The Tedium of Cruelty

The Tedium of Cruelty (One-Shot)

Hunter Isha surveyed the devastated city before her and stepped off of her transport. She sniffed the air deeply, noting the familiar scents of warfare and the as-yet unfamiliar scents of humanity. She had pounced on many weakened and bombed planets in her years as a hunter, but never before had she been ordered to offer aid.

The rubble in the human city was immense - clearly the pack-hunting humans had built their dwellings closely together, like prey did. A predilection for solitude wasn't what made Arxur true sapients, though. The briefings had stated the humans were social, but still claimed full mastery of their instincts. They had a history of animal domestication, of which they were apparently proud and possessive.

"Any one of you hunts any local fauna, and I'll gut you myself," she reminded her subordinates. Until they could reliably differentiate between a human's prized domesticated creature and a wild prey animal, they would have to rely on their regular rations.

She stalked over to the group of humans they were supposed to meet, dropping onto a hunting crouch in a display of confidence to hide her nerves. She'd never met an alien before - other than the Federation animals, of course. Isha had been looking forward to meeting the new true sapients. She had found her thrill in hunting diminished each time the prey failed to offer any new diversions. Today, she was getting to experience something new. An interaction she couldn't predict, that she did not know how to dominate. Her heart thrummed like it had years ago, before her first hunt.

The humans were wearing amour decorated in dappled greens and browns that hid their features entirely. The human standing in front met her gaze stormily.

"Well?" they growled. Perhaps being pack hunters didn't actually make them any more talkative than her own people, Isha thought with some relief.

"I am Hunter Isha, in charge of this landing party to lend assistance to your recovery efforts," Isha declared.

The human glared and stuck their hand out as if expecting something. "Officer Hunt. We're grateful for your assistance."

The human must be from a venerable bloodline if they were allowed to bear the name "Hunt," although this one was shorter than some of the others within Isha's view. The humans were all smaller than even the runtiest Arxur, of course, and they had still proven themselves worthy adversaries in battle at the Gojid homeworld, so perhaps for humans size didn't matter.

Officer Hunt's hand remained open and extended. Finally, they said, "take the hand, croc."

Casual touch with a strange alien? Yuck. She steeled herself, and grasped the human hand, careful not to let her claws pierce their delicate hide. They gripped her hand with surprising strength and pumped their intertwined fingers up and down twice, and then released her.

"While you're here, I want to be very clear. You will not desecrate our dead. You will not eat or terrorize our allies. If I even think you're considering something I won't like, I will not hesitate to put a bullet in your skull."

Ah, a dominance display. Much more comfortable than gripping a stranger's palm. "We already ate, human. And we don't desecrate sapients, whatever the Federation animals may think."

"You'll be respecting those 'Federation animals' while you're on our planet," the human hissed.

"We're here to help, not hunt," Isha growled back. "And as I said, we already ate." She bared her teeth in delight from the novelty of this threat exchange with the alien hunter.

A shout went up from a short distance away. "Artemis caught a scent!!"

Officer Hunt turned, and beckoned for the Arxur party to follow. The human fixed their gaze on a smaller creature which was attempting to dig through the crushed concrete. The animal was quadrupedal, entirely furred, and wagging its tail enthusiastically as it dug.