Chapter Text
Pain. The first thing I felt upon entering the next room was pain.
I yelp loudly and release my fingers, having just grabbed down hard on a piece of sharp metal jutting out from the pole I was climbing. I hold my breath softly to control my anger, fingers burning, as a trickle of blood oozes out of them and down onto my pink fur, staining it a darker crimson.
I slowly exhale, and the sight makes me chuckle a little. “Just a few more scars, and maybe I’ll have a full canvas here.”
This canvas is not a literal canvas, but my skin, a vast plethora of scars, some large, some not, many mar the skin, creating a rough and bumpy look. I do not mind; it makes me look tough. My favourite is the long scar across my brow and right eye.
I wipe my bloody hand on my thigh and survey the room around me, sighing. “Of course, more of that disgusting water. But, unfortunately, the neuron tells me that there’ll be a gate nearby, and with no alternate route, I’ll have to pass through the water.
Tentatively, I approach the water. Even with my moderately enhanced musculature, I feel feeble and weak when submerged, like a pup unwilling to be bathed by their mother.
As I stand on the edge of the murky pool, about to dive, I hesitate. There, in the water on the other side of the room, is the fettered corpse of a squidcada, leeches still attached.
“Thank you, squid.” I exhale. “Your sacrifice is a greatly appreciated warning not to jump onto cloudy pools of water."
Looking around, I spot another squid lazily fluttering near the ceiling. Smirking, I reach into the satchel I’m carrying and slowly pull out a batfly, not wanting to frighten it away.
As the batfly appears, the squid buzzes and flies over curiously, enticed by the prospect of an easy meal. I lunge for it, grabbing onto it and hugging it to my body. It thumbs aggressively against my chest, but I quickly readjust my grip and grab the legs.
“Go. Fly me to the other side, like I know you can. Your kin helped me in the sky, and you will assist me here."
It buzzes angrily, refusing to pull me over. The squid’s body is vibrating hard and I’m struggling to hold onto it with my bleeding hand. I slap it a few times and it stops struggling, seemingly hurt by the powerful slaps.
“You’re going to kill us both, you know.” I grumble angrily. “Fine, if you want to do it the hard way..."
With a sudden burst of speed, I leap off of the platform, my target being a small pole in the centre of the murky pool. Out of reach with a conventional leap, these poles are now easily reachable with the flight of the squid. I land hard, almost losing balance and dropping the squid before I catch myself. I repeat this motion a few times, passing the floating corpse, before reaching the other side.
“There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” I smile, releasing the squid and tossing the fly at it. It buzzes off, seemingly already over the mild annoyance of being used as a glider.
“No significant harm; your maps better be correct, or I will have words to say with you when I return.” I mumble, crawling through the pipe at the end of the room.
I let out a sigh of relief as I exited the next room and spotted the always-forbidding doors of a regional gate. My eyes perk up as I also notice a small sign indicating a shelter immediately below me.
“Better play it safe.” I sigh, sliding down the shaft of the pipe and into the warmth of the cramped, dark shelter.
I let out a shudder as my feet hit the ground, and I’m bathed in darkness. “I hate these things. Slugcats aren’t supposed to sleep in a void, damn metal box."
Suddenly, my ears perk up. A faint, soft breath from the corner catches my attention, but I can’t recognize the creature. “Alright, I know you’re there. Just because I cannot see you does not mean I cannot perceive you in other ways.” I snarl.
The breathing hitches before a piercingly loud shriek fills my air. I flinch, clapping my hands over my ears, and am about to get furiously angry at the creature for destroying my head before I hesitate.
I recognize that shrieking. That’s not just any creature; that’s a slugcat, a pup, specifically.
"Sorry, little one, sorry!” I say it loudly. “It was not my intention to frighten you. Please stop screaming."
The screaming continues, though slightly less loudly than before.
I growl, frustrated, before I reach into my satchel and throw a handful of batflies at them. “Food! There you go! Take it. Anything to stop that screaming."
The screaming stops; silence hangs in the air as I feel the small creature rummaging around beneath my feet. A loud crunching sound breaks this silence as the pup appears to have located and started eating the batflies.
“Excellent.” I wince, rubbing my ears, before I turn to the pup. “What’re you doing here? Where is your family?” I scold sternly.
I get no answer; the pup is continuing to eat the flies. Sighing, I reach for the small neuron in my satchel, hoping to illuminate the shelter somewhat.
As the neuron is released, I catch a glimpse of the pup, a small, forlorn-looking thing, malnourished and tired, with green fur plastered with mud and scars.
“Where is your family?” I whisper softly, repeating myself.