Archive of Our Own ^beta

Before we get started, I'd like to have a small introduction to this fic.

I discovered Rain World about a year ago and it's easily become one of my favorite games of all time. And while I adore it, I have yet to complete every slugcat's campaign.

The campaigns I have completed thus far are: Monk, Survivor (base game), Survivor (w slugpups), Hunter (unsuccessfully), Gourmand, and Artificer. (I'm currently playing through the Watcher campaign :) )

Since I've not played all of the game yet, there's a good chance I'm going to mess up some logistics in this fic. I like to think I've got a pretty decent grasp on the lore thus far, but forgive me if I make any mistakes. When it comes to the layout of the map and the regions, I try to stay true to how it's presented in-game. But I may take some liberties here and there for the sake of the story.

Speaking of fanfic-granted-liberties: Rain World's lore is purposefully left ambiguous in a lot of areas. The mystery is part of why I love this game, but it did require me to fill in some blanks with my own headcanons when writing this fic. (More on those later). I tried my best to make them as canon-accurate as possible and fit them into the established lore.

So HEADS UP: there are a lot of my personal interpretations and headcanons for Rain World lore pumped into this fic. Feel free to correct me in the comments if I get something blatantly wrong though. Or share your personal headcanons too if you'd like. I love interacting with my readers so feel free to comment whatever you'd like, as long as you'll be civil and kind about it. <3

On another note: this whole fic is based on the AU idea of humans being a part of the Rain World ecosystem. While I'm of the opinion that Rain World is so cool because you play as an insignificant little critter, the concept of plopping a human into this world was something I wanted to entertain. I drew some art for this idea which you can check out here LINK . This whole fic is basically just me experimenting and having fun with the idea.

Some lore I made up on Humans in Rain World:

First of all, they're not modern day humans. I was inspired to have them be at the earliest stage of human evolution: the hunter-gatherer stage. This means that these humans do not have access to advanced technology. The biggest discovery men has made at this time is fire and basic tools like spears and knives. Slugcats also use tools (and I believe Scavengers may even be capable of making fire? Though I'm unsure if that's accurate or not), which puts humans a little above slugcats on the sentience scale. They're below the Iterators though, since they were made by The Ancients and not the humans. Ancients and humans are completely different species in this fic, as I like to think Ancients may resemble us modern humans in some ways, but that they're far from the same thing as us.

''But where did these humans come from?'' I can hear you ask. Well that's the neat part; I don't know. XD. It could be theorized they may be connected to the Ancients in some way. But there is no concrete evidence to back that up. If you come up with any fun theories though, do let me know in the comments!

Also humans make up only a very small portion of the creatures populating this world. And they're not native to the area surrounding Five Pebbles and Looks To The Moon. They're from very very far away lands and they're incredibly rare to come across. Our human protagonist in this story is very lost as a result XD.

Some other ground rules for this fic:

That's all for now. I hope you enjoy the fic!

~ Pie

Everything had gone wrong. So horribly, horribly wrong.

Getting cornered by a lizard, and then saved by a vulture plucking it up just before it could close its jaws around her, only for another vulture to swoop down and go after the slugcat anyway. It was just plain cruel. It was unfair. But they'd warned her about this. The Cycle distinguishes not the living. Prey or predator, big or small, sentient or dumb as a rock, the same rules counted for them all.

This world was cruel and unforgiving.

Life was simply just unfair.

Why, oh why, hadn't she just listened to her elders and stayed home?

The slugcat yelped as the vulture snapped at her tail. She managed to dodge its sharp beak and tactically rolled under it. The tips of her ears brushed against the vulture's feathers as she made an attempt to escape past it. But the thing was clever and darted backwards. The engines on its back hissed with hot steam and it dropped its large body on the ground in front of her, blocking the only exit pipe in the room.

The slugcat skidded to a halt, barely avoiding the razor sharp edge of the vulture's beak again. In a fit of blind panic, she dashed into a narrow tunnel beside her. She hadn't realized where she was going and ended up sliding right into a pit.

Now there she lay, in a small puddle of mud at the bottom of some hollow pipe. The Guardian, as she was known, lifted her gaze to the light above her. A shadow flew over and the slugcat ducked back down. But the vulture had lost sight of her, decided to go search for its meal elsewhere, and flew off.

The Guardian slowly rose from her crouch. Water dripped rhythmically into the pipe, creating an echo of droplet sounds that bounced all the way up. The slugcat tried to follow it and leaped up against the wall, bouncing off it to the opposite side and back again to hop her way out of there. But the inside of the pipe was covered in slick and moss, too slippery for her claws to get a good grip.

The slugcat ungracefully plummeted back to the bottom.

She pushed herself up and shook the dirt from her cream-colored coat. Then she tried to make the jump again. And again, and again. But no matter from which angle she approached it, or how desperate she tried to dig her nails into the walls, they were simply too steep and too far apart for her jumps to get her any higher.

She fell back down after another failed attempt and finally just remained where she lay.

It was hopeless. It was impossible to escape this death trap before the rain came. She might've just as well jumped straight into that vulture's beak, because she was dead either way. She might be able to swim up and out when the pipe filled with water, but there was no hope of making it to a shelter through the heavy rainfall after.

The Guardian wrapped one of her small arms around her belly, despair filling her heart.

She should've listened when they warned her about leaving the Outer Expanse. But she was young and curious to explore the world. There were many tales of other brave slugcats who'd done the same. Legends and myths they told the slugpups about before hibernation. Murals decorated the walls with their stories. If they could do it, so could she. Or so she believed.

Reality had knocked some sense into her. On her journey to Chimney Canopy, she'd quickly learned what it meant when you saw one of those large shadows cast down from the skies. The place was filled to the brim with vultures and lizards alike. And after her other discovery, The Guardian deemed it time to return home. She already got to see more of the world than she otherwise would have. It was good enough.

But her backtrack down through the Farm Arrays proved even more strenuous than her first journey through it. She'd lost count of how many cycles she had to redo just to make it out of Chimney Canopy. And then the Sky Islands and Farm Arrays hadn't gotten any better either. She'd spotted two red lizards on her way here (yes, two of them!). And everywhere there was open air, there was a vulture to be found too.

If those things didn't kill you, then the carnivorous grass would.

Actually, ending up in this broken, dead-end pipe was the most rest The Guardian had gotten since she left the Colony. It was just a shame she'd have to spend the rest of the Cycle stuck in here. Not to mention the inevitable rainfall that was bound to come soon. One of the worst known ways to end your Cycle...

The Guardian lay her chin down in the mud with a deep sigh. At least things couldn't get much worse now.

Then, darkness loomed from above. The slugcat froze in fear as she saw another shadow block out the sunlight. It leaned over the edge to look down into the pipe. She couldn't make out what animal it was supposed to be based on the shape of its silhouette. But she figured she'd find out soon enough, once it noticed her and came down to gobble her up like a quick little snack.

But after a while, it backed away and disappeared.

It was unclear if the threat was truly gone, so The Guardian didn't dare move. The quick, shallow breathes shaking her entire body was the only sign she was even still alive.

Then a metal rod suddenly dropped into the pipe. It clanked loudly against the sides on its way down until it reached the bottom. The end of it pierced and stuck straight into the mud.

Then everything went dead silent.

The slugcat stayed motionless for a little while longer, confused and frightened by what just happened. But eventually, she dared to reach out a single paw and tapped it against the metal rod. It seemed pretty stable. This may be her only chance to escape.

So, ever so cautiously, The Guardian crawled towards it and began to shimmy her way up.

It was a lot easier to hold onto this than the walls of the pipe. Using her strong grip and naturally sticky body fluid seeping through her paw pads, she managed to scale the metal rod all the way to the top. It required a small jump at the end to make it out fully, as the rod was slightly shorter than the height of the pipe. But that was an easy feat now.

The Guardian eyed her surroundings before taking a moment to shake out her body and rid her coat of the water and mud. There was no one around. It seemed, for once, she'd been granted an astonishing amount of luck and something just so happened to fall into that pipe exactly when she needed it.

That's what she thought anyway, until she caught the sound of something shuffling around nearby.

The Guardian's ears twitched in the direction of the noise, her eyes quickly following. There, in the shadows, sat a hunched figure.

It was watching her.

The Guardian widened her stance. Her tail poofed up to make her appear bigger as she growled. But that did not stop the figure from slowly approaching her. So the slugcat grabbed the nearest loose stone and tossed it towards the aggressor. She may have hit it, or she may have completely missed, but the creature jumped back in surprise. It let out a whimpering noise and shrunk back into the shadows.

The Guardian growled one last warning for it to stay back, before she dashed to safety.

A few hops and jumps later, she finally came to a standstill on top of a boulder. After checking her surroundings once more, the slugcat sat back on her two hind legs and began licking her front paws and belly. She'd gotten all messy from her fall earlier.

But her ears then picked up that same noise again. She spun back around and saw that creature slowly sneaking closer again. Had it been stalking her?

It stopped the moment it noticed they were looking right at each other. It really wasn't the smartest beast The Guardian ever faced. It was loud. And clumsy. And slow. Probably not the greatest hunter. But it was bigger, and therefor a threat. So The Guardian lay her ears back and bared her teeth once more.

The Creature tossed out a pearl. Its movements were quick and careful as it dropped the item about one foot away from the boulder the slugcat was sitting on.

She immediately raised her ears back up in surprise.

It was gifting her a pearl? Why? Maybe it had mistaken her for a Scavenger and was trying to make some kind of peace offering.

The Guardian cautiously slipped from her perch. She picked up the pearl and eyed the strange creature. Now that it sat in the light, she could make out its features properly.

It was build somewhat similar to a Scavenger, but it was at least twice as tall. It had long, white fur that only grew from the top of its head. A ragged cloth wrapped its upper body and old wiring secured it around its waist. From it hung some kind of small pouch and a strap made of similiar material was slung over its shoulder.

The Creature also had multiple strings with pearls woven into its long strands of white fur. One of them was notably missing a pearl. The one she was holding, The Guardian realized.

She huffed and tossed it back to The Creature. Pearls weren't edible. And aside from it earning you some positive reputation with a Scav, it was completely useless. As far as she was concerned, that thing could keep it. It was clearly fond of them, as it went through the trouble of adorning its body with them. She wondered if it had learned that from the Scavengers.

The Creature made a strange sort of snorting noise and reached to take the pearl back. The Guardian observed as it strung the pearl back in place in its fur near the head. Once it was finished, it blinked at her. It seemed surprised she was still there.

The Guardian wasn't sure herself why she stayed. Call it curiosity, maybe, but she was intrigued by this new creature. She'd never quite seen anything like it before. And it was unusual for something to not be hostile right from the get go. Even Scavengers preferred to throw spears first and ask questions later. This one broke all the principles of nature.

Then it clicked for the slugcat. Was this creature the reason that metal rod had fallen into the pipe? She recognized it now for the shadow that had looked down at her while she was in there. Had it noticed she was stuck and then gone out of its way to help her?

No, surely that wasn't what had happened. What animal in this world would ever bother to show that kind of empathy? The Guardian found it unlikely and so didn't believe that was the case. But even a small animal like her could understand that her escape was just as unlikely to be caused by pure chance.

As the slugcat did her best to dissect such a complex thought, she was abruptly pulled out of it when a thick droplet of water landed on top her head. She reached for it with her paw and felt the cold wetness on her sensitive pads. More droplets then increasingly began to drop from the sky.

Oh no. She'd been so distracted by this strange new creature that she'd forgotten all about The Cycle.

The rain.

The rain was coming!

The Guardian instantly spun back around and sprinted to the nearest building. She'd been through these parts before and knew of a shelter nearby. After passing a handful of rooms, she found the glowing white sign that marked the entrance of the shelter. The slugcat climbed inside. But then stopped.

She turned towards the stomping noises behind her and growled. The Creature had come after her. It was now standing fully on its hind legs. It was surprisingly fast like that, actually.

It made The Guardian feel on edge. She didn't like that it was following her. And she wasn't intend on sharing her dry place with it either.

The Creature stopped just by the entrance and looked at her warily. The Guardian now fully showed her teeth and hissed. This was her shelter and that was that. The Creature should've spent less time meandering about after saving her life and gone off to find its own hiding place instead.

It stood there helplessly as The Guardian slipped inside. The rain became worse and worse. The heavy downpour pounded on the metal overhang The Creature stood under. Soon, this whole area would be swept clean. Nothing survived the strong currents of the flash floods or the rain that fell from the sky like a thousand heavy bricks.

The poor Creature looked back at the merciless world behind it, visibly frightened. But it perked up at the sound of struggling machinery. Inside the shelter, The Guardian was preventing the door mechanism from closing. She'd wedged herself between it, keeping it open with her paws. She met The Creature's implying gaze with one of her own. It understood.

It quickly crawled into the space, even though it was a little tight for a beast of its size.

The Guardian dashed back as they simultaneously rolled into the shelter. The mechanism slotted closed behind them. Now they were locked in here together.

The slugcat pushed herself into the farthest corner, eyeing her new roommate warily. But, not unlike before, The Creature didn't seem to have any harmful intensions. It slummed back against the wall with a sigh of relief. Its coat was shiny and wet from the rain. It must be cold, The Guardian figured, seeing as it was shivering. They had made it only in the nick of time.

The Creature was lucky The Guardian even bothered showing it mercy and let it inside with her. But she reasoned that, since it had saved her from a painful restart of The Cycle, it wasn't entirely unreasonable to return the favor.

Not that it meant she trusted this creature now.

But it would be a while until the rain calmed down. So they were stuck with one another for the time being. While The Guardian doubted she'd be able to get much sleep like this, she attempted to get comfortable in her little corner.

The Creature silently watched as the slugcat padded her paws on the moss-covered floor before she curled up and wrapped her tail around her body for warmth. She kept a close eye on The Creature, not yet enough at ease to fall asleep. But The Creature soon followed her lead and leaned back with a yawn. It was too large to lie down in the shelter, but it seemed content enough with pulling its knees up to its chest and resting its head against the wall.

The Guardian really hoped it would stay on its side of the shelter, as they wordlessly agreed to share the space.

She had heard stories of a slugcat who once spent a whole hibernation with a lizard. Some mutual understanding and fear of the rain had urged them to set aside their differences for one Cycle and sleep in the same room. She bet the lizard was right back to snapping its jaws at that slugcat the moment the shelter doors opened though, The Guardian thought as she began to drift off to sleep.

She'd make sure that by the time those doors opened, she'd be gone. Before The Creature got the chance to make up its mind whether it was friend or foe.