Chapter Text
Jorgen Weight had a missing girlfriend. Again. She could- and would- probably get herself back with minimal damage. Hopefully she didn’t have a delver as a passenger this time, though. As much as he loves Chet and M-bot, they’re a lot to deal with. His attention was called back to the meeting on what to do for cytonic training. Whatever, Spensa would be fine.
Spensa was quite lost.
She was in the caverns, hunting for rats and avoiding school, like any other day. Unfortunately, while in a rage about another dishonor on her father, she hadn’t mapped her journey.
shit. Of course, she just had to run off, again. What would her mother say after catching her skipping class for the fifth time this month? So what if it was only the 7th?! She didn’t really need most of her classes to become a pilot anyway. It was Dumb. And she would become a pilot, no matter what anyone said about her or her father.
She sighed, stopping and actually taking a moment to look around. This section of the caverns had a rather large amount of those glowing mushrooms and- there was a thing! Spensa jumped back, pointing her makeshift harpoon at it! But it was just a slug thing. Bright yellow with blue frills and little flute-like things on its back. Or- what she assumed was the back. It didn’t really have a face.
She walked up to it, slowly, reaching out to touch it. It- surprisingly- let her, leaning into her pat.
“Huh.”
She sat down next to it, setting down her harpoon and bag.
“What-” she lifted it up- “Are you doing here?”
The slug just made a flute-like sound and tilted it’s- head? Maybe the head? The front bit of it’s body.
Spensa jumped a bit, almost dropping it.
“What- don’t scare me like that!” She glared at the slug, setting it down in her lap and starting to pet it, despite her earlier words.
The slug just tweeted happily at her again.
“Well, I don’t think you have a name, unless it’s-” Spensa tried, and failed miserably, to whistle.
The slug made another noise that sounded suspiciously like laughing.
Spensa glared at it. “Oh, whatever! I’m going to name you…” She focused on the slug. “Doomslug.” She nodded, proud of the name. “Because you’ll bring about doom and death to your enemies!” Spensa said, words getting graver and more aggressive as she raised her hands into the air.
She looked down, at a somehow confused slug.
“And also because you’re very cute. Therefore also dooming your enemies into trusting you.” Spensa gave Doomslug a new bout of scratches at the words, and he fluted happily.
They sat there for a while, enjoying each other and the glow of the mushrooms. Before a giant clash sounded out further down the tunnel.
“God DAMNIT!” A voice shouted. It sounded kinda familiar, but Spensa did have bad voice blindness, so after a very calm and reasonable reaction (almost chucking Doom Slug and her harpoon in the direction of the sound, but not before making a very un-pilot-like squeak) she stood up, put Doomslug on her shoulder, her bag over her other shoulder, and got ready to harpoon whoever was there. She needed to be smart and brutal, like a pilot, so she-
“I can feel you over there! Whoever you are, I'm probably your superior officer! I need help now, or so help me, I will tell Admiral W-”
Spensa rushed to the sound, turning the corner to see a woman who looked like she could have been Spensa’s cousin, halfway stuck, somehow, inside of a wall.
“I am the head Cytonic Spensa Nightshade and-” The woman’s face went pale.
Well fuck me with a polo class, they both thought in nearly perfect sync.