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Project: TheirWorld - Chapter 003

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The Dinosaur Invasion

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The Enclave

It’s name was Bahena Sul, and apparently it was a female.

Dassah had reluctantly helped with the boxes under Stella’s strict glare, but once that was settled, she quickly and quietly returned to the safety of her desk. Biting at her fingers, she tried not to stare at the dinosaur rudely while pretending to be part of the conversation - and what a conversation it was.

“I must say,” Bahena was saying in perfect, untranslated English. “It is absolutely wonderful to be back here on the Enclave! You have absolutely no idea what the atmosphere of the homeworld does to my scales. It’s disgusting.”

“Oh my!” Stella went dramatically, clapping her hands together. “How do you take care of your scales? They look so shiny! Most of your kind I see have much rougher scales - your’s are so smooth, so shiny!”

“Ah!” the dinosaur flipped her long, muscular tail in what Dassah assumed was a playful manner - much like a dog. “The secret is in an organic lotion that my brother makes - he’s shockingly talented for such an ugly creature!”

Stella laughed, taking to the conversation like a fish in water. Dassah, on the other hand, wasn’t sure at what she should be appalled at first. Who just outright calls their brother ‘ugly’? Thought Dassah, leaving the dinosaur bit out. But… What do dinosaurs even define as ‘ugly’?

The truth was, Dassah didn’t know, or care, much about the dinosaur men - or ‘garule’, if Dassah were to take the advice of calling them their more proper name. In all honesty, she had expected to remain ignorant of them. Compared to other races, very few dinosaurs took to leaving their homeworld - and Dassah was happier for it. Now, learning about them would become a matter of survival.

Bahena had come in with six huge boxes filled with books and things that she was currently taking out gingerly and putting into place as she talked. Stella hadn’t been joking about her scales; they were a shining bronze that made Dassah think of snakes more than anything, while most tended to look like shedding lizards. Tall, lean, and muscular, Bahena was definitely intimidating in a beautiful but deadly sort of way - but the conversation that was happening in the room made Dassah’s head spin.

“I must say - Stella, was it? - that dress looks absolutely fantastic on you,” Bahena put her scaly clawed hands to her cheeks and pouted. Dassah’s stomach turned as the dinosaur woman continued, “I find it to be such a pity that I can’t get away with wearing something like that. I do envy the sleek looks of your kinds of legs. Mine are so bulky…”

“Oh, thank you!” Stella went. “It’s new - valkyrian fashion is simply fantastic. Really though - I would envy your legs! They look so strong and powerful! I simply adore the fact that women are such complete badasses in garuli culture!”

It was Bahena’s turn to clap her hands together. “I have seen what your males think they can get away with - the treatment they give you females! You all simply must learn to show them who's boss! I say, if there is anything that I can teach you, just ask! Breaking their brittle bones is like pie!” Oh my god these two are birds of a feather, Dassah thought with a cringe.

Stella let out a squeal, “That would be so amazing. We can have office bonding time! What do you think, Dassah?”

Dassah blinked and looked at her. “Uh,” she started, wondering if her lack of enthusiasm for the idea was going to be given away in her voice. “Yeah, sounds great.”

“Excellent!” Bahena nodded her long head as she got up and walked over to fetch another box.

What an unrealistic conversation. Quite happy that there was at least one desk between her and the dinosaur woman, she was able to relax a little bit. Still, an outgoing fifth year like Bahena seemed to be wasn’t liable to simply allow her to exist. They would have to be officemates for at least eleven more months.

Though she was apprehensive of the presence of the dinosaur in the room, Dassah couldn’t help watching her. It was really the first time that she had ever had direct contact with the garule species. They were quite beautiful - that was something that she could appreciate.

Before, she had always compared the garule to an old television show that her parents used to watch back in America. It was an old sitcom from the 90s about a family of human-like dinosaurs. All done with puppets, about varied races living together and working 9-5 jobs trying to feed their families - till they all died, as history dictated.

Obviously, the garule did not suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs of Earth, and they looked quite a bit different. Sure, they had scales and tails, but they were a hyper athletic kind; all muscle and sinew and full of easy, unexpected grace for their size. Their legs were like a cat’s; they only walked on the four clawed toes of their long feet, with their heels about parallel to their knees. As such, they didn’t wear shoes. Between those long legs and their long necks, they were also exceptionally tall. Dassah could guess that Bahena was easily eight feet tall, head to toe, even in a relaxed stance. It was no wonder the ceilings in the buildings here were ten feet high. Idly, Dassah wondered, I wonder if they can land on four feet like a cat if they fell out a window…

Of course, the part that always gave Dassah a pause was the infamous short tempers and territorial behavior that was supposed to be ten times more prevalent in female garuli than male garuli. She shivered.

As Bahena was putting her books into the bookcase behind her desk, Dassah watched with wide eyed fascination as the muscles rippled in the areas the dinosaur woman’s sleeveless white blouse and tight charcoal grey pants couldn’t hide. Her claws clicked lightly on the floor as she went back and forth as she moved things from her boxes to the appropriate destinations.

The dinosaur men on the television program had ranged from cute to creepy. The ones in real life - as far as Dassah was concerned - were no different than lions, tigers, and bears. They were beautiful, powerful, intelligent, and dangerous. There had been many an article written about a garule losing their shit over something stupid and ripping lesser creatures’ ribcages open. It was like letting a gorilla loose in a zoo; those muscles weren’t just for show.

The images in those articles appeared in her mind, and the growing dread she felt twisted in her stomach. It may have been just marginally better that the stories of the pig men - or jikak - eating their victims, but not by much. I don’t want to be dinner...

And now, not only did she have to pass this creature in the hallway, she practically had to live with her. Dassah would now be living in a rabid dinosaur’s territory. She wanted to cry.

“Is this the first time you’ve been around a garule?” Bahena asked in an amused tone, catching Dassah’s stare before she could react. Looking away quickly and biting her lip, Dassah gave a single, hesitant nod. The dinosaur woman laughed. “It’s all right, really! I don’t bite… usually.” She gave a toothy grin.

Frozen in her chair, her eyes were starting to hurt from how wide they were.

Bahena burst out laughing, “It’s a joke, girly! A joke - an old one at that. I can’t speak for the rest of my kind, mind you, but I am mostly harmless!” Her tail curled over her shoulder as she posed with a wink from her double eyelids.

Sure, that’s what they all say, thought Dassah fiddling with her fingers in her lap.

“Don’t mind her,” Stella’s voice rang out. “She’ll be all meek and awkward for a couple of days, but she gets over things fast.”

“I hope so!” Bahena said, her husky voice holding a pleasant tone. “I’ve worked with quite a few humans like that before; scared stiff till they realize that I won’t bite their heads off. I do like to think that I am an expert on making them all hate us a little less,” she said, then added: “Not that I am a fantastic example of a garule, I guess.”

Stella laughed, “My first garule was a meek little male in a video game. He was a really nice guy, really, claws and all. Garuli males are adorable. Maybe TheirWorld is just what you need after all, Dassah,” she said. “You'll meet so many different kinds of scary monsters that the garule will be the least of your worries!”

“Leave it alone,” Dassah muttered, wanting to throw something at her.

“You two play TheirWorld?” Bahena asked them.

“Dassah is just starting - we were talking about it just before you came,” Stella told her. “Do you play?”

Bahena shook her head. “I can’t say that I am all that into the concept myself - I’m more of a hands-on, bash real people into the concrete type, myself -” Dassah cringed as Bahena put a finger to her mouth, “- but there is hardly anyone out there who doesn’t play it on the Enclave now. Chances are, I won’t have a choice but to play it soon,” she sighed. “While I think there are much better things out there to do with your time, even the professors are starting to assign it as homework - especially in combat studies. Many combat teams are already requiring to use as a training utility.”

With furrowed a furrowed brow, Dassah tilted her head. “I’ve heard it had potential applications for mental training if nothing else,” she said. “But they are using it like that without extensive study? It’s only been what, five months?”

“So it seems,” Bahena told her with a thoughtful smile. “It makes sense. Even if it can’t train your body - yet - it can help you to understand how things feel when you do them correctly. No injury, no fatigue; the potential is pretty revolutionary for many fields. The programming and engineering departments are now working on a new harness and arcade, if you will, to make it so that you can train your body while in game, too.” Bahena said, “It hasn’t reached our cultural districts yet, but since one of the main goals of the whole project was cultural understanding, I imagine it’s not far behind.”

Stella stuck her tongue out. “Does that mean that my martial arts classes are going to require me to meet outside of class hours?”

“...Do you even go to those classes during class hours?” Dassah asked her, sitting back in her chair and flipping a pencil in her fingers.

Slamming her hand on her desk, Stella pointed at Dassah with a smile. “There you are! Welcome back!”

Dassah “tsked” at her as she felt her cheeks flush.

Bahena laughed and started, “To answer the question, it seems that it will be more likely as time goes.” She sat in her own desk chair and continued, “For now, I think it’s just teams and classes gearing up for the hex tournaments.”

“Hex tournaments…” Chewing on her nail, Stella looked between Dassah and Bahena. Dassah met her eyes and shook her head quickly. She could see the gears working in her co-worker’s brain as her face lit up with an impish grin. She may not have known just what was going through Stella’s head, but she knew she wasn’t going to like it. “Hey Bahena?” Stella went.

“Yes?”

“Have you ever been in a hex tournament?”

“Mmm. Just once.”

“Just once?” Stella seemed genuinely surprised. “Why?

“It wasn’t even for the sake of the tournament,” Bahena told her with a shrug. “I needed an excuse to rip the head off some jackass who insulted my brother,” the dinosaur woman said quite flippantly, then seemed to think about what she was saying. Turning to look at Dassah, she quickly added: “I didn’t, by the way; I just roughed him up a bit. It was completely legal and there was very little blood - and if it makes you feel any better, my brother - who was the one I trying to defend, the jerk - was spitting mad about me doing it in the first place; I’m still quite bitter about that. I dropped out after I finished my… work.”

Dassah blinked a few times, then allowed herself to chuckle at the stupidly detailed account Bahena gave in her own defense. Both Stella and Bahena joined her for the laugh before Stella turned back to Dassah, snapping her fingers.

“My point!” she said. “I have a brilliant idea!” Oh boy…

Dassah raised her hand, “I refuse.”

“You don’t even know what you are refusing,” Stella pouted.

“Mmm, don’t care,” Dassah answered.

“Look! You need to work better with the other people in this place, and with Bahena here, it's a sterling opportunity!” Stella told her, walking over quickly and sitting on Dassah’s desk again.

Bahena looked confused. “...Should I be upset that it sounds like I’m being offered up as a sacrifice here?” she asked.

“Ms. Sul, meet Stella Morgan,” Dassah sighed, putting up her hands to present her friend. This girl is more dangerous than the dinosaur people…

Bahena chuckled. “Please, just call me Bahena.”

“Ohhh,” went Stella, waving her hand in the air. “Just hear me out! I play TheirWorld, Dassah is going to play TheirWorld - Bahena, if you get TheirWorld too, then we can all meet up! We can form our own combat team! Think about it! We could be ‘The Office Girl’s Team! Or… The English Assistants Team! Or… Well, I’m unimaginative - Dassah’s better in that department - but let’s just do it! We are together for a year - let’s make it fun!”

“...Are you serious?” Dassah asked, giving a side glance to Bahena. “We literally just met twenty minutes ago.” Get the hint, dense girl! Dassah tapped her desk with her pencil impatiently.

“Come on, Das!” Stella exclaimed. Hint missed. “Where‘s your sense of adventure?”

“I like your enthusiasm,” Bahena said, the sound of her claw tapping the desk grating on Dassah’s nerves further. “Not that I am against it, but it’s not quite that simple. For starters, I don’t even have the system yet. For another thing, combat teams, as they are, are mostly experienced players; we would have a long way to go to be a real combat team.”

“Call it a goal,” Stella shrugged. “The important part is us working together to form that team. Sure, it might take all year, but imagine what we could do, putting our minds into it!”

“...You realize we are English teachers, right. Assistant English Teachers,” Dassah felt compelled to remind her. “Why on Earth would we want to be on a combat team?”

Stella stared at her with a knowing look. “If the potential of gaining a sexy body through healthy exercise isn’t enough of an attraction for you,” she said. “You and I both know that being an English teacher isn’t exactly your dream.”

Dassah looked away and licked her lips. “Okay. And how is playing a videogame going to help with that?”

“Think about it,” Stella said, her voice quiet as she leaned in. “You can’t touch intergalactic government work if you don’t learn to put effort into getting comfortable with all the other species. I mean - it’s why you came here, isn’t it? To study history and culture and intergalactic relations? That’s gonna take a lot more than a little bit of talk, girly. Put some force behind that wall of talk you talk, or you’ll never bring it down!”

“You are making me seriously regret I told you anything,” Dassah growled, feeling the pressure of her anxiety in her chest.

Stella shrugged. “What are friends for?”

Dassah’s eyes flickered to where Bahena was sitting, looking over at them uncertainly. “...Let’s say that I agree to this - ridiculous - plan. Putting the whole stranger thing behind us for now, just what the hell am I supposed to do? Thousands of video game hours and few classes of self defense don’t make me an acutal fighter,” Dassah said, in a voice that Bahena could hear. She had never intended to play a combat class in the game - there were so many other things that she could do!

“Obviously, you’re the brains,” Stella told her, probably able to read into Dassah’s intent. “That video game experience makes you a lot more valuable than you might think.”

“A-As flattering as that is...” Dassah stuttered, trying to not let Stella manipulate her so easily.

“Plus,” Stella said before Dassah could form a coherent argument. “This is TheirWorld we are talking about, and we live on the Enclave. There are all sorts of opportunities here - you could learn to fight. Plus, if you haven’t offended Bahena to death by then, she’s already offered to help teach us how to make brain pudding!”

“It may be best if you don’t pressure the girl to work with me,” Bahena said, her voice sounding a little like she had started to understand the danger that was Stella. The dinosaur’s words wouldn’t mean much, but Dassah genuinely appreciated the effort.

Stella waved her hand in the air again, “No worries. This is how you have to be with Dassah or she’ll never do anything.”

“...Thanks,” Dassah twitched.

“You’re welcome,” Stella said happily. You’d think I meant it, looking at her face, Dassah sighed.

Dassah started, “Regardless, what you are suggesting is -”

“Totally and completely harmless!” Stella finished with a wink.

“Well, it’s not something any of us need to make a choice about right the second. I haven’t even finished moving in…” Bahena looked at her boxes dismally.

“I’ll help you!” Stella said in her singsong voice and skipped over, then turned and asked. “Dassah?”

Admitting her defeat with a sigh, Dassah stood. “Coming,” she said, and forced herself to cautiously walk to Bahena’s desk.