{"id":2756,"date":"2025-02-16T15:08:12","date_gmt":"2025-02-16T22:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2756"},"modified":"2025-02-16T15:08:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T22:08:12","slug":"little-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/16\/little-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"Little Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Your character comes across a stray (dog, cat, human \u2014 any kind of animal!). What happens next?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara followed the trail. Droplets of what she was certain was blood. Something small, she guessed. If it turned out to be somebody with a little cut or bloody nose walking slow, she\u2019d be embarrassed, but that wasn\u2019t likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trail led into an upturned cardboard box at the end of the alley. There was half of a strange footprint, paw-print really, on the flap of the cardboard that lay outside the box. She couldn\u2019t identify it. Not dog or cat or rat or raccoon or opossum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara waited for a minute, listening for sounds of life from the box. She heard a small rustle in the box. \u201cI\u2019m not going to hurt you,\u201d she said in a soft voice. \u201cI\u2019m just gonna sit here and share my cupcake with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She found the least nasty spot on the ground near the box to sit with her back to it. It would stain her jeans, but they were washable and at worst replaceable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humming a soft lullaby, she pulled a small bite off the over-sized cupcake and put it on the flap of the box. \u201cI\u2019ll share with you since I can\u2019t eat one of these by myself,\u201d she sang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the corner of her eye, she saw a furred hand reach out a snatch back the piece of cupcake. Maybe it was<\/em> a raccoon with a deformed foot? She continued to hum and put another piece on the edge of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With each one, she put the piece closer to herself. When the little things legs weren\u2019t long enough to reach it, it stretched itself out of the box to grab the bite before retreating. Each time, the delay between grabbing and retreating grew in tiny increments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What she saw wasn\u2019t any animal she could identify. It looked a bit like a long-legged ferret the color of an orange tabby cat with a puffy tail and almost monkey-like hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She held a piece of the cupcake out for the creature, hoping it wouldn\u2019t switch to biting and nip her fingers. Instead, the tiny hand grabbed it, and she could feel how it had opposable thumbs on both sides of its hand. One of the three fingers rested on her thumb before it took the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara put a piece on her palm and laid her hand on the ground. The creature stepped up and grabbed her thumb with one of its hands while the other took the proffered cake. Instead of backing off, it ate the piece with the needle-like teeth in its short snout, then held the empty hand open, palm up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six digits, two of them opposable, and a palm that reminded her of a toddler\u2019s hand, with none of the small lines that hands acquire over time. She set a piece of frosting on the outstretched hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creature was visibly frightened but warming up to her. It stood on its hind legs and took a wobbly step toward her before stumbling. Sara wasn\u2019t thinking about maintaining the calm at the moment her instincts took over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She caught the falling creature and scooped it into her lap. \u201cAre you okay, little one?\u201d Its fur was silken and softer than anything she\u2019d felt. It was damp, despite the lack of rain for days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It stiffened for a moment. Sara thought she\u2019d just messed up and the little critter would run away to never trust her again. Her fears were unfounded, however, as the creature relaxed, grabbing her shirt with three of its monkey-handed feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fourth had a cut on the palm. \u201cOh, you poor baby. That must hurt. Will you let me take care of you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creature turned its large, brown eyes to hers. When she looked into them, she could tell there was intelligence behind them. The creature curled its tail over itself like a blanket and she felt its racing heart slow, and its breathing relax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It still had a death grip on her shirt, but was sound asleep. She rose to her feet as smoothly as she could, trying not to jostle the sleeping creature. It had a faint scent of cinnamon she\u2019d first assumed was something her clothes had picked up in the bakery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time she reached her apartment, she\u2019d figured out that she didn\u2019t need to be so careful. Cream, as she began calling the critter, was dead to the world. The poor thing was probably exhausted from fear, cold, and hunger. In its sleep, the creature suckled on her shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not completely weaned, are you, little one?\u201d she cooed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once in her apartment, she dug through the \u201cstuff\u201d drawer in the kitchen to find the puppy bottles and nipples she\u2019d once used for fostering. From a lower cupboard she pulled out an unopened can of puppy formula powder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara got a bottle of formula ready just in time, as Cream woke with a weak, high-pitched cry. The cry was punctuated with what sounded like baby talk, just not in English. The word-like sounds most repeated were \u201cgehgeh” and \u201clooloo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took a few tries, but Sara got Cream to latch on. The puppy formula seemed to be a big hit. She cooed at the little creature as she cradled it like a baby. As it drank, it finally relaxed its grip on her shirt and settled into the crook of her arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cream started to drift off again and dribbled some milk. Sara pulled the bottle away and wiped at the little face. Cream reached for the bottle, \u201cLooloo! Looloo!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara held the bottle. \u201cLooloo? Milk?\u201d She gave it back to Cream, who held on to it with three hands and made soft coos while drinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the furry child emptied the bottle and fell into a boneless sleep, Sara pulled the first aid kit from the drawer of the coffee table beside her. She cleaned the wound on Cream\u2019s paw with a cotton ball. Cream\u2019s eyes opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Cream. I\u2019m sorry, little guy.\u201d Sara decided that the creature, whether female or male, was a \u2018little guy.\u2019 \u201cSara\u2019s here. I\u2019ll take care of you. You\u2019re going to be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cream grabbed Sara\u2019s sleeve and babbled some, ending with, \u201cSara.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, Cream. I\u2019m Sara.\u201d She placed the smallest bandaid she had over the wound and gave it a little kiss. \u201cAll done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cream crawled up to grab Sara\u2019s shirt again, laid its head on Sara\u2019s chest, and cried. \u201cGehgeh, gehgeh, gehgeh, Sara.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara rocked the poor creature back to sleep. Rather than risking waking the sleeping Cream, she lay on her bed without undressing. A few hours later, she woke with the crying creature begging again for \u201clooloo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She prepared a new bottle and fed the hungry, tired creature and rocked it back to sleep. The armchair was comfortable enough, and Sara drifted off herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sound of something scrabbling at her window woke her. She turned on the lamp to see a larger version of Cream standing on the flower box outside the third-story window. It looked like an adult version of Cream, wearing a utility belt around a baggy jumpsuit, out of the back of which a tail at least three times fluffier than Cream\u2019s twitched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cream woke and screamed out, \u201cGehgeh! Gehgeh! Sara, gehgeh!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara opened the window, and the creature stepped in. Despite the obvious terror in its eyes, the concern for the child was obvious as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, is \u2018gehgeh\u2019 your mama?\u201d Sara asked. She sat down on the floor to put herself on eye level with the standing creature, and Cream climbed down and into the arms of the waiting creature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDren!\u201d The creature dressed the child in a similar garment to its own. It held the child and pressed a button on a box on the belt. The creature\u2019s voice was high and was repeated from the box in English. \u201cWhere did you find my child?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI followed a trail of blood droplets and found this poor little guy hiding in a box in an alley.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t eat him,\u201d the creature said through the translator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEat\u2026what?! Why would I do that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cream began babbling again, and the translator picked up parts of it. Sara recognized the sound log \u2018gehgeh\u2019 behind the translation of mama and \u2018looloo\u2019 behind yummy. \u201cMama! Mama! Sara \u2026 ouch,\u201d He held up his bandaged foot for her inspection. \u201c\u2026 yummy \u2026 Sara.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou \u2014 you tended his wound and fed him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course. I wasn\u2019t gonna let the little guy suffer.\u201d Sara leaned back. \u201cWhy would you think I would eat him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have studied how you eat other creatures. You are eaters of meat. You also keep companion animals that are eaters of meat, some of which will kill animals for you and bring them to you.\u201d As she started to relax, Cream let go of her and returned to Sara to sit in her lap. She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed again as Sara cooed at the child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one could eat you,\u201d she said, \u201cyou\u2019re too cute. Besides, it\u2019s not like we just eat any<\/em> meat. We\u2019ve been breeding animals for thousands of years to get the temperament and meat or milk quality we want. As far as animals hunting for or with us, yeah, in some places that still happens, but if you\u2019re talking about cats, they do that because they think they\u2019re helping somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creature walked closer, staying in its upright posture. Sara noticed what looked like tough gloves on the hand-feet it walked on. \u201cI am Rusna, and my boy is Dren.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNice to meet you, Rusna, and you, Dren. I\u2019m Sara, and I\u2019ve been calling him \u2018Cream\u2019 since he\u2019s the color of a creamsicle cat.\u201d Sara stroked the top of Dren\u2019s head, and he snuggled for a few more seconds before rushing back to his mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWould you like something to eat?\u201d Sara asked. \u201cOr drink?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot meat,\u201d Rusna said, \u201cbut yes. I am hungry, and fond of the drink you call tea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara made tea for both of them and brought it out with a package of cookies. They ate and sipped their tea in silence for a few minutes, while Dren drifted back off to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was warned not to come here, because of the danger from humans and their companion animals,\u201d Rusna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy did you, then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a xeno-sociologist. I\u2019m here to find out everything I can about human society. I brought Dren along because I couldn\u2019t be apart from him for so long. I had just given him a bath and turned to get a fresh towel and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd he ran off.\u201d Sara chuckled. \u201cSounds like your children aren\u2019t that different from our own. Where are you from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t see our star from here without a telescope,\u201d Rusna said, \u201cbut it\u2019s toward the galactic center.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you and Dren come alone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. There are thirty-four on our expedition, now.\u201d Her gaze dropped and she sniffed at Dren\u2019s head. \u201cWe lost three to illness and accident in the first thirteen planetary rotations but have maintained our number since then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Sara said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rusna took another sip of her tea. \u201cWe\u2019ll survive. I\u2019ll have to adjust some of my starting assumptions about the behavior of societies of omnivores, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAren\u2019t there others?\u201d Sara asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNone besides yours that show promise to become space bound.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, if you\u2019re around for a while, you\u2019re welcome to visit any time.\u201d Sara smiled at the sleeping child clinging to his mother\u2019s jumpsuit. \u201cI\u2019d love to see the little guy again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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