Challenge #01759-D298: Hazardous Associations
An unknowing (group of) alien(s) tries to take a human as a pet, thinking ‘It’s small and cool-looking.’ Problem is, Humans are to them as velociraptors are to humans. -- TheDragonsFlame
It was quadrupedal and had no bowel control. It had to be an animal. That was the reasoning that lead to Heatstone becoming a pet in the first place. Cho'nish frequently bragged to her friends that Heatstone was a rescue pet. They had hir in simply terrible conditions. And the training was going so well. It was so cute. Heatstone thought ze was people.
Ze was such a cuddler. Which was great when the nest heater failed. Heck, they saved so much on the power bill. Just snuggle up to Heatstone on the awful, chilly, stormy days. But it was weird, Cho'nish said. Heatstone was starting to imitate her. Walking on two legs. Doing hir business in the bio-pit. Ze was even... babbling.
Heatstone was such a curious pet, too. Into everything. Cho'nish had to make locks for the storage arenas where the hazardous things were. And she had to put guards on all the power outlets. But all the other maintenance tasks were so... enjoyable. And Heatstone keeps... growing.
Five years later, Heatstone was the size of Cho'nish and showed no signs of stopping. And ze could talk. It was clear that Heatstone was not a pet and Cho'nish acted accordingly. Giving the strange creature a space of hir own and proper clothing and an education. And apologising for Heatstone's early years in which ze didn't get what ze should have.
They still went for walks. Heatstone liked to hold one of Cho'nish's manipulating limbs as they walked together. And for a while, all was well.
Then came the attempted robbery. They had seen something uplifting and educational together. Heatstone had had to sit on the floor because T'tika furniture was too frail to hold hir weight. And they were walking together towards the very large domicile they shared when a male with a knife jumped out at them. Demanded money. Threatened violence.
Heatstone hit the man. It was not a professional blow, but it did involve all the strength ze had, and sent the man sprawling. He landed so hard that he had fatal injuries. And for the first time in hir life, Heatstone's skin was cut. Cho'nish did her best, telling Heatstone that ze had been very brave, and attempting to staunch the thick, red ichor that spilled out of hir hand. Tried to soothe away the howling tears that hadn't happened since hir youth.
That was how the reputation for being a hazard began.
In three more years, Heatstone towered over Cho'nish, and everyone around her urged her to get rid of her peculiar companion. Even moving out into the country, where Heatstone would only be a bother to no-one, caused some ruckus and upset.
It was a way that this huge mammal easily uprooted old trees and cleared boulders that did it.
Heatstone finished up being twice as tall as Cho'nish and nearly five times as heavy. Thick bones and big muscles weighed a lot. And Cho'nish insisted that her companion was as gentle as a sand-burrower. But people didn't want to believe it. They insisted that Heatstone was violent and aggressive. They kept coming up with rules to keep Heatstone harmless.
And then the Vorax scout landed. A class five Deathworlder. Larger than Heatstone and loaded with weapons of mass destruction. There was panic, of course. News like the Vorax gets around. The sleepy little town where Cho'nish lived became a hive of panic and bad decisions.
Heatstone knew ze wasn't allowed inside town, but ze still picked up a large enough rock and walked carefully through the wide main street. Used the buildings as cover. And, when ze had crept up on the laughing Vorax, nailed it on the head with the stone.
The invader was concussed, and turned to look at what had hit them. They reeled back in shock and stammered in broken GalStand, "Not knowing world protected. Going now. Going now!" And they ran back to their ship and fled like the demons of any given hell were after them.
Humans made bad pets, that was true. But they were an excellent good-luck-companion.
Heatstone got considerably less trouble from the people after that day.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / grandfailure]
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Kind'a scared I might be editing this post if I go ahead and write a new tale.