Chapter Text
"You know," Dev looked at Bit's latest addition to her growing menagerie of 'tamed' animals. "I wasn't expecting this."
"Huh?" The little girl looked up from the insides of the giant creature. Her arms and dress were covered in white blood, but she seemed perfectly fine with it. "What do you mean?"
"Just..." He gestured at the crustacean. "I was worried that you'd find an alligator or a crocodile, and we'd have to make a raft and have them pull it. I was hoping for a giant turtle so we could ride on its back and not have to chop down any trees."
Plus, wouldn't riding on a turtle be cool?
"We'll be able to ride on Krabby, just you wait." She slapped its shell. "It's aquatic, so its legs are already designed for moving in little circles and swimming, instead of scuttling along the river's floor."
"Yeah..." And why was that? What would've caused the crabs in the Chalklands to need to swim fast enough that they evolved to do so? He knew the memes. Carcinization was a real, documented phenomenon. Crustaceans became crabs. It was simply one of the best forms that evolution had come up with - at least that was true back on Earth.
"Oh, don't be such a worrywart!" Pinky said from her perch atop the crab's shell. "It's a crab. Who cares how well it swims? If it didn't, I'm sure that Bit would be able to teach it!" The Fraerling shook her head. "This is just like the fire all over again. Are you going to throw water on the crab to?"
Dev crossed his arms. "River stones are not safe to heat."
"They're rocks." Pinky rolled her eyes. "They get hot. You just don't touch them and you're fine. It's better than building a fire pit without them."
"No." Dev reiterated. "It's not."
"And you ruined all of my hard work, too!" Pinky shook her head and tutted at him.
Dev palmed his face and rubbed his temples. He wasn't going to get into it with Pinky again. River stones were dangerous. Unless they were smooth and solid, there would be tiny pockets of air or water trapped inside of them. Tiny pockets that would expand with heat, and cause the whole rock to explode.
This. This was why he didn't like being around other people. They... just didn't understand, and he couldn't explain it to them.
Sure, he had gotten to see some of these amazing animals up close. There was no way he had been able to get this close to a giant crab otherwise. It was simply too dangerous.
It was only his experience with the domesticated Bloodrage Badger that let him be comfortable with their new ride.
He let out a sigh, sat down, and took out his sketchpad. The picture of the crab was coming along nicely. He should be thinking about what dangers they could encounter in a river. It wasn't an environment he was accustomed to. He didn't know what to look out for.
The best he'd come up with was a way to keep his sketchbook dry when they all inevitably fell into the cold water.
...
The trip up the river turned out to be more pleasant than Dev was expecting.
'Krabby', or 'Mr. Krabby' depending on Bit's mood was big - about as wide as a couch. It also swam pretty smoothly. There was enough room for both him and a little girl to sprawl out on Krabby's shell.
Pinky took up virtually no space.
The monkeys didn't either.
Badgy? Badgy got to hold onto Krabby's shell and dog-paddle behind them. Badger-paddle?
A Scout is a friend to animals and loves nature.
"Are you sure Badgy is going to be okay?" Dev glanced back at the giant, white animal. "The water's pretty cold." Even though they were in the jungle - where it typically was warm or hot all year 'round, the air had a nip to it, and the water was cold enough that Dev wouldn't have wanted to swim in it - even if there weren't unknown and dangerous animals lurking underneath the surface.
Although, the Red Lands were probably nicer than the White Lands in that regard. The soil and rock in the river bed was red, and the native wildlife would be able to blend in well - but not as well as the invisible creatures from the previous biome.
Bit looked up from where she was cutting into the Milk Box. "Don't worry about it." She smiled. "Badgy's tough. I even gave him a condenser - like I'm putting in the Milk Box. It will let him regulate his body temperature much more efficiently than normal! He'll need half the calories to stay warm in the water!"
"Oh, uhm, okay then." Dev glanced back at Badgy. It was true that the Bloodrage Badger didn't show any signs of distress. Then again, it rarely showed any emotions at all - aside from anger.
Dev didn't approve of what Bit had done on principle. 'A Scout is a friend to animals and loves nature.' Surgically altering them to tame them seemed wrong - even if Bit improved them in other ways.
He glanced at her latest project and shivered. At least they weren't as disturbing as the Milk Box. Her creation was... amazing. He couldn't deny that. If Bit had been on his Earth, she could've revolutionized the green-meat industry.
No more raising animals to slaughter them. The Milk Box was a biological machine, and nothing more. It didn't feel pain. It had no emotions.
...And it still freaked him out.
It was indisputable proof that Bit was from another Earth. And that she had 'super powers'.
Probably.
How could he be sure about anything when he was in a world where magic was real?
Pinky obviously didn't believe Bit. She thought the little girl was... repressing something? That she had some strange [Class] or mix of [Classes] that let her... do that.
Dev didn't know if such a thing was possible. For as... inconsistent as the Fraerling was, she was also far more knowledgeable about the world and [Classes] than either him or Bit.
All he was 100% certain of was that Bit was from AN Earth, if not HIS Earth.
Dev shook his head, and turned his attention back to the jungle and his sketches. Riding was much nicer than walking - especially since he hadn't been ready to try and bushwhack through the jungle.
It was hard to make any details out. Everything was red on red, with only shadows in between. In one sense, it wasn't that different from a jungle back on Earth. Just red instead of green. However, there was one major distinction - the animals were also red.
Given the surroundings, it was the perfect camouflage. Dev hadn't even been certain that there WERE animals in the Red Lands at first. Given the omnipresent slime that inhabited the trees to their sides and beneath them, he'd been wondering what else could live here.
Did the jungle need insects? Or did the slime take care of pollination? Would the trees attack something eating them, even if it was as tiny as a bug?
If there were no bugs, then what would the small-sized predators eat? Some birds could subsist on berries, but if the jungle killed bugs, then it would certainly kill birds, right?
If the smaller predators and herbivores weren't present, then the larger predators would leave in search of food elsewhere.
...And then he saw the tiger. Or possibly a porcupine.
It was a great cat, that was for certain. The way it stalked out of the jungle. Its eyes. Its muscles.
[Quick Sketch]
Dev's hand began racing across the paper. The... 'tigerpine'? 'Porcuger'? The cat watched him warily, before lowering its head and lapping at the river water. No, Dev corrected himself, it was watching the large, white crab. The travelers on Krabby's back weren't nearly as threatening.
They passed the animal without issue, and Dev regarded his sketch. It had definitely been a large cat. It was easily six feet long. The differences started with its red color, and ended with its 'hair'. Instead of fur, the feline had possessed long... quills.
That... was interesting. It also implied a great deal.
Large cats were ambush predators. They were carnivores, and attacked things that wouldn't fight back under most circumstances. Predators didn't like to fight. Getting injured in exchange for a meal was a bad trade. Hurt animals couldn't hunt as effectively. They couldn't feed themselves. Even a small wound was a poor trade off for some food.
The main conflicts for such beasts came from territorial disputes - or mating rivals.
Dev glanced back at Badgy. Then again, the rules could be different in this world. The Bloodrage Badger certainly thrived despite its aggression.
The cat had also had quills. Those were a defensive trait. It implied that there were larger predators that would be... dissuaded from attacking due to the multiple small wounds they'd get in return. Wounds that could become infected.
The same rule about not wanting to get hurt while hunting would apply to larger animals as well.
Conversely, the presence of a large cat implied that there was smaller game to be hunted in the Red Lands. Dev hadn't noticed any insects yet, but that didn't mean they weren't there.
He began to plan their camp. He'd have to test what level of movement was acceptable to the jungle, and place trip lines and snares around them. [Basic Trapping] helped with that.
Netting would also be essential, as would an escape plan.
His eyes gleamed. THIS. This was the sort of thing he loved. A puzzle. A challenge. Surviving and being at home in nature was so much more satisfying than... his old home. Thankfully, the memories of his father's house faded as easily as they'd come.
...
"Okay, I think it's safe to walk around the jungle some." Bit stood on the shore. She'd sent her invisible monkeys to explore the area close by. "There are some smaller mammals and lizards, but they don't look aggressive."
"Pinky." Dev looked down at their smallest member. "Wait until I've set up some snares before going inside. Never underestimate nature. A small animal to us-"
"Is a danger to a Fraerling." Pinky interrupted him. "I know that. Every Fraerling knows that! Sheesh." She did a handstand. "I'm in my element here, you know? I'm not worried about any mega-cats!"
"What about the plants?" Bit asked from the side.
Pinky flipped to her feet. "I'm a little worried about those."
"It's a shame your monkeys are so much bigger than Pinky." Dev commented. "Smaller ones would make good decoys to test whether it's safe for her." Not that he condoned using animals like that. Still, as much as he liked nature, he'd put his and his companion's safety above that of the wildlife if there was no other way.
"Oh!" Bit hopped up and down. "That's a good idea! I can have my monkeys capture some of the smaller mammals and..." She glanced up at Dev before clearing her throat. "I can make some Pinky-sized decoys. They won't be of much more use than that, but we can always feed them to the Milk Box later."
Dev closed his eyes and palmed his face.
It was fine.
It was fine.
It was like... hunting for food, but with less waste. Yeah. That was it. He'd captured and eaten things both in this world and on Earth. It was like... using bait.
Yeah. Like baiting a trap, and then removing it if it didn't trigger. That was the proper thing to do anyways.
Yeah.
...It was still a little creepy though. Did Bit purposely aim for the cute & creepy little girl archetype? That was a thing in the West, right? Like her power (or [Class]) was creepy, so she tried to be cute to offset it?
Dev set his backpack down, and pulled out his supplies. Some sharpened wooden stakes - thin and light, but still strong. The trees from the Chalklands had been more durable than Oak. It had taken a lot of work to fashion his traps - especially the thin string that was attached to the spikes.
It wasn't invisible - not any more - but it blended into the background.
[Nature Sense] and [Danger Sense] were both quiet, but he was still on guard as he entered the underbrush. He'd go in slowly, and move parallel to the river. That way he could get a better sense of the land, and still have an escape route.
Once he was far enough away, he'd start moving in a semi-circle around the camp. He'd trap the perimeter, and then worry about things like bugs.
Riley yawned as she woke up. She hadn't had any nightmares, but she also hadn't had any pleasant dreams either. She brushed away the netting that Dev had put up to keep insects away. She had to admit, it was a better long-term solution than her antiseptic mist.
Sure, she could modify her liver to make it automatically rather than by hand. A design came to her that incorporated both red and white flesh. Doing that would... be fun, but it would also require more calories.
Plus, it would be like she was sweating mist. That was un-ladylike. It was a difficult balancing act between being a good girl, and being a 'Good Girl'. There was nothing wrong with being cute, or polite, or cheerful, but they also shouldn't be goals in and of themselves.
She said a curse word under her breath as she stood up - just to prove she could.
Right. Time to take stock of the camp and the jungle, but first... some hot milk.
Riley was pleased with the newest addition to the Milk Box. Sure, the heating coils were a by-product of the cooling aspect, but they were useful. The morning air was chilly, and some nice warm milk hit the spot.
She really needed to add some flavor options.
Pinky had given her a 'Nali Stick' that had been super-concentrated sucrose. It hadn't worked that well with the milk before, but with hot milk? Yep. That would be nice.
She'd fiddle with it while they sailed along the river. Was sailed the right word? Eh, whatever.
More importantly, the jungle hadn't taken anymore exception to them sleeping next to it than it had to them walking through it. It might be that the slime was more of a defensive measure. A sort of... antibody for the Red Lands. It also could be that it was more sensitive around the edges where it came into contact with other colors. Or that an angry Bloodrage Badger smashing through it had set it off.
All of them were testable hypotheses, but she already had plenty to keep her busy. She needed to make Pinky-decoys, update the Milk Box, and experiment with grafting multiple colors of flesh together.
Riley yawned again.
She had a busy day ahead of her. She wondered what Pinky was looking for. She would've bet on the slime. The tiny Fraerling HAD been enamored with it, but she still wanted to find something else.
Riley hoped that whatever she was looking for actually existed. Her new friend seemed... fragile in the same way that Bonesaw had once been. Or she might be like Riley was now - broken and healing. She wanted to help Pinky like Kevin had done for her in the past.
But, that was the way of life. It always grew. It always healed.
(Well, not ALWAYS, but that wasn't a very inspirational thought.)
Pinky sat in the tree and... thought about things. She definitely wasn't brooding. Brooding wasn't 'red'. Anger was red. Lust was red. Excitement was red. Passion was red. Boundless energy was red. Things that made your heart pump were red.
Brooding?
Brooding was black - like the night. Or possibly blue - like the sky (because tall places helped). Maybe a darkish blue?
Lars had been blue. That was his color. His hair had been aquamarine. His eyes cerulean.
Of course, that had been before she'd become 'red'. Back when her father was still around.
Her father was a Tallguard, the same as her mother. Lar's parents had been the same! Pinky hadn't been like the other children when she'd grown up. She'd known more about the outside world than anyone else her age! ...except possibly Lars.
She KNEW to be careful.
She KNEW that the plants were dangerous.
She KNEW that a 'small' creature to the Tallfolk was a danger to her.
She KNEW how evil cats were.
...She also knew that Bit and Dev meant well.
It was... just so stifling! She could take care of herself! Sure, sure, Bit had saved her from the invisible bird that'd grabbed her, but Pinky would've been able to escape on her own.
Eventually.
Possibly.
Those memories were all woozy.
The POINT was, that she didn't need DECOYS!!
...no.
...That was a lie.
She'd sworn she'd be honest with herself. That was the only way forward. To make the mask become reality. And, yes, she acknowledged the contradiction there and her hypocrisy.
Whatever.
While it was true that the babying that Bit and Dev were doing was annoying, that wasn't what was causing her to not brood.
Here she was, in the Red Lands, and she felt... nothing. No special bond with her [Class]. No revelations. No emotional growth. She was still just plain old 'Pinky'.
She slapped her cheeks.
Right. She needed to cheer up. Crack some jokes. Make some puns. She was going to be the best [Fool] the world had ever seen. That would show 'em!
Who needed a family like that anyways?
On the third day, they came to a lake. Not a big lake, but big enough. They could see the other side, but only just.
There were some red, algae-like plants that Riley could see at the bottom. They might be nothing important. Or they might be part of the zone-wide organism. Or they might hide some ambush predator. Or even be an ambush predator themselves.
She had Krabby keep to the side, just to be safe.
They passed a few trails through the jungle that had doubtlessly been made by animals walking back and forth to the water supply. There didn't seem to be any around right now. So, that was something.
No, the bad news was that there was nowhere else to go. Riley counted five tributaries that fed into the lake, but all of them were much smaller than the river they'd been swimming upstream, and none of them was big enough for Krabby to fully submerge itself.
That was a problem because Krabby didn't really walk in a straight line - at least not easily or quickly.
"I think we should make camp down stream - at least several hundred yards away." Dev broke the silence. "It'll be best to continue on foot eventually."
Once they knew where they were going. Riley looked down at Pinky. She didn't want to prod her newest friend, but she was the one with a goal.
Or at least, she was the one with a reason for being in the red jungle.
Pinky was looking around, but seemed to feel the rest of the group looking at her. She straightened up and put on a wide smile. "Sounds good! We can, uh... yeah. Sounds good."
Krabby swam them back where they'd come from and Riley sent out her monkeys and Pinky-decoys.
"This will be a good place to observe the local wildlife." Dev was still looking at the lake. "Most animals in the area probably visit it at least a few times a week. "I think it also might be interesting to explore down some of those paths. We'll need to be prepared, and not wander into the lair of something too aggressive, but there's a lot to see around here!"
He seemed excited despite his initial wariness about entering the jungle. It was strange, his and Pinky's initial dispositions had swapped.
The monkeys came back, and Dev went out to set up his traps.
Riley tweaked the Milk Box some more.
...
That night, she was woken up by drums.
Riley yawned and rubbed her eyes. She'd imagined hearing...
The drums continued.
Huh? So it wasn't a dream?
Dev and Pinky were awake, and they glanced at each other in the twilight.
Then, there was another sound.
Was...
Was that a guitar?
"So we're going, right?" Pinky hadn't been able to go back to sleep once the music had stopped.
Music!
In a Death Zone!
Her first thought was that it might be another Fraerling settlement. Torteth of Colors was on the edge of the Chalklands, and that was dangerous enough.
But... there could be even braver Fraerlings, right?
No. On second thought, she was being [Foolish]. Pinky had gotten too comfortable with her Tallfolk companions. She'd traveled leagues through a Death Zone with their help. That was something that even the Titan would have had difficulty with.
Other Tallguards might, MIGHT, have pushed deeper into the Dyed Lands. They might even have scavenging runs, or something - some sort of permanent presence like an outpost. What they wouldn't do was lead an entire city through a mass exodus into one of the most lethal places in the world.
So, that left two possibilities: It wasn't Fraerlings, or the entire city had been... She didn't know... Transported? Or something? She was no [Architect] or [Engineer]. The full capabilities of a Fraerling city were unknown to her, but mass teleportation? That seemed possible.
Oh, wait, there was a third possibility! It could've been a Fraerling settlement that had existed BEFORE the incident that had created the Dyed Lands. Every other inhabitant of these lands would've been killed, or driven off if they were high enough level themselves. A Fraerling city that had been encompassed by the blast?
Yes, they could've survived. Fraerlings survived where Tallfolk didn't.
The singular flaw in her logic was... why would they be playing music so loud that it could be heard from... miles away? Even with all the restrictions lifted, Torteth wouldn't make that much noise. Fraerlings were small. They were quiet. They'd have to purposely make noise on such a scale.
So... perhaps not a Fraerling city, but she still HAD to find out. People living in the Red Lands might be the exact thing she was looking for!
"C'mon, we're going, right?" Pinky hopped up and down on Bit's chest. "I know you're awake!"
She didn't know, but if her friend was still asleep, she wouldn't hear her. Therefore, it was a bluff with no downside!
"Fine." Bit mumbled before sitting up. Pinky backflipped off of her and landed safely on the ground. The [Saw Doctor], yes, today Pinky decided Bit was a [Saw Doctor]. The [Saw Doctor] twitched slightly, and then opened her eyes - completely alert and awake. She must've used a [Skill] to wake up like that. How nice and useful! "Go where?"
"To the music!"
"Hm?" Bit stood up and stretched. "That's fine with me." She paused, and then turned towards Dev who was also blearily sitting up. "Do you think the music will have attracted something big and mean?"
Dev yawned. "Probably not. A native tribe will know this place better than us. If they're playing music, then the animals probably know to stay away from them." He cracked his neck. "The real question is, will they be welcoming or hostile?"
"And how high-level they are!" Pinky added.
"Okay, so we'll finally get to some civilization!" Bit smiled.
"I don't know about that." Dev stood up and stretched. "I'm no anthropology expert, but I know that on Earth there were both tribes that knew and traded with one another, and those that thought they were the only humans in existence." He shook his head. "It's really not something I'm comfortable with."
"C'mon!" Pinky clasped her hands in front of her. "You'll go with us, right?"
Dev grimaced before nodding.
"Why are you so eager about this, Pinky?" Bit asked.
"Because! They're living in the Red Lands! They must understand the color! They can help me level!"
"I thought you already leveled - back when we killed Badgy." Bit stroked her albino pet's back.
"I did."
"And I thought that entering the Red Lands would make you level. It did for me." Dev added.
Pinky rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I've progressed, but it hasn't been significant enough." Her companions looked at her with a blank stare, so she decided to educate them. "Okay, think of leveling like a cup. As you go about doing things, the cup fills up. But! There's a leak in the cup, and the water spills out. You need to put a lot... uhm... no... That's a bad metaphor."
"What?"
"A metaphor." Pinky nodded. "You see, I don't literally mean there's a cup or anything. A metaphor is a figure of speech. The cup isn't real, it's only a symbolic representation that I'm using to help you understand."
"We know what a metaphor is." Bit crossed her arms.
"Of course you do, I just told you!" Tallfolk sure were slow sometimes. "Anyways, a cup isn't good... so... it's more like a bubble!" Pinky smiled. "Yeah, you blow air into a bubble, but you need to blow enough to make it pop!"
"What?"
"Hmmm..." Pinky shook her head. "No, you're right. That's no good either. Bubbles are known for popping, if they knew about balloons, I could use them as an example..."
"We know abo-"
"I got it!" Pinky yelled and slammed her fist into her palm. "Okay, Imagine that there's a rock that you're pushing, right? You roll it along the ground, and there are these checkpoints. Rolling the rock is doing things associated with your Class, and the checkpoints are levels!"
"Oka-"
"Wait!" Pinky slammed her fist into her palm again. "Even better, the checkpoints are little cliffs! Yeah! And you're rolling up an incline! So, if you stop pushing, the rock will roll back to the last cliff, but that's it! You can't lose levels from doing nothing!"
"Alrig-"
"Oh!" Pinky hopped up and down. "Each cliff is a little bit higher! The first ones are really nothing more than bumps, you roll over them without even noticing! Later ones? It takes a lot of effort to get over the top of those!"
"That mak-"
"And!" Pinky was on a roll now - figuratively speaking. "There's a barrier at the top of each cliff! Yeah! The higher the cliff, the stronger the barriers! So, the starting cliffs have, uhm, spider strands across them!" She paused before deciding that more details were needed. "And I don't mean the sticky stuff that they use to capture things and that can be a real chore to get out of. No, these are the gossamer strings that they use for sensing vibrations. They're easy to break!"
Everyone stood in silence for a minute before Dev raised his hand. "So that-"
"Now!" Pinky interrupted him again. "You have things like cloth, paper, wood, and metal blocking the paths! So, you can get right up to the edge, but not be able to cross the line! And if you quit pushing, you'll lose ground!" She crossed her arms and nodded her head.
"So..." Dev wasn't interrupted, and tried completing a question. "You're at a... hard barrier?"
"Yep!" She nodded. "Levels that are a multiple of 10 or 5 take more to push past. Multiples of 10 are the harder of the two. Doing so gives the best rewards... Oh! Think of rewards as being like how far the boulder drops!"
"Okay." Dev nodded. "So exploring the Red Lands is a stronger... push?" She nodded and he continued. "So, I'm getting levels because I'm lower-level than you. You can't go past your barrier without a bigger... push?"
"You're getting it!" Pinky beamed. "That's where singularly great actions come in. Stuff like killing a Bloodrage Badger. Or baking the perfect croissant! Or pulling off a seven-twenty for the first time!"
"Wha-"
"A croissant is a fancy roll."
"No, that's not wha-"
"A seven-twenty is where you spin around in the air twice." Man, they really didn't teach them anything in Tallfolk villages did they? "It depends on what you're doing as to how impressive that is." To demonstrate, she jumped up and grabbed Badgy's fur. She then pulled herself up, before leaping to Bit's shoulder. As she did, she spun in the air twice. "Tah-da!" She spread her arms as she landed.
"Wha-"
"It's a nonsense phrase." Pinky rolled her eyes. "'Tah-da' doesn't mean anything, it's just something to say when you've done something impressive."
Neither Bit nor Dev spoke after that. Good. They must not've had any more questions.
They were learning.
...
It took a while to actually break camp. Dev had to go and reclaim all his traps, while Bit...
Actually, Bit was good to go even faster than Pinky. She didn't have a collapsible house to pack up, and her monkeys rolled up her small tent quickly.
The music had come from the north, so they landed on the section of the lake there that had a path. The trail looked wider and more used than the other paths around the lake.
"I think I'll leave Mr. Krabby here." Bit patted his shell. "He's not as nimble on land."
"That's a good idea." Dev added. "If they're hostile and we need to run away, it'll be better to have him waiting for us..." His head turned towards the north. "My [Danger Sense] is acting odd. I think something's approaching."
"Acting odd?" Bit asked.
"It's been active constantly for a while, but that's because of where we are, and Badgy, I assume." Dev was scanning the jungle. "It's like a background noise, and it's just increased."
"I think we should..." Bit trailed off as a half a dozen figures came into view on the trail.
They were big - even for Tallfolk. Big, and wide. They were half the size of Badgy.
And, they weren't red.
They had green fur, but also gray metal and brown leather armor. All of them carried large axes - that also had metal heads. The one in front also had a yellow lump on his back that Pinky couldn't see clearly.
"Oh!" Pinky exclaimed. "I recognize them! They're the Jungleclad Gorillas! The Titan hires them as mercenaries!"
"What are-"
"Mercenaries are people you pay to do things for you - mainly fighting, but also... no, it's basically fighting."
The lead gorilla opened his mouth, revealing Faerling-sized fangs. It then roared.