23. Dwellers (Patreon)

She was tired. Yesterday had been an exhaustive day. Though she wouldn’t deny the exercise had helped her. It was astonishing how two days of sedition could change someone. Whilst she had the energy to make the whole travel without stopping, it wasn’t like she should do it.

It was still better than traveling at night though.

She didn’t like the touch of cold sand. It perturbed her.

There wasn’t a straight answer to what awakened her. It was a mixture of temperature, noise, and smell. As soon as she made it to the grass, she instantly fell asleep, not even bothering to eat out of her sheer exhaustion. But now... now she felt something was different, out of the ordinary.

She opened her eyes, the grass and dunes were dark, and the sun had yet to fully come out. But she saw it in the distance.

Movement.

The sleepiness vanished from her body, easily substituted by wakefulness. Even if she had been between walls most of her life, one just didn’t forget their innate instincts or their early life. If you weren’t fast, if you weren’t perceptive, you would die.

She rolled to her side. Whilst not as fast as bellyflopping in flat terrain, it was far more silent. A current of energy was sent through her claws. They may not have seen much use, especially on flesh, but they could cut it.

And very well at that.

It was only when she discovered the nature of the movement – but most importantly, their intentions – that she abandoned all pretenses of stealth.

“Wro! Wro!” What are you doing? Fikali started bellyflopping like a madwoman, rushing to the invaders.

The invaders in question turned to face her, the origin of the screams. They were a couple of dwellers: a powerful female, and a diminutive male.

In dweller society, females had to be powerful, for they protected the offspring. And whilst they were heavier and more massive, they were faster than the males. It made sense, if a pregnant dweller was slow, not only would they die, but also the offspring.

Males, on the other hand, were the food gatherers. Their function was that of a scout, to search for food and to overwatch for enemies. Whilst smaller and less powerful, they were more agile thanks to their slimmer build and had keener senses, especially that of smell.

So he had known Fikali was here since the beginning even if he may not have seen her, and decided to steal her nonetheless.

The audacity!

“Wro! Wro!” She repeated again as she approached the planted pistachios.

Fikali’s movement finally snapped the female dweller out of her trance, stopping her from sniffing and digging the pistachios out of their place.

“Huo!” What? The youngster dweller asked derogatively.

“Wro!” Cease this at once! Fikali ordered.

“Huo?” Why should I do that? She raised her head high in superiority. The movement prompting the male to slouch his further toward the ground.

“Wroooo!” Because those are my pistachio trees!

“Huo? Hro?” Trees? Are you senile?

“Wro?!” How dare you?! Fikali backpedaled in offense. “Wro wro?” Is that how you talk to your elders?

The female dweller scoffed. “Huooo.” You are but a walking corpse.

“Wroooo!” Come here and say that to my face!

“Huh?” But before that unruly could respond, a faint voice interrupted them. It wasn’t a dweller's voice. “Are those... What the...” Her master.

But as soon as she said that she went back home. Fikali and the dimwitted female stood looking at her last position in confusion. Moments later she made her way out, now covered in cloth and leather.

“Fikali!” Her master shouted as she rushed at them. “What’s happening?”

“Wrooooo!” These youngsters are stealing our crops!

“Are those wild dwellers?” The hooman continued, unable to comprehend her words.

“Huo! Huo!” A hooman! How lowly you have fallen! The defiant female interjected.

“Wro!” Cease this slander! Fikali raised her claws menacingly having grown tired of this foolish female’s insults.

“Let’s calm down.” Her hooman approached them with her hands raised, unlike their claws, her gesture looked harmless. “What’s happening here?”

“Wro! Wrooo!” I’ve said it already! They want to steal the pistachios! Fikali replied.

“Yeah, I can’t understand that, Fikali.” Her master acknowledged her incompetence.

The youngster locked her gaze on the hooman, prompting Fikali to look at the dweller. There was no further grunting, but they were ready to lunge at each other at any moment. Noticing her gaze, the youngest peered at Fikali, locking themselves into a staring contest.

As impatient as she was young, the male dweller stepped forward toward the pistachios as if Fikali wouldn’t notice him.

“Wro! Wro!” I can see you! Go back now! Fikali raised her forebody in an intimidating move.

The male, as cowardly as they ever were, backpedaled in fear. Not only was Fikali a female, but also an elder.

“Huo! Huo!” Don’t you dare talk to my man like that, old woman! His female replied in kind, also raising her body.

“Fikali, keep them entertained, I have an idea.” Before Fikali could argue against it, her master rushed back home.

“Huo! Huo!” What a master! The hooman left you alone! The youngster began clacking, laughing at the situation.

“Wro! Wro!” You better shut your mouth, insolent youngster!

“Huo!” I obey no corpse!

The female dweller slowly approached Fikali, becoming more and more impatient. The male one hid behind her, cowering at the increasing screams and display of claws.

Fikali harrumphed. “Hro wro.” I am way stronger than I look.

“Huooooo!” Then let’s see that!

The youngster lunged at her.

That was her first mistake.

They were on land, solid ground. This meant that for dwellers, their movement was severely limited. So, when she lunged at her, instead of moving like the wind she bellyflopped like a mountain.

Fikali slapped her midair.

The impact echoed through the whole dune valley where the oasis was situated. The youngster rolled to the side from the hit, doing two barrel rolls before the ground and weight deprived her of her momentum.

It didn’t matter that she was younger than her, or that she weighed as much as her.

“Wro?” Don’t you understand? Fikali looked at both young dwellers over their backs. “Wroo!” I am stronk! The monster shouted as she raised her snoot to the heavens.

“What was that?” A familiar voice joined the freight. “Did you just... slap a dweller?”

“Wro.” Indeed, I did.

The hooman blinked thrice before coming out of her daze. “Okay, woah. That’s more strength than I thought you had... I guess you are also heavier...” The last part was added with a whisper.

It didn’t escape Fikali’s notice the bag in her hooman’s hand. And especially the smell.

“Wrooo! Wrooo!” I see what you want to do, but don’t do it! These are pests that shouldn’t be fed!

“You are excited, huh.” Her master kneeled down before her and took out a handful of pistachios. “Here, have some pistachios, you deserve them.”

All pretenses of experience and age were thrown out of fat as the hooman shoved the pistachios in her face. A dweller couldn’t just resist that.

Fikali ate from her hand.

Ah~ Edible glory!

“Huo!” Sellout! The envious youngster shouted from behind her.

Fikali continued eating, not minding her. A stupid dweller with less wits than fat wouldn’t stop her feast.

It didn’t take Fikali much to leave the hooman’s hand cleaner than she had found it first. The pieces of cloth on her hand were left whiter than before rather than reddish and yellowish.

“Good girl.” And then she patted her head, a smile on her visage.

Her master was right, Fikali was a good girl.

“And you two,” She stood up, looking at the couple of youngsters. “You cannot mess with my crops!” The hooman raised her voice but it was all but intimidating, her build was too slim for that. “If you stop doing so, I will feed you pistachios.”

The couple stayed looking at her master dumbfoundedly. They were too dumb and young to understand her speech. Especially dumb.

“Wrooo.” She’s offering pistachios if you go away and don’t come back. Fikali explained to them.

Her words were a bit more different than those her master had uttered, but there was no harm in that. These two were locusts after all, if not worse.

“Huooooo?” Do you honestly believe we will become sellouts like you? The female dweller turned her face in defiance, keeping it up high.

The male, on the other hand, bellyflopped his way to Fikali’s master.

“Ouu.” Food. He almost whispered as he put himself in front of the hooman.

“Here, have some.” The master offered him some pistachios in her hand as a smile was plastered on her face. There were significantly fewer pistachios than she had given to Fikali.

She’s shrewd. Fikali thought with a grin as the male graciously devoured the pistachios.

“Huo!” You moron! The female shouted and started bellyflopping to the male and the hooman.

Fikali easily intercepted her.

“Wroooo?” Do you want another slap? With that single threat, the dweller instantly calmed down. “Wrooo.” Eat and never come back.

Begrudgingly, the female dweller obeyed. As soon as her partner finished, she started eating from the hooman’s reddened hand.

And then she bit it.

“Wroooo?” Do you have a death wish, youngster?

Fikali shouted, worried for her master, but as she bellyflopped to them, she was left flabbergasted. The hooman’s face showed no pain. No, even more curious, the bite didn’t draw blood.

Then Fikali remembered how this had happened before. How her master had withstood attacks that should have normally hurt a normal weak hooman.

“Now, now,” She added calmly, a grim grin widening in her visage, “you shouldn’t do that.”

The youngster, even more astonished than Fikali, backpedaled in surprise.

No.

In fear.

A hooman couldn’t be unfazed by such an attack.

“Huooo!” Hurry, let’s go! She shouted to her partner, and then the male dutifully obeyed, even if his face showed he didn’t want to.

“Wrooo!” And remember, never come back!