Chapter 8

The two travelers continued their hike through the next day. It was a relatively silent and awkward walk. Don refused to talk to April whenever she brought up going back to Earth which only made things more awkward. Finally, their second day came to an end, and they settled in for another night. Well, we've made it to the edge of the territory. Lullin Territory is right past here. He thought to himself.

April looked down at the ground and watched as the pulsating light crossed with another. "What's past here? Is this new territory that we're supposed to go to beyond this point?" she asked.

"No, Lullin Territory is. Four days there and then we'll be in Azbani Territory." Don explained. He then left to find them something to eat just like he did the night before.

She decided that she would go and collect firewood again. She stayed where she could still see the gray beast rolling around in the dirt. Just like last time she collected dry branches and stones off the ground and brought them back to the camp site. She set it up and even started the fire. She glanced at the flames and sighed. Nothing I say is working right now. I'm going to have to try something else if I'm going to convince him to come home. She thought. There has to be something I could say to convince him. It's not like I can drag them all home. She glanced over at Luna. Luna stared back and growled at her. Startled, April turned her gaze back toward the flickering flames. Yeah, dragging them is definitely not happening. April continued to sit in thought until Don came back with fruits, vegetables and two freshly killed and skinned animals.

Seeing Don carrying the bodies of small animals made April cringe. "What's wrong?" Don asked as he stretched out his limbs.

April snapped out of it. "Huh? What?"

Don rolled his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just... I'm not used to this version of you. You don't usually do things like this."

"Well, I do now. I don't really have a choice. I didn't know you suddenly became a vegetarian." Don shrugged.

"I didn't, I just don't like this."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at that as he knew what she was referring to. "Well, if you want, you can just run to the nearest supermarket and pick up some steaks. All nice and pre-packaged so you won't get your hands dirty." he stated sarcastically. He set up the meat over the fire to start cooking it.

"Really Don? What's with the sarcasm?"

Don suddenly realized what he had said. He hadn't noticed how bitter he was until she said something about it. Nati's words before he left echoed through his mind. I know you are upset with her right now, but she is your friend. I do not believe she would be acting this way unless she had a reason. Do not be too harsh with her.

Her kind words calmed him down a bit and he took a breath. "Sorry. Look, it's not like I enjoy killing or anything, but it's necessary for survival here. I'm willing to, at least stop the hunting if it makes you that uncomfortable."

April blinked, almost surprised by the sudden change of tone. "Um, thanks, but what will you eat?"

"This world is full fresh fruits, veggies and nuts for us to eat. We'll just have to make do with a vegetarian diet."

He heard Luna give off an annoyed groan behind him, most likely from what he said. Don just reached back and gave her a pat on the head. April wasn't sure what to say after that, he was being civil, so she decided to do the same. She nodded and didn't say much after that, and Don was very much okay with that.


Don had opened his eyes right at the crack of dawn. Sitting up off of Luna, he stretched and rubbed his eyes. The campfire had burned itself out by this point. He grabbed a piece of fruit that was left over from last night as he waited for April to wake up. Luna woke up and nuzzled his arm with a purr. "Good morning to you too." he smiled. "I'm not looking forward to walking through Lullin territory during the day. It's gonna suck, but it'll be worth it for Nati." Luna happily purred some more at the sound of Nati's name.

April's sudden scream made the two of them turn to her. She was sitting up looking down at about five tiny, six legged creatures that had crawled onto her and were just staring intently at her. The Porbi were very small, only standing some inches off the ground. Each of them had a narrow head, four beige feline eyes, small holes on the sides of their heads for ears, a slitted nose, and a sharp, hooked beak filled with blunt teeth. They have two short, forelegs and four thick hind legs with a slender tail. Their forest green, leathery skin is covered in delicate scales that easily dislodge.

April's scream didn't scare them off as they couldn't hear very well, so they just kept looking at her. Don could understand being startled at seeing the little reptiles staring at you, so he didn't say anything. Instead, he just grabbed a piece of leftover fruit and held it out to them. The sweet smell of the fruit is probably what attracted them in the first place. They all turned their beady eyes toward it and happily ran toward it. They worked together to bring the piece of fruit off to their little hovel.

"What were those?"

"Mini Porbi. They're attracted to sweet smelling things. They must have smelled the fruit that we left out and came running." he stated simply. "Come on, eat up. We're about to move out." He pushed the basket of fruit toward her.

"Right now?"

Don stood up. "Preferably, yes. Come on."

April rolled up her mat and blanket and strapped it to her back. She followed him as she munched on the leftover fruit from last night. "We're heading to that Lullin Territory now, right?"

"Yeah, but before we do that we have to fill up our canteens." he kept walking until he made it to a stream. He pulled out four wooden canteens and gave two of them to April. "Fill up. You're gonna need it." he filled up both of his canisters with water from the stream and then put them away. Luna took the opportunity to get a drink too.

"What exactly is happening in this Lullin Territory?"

"Nothing bad will happen if you listen to me. Just be prepared to sweat." he answered vaguely. "Stay near me because I am virtually blind here."

"What... does that mean?" she asked.

"It just means that I may not know if we are in danger until it's too late. So no wandering off, okay."

"...Okay?"


Beloose, Dax, Raph, and Leo were in the palace. As usual, Raph and Leo were watching the new possible vao as they moved through their katas, while Dax stood beside Beloose on the dais. "So, how do you think Don is doing?" Raph asked his brother.

"I'm sure he's fine. Probably annoyed, but he's fine." Leo said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's a lot easier than when Mikey went. At least he has back up."

"He might have back up, but that doesn't mean that this trip is going to be easier."

Raph thought about what he just said. Realizing what he meant, he couldn't help but agree. "I guess you're right."

"Hey, do you know what happened between her and Don during the festival?" Leo asked as he corrected the stance of one of the guards.

"Apparently, April told Nati that we were leaving and never coming back. Which upset her and now Don's pissed."

Leo sighed. "That's understandable. I hope they can talk things out."

"Yeah, me too. Angry Don just seems weird."


April was already fanning herself because as soon as they crossed over the edge of Ezdic it was like the moderate temperature spiked upward in an instant. The number of trees began to tamper off and the ground became less green and more cracked. It almost looked like a wasteland. "How is it suddenly so warm?"

"That's the way Rejuna likes it." Don stated vaguely. "We're not even officially in Lullin Territory yet. We're in an area between Ezdic and Lullin. It's only going to get warmer, so be ready."

"So you're saying that someone is controlling the climate here?"

"Yep."

"This Rejuna person?"

"Yep."

"That's... not how that works. The weather was just fine a second ago."

"That's not how it works on earth, but you're not on earth right now. Things are different here."

"Fine, how is this Rejuna person controlling the weather?"

Don just shrugged. "She's a goddess, she can do what she wants in her territory."

"Goddess? Never took you for the religious type."

"I've seen a lot of things here. Things that the old Don would never believe if you just told him about it. And besides is this really the weirdest thing I've ever told you about? We've been through a lot over the years. Physically, mentally and spiritually. This shouldn't be where you draw the line." he looked pointedly at her.

"I mean, I guess not, but come on..."

"Look, it sounds crazy, I know, but you can't be so closed minded about this."

"I am not close minded."

"Then you might want to keep quiet and just experience everything as it comes. Besides, you'll dry your mouth out and you'll go through your water too quickly if you keep talking."

"There's no water here?"

"There is, but it's pretty sparse and closer to the villages. We're not going anywhere near there, so if you want to have enough water by the time we get out of here you might want to keep from talking so much."

As much as she hated that snarky remark, she knew he was right. The hot, dry air was already making her thirsty. So she stayed quiet.

They knew they had officially stepped foot into Lullin Territory when it got even warmer than before. They continued straight ahead along the dry, cracked ground. Since talking too much wasn't the best idea, she took the time to just look around at this world's nature. Everything wasn't as lush and green as before. It was darker and the leaves on the trees sprouted red and yellow leaves from its curling tree limbs instead of the green. The ground had little patches of grass and even the occasional bush, but it was all a mix of red, brown and yellow. It was like autumn on earth... a really hot autumn. A mishmash of flowers, which were unique to this region, clashed with the otherwise brown forest floor.

Despite it looking like the area was uninhabitable, different animals roamed the area unaffected. The rest of the surroundings consisted of boulders and the random cracks would form spouts every once in a while. She had to admit, the inner scientist in her wanted to just study everything around her, but that's not why she was here. Her focus was on convincing Don to come home. She really didn't think that it would be this difficult, but if she could convince any of them to come home, it would probably be Don.

April's mind wandered so much that she didn't notice the ground rumbling beneath her. She also didn't notice Don calling to her, trying to warn her of the incoming danger.

"Hold on, April." Don had stopped in his tracks when he felt the ground rumble beneath him. April kept walking forward in her own thoughts. What she was thinking about to make her that distracted, he had no idea. She was walking right toward one of those spouts in the ground. He knew what was about to happen and he had to stop her, before she hurt herself. "April?!" the ground began to rumble a bit more and that seemed to snap April out of it, but it was too late by that point, she was standing right over the hole in the ground. Don moved to her, grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way. "Move it!" Scalding hot steam and smoke shot out of the hole she was once standing over, as well as the other holes surrounding them.

It was only temporary, but she could feel the heat from it. The smoke and steam quickly dissipated into the early morning air. "What was that?"

"Pressure build up from underground." Don continued walking.

"Pressure build up. From what?" she went to catch up with her amphibious friend and the furry beast.

"Underground volcano." Don said.

"Really?" she asked exasperated.

"Yeah, there's actually a way to get underground to watch it, but the fact that we're right over it means we're closer to Rejuna." they came up to a fork in the road and Don and Luna went left while April continued to follow them, cautiously. Trying to avoid any and all holes in the ground. The last thing she wanted was to end up with burns on her body.

It was about midday when they finally got to their destination, Rejuna. "You can take a break now, April." he said to her as he passed by the glowing red and white stones that surrounded the massive tree.

Rejuna was a lot different than Tandaya. The bark of the tree was a twisted black sprouting up and over everything else. The branches sprouted in all different directions, some even drooping low to be reached by normal people. The ends of each branch sprout many large, stiff, pointed, red leaves both deep and bright red. The leaves themselves are tough with serrated edges. Don approached Rejuna, staring up at the wonder that is the life tree of this territory.

"What are we doing here, Donnie?" she asked as she sat down near the tree to rest her aching feet. She pulled out one of her canteens and took a long swig of water.

"Paying my respect to Rejuna." Don clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. "Bad things tend to happen to those that don't."

"This is Rejuna?"

"Yep" he opened his eyes.

"It's just a tree." she looked up at it and scoffed. The ground beneath her suddenly got hot, too hot for her to even sit on. "Ow!" she quickly got up off the ground rubbing her now hot bottom. She was lucky her clothes didn't burn off.

"A tree that can control everything in this area right now." Don corrected without looking back at her. "You probably shouldn't disrespect her. She's a bit of a hot head."

April rolled her eyes and turned away from him. As soon as she did, one of the branches that was low enough for people to reach suddenly moved to swat Donnie upside the head. "Ow! I'm sorry."

"This is ridiculous."

"What is?"

"You are talking to a tree."

"I'm talking to a goddess actually. I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this. Of all the things that has happened to me for as long as you've known me. Why is this the one thing you can't seem to understand."

"...Whatever." she turned away again and walked off in a huff.

Don sighed and rubbed his temples. "I really wish she didn't come with me." he looked back up at Rejuna. "Wish me luck." he went after his friend. "Come on, Luna." Luna followed after him with an annoyed groan.


Mikey was given the okay to leave the infirmary by his wife, but was given specific orders to not strain himself. He walked out the front door and was greeted by a sorrowful looking Max. He didn't nuzzle up against him like he normally did. Instead, he kept his distance, guilt pretty evident on his face. "Hey buddy." Mikey greeted, reaching out to pet him. Max moved back, keeping the distance between them. "It's okay, I know you feel bad about what happened, but I don't blame you."

Max responded by whining.

"Don't worry, it's fine. I promise."

Without looking at him, he ran past him, into the forest. "Max, wait!"

"Hey, Mikey. What's going on?" Casey approached the orange banded turtle.

"Hey Case. It's Max. He feels bad about what happened to me, so he ran off."

"Well, come on. Let's go find him." Casey said as he started for the forest.

"Really? You don't have to do that, you know? I know where he is."

"Yeah, I ain't got nothing else to do." he shrugged. "Let's go." he ran off into the forest followed by Mikey.

Once in the forest, Casey followed Mikey since he was the one that knew where he was going. "So, where we headed?" Casey asked, sounding excited.

"There's a den not too far from here that Max dug for himself. He likes to seclude himself in there sometimes." Mikey led his friend off the trail and through the thick forest. As they moved on through, a flock of linguds flew over them, a loud combination of groaning and and angry cawing came from the flock. They have round heads and short necks with two beady, black eyes, a sharp, straight beak, and four long wings. Their bodies was strong with their thick chests, covered in sleek feathers, while its head remained bare. They are mostly sandy yellow with mottled brown bands, with white sections and gray highlights, while their lower bodies are brown. Their frantic flight through the trees knocked some leaves, flowers and even some small branches off the trees.

"I'm no expert on animals, but they don't sound happy." Casey observed.

"Yeah, something must have annoyed them."

"So, what exactly happened that made Max attack you like that?"

Mikey sighed sadly. "When a lakra is injured or sick or starving they revert back to these savage beasts that attack anyone in their way. It's like they forget everything and everyone during that time. Everyone is an enemy to them. No one really knows why it happens, but it seems to be a defensive thing."

"So they're trying to protect themselves?"

"Yeah, it seems that way."

Mikey kept walking until he came to a rather large hole dug in the ground. Mikey took a peek into the den and saw Max curled up in a ball, making whining noises. "Max, come on out." Max only turned away from him. Mikey sighed and looked to his friend. "I'll be right back."

"Yeah, sure." Casey waited while Mikey climbed into the den.

Mikey sat down next to the lakra and pat him on the head. "I know you feel bad buddy, but it's not your fault. You were sick. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me on purpose. From now on, we'll be extra safe. No more eating random fruit that we find, we have to be careful, that's all." Max looked up at him and silently laid his head on his lap. "Come on, let's go back home." Mikey climbed back out of the den followed by the lakra. "Thanks for coming with Casey, I kind of feel bad about bringing you all the way out here just for this."

"Ah, no problem. I needed an excuse to stretch my legs."

"Still, thanks."

"What else can we do?"

"Well, I can't do much because of my injury. I'm not trying to get yelled at by the wifey." Mikey chuckled. "So I'm gonna head back."

"Bummer." Casey said as he followed his friend out of the forest.

"Don't worry, Leo and Raph should be back soon. You can hang out with them."

Looking upwards at the sound of crowing again. That same angry flock of linguds were up in the trees, surrounding a fluffy, ring-tailed creature. Pecking and scratching at the little guy with their beaks and talons until it fell out of the tree. Mikey ran underneath it to catch it before it hit the ground. In that instant, Mikey saw why the linguds were attacking it. In its small paws was an egg. A lingud egg. They just wanted it back. Before the enraged birds could bear down on him again, he took the egg from the furry creature and offered it up to the linguds.

One of them, assumed to be the mother, swooped down and snatched the egg out of his hand with their talons. The flock then flew off, leaving them alone. "That was weirdly intense." Casey said.

"Yeah." he looked down at ball of fluff in his arms. It was bleeding from several parts of its body.

"What are we going to do about him?"

"Well, we can't just leave him here. He'll die." he climbed onto Max's back. "Climb on, we'll bring him to Avery." Casey climbed on behind him and they took off toward the village.


Just for reference, it's about 90 degrees F or about 32 degrees C (if I'm doing my conversion correctly). Just so you know how hot it is regularly in this new Territory.