Chapter 75: Institutionalised
"Are you sure this is a good idea, I mean a city filled with humans who are apparently on edge from synths in their midst is a good place to start sure, but I'm pretty sure they are going to adopt a shoot first see if it actually talks the second approach if they see me, Ven and Passa lurking about?" Malakai said nervously looking at the giant metal structure in the distance that the locals referred to as Diamond City.
"Look we made short work of those roaming super mutant packs on the way over here and hell you even yanked those mini-nukes right out the hands of those crazy suicide bastards they got running with them now, so I'm sure we'll be fine," Wisp said looking out of the window of their temporary hidey hole in the loft apartment of a store a block away from the city.
"And besides it'll only be us, humans, heading in to take a look around, our gorgeous non-humans are going to stay right here where it's safe," Shepherd said ruffling Passa's feathers playfully making the big winged Claw boy ruffle them himself along with his wings to put them back into place.
"Yeah that's what worries me given that my girl is an actual synth," Malakai said wringing his hands and twittering his mandibles worriedly in that insanely cute way he did when he was genuinely nervous about something.
"Don't you worry yourself Malakai, your girl can not only look after herself but she's got us watching her back, plus she's wearing that new generation of covert armour that you were coming up with on the way down here, so she's doubly good yeah?" Gregory said patting the young Arachnakai boy on the shoulder to help calm his nerves.
Wisp stepped forwards and embraced her man tightly, pulling his upper body into her arms and relishing the feeling of him wrapping his arms tightly around her, "Don't you worry yourself my little sugar spider, there ain't no one on this earth save for Seven who is strong enough to stop me from getting back to my love, hell if shit goes really sideways then I just go full cloud and vape my sparkly ass right out of there, what are they gonna do yank out a giant vacuum cleaner to suck me out of the air?" she said making him chuckle.
"Knowing you you'd bloody infiltrate it and turn it back on them," Malakai said making her laugh and nod.
"Well then there you go, so you got nothing to worry about and my two good friends here are 100% homegrown non-human loving humans, so they should slip right passed with zero issues," she said and Malakai nodded.
"I know and I'm sorry if I'm coming over as a worry wort, I do believe in you you know I do, but I just get so nervous when you are away from me, I don't like not knowing what's happening especially when the one I love is concerned," he said softly.
"Trust me you're not the only one big guy, it put my tail in a knot knowing my Gregory is going in there amongst potentially hundreds of bigots and I'm fighting every urge I have to stride my scaly arse right in there alongside him and roar at them that this is the man I love and if you fuckers don't like it bring it the fuck on, but I can't because then not only do we get into a massive and totally needless fight, but I'd risk the very thing I yearn to protect, so we are left with simply trust them as we always have," Ven said hugging Gregory against his chest and lifting him off his feet.
"You are not the only one who feels this way cousin, it feels so very wrong to leave the woman I love to face potential danger alone and to not be stood proudly at her side ready to not only defend her but to display my Claw pride and honour for all to bare witness to, but it is the folly of us non-humans who love these beautiful little wonderful creatures that we must trust them to know what is best within the realm of their own society," Passa said leaning down and pressing his scaly forehead to Shepherd's.
Ven was nodding in full agreement and understanding of what the big white-scaled Claw boy had just said and Wisp just smiled to herself, Claws really did take their pride and honour very seriously.
With some final checks and a last goodbye to their non-human loves the three humans or rather one cloud girl riding around in a synth body and two actual humans set off along the road for the city.
As luck would have it they timed their arrival just right as it seemed that a couple of caravan traders had just arrived from some of the settlements around the area if the overly packed Brahmien loaded down with everything including what appeared to be a few kitchens sinks stood waiting at the massive entrance gate was anything to go by.
A group of caravaneers stood talking to the Dimond City guards who were easily distinguishable by the way they all seemed to be wearing a kind of padded armour that made Wisp think of the sports gear they'd seen in some of the shops around here.
There were others too though these looked to be caravan guards, by the way, they were clustered around the Brahmien brandishing mean looks and meaner-looking guns to ward off any potential raiders or simple thieves who might take advantage of the distraction.
Wisp approached the closest guard to them which was the one at the rear of the queue and the white woman dressed in a heavy leather duster and what appeared to be road leathers eyed them suspiciously.
"Howdy friend, is this the back of the line to get in or something?" Wisp asked in a cheery voice making a show of hoisting her weapon onto her shoulder and raising her hand in greeting.
The guard's eyes darted to her two companions to see them doing the same and she seemed to relax somewhat though she kept her weapon right there in her hands. Still, thankfully she also kept it lowered.
"Nah this line's only for the caravans, the security makes a big ho hah about checking our 'paperwork' but you guys can go right to the front to the left there and they should let you in as long as you did not get a bounty on ya or sumthin," the guard said with a thick southern accent.
Wisp nodded and smiled at her, "Much appreciated friend hope you have safe travels," she said and the woman nodded and made a gesture of dipping the tip of her black leather cowboy hat.
"You too stranger," she said obviously pleased that she'd met someone civil on the road as the group only knew too well civility and manners were a rare commodity these days.
Wisp followed the woman's directions and true to her word there was a smaller booth where another couple of guards stood watching the conversation with the caravanners obviously waiting to check in anyone else who came along while also protecting their fellows who were going over the caravan inventories.
The guards all turned as they saw Wisp and her companions approaching and the closest to them a man in his early forties gave them a nod of greeting.
"Hi there, is this where you book in to come into the city?" Wisp asked and the guard nodded.
"Aye that it be lass," he said in what sounded to be a thick Scottish accent.
"Great me and my two friends are bounty hunters but don't worry we're not here chasing just looking to do a restock and see if there are any warrants you guys are wanting to be picked up," Wisp said cheerily.
The man raised a thick bushy eyebrow that vanished under the brim of his helmet as if the news that these three could possibly be bounty hunters, granted they did look like a rather unlikely trio but their weapons and armour certainly did lend credence to their claim.
They'd come up with the cover story as a way to not only integrate themselves with the guards but also as a way to not be seen as suspicious when asking questions around the town, if they were known to be bounty hunters the guard would pay them a lot less mind as that's the kinda thing that they do, plus they really didn't think that they'd believe that they were travelling detectives.
"Ain't seen you three before and we know most of the hunters round these parts," the guard said and this time it was Gregory who spoke up.
"We're kinda new to the area, had to come down here to grab a raider group not too long ago pretty damn glad that that mark had a dead or alive tag on the fucker because alive sure as hell wasn't an option and well we thought what the hell why not come back down after we handed him over to the client and see if there's any work going around here," he said.
The guard nodded approvingly at the news that a raider was dead or rather a group of them as if there was one thing that all people were agreed upon it was that the only good raider was a dead one, well apart from if you are said raider of course.
"There's always work for folks like yourselves going and what with all these abductions happening all over and the news of synths around you'd probably get work five minutes into setting foot in the market, there's always someone looking to track down a missing person around here, so if you guys aren't opposed to doing work that doesn't involve shooting holes in raiding scumbags then I'm sure good ol Diamond City has you covered," he said.
"Sounds good to us, might be a nice change of pace to actually get to bring someone back whose both not guilty and is not full of holes for once," Shepherd said.
The guard chuckled at this and nodded approvingly, "Well alright just sign your names into the book here and you're good to go just make sure to keep your weapons slung or in their holsters at all times around here, if it's in your hands the guards are authorised to shoot you so just be aware of that," the guard said turning a massive ledger book around to face the three and they proceeded to write the fake names they'd come up with onto the page before giving the guards a final nod and wave then heading off into the city itself.
As they stepped out into the market the three marvelled at how the people of this now city had converted the once baseball stadium into a place of safety for people to live, apartment like homes littered the upper stands while down in the centre a bustling market was filled with stalls all promising the most diverse and interesting of wears, there was even a hairdresser.
Upon seeing that Gregory laughed and pointed, "Think Ven would appreciate it if I came back to him rocking a new hairdo?" he said and Shepherd laughed.
"Knowing him he wouldn't care if you came back bald just as long as you came back though I can see him marching his scaly arse up here after he knew you were safe set on a vengeance upon the one who dares to desecrate your locks," she said making Gregory roar with laughter.
"I wonder if they charge by the yard because if so you could try and convince them to give Malakai a trim, would love to see their faces when he rocked up and plopped himself down in the chair, though it would probably be more interesting to watch him try to figure out how to get into said chair first," Gregory said nudging Wisp's arm with his elbow.
"You leave my Malakai's fluffy bum alone, I love his fluffiness, you two heathens don't know the meaning of the words good life, you have not lived until you have fallen asleep encased in eight legs and two arms while surrounded by the softest of fur," she said with a smile as warm memories flowed through her of her nights spent basking in the love of her fluffy man.
"Could say the same to you about the joys of scales you know," Gregory shot back as they continued to walk among the stalls.
"Ha got you both trumped, got fluffy and scaly as well as soft leather-like wings to boot, beat that," Shepherd said proudly.
"When did this become non-human top trumps?" Gregory said making his two companions laugh.
"The moment you threatened to take away the fluffy part from my little fluffy bum," Wisp shot with a smile that made him laugh.
"Poor boy is probably driving both Passa and Ven insane with his pacing by now, you know what he's like when he gets nervous," Shepherd said and the others nodded.
"Though got to be fair it is somewhat fascinating to watch someone pace about on the ceiling of all places," Gregory said making Wisp chuckle and nod.
"Knowing him he's probably halfway up the outer wall or hanging from one of the ceiling rafters above our heads like a giant house spider already," Wisp said with a warm smile.
"God I hope not given how up those houses go he'd probably start a mass panic up there and it would end up raining men," Gregory said.
The trio decided to stick with their cover story and decided to head on over to the weapons vendor to see if they could not only pick up some ammo but to see if there were any upgrades available while they did that they decided that they could use it as an opportunity to not only discreetly question a few people but also to listen in on a few conversations given how centrally located the place was.
As it turned out this was the right move because they'd only been there a couple of minutes haggling about the price of some mico fusion cells when Wisp overheard someone talking about another disappearance and how the person's family had hired the synth detective to go looking for them.
Now, this struck her as seriously odd, if it was supposedly the synths of the institute snatching these people why in the name of hell would a fellow synth aid them in finding them again and on to of that how in the name of hell was there a synth living here that people accepted?
So once they were done with their shopping they decided to head on over to find out.
Wisp had heard the name Valentine's detective agency thrown into that conversation so the trio wandered through the back allies until they found the place tucked away behind the main market.
"So the guy who runs this place is a synth?" Gregory asked looking at Wisp with a 'you sure about this?' look on his face.
"That's what I heard and the people all know he is, it's like some widely known fact not even an open secret just an accepted fact," she said.
"Well then let's go and say hello shall we, should be interesting at the very least," Shepherd said gesturing to the doorway which had a little neon sign shaped like a heart with 'Valentine's Detective Agency' written on it outside.
The three of them piled inside and were greeted by a surprisingly well-decorated little office space that looked quite professional and homely at the same time.
Sat behind a desk looking over some files was a youngish woman in her early thirties who looked up as they entered, "Welcome to Valentine's detective agency the boss is out working a case right now but you can leave the details of it with me and i'll set you up an appointment to see him if you'd like," she said warmly.
"Ahh Valentine is out of pity we kinda wanted to see him personally got some questions to ask him about the synths operating around here and the disappearances thought we could share notes and even see if he needs some contractors to help out," Wisp said pleasantly.
"Oh you guys are detectives too? she asked curiously looking the three of them over.
"Not quite more like bounty hunters but we decided might be a good change of pace to maybe take on some jobs that don't involve shooting raiders full of holes and then dragging their sorry carcases back to our clients, though it might be nice to try out hand at you know bringing non-guilty people back to their loved ones alive and kicking," Shepherd said and the young woman nodded in understanding.
"Yeah there's been a lot going on around that sort of thing recently it's really worrying everyone even the boss and he's a synth himself but I can tell you now he might have been built by the institute but he's not one of theirs, they tossed him out like unwanted trash years ago, no memories to speak of and just left to fend for himself, but he pulled himself out of that hole they threw him into and he built himself up into what he is today and that is a good person with a strong moral compass, Nick is one of the good ones I can tell you that for free, I've seen him put himself in harm's way to help good people more times than I can count, that's why he's so well-liked around here despite being a synth because people can see that he hates the institute as much as they do and he's never tired to hide who or what he is and to be fair it is kinda obvious," she said.
"Well that's good to hear sound definitely like the sort of person we'd like to work with," Shepherd said.
The woman who introduced herself as Marsha set them up with an appointment for the next morning at ten am sharp, the group thanked her and left the office, they decided to poke around a little more before heading back out of the city and to where they had left their beloved non-humans, though Wisp was sure that Malakai had probably worn a hole in the ceiling with all of his pacing by now.
A point that was proven as no sooner had the group walked through the door of their HQ than they were set upon by three very relived and needy boys who had very much missed their loved ones for the few hours they had been gone.
Malakai was hugging Wisp so tightly she was actually worried that he might start webbing her up to prevent her from leaving again, not that she'd be opposed to a little light bondage now and then.
She reached up and gently kissed her handsome spider boy and relished the feel of his little mandibles running over her face as if he was just checking to make sure she was indeed real and not an apparition come to torment him with images of his lost love.
"I've missed you so much," Malakai whispered softly in her ear as he stroked her cheek with his mandibles and she smiled warmly as she looked into her man's massive expressive eyes.
"Missed you too my little sugar spider and honestly I'm surprised you didn't try and sneak off to climb up the city wall, I was half expecting to look up and see you scuttling along high up in the rafters above my head," Wisp said playfully before kissing both of his little mandibles.
"Oh he did but as strong as he is he's not strong enough to climb walls with a couple of hundred pounds of ultra sexy claw boy sat on his fluffy back," Ven said from their right and Wisp chuckled and shook her head.
"I knew it," she said and Malakai looked embarrassed as all hell though Wisp couldn't help but be somewhat turned on by the flush in his white cheeks as he blushed.
"I was worried about you, I just couldn't bare the thought of them doing something to hurt you and me not being there to at least try to save you," he said in a soft mumble.
"Oh, my sweet one you are such a wonderful man you know that not a natural-born warrior at all but still willing to leap to the defence of those he loves and cares about no matter the cost to him, that's what a real man is and you are all that my love," she said softly.
"Woman to I'll have you know, don't care how big the fucker is if they take aim at my sexy Claw boy they getting both fucking barrels from me and that's only after I've stamped my black ass all over their face," Shepherd said passionately but Ven chuckled and so did Gregory.
"What's so funny you two?" Shepherd asked accusingly and Ven grinned at her.
"Pretty sure the only one who's earned having your black ass in their face is Passa ain't it?" he said with a very toothy grin as his cousin flushed and ruffled his feather in embarrassment.
But Shepherd never even flinched, "Your damn right he has Claw boy, this sexy white Claw right here has got all prime black ass he's ever gonna need right here just like I got all the sexy white boy Claw I'm ever gonna need right here," she said smacking her own ass with solid sound thwack noise before doing the same to Passa and making him jump as the slap of flesh on scales echoed around the room.
The other couldn't help it they just roared with laughter and it only took a second or two before both Shepherd and Passa joined right in with them, it was good to be back with their loved ones again.
The group sat down to a meal that both Ven and Gregory had prepared and the trio explained what they had found out in Diamond city, they went over what they had learned and told them about their meeting with a synth detective called Nick Valentine set for tomorrow morning.
"I don't get it, these people claim to be frightened of synths and synth kidnappings but they have one living right inside their city and they know about it, yet they do nothing about it?" Ven said thoughtfully raking his large claws against the scales of his chin.
"From what limited intel we were able to gather he's apparently different from the other synths and hates this institute as much as any of them, apparently they abandoned him and did other bad things to him as well though they weren't forthcoming with the details, apparently he has also helped a lot of people in the city so they tolerate him," Wisp said.
"And it's not like he's not well known or it's some kind of open secret or something apparently it's both blatantly obvious and well known, though quite how that is when synths are supposed to be pretty much indistinguishable from humans is another story but I'm guessing we'll figure that out when we meet him tomorrow," Wisp said.
Suddenly from outside, there was a tremendous bellowing roar and all of them froze solid, "I know that sound," Shepherd said a hard note creeping into her voice and the six of them made a mad scramble to the windows to look out onto the streets below.
The sight they saw made Wisp's blood run cold, they were less than a block away and charging right for the Diamond city security that was guarding the outer gates of the city were a whole pack of super mutants.
They appeared to be being led by a large and very odd-looking one who unlike his comrades was a deep rich blue colour and right before their eyes he simply vanished into thin air, but the ten or so mutated hounds that he unleashed sure as hell didn't and neither did the horde of about twenty mutants behind them either.
"Holy fucking shit the security don't stand a chance!" Gregory exclaimed.
"We've got to help them!" Ven snarled.
"But we'll blow our cover!" Shepherd exclaimed.
"That won't matter a single fuck if those fucker break into the city and start killing people now will it, what is it that Seven always says, we prove to the people of this world who we are by what we do and right now we are going to stand for those people in there, so grab your gear and let's kick some fucking super mutant ass!" Wisp yelled.
The team scrambled with everybody throwing on their Malakai-made armour and grabbing their weapons, "Gregory get up high provide sniper fire, Malakai take out any suicide fuckers you see before they reach and web up those fucking dogs rob them of their speed," Wisp yelled as they ran down the stairs and onto the street below.
"Roger!: the pair yelled with Gregory vanishing from sight before jumping onto Malakai's back and Malakai leaping high into the air to deposit him on a high rooftop.
"Shepherd on me we are going to lay fire down on those fuckers and stop them getting into cover, Ven and Passa do what Claws do best and get stuck the fuck in!" Wisp yelled.
"With pleasure!" Ven yelled and he and Passa began to charge toward the unaware super mutants in huge bounding strides.
The war roars that both Passa and Ven let loose a second before they smashed right into the rear ranks of mutants drowned out the cascade of gunshots and screams echoing around the streets.
The effect of a pair of angry Claws was undeniable by anyone with half a brain cell and a single eye, the first two mutants the pair hit never even knew what killed them before their heads were removed cleanly to be sent bouncing off down the street or in the case of the one Ven removed pitched into the face of a comrade.
The dogs totally ignored the carnage happening in the rear ranks of their masters and instead charged full tilt right at the security who were trapped between the oncoming mutants and the sealed city gates but before they made it a series of white orbs were sent shooting into the floor in front of them and into lampposts, bins and any other anchor points he could hit.
The dogs slammed head first into the sticky webbing and instantly got tangled up in it halting their charge dead as like a bloated fly that flew into a radspider's web they were hoisted off the ground with their legs kicking and their jaws snapping at the confused security people in vain.
And the dogs weren't the only ones getting the web treatment as Malakai was in full-on jumping spider mode, he was leaping from building to building before leaping down into the fray landing atop of mutants and using them as moving anchor points, he'd deliver a venomous bite to their necks before leaping off them and throwing a ball of webbing at a second one as the one he'd bit collapsed under the power of his paralytic venom turning into a dead weight anchor.
The mutants were so confused by these newcomers seemingly hitting them from all sides at once that they lost focus on the security and tried to focus on them, with quite a few of them trying to hit Malakai who was bouncing around like a large fluffy armoured pinball never staying on a single spot for more than a second.
In fact, more than once he took a mutant with him into the air only to send them screaming into the floor far below him as he let him go mid-jump.
"Keep up the pressure their ranks are cracking!" Wisp bellowed.
"Suck this you mutant fucks! No one ruins my quiet time with my Claw boy!" Shepherd bellowed unleashing a full automatic barrage into the rear ranks of the mutants who were still trying to fend off the two angry Claws in their midst while also trying to dodge the angry jumping spider who kept landing on them from high above.
While that was going on a series of incredibly high calibre shots were ringing out from high above them as Gregory unleashed sniper fire down onto the exposed mutants taking out dogs and humanoids alike.
Suddenly out of nowhere Shepherd was hoisted into the air by her throat and was sent kicking and scrambling into the air.
"Shepherd!" Wisp yelled as she turned but she couldn't risk shooting at the blue mutant as he decloaked as he'd turned Shepherd so she was between them.
But her shout didn't go unheard as suddenly from her left there was a bellowing roar so loud it seemed to shake the very city itself, this happened exactly one second before a white bullet shape smashed right into the blue mutant with enough force to make him drop the struggling black woman.
The shape rocketed onwards before shooting high into the air taking the blue mutant with it and as Wisp rushed to grab hold of the injured Shepherd to pull her to safety she looked up and what she saw made her mouth fall open.
"S-S-Shepherd look! It's Passa, he's flying!" she exclaimed as she held the coughing and gasping woman but she still had enough sense to follow where she pointed and what she saw made her cough and grimace turn into a dark smile.
High above them with his giant wings spread was Passa holding the blue mutant by his throat, "How dare you lay hands on that woman! SHE IS MINE!" Passa bellowed with such rage that it sent a chill down Wisp's spine.
"Fuck him up, my love!" Shepherd yelled through powerful wracking coughs.
"With pleasure" Passa yelled before he pitched the blue mutant away from himself and dove passed him with such speed that at first, it didn't look like he'd done anything, that was until the mutant split clean in two right down the middle.
Passa had hit him so hard that he had cut the mutant clean in two from head to arse crack, he then proceeded to dive like a white scaley bullet right into the rapidly diminishing mutant ranks hitting them from above before landing back on his feet and laying right into them alongside his cousin.
Never underestimate the power of an enraged Claw and it seemed that seeing his beloved mate in danger had sent Passa into a full-on berserker rage, he might be smaller and weaker than his cousin Ven but that didn't stop him from tearing into the remaining mutants with such brutal force that he looked like a white Grim Reaper dealing death with every swipe of his long claws.
Finally, after fifteen minutes of relentless fighting every single mutant that had attacked lay dead or dying on the concrete and asphalt, blood filled the gutters and ran down the drains and two very pumped but tried Claws stood in the centre of it all covered in blood and gore, the pair looked like they'd just stepped out of the gates of hell itself.
Malakai dropped down from one of the buildings with Gregory on his back and no sooner had the young human's feet touched down than he was running right towards Ven while Passa charged the other way heading for Shepherd who had by now recovered from the worst of her ordeal.
"Are you ok my love oh please tell me you're ok?" Passa exclaimed with his voice dripping with concern for his beloved human mate as he scooped her up but managed to keep her away from the worst of the gore that coated his scales and feathers.
"I'm good lover don't you worry none, gonna have a stiff neck and a sore throat for a few days to come but I'm sure a nice massage will sort out at least one of those two," she said softly reaching up and stroking his relived looking face.
"Don't fucking move or we'll shoot!' a voice yelled from behind them and Wisp looked behind Passa to see a group of security had moved forwards and were pointing their weapons right at both Malakai and Ven.
"Wouldn't do that if I were you," Wisp yelled stepping out and walking towards them as Ven turned to look at them with a rather unimpressed look on his face.
"Is this what you call gratitude human, we save you from a mutant attack that would have cut through your little band of merry men like a Claw and you decide to get brave enough to point guns at us, are you mad?" Ven said in a very matter-of-fact voice that seemed to shock all of them into momentary silence.
"T-T-That Deathclaw just spoke!" one of them exclaimed.
"Yes he did and his name is Ven of the proud Northen pack, he and his cousin Passa there just saved your fucking lives along with the rest of us here so how about we have some civility and lower the guns because I can tell you this for free, those pea shooters won't even dent the armour he's wearing let alone the gorgeous scales under them, what you will do is piss him off and me," Gregory snarled stepping in between his man and the guards.
"And me," Wisp said stepping up to join them.
"Me too," Malakai said stepping up next to Wisp.
"And us," both Passa and Shepherd said joining their friends and all staring the guards down.
The guards were all glancing between one another as well as them and then the leader lowered his weapon and gestured for his comrades to do the same and after some nervous glances, they followed suit.
"Alright well I guess this ought to be interesting I never talked to no deathclaw before let alone whatever the hell he is supposed to be," the guard leader said.
"He's an Arachnakai, his name is Malakai and he is the best tailor you are ever likely to meet," Wisp said proudly stepping up to his side and leaning against her man.
"Tailor? Thought you were supposed to be bounty hunters?" one of the guards who recognised Wisp from earlier said curiously and Wisp shot him a smile.
"What can't people have more than one job?" she said.
"Why the hell did you save us?" one of the others asked.
"Simple, because it's the right thing to do, we were here earlier and we could see that you are good people in here, just people trying their hardest to live the best lives that they can be given the circumstances that they have been dealt, you certainly don't deserve to be wiped out or eaten by mutants, so if we could help we were going to and we did, because the only way this world gets any fucking better is if good people help each other when in need and good people doesn't just mean humans, these days people wear many faces and these guys right here are as many people as you or me," Wisp said proudly, she knew if Seven was here he'd be nodding approvingly.
"If you're so sure of that why didn't you bring them in with you when you came here earlier?" one of the other guards asked somewhat accusingly.
"Simple because when was the last time one of you saw one of my kind and didn't run off screaming or start shooting?" Ven asked and the guard looked at him in surprise.
"Well can you blame us? I don't think many people want to be cut in half and eaten!" he shot back and Ven bristled but remained calm.
"Most Claws just want to be left alone even the solitary wandering ferals, so if you see them its usually best just to let them pass by and give them no reason to attack you but the Claw wants to live as much as you do so think about it from their point of view, they see an armed human is their first thought going to be oh this human wants to come to say hello to me?" Ven said somewhat sarcastically and the guard flinched.
"N-No I guess not," he said and Ven nodded.
"Now I'm not saying for a single second all of my kin are angels, pretty fucking far from it to be honest, but not all Claws are monsters either, same rules apply to your species as to mine, how easy would it be for me to look at your kind and to say ahh they are all raiding murdering scum because of what I've seen out there in the wastes?" Ven said and now all the guards were shuffling uncomfortably from foot to foot.
"Exactly, the difference is taking the time to not only understand but to try to make things better and that's what I am doing right here human, same as my friends and beloved one here, we are trying to make things better for all sides, so we help to protect you then maybe one day you repay the favour down the line because you remember what was said and done here today," Ven said proudly.
"Well if I'm honest we owe you and yours our lives so I don't think we are in any position to argue that point, so here's to a better tomorrow I guess, my kin might not understand it but I saw with my own eyes what you did here today for us and I'll be damn sure to be telling everybody that will listen about it, so thank you," the guard leader said holding out a hand towards Ven a little nervously.
Ven simply smiled and shook it, "I'm glad we understand one another human," he said.
"Now then we'll leave you to clean this up as I think I speak for my entire group when I say we're pretty beat, so we'll be back tomorrow though don't worry our non-human friends will hand around outside as to not cause a panic, regardless of the step taken here today I don't think the entire city is quite ready for that step just yet but who knows maybe one day soon," Wisp said.
"If I have anything to say about it it will," the guard leader said obviously happier now.
"And that makes me happy, well then see you tomorrow," Wisp said and with that, the group turned and headed back towards their HQ, so much for being undercover.