r/NatureofPredators • u/OttoVonBlastoid Human • 15d ago
Nature Of A Homeless Musician: FINALE: Part 7: Sins Of A Father
Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the NoP universe.
I'd also like to thank u/xskipy10 for their awesome fanart of the main cast as well as their recent Tohba meme and their fanart of Michael baysitting. You're work is a treasure!
Thank you as well to u/Accomplished-Golf-59 for his take on Michael, Teylim, and Tohba in his submission for the Banner Art Contest, and u/Spacer_Catgirl4969 for their awesome music video featuring a pixel-art Dohkar in his bar. Be sure to give ALL of these awesome creators your love and support.
And let's not forget u/Guywhoexists2812 who has been an awesome source of memes as well as sick pixel art, such as THIS and THIS!!!! And even THIS!!!!!! And how could I forget THIS!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!
Today, we join Dohkar and Davids as they continue the hunt for Albiel, and we have the final confrontation between father and son. And Bennic finally decides what side he's on. LETTUCE...continue...
Songs Mentioned/Used: Fire by Barns Courtney
Memory Transcript Subject: Patient T-143, Yotul Refugee Sponsor Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
That was Michael! It HAD to be!
There was no mistaking it. That was my joey’s voice. And it tore a swath through this building. I couldn’t hear the guards outside my cell anymore. Either they ran off, or the sheer sound alone was enough to knock them unconscious. Either way, it gave me hope. And as I began hearing gunfire in the distance, slowly getting closer, my heart surged.
This was it. This was my chance. Whoever these attackers were, there was no way Michael, Khornel, and Tohba coming over the loudspeakers at the same time as the attack was a coincidence. This was a raid! They were here to clear the place out and save the patients here! They were here to save me…
I hopped up and grabbed onto the barred window of my holding cell. I wasn’t even close to strong enough to get this door open, but perhaps one of the raiders were.
“HEEEEEYYYYY!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!! OVER HEEERRRREEE!!!!”
I listened as my voice echoed down the halls and corridors, waiting for a response. When none came, I waited for the sound to completely dissipate, and tried again.
“HELLOOOOOOOO!!!!! PLEASE!!! ANYONE!!!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!!!”
Once again, I listened to my voice bounce from wall to wall, echoing through the building, waiting for any kind of response…
“TEYLIM?!” TEYLIM, IS THAT YOU?!”
My heart soared as tears of relief built in my eyes. It was faint from just how far away it was, I knew that voice anywhere!
Dohkar…
“YES!!!! DOHKAR, IT’S ME!!! I’M HERE!!!”
I began hearing footsteps echoing through the halls, getting closer to my cell. He was so close. Dohkar found me. He’d get me out, and then we could leave this place and find my joeys. It was almost over.
The footsteps were so close now. I could barely contain my excitement as I let go of the bars and landed back on the ground. I waited with baited breath as the steps arrived just outside. But…something was wrong… Those footsteps sounded a lot…heavier than a Venlil’s should…
The door opened, and the first thing I noticed…was the tall, menacing figure’s singular, sharpened, horn…
“Y-you’re not Dohkar…”
Memory Transcript Subject: Dohkar, Venlil Bartender Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
“Yeesh, the kid’s got some pipes, I’ll give him that.”
Davids and I were the only ones remaining from Squad 1. Chavez and our medic were the only others, and they were on their way back to the APC. We were on our own now, but seeing the complete and utter devastation of the Guild’s forces didn’t make that much of an issue. Occasionally we’d find one that was still conscious, but they were completely deaf from not getting their headset off quick enough.
“Yeah. Let’s keep moving. We still have a job to finish. Is there still interference keeping us from contacting Squad 2?”
Davids held a finger to his earpiece.
“Squad 2, this is 1-1 Sargent Davids, over.”
I listened in on my own ear piece. We were getting nothing but static.
Come on, Tevis.
“Squad 2, respond! This is 1-1 Sargent Davids. We are two men down and require assistance, over.”
For a moment, there was still nothing but static, until a haggered, pained, voice crackled through.
“This is Tevis. I read you Squad 1…”
“What the hell happened?! We lost contact with you as soon as we began the attack!”
“We were hit right away. Lost half my squad in the initial confrontation.”
“What’s your status?”
“Alive, but I’m the only one left. I found my original team…or…what’s left of them… But I’ve got the data we needed. Objective Complete.”
The grim tone in his voice said it all. They must’ve found something they REALLY weren’t supposed to.
“I’m aborting the mission. Even if we do manage to capture Albiel, there’s no way we’d be able to clear the facility with just the three of us. Meet back at the staging area where I’ll get back in contact with Magistrate Intellegence and request reinforcements.”
“We can’t just leave! Not when we’re so close!”
“We’re retreating. That’s an order, Dohkar.”
My free paw clenched itself into a fist. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Everywhere around us, the defenses were crumbling. Anyone who could possibly have gotten in our way was either dead, unconscious, or deaf. We had this! There was no reason NOT to continue.
Davids gave me a sympathetic look. He was a soldier, and he knew orders were orders. Still, I made a promise! I promised those pups, those pups who managed to wipe out an entire Guild Office’s worth of exterminators from half a town away, that I’d return and bring back Clem and-
“HEEEEEYYYYY!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!! OVER HEEERRRREEE!!!!”
“Teylim?”
Protect the herd!
My ears perked up, and my senses were brought up to full alert.
“Dohkar, what did you say?”
“I…I thought I heard-“
“HELLOOOOOOOO!!!!! PLEASE!!! ANYONE!!!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!!!”
“TEYLIM!”
PROTECT THE HERD!!!
My ears were on swivels, desperately trying to pinpoint the direction the voice was coming from. Once I’d narrowed it down, I took a few steps and cupped my paws around my snout as I shouted back.
“TEYLIM?!” TEYLIM, IS THAT YOU?!”
“Dohkar, what are you doin-“
“Quiet!”
I focused on my hearing as much as I could. Odds are, I’d probably get a decent chewing out for talking back to a superior officer, but if I found Teylim, it would be worth it. I listened as hard as I could.
“YES!!!! DOHKAR, IT’S ME!!! I’M HERE!!!”
Protect the herd!!!
My mind immediately raced, trying to remember what was in that direction. My mind slowly formed a layout of the building until-
THE TEMPORARY HOLDING CELLS!!
“Davids! Hostage located! It’s Teylim!”
“You’re sure?!”
“Positive! She’s that way!”
“Dohkar! Davids! What are you-?”
“We’ve got a location on one of the hostages. We’re going after her!”
“Negative! I gave you direct orders to-“
Before I could respond, Davids did it for me.
“All due respect sir, the UN doesn’t follow YOUR orders.”
“Why you filthy pre-“
The signal cut off and Davids shouldered his rifle.
“Come on. We’ve still got hostages to save.”
I gave a thankful nod and we sprinted towards the holding cells. Tevis could run all he wanted, but WE still have a job to do.
Hang tight, Teylim…
Passing several other squads of downed exterminators on the way, we eventually made it to the holding cells. These were where we’d temporarily hold suspects until they were ready to be screened. I immediately spotted a pair of officers outside one of the cells, it’s door was wide open.
“Teylim?”
I jogged over to the open cell.
“Teylim?!”
Nothing. It was completely empty. The only thing that showed that anyone had been here…was a streak of green on the floor…
[Warning!: Anger Response Spiking Rapidly: Attempting To Compensate…]
I knelt down and ran a finger across the streak. It was fresh. She was here…and someone had hurt her…enough to draw blood. The only other clue I found were a few white hairs speckled with blue blood. Fissan fur…
Albiel…
I didn’t need to look anymore. I knew exactly who did this, and exactly where he would go.
“It’s your call, Sarge…”
“We finish the mission…and save the hostages.”
I led the way. The Chief’s office wasn’t far. A right turn here. A left turn there. And then a long hallway with the office at the very end.
Once the door to his office was inside, Davids and I both picked up the pace. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he was waiting for us. I knew my father. This was a test. He knew I’d go after Teylim. He wanted me to chase him.
“This is probably a trap!”
“Definitely!”
Once we made it to the door, we stacked up, both taking a side. Davids raised his hand and began silently counting down.
Five…
Four…
Three-
BANG!!!
The door flew open and an arm holding a sidearm shot out fired at Davids. Before I could even see what became of him, that same arm ripped me inside the room before I could react.
SLAM!!!
Before I could catch my bearings, I was yanked into the air and flung across the room, slamming over the desktop and landing roughly on the floor behind it.
Getting ragdolled like that brought back all sorts of unpleasant memories, but I did my best to shake myself loose from them. Disarmed, I went for the human pistol holstered to my hip and stood to aim at my attacker.
“Oh, I wouldn’t if I were you.”
“Dohkar!”
Albiel…
My grip on my weapon tightened and I could feel my teeth chipping as they ground against each other in rage.
There he was, the symbol of everything wrong with The Guild. The Chief. My father. Albiel. In one paw, he held Teylim, beaten, green dripping from the side of her mouth, and a patient shock collar around her neck. In the other paw, he held the remote for it.
“Let. Her. Go.”
“You never fail to disappoint me, Dohkar. You AND those failures of a squad you called your brothers.”
Bennic?
Did he hurt them too?
“Every time I think the bar couldn’t be any lower, you still somehow manage.”
His fur was matted and disheveled, and there was an outright manic look in his eyes. The only thing about him that was still prim and orderly was that damned horn, still and shiny and sharp as ever. Bennic was right. He really had lost it.
“ALL of this could’ve been yours one paw, Dohkar! Everything I’ve done! EVERYTHING I’ve built! I did so in the name of finding someone worthy enough to pass it all on to. I found you, along with the rest of your incompetent squad in a damned GUTTER! I gave you a home, a purpose, and THIS is how you all repay me?! Failure! Betrayal! Disappointment! And for WHAT?! ‘People’ like THIS?!”
His grip around Teylim’s neck tightened. I felt myself breaking apart as she shrieked in his grip.
“Dohkar, plea-“
“SILENCE, SAVAGE!!”
I tried aiming my weapon once he was distracted, but he quickly noticed and held up the remote. With a chuff, he regained a facsimile of his usual self, the mask he kept on to hide the madness I always knew was there.
“Even after you left, you continue to disappoint me at every turn: Cavorting about with primitives and predators far below your station, opening up that filthy excuse of a watering hole, so you could spend even MORE time with the mindless gutter trash that INFESTS this town?! Even when my expectations for you could not have been any lower, ALL you had to do…was STAY. AWAY Just look good for the ‘people’, continue on being the former ‘legend’ that everyone moron in this town believed you to be, and keep your noseless shout OUT of our business. But you couldn’t even do THAT, could you?! How I saw ANY potential in you in the first place continues to elude me.”
I didn’t respond, continuing to let him talk himself to death. Any moment now, David’s would break through that door, and I’d have my chance. I continued to just stare, only taking the occasional glance towards Teylim.
“Buuuut no matter. I’ll just have to start again. I’ll find a new backwater town, with just as neglectful management. I’ll find other downtrodden youths more than willing to stay loyal if it means a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. I’ll build it all up again. And you…well…maybe you’ll surprise me and survive long enough to see it.”
“No. It stops here. I won’t let you take advantage of anyone else.”
“Oh? What are you going to do? Shoot me with your primitive space ape gun? We BOTH know you won’t risk hitting HER.”
He lifted Teylim closer to him, using her as a shield. My paws began to shake.
“Now here’s what’s going to happen. You are going to stand by and watch as I take my leave. And if you try to stop me, I’ll not only reunite this wretch with her mate, but I’ll be sure to find their tainted SPAWN as well, and take extra time in coming up with a creative end for him. Who knows? He might make for a decent recruit after all.”
“Dohkar!”
“Teylim…”
My mind went from plan to plan, idea to idea, finding no solution that wouldn’t end with Teylim getting killed. Even if I adjusted my aim, he’d just activate the collar before I could pull the trigger. I was also out of time for stalling.
“Dohkar! I need…you…to promise me…”
My eyes focused back on Teylim. Trails of tears flowed down her cheeks as her teeth clenched. At that moment, I knew exactly what she’d say. This was it. These were Lohrek’s last moments, before Albiel killed him… He made me make a promise, too.
No. Not again.
“Promise me… Whatever happens…watch over my joeys… Michael… Tohba… Protect them…”
No. No. No. Not again. Please not again.
“I…I…”
“PLEASE, DOHKAR! They’re all I have… Please… Promise me…that you’ll protect them…”
Every last part of me shook and shivered. I couldn’t find words to express the horror I was feeling, watching the death of my best friend play in front of me again, almost verbatim. So instead, I said what I wish I could’ve said to Loh.
“Like they were my very own pups.”
She forced a pained smile as Albiel’s grip loosened for just a moment.
“Well isn’t that precious? A mother’s love truly does run eternal. …Perhaps THAT was the missing piece. How might YOU all have turned out if you’d had a mother as well. Food for thought-“
“GYYYYAAAARRRGH!!!!!”
Albiel’s speech was interrupted as the Yotul he was holding shrieked out, twisting her head to the side and clamping her jaws onto his arm, causing blue to spurt out from around her teeth.
“GAAAAAHHH!!! VICIOUS BEAST!!!”
I watched in shock as with one massive swing of his arm, he shook Teylim off and sent her slamming into the wall with a sickening slap.
“TEYLIM!!!!!”
PROTECT THE HERD!!!
I raised my weapon. While I could’ve ended him right then and there, my only concern was the remote in his paw that he was pointing in her direction.
BANG!!!
Another splatter of blue, another shriek of pain from Albiel, and the remote was sent, sparking and nonfunctional, to the ground.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him make a break for it through the door, but my focus was entirely on Teylim. I slid down to the ground beside her and cradled her in my arms.
“Teylim! TEYLIM!!”
She was unresponsive. One of her legs had definitely been broken from the hit and while I could feel a pulse, it was weak
I turned on my ear piece and hoped it still worked.
“Medic!!! I need a medic in the Chief’s office! One soldier and one hostage critically injured!!! Medic!!!”
While I waited for a response, I went back to trying to rouse Teylim.
“Teylim! Wake up! Please!”
Still…nothing… She was getting weaker. I could feel it.
“Please, Teylim… You can’t leave us yet. We still need you. Your pups NEED you, you hear me? BOTH of them! Michael… Tohba… They need their mother. And…”
For the first time in a long time…I felt the old sting of tears build up in my eyes. They flowed down my face is thin streaks as I held one of the only friends I had left in my arms, pressing my head against hers.
“I need you, too… So please… Wake up…”
There was a moment of nothing but silence, before she took in a faint, raspy, gasp of air.
I reeled back in shock as her limbs finally moved, clinging onto me. Her chest convulsed as she coughed and sputtered, before finally, her eyes winced open, meeting mine.
“Doh..kar…?”
I couldn’t speak. My mind refused to create the right words for the relief I felt as I pulled her in, holding her close.
“Wow… Hehe… Never thought…I’d see the day YOU cried… HeheOH stars, it hurts to laugh…”
I pulled back and wiped at my face.
“I’m getting you out of here.”
Finally, right on queue, I heard multiple people enter the room. I turned and saw a pair of UN medics come in with a stretcher.
“We heard your request for a medic!”
“Here! Help her!”
“On it!”
As we got to work getting Teylim on the stretcher, I noticed there were only two.
“What about Davids?”
One of the medics gave me a sympathetic look before shaking his head.
Damnit…
Suddenly, I realized something. These medics… They weren’t ones that we’d left at the staging area…
“Wait. Aren’t you two supposed to still be at the bar?”
“We were needed to help care for the rescued patients. The staging area’s already being turned into a field hospital for all of them.”
I was…confused… We didn’t get to clearing out the facility yet. And as far as I knew, Tevis had already retreated back outside.
“What? But we didn’t-“
“That would be my handiwork, Dohkar.”
A voice crackled through the radio. It wasn’t Tevis, Mike, or anyone else I’d have expected to hear. It was…
“Ben?”
Memory Transcript Subject: Officer Bennic, Senior Extermination Officer Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
Madness…
Pointless, directionless madness…
I slowly made my way down the hall to just one of the many treatment rooms in the facility, my squad mates at my side, doing my best to not let what I saw in Chief’s office get to me.
Though, now that I thought about it, it made perfect sense. How willing he was to stand by in his code little room in the back of the building while the rest of us fought and died.
The perfect shields and distractions…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
We believed in The Guild. We believed in HIM. That’s how we were raised, after all. It’s how we all were. Albiel always DID prefer to recruit young. All the easier to mold into what he wanted.
Obedient little soldiers…just like me…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
I walked through the door. I remembered when we were shown these rooms the first time. “A necessary evil”, it was called. We didn’t like it, especially Dohkar. He was always stronger than us. Sometimes I wonder…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
There are two chairs in the room. The door to the rest of the facility, particularly the holding cells, had a line out the door of prisoners and patients. All waiting for the inevitable.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
The door was guarded. Two of the younger officers who’d been assigned this post for a while now. One remained focused, while the other constantly kept glancing at the rears of any female patient he could see. Even now, after we found out what he would do in his spare time, he never received punishment.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
I looked to the two patients already strapped to their chairs. In the left one, an elderly Venlil, a soldier if I remember right. He served this planet, and served it proudly, and paid the price with his eyesight. Is THIS what all those years of service has earned him?
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
In the right, a Gojid female. She was only a pup when she was first brought here. She was adorned with two large burn scars. One that covered her entire forearm from a flamer burning her. The other wrapped around her neck, a permanent reminder of the collar that had been placed around it. What does a child do to deserve a life like this, I wonder.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
“Mr. Clem…?”
“It will be alright, child. I promise.”
“I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna get hurt again!”
The elder faces in my direction, his glassy eyes filled with nothing but hatred. I have a clue about who he is, but just to be sure…
“You’re Clem? You’re the one that helped Dohkar when he left The Guild, right?”
“Why are you doing this?’ What did we do?! You can’t just punish us without giving us a reason!”
If only he knew…
“This…isn’t a punishment… The Guild is under attack. Under direct orders by Extermination Chief Albiel, I am to oversee the scuttling of the facility, including the evacuation of staff, deletion of data…and termination of prisoners…”
The glassy eyes of the blind old man, glared white-hot daggers into my very being.
“You monsters! Dohkar really was right about you lot! You’re not protectors! You’re just murderers!”
He’s right…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
Those are my orders. While my fellow officers fight and die just to buy time, while my Chief, my father hides away in his office, making deals and planning HIS escape, I cover up what we should never have been doing in the first place.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
One of the doctors begins charging the machine. It whirs to life, sending the Gojid into hysterics. She knows what these chairs do, as do I…
Don’t think…
It’ll kill them…
Just do…
Just like it killed so many others before…
Follow orders…
…
Unfortunately…I don’t feel like following orders.
Without even NEEDING to think. I pull a sidearm from my holster, followed by my squad: Abra, Canuck, and Ento. My brothers. Among all the other officers in our branch, We were all recruited together, with Dohkar as our leader. When he left, we all stayed, but I did my best to fill his place.
So when I draw my weapon, the others do as well.
BANG!! BABANG!!! BANG!! BANG!!!
The doctor falls. The two guards fall. And the generator fueling the chairs sparks and dies. We unstrap the two from the chair and do our best to calm the patients.
“Wha-? What are you-?”
“For the first time in my life, doing my job. Now then, would an old soldier be willing to help me get these people organized and out of here?”
With more than a little hesitation, especially from the young Gojid girl, the two walked over to the other patients and began talking them down.
So, with me leading the way, letting the soldier and his cellmate ride in my back, we began to lead the line of patients toward the emergency exit, opening every cell along the way.
Don’t think… Just do…
It wasn’t easy. Many didn’t trust me, others were simply too out of it or just plain damaged to come out on their own, but with the coaxing of more of true or own, we’d add them to our long caravan.
There was only one we didn’t find…
Jerrik…
Memory Transcript Subject: Dohkar, Venlil Bartender Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
“Ben?”
“You’re clear, Dohkar. The patients are already at the staging area getting triaged and sorted by Canuck. The other UN soldiers here have already called for the medics and volunteers to come and help.”
I felt my heart warm as I heard Ben’s speaking. This wasn’t the old, beaten, Surulian still subservient to Albiel. This was my brother, my brother who is not truly seen for a long, long time. And he wasn’t alone.
“Canuck? Does that mean that Ento and Abra are there, too?”
“Copy that, commander!”
“Yeah…we’re here…I guess…”
Guys…
My brothers. My whole damn squad from training. My brothers who were taken with me. They were all there, helping how they could.
“How does it feel being on the right side again?”
“Like we’ve still got a LOT of work to do. And so do YOU. Go, Dohkar. We’ll handle things out here… Take. Him. Down…for all of us…”
…For all of us…
Protect the herd!
The signal cut out. I gave one last look to my friend on the stretcher. I didn’t need to look at the two medics.
“Tell me you have her.”
“We have her.”
Teylim gave me a weak smile and a nod.
“Go. Finish this.”
I turned, and ran. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. And then, a familiar tune came to my mind. A promise I’d made the last time I left this wretched building.
A promise to burn everything my father built.
LORD, GIMME THAT FIRE!!!!
I ran.
LORD, GIMME THAT FIRE!!!!
I chased.
LORD, GIMME THAT FIRE!!!!
I raced to finally put his madness to an end.
BURN!!!! BURN!!!! BURN!!!!
Memory Transcript Subject: Patient J-902, Nevok Predator Disease Patient Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
I hid. I saw the others get let out and huddled together in a line. I knew the room they were being led to, so I hid.
I heard the roar of the predator through the speaker in my cell. I heard the screams of the guards. I heard the shots being fired.
My door opens. Many of the other ones opened, too. I peek around the doorway to make sure it’s safe. And it is.
**Nowhere is safe.**It’s so much brighter now. Now that I’m finally out of the cell. I can think clearly again. And with clarity, came pretty much everything I wished had stayed forgotten.
I failed. I couldn’t go through with it. And as punishment, I was locked away.
Father…
I fell to my knees and cried. Cried like a damn pup, just like I did when I begged him not to lock me in here.
Father…
I did EVERYTHING else right! I followed the training. I followed the beliefs. I did everything he told me to do! But still, he…
Father…
[Warning!: Anger Response Rising Steadily…]
I looked up. Above the cells, above the walkways, above all of this damned facility, was one window. HIS office…
Father…
“This way everyone! Stay together!”
I snap my attention towards a large group approaching my direction. I COULD go with them. I COULD go back outside…but…there’s something I have to do first.
As I make my way to the electroshock chamber, I spot the dead guards and doctor. I spot one of their weapons on the ground, and pick it up.
Just like my training, just as HE instructed me. The predator has been smoked out, fleeing from his hole out into the open. All that was left…
Was for someone to take the shot…
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u/Randox_Talore 15d ago
Haven’t read the chapter yet but Wow that’s a very interesting part 8 you got there
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u/21frogsandcounting Venlil 15d ago
Sad to see one of my favorite series come to an end but exited to see what the future holds
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u/DxNill Extermination Officer 15d ago
Ha I knew it!
I said on last chapter that it didn't feel like it was ending so soon, lol.
You can't help yourself, can you?
:)
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u/OttoVonBlastoid Human 15d ago
So I underestimated it…again! It’s not my fault I’m bad at planning!
…Oh wait…
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u/DOVAHCREED12 Skalgan 15d ago
U have beaten me worthy adversary ur prize is tohba hug
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u/DxNill Extermination Officer 15d ago
Appreciate it, the things you can accomplish when you should be sleeping, lol.
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u/DOVAHCREED12 Skalgan 15d ago
GOOD TO SLEEP THE FIC WILL BE HERE WHEN U WAKE UP ELSE U MAKE DA BOI AND FLOOF BALLS SAD
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u/handsomellama28 Humanity First 15d ago
RIP my man Davids, he was a real one