Humans Are Weird: Pets

nonbinarygaymergirl:

Knycuz waited beside the carrier, the commander having
ordered xem to carry a new team of researchers out to a collecting site. These
humans were much quieter, at least, and did not bother Knycuz. They spent
majority of the ride quietly watching the terrain, taking images at certain
points, scribbling things on their linked pads. The carrier stopped at the edge
of the research site as Knycuz had instructed, allowing the humans to climb
off.

        Xe leaned
against the carrier, their top four extremities crossed, surveying the humans
pulling out items of their bags to collect different samples. Some studied
growth without picking it, others inserted a testing device to analyze the
make-up without retrieving the growth itself. Knycuz had hardly noticed, as xe
did with humans, that two were missing.

        There was a
small hill on the edge of the collecting site, and xe had not noticed the
humans had climbed it until one of them came back making an awful, high-pitched
noise. So much for the belief these humans were better. The second human was
running behind the first, and Knycuz exhaled deeply.

        “Look!
Look! Look!” The first human ran towards the group, their arms
outstretched, while the second human finally caught up to the rest.

        These humans,
doing as they please despite rules. Knycuz walked to the group to find the
human holding a small, long hair species, its strands a powder blue. It had six
extremities, small but long enough to keep its body off the ground as it moved.
Its ears were very tall and pointed, while its four eyes were shiny and black.

        “It’s so
cute!”

        One of the
other humans turned to Knycuz, asking their first question of the trip.
“Is this a dangerous species?”

        “It’s a phalsydy.
They are a placid species, known for little activity. They generally lay under
the sun and consume small growths like that one.” Knycuz gestured toward
the green patch nearest to them. “They only attack when threatened and are
pack animals.”

        The human
holding the phalsydy stepped forward. “So not dangerous?”

        “As long
as you do not scare it, no. There is no poison, no projectiles. It does have a
thick exoskeleton under the hair and razor sharp teeth.”

        The humans all
looked it’s closed mouth. Then, “Can we take it with us?”

        “The
collecting grounds is for samples of the terrain only.”

        “But I
want to study it.”

        “We have
documents on the species. Come,” Knycuz began walking to the carrier.
“You seem to have enough samples.

        Some of the
humans climbed into the carrier, but two of them refused to move. Why did they
never follow simple orders?

        “Bring
it,” Knycuz said with eyes closed. “You can discuss with the
commander.”

        There was a
high pitched noise from one human, and the remaining two finally did as Knycuz
asked.

        Zork’ak was
sitting at the human research group returned. Xe were sitting with Steve,
Jessica, and Carrie, who did not join the group on its mission. The five
humans, three from the secondary lab and two from other research areas, entered
the room without Wren or Adam.

        “Wonder
where they are,” Carrie said quitely.

        Zork’ak
quickly learned when Wren came running to their table holding a small phalsydy.
“The commander said I could keep it! Xe told me to be careful so it did
not harm me, but I could keep it!”

        Xe were going
to ask why would one want to keep a phalsydy as it had no use to humans when
Jessica jumped up from the bench, stepping backwards. “What the hell is
that!”

        Wren smiled
widely. “This is Kohev. It is my new pet!”

        “You
picked up a random animal!” Jessica’s voice was increasing in pitch.
“It is wild!”

        “It is in
fact a calm species unless attached. Minimal energy, only moving to consume
meals.”

        “I hate
those things. Looks like a damn dog. You know I hate dogs!” Jessica was
standing several feet from the table.

        “But it’s
not a dog. It’s a phal, uh, phal-,” Wren turned xem. “Zork’ak, what’s
it called.”

        “It is a
phalsydy. This one is mature so it’s size will not change. Why would you like
to keep this animal in your quarters?”

        “I like
pets.”

        “What is
a ‘pet?’”

        Wren looked at
Zork’ak quite strangely. “Because they are cute and fluffy and fun to play
with and make you happy.”

        “Small
creatures with no benefits except for attractive appearance cause happiness for
your species?”

        Wren said
“Yes!” at the same time Jessica yelled, “No!”

        “Some of
us like pets,” Adam answered, standing closest to Zork’ak. “Some of
us find it nice to have a companion sort of. Humans can be tiring to be around
at all times, but a creature that does not speak and just spends time with you
is nice.”

        “Then why
is it that Jessica seems to fear the same animal Wren would like to keep?”

        “Probably
because it is capable of attacking Jess. See, some people focus on "what
could happen,” like how Jessica knows that most animals can hurt us. Other
people focus on “what they hope will happen,” like how Wren wants it
to spend time with her. Depending on the person, it sends different emotions
through the chemicals in our brains.“

        "So each
human can be afraid on different animals?” Adam nodded. “What causes
this fear for some of you?”

        “Uh, some
people have bad experiences. Like, Jessica might have been bitten by a dog, an
animal that looks similar to Wren’s new pet, and now she fears them. Or, she
could just believe that the animal is not tame, not matter how many times you
tell her it is, and she will fear it because of its capabilities.”

        “Your
brain is triggered by animals, and it interprets it differently?”

        “Precisely.”
Zork’ak and Adam were watching as Wren tried to walk towards Jessica, who was
making more and more high pitched sounds. “Ugh, let me deal with
this.” Adam then plucked the phalsydy out of Wren’s hands and ordered them
both to sit. Surprisingly, they both did, and Adam kept the small species
tucked close to his body. It was quite confusing to study humans as their
behavior was not consistent. At all.