“Oh, Great Shaman of Ho’Ney, I am in need of your wisdom.”

 

“Speak then. What ails you, my Son?”

 

“Oh, Great Shaman, a great Vile has been perpetrated upon my Tribe.”

 

“What kind of Vile, my Son, for, there are many in existence?”

 

“My daughter has taken a liking to a boy from my enemy's Tribe. Now I do not know what to do. I love her. I do not want to disappoint her, but the hate for that Tribe is stuck in my bones.”

 

“That is Vile indeed. Have you spoken to the boy in question?”

 

“I… No, why would I do that? I hate him and his Tribe.”

 

“Sigh. Very well, I will help with your matter directly.”

 

Annals of a tired Badg’er Shaman of Love. Date - Unknown, Location - Unknown.

 

*

 

Mane Savannah

 

The hot blazing summer sun was torturing Life below it.

 

Either one adapted to it or your life was doomed. 

 

One creature, however, said fuck you, I will do as I want, as I am hungry as hell. 

 

Or at least that is what those with higher mental capacity will think, but for a particular Honey Badger, it was not the Sun that had been torturing it. 

 

Neither was the environment where he had to scavenge for food to survive. No, he had been doing that his whole life, and so far, he had thrived just fine.

 

Neither was it the other animals, for none would bother a Honey Badger. All knew it was best to leave the little devils to their own devices, otherwise, their temper would make them do so.

 

Neither were it other male Honey Badgers, for their territories were huge, and any scuffle between them was few.

 

Neither were the female Honey Badgers for the simple reason that he did not seek them currently.

 

No, what was torturing him was the unknown, unseen, and unsmelled strange feeling inside him that kept bothering him by making sounds that somehow always reached his little mind. 

 

No matter where he hid, no matter how he hid, and no matter how he protested for it to leave him alone, the sound and the strange feeling inside him always returned.

 

“Hey, Alexander. How are you? How is the day for you?”.

 

The Honey Badger never understood what the sounds represented, but over the day and night cycles, he had noticed that he recognized something from the sounds.

 

Every time it appeared, the sound was telling him to calm down somehow. 

 

“Khra-ya-ya-ya.[Leave]” 

 

Every time it came, the Honey Badger growled his intent towards that strange feeling inside him.

 

“Still feisty, aren't you, Alexander? Ha, it's fine. With me flaring my presence like this every day, that will change with time, and we will become the best of friends.”

 

“Khrya-ya-ya-ya[Leave]” 

 

Every time it left, the sound was telling him that it would be back, somehow.

 

“Alright, Alexander, I will leave for today. It's best if I ration the energy I have. I don't want to repeat the same error, as I did in the beginning.” 

 

The sound vanished, and the strange feeling subsided slowly.

 

When the sound and feeling vanished, the Honey Badgers felt strange. Never before had something like this happened to him, so he had no idea how to deal with it. 

 

No matter how it posed to scare away the sound and the feeling, it changed nothing. 

 

The next day it returned.

 

No matter how it growled to leave him alone, it returned to bother it.

 

The worst part was that the time it returned was different. Sometimes it was in the morning as the sun appeared on the horizon. Sometimes it was midday or mid-evening. Sometimes it came when it was night.

 

A few times, it had suddenly appeared when it was seeking snacks. Its sudden appearance scared it like nothing before. 

 

It had made him cry out loud from the surprise. With his body doing strange things before he calmed down to realize what it was. 

 

After that, the strange feelings inside it flared once before its presence increased and sound reached his little mind. 

 

With the calming effect included in the sound, he soon grew used to its appearance, but it was never welcome.

 

*

 

Time passed. A new day arrived. 

 

His stomach growled in a protest of hunger, yet no matter how much he ate, his appetite returned not long later.

 

On another hunt, the feeling inside him flared once. Instantly the Honey Badger knew what was coming. He stopped his search and just dropped his body on the ground. 

 

He cared not if the prey was near or not. 

 

“Alexander, my best buddy. How is the day? Have you had any fun yet?”

 

Again the sound contained a calming effect for him, but he ignored it and growled its displeasure. 

 

“Ah, come, why are you still angry at me? It's not like I did you anything that bad. All I am doing is saying Hi. Why don't you say Hi to me?”

 

The Honey Badger felt something in the last part. It was as if the sound wanted him to do something, so he did. 

 

From deep in his lungs, he growled to be left alone.

 

“Alright, alright. Maybe next time will be different. Cya soon, Alexander.”

 

No more sound came, and the feeling inside it vanished, although he always felt a tiny bit remaining. 

 

Pride washed out from his chest as he grunted in the pleasure of vanquishing it, whatever it was.

 

Once more, the Honey Badger continued its food massacre.

 

*

 

The next day came, and it returned. 

 

While chewing on snake meat, the feeling inside him flared. A moment later. its presence strengthened, and the sound accompanying it returned too.

 

“Alexander, my best buddy. Feel more hospitable today?”

 

“Grrrrr” He growled with his mouth still full from chewing on snake meat.

 

“Guess not. It's ok. I will crack your unfriendliness. Cya soon.”

 

Once more, everything ended, and pride flared again in its tiny chest at beating its invisible adversary.

 

*

 

“So how about today? Wanna be friends?”

 

“Grrrr”

 

“OK. OK. Next time it is.”

 

*

 

“I feel this time will be my lucky charm. Friends?”

 

“Grrrr”

 

“Sigh, fine.”

 

*

 

“Friends?”

 

“Grrrr”

 

“Dude? Common. I really don't want us to be foes.”

 

“ Grrrr”

 

“Sigh”

 

*

 

“ Friends?”

 

*

 

“ Friends?”

 

“Grrrr”

 

“ Dude, why are you so stubborn?”

 

*

 

“ Hmph. We will see how far your stubbornness will go.”

 

*

 

“ There will come a point where you will be curious about me?”

 

*

 

“ I refuse to believe you will be more stubborn than me? I refuse.”

 

*

 

“Hmph, just you wait.”

 

*

 

More time passed. 

 

The Honey Badger grew used to his strange companion bothering him. 

 

Then something happened. 

 

One day, as the neverending pit in his stomach demanded to be fed, the Honey Badger realized something. 

 

It came spontaneously to his little mind, but the strange feeling and the sound that accompanied him had stopped bothering him.

 

He had no idea why that appeared in his mind, but as more time passed and it did not return, the Honey Badger began to feel strange.

 

At first, whenever his little mind reminded him of it, there was only pride. Then as more time passed, his little mind reminded him how its presence had changed his life, yet now that it was gone, he somehow missed it.

 

He did not understand why he was feeling that way, but as more time passed, the feeling of its missing presence kept increasing. It was annoying, especially as it came at unpredictable times. But as he stared at the bright surroundings of the savannah, he noticed something else. 

 

All his little life, he had been doing the same thing. 

 

Seek prey, eat prey. 

 

Seek females, if they are close by, and try mating with them. 

 

Then his little mind made the connection to what was happening. Ever since the feeding frenzy he had been under and the feeling and strange sound appeared, not once had he sought out females to mate. 

 

That is why he remembered such an important thing only now, as he no longer was distracted by those three things. 

 

No more. The little mind of the Honey Badger declared. 

 

On his quest for mates, he kept looking for snacks on the side. 

 

Then, one day he scented one. With a new goal in life, he began to sniff his way forward, and soon he found it.

 

His eyes landed on the slightly smaller version of his kind. There wasn't much difference between them aside from the size, but to him, those differences were easy to spot.

 

He pushed up his head and chest slightly. And as he approached her, he displayed his best gait, intending to impress her.

 

During his approach, small pitched sounds escaped his mouth to alert her of his presence.

 

Step by step, he did the most magnificent gait of his life, yet, before even reaching her position, the female growled and glared at him.

 

“Khrya-ya-ya-ya”

 

He stopped his gait for a moment and stared at her. There was no doubt about it, his little mind realized. 

 

She was telling him to stay away from her.

 

He titled his head left and right as his little mind wondered what went wrong. 

 

His pose was elegant, and his gait had been masterful. It had worked before, so why did it not work this time? His little mind wondered.

 

Still unsure why he had failed, he tried again. 

 

This time he was even more careful in how he did it, but the moment he stepped closer, her growl gained a pitch. 

 

With it reaching his little mind, there was no doubt in his mind that she was rejecting him.

 

He held back a whine of displaying regret as he tried it one more time, only for this to turn out to be a big mistake.

 

Her entire pose told him she was ready to attack and defend herself from him.

 

Not understanding why this was happening to him, a whine of regret manifested in his voice, but he did not take a step forward. 

 

Even though he was larger than her, he did not want to be attacked by her.

 

Abandoning this attempt, he turned around and went away. However, he would not give up. There were other females around. 

 

Maybe this one had eaten something wrong? His little mind wondered.

 

*

 

Time passed day by day as the Honey Badger kept on his conquest of females. 

 

Only, it turned out to be not a conquest at all, but a failure to even get near the plot of land to conquer, much less launch an invasion on it.

 

He had traversed large amounts of his territory to find another female. Only to be rejected in the same manner as the first one. 

 

Still not giving up, he looked for another, only for the same to happen. 

 

Now frustrated and helpless, the Honey Badger did something it had hoped to avoid. He decided to see how it was under another male's territory. 

 

At first, there was no problem as every territory a Honey Badger owned was huge, so it wasn't even that hard to find a female, but the same happened. 

 

The female rejected him as he tried to approach them.

 

This time frustrated at not having any conquest, he became much more aggressive in his approach by displaying his dominance. 

 

It worked, at first. 

 

The female realized that if the scuffle happened, she would lose due to his size difference. 

 

So, she let him approach, but as the distance grew smaller, from somewhere deep inside her, instinct arose telling her that something was wrong with this male.

 

The involuntary response shattered the illusion the male had been under, but he did not want to give up when he was so close. 

 

He became even more aggressive, and just as he arrived by her side, the female could no longer endure.

 

She attacked with teeth first. 

 

“Yelp” The male cried out from the unexpected bite. 

 

He urgently retreated a few steps to assess why he was struck in the first place. 

 

When nothing came to his little mind, he just gave up.

 

Too many failures shattered his little manly ego. 

 

His shoulders sagged down in defeat as he abandoned his conquest, and retreated to his territory.

 

During the retreat, his temper flared a few times. 

 

Everything that barred his way noticed an angry little beast was flaring said temper. Some he would just growl at, and some he would attack. 

 

Those that were of the right size entered his stomach.

 

The Honey Badger cared not who was barring his way.

 

Deep down, he knew he was the boss. Even though the females rejected his magnificence, he still noticed that others knew their place.

 

Then, as he unleashed his anger on a mouse, a sudden memory appeared in his little mind. 

 

It was a memory of the sound and the feeling. It was a memory of when they had bothered him the most, and then all of it connected somehow in his little mind. 

 

They were the cause and the reason why all the females rejected him.

 

Anger rushed through his mind. 

 

“ Khrya-ya-ya-ya” Rushed out his mouth for all to hear, but the most significant part was that the Honey Badger somehow sent that anger to the strange feeling inside him.

 

The feeling flared in response immediately, and a sound accompanied it.

 

“ Hahaha, I knew it. I knew your stubbornness would lose to my own. Though I must tell you, it was a close one.”

 

“Khrya-ya-ya-ya [Your fault]” The Honey Badger somehow delivered. 

 

“My fault? How is this my fault? All I wanted was for us to be friends?”

 

“Khrya-ya-ya-ya [Your fault]” The Honey Badger growled.

 

“Why is it my fault for wanting us to be friends?”

 

“Khrya-ya-ya-ya [Your fault]” Again the Honey Badger growled it out.

 

“Common, Alexander, stop blaming me for annoying you so much. Ok.” 

 

“Khyra-ya-ya-ya [Feel bad, your fault]” The Honey Badger delivered.

 

“You feel bad? You feel bad?” The sound came, but this time it continued anger of its own. 

 

The anger that stemmed inside broke the Honey Badger's momentum, as he did not expect to feel anger from the sound. 

 

Never before had it sent anger to him. 

 

Instantly confusion came into his little mind when behind anger more emotions began to influence his mind.

 

“Dude, you can't even imagine how terrible I feel at this moment. Imagine being stuck without an actual body. Not being able to touch anything. Without being able to hear, smell, or taste anything. The only thing keeping me company was the scenery, which I grew bored of in hours because I could do nothing but see it. Imagine being so lonely that you have no choice but to revisit your memory, only to find out you don't have any. ”

 

More confusion emanated from the Honey Badger as the influx of emotions overwhelmed its mind.

 

“ I am confused too. I was supposed to have godlike powers here in my own minuscule Dream Realm. To be able to do anything that I want inside. To recall all my memories whenever I want. Maybe even revisit some of them. Instead, I find out I had stupidly spent every single speck of energy right at the beginning, and the amount of energy supplied by you is minuscule. For so long, I could do nothing but stare at trees and wallow in my own misery as my incorporeal mind kept reminding me how stupid I am.”

 

Even more confused, the Honey Badger knew not what was going on.

 

“Look, I just want somebody to talk to, ok? Do you still think it's my fault for bothering you so many times? I just wanted some company. OK?”

 

A moment of silence came, and it was a good moment of silence for the Honey Badger's little mind was confused by the influx of everything. 

 

It had been overwhelmed, so it barely understood anything. 

 

He did understand one thing. Somehow he knew that he was asked if the sound was still at fault, and there was only one answer in his mind.

 

“ Grrrr[Yes]” The Honey Badger sent.

 

“ Pfft, of course, it's my fault? Tell me then, why does your small mind think it is my fault? Can you even comprehend anything of what I said?”

 

Though the Honey Badger was smarter, at least when compared to other animals in his size category, this was far too confusing for him. 

 

Usually, he fixed all his problems with anger and persistence. 

 

Ever since he initiated this, his mind was in overdrive, and he came to one simple conclusion.

 

“Grrr, Grrrr[Your fault, female reject]”

 

Then, more silence returned.

 

“Huh?” 

 

“Wait? I think we are not on the same page. Now that I think about it. I probably went crazy from loneliness. There is no way he can understand me, as I can understand him, right? Ok, I need to calm down, after all, am I not the smart one here? ”

 

Still confused about what was happening, the sound inside him produced a familiar thing. 

 

Then his little mind told him that that sound was the sound of something breathing, and when it stopped, everything changed.

 

The sound came again, only this time he understood it much better.

 

“Repeat? My fault? Female Reject? You? Why?”

 

No longer was their confusion when the sound came to it. The understanding was there, and now he just had to say it. 

 

“ Grr, Grrrr, Grrrrrrr, Gr [Me, Seek, Female Reject, All ]” The Honey Badger delivered in never before seen clarity.

 

“Hmm. That sort of makes sense, I think.”

 

“You, angry, me, female reject, you?”

 

“Grr[Yes]”

 

“I help you, gain a female, you, less angry, me.”

 

For a moment, the Honey Badger wondered, but ultimately his answer was simple.

 

“Grr[Yes]”

 

“I help you, gain a female, me you friend.”

 

Another moment, the Honey Badger wondered at the meaning of ‘friends’ sent his way, but the answer was simple.

 

“Grr[Yes]”

 

“Good, We talk again, soon, have to go? OK?”

 

“Grr[Yes]”

 

Instantly the talking sound vanished, and its presence subsided in his mind. 

 

So deep was the Honey Badger’s concentration that while communicating with the sound, he had not even realized that he had been standing on his two behind legs. 

 

His front legs were flaring in the air. Then not even caring if he had done it in the first place, his front paws touched the ground and looked around for a moment.

 

As he did, he noticed that despite the strange feeling having subsided and everything being the same as before, what he was seeing, felt somehow new.

 

But that only bothered him for a few moments. 

 

The Honey Badger relaxed right after as somehow his little mind interpreted that he would be visiting females soon enough.