This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Telemachusfar on 2024-04-10 05:31:03.
The impromptu camping trip continues! I don’t really know where to put this and here seems like the best place so just a little announcement! I have set up a Ko-fi for anyone feeling particularly generous. The link is in my bio. I feel I should stress that it is in no way expected and I will *not* be gating any content behind paywalls or whatnot. It is simply there for anyone who really enjoys Pen’s story and is in a place to be generous. As always, though, I’m appreciative simply for yall’s readership and happy you’re enjoying the story.
Anyway enough babbling, thanks for reading! :)
Gareth settled into what he assumed to be a long stretch of boring waiting. That said it could easily be the opposite of boring, that is dangerous and utterly terrifying, and considering the options he’d take boring with thanks and sun. Still, in times like these he much prefers to have one of his books to pass the time. Instead, he’d have to content himself with watching the last bits of light disappear from the horizon.
Pine trees.
They were a very odd kind of plant to him. nearly opposite in his mind to the plant life he was used to. The islands of Weilia were few and far between but the plant life they supported was smaller in scale on a general level and their leaves were wide and heavy. Pine trees had an alien spikiness to them, as if daring something to try them.
His eyes wandered from tree to ground to fire. All of it made him hold his legs closer to his chest and arms. He scooched a little closer to Pen.
Soon enough the only source of light was the crackling fire and as if in direct response to his lamentations of boredom the universe provided.
Chirping and cooing came unseen from tree branches. Chittering echoed from deeper into the trees, far too far into the shadows for Gareth to make out a source. The buzzing of insects grew from one or two to a permeating constant noise. No amount of straining eyes brought clarity and in minutes the sounds were so varied it was nearly cacophonous. The only time the sounds would die down were when a sharp wind took the trees for a few seconds at a time.
“Umm Pen?”
Snore.
“Pen…”
“MMmmm”
“There are… a lot of things around us. a lot of different things all making lots of sounds… are they?”
“Soundssss good. Lemmeknow… if everything goes real quiet. Bad.” She started snoring again.
“Umm alright. Will… will do.”
His eyes darted around. Sound was good. Silence was bad. Didn’t make much sense to him but he told himself that it would be best to rely on Pen’s experience, not that it really helped to calm him. Pen’s presence, though, did have a small calming effect. If she could allow herself to fall unconscious then certainly they were safe.
He looked over to her. That barrel of a chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm. He thought of the scars and his eye went to her leg. Rolled over as she was, he couldn’t see the scar on her left arm. He could see her leg, however. The odd mottling pattern was uncomfortably reminiscent of what heat would do to his shell. He couldn’t look for too long and quickly shifted his attention back to their surroundings.
He occupied himself by trying to mentally catalogue all the bird sounds he heard as time passed. An hour or two passed like this. The only really noteworthy event being a slight scare in the form of an owl. The two large forward facing eyes glowed in the firelight before it dropped of its high perch and glided away into the dark forest.
After another hour Gareth witnessed what he was really afraid of happening. Pen hadn’t moved much as she slept but now, she began shuddering. Her shoulders would jolt and her stomach would seize up. Her breathing also lost the rhythm it had becoming halting and quick.
“Mmh”
“Pen?”
He considered moving over to her but Deag’s interaction one of the first nights she was aboard the Nebula held him in place.
“MMH!” It was as if she were trying to yell but couldn’t open her mouth or put any energy behind it.
Part of him wanted to try to wake her. If he could pull her out of whatever was happening then shouldn’t he? With that in mind he started to move towards her but was stopped. Suddenly she thrashed about inadvertently rolling herself onto her back.
He didn’t know what to do. Would waking her work? Would it be okay? What if she lashed out? Questions on questions swirled around in his mind but he noticed she’d gone quite still. The balled-up clothes she used for a pillow had come out from under her head and now her dirty blond hair was getting caked with dirt.
Gareth was on his knees now but waited, watching her.
After a moment of stillness, a terrible jolt ran through her and her eyes shot open. Her head whipped around, and she locked eyes with Gareth. She had a furious look over her face, her eyes wide, pupils dilated. Quickly, though, reality came crashing back and wherever she was previously drained away.
Everything passes and they were left just looking at each other. Gareth was to stunned to move. He didn’t know what to say.
Pen turned away quickly, heat rushing through her face. She fiddled with the makeshift pillow and laid back down. Her back turned once again; she spoke.
“Few more hours and we’ll head out.”
He had to take a moment to process what she said.
“It’ll still be dark.”
“That’s fine.”
“Pen are… I uh…” He stopped, totally unsure of what to say.
He waited a moment, hoping she’d pick up where he left off but she gave him nothing but silence. Seconds turned to minutes and the window passed him by. Eventually he just went back to listening to the sounds around them. He was far too distracted to really put any thought into it but Pens silence gave him little else to do. He did note that, at her outburst, the sounds of the surrounding forest had gone quiet for a few moments.
A few more hours passed and Gareth noticed Penelope start to stir. She coughed some to clear her throat and came to a sitting position before stretching a few good pops from her back.
“You good to get going” She asked as she stood.
“Um sure, its still dark though. It will be for another hour or so, you could sleep a little longer if you need.”
“I’m fine.”
He considered asking how she slept but figured stupid questions got stupid answers. Instead he just watched as she shook out her clothes and threw them on quickly. Rather than wearing her heavier shirt she elected to tie it around her waist. Then she crouched down and took the helmet-full of water they’d boiled.
“You need-” she started but was stopped with an upraised hand.
“Not a ton of anything I need so by all means.”
“Thanks.”
She brought the rim of the helmet to her mouth and tipped it back, and back, and back. Finally, she let out a heavy, satisfied sigh.
“Ahhhh. Good shit.”
She hooked a warped piece of the helmet into the hanging sleeve of her shirt and tied the sleeve off securing the helmet.
“Rea-” she stopped, kicked dirt over the last smoldering bits of the fire until it was totally muted and continued, “Ready. And don’t worry, I’m not gonna make you run for ten minutes before picking you up this time. Hop on.”
She knelt down again and Gareth hopped up onto her back. With the shirt tied around her waist he could now brace his webbed feet against the rolled up part of the shirt. It didn’t totally solve the rough ride but he’d take it and appreciate it even more as the terrain turned more and more rocky.
A short bit of travel passed before Gareth plucked up the courage to say something about the previous night.
“Um Pen, about last night. I… I don’t want to bring up if you don’t… I just want to make sure you are-”
“I’m fine.” She said curtly.
Gareth noticed the edge in her tone and lamented somewhat.
“But… thank you.”
“If you want to talk-” He was cut off by a hard landing as she dropped down from a ledge.
He didn’t finish the sentence and she didn’t speak up but he didn’t notice the same cold shoulder she’d given any of them when they’d pushed the topic previously. Just silence and the working rhythm of her movement.
They inadvertently kept near to the river as they went. It meandered close at times and quite far at others but generally they seemed to be heading towards its source.
Their trek took them up to the lip of a shallow chasm that cut into the forest, splitting it like an eye. Pen stopped at the edge and looked either way. Both directions would add hours to their journey if they tried to circumvent it. Pen looked back to her travelling companion with a look that did not instill joy.
“What are you thinking now?”
“Im thinking itll be faster to just climb down and then back up the other side.”
“That sounds like a terrible idea.”
“You think all my ideas are terrible ideas.”
“That’s because they generally are.”
She smirked, only half hidden by his position behind her.
He didn’t fail to notice it though and huffed.
“I’m starting to think you enjoy terrorizing me.”
“… A little.”
“That’s sick Pen.”
She only chuckled.
You must log in or register to comment.