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Small sun rays were appearing from different points of the leaf collection coming from above. Most of them were orange. One of them starts gliding slowly, even doing a frontal flip! Gently, the leaf landed on Mirii's nose: her irises went right on it.
Her eyebrows went down a bit: her right fingers pinched the leaf, then moving a bit to the right… and opened her fingers. The leaf was falling, swinging a bit in the air. Her irises were now tilting left: three bushes to the left and one to the right almost near a tree.
Her mind starts seeing pebbles on the ground… dust covering her feet… herself sliding on the dusty ground as a Squid…
She shivered, her head shook quickly with her eyes closed: her eyebrows were up, a sigh went out of her mouth.
Her irises turned a bit more to the left seeing Hun's face pointing forward: his mouth was flat, his irises were glued in the same direction as his head, not even his nose was catching air.
Words and laughs were coming from behind in a rather low volume, enough to stomp over chirps from the treetops.
The girl's shoulders turned to the right a bit: her legs stopped with the left one ahead, her eyes expanded.
"Curses!" Her head turned to the left as much as she could. "The liquid reached even the forest!"
"Terrible." Hun frowns, as his right fingers snapped. "When you see the danger's presence, that's the moment when things start getting too difficult!"
"Hmpf, this is the moment where perfection is really shining from someone." Mirii's head rose. "Intuition really let the ordinary Squid discover new ways of improvement…"
Her eyes squeezed a bit.
"Intuition also helps you realize a situation invisible in front of a mere, quick judgement…"
"The fact that there might be a smelly, deformed Inkling marching towards the team?" Grina shrugs, nodding a bit. "Ah yes, that's something rather useful… not much when you can do nothing but Squid-jet out of the dump."
"Only cowards would think such drastic decision…" Mirii slowly turns, as her eyes were staring down everyone. "They choose to give up being someone, preferring to hide inside their own ink."
"Well, who said those are stupid?" Grina bends forward with her wrists on her hips. "Why fighting, if at the end the only memory you'll remember from all this is that stinky whateveryoucallthat, which is really making someone stomach's regurgitate worse than a Sloshing Machine?"
"A smell does nothing but trying to stand in my way…" Mirii frowns a bit, as her right foot slides a bit forward. "I accomplished missions that required the concentration of veterans in war… how could I claim my own achievements, if an insignificant smell puts an end on my victory spree?"
"That's why we must proceed!" Hun's right foot stomped the floor, looking ahead. "Things might get more difficult… but if we don't try attacking whoever wants to harm the fields, we will lose twice!"
Grina's arms opened a bit.
"Alright there, moralistic seekers: let's all go meet our clean friends with a smile."
The 4 Inklings resumed their walk.
"To tell you truth, there aren't any evidence to support the actual presence of those… mutants." Mirii's right forefinger rested on her right cheek.
"Then, how can you explain the puking monster?" Bars' right arm moved a bit up, as his right hand was grasping his Roller weapon. "Like, let's just stick with the basics: they are called for a reason, after so many trials and errors."
Mirii's ears rose, as her legs stopped.
"Huh?!" Hun's head turned to his right a bit, as his eyes were seeing in the distance. "It's just me or…"
"Voices." Mirii's weapon rose, as the scope was in front of her right eye. "Let's see if I can track them down…"
Her eye was resting on some trees and bushes…
"… nothing." Her weapon went down. "Hunley, is that the direction for reaching the scientists' house?"
"Yes." He nods. "Maybe the two wizar, I-I mean scientists were the ones talking with each other."
The boy starts walking, passing Mirii.
"Let's all go forward! We are almost there!" His right arm swings forward.
Grina and Bars look at each other: they both smiled a bit, as they resumed their walk. Mirii was walking on Hun's right side, with her eyes closed.
"… I still don't understand how that liquid could find its way inside"
"OH NO!"
Mirii's eyes opened instantly: in front of them, a large liquid pond in a sideways position with three rocks who were placed almost in a vertical line. Hun's eyes were expanded, his jaw dropped. Grina stops with her irises staring at the liquid: gradually, her mouth formed a smile and chuckled… then laughed loudly!
"Oh my… oh my…" Her left hand was standing on her forehead. "… alright… the joke was so funny, my mouth got all deformed!"
Mirii was frowning, staring down the girl. Hun's mouth was flat and his eyebrows were up.
"Now, now!" Grina grins. "Hunry dear, just end the prank by saying how we are going to take another route…" Her left hand covered her mouth, as her cheeks puffed.
Hun's head turned over Mirii: her frown was still there. His head turns back staring at Grina.
"Ehm…" His irises went to his right for a moment. "I… I admit to not understand why you were laughing like this…" He sighs, as his irises went back in the middle. "… the only thing I know is that the scientists' house is just after this river. We have to jump over those three rocks in order to pass it."
Grina's mouth sealed: her smile retreated a bit.
"… what did you just said?"
"Grina, Hunley said it correctly." Mirii's head rose. "We must cross this river by jumping on the rocks."
Grina's mouth was now flat.
"… no, wait…" Her eyes grew a bit. "… you seriously want to cross this putrid, smelly liquid by jumping on those miniscule rocks…?"
"That's the only solution, Grina." Mirii turns behind. "This forest is already a"
"WHAT?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"
Mirii returns back immediately: Grina's hands were on her cheeks, her weapon bounced a bit until it stops on the cold ground.
"THERE IS NO WAY I'M GOING TO FALL IN THAT STUFF AND BECOME A MINDLESS ZOMBIE!" She frowns, bending her legs a bit. "So much for being a living dictionary about all that intuition spread: you only have ideas for babbling lectures?!"
"Grina, close that mouth of ignorance!" A vein popped out from Mirii's forehead, as her right forefinger points down her face. "We can't Super Jump across the river, because we would hit the leafs and fall down inside the liquid."
Her right arm bended for a moment, then stretched back.
"I don't even have any gadgets useful at the moment… although, I have one back in my room."
"And you just had to forget that…" Grina grits her teeth, trembling. "No way I'm going to be a stinker…" Her fingers rest on her chest. "I'm too fresh to get toilet smell all over my tentacles!"
"Like, I don't feel playing Squid Jump…" Bars' left hand rose, with his eyebrows up. "I have a degree in Rolling, not Jumping."
Mirii's irises shrunk, her mouth opened a bit.
"Wh-what are you claiming?!" Her head twisted over each Inkling. "Stingrays are attacking those fields and YOU decide to really act like cowards?!" She frowns a lot, as her head lowered a bit.
"Nope." Grina's eyes closed, her right forefinger went up. "This is called Reasonable decision to consider your own life first." Her hands went behind her back. "No one ever goes against that, in fact those mutants we saw earlier were doing compliments on us for deciding to live instead of thinking to be invincible heroes and just mindlessly attacking the monsters with the hope as our only weapon."
Mirii moved back a step, as her irises were very small.
"… how could you let a ridiculous fear get the best of you?" Mirii turns over Hun. "Hunley, please say"
The boy was looking at the liquid, with his mouth downturned.
"… Mirii… uuuuhhmmm…" He turns over the girl. "I… I-I don't like this actually…"
"Hunley, no." Mirii walks closer to him. "You are not a coward."
"I know!" He shakes his head, with his eyes closed. "It's just… I-I don't think this is a good idea at all: we could fall down and"
"Hunley, what are you doing?!" Mirii bends forward, frowning. "You heard the trouble those Stingrays were causing over the fields you always cared so much…"
He nods slowly…
"You took the role of a leader, in order to be the one who will save the farms and your whole family." Her head rose, as her right hand took her right tentacle, caressing it.
His eyes expanded.
"There is nothing hiding from my sight…" Her eyes squeezed a bit. "I can still see your wish… your wish to return back in those fields and resume your life as a farmer. You still want to stay with your sister, your parents… you want to return back in your true home."
"Hey… that's right!" His fists clenched, his face frowned. "Wh-why I said that wasn't a good idea?! That's our chance to save the farms and people!"
Mirii smiled. Hun turns behind, pointing towards the other side of the river.
"Everyone, come on! We must get rid of this liquid!"
"Aaaaah, nonono!" Grina folded her arms, her eyebrows were down, her eyes were closed. "You can count me off this: yes yes, I'm a big fat loser, I don't care a thing about the others…"
Two veins popped out from Mirii's forehead: she turns over Grina, with her eyelids to the middle.
"… so, this is how much the great Greta fell down…"
Suddenly, Grina's eyes opened wide. Mirii rose her head.
"Reduced to be nothing more than a joke, scared to face the entire world…"
"… scared? Me?!" Her right thumb landed on her chest, as she took three step forward. "I have a courage so large, this world couldn't even contain!"
"No, your courage is secured inside the so-called past you care so much." Mirii snorted. "Today, Greta Inkolina is nothing more than a selfish, arrogant, childish person who wants nothing than mindless, safe fun. Not even extreme."
"Wait, WAIT A DARN MOMENT!" Grina's left foot stomped the floor, as her legs bended down and took her weapon. "Greta NEVER retreats! In fact, I just laugh at danger and eat crooks for snack time!"
"Hmpf… ironically, you prefer living inside a Bubbler and your infantile wishes. In fact, you don't even seem to remember who Greta was…" Her right hand took her right tentacle.
"I remember that, Miss Perfection!" Grina's face was frowning a lot, while letting out a snort. "My true self was never sent inside the darn oblivion! In fact, I really appreciate being called Greta since that demonstrates true awesomeness."
"I'll just call you Grina, since you want to"
"WHO SAID I'M GOING TO RETREAT?!" Her right forefinger pointed at the river. "You see that sack of ship?! I'm going to drink it all and spit down on those sick Stingrays who dared to challenge me into a fight!"
"… it's enough just crossing the river." Mirii's irises went over Bars. "As for you…"
"… like… you all go there?" He chuckles a bit. "Well… I'm kinda worried about Grina…"
"GRETA!" Grina bends over the boy, as her cheeks puffed.
"Whoa!" He jumped, almost throwing his Roller up. "I-I meant Greta, girl!" He grins with his eyebrows up. "Look… I just want to get to the other side and stick around with her."
Grina's cheeks blushed: after lifting her posture back, she smiled a bit.
"Thank you, Barsy." Her head tilted to her left, with her eyes closed. "That's really fresh from you…"
Bars laughs loudly, while blushing a lot and scratching the back of his head with his left hand.