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","count":"3"},{"pool_id":"42552","name":"Stories","description":"My own writing!","count":"48","submission_left_submission_id":"1348512","submission_left_file_name":"1895311_Gittons_braixen_1.jpg","submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1895/1895311_Gittons_braixen_1.jpg","submission_left_thumbnail_url_large_noncustom":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/1895/1895311_Gittons_braixen_1_noncustom.jpg","submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/1895/1895311_Gittons_braixen_1_noncustom.jpg","submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_x":"120","submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_y":"120","submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_x":"200","submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_y":"200","submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_x":"300","submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_y":"300"}],"description":"Story explains this picture and a lot of upcoming pictures. \nTo put simply though. Kevin is not a morning person and is definitely not a heavy cuddling in the morning type person. Although she is so very warm and soft, so lovely to feel...\n\nMade by [iconname]Bleats[/iconname]\n","description_bbcode_parsed":"Story explains this picture and a lot of upcoming pictures.
To put simply though. Kevin is not a morning person and is definitely not a heavy cuddling in the morning type person. Although she is so very warm and soft, so lovely to feel...

Made by \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBleats\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBleats\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

","writing":"[i]It has been a long time now. The unending darkness that surrounds me and the comforting deep cold that holds me in the midst of sleep for so much time now finally shaken by warmth. Once more I collect myself and reach out towards it, only to find metal. It is thick, ageless metal built not to move but to survive. How long has it been I wonder as the metal shifts and groans into life. A crack, as thin as a razer, pieces the darkness with a dim light barely even greater than it. I try to stand. To greet those who would wake me at long last but my body no longer works and I end up falling into the light just as sleep once more takes me. [/i]\n\nA pair of eyes in the dark snap open. He bolts upright despite the spinning ache in his head before relaxing and taking a look around the small, stuffy room he was laying in. It was round and rough as if carved out of a huge block of wood. The air was thick, his nose twitching as it tried to understand what it was smelling, each lingering scent leaving a fuzzy image in his mind like a third eye. The darkness was not absolute but as his eyes adjusted he found that there was little to be found. The very bed he lay on nothing but thick leaves under softer ones. He catches sight of a door, no, a hole in the wall acting like a passage to another place. Too crude to be even called a doorway. His eyes looked elsewhere but everything was simply unfocused. Not just because of the dim light but because his very eyes seemed to not work right. Running a hand across the floor near him he tried to search out his surroundings but found only rough wood. Sweeping clockwise around the bed his finger hit something. Metal and glass that skid a little from the nudge. He picked the object up carefully. Squinting at them he hummed in thought before putting them on his face. The two large glass circles matching the curve of his eyes and just like that his vision cleared up. Now able to see he could make out something else set a bit further away. Making sure to not push himself he crawled hand over hand his way over to the object to find it a bag made of cloth and leather. A single strap lay untied and sprawling while the many pockets only teased his curiosity. Pulling one such open he looked inside to find a metal box. Not interested yet he pulled open the large main pouch of the bag and took a look inside. It was quite full of all sorts of strange things. He reached in and pulled out a flat leather sheath with a knife still inside. The young male withdrew it to find it clean and smooth, a simple short blade with several small holes running along it to decrease the weight. He ran a finger along it to find it still sharp but suddenly he flinched. A twinge of odd memories ran through his mind, as if recalling something long ago, numbers but not mathematic and instead atomic. It told him what metals formed the blade, alloys even. It was an entire precise list of what the knife was made of. Hearing something coming he slipped the knife back into the case and put it behind him before pulling the bag with him to the makeshift bed. He waited but nothing yet came. Every step he could just about make out but the distance proved to be far more than he had thought. It was only as he could smell something on the air that they appeared. An old gray male that hopped through the hole followed by two others who quickly flanked him. The final one a large snow white female who slipped in more quietly than the rest. They chirped and chattered in high pitched squeaks for a time, the tones and notes having more complexity than the young male expected. He tried to speak back but only to explain he could not understand whatever language they were saying. The three older guys looked at each other before the oldest one chirped something to the large female sitting behind them. She was quick, hopping over to them and listening to whatever they had to say before making her way over to the young guy. She knelt near him, sniffing his thick neck fluff and nuzzling him in a friendly gesture. He raised his hand to try and wave her off but she did not understand the gesture so instead he placed his palm onto her nose to push her back gently. She flinched and then backed away a few steps. He smiled to hopefully put her at ease and thankfully she smiled back, a soft and gentle kind that he liked. Opening the bag next to him he rummaged around it, his memories of something driving him on when he finally found a brown wooden box. Simple but made with sturdy polished wood, near black in color, that had a gold catch. Inside were several silver rings, each one simple and polished sitting in a soft velvety groove. He took one and closed the box. Waving over the female she hesitated but stepped a bit closer. He sighed and repeated the action but this time she moved forward much quicker and once more wrapped her arms around him in clear miscommunication. Her larger form unfortunately too strong and heavy to simply push off. He sighed and frowned but only in small annoyance. Slipping his arm around she fell forward onto his lap to which he slipped the ring over her ear. She twitched a few times before going still.\n“Hello, my name is Kevin. Who are you?” He asked flatly. She blinked a few times to herself and was taken back by the sudden new language pouring itself into her head. She sat up and looked over to the three others watching and then back before pointing to herself. He nodded to her. \n “Lucy.” She said barely a whisper. \n “Good to meet you Lucy. Now, I bet you are confused because to be honest I am very confused myself but I think now we can understand each other we can be confused together? How about you tell me some things like where I am, who I am or what I am.”\n “Yes...” She licked her lips as if trying to feel the new words. “Here is sleepy room for hole diggers. They found Kevin really, really, really far. Um, we Tiban. You Tiban?” She sat with ears down. Long tail swishing from one side to another. \n “Good. Why don’t you show me around? I am kind of starving too.” He placed his hands on the floor and tried to get up but could not quite get his legs to work right. Lucy was quick to get up and lend a hand as carefully as she could. Standing up he got a sense for the height of her too, easily a head taller and even then she was ducking down for the ceiling. With an arm around her waist for balance they headed to the exit hole along with the other three. On the other side was a wide tunnel sloping upwards to the right past the wood and into the ground and to the left sloping down towards another larger hole. Kevin carefully followed the three downwards to make sure he did not slip but thankfully all the rough wood did make sliding difficult. The next room they came out in was much larger and had a higher roof to it. Thanks to several clusters of pale yellow mushrooms along the ceiling as well it was dim but at least bright enough to see. All along the wall were small outcoves but with almost nothing in them apart from a bucket and some decorative crystals. More interesting though was that the same bedding like leaves Kevin had awoke on covered the floor like a carpet. \n “Tiban sleep here.” Lucy explained. Kevin nodded despite how obvious the statement was. They carried on. Heading down a curved and larger tunnel that quickly fell into darkness at the midpoint for a short while. At the end they entered into an even larger room. There were dozens of Tiban sitting all over. A fire in the middle poured smoke up into a hole in the roof but even so the scent of burning wood was strong. It was a cozy room but the mood was far from happy. Everybody sat or lay on leaves looking hungry and bored. \n “Tiban eat here. Talk, play.” Kevin shot a look up to Lucy and then out to the sea of faces that one by one was starting to look his way. The ones laying on the ground even sitting up to take a peek. He hobbled over to near the fire thanks to Lucy's help. Sitting down he crossed his legs and could not help but feel a bit awkward with so many eyes still staring. He felt a small bump from behind when suddenly Lucy’s arms wrapped around him. Her fur warm and the gentle petting extremely comforting. A brown female sitting across the fire met his gaze. She smiled sweetly and the many milky stripes her fur wore only caused a deeper hunger in Kevin. She stirred something in a pot hanging off to the side of the fire and filled a crude bowl with it. She passed it down from one Tiban around the fire to the next till a sandy colored female gave him the food. It looked like food at least. An odd mix of purple with red chunks. He dipped his little finger in the hot mix and quickly gave it a taste lest it burn. It was soup made of fruit and nuts. While it was richly sweet there was little else to the taste. He lifted the bowl to his mouth and took a sip to which he noticed everybody else breaking out into smiles.\n “Lucy… Am I supposed to be doing something? I do not remember anything, even where I am or who I am.” Kevin asked before taking another sip. \n “Sleep make Kevin ill? Not good. Lucy tell you all?” She spoke like a whisper that tickled his ears. \n “Ok. Tell me everything you know I guess.”\n “All Lucy know. Y-yes. At start was creatures. Titans. Biggest but friendly. Made worlds but unhappy… Kevin’s words too hard. Lucy can not speak right.” She tried to explain with a whine. \n “It is alright. The translator takes time for your brain to absorb the language. I did not mean at the start of the world either. How about you tell me where I am?” Kevin replied trying to sound patient. \n “Lucy sorry. Tiban found Kevin. Deep, very very deep, in the darkest dirt. Kevin hatched, big egg. Biggest egg. Egg was cold, very very hard. Old story says, when Tiban at worst, one of metal egg will save. Tiban not know metal. Is Kevin here, save us?” Even though she crudely spoke another language the huge crowd that were all watching him could seemingly sense her meaning. They all stared, hungry, needy. Kevin sighed and handed the half full bowl over to a girl sitting next to him. She took it with shaking hands and gave him a wide grin in response. \n “That is where you got the bag from then and my glasses. Continue.”\n “Yes. They in hard egg. Took all. The tunnel fell apart, Tiban dragged you here. Lucy sorry, we no save egg. Kevin here to save?” \n “I… Thank you for saving my, objects. Can I ask you a few questions?” Kevin asked to which he could feel Lucy nod against him. “Do you know what metal is and how it is made?”\n “The hard egg? No. It cold, hard.” Her words strained to find meaning.\n “That is fine. What do you think the thing I wear on my face is?”\n “Mask. Crown?” Lucy tried to find the right word. \n “They are glasses, I can not see without them as my eyes do not work right. I say again, thank you for bringing them back.” He looked up at her with a grin of his own but she only look scared. “It is alright. One other question. How, good, are the Tiban surviving?” He could feel her tighten the grip around him as he asked that one final question. \n “Bad.” She managed to state. Kevin could feel her shaking. \n “Ok, I, Kevin, promise to do everything I can to help you, Lucy, and all the Tiban.” Kevin gave her a pat on her arm and he felt her loosen up. She let out a soft noise like a giggle and sat up to chatter something to the rest of the crowd that caused many cheery chatters and squeaks to echo back. Kevin gently pulled her arms off him and stood up, followed by Lucy and many others. “First thing is to know where you are so, where are we?” Kevin asked to which Lucy gave a nod and pointed to another hole on the far side of the room. He waved for her to follow and with somewhat more confident footing started to head down the hole. \n\n[i]God my head is killing me. No, I need to think. These Tiban, or rather my own species, seem odd but friendly and they are my best bet for surviving out here, wherever here is. I need to get back to that “egg” Lucy mentioned but if the deepest tunnel they have dug is buried then it is not a focus. We have shelter and a little bit of food and water. First step is to find a source of more so explore the area and take stock. Hopefully the translator starts to adapt the two languages better as well or communication is going to prove an obstacle, their belief that I am some sort of savier is helpful but worrying if I can not explain myself.[/i]\n\nSnapping Kevin out of his daydreams was a light at the end of the long curving tunnel. It shon much brighter than any of the mushrooms so far and as he stepped out into the room he could not believe what he saw. The room was a huge hollow space with a length of ledge all the way around, in the middle however was nothing but a giant hole. Not one leading underground but outside. As he knelt on the edge of the ledge and looked over he could see branches as thick as roads all knit together, trees the size of monolithic towers and even further down the sky. An upside down world? No. The trees were hanging upside down but the sky was in fact just mist far below, it strained his eyes but he could just about make out the bottom. An ocean, a glowing ocean! It rolled and bubbled like a hot stew and indeed the very air flowing upwards was warm like steam. Kevin sat back and edged away from the ledge. \n “It the Nerrow.” Lucy sat down next to him. “All is Nerrow. Trees, Gnarls. Top of trees, Arbor. Middle trees, Lush. Bottom is Breach. Lucy help?” Kevin turned to look at her. Sitting so happy, long puff ball tipped tail swishing back and forth. \n “A lot. Thank you Lucy, you are being a great help.” He meant the compliment and Lucy seemed all the more happy for it with her wagging tail. Like a pet. Shaking the idea out of his head he got up and started to head back. “So where do you currently get your water and food and of what does the food consist of?” He asked slipping back into the dark of the tunnels.\n “Puddles in Lush. Fruit, moss. Hard to find. Hard to reach.”\n “What do you mean reach it?” Kevin called back trying not to get splinters. \n “Fruity spot is near. Past crying tree. Down, but bad things hide near. Nasty hiding things. Too much for Tiban.” Lucy’s words were starting to come more naturally now but they were still sad. \n “Not too much for me. Show me where the exits are to this place.” Kevin called back before letting her go first. They headed up to the main room and walked around the outside till they reached yet another tunnel. This one however was shorter and led to a small room beneath the main. There were several Tiban here as well, each carrying a stick with a few looking out of a wider hole in the wall. In the back sat a group of massive looking Tiban, even taller than Lucy but far more muscled as well. Lucy stepped forward and chattered something to them that caused the majority to suddenly start muttering to each other or standing up to stare at him.\n “Hole, goes to Arbor. Tiban tree, small and broken, can not get to Lush quick. Lucy likes our tree though!” She spoke to Kevin as he seemingly ignored the stares and looks to go look out of the wider exit to the tree. The view was interesting. Below was a sweeping field of what seemed to be moss that grew as long as grass but above sat a verdant garden. Long plants with patches of flowers and many long vines snaking its way all the way over. In the distance sat the base of a massive if not completely absurdly large tree. It shimmered in the light like fresh dew of the morning and all the mossy grass around it grew much thicker than the patches near the Tiban Stump. Kevin’s nose twitched as he picked the smallest scent of fresh earthy water on the wind but with it was a tangled mess of sweet and sour notes. A tap on his shoulder broke him out of his musings and as he turned he found not Lucy but another, a small brown female with surprisingly long claws for a Tiban.\n “This Alex. She runner, for fruit. Is… moody.” Lucy's explained as she stood behind her looking disapprovingly. Kevin let out a sigh. Swinging the bag off his shoulder he got another ring out. Alex moved to snatch it from his furry fingers but he pulled back and pointed down. She glared but lowered her head for him to slip the ring on himself. \n “This weird! You, short fluff. What think? How do?” Alex stood with crossed arms and a pout that only seemed cute but her words were even more crude than Lucy. \n “If the tree over there has water and nearby is fruit, then what is stopping you? My plan is to know what the issue is and then fix it. I can do more than you think.”\n “Short fluff help?” Alex stood thinking. “Moss Arms, hiding in moss. All over, many more than Tiban.” Alex spoke pushing Kevin out of the way and pointing down to the mossy fields. He leaned on the edge and looked out and down to see nothing. Leaning further out he squinted to see any differences but no. Confused he looked over to Alex.\n “Under moss. Can not see. Can not smell. Can not hear. Tiban step wrong and…” For effect she snapped her fingers. “I am runner. Best runner. Alex get… lucky. You too short, fluffy, for runner. What is plan?” \n “I take it they can not climb or fly. The name of your group, runners, tells me that if you must try and get past them then speed is needed…” Kevin began muttering to himself. Quick little murmurings that neither Lucy or Alex could make out. “I need something that smells, do you think you can help Lucy?” He asked already heading back to the tunnel.\n “Y-yes. Yes. Lucy go help.” She managed to get out as Kevin quickly disappeared. Alex meanwhile was just as confused but decided to dash after him just to see what was going on. She was agile and moved with grace but even so Kevin was keeping surprising pace. As she got into the main room she just managed to catch sight of kevin’s tail disappearing into the dark of the upper tunnel. She ducked low and picked up the pace to catch up. Hands over paws she all but bounced her way along the curving tunnels and small rooms till she got all the way up to the mine. She stood gawking as Kevin filled up a small wooden bucket he had somehow snatched on his way along. With a hand full of dirt he rubbed his face and shook the excess of his eyes. The odd strained grin plastered across his face the only thing keeping Alex from saying something. He walked over so slowly and only gave her a passing glance as he slipped back down the tunnels with his bucket of dirt. Alex stood curious and confused but only for a moment before following after him. \n “Fluffy! Kevin. What do? Hello?” She called down the tunnel but did not get a response. She picked up the speed but did not catch up to him either. “How so quick…” She whispered to herself in the gloomy tunnels. \n\nAs she stepped back into the exit room she found Kevin sitting with several buckets around him mashing up something. She covered her nose from the offensive stink coming from the mixture and went over.\n “What doing? Fluffy tell Alex.” \n “I am going for a walk and I like to look my best.” Kevin joked as he grabbed a stinking handful of the mud mix and painted his arm with it. \n “Lucy going too!” Lucy added as she plunged her hand into the mess, followed by a shiver of disgust from the slimy feel. \n “You don’t have to do that. I mean what if I am wrong?” Kevin replied painting the other arm.\n “Lucy have faith.” She simply replied as she rubbed the stuff over her body. \n “Alex no like mud. Fluffy is silly. Go, do what Kevin thinks.” Alex sat in a huff as the other two helped cover each other in a fine layer of sticky, disgusting mud. They both grabbed some buckets and headed over to the exit hole. Kevin poked his head out and finding the vine they use to climb up and down grabbed it and jumped out followed shortly by Lucy. Alex rushed over alongside several others who were all trying to get a look, she now understood what he meant by a walk.\nKevin yawned and took Lucy by the hand. She looked over to him nervously but did not resist as they started to walk out over to the moss fields. Slow but with a gentle pace to the steps Kevin could feel Lucy shaking and so gave her hand a squeeze to try and comfort her. They could not smell anything but the putrid scent of the mud covering them and as much as he tried Kevin could neither see nor hear anything around him. It should have put him at ease but instead only sowed new paranoia inside him. Every step a risk. Every second that ticked by in his head only making the tension worse but before he knew it the moss had started to get increasingly long. First up to the ankles and then to the knees. It made walking harder but gave a sense of safety as surely whatever hid just beneath the fragrant floor would be blinded by the long, soft material. They reached the leaking willow. Different to the dry stump the Tiban had called home as it had small beads of water flowing down the large cracks in the bark. The air sweeter and refreshing. Lucy was quick to hop over and gently lap at the water while her buckets slowly filled up. Kevin meanwhile went to look around. The bark of the tree had dozens of large hook like thorns all curling upwards. He grabbed one and by putting his paw on the wood managed to pull it loose. The curve of the hook was blunt and smooth but the tip was sharper than a needle. Pulling a second one loose he grasped them in each hand and started to climb up the rough bark. The height from the Arret soil above to the Arbor fields below being quite scary but he needed to get a better look at things. Reaching a small alcove filled with mushrooms on the side of the tree he sat and had a look out towards the stump. His eyes went wide as he realized that Alex had followed them, she was only a short distance away and so relaxed as she was not in danger at least. He plucked a mushroom near him to take a closer look. It was pale and had a wide cap to it, he gave it a sniff and ran his hands over it when a sudden flash of information popped into his head again with a sting. They were not poisonous and were also high in protein with various vitamins in the juicy stalk. He blinked the dots out of his eyes and curious took a bite of it. The earthy but otherwise watery taste of the juice confirming that it was not just his imagination. With his head cleaning up he looked down to Lucy but could not spot Alex. Ignoring that, he stood up and looked up towards the plants above. The majority were ferns, grass, moss, vines and other stuff that were not too helpful nor nice to eat. \n “Fluffy!” A voice called out as Alex popped up her head up causing Kevin to near jump straight out of the alcove. “Alex means, Kevin.” Alex corrected herself as she climbed up and inside the alcove. “Alex wanted to say… Kevin smart. Alex no believe in stories. Not normally. Kevin not look strong, is silly, fluffy, but… is correct.” Kevin sat down next to her as she seemed to try to get the words out. “Alex want to help Kevin. Kevin strong, in the head. Give Alex the plan and Alex will jump to it!” \n “You sure changed your tune quick.” Kevin lightly mocked. “Fine. I do need as much loyal help as I can get right now.” He reached over a hand to her but she did not understand. He pointed to her opposite hand and so extended it like he did. With a shake he let out a laugh. “This means we have a deal.” He explained.\n “Oh. Good… Kevin want rub fur with Alex?” She asked with a grin that caused Kevin’s entire brain to falter.\n “Like a hug? I would not mind.” Kevin replied causing Alex to break out in an amused smile. In a swift motion she moved and swung a leg over Kevin to sit on his lap. Her strong arms wrapped around his chest as she nuzzled into his neck fluff. Kevin was unsure what to do and instead placed his hands on her chest and pushed her away. “Whoa whoa, I didn't mean… this. I am still not used to all the phrases and how Tiban work yet.” Kevin spoke quick and felt relieved when she pulled back.\n “Lucy say that, Kevin have mind holes. Kevin sure? Kevin strong. Alex no scared of getting fat, of clutches.” Her eyes said otherwise. \n “I… eh. Ehm. No, no. I get it. The slight limp in your right leg. The defensive and harsh nature of your tone. You are the best runner and so the one who has survived the most but I need experts and loyal Tiban to help me. Your job is not over yet.” He spoke straight to the point and thankfully she understood, with a nod she climbed off and let out a sigh.\n “Alex happy Kevin said no. Alex would hate to be fat. All gross.” Alex explained poking her tongue out at the idea. “Can Kevin carry me down then? Kevin is the Savior.” \n “What do you mean carry you down, I don’t even know how to climb down on my own.”\n “Kevin really is silly.” Alex let out a laugh. “Tiban can do all falls. Kevin just needs to land on paws. Get feel for it. Tiban whelps can make fall too, easy for adult Kevin.” She waved a finger at him before wrapping an arm around his shoulders and jumping onto his back. He groaned but did not complain, she was shorter than him at least. Kevin looked down and while he did not feel fear from the height it was quite unnerving nonetheless. He took a deep breath and with arms out wide hopped off the ledge. The rush of wind was intense and the way Alex gripped him was not helping him either but he did stay straight. The ground caught up quick and the impact shook his very bones despite it not hurting at all. Unfortunately he bounced up like a spring just a step and lost his balance. Tumbling forward he opened his eyes to find Lucy looking concerned and Alex laughing into his ear. “Good work fluff.” She chuckled as Lucy gave him a hand standing up.\n“I have a plan.” Kevin spoke brushing himself off. “For now we need to bring back water, some of those thorns and anything nearby that is edible. Alex, you are our lead runner so can you get a bucket of food?”\n“Easy!” She chimed grabbing a spare bucket from Lucy and jogging on around the tree. \n“If Kevin no mind, what is plan next?” Lucy asked.\n“A tunnel. If the fields here are too dangerous then we should go up and over them.” As he explained Lucy walked over and wrapped him up in a hug. \n“Lucy sorry, Tiban already tried. Arret crust, harder than stone.” Lucy out a small whine and Kevin gave her a pat on the back to try and comfort her. The awkward height difference to the hug not helping things however.\n“I figured there would be a reason but trust me, you walked through a literal field of dea… danger for me. Breaking some rock is nothing!” She gave him one last squeeze before letting him go. She nodded her trust to him.\n\nWith buckets of water, fruit and other various things like thorns or vines they started to make their way back through the mossy fields once more. The sticky pungent mud had started to dry and by the time they got back to the stump they called home it had gone hard. Climbing the vine they were all relieved to be back.\n “Give these to those who most need it but save a bucket for us. It is going to be hard work from here on out.” Kevin barked handing his bucket of water to a nearby runner on the way to the tunnel. The world around him grayed out as he focused on the task in front of him. Every step was taken with purpose as his mind wound tight the clockwork of invention, the longer he took to solve this issue the more Tiban suffered. There could be no doubts, there was no time for mistakes. Even so he could feel the pull of fatigue around his eyes and the now hard, but thankfully no longer stinking, mud only brought annoyance. He ignored the praise and cheers from the crowds as he moved only to solve the next of their worries and then most likely the next. Kevin let out a yawn and looked around the mine entrance. It was more just a hollow space with various tunnels branching off and piles of rocks thrown to the side. He picked up one and looked over it. Picking up another he gave it a sniff and then a lick. Sitting down next to the pile he reached into his backpack and brought out the knife. Using the flat end of the handle he struck and chipped away the stone till it formed a cone shape. Grabbing another he shaped it into a similar shape before picking up the next.\n “Ah hey Lucy.” He called out smelling her enter the the room. “I don’t suppose you know where we could get long pieces of wood, about as thick as my forearm?” She walked over slowly in thought and sat down beside him to watch him work. \n “Lucy knows! Tree near with spikes. Long spikes. Some Tiban call it, Spike Floss. Lucy is sorry though, it far. More than leaking tree.” Lucy answered to which Kevin reached over and gave her a quick pat on the head. Her tail gave a swish from one side to another. Leaning over his shoulder she took a closer look at what he was doing. Kevin would pick out a rock, place it on a flat one, and carefully strike it till it took on another shape. After doing so he would then put it next to him and move onto the next. “Lucy thinks, Tiban have spikes here. Somewhere.” She added enthralled by the precise mechanical nature of his movements. \n “See if you can locate me a few. It would make the tunnel work much more efficient.” He replied back and stopping his work for a moment reached over to scratch under her chin as if by instinct. “You have been a great help so far.” She let out a soft chirp like noise and gave him a hug for a second before springing up and going on her way. Kevin gave a glance to her happy bouncing steps before returning his focus to the rocks at hand. \n\n[i]Lucy is proving to be quite advantageous to my survival. She is loyal and kind most likely due to the various folklore and tales they think I am apart of but that same kindness I find intriguing. For a primitive society and one so deep into both difficulties and religion these Tiban are far too naive and kind for their own good. I suppose if by natural instinct this kindness is ingrained into them it would indeed explain the root of such difficulties. Alex on the other hand is more reasonable, not simply happy to trust me at first glance but smart enough to stick by me the second she realizes how advantageous I am to her. Her physical skills and knowledge of the surrounding areas proving to be of a greater value than Lucy’s religious information. With both of them sticking close to me I should be able to turn this all around. I am so tired of rough wood and dirt already. The lack of clothing does suggest cloth is either not yet invented or too difficult to make as well. [/i]\n\nFinishing with his rocks he looked over what he had and the huge pile that was left. Waving his ears around and raising his nose to the air he managed to work out that neither Lucy nor Alex were coming yet so with a yawn lay down on his back. The oddly warm and hard dirt hardly comforting but it helped to edge away from the fatigue he had been feeling. He raised a hand and turned it around in front of him. Placing it on his chest he felt the bones underneath. Now wondering about his anatomy Kevin then swished his tail around and felt the flexible bones. \n“[i]I do not remember having a tail.[/i]” Kevin thought to himself. Placing his hand on his belly he closed his eyes. “[i]I do not remember legs or ears either so my memory is clearly damaged.[/i]” He added tapping one against the hard floor and twitching the other just to see how it felt. Glancing over to the empty hole some distance away he slid his hand down further. The fur getting shorter and more fine till it was like running his fingers over fluffy silk. The area radiated more warmth than any other and while the more private and sensitive flesh lay nestled inside Kevin could get a sense for shape. Passing on the thicker and fluffy fur below did not hide anything and while at first this left him confused he found the two familier soft orbs also sat inside him. The external blank space sending shivers along him from even the gentlest of touches.\n “Kevin! Lucy got the… things.” He heard Lucy call out from the tunnel causing him to snap his hand away and sit up now much more awake. \n “G-great. Perfect, let me see.” He replied before clearing his throat. She handed him a bucket full of odd things and many long pieces of smooth wood sticks before unwrapping a long vine that was slung around her and dropping that next to him as well. \n “Lucy found spikes, other things too. Lucy thought Kevin might find use.” She explained sitting down next to him with a cheery look.\n “Thank you and yes. I am sure this will have a use.” Kevin complimented. The bucket was full of little wooden stuff. Thorns of all shapes and sizes, odd sparkly rocks that tingles when he held them and small crystals much like the many decorative ones that were left all over. The sticks were more interesting. Long, smooth and with a pointed end each one was indeed like a giant spike. Grabbing one firmly he tried to bend it to find it quite strong as well. Now deeper in thought he had a look at the long rope like vine she had brought as well. It was too thick to be used as string but seemed to have a great natural strength to it. Kevin looked over the materials and while he could see the answer he was not yet quite sure how to get it. Remembering the mushrooms he tried to roll the vine between his palms, squeezing it with his fingers and even just stroking it but nothing came to him. As he sat thinking about how to get it to work a small flash of information popped up in his mind, proving both useful and confusing on what the rules are. Ignoring that for now he focused and placed a single finger on the vine which unloaded everything from chemical analysis to structural layouts. Now informed Kevin took the knife and split the vine down the middle, with a pull the rest came away smoothly splitting the packed organic rope into two smaller ones. “Hey Lucy, ever heard of somebody having… visions or flashes of memories?” He asked as he got to work combining all of this into the tools they would need.\n“Lucy not sure. Kevin’s miracle ring gives word. Words. A lot, long and loopy words. They tell Lucy meanings. Kevin’s words… ‘Language,’ is so big but beautiful.” \n“That would be the translator using my knowledge to fill out your vocabulary.” Kevin stopped for a moment to reach over and give her a pat on the head. “To know and to create is to be higher than a simple animal. I am exceptionally proud of your progress when it comes to speaking but do not push yourself, let it come naturally.” Kevin let out a smile as she reached over to give him a hug. Adjusting her arms she held him around the waist as to let him continue. “Where is Alex by the way? We might need her soon.”\n“Lucy not know, Alex maybe feeding Tiban.” Lucy replied causing Kevin to laugh a little to himself. He corrected himself as she looked at him curiously. \n“We can find her later, this location is quite small after all. For now, the tools are done so it is time for me to teach you how to use them I suppose.” Kevin moved to stand but stopped and leaned back against Lucy. “Hey, how do you create the buckets and plates if you have not invented tools yet?”\n“Tiban like Alex, the Larein. Have hand sweat. Makes wood, soft wood. Easy to chew. Can shape but is slow…” Lucy answered causing Kevin to nod understandingly but amused to himself. Standing up he handed her a heavy tool consisting of a large rock tied to one of the wooden spikes before packing up many of the smaller rocks in the bucket. Ducking into the far tunnel Lucy was quick to follow.\n\nThe tunnel was dark and Kevin had to keep his ears low lest they rub against the ceiling only inches above him. Lucy meanwhile had to all but crawl after him but having grown up in the cramped spaces of hollow trees and dusty tunnels it was nothing she could not handle. The light faded to nothing and the air felt all the warmer in this stale, earthy road. Just as Kevin’s eyes had started to adjust to the darkness encasing him a small dim light came into view. They exited into a room of sorts with a small cluster of glowing mushrooms clinging to a tree root providing the spot of light he had seen. In the middle of this space lay a floor marred with desperate scratches. Placing his supplies down he crouched low and ran his hand over the dirt to find it as hard and as tight as stone. Glancing over to Lucy as she let out a cute sneeze from the dust he gave her a smile and turned back with a thoughtful grimace. Drawing his knife he struck it into the dirt to find only a hair’s width managed to get through. Placing the tip downwards he grabbed a tool that mirrored Lucy’s in design but much smaller. He struck the top of the knife with careful strength, again and again, till finally the blade managed to cut through the pack soil. Kevin withdrew the blade and grabbing one of the wedge shaped stones he had carved out placed it snugly in the small groove he had made. A few taps with the small stone tool making sure it was in place before he took some steps back and sat down. \n “Lucy. Your turn.” Kevin called over. “That tool is a hammer, a big one, you hold it like this with two hands.” He began while mimicking the technique. “A little lower, there. Now you swing it over head like this and be careful not to miss or the weight might make it hit your legs or paws.” Kevin explained showing her the movements a few more times. She nodded, stepped legs apart and gripped the tool just like he had done. Her first practise swing so nearly perfect to Kevin’s own that he could only sit amazed at how quickly she could grasp new concepts. She practised a few more times before taking a deep breath and walked over to the stone planted into the soil. She gripped the wooden haft hard and with as much force as she could brought it down with a might smack that echoed off the walls. The stone now pushed deep into the ground. “Great. We got eleven more to do though.” Kevin spoke pointing over to the pile of wedges next to him. Lucy did not even flinch as she headed over to help him with the rest. They found a rhythm with Kevin slowly planting the stones into place and Lucy hammering them down into the ground. Within some long minutes they had made a rough cracked circle. Happy with it Kevin dug another groove into the center of the circle and placed a much bigger wedge into the ground. Lucy moved to give it a whack when Kevin stopped her. He took the vine and looped it around the root with the mushrooms growing on it before tying the other end around her waist. “If this works the ground will fall away and while you can survive the fall there will be rocks, plants and all sorts of other stuff you might land on.” Kevin explained causing Lucy to blush a bit from the care. She stepped over to the large rock and with a now practised swing brought the large hammer down as hard as ever but it did not budge. She tried again. Each mighty thwack echoing down the tunnels but no matter how much she tried it would simply not be forced down. She panted and tried again but much of her energy had been lost. Her malnourished body not having half the strength it would need to shatter such thick root knitted soil. “Not good.” Kevin spoke sitting outside the circle in thought. “Come sit here.” He asked waving her over. She placed the hammer down as carefully as a treasure and padded over but surprised him as she wrapped her arms around his chest and placed herself snuggly onto his lap. “Not… Ok. This is fine.” Kevin let out a sigh and gave her a pat on the back. “Listen. The ring can do far more than translate words but to do it, it needs to bind itself to you.” He began explaining as she pulled away from her hug to look at him. “This has to be your choice. Will you take my gift and help me?” Lucy’s face lit up as he asked, her eyes not sure where to look. \n “Lucy does. Lucy will stay with Kevin.” She answered with a few energetic nods. Kevin closed his eyes and raised both hands to cup the sides of her head. He stared deep into her eyes and started to speak some form of language that she could not understand. The words tickled her mind and made her head spin but as soon as it had started it ended. \n “Tell me if you get headaches or hallucinations please. I need you healthy. Now, I have removed the first Lock from the ring which will grant you physical enhancements based on your biology.” Kevin explained but she only gave a blink back from trying to take it in. “In other words. You now heal quicker, you have a resistance to poison and disease but also because you are so big you strength should be increased significantly.”\n “Ring is… miracle? Enchantment.” Lucy tried to find the right word. “Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around him again in an embrace and rubbed her nose to his for a moment. Kevin was taken back but did not resist the affection. She turned her head around at the wedge still standing so mockingly and carefully stepped up off Kevin to finally sort it out. She picked up the hammer once more to find it as light as a feather. She grasped it tightly with both hands causing the wood to groan. With a swing she brought it up and then down in a split second strike that shattered the wooden handle and sent the rock flying into the far wall. The wedge itself only just managed to stay together as it was driven straight through the ground, the dirt cracking and splitting as it sprayed dust all over. It moaned and roots so deeply knitted together started to snap under the weight till finally it collapsed and with it Lucy started to fall but only for a moment before the vine rope went taut. She hung there with hammer in hand giggling as the dust rained down all around her. \n “You ok down there?” Kevin called from above. She tried to call back but was laughing too hard to form any words. \n “Amazing!” A voice called to him from behind. Kevin found it to be Alex who had been sitting at the entrance to the room. “Can Kevin do Alex too?” She asked bluntly.\n “I can but I have no need to yet.” Kevin replied even more so. \n “But why. Alex am useful, even more with that strength! Name it, Alex will do whatever Kevin wants.” She pleaded and hopped over nearer to him.\n “How about wait and prove yourself first?”\n “But Lucy only just met too. What makes Lucy special. Is it, Lucy is tall? All that fluff? Alex will do what Lucy does, everything, anything. Alex even brought food for Kevin!” Alex started to get increasingly whiney when Kevin clapped his hands together. \n “Calm down.” He commanded giving her a stern gaze. “I had to give Lucy the ring’s power or we could not have broke through the dirt. Alex, you are strong and smart, I think, so for now I have no reason to make you any more so. Be patient, I am not taking your ring back at least.” Kevin explained. Alex looked down to the floor but then back up, her sad expression snapping to determination as she gave him a nod and with surprising speed ran over to the hole.\n “So what do Kevin next?” \n “Expansion.” Kevin answered letting out another yawn. He looked down to Lucy starting to climb up the vine rope but found the light below to be fading. “Is it night time? I thought the light came from the ocean below?” \n “Cloudsea needs rest too. Tiban sleep when it sleeps.” Alex answered back.\n “Tomorrow then. I need to make more wedges and open up more tunnels for the other trees but more importantly need to set up a system for getting water.” Kevin muttered to himself as Lucy popped up from the hole and took off the vine around her waist. He patted her on the head and stretched out. “You two lead on, where is the beds again?” \n\nKevin’s eyes pried themselves open to find a blur of brown in front of him. A pair of white fluffy arms held him from behind while a smaller body cuddled his front. He yawned and ticked back to yesterday where he had managed to get to the sleeping room before all but passing out. Carefully he lifted Lucy’s arm off himself and sat up. Looking around he found that he was but a fluffy drop in a much larger puddle of cuddling and tangled limbs but there was also the smell of something sweet letting him know that breakfast had started. He yawned again and stretched his arms out wide to feel quite refreshed. \n “Morning.” Lucy whispered to him as she sat up and pawed at an itch on her head. \n “About time fluffy woke up.” Alex also replied. “Alex feels weird, sleeping with the poorly.” She said with a casual wave around her. \n “Alex, it is fine.. Kevin is not full well yet. We all hungry too.” Lucy countered. Alex gave a huff and with a hop got up.\n “Come. With Kevin here the Tiban likely used last food in excitement.” Alex added. Kevin agreed and the quicker he could get all this sorted out the sooner they could eat too. They all left towards the mines with stiff bodies and empty bellies but strong hearts. \nIt did not take long to go back down the tunnel but when they got to the hole they found several Tiban already waiting for them. Each one perking up and hopping over to chatter about something to Lucy. She nodded and chattered back. One of them would tap their paws or point over to the hole but Lucy kept calm.\n “Tiban want know if safe? Want water, fruit.” She asked Kevin who then turned to Alex.\n “The tree is fairly safe but how difficult is it to forage?” Kevin asked.\n“Easy! Bad is moss arms, grove path slight scary.”\n“Tell them to loop a vine over the root and lower a bucket down for one to fill up when\nthey need water. For food, as long as they stay away from the moss fields they will be mostly ok. I take it that they know the basics of survival, stick together, move quick but quiet?” Lucy passed on his words and then nodded to him. “Good but for now stay here, get water if they need it. I am going down myself soon so no reason to have us both going.” Once more Lucy passed on the words and the group agreed with her. Kevin stayed for a moment to see how they would set up the water buckets and was surprised to see how efficient they were. With barely a word given they split up to get everything and returned just as quickly.\n\nWhile they are not the smartest they seem to be able to learn quick and work together as a team very efficiently. Lucy herself is a great example as she was able to almost perfectly mimic my movements with a tool she had never used before in only one try. Even a vocal description seems to go far with them as well. I must make sure when teaching anything that I do so as perfectly as I can or else they will start picking up on my own mistakes. Only time will tell how these skills will adapt to higher populations and advanced construction and finer technology, I have hope.\n\nKevin sat on the edge of the hole looking down at the mossy grasslands. Pulling over his backpack he took out the dagger and tied around his leg before making sure the bag was secure around his chest. \n “I think it is time I got a list going.” He said causing Lucy and Alex to both look over. He looked around the small room and deciding on his next task crawled over to the left over supplies. Picking up a few of the tree spikes he tied a rock the size of his head to one end as tightly as he could while the other end he tried to bend together to form a handle but the wood proved stronger than himself. Lucy could see his attempt however and so reached over to help do it for him. Once the sizeable club was created he just managed to even lift it in order to hand it to Lucy. That done he took one the left over wedges and using the knife went over the edge again and again causing many sparks to fly. Running a finger over it he gave a nod to himself and firmly tied it to the end of a large spike he had no use for yesterday. This one he tossed over to Alex. Standing up he gave a nod to the two and then promptly jumped down the hole. The pair panicked and quickly followed only to find Kevin already cutting into the bark of the tree. He peeled off several thick pieces and threw to them to Lucy first before doing the same for alex. With the last bit of vine he had left he split it again and again till it was much thinner in order to tie the several pieces of bark to them both. One for each arm and leg. Taking a step back he did the same to himself before looking at the confused pair with some pride. \n “You have no idea what I am doing do you?” Kevin asked kindly to which both of them could only shake their heads. “Bark is ‘armor’ like a second harder skin. Might save you some scratches. Lucy you are first. I made you a ‘mace’ which uses its size and weight to do damage. Swing it like you would a hammer but be careful not to catch yourself with it…”\n “And my thing is a sharp stick right?” Alex interrupted.\n“‘Spear’ and yes I suppose it is. Hold it with two hands and poke something with it at a distance. Simple but very powerful in the right, patient, hands. Yes?” Kevin added to which Alex had to stop and think before giving straightening up and giving him a sharp nod. Nodding back he picked up the last piece of bark he had carved out and bound to two half spikes for extra support. “Lucy. This is for your other hand, it is a ‘shield’ and you use it to block anything that wants to hurt you ok?” He asked heaving the huge slab of hardwood over to her. “Lucy, you keep forward and use your slow but strong wall of bark and Alex stay behind her and poke at anything soft and squishy. I am not a fighter but if I need to, I have my dagger.” He stopped to breath and think for a moment before continuing. “We are not looking for a fight, we run, we hide. I am sure Alex knows how to do that the best. The point of this is to find stuff that is useful as whatever I hold tells me how it works. No, I do not know how that works myself. Anything you two spot that looks strange let me know but we will be testing everything, it is going to be a long day. You ready?” \n“Lucy is! Just stick to me and I will keep you safe.” Lucy was first to add although she did not do well to hide any fear in her voice. \n“Alex too. This seems silly though.” Alex added looking over her stick. Kevin ignored her questioning glances as he gave her a quick pat of the head and walked past. Around the tree they went till they reached one of the many pathways down from the Arbor to the Lush middle ground. It was little more than a rough hole in the mossy floor that curved downwards into the gloom. A twisted knit of thin wooden branches that groaned and creaked with every step till eventually it gave way to an abrupt ending. Hopping from one large branch to the next like giant stepping stones they landed on a small platform growing from the side of the leaking willow. Kevin stood amazed. The top of the lush was a massive cavernous space of twisting branches both giant and small. Leaves, vines and moss all of which so big that it formed land and walls alike stretched on in the misty dappled light while water both fell and rained down forming ponds or lakes. Far below sat another twisting barricade much like the one they traveled through but thinner and with great gaps allowing easy access between the already vague layers. In the distance a flock of twitchy creatures could be seen flying behind a thick curtain of mist, long winds and darting movements showing an odd impatient grace. Kevin and his girls continued around the wide curve of the tree before grabbing a stay vine and rappelling down the side. Over and under they went along the labyrinthian wooden pathways, seeing naught but the same dew speckled ferns or stringy moss that grew in vast abundance all over the leaking willow. Hitting a thick mushy band that ran around part way of the tree Kevin finally stopped as he found something new. A flower. Wider than his arms when outstretched but lacking almost all scent it grew on the side of the tree with dull shades of reds and green spots. He ran a finger over it to find it unfortunately boring. A rubber texture with average plant cells and pollen, not fit to eat or process. Kevin couldn't help but feel disappointed that it was neither horrifically poisonous or secretly a vicious secret carnivore, just a boring, giant spotted flower. Heading past it he took another look around now they were lower down the tree although at first he could not spot anything new. What Kevin did notice was the sound of water falling in the distance, his ears swiveling to find the source till he found a small stream of falling water in the distance and following it down spotted a verdant, mossy garden hanging in the air. With thick fibrous vines keeping it strung up it had flowers, grass and small pink fruit growing thickly around an overflowing pond. Much more exciting Kevin decided as he scanned around to find a path to it. \n“Alex. How do we get over to there?” Kevin asked pointing out to the garden. \n“Down, then vine. Moss islands danger at night.” She warned. Kevin gave her an understanding nod but began running off without any subtly to his excitement. Over a branch and down the vines, across the moss and up the logs. Past rough wood and boring flowers he went till he reached the branch where the vine chain was clinging so tightly to. Up close the twisting chain of vines was much thicker than he had thought and would give at least some leg room to walk across safely. Even so it was so high up that if slipping could mean a very long fall, if nothing monstrous comes out of the mist to snatch you up. Kevin was about to step out when Lucy stepped forward instead with shield up and ready. She took a step forward first before giving a quick look back and starting the slow journey across. Balancing came easy Kevin. Despite the wind blowing past and the sheer height he found his tail naturally turned and twisted as soon as he felt even the slightest bit of wobble. The sights were quite breath taking too but so was the distance to the ground. \n\nWith thankfully no ambushes they reached the other end to find the island again much bigger than what his eyes had first told. A good half of it made up a pond that got sharply deeper the further out it went while the area around it was nothing short of lush. Bushes with small pink fruit and thick softer grass moss grew in abundance but also tiny speckled flowers and long knobbly reeds that danced in the breeze. Putting his backpack down next to the pond he ran a hand over the flowers and then the pink fruit. Picking one of the bush he gave it another paw over before popping into his mouth. His face screwing up in a grimace as an overpoweringly sour taste hit him like a rock but beneath that lay a sharp sweetness that washed away the taste perfectly. Next he turned his attention to the swaying reeds as Lucy and Alex gulped down as much water as they could drink. Long and flexible Kevin grabbed one and gave it a flex to find it all but shatter. Surprised but now intrigued he tried again on another. The reed bending with little issue but pushed even a bit too far would splinter instantly. Taking his knife he cut several more from the base and sat down at the water's edge. He struck several into the mushy ground and then began weaving others around, left and right, over and under, but always careful to not push them too far. Within minutes he had created a large basket.\n “What that?” Lucy asked leaning over his shoulder.\n “A basket, to carry fruit with. Does these plants have a name at all?” Kevin replied.\n “Why give name?”\n “To be more specific. If I need this type of plant and not another one that looked somewhat like it then having two different names would be for the best yes?” \n “Yes. Kevin smart.” Lucy said before slinking to his side and sitting down. “Kevin give name. To all things!” She exclaimed with excitement. \n “I… hm. Well if Tiban do not have names for most things then yes. Kevin will name things. Pass me the book in my backpack.” Kevin asked waving to the bag.\n “Book?” Lucy asked confused but still went over to bring the whole bag. \n “Ah right.” Kevin added sorting through the supplies. “This. It has thin ‘pages’ that allow you to write stuff in… Do Tiban write?”\n “Yes! No. Write is symbols, meanings. Tiban have symbols yes. Long word, like Kevin, no.” She tried to explain and Kevin did understand. He flipped open the book and took the long metal stick from the inside. He scribbled down some thoughts and after thinking some reminders for what to use the book for before skipping a few pages and writing in all the plants he had met so far. \n “I am going to call the pink things… Fairy Fruit. As they are little playful things that hide in strange gardens, quite fitting for the name. Speaking of which, do try one. They are… refreshing.” Kevin added with a grin as he scribbled down the name and some notes on what it was made from. His eyes followed Lucy as she crawled over to the bush and plucked one such fruit into her mouth before falling to the ground with an adorable whine that slowly turned to a pleasurable murmur. She reached up and took another only to repeat the process causing Kevin to strain himself in not laughing out loud. “As for the reeds. Ricker. For they are quite rickety indeed, the way they sway and snap so easy. Good for making baskets though.” He added to the book with a few scratchings. Closing it with a snap he placed it back into the protective bag before starting to take off the bark padding on his legs. Looking over to Lucy and then around to Alex who stood looking off into the distance he turned back to Lucy and headed over. \n “Care for a bath?” He asked.\n “Bath?” Lucy lay looking up at the fruit thoughtfully. “Ring tell Lucy… Bath… Kevin no like Lucy’s scent?” She asked with a crushing look that took Kevin by surprise. \n “Oh no no. You smell… nice. It is good to keep clean though, keeps you healthy.”\nLucy’s expression changed instantly to a familiar warm smile. Sitting up she glanced at Kevin’s arms before focusing on taking her own bark armor off. Glad she understood Kevin was the first to step into the surprisingly warm water and finding it pleasant sat down to more cover himself. Lucy was only a step behind as she placed her bark padding into a neat pile and stepped into the water next to Kevin. She cooed and slid deep into the water. A blissful look growing across her fluffy face as the warm water took off so many years of stress. With Alex keeping a watchful eye out a peaceful calm settled in. Kevin lay back and looked up to the twisting roof far, far above him. It made him feel small but he knew his place in this world was but a spec. He rubbed his hands together under the water as his mind thought and wandered about the future. How much could a spec really do in the grand scheme, he grinned amused. Hearing Lucy splashing about he glanced over to find her leaning out of the pond to try and snatch up one of the Fairy Fruits that had rolled nearby. His cheeks turned a deep scarlett as for the first time he realized just how nude the Tiban were, it never bothered him before with all that fluff and the focus on survival but here in the pleasant warmth of the water he realized the girl that he had been hugging and cuddling up to every night was not just stark but shameless. His eyes darted but an inch here and there as he tried to fight his own deeper instincts with the need to be polite, even civilized, despite the fact the Tiban were clearly not. His hands brushed along the fur of his legs and tapped against something far smoother causing him to jolt his gaze away and cover himself just as she managed to catch the elusive fruit and settle back down. She reached out to pass him one to which Kevin had to accept at the cost of less cover but he had to question why he was even trying to be modest in the first place. With the ungodly sour taste of the fruit taking his mind of his various embarrassments he throw some water on his face and got out of the pool. Shaking himself by reflex he ran a hand over his fluffy arm to find it almost completely dry, the thick fluff too fine and dense to even absorb almost any of the water. Noted for later he tied the bark to his limbs once more and slung the backpack over his shoulder. \n “Kevin enjoy bath?” Alex asked with a cheeky grin. “Water no good for fur. Too thick. Feels nice right? Warm, relaxing, wet.” Kevin had to roll his eyes at her as she started to laugh to herself. He handed Lucy the large basket who naturally put it on her back just like he had done with his own pack. He plucked a few handfuls of the small fruit off the tree and placed them inside to find they barely even covered the very bottom of the basket. Lucy could see his logic and with a few more taken as snacks they departed for the grove. \n\nBack across the twisting vine bridging the gap they headed around the tree, down some vines, over a few branches till the air itself started to grow sweet. Down one more sloped wooden road and Kevin stopped to take in the sight of the grove. It was a large valley constructed naturally like that suspended islands were between two branches, the edges sloping sharply but the inside flat. A river ran down the middle of it providing fresh water but what amazed him was both the size, being many many times bigger than the island, and the amount of fruit bearing plants growing here. A rainbow of all things eatable clung to vines, bushes and even the small tree like plants there grew to form a miniature forest. They headed down the nearest sharp slope and was quickly thrown into a whole different world. The smaller leaves and twisting vines above blocked out a lot of the light but through cracks in the mushy, mossy ground beams of dabbled warmth sprung forth from the cloudsea below. The air wet and thick. Kevin did not know where to start and so logically headed to the nearest round piece of flora and ran a hand over it to find it rough, scaly like the bark of a tree. Plucking it he withdrew his knife and cut it in half to have a taste of the harder flesh but found it lacking as the taste only had a touch of sweet. It would be hard to cut or prepare them in great numbers as well so he tossed the other half to Alex and continued on. Getting his journal out he noted down colors, sizes and where each would grow. Plucking each one he would run his hands over it, split it, taste it and then record the findings. The majority of the fruit that grew here had strong tones of sour but with the occasional touch of sweet. Spotting an odd pair of black and red that grew on a vine snaking its way around the grove he first took the red one and gave it a look over. Smooth, plump, inviting. He took a bite only to suddenly cry out with fruit sent flying over head. He fanned his mouth at the intense spice that still burned deep into his tongue as Lucy came running over to try and help all in a panic. She saw his reaction and began running off through the bushes much to the confusion of Kevin and Alex both but came back a moment later with a small blue fruit that she quite firmly pushed for Kevin to eat. Trusting he bite into it and froze as an explosion of juice washed over his mouth, he drank of it and then sighed deeply at the relief it brought. \n “Blue fruit, full of water. No eat skin!” She spoke to him as she patted his back. \n “Thank you. With so many citrus and juicy fruit types I did not expect such a spicy oddball.” Kevin looked up towards the black twin and with more care plucked this one with a small pop to see any differences. Splitting it open he gave it a sniff this time to find it intensely peppery and giving it but a small lick confirmed that while the red ones were spicy, the black were peppered. He took a couple of each and put them in Lucy’s basket. \n “Why bring them? Taste nasty?” Alex asked. \n “Raw yes but if dried and added in small amounts can give a different kind of taste to some food. Seasoning is quite important after all.” Kevin explained. “Lucy, where did you get the blue fruit from? I want to pick up a bunch of them and then start collecting others.” She pointed over to the bushes she had run from, took Kevin by the hand, and began to head back through. They reached a river on the other end to which Lucy knelt down and plunged her arm all the way under the water and brought out one of the small blue fruits. She gently handed it to Kevin who looked it over. \n “It is a fungus. A, Bubbleshroom, lets say. It seems to soak up tons of water and filters out little bits to feed on. Skin has these bits and so is not safe to eat. Very interesting. Lucy stay here and collect a dozen for me. Alex grab the basket and come with me, we got some picking to do.” He said with a small sigh in his voice. Leaving Lucy to fish out more of the Bubbleshrooms the pair headed back to pick up Kevin’s choices out of the many samples he had so far had a look at. The first was some Cresti, small green fruit with a spiky crown like top and a lovely mellow taste too. Next up was some Looproots, ring shaped vegetable like plants that grew in the mushy ground under most of the trees. They worked to pull up, brush off and collect enough to fill a good third of the basket. With that done they headed to find some Stringrains that grew long and thin around some of the trees when suddenly they heard a scream. Dropping the basket they came running back along the dappled light of the grove and through the bushes to the river but only found Lucy gone and only a dozen Bubbleshrooms left behind on the floor, splattered with blood. Kevin withdrew his dagger but could not hear anything.\n“Lucy.\" Alex stated with nose to the air. She pointed down river with spear in hand ready to go fight when Kevin stopped her. He placed his hands on her head and spoke strange words that made her head spin but when she realized what he had done broke out into a wild grin, one that only lasted a moment as Kevin’s stern look reeled back her excitement. \n“Keep control.” Kevin simply said as he nodded to follow and began to run down the river after Lucy. They reached a small pond that a waterfall from on high collected into before spilling out as a river. Looking around Kevin tried to find where to go next but still his senses were just too new to be accurate. As Alex stood trying to get a read on where to go Lucy suddenly dropped from above between them, a gash on her right arm still leaking blood. She pushed the two to move just as a huge six legged insect of a creature landed at the spot with a crash. They scrambled to get some distance just as Lucy caught the lash of the creature’s blade like leg with her shield. The sharp limb going straight through the wooden barricade but caught safely before it went any further. Lucy swung her crude mace and with a crack managed to repel the creature backwards but the hard, glistening shell it wore kept it from being harmed. Alex joined up with Lucy with spear low, the both of them shaking for different reasons.\n\nThe creature moved to attack once more. Alex easily dodged out of the way while Lucy could only manage a slow backstep that thanks to the shield caused the flailing blades to be deflected. Alex stepped quickly and jabbed with the spear but it was like hitting a stone wall, the force hurting her hands from the shock of the blow. The creature twisted around sending a blade lashing just overhead, past her long ears. She dropped low and tried to sprint away but found herself sliding over the moss as every movement seemed to be unnaturally quicker than normal. With it distracted Lucy took the chance and hit its side with both hands putting as much force as she could into it. The beast gave out a clicking gargle and was sent rolling but the armored shell only had a few small cracks. Rolling back onto its leg it charged forward with viger only to taken by surprise as Alex struck its cracked side at full speed, the spear snapping in half but the stone blade stayed stuck half deep. She regained her balance and dashed around it weakly striking its legs. The beast became enraged and confused but it was not a fool for as Lucy snuck around it to deliver a final blow to the weakened area it suddenly spun around. Lucy locked up as it smashed its front legs into her with a worrying crack that send her tumbling into the river. Surprised Alex did not see the bladed limbs coming as it just missed her by a hair and using the blunt sides bucked her into the trees with a crash. The beast gave out a resounding gargle of clicking noises and strode over to Lucy, still laying still by the river, with blades twitching. She tried to stand but her legs hurt, breathing hurt. Her arms felt heavy and her head felt light. With the water tinged red she fell to a black sleep as the beast reached out with blades twitching, hungrily… \n\nLucy jolted awake. Head pounding and eyes blurry she tried to scramble to more but her body still hurt. Her hands ran over something soft, not wet. Rubbing her eyes she looked around to find herself not at the river, instead she sat on a bed of soft leaves in a small place surrounded by bent trees. Gazing at the gash on her arm she found the limb to be wrapped in flat vine like plants with two sticks acting as a brace. Across the way from her lay Alex in much of the same state but her scent was normal and her breathing calm at least.\n “Ah you are awake.” Kevin spoke ducking under a bent branch. He dragged along the basket, now full of food, and left it next to the exit. He headed over and gently lifted her head up to look at her eyes. Nodding to himself he sat down next to her looking much more relieved. \n “What happened?” She asked with a rasp in her voice.\n “The creature, a Dewnid, as I called it. I think they tend to hunt around the groves, using the roof cover to hide themselves until they ambush prey. I do believe we got quite unlucky.” \n “No. Happened at river?” She corrected. \n “Oh. Thanks to you two distracting it I was able to collect some of those spicy fruit and turn it into a mash. Just as you had passed out I covered the creature’s face with the stuff. Blind and confused I used Alex’s broken spear to bleed it. Once I had moved you two out of the way I then returned to finish it off myself. You two did very well, it was my crude weapons that failed you.” Kevin stretched his arms out and yawned. “Rest as you want, you have not been asleep for long and the rings will help with recovery as long as you do not push yourself.” \nLucy looked him over as Kevin stood up to check on Alex. He had not a single wound to himself, not a bruise, not a scratch. It left her in awe that he had used nothing but his brains to outwit and defeat such a monster without it even landing a single blow. With Alex waking up as well and once given the same explanation she started to let out a laugh at the idea but quickly stopped from the pain. She was left shaking her head at the very concept as Kevin excused himself and headed back outside the twisting tent of tree branches.\n “Alex admits.” She shouted over to Lucy. “Kevin stronger than Alex thought.” She placed her hands on the ground and with force got onto her feet. She groaned and whined but managed to stand. “But Alex runner. Alex strong too.” She hobbled over to the side of the tent like are and took two fruits off the trees, one tossed over to Lucy, and the other for herself. \nAs Kevin returned he found both of them already standing and looking over the basket of fruit he had collected. They gave him a smile and a wave as he headed over and dropped a second much smaller basket down. \n “You two are up sooner than I expected. Are you ready to go?” He asked to which Lucy gave a nod. She groaned but managed to lift the huge and now considerably heavy basket up onto her back. “Do not push yourself.” Kevin added. With Alex given a stone knife as a quick replacement for her spear and Lucy’s mace fixed they ducked out of the trees to find themselves still in the grove. Kevin led them down one path and along another till the trees started to look familiar. They climbed back up the sharp slope of the mossy valley and began the longer journey of climbing and hopping to get back up to home stump. \n “So what in basket?” Alex eventually asked too curious about the smaller one he carried. \n “Some parts from the Dewnid, see.” He explained lifting one of the long blades out to show her. Her eyes went wide and then bent into a smiling grimace. \n “That gross but smart. Kevin stole blades.” Alex replied glued to the severed limb.\n“Not just the blades. I did not have time to fully dissect it but I took some of the shell armor, some meat and a bit of the legs for testing.” \n“Meat? Flesh, inner flesh. You can eat them?!” She suddenly shouted causing Lucy to\nwhip her head back around to see what was going on. \n “Yes, most living things when cooked right can be eaten safely. Insect meat is often very nutritious as well.” He explained but Lucy looked like she was about to throw up while Alex had such an intensely amused expression that Kevin could not quite work out what she was thinking.\n\n[i]The ring’s regeneration seems to be working to some small effect as despite cracked bones, deep gashes and strained muscles they only needed an hour or rest and some food to get fit enough to start climbing again. Alex is still learning how her new found speed and reflexes work as well but Lucy seems to be getting into her strength quite well. Either way, I need to start getting real tools made. Wood and vines are clearly doing little against the dangers here while stone is simply not strong enough. It took everything we had to defeat even a single Dewnid, a glistening giant insect predator that stalks the groves, and that I know is hardly the worst that could have attacked. Those twisting, twitching, shapes in the mist far above us sends chills down my spine and indeed so does the fact the Dewnid’s blades seem to be biomechanical in nature.[/i] \n\nWith the last of the vines climbed they reached the familiar warm scents of Home once more. The runner guards all staring at the tired, bandaged trio but also the huge basket of food that they had brought back with them. With some small difficulty to even fit the full basket up the tunnels they emerged into the main meeting room to a sea of silent and stunned faces. They suddenly broke out into cheers, hands grasping to hug, cuddle, or otherwise show affection to them. It was as much as Kevin could do to pry the arms off him and get Lucy to calm them down, at least a bit. \n “Lucy, I want you to stay here and explain the fruit to them. Not to eat the blue skin of the Bubbleshrooms, keep the Poppair red and black in buckets for later, all of that as well as the new names. Take your time.” He explained rummaging through the large basket and collecting one or two of every type of fruit in a bucket. “Alex, you are with me.”\nHe headed up into the small mine once more and here he fell to his knees and began to scratch some kind of drawing into the dirt. Alex knelt down to watch but could not understand the symbols. After a few more additions he wiped the dirt off his hands and brought out the journal. Flicking through several pages he stopped on a blank and began to write down something as well on top of even more small drawings. He sat in silence till he had filled out an entire page of tiny scribbles. \n “What it?” Alex asked looking over the drawings from every angle. \n “The future.” Kevin simply put looking over this empty space with thoughtful eyes. ","writing_bbcode_parsed":"It has been a long time now. The unending darkness that surrounds me and the comforting deep cold that holds me in the midst of sleep for so much time now finally shaken by warmth. Once more I collect myself and reach out towards it, only to find metal. It is thick, ageless metal built not to move but to survive. How long has it been I wonder as the metal shifts and groans into life. A crack, as thin as a razer, pieces the darkness with a dim light barely even greater than it. I try to stand. To greet those who would wake me at long last but my body no longer works and I end up falling into the light just as sleep once more takes me.

A pair of eyes in the dark snap open. He bolts upright despite the spinning ache in his head before relaxing and taking a look around the small, stuffy room he was laying in. It was round and rough as if carved out of a huge block of wood. The air was thick, his nose twitching as it tried to understand what it was smelling, each lingering scent leaving a fuzzy image in his mind like a third eye. The darkness was not absolute but as his eyes adjusted he found that there was little to be found. The very bed he lay on nothing but thick leaves under softer ones. He catches sight of a door, no, a hole in the wall acting like a passage to another place. Too crude to be even called a doorway. His eyes looked elsewhere but everything was simply unfocused. Not just because of the dim light but because his very eyes seemed to not work right. Running a hand across the floor near him he tried to search out his surroundings but found only rough wood. Sweeping clockwise around the bed his finger hit something. Metal and glass that skid a little from the nudge. He picked the object up carefully. Squinting at them he hummed in thought before putting them on his face. The two large glass circles matching the curve of his eyes and just like that his vision cleared up. Now able to see he could make out something else set a bit further away. Making sure to not push himself he crawled hand over hand his way over to the object to find it a bag made of cloth and leather. A single strap lay untied and sprawling while the many pockets only teased his curiosity. Pulling one such open he looked inside to find a metal box. Not interested yet he pulled open the large main pouch of the bag and took a look inside. It was quite full of all sorts of strange things. He reached in and pulled out a flat leather sheath with a knife still inside. The young male withdrew it to find it clean and smooth, a simple short blade with several small holes running along it to decrease the weight. He ran a finger along it to find it still sharp but suddenly he flinched. A twinge of odd memories ran through his mind, as if recalling something long ago, numbers but not mathematic and instead atomic. It told him what metals formed the blade, alloys even. It was an entire precise list of what the knife was made of. Hearing something coming he slipped the knife back into the case and put it behind him before pulling the bag with him to the makeshift bed. He waited but nothing yet came. Every step he could just about make out but the distance proved to be far more than he had thought. It was only as he could smell something on the air that they appeared. An old gray male that hopped through the hole followed by two others who quickly flanked him. The final one a large snow white female who slipped in more quietly than the rest. They chirped and chattered in high pitched squeaks for a time, the tones and notes having more complexity than the young male expected. He tried to speak back but only to explain he could not understand whatever language they were saying. The three older guys looked at each other before the oldest one chirped something to the large female sitting behind them. She was quick, hopping over to them and listening to whatever they had to say before making her way over to the young guy. She knelt near him, sniffing his thick neck fluff and nuzzling him in a friendly gesture. He raised his hand to try and wave her off but she did not understand the gesture so instead he placed his palm onto her nose to push her back gently. She flinched and then backed away a few steps. He smiled to hopefully put her at ease and thankfully she smiled back, a soft and gentle kind that he liked. Opening the bag next to him he rummaged around it, his memories of something driving him on when he finally found a brown wooden box. Simple but made with sturdy polished wood, near black in color, that had a gold catch. Inside were several silver rings, each one simple and polished sitting in a soft velvety groove. He took one and closed the box. Waving over the female she hesitated but stepped a bit closer. He sighed and repeated the action but this time she moved forward much quicker and once more wrapped her arms around him in clear miscommunication. Her larger form unfortunately too strong and heavy to simply push off. He sighed and frowned but only in small annoyance. Slipping his arm around she fell forward onto his lap to which he slipped the ring over her ear.  She twitched a few times before going still.
“Hello, my name is Kevin. Who are you?” He asked flatly. She blinked a few times to herself and was taken back by the sudden new language pouring itself into her head. She sat up and looked over to the three others watching and then back before pointing to herself. He nodded to her.
    “Lucy.” She said barely a whisper.
    “Good to meet you Lucy. Now, I bet you are confused because to be honest I am very confused myself but I think now we can understand each other we can be confused together? How about you tell me some things like where I am, who I am or what I am.”
    “Yes...” She licked her lips as if trying to feel the new words. “Here is sleepy room for hole diggers. They found Kevin really, really, really far. Um, we Tiban. You Tiban?” She sat with ears down. Long tail swishing from one side to another.
    “Good. Why don’t you show me around? I am kind of starving too.” He placed his hands on the floor and tried to get up but could not quite get his legs to work right. Lucy was quick to get up and lend a hand as carefully as she could. Standing up he got a sense for the height of her too, easily a head taller and even then she was ducking down for the ceiling. With an arm around her waist for balance they headed to the exit hole along with the other three. On the other side was a wide tunnel sloping upwards to the right past the wood and into the ground and to the left sloping down towards another larger hole. Kevin carefully followed the three downwards to make sure he did not slip but thankfully all the rough wood did make sliding difficult. The next room they came out in was much larger and had a higher roof to it. Thanks to several clusters of pale yellow mushrooms along the ceiling as well it was dim but at least bright enough to see. All along the wall were small outcoves but with almost nothing in them apart from a bucket and some decorative crystals. More interesting though was that the same bedding like leaves Kevin had awoke on covered the floor like a carpet.
    “Tiban sleep here.” Lucy explained. Kevin nodded despite how obvious the statement was. They carried on. Heading down a curved and larger tunnel that quickly fell into darkness at the midpoint for a short while. At the end they entered into an even larger room. There were dozens of Tiban sitting all over. A fire in the middle poured smoke up into a hole in the roof but even so the scent of burning wood was strong. It was a cozy room but the mood was far from happy. Everybody sat or lay on leaves looking hungry and bored.
    “Tiban eat here. Talk, play.” Kevin shot a look up to Lucy and then out to the sea of faces that one by one was starting to look his way. The ones laying on the ground even sitting up to take a peek. He hobbled over to near the fire thanks to Lucy's help. Sitting down he crossed his legs and could not help but feel a bit awkward with so many eyes still staring. He felt a small bump from behind when suddenly Lucy’s arms wrapped around him. Her fur warm and the gentle petting extremely comforting. A brown female sitting across the fire met his gaze. She smiled sweetly and the many milky stripes her fur wore only caused a deeper hunger in Kevin. She stirred something in a pot hanging off to the side of the fire and filled a crude bowl with it. She passed it down from one Tiban around the fire to the next till a sandy colored female gave him the food. It looked like food at least. An odd mix of purple with red chunks. He dipped his little finger in the hot mix and quickly gave it a taste lest it burn. It was soup made of fruit and nuts. While it was richly sweet there was little else to the taste. He lifted the bowl to his mouth and took a sip to which he noticed everybody else breaking out into smiles.
    “Lucy… Am I supposed to be doing something? I do not remember anything, even where I am or who I am.” Kevin asked before taking another sip.
    “Sleep make Kevin ill? Not good. Lucy tell you all?” She spoke like a whisper that tickled his ears.
    “Ok. Tell me everything you know I guess.”
    “All Lucy know. Y-yes. At start was creatures. Titans. Biggest but friendly. Made worlds but unhappy… Kevin’s words too hard. Lucy can not speak right.” She tried to explain with a whine.
    “It is alright. The translator takes time for your brain to absorb the language. I did not mean at the start of the world either. How about you tell me where I am?” Kevin replied trying to sound patient.
    “Lucy sorry. Tiban found Kevin. Deep, very very deep, in the darkest dirt. Kevin hatched, big egg. Biggest egg. Egg was cold, very very hard. Old story says, when Tiban at worst, one of metal egg will save. Tiban not know metal. Is Kevin here, save us?” Even though she crudely spoke another language the huge crowd that were all watching him could seemingly sense her meaning. They all stared, hungry, needy. Kevin sighed and handed the half full bowl over to a girl sitting next to him. She took it with shaking hands and gave him a wide grin in response.
    “That is where you got the bag from then and my glasses. Continue.”
    “Yes. They in hard egg. Took all. The tunnel fell apart, Tiban dragged you here. Lucy sorry, we no save egg. Kevin here to save?”
    “I… Thank you for saving my, objects. Can I ask you a few questions?” Kevin asked to which he could feel Lucy nod against him. “Do you know what metal is and how it is made?”
    “The hard egg? No. It cold, hard.” Her words strained to find meaning.
    “That is fine. What do you think the thing I wear on my face is?”
    “Mask. Crown?” Lucy tried to find the right word.
    “They are glasses, I can not see without them as my eyes do not work right. I say again, thank you for bringing them back.” He looked up at her with a grin of his own but she only look scared. “It is alright. One other question. How, good, are the Tiban surviving?” He could feel her tighten the grip around him as he asked that one final question.
    “Bad.” She managed to state. Kevin could feel her shaking.
    “Ok, I, Kevin, promise to do everything I can to help you, Lucy, and all the Tiban.” Kevin gave her a pat on her arm and he felt her loosen up. She let out a soft noise like a giggle and sat up to chatter something to the rest of the crowd that caused many cheery chatters and squeaks to echo back. Kevin gently pulled her arms off him and stood up, followed by Lucy and many others. “First thing is to know where you are so, where are we?” Kevin asked to which Lucy gave a nod and pointed to another hole on the far side of the room. He waved for her to follow and with somewhat more confident footing started to head down the hole.

God my head is killing me. No, I need to think. These Tiban, or rather my own species, seem odd but friendly and they are my best bet for surviving out here, wherever here is. I need to get back to that “egg” Lucy mentioned but if the deepest tunnel they have dug is buried then it is not a focus. We have shelter and a little bit of food and water. First step is to find a source of more so explore the area and take stock. Hopefully the translator starts to adapt the two languages better as well or communication is going to prove an obstacle, their belief that I am some sort of savier is helpful but worrying if I can not explain myself.

Snapping Kevin out of his daydreams was a light at the end of the long curving tunnel. It shon much brighter than any of the mushrooms so far and as he stepped out into the room he could not believe what he saw. The room was a huge hollow space with a length of ledge all the way around, in the middle however was nothing but a giant hole. Not one leading underground but outside. As he knelt on the edge of the ledge and looked over he could see branches as thick as roads all knit together, trees the size of monolithic towers and even further down the sky. An upside down world? No. The trees were hanging upside down but the sky was in fact just mist far below, it strained his eyes but he could just about make out the bottom. An ocean, a glowing ocean! It rolled and bubbled like a hot stew and indeed the very air flowing upwards was warm like steam. Kevin sat back and edged away from the ledge.
    “It the Nerrow.” Lucy sat down next to him. “All is Nerrow. Trees, Gnarls. Top of trees, Arbor. Middle trees, Lush. Bottom is Breach. Lucy help?” Kevin turned to look at her. Sitting so happy, long puff ball tipped tail swishing back and forth.
    “A lot. Thank you Lucy, you are being a great help.” He meant the compliment and Lucy seemed all the more happy for it with her wagging tail. Like a pet. Shaking the idea out of his head he got up and started to head back. “So where do you currently get your water and food and of what does the food consist of?” He asked slipping back into the dark of the tunnels.
    “Puddles in Lush. Fruit, moss. Hard to find. Hard to reach.”
    “What do you mean reach it?” Kevin called back trying not to get splinters.
    “Fruity spot is near. Past crying tree. Down, but bad things hide near. Nasty hiding things. Too much for Tiban.” Lucy’s words were starting to come more naturally now but they were still sad.
    “Not too much for me. Show me where the exits are to this place.” Kevin called back before letting her go first. They headed up to the main room and walked around the outside till they reached yet another tunnel. This one however was shorter and led to a small room beneath the main. There were several Tiban here as well, each carrying a stick with a few looking out of a wider hole in the wall. In the back sat a group of massive looking Tiban, even taller than Lucy but far more muscled as well. Lucy stepped forward and chattered something to them that caused the majority to suddenly start muttering to each other or standing up to stare at him.
    “Hole, goes to Arbor. Tiban tree, small and broken, can not get to Lush quick. Lucy likes our tree though!” She spoke to Kevin as he seemingly ignored the stares and looks to go look out of the wider exit to the tree. The view was interesting. Below was a sweeping field of what seemed to be moss that grew as long as grass but above sat a verdant garden. Long plants with patches of flowers and many long vines snaking its way all the way over. In the distance sat the base of a massive if not completely absurdly large tree. It shimmered in the light like fresh dew of the morning and all the mossy grass around it grew much thicker than the patches near the Tiban Stump. Kevin’s nose twitched as he picked the smallest scent of fresh earthy water on the wind but with it was a tangled mess of sweet and sour notes. A tap on his shoulder broke him out of his musings and as he turned he found not Lucy but another, a small brown female with surprisingly long claws for a Tiban.
    “This Alex. She runner, for fruit. Is… moody.” Lucy's explained as she stood behind her looking disapprovingly. Kevin let out a sigh. Swinging the bag off his shoulder he got another ring out. Alex moved to snatch it from his furry fingers but he pulled back and pointed down. She glared but lowered her head for him to slip the ring on himself.
    “This weird! You, short fluff. What think? How do?” Alex stood with crossed arms and a pout that only seemed cute but her words were even more crude than Lucy.
    “If the tree over there has water and nearby is fruit, then what is stopping you? My plan is to know what the issue is and then fix it. I can do more than you think.”
    “Short fluff help?” Alex stood thinking. “Moss Arms, hiding in moss. All over, many more than Tiban.” Alex spoke pushing Kevin out of the way and pointing down to the mossy fields. He leaned on the edge and looked out and down to see nothing. Leaning further out he squinted to see any differences but no. Confused he looked over to Alex.
    “Under moss. Can not see. Can not smell. Can not hear. Tiban step wrong and…” For effect she snapped her fingers. “I am runner. Best runner. Alex get… lucky. You too short, fluffy, for runner. What is plan?”
    “I take it they can not climb or fly. The name of your group, runners, tells me that if you must try and get past them then speed is needed…” Kevin began muttering to himself. Quick little murmurings that neither Lucy or Alex could make out. “I need something that smells, do you think you can help Lucy?” He asked already heading back to the tunnel.
    “Y-yes. Yes. Lucy go help.” She managed to get out as Kevin quickly disappeared. Alex meanwhile was just as confused but decided to dash after him just to see what was going on. She was agile and moved with grace but even so Kevin was keeping surprising pace. As she got into the main room she just managed to catch sight of kevin’s tail disappearing into the dark of the upper tunnel. She ducked low and picked up the pace to catch up. Hands over paws she all but bounced her way along the curving tunnels and small rooms till she got all the way up to the mine. She stood gawking as Kevin filled up a small wooden bucket he had somehow snatched on his way along. With a hand full of dirt he rubbed his face and shook the excess of his eyes. The odd strained grin plastered across his face the only thing keeping Alex from saying something. He walked over so slowly and only gave her a passing glance as he slipped back down the tunnels with his bucket of dirt. Alex stood curious and confused but only for a moment before following after him.
    “Fluffy! Kevin. What do? Hello?” She called down the tunnel but did not get a response. She picked up the speed but did not catch up to him either. “How so quick…” She whispered to herself in the gloomy tunnels.

As she stepped back into the exit room she found Kevin sitting with several buckets around him mashing up something. She covered her nose from the offensive stink coming from the mixture and went over.
    “What doing? Fluffy tell Alex.”
    “I am going for a walk and I like to look my best.” Kevin joked as he grabbed a stinking handful of the mud mix and painted his arm with it.
    “Lucy going too!” Lucy added as she plunged her hand into the mess, followed by a shiver of disgust from the slimy feel.
    “You don’t have to do that. I mean what if I am wrong?” Kevin replied painting the other arm.
    “Lucy have faith.” She simply replied as she rubbed the stuff over her body.
    “Alex no like mud. Fluffy is silly. Go, do what Kevin thinks.” Alex sat in a huff as the other two helped cover each other in a fine layer of sticky, disgusting mud. They both grabbed some buckets and headed over to the exit hole. Kevin poked his head out and finding the vine they use to climb up and down grabbed it and jumped out followed shortly by Lucy. Alex rushed over alongside several others who were all trying to get a look, she now understood what he meant by a walk.
Kevin yawned and took Lucy by the hand. She looked over to him nervously but did not resist as they started to walk out over to the moss fields. Slow but with a gentle pace to the steps Kevin could feel Lucy shaking and so gave her hand a squeeze to try and comfort her. They could not smell anything but the putrid scent of the mud covering them and as much as he tried Kevin could neither see nor hear anything around him. It should have put him at ease but instead only sowed new paranoia inside him. Every step a risk. Every second that ticked by in his head only making the tension worse but before he knew it the moss had started to get increasingly long. First up to the ankles and then to the knees. It made walking harder but gave a sense of safety as surely whatever hid just beneath the fragrant floor would be blinded by the long, soft material. They reached the leaking willow. Different to the dry stump the Tiban had called home as it had small beads of water flowing down the large cracks in the bark. The air sweeter and refreshing. Lucy was quick to hop over and gently lap at the water while her buckets slowly filled up. Kevin meanwhile went to look around. The bark of the tree had dozens of large hook like thorns all curling upwards. He grabbed one and by putting his paw on the wood managed to pull it loose. The curve of the hook was blunt and smooth but the tip was sharper than a needle. Pulling a second one loose he grasped them in each hand and started to climb up the rough bark. The height from the Arret soil above to the Arbor fields below being quite scary but he needed to get a better look at things. Reaching a small alcove filled with mushrooms on the side of the tree he sat and had a look out towards the stump. His eyes went wide as he realized that Alex had followed them, she was only a short distance away and so relaxed as she was not in danger at least. He plucked a mushroom near him to take a closer look. It was pale and had a wide cap to it, he gave it a sniff and ran his hands over it when a sudden flash of information popped into his head again with a sting. They were not poisonous and were also high in protein with various vitamins in the juicy stalk. He blinked the dots out of his eyes and curious took a bite of it. The earthy but otherwise watery taste of the juice confirming that it was not just his imagination. With his head cleaning up he looked down to Lucy but could not spot Alex. Ignoring that, he stood up and looked up towards the plants above. The majority were ferns, grass, moss, vines and other stuff that were not too helpful nor nice to eat.
    “Fluffy!” A voice called out as Alex popped up her head up causing Kevin to near jump straight out of the alcove. “Alex means, Kevin.” Alex corrected herself as she climbed up and inside the alcove. “Alex wanted to say… Kevin smart. Alex no believe in stories. Not normally. Kevin not look strong, is silly, fluffy, but… is correct.” Kevin sat down next to her as she seemed to try to get the words out. “Alex want to help Kevin. Kevin strong, in the head. Give Alex the plan and Alex will jump to it!”
    “You sure changed your tune quick.” Kevin lightly mocked. “Fine. I do need as much loyal help as I can get right now.” He reached over a hand to her but she did not understand. He pointed to her opposite hand and so extended it like he did. With a shake he let out a laugh. “This means we have a deal.” He explained.
    “Oh. Good… Kevin want rub fur with Alex?” She asked with a grin that caused Kevin’s entire brain to falter.
    “Like a hug? I would not mind.” Kevin replied causing Alex to break out in an amused smile. In a swift motion she moved and swung a leg over Kevin to sit on his lap. Her strong arms wrapped around his chest as she nuzzled into his neck fluff. Kevin was unsure what to do and instead placed his hands on her chest and pushed her away. “Whoa whoa, I didn't mean… this. I am still not used to all the phrases and how Tiban work yet.” Kevin spoke quick and felt relieved when she pulled back.
    “Lucy say that, Kevin have mind holes. Kevin sure? Kevin strong. Alex no scared of getting fat, of clutches.” Her eyes said otherwise.
    “I… eh. Ehm. No, no. I get it. The slight limp in your right leg. The defensive and harsh nature of your tone. You are the best runner and so the one who has survived the most but I need experts and loyal Tiban to help me. Your job is not over yet.” He spoke straight to the point and thankfully she understood, with a nod she climbed off and let out a sigh.
    “Alex happy Kevin said no. Alex would hate to be fat. All gross.” Alex explained poking her tongue out at the idea. “Can Kevin carry me down then? Kevin is the Savior.”
    “What do you mean carry you down, I don’t even know how to climb down on my own.”
    “Kevin really is silly.” Alex let out a laugh. “Tiban can do all falls. Kevin just needs to land on paws. Get feel for it. Tiban whelps can make fall too, easy for adult Kevin.” She waved a finger at him before wrapping an arm around his shoulders and jumping onto his back. He groaned but did not complain, she was shorter than him at least. Kevin looked down and while he did not feel fear from the height it was quite unnerving nonetheless. He took a deep breath and with arms out wide hopped off the ledge. The rush of wind was intense and the way Alex gripped him was not helping him either but he did stay straight. The ground caught up quick and the impact shook his very bones despite it not hurting at all. Unfortunately he bounced up like a spring just a step and lost his balance. Tumbling forward he opened his eyes to find Lucy looking concerned and Alex laughing into his ear. “Good work fluff.” She chuckled as Lucy gave him a hand standing up.
“I have a plan.” Kevin spoke brushing himself off. “For now we need to bring back water, some of those thorns and anything nearby that is edible. Alex, you are our lead runner so can you get a bucket of food?”
“Easy!” She chimed grabbing a spare bucket from Lucy and jogging on around the tree.
“If Kevin no mind, what is plan next?” Lucy asked.
“A tunnel. If the fields here are too dangerous then we should go up and over them.” As he explained Lucy walked over and wrapped him up in a hug.
“Lucy sorry, Tiban already tried. Arret crust, harder than stone.” Lucy out a small whine and Kevin gave her a pat on the back to try and comfort her. The awkward height difference to the hug not helping things however.
“I figured there would be a reason but trust me, you walked through a literal field of dea… danger for me. Breaking some rock is nothing!” She gave him one last squeeze before letting him go. She nodded her trust to him.

With buckets of water, fruit and other various things like thorns or vines they started to make their way back through the mossy fields once more. The sticky pungent mud had started to dry and by the time they got back to the stump they called home it had gone hard. Climbing the vine they were all relieved to be back.
    “Give these to those who most need it but save a bucket for us. It is going to be hard work from here on out.” Kevin barked handing his bucket of water to a nearby runner on the way to the tunnel. The world around him grayed out as he focused on the task in front of him. Every step was taken with purpose as his mind wound tight the clockwork of invention, the longer he took to solve this issue the more Tiban suffered. There could be no doubts, there was no time for mistakes. Even so he could feel the pull of fatigue around his eyes and the now hard, but thankfully no longer stinking, mud only brought annoyance. He ignored the praise and cheers from the crowds as he moved only to solve the next of their worries and then most likely the next. Kevin let out a yawn and looked around the mine entrance. It was more just a hollow space with various tunnels branching off and piles of rocks thrown to the side. He picked up one and looked over it. Picking up another he gave it a sniff and then a lick. Sitting down next to the pile he reached into his backpack and brought out the knife. Using the flat end of the handle he struck and chipped away the stone till it formed a cone shape. Grabbing another he shaped it into a similar shape before picking up the next.
    “Ah hey Lucy.” He called out smelling her enter the the room. “I don’t suppose you know where we could get long pieces of wood, about as thick as my forearm?” She walked over slowly in thought and sat down beside him to watch him work.
    “Lucy knows! Tree near with spikes. Long spikes. Some Tiban call it, Spike Floss. Lucy is sorry though, it far. More than leaking tree.” Lucy answered to which Kevin reached over and gave her a quick pat on the head. Her tail gave a swish from one side to another. Leaning over his shoulder she took a closer look at what he was doing. Kevin would pick out a rock, place it on a flat one, and carefully strike it till it took on another shape. After doing so he would then put it next to him and move onto the next. “Lucy thinks, Tiban have spikes here. Somewhere.” She added enthralled by the precise mechanical nature of his movements.
    “See if you can locate me a few. It would make the tunnel work much more efficient.” He replied back and stopping his work for a moment reached over to scratch under her chin as if by instinct. “You have been a great help so far.” She let out a soft chirp like noise and gave him a hug for a second before springing up and going on her way. Kevin gave a glance to her happy bouncing steps before returning his focus to the rocks at hand.

Lucy is proving to be quite advantageous to my survival. She is loyal and kind most likely due to the various folklore and tales they think I am apart of but that same kindness I find intriguing. For a primitive society and one so deep into both difficulties and religion these Tiban are far too naive and kind for their own good. I suppose if by natural instinct this kindness is ingrained into them it would indeed explain the root of such difficulties. Alex on the other hand is more reasonable, not simply happy to trust me at first glance but smart enough to stick by me the second she realizes how advantageous I am to her. Her physical skills and knowledge of the surrounding areas proving to be of a greater value than Lucy’s religious information. With both of them sticking close to me I should be able to turn this all around. I am so tired of rough wood and dirt already. The lack of clothing does suggest cloth is either not yet invented or too difficult to make as well.

Finishing with his rocks he looked over what he had and the huge pile that was left. Waving his ears around and raising his nose to the air he managed to work out that neither Lucy nor Alex were coming yet so with a yawn lay down on his back. The oddly warm and hard dirt hardly comforting but it helped to edge away from the fatigue he had been feeling. He raised a hand and turned it around in front of him. Placing it on his chest he felt the bones underneath. Now wondering about his anatomy Kevin then swished his tail around and felt the flexible bones.
“I do not remember having a tail.” Kevin thought to himself. Placing his hand on his belly he closed his eyes. “I do not remember legs or ears either so my memory is clearly damaged.” He added tapping one against the hard floor and twitching the other just to see how it felt. Glancing over to the empty hole some distance away he slid his hand down further. The fur getting shorter and more fine till it was like running his fingers over fluffy silk. The area radiated more warmth than any other and while the more private and sensitive flesh lay nestled inside Kevin could get a sense for shape. Passing on the thicker and fluffy fur below did not hide anything and while at first this left him confused he found the two familier soft orbs also sat inside him. The external blank space sending shivers along him from even the gentlest of touches.
    “Kevin! Lucy got the… things.” He heard Lucy call out from the tunnel causing him to snap his hand away and sit up now much more awake.
    “G-great. Perfect, let me see.” He replied before clearing his throat. She handed him a bucket full of odd things and many long pieces of smooth wood sticks before unwrapping a long vine that was slung around her and dropping that next to him as well.
    “Lucy found spikes, other things too. Lucy thought Kevin might find use.” She explained sitting down next to him with a cheery look.
    “Thank you and yes. I am sure this will have a use.” Kevin complimented. The bucket was full of little wooden stuff. Thorns of all shapes and sizes, odd sparkly rocks that tingles when he held them and small crystals much like the many decorative ones that were left all over. The sticks were more interesting. Long, smooth and with a pointed end each one was indeed like a giant spike. Grabbing one firmly he tried to bend it to find it quite strong as well. Now deeper in thought he had a look at the long rope like vine she had brought as well. It was too thick to be used as string but seemed to have a great natural strength to it. Kevin looked over the materials and while he could see the answer he was not yet quite sure how to get it. Remembering the mushrooms he tried to roll the vine between his palms, squeezing it with his fingers and even just stroking it but nothing came to him. As he sat thinking about how to get it to work a small flash of information popped up in his mind, proving both useful and confusing on what the rules are. Ignoring that for now he focused and placed a single finger on the vine which unloaded everything from chemical analysis to structural layouts. Now informed Kevin took the knife and split the vine down the middle, with a pull the rest came away smoothly splitting the packed organic rope into two smaller ones. “Hey Lucy, ever heard of somebody having… visions or flashes of memories?” He asked as he got to work combining all of this into the tools they would need.
“Lucy not sure. Kevin’s miracle ring gives word. Words. A lot, long and loopy words. They tell Lucy meanings. Kevin’s words… ‘Language,’ is so big but beautiful.”
“That would be the translator using my knowledge to fill out your vocabulary.” Kevin stopped for a moment to reach over and give her a pat on the head. “To know and to create is to be higher than a simple animal. I am exceptionally proud of your progress when it comes to speaking but do not push yourself, let it come naturally.” Kevin let out a smile as she reached over to give him a hug. Adjusting her arms she held him around the waist as to let him continue. “Where is Alex by the way? We might need her soon.”
“Lucy not know, Alex maybe feeding Tiban.” Lucy replied causing Kevin to laugh a little to himself. He corrected himself as she looked at him curiously.
“We can find her later, this location is quite small after all. For now, the tools are done so it is time for me to teach you how to use them I suppose.” Kevin moved to stand but stopped and leaned back against Lucy. “Hey, how do you create the buckets and plates if you have not invented tools yet?”
“Tiban like Alex, the Larein. Have hand sweat. Makes wood, soft wood. Easy to chew. Can shape but is slow…” Lucy answered causing Kevin to nod understandingly but amused to himself. Standing up he handed her a heavy tool consisting of a large rock tied to one of the wooden spikes before packing up many of the smaller rocks in the bucket. Ducking into the far tunnel Lucy was quick to follow.

The tunnel was dark and Kevin had to keep his ears low lest they rub against the ceiling only inches above him. Lucy meanwhile had to all but crawl after him but having grown up in the cramped spaces of hollow trees and dusty tunnels it was nothing she could not handle. The light faded to nothing and the air felt all the warmer in this stale, earthy road. Just as Kevin’s eyes had started to adjust to the darkness encasing him a small dim light came into view. They exited into a room of sorts with a small cluster of glowing mushrooms clinging to a tree root providing the spot of light he had seen. In the middle of this space lay a floor marred with desperate scratches. Placing his supplies down he crouched low and ran his hand over the dirt to find it as hard and as tight as stone. Glancing over to Lucy as she let out a cute sneeze from the dust he gave her a smile and turned back with a thoughtful grimace. Drawing his knife he struck it into the dirt to find only a hair’s width managed to get through. Placing the tip downwards he grabbed a tool that mirrored Lucy’s in design but much smaller. He struck the top of the knife with careful strength, again and again, till finally the blade managed to cut through the pack soil. Kevin withdrew the blade and grabbing one of the wedge shaped stones he had carved out placed it snugly in the small groove he had made. A few taps with the small stone tool making sure it was in place before he took some steps back and sat down.
    “Lucy. Your turn.” Kevin called over. “That tool is a hammer, a big one, you hold it like this with two hands.” He began while mimicking the technique. “A little lower, there. Now you swing it over head like this and be careful not to miss or the weight might make it hit your legs or paws.” Kevin explained showing her the movements a few more times. She nodded, stepped legs apart and gripped the tool just like he had done. Her first practise swing so nearly perfect to Kevin’s own that he could only sit amazed at how quickly she could grasp new concepts. She practised a few more times before taking a deep breath and walked over to the stone planted into the soil. She gripped the wooden haft hard and with as much force as she could brought it down with a might smack that echoed off the walls. The stone now pushed deep into the ground. “Great. We got eleven more to do though.” Kevin spoke pointing over to the pile of wedges next to him. Lucy did not even flinch as she headed over to help him with the rest. They found a rhythm with Kevin slowly planting the stones into place and Lucy hammering them down into the ground. Within some long minutes they had made a rough cracked circle. Happy with it Kevin dug another groove into the center of the circle and placed a much bigger wedge into the ground. Lucy moved to give it a whack when Kevin stopped her. He took the vine and looped it around the root with the mushrooms growing on it before tying the other end around her waist. “If this works the ground will fall away and while you can survive the fall there will be rocks, plants and all sorts of other stuff you might land on.” Kevin explained causing Lucy to blush a bit from the care. She stepped over to the large rock and with a now practised swing brought the large hammer down as hard as ever but it did not budge. She tried again. Each mighty thwack echoing down the tunnels but no matter how much she tried it would simply not be forced down. She panted and tried again but much of her energy had been lost. Her malnourished body not having half the strength it would need to shatter such thick root knitted soil. “Not good.” Kevin spoke sitting outside the circle in thought. “Come sit here.” He asked waving her over. She placed the hammer down as carefully as a treasure and padded over but surprised him as she wrapped her arms around his chest and placed herself snuggly onto his lap. “Not… Ok. This is fine.” Kevin let out a sigh and gave her a pat on the back. “Listen. The ring can do far more than translate words but to do it, it needs to bind itself to you.” He began explaining as she pulled away from her hug to look at him. “This has to be your choice. Will you take my gift and help me?” Lucy’s face lit up as he asked, her eyes not sure where to look.
    “Lucy does. Lucy will stay with Kevin.” She answered with a few energetic nods. Kevin closed his eyes and raised both hands to cup the sides of her head. He stared deep into her eyes and started to speak some form of language that she could not understand. The words tickled her mind and made her head spin but as soon as it had started it ended.
    “Tell me if you get headaches or hallucinations please. I need you healthy. Now, I have removed the first Lock from the ring which will grant you physical enhancements based on your biology.” Kevin explained but she only gave a blink back from trying to take it in. “In other words. You now heal quicker, you have a resistance to poison and disease but also because you are so big you strength should be increased significantly.”
    “Ring is… miracle? Enchantment.” Lucy tried to find the right word. “Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around him again in an embrace and rubbed her nose to his for a moment. Kevin was taken back but did not resist the affection. She turned her head around at the wedge still standing so mockingly and carefully stepped up off Kevin to finally sort it out. She picked up the hammer once more to find it as light as a feather. She grasped it tightly with both hands causing the wood to groan. With a swing she brought it up and then down in a split second strike that shattered the wooden handle and sent the rock flying into the far wall. The wedge itself only just managed to stay together as it was driven straight through the ground, the dirt cracking and splitting as it sprayed dust all over. It moaned and roots so deeply knitted together started to snap under the weight till finally it collapsed and with it Lucy started to fall but only for a moment before the vine rope went taut. She hung there with hammer in hand giggling as the dust rained down all around her.
    “You ok down there?” Kevin called from above. She tried to call back but was laughing too hard to form any words.
    “Amazing!” A voice called to him from behind. Kevin found it to be Alex who had been sitting at the entrance to the room. “Can Kevin do Alex too?” She asked bluntly.
    “I can but I have no need to yet.” Kevin replied even more so.
    “But why. Alex am useful, even more with that strength! Name it, Alex will do whatever Kevin wants.” She pleaded and hopped over nearer to him.
    “How about wait and prove yourself first?”
    “But Lucy only just met too. What makes Lucy special. Is it, Lucy is tall? All that fluff? Alex will do what Lucy does, everything, anything. Alex even brought food for Kevin!” Alex started to get increasingly whiney when Kevin clapped his hands together.
    “Calm down.” He commanded giving her a stern gaze. “I had to give Lucy the ring’s power or we could not have broke through the dirt. Alex, you are strong and smart, I think, so for now I have no reason to make you any more so. Be patient, I am not taking your ring back at least.” Kevin explained. Alex looked down to the floor but then back up, her sad expression snapping to determination as she gave him a nod and with surprising speed ran over to the hole.
    “So what do Kevin next?”
    “Expansion.” Kevin answered letting out another yawn. He looked down to Lucy starting to climb up the vine rope but found the light below to be fading. “Is it night time? I thought the light came from the ocean below?”
    “Cloudsea needs rest too. Tiban sleep when it sleeps.” Alex answered back.
    “Tomorrow then. I need to make more wedges and open up more tunnels for the other trees but more importantly need to set up a system for getting water.” Kevin muttered to himself as Lucy popped up from the hole and took off the vine around her waist. He patted her on the head and stretched out. “You two lead on, where is the beds again?”

Kevin’s eyes pried themselves open to find a blur of brown in front of him. A pair of white fluffy arms held him from behind while a smaller body cuddled his front. He yawned and ticked back to yesterday where he had managed to get to the sleeping room before all but passing out. Carefully he lifted Lucy’s arm off himself and sat up. Looking around he found that he was but a fluffy drop in a much larger puddle of cuddling and tangled limbs but there was also the smell of something sweet letting him know that breakfast had started. He yawned again and stretched his arms out wide to feel quite refreshed.
    “Morning.” Lucy whispered to him as she sat up and pawed at an itch on her head.
    “About time fluffy woke up.” Alex also replied. “Alex feels weird, sleeping with the poorly.” She said with a casual wave around her.
    “Alex, it is fine.. Kevin is not full well yet. We all hungry too.” Lucy countered. Alex gave a huff and with a hop got up.
    “Come. With Kevin here the Tiban likely used last food in excitement.” Alex added. Kevin agreed and the quicker he could get all this sorted out the sooner they could eat too. They all left towards the mines with stiff bodies and empty bellies but strong hearts.
It did not take long to go back down the tunnel but when they got to the hole they found several Tiban already waiting for them. Each one perking up and hopping over to chatter about something to Lucy. She nodded and chattered back. One of them would tap their paws or point over to the hole but Lucy kept calm.
    “Tiban want know if safe? Want water, fruit.” She asked Kevin who then turned to Alex.
    “The tree is fairly safe but how difficult is it to forage?” Kevin asked.
“Easy! Bad is moss arms, grove path slight scary.”
“Tell them to loop a vine over the root and lower a bucket down for one to fill up when
they need water. For food, as long as they stay away from the moss fields they will be mostly ok. I take it that they know the basics of survival, stick together, move quick but quiet?” Lucy passed on his words and then nodded to him. “Good but for now stay here, get water if they need it. I am going down myself soon so no reason to have us both going.” Once more Lucy passed on the words and the group agreed with her. Kevin stayed for a moment to see how they would set up the water buckets and was surprised to see how efficient they were. With barely a word given they split up to get everything and returned just as quickly.

While they are not the smartest they seem to be able to learn quick and work together as a team very efficiently. Lucy herself is a great example as she was able to almost perfectly mimic my movements with a tool she had never used before in only one try. Even a vocal description seems to go far with them as well. I must make sure when teaching anything that I do so as perfectly as I can or else they will start picking up on my own mistakes. Only time will tell how these skills will adapt to higher populations and advanced construction and finer technology, I have hope.

Kevin sat on the edge of the hole looking down at the mossy grasslands. Pulling over his backpack he took out the dagger and tied around his leg before making sure the bag was secure around his chest.
    “I think it is time I got a list going.” He said causing Lucy and Alex to both look over. He looked around the small room and deciding on his next task crawled over to the left over supplies. Picking up a few of the tree spikes he tied a rock the size of his head to one end as tightly as he could while the other end he tried to bend together to form a handle but the wood proved stronger than himself. Lucy could see his attempt however and so reached over to help do it for him. Once the sizeable club was created he just managed to even lift it in order to hand it to Lucy. That done he took one the left over wedges and using the knife went over the edge again and again causing many sparks to fly. Running a finger over it he gave a nod to himself and firmly tied it to the end of a large spike he had no use for yesterday. This one he tossed over to Alex. Standing up he gave a nod to the two and then promptly jumped down the hole. The pair panicked and quickly followed only to find Kevin already cutting into the bark of the tree. He peeled off several thick pieces and threw to them to Lucy first before doing the same for alex. With the last bit of vine he had left he split it again and again till it was much thinner in order to tie the several pieces of bark to them both. One for each arm and leg. Taking a step back he did the same to himself before looking at the confused pair with some pride.
    “You have no idea what I am doing do you?” Kevin asked kindly to which both of them could only shake their heads. “Bark is ‘armor’ like a second harder skin. Might save you some scratches. Lucy you are first. I made you a ‘mace’ which uses its size and weight to do damage. Swing it like you would a hammer but be careful not to catch yourself with it…”
    “And my thing is a sharp stick right?” Alex interrupted.
“‘Spear’ and yes I suppose it is. Hold it with two hands and poke something with it at a distance. Simple but very powerful in the right, patient, hands. Yes?” Kevin added to which Alex had to stop and think before giving straightening up and giving him a sharp nod. Nodding back he picked up the last piece of bark he had carved out and bound to two half spikes for extra support. “Lucy. This is for your other hand, it is a ‘shield’ and you use it to block anything that wants to hurt you ok?” He asked heaving the huge slab of hardwood over to her. “Lucy, you keep forward and use your slow but strong wall of bark and Alex stay behind her and poke at anything soft and squishy. I am not a fighter but if I need to, I have my dagger.” He stopped to breath and think for a moment before continuing. “We are not looking for a fight, we run, we hide. I am sure Alex knows how to do that the best. The point of this is to find stuff that is useful as whatever I hold tells me how it works. No, I do not know how that works myself. Anything you two spot that looks strange let me know but we will be testing everything, it is going to be a long day. You ready?”
“Lucy is! Just stick to me and I will keep you safe.” Lucy was first to add although she did not do well to hide any fear in her voice.
“Alex too. This seems silly though.” Alex added looking over her stick. Kevin ignored her questioning glances as he gave her a quick pat of the head and walked past. Around the tree they went till they reached one of the many pathways down from the Arbor to the Lush middle ground. It was little more than a rough hole in the mossy floor that curved downwards into the gloom. A twisted knit of thin wooden branches that groaned and creaked with every step till eventually it gave way to an abrupt ending. Hopping from one large branch to the next like giant stepping stones they landed on a small platform growing from the side of the leaking willow. Kevin stood amazed. The top of the lush was a massive cavernous space of twisting branches both giant and small. Leaves, vines and moss all of which so big that it formed land and walls alike stretched on in the misty dappled light while water both fell and rained down forming ponds or lakes. Far below sat another twisting barricade much like the one they traveled through but thinner and with great gaps allowing easy access between the already vague layers. In the distance a flock of twitchy creatures could be seen flying behind a thick curtain of mist, long winds and darting movements showing an odd impatient grace. Kevin and his girls continued around the wide curve of the tree before grabbing a stay vine and rappelling down the side. Over and under they went along the labyrinthian wooden pathways, seeing naught but the same dew speckled ferns or stringy moss that grew in vast abundance all over the leaking willow. Hitting a thick mushy band that ran around part way of the tree Kevin finally stopped as he found something new. A flower. Wider than his arms when outstretched but lacking almost all scent it grew on the side of the tree with dull shades of reds and green spots. He ran a finger over it to find it unfortunately boring. A rubber texture with average plant cells and pollen, not fit to eat or process. Kevin couldn't help but feel disappointed that it was neither horrifically poisonous or secretly a vicious secret carnivore, just a boring, giant spotted flower. Heading past it he took another look around now they were lower down the tree although at first he could not spot anything new. What Kevin did notice was the sound of water falling in the distance, his ears swiveling to find the source till he found a small stream of falling water in the distance and following it down spotted a verdant, mossy garden hanging in the air. With thick fibrous vines keeping it strung up it had flowers, grass and small pink fruit growing thickly around an overflowing pond. Much more exciting Kevin decided as he scanned around to find a path to it.
“Alex. How do we get over to there?” Kevin asked pointing out to the garden.
“Down, then vine. Moss islands danger at night.” She warned. Kevin gave her an understanding nod but began running off without any subtly to his excitement. Over a branch and down the vines, across the moss and up the logs. Past rough wood and boring flowers he went till he reached the branch where the vine chain was clinging so tightly to. Up close the twisting chain of vines was much thicker than he had thought and would give at least some leg room to walk across safely. Even so it was so high up that if slipping could mean a very long fall, if nothing monstrous comes out of the mist to snatch you up. Kevin was about to step out when Lucy stepped forward instead with shield up and ready. She took a step forward first before giving a quick look back and starting the slow journey across. Balancing came easy Kevin. Despite the wind blowing past and the sheer height he found his tail naturally turned and twisted as soon as he felt even the slightest bit of wobble. The sights were quite breath taking too but so was the distance to the ground.

With thankfully no ambushes they reached the other end to find the island again much bigger than what his eyes had first told. A good half of it made up a pond that got sharply deeper the further out it went while the area around it was nothing short of lush. Bushes with small pink fruit and thick softer grass moss grew in abundance but also tiny speckled flowers and long knobbly reeds that danced in the breeze. Putting his backpack down next to the pond he ran a hand over the flowers and then the pink fruit. Picking one of the bush he gave it another paw over before popping into his mouth. His face screwing up in a grimace as an overpoweringly sour taste hit him like a rock but beneath that lay a sharp sweetness that washed away the taste perfectly. Next he turned his attention to the swaying reeds as Lucy and Alex gulped down as much water as they could drink. Long and flexible Kevin grabbed one and gave it a flex to find it all but shatter. Surprised but now intrigued he tried again on another. The reed bending with little issue but pushed even a bit too far would splinter instantly. Taking his knife he cut several more from the base and sat down at the water's edge. He struck several into the mushy ground and then began weaving others around, left and right, over and under, but always careful to not push them too far. Within minutes he had created a large basket.
    “What that?” Lucy asked leaning over his shoulder.
    “A basket, to carry fruit with. Does these plants have a name at all?” Kevin replied.
    “Why give name?”
    “To be more specific. If I need this type of plant and not another one that looked somewhat like it then having two different names would be for the best yes?”
    “Yes. Kevin smart.” Lucy said before slinking to his side and sitting down. “Kevin give name. To all things!” She exclaimed with excitement.
    “I… hm. Well if Tiban do not have names for most things then yes. Kevin will name things. Pass me the book in my backpack.” Kevin asked waving to the bag.
    “Book?” Lucy asked confused but still went over to bring the whole bag.
    “Ah right.” Kevin added sorting through the supplies. “This. It has thin ‘pages’ that allow you to write stuff in… Do Tiban write?”
    “Yes! No. Write is symbols, meanings. Tiban have symbols yes. Long word, like Kevin, no.” She tried to explain and Kevin did understand. He flipped open the book and took the long metal stick from the inside. He scribbled down some thoughts and after thinking some reminders for what to use the book for before skipping a few pages and writing in all the plants he had met so far.
    “I am going to call the pink things… Fairy Fruit. As they are little playful things that hide in strange gardens, quite fitting for the name. Speaking of which, do try one. They are… refreshing.” Kevin added with a grin as he scribbled down the name and some notes on what it was made from. His eyes followed Lucy as she crawled over to the bush and plucked one such fruit into her mouth before falling to the ground with an adorable whine that slowly turned to a pleasurable murmur. She reached up and took another only to repeat the process causing Kevin to strain himself in not laughing out loud. “As for the reeds. Ricker. For they are quite rickety indeed, the way they sway and snap so easy. Good for making baskets though.” He added to the book with a few scratchings. Closing it with a snap he placed it back into the protective bag before starting to take off the bark padding on his legs. Looking over to Lucy and then around to Alex who stood looking off into the distance he turned back to Lucy and headed over.
    “Care for a bath?” He asked.
    “Bath?” Lucy lay looking up at the fruit thoughtfully. “Ring tell Lucy… Bath… Kevin no like Lucy’s scent?” She asked with a crushing look that took Kevin by surprise.
    “Oh no no. You smell… nice. It is good to keep clean though, keeps you healthy.”
Lucy’s expression changed instantly to a familiar warm smile. Sitting up she glanced at Kevin’s arms before focusing on taking her own bark armor off. Glad she understood Kevin was the first to step into the surprisingly warm water and finding it pleasant sat down to more cover himself. Lucy was only a step behind as she placed her bark padding into a neat pile and stepped into the water next to Kevin. She cooed and slid deep into the water. A blissful look growing across her fluffy face as the warm water took off so many years of stress. With Alex keeping a watchful eye out a peaceful calm settled in. Kevin lay back and looked up to the twisting roof far, far above him. It made him feel small but he knew his place in this world was but a spec. He rubbed his hands together under the water as his mind thought and wandered about the future. How much could a spec really do in the grand scheme, he grinned amused. Hearing Lucy splashing about he glanced over to find her leaning out of the pond to try and snatch up one of the Fairy Fruits that had rolled nearby. His cheeks turned a deep scarlett as for the first time he realized just how nude the Tiban were, it never bothered him before with all that fluff and the focus on survival but here in the pleasant warmth of the water he realized the girl that he had been hugging and cuddling up to every night was not just stark but shameless. His eyes darted but an inch here and there as he tried to fight his own deeper instincts with the need to be polite, even civilized, despite the fact the Tiban were clearly not. His hands brushed along the fur of his legs and tapped against something far smoother causing him to jolt his gaze away and cover himself just as she managed to catch the elusive fruit and settle back down. She reached out to pass him one to which Kevin had to accept at the cost of less cover but he had to question why he was even trying to be modest in the first place. With the ungodly sour taste of the fruit taking his mind of his various embarrassments he throw some water on his face and got out of the pool. Shaking himself by reflex he ran a hand over his fluffy arm to find it almost completely dry, the thick fluff too fine and dense to even absorb almost any of the water. Noted for later he tied the bark to his limbs once more and slung the backpack over his shoulder.
    “Kevin enjoy bath?” Alex asked with a cheeky grin. “Water no good for fur. Too thick. Feels nice right? Warm, relaxing, wet.” Kevin had to roll his eyes at her as she started to laugh to herself. He handed Lucy the large basket who naturally put it on her back just like he had done with his own pack. He plucked a few handfuls of the small fruit off the tree and placed them inside to find they barely even covered the very bottom of the basket. Lucy could see his logic and with a few more taken as snacks they departed for the grove.

Back across the twisting vine bridging the gap they headed around the tree, down some vines, over a few branches till the air itself started to grow sweet. Down one more sloped wooden road and Kevin stopped to take in the sight of the grove. It was a large valley constructed naturally like that suspended islands were between two branches, the edges sloping sharply but the inside flat. A river ran down the middle of it providing fresh water but what amazed him was both the size, being many many times bigger than the island, and the amount of fruit bearing plants growing here. A rainbow of all things eatable clung to vines, bushes and even the small tree like plants there grew to form a miniature forest. They headed down the nearest sharp slope and was quickly thrown into a whole different world. The smaller leaves and twisting vines above blocked out a lot of the light but through cracks in the mushy, mossy ground beams of dabbled warmth sprung forth from the cloudsea below. The air wet and thick. Kevin did not know where to start and so logically headed to the nearest round piece of flora and ran a hand over it to find it rough, scaly like the bark of a tree. Plucking it he withdrew his knife and cut it in half to have a taste of the harder flesh but found it lacking as the taste only had a touch of sweet. It would be hard to cut or prepare them in great numbers as well so he tossed the other half to Alex and continued on. Getting his journal out he noted down colors, sizes and where each would grow. Plucking each one he would run his hands over it, split it, taste it and then record the findings. The majority of the fruit that grew here had strong tones of sour but with the occasional touch of sweet. Spotting an odd pair of black and red that grew on a vine snaking its way around the grove he first took the red one and gave it a look over. Smooth, plump, inviting. He took a bite only to suddenly cry out with fruit sent flying over head. He fanned his mouth at the intense spice that still burned deep into his tongue as Lucy came running over to try and help all in a panic. She saw his reaction and began running off through the bushes much to the confusion of Kevin and Alex both but came back a moment later with a small blue fruit that she quite firmly pushed for Kevin to eat. Trusting he bite into it and froze as an explosion of juice washed over his mouth, he drank of it and then sighed deeply at the relief it brought.
    “Blue fruit, full of water. No eat skin!” She spoke to him as she patted his back.
    “Thank you. With so many citrus and juicy fruit types I did not expect such a spicy oddball.” Kevin looked up towards the black twin and with more care plucked this one with a small pop to see any differences. Splitting it open he gave it a sniff this time to find it intensely peppery and giving it but a small lick confirmed that while the red ones were spicy, the black were peppered. He took a couple of each and put them in Lucy’s basket.
    “Why bring them? Taste nasty?” Alex asked.
    “Raw yes but if dried and added in small amounts can give a different kind of taste to some food. Seasoning is quite important after all.” Kevin explained. “Lucy, where did you get the blue fruit from? I want to pick up a bunch of them and then start collecting others.” She pointed over to the bushes she had run from, took Kevin by the hand, and began to head back through. They reached a river on the other end to which Lucy knelt down and plunged her arm all the way under the water and brought out one of the small blue fruits. She gently handed it to Kevin who looked it over.
    “It is a fungus. A, Bubbleshroom, lets say. It seems to soak up tons of water and filters out little bits to feed on. Skin has these bits and so is not safe to eat. Very interesting. Lucy stay here and collect a dozen for me. Alex grab the basket and come with me, we got some picking to do.” He said with a small sigh in his voice. Leaving Lucy to fish out more of the Bubbleshrooms the pair headed back to pick up Kevin’s choices out of the many samples he had so far had a look at. The first was some Cresti, small green fruit with a spiky crown like top and a lovely mellow taste too. Next up was some Looproots, ring shaped vegetable like plants that grew in the mushy ground under most of the trees. They worked to pull up, brush off and collect enough to fill a good third of the basket. With that done they headed to find some Stringrains that grew long and thin around some of the trees when suddenly they heard a scream. Dropping the basket they came running back along the dappled light of the grove and through the bushes to the river but only found Lucy gone and only a dozen Bubbleshrooms left behind on the floor, splattered with blood. Kevin withdrew his dagger but could not hear anything.
“Lucy." Alex stated with nose to the air. She pointed down river with spear in hand ready to go fight when Kevin stopped her. He placed his hands on her head and spoke strange words that made her head spin but when she realized what he had done broke out into a wild grin, one that only lasted a moment as Kevin’s stern look reeled back her excitement.
“Keep control.” Kevin simply said as he nodded to follow and began to run down the river after Lucy. They reached a small pond that a waterfall from on high collected into before spilling out as a river. Looking around Kevin tried to find where to go next but still his senses were just too new to be accurate. As Alex stood trying to get a read on where to go Lucy suddenly dropped from above between them, a gash on her right arm still leaking blood. She pushed the two to move just as a huge six legged insect of a creature landed at the spot with a crash. They scrambled to get some distance just as Lucy caught the lash of the creature’s blade like leg with her shield. The sharp limb going straight through the wooden barricade but caught safely before it went any further. Lucy swung her crude mace and with a crack managed to repel the creature backwards but the hard, glistening shell it wore kept it from being harmed. Alex joined up with Lucy with spear low, the both of them shaking for different reasons.

The creature moved to attack once more. Alex easily dodged out of the way while Lucy could only manage a slow backstep that thanks to the shield caused the flailing blades to be deflected. Alex stepped quickly and jabbed with the spear but it was like hitting a stone wall, the force hurting her hands from the shock of the blow. The creature twisted around sending a blade lashing just overhead, past her long ears. She dropped low and tried to sprint away but found herself sliding over the moss as every movement seemed to be unnaturally quicker than normal. With it distracted Lucy took the chance and hit its side with both hands putting as much force as she could into it. The beast gave out a clicking gargle and was sent rolling but the armored shell only had a few small cracks. Rolling back onto its leg it charged forward with viger only to taken by surprise as Alex struck its cracked side at full speed, the spear snapping in half but the stone blade stayed stuck half deep. She regained her balance and dashed around it weakly striking its legs. The beast became enraged and confused but it was not a fool for as Lucy snuck around it to deliver a final blow to the weakened area it suddenly spun around. Lucy locked up as it smashed its front legs into her with a worrying crack that send her tumbling into the river. Surprised Alex did not see the bladed limbs coming as it just missed her by a hair and using the blunt sides bucked her into the trees with a crash. The beast gave out a resounding gargle of clicking noises and strode over to Lucy, still laying still by the river, with blades twitching. She tried to stand but her legs hurt, breathing hurt. Her arms felt heavy and her head felt light. With the water tinged red she fell to a black sleep as the beast reached out with blades twitching, hungrily…

Lucy jolted awake. Head pounding and eyes blurry she tried to scramble to more but her body still hurt. Her hands ran over something soft, not wet. Rubbing her eyes she looked around to find herself not at the river, instead she sat on a bed of soft leaves in a small place surrounded by bent trees. Gazing at the gash on her arm she found the limb to be wrapped in flat vine like plants with two sticks acting as a brace. Across the way from her lay Alex in much of the same state but her scent was normal and her breathing calm at least.
    “Ah you are awake.” Kevin spoke ducking under a bent branch. He dragged along the basket, now full of food, and left it next to the exit. He headed over and gently lifted her head up to look at her eyes. Nodding to himself he sat down next to her looking much more relieved.
    “What happened?” She asked with a rasp in her voice.
    “The creature, a Dewnid, as I called it. I think they tend to hunt around the groves, using the roof cover to hide themselves until they ambush prey. I do believe we got quite unlucky.”
    “No. Happened at river?” She corrected.
    “Oh. Thanks to you two distracting it I was able to collect some of those spicy fruit and turn it into a mash. Just as you had passed out I covered the creature’s face with the stuff. Blind and confused I used Alex’s broken spear to bleed it. Once I had moved you two out of the way I then returned to finish it off myself. You two did very well, it was my crude weapons that failed you.” Kevin stretched his arms out and yawned. “Rest as you want, you have not been asleep for long and the rings will help with recovery as long as you do not push yourself.”
Lucy looked him over as Kevin stood up to check on Alex. He had not a single wound to himself, not a bruise, not a scratch. It left her in awe that he had used nothing but his brains to outwit and defeat such a monster without it even landing a single blow. With Alex waking up as well and once given the same explanation she started to let out a laugh at the idea but quickly stopped from the pain. She was left shaking her head at the very concept as Kevin excused himself and headed back outside the twisting tent of tree branches.
    “Alex admits.” She shouted over to Lucy. “Kevin stronger than Alex thought.” She placed her hands on the ground and with force got onto her feet. She groaned and whined but managed to stand. “But Alex runner. Alex strong too.” She hobbled over to the side of the tent like are and took two fruits off the trees, one tossed over to Lucy, and the other for herself.
As Kevin returned he found both of them already standing and looking over the basket of fruit he had collected. They gave him a smile and a wave as he headed over and dropped a second much smaller basket down.
    “You two are up sooner than I expected. Are you ready to go?” He asked to which Lucy gave a nod. She groaned but managed to lift the huge and now considerably heavy basket up onto her back. “Do not push yourself.” Kevin added. With Alex given a stone knife as a quick replacement for her spear and Lucy’s mace fixed they ducked out of the trees to find themselves still in the grove. Kevin led them down one path and along another till the trees started to look familiar. They climbed back up the sharp slope of the mossy valley and began the longer journey of climbing and hopping to get back up to home stump.
    “So what in basket?” Alex eventually asked too curious about the smaller one he carried.
    “Some parts from the Dewnid, see.” He explained lifting one of the long blades out to show her. Her eyes went wide and then bent into a smiling grimace.
    “That gross but smart. Kevin stole blades.” Alex replied glued to the severed limb.
“Not just the blades. I did not have time to fully dissect it but I took some of the shell armor, some meat and a bit of the legs for testing.”
“Meat? Flesh, inner flesh. You can eat them?!” She suddenly shouted causing Lucy to
whip her head back around to see what was going on.
    “Yes, most living things when cooked right can be eaten safely. Insect meat is often very nutritious as well.” He explained but Lucy looked like she was about to throw up while Alex had such an intensely amused expression that Kevin could not quite work out what she was thinking.

The ring’s regeneration seems to be working to some small effect as despite cracked bones, deep gashes and strained muscles they only needed an hour or rest and some food to get fit enough to start climbing again. Alex is still learning how her new found speed and reflexes work as well but Lucy seems to be getting into her strength quite well. Either way, I need to start getting real tools made. Wood and vines are clearly doing little against the dangers here while stone is simply not strong enough. It took everything we had to defeat even a single Dewnid, a glistening giant insect predator that stalks the groves, and that I know is hardly the worst that could have attacked. Those twisting, twitching, shapes in the mist far above us sends chills down my spine and indeed so does the fact the Dewnid’s blades seem to be biomechanical in nature.

With the last of the vines climbed they reached the familiar warm scents of Home once more. The runner guards all staring at the tired, bandaged trio but also the huge basket of food that they had brought back with them. With some small difficulty to even fit the full basket up the tunnels they emerged into the main meeting room to a sea of silent and stunned faces. They suddenly broke out into cheers, hands grasping to hug, cuddle, or otherwise show affection to them. It was as much as Kevin could do to pry the arms off him and get Lucy to calm them down, at least a bit.
    “Lucy, I want you to stay here and explain the fruit to them. Not to eat the blue skin of the Bubbleshrooms, keep the Poppair red and black in buckets for later, all of that as well as the new names. Take your time.” He explained rummaging through the large basket and collecting one or two of every type of fruit in a bucket. “Alex, you are with me.”
He headed up into the small mine once more and here he fell to his knees and began to scratch some kind of drawing into the dirt. Alex knelt down to watch but could not understand the symbols. After a few more additions he wiped the dirt off his hands and brought out the journal. Flicking through several pages he stopped on a blank and began to write down something as well on top of even more small drawings. He sat in silence till he had filled out an entire page of tiny scribbles.
    “What it?” Alex asked looking over the drawings from every angle.
    “The future.” Kevin simply put looking over this empty space with thoughtful eyes. ","pools_count":3,"title":"Tiban - The Beginning","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"image/png","pagecount":"2","rating_id":"1","rating_name":"Mature","ratings":[{"content_tag_id":"2","name":"Nudity","description":"Nonsexual nudity exposing breasts or genitals (must not show arousal)","rating_id":"1"}],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"f","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"6","views":"920","sales_description":null,"forsale":"f","digitalsales":"f","printsales":"f","latest_file_name":"2218007_Gittons_the_painted_tiban_1_-_awake.rtf","latest_mimetype":"text/rtf","latest_file_url_full":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/full/2218/2218007_Gittons_the_painted_tiban_1_-_awake.rtf","latest_file_url_screen":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/2218/2218007_Gittons_the_painted_tiban_1_-_awake.rtf","latest_file_url_preview":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/2218/2218007_Gittons_the_painted_tiban_1_-_awake.rtf","digital_price":""}