#aliens and humans

LIVE

writing-prompt-s:
It is true, most species in the galaxy found us to be uncivilized. But they lived for millennia under the thumb of an empire that basically bred them for domestication. They fear us like wolves, we pity them like pugs.
“But…” the squishy little thing fidgeted its jelly-like tentacles in the soil. “We can’t possibly try this! We’re too high up! If it fails we will die!”
The human continued to tie the rope around their waist. Their hands fumbled on the cord and they made a noise like a growl, pulling their gloves off with their teeth.
The squishy thing winced at the throaty noise. “Th-that rope isn’t even tied off! You just threw the spear into the tree! We don’t know if it’ll hold!”
The human finished tying the knot, ignoring their crewmate entirely.
The squishy thing was trembling to its very core. The air here stung. The ground was sharp. Everything was trying to kill them. It had only this human to protect it, one of the barbaric creatures who laughed barking laughs and enjoyed scaring the other crewmembers in the hallways.
Everything on this planet was trying to kill them.
But that was if the human didn’t kill it first.
The Maimoudes shrieked in the distance, their pounding footsteps drawing ever closer. The squishy thing trembled and drew instinctively closer to the human, then felt something tighten around its waist.
Distracted, it hadn’t even noticed the human cinching a cord around its middle.
“N-NO!” it protested. Maybe the human only understood simple words. “N-N-NO! I will NOT try this! We’ll find another way!”
With a slight cinch of their form, it slipped out of the cord.
The human cried out in frustration.
The Maimoudes bayed in response.
The unwitting companions lifted their heads at the noise.
The squishy thing trembled, then felt the odd human appendage on its shoulder. Hand.
The human spun them around, gripping it by the arms.
“Alright, look here, you mochi-lookin’ fuck,” they growled, teeth flashing. Their breath was hot, and strand of their hair was slicked dark and curling to their forehead with the strange saline secretion the humans released. “I know you don’t like me. I know you don’t trust me. But right now we got two options. We try this, and maybe die. Or we stay here and definitely die. What’s it gonna be.”
The Maimoudes’s limbs pounded closer.
The squishy thing hesitated. Opened its mouth to respond.
“TOO SLOW,” snapped the human, and hoisted their crewmember over their shoulder.
“W-WAIT!” cried the squishy thing. “YOU NEED TO TIE ME OFF AGAIN! TIE ME OFF!”
The human didn’t listen. They tugged the carabiner once, twice, then leapt off the cliff.
And then they were sailing over the gorge, the sharp snarl of carabiner on rope humming above them, the stinging air lashing at them.
And in what felt simultaneously like an instant and an eternity, it felt the human’s feet hit the other side of the gorge.
It opened its eyes. It was…alive? They were alive?
And…AND THE MAIMOUDES WERE COMING OVER THE ROPE.
The squishy thing cried out, but the human was already turning, and with a single, precise fire of its blaster the rope was severed and swinging into the gorge.
The Maimoudes scrambled back up to the other side and paced the edge, shrieking rage.
The squishy thing trembled and tightened its limbs around its human companion, only to hear something far too close to its ears shriek in response.
It looked up and saw the human, screaming triumph at the Maimoudes. But their eyes were bright, and they were smiling, and when they opened their mouth again, they were speaking words.
“YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT! I CAN DO THAT TOO!”
They screamed again to prove it.
“TAKE THAT, YA FUCKEN MURDER MONKEYS!”
And then they were laughing, laughing, and they howled a victorious whoop into the sky.
The squishy thing should have been frightened.
But listening to the human celebrate, feeling the noises vibrate from their chest into its own…and the brightness of their eyes, and the flush of blood under their skin…
Had they always been this beautiful?
The human stopped laughing and started to heave deep breaths. They were trembling. Why were they trembling?
“Feel my heart,” the human breathed.
The squishy thing could. The human’s heart was pounding.
“Oh, I was so scared,” the human gasped, and the squishy thing realized that the human was holding just as tightly onto it as it held onto them.
“I…was not aware that your species could experience this emotion,” the squishy thing said, tilting its head.
“What?” the human giggled, glancing down at it. It was so close. “Of course we can!”
The squishy thing averted its gaze. “You…did not seem frightened earlier.”
“Well, that’s adrenalin for you,” said the human. They reached over and struggled to wrench the spear from the tree. “Oh, my hands are sweating.” They wiped the offending appendage off on their clothing and tried again. This time the spear wriggled free.
The human started forward, then fell to their knees, dropping the spear beside them.
The squishy thing cried out, lifting its appendages to the human’s face in concern.
“I’m fine,” the human gasped. “I’m fine…just a bit of shock, it’s catching up to me…sorry…”
The squishy thing shook its head. “There is no need to apologize!” it protested. “How were you able to perform so well under pressure, yet are incapacitated when there is no danger to be found?”
The human laughed. “Uh…good question. Survival mechanism, I guess?” They looked at the squishy thing again. “Helps when you have someone you need to protect.”
Protect?
Humans were predatory, savage, violent. The squishy thing had always thought that the humans saw it as prey.
They…this human…wanted to protectit?
“About that, are you good, jelly belly?” the human asked, bringing their fingers up to brush its face.
Jelly belly?
In terms of linguistics, it was much like the other words that the humans used for it and its kind, the sharp ones that made it annoyed or afraid. And it should have found the phrase demeaning, but…something about the tone this time, and the brush of its fingers on its face, and the soft, concerned expression, made its vascular system hiccup.
“I’m…fine,” it stammered. “Th-thanks to you,” it added after a second.
“Glad to hear it,” said the human, and smiled.
So many teeth…it should have made the squishy thing afraid.
And yet, at this moment, it felt like it had never been safer.
Its vascular system jerked again as the human took it by the waist and set it on their shoulder.
“O-oh!”
“Is this okay?” asked the human. “We’ll save time like this. And I could tell the ground was hurting your feet. Tentacles. Whatever.”
“Uh…d-d, uh…”
The human waited.
“This is fine,” stuttered the squishy thing. “I hope I’m not too heavy?”
The human laughed beneath it, the noise booming and vibrating through its chest cavity and through to the squishy thing’s core.
“You’re light as a feather, gummy bear.” The human picked up their spear and hit the dull end into the ground, using it to pull itself up. “Come on. I think I’m good. Lets find the others and get off this planet. The fresh air is nice, not gonna lie, but I could do without the constant threat of death.”
The human had already taken several steps by the time the squishy thing replied,
“Okay.”