Archive of Our Own ^beta

Hunter watched his prey carefully, his tail whipping back and forth as he lay huddled behind some bushes. The energetic, jumping creature he was hunting was currently not jumping. He had followed it for a while, more out of interest in what creatures such as it would do during the cycle than in any lust to draw out the hunt. The slugcat could have killed it long ago, but his curiosity won out when he noticed it looked like his prey was looking for something.

Many cycles ago, Hunter would have speared the creature with no hesitation. However, a part of him wasn’t all that willing to do so suddenly. After witnessing the creature just exploring its surroundings, hiding from a pink lizard that had passed by, and just in general enjoying life, Hunter almost did not feel like killing the prey anymore. You’re getting sentimental. Not to mention old. So, so old. With an angry huff, he tried his best to completely dismiss that thought. He was still in his prime!

A cold wind ran through the trees, and when it came into contact with him, it chilled him to the bone, even through his fur. Of course, the fact that he had next to no fur on his back because of his scar did not do him any favors at all. Still, Hunter really hated the cold, and he gritted his teeth and shook his head slightly as he tried to ignore it to the best of his abilities to focus on the very important hunt.

Glancing at the spear in his paw, he noted the sharp end of it reflecting some light into his eye from what little sun pierced the bush he was in. Recently sharpened, the weapon was ready to work with. A small squeak from his prey alerted Hunter of the fact that the yeek had fully stopped, staring up at something out of his vision from the viewing angle he was at.

No more hesitation. This is the prime opportunity to strike! Carefully, Hunter started to crawl forward, making as little noise as possible as he kept his eyes locked on the creature. The yeek squeaked to itself once again, suddenly jumping up high to grab a blue fruit hanging off a vine. Landing back on the ground, the yeek sat down and studied the food carefully. Unable to suppress a (thankfully quiet enough) growl building in the back of his throat, Hunter stood slowly as he raised his spear.

His prey had its back to him, but he was still careful not to spook the creature as he took his time aiming. The yeek started making more squeaking noises, glancing around as if looking for something. It failed to look back and spot its imminent death, thankfully. Hunter would make it quick and painless. With his aim fully calibrated, the slugcat smirked slightly as he pulled back his arm, and then-

More squeaks sounded, and Hunter stopped himself in his tracks as the yeek turned to the noise and squeaked back. Suddenly, more of the creatures, albeit way smaller, crawled out of a nearby tunnel naturally carved in the nearby metallic ruins. Upon spotting the bigger creature, the three yeek pups squeaked happily and excitedly bounced over to each other. Hunter crouched back down, once again stuck watching with interest.

When they came up to their parent, they were all lovingly nuzzled, much like slugcats would nuzzle and lick their young’s fur affectionately. The yeek placed the fruit on the ground, watching for a moment as its young started to bite into the food before jumping up to grab another and placing it down for them to eat as well. Hunter was suddenly torn on what to do about the situation. Killing the parent would mean nothing in the end; it would be back in the next cycle, just like everything else in the world. Then again, its young would be forced to watch it happen, and it was not like he needed to kill specifically the yeek.

He had not exactly come out to the spot with the express purpose of hunting for food.

What’s any of this matter? The world is harsh; if you don’t kill the creatures, something else will come along and do it for you! Hunter moved into a crouch, aiming the spear again. The yeek squeaked in what seemed like an affectionate way as its young lay down on the ground and made various quiet noises, seemingly satisfied, happy, and full. It leaned down to nuzzle the little ones and the slugcat shuddered as he was reminded of him and Survivor caring for their own pup even through all of the hardships…

With a quiet groan, Hunter lowered his spear and, in the same movement, turned around to leave. Completely unspotted by his "prey," he slipped away completely unnanounced. Stashing the spear in his paw on his back, the slugcat walked with his head hung low in defeat. Walking back to the tree with nothing to show for it—what a pity. He hadn’t announced it was a hunt he was going on, but Survivor definitely knew he only went out on the short trips to relieve some stress via combat.

Good thing he does not judge. Hunter felt his tail start to wag leisurely behind him as he walked, a part of him eager to get back to his mate. The slugcat wasn’t far away, thankfully, and would be back at the tree in no time. He hoped Night wasn’t giving him too much issue; she had recently gotten into what Arti liked to call “the rebellious faze” of being a pup. She is on her way to becoming an adult. He felt pride at that thought. Their pup, once so defenseless, small, and alone, would soon become a strong and independent part of the colony!

Just as the thoughts almost made Hunter’s face break into a beaming smile, a sudden sound of rustling leaves at his right side instead made him react to any potential threats. Whipping his head to the source and preparing to dodge any incoming spear, the slugcat crouched and reached for the weapon on his back. More scavengers dare to come back? Dare to threaten our family again? His gaze landed on a purple slugcat he recognized well, paws raised slightly as he gave Hunter an apologetic look.

Seeing it was a known friend that had happened upon him, Hunter sighed and relaxed immediately. The fear over potentially being attacked still lingered, but he ignored it.“Void, Spearmaster. You scared the shit outta me!” Standing straight again, he looked the other slugcat over. If he were being frank, Spearmaster looked sort of disheveled.

He looked paler than usual, skinnier too, and that was sort of an achievement considering how thin he usually was as well. His white, glowing eyes had dark circles under them, and he looked fairly stressed. Hunter’s irritation over being startled immediately faded upon seeing his friend’s state, and he frowned. Spearmaster did have a lot to juggle in the colony; spending time with his mate, teaching some of the other slugcats sign language, and doing a lot of the hunting for the group easily resulted in something like that.

But it was all of his own volition; Spearmaster himself was always the one who wanted to step up and get things done if something was needed. Still keeping his apologetic look, the other slugcat moved his paws to sign, waiting for Hunter to notice and prepare himself before gesturing very slowly. (Did not mean to startle, sorry.) It was a simple signing, and though the other slugcat was not his best student, he still got the gist of what was communicated.

With a sigh, Hunter shook his head. “It’s alright; you just startled me. No harm done.” Spearmaster nodded in understanding and lowered his paws. “What are you doing out here anyway?” Huner added after a short moment.

The other slugcat, seemingly surprised at getting a question directed at him, raised his paws. (Looking for popfruit.) Hunter hummed and nodded. Bubble fruit, as the rest of the colony called it, was Rivulet’s favorite. It was likely he was trying to find some for her.

A short moment of silence followed before Hunter looked into the other’s eyes and was reminded of his stressed-looking state. “Are you alright, man? You seem a bit stressed.” He looked him up and down again, raising an eyebrow.

Shaking his head, Spearmaster let out a huff. (Don’t worry, I’m fine.) After the signing, he waved one of his paws dismissively to underscore his point.

Of course, the other slugcat did not believe that. Crossing his arms with a huff, Hunter rolled his eyes. “The parasite inside of me still gives me painful, sleepless nights. Even despite this, I have never had dark circles that big under my eyes.” He gestured with one paw towards Spearmaster’s face, and the other slugcat deflated slightly.

When not standing straight, the other slugcat looked even worse, and that only made Hunter more worried. Spearmaster sighed and curled his tail around to rest against his right leg in an attempt at comfort. (I am fine, Hunter.) Despite signing this, the other slugcat was obviously not going to believe that, and even Spearmaster seemed to realize this as he let his arms fall to his sides and sighed again.

Hunter dropped the glare and uncrossed his arms with a hum, deciding that getting annoyed at his friend would not solve anything at all in the end. Considering the fact that he was always working, chances were that Spearmaster simply needed a break of some kind. Hell, ever since the other slugcat, along with Rivulet, had joined their colony, Hunter didn’t think he had ever seen him have any fun. He spent time with his mate, of course. But he had no alone time like Hunter often would make sure he had.

Every other slugcat in the colony always needed some alone time; constantly having to socialize seemed a bit too annoying. Though that depended on the type of individual, Hunter supposed. Both Rivulet and Spearmaster were inseparable, and if they were not together, then they would often find someone else to hang with in the colony. Maybe alone time would be bad for the other slugcat, then? But whatever the case, he needed to have some fun.

So it was a good thing that Hunter knew of a great way to blow off steam! “Hey, Spearmaster.” The other slugcat jumped slightly, caught off guard by his sudden voice. After a moment, he nodded slowly. “It’s obvious you are stressed and that you have absolutely no idea how to have fun.” With another huff, Spearmaster narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the tease. “But you do not have to worry, because I have a solution.” Though the other slugcat tried to look indifferent, Hunter saw the way his ears twitched in focus and how he perked up a miniscule amount at the news of a way to de-stress. “It’s quite simple; we simply go off somewhere and let off some steam!” A smirk spread on Hunter’s face as he shared his flawless technique.

After all, it was the very reason Hunter had traveled out into the woods in the first place. Though considering he had not found any luck in his hunting—no lizards or other predators around—he figured he might as well travel out for a short hunt with Spearmaster. He doubted Survivor or Rivulet would mind much; it would just be a small trip after all.

Though Spearmaster unfortunately did not seem all too keen on Hunter’s idea, (I don’t know, Hunter.) He signed unsurely, fidgeting with his paws for a short moment before continuing. (A bit unnecessary? No real reason for it.) 

It seemed convincing the other slugcat would not be as easy as Hunter had first thought, but that was no issue! “Come now, Spears!” Walking over to stand next to the other slugcat, he threw a paw around the fidgeting Spearmaster’s shoulders and gestured out at the woods surrounding them. “Surely there must be some creature, something, or someone, that you remember has wronged you! In some region somewhere, there must be one that you want to find again and take out!” Growling the last words, Hunter mimicked a crushing motion with his paw as he turned his head to look at Spearmaster with a grin.

He knew for a fact that pretty much everyone had their own “nemeses” somewhere out there. Hunter had several, many of which were lizards that had caused the many scars on his body. Though one he hated particularly was a certain dropwig that hung out in the garbage region somewhat far off that had caused the large injury to the front of his mate’s torso. It wasn’t an aching or painful scar, but every time he saw it, he still felt some anger directed toward that creature.

What with Spearmaster having a mate as well, he likely had to have some sort of foe as well. Hunter’s theory proved correct when the other slugcat stopped fidgeting for a short moment, seeming to be in deep thought as he stared out into the woods at seemingly nothing. Then his gaze hardened, and he turned his head to look into Hunter’s eyes. (I think I know.)

Though the air was cold, it was undoubtedly refreshing. The slugcats’ travel had brought them fairly far back into the regions that Hunter could only vaguely remember. After all, it had been a while since he had traveled so far from the tree. Still, the metallic landscape he and Spearmaster traveled through was reminding him a lot of the old cycles of traveling with Survivor through the same lands.

The difference was that they never traveled through the pitch-black region, as he and his mate had way back then. Way back in the cycles when they met Arti, thereby going by “The Red Death” back then. A title she had fully put to rest not that long ago, but one that still followed her closely no matter how badly she would want to shake it off. Hunter did recognize a possible way to that region, but they had walked past and started to climb upward instead.

Looking at Spearmaster, he noted that his friend looked a bit more healthy after their couple cycles of traveling through the regions. Much of that probably owed to the fact that he had been forcing them to traverse rather slowly, mostly so that they could do their best to avoid the undue stress that often came with traveling large distances over a few cycles. The whole point of the trip that Hunter had taken them on was to stress less, after all! Though he did let Spearmaster lead the way towards the goal he had set up, Hunter ensured they would not travel with too much haste. And even though it seemed his friend was not too happy about that fact, it still seemed the other slugcat was doing far better, and that made Hunter happy. His plan of forcing Spearmaster to de-stress was going just as planned!

Coming out to what looked like an upward climb through short girder bridges and machinery, Hunter realized that the two had not met much resistance just yet. In fact, there had been a shocking lack of actual things to fight, something that confused him to no end. Opening his mouth to mention this to Spearmaster, he was rudely interrupted by the other slugcat glancing up at something, doing a short backflip backwards, and throwing a needle up at whatever he had been looking at.

As Spearmaster landed next to him, Hunter jumped slightly as a dropwig suddenly hit the ground right where his friend had once stood. The thrown needle had embedded itself in its exoskeleton, and it writhed in pain and tried to flip itself over. Clearly, the upward throw had not held as much power as any other throwing direction might have. Not that it mattered much, since Spearmaster had already grown another needle and walked over to finish the job.

Once he stabbed another needle into its body and twisted the weapon, the creature stopped writhing. With a weak hiss, it twitched once before finally falling dead. Looking back, Spearmaster smiled smugly through his eyes. (Remember to look up, Hunter.) Without another word, he walked around the corpse and kept moving.

With a frustrated, but at the same time amused, growl, Hunter made to follow. “Smartass.” He mumbled, just loud enough for the other slugcat to hear. Spearmaster clearly did, as he huffed a few times in quick succession, his shoulders jiggling up and down slightly as he quietly laughed.

Climbing up via the use of poles, Hunter stopped for a moment to shiver in the cold. The regions really had been getting colder and colder the more time passed. Ever since the event surrounding Five Pebbles’ superstructure, there hadn’t been as much rain, if any at all. Thinking of the collapsed pink iterator made Hunter feel sad, but as another chill ran through the air, the slugcat shivered once again and instead decided to keep climbing to try to keep warm.

Ever since the collapse of the second nearby iterator, the cold had been encroaching on them, and it just kept getting worse and worse. Hunter could only hope that the cold was not a sign of some sort of ice age rapidly approaching. They had been having a difficult enough time keeping up with the decreasing temperatures when it came to food, heating, and shelter, so even colder climates were not something he was looking forward to.

Glancing over to his friend climbing slightly above him, Hunter was fully reminded of the fact that Spearmaster did not have a single hair of fur on his body. Despite this fact, the other slgucat barely reacted at all to the chilled winds around them. The same cold that left Hunter shuddering and chattering his teeth slightly had no effect on his friend whatsoever. Maybe he’s more used to cold temperatures?

He could only thank whoever built the shelters scattered around all regions that they had some sort of heating system that kept all the cold from the outside out; otherwise, Hunter could have very well simply froze to death. At least back at the tree, they had traded enough warm blankets with the scavengers to be able to keep a very warm and comfortable den that any slugcat could rest in if they were feeling the effects of the cold chilling the body down to the bone.

Hunter was really getting sick of not finding anything at all to fight; they needed to find some action so that he could warm up through the rapid haste and bloodlust of fierce combat! With a sigh, he glanced at Spearmaster again. Narrowed eyes, tense and ready body language, climbing fast like he had a mission to accomplish—the other slugcat was really taking the hunt seriously. It made Hunter a slight bit curious over what exactly the two were going to be hunting down and why it was so personal.

In fact, he was curious enough that he cleared his throat to get Spearmaster’s attention. The other slugcat stopped and glanced back, waiting for Hunter to jump over to a parallel pole and climb to his level. “So, you want to tell me a bit about what we’re hunting for here?” Hell, considering the fact that he himself had come up with the idea for the hunt, Hunter figured he had a bit of a right to know what Spearmaster was leading him to.

Upon hearing the question, Spearmaster sighed, almost seeming a bit disappointed that Hunter didn’t have anything more important to say. Wrapping his legs around the pole to stay on it properly, the other slugcat also disconnected a strand from his needle and dropped it. Confused by the action, Hunter glanced down and watched the weapon fall all the way down to the ground below, landing with a metallic clang. The sound of clapping made him look back at Spearmaster, who looked frustrated with him looking away.

It seemed he had dropped the needle to make his signs more clear to the other slugcat, which Hunter appreciated a lot. (Not much to tell.) Stopping temporarily, Spearmaster seemed to think for a short moment before signing again. (We find, we kill. Make example.)

The other slugcat perked up at the suggestion. “So it’s very personal, then? You want to make an example of whatever wronged you; make it clear it will never do it again."Spearmaster seemed irritated at the questions, seemingly anxious to get moving once again.

Though once he realized they would not keep moving until he shared a bit more information, he huffed loudly and signed again. (It is personal; we teach lesson.) Spearmaster stopped and lowered his paws, turning to keep climbing before stopping himself and seemingly considering something. Then he turned back and sighed again. (Then we leave when we are done.)

With a shake of the head, Hunter narrowed his eyes. “Surely you can give me more information than that!” He had no idea why his friend was being so mysterious and weird about it. “Like, what kind of creature are we hunting, even?”

Despite Hunter’s urge to get more information, Spearmaster simply shrugged and grabbed onto the pole with one paw, using the other to sign one word. (Later.) Done with communicating, he started to climb upward again, forcing Hunter to start going as well to not fall behind.

Part of him wanted to keep pushing for a response, but he decided to leave it for the moment and instead wait to see what came of their trip. Eventually, the two reached the top of the poles, climbing into a narrow tunnel that led further upward. On the other side, the slugcats were on top of one of the girder bridges, high into the air. Nervously, Hunter peeked over the edge and noted just how high up the two were. Watch your step, you old bastard. His thoughts told him as he stuck behind Spearmaster, who moved forward confidently.

Looking forward, the two slugcats stopped at the same time as they noted something ahead of them. There was a hole in the girder bridge, and at the side they could see was a popcorn plant. Along with that, there was an obvious white lizard that very much failed to camouflage itself properly. The bold red of the plant was partly covered by the cloaked creature’s head, the mixing of colors making it obvious that something was sitting right there.

As he and Spearmaster climbed up the bridge’s other side to get an angle on the predator’s back, Hunter huffed amusedly as he was reminded of his pup’s shenanigans involving her own cloaking. How she would make the same mistake when she was far smaller and be shocked when one of her parents somehow found her so easily! Unfortunately, as she got a bit older and smarter, Night used her ability far more intelligently, and finding her could be a pain at times.

The two slugcats crouched down, Spearmaster growing a needle and Hunter pulling his own spear off his back. A tap on his shoulder made him turn to the mouthless slugcat, who signed as he looked over. (You want the honors?) He tilted his head to show it was a genuine question.

With a small chuckle, Hunter shook his head. “Nah, you can have it; I’ll find something bigger to eat later.”

Spearmaster looked very confused. (You take a few bites after I kill it; we both have a meal.)

“Nah, the meat of a lizard doesn’t taste the same after you’ve siphoned your part. You can have it, and I’ll find something bigger later; it’s okay.”

(Taste? Who cares? We eat for survival.)

“That’s funny coming from someone who does not even taste buds... Listen, you need this food anyway; just look at how skinny you are.”

(Always been skinny; you know this.)

“Sometimes I worry for you, my friend. You need to eat more, I tell you.”

(Fine. I kill. Better than seeing messy eating from you anyway.)

Hunter chuckled at their friendly banter and gestured toward the lizard, invitingly. Rolling his eyes goodheartedly, Spearmaster eventually agreed to kill the predator. Standing a bit straighter, he shifted his stance to be able to aim and throw properly as he prepared to launch a white needle at his target. Turning his head to look at the creature that stays cloaked, none the wiser, Hunter smirks and waits for the sharp weapon to fly in and pierce the beast through their neck.

Suddenly there was a faint noise that made Hunter’s smirk fade, his ears twitching and rotating on his head to try to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. It sounded like the flapping of powerful wings along with hisses of steam, and it was coming from right above them. Glancing at Spearmaster, he noted that his friend had stopped fully as well, lowering his weapon as he listened in.

A vulture was approaching, and as the sound came closer, the lizard’s weaker hearing eventually picked it up as well. Suddenly breaking its camouflage and jumping to life, it crawled into the hole in the girder bridge to escape, not even noticing the two slugcats standing nearby. Hunter smiled and stood up straighter as he heard the flapping come closer and closer, twirling the spear in his paw in excitement. He could not see how close the vulture was due to the two slugcats standing under a low roof made of metal, but there was a lot of open air further out near where the plant was, meaning they could easily fight the aerial predator out there.

His excitement was slightly dampened by a paw frantically shaking his shoulder, prompting him to turn and look at Spearmaster. (We should leave.) He threw a glance toward the sky, trying to peek out to see the approaching predator, before turning back to Hunter again. (Vulture too much food to eat.)

In response, Hunter barked a laugh. “Is that a challenge, Spearmaster? Because I always eat every piece of meat that is edible in my prey.” It seemed a bit of a waste to let perfectly good meat just lay where it was and go bad when he was hungry, so he often tried to avoid that when it came to the kills he made for the sake of food.

Though if he was full on food and killed, it could all go bad for all he cared. (I’m serious. We should go.) Spearmaster pointed to the pipe, glancing back and forth between the skies and Hunter. The sounds of beating wings were incredibly close to where they stood at that point.

“We are here to blow off some steam, remember? That’s what we are going to do.” As the sound finally reached them, both slugcats looked over to see a king vulture make its presence clear.

Hovering near the popcorn plant, it aimed its laser-sights over where the white lizard had sat earlier. The vulture had not yet noticed them, but if it kept looking around, it surely would eventually. Seeing the target, Hunter got ready to approach, but not before using his last trump card to convince his friend to join him in the hunt.

Leaning over, Hunter whispered into the other slugcat’s ear. “Listen, if it’s too much for you, you can just leave and wait for me.” He gestured towards the nearby tunnel, smirking wide when he saw Spearmaster’s eyes narrow in frustration. “No shame in it~” joked Hunter as he turned around and walked out of cover. “OVER HERE, MORON!” He shouted to get its attention, unable to stop a smile from spreading on his face when he heard Spearmaster huff and follow behind him.

The vulture whipped its head toward Hunter as he broke into a run, taking but a moment to line up its sights on the slugcat’s chest. As they started to flash, he ducked down low and slid forward, the harpoon that was aimed at him striking the ground where he had been and embedding itself in the metallic surface. Getting up and turning around, Hunter threw the spear in his paw at the creature, the spear piercing its torso as it screeched in pain and anger.

Spotting Spearmaster running up next, it aimed its sights at him and shot. Though its target simply backflipped into the air at the perfect time, avoiding the second sharp projectile as it too embedded itself and got stuck. While in the air, he threw his needle at the beast, striking it in the neck as it tried to reel its harpoons back in. Before it fully could, Spearmaster grew a new needle from his tail and swiftly threw it, striking the predator in the head. The sheer force of the throw knocked its mask off, allowing both slugcats to see its expression of rage.

As Spearmaster closed his eyes to grow another needle, the vulture realized he was vulnerable and tried to swoop in closer to bite down on him with its powerful jaws. Unfortunately for the beast, Hunter had just located a new spear on the ground, and its attempts were cut short by the weapon being thrown and lodging in its right wing. With another screech, the damage sustained made it crash to the ground, making the surface the slugcats stood on shake violently.

Though stumbling from the momentary loss of balance, Hunter still managed to lunge forward and rip the spear lodged in the wing free. The vulture turned its head to try to bite at him, but Spearmaster came up on its side with two freshly grown needles that he threw into its fat body. All of the predator’s previous attempts at killing the two came to an end, replaced with survival instincts taking their place.

Unfortunately for the vulture, it was far too late already. Ripping a spear and a needle free each, both slugcats started to stab and slash at the various parts of the struggling vulture’s body. It took a gruesome amount of work, but the creature eventually fell still, its struggles ceasing as it died. Though the slugcats kept going for a bit longer, the two eventually made note of its death and stopped their assault.

Finally able to eat a real meal, Hunter smiled and kneeled down next to the corpse to eat. Though not before throwing a glance at Spearmaster and noticing his unamused stare. “What?”

The other slugcat sighed in annoyance as he raised his paws. (You’ll eat that? My needles stabbed it.) Spearmaster narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.

Smirking widely at his friend’s reaction, Hunter barked a laugh. “I did say that only applies to lizard meat, didn’t I?” In response, the other slugcat waved his arms in a “Whatever.” gesture as he leaned down and messily started to take bites of the vulture corpse.

As he ate, he could see Spearmaster sign once again, shaking his head slowly. (Careful not to choke.) When he was done signing, he glanced away from the scene, seeming a bit disgusted by Hunter’s eating habits.

Not that Hunter minded at all, lifting his head and licking some of the blood from his muzzle before speaking again. “Relax, Spears! If I choke and die, I can’t finish all the meat like I promised, can I?” Laughing loudly, he went back to eating his fill.

Though Spearmaster huffed and shook his head with a paw to the bridge of his nose in an attempt at showcasing annoyance, Hunter still heard his friend huff in quiet laughter as he tried to hold back a wide smile.

The loud whirr of active machinery roared in the two slugcats’ ears as they stood inside the gate leading toward the next region, heavy doors closing behind them as they waited to pass through. Despite their meeting with the king vulture, there still had not been a lot to really fight on the way to the next region. Hunter licked his muzzle, cleaning off some of the blood still clinging to the fur. He was full of food, but his lust for more killing was not satisfied fully. Easy there, psycho.

Once again curiously glancing at the other slugcat, he noticed he was looking serious as always. When they had fought the vulture, he had been a bit more loose and fun-loving, but it seemed the importance of hunting down whatever the hell he wanted to hunt down still took priority over fun.

Shifting his weight back-and-forth on his paws, Hunter frowned. That wasn’t exactly a good way to relax. “So, Spearmaster.” He spoke up, taking the chance to communicate before the noises of running water and steam would fully drown out all other noises. Spearmaster glanced over as well, meeting his gaze with a hum as the sound of running water ceased on the other side of the heavy gate. “Are we getting closer to the place we’re looking for?”

The other slugcat kept staring for a short moment, only stopping when the water started to run down their side and fill their space with steam. Turning fully, Spearmaster stepped close enough that the two could see each other before starting to sign. (Through this gate.) As he signed, he nodded his head toward the giant doors that would soon open.

Eyes widening slightly, Hunter hummed and nodded with a smirk on his face. They were almost to the spot where they could truly go wild then, it seemed. He did not say anything because he knew any words would go unheard underneath the massive amount of noise occurring around them. Instead, he nodded in understanding, and the two slugcats turned back to face the gate.

Upon hearing the news of them almost having reached their destination, Hunter’s excitement over their little expedition was renewed. Not that he did not enjoy traveling with his friend, but knowing they were getting close to reaching and completing an actual goal always felt cathartic. As soon as the running water ceased and the doors opened, the slugcats moved forward into the region. Immediately coming upon a long length of poles, they wasted no time in climbing upward.

Some parts of the area felt a bit recognizable to Hunter, and he considered that he and Surv might have moved through the place they were currently in while they were making their way back from Five Pebbles after his parasite had been temporarily burned out of him. Not that that really helped him remember much about the region coming up at all; it had been many cycles ago, and the two had not exactly stopped for sight-seeing as they had moved.

Whatever the case, Hunter put those thoughts on the backburner as he and Spearmaster reached the top of the poles in no time, climbing out into a tunnel and finally ending up inside the actual region. Glancing up into the sky, the first thing he noticed was how tall the structures in the new region were. His eyes followed something that looked like a massive circular structure; from the base by the ground to the top, it stretched into the sky almost too far for his vision to even see!

High above the two were large, half-broken bridges that spanned across several more structures. Vultures circling the area above were visible, thankfully far too high up to notice the two slugcats way down where they stood. Seeing how high up everything was made Hunter feel just a bit dizzy; just imagining climbing all the way up there was almost making him nauseous.

He really hoped they would not need to climb so high to reach whatever they were after. Hunter’s vertigo was interrupted by a sudden paw on his shoulder, making him jump slightly as it withdrew quickly. (Are you okay?) The other slugcat’s face showed concern for the first time during their trip. Then again, Hunter had not given Spearmaster much of a reason to be concerned up until that point, so it was not so odd that he felt worried for him the one time he showed nervousness and fear.

Though he tried to just chase the dizziness off, it didn’t fully work, even when Hunter tried to put on a brave face. Still, he tried. “I’m fine.” As he expected, Spearmaster did not seem to believe him. They hadn’t exactly come to the region they were in to stand in place and talk about Hunter’s nervousness when it came to heights! “Hey, can you tell me a bit about what we are hunting in this place?”

His attempt at changing the subject worked out, as Spearmaster’s suspicious stare lessened and he sighed. (A scavenger in this region.) No more context was given, but not much more information was really needed.

Of course. Always scavengers… Ignoring all the flashbacks of previous fights against scavengers that came to mind, Hunter did his best to suppress the pangs of fear in his body as he hummed and nodded slowly. “Not unusual for scavs to wrong us slugcats in many ways…” If anyone would know, it would be him, his mate, and practically everyone else in the tree. Not to mention the scavengers on their side that had to fight their own.

Though Spearmaster had seemed like he would not share much more about the scavenger they were looking for, he eased up a bit upon remembering that the other slugcat had reason to not like particularly violent scavs. He had not been part of the battle that Hunter had been in, but they had had the story told to them in detail.

Relaxing his stance, he took a glance around their surroundings before signing. (He attacked Riv.) Was the clarification, a moment of hesitation before more information was given. (Wrapped hands around neck, tried to…) Stopping himself, Spearmaster turned away and growled.

His claws extended, and the tip of his tail whipped slightly back and forth in irritation. “No more information is needed; I get it.” Upon hearing he would not have to share any more information, Spearmaster relaxed quite a bit, turning back to look at Hunter. “Listen, you lead the way.” Stepping closer, Hunter placed a paw on the other slugcat’s shoulder. “We find him, and then we do what we will, yeah?”

When Spearmaster did not immediately respond, Hunter hesitantly removed his paw from the other slugcat’s shoulder. Eventually, he did lift his paws with a hum. (We don’t immediately kill. See if he is violent first.) Though it wasn’t phrased like a question, he tilted his head and looked at Hunter questioningly.

In response, he gave Spearmaster his best comforting smile. “Works for me. Maybe he just needs a stern talking to." jested Hunter with a wide smile.

With his classic “annoyed” huff, the other slugcat rolled his eyes goodheartedly. (Maybe he will listen to reason.) The somehow deadpan tone of the signing made Hunter believe that Spearmaster honestly did not think the scav would, but that remained to be seen either way. (Let’s get going.) As he finished, he grew a needle and handed it over to Hunter, who accepted it with a grateful nod.

Testing the weight, Hunter was reminded that it was almost exactly like a regular metallic spear, if only a bit lighter. “Lead the way, Spearmaster.” After growing a needle for himself as well, the mouthless slugcat nodded, and the two started moving deeper into the region.

The first parts of the region were thankfully flat, and Hunter hoped the two of them would not in any way have to move vertically further than a few meters into the air. As they moved, the slugcats kept their heads on a swivel. Hunter especially kept an eye out for any signs of scavenger horns peeking over nearby small hills, out of tunnels, or holes. There was nothing that he could see, but that did not stop the slugcat from still keeping a close eye on anything that may have been perceived as movement.

All-encompassing cold, paranoia, and a healthy amount of fear all combined to make Hunter shiver slightly as they walked. He had been excited to see action for a while, but when it finally came to the two slugcats almost coming across some combat, he suddenly found himself hesitating. Though he tried his best to hide it, after all, Hunter was supposed to be strong and brave. No matter how he felt, he could handle whatever was thrown at him.

Ignoring the fact that Spearmaster obviously noticed his slight discomfort, Hunter glanced at a nearby den in the ground. It was dug by a lizard, obviously. In his experience, it was not fully unusual for some of the scaly predators to hide inside and wait for someone to walk past…

Thanks to his own thoughts, Hunter had already fully prepared himself for something to happen. So right as a pink lizard suddenly leapt out of the den, a large maw heading towards the two, he had just enough time to push Spearmaster away before throwing himself backward. Time almost seemed to move in slow motion as the predator only narrowly flew in between the two slugcats, heading in different directions. Before hitting the ground, Hunter threw the needle in his paw in the general direction of the lizard.

He knew he had thrown well enough when there was the audible sound of a pained hiss over his own huff as he landed on the ground. Flipping over and standing up, Hunter only got to see the injured lizard alive for a very short moment before Spearmaster threw his own needle into its side. With a pitiful hiss, the creature went limp and died. With the danger dealt with, the two slugcats walked over to the corpse and pulled their weapons free.

Pulling his needle out of the lizard, Hunter poked it once with the sharp tip to see if it was truly dead. There was no reaction; the creature was still limp and dead. At the sound of a relieved sigh, he looked over to Spearmaster, who looked back with gratitude in his eyes. (Fast reaction. Not bad.) Feeling confident, Hunter perked up and puffed his chest out at the praise.

The other slugcat rolled his eyes and lifted his paws to comment, but the sudden sound of hissing from the side made them both whip their heads to find the source. A cyan lizard, charged up and ready to leap right as they looked over, shot towards them. Rolling in the air, it closed in rather quickly, and Hunter prepared to jump back. However, before it could even get much closer to landing on the ground, Spearmaster suddenly threw his own needle at the airborne predator.

Spearmaster’s precision and timing when it came to the throw had to be commended, striking the lizard right in its patterned tail and causing the mysterious gas inside its body to start leaking. With a long, drawn-out hiss, the predator’s leap ability went haywire. Flying around the sky above the slugcats like crazy, they stood in place and watched the previous threat uncontrollably get flung around high above them.

Miraculously, it still stayed generally nearby where they stood, and when the effect finally stopped and it plunged to the ground, the lizard landed heavily right in front of the two slugcats. Though the pitiful creature was still alive, it was severely dazed, which allowed Hunter to stab his own needle into its torso to finish the job. Once again, they pulled their weapons free.

Taking a glance around to ensure no other creature covered in scales would sneak up, Hunter looked at his friend with a large smile. “That throw was amazing, Spearmaster!” The other slugcat perked up happily at Hunter’s comment but tried to wave him off with a slow shake of the head as if to say, “It was nothing.” Either way, they seemed to be safe for the moment, but considering they still had someone to be looking for… “So far, so good; let’s keep moving.”

His friend nodded as they turned to keep moving forward, walking over more flat ground that was progressively getting bumpier with small hills. Yet Hunter was relieved that Spearmaster was not leading him to climb upward into the higher points of the region. Not yet, anyway. Hopefully, not ever. Instead, he led the way into various tunnels and doorways through ruined buildings that led them ever further into the region on a more horizontal plane.

Passing through a particularly narrow tunnel that made Hunter’s skin crawl, the two started to walk through what little more flat ground seemed to be in the region. It was starting to seem like going up soon would be impossible to avoid, and that only made him get even more nervous. Once again, Spearmaster noticed, yet this time he wasn’t going to let it slide.

Though right as it seemed he was about to comment, a terrifyingly loud and angry growl suddenly pierced the air, forcing them both to stop and move into combat stances. The two were suddenly accosted by the one thing neither of them likely wanted to fight. Waltzing over from seemingly nowhere came a red lizard. Surprised by the appearance of the apex predator, the two slugcats startled and stopped as it glanced over and spotted them as well.

Only a very short moment passed before the beast roared in a rage, charging forward toward the two slugcats. The violent creature approaching rapidly knocked them out of their temporary shock, and Spearmaster threw his needle with great timing right as the beast tried to run over a small collection of rubble. Having aimed and thrown at a good time, his weapon embedded itself through the red lizard’s lower back. Sticking out at the end of its tail, it had punctured all the way through and gotten loosely stuck in the metal below.

Though it was freeing itself quickly, it seemed more pissed off than slowed down at all by the injury. Still, Hunter decided to capitalize on the chance to do some extra damage, raising the needle in his paws and preparing to throw another right next to the other one. Unfortunately, the red lizard was far from defenseless, and it simply responded by shooting out its incredibly long tongue, wrapping it around the handle, and pulling. Though Hunter could have held on, he was probably not winning the tug-of-war, and so he released the needle and looked back at Spearmaster instead.

He had his eyes closed, a new needle growing to try to deal follow-up damage, but looking back at the lizard that had chomped the needle Hunter had held in half and was pretty much completely freed at any moment, it was obvious there was no time for that. “SPEARS! RUN!” The seriousness in his voice startled his friend out of his needle-growing, and he joined Hunter’s side as he turned tail, and the two started to retreat from the enraged predator.

The sound of something splintering pierced the air, and as rapid footsteps approached, both of them knew they were being chased. However, they were so close to the tunnel that led back! If they could get through in time, maybe they could try to climb a few poles and then get to a platform high up where they had time to consider a plan? It seemed Spearmaster had the same idea; their thoughts were on the same wavelength as they both headed toward the pipe.

That plan quickly broke apart when a cyan-colored lizard suddenly popped its head through and hissed. Instead of putting all their legpower into running, the two slugcats put all their strength into stopping their forward momentum. Hunter stopped first, grabbing hold of Spearmaster and swiftly pulling him to the side with him in a desperate leap to the side as the leaping lizard charged up completely and lunged out of the pipe.

Air rushed past the two slugcats before they landed on the ground, and the sounds of hissing, snapping of jaws, and a cut-off, pained whine let them both know immediately who won the fight. Getting their paws underneath themselves quickly, they started to run again, both praying that the red lizard would be far too busy enjoying its new, far larger meal to pay attention to the two of them.

The approaching booming of far-too-heavy footsteps quickly made them regret their optimism, and Hunter reached up to pull the spear on his back free as they kept running. All they had between each other to defend themselves was a single spear, and they were being chased by the toughest of the tough when it came to lizards. There were a few poles ahead, but they seemed far too far off for them to fully make it over there in time!

Surely, this cannot get worse. Hunter thought to himself, considering whether the best move could be for him to stay behind and buy his friend some time to escape. After all, he had the weapon between the two, and maybe the lizard would be happy with just killing one of them either way?

Before he could make a decision when it came to that choice, the far-too-familiar flapping of wings and hissing of steam were audible. Me and my big fuckin’ mouth. Lo and behold, another vulture came down! Luckily, the one that came after them the second time was not a king, but it did not really matter considering what they were already in the business of dealing with. The two slugcats stopped and both looked back and forth between the hovering danger preparing to swoop in and the approaching one that was running at them with an open maw.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place, and the only choice left was to fight! Since Hunter had the weapon and the lizard would reach them the fastest, he turned towards it and crouched down into a battle stance. Spearmaster seemed to come to the same conclusion as he closed his eyes and started to grow a needle as fast as possible; luckily, the vulture did not know what he was doing, and so the idiot took its time to land before fully approaching either one of them.

Even though the situation involving the red lizard seemed hopeless, Hunter was fully aware that there was one way he could fight the beast, even despite the fact that it had its armored head turned in his direction. The lizard’s maw was wide open—a gaping hole in the impenetrable armor that was its head! He had pulled off the maneuver he was planning before, but never against anything as powerful as a red lizard. It would require very precise timing, and if he succeeded with the first strike, he could not hesitate for even a second, lest it spell his swift death.

Doing his best to completely ignore the other sound of approaching vulture steps behind him, accompanied by the distinct noise of Spearmaster pulling a needle free of his tail, Hunter crouched down and bared his teeth, focusing on the approaching foe. The cyan lizard from earlier had bought them some time, but not nearly enough to ever allow them to escape. Even if the vulture had not forced them to action, what Hunter was forced to do at that very moment would have had to happen either way…

Almost… Looking into the jaws of the lizard, Hunter felt himself grow nervous, and the urge to run increased. Still, he stayed in place. Just a bit closer. It felt like the beast would suddenly gain a burst of speed and reach him faster than he thought, but that was just his imagination. I’ve got you… His gaze landed on the blackened needle still stuck in the lizard’s tail, the perfect follow-up weapon. The lizard roared loudly and opened its mouth even further! Now.

Using his legs, Hunter lunged forward, sliding along the ground as fast as he could as he threw the spear in his paws with all of his strength. The sharp weapon entered the beast’s maw and pierced through all the way to the other side, forcing a whine out of the predator. Unable to stop his momentum, Hunter had just enough time to throw his arms up to protect his head as he collided with the armored lower jaw of the lizard.

Thankfully, the damage sustained from his throw had been enough to daze the creature for a precious few seconds, giving Hunter enough time to stand up, move to the side of the red lizard’s head, and lunge towards the needle still embedded in the tail. Ripping it free, the predator hissed and recovered from the previous injury, trying to turn to attack him. Hunter had no chance whatsoever to lunge out of its range, and stabbing it the one time he would have time would not save him!

Seeing no other choice, the slugcat leaped onto the lizard’s back. Its attempt at biting him only narrowly missed his tail, and before it could react to the fact that he was shockingly on its back, he started stabbing downward several times. Through the tough scales, Hunter stabbed as far into the flesh as he could, keeping his balance against the creature’s struggles for as long as he could.

Though despite his best attempts, it only took a moment until the injured but angry lizard got smart to his methods. His stabbing stopped when the lizard suddenly forcefully bowed its head forward and lifted its backlegs. Hunter yelped as he was thrown forward, landing hard on his back. Knowing he was still in the gravest of dangers, he scrambled to stand but was interrupted by a heavy lizard foot pushing down on his chest.

All the air was forced out of his lungs, but Hunter still raised the needle in his paws with shaky arms. Of course, it was quickly taken from him and crushed with powerful jaws. Looking up, he saw the red lizard glaring down at him. Grievously injured, but not enough so to be dead, it growled loudly. Raising his paws slowly, the slugcat chuckled nervously in response. “Hehe… Truce?”

The growl built, and Hunter’s nervous smile faded into an expression of fear as the giant creature leaned back slightly and shifted itself to more easily be able to lean down and maul him. At least red lizards kill quickly. It was likely his last consideration as the beast started to slowly open its mouth and tense its neck…

Then, the sound of a sharp impact against flesh sounded, the sudden noise interrupting the growling of the lizard as it jerked slightly. Its eyes, previously so cold, calculating, and terrifying, seemed suddenly empty and blank. Hunter barely had any time to react to the fact that his imminent killer was suddenly dead, only having enough time to gasp in surprise before the full dead weight (literally) of the massive creature came bearing down on him. The crushing feeling of his body pushing him against the metallic ground below had Hunter panicking for however short it lasted, the creature’s head and body lifted off him through the combined efforts of the trapped slugcats pushing and his savior’s lifting.

Given just enough leeway to move, Hunter slowly shuffled backward as Spearmaster only managed to hold the heavy lizard still without letting it fall down to crush the slugcat underneath. Only when he was fully free was the lizard dropped, and his friend was by his side immediately, helping him to stand up.

Getting in front of Hunter, Spearmaster looked him over worriedly. (Are you okay? Broken bones?) He only shook his head in response, gently pushing past the other slugcat to walk over to the dead lizard.

Stopping by its side, he aimed out and delivered a few kicks to its scaly sides, ignoring the way they made his paw and leg ache. “Stupid red lizard," mumbled Hunter as he looked back toward Spearmaster.

The slugcat in question laughed quietly and looked at him fondly. (You are fine; that’s good.)

Still feeling a slight pressure in the ribs, Hunter breathed heavily but otherwise felt fine. With a hum, he turned to the other slugcat and gave him a grateful nod. “Thanks for the save.” Spearmaster nodded back, his stance relaxed as the danger seemed to be over.

Yet as Hunter stared at his friend, he saw some sort of movement from right behind him. Leaning out and glancing behind Spearmaster, he saw a centipede. Of course, it also had to be covered in red scales. What the hell is a red centipede even doing here?! Unfortunately, it just so happened to notice them as well, and Hunter jumped as the creature several meters in but a second. Spearmaster obviously noted the fear on his face and made to turn around, but he had already grabbed onto him and started to run.

In retrospect, they really should have taken the momentary downtime as an opportunity to grow more needles for them both to carry and use, but they could have never predicted they would be attacked again so soon in their defense. As they ran, Hunter reached over and snatched a lodged piece of rebar off the ground before jumping up and grabbing onto a nearby pole. Climbing swiftly, he reached the top and stood on the platform it had led to.

Thankfully, the centipede was not right behind them, so they had a bit of time to think about their next action! Looking back to Spearmaster-

Wait.

Where the hell was Spearmaster?

As Hunter turned back to where he would have kept running had he not stopped to climb, he saw Spearmaster still running with the centipede behind him. Despite his friend’s best efforts, the terrifying predator was far too quick, and it would catch up at any moment. Looking at the spear in his paw, Hunter groaned quietly.

“This is a bad idea…” But it was the only one he really had, so after only a moment of trying to psych himself up, he took a couple steps back, then rushed towards the end of the platform.

Jumping forward, Hunter righted himself to fall spear first as he fell, aiming towards the middle of the centipede. He saw the centipede grab Spearmaster with its front head, but right then he landed hard. The spear in his paws broke through the plating easily thanks to the needed boost from gravity, and it fastened the terrifying creature to the ground. In surprise, it let his friend go, and Hunter quickly leapt back as it tried to twist its heads to grab onto and shock him as well.

When they were a safe distance away, the slugcats met back up and stood side by side. The angered centipede struggled hard, trying to break free from its pin to get revenge on them. Spearmaster grew a needle, one that Hunter pulled free without having to be asked, twirling it around and then moving into a combat stance as he glared at their enemy. Meanwhile, his friend grew two more of the needles, pulling them free to hold one in each paw.

Finally, the red centipede broke free and turned to face them with a hiss. Hunter hissed back, while Spearmaster simply huffed and gave it the gesture to come at them both. It tried to do so, but its attempt at approach was subsequently cut short by a new spear piercing it in the side from out of nowhere. Despite the plating, the spear had been thrown with frightening accuracy to pierce the specific spot between the armor that was not as protected. The lodged spear hissed and sputtered, and both the slugcats and the centipede realized it was explosive mere moments before it did explode.

The blast sent chunks of centipede armor flying through the air, flipping the red creature on its back from the sheer force of the explosion as both the slugcats crouched down to try to avoid any flying debris or shrapnel. They watched on in baffled surprise as a pair of scavengers walked out of the dust and smoke clouds to stab the exposed underside of the centipede, completely finishing it off.

A few more scavengers also walked out of the smoke, standing next to the others who were stabbing the predator and looking towards the slugcats. Hunter noted that one was an elite sporting a frowning mask, and he leaned over to whisper to Spearmaster. “Is that the guy?” The other slugcat did not even look away from the elite; he only nodded with a hard glare on his face.

Right after they had communicated that fact, the scav looked over the two more carefully, his visible eyes narrowing as he studied Spearmaster a bit more closely. Then, his eyes widened slightly in surprise. The surprise swiftly shifted to anger, and then to hatred. Chittering loudly, he pointed at the two slugcats as the other scavengers prepared their spears. Though his voice was rough and Hunter wasn’t really paying attention, he did make out the word “kill.”

Unease gave way to frustration. He had been through this before, many times over. It would be no different than the other times… With a sigh, Hunter stood up straight, his grip tightening on the needle in his paw as Spearmaster joined him. “I don’t think this guy will listen to reason, man.” The other slugcat shook his head slowly; they exchanged a glance and a small nod.

Then the two slugcats charged forward.

In the end, only the pair of them were still standing. Bruised, bleeding, and dirtied, but alive all the same. Spearmaster looked down upon the elite beneath him; the scavenger’s mask cracked and was lying on the ground. His fearful expression was exposed, hands raised in a placating manner as he wordlessly begged for mercy. All the rage and anger that Spearmaster had felt upon seeing the elite again had faded by that point, and as he tore his gaze away from his beaten enemy and glanced around at the carnage that he and Hunter had already caused, he realized he did not feel like adding another tally to his count of kills that cycle.

Looking back at the elite, he noted the scavenger flinched when he turned back to face him. Obviously, he thought his fate was already sealed and that Spearmaster was simply planning to drag it out. With a huff, he responded by throwing his needle to the ground in front of his opponent. The clang made the scav jump, but he mostly looked a bit confused. Unable to clarify and feeling far too exhausted to even try to convince Hunter to talk for him, he simply sighed and shook his head.

Beating them all in combat had been cathartic enough; as he had going on the expedition with his friend, there was no need for more violence. He felt Hunter’s worried gaze burn a hole in the side of his head, but Spearmaster ignored it in favor of sending more glances at the corpses of scavengers littered around them. All the deaths were bound to attract unwanted attention anyway; it seemed a far better idea to leave the place and go to a shelter before the hungry vultures came and decided they wanted more fresh prey than the bodies littering the ground.

The burning gaze left him, and he heard Hunter growl. He chittered something at the scavenger, an angry command of some sort, one he repeated a couple of times until the elite shakily got to his feet. Had Spearmaster not known Hunter, he might have gotten worried that he was preparing to execute the scav, but he doubted that was the plan at all. That theory proved correct when he chittered one more command, and the elite responded in what sounded like a confirming way before turning tail and limping away.

Spearmaster turned his head to watch the elite flee, a part of him scared that he would come back again, but another knowing he would not even be able to probably track down their location even if he wanted to. With no other words or signs exchanged between them, Hunter gently supported him as they turned around to reach the nearest shelter. It was one he recognized well, one that he and Riv had been inside of many cycles ago. Before Five Pebbles’ collapse, and even before the cell had been installed inside of Moon’s systems.

The inside of the shelter was warm and toasty, and though Spearmaster had never much minded the cold, he would be lying if he said it wasn’t very comforting to be inside a heated room. Slowly, Hunter guided him to lie down in the middle of the floor of the shelter. He sighed again, the second time in satisfaction and comfort, as the other slugcat carefully laid down and shifted closer until they were snuggling each other.

Though he had always been particular with who he wanted to snuggle or cuddle with, Spearmaster was not only too tired to care, but he had nothing against snuggling with Hunter. Had he felt a bit sappy, he might have even admitted that the other slugcat was closer than any of the other friends he had in the colony. After all, he doubted any of the other slugcats that weren’t his mate would invite him out on something like what they had done. And considering Riv’s state… well, even if she did invite him, it would be a better idea for her to simply rest and eat comfortably.

She hated sitting still and doing nothing; she always had. Still, the instincts always won out, and she knew it was for the best that she stayed in the den and let him care for her. Monk and Enot also helped out a lot, and they had graciously taken on the responsibility to keep an eye on her to ensure no difficulties occurred. Though Monk had made it clear that Spearmaster would have more than enough time to come back before the event eventually occurred.

And the fact that he could come back to that in a relaxed and easy-minded state made him eternally grateful to his friend. “You made the right choice, you know.” Hunter suddenly spoke, prompting Spearmaster to open his previously shut eyes and look over at him. “Truly killing the elite would have only continued the cycle of revenge. I mean, we still killed those other scavs… Though considering he was giving orders, I bet he was the leader, and even if they break off from him, I don’t think they care enough to chase us too far.” He huffed as his friend started to ramble, fidgeting slightly with Spearmaster’s tail as he did. “He might still be a bit pissed, but I saw that shock and slight gratitude on his face. I bet he’ll remember the mercy and probably not come find us. Yeah?”

When Hunter stopped talking and glanced over, Spearmaster’s mood soured as he saw the haunted expression on his face. His eyes were slightly glazed over, almost staring at nothing as he started running his paw over his tail gently. Neither he nor Survivor had the best track record when it came to scavs, he remembered. After a moment of considering what to sign, Spearmaster purred to get Hunter’s attention. (He will not come. A moment of mercy is always remembered, and it will spread.) It was a very optimistic thought, but doubtless optimism was sometimes needed to spread hope in the hearts of others.

A small smile graced Hunter’s face as he nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Nothing will come of this. Nothing will spread to the colony…” As his thoughts seemed to wander, Spearmaster moved his tail to brush against the other slugcat’s back with another loud purr. “Your tail…” Gently, Hunter wrapped his arms around his tail as if it were a large slugcat he was hugging. Spearmaster huffed in amusement as the other slugcat purred. “So warm… I think I’ll use your tail as a blanket, Speary!” He declared happily as he laid down, indeed gently situating Spearmaster’s tail to cover his body as he snuggled close.

It only took a few very short moments, and Hunter had fully fallen asleep while nuzzled comfortably into his side. Spearmaster attempted a huff of annoyance and a roll of the eyes, but he was completely unable to keep himself from smiling wide. Taking a deep breath and purring one more time shortly, he rested his head on top of Hunter’s and finally fell asleep as well.

It did not take a lot of energy to follow closely behind the two slugcats, Artificer decided. They traveled fairly slowly, all things considered, so there was no risk of trailing closely behind them. Hell, the biggest difficulty of it all came from the fact that she could not use her explosive abilities a lot, lest the two figure out they were being followed by her. Well, that and the fact that Spearmaster and Hunter killed any big creatures in their way as they traveled, meaning finding good meat to eat was sometimes hard.

Any creatures they had killed often became shy or fearful and hid away when Artificer came through. She was one cycle behind them at most times, and any time she went too fast and caught glimpses of the two, she would slow down and stop to let them go ahead once again. Riv had not given her a lot of information about the situation, only that Spearmaster and Hunter had gone off on some sort of expedition all on their own. Anxious as the smaller slugcat was, though she had accepted her mate leaving, she asked Artificer to follow behind and make sure the two did not pick a fight they could not win.

In any other situation, Artificer would have straight up said no. However, she had a soft spot for Riv, so she eventually accepted to follow the two and keep an eye out. Though she was fully aware that the two slugcats could likely handle anything thrown at them, being two of the stronger fighters in the colony, she was not all too worried. It felt a bit bad to not fully uphold her deal with the aquatic slugcat of keeping an eye out more carefully, but how closely she would watch was never agreed upon, so Artificer did not feel that bad.

Besides, if anything messes with them, it will answer to us. Anything that hurt her friends and family hurt her, and had to die! The gate opened up, and Artificer got moving into the region. Popping out to the clear sky and cold air, she looked up at the sprawling bridges and high towers. The view was admirable, and Artificer would not have had anything against climbing all the way up the tower to look out over the lands more properly. Especially considering most clouds that usually blanketed the sky had dissipated fully, likely letting one get an even better look at the beauty of surrounding lands.

Unfortunately, she knew the slugcats she was looking for probably had not traveled up there. Hunter had never been one for heights and would likely complain so hard that Spearmaster would start hating the heights as well, simply due to having to listen to him bitch and complain. She huffed in amusement and crouched down to look for tracks, regretting that Hunter was not nearby enough that she could tease him.

As she found a pair of prints in a small patch of soil heading in one direction, Artificer stood up and followed the tracks. It didn’t take long until she noticed very clear signs of the slugcats having traveled through the region in the direction she was heading. A couple lizard corpses were stabbed in several spots and left to eventually freeze in the cold. Rain was rare due to the loss of proper iterator cans, and so the corpses left behind from the last cycle were not washed away or broken down by the brutal downpour. Instead, they were left to lie. It was a good thing for her, considering it made it easier for her to find the two slugcats that had caused the chaos.

Artificer actually felt herself get a bit worried when she spotted the corpse of a red lizard along with a vulture, hoping that none of her friends got bit and mortally wounded by the terrifying beast. That worry faded quickly when she came upon a dead red centipede and, next to it, a myriad of corpses. Many scavengers lay scattered all over, along with a few lizards that might have rushed in at the sound of brutal combat. Thankfully, neither slugcat’s body lay mixed in with the dead.

Though momentarily confused over where to go, glancing around for just a moment helped her spot a small trail of blood leading away from the battlefield. Having nowhere else to go, Artificer followed the traces. Only a few drops were shed at a time, pointing toward a rather small wound, thankfully. Not long thereafter, she spotted a pipe marked with a shelter symbol and, without hesitation, started to crawl through. If she were following the right trails, there was a chance that the slugcats had left the shelter by that point in the new cycle, but it still seemed like a good idea to check anyway.

A good idea indeed, as Artificer peeked her head out right on time to see Hunter treating a small wound on Spearmaster’s back, running his rough tongue over the cut to clean it as best as possible. Hearing the noise of her shifting, both slugcats stopped what they were doing, grabbed weapons, and whipped toward her.

Once they saw it was her, they quickly lowered their weapons, eyes wide in surprise. “Oh, Arti. What are you doing here?” The two slugcats both fidgeted awkwardly, putting some space between them as if they were embarrassed to find them acting like close friends.

Artificer hummed, putting her chin in her paw as half her body still stayed inside the tunnel leading into and out of the shelter. “Oh, I was just in the area. I figured you guys had it cozy in here in the warm, warm shelter, and I wanted to join you.” She barked a laugh as Spearmaster averted his eyes and huffed, while Hunter half-heartedly growled at her.

Oh, we will tease them relentlessly over this! The thought made Artificer chuckle, smirking at both slugcats as they too realized that simple fact and frowned deeply. No one went free from her poking fun, especially not Hunter. With no other words exchanged, she suppressed more of her laughter as she gestured for them to come along and climbed back into the tunnel leading outside.

Waiting in the tunnel, she stayed until she heard the two climb after her and then started to move upward. “Hey, I was thinking we could climb up one of the towers and reach the top of this region for some view-watching." Artificer teased, glancing back and grinning when she saw Hunter’s annoyed expression. “Wouldn’t you like that?”

Hunter’s response was to groan loudly, followed by him trying to nip at her tail as she brushed him in the face with it. “No way, enough adventuring.” Spearmaster huffed behind the other slugcat, clearly enjoying the banter between the two.

“And I thought you had an adventurous spirit, Hunter," she cooed, looking back with a frown as she slipped outside fully. “What a shame.”

Both slugcats slipped out after her, one clearly enjoying the jokes more than the other. “Bite me, Arti.” Hunter mumbled, though it was lighthearted and clear that he was trying to hold back a laugh.

Turning around, Artificer started to lead the way back as she shrugged. "I wouldn't wanna hurt ya too badly.”

“I was born with thick skin.”

“All of it comes from the scar tissue, I presume?”

“Ha! Okay, that was actually a good one."