in front of the building.
Entering the establishment after some hesitation, I scanned my surroundings in search of the black-coated Venlil. Closest to the door was the bar itself. Not that different from any other bar, on the other side of the bartop stood the old Farsul owner slowly wiping down the surface with an old rag.
The owner paid no attention to me as I moved further into the building. Further back was a row of booths, positioned in a more secluded area of the already completely empty bar.
Looking at the booth furthest in the back, I finally spotted who I was looking for. There sat Vinnack with a discontent look on his face with his ears folded back. Seemingly noticing me too, his ears perked up as he excitedly motioned for me to come over.
“Good to see you again! I’m going to be honest... I didn't expect you to take me up on my offer.” Vinnack said. "Not that I didn't want you to be here, though!"
“W-well I d-do think It’s better than drinking uh- a-alone.” I replied, sitting down opposite of him.
After a few moments of awkward silence, a waitress came around to our booth. Another Farsul, she sported a cheery expression and was far younger than the elderly owner standing behind the bar.
“Is there anything I can get for the two of you?” She asked in a chipper voice, matching her expression.
Glancing at the menu, I scanned the selection of drinks. Looking through a few things I was uninterested in, my eye was finally caught by something I recognized.
“I-I’ll have the Exterminator’s Black Fireball… P-please!” I managed to tell the waitress.
As she wrote down what I had ordered on her holopad, Vinnack stared at me with an expression of amused disbelief.
“Heh, didn’t take you for the hard alcohol type.” He said, seemingly very amused by what I had ordered.
“And can I get anything for you, hun?” The Farsul waitress asked, now turning to Vinnack.
“Well I feel kind of embarrassed asking for this now, but can I just get a low alcohol fruit juice?” Vinnack replied.
“See? Everything will go fine.” The human chimed in.
“I guess…” I replied absent-mindedly before suddenly realizing what I had done.
“Hm?” Vinnack asked, noticing my odd behavior.
“Oh n-nothing… Uh- just t-thinking out l-loud.” I replied hastily. I realized now that I was in a far more social setting, it was going to be a lot harder to reply to Seth.
I guess Vinnack didn’t think much of it as he didn’t inquire any further into it. Soon enough the waitress came back carrying both of our drinks.
“Holy shit… Is that entire glass full of vodka?” Seth asked, awestruck at the beverage in front of me.
The human’s reaction was mildly confusing. I knew that the Venlil did have a slightly higher than average alcohol tolerance than most other sapients. However from the way Seth put it, he sounded like he must have a far lower alcohol limit than I had expected from a strong predator species.
Moving the glass towards me as the waitress walked away, I took a swig from the glass, emptying it about one fourth of of the way.
“Shit that IS all vodka… Fuuuck th- that’s… stro- str-... strgognnnkljl.” Seth reacted as his voice quickly became slurred.
I guess that all but confirmed my theory on the human’s alcohol tolerance levels. Although him being affected at all was a bit of a surprise, but I guess as he technically shared my mind it did make some sense.
“So…” Vinnack said, taking a small sip from his drink. “You from around here?”
“Y-yes, I’ve lived in this city my whole life.” I replied. “I l-like being able to k-keep in touch with my parents.”
Vinnack sighed and took another drink from his glass.
“That’s sweet, staying close to your family.” He replied in a more somber tone. “I’m… Not exactly on good terms with my folks.”
“You aren’t?” I asked. Truthfully, I wasn’t surprised he didn’t keep in contact with his family, considering his PD patient status.
“Yeah it’s… A long story.” He replied, once again taking a drink. “It’s just… I was-- at a point where I was lost and afraid, and instead of helping they just... threw me away without hesitation.”
I suddenly felt a pang of sympathy. Vinnack was probably diagnosed with predator disease at an early age. Remembering my parents trip to get me screened, I shuddered to imagine what might have happened if the tests came back positive.
"fhuuuck man.. haha... th- that sounds fjucknn ROUGH dude..." Seth loudly interjected into the conversation in a still slurred voice. I was silently grateful that this time around I didn't react, as a random panic would be a lot harder to explain away.
“Sorry for dumping all of that on ya. Didn’t mean to…” Vinnack added to his statement.
“N-no, It’s fine.” I replied, still thinking about what he had said. “So… Vinnack a-are you from here?”
“Please! Do just call me Vinny.” He replied. “And no not really. Im fr-... I’m from offworld.”
I noticed Vinnack was starting to struggle slightly with speaking. Was he seriously getting inebriated from just that? I guess it was possible for him to have ordered and drank something heavier before I arrived, I reasoned, but it just seemed odd.
“Oh! What p-planet are you from, then?” I asked. “I-if you don’t mind m-me asking.”
“You probably haven’t heard of it…” He replied. “It was a uh- colony world I think.”
“Well, what w-was it like?” I asked, curious to know more as my drink began to ever so slightly dull the conversation anxiety I previously had.
“Well, specifically I lived on an island. to be honest, it was pretty cold and dreary." Vinnack continued. "I was born there but my father moved there when he was young. Always used to talk about how it was hard adjusting to both the new climate and culture…”
“Different culture?” I asked, a bit confused. “W-was the island inhabited by a d-different federation species?”
“Ehhh, well… sort of.” Vinnack replied.
We ended up talking for quite some time. After ordering another drink I was beginning to feel a bit buzzed, combined with being distracted by the conversation I was having my background stress levels began to decrease.
As the claw continued, I started to realize something. I was genuinely enjoying myself. I had assumed at best that interacting with Vinnack would be uncomfortable at best, but he honestly wasn’t that bad. Although maybe I had just become desensitized to predatory behavior after dealing with the human for so long. I couldn’t exactly compare the two at the moment, as Seth was practically nonverbal after the second drink, but something about how the two both talked seemed oddly… similar.
“S-so, how’s work been for you?” I asked, once again changing the subject of our now long conversation.
“Oh well…” Vinnack began, ears flattening a little against his head. “I actually got fired today.”
“W-well sorry to bring it up.” I replied, feeling a little bit guilty about bringing up something that was clearly a sore subject for him.
“Yeah… I’m still a little bit miffed about the whole thing.” Vinnack said with some audible frustration in his voice. “I’ve been looking for new work, but so far the only place I’ve found that pays a living wage and is desperate enough to hire a former PD patient is some dodgy downtown office run by someone named Tayval.”
My ears flicked slightly upon hearing that name mentioned.
“Thats… W-were I work, actually.” I replied, surprised.
“Oh? Small world I guess.” Vinnack responded. “Is work there any good?”
“I-it’s… Work.” I answered. “I’m n-not surprised they’re hiring. I feel like sometimes I'm t-the only permanent employee.”
“Heh. Well if you can, put in a good word for me.”
With the mention of work, I instinctively pulled out my holopad to check my mail. However, glancing at the time I audibly yelped.
“S-sorry, but I h-have to get going!” I bleated. It was already super late, and the last bus of the paw would be showing up soon.
“Well, good talking to you then!” Vinnack said, giving a farewell swish of his tail. “And, eh. Don’t worry about the bill. It’s on me.”
I got up hastily, throwing my holopad back into my bag. As I moved back to the door, I looked around one last time just to reassure my mind I hadn’t missed anything. Glancing at Vinnack, however, my heart stopped.
Although he was barely visible from where I was standing, I saw that plastered onto his face was the largest snarl yet as he was seemingly staring off into space. Upon noticing me staring, he quickly wiped the expression off his face, looking shocked as if I had seen something I wasn’t supposed to.
With that I quickly spun around and went through, not wanting to deal with what was quickly tuning into an awkward end to the night.
…
{Memory Timeskip: 2 Hours (standardized human time)}
…
As I lay awake in bed, I still didn’t know what to make of Vinnack. He had seemed by all accounts to be an alright person, but some things were hard to overlook. That final snarl was burned into my mind whenever I tried to think about him, as if the quick flashes of teeth weren't enough. Between Seth and now him, it just felt like my fate was to only interact with predatory minds, whether I wanted to or not.
And yet… It was the most positive company I had had for a long time.
I just didn’t know what I was going to do. I could stay with both Seth and Vinnack, but then what would become of me. My current actions were already raising suspicions. Heck, with that former exterminator at the office I felt closer than ever to being thrown into a PD facility.
Mulling things over in my mind, I eventually began to drift off to sleep. But I knew with Vinnack potentially going to the same workplace as me, I’d have to figure it out sooner rather than later.
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