Chapter Text
Her mind felt hazy... her vision unfocused. The place she found herself in was pitch-black, that much she could make out. Along with the two colorful blobs before her. One was white, another yellow. They had to have been... "Sorvil... Monek... it's me, Nomeski!"
Her paw reached out uselessly, her body wouldn't move... she couldn't even stand up. She watched as the figures slowly drifter away from her, fading into the darkness as the deafening sound of rain overloaded her senses.
She managed to turn her head around, seeing the featureless blobs that were her parents. A light blue one, her father, a pink one, her mother. Again, she reached her hand out to them, hoping they'd pull her in.
"Dad! Mom! Please! Save me!" Despite her pleas, Dragon-Slayer and Compassion only moved further and further away. "I just don't want to be alone anymore..."
The soft material beneath her made for a comforting feeling to wake up to as she flung herself up. She could feel eyes staring at her. Nomad craned her head to the left, seeing the bisque, almost orange slugcat looking at her.
"Another dream?" Outlaw asked as he continued to brew. Nomad nodded. "... It was about them, wasn't it." She winced, but nodded again. "... I understand."
Outlaw stood up, walking over to Nomad and sitting down on the bed that was far-too-large for any of them to properly make good use of. He handed her a cup, one she gladly accepted.
Nomad sipped on it, taking in the flavor of the herbs and how warm it made her feel on the inside. "I really miss them Outlaw. My parents are... probably gone. And I really don't know if I'll see my siblings again."
Outlaw extended an arm out behind Nomad, pulling her into a side-hug. "You shouldn't give up hope yet Nomad. We haven't made it back to your Colony Tree, right?"
He had a point. Survivor and Monk could very well be waiting there, then again though... "What if they didn't make it home? What if they headed in the wrong direction? What if I'll never see them again..."
"You're not planning on giving up until you have definitive proof that they're gone, right?" Nomad nodded. "Right. Can't lose hope yet."
"What about your family? Do you think you'll find them again Outlaw?"
Outlaw sighed, looking down at the mug he held in one hand. "I do hope so. Maybe if I didn't try chasing after mom... well... I'd know for certain how Nightly is doing." He thought of the magenta slugcat, Wanderer, his mother. Much like Nomad, he was under the impression that she was long gone.
Nightly though? She had to be out there. Somewhere.
"Ready to leave Nomad?"
"I... suppose so, Outlaw."
The two slugcats stood up, packing up their gear and walking along the room to a doorway that was roughly twice their height in size. They left the room and made their way down a flight of stairs. Halfway down they ran into a scavenger, one they were well acquainted with.
"Nomad! Outlaw! It is good to see you two again. Are there any items in my shop that interests you?" It was Bargainer, he was one of the few scavengers that made an attempt to speak the language of the slugcat... tried his best to anyway.
"Bargainer, I didn't expect to see you around here." Nomad replied as both she and Outlaw walked up to him.
"Well you know Nomad, what good is merchants if they don't bring exotic gifts!" The scavenger dropped his bag to the floor, pulling out a blanket and then placing various wares upon it. "So, anything catch your eye?"
The two slugcats inspected the gear the scavenger was offering them. Most of it was basic survival gear, something they were fairly well-stocked on. They did however notice a fruit that looked... unique. It's green in color and appears to have been sliced off a larger piece of fruit. It looked delicious.
"Bargainer, what is that? It looks..."
"Amazing!" Outlaw finished Nomad's sentence for her. "Where did you find it?"
"Well, my friends, I was traveling through a place with a bunch of pipes. The water there was... ehh, green! Yes it was green. Quite unique if I must say."
"I saw it hanging somewhere, holding onto some vines. I grabbed it, brought it to the ground and... well, the actual fruit was huge. Really! I ate enough till I was full and there was still so much left."
"I managed to cut this piece off, as I would've had to drop everything else to grab it... but! This piece still offers much nutrition. Like old scavenger saying, plenty of food for a plenty travel."
"... We'll take it! How many pearls you need." Outlaw replied. He had always been a bit thorough when it came to food, and if he found one he wanted? He wouldn't stop till he got it.
Nomad wouldn't have tried stopping him regardless, but she too was curious of what the food was. As Outlaw rooted around in his bag for pearls, Nomad spoke up.
"Anything happen around here recently Bargainer?"
"Ehh let me think... Ah yes! Two slugcats, a blue one, and a green-ish one. The blue one looked slightly younger than you Outlaw, same with the green one but for you Nomad."
"What were they doing?" Nomad asked, clearly intrigued by the prospect of meeting others.
"Oh I don't know, they were moving much too fast for me to talk to them." He paused. "They also seemed to be scared of me? Whatever that was about. I can tell you roughly where they went."
"They certainly sound like they're in need of some help." Outlaw answered, handing two pearls to Bargainer as he reached down for the large green fruit.
"Well, when you leave this building, take a right and walk along the stone path. Brown structure, made of cut rock. That's roughly where they were. They might have moved now though."
Nomad and Outlaw shared a glance, and a nod. "Thanks for your help Bargainer, we'll hopefully see you soon."
"Take care you two!"
The blue and bisque slugcats left the large stone structure they had taken residence in. "So, was it the right he said?"
"Indeed it was Nomad."
"Let's go and find them then."