The gangly thing in front of Alfred stood up, grinning as crimson streaks slid down the eye of the being. Technically, they were breaking the ceasefire. But what’s an individual interspecies conflict matter? The Thing laughed, and Alfred realized a little too late: The fight wasn’t over. With agility faster than any Deimos could manage, the thing lunged at Alfred. He tried to get the thing off, but it was already too late. It was biting at his ears and shattered a horn, before he could think properly the thing had won. “What… What are you?” Alfred said through his pain, and the thing bared its teeth. “I’m a human, and you’re on Earth Two.” She said, still bleeding. Back home, that type of injury would attract the Blink-hounds in mere moments. Your bones would be found all over the forest for days after. The thing was clearly at least a carnivore.
Alfred woke days later. At least the thing are honorable. At least, enough to not outright kill one who’s lost in a duel. Though, the Deimos wished perhaps the “Human” did. Alfred was aching. He could tell that he was fighting off an infection, but it wouldn’t be lethal. Not to him. He sat up, and let out a bellow of pain. He forgot about the broken horn, the missing ear. Did… The thing broke his skin with it’s teeth! Alfred looked at the deep purple marks where he’d been bitten. That was what he was fighting. What kind of barbarians can transmit disease through a simple bite? They spoke too! Full Hugorr, not just some other thing. The cloth that the thing used to clothe itself too… It was despicable. Such bright colors, it couldn’t survive out in the wild like that. Alfred’s realization dawned like a new day. He was near a human settlement. They were territorial, like the Sparlids. Unlike the Sparlids though, Alfred hoped that he didn’t need a vaccine to avoid “human” spores from taking inside his lungs.
Alfred was lonely. Incredibly so. He was cut off from his clan, alone. The silence was deafening, and every sound reminded him of his impending death. The “Human” had left him to die a fate as bad as the Clanless. He cursed them, as he tried to be as resourceful as possible. Use caves to avoid the acid rain, leave no trace, put hunted animals high in the trees to avoid feeding the Krill, and so on. Granted, Alfred didn’t know if this hellish planet even has Krill. Or acid rain. But he wasn’t about to expose himself to rain that can melt flesh in seconds. He survived, barely. Without anyone around, Alfred sang to himself. He persevered, he would survive.
