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Martin and Chris had decided it was once again the perfect day to look for forest creatures, specifically insects, in the black forest of Germany.
Their goal had been to find as many different kinds as they could in the span of a single week, mostly due to the fact that they didn’t want to overwhelm their crew with wow facts and similar (and yet so different and exciting!!) suits.
Currently they had settled near a lazy stream, looking for wood and water dwelling ones, lounging near river banks, hidden in the bark of trees, under stones, mud and grass.
The weather had been turning rather frigid, gray clouding the sky, but the brothers were determined to look for as many insects as they could before the brewing storm hit. Martin had taken position on a rock in the middle of the water, staring at a cricket, his face as close as he dared on top of his crossed arms, listening to it chirp.
“I’ll name you… Buzz. Just like our Buzz Bikes!” he grinned, resting his stomach on the stone, legs disappearing in the water, “But unlike our bikes you don’t use a motor to make noise; you just rub your wings together. And you sure do it more quietly and softly, the sound is so high pitched I can barely hear you at all. You are still trying, though, like a real performer!”
Giggling to himself, he called over his shoulder.
“Bro, check it out! Buzz is training for a concert!”
Immediately Chris’ head popped out of some bushes on the other side of the rivulet, leaves sticking to his hair as he used a full body shake to get rid of them, eyes shining.
“Really? Let me see!”
Leaping from stone to stone, Chris practically slammed down beside his brother, hands going to his cheeks as he leaned forward.
“A speckled bush cricket! One of 350 species! Now we can cross Buzz off the list!”
“We sure can! Only 349 and some more to go!”
“You better not.”
Martin jumped a bit in place, before he pulled his right arm from under him, his creature pod blinking to life and Aviva’s body appearing in the hologram light.
“We’ve been here for days, guys. I don’t think I can look at yet another segmented creature, or I’ll lose it…”
“Yeah,” Koki piped up, coming in from the side, “Plus, you guys really should head back. The storm has already started down south, the water is coming down fast. The rivers are starting to flood over and it’s only a matter of time when it hits you.”
“But we have barely skimmed the surface of the insect world! We didn’t even try creature powers to get to the really cool, rare ones!” Chris retaliated, a small edge of a whine coming through.
“As fun as it would be,” Aviva moaned, “Can we take a break? I would like to work on something else for a while, maybe a step up and lets take a look at rodents?”
“I like bats!” Jimmy added, his face close to the screen, “We should look at more cool bats sometime.”
Koki agreed in the background, the brothers chuckling.
“They’re more related to primates, but we get the point,” Martin explained, his smile wide, if a bit disappointed, “We’ll head back and put a pin in for later.” Turning to the forest, putting his hands beside his mouth to form a cone, he yelled out, “We’ll be back though! You can’t hide forever insect buddies!”
“Yes!” Chris chimed in, “Imagine when we get a full report, with all of them documented and photographed, it will be incredible! Oh! Maybe even another new species!”
Martin shared Chris enthusiasm, heaving himself to his feet, only to kneel down quickly and take a snapshot of Buzz.
“Yep! Can’t forget to get this handsome guy on here!”
With that the two of them made their way slowly back to the Tortuga, pushing themselves through the undergrowth. In the short amount of time the crew called, the wind had picked up drastically, the animals hiding away in their dens and nests. Martin and Chris tried to pick up their pace, but rain started to drizzle, then pour in a matter of minutes. Soon enough the two were soaked to the bones, lightning flashing above them, the trees cracking and groaning.
Chris tried to keep his wet hair out of his eyes as he looked around, creature pod in hand.
“Fastest way back is if we cross the river again, bro,” he pointed, squinting through the rain water, “Wish the crew had called sooner, I can’t see a thing through the fog. And it’s getting really cold out here.”
“All good, dude. Let’s just hurry before it gets worse,” Martin waved, Chris following after him, “If we get any wetter, we’ll be able to fill the bathtub with wringing out our clothes alone.”
“I’m not gonna bath in that,” Chris said, his eyebrows furrowing, but the amusement clear in his voice, before he put a finger to his chin, “Great way to safe on water though…”
Martin was about to respond, but reaching the top of the hill they had been climbing, his eyes darting down the other side, made him swallow the sentence back. Instead he pointed down as soon as Chris joined him on the edge, letting out a low whistle.
“No need to save water.”
“No kidding…”
The two of them looked down at the river they had waded through in the early morning, only to realize it was now a rapid flow of foamy mud, branches and other debris rushing along the path. The storm had turned the river into a torrent, the rain pelting down harder the longer the two brothers watched. Making their way down the hill, sliding along the muddy cliff and holding on to free roots and rocks, sticking out the earth like boulder handholds, both of them stood by the edge of the river, observing.
“Great, now what do we do?” Chris sighed after a while, swerving his head back and forth, trying to come up with a plan. “We can’t swim across this.”
“You maybe can’t.”
Chris gave an unimpressed side glance, before he balanced on his tiptoes, trying to see upstream.
“You think we should try to find a route where the river thins out?”
Martin was still grinning as he thought about it, only for lighting to strike close, both of them flinching in surprise. His next move was to try to reach the crew with his creature pod, only to be greeted with static, his eye roll exaggerated enough for Chris to get the message.
“The rain is too heavy and if there is really a route we could cross, it could take us ages to find it. I’m not sure if that will save or lose us time.” Realizing the water was leaping up his foot, he added: “The water is rising, too. It’s too dangerous to stay put.”
“Oh, now the water is a problem.”
“Okay, mister know-it-all, what is your big idea.”
“Well, you maybe can’t, but I could climb back to the trees and look for shelter.”
Martin didn’t need to look at his brother to know that the cheshire grin he had sported a second ago was now being paralleled on the green Kratt’s face. Martin didn’t even humor him, just let out an exaggerated mix of a groan and a laugh, before he turned in place, already beginning to look for roots to grab on to.
Both of them realized quickly that it had been a bad idea to slide down in the first place, both of them digging the tip of their shoes into the mushy earth to get leverage to climb. Chris was nimble and fared far more easily, while Martin forced his hands to grab on to the soppy wall, gritting his teeth. The rain made it way harder than it needed to be and the two of them made their way up slowly.
As soon as Chris reached the rocky overhang, he pulled himself onto grassy ground, turning around and leaning forward so he could reach down to his brother. Martin met him half-way, grabbing on, both of them working together to heave him upwards.
Now.
The problem was that, thanks to the water rushing down the hill, the channel has been sawed away at, the mud closest to the ground carried away by the current. The foundation of the rocky formation on top of that particular hill was getting completely hollowed out, the trees and complex roots of the forest keeping the entire structure holding on by a thread.
The piece of rock Chris had decided to climb on decided in turn to cave in completely on them.
Both of them yelped in surprise as Martin lost footing and slid down, taking Chris with him, both trying to grab on to something to slow down their decent.
Rocks started toppling over, trees uplifted from their home, the sound of stones crashing into each other and branches breaking apart, paralleling the thunder in the sky. Somehow the shallow river bank a few hours ago has become a steep, 75 degree angle of rocks, tree trunks and wet earth.
Managing to grab the edge of a tree branch, the little tree’s roots hanging on sadly to the side of the cliff, Chris held on with his left hand, his right grasping Martin’s tightly.
Now the two were pretty much hanging above the rushing river, both of them glancing down, trying to regain their footing. Chris was able to push the heels of his feet into the dirt, solid rock hidden under the mire, which had wedged itself in an angle able to stand on. The slant was just good enough to get a bit of grip with the spiky soles of his shoes while Martin’s only point of safety was his brother’s hand. The more water passed the cliff, the more it pulled it apart, ripping out one massive chunk after the other.
Martin tried to get a grip himself, but the only thing that happened was the mud and dirt falling off as soon as he tried to put weight onto it. And the longer he hung there, the worse it got, Chris gritting his teeth as he tried to pull with all his might. Another chunk got carried away at that which sent the stone under him sliding, slipping an inch further down towards the hungry water. Repositioning his feet, Chris almost lost his balance, fingers digging harshly into Martin’s glove.
He desperately tried to move his body backwards, so he could use the tree as leverage, but Martin called up to him, Chris trying to see him through the curtains of water pelting down.
“You gotta let go of me, Chris!”
“What?!”
He wasn’t proud of the high pitch in his voice, the embarrassment immediately replaced by bewilderment, blood pounding in his veins like drums. The water underneath them was going fast, way too fast. Rocks and trees kept tumbling down besides them, disappearing in the sludge, the sound of ripping and tearing reaching his ears. Boulders crashing and his own teeth gnashing.
Unconsciously he held on tighter, knuckles turning white underneath his gloves.
“And just let you fall?!”
Martin’s expression hardened.
“We’re both gonna fall, if you don’t.”
“You’re crazy!” Chris exclaimed, his one hand clamping down into the bark, heels trying to scramble back onto safer ground, “Try pulling yourself up!”
Instead Martin let his fingers relax, Chris hooking his fingers into the sides of the blue glove, breath hitching.
“You need to get to the Tortuga and help the crew locate me after.”
“How even-?”
“I trust you.”
Chris felt his eyes tear up suddenly, the rain masking the water starting to build in the corners of them.
“There is no way you will make it, Martin!” he called out instead, the roar of the water below them getting impossibly louder, “If I let you go-”
“It’ll be okay.”
Another clap of thunder.
Chris’ arm was wobbling.
“Just let go, it will be okay.”
His grip was failing, the mud and water making the both of them slip further down.
“Promise me that,” Chris begged quietly, his body shacking from the strain of keeping Martin aloft, from the fear crawling up his spine, “Promise you’ll come back and be okay if I let go right now.”
Thunder crashed, the water roared.
Martin kept staring, eyes darting across Chris’ face, as if trying to imprint it into his memory.
Chris’ tree started to droop, the roots starting to break and creak.
And then the earth shifted once more, Martin throwing his free arm forward to help pull at his other, ripping his right hand out of his glove, the sudden loss of weight propelling Chris onto his back to safety.
Martin had no response, choosing to be swallowed by the current instead.
Only a heartbeat after, Chris rolled himself to the side, trying to shove himself up by putting his free hand to the ground, the fist with Martin’s glove curling tighter around the material. Shacking from the strain, he looked over the edge, crawling first on all fours and then sitting back on his knees, searching for his brother in the brown water.
He tried to spot a blue dot, he really did, his heart hammering in his chest, the sound almost drowning out the rush of the river itself, his eyes going back and forth. His entire body was vibrating, he almost missed the moment he felt his piece of safe land start to sink as well. Shoving himself away from the edge, he didn’t stop until his spine made contact with the solid bark of a tree, their roots thick and deep enough to withstand the storm.
He slumped his shoulders then, his open mouth breathing cold air in heavily, eyes still wide and unblinking.
He could only swallow thickly, throat bobbing as he lifted the one blue glove clasped in his hand to his eyes, reality sinking in.
“You’re alive!!”
Tackled from the side, the younger Kratt lost his footing, only for Jimmy to grab him mid-air and lift him off the ground, swinging him back and forth.
“We lost connection as soon as the storm rolled in, all we saw was you guys making your way back to HQ,” Koki explained, dragging Jimmy off Chris as soon as he set him back on the floor.
“It took you guys forever! It’s been hours and we tried everything, but the rain messed with our entire equipment,” Aviva nodded in agreement, “Good thing it decided to calm down a bit, we couldn’t see one foot in front of us.”
“Yep! Solar panels had luckily enough time to fill up beforehand, we can high tail it out of here. I know you two love all creatures, but if I have to hear another special insect fact, I am going to scream.”
“By the way, where is Martin?”Jimmy butted into Koki’s rendition of strangling herself, “Did he find another cool bug right outside?”
There was no response and the crew quieted down, one after the other, staring at Chris questioningly.
After a while, Aviva ventured forward.
“Chris?” she murmured, biting her lower lip, “Are you okay?”
He didn’t look at her, not at any of them really, his face completely blank. Instead Aviva took a step closer and noticed the shock etched into his features, his face pale as a sheet of paper. Aviva blinked rapidly, almost putting a hand to his forehead to check if he was feverish, only to notice him holding something in his shacking hands. All of them blinked at each other in confusion as Chris crossed the room quietly, getting numbly out of his way, only to watch him sit down at the round table in the middle.
Koki then pointed shakily at his hands, her usually strong voice wavering.
“W… why are you holding Martin’s creature glove, CK?”
The crew was deathly silent when Chris lifted his hands, staring at the glove with the exact same expression as before, the only indication that he had heard her his breath quickening.
“He’s gone.”
All three of them were struck, stupefied.
Instead of a clearer response, the sound of the glove falling to the ground echoed in the room, followed by Chris pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes.
Everything turned into a flurry of motion.
Aviva raced forward, grabbing Chris by the shoulders, shacking him and pressing him with questions. Where’s and what’s and how’s tumbled out of her mouth as he pressed an explanation through his teeth, Koki immediately starting to run the numbers. Trying to calculate the current, rainfall as well as possible speed Martin has or had while being dragged with, she smashed the computer keys under her fingertips, Jimmy trying to peel Aviva off Chris, in fear she would shake his head right off his shoulders.
Just as Jimmy had a good grip on Aviva and had pulled her an arm length away, Koki yelled over her shoulder, all three looking up.
“Okay, according to the weather information the river is still overflowing and speeding down the mountain. Looking at the map, it’s a lot of ground to cover, but-”
“How much ground is “a lot”?” Aviva interrupted, eyes wide but trying to stay level headed, “Are we talking about a 20 square kilometer radius or 200?”
“The black forest contains 6000 square kilometers and we are up in the south part of it. The river split into multiple directions, all over the place at random. We can't tell if those water routes will end up in new self made lakes, become new rivers or disappear completely as soon as the rain stops. He could end up anywhere between here and the hundreds of possible stray paths the water makes.”
“Or he's still in the main river and on his way to the north sea.”
Koki swallowed hard at Aviva’s input, nodding sadly: “Right. We can only tell that he must have been carried down north west, it’s… the only real indication we got. He could have been deposited on a random river bank already, or is still making his way towards the ocean-”
“There is no way!” Jimmy yelped, biting the nails of his fingers, “Martin is the swimming brother, he must have saved himself way further up by now!”
“The current is strong,” Aviva cringed, eyes landing on Koki’s screen again, “Martin can’t fight against it, he doesn’t even known where up and down is in there. There are rocks and chunks of trees, too, he could have been hit already. Our best bet is to follow from where he landed in the water and search our way down every path, until we come across him.”
“It will take too much time, won’t it tough?” the red head asked, eyes scanning the screen, “What if Martin moves in that time and leaves the river?”
“He won’t.”
The crew glanced back at Chris, still pale as a ghost, but his voice resolute.
“He knows we will be searching for him close to the water. No matter what, he will try to find us while near a river, any river, it will be his safest bet.”
Staring at the map, Chris pointed to a particular section, eyebrows furrowing.
“Martin will try to spot the Tortuga, so we need to find a place where we can land it high enough above ground for him able to see. We can always try to spot him, but we need to be consistent on where we land.”
“I’m on it, I’ll find some mountain near the currents, where he can’t miss us if he tried.”
With that Jimmy already ran to the piloting seat, preparing for take off.
“If Martin stays near water, it means we can minimize the radius and search more effectively.” Another smashing of keys, Koki’s fingers in a blur. “I’ll get back to you guys as soon as we landed, I’ll prepare the Buzz Bikes.”
“What about his creature power suit, do you think it will help?” Aviva added, hopeful.
Chris lit up at that slightly, pulling out his disk capsule and rifling through it.
“The two of us have been exchanging powers again, so he does have multiple water creatures he could use to find us faster.”
His frown deepened.
“But thanks to the storm it’s unlikely he will come across any creatures today or even tomorrow. At least ones we have suits for.”
“Martin is crafty, we just need to be crafty, too.”
She was about to turn around and help Koki, hesitated however when she saw the glove laying on the floor, picking it up carefully.
Examining it, she could see where Chris had dug his fingers in, the black material loose, if not ripped, in places in his try to claw Martin to safety. Her face fell, thinking about how hard he must have fought to keep the other by his side. As she turned her head back, Chris busy with closing the creature disk holder, she realized that his entire body wasn’t just covered in mud because he had been playing around in it.
Chris noticed her hovering and his eyes fell on the glove, eyes glassy.
“You sure did a number on the thing,” she pressed out, unsure, holding it out to him, “I don’t understand how he could have fallen if you held on this tight.”
“He pulled his hand out. He knew the tree I was clinging to would never have been able to hold both our weights,” Chris responded thickly, rubbing a thumb over the main pad in the middle of its palm, "He knew I wouldn't be able to swim that current.”
Aviva had nothing smart to say to that.
Instead she put her hand on his shoulder and shook it a bit, trying to pour as much reassurance as she could into the gesture.
3 days had passed and there was no sign of the brother in blue.
Immediately after the storm had turned into a drizzle they had flown the Tortuga above the place Martin had vanished into and then followed the river downstream. Just like they had discussed; with Chris and Aviva calling out to Martin on their Buzz Bikes, searching the surrounding area of the river, and Koki and Jimmy in the Tortuga, keeping a close eye from above as best as they could through the thick foliage.
They had searched well into the night as well as the following day, Jimmy parking the Tortuga occasionally in hopes of getting the message across to Martin that this would be their meeting spot, leading the ship to the side of a mountain cliff, clearly visible when you looked towards the setting sun. Whenever he did, they all took restless breaks, short naps, trying to calculate the blue Kratt’s whereabouts. The weather wasn’t helping, the rain getting weaker and stronger in uneven intervals, but never really stopping.
On the third day, as the rain finally chose to quit it’s relentless assault and the moon came around, the entire crew was exhausted, their worry brimming over and deciding it was too dangerous to continue in their state of mind.
They had sifted through a fourth of the river by the time Jimmy had landed the Tortuga in it’s designated spot, before he nodded off almost immediately, Koki rubbing her forehead from looking at the screen for days non-stop. Aviva, closely followed by Chris, landed her bike in front of the loading dock, where they stood together a while, looking down the forest they had combed through.
“You guys really need to sleep.”
Aviva glanced at Chris.
“We all really need to sleep.”
Instead of agreeing, Chris pressed his lips together.
The wheels in his brain were clearly turning as he fiddled with his right hand, the glove hanging awkwardly to his skin. Aviva kept glancing back and forth at his face and at the blue glowing creature pads, so completely out of place on Chris’ person.
She could understand wanting to wear it, something of Martin to hold on to, something for him to find solace in.
But his expression was too empty for comfort as he looked out towards the river, unseeing.
Aviva had never seen him look this blank before, his next words making her stomach churn and knot in twists.
“I have to get back down there.”
“And crash your bike into a tree, because you fell asleep steering?”
Clenching the glove, letting his fist fall to the side of his body, he closed his eyes, his breath coming out strangled.
“This is hopeless, isn’t it?”
“Don’t say that-”
“Then what am I supposed to say?!” he bit back frustrated, finally an emotion leaking into the open, “He couldn’t even bring himself to promise me he’d be okay!”
“He didn’t want to lie to you.”
Chris let the words simmer in the air, before squatting down with his head lowered, eyes fixated on the ground. Then his arms crossed on top of his knees and he buried his face in them, looking like a hedgehog trying to hide in his ball.
Silence reigned, the night creatures rustling in the darkness, soft hoots of owls echoing in the background. Aviva couldn’t help herself as she turned her face towards the night sky, starring at the stars appearing one by one on the firmament. If it weren’t for the situation they were in, she would have called this a perfect night; clear skies, a warm breeze and a beautiful view after days of gray.
“I still can’t believe it…” Chris hushed out, hands gripping on to his arms, voice thick, “I had him and I let go.”
“It wasn’t your fault Martin decided to let go.”
“I know, but, Martin and I, we’re creature adventurers. We’re supposed to watch each others backs out there…”
Aviva’s heart jumped, blinking down at him for a bit, before her gaze meandered to the side. Contemplating his choice of words, she started staring at the moon, her mind wandering. She hoped wherever Martin was, he had an easy time resting, was planning on how to come back. Maybe he even found another creature friend to help him out, that’s usually how it went.
The fig wasps were very cute.
“You know…”
A small laugh, more of a sigh than anything else.
“...that’s what Martin said when he lost you.”
Chris floundered at that, eyes blinking, head poking out of his cocoon.
“When did that happen…?”
“When you were taken by Bee-ast,” Aviva clarified, crossing her arms, just to have them do something, “He said the same thing.”
“Well, yeah. We two, we promised each other we would, after all.”
“And you know what he did?”
Chris, in stunned silence, shook his head.
“He went looking for you. Time and time again. No matter how hopeless.”
“This-”
“-isn’t any different. Martin is lost out there, maybe hurt, and you promised each other to have each others back. You couldn’t hold onto him the first time around, are you really not even going to try for a second chance?”
Chris heart hammered in his chest, defenses rising.
“Of course I am! I am trying, but look around us! The forest is massive, the river could have taken him to sea, he-”
“-could be anywhere; he’s miniaturized in a jungle. I could walk past him and never even know.”
Chris couldn’t bring himself to give a response, opening and closing his blue gloved fist, the blue pads shimmering against the grass underneath him.
Then he stood up, face softer, apologetic.
“Thanks, Aviva.”
“Always happy to help,” she grinned, before she took him by the arm, dragging him pretty much inside, “Come on. Tomorrow is a new day and I’m feeling super lucky. He’ll be back sooner than you think.”
Chris let himself be led, only to glance backwards, not being able to help himself but wonder for the up-tenth time what could have happened to Martin.
Martin had been knocked completely out for the night, waking up the next day after the flood in the afternoon, only able to see white.
For a second he mulled over the possibility of seeing heaven, before he felt the sandy earth under his body and heard the water flow by his side. Then the sensation of rain drops landing on his face hit him and he sneezed, his whole body stinging, which meant he was still pretty much stuck in his very alive body. He was on his back and staring at the cloudy, yet too bright, sky above him, blinding him. He had to squint against the water, lifting one arm to block them from reaching him. He blinked a few times as he stared at his blank arm, squeezing the other together and feeling the material of his glove against his finger tips.
Where did the other go?
Sitting up took him even longer, a pounding headache appearing on the side of his head, Martin closing his eyes with a grimace. The longer he sat however, the more his body settled; his stomach stopped flipping, his lungs stopped rattling and most importantly, his headache became bearable. With that, he curiously glanced around, before he looked at his arm again, struggling to remember how he ended up here.
“I was sure I put both on before we went looking for…-bugs?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing quietly, trying to solve the puzzle. “Yeah, last day of the insect hunt. And then…”
Rain.
A stormy current.
And darkness.
Rubbing the sore spot on the side, his temple pounding against his fingertips, Martin let out a shuddery exhale.
“Okay…” he viewed his surroundings, “Bad news: I am completely lost, I have no idea how long I was out and also had my brain rattled by debris.”
Lifting his right hand, his creature glove still absent, no matter how long he looked at it, he noted the bruises on his wrists. The memory flashes in front of his eyes, desperate fingers puncturing his wrist, the now ugly purple spots evenly spread out across it.
Then he waved with it in the air, as if telling a class to quiet down.
“Good news: I am alive, Chris is safe and has the crew looking for me, I know the path of the river and I have a creature power vest that will make traveling faster. If I head upstream, I will come across them eventually.”
Trying to stand up, Martin flinched hard, instead choosing to sit on his butt.
“Alright, another bad news: my ankle is out of commission.”
A glance down at his vest, sparks and shattered glass greeted him.
“And thanks to the mud water my vest is out of the picture. So no creature powers then.”
Then yet another look at his arm.
“And of course Chris has my creature pod, since that’s the glove I lost. Fantastic.”
But Martin refused to be a sitting duck.
He knew the creatures of the forest would probably leave him alone. As long as he didn’t come across a boar mama and her babies or a ridiculously hungry lynx, he would be fine. No one would eat a walking pile of wet mud and leaf litter if they could help it anyway, surely.
But the fact remained that he was very much lost and needed to figure out where the Tortuga was.
Pushing himself up, he set his hurting foot on the ground and immediately regretted it, choosing to hobble to the next tree. There he used his knees to press his legs against the bark and jump climb to get to an elevated view. Head sticking out of the top of the foliage, he started to skim the skies and mountains, knowing for a fact that Chris must have had the same thought as him; park the Tortuga in a spot he would be able to see. Putting a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes, he searched for the turquoise dot in the deep green, cheering when he does.
Now the problem was getting there.
Martin had his arms still up in jubilation, the whoop dying on his lips, as he sagged his shoulders. Then he rolled up his sleeves, pushed out his chest and brushed his wet hair out of his eyes as he made his decent, ready to make his way home.
This would be way easier if he had creature powers.
Since dragging his useless foot was becoming painful, every time he tried to put just a bit of weight onto it the result a full body shock, he decided to sit down and craft himself a couple of crutches. Thanks to the flash flood there were enough branches to go around and, after a bit of throwing stones and smaller sticks to the side, he found two probable candidates that wouldn’t bend under his weight. Pocket knife in hand (how those had stayed in his pockets but not his candy bar was beyond him, but the name at least gave credit where it was due) he whittled down the top of the branches so he could shove them safely under his armpits.
Experimentally making a step, they held up and he was determined enough to continue his journey, even if the constant roots, rocks and saggy earth kept hindering him in making good progress. But a few steps were better than none and he steadily climbed his way upwards, using the scattered boulders as steps, pulling himself up by his arms whenever he was met with a blockage. At least his upper body was entirely fine, so he was getting up easily enough.
However, he got turned way more often than he liked to admit, whenever he thought he was walking straight, somehow making a curve and getting just a little bit more lost. The dark gray clouds above him covered the entire sky like a wooly blanket, so he could neither see the position of the sun nor the stars. Climbing constantly up to check if he was on the right path towards the Tortuga was getting tedious as well, his body running on determination and stubbornness alone. Stuck on the ground, all he had was his own sense of direction, which wasn’t the most accurate in this gigantic labyrinth, every path he took looking exactly the same.
He really would have preferred to use bee powers, so he could fly. He wouldn’t have said no to a fish power either, even after the almost drowning part.
Any creature that didn’t need legs to get around.
At least he had them as company as he walked, whenever he stepped somewhere a frog jumping out of bushes or little insects buzzing around his head. The rain had stopped a few hours ago and the animals of the forest started to explore the open again, Martin smiling to himself at the activity surrounding him. If he had his creature pod he could have continued the cataloguing, so that was a bit of a shame.
Especially the few moths that had been stirred as soon as night approached fascinated him.
Different kinds of all shapes and sizes fluttered around him, making him play with the thought of trying to activate butterfly powers. One disk search and touch later he was severely disappointed, sparks flying wildly, before the suit flickered and died out, Martin still himself in his human form.
“The one time I want a malfunction to happen…” he murmured, before shrugging, “Better than turning into a flounder at least.”
Next thing he knew he had a little visitor on his nose.
Crossing his eyes to see better, only to give himself a headache and shake the creature accidentally off, the little moth started flying circles around his head. It seemed to have fun dive bombing around his ears as he walked through the moonlit night, keeping him company.
Which meant he had to name the little guy.
“I’ll call you…”
He tapped his chin, before he let out a little “whoa” as the moth went for a dive for his nose, Martin snorting as he felt him land on his hair instead, burying himself in the loose strands.
“...Spice! You are a Peppered Moth, it’s already in the description!” He felt a tug at his hair. “You got temperament to boot!”
Spice started flapping his wings, only to settle down again.
“Knew you’d like it! I wish I could tell Aviva about you, your creature power would have been helpful here. You guys are great fliers, at night as well as during the day, and get to eat leaves.” His stomach grumbled. “I’ve been walking for 2 days and I don’t trust any of these bushes. You know what they say; in the wild don’t eat what you do not know.”
The answer was another wing flap, Spice crawling towards Martin’s ear.
“You guys are super fluffy, too! That tickles!!” he exclaims happily, shooing Spice back towards the top, “It’s not just to look pretty and cute, but helps you stay safe.”
As if to demonstrate, another moth flew past him, closely followed by a bat, Martin watching, unable to help himself from speaking out loud.
“Your coat is able to distort the sound waves of bat echoes. When a bat sends out a signal, it bounces off whatever it hits, for example a mosquito. But since your hairy exterior bounces the waves unevenly, bats have a much harder time catching you,” he explains, the moth flying zig-zag around the bat, the both of them disappearing into the night, “It’s not impossible, but small chances of survival are better than none.”
Then he sticks a tongue out.
“You guys are a really popular snack around the animal kingdom, but I personally wouldn’t like eating something as fluffy as you, that can’t feel good on the tongue. But I suppose as much as I activate animal powers, I will never understand eating leaves either. Not like Chris, he really leans into your instincts. Like eating grass. Maybe because it’s green?”
He sagged a bit at that.
“...Plus! It keeps you warm!”
Showing off his still open collar, he grinned.
“I don’t really have that problem luckily, since I run hot anyway. Your coat helps withstanding colder temperatures, since you rely on external heat. Sure, you gotta go south for the winter, but you survive better than some of your cousins! No wonder you prefer the night, it’s safer to avoid birds and mammals during it and you don’t have to worry about not being able to move due to the cold.”
Spice does indeed move, towards his nose again, only for Martin to put his finger there so he could hold onto that instead.
“You act like a wanna be monkey, climbing around my face like that! I bet Chris would love you! He always complains about being cold, too, so your power would help so much with night excursions.”
Throat dry, the mounting excitement left as fast as it came.
“You know... I kind of just left him hanging back there,” he confessed, chest heavy, “You think he will be mad at me?”
Holding out his gloved finger in front of him, he pets Spice, his smile returning.
“But if I show you off, I bet he’ll forgive me for that, right? You are an incredible creature, packed with powers! You even have a great sense of smell and you use the moonlight to-…”
Martin’s eyes widened slowly, an idea forming.
“-keep track of your flightpath... That’s it!”
He jumped, searching the canopies, just to make sure, before he let out a loud cheer.
“The moon! That’s the ticket! Moths use the light of celestial bodies, like the moon and stars, as well as the earth’s magnetic field to navigate their surroundings! If I check for the Tortuga’s location now and watch which direction you prefer going, you turn into a living compass! I will have a perfectly straight line all the way back!”
Realizing that he was wasting precious time, he grabbed the nearest tree branch, energized and hopeful, a spring in his hobbling step as he reached for the next offshoot.
“Let’s hurry! You wanna meet my little brother, right, Spice?”
The black moth crunched on one of the leafs still stuck in Martin’s hair as response.
“Good idea. You take your snack break, I’ll get mine when I got home.”
Now it wouldn’t be long anymore.
The Tortuga always landed in the same spot, just like Martin had predicted, and the distance between the ship and him was only a day with no distractions. It was just a matter of gritting his teeth, hands gripping the bark to scale the tree faster, as he refused another night of sleep.
Chris was sitting by the edge of the river Murg, staring at it as if willing it to spit his brother out.
It was the fourth day, the horizon turning orange with the evening sun and the water glittering under it like diamonds. The entire forest was alive, insects buzzing and birds tweeting, Chris trying to find solace in being not completely alone.
Jimmy had decided to park the Tortuga back in it’s spot, Chris able to see it from where he sat, nodding to himself, before he turned and started walking the river down. He hadn’t told the others, in fear of them dragging him back to his hammock when there was still light out. He needed to use the most of his time to just to get a lit bit farther in their search. Martin had to be around the black forest still, but they were teetering on the edge, and soon the Murg would become a tributary, the river joining up with the Rhein. There was no way Martin had been flushed all the way down to the Rhein, there just wasn’t. He must have been in one of the side rivers that had been created and they had overlooked him or he was only a little bit ahead, the tiniest bit and he was this close to missing him again.
He was grasping at straws, but he had to try.
But no matter how many times he told himself that “This is the one, the last step and I’ll find him.” it just didn’t happen.
Exhausted, he put a hand to his head, kneeling down by the river. Staring at his reflection, he could see his hair standing up every which way, skin pale. He hadn’t slept or really eaten, worry making it impossible to relax. Being lost was easier than looking for someone lost, he decided, hoping next time he was the one to vanish from the planets surface again.
Martin was way better at staying optimistic.
He had to turn his head away, trying to push the sting out of his eyes, angry at himself for being so brittle. Not able to stand his reflection, he meandered towards the air ship, weak in the knees. He knew he could have used some insect power to hurry faster and make even more progress, at least regarding distance, but he couldn’t find it in him to activate creature powers anymore.
It didn’t feel the same without Martin around.
At first it had been an honest try, the crew putting all of their possible inventions to use. But none of their equipment was helpful, Chris switching between animals to find clues didn’t bring any new information and their usual luck was nowhere to be found. They all kept trying to figure out what could have happened, weaving scenarios on why there was not a single hair of the blue brother anywhere. If they had at least something to trace him back to, a piece of clothing, the entire vest, whatever, it would at least be a clue.
But there was nothing.
There was absolutely nothing and Chris wasn’t sure what was worse; finding nothing and staying in denial or finding something and completely dashing any hopes he had cultivated in his chest.
When would the crew call it quits? Was he the one who would need to do it? And afterwards; how was he supposed to do this without his brother?
What was he going to tell their parents?
Slapping his cheeks with his twitchy, open palms, Chris shook his head forcefully.
No giving up.
Martin hadn’t and so wasn’t he, that much was clear.
Climbing up the mountain he was ready to just plop into his hammock and die for a while, suffocating himself on his pillow. As soon as he had enough sleep to not start hallucinating nightmares in bright daylight, he’d be back on track.
Just as he was about to make the rock climb towards the clearing where the Tortuga sat, he heard something shifting in the distance.
Slowing down to a stop in front of the stony steps, he put a hand to his ear to hear better, closing his eyes to concentrate. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was; an animal? He could hear distinct steps as well as clicking noises, brows furrowing. It wasn’t uncommon to come across a tourist or a wanderer here, using their walking sticks to get around better. There had been more people running around before the rainfall, which had made finding creatures a bit of a challenge. After that storm however the crew had the forest pretty much to themselves, since the weather kept switching.
Frowning, Chris opened his eyes and then shook his head.
If people were starting to climb around the forest again, it meant they’d have more false alarms than they already had. He needed to clear his head, rubbing his eyes as he stepped into the Tortuga, a heavy breath leaving him.
Koki turned from her station.
“You good?”
“Could be better. Is Aviva about to scold me again for leaving?”
“She’s looking for Jimmy actually. He went out to look for mushrooms, so she didn’t notice you sneaking out.” A hand wave. “And I’m no snitch.”
“At least he’s making the most of this.”
Koki could hear him trying to put some cheer in his voice, but it fizzled out the second he let his eyes wander to the door again, looking out towards the greenery. Koki didn’t really know what to say, feeling useless. All she had been doing was keeping track of weather/river reports, checking on the villains, because there was no way she would let them get away with making ruckus while they were out of commission, and reassuring Jimmy.
The pilot has been even more anxious than usual since Martin disappeared, his big heart too big for his thin body. Worrying if Martin was hungry or thirsty or hurt, which only made Chris worry more every time he mentioned it. And both, Aviva and her, weren’t doing well either, concern starting to take over every waking moment, the entire crew running on fumes.
But just because things looked bleak, didn’t mean they could run themselves into the ground.
“You should go lay down, CK. You’ve been up since sunrise.”
“What about-”
“I’ll call you for dinner when they’re back. I’ll be working on the Tortuga outside, need to check on the wiring. The constant rain had me concerned, better time than any to rip the panels open.” Then she tilted her head. “Bet you that Jimmy is planning on making his Grandma’s famous vegetable soup.”
“Is there any recipe his Grandma didn’t patent?”
Chris had retorted in somewhat seriousness, somewhat sarcasm, but Koki’s guffawing made him jump, seeing her smile for the first time in days, slapping her chair hard in a try to calm down.
Taking that fact in, the green Kratt smiled sadly at the small victory.
Jimmy hadn’t had much luck with mushrooms this time around, too distracted to really pay attention.
He had been mostly wandering in hopes to calm down.
Feeling jittery, he couldn’t remember a time he felt this on edge for such a long stretch of time. Especially whenever he had to pilot the Tortuga back into the same spot, he felt like he was failing somehow. He was getting sick and tired of the same trees and the same spot, wanting this waiting game to end, ready to fly the brothers wherever they wanted to that wasn’t here in this exact same clearing. He would have taken a trip to the Australian Outback to look at scorpions at this point, just for a change of scenery, the entire crew safely packed into the shell of the turtle ship.
Without the two brothers in one spot, everything felt to fragile, Jimmy not used to walking on glass around Chris.
It wasn’t even his fault, it was Jimmy who was worried he would upset him, which he probably did already with his own worrying. Sure, Chris had told him he was allowed to feel nervous and worried, like all of them, but that kind of falls flat in comparison. So he had taken himself outside in a try to not worry, which made him worried he isn’t stopping fast enough, which worried him even more, not quite ready to go back yet.
And then he got freaked out by the shadows in the light of dusk, which in turn made him walk more briskly through the forest.
Which just made him even more freaked out, the shadows starting to move and flutter and suddenly there were a bunch of flying bugs around, so he was not really looking where he was going, tripping over himself right into Aviva.
The scream that ripped itself from his throat was deafening, as he scrambled back and fell onto his butt. Blinking rapidly after, he started to apologize, trying to explain why he was freaked out, pointing at the moths surrounding him, his hands wildly gesticulating, while Aviva tried to get her bearings back.
“I have to put you boys all on a leash.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you! Or stay away that long, I was on my way back, I just got-”
“-freaked out. I know.” Aviva sighed. “We all are.”
“Freaked out about what?”
Both, Aviva and Jimmy, screamed this time, both of them jumping in place, still sitting on the ground as they looked up at the figure standing above them. Jimmy had his hand over his heart, trying to squeeze its rapid beat back into his rib cage, while Aviva blinked dumbly, the shadow being cast not helping with recognizing the face staring down at her.
“I hope this isn’t about the moths, since I was planning on having you make a moth power suit.”
Then a blue gloved hand moved down, ready to help her up, matching blue eyes twinkling.
“We can work on the leash part afterwards.”
Chris was laying in his hammock, staring at the ceiling, too nauseous to fall asleep. He had thought about taking a nap, maybe sneak out after dinner with renewed energy, but that plan was shot right out of the window when he realized that he was unable to get a single wink. Instead he decided to go through the power disks for the hundredth time to figure out which one could help.
Before he could open the disk holder however, he heard fast footsteps approaching, Chris lifting his head curiously. There he was greeted with Jimmy waving like crazy (holding a branch in his hand? What?) and stumbling over the Tortuga’s threshold, running up to Chris in a mad sprint.
“Did you turn off your creature pod?!” was the first thing he screamed at him, Chris just about to sheepishly show off the low battery, before Jimmy grabbed him by the collar, “Hurry! You gotta get outside-!”
“Did something happen to your controller?” was Chris response as he slowly stood up from the now swinging cloth, trying to stabilize it, “What-”
“No! Just-” he stumbled through his words, before Jimmy shoved Chris in front of him, his voice high pitched, “Go out! You gotta see!”
“See… what exactly?”
Chris frowned harder, following the pointing finger Jimmy shot out, Aviva appearing on the end of it. She stepped out from the shadows of the trees, another persons arm slung around her shoulder.
For a moment Chris stood, baffled, trying to process.
Then he rushed outside, Jimmy squawking as he disappeared from under his grip. A few leaping bounds and Chris slowed down again, his blood pounding in his ears.
Stepping out from the edge of the clearing, Martin hung heavily on to Aviva’s frame.
The one arm around her was keeping him from tilting over, the other was gripping onto a self made walking stick, supporting his limping foot. Aviva had her eyes carefully trained onto the path in front of her, stepping forward and waiting for Martin to position the stick, before he jumped up to move. He was grinning, even laughing when a little, black moth started fluttering around his head. Aviva looked delighted and let her eyes wander to the Tortuga, finally spotting Chris, her smile splitting her face in half.
Martin followed her gaze, eyes wide, another bubbling laugh leaving his lips.
“Bro!”
Chris startled, making a step forward.
“Martin…?”
A second step.
“Look, dude! I met a Peppered Moth! His name is Spice!”
Another step.
Then a bunch of steps, pebbles skittering everywhere. One, two, three leaps, and he rushed into his brothers arms, Aviva letting go in the nick of time as Martin tried to right himself after the tackle.
Then he started laughing, putting his left hand on Chris shoulders and pushing him softly off his person, trying to keep his balance with the walking stick on his right.
“Didn’t think you’d be this excited to meet our new animal pal!” He held out his finger, Spice hopping onto it, so he could move him between himself and his brother, “I already asked Aviva for a new power suit. His fluffy coat is gonna make night flights way easier on you.”
Chris stared down at the black fuzz ball, too many emotions trying to take hold that he could only nod shakily, holding his hands out so Spice could climb onto his palm. He watched the moth walk around, then settle, Chris chuckling to himself as he put himself in Aviva’s place, Martin easily falling back into the same position as before.
“I can’t believe you had time to make a new friend while hobbling through the wilderness.”
“What can I say?” Martin preened, smirk on his face, “Animal magnet!”
Aviva, who had been quiet thus far, too happy to form words, had to roll her eyes.
“More like trouble magnet.”
“Oh that one, too, definitely.”
“What happened out there?”
The three of them hadn’t even made it one step into the Tortuga, before Jimmy asked the question, his entire frame vibrating with pent up anxiety. Settling Martin in one of the seats, they all turned to him, Martin raising an amused eyebrow.
“You mean what took me so long?”
“Well, yeah!”
Martin showed off his leg. “Most likely candidate was the maybe broken, maybe sprained foot I’m sporting. The creature power vest also took a beating, so even though there were a bunch of animals, none of them helped. Well, despite Spice! He showed me the way and kept me company. It was nice, he ate my head leaves.”
“Where did the current take you?” was Koki’s question, her map on the screen, “Any idea?”
“No clue.” Martin pulled the vest over his head, trying to flatten his hair as soon as he was freed, before handing it to Aviva, “I didn’t have my creature pod and I made a straight line for the Tortuga. I tried to keep near the river at the start, since I assumed you’d try to find me close to it, but with my foot I decided it was easiest if I just took a chance. I wasn’t fast, obviously, but faster than a snail at least.”
“That’s why we had such a hard time! We assumed the entire time that you must have been carried further than predicted.”
“I was on some sandy riverbank, I wouldn’t be able to tell really,” Martin truthfully relayed, hand on his chin, “It took me a while to come to… How long was I gone?”
“Today is the fourth day.”
Marin cringed a bit at Aviva’s reply, sucking in breath through his teeth.
“Ooookay, I was out longer than expected, then. I thought I passed out and woke up the same night.”
Jimmy’s voice wobbled a bit: “You passed out?”
“Got a good knock on my head, that’s for sure! I’m kinda surprised I’m not concussed!”
Chris gripped the blue glove on his arm at the statement, which in turn made the little moth startle at the movement, having settled on his shoulder. Chris apologized quietly as Spice flew upwards, Martin following his movement with his eyes. Shortly after he held his hand out, Spice fluttering over as he grinned at the small creature, before putting him back on his head.
“Maybe it was Spice. Despite moths having usually a bad reputation, this guy was my lucky charm! I would have had a real hard time on the home stretch if it wasn’t for his encouragement!”
Then Martin stood up, a bit stiffly.
“I’d still like to stop being his buffet however. I feel like I have dirt for skin.”
Trying to get a good grip on the chair to hop his way towards the bathroom, Chris moved forward instinctively, offering himself as crutch again. Martin put a grateful hand to his shoulder, trying to move, only to realize that Chris was pretty much frozen in place.
Martin let his eyes wander across Chris’ frame in confusion, noticing him staring at his wrist, the bruises he was sporting clearly visible.
Before he could ask what was wrong, Chris tipped to the side and leant his forehead against his brother’s arm, letting out a wet exhale. Martin, not knowing how to respond, watched his shoulders begin to shake, head pressing harder against his frame, tears welling in his eyes.
Martin didn’t hesitate to circle his arms around Chris then, guiding his face towards the front of his chest, which the younger took as an invitation, hugging him right back, hands clinging to the back of Martin’s shirt. Another exhale, a sniff, and then finally the tears came flooding, shirt getting wetter by the second.
Martin held on tighter, moving forward so he could engulf his brother in the hug, one hand going around his brothers neck in a loose hold while the other was on top of his head, carding with his fingers through it, trying to soothe him. Swinging softly from one side to the other, he let out little hushing noises, as if trying to calm a scared baby animal, Chris only grabbing harder. Fingernails digging into the fabric, catching skin, of which Martin was sure he would feel that in the morning, Chris sobbing started to get worse, big, hiccuping breaths huffing against him. For a moment he was worried his brother would suffocate, and he also kind of wanted to sit down, his leg starting to pound, but trying to let go proved as the wrong move, Chris pressing harder into him, knocking Martin’s own air out of his lungs.
“Oh Chris…”
He didn’t really know what to say, holding his little brother securely in his arms, hoping he would calm down enough for him to get a straight word out of him.
From the corner of his eyes he could see the crew staring at the two of them; Aviva looking ready to burst with emotion, switching between worry and relief, pulling at her pony tail and about to bite her lower lip off. Jimmy was fiddling nervously with his hands, close to tears himself, looking like he was restraining himself to the point of pain while Koki stood there wide-eyed, hands hovering in front of her and at a loss on how to help.
He wanted to open his mouth to reassure them, only for Chris to interrupt him, voice garbled, rough like sandpaper.
“I’m so sorry, Martin…”
Straining his ears to hear him, he bend down his head, putting his cheek on top of Chris’ hair.
“I should have had your back, and I let you down.” A shaky sob, fingers curling tighter. “I tried to hold on-”
“You did.”
Chris shook his head hard.
“I didn’t. I’m the one who was supposed to keep you safe.” A shiver ran through his body. “You almost drowned out there. You-…” Then his entire being began to shake. “You could have died, Martin.”
“It’s common occurrence, bro, if you didn’t notice.”
Those weren’t the right words to say, gravity pulling Chris from his shacking legs down to his wobbling knees, Martin going down with him, both on the metal floor of the Tortuga, the biting cold of steel traveling up their spines. Chris barely got in a full breath, snot and tears running down his face.
“You had to drag yourself all the way back here by yourself-”
“Because you parked the Tortuga in the right place, it was easy to find.”
He brushed his hand over the top of Chris’ head again.
“And if you hadn’t been so stubborn to keep the crew and the Tortuga in my radius or gone searching for me every day, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
“How-”
“-do I know you went looking for me? Are you kidding?” Martin snickered, “’Cause you’re my brother, you’re cut from the same wood. There was never a doubt; as if you would just sit around, waiting on me to show up. You’re just as determined and bullheaded as me, we got that in common.”
“I almost-” Another chocked sob. “I almost gave up-…”
“And I don’t blame you for that,” Martin soothed, his voice steady, “I would never.”
With that he gave Chris another squeeze, before he peeled him off his chest, just enough to be able to look him in the eyes. From there he ran his thumbs under them, brushing away the tears carefully, smiling when Chris blinked them open.
“There. See? I’m alright and here.” He put his hands back on his shoulders, a reaffirming shake following. “Told ya I could swim the current.”
Chris’ eyes darted across Martin’s face, as if searching for a but, for some sort of “gotcha” moment. All he found however was gentle reassurance and he let his shoulders fall, exhaustion cutting the tense strings that had been holding him up. Martin guided his head back to his chest, before he waved towards the crew, his smile just as tired and loving as before.
Not able to hold back anymore, Aviva threw herself at high speed towards them, arms circling around the two, Koki and Jimmy following a heartbeat later, every added bodyweight making Martin huff in laughter.
“It’s good to see you all again, guys.”
“You scared us half to death!!” Jimmy whined, burying his face in Martin’s shoulder, “Don’t ever do that again!”
Martin laughed, his chest rumbling with it: “I’ll try my best, JZ.”
Evening fell and the crew started to prepare themselves for sleep.
After the hug, Koki had practically dragged Martin by his hand to his feet and had sat him down on her own, softer office chair, scanning him for injuries. The sprained ankle, bump on the head as well as him being overall caked in dirt, sand and grass stains, were the only physical souvenirs he took from this endeavor, Koki giving him a thumbs up for his overall well being.
Aviva there while had taken the liberty of taking his creature power suit and busting it open, fixing the button to be able to activate again. Even though he had all the creatures as well as disks to make it here safely, a short-circuited vest proves to be a hindrance every time.
Chris stood patiently beside Martin while Koki dressed his ankle, blue gloved hand on his big brother’s shoulder and firmly curling his fingers into it, as if afraid he could disappear under him again.
After that, multiple showers, Jimmy’s dinner he whipped up in a matter of minutes and another group hug, they all ventured to their respective hammocks, Chris and Martin making their way towards the garage to have some space. Martin let out a giant sigh, putting Spice in a little bed of tissue paper on their work desk, followed by a yawn, before he took off his jacket, threw it over a chair and practically fell into his hammock.
“When I tell ya, I’ve never been so excited to go to sleep in my life, bro.”
Noticing the lack of response, Martin moved his head, only to see Chris standing there completely at a loss. One hand was gripping his arm, rubbing up and down, eyes fixated to somewhere to Martins right. The glove was still in place, as if he was afraid if he let go of it, things could go askew. Martin darted his eyes down to his glove and then to Chris’ face, letting out a small “Hey.”
As soon as he gained his attention, he pointed at the hammock beneath him.
“Wanna share tonight?”
Chris seemed to hesitate, before he nodded hard, getting rid of his green sweater, glove finally leaving it’s spot, and wiggling his way into Martins arms, both of them now laying in the hammock, facing each other. Martin immediately curled his arms around Chris’ waist, while Chris shoved his head under Martin’s chin, letting out a sigh of his own.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
“Next time maybe you could just tell me instead of standing in the middle of the room,” Martin replied innocently, “You always look like a ghost when you do that.”
Chris response was to curl tighter into Martin.
“I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and you’re going to be the ghost.” Chris’ voice was only a whisper. “What if I lose you again?”
“You didn’t lose me. You held on as tight as you could; I had to rip my glove off my hand. All you did was look for me after I got myself lost.”
“That’s not how it works, Martin.”
“In my world it does.”
A pause.
“And when we really lose each other again somewhere out there, we’ll just do the same as before. Look for each other.”
Chris was quiet for a long while.
“When? Not if?“
“Yeah, we’re creature adventurers. Of course we’re gonna get lost out there again. And again. And again.” Martin let out a hint of a laugh, as if trying to exhale the worry building in his throat by force, “But we’re always going to search the other and find our way back home to the Tortuga. That’s just how we are.”
“You promise me this time?” His voice was heavy with sleep, with trepidation as well as hope. “That you’ll be alright?”
Martin moved his hand to grab Chris’ one, the same that had tried to hold on to him, squeezing it softly.
“I promise I’ll always try to find my way back to you and the crew.”
Chris voice began to slur.
“That’s not what I asked.”
A shift, both hands holding on to Martin’s, hugging it to his chest.
And Martin, eyes stinging, draped his free arm over his brother.
“I’ll really try. ”
“I love you, Martin.”
Martin felt his throat immediately close again, forcing out a breath.
“I love you, too, Chris.” A wet chuckle. “So much.”
Martin was able to feel Chris finally relax against him, breath evening out.
Nodding off, Chris became completely limp, no response left to give. The older of the two moved his body slightly to the left to be more comfortable, laying on his back, Chris practically digging into his right side, hands still clasping his own.
With that, Martin closed his eyes as well, the amount of relief of being home dragging him to sleep.
“Aviva?”
“Psst…”
“What-”
Koki rounded the corner and thanks to Aviva’s waving hands came to an immediate stop, eyebrows furrowing. In her hands she had medical supplies, hoping to get another, better look at Martin’s ankle, now that he had rested properly. However when Aviva had gone ahead to wake him, she must have decided that it was the worst idea ever. Following her crew mates excited pointing, she realized why Aviva insisted on keeping quiet.
It was simply adorable.
Chris looked like a koala clinging on to Martin, dead asleep on his stomach on top of him. One hand was holding Martin’s, the other grabbing a fistful of his white shirt, legs tangled up in his older brothers. His head was nestled in the crook of Martin’s neck, one soft snore following the other.
Due to the past days she couldn’t help herself, Aviva squealing and clapping her hands quietly, while Koki rolled her eyes in amusement.
Martin on the other hand looked pretty much awake, humming under his breath, still dead tired looking. Both girls could see him breathe heavily, Chris' body swamping him.
Still he had the energy to hum under his breath, tapping his good foot on beat.
Koki hated to interrupt, but she still announced her presence by knocking on the door frame, Martin moving his head slightly to the side, the musical note turning into a questioning one.
“You good there, MK?” Koki asked him, coming closer as quietly as she could, “Chris looks like he’s about to suffocate you.”
Martin only smiled, the circles under his eyes more prominent on his face in the morning light: “Used to it. Still glad I’m the bigger one of us or I would have been crushed like a soda can a hundred times by now.”
“How’s your ankle?”
“Better now that I don’t have to stand on it,” he joked, only to wince hard when Koki started examining it, “Touching is still off limits on the pain scale, though.”
Clicking her tongue, Koki opened up the wrapping, examining his foot in the new daylight, before she resolutely reapplied the cream and gauze. Martin bit his tongue through the entire process, before she stood back up and nodded her head.
“You’ll be not leaving the Tortuga for at least 2 weeks, mister. Creature powers are back in a month if you’re lucky. Activate before that and you’ll get that foot amputated.” Then she crossed her arms, smile apparent in her voice, “Could have been worse though, I’ll get actual crutches out.”
“Thanks, Koki.”
Nodding, she departed, Aviva waving her off at the doorstep. Entering herself, she sat down in the chair nearest to the hammock, greeting Martin with another wave of her hand. The two of them started catching up quietly, Martin detailing his dealings outside while Aviva told him about their tries to locate him. She continuously skipped Chris’ parts whenever Martin asked for details, until he gave her a pleading look.
Knowing his puppy eyes, Aviva had to confess, voice turning solemn.
“Chris was out day and night looking. I don’t think I’ve seen him sleep more than an hour at times,” she relayed, looking at the younger brother, “He always looked like he wanted to jump into the water after you.”
“Guessed that much. Can’t blame him.”
“Did you sleep?”
Martin shrugged his shoulders, sheepishly looking to the side: “You mean last night or the days beforehand?”
At her look, he chuckled embarrassedly.
“I think I broke my personal record, Aviva. At least while traversing a forest on no food. I did drink though.”
“You two are insane.”
“Well, that’s what happens sometimes; two sleepless adventurers, lacking common sense.”
Aviva had to smirk at that, before she petted his head, singsonging: “Well now I hope I’ll have two well rested adventures for the next few weeks. Just gotta glue you two together.”
“Don’t worry. Chris has the glue part down.”
At that she laughed silently, roller-skating out, while Martin took a breath through his nose, eyelids dropping.
“I actually want that glue.”
Martin snickered.
“You say that now, bro. I bet I’ll have you begging to get rid of me in a day.”
Chris opened one eye, looking unimpressed: “I’ve known you my entire life. If someone can handle you, it’s me.”
“You wound me, believing I have no aces left up my sleeve.”
“No need to prove it to me,” Chris replied, hugging his brother closer, “Just let me have this for a while.”
“Of course, Chris,” Martin soothed, the joking tone of his voice replaced with fondness, then concern, “You didn’t actually plan on diving in after me, did you?”
“I was really desperate yesterday.”
“Don’t ever even think of doing that again.”
Chris kept quiet at that, before he closed his eyes again, curling into himself like a cat would.
“As long as you don’t head dive into another river to disappear into, I will.”
“That’s all I can ask for, I suppose.”
A flutter of wings made both of them look up, Spice landing gracefully on Martin’s nose.
“Oh, I know exactly what I want to do after my 4 week containment.”
“You doubt me, but really think Spice has the patience to hang around you inside four walls for a month?”
Martin’s response was to bring Chris in a choke hold and rub his knuckles against the top of his head, Chris yelping with laughter, trying to push him off. Then a hearty kick in the shin of his good leg made Martin let him go, Chris tumbling out of the hammock onto the ground, bursting out into another laugh.
“I’m revoking your moth power rights, you can go and freeze out there for all I care.”
“Who’s gonna stop me while Koki has you cooped up in here?”
Martin pressed his lips together.
“Shoot, didn’t think of that.”
Chris could only grin wider.
Then realization hit him.
“We can add Spice to the life list, dude!” he yelled, scrambling to his feet as he took out his creature pod out of Martin’s glove, positioning it, “Another insect species to the life list of the black forest!”
“Nice!” Martin said enthusiastically, Spice back on his finger, “Told you we’d be back to it soon enough.”
Chris could only shake his head, heart full, as he took a picture and looked at the outcome; Spice showing off his beautiful wings, Martin’s face squished into the frame with the widest grin possible.