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> “Try not to read my my mind, I am running five jokes in my head, that will possibly offend you and make you laugh. Another part of my head is accidentally reminiscing about college and now internally screaming. My lizard brain want food. And the rest is upholding this conversation.”
> “First off, how did you block my mind scan, and secondly - lizard brain?”
> “Oh a part of the human brain can be traced back to a reptilian ancestor thus it is dubbed the lizard brain. Speaking of lizards...” a green creature crawled out of the human sleeves. “Her name is Shelby.”
> “That does not explain the mind scan.” -- Anon Guest

As a survival tactic, telepathy is not one of the more common evolutionary stepstones. Those who have it, of course, think it's vital until they eventual fact that other telepathic species are very rare and other cogniscents don't know how to do Private Thoughts.

_That's_ when they learn to adapt to tuning out the seas of mental babble, or at least shutting themselves off from it until they consciously scan other minds. The Melil are experts at this, having learned their lessons and returned to teach those at home how to protect themselves _before_ they encounter the harsh truth.

Of the telepathic species, the Melil are the most widely-spread _because_ of their practical approach to non-telepathic encounters. Nevertheless, there are still some encounters that surprise even them. Like having a Human block them upon first greeting.

Human Rij gave a contact-free greeting wave upon passing through the airlock. "Please don't read my mind, it's a mess up in there. Like, at any given time, I'm screaming about embarrassing shit only I remember, the lizard brain is on about food, sex, or comfort... and some part of me is going over stupid-ass jokes to make right now."

Melil Benet startled. "A few questions, apologies if they are rude, but I need to know. One: How did you block my scan. Two: How did you know I was scanning you. Three: Lizard Brain?"

"Yeah, we have some real primitive instincts that are still active. Deathworlders. Whaddayagunnado. Anyway, uh, because they're intrinsically linked with survival, we tend to call it the lizard brain." She pulled a small reptile from inside her clothing. "Oh, and this is Shelby. Actual lizard." It licked one eye, but otherwise remained immobile.

"That still doesn't explain how you detected - and blocked - my greeting scan."

"Oh. Yeah. That. You felt like my intrusive thoughts. I get those, too. It's like - bad thought, shove it off the table, youknow? I call it the Mental Cat. She protects me." Human Rij smiled nervously. "I realised a little too late that it was you. Sorry about that."

"I see," said Benet. "I had not wanted to believe the stereotype of insane Deathworlders..."

"Oh, this one's only a little bonkers and working on only some of it," Human Rij laughed, so it must be a joke. "Baby steps. I test high on anxiety, so... perfect security chief."

The illogic was impeccable. Security came in many forms and prevention trumped treatment every time. "Well and good," Benet refrained from adding _for you_. "It is customary that I get to know the shape of your mind, so... can you keep your Mental Cat restrained?"

"I've spent a lot of time making sure she's active, but I can try."

For the outside world, there were apparently some intense stares between the two. Both held neutral expressions. For Melil Benet, it was a struggle through a labyrinth made of random things, including the mental equivalent of a rubbish dump.

"Wow," ze said. "You really live in there."

"Did warn you," said Human Rij. She tapped a temple. "Mess."

"Which leads to the next question - how do I help you in an emergency?"

Human Rij shrugged. "I guess I get my brain cat used to you or something?"

Some solutions create more problems. Some problems create interesting solutions. Benet had no doubt that this would all end in pack bonding. It always did with Humans.

[Image <a href="https://www.canstockphoto.com">(c) Can Stock Photo / focalpoint</a>]

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