The Non-Human Society

“There are no other villages nearby Vim,” Lilly said as she landed next to me.

“Hm. Yet they’re confident there is,” I said with a frown as I studied the lake in front of us.

It was deep. Very deep. Too deep. Although not a small lake at all, it was honestly too deep for its size.

Something was odd about it. There were dozens of channels and rivers flowing in and out of it, which were all likewise connected to other lakes of varying sizes all around us. Yet this lake was the largest. The hub. On this side, where the Duck’s village was located, it was mostly grassland… but on the opposing side it was dense forest, which led to a chain of mountains. Ones large enough that their tips were white with snow, even though it was nice and warm down here beneath them.

“There’s not even any human settlements, Vim. I admit I didn’t fly too far around us, but I should have seen one or two even if just off in the distance,” Lilly said as her wings folded a little more, telling me they were cold.

She had been flying in the sky for most the morning, per my request.

“That is odd,” I said.

“I bet they’re right though. There’s another village or something, and they don’t just harass these people. There’d be no reason for humans not to be settled on this lake. It’s bountiful. Some of the fish are huge. I saw shadows of fish bigger than me while flying around. There are also massive herds of elk and stuff off that way,” Lilly pointed to our west, and I followed her point but didn’t see the herds she spoke of.

“Very likely. If they’ll kill or eat these ducks, I have no doubt they’d do the same to humans,” I said.

Unlike our members though, the humans were smarter than to stick around a place where their people kept getting picked off one by one by what were essentially to them, monsters.

Lilly huffed as she stepped up a little closer, to look down into the dark water. “It’s also weirdly dark, Vim. I’ve seen lakes be cloudy before, but this is weird,” she said.

Yes. It was. “It’s clear water. Something else is making it dark,” I said. The proof was the way you could see several feet down. I could see the rocks and bottom foliage of the lake quite clearly. It was a little neat to see such a clear lake, actually… yet…

Past that few feet, came darkness. Unnatural darkness.

The type of darkness one found at the bottom of an ocean, not a lake.

“You don’t think they’re actually in the water do you?” Lilly asked.

I nodded. “They might not be humanoid at all,” I said.

“Great. I’ll not be much help then, Vim. I hate swimming,” Lilly grumbled.

Smiling at her, I nodded. Yes. I figured. It wasn’t her fault though; her wings were large things… heavy things, when soaked.

Still…

Watching a large river fish swim past, I noted the way it leisurely swam. Even though it should be fully aware of us, being noisy, it came dangerously close to the shore.

The fish here weren’t used to fishermen. Unaware. And…

Glancing upward, I once again noted the lack of birds.

“What is it Vim?” Lilly asked.

“Did you see any birds, Lilly?” I asked her.

“Hm…? You mean while I flew…? Uh…” she pondered it for a moment, and her large wings shuffled as she uneasily shifted. “Weird. No. I think I saw a couple, but you’re right. Not anywhere near enough for a place like this,” she noted.

I nodded. Yes. Far too few for such a rich lake, or plentiful rivers.

“Yet there are herds of larger animals,” Lilly argued.

“Herd animals dare dangerous waters all the time. Their numbers convince them it’s okay,” I said.

“Ah. I see… you think the water’s bad or something, or do you think it’s just these fish we’re not seeing?” Lilly asked.

“Not sure yet…” I said as I sighed and wondered if I should just take a swim or not.

The ducks wanted me to find them a new home. A new location… but Celine wanted me to first try and resolve their issue. That meant before I just did what the smart move was, I had to try and be stupid.

“These people are simple, Vim. Fishermen. Farmers. They’re long lived, like us, but are just… living. They remind me of my family,” Lilly said gently.

“Hm. They are. But they’re members all the same,” I said as I turned and gestured for her to follow me.

She did, and I was glad she chose to walk on my side that wasn’t next to the lake. Something about it bothered me.

Lilly was fast, but even she would struggle to take to the sky before a swift attack from the waters hit her.

“I didn’t mean that Vim… I just mean I bet it’d be easy to re-locate them. Although a pain, and would take us time, it’s doable,” Lilly said.

“It is. They didn’t seem very against the idea at all. Surprising really, usually non-humans hate it even when I suggest it,” I said.

“Ducks do migrate don’t they? Maybe it’s just natural to them,” Lilly wondered.

I smiled and nodded. Maybe.

As we walked along the lake, heading for the large river that would lead us back to the duck’s village… I wondered how far I’d need to go before I could just re-locate these people. Celine was very annoying on a good day; I didn’t want to have to deal with her on a bad one. And if I didn’t at least try to save their current home, Celine would never let me hear the end of it.

“Think it’s just one fish?” Lilly wondered as a large fish jumped out of the lake, biting at bugs.

“It might be. They seem to think it’s multiple, but that might just be paranoia,” I said.

“What are we to do then Vim? Rather… what would I do if I was here without you? I’m not sure how I’d handle this alone. Short of risking myself by going into the lake. But if they’re a true predator of some kind, not human at all, that would just get me killed I think,” Lilly said.

I nodded. “It would. Though you’re not without your tools, Lilly. Birds hunt fish all the time,” I said.

“I mean… yeah…? But…” Lilly gestured with her hands, unsure of how to phrase it.

Her meaning was obvious. What could Lilly do if there really was a bunch of very powerful, and dangerous, fish in the lake? How would she handle it, if alone?

“Well, personally I hope you’d just summon me. If a day comes you need to handle this without me though, remember that large bodies of water are dangerous but only if you treat them as something you can’t manipulate,” I said.

“Manipulate…?”

I nodded. “You could dam the rivers. Set up watchtowers at the major points,” I pointed at the section of the lake that we were approaching, where the river was pouring into it. “A few well placed dams, and some sharp spears or harpoons, and even a large and dangerous fish can’t do much. Not without great pain and effort. Then just make it a war of attrition,” I explained.

“Oh. Basically just fish them out,” she said, understanding.

“Yeah. I could teach you how to poison a lake pretty easily too… but…” I sighed as I glanced around.

This place was beautiful. It’d be a shame to ruin it.

“Poison?” she asked, interested.

I shook my head. “We’ll consider that as a last resort. If we did that the ducks would have to leave and find a new home anyway. No point to that,” I said.

“There is, Vim. If we can’t have it then neither should they be able to live here either,” Lilly argued.

Frowning, I wondered if I agreed with that sentiment or not.

Celine wouldn’t have. Nor would most of the Society. Which meant, in essence…

I wasn’t supposed to either.

I sighed. “Have I ever told you I should have been more strict in my negotiations?” I asked her. Honestly I had stood my ground on quite a few points, and made it clear certain obligations weren’t my responsibility… but I had definitely agreed to many things I shouldn’t have.

What had I even done with that contract? I bet Celine had it, but…

“Well duh. That’s your fault. Maybe you were distracted by her boobs?” Lilly teased me.

Glancing at the bird that started to giggle at me, I shook my head at her.

She wasn’t wrong, but it still hurt to hear it.

Reaching the river, we started walking along it instead of the lake. The village was a large distance away, but it’d be coming into view soon enough. Or rather, the smoke from their chimneys would be.

“By the way Vim… why do they have such huge tail feathers, but no wings or anything?” Lilly then asked.

“Not sure. It is an odd trait to keep, isn’t it?” I agreed.

She nodded. “It is. But it makes me wonder why I don’t have tail feathers. I bet it’d make flying a little easier,” she said as she reached under, to mess with her wings.

While she shuffled her feathers around, I wondered how right she was. Tail feathers were actually very important for flight. It was an interesting thought. Why would Lilly and her people keep wings, but nothing else? She had human feet and hands too. No talons, no claws…

Though she did have feathers on other parts of her body. Not all over it, but scattered here and there. They laid flush with her body though, making it easy for her to wear clothes.

“What do you think of them, Lilly?” I asked her, since she was willing to talk about them.

“Huh…? They’re… fine I guess. Serra’s a little clingy, but it’s fine…” Lilly said.

Oh…? She was bothered by her, but okay with it. Interesting.

I wonder where Lilly drew the line between friend and foe. She had come to dislike, and even hate, many of those in the Society at the Cathedral. For one reason or another. But most of them were the very human types. Those like Celine. More human than not, and not just physically.

“Owls are known for hunting ducks, you know,” I teased her.

“Hm… I could see it. They’re kind of feeble. Serra struggled with lifting one of their barrels of fish. I got annoyed watching her struggle so I helped her,” Lilly said, not realizing she just admitted that she had likely come to like Serra.

“You’re an odd one Lilly. You hate the weak, yet want to protect them,” I said as we rounded a small collection of larger boulders.

Lilly shrugged at me, yet said nothing.

But… right…

Fish.

It all centered around fish. Fish were the main diet of these people. Not a surprise, when surrounded by such bountiful rivers and lakes, but…

That meant if I did end up having to re-locate these people… I would need to find a similar habitat. They had farms, but they weren’t their mainstay. They relied far more on fish than anything else. That meant even if I taught them and prepared them for a life of relying on the land…

It’d be difficult for many of them to adjust. Although simple people, they were still non-humans. Creatures of habit.

Finding another location along a major river, or lake, would be difficult. Humans normally settled in such locations. And these people would not be able to blend with humans, at all. Not just because of their tails, but their temperaments.

Such a pain. I could likely find a location, especially with Lilly’s help, but…

That wouldn’t take weeks, but months. Months and months, to help them re-settle.

An annoying task.

I had signed up for this, but it was rather disappointing I was already starting to regret it. Why did it seem most of my so called protecting ended up feeling more like parenting?

As we drew closer to the village, the smoke from their buildings came into view. Thanks to the rather flat area, it was rather visible. As if out in the open.

A flock of ducks. Or was it a waddling, since they’re stuck on the ground…?

“I think I might swim to the bottom of the river and lake once we’re back. Would you stick around the village for me, as I do?” I asked Lilly.

“Hm? Sure. I’ll just bug Serra. She’s fun to tease,” Lilly said with a smile.

Oh…? Good. I liked to hear it. Though felt a little bad for Serra. Poor girl probably had no idea what was in store for her.

Her fault though. She had latched onto Lilly right away.

“I’m going to try and just solve this feud or whatever. It’d be a major pain to re-settle these people,” I said as I told her my thoughts.

“Sure…? You know me, Vim. I don’t like the idea of turning tail,” Lilly said, as if to remind me of her own personality.

“I know. I’m just letting you know. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’s just one big fish or something,” I said.

“Doubt it. They’re very confident it’s multiple… what’s weird though is Serra and the rest act as if they are people. As if they’ve talked to them before,” Lilly said with a frown.

Right. They had, hadn’t they? They had called them a family. A family that hadn’t bothered them much before. But suddenly was.

Something had changed, in their perspective. Though they weren’t sure what.

Yet they hadn’t been able to give much more information than that. There was a family of fish that lived in the waters. They’d been there forever. Yet now were killing and eating them. To the point the ducks now feared to venture out into the waters. They didn’t even want to risk fishing the river on the bank anymore.

The only reason they even still had fish was thanks to the large nets they used. Gill nets. Large nets that spanned the width of the river with little hooks on them. They had three running along the river next to their village. They all pulled it in, and then tossed it out real quick. Lilly and I had helped them do so this morning, both to help and to make sure they were safe as they did so.

Only a few ducks had been willing to help in the task. The rest had been too scared. Too afraid of the water.

Ducks. Scared of water.

“Vim, did you know they lay eggs?”

I stopped, and frowned. “You’re kidding.”

Lilly smirked at me, pausing next to me and shaking her head. “Not at all. I’m told they aren’t born from them, but they do indeed lay eggs,” she said.

“Huh… well that means Celine had been serious,” I said.

“Hm? Serious about what?”

“She had told me they had tried to marry her to an egg. I had thought she had simply been trying to lighten the mood with a joke, since I had been upset,” I said as I returned to walking, no longer stunned.

Still… eggs? You had to be kidding.

Such a weird trait for such human creatures. Other than their tails, they looked like any other human you passed on the street.

Lilly giggled. “They must have been teasing her. Serra’s made it very clear their eggs aren’t fertile, and they’re born like humans are,” she said.

“Hm… wait…” I slowed again, and flinched.

Lilly’s giggling turned into heart laughs as she nodded quickly. “Yep! You ate their eggs!” she shouted happily, flapping her wings in excitement.

Groaning at her, I rubbed my eyes as I remembered the meal they had forced upon us last night. During our meeting with the elders, and practically the whole village.

They had indeed fed us eggs. Alongside fish and the rest of their foods. I hadn’t been very hungry, but I had eaten some all the same. As to try and not be rude.

Lilly continued laughing, enjoying the moment. She must have been waiting to tease me about it all day, based on her reaction.

“Well… they’d been pretty good, honestly,” I admitted.

The owl had to reach out and grab me for support as she nearly collapsed over in laughter.