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It had been a long day for the group while they had traversed the dungeon. This level was rocky and full of boulders, which meant not only did they often have to scramble and climb over and around the obstructions, but without needing to say it, everyone was on high-alert for anything that might be hiding in any of the numerous caves and holes among the boulders. This meant that everyone was tired, hungry, sore, and stressed. Not a good combination in a dangerous area.
But still, they pressed on. Even Senshi knew this wasn't a good spot to settle for the night, and everyone had agreed earlier that they needed to either reach the safe haven of the doors at end of the level, or find a more open area to camp.
Laois perked up as he noted something on the walls, saying in a calm tone to avoid startling everyone, "Oh, look. I think we're getting close." They followed his pointed finger to find that the wall of the area, which normally had just been rocky and indiscernible, now showed a small section of tile underneath.
"Good..." Marcille breathed, a weary smile on her face. "I was starting to think we'd NEVER reach the end!"
"Once we find an open area, we need to make some food." Senshi grunted out, having sat down while they mused on Laois' discovery.
Seeing that everyone looked a bit tired, Chilchuck moved next to Senshi and took off his pack, saying, "You all stay here."
As he started to clamber over the boulder to continue, Marcille asked, "Wait, where're you going?"
Chilchuck got to the top of the boulder, looking around cautiously as he replied, "You know the best place for traps are at the end of a level, when people rush to get out, so let me check first."
"He's right." Laois reported, taking off his pack as well, but keeping one hand on his sword. "It's where 80% of all reported injures happen, and 76% of deaths. Not to mention, 52% of..."
Laois' words trailed off as Chilchuck took the opportunity and slipped away while he was distracted. He appreciated Laois, he really did, but he was a little overwhelming to deal with sometimes, especially when they were all tired and hungry and in a bad mood. Shaking his head, Chilchuck went still and cupped his hands around his ears, slowing his breathing to listen.
He clearly heard the others chattering, but he listened under, around, and beyond that. He listened for strange noises, metallic noises, wooden noises, anything that didn't fit their environment. He didn't expect anything at first, so he was shocked as under the talking, he DID hear the noise of something breathing. Something large and conscious!
His eyes shot open, and he scrambled back up the boulder, calling out, "SOMETHING'S HERE!" just as there was a crash and something erupted from under the floor beneath him.
There was a loud echoing roar that filled the whole area, making all of them jump to their feet, various weapons at the ready. A cloud of dust had erupted at the creature's appearance, along with a shower of rocks and boulders, and for a moment, that dust disoriented the creature itself, making it pause. As the dust settled a bit, Chilchuck, having been knocked backwards between two boulders, cursed quietly to himself as he got a good look at the creature.
It had six large jointed legs, tipped with strong-looking claws, and while the legs themselves were scaly and looked like they were plated in armor, at the joints were patches of dense fur. The body itself was large, and seemed to be separated into three sections, the middle being where all the legs attached, the last segment sporting a long, tufted tail, and the front section showcasing the head. The head was a lot to take in, with the base of a male lion, with a thick mane, and yet the eyes weren't normal lion eyes. They were bulbous, and at first appeared shiny, but a second glance showed that they were multi-faceted, much like a dragonfly's, and sickly green in colour. In the mouth, sticking out of the sides of the jaws, were two long blade-like and inwardly-spiked appendages. The 'blades' opened and closed horizontally, closing in front of the lion-esque muzzle, making a sharp clacking noise as the pointed spikes tapped together. After each tap, Chilchuck noticed that the small ears on the head twitched, and he knew it was using sound to try and track them.
Knowing what he was risking, but also knowing that the others needed to know what they were dealing with, Chilchuck squirmed himself deep between the two boulders, but then hollered out, "IT'S AN ANTLION!"
As could be expected, the beast, a bit larger than a normal lion, whirled around at the sound of his voice, the six legs clicking and rustling as it rushed towards his hiding place, the long bladed pincers snapping to try and get him, the antlion even turning it's head sideways to let the pincers get into the crack. Fortunately, Chilchuck was too deep in the hidey-hole to be touched, but those pincers were clacking together mere inches from his nose, making him sweat and mutter, "Come on, guys, come on, HURRY UP!"
There was a blast of fire against the back of the creature, making it roar in pain and anger, the sound nearly deafening Chilchuck in the small space. The insect-like plating on the antlion's back shielded it from the worst of the blast, though much of the patches of fur were burned off. Instead of turning around, as expected, the antlion instead climbed forwards up on top of the rocks that Chilchuck was hiding between and using it's six legs, the huge thing scurried around faster than seemed possible to then charge at where Marcille was preparing another fireball.
While she looked terrified, she held still, letting the beast rush her, and the moment it was about to reach her, both Senshi and Laois attacked from the sides, Senshi managing to cut off the claws from one of the front legs, and while Laois' strike to the neck didn't sever it, it certainly caused some damage as there was a gush of green blood as the beast roared.
The beast then backed up a few steps, letting out a combination of a hiss and a growl, as if testing it's next move, but a sudden arrow from the side slammed into it's right cheek, just under the glittering eye, making it roar and rear up, waving four legs in the air viciously while it balanced on the last pair.
Chilchuck cursed that he had missed his shot, hurrying to another hiding spot, getting himself closer to the wall, but then jerked as the rock he had leaned back against depressed at his touch.
A trap!
Before he could jump clear, a cold liquid sprayed from the wall against the back of his neck, trickling down his clothes. Jumping and cursing as he tried to wipe the liquid off, his mind immediately leaping to the thought that it his was acid or boiling oil of some kind, Chilchuck wasn't aware of something else crawling out of the hole that the first antlion had erupted from, drawn by it's pained cries.
Overcome by a wave of dizziness, Chilchuck struggled to stay upright, not wanting to faint and make himself an easy target. That would complicate the fight, and the best he could do was stay out of it and let the fighters fight! He struggled, a hand on the wall, the other to his forehead, his bow dropping to the ground as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight the waves of dizziness.
He could feel the wall slipping under his hand, and it was like the ground was shifting and heaving under his feet, making him constantly shift his position. But he focused on that, focused on keeping his feet, noting that the dizziness was already starting to pass. Just a few seconds more, and he could get back into the fight, or hide, depending on what the trap had done to him.
In less than a few seconds, Chilchuck felt well enough to open his eyes, looking around to get a grasp on the situation. There was a wooden pillar on it's side not far from him, but it looked as large as a boat mast, and the boulders were much larger than before. Had an upheaval from the antlion brought up old debris from other floors or had the ceiling caved in, causing something similar from floors above?
But then he noticed that there were carvings in the huge wooden pillar. Carvings that spelled out his name.
It was his bow. He had to be only about 4 inches tall!
Chilchuck's eyes widened as he quickly grasped the situation, realizing that the trap had shrunk him. This was a trap he had read about, but never encountered personally, as shrinking potions were insanely rare and hard to create reliably, so weren't stuck into a trap, instead being used in direct combat or stealth missions.
Suddenly Chilchuck wasn't able to think any further as a large paw slammed down into the ground next to him, jolting his bow to the side. The paw was large to Chilchuck, but as he looked up into the young, lion cub-esque face, despite the mandibles and eyes, he knew it was an antlion cub. He was about the size of a rat to the young creature, and as it hissed at him, he knew EXACTLY what was on it's mind, and he bolted, cursing loudly, the cub squalling as it gave chase.
Laois held his sword at the ready, the antlion backing up a bit as it shifted it's gaze between him, Senshi and Marcille. It tried to lunge for Marcille, but another small fireball against it's legs made it rethink it's choice.
Just then, Laois saw another streak of blond fur and scales, and on the side, saw an antlion cub chasing after something small. At first, the man stared, not believing what he was seeing, but when the recognition clicked, he lunged after the smaller creature, shouting to the two confused others, "Keep it distracted!"
He chased after the small cub, seeing Chilchuck's small form very nimbly dodging under and around rocks to avoid the swipes, but he was clearly getting tired. Laois' heart skipped a beat as Chilchuck fell and the cub pounced, claws and mandibles at the ready, snatching up the small man in it's lion-jaws, and thankfully not spearing with him with sharp-tipped mandibles. He wasn't killed, as was evident by his screams and wriggles, but Laois knew he had to act fast.
Laois arrived in time to grab at the cub's scruff, barely able to get a grip thanks to the scale plating, and yanked it into the air. This caused it to yelp and drop Chilchuck, who scrambled to hide behind a bit of rubble, and seeing this, Laois was able to turn and throw the cub to the side.
The cub screeched in surprise at all this, rolled, but then jumped back to it's many feet, glaring at him, puffing up while spitting and hissing. Laois glared back at it and inhaling deeply, hissed right back, arching his shoulders and back, adding a few spits of his own. The cub hesitated, seeming confused, but as Laois hissed again, it turned tail and ran.
Laois turned to Chilchuck, kneeling beside his little form, saying to the stunned-looking form, "Wow! I had no idea this dungeons had shrinking potion traps! I heard those were super, super rare because of how hard it is to get the materials for the potion and--"
Another roar, a slightly less echoy one, sounded, out and both Laois and Chilchuck turned to see the cub had returned, and there was a VERY angry antlioness behind it, snarling as it then leapt at them.
There was a single moment for Laois to act, his mind spinning, and in that second, he lunged for Chilchuck.
Chilchuck was filled with a mixture of relief that Laois had somehow detected him and saved him from the cub, terror at the new dangerous of the antlioness, and a deep-seated fear at not only his situation, but the way that Laois looked at him. There was a shine in his eyes that the small half-foot had seen too many times now, and as Laois lunged at him, he fell backwards in a vain attempt to get away, snapping out without thinking, "No! No, BAD! Laois, BAD IDEA!" but before he could fight it, the huge man had grabbed him and stuffed him into his mouth.
Laois leapt to the side as the antlioness pounced onto the floor, rolling and getting to his feet, brandishing his sword as the creature whirled back around towards him, snarling. He could feel his mouth was totally full with Chilchuck crammed in there, the small man forced to be curled up. He was squirming and shouting at him, probably upset, but Laois ignored him, blocking a swipe from the antlioness. He wanted to reassure him, wanted to explain that it was just for a small while and that he'd be fine. He was just trying to save him! He would apologize as much as he wanted afterwards. If only he'd stop squirming! That was so distractin--
A bite on his arm caught him off-guard, and he grabbed for the antlion cub who had attacked him, scruffing it and tossing it to the side again before blocking another attack by the antlioness.
Laois bared his teeth at the two creatures, but it wasn't a gesture of intimidation. He had to BREATHE, and he just hoped that Chilchuck would cooperate for a little bit for him to finish the fight.
It was hot and sticky and slimy and Chilchuck felt even worse than he had when the frog had almost eaten him. This was Laois, someone he KNEW, and he shuddered as he thrashed again, unable to really process what was going on. This was disgusting! He had to get OUT of here, and then he would beat Laois into a pulp. How he would do that, given his current size, was not something he bothered trying to answer, and just focused his disgust and annoyance into rage, beating at the tongue and teeth in an attempt to get Laois to open his jaws.
He could see, thanks to the man's lips being out of the way as he bared his teeth, and while the air rushing back and forth over Chilchuck's form was helpful to keep the intense heat at bay, it was another reminder of where he was, and as a result, he hated it by default, trying again to kick, his boot thumping against the teeth.
He was jolted suddenly to the side as Laois let out a muffled shout, the noise unbearably loud to his small, hypersensitive ears, making Chilchuck cover them in shock. He opened and eye and froze as through a gap between the teeth, he could see the antlioness was snarling, and there was blood on it's fangs.
The little half-foot felt a cold feeling crawl up his spine despite the intense heat. Was he distracting Laois, and thus, making him unable to defend himself?! Had he indirectly caused that injury?!
Making a quick choice, Chilchuck grimaced, but drew in his limbs and curled up tightly.
The effect was immediately, as he felt Laois' jaw tighten around him, holding him firmly [yet surprisingly gently] in place, and he felt it as the man surged back into battle, more confident than before.
With Chilchuck safe, Laois swung confidently, not having to worry about the other man, parrying the antlioness' paw swipe and kicking the cub out of the way when it tried to gnaw on his boots with it's sharp mandibles. Meanwhile, Senshi and Marcille had the antlion outnumbered, the creature now missing two legs and most of it's fur scorched off. It growled at them again, but after another swipe at Senshi got it's claw chopped off by the axe, it seemed to think that this meal was far too troublesome. It backed up, hissing and chittering in a very insect-like fashion. That must have been a signal, because the antlioness also stopped its attacks and backed off, both of them slowly retreating backwards into the large hole in the ground they had come from, hissing and growling as they did so.
While things seemed to have calmed down, Laois heard a rock tumble from behind and turned to see the antlion cub flying in the air towards him, having leapt off a bit of stone. The cub smashed into his head, but instead of attacking, it only used him as a stepping stone to leap after the two adults, disappearing from view down the hole after them.
Laois would normally have wanted to peer into the hole after them to see them one last time and add to his book, but was currently coughing and hacking as the jolt from the cub had knocked him off balance, tumbling him to the floor. Instead of getting up though, he realized with a chill that the tumble had caused him to swallow reflexively. Chilchuck's small form had been crammed backwards by the action, blocking his airways, making him swallow reflexively.
While there was a primal feeling of relief as the blockage slid down and out of the way, allowing him to breathe, Laois felt a shudder go through him, gasping out, “Marcille... Marcille!”
Her face popped into view above him, asking quickly, "I'm here, where are you injur--?"
But before she even finished, Laois burst out, "Cast an overall protection spell!"
The mage looked confused, asking, "Wha--Over WHAT?"
"ALL OF ME!" the man shouted desperately. "INSIDE AND OUT! HURRY!"
Though still baffled, Marcille did as asked, saying, "Okay, okay! Hang on..." and focusing, her staff glowing moments later.
Meanwhile, Senshi was walking over to the debris where Chilchuck had vanished earlier, calling out, "It's over, Chilchuck, come on out."
Laois felt a twinge of both embarrassment and concern, knowing that Senshi wouldn't get a reply and that would make the dwarf worried. But before he had much longer to think on this, the pain in his arm faded as Marcille stated, "It's done."
"Oh, thank goodness..." The man let himself relax on the floor, able to feel that the squirms from within were calmer than before, letting him know his plan had worked.
This calm was quickly ruined as Senshi came over, saying, "I can't find Chilchuck anywhere!"
Marcille looked horrified. "Oh no, did one of those antlions get him!?" and started to head towards the hole the beasts had emerged from, Senshi following and starting to take out his axe again.
Laois, knowing it was better that they NOT antagonize the creatures anymore, shouted quickly, "No! No, he's fine!" When the other two turned to him, Senshi asking, "How do you know?", Laois blushed a bit, sitting up as he said, "Well... I have good news, bad news... and worse news."
Marcille looked exasperated, pleading, "Oh good news, please, I can't stand anymore bad news right now..."
Nodding, Laois then smiled. "Good news is that Chilchuck is safe and unharmed..."
Both of the others nodded in relief at this, their shoulders drooping and their respective weapons lowered. But as the silence dragged on a bit, Senshi ventured, "...and the bad?"
Laois winced a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well... He tripped a trap that made him super tiny, and he got attacked by the antlion cub."
Marcille's face fell. "Oh no!"
"Is he all right?" Senshi added worriedly.
"He is!" Laois replied quickly, reassuring them. "He's fine... I got him."
There was a further uncomfortable silence as it dawned on the other two that they were missing something very important, and Marcille spoke up, asking hesitantly, "...got him... where?"
Laois looked uncomfortable for a moment, partially because of how Marcille and Senshi were staring at him, but also because from within, he felt a few firm kicks from Chilchuck, who was clearly putting in his 2 cents on the whole situation. Laois then gave the two a crooked smile. "Um... Remember that WORSE news I mentioned?"
Chilchuck scowled, massaging his temples as he distantly heard Marcille freaking out, her shrill "What do you mean, 'FINE'?!" reaching him even through the gurgles and heartbeats as the mage screamed at Laois for what he had done, and on the side, Senshi was trying to ask if Laois himself was all right, citing his wound.
The small half-foot huffed as he lay on the soft flesh, his mind whirling.
It had terrified him when Laois had fallen, feeling himself get crammed backwards into the hot and tight muscular tube, knowing what awaited him. While he himself had never been eaten in a dungeon, he had heard the horror stories of adventurers who had, and had been cut out to be revived before their bodies had been fully digested.
Thankfully, when he had eventually been crushed into the small, dark chamber, he was glad to notice there was no pool of corrosive liquids awaiting him. It had been damp, of course, but there hadn't been any instantaneous melting. Instead, while he had squirmed himself to be upright, having come in head-first, he found the slime was slippery, almost like wet soap, and that actually helped him to move around to curl up more comfortably. The belly was a bit larger than he was, so he wasn't overly stretching it, but he wasn't exactly given a lot of room either.
There had been a moment of fear when Chilchuck had begun to feel hot, itchy tingles between his fingers, but thankfully, Laois' quick thinking with Marcille's spell had soothed the burns and he hadn't felt anything since.
As it was, the small man huffed as he crossed his arms, glaring upwards. He was glad Laois had protected him from the antlions, but did he have to do it like THIS?
He was going to have nightmares about this for MONTHS.
Laois held up his hands as Marcille whacked him over the head with her staff, protesting, "Look, I'm sorry, but I had no choice!"
But the mage would not be placated, shouting between smacks, "No choice?! You had plenty of choices! In your armor? In your collar? Just put to the side between some rocks?"
Laois tried to turn away from her. "Marcille, you don't und--" Another smack got him right on his injured arm, which wasn't that painful, but it did sting. "OW! Marcille!"
"LET HIM OUT RIGHT NOW!" she all but screeched.
The man tried to explain, saying, "But that's a bad ide-" Another whack. "OW!"
The next time the staff came down, there was a thump as it instead hit Senshi's axe handle. Marcille paused, confused, and Senshi lowered his weapon, saying calmly, "Enough. Let him explain." He withdrew to let Laois sit up, asking, "Laois, why NOT let him out?" He tilted his head. "CAN you let him out?"
The man looked relived at this reprieve and opened his mouth, but the moment he tried to speak, Marcille let out a groan. "I don't care for his reasoning!" She crossed her arms, looking huffy. "That was barbaric, let him out!"
"But, the antlions--" Laois began.
"ARE GONE!" she interrupted. She hefted her staff warningly again. "Get him out!"
Laois held his hands up again when threatened, saying, "Okay! Okay..."
There then followed an awkward moment where Laois got to all fours, staring down at the ground. There was silence for a while as Laois looked focused, but then the man coughed and there was the sound of him heaving. But as nothing came of it, Marcille then asked, "Well?"
Laois kept staring at the ground, his face blushing. "I... I'm fine.. but he's..." He looked embarrassed "He's kinda big... It's hard to... get him out..."
While she looked border-line panicked, Marcille tried to put on a tough face, reasoning, "You got him DOWN, didn't you?"
Laois gave her a confused look, as if he couldn't understand her inability to grasp the issue. "Well, swallowing is easier than vomiting, isn't it?"
Marcille looked disgusted, turning green around the edges as she turned away, whining, "Ugh, don't talk like that, I'm going to be sick..."
"You think I feel any better?!" Chilchuck hollered from where he was, lying on his side and soaking with slime and liquids. Laois' movements had sloshed the little man around in the small chamber, and he was now on his side, squirming a bit to try and orient himself, scowling and just irritated and angry and upset at the whole situation.
When Laois had heaved to try and get him out, it had felt like the stomach had collapsed inwards, crushing Chilchuck in place and squeezing tightly. It hadn't hurt him, but he hadn't been able to move, much less escape. He hadn't been able to figure out which direction to move, and he felt overloaded with the excessive noise of the arguing outside in addition to Laois' heart rate and breathing going faster from being stressed.
It made Chilchuck want to just cover his ears and curl up in a ball to escape it all and have a moment to calm down and think.
He jolted as he was given a small nudge, thinking it was the muscles flexing around him, but as there was another intentional push, he shifted in place, curious. He then glared as he heard Senshi's voice come through the flesh more clearly, the dwarf clearly having leaned in to speak. "Chilchuck?"
"What." the little man glared, and from his tone it was clear it hadn't been a question. More a statement of irritation.
But Senshi was unperturbed by his tone and instructed firmly, but gently, "Stick your hands up and push those through the ring of muscle first. It'll agitate him and help you slim down in order to get out."
Though he scowled and huffed and grumbled, Chilchuck did as proposed, bracing himself with his feet the best he could and then putting his hands together. He then pushed them against the indent in the ceiling, feeling the powerful muscles resist him at first. But then came another heave from Laois, and when the stomach contracted this time, Chilchuck was surprised at how easily his hands were drawn up through the opening. There was a slight moment of panic when he felt his hands get STUCK there, but another heave, and he was pushed up into the tight tunnel, grimacing and muttering curses under his breath, but overall, trying to make it as smooth as possible, to avoid irritating Laois and causing him to swallow again.
It was tight and he hated how he was crushed and kneaded at, unable to tell if he was moving at all anymore. He could sense the body shifting and flexing around him, but he had lost all sense of direction. He couldn't even use the heartbeats as a point of reference as all he could hear was Laois coughing and breathing so very heavily.
There was a sudden burst of light, and Chilchuck winced, reflexively closing his eyes, but he was able to sense a cold chill on his fingers, noting that they felt exposed to the air--
Suddenly, Chilchuck was falling.
Laois jolted as he felt something small and warm thump into his cupped hands, having been ready to catch the little man, shuddering a bit as he spit to the side to clear out his mouth. He looked into his hands, but gave a huge relieved sigh as Chilchuck sat up with a cough, now groaning as he tried [futilely] to wipe himself clean. As Senshi handed him a spare bit of clean cloth and Laois began to help Chilchuck get clean, Marcille was on the side, groaning, "Ohhhh that's gross..."
The tiny man spun to face her, his hair plastered to his head by slime, his clothes soaked and gooey, shouting out in a surprisingly loud voice for his size, "YOU'RE GROSSED OUT?!”
There was an embarrassed silence from the mage as Laois worked to dry Chilchuck off, Senshi asking in curiosity, "How did he even...?"
"It was a potion in a trap." Chilchuck stated simply, using a corner of the cloth to clean his ears.
While he worked on that, Laois looked up. "Marcille, can you use your magic to fix him?"
Seeming disgusted to even be remotely involved in the whole process, Marcille took a deep breath and leaned forwards, holding the end of her staff over Laois' cupped hands. "Just... Just hold still..." The end of the staff glowed with a soft green light and they all waited tensely.
Chilchuck, for his part, felt nothing as the mage examined him, and just sat there, cold and still a little slimy, waiting anxiously. The seconds dragged on a bit as Marcille looked slightly strained, and Chilchuck found himself wondering how much magic she had used during the fight. He hadn't exactly been paying attention, after all! He hoped she had enough mana left to help him!
With a sudden exhale like she had just come up from underwater, Marcille removed her staff to lean on it heavily, gasping out, "I... I can't reverse it--"
“I'M STUCK LIKE THIS?!" Chilchuck screamed out, interrupting her, scrabbling in Laois' hands like he planned to jump out and attack the mage.
While the tallman fought to keep Chilchuck in place, Marcille was sitting down, waving her hand as she fought to speak up and reassure him, "NO, no!" She flumped down, clearly tired, and then when Chilchuck paused for a moment to listen, she clarified, "No, I can't reverse it WITH MAGIC. With a spell.” The others paused, surprised by this, and she explained, “The magic in the potion wasn't permanent. It will wear off on it's own in about a day."
Laois had a curious sensation as Chilchuck flopped backward limply into his palms, clearly relieved. The little half-foot lay there, rubbing at closed eyes as he grumbled out, “Okay, whatever. I'll wait it out. How about we get going in the meanwhile? I don't want to be here around those things!”
While the others were nodding, Laois remarked, “We'll need to clear the doorway first.”
They all looked over to the exit of the chamber and all froze in shock to see it was blocked by various large boulders, and a hole in the ceiling revealed their origin. “When did THAT happen?” Chilchuck asked in surprise.
Walking over to it, Senshi rubbing a finger on a black mark on one of the boulders and then sniffed it, commenting to the others, “It's burnt. These are scorch marks.”
All eyes turned to Marcille, who froze up, clutching her staff, “Oh that... That...” While Chilchuck looked fit to burst, the mage sighed heavily. “I guess one of my fireballs ricocheted and I didn't notice... Sorry...” she apologized.
While she spoke, Senshi was still examining the boulders, and without warning anyone, he grabbed one of them, and tugged it loose. This resulted in a small avalanche of stones, pinning the dwarf's hand under one of the heavy stones.
Marcille and Laois leapt up [Chilchuck yelping at the sudden rise], Laois calling out in worry, “Senshi!”, with Marcille adding in horror, “Your hand!”
But the dwarf surprised them both by simply yanking his hand out from under the boulder. It caused a slight shift in the stones, but not another serious rockfall, and he flexed his hand easily, showing them he was unharmed. “I'm all right, nothing's broken.”
Relieved, everyone sat down again, Chilchuck grumbling at Laois, “Don't DO that! I felt my stomach drop into my shoes!”
“Sorry...” Laois then sighed, continuing, “That proves that moving them by hand won't happen. Too unstable.” He looked over. “Marcille, can you use your magic to move them out of the way?”
She started to nod, hefting her staff, but as it began to glow, her fatigue from earlier came again, making her head spin and she quickly sat down again, gasping out as the glow faded and she fought the dizziness, “M-My m-mana's... a bit l-low...” She waved a hand. “I'm f-fine... I'm fine... I just need a rest and some food.”
Laois nodded and spoke up, stating, “Well, nothing for it.” He rested his hands with Chilchuck in his lap, saying aloud to everyone, “We eat, we rest, you recharge your mana, and tomorrow, you clear the way, and we leave.” He looked at each one. “Fair?”
“F-Fair.” Marcille agreed.
Senshi also nodded. “Fair.”
As eyes turned on him, Chilchuck scowled, fiddling with his scarf as he groused, “Ugh, this may be the worst dungeon expedition I have EVER been on.” He then let out a huff, agreeing finally, “Fair...”
With that decided, they settled to make camp, with Senshi working on a stew with their dried supplies. Marcille worked on cleaning and repairing her staff while Laois at first helped Senshi with the food prep, but when that was done and they just needed to wait, he instead settled for cleaning and tending to his own armor and equipment.
During this time, Chilchuck, who had NO desire to be on the floor, had opted to instead be on the tallman's shoulder, holding onto a fistful of the short hair to keep himself anchored, riding him around quietly as he went about his chores.
They were silent for a while as Laois worked on his sword, Chilchuck sitting comfortably on his shoulder and watching. After a time, Chilchuck started to toy a little with his scarf, and then said, "Hey... Laois?"
The man didn't look at him, but his eyebrows raised for a moment as he murmured, "Hmm?" to show he was listening as he worked.
The little half-foot huffed a moment, and then said, "Thanks... for earlier." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I... I could have been killed." He then shivered, moving to hug himself and rub his arms, looking to the side over at where the mage worked quietly on her staff. "And... I don't know if Marcille could have revived me... like THIS."
Laois smiled as he worked, his eyes flicking to look at Chilchuck, replying with a genuine smile. "You're welcome..." He focused on his sword again as Chilchuck relaxed a bit before the man added casually, "And I enjoyed it, so it's all right."
Chilchuck went dead still as he heard this, glaring at Laois with an air of both disbelief and seething rage. "You... You WHAT?" he all but hissed out as he slowly stood up on the shoulder.
Unaware of the tiny rage being directed at him, Laois lifted his sword, checking the straightness of the edge before he resumed sharpening it, saying simply, "Well, obviously, not the fight nor the injuries." He shrugged gently, careful not to dislodge Chilchuck, adding, "I don't think anyone enjoys tha--"
He winced as he got a few well-placed little kicks against his ear, Chilchuck shouting, "NOT WHAT I MEANT!" As the large head turned towards him, Chilchuck looked angry, repeated in confusion, "You... ENJOYED eating me?"
"Well..." Laois paused a moment, clearly couching his response before saying with a small smile,"Not in a FOOD way, but in a... fascination way, I guess?"
For a moment Chilchuck looked ready to burst with rage, little fists clenched. But as Laois kept looking at him in a calm and genuine way, Chilchuck eventually took a deep breath, let it out, and muttered, "Oh, I'm going to regret this..." He then moved to sit down again, settling on the shoulder. As Laois eyed him curiously, Chilchuck waved a hand. "Go on. Explain. I'm listening." He then huffed as he leaned back on his hands, grousing, "It's not like I can do much else..."
Laois looked delighted and straightened up a bit, careful not to dislodge the little man, asking in a clearly excited tone, “Really?”
Chilchuck sighed ruefully and nodded, adding, “Just don't get too... Laois-y about it.” He scowled. “It's still not seen as NORMAL to eat monsters, even if you DO like and respect them.”
Nodding at this, Laois muttered, “Right... Um...” He looked downwards for a moment, clearly organizing his words into an 'acceptable' format, pinching at his chin as he thought. He finally lifted his head saying, “Well... The texture was interesting. It's clothing, obviously, which masked a lot of things, but I could feel you moving, and that was really unlike anything I've ever felt before! It's like tickles in your mouth, and I was surprised at how sensitive my tongue was. I could obviously feel you kicking, but I could even feel each finger as you tried to get handholds! It was really awing and incredible, to feel how alive and mobile you were. I had no idea how it would feel, so it really caught me off-guard. But I could also tell while you were moving that you were scared, so I DID try to keep you centered and away from the teeth." He looked at Chilchuck a little remorsefully at this, showing he did regret scaring him, and the little man nodded, showing he understood. Laois then continued, adding in a disappointed tone, "And because of the clothing, I couldn't taste you very well."
An involuntary shudder ran up Chilchuck's back at those words, making him hug himself and rub his arms, moaning out quietly, "Ugh... Laois..." He didn't try to stop the man though, and Laois kept right on talking, getting more passionate as he did so.
"I could taste some things though!” Laois insisted. “There was dust, obviously, and a bit of salt, which I would assume was sweat, but... otherwise, not much else, which I..." Here he stopped, eyeing Chilchuck, clearly fighting to find the right words.
Sighing heavily, Chilchuck waved a hand to give him permission, saying with a defeated air, “Go on.”
Laois paused a moment, thinking it over, and eventually admitted with a shy smile, “...which I found kinda disappointing, to be honest.”
While he was expecting that reaction, it was the tone that got Chilchuck's attention. It wasn't the borderline fanatic 'I really wanted to try to eat that monster!' disappointment he was used to when the tallman was faced with some dungeon creature. This sounded genuine, and he raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Disappointing, huh?”
The tallman went quiet, mulling over his words a bit before he looked at Chilchuck again, admitting, “You're a really good friend, Chilchuck, and I really respect your skills, so I wanted to appreciate your taste while I could. It's who you are, it's a culmination of... of you!” He paused, clearly trying to find a way to explain this. “It's kind of like when you graze sheep in meadows by the ocean, and they taste sea-salty when you cook them later. But you've obviously been WAY more places than just beside the sea! You've seen dungeons and villages and towns and places I never have. It's like a record of your life, and your experiences, and...” He sighed a bit, raising a hand up to scratch at his ear a bit, admitting quietly, “...and I do regret that it was dangerous at the time, and that I didn't get time to really taste you and experience and appreciate that."
When Laois fell silent, Chilchuck mused all this over. He could tell from his tone Laois was being genuine and not mocking him, and while it was nice to be appreciated for what felt like one of the rare times in his life, Chilchuck still felt a bit weirded out by the manner it was being done. He stood up on the man's shoulder, seeing Laois eyeing him nervously, scared of having offended him, but Chilchuck just came over and gave the large ear a small punch, saying with a joking tone, "You're a piece of work, you know that?"
There was a rumbling chuckle as the large man asked, “Am I getting too... Laois-y?”
“A little, but not too much.” Chilchuck admitted, moving to sit down again. “This is just a lot for me to deal with.” There followed a period of silence for a bit while Laois continued to work on his sword before Chilchuck spoke up again. “You consider me your friend?”
“Of course I do.” came the immediate answer, as if he were surprised the question were even being asked. The man then added with a genuine smile, “You can't really get through a dungeon if you don't trust the people you're traveling with!”
There was another moment of silence as Chilchuck bit his tongue, recalling the all-too-many times he had been part of every-man-for-himself parties who were just dungeon crawling for the gold and loot. He decided against talking about this though and just sighed ruefully, giving the man a tired smile. “You have such a way of thinking, Laois...”
Laois beamed at this praise, saying happily, “Thank you.”
There followed a period of silence as Laois worked on his armor a bit more, now cleaning off the glove that had been bitten. When the antlioness had bitten him on the arm before, the teeth and mandibles hadn't pierced anything, but had dented the metal inwards, causing it to cut his arm. Nothing too serious, but he had bled enough for it to be visible. Now though, the bleeding was totally stopped, and he worked with a small hammer to work the dent out, cleaning the metal as he worked. He noticed he could feel it as Chilchuck sat on his shoulder, feel the small point of his warmth. But as he worked, he paused as he felt Chilchuck shiver, but this time, since they weren't talking about anything, he had to assume it was from the cold. Laois knew what he could offer the little man, and admittedly there was a small bit of selfish curiosity involved, but in all genuine honesty, Laois did want to protect the little half-foot.
He grabbed for the other glove, and turned his head a little, asking, “Hey... Chilchuck... Are you cold?”
Without thinking, Chilchuck nodded, shifting in place to come and sit closer against Laois' neck, admitting, “A little, yeah, but I'll be fine.”
Weighing it in his mind, Laois then hesitantly started, “If you wanted...” He paused again, and as Chilchuck looked at him curiously, Laois looked down at the glove he was now cleaning, suggesting as casually as he could, “...you could go back in?” He could sense more than see Chilchuck glowering. “It was warm in there, wasn't it?” the tallman asked as innocently as he could.
He wasn't surprised as Chilchuck got up and gave him a light kick to the ear. “Laois. NO."
“I'm just saying!" He winced at the tiny kick, but did nothing to fight back, only adding, "With the spell Marcille put on you, you'd still be safe." He then blinked as something occurred to him. "Come to think of it... If you went back inside, you'd be the safest out of all four of us! Protected physically AND magically, warm, plenty of food and drink, a safe place to rest and really regain your strength...”
His smile was broader now, finding the idea so amazing and fascinating, but Chilchuck was sighing, rubbing at his temples. “Laois. No." he repeated, but not as vehemently as before. The little man sighed, saying in as gentle and genuinely understanding tone as he could, "No thank you. I get you're being nice, but no thank you."
Not pleased with this answer, as he was concerned, Laois protested a little, “But the antlions--”
Chilchuck was glaring at him now, his arms crossed. “Laois.” he grumbled warningly.
The tallman sighed and lifted a hand in surrender, saying, “Okay, okay.” As Chilchuck nodded, he couldn't help but add, “But... The offer's there.”
With another heavy little sigh, Chilchuck had the air of a patient parent as he just said, “Yeah. Thanks, Laois...”
As the stew neared it's completion and Senshi started to work on getting bowls ready, Laois had finished checking the straps of his armor and needed to put it back on. He lifted his hand to his shoulder, saying, “One moment, Chilchuck. Hop on? I just need to put my armor back on, and don't want to squish you.”
“Sure.” The little man nodded and stepped into Laois' hand without worry, holding onto his thumb to keep his balance as he was moved down to the ground for a moment. He watched in awe as Laois then unhooked the straps and latches and then worked to get the metallic items back in place. For Chilchuck, it was a bit awing to see him moving something 'so large' around so easily, even though he knew it was just a trick of perspective.
He was so focused on this that for a moment, he missed the small, tan fur- and scale-covered form that was creeping closer under the cover of the darkness around their fire. As Laois clipped his armor back into place, with a chittering yowl, the antlion cub from before leapt into their camp, clearly going after Chilchuck.
For a split second, Chilchuck was frozen, shocked, but Laois' loud, “RUN!” jolted him free, and the little half-foot bolted for the nearest shelter, Laois' rucksack, and leapt inside.
“WHAT IS THAT?” came Marcille's confused shout as Laois was now chasing the cub around their camp.
Senshi was trying to protect their food as Laois and the cub jumped and leapt around him, Laois shouting at the creature, “Get outta here!” But then in a horrifying moment, the cub's nose twitched, and it made a beeline for his pack, diving at it. Laois reached it as it was withdrawing it's jaws from the sack, revealing it had gotten a squalling and screaming Chilchuck by the leg.
“CHIL!” Laois leapt at the cub, grabbing one of it's many legs before it escaped and yanked hard, pulling the cub off it's feet into the air. As it yowled in shock, Chilchuck went flying in the air, but Laois' hand shot up and caught him before he hit the ground.
While he held the cub with one hand away from his body, he eyed the little form, who was gasping out, “I'm okay, I'm okay!”
Nodding, Laois then glared at the cub, hissing and spitting back at it like he had before, noting it tucking back it's ears and looking upset. He then carried it to the edge of the campfire's light and dropped it, shouting, “GET! SCAT!”
“JUMP!” came Marcille's sudden scream from behind, and without thinking, Laois did as told, leaping backwards...
...as the elongated jaws of the adult antlion snapped shut inches from his nose.
Landing heavily on the ground, Laois shouted as the cub pounced on him again, focusing on his hand with Chilchuck. Rolling to his front and tucking Chilchuck under him to protect him, he was barely aware of Marcille asking in shock, “Where did HE come from?!” in regards to the larger antlion.
While the mage's staff glowed threateningly, the adult antlion stayed back, out of the firelight, with only the cub fighting them. Senshi approached Laois as the small cub kept scratching and clawing, trying to get him to roll over, but thanks to Laois having put his armor back on, nothing was injured. The cub's claws scraped and screeched on the metal, but no flesh was torn, so Laois was able to fully focus on keeping his hands cupped around Chilchuck, and keeping said-hands under him and out of the cub's reach. Out of the corner of his eye, Laois noticed the antlioness was also present, yet both adult antlions were just watching from the darkness, and while he ducked his head as his ear was bitten at, he called out, “Don't kill him, Senshi!” The dwarf paused, and Laois added, “Just hit him on the nose!”
Marcille also picked up on the adults staying back, murmuring, “They're not attacking... Why?”
Senshi turned his axe around and used the wooden butt of the weapon to bonk the cub hard on the nose, clearly not trying to break anything, just to discourage him. As the cub stopped and instead stood on Laois' back, puffed up and hissing and chittering and spitting while swatting at Senshi, Laois stayed still, saying, “Again!”
Doing as told, Senshi gave him another whack on the nose, adding firmly, “Get.”
The cub hissed again, but with one more persuading bonk, it finally gave up, jumping down from Laois' back and into the darkness to rejoin the adults. The male growled low at them while the antlioness licked and checked the cub over, and then the three of them walked off into the darkness.
After a moment, Senshi lowered his axe, commenting, “Okay... Okay, they're gone...”
Marcille was already turning to Laois, asking in horror, “Chilchuck?!” But then heaved a sigh of relief as the tallman straightened up, still holding his cupped hands to his chest, Chilchuck's little head poking out upon hearing his name. The elf sighed heavily, breathing out, “Oh good...”
“What happened?!” Chilchuck asked, looking up at Laois for an explanation, unaware of Marcille and Senshi doing the same.
Laois looked at the darkness where the antlions had gone, saying, “The books says that antlions hunt with smell. Their saliva has a certain scent we can't really detect, but they use it to mark and track prey, so if they bite one, but it gets away, they can keep chasing it until it's exhausted.” He looked down at the little man in his hands. “The cub went after Chilchuck and got him in his mouth. That must have been enough to mark him, so the antlions are trying to focus on the 'weakest' prey.”
Chilchuck's chest swelled indignantly as he protested, “WEAKEST?!”
“I meant your size, not that YOU'RE weak.” Laois clarified factually, calming him down. He then added, “They'll keep track of you until we leave their territory.”
The little man pondered this a moment, but then saw the small bite on Laois' ear, and recalled the bite on the man's arm, asking, “And why don't they go after YOU? They bit you too.”
Laois shook his head as he moved back closer to the fire. “I'm too big, and they know I can fight back.” He kept holding Chilchuck with one hand, but gestured with his other to the other two in their party. “We 'big ones' wounded them, so they want something easier.” He then shrugged. “Plus that little guy's just a baby. He's still learning. That's why the parents didn't attack just now. They're letting him learn to hunt with a safer prey.”
Everyone took a moment to process all this, Chilchuck finally speaking up with a clear note of fatigue and worry, “So... All night...?”
Laois nodded. “It'll keep coming back until we leave their territory.”
More silence as they considered this, no one pleased at the idea of having those creatures stalking them all night, and it was Senshi who stood up, breaking the silence by going to the cooking pan, asking, “Well, how about we calm down and have some dinner, at least? We can worry more about all that after.”
Everyone unanimously agreed, moving around and near the pot and waiting their turns as Senshi got out the bowls and finished stirring the stew.
A soft hiss from the shadows got their attention, seeing the cub nearby yet again, with the glowing eyes of the adults not far behind.
Laois frowned, and it was Marcille who sprang to her feet, shaking her staff at it. “HEY! Heyhey! Get!” The cub jumped at her sudden movement, hissing at her, and the elf scoffed, snapping back, “Oh, don't you hiss at me, you scaly abomination!”
As the cub ran off and the adults slunk back into the darkness, Laois protested quietly, “He's not an abomination. He's just a baby.”
“I don't care what he is.” the elf argued, sitting down huffily. “I don't want to see him anymore, or his parents!”
“Finally we agree on something.” Chilchuck groused, causing Senshi to chuckle softly as he worked on serving everyone some dinner.
As the food was served, Laois was careful to offer spoonfuls to Chilchuck as he ate, allowing the little man to eat what he wanted before eating a bit himself, and the group was silent for a bit as everyone calmed down after the stressful day. After a while of this, Chilchuck heard a distant growl and looked up, seeing the antlion's glittering eyes glow from the darkness. It didn't approach, and vanished quickly, but it still made Chilchuck shudder. He then thought for a while, asking finally, “Laois?”
The man was using his spoon to cut a bit of vegetable into smaller pieces, asking absently, “Yeah, what is it, Chilchuck?”
Fiddling with his scarf, the small half-foot tensed himself, forcing out, “You said that the antlions will keep stalking us while we're here?”
“Yeah.” Laois nodded, eating more of the stew, and then getting another spoonful to offer to Chilchuck.
Taking a bit of vegetable for himself, Chilchuck pressed, “Because they can smell ME?”
“Yeah. That's what the books says, and it seems to be the case.” Laois shrugged [carefully] and took the spoon back as Chilchuck got what he wanted, and fed himself again.
Hesitating a bit more, Chilchuck then asked, “But... when I was... inside... you...” Ugh, that felt awful to say out loud, but he continued on. “...they left?”
Laois started to nod instantly, not thinking about it, but then he paused, realization dawning on him. “Oh... Now that you mention it, yeah! When you were inside, they were staying much further away. Probably because they couldn't smell you anymore.” He noticed the little man had gone still and quiet on his shoulder, and he eyed him with concern, asking softly, “Chil? You okay?”
As the silence dragged on, Laois was starting to worry if Chilchuck was sick, but as he was about to lift his hand and check on him, the little man let out a sigh, and then said quietly, “...do it.”
There was a heartbeat of time where Laois processed what he said, and when he did, his eyes lit up with hope and fascination. “You mean...?” he asked softly, seemingly unaware of how Marcille and Senshi had overheard and were looking up as well, seeming stunned.
Chilchuck groaned aloud, his head in his hands, but then lifted his head again, glowering at nothing in particular as he said, “Yeah. I hate it, and I hate this, but... If it's just for tonight, until we can leave...” He then stood up and turned to face Laois, pointing at him while saying with as threatening a face as he could manage at that size, “But you can't be WEIRD about it! Got it?” When Laois only smiled hugely, beaming, his eyes all but sparkling with delight, the little man groaned. “Ugh, I've made such a mistake...”
Marcille looked a bit upset at this, but couldn't really find a way to protest, especially after overhearing the logic of keeping the antlions away and keeping the little man safe, while Senshi watched all this quietly. It was clear that neither were excited about this, but they all had done strange and uncomfortable things to stay alive in dungeons. The very meal in their hands, made of monster parts, was testament to that, so while Marcille looked a little green around the gills and Senshi seemed a tad uneasy, no one really protested.
Laois, on the other hand, looked like Christmas had come early, all but glowing with anticipation and delight, something Chilchuck did his best to ignore. The tallman put his bowl of stew down and offered a hand to the little half-foot, asking in a hesitant, but eager tone, “Uh... Chilchuck?”
“WHAT.” came the growled word as the little man got into his hand.
Laois hesitated, using his free hand to scratch at his neck, asking shyly, “Can... Can I try...?” He trailed off.
Chilchuck, with an air of thread-thin patience, grunted out, “Try WHAT, Laois?”
The man looked eager again for a moment, but then said shyly, “I... didn't get a good taste earlier...”
“Laois...” Marcille moaned from the side, frowning, but not saying anything else.
Chilchuck, now seated in the man's hand, seemed to think Laois' question over, and then surprised him by standing up. He then ordered, “Lift me to your face. Not to eat, I want to look you in the eyes.” As Laois obeyed without question, Chilchuck walked forwards until he was able to look right into the huge eyes, saying in a clear, no-nonsense tone, “I want to make a deal.”
“Hmm?” Laois didn't dare to speak, worried for the little ears, but still looked excited.
Chilchuck then glared at him, saying, “If I let you do this, and you get this out of your system, I want to NEVER hear of this again. Period. If anyone asks why I was out of commission, I was knocked unconscious and paralyzed.” He then stepped forwards onto Laois' face, the man startled by this, but not moving. Chilchuck then grabbed a hank of hair and pulled himself up to be standing on his face, looking down into the eyes, making Laois 'look up' at him. Then with each word, the little half-foot used a foot to kick the big cheek. “BUT. THIS. NEVER. HAPPENED.” He glared into the huge eye. “Not a PEEP.” He then spun around, one hand still holding the hair, and using his free hand to point to the other two. “From ANY of you!”
Marcille looked affronted, asking in both disgust and shock, “Like I would tell anyone?! I'd be cast into an asylum!” She turned back to her stew, muttering, “Eating basilisks and man-eating plants alone makes me seem insane...”
Senshi was totally nonplussed, shrugging as he nodded. “I don't meet with many folks down here anyways. I won't say anything.”
As he turned back to Laois, the tallman couldn't nod [worried of knocking him loose], and just agreed, “I won't tell anyone, Chil.”
Chilchuck then paused, and pointed to the man's rucksack. “And no writing it in the book either!”
Laois openly pouted, whining out, “Aww...”
There was a moment of silence as Chilchuck glared down at Laois, as if trying to stare him into submission, before he let the hair go and dropped back down into the man's hand, sitting down and huffing in annoyance. Laois meanwhile, was all but beaming, grinning hugely as he looked down at the little man, saying excitedly, “Thanks for this, Chilchuck, I really--”
“This isn't for YOU, you weirdo!” Chilchuck snapped upwards, kicking at the man's palm. As Laois went silent, Chilchuck huffed. “I'm protecting myself, and you and them!” He waved his hands at the others, adding, “With me hidden away, the antlions won't attack us, Marcille will actually be able to rest, and we can get out of here tomorrow with no issue!” While Laois clearly saw the logic in the situation, he was still looking at Chilchuck with THAT look in this eyes, and he moaned, groaning out, “Oh alright FINE! Let's get this over with...”
While Marcille focused on her stew to avoid watching this, Chilchuck noticed that Laois was focused elsewhere, and wasn't surprised as the man asked shyly, “Uh... Chil?”
Rubbing his face with his hands to avoid exploding, Chilchuck grumbled out, “Laois, I swear--”
But Laois went ahead with his question, asking with an eager smile, “Can I put you in the stew?”
Silence reigned for a solid 5 seconds before Chilchuck looked up at the tallman, blurting out, “Youwat?”
Smiling and looking excited now, Laois explained eagerly, “Well... Senshi's taught me that while ingredients can be delicious on their own, when mixed together with other good foods, they can be even better! I told you before how I do want to be able to appreciate your taste, and while tasting you alone is an option, I know that it will be even better with other things added in.” He then used one hand to keep holding Chilchuck, while the other went and grabbed the bowl he had been given, asking earnestly, “So... Can I?”
Chilchuck's eyes were huge as he stared up at the man, stating in disbelief, “You're insane.” As Laois wilted a bit at this, Chilchuck then groaned out, “And I guess so am I...” He stood up in the man's hand, saying, “Hold still, Laois.” With an air of resigned acceptance, Chilchuck stood up in the man's hand, and when Laois brought the bowl in reach, he moved to step into the half-finished bowl, and then settled himself into the stew.
While Laois was clearly all but vibrating in delight, Chilchuck did his best to ignore that and settled into the thick stew. It reminded him of mud at first, making him feel disgusted, but after a while, he felt the warmth of it seep through his clothes and into his bones and he started to relax, letting out an unintentional little moan of delight as the chill of the past few hours faded away, showing him how very cold he had become without realizing it. Sitting on the bottom of the bowl, the stew came up to about his shoulders, and found himself slouching down on purpose to let the liquid come up to his neck, sighing.
He opened an eye as something bumped into his leg, seeing it was a chunk of vegetable matter, though he couldn't tell which one specifically because of the stew itself. He saw more chunks nearby, and while his heart skipped a beat at first, terrified as his brain warned him that being small and being in food was a BAD IDEA, he took a moment to look upwards.
Laois was staring down at him, smiling hugely, clearly eager for his meal...
...but he wasn't forcing his hand. He wasn't starting without permission. He was waiting quietly, and just letting Chilchuck relax.
Chilchuck eyed one of the chunks of food, and figuring it was meat, grabbed for it, and nibbled. His guess being correct, he settled in the stew, munching on the food, musing to himself that yes, this was scary, this was insane, this was unorthodox, this was really weird... but it was also safe.
He had been safe in Laois before, and with the spell still active, he would be safe now. It would be strange, but he would survive, and indirectly, so would the others. And it was infinitely better to do something weird and survive, than to stand on ceremony and end up dying as a result.
Sensing Laois watching him, Chilchuck called up tiredly, “Just... let me finish eating first, okay?”
“Okay!” Laois was beaming, cuddling the bowl to him as he watched the little man eating, seeing on the side that Senshi was nodding, glad to see that Chilchuck was getting the rest of his dinner as well.
Marcille, on the other hand, wasn't taking things as well, muttering to herself in nervous and high-pitched tones about how insane this was, eating her stew aggressively, clearly trying to distract herself from what was happening mere feet away from her.
No one paid her any mind though, and soon it was just the crackling of the fire making noise in the dark room, and while now and then the antlions would growl or hiss from the darkness, their eyes glittering in the shadows, none of them came back into the light. Laois had to assume it was because Chilchuck's scent was being mostly covered by the smell of the stew, confusing the antlions as the location of their prey started to disappear.
As Chilchuck ate quietly, Laois let his mind wander a bit, watching the little man. At 4 inches, he would fit easily in Laois' mouth, as he already knew he would, but maybe this time around, he would make sure that Chilchuck wasn't curled up. That had been rough on the way down, and he didn't want to injure his friend by accident. Maybe he could get him to go head or feet first. Which would give him the better opportunity to taste him? Probably feet first, Laois reasoned to himself. Chilchuck would feel more secure that way, without worrying about his head hitting anything, so he would be calmer, and thus would have a different taste. He knew all about the proven fact that animals that died while suffering tasted different than ones that didn't. He had fished several times while on his own, and had indeed noticed the taste difference between a fish he had killed instantly, and one that was delayed due to flopping out of his hands and trying to escape. The one who escape had tasted... harder, slightly more bitter almost. Not wanting to scare Chilchuck like that, he did decide on feet first, to help him relax.
His head full of these thoughts, as Chilchuck sighed and looked up, saying finally, “Laois? I'm finished...” Laois then stated without hesitation, “Feet-first will be best to prevent you from tasting bad.”
Chilchuck's face dropped into looking annoyed and tired, and with the air of a tired parent, he huffed out, “Laois, you thought to yourself again. WHAT are you talking about?”
Blinking as he realized that indeed, Chilchuck hadn't heard his inner monologue, he then explained, “I don't want to scare or hurt you, so feet-first keeps your head safe so you don't panic, so you'll taste better because you're not as stressed.”
The little half-foot sighed, rubbing his face, and while Marcille busied herself with her staff now that she was done eating, and Senshi was working to clean the pan, he grumbled out, “Okay, go ahead, Laois...”
His eyes lighting up in delight, Laois put the bowl down in his lap and reached into the stew, gently pinching Chilchuck's scruff. He lifted him into the air, making sure the little man wasn't harmed by this, and added his second hand under him as a precaution, a few drops of stew plopping into his palm, but he didn't mind. He lifted Chilchuck up to his face and gave him a huge, genuine smile. “Thanks for this, Chil... I'll enjoy it, I promise!”
Rolling his eyes, the little man just waved a hand, implying that Laois should get it over with.
Lifting him up a little bit more, Laois tipped his head back a bit, careful to open his mouth wide, not wanting to bump Chilchuck against his teeth an injure him. Gently and delicately, he lowered the little half-foot into his mouth, already shuddering a bit as he felt the little feet touch his tongue.
He felt it as Chilchuck moved a bit, the sensation alien and strange, but this time around, he allowed himself to focus on it. Cupping his tongue to allow the feet room in his mouth, so that as he lowered Chilchuck in the rest of the way, the little man wasn't crushed like the first time. This time, as Laois released his grip on the little scruff and allowed Chilchuck to rest in his mouth, while he did have to tuck up his legs a bit, Chilchuck settled quietly.
He could feel it as Chilchuck shifted a bit in place, clearly hugging himself, but he wasn't shaking or scared, like he had been before. He was instead quiet and still, breathing calmly, and Laois took the risk and shifted his tongue a little under the slight weight, giving him a light lick.
At first he felt disappointment, unable to taste anything other than the stew Chilchuck had been sitting in. But as he licked again and again, the stew was washed away and something else started to come out.
There was the aforementioned salt he had noticed before, but it was different now. It was earthier, slightly musky, but not in a negative way. It reminded him of salted and spiced meat that had been smoked and dried, and he found his mind whirling to try and explain why. Was it because of Chilchuck being near the fire, and getting the scent of the smoke overtime? Was it from the food he himself had been eating, which [aside from Senshi's help] had been dried and preserved items?
Closing his mouth slowly and carefully, feeling Chilchuck shift to allow this, Laois licked again at the small form, noting that the taste did get a little stronger. He kept trying to analyze it, trying to discover where each flavor came from, a smile on his face as he did so. This was so wonderful! How fascinating!
“Laois?” The little question from in his jaws snapped him out of it in a second, and Laois froze up. He felt Chilchuck shift, the little half-foot calling out in an calm and non-panicked manner, “Open up just a moment here?” Laois swiftly obeyed, a hand hovering near his mouth just in case, but all that happened was Chilchuck squirmed a bit in place, tucking his legs and arms in close before settling in a ball, sighing before he said, “Okay, go on...”
Laois eagerly went back to his 'meal', closing his mouth carefully around the small form and licking and gently sucking on him, exploring the taste. It didn't fade like it did for other food, and Laois leaned back against a nearby rock, looking thoughtful.
He heard another growl in the darkness, and he turned and looked, focused, and while he did see the antlion group, he noticed that the cub was walking back and forth, the little nose stuck up in the air, whining softly to itself. Even the adults seemed puzzled, sitting and lying down not too far from the cub, sniffing the air.
Smirking to himself, Laois gave Chilchuck another lick, almost mockingly, watching in triumph as the antlion turned to leave, and the antlioness came to bite the scruff of the cub and carry it off, their growls finally fading away into darkness.
“Good riddance.” Chilchuck spoke up, and Laois only now realized the little man had been peeking out through his partially opened mouth. He held still, not wanting to scare him, but Chilchuck then huffed, adding, “Okay, Laois, let me know when. I want to stretch my legs out this time. Being curled up last time almost crushed me.”
Chilchuck wasn't surprised as he was able to not only sense Laois' delight, but he was able to see the lips curl upwards into a smile from in his mouth, a surreal and bizarre sight, but the half-foot just sighed and closed his eyes, letting things happen.
While it was true a part of his mind was utterly terrified at his situation, Laois was being very gentle. The powerful muscle of the tongue was frightening as it shifted and moved him around, but never in a way that was painful or smothering. Laois was taking the time and care to be delicate with him, and Chilchuck grudgingly appreciated it.
He also hated to admit it, but he appreciated the warmth as well. While it didn't smell the greatest, he could feel the heat of Laois' mouth seeping into his bones, and unlike the stew's warmth from before, this heat wasn't fading over time. It was like being in a sauna, and Chilchuck found his body relaxing as time went on, his sore and aching muscles starting to unknot. Plus, the tongue was unintentionally massaging him as it licked and explored, soothing his back and legs amazingly.
There were also the sounds, and now that they weren't in battle and calm, the cacophony of internal sounds radiated up out of Laois were much more tolerable than before. His breathing was a loud rushing sound, of course, but more like a strong wind instead of a hurricane. The heartbeats were also elevated, excited, but not pounding in fear, and distantly, Chilchuck also heard the gurgles and groans of the man's stomach, something he wasn't thrilled about, but it didn't scare him.
He blinked as he felt another lick, but a different one than before, lifting his head, his wet hair flopping into his eyes. Feeling it again, Chilchuck shuddered a bit, knowing what Laois was telling him and sighing, he started to slowly uncurl, purposefully directing his legs backwards.
He shuddered as when his feet pushed against the throat wall, there was a loud 'gulp' noise, and he watched his feet get drawn into the fleshy tunnel. Groaning a bit to himself at how strange that looked, Chilchuck elected to keep his eyes closed as he continued uncurling, going slowly to avoid catching Laois off-guard, and otherwise letting the tallman take control of the situation.
While it felt weird to have something poking into the start of his gullet like that, Laois tolerated the odd sensation, swallowing gently in time as Chilchuck straightened out his legs, and soon they reached a point where the little legs were extended and essentially hanging down into Laois' throat, but the little half-foot's top half was still being held in the large mouth. It was much easier for Laois to handle this pose, breathing easily around this 'obstruction', which wasn't enough to block his airways.
Laois licked at the little body again, now only able to touch the top half, but he didn't mind, still focusing on the flavour, finding it to be one of the strangest he had ever eaten. Not in a negative sense, since Chilchuck actually tasted really pleasant, but it was more like it was a complicated flavour. He felt like there were layers and layers to it he couldn't understand, like trying to read a book in a language he didn't know. He could tell there was a lot here, but he just couldn't make heads or tails of it!
But he still found it fascinating nonetheless, and in the same way he would enjoy the foreign mistrals and singers at taverns, he focused more on the experience of the situation than the details, allowing himself to indulge in this weird, strange taste.
This went on for another ten minutes before Laois felt Chilchuck jerk in his mouth.
Terrified, he went still, but then he heard a soft, rueful laugh from in his mouth. “I'm all right, I'm fine. I... I dozed off just now!” The little man was laughing at himself, adding, “I can't believe I'm saying this... but go ahead, Laois.”
Chilchuck ducked his head again as he felt the mouth close properly around him, closing his eyes, shaking his head in amusement. He had dozed off! Even though he was halfway down Laois' throat, he had been put to sleep by the warmth, the calm, and the gentle kneading of the huge tongue.
This had to be the weirdest day of his LIFE!
Keeping himself relaxed, Chilchuck tried to focus on that feeling of safety as Laois flex his tongue again, and this time, with a slippery pressure, Chilchuck felt himself getting squashed backwards, and downwards.
But it wasn't as scary as last time. He was unnerved by feeling nothing under his feet, making him feel like he was falling down a well, but the walls were close and tight around him, making his descent controlled and while quick, it wasn't at any kind of breakneck speed.
And since he was extended this time around, Chilchuck found it amazing how he could easily breathe, even though he was squished from head to toe. He felt like he was in his sleeping roll with someone pressing down on him, and the sensation was so surreal and bizarre...
He could hear the overwhelming cacophony of Laois' innards far too clearly, and as he was unable to get his hands up to cover his ears, he bore with it for a bit, trying to tune out the loud heartbeat and breathing.
In only a few moments, Chilchuck was surprised as he felt a pressure at his feet, and with a slimy tumbling rush, he suddenly found himself sprawled on his side in a more open area, coughing, splashing into a mess of stew.
“Chil?” came the rumbling, echoy voice from above him, like he had heard before, and quickly, the half-foot sat up and took stock of himself.
He wasn't injured. That time had been much gentler than before!
Secondly, he touched his bare fingers to the wall, where there wasn't any stew. He could see a clear-ish yellow slime, and he purposefully plunged his pinky-finger into it, but sighed in relief as there was no burning.
He then allowed himself to lean back against the wall, reporting quickly, “No burning, no pain, breathing fine. I'm all right, Laois...”
Laois' shoulders slumped in relief at this, a hand nervously resting on his middle, but thanks to his armor, he wasn't actually able to make contact. The gesture made him feel better though, and he sighed happily. “Oh good, I'm glad...” He then licked his lips, adding, “I... Uh...” He wanted to share his experience, but paused as he got a light kick.
“Laois... I know you're being nice, but I am too tired to listen to you tonight about your flavour discoveries.” Chilchuck told him in a gentle, but firm tone.
The tallman nodded, but notably pouted a bit.
As if he had sensed this, Chilchuck then added, “But you can write them down in your journal, and I'll read it over with you tomorrow, when I'm all fixed, okay?”
Brightening visibly, Laois grabbed for his journal and flipped to a new page, saying, “Okay! I'm fine with that!” and while Marcille looked green and ill and was focusing a lot on getting her bedroll ready, and Senshi just quietly worked on cleaning the dishes and pots, Laois set about scribbling all too eagerly in his journal, muttering to himself.
Chilchuck sighed to himself as he heard the thunderous rumble of the man talking to himself, but it was like distant thunder over the hills, and in a weird way, combined with the heartbeats and breathing, it was soothing. Like he was in an inn while a storm raged outside. But in here he was safe, he was warm, and as he grabbed a hunk of stew that wasn't too far gone and nibbled on it, he appreciated the hot meal as well.
Smiling ruefully to himself, Chilchuck relaxed in place, slouched against the wall, slowly letting himself drift back to sleep. He'd get fixed tomorrow and then would leave this all behind him.
Though he doubted Laois would ever let him forget it. This had probably been the highlight of the their journey for that odd tallman!
As he drifted off, Chilchuck sleepily mused to himself that this had to be the strangest expedition he had ever been a part of.
End