Work Text:
Gourmand opened her eyes. She was in a shelter, a very dark, very dry shelter.
She was currently curled up, in the same position as she went to sleep in.
The same couldn't be said for Artificer. The slightly older slugcat loved to move and shift around at night, meaning they were currently sprawled out over the floor.
No matter.
Gourmand stood up and stretched, flexing each of her muscles to ensure that they were prepared for the day ahead of her.
Artificer had been escorting Gourmand to Five Pebbles for a while now, ostensibly because her father wanted her to take the pilgrimage, but most likely because he wanted her to avoid some of the troubles currently brewing in the tribe.
A frown tugged at her ever present grin, and Gourmand sighed wearily.
Being the daughter of the tribemaster was hard. Everyone always had expectations and high standards for her.
Gourmand sometimes felt trapped in a shell of who everyone else wanted her to be, instead of herself.
Artificer was a welcome respite from that. They never expected anything of Gourmand, nor did they have impossibly high standards that could probably form a ladder to the Mother-Fire.
No, Artificer was rather casual about this entire journey. They made Gourmand feel comfortable and safe, and could not care less about such frivolous things as status or power.
It was nice. Gourmand could just be herself around Artificer, without fear of ridicule or ostracization from the slightest thing.
She twitched her ears in the direction of Artificer as they shifted around and woke up.
"Morning Gourm, had a good night's rest?" They asked, their voice as warm and welcoming as ever.
"Mhmm. I had a dream I could fly!" Gourmand announced. Artificer chuckled.
"How about you explain it to me while we climb up the wall?"
Gourmand wagged her tail to show her agreement, and the two began their journey once more.
The climb up the shell of Five Pebbles was rather difficult because of her size, but with Artificer by her side and exciting tales about dreams to talk about, Gourmand never once felt overwhelmed by the sheer scale of her trek.
It passed rather quickly, even. As the pair breached the clouds and Gourmand kneeled to pray to her goddess, she gave her gratitude for not just the warmth the Mother-Fire provided, but for the swift journey.
The pair continued climbing up, speaking of more trivial matters like home life and family. It was mostly to keep up conversation, both knew, but it was more welcome than utter silence.
Eventually, as the Mother-Fire finished Her journey across the sky and traveled beneath the surface, Artificer led Gourmand through some pipes, and the pair were upon the roof of the Rain-Maker Five Pebbles.
Artificer guided her with excitement, probably because they lived here, but Gourmand felt more nervous.
The rain-maker gods were known to be fickle, and even though Five Pebbles was not, she couldn't help but feel anxiety and fear start picking at her mind.
It felt alot like when she would have to appear in public with her father; eyes watching her, judging her for simply existing.
"Gourmie, you good?" She perked up.
Artificer had stopped around a strange stone ball, and was looking at her with concern.
"O- oh, it's nothing. Just a bit worried," She mumbled and tried to force herself to keep walking.
" 'bout what?" Artificer walked to Gourmand and put a reassuring paw on her shoulder, gently patting her.
"Just…" She felt her face heat up slightly while her back began to prickle. "Kinda scared…" Gourmand forced the words out.
Artificer tilted their head.
"Of Pebbles?"
Gourmand gave a half-hearted tail wag.
"But he's nice. Wouldn't hurt a batfly."
Gourmand made a little whine of indecision.
Artificer studied her for a moment.
"Are you worried about his opinion?"
…
Gourmand made a little hum of agreement.
Artificer gently sat Gourmand on the metal floor and joined her.
It was surprisingly warm, and had a gentle hum.
"Why?" Artificer asked. Their tone was as warm and gentle and inviting as always.
"I'm just…" Scared? Worried? Afraid?
"I just feel like he might hate me?"
Artificer snorted in amusement.
"Pebbles? Hating anyone? He loves slugcats," Artificer said softly. They made sure to use the mouse modifier when they said slugcat.
"But… what if he hates me?!" Gourmand cried out.
Surely he would? A fat slugcat like her, who has the heart to adventure and explore instead of staying in the colony like a good daughter. Surely…
Gourmand felt Artificer start rubbing her back soothingly. It felt tingly, in a good way, and was quite calming.
"Why would he? Pebbles is the nicest guy I've ever met. He wouldn't think anything about you until you actually talk to him," Artificer said softly.
"I was tasked with helping you, yes?"
Gourmand hummed in agreement.
"So I'm going to help in whatever way I can. Even if it means I'll be there with you when you meet Pebbles," They kept rubbing circles in her back. "And you know what? Pebbles would probably be ecstatic to meet you. You know why?"
"N- no?"
"Because you are the most interesting, friendly, creative, and fun slugcat I've ever met. Including my dad."
Gourmand cracked a small grin. Artificer's father was well known for being very exciting and fun to be around. And a bit crazy too.
"So… you think he'll like me?" She asked with a slight fear.
Artificer laughed for a moment.
"Gourm, Pebbles would love you. He's a great person, and you're an amazing slugcat." Gourmand felt some moths flutter in her stomach when Artificer said that.
"Come now." Artificer stood up, holding their paw out. "Let's go meet him, yes?"
Gourmand smiled and reach her arm out, grabbing Artificer's paw and allowing herself to be pulled up.
The two slugcats continued across the roof of Five Pebbles, the sky a glittering masterpiece of darkness and green stars, dominated by the three red slashes in the night.
The Silver-Scourge had risen by now, Her form still weakened by the ever constant battle between light and dark.
Her silver light was weak, meaning Gourmand had to follow Artificer closely lest she trip over whatever.
The pair of slugcats crawled through a pipe and into a tunnel that lead to a gate. They went through this gate, and when Artificer was done complaining about the water dumped on them, they asked Gourmand to keep close.
"Why?" She responded as the two climbed up more poles.
"You haven't visited an iterator in your life, you don't know how to move through anti-gravity," Artificer explained.
Gourmand understood only half of that. She knew iterator was what rain-maker gods were really called, but she did not know what anti-gravity was, a fact she brought up to Artificer.
"Hmm, how do I explain?" They muttered as the pair of slugcats stood before a mural of an ancient god.
They had two shields in their arms, and were blocking daggers that flew at them from all sides.
Why the ancient gods left was subject to many legends, exactly none of which interested Gourmand. They were dead, what's so important about them?
"Okay," Artificer spoke. Gourmand stopped her pondering and gave her attention to the maroon slugcat.
"Do you feel that pull? Like when you jump–" They jumped. "–or when you hold your arm out?" They held their arm out, and let it go slack. It fell back to Artificer's side.
Gourmand wagged her tail.
"Yeah, that's gravity. It pulls everything down. It's why things fall without support."
Gourmand hummed in understanding.
"Anti-gravity basically takes that pull away; it's like swimming, but you can't drown and it's also harder to move."
Gourmand wagged her tail slowly as she hummed again. Alright.
"Are you going to help me?" She asked. Artificer cracked a little smile.
"Of course. I'll mostly let you move on your own, but you have to hold my paw." They held their arm out, paw open and inviting.
Gourmand felt her face heat up and her ears perk, but she grabbed Artificer's paw. They kept a strong grip on her as the pair went through a pipe and into the next chamber.
Oh, by Her Light, that was disorienting.
Gourmand tried to right herself, only to start spinning out of control.
She tried to hold her arms out, and learned two things: that didn't do anything but make it worse, and weight was no longer something that existed.
Gourmand had effortlessly sent Artificer spinning too, making them complain as a bang sounded throughout the chamber.
She was still spinning as Artificer braced along a wall and lunged at her.
They grabbed Gourmand and flew into a wall, smacking into it but keeping a tight grip.
"So?" Artificer asked with a smug voice when the two had recovered. "How was your first go at it?"
"I'm going to puke." Gourmand tried her best not to heave, especially since the lack of the world's pull meant the gross stomach acid would probably go back into her face.
"Lucky me, I was raised here," Artificer teased. Gourmand gave them a pointed glare as she slowly stopped feeling like her belly was turning inside out.
"Okay, since you can barely handle a single room," Artificer announced after a while, earning another glare from Gourmand. "We'll go through each one slowly."
Artificer offered their paw again, and Gourmand grabbed it without hesitation. She would need the help.
The slugcats went through a pipe in the floor that lead to the next chamber, this time depicting an ancient god eating food.
Their body was grotesquely overweight, and made Gourmand feel a bit self-conscious about her own size.
Sure, plenty of it was muscle, but the layer of fat atop it meant she looked obese and unhealthy.
It was one of the most common insults hurled at her by other young slugcats in the colony.
The pair went through another two chambers, one showing two ancient gods in trade while the other displayed two ancient gods engaging in sex.
At the last chamber was where the two paused for another break.
"We just have to go down a tunnel and we're in," Artificer explained when questioned by Gourmand.
She was internally grateful. Despite the much slower pace the two went with, her stomach still felt light in the worst way.
It also allowed her to observe the last mural.
This one depicted an ancient god stabbing another with a spear.
"Wait? The ancient gods fought eachother?" Gourmand exclaimed, pointing at the mural.
Artificer tilted their head questioningly.
"Yes? The same way we slugcats fight. What are they teaching you all down there?" Artificer seemed surprised by Gourmand's confusion.
"That the ancient gods built a grand society of peace and plenty for all, but were later wiped out by a cataclysm the storyteller hasn't explained to us yet." Gourmand gave her best recollection of the tale. Again, she still found the ancient gods boring, but she tried her best to remember the story she learned around the fire those years ago.
Artificer snorted again and grinned.
"Yeah, they did make peace. But Pebbles told me that they fought quite a bit before then."
Gourmand's eyes widened in surprise. The ancient gods actually fought eachother!
Here she was, already gaining wisdom and enlightenment, and she hadn't even met the rain-maker god yet!
Yet… Gourmand did need to correct something.
"Hey, Artificer?" Gourmand waited until their ears tilted in her direction. "Can you please use Five Pebbles' full name?"
It was quite disrespectful to address anyone unfamiliar with a personal name. The rain-maker gods may not have title names, but using the full names was a suitable alternative–despite how long, and honestly ridiculous, their names could be.
"Hmm. Sure, sorry about that," Artificer apologized. "Growing up around him made me forget about some customs," They explained.
"No, it's alright. You're still young. Just… it makes me a bit uncomfortable."
"I'm sorry."
Gourmand gave a reassuring pat on Artificer's back.
"Shall we go now?"
Artificer turned their head and looked at Gourmand with a small grin.
"Sure, you ready for the worst part?"
What.
Artificer started giggling at Gourmand.
"I'm joking. It's just a straight tunnel." They grabbed her paw firmly, making Gourmand's face warm again, then went through another pipe.
This one lead to a long, dark tunnel with red lights all around. It was foreboding and somewhat creepy, but Gourmand had Artificer with her, so she wasn't afraid of the tunnel.
As the two floated down, Gourmand felt her worries creep back into her mind.
She tried to banish them, but as the two went through one last pipe, she couldn't.
Gourmand was briefly shocked to feel the world pull at her, but was then even more shocked as an invisible force grabbed her.
She and Artificer were gently lowered to the floor of a tiled chamber of ceramic, while a gentle hum filled the air.
Gourmand looked up and gasped.
In the air was a figure. His body was thin and pink, but that was hidden beneath a cloak that faded from dull orange to light yellow. This cloak has numerous teal beads on the collar, with an especially large one serving as a button.
A pair of thin metal rods extended from the top of his also metal ears, while four reddish pink lights were lined across his forehead, framing his glowing white eyes and lack of a mouth.
Behind his head was a gigantic ring of light that pulsed and rotated constantly, a few zaps and sparks forming when long tendrils zapped away from the main ring.
A shining metal tail extended from his back, and this tail had several long portions with joints inbetween. The entire structure was connected to a box on the wall that hummed and moved, and a closer inspection led Gourmand to notice a thick bundle of cables also extended from the box, though these connected to the back of the figure's head.
Gourmand bowed down before the figure, pinning her ears back and trying to stop her tail from twitching in anxiety.
Here before her was Five Pebbles, the rain-maker god of the west and younger brother to the eastern rain-maker.
"Hello Five Pebbles. How are you?" Artificer casually asked. Gourmand looked up at them in surprise at their response.
"Hello, Artificer, I am well," Five Pebbles responded. She was somewhat shocked to hear him speak in slugcat words.
She knew he could, but the level of skill and knowledge he displayed was amazing.
"I assume this is the slugcat your parent mentioned to me?" He asked. Gourmand's anxiety was put the side as she marveled even more.
He had used the proper noun for parent, not just the general noun. And, he had even used the proper modifier to define slugcat as the mouse variant!
How incredible!
Artificer made a strange down-up gesture with their head and stepped away from Gourmand.
Her worries returned as Five Pebbles lowered himself from the air using his tail, and placed his pointed feet upon the floor.
He was right infront of her. Her anxiety was back.
"Hello. I recall your name as Gourmand, pleasure to make acquaintance with you," Five Pebbles spoke warmly.
Gourmand's mouth fell open for a moment.
No insults? No comments about her weight?
…
Nothing bad to say of her?
"H- hello… there, Five Pebbles," Gourmand stammered out her response, still shocked and amazed and relieved.
Five Pebbles seemed to smile, the artificial skin beneath his eyes moving up to reflect how the eyes would look with an actual smile.
"No need to use my full name; Pebbles will suffice," Five Pebbles said, making a little gesture with his hands that Gourmand couldn't identify.
What? He was okay with that?
"But we just met!" She exclaimed, perhaps a bit louder than she would've liked. It made her back prickle with anxiety and shame.
"And? I dislike the deification given to me, and I would prefer being viewed as a normal organism like any other; hence, I would prefer my short-name to be used. Though you slugcats call that a personal name as Artificer explained to me," Five Pebbles said. He had used the thin metal rods on his head to mimic ears, and thus drooped them down when saying Artificer to indicate that he meant the elder Artificer; parent to the Artificer Gourmand was standing near to.
Gourmand was left a moment of indecision, thinking. She could understand his reasoning; Five Pebbles was known far and wide for his dislike of the rain-maker's deified tales.
But at the same time, she still felt uncomfortable using a personal name so soon.
"Can I… keep calling you Five Pebbles? It's not very polite for me to use a personal name, and it makes me uncomfortable."
Five Pebbles tilted his head and then did that same down-up head gesture Artificer made.
"Very well. I accept." He pulled himself up and away on his tail.
"Now, let's handle important matters," He said. Gourmand perked up.
Right, yes! She was here for knowledge and wisdom; to make the pilgrimage to a rain-maker and receive enlightenment.
"I am going to mark you, be calm." Gourmand felt a strange sensation around her head, a pulsing and shifting feeling.
Ping!
Gourmand whimpered slightly and grabbed her head. It started to hurt, alot like a headache but deeper in.
"I deeply apologize for the pain," Five Pebbles sorrowfully admitted. "We have yet to create a mark of communication that does not require us to implant at least some information in your brain. The headache will go away by cycle's end, and you will have zero health complications because of it," Five Pebbles reassured her as Artificer grabbed Gourmand to help keep her supported.
"Hello, can you understand me?" Gourmand's eyes widened in shock as she heard Five Pebbles speak in his own language.
Gourmand wagged her tail in affirmation.
"Good, what knowledge do you seek?" Five Pebbles' voice took on a formal and serious tone. Quite similar to how Gourmand's father spoke during great speeches or religious ceremonies–though obviously in spirit.
"I would like to know why you rain-makers have such weird names," Gourmand asked through her headache. She had wanted to know ever since the first day of her journey.
Five Pebbles brought a hand up to his chin and seemed to rub it, placing a finger where his mouth would be and tapping the smooth surface there.
"When our benefactors created us, they gave us very long names to identify each of us. Indeed, our names are actually even longer than what you slugcats know, but those are deeply personal to us." Gourmand took in this information as best she could.
It actually made her interested in the ancient gods, which was certainly a surprise.
"However, our creators had a different naming scheme than us. As such, our names were inherently seen as distant and strange, perhaps in an effort to keep us in our place." Gourmand hummed in general agreement. The ancient gods pinnacle achievement, the creation of the rain-maker gods, was a common story.
She never liked it though. It was sad that the rain-makers had been created and forced to work, only to then be left behind.
"But few among us are bothered by this fact. We iterators choose to embrace these odd names, as it separates us from the creators most choose to ignore and distance themselves from." Gourmand wished she could do that; ignore the expectations of her father and others in power, as well as distance herself from a life of rulership and control.
"What else do you desire to know?" Five Pebbles lowered himself down to the floor again, and chose to sit upon the ceramic tiles. His halo seemed to shrink behind him.
Gourmand and Artificer joined him out of respect and because their legs ached somewhat.
"Nothing. Thank you, rain-maker Five Pebbles," Gourmand gave her gratitude as best she could.
A few moments of silence passed, the gentle humming of the rain-maker's body filling the air.
"Could I ask you a question?" Five Pebbles tilted his head and helped his arm out in an expectant way.
A rain-maker? Asking her a question?!
"Yes! You can," Gourmand exclaimed, barely even embarrassed by her enthusiasm.
Five Pebbles chuckled, as did Artificer.
"Alright, settle a bit." Gourmand listened.
"Why is your name French?"
A spear of shock and horror pierced Gourmand's heart as a pit dropped into her stomach. Her ears pinned back as she whined.
"W- what? That's not true!" She felt cold, and her fur puffed out.
"It is. That's where the word gourmand comes from," Five Pebbles voice was regretful.
What! Her name was French?! Did… did that mean she was French?
French, like the nation that conquered and destroyed nearly the entire continent?!
French, like the stupid language that made no sense?!
French, like the people who ate slugcats as food?!
It couldn't be!
Artificer hugged Gourmand as she began weeping. Five Pebbles drew himself up on his tail shamefully, his regret dragging his limbs down.
She was shaking and crying, slamming her paw into the floor.
"By Her Light, it cannot be!" Gourmand looked up at Five Pebbles and begged.
He turned to her in shame.
"It is."
Gourmand screamed out in anguish.
So it was.