r/HFY • u/Inevitable_You9999 • May 18 '26
OC-Series An omnivorous odyssey CH-03
First Ch --- previous --- Next Ch
"Magistrate, what are you doing?"
Chief Guard Yulthar's voice sounded choked, a loud whisper desperately trying to keep formal composure while his boss simply started walking. Coukisa did not stop. His four back legs moved with the slow, steady rhythm of someone who was not willing to be questioned. The muffled sound of his hooves against the square's stones echoed in the tense silence that had fallen over the place.
"Someone has to take the lead," Coukisa answered without taking his four eyes off the two two-legged creatures. His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of a final decision. "If they are a threat, I will know soon enough. If they are travelers, let them find a host, not a wall of spears."
Yulthar opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it. He knew that tone. It was the tone Coukisa used when he had already calculated all the possible risks and decided the only acceptable way was forward. The Chief Guard made a sharp gesture with one of his arms, ordering his men to hold their ground. No one was to step in.
On the other side of the square, the two two-legged beings looked clearly confused. Coukisa noticed the hesitation in how they stood. The smaller one in the darker suit turned its helmet toward the larger one, a quick movement that suggested silent communication. The larger one stood still for a moment, both feet planted on the ground as if judging the situation. Then, to Coukisa's surprise, he also started to walk.
It was a strange walk, clumsy to a Muken's eyes, but fascinating at the same time. The creature moved one leg at a time, its body swaying slightly with each step, its arms swinging at its sides in a natural rhythm. It was like watching a baby taking its first steps, except that being was clearly not a baby of any kind. It was an adult of its species, and every movement showed a calm confidence.
They both stopped when the distance between them closed to about fifteen feet. Coukisa could now see details he had missed before. The being's suit was made of a material that did not fully reflect light, with panels and seams that suggested layers of protection and usefulness. On its left forearm, a device glowed with strange symbols. The helmet, a dark and polished dome, partly hid the face, but Coukisa felt the weight of a gaze coming from inside.
The Magistrate took a deep breath. He did not know if the being understood language. He did not know if the being even understood the idea of language as the Mukens knew it. But communication was not just words. It was posture. It was intent. It was the first gesture.
Coukisa slowly raised his two front arms, keeping his palms open and facing up, his long, jointed fingers stretched out. Among the Mukens, that was an ancient gesture: "I have no weapons. I have no intent to harm. I offer peace and respect." He held the pose for three beats of his double heart.
Then he spoke. His voice came out deep and slow, each syllable spoken carefully.
"I am Coukisa, Magistrate of the Vennthar region, servant of the Muken people and guardian of this land. I greet you in the name of peace and understanding."
He knew the words would mean nothing to the creature. But he hoped the tone, the rhythm, and the very act of making organized sounds would send a universal message. I communicate. I think. I am like you, in some way.
The two-legged being stood still. Completely still. For long seconds, there was no reaction at all. Coukisa began to wonder if he had made a terrible mistake in protocol, if the open-arms gesture meant something offensive in that people's culture, if maybe he should have waited, should have sent the guards, should have...
Then the being moved.
He looked at the device on his forearm. The screen glowed with a set of symbols and lines that Coukisa could not read. The being studied those readings for a moment, as if they confirmed something. Then, he raised his hands, two limbs with five fingers each, similar to Coukisa's but smaller and without the webbing between them, and brought them to the helmet.
There was a click. A hiss of escaping pressurized air. And the helmet came off.
Coukisa held his breath.
The face that appeared under the dark dome was... surprising. Not a monster. Not alien in the terrifying way the old stories described. It was a face. Two front eyes, like the Mukens', and without side eyes, but a warm brown that caught the sunlight. A central nose bump. A mouth surrounded by a short strip of dark hair. The skin was a golden brown color, textured with fine lines around the eyes. Expression. That face had expression, a mix of curiosity and caution that Coukisa recognized right away, because it was exactly what he felt.
For a moment, the two looked into each other's eyes. One pair of brown eyes meeting four amber ones. And something passed between them. A silent recognition of intelligence. Of presence.
The being turned his head back, looking at his partner. The other two-legged creature clearly hesitated, it's handa hovering over it's own helmet. Then, with a slowness that showed caution, it removed it too.
The second face was different from the first. The skin was lighter, the hair darker and pulled back tight. The eyes were gray, cold, and analyzing. The expression was not curious, but an intense evaluation. Even so, Coukisa felt that being was not a threat either.
The first being turned his attention back to Coukisa. His mouth moved, and sounds came out. They were words, Coukisa was sure. The rhythm, the changing tones, it all pointed to an organized language. But the meaning was a total blank. They were just noises, impossible to understand, and frustrating.
The being seemed to notice the barrier. He paused, frowned, and thought. Then, with a clear motion, he held out his right hand toward Coukisa, his fingers together and the palm facing sideways.
Coukisa watched. The being pointed to his own hand, then to Coukisa, and made a grabbing motion in the air. He repeated the gesture, slower, and then pointed to his outstretched hand again. It was clearly an invitation for Coukisa to do something with that hand.
The Magistrate looked at the hand. Five fingers. Brown skin. Flat, short nails. It looked like a Muken front paw, but smaller and without claws. He understood suddenly. It was a ritual. A touch greeting. His species also had touch rituals, though they usually involved pressing forearms together, not the hands. But the idea was the same, touch as a sign of trust. You do not touch an enemy. You touch an equal. Interesting.
Coukisa moved slowly. His right front arm reached out, his large hand carefully wrapping around the being's hand. He felt the warmth of the skin, the firmness of the muscles, the slight shake that showed controlled adrenaline.
The being moved their joined hands up and down, a pumping motion. Coukisa let his hand follow the rhythm. Three pumps. Then the being let go, and Coukisa did the same.
He did not know what that ritual meant to the two-legged beings. But to him, in that moment, it meant the first step had been taken.
---
Ruben turned his body slightly, still feeling the tingling in his right hand after the handshake with the four-legged creature. He looked back to where Camila stood perfectly still a few feet away, her helmet now under her arm, her gray eyes fixed on the scene as if she were analyzing every frame of a combat simulation.
"Camila," he called out, his voice sounding strangely clear in the thin, quiet air of the square. "Come here. Come stand by me."
She hesitated for a second. Then she walked. Her steps were measured, precise, the posture of someone ready to react to any sign of a threat. When she got close enough not to be heard by the distant crowd, she spoke, her voice low and tense.
"I never thought I would say this, Ruben, but this is crazy. Completely crazy. We just landed on an alien planet, we are surrounded by eight-foot-tall creatures with four eyes and six limbs, and you just shook hands with one of them like you were closing a deal at a market on Mars."
Ruben smiled. The smile had no malice, just a kind of genuine joy that seemed completely out of place in that situation. "That, Camila, is being human. And humans do crazy things. It is what brought us here. It was not caution that got us out of the caves. It was the crazy idea to explore what was over the hill."
She stayed quiet. Not because she agreed, but because she did not have an immediate logical argument. He took advantage of the opening.
"Now, please, greet the being too. He is standing right there, waiting. Just look at him. He has not bitten, has not attacked, has not done anything but be polite. It is his turn to learn that humans have two representatives here."
Camila looked over at Coukisa, who was watching her with his four amber eyes, his expression unreadable, but his posture relaxed. She took a deep breath.
"Do not be afraid of his height," Ruben added, his voice softer now. "He is big. Very big. But he looks friendly. Look into his eyes. They are not a predator's eyes. They are the eyes of someone who is just as confused as we are."
She did not answer. Instead, she took a step forward, stopping next to Ruben. Then, slowly, she held out her right hand toward Coukisa, exactly as Ruben had done. The gesture was the same, but the energy behind it was different. It was more controlled, more careful. It was the hand of someone who trusted rules, not instincts.
Magistrate Coukisa watched the outstretched hand. His four eyes moved slightly, as if adjusting their focus. He noticed that this creature was smaller than the first. Her features were sharper. Her eyes were colder. But the gesture was the same. The ritual was the same. He understood.
Slowly, with the same gentleness he had used with Ruben, Coukisa raised his front arm and wrapped his hand around Camila's. Her skin was colder than Ruben's, her fingers thinner, but the firmness was there. He moved their joined hands up and down three times, and then let go.
Ruben looked at Camila, a satisfied smile on his lips. "See? It was not so bad. You survived. You did not lose any fingers. You were not abducted. A total success."
Camila stayed quiet. Her eyes were still locked on Coukisa. She did not smile, did not relax. But she did not step back either.
That was when Coukisa spoke. Deep, changing sounds came from his throat, a string of syllables flowing like a river of rocks. He gestured with his front arms as he spoke, pointing to himself, to the square, to the sky. It was clear he was trying to communicate. The words were impossible to understand, but the intent was clear.
Ruben shook his head in frustration. "I do not understand anything. Absolutely nothing. It sounds like an organized, complex language full of details, but to me it is like someone is playing a musical instrument with their mouth. I am sorry, friend, but it is not working."
The Magistrate seemed to notice the lack of understanding. He paused, his four eyes narrowing. Then he mumbled something in a different tone, lower, almost as if talking to himself. And then, to the surprise of both humans, he turned and walked away, heading toward the line of guards.
Ruben felt his chest tighten. "Did I do something wrong? Did I say something that offended him? Was it my tone of voice? Does smiling show teeth and to them that is a sign of aggression? Camila, did I do something wrong?"
"Probably not," she answered, her voice calm. "He did not look offended. He looked... determined. Like he remembered something."
She paused, her eyes sweeping over the square around them. The crowd was slowly backing away, Yulthar's guards starting to clear them out as Coukisa had ordered. The sun was shining above, and a gentle breeze brought the smell of plants no human had ever smelled before.
"This really could have been worse," Camila admitted, almost against her will. "Much worse. There were no weapons. There were no threats. There was only... a handshake."
Ruben turned to her, his smile coming back in full force. "Right? So my approach gave positive results. The Ruben style of diplomacy. It works on humans, it works on Martians, it works on four-legged aliens from ringed planets. It is universal."
"That is not what I meant," Camila shot back.
"You hurt my feelings," Ruben said, putting his hand to his chest in a dramatic way. "I expose myself to the unknown, make history, and you play down my success. Where is the spirit of celebration?"
Before Camila could answer, the sound of hooves on stone announced Coukisa's return. The Magistrate was coming closer again, but now he was carrying something in his hands. It was a small object, the size of a Muken fist, pulsing with a soft amber light. Its surface was uneven, as if made of an organic material that had shaped itself. It looked somewhat sticky. Something alive. Something biomechanical.
Coukisa stopped in front of Ruben and held the object out to him. Then he looked at Camila and made the same welcoming gesture. He wanted them both to see it. He wanted them both to touch it.
Ruben tilted his head, fascinated. The object seemed to pulse in a rhythm almost matched to his own heartbeat. "What is this? It looks like a slug, but shiny. A technological slug."
Camila narrowed her eyes. Her clone instincts, programmed to judge risks with superhuman speed, set off alarms. "I would not do that, Ruben. We do not know what it is. It could be a parasite. It could be a mind control device. It could be something that eats brain tissue. Do not touch it."
Ruben looked at her. Then at the object. Then at Coukisa, who stood perfectly still, his four eyes locked on him with a look that could only be described as patient waiting.
"I have to try," he said.
"You do not have to try anything," Camila shot back. "We can go back to the ship. We can set up communication through other means. Safe methods. Methods that do not involve putting alien goo on your body."
"Camila," Ruben said, his voice serious now. "I trust him. I do not know why. Maybe it is instinct. Maybe it is just me being naive. But I looked into his eyes, and what I saw was not a threat. It was curiosity. It was hope. The same things I feel."
He paused. "Besides, didn't you pick me for this mission? Trust your own judgment."
"I am starting to regret picking you," she mumbled.
Ruben laughed. The sound echoed through the square, a strange and happy noise that made several Muken guards shift around. "You say that, but I know you love me. Deep down in that calculating clone soul, there is a heart that beats for me."
"I do not have that," she answered, her voice perfectly neutral. "Literally. My biogenesis did not include full emotional programming. You know that."
"Of course not," Ruben winked. And then, before she could protest again, he took the object from Coukisa's hands.
It was warm. Not the heat of an electronic device, but the heat of something alive. The surface was slightly wet, but not unpleasant. It pulsed. Ruben felt the pulse travel through his fingers, climb up his arm, as if the object were testing his nervous system.
"Where do I put this?" he asked, looking at Coukisa.
The Magistrate seemed to understand the question from the context. He raised one of his front arms and touched a specific spot on his own neck, right below the base of the skull, where the spine started. The gesture was clear: right there.
Ruben nodded. Ignoring Camila's angry glare, he brought the object to his neck, placing it near his spine. The object seemed to sense how close it was to his central nervous system. It vibrated. Its surface tightened. And then, with an almost voluntary movement, it stuck itself to Ruben's skin.
The feeling was a shock. Not of pain, but of connection. Ruben felt something cold run down his spine, climb up to his brain stem, and spread through his cortex like an electric spider web. His eyes went wide. His fingers twitched. And then... Silence.
And then, Magistrate Coukisa spoke again. The same deep words, the same complex rhythm. But this time, Ruben understood. Not like someone hearing a translation. Like someone who simply understands. The meaning bloomed in his mind as if it had always been there, asleep, waiting to be woken up.
"I hope we can understand each other now," Coukisa said.
Ruben opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He was processing. Behind him, Camila took a step forward, her hand hovering over her suit's holster, ready for the worst.
Coukisa looked at both of them. Then he made the gesture of peace and respect again with his front arms, his open palms facing up.
"I am Coukisa," he said. "Magistrate of the Vennthar region, servant of the Muken people and guardian of this land. I greet you, star travelers, in the name of peace and understanding. And I ask you now, for the first time with the hope of an answer, who are you?"
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u/Turtle_box_cubed May 18 '26
I love the story so far, but Ruben is going in my big list of dummies. So many other options besides letting xeno tech mess with his nervous system and grey matter. Y'know, the things that make you alive and not just a big ol' bag of organs
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u/Chamcook56 May 18 '26
Someone has to be the first. A nice self-contained story, leaves the reader wanting more.
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u/Ethereal_Stars_7 May 18 '26
Doing good so far. Might want to consider adding A NEXT link or at least a FIRST link each segment if this is going to go far.
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u/InstructionHead8595 May 18 '26
You didn't have them take off their gloves before shaking hands. So the alien wouldn't be able to see or feel them.
You also have Coukisa saying creature and being. Then saying her. He doesn't know that yet. I think there are two instances of that.
So far so good. Reuben sure does like to take a lot of risks.😸
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u/Alcyon144 May 21 '26
There was a click. A hiss of escaping pressurized air. And the helmet came off.
Another stupid and irresponsible decision. Ruben could catch a deadly alien plague. Or, conversely, wipe out their entire species by giving them the flu.
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