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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Suspicious-Ad-2566 on 2024-09-06 20:20:56+00:00.

My first attempt at creative writing. Props to you who can do this well. Edit: Would love feedback in case I ever try this again.

“A round for my friends!” Called Raith. “To another contract together!”

Drinks were brought to the table. An earth beer for Raith, wine for his lifemate Nadia, sugar water for the insectoid Icthia named Zelnag, and a blue foggy cocktail for the amphibious Sartan called Henax.

Nearby a drunken Faltos glared at the table. Their race, short tempered and violent, had been slowly replaced by Humans over the last decade. He was bitter that a predator race without armor or claws had displaced them, clawed and scaled as they were, without even a war. Now they were here, on his planet, it was the last straw.

“You squishy humans!” The Faltos yelled as he approached the table. His reptilian eyes locked onto the pale taller human, the smaller dark one much harder to see in the dim light of the pub.

“I’m sorry friend, we’ll keep it down. Here, let me buy you a drink.” Raith did his best in diplomacy but the Faltos continued it’s approach. Henax shifted black, partially to hide and partially to show solidarity with Nadia. She knew her kind were helpless against a Faltos but wouldn’t leave her human friend. Z nervously clicked his mandibles, hoping to not have his exoskeleton cracked open today.

“Today the galaxy will remember why it fears the Faltos!”

“Whoa now buddy…” Raith said while standing. The blow landed squarely on Raith’s mouth. The pub went silent. Z thought a blow like that would drop the human, it certainly would’ve damaged his carapace. To everyone’s surprise Raith didn’t fall, but wiped blood from his lip and stared at the Faltos, who was holding his now bruised hand.

“Cartilage is no match for bone, jackass. You wanna rethink this or break out the claws?” Raith seemed completely unphased from the blow.

Henax scanned her implant for human bones. Her lightning fast brain implant telling her everything she needed to know in milliseconds. The great calcification of earth’s oceans billions of years ago was a golden ticket event. The human skeleton is stronger than steel and concrete by weight, allowing them to build and use considerably more muscle than the vast majority of non-earth species.

The Faltos hesitated for a moment, then decided to try the smaller human. Being a strongly individual race, he failed to consider that humans were pack animals. He reached out and grabbed Nadia’s locs. Other Faltos had gathered, eager to punish the humans. That is until a barrage of bony fisted impacts beat the first Faltos into the ground. Scales be damned, there was ample blunt force trauma.

Nadia stood and stomped the Faltos, crushing his comparatively soft pelvis. “Nobody touches my locs. Clear?” She was smaller, but being a veteran had great command of presence.

The rest of the Faltos backed off. The crew returned to their drinks and Henax scooted toward Z. “So Z, human bones…”