《Down the Deep Blue Hole》Volume 1 Chapter 22: My Companion, the shivering ball of shivers
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"Come here, leader larvack." I requested for the leading larvack(the first to hit max level) to come over so that I can use my dungeon possesion skill on it.
"I'll leave you alone for a while. I have some important issues that I have to complete." Tapira says. Tapira huh.... I didn't really intend to do it but..... it seems like I subconsiously already gave her a name. I mean, after a while her wierd tendencies went down and she became quite likable. Plus she never interacts like humans do(from my past). Not that I have any fun times with them, it was always research and research...... Bah, enough of the negatives, this isn't like me. I guess our new bond and the recent mass death of her monsters had transmitted some of her negative emotions to me. I don't really mind that much, but it still does affect me.
The egg that I recieved from the spider dungeon remains idle beside my core. That battle really leaves a sour taste in my mouth. As if sensing my thoughts, the egg shakes just ever so slightly. I could be mistaken....
"Don't worry. Vengeance is a dish best served when least expected." I whisper to it. Is it just me or does it look satisfied... Can an egg look satisfied? Hmmmm. Worth some invesigation...
Of course, there is a good reason to possess my larvack. Our dear little 'fairy' was still completely wrapped in spider webs, which some might find appealing, buuuut right now I need information and not some other useless time wasting..... I digress.
With the ever familiar toilet flush sensation, I possessed the larvack and began to knaw at the silk binding the 'fairy'. But there was just one sliiiight issue.
"No, wa-oi! Ga-stay still! Stop!" You see, the thing is that whenever my larvack was lying on her face or moving between her limbs or just chewing at the strings in general... she would just start squirming around and the larvack's teeth(I think they are teeth) are not the most accurate cutters around. Furthermore, I have to keep the acidic saliva away from her so that she would not melt into a puddle. That liquid can make rocks go squishy, so flesh and bones would not be a problem.... I think. And those rock ripping jaws prove really useless when faced with spider silk. *Sigh* This is going to take a while....
"Puah!" The 'fairy' let out a small noise as her gag came free. The moment her hands were free, she immediately tore off her blindfold and started smacking the larvack with all her might.
"Owowowowowowowowow! Stooooooop! It Huuuuuuurts!" Well, not really, more of like someone throwing marbles at you. Not really dangerous, but painful all the same.
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I backed off(in the larvack). "Etooooo[A.N.: Eto is japanese for ehhh/errr. Or at least it is for this story], you are my Companion right, if I am not mistaken...." I start off. The 'fairy' continuing to glare at me, still struggling to remove her bindings on her legs, and whatever was still left. Note to self, spider silk can be very sticky.
"Pleased to meet you." I continue. ... ... ... Still no response. "Welcome to my dungeon. ... That is how they say that right? But it makes me sound like...." Me being the ever awesome dungeon master I am, got slightly distracted by my own awesomeness and continued to talk to myself for a while. Hey man, I didn't talk much back then, the only conversational partners I had were microscopes and needles, with the occasional test-tube. Don't blame me.
"Ah, don't worry. We are not going to eat you up or anything. In every sense of the word, so rest assured." I affirm my companion. I hope she gets my joke...Did she just smile? I'm not really sure, can't tell.
"Eto.... could I have a response at least?" I say, getting more and more puzzled by the minute.
"Ah! I know! Do you want some food and water? Lemme just quickly go get some..." And following that, I immediately instructed largots to grab some berries and use a relatively larger leaf to hold a couple drops of water. Then I had the small group of largots bring the food over.
Though before I could say another word, the 'fairy' let out a small "Hii!(a shout)" and pushed away the meal. Little thuds revertebrated throughout the dungeon as the fruits clattered onto the floor. Taking it for a sign of hostility, the militarvae let out a slight hiss and bristled their spines, slowly inching forward to guard the largots. Seeing this, the fairy immediately backpedaled and crashed into a wall(it's a ptiy but my dungeon is still rather small), and curled into a shivering ball. ... ... ... ... ... Why do all the people(or dungeons) I have to deal with are all such a pain. Oops, correction, I meant mentally demanding.
"Back!" I commanded the militarvae and they reluctantly backed off.
"There there, the scary larvae are off now. You feel any better now?" I asked in the larvack, face to face(mouth?) with her. The 'fairy' looked up, let out another small yelp, and once again curled into a ball, except this time it was as if she was trying to assimiliate with the wall. Now this is a problem...... Well, no biggie. From my very reliable knowledge(novels and games) reserve, I know the solution is to always just leave them be with all of the life sustaining essentials.
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"Well, if you need anything, don't hesisitate to ask. The experience must have been pretty harsh. I'll let you have some time alone. Food and water's all here [I point to where I left it]. When you feel better, tell me, okay?" The 'fairy' seemed to shiver a little less, but just a tiny bit, so I may be wrong. But there should be nothing wrong with being optimistic right?
About a couple of hours have passed and the 'fairy' seemed convinced that we mean no harm. Although I was a little ticked off by the amount of times I had to get largots running to refill the water that had spilled out from the impromtu leaf container. My effort finally paid off, however, since the 'fairy' was no longer wall hugging but now looking around. But just as she was reaching for one of the berries......
"HOLD IT RIGHT THEREEEEEEEEEEE!!!" A large bee just suddenly came zipping through the connecting tunnel and crashed into the 'fairy'. Yup, it was Tapira. With her six limbs, she easily pinned down the fairy's hands and feet and poised her stinger at her throat.
"Ta-Tapira? Erm.... What are you doing?" I asked. There had to be a reason for it, since we would never do anything to cause each other harm.
"Listen carefully, fairy. I don't care what kind of creature you are, but no one will take honey's kindness for granted. Just because you may mean a lot to him doesn't apply to me! In these two dungeons, there is no free lunch, you got it?" Tapira spat at my companion.
"Tapira-"
"And frankly speaking, you have proved more than useless. Only in the name of my fallen monsters did I tolerate you to this extent but to see you doing this.... is just too much to bear. If you are not going to show me why should we keep you, my stinger might just slip...."Tapira was a complete firestorm of anger. Where it came from... I have no idea.
"Oi, Tapira-"
"I've heard of companions who bring great knowledge and power to dungeons, some which many will gladly chip off their core to acquire, from my inherent knowledge. But you" She spoke with great contempt "You are such a wreck that I'm surprised that you even qualified to live. I-"
"TA-PI-RA!" I stressed.
"Yes honey~? Anything I can do for you?" She cooes back, as if her previous conversation was nothing but a lie, her attitude changing 180 degrees.
"I would appreciate it if you do not plunge your stinger into the neck of my companion. Also, do get off. She's already crying. And honestly, I don't think it's an act, if that is what you are wary of."
"My, darling you are so kind, like you always are. But could you leave extracting something useful out of this leech here to me?" Tapira continues to praise me. Tapira..... stop causing emotional harm to my companion oi.....
"NO. And that is final. Now, please move off her if you would. I have every reason to believe in my companion until she proves otherwise. Jeez, 'fairy', you should stop weeping, you're spoiling your face." I said as I nudged Tapira off my companion.
"I forgot to introduce her." I spoke to the 'fairy'. "She's Tapira, my Oathsworn. She was the main reason why we could rescue you, with very heavy losses, so please forgive her. We really mean you no harm, but as Tapira said, we will if you do to us."
The 'fairy' hicced and sobbed, but quickly nodded in acknowledgement.
"Still, I never expected a dungeon Companion to be completely terrified of dungeons." I commented as we waited for the 'fairy' to calm down.
"You wanted some of the berries right? Here, you can have it. Think of it as a welcome gift." I told her, dropping the berry on her lap.
She stared at it for quite a while, before gingerly touching it with the tip of her finger, then picking it up.
"Hur-" Tapira tried to say before I motioned for her to stop. The 'fairy' looked at her quizzically(she did not see my signal), causing Tapira to make some other noise to seem less suspicious. Though it did not seem to do the trick.
The 'fairy' turned her attention back to her berry, sniffed at it and did a little dab with her tongue. Believing it to be completely safe(which it is), she placed it into her mouth and started chewing. A look of surprise came over her face before tears started rolling down her cheeks again.
"Oi oi oi oi oi, what is it now?" I asked but recieved no answer. Not enought, I bet.
"Here. The rest of the berries. It's a package deal." But the 'fairy' seemed to not get it.
"It means they are all yours." Tapira helped fill in. Nice one!
The 'fairy' appeared shocked, rapidly looking at the small pile and us two alternately, before taking a berry from the pile. After affirming that nothing happened, she immediately started to stuff her mouth full of berries, her tears streaming even more. Which of course made both me and Tapira really puzzled. Even me who was a former human never really met anyone who cried when there was extra food.
We both observed the 'fairy' who was chewing as if her life depended on it. Then she sniffled and uttered two words.
"Thank you"
And a wave of emotion hit me, like never before.
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