Falias, Finias Chapter Nine
Suggested Theme:
Main Theme- Doina Sus Pe Culmea Dealului by Gheorghe Zamfir
Kazdan Kalinkas didn't own a single pair of shorts that weren't tailor made for the beach or PE. To him, his legs look like knobby, white walking sticks for Yodas, and the hair on his legs haven't helped their appearance. The hair on his legs have gone from pale blonde to bright red, making it look like his pasty legs are covered in hundreds of paper cuts. His mom also kept the house at a brisk 69˚F year round, so pants are even more of a necessity for him.
Unfortunately, the UnderWorld would beg to differ.
When the bot told me that the UnderWorld was going to be hot, I thought he was being sarcastic because it's always hot here. But, no, this "hot" is akin to setting myself on fire! He takes a huge swig from his water canteen as he walks by the guards. The guards do not react. He bangs on the door with his canteen. Dairus opens it, and he wilts further from the heat of the kitchen.
"You're as sweaty as Dardemus jogging!" Her exclamation irritates his already cantankerous mood.
"Sorry I'm not a tough UnderWorlder like you!" He snaps without fear of retribution. She rolls his eyes like she knows he's all bark and no bite.
"I shouldn't be surprised. The city is in the death throes of summer."
"Death throes?" I would welcome the icy hand of Death right now!
"In the UnderWorld, the death throes of summer means we've reached the hottest point in the season. Death is supposed to be fought against, not welcomed. Only OverWorlders believe in that fantasy of peace in death." Considering the harsh conditions in the UnderWorld, only the strongest can survive. And fighting is key to survival here. But he feels a pinch of sorrow at the thought of the babe one day learning this.
"Is there any way to combat the death throes?" She hums thoughtfully as though she's about to reveal tantalizing secret. Oh, please, tell me that Chaor has a secret pool and that he's not here to stop anyone from splashing in its cold, cold water!
"Lord Chaor does have a private natural pool." Yes, yes, yes!
"But the waters are dried up around this time of year." FUCK!
"There is Everrain if one wants to make such a trip." Everrain? The name sounds wet, and the UnderWorld is the exact opposite of that.
"That sounds like a Location in the OverWorld."
"It is located under Lake Ken-I-Po, but it belongs to the UnderWorld. It's one of the few green spots in our world."
"How do I get there?"
"There's a system of tunnels that could lead you there. Or more likely, to death. However, H'earring knows a surefire way in, and he could use the trip. He becomes such an ass around this time of year." I thought an UnderWorlder like H'earring would have adapted to this "weather." I hope he isn't going to throw fits like a baby—
"Would it be safe to take Cha-the babe there?" As much as he wants to get the hell away from the heat, he cannot shirk his duties. Especially knowing that Chaor would roast me alive if I abandoned his son.
"Oh, you'd be doing everyone at the castle a favor! Babe's been whining nonstop because of the heat; I had to put him in the cooler to calm him down! I'll go get him." Dairus leaves Kazdan gaping in horror and imagining Chaor's babe with frostbite.
Dairus comes back with the diaper bag and the babe. The moon-white babe is fussing against her fat, green arm; his cheeks are ruddy, enflamed by the heat.
"There's raw meat as big as my head and several bottles in the bag, so you two just get away from the heat." She drops the bag right on his feet, causing him to yelp in pain. She then shoves the babe into his arms and slams the door shut.
When Kazdan knocks on H'earring's door, he is greeted by enflamed cheeks and a pout warning of a potential hissy fit. H'earring's dark blue eyes bore into him like a sun in the desert.
"What do you want?" This will require a delicate touch.
"To go to Everrain." H'earring's pout turns into a considerate frown.
"And do you believe that the babe can survive the trip?" The babe in question wriggles in Kazdan's grip, kicking his silver-clothed feet in the air, like he wants to fight the mutant-rabbit.
"I'd say so." H'earring's frown threatens to turn into a smirk at the display of the babe's temper.
"If something happens to him, Chaor will have your head." H'earring warns him. The babe harrumphs and looks up at Kazdan. His eyes are blue like cold water.
"Only if something happens, but I trust you'll avoid danger." Because Chaor will have your head too! Kazdan's closed-mouth grin says.
"I will, so long as you don't attract it." H'earring eyes Kazdan's small backpack. "Did you even bother to pack for this trip? Because I'm only bringing what I can carry, and I know you humans have sensitive tastes."
He's got a point; it's not like I ingest the sewage he calls food. I bet I can go back to the PortCourt and rent some camping gear! And get some rations. And a first-aid kit. And another canteen…
"I forgot to, so would you watch the babe until I get back?" H'earring's clawed hand on the door tenses like he's about to close it.
"I'll give you my lunch money for the week." H'earring's greedy eyes light up and opens his door wide open. He holds his hands out for the babe. Kazdan passes the babe off to him along with the diaper bag.
"Play nice." He dryly remarks to them, but the babe gives him a pointed look.
Kazdan ports out.
The Rental Center reminds him of the lemonade kiosk in the mall. It's boxy, made of shiny metal, and smells like lemon-scented bleach.
But this won't go out of business like "The Sour is Now!" As he walks from the transport disc to the center, he stops when he sees the blonde girl with green eyes walking past him. She is wearing a dark wet suit and is carrying snorkeling gear. Her eyes are focused on the transport discs, so she does not notice his blatant staring.
She's probably heading to one of the beaches in the OverWorld. Probably will take her like a few minutes to get into the cool water. I should ask Accato about which beaches I should head to in the OverWorld. Oh, but what if he recommends one of the beaches where he and Etheno—
"Any particular reason that you're gazing into the vast nothingness of the human consciousness?"
"I was repressing traumatic memories." He replies as dryly as the bot, earning a huff from him.
"Have the Summer Death Throes caused you to retire from your illustrious child-rearing?"
"No, I'm here to get more proper equipment for my trip."
"To where?"
"Everrain." The bot pauses for a moment.
"I would recommend that you get the jungle survival pack. It has waterproof equipment and netting to prevent the insects there from eating you alive. However, it offers no protection against the…livelier elements."
"Got anymore tips?"
"Don't gaze too deeply into the water. It will strangle you."
"….Thanks."
The bot didn't mention the gear would be so heavy! His back is hunched from the weight of the pack, and he can feel it fusing to his sweaty back. And it's so hot here! I'm going to have a heatstroke by the time I reach his door.
He does not have a stroke, and he is happy to see that H'earring didn't leave the babe outside. He goes to use the golden hoop knocker.
"The door is open." And before he even has a chance to ask, H'earring cuts him off. "I heard you dragging your feet all the way over on Chimera Street."
So that's what the sign says! And they have chimeras here? Why am I surprised by that? Cerbie is the Perim version of Cerberus. And the UnderWorld is the Underworld, except I have yet to see Sisyphus push a boulder up a hill. He then grabs on the hoop and pulls the door open. He stoops down and finally gets a preview of the interior.
The floor is the color of dust and cracked from something smash into them. There are three steps, like the ones on the outside, leading up to a room swallowed up by darkness. His eyes drift from the darkness to the far right of the little room. He sees H'earring sitting on a scaly, leather couch with several yellow gashes. The diaper bag's flap has been unlatched and all of its content spilled on the floor; a maroon babe sling, brown packets of bleeding meat, and diapers. The babe is on the unforgiving floor, waving around the stone statue of Chaor like it's a scepter.
"Who slashed your couch?" H'earring points a claw at the red-cheeked babe.
Of course, he did. But he's never done that before. Maybe the heat's making him irritable. Kazdan goes over to the babe, intending to put all the items back in the diaper bag.
"Before you do that, help me off the couch." H'earring holds out both his stubby, green arms. Kazdan rolls his eyes, but goes over and grabs onto them. He then pulls, hearing a tearing sound like H'earring was about to lose the skin of his back.
Instead, Kazdan's back meets the unforgiving, cracked ground, while H'earring meets his soft, bony chest.
"Humans are supposed to be cushiony like Peyton, not bony like Van Bloot!"
"And rabbits are supposed to be light!" H'earring lifts his head and shoots him a confused look.
"Mmm!" The babe waves the statue furiously at them.
"Can't stand being made to wait just like his—Lord Chaor!" Freudian slip, much? Kazdan holds his tongue and pats H'earring's back for the rabbit-UnderWorlder to get off him.
"I hope you're not claustrophobic." H'earring remarks as he hops off. "You'll have to crawl on the last leg of the trip."
"Good thing, Dairus packed a sling." The babe crawls over to the strap and puts the statue in it. Kazdan goes to scoop everything back into the diaper bag, including the statue; he then puts on the dark sling and scoops the babe in there. The babe gives him a shark-teeth smile.
He knows that they will be spending hours trudging through the burning UnderWorld, but the babe's smile make him believe it will all be worth it.
It takes three hours for them to make it out of the scorching city and to the entrance of an abandoned mine. The mine's entrance has only the ghostly imprints of tracks, most likely stripped for cash after its bust, leading into a pitch-darkness.
"This mine used to yield thousands of crystals a day, and some particularly rare Mugic, but like all fortunes it eventually ran out." H'earring explains to him, while taking out a wine skin from his scaly, leather bag for a much needed drink.
"How did you find out that this….place led to Everrain?" The babe squirms in his strap.
"About three solons ago, Opto thought he could find an untapped vein if he dug deep enough. After a cave-in, he did find something. One of the tunnels that leads to Everrain, but it was far too small for him to explore."
"And you decided to help him out of the goodness of your heart." Kazdan finishes with a raised eyebrow.
"But of course! I couldn't leave a friend in the lurch." But then H'earring mutters under his breath, "I'm not dumb enough to charge that hypnotist."
"I take it that you told Opto about Everrain?" H'earring nods and puts his wine back in his small, scaly tote.
"Yeah, but he couldn't care less about natural, wet beauty. He's cold-blooded enough not to need any rain." Does that mean he's a snake-humanoid like Etheno? Or was he being metaphorical? With my very limited knowledge of Perim, I can deduce both. The babe giggles weakly, and Kazdan takes out the canteen and slowly drips the water down his little throat. The babe then gives a pleased clap with his tiny palms.
H'earring conjures up a Flame Orb in his right hand and goes into the mine; Kazdan sticks as close as a shadow. The inside of the mine is filled with disproportionate hollows that crystals used to nestle in; some of the holes are six-sided.
It only takes them twenty minutes to reach the tunnel. The tunnel is on the left side of a pile of rubble and steel beams that have sealed off the rest of the mine. The entrance is dark just like the mine's, but Kazdan can smell an earthy, mildew scent emanating from within.
"The tunnel starts off big and dry enough, but the further in, it gets cramp and wet. So you'll have to crawl when that happens." H'earring lightly warns him before heading right in, and Kazdan follows right after him.
For the first two hours, the tunnel is dry, but not dry like a windless summer day, more like an hour before a storm breaks.
PLOP!
Water, cool and hard, hits the top of his head like a javelin. He jolts forward and nearly trips over H'earring, which causes the Flame Orb to go out.
"Damnit, Kazdan!" He hears H'earring snarl, and even in the dark, and sees the nearly-squashed rabbit bearing his shockingly white teeth. The babe lets out a whine, and Kazdan rubs his small back to soothe him.
"Sorry." I thought the water would come much later. He almost says, but his tongue stills.
"It must be raining." H'earring ignites another Flame Orb. "Hopefully, not too hard."
"If it is, does that mean the tunnel will flood?" H'earring shakes, making the shadows of the flame move across him like a reaping sickle.
"I've never seen a flood here, but it's going to get really unpleasant for us if it does." And two hours later, only an hour after H'earring gives up on maintaining a Flame Orb, Kazdan finally has to crawl in the dark.
The water only reaches his wrists, so the babe in the sling is fine. However, he has to toss the diaper bag on top of his survival pack, so it wouldn't get wet. The added weight and the wet terrain makes it difficult for him to have any solid hold, which makes him crawl at a snail's pace.
He swears to himself that he'll start a workout regimen when he ports back to Earth. But he soon forgets the promise after finding the light.
Lights, speckled and green like OverWorld eggs, appear in the water. He twists against his Caretaker's sling to see what he sees. He sees…
"Umbrella mushrooms topped with goblin gold." His Caretaker's heart beats rapidly like they're in danger, but he does not feel fear from his mind.
"How much farther?"
"Like half a fliggit."
"The fuck is a 'fliggit?' He almost laughed when he said it. So maybe like a mile? Now, I need to ask the bot about Creature measurement system or systems? Is it different in each Tribe? If so, by how much? And…" His Caretaker rambles on, so he decides to sleep.
"Don't gaze too deeply into the water…"
Everrain has no sun to illuminate its greenery, so Nature made due.
And chlorophyll, the light-absorbing "blood" of plants, has been replaced with bioluminescence through the luciferin and luciferase. Or a Perim version of those molecules and enzymes. Why is that? In animals, this light-generation can be used for luring prey, camouflaging, or mating rituals. I doubt the plants need the light for those reasons. Kazdan touches a blade of the firefly-lit grass and pulls back in shock at the slight warmth from it. He then quickly grabs his Scanner from his back pocket and scans the Location.
"I recommend not eating anything that glows here; it won't kill you, but you will have stomach pains for days. Or maybe it would kill you." H'earring snickers like a monkey, and Kazdan pointedly ignores him. He finally turns the babe loose from his maroon-colored prison. He lowers the babe slowly, not wanting to soak his pajama feet, and watches as the babe slices a few blades of the glowing grass with his dark claws.
He doesn't squeeze the blades like most babies would; instead, he has his hand open and looks at the glowing blades with such childish amazement. Just like Kazdan does.
"Still glowing even after the cut…how long can they glow?" He wonders aloud. H'earring says nothing or he shrugs, but Kazdan is too focus on the babe and the glowing blades. The babe squirms like he wants to turn around and whisper something into his ear. With a quick spin, Kazdan gets the babe to face him.
"Mmm!" The babe slowly waves the hand with the blades, knowing that too much movement will make the blades fall off his tiny palm.
"I'll save this for you." He promises and takes the blades from the babe's hand. He then slips them deep inside a small pocket inside the diaper bag.
He does not put the babe back in the sling; he carries the laughing tot in his arms. Through the squelching mud, the handsy vines, and smacks from the mini-palm trees. They're leading the pack with no idea where they were going, but simply content with the cool journey.
H'earring eventually stops them to set up camp. Mostly because he was tired, and some out of misplaced pity for the shivering weaklings. And a little out of fear for what Chaor will do to him if those two caught their deaths.
He watches the human put the babe down with the diaper bag and then kneels onto the muddy ground to rummage through his bulky bag. He expects the human to pull out a tent that he expects will expand with a clap of his hands because the humans have technology advanced enough to take them across Perim and heal their wounds, so why not that too?
He's taking out a tarp with a giant hole, nine poles more than twice his height, and some rope. Now, he's lashing the poles together. Is this the human method of a tent? H'earring's method of a shelter consists of burrowing a hole and using a blanket to cover it up, or sticks and leaves, depending on where he was.
He does not ask the human the question because he knows that will inspire him to ask questions back. And frankly, H'earring only has enough energy to sit up like the babe. The babe watches the human like Chaor in a raid looking out for Maxxor.
The human stands the poles up and spreads them apart to form a cone-like frame. He then folds the green tarp in half; he pauses for some reason, and H'earring hears the wind lightly rustling through the trees. He turns his back to the wind and covers up the frame.
Ah, so that's why it had a hole. So how does he get in? The human then turns him with a look of desperation.
"H'earring, can you help slice open the entrance?" The human runs his finger down the tarp of where the entrance should be. H'earring goes over and uses a claw to slice it open.
"Thank you." He sounds so grateful it's almost ego-stroking. Mama would've loved him. H'earring returns to his seat and watches as the human gathers up some kindling. He deposits the wet wood, which he wipes the dirt off with the bottom of his green tunic, into the tent's center and rearranges it into a mini version of the tent.
"Do you want me to set it on fire?" He asks, but the human shakes his head. The human searches through his bag again and pulls out a black stone that reminds him of hard rocks from the Lava Pond. The human then takes out a knife with a dull edge that could barely cut butter and strikes it against the stone until he sees sparks. He then goes back inside and strikes the knife against the stone many, many times until the sparks finally set the wood on fire.
I better tell him to take his clothes off and set it by the fire to dry, or else he'll catch a cold. And the moment after his thought, the human does exactly that. He wriggles as he pulls the tunic off like a rat made it down his back and then goes for his boots. He then takes off his leggings that seem to be sewn into his skin; his cheeks turn red from the effort. He then plops them near enough to the fire that they won't catch on fire. He goes to the babe and takes off his soggy onesie without a single fuss. He changes the babe into a dry, brown onesie with green buttons. The babe gives a clap of approval.
"You didn't bring extra clothes for yourself?" The human gives him a paltry smile as he shakes his wet head.
"It didn't occur to me to do so. I hope you don't mind." H'earring shakes his head. He has to wear a loincloth like most Creatures do. But why is his decorated with stars? It looks so childish.
"Whatcha doing now?' He asks as the human rummages through his bag again. He pulls out a rolled up blue bag, a bottle of cooking oil, a packet of pink sausages, a can with a drawing of ground meat in a red sauce, a bag of white fluff, his canteen, some metal spoons and forks, and an iron skillet. He then puts them inside the tent, a little ways away from his drying clothes.
"I'm going to cook dinner! Or a really late lunch; I'm not so sure of the time here." H'earring's mouth waters a bit when the human opens the sausage pack. "I think a hot dog would be safe for a Creature with your…stomach."
The human tosses one hot dog to him, and he catches it with his mouth. He gobbles it down, reveling in its juices that taste similar to the juices of fungi fruit.
"It'll taste even better when it's cook." The human promises. "But first, I need to feed the babe."
H'earring half-expects for the human to cook the babe's meat, but he chooses to feed him raw. The babe burps like his belly is full of mutton.
"Why didn't you cook it? The fat in the meat would've given the oil good flavoring." H'earring recalls from one of the short-loved cooking lessons that Dairus tried to instill in him. Those lessons failed because H'earring kept being so distracting.
"I don't have any plates to put the meat on." Kazdan grabs the skillet and tosses the spoons and forks, the can, hot dogs, and bottle of oil on it. "And I'm getting rather hungry."
He watches as the human slices the hot dogs with the edge of the dull knife that he soon tosses aside. The human then splashes oil in the skillet and puts it over the crackling fire. Soon the oil loses its sluggishness and moves around the skillet. He puts the hot dogs in and eventually the pink gives way to a sizzling red. He pulls the skillet away from the fire once brown trims the red. He then sticks a fork in one and gestures it toward H'earring.
H'earring goes over and takes a test bite. He nearly purrs from the hot juices that burst from the breaking of the charred casing. He gobbles the rest down with no reservations.
"You can have another and maybe another because usually I need only to fill me up. But that's when there's a bun with mustard, ketchup, relish, and onions." Kazdan puts a fork in one and takes small bites like the babe did with the raw meat. "Man, this tastes so good! Usually, I get nauseous after just one."
"Weakling." H'earring lightly teases and goes over to the skillet for another dog. In the end, Kazdan could only finish three, so H'earring had the last five. The babe had none.
"I guess I'll save the chili for breakfast tomorrow; it should give the powdered eggs flavor." So that's what's in the can. I wonder if there's any chilies in them similar to Fear Valley chilies. He shakes his floppy ears with disbelief as the human tosses the can on top of his leggings. He then takes the time to take his bags into the tent. He then grabs the bag of white fluff.
"What's the white stuff?" He asks as the human tears open the bag of white fluff with his teeth.
"Marshmallows." The human tosses it at the babe; the marshmallows are impaled by the dark claws, and the babe gladly tears apart the soft body with his teeth.
"You sure you should be giving him that?" Some human food just doesn't sit right in the ole stomach like the time Peyton gave me those Toxis tamales. My house stunk for days…
"It's just sugar, so I'm only giving him a couple. I know too much sugar wreaks havocs on their bowels."
"Not your first time being a caretaker?"
"I had some experience babysitting back on Earth. Babysitting was how I made extra cash in the summer, but most of the kids on my block are old enough for daycare, so I don't get to babysit that much anymore." Did Chaor know he had prior experience before…hiring him? H'earring wonders, and Kazdan searches the nearby area to gather more twigs. He brings them back inside and cleans them off with his tunic.
"A little dirt won't extinguish the fire." H'earring reminds him, but the human grins like he has some natural confidence.
"I need them for roasting marshmallows." He spears a marshmallow on each of the sticks. He then brings a marshmallow close enough to the fire to catch on fire; he waits until it blackens before blowing the yellow-blue flame out. He then brings the marshmallow to the babe's thin mouth; he bites into it, and the black skin flakes as the white beneath it is pulled out.
"You want one?" He holds out the sticks with the marshmallows, and H'earring grabs one and roasts the marshmallow until half of it becomes a puffy black. He then devours the whole thing and tastes the acrid sweetness of the half-burnt treat.
"You can have more." And H'earring partakes in more, jamming six more onto his stick, while the human roasts another one for the babe. Then, he finally roasts two for himself.
"Who taught you how to make fire?" H'earring asks with his mouth partially stuffed with the fourth and fifth marshmallow.
"Myself. Middle school sucked, but the fire soothed me." Kazdan answers quickly like he has a secret to hide.
"Why is that?" Kazdan looks back at the fire.
"Fire…has so many functions. Cooking. Welding. Creating. Destroying. It's power!" The human's voice warbles with suppressed mania that reminds him of the Pyrogenousists; their eyes only reflected the fire that they devote themselves to. Sometimes, their devotion would come with a sacrifice.
But at least I won't have to worry that he'll drown me in the Lava Pond if I look at him wrong. H'earring has personally never seen the Pyrogenousists sacrifice any Creature, but he has sure heard screams of those poor Creatures.
"You might want to clean up the drool on your chin." The human nearly falls for it and feels his face for dried spittle, but then he turns back to him and frowns.
"Grr!" The babe growls at him like he's Chaor, but his growl is too high-pitched to be bone-chilling like Chaor's. H'earring muffles a snort.
Kazdan grabs his canteen and takes a draft from it, and then goes back to the babe to give him water. He then picks up the babe who burps into his bony shoulder.
"We're heading to bed. You're welcome to join us at the tent." H'earring accepts without any more wise cracks; he isn't going to pass up on a dry place over a damp hole. The human drags over the blue bag and zips himself and the babe inside. They look as snug as embalmed rats in Ulmar's beakers.
"Goodnight." The human yawns, and the babe mimics him.
"Goodnight, Kazdan."
Kazdan cannot wake up by the light of the sun like on Earth; he has to wake up to noise like birds chirping in the backyard or the shrill alarm from his Scanner. The noises that causes him to groan back into the waking world is the babe's fussy Mmphs and Grrs.
He sniffs first and sighs with pleasure at the absence of fecal stench. And then he opens his eyes and sees that the babe is not in the bag nor in the tent. There's only H'earring curled up like a baby in a puddle of drool and the ashy remains of the fire from last night.
Where is he!? He scrambles out of the tent, stepping on the empty bag of marshmallows. He doesn't see the babe outside the ground of the tent. Come on make some noise—
"WAHHHHHHHHHH!" The babe's wails come from south of the camp and into the unknown parts of the Location. But he runs towards the wails, imagining that the babe is drowning in a deep puddle. He finds the babe standing right on the shore of a slow-moving river; his cheeks are covered in tear tracks and his nose is dribbling, pellucid snot. The blue and black pebbles dig into his feet like thorns, but he finally swoops the babe up and into his arms.
"Oh thank the Cothica, you're all right!" He's tempted to kiss the babe a thousand times like a hysterical cartoon mom, but the babe kicks at him. He puts him down, but grips his hand tightly.
"Y-You can stand! Did you walk here!?" He half-expects a nod, but the babe sniffles and points at the river.
"Did something scare you?" The babe points again at the river. "Did you lose something?"
"Mmph!" He can walk, but he can't say "yes?" He peers into the clear blue river and sees at the bottom of the statue of Chaor crushing a bed of unworthy kelp.
"I'll get it for you, but you better stay here!" He promises the babe and plunges feet first into the water because he's uncertain of its depth.
Okay, the water is not freezing cold like I thought it would be. And it's much deeper than it appears; my feet don't even touch the bottom! He takes one last look at the babe. The corners of his blue eyes have red scraggly lines of irritation from his crying. He takes a deep breath and plunges down.
He's never been a strong swimmer; when he was six, he flunked the swim test that would've allowed him to swim without adult supervision at the local Y. But this time he's motivated to swim like an Olympian for the heartbroken babe. He waves his hands around as he dives to give him a clue if he's any closer to the statue. It takes three waves before he feels the slimy leaves of kelp. He gives an experimental tug and feels it firmly remaining in place, so he tugs himself until he reaches the bottom. He feels around, smacking up sand and tiny pebbles, until he finally bruises his palm on the statue.
He quickly swims up, feeling like his lungs will burst, and gulps in fresh air like water in a desert. He opens his eyes and sees the babe happily clapping his hands together. He paddles to the shore and nearly stops when he feels something hard and sharp brush the bottom of his feet. The babe pauses mid-clap with tears dotting his irritated eyes. It was just rocks that I slapped up! He tells himself and reaches the shore.
"Next time, don't play so close to—" His air is stolen out of his lungs with an anaconda squeeze of something bony and bulbously. Chaor falls to the shore with a clatter.
It takes only a few seconds for someone to lose consciousness, and then only a couple of minutes for death. He remembers from a lesson on anacondas from a science class. His vision blurs; he hears the babe's screams.
And then darkness.
…W…a…
W…a…k
W…a…ke
…Wake
…Wake
…u…
…u…p
…Wake up
…Wake up
Wake up
WAKE UP!
The screaming noise causes Kazdan to jolt up suddenly, surprising all but one of the UnderWorlders in the tent.
"How did he know that the stew was done!?" A purple-skinned Creature lashes out with his skeletal tail. Oh no, that's not just a tail; that's his entire bottom half along with a ribcage! What the fuck!
"Wh…o?" Talking feels like I'm still being strangled again! He touches his throat and feels the bruises ache with horrible freshness.
"He sounds like the ghost from Castle Pillar, Skreeth." A brown-scaled Creature with green slits on black sclera; his neon-green gills flutter with every breath he takes.
"I was going to kill him, but the babe got in the way, Ornathor!" Skreeth snaps and physically snaps his skeletal tip of his tail.
"He's a human; I doubt he was capable of doing any damage to your river!" Ornathor retorts and waves the chili-stained spoon at him.
"H'…ear….in."
"Hear in?"
"He's trying to say H'earring, you dolt." Ornathor ladles chili in a clay bowl and then uses his tail to deliver it to Kazdan. He takes it without a word. "H'earring took the babe to potty."
"Di….p…..r"
"If he can take on a Creature thrice his size, he can be potty-trained." Kazdan turns his brown eyes onto Skreeth. There are scratches around his eye sockets that look like the scratches on H'earring's couch! The babe went feral for me!
"Kid nearly took my eyes!"
"Babe. The babe nearly blinded you!"
"He took me by surprise! Would you have expected a barely-walking kid to protect a human!?" Kazdan feels the childish urge to sling the chili in Skreeth's wounds, but the hunger in his stomach brings his temper down. He drinks the chili and chews the beans and ground meat into a semi-liquid; he swallows slowly, not wanting to irritate his own throat. But his throat still burns from the swallowing, and a bit from spice.
"The human's his caretaker; he probably thinks that the human's his father." Kazdan feels the heat rush to his cheeks and drinks more of the chili to cover it up.
"What Creature would hire a human to be a caretaker? Humans are more helpless than children; at least, children can do some semblance of Attacks or are built to fight. Like the kid with his claws!" Skreeth flicks his tail in a fah gesture. "Humans only survive because of their Scanners!"
"This human didn't use his Scanner." Ornathor points out and then slurps up the chili with the spoon like he's drinking tea.
"That's because he's—" An idiot, Skreeth was supposed to say, but he flinches instead. Kazdan turns his head towards the tent's entrance and sees H'earring with the babe. The babe flashes his teeth in a long smile and then waddles his way to Kazdan; he hugs him around the waist with Chaor in one hand.
"H…i!" The babe looks up at him with a smaller, less terrifying smile. H'earring goes over to the pot of chili that Ornathor is still eating from. He puts his hands in and eats the chili, making some of the chili drip onto the tent's floor.
"Hmm! You were right about adding the Fear Valley chilies to this, makes it palatable." Palatable? You eat garbage on a daily basis! But Kazdan keeps his remarks to himself; the babe chortles through his nose.
"I told ya." Ornathor rubs his chin thoughtfully. "But a pinch of palm fungus would have made this perfect!"
"I think that would've killed Kazdan." Ornathor and Skreeth stare blankly at H'earring. "The human in his loincloth."
"See! They can't even handle our food!" Kazdan tips the bowl of chili into his mouth and briefly flips Skreeth off.
"Lord Chaor's not paying him to eat our food." Skreeth pales into a sickly lavender, while Ornathor's eyes widen.
"I thought some senile merchant hired him!" H'earring practically cackles, and Kazdan knows that the little mutant rabbit is just reveling in their fear. And so is he. Just a bit.
"Lord Chaor was looking for a caretaker for h–the babe. Kazdan won the job fair and square." More like I was pressganged into it. The babe now frowns at him.
"B-But he's a human!"
"Hey, I don't question Lord Chaor's decisions." And neither should you. The unsaid threat silences Skreeth from any further comments. Kazdan takes one more gulp of the chili, puts it down before the babe, and then rummages through his clothes pile for his Scanner. He pulls it out and gestures with one finger that he'll be back.
He returns to Chaotic.
The pain in his neck vanishes, but he finds himself still in his boxer-briefs. He sees players at the Transport Center snickering at him much like the mutant rabbit, even the brunette with the ponytail. But her purple eyes check him out.
He gives her a confident nod and ports back to Everrain.
Next time, I'm going to put on some pants before doing that again!
It takes him twenty minutes to make it back to the camp, and by that point Ornathor left, taking his cooking and dining ware with him. He notices around the babe's mouth are chili stains. And he also notices that Skreeth hasn't left for some reason.
"Scan me." Skreeth demands, which makes Kazdan blink in disbelief. "Well, do it, human!"
"Okay." Kazdan scans him, and Skreeth quickly slithers past him.
"Skreeth is hoping you won't tell Chaor about what he did to you." Ah, that makes sense. It would've been cool to get a scan of Ornathor too. Maybe, next time. He grabs his shirt, crouches down, and uses the bottom of his shirt to wipe the stains away. The babe fusses, but allows himself to be cleaned.
"Ready to go?" H'earring asks, but Kazdan shakes his head.
"I need to take all of this down since I did this rent this and I bet they would want it back." So Kazdan packs up the rental gear, ports back to the PortCourt with his clothes on, and ports right back to the camp. He slings the diaper bag over one shoulder, and holds his hand out towards the babe. The babe looks at it and hands him the statue.
"For safekeeping?" He asks, and the babe smiles mysteriously. H'earring looks at them with befuddlement wrinkling his hairless brows.
"Lead the way." He orders the babe, or given his evolution, the toddler. And the toddler leads the way.
Very much like Chaor would.
Author's Comments- Here are the links:
Here is the song that I believe goes with the chapter, at least when it gets into Everrain. I first heard the music from the 1975 movie, based on the 1967 historical-fiction novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock. There is also a 2018 TV series and 2016 play about the aforementioned work, but I'm just going to stick to the movie. I highly recommend it for those looking for an atmospheric period piece. Anyways, the song that is in the main theme section is eerie yet entrancing like how I imagine being in Everrain: a href=" /8m-6bU4x7us"Link/a
Here is an amv for Berserk that reminded me to be detailed in Everrain's description: a href=" /U0pZoYHpmlc"Link/a
Here is an image of Everrain the card, which inspired the description in this chapter more than the show did: a href=" . /revision/latest?cb=20110711044450"Link/a
Here is an image of Skreeth the card. I honestly do not know how Skreeth can move when his only source of movement is his spine, but I presume its unique Creature biology and possibly Mugic/magic. Anyways, the show didn't give much insight to his character, except how he would move in motion, and his flavor text is just a pun on his boldness and spine, so I had a lot of room to characterize him: a href=" . /revision/latest?cb=20180117210633"Link/a
Here is an image of Ornathor. I originally wasn't going to write him in this early into the story, but I then found out that he lived in Everrain, so I decided it would be fun if he made a cameo. And I figure he and H'earring would know each other, since the mutant-rabbit seems to know almost everyone in the UnderWorld: a href=" . /revision/20130821110512"Link/a
This inspiration for the chapter came about from the Everrain card; the Location was animated in season one, episodes fourteen "The Birth of Borth-Majar," seventeen's "Scavenger Scan," and twenty-seven's "An Easy Win." The thing is I completely forgot that Everrain was featured in these episodes until re-watching them recently. And it was mostly because of how drab Everrain was compared to what I imagined.
Since Skreeth and Ornathor live in Everrain, I figure they would know each other. Does that mean they're the best of friends? Probably not, I imagine there more like neighbors that check up on each other now and again to make sure that the other isn't dead.
I have recently re-watched season 1, episode 30 "The Curse of Kor-bek" where it turns out that solons gets defined. Because Sarah told the guys that 1000 solons is about 500 years, so that means a solon is about six months. So I will be updating the chapters dealing with solons and making some other minor edits to previous chapters.
I plan the next chapter for Kazdan to go back to Kiru City and go on a little "quest" of sorts.