Human Excellence 4 - or 'In a world of acting, falsities, and space furries, a Human tries to survive as the Employee of the Month' (Rishan Galaxy Furry, Human!SI)

The first thing I noticed as I woke up was that I was... not in bed. And that I barely remembered what occurred before 'going to sleep'.

It took me a moment to slowly pull myself up, my armor groaning against my sore bones as I looked around and... I was in a transport dropship. I recognized the structure as one that I trained in and that I had been inside a few times. This was the first time I saw it upside down. And I should not be alone in the dropship.

Alarmed by this last few details, I scanned around for hostiles, trying to remember how I got in this situation and...

"Remember, boyos and girls, we are dealing with some unusual stuff from Denali. Lots of tech energy that should not be possible since no one known to the galactic federation has ever laid a finger on the planet. So, best behavior and be wary of any surprises."

"Sir, yes sir!"

"That's... not that helpful," I muttered to myself, sighing in relief as I found an assault rifle with some ammo for it. "So, we got there and... oh, the EMP blast."

Three dropships carrying five soldiers each had been sent out of the Sevneka. The plan was to run a scout mission to probe the planet, then standby and wait for researchers to get their tech working on finding out what caused the phenomenon.

Turns out that part of this situation led us to get hit by a EMP blast mid-flight and force us all to a crashlanding.

Actually, as I tried to activate my suit's HUD, I was introduced with nothing. The EMP had either fried all electric circuits of the thing, or there was an active jammer that was neutralizing it. Either way, I was stuck there, and someone had taken my squad.

I doubted that they would have left me behind, not when this was a situation that demanded everyone's attention. And no one was left behind!

So, something happened to them, and whatever it was then it had purposely avoided taking me too. Why? I was quite sure that I would have been greeted by trouble as soon as I stepped outside of the dropship but... nothing. What I found was, instead, a forest and mountains all around.

Denali was a place that was deemed a 'natural park-tier planet'. The civilizations here lived in a tribal organization, and while some of the bigger ones had contacts with the Federation, it was agreed that neutrality was to be kept into the planet-

Until someone decides to smuggle technology into Denali itself.

While the Kaltrician Empire was hardly a loved 'peacekeeper', it was deemed the most effective one. Hence why we were always called to handle odd situations, out of fear that the Federation fucked things up and politicians could be ousted due to these mistakes.

It was the afternoon, I could tell this much by glancing at the sun's position and I knew that I would have little time to either find someone of the team or find myself a shelter. Considering my luck as of late, the latter option was the best choice.

In that regard, I really hoped that the Sevneka had taken notice of this situation and was doing what was needed to solve it. I wasn't a super-soldier, and I wasn't planning to see what the hell was going on in my own. I needed my team, or I needed orbital support because this shit was well above my paygrade.

Despite the glaring issue this presented, I still started to walk. The place where the dropship had landed was far too in the open, and Denali had some of the more 'nature-keen' predators around. While a large majority of those were sapient, their instincts tended to go balls to the walls when it came to a potential threat: aka Me.

So, it was best for me to find a nice and small shelter - like a cave - and hole myself there until things were brighter in the sky.

The march started, and I was glad I didn't feel the need to eat or drink. I had a limited supply of MREs to satisfy myself with and my water satchel was meant to last roughly half a day of full consumption. Not too little, but far from ideal.

During my steps, I had to stop a few times as I found some groups of tribal animals divided in their species looking for fresh prey to add to their caskets. While I could easily drill them holes, the mission specifically said to not cause any diplomatic incident by killing the locals - unless provoked, of course. But I wasn't planning to waste any bullet anyway.

I would wait the patrols, make sure they were all gone, and I would resume my wandering. Hours later, I was feeling exhausted and looking for anything resembling a smart place to hide away, no matter the quality of the shelter.

After all, I may be a bit picky at times considering the many comforts that were available in the Sevneka, but I was also aware that life is a struggle and a bush can also work as a home. Right as I was making my way through a small mountain pass, I felt something coming from the side. Fast, sudden, enough to make me turn and be ready to punch the unlucky sob that was trying to get a sneaky one on me when-

The thing bit my arm- and kind of did nothing as her teeth were too thin to even graze the suit's protective layer. I blinked as I found myself staring at a pair of blue eyes that rapidly shifted between emotions. From feral to surprise, from surprise to confusion, from confusion to fear.

The owner of such pretty eyes was a lupine girl, dark-gray fur with lighter spots. She was wearing a sleeveless green dress which ended in a pelvic curtain. Very basic, very tribal, very... well, 'wrong' considering the cold weather around.

From wolf to dog, the behavioral shift was clear to me even with just a tentative glance.

"Get off."

Two words, she didn't have a clue on what they meant but she definitely noticed my harsh tone as she released my arm. Eyes still wide open, she spared me a nervous look- one that asked me 'what next?' and... I really didn't have a damn to give over this matter.

Girl tried to get a nibble, realized I was pretty much too 'thick' to get devoured, and I couldn't be bothered to kill a moron in the middle of a genuine effort to get my ass to safety.

So, I turned and started to walk away. Dumber beings would have realized that this meant 'I am letting you off, go away', but as I glanced over my shoulder, I could see the lupine entity had decided that, for some mysterious reason, I 'told' her to follow me.

Today wasn't just my day. And I really hope this somehow doesn't land me in any trouble with Vikna.

Tala was not sure that the armored stranger had wanted her to follow him but...

She didn't have much of a choice.

One moment she was experiencing her first time of having a tongue between her legs, the kind Bae'li showing her how pleasure truly felt before mating and then- her instinct snapped her awake and made her bolt rapidly to the closest scent of 'prey' her nostrils found.

There were two, actually, one too 'obvious', but one just tingled her giddy - and the source of it was the unusual armored being that was currently grumbling about something. There was a language barrier, that for sure, but he had hardly made any effort to establish a bridge. Actually, that should have been Tala's job... if she felt the guts to do so.

It was cold, it was night, she was in a place unfamiliar to her and away from her tribe. This journey to become a mate to someone she barely knew was not going as intended, especially when she wasn't sure if her destiny was truly all about it. Her dreams- her visions had shown it to her: the fire shattering the cold, destroying the winter and leaving nothing but pain behind.

Could it be that this individual was tied to this vision?

That silly thought had turned up in her mind the moment Tala realized that she couldn't pinpoint the origin of this armored being. Was he a Predator or a Prey? What Tribe did he come from? Was he part of any tribe? Was he even a proper living being?

The questions in her mind were many, but Tala couldn't muster the courage to ask. She just followed, and she hoped that she wasn't walking into an early grave. Eventually they stopped before a small clearing. It was distant from the path they previous took, and it had numerous bushes there.

The armored being sat down by one of the trees, right within a bush and, with some attention, Tala almost mimicked this by sitting just nearby him. The grass was cold and wet, which prompted a whine out of her lips at the though of sleeping there.

The noise made its way to the being, who gave her a look. She tensed up, unsure on how that would work out and... then he gestured her to walk up to him. Not exactly a pleasant sign, but Tala crawled up to him, confused and very uneasy on what would follow next.

Her eyes were still aimed at his extended palm and... she saw him pat his lap.

...

He wants me to sit there. Why?

Well, the grass is wet and that lap looks dry.

That counter-point made her almost nod, but she decided against being too expressive over her thoughts. The very moment her butt settled by his leg, she was surprised by how warm it felt. It almost felt like she was sitting on a real wolf's lap. And his chest- it was also hot. Same for his arms as he pulled her in an embrace.

In a different moment, this would have sprung Tala in a panic, but she was cold and tired, and the hug made her so mellow to his care. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell there was a kind soul behind that mask.

And, while her destiny felt different than what others and her dreams told her to, she couldn't help but want to thread the path with that kind armored being.

AN

It's not the human that adopts the wolf(girl), it's the wolf(girl) that wants the huggies (and adoption). And yes, we are actually derailing a bit the 'Predators of Denali' comic from Fluff-Kevlar for this.