Kinverse: Volume One

PATH OF THE EMERALD MAIDEN

A naive young monster’s tale by Moros, aka KinverseWriter

Legal Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise herein mentioned. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters and events in this story are entirely fictional. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental. This work of fiction contains disturbing content.

Reader discretion is advised.

Description:

A young woman from a pre-neolithic society is accidentally whisked away to another world entirely during a raid on a research lab run by alien invaders. Stranded with no friends, badly injured, and no idea where home even is, she’s forced to live off the land and learn how to survive in this strange and hostile world.

There’s only one slight problem, though.

She’s not trapped in this world with them. They’re trapped in this world with her.

Categories:

Adventure, Coming-of-Age, Isekai, Erotica.

Disclaimers:

This story contains sexual elements and disturbing themes. The contents aren’t purely intended to be pornographic, but some scenes objectively are. This is about a giant monster that eats people, so reader discretion is advised. This story contains vorarephilic themes.

This story will have a very slow and intermittent pace to begin with. True stakes don’t really show up until halfway through, though the build-up is always there in the background. This is ultimately not a story of grand adventure and defeating one’s enemies to rise to the top, it is the tale of a lost and naive young woman growing as a person and learning new things. It is a personal one concerning her, and thus this story will be told in present-tense first-person.

Chapter 38: Humans Make Good Pets

---

A metallic clang rings out from the back yard. Sam and I share a look of hope and I kick the dining chair back, my breakfast forgotten. I sprint for the basement, fly down the stairs, and throw open the basement door. Hunched over a table full of bowled fruits is my friend and charge--she’s back!

I run and throw my arms around her oversized body as the sounds of chewing and slurping fill the basement. She doesn’t react to my hug so I look up to find her inattentively nibbling a banana bunch, peels and all.

“Emeral? Are you okay? We were worried after you ran off!”

She eats even the stem. With no bananas left she grabs an orange and tosses it in her mouth before tilting her head, two eyes locked on me.

“I was hungry,” she says impassively. She grabs another orange and gulps the two down whole. “Hungry again too. Thank you for food.”

I reach up and hug her neck, feeling the muscles beneath flex the warm carapace. Not one, but two entire oranges gone with only barely any rise in her gullet. It’s a good thing she went hunting for herself, though she’s clearly not bathed while out--her chin is spattered in blood.

“Hey, you need a bath! I know the forks and knives are too small for you but at least clean up after if you’re going to eat like an animal!”

Her full attention turns to me and she bares her teeth in a grin. “Not animal,” she corrects. “I me. Smart. Cooked food better anyway.”

“Oh, right, sorry. Speaking of which, we still need to figure out a name for... ‘more than you.’”

She blinks all four eyes at once. “More than me?”

“Yeah, you know, like... me and Sam are ‘humans.’ ‘Elk are elk. Oranges are oranges. A name for what you are.”

“I understand. Hn. Name for thing. Have, but need words,” she explains. “You human?”

“Yes. ‘Me human.’ You ‘not-Grrbleh.’ I guess we’d better get started on English lessons then.”

“Hey, Carey?” Sam pipes up, who followed at some point but stood quiet. “It’s been a few days, but is it just me or is she... larger?”

I look at her closer. She doesn’t seem any fatter, though the plates make it hard to tell. They all seem just as perfectly interlocked and overlapped as before. However, looking at her compared to the couch... does raise suspicions.

“I don’t know. Go get the measuring tape from your sewing kit.”

---

Carey wraps a long strip coated in symbols around my midsection before scrawling something on the ‘paper’--which is apparently the actual item that the Paper in Rock, Paper, Scissors is based on. It makes sense then why it would cover something or be easily cut.

“Alright... I’ve got her length, height, and width. I’ll start checking her every day,” she finishes.

Yet another reason not to overeat any more... I’ve already grown enough to protect myself from this world’s dangers, I need not inflate my growth further with such large meals.

“What’s a ‘not-Grrbleh’ anyway, Carey?” Sam asks.

Carey snorts before replying. “An injoke. When I asked her for her name she growled a bit and made a ‘bleh’ noise. I’m ninety-nine percent sure she was just making sounds and her people aren’t literally called that...”

She looks to me for confirmation. “Right, Emeral?”

“Not Grrbleh,” I shake my head. “We not animal. Above animal. Together-all-of-same.”

“Like... people?” she offers.

“What mean?”

“Uhm... it’s like... you, me, Sam, humans... your kind too I guess?”

“We not same. That together-all-of-smart. Not of same. What ‘my kind’ mean?”

“It means... things that are the same, things that you put together. This house is a kind of building, but not all buildings are houses. Some are for working, some are for trading, and some are for storing stuff.”

“Hrmf. So human a kind of together-all-of-smart. Human a kind of people. Elk a kind of people?”

Sam smiles and Carey exhales through her nose as if having smelled an insult. “No, no. Elk aren’t people. They’re animals. Animals don’t think like we do. Some are smart but they don’t have a ‘civilization.’ The word is ‘sapient.’”

I note to ask later what a civilization is. “But kind? Together-all-of-same. I a kind?”

She laughs again at me. Just explain! I’m tired of this.

“No, that wouldn’t be right. ‘Kind’ also means ‘nice.’ ‘Good.’ ‘Helpful.’ Giving you fruit is a kind thing to do. You bringing me to my truck earlier was kind.”

I grunt. “We not kind then. We quick when can. Slow if need, or want enjoy.”

She gives me the Carey Look again--the one where she doesn’t seem to have a response. “Alright then. What about... ‘Kin’ then?

It’s my turn to snort at the absurdity now. “That just kind without ‘duh.’”

“No no, really, it’s a word. It’s like, uh, ‘together-all-the-same,’ but it’s personal. Me and Sam are kin because we’re both humans and we’re both family. I think human means ‘people’ so... it’s not like it isn’t accurate to call you Kin then, right?”

I mull over her words. Human also means people? I do not like these words that mean many different things. People not only means human but human means people; this is silly and I increasingly find the concept of spoken language more absurd by the heartbeat. I think I might have actually heard the term ‘human’ before, but I can’t remember exactly where. It would just have been contextless gibberish back then.

“Fine. We Kin. I learn more and decide if bad later.”

“Well, with that out of the way,” Sam says, “I’m going to go and finish my soggy cereal. I’ll look up some English-teaching videos and send them to you.”

“Oh crap, my bran!” Carey yells, leaving the room as fast as she originally arrived.

---

“A.”

“Eyy.”

“B.”

“Beh.”

“C.”

“Zzee.”

“D.”

“Eeh-” I cough. “Deeh.”

“E.”

“Eeh.”

“F.”

“Efh.”

“G.”

“Geeh- jeh. Jeeh.”

I pause the video on Sam’s phone and the woman on the television freezes. I seek it back to the start of the section.

“Alright Emeral, you’ve got a few down. Hopefully your accent gets easier to understand but it looks like ‘E’ and ‘G’ are going to be problems.” I slap her side when she gives me a glare. “We’ll get through this gal, don’t worry. Once you’ve got those we’ll move on to the rest--it just takes practice.”

Her glare softens and her head descends, her tongue flicking out to kiss my cheek. “Different mouth. Not for human noises. Not work good, only small.” She gapes her snout and twitches the lips, but I duck away at the awful smell.

“Okay, that’s it. I’m teaching you how to brush your teeth, and luckily for you they do make toothbrushes in your size...”

“What a toothbrush?”

Ding dong!

Ugh, what now?

“Emeral, down.”

She huffs like the apparent brat she is but follows my order. It’s painfully obvious by the amount of creaking she’s only hiding in the stairs again though. I go for the door, praying it’s not Mom for a surprise visit...

I turn the knob and crack the door, surprised to find not Mom but instead... a police officer.

“Carey Fairbanks?” he asks.

“Uhhhh... yes?”

“I have a few questions for you if that’s alright. May I step inside?”

I take a look and note the still-open basement door. “Uhm, no, my sister isn’t dressed right now.”

He studies me and I study him back. He’s a middle-aged man and the tag sown onto his vest reads ‘A. Harper.’ Adam Harper, Inspector with the Gold River RCMP. It’s a tiny branch but the man’s still important.

“Alright. Do you mind stepping outside then?”

There’s nothing I can do to prevent Emeral from trying to listen in, and if I make it harder... she might do something noticeable. “Uh, sorry sir but I’m not dressed either.”

He gives me a flat look. “Right... well. My name is Inspector Harper, I’m the one who’s been leading the investigation into your disappearance. You spoke over the phone with one of my officers a few days ago when you called to report that you were home. I’m here to make sure you’re alright.”

Oh, that’s great! Just a welfare visit, not questions about the dead guy near my car!

“...And I’m here to inform you that we need you to come by the station later for an interview. There have been a few anomalies regarding your disappearance which we need your help with. You’ll also need to come and pick up your phone.”

Crap. Well, at least I don’t need to buy a new one... maybe. It has been raining.

“Okay, yeah, I can come by later today, uh, once I’m dressed. So, what’s all this about?”

“Well, I suppose I can interview you initially now if that’s fine, though know that this isn’t your official recorded testimony.” I glance briefly to his bodycam; it’s going to be recorded anyway. He takes out a pen and notepad. “Before I can tell you anything I have to ask a few questions. Ma’am, when you were out in the forest, did you see anyone else?”

Fuuuck fuck fuck fuck.

“Uh, nope. Just me.”

He writes something down. “And you wrecked into a tree. What caused the accident?”

“There was something in the road. Big and brown, maybe an elk or a bear. I swerved to avoid it.”

Once more he writes. “Alright. One of your front tires was slashed. Do you have any idea how that happened?”

FUCK.

“Nope! It must have happened during the crash, of course! If I remember right it was along a hill so there must have been a rock or something where I hit.”

He writes for a longer period. “Okay then. What happened after the crash?”

“I took my survival supplies and tried walking back to town. I think I was a bit out of it after the crash though, so I lost my phone and I... got lost too.”

He frowns. “You got lost...” he repeats slowly.

“I just... got a few hills confused is all.”

He writes down a lot of stuff. I swallow saliva and my stress. “So you left the scene immediately after the crash, right?”

“Uhh... yeah. The ‘scene.’ Of the crash. Are you going to tell me what’s going on now?”

He breathes in and releases a tired sigh. “Ma’am, we found a man near the crash site dead in an apparent animal attack. Is there anything more you can tell us about the animal you saw?”

Bloodied jaws crunching down on spurting fruit. The beast charging towards me. I twitch and pray he didn’t notice.

“That’s horrible! But- no, I’m really sorry officer. It must have happened after I left...” I trail off. “Maybe it was a bear and he found my truck and got hurt.”

He doesn’t bother writing anything which is somehow more concerning. “Well, you seem in good shape. You might want to see a doctor for any lingering injury from the crash though. It doesn’t seem smart to wander off the road into the wilderness after an accident.”

I force a sheepish chuckle. “No, it isn’t. I’d have gotten home a lot sooner if I walked back to the park.”

The floor groans behind me so I steel my face and close the door a bit more. “Is that everything officer? I really need to go...”

He puts his notepad away and nods. “Yep. Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be seeing you at the station.” He nods and turns to leave. I shut the door and turn to find the bear breathing down my neck, eyes wide and nose snuffling past me.

“Tell,” she grunts simply.

I distance myself from her now-clean face and return to the living room with her tailing me.

“That was a ‘police officer.’ Do you remember that man you... hurt... by my truck?”

“Yes. Sad. Not happy hurt.” The couch creaks as she splays across it.

Good... well at least she’s remorseful. I sidle over and lean back against her.

“When people get hurt, other people want to know why. They want to know what happened to him and since they know I was there, they think I might know something.”

“Smart to know hurts,” she preens. “Learn what avoid. Learn how to be stronger.”

We both look to the still television. “Yes, that’s one reason why you need to get better at speaking. We need to keep you a secret but we can’t do that properly if neither of us understand each other.”

She nods in agreement, having picked up that expression from us. “You say wrong to police officer.”

“Yeah...” I sigh. “I did. You were just defending yourself and while the police are supposed to be protecting people, I don’t know if they’d have seen you as someone to protect.”

She snorts and huffs in amusement. “I no need protect. I big! I strong!” she bellows...

...before cocking her head in thought. “But you protect still. You help. You kind. You strong and smart. Thank you, Carey. You Kin.” With that she licks my face despite my protests.

“Bleh,” I wipe my face with my sleeve. “I think it’s a bit early to call us family, don’t you think, sister?”

Her smile reaches her jowls. “Not family. Kin. You sister. Protect the family.”

I blanch. Oh, okay, blood sisters. We did save each others’ lives I guess, even if we did cause each others’ problems.

“Thanks. That means a lot to me...”

---

“...and we need to talk about some things to keep you safe,” my new sister continues.

My Carey is much more than an animal to be slaughtered for flesh and power. She has proven herself to be loyal to what matters most, unlike others I’ve encountered. Family.

“That man is ‘investigating.’ He’s trying to learn things about what happened, and if you aren’t careful you might be found.”

“No worry. If he try hurt me, I hurt him,” I state simply.

She rounds on me. “No! Emeral, you can’t kill him! That would just prove them right and make them want to find and kill you even more! If you ever encounter a human you need to run.”

“But... I strong,” I explain. “If he find me and I kill, no people know.”

“Ugh, no. They’ll know he did get hurt even if they don’t see you do it. That’s what happened before.”

Well, there’s an incredibly simple solution to that which I would have done anyway.

“But no police officer, no know hurt,” I smirk.

She grunts again. “I can’t believe we’re talking about this. It doesn’t matter if you hide the body, someone disappearing would still be noticed. I need you to promise me that if someone finds you, you will run and hide. Okay?”

Huff.

Back home if a group of treeclimbers attacked then a lone hunter would almost certainly beat them, but when there were enough it would be wise to retreat else their numbers tire you. I have no idea how many humans there are in this place but they are incomparable to the treeclimbers. Whereas those little creatures are dumb and barely organized, humans are both smart and extremely organized... so I need to be wary of organized groups like these ‘police officers’ who may wish me harm.

“Okay?” she presses. “Even if they’re attacking you, just run. And it would be better to not be seen at all.”

“Okay,” I finally agree. “I run. I hide.”

She hugs my neck. “Thank you,” she whispers into my ear. I nuzzle her shoulder.

This is very counter to my plans but I suppose I’m already beyond that point. It would certainly take longer but there is still so little that I know of this place. My Carey and Sam are a perfectly good resource for this. For example: the wet season has arrived and brought more than just water, it’s been getting quite a bit colder. Mother told tales of places made of solid water and biting cold. It’s likely that I am in one such place where the seasons bring about such a thing.

And beyond that I certainly have become strong in body. I thought I would need to eat hundreds of these creatures to survive and yet here I am, my size now potentially becoming a hindrance--my mind goes back to my flight from the family’s home. If my hunts are likely to attract attention then I may not be able to regularly predate this community.

I will just have to consolidate whatever gains in power I have made into useful strength and knowledge. My Carey is strong and can help protect me while I do, because if I can’t go outside as much to hunt then I may need to rely on her more for food and perhaps even some way to keep warm.

I shall tone down my hunting not only so that I may remain safe, but also so that it does not cause problems for my new sister. If I’m to survive on less food I will need to--for the first time ever in my life--enter dormancy until the weather warms and the humans give up.

The process is quite simple; it’s a lot like a muscle but feels more like something I either release or hold with no active thought beyond changing it.

I flex this ‘muscle’ now and feel a shot of power go through my veins. It has begun and it will be unpleasant but it is necessary. I’ll be weaker, get chilly easier, and if I were to overeat it would take far longer to process. I can only hope that I won’t need that energy... since it would take another few hours to ‘warm up’ again. Not to mention getting hurt; I might actually bleed to death if I do.

What I plan is to remain within this state. I could still prepare in advance for any hunts but I would still be vulnerable at rest. Back home the common practice was for adults to go dormant for half of the year--together, if mated--and rely upon the brood for protection and food. They would sleep for twice as long and generally move as little as needed. Both of these would suit me fine now that I have my Carey’s home.

“Mm. My Carey,” I mutter into her shoulder. She pats my neck caringly.

---

A/N:

Everyone needs a friend! Even giant alien monsters that eat people.

This chapter represents a large shift in Emeral’s fundamental view on the world. As mentioned in the previous chapter, she doesn’t see humans as her concept of people. She didn’t consider Carey and Sam as friends either, merely as ‘minions’ and things to be owned. This is also why it’s the chapter where she actually learns that their word for themselves is ‘human.’ This is the chapter in which Emeral begins to learn what a human really is... and so too the beginning of what she really is. She now views the sisters as her family.

While she knows that the term ‘people’ applies to humans, she hasn’t yet seen them of that level compared to herself and the rest of the Kin aside from Carey and Sam so far. Again, things rather than people despite their intelligence. You may also note her actually regretting killing the hunter and this is because she didn’t want to, as per her original plan mentioned in Chapter 18 and the non-canon Chapter 18b. She saw him as more useful alive than dead and, once he was dead, she wasn’t able to actually properly make use of this due to Harper interrupting her.

Also:

“It’s a good thing she went hunting for herself, though she’s clearly not bathed while out--her chin is spattered in blood.”

Carey got used to Emeral eating raw meat from a carcass while travelling with her. This is normalized for the two of them, even as Carey is forced to contend over and over again with Emeral’s monstrous nature and terrifying appearance.

And one more thing! Emeral has one hell of an accent due to the shape of her mouth. It’s pretty thick but is left as plain English for my and any readers’ collective sanities. This is also why any speech coming from her is italicized.