Mimi
The sense of nostalgia was almost overwhelming. I was once again hunting to feed my Hive, and it was necessary since the winter harvest was not ready yet. I had the memories of Drak'al to guide me, as he had been on hunts with his brothers and sisters before. They ate the bugs to the South, since they were the easiest to capture and cook. After that, was the Fukuma to the West, Southwest, and Northwest. Their ability to teleport was formidable, but the Bone Claw tribe had adopted tactics to deal with them. To the North, was were invisible slimes that sat waiting. They would dissolve scale, bone, and weapons. While I was curious, I still needed to hunt. Which is why I was heading to the East, and North East. Where the Burrow Worms were.
These worms were twice my size, if Drak'al's memory served well. They had thick armor plates, that crude weapons could not pierce. They were blind, using sound and tremors to locate their prey. They were also delicious if the stories passed down were to be believed. Most importantly, they were not sentient creatures that could be reasoned with. They were beasts of instinct, and constant hunger. The perfect things for us to hunt, despite them technically being more powerful than fiends on the danger list the Guard had them on.
Ambush predators by nature, with a habit of moving in pods. I knew well, that I was not going to be fighting only one of these creatures. I marched my wings, when I entered their territory. I could sense a pod of four moving in the area, with my magic. They were too simple to connect to, which would have made this so much easier. I gained their attention, and had my escort fan out with their fire at the ready. Scix marched his wings as well, while I had Argus join the rest of the escort. If I was swallowed, then I'd have to claw my way out, or teleport if that wasn't working.
The pod focused on me, circling as they swam through the dirt below with ease. I could hear them with my ears, noticing how long and fat they were. How they used vibrations to break the rock away, and a bit of magic to propel themselves. I stopped marching my wings, to show that I was properly afraid of their display. That was when one of them chose to strike. It tore at the ground under me, as I jumped back the creature barely missing me as I tried to claw at it's pinkish brown hid. My upper hands left gouges the chitin fractured and broke into pieces. Their armor was stronger, and I entered my combat form. My wings marched again, attempting hypnosis to keep the pod distracted from my escort.
Fire circled the first worm, as I jumped back to dodge the next that erupted. Scix's talent proved useful as he was able to trace small cuts through the armor, but he needed to go deeper before he could do damage. His stinger was sadly too small. I coiled the muscles in my upper arms, not wanting to waste a healing sting, unless I lost a limb or two. The last two of the pod erupted from the ground, as I tried to move back again. The ground giving way to my weight, as I unfurled my wings and flapped quickly to stay just above the one that managed to grab my leg with it's slender tongue.
I could see the one on fire starting to cook properly as it wailed in pain, unable to burrow back down since that was where the fire was hottest. Scix was slowly carving a circle out of the hide, but the one he was on hardly noticed. I was held in place, finding the tongue to be comparable to my own strength. While the worm tried to close it's maw to crush my leg. I could feel the strain on my chitin, as it was going to break soon. The last work tried to use the opportunity to tear me from it's pod mate, so they could split me in half. I grinned under my mask, as my muscles finished coiling. I teleported high in the air, where they couldn't sense me, before falling towards the one that tried to tear me in two.
At the last moment, my upper arms sprung forward slamming all of my body weight and power against the hard scale. My upper arms exploding from the strain and cracks left by my fingers that traveled to the elbow and broke from the strike. The worm I hit, was slammed into the ground, the hard scale protecting it's head and brains caved in. Blood seeped out of its mouth, as I quickly stung my arms to heal them. The other two in the pod heard the shock-wave, and chose to flee while their burning comrade billowed before trying to lunge at the ground. I jumped at it, while Argus made a hole in the fire so it wouldn't harm me. My shoulder slammed into the beast, causing it's desperate attempt to burrow to fail. It scraped the top of the ground it's insides cooking as the inferno engulfed it faster. I stepped back, panting while my arms grew back.
If they were smarter, they would have ignored my hypnosis to keep their attention on me. If they could see, my strike from above could have been dodged or countered. Their thick scales offered good protection against weapons, and magic alike, but not against something that could slam into them with more force than they could handle. I understood that individually these creatures wouldn't amount to the threat of a fiend, given a fiend was more dangerous in the trees above, and could see you even if you stopped moving. While an entire pod of these creatures were more dangerous since you needed a group to kill just one.
I flexed my upper hands, taking a deep breath. The creatures weighed too much to carry together. Another pod might come to see what scared two away. I wasn't ready to handle more yet. I grabbed the closest one, that ended up being the one I personally killed. I strained as Argus and the rest of the escort moved under it to help me carry the thing. We just needed to drop the body off outside their area, then come back to see if it was safe to grab the other. Then I could eat the one that wasn't cooked and hopefully gain their armor.
We managed to drag the first one a safe distance away, and I grabbed some debris from the buildings nearby, just in case. It was odd, seeing how clearly defined the Burrow Worm territory was. Everywhere they lived, was completely flat ground. They demolished the buildings, letting it become more ground for them to burrow through. I tossed the debris past the charred corpse, and saw four of the worms erupt out of the ground at once. They quickly demolished it, proving that they were in the area, and making it pointless to grab the body we left behind. At least, not until I was confident we could handle an angry pod, versus a curious one.
We quickly turned around and went back to the one I killed. I took out shards of the scale and had to swallow them whole, since I couldn't chew them. I took out fractured pieces of the maw, swallowing that for good measure as well. Then I ate my fill of brains, tongue, and heart. The meat was surprisingly sweet, with an earthly aftertaste to it. I couldn't wait to see how Richard might improve on it. My escort surrounded me, as I fell to my knees over the body. The pain causing me to feel like my entire body was burning.
I gripped the scales of the beast, wincing as tears fell from my eyes. My bones were changing to become more resilient and sturdy. The muscle around it, pulsing and contracting as it felt like both were dissolving. I remembered this pain well from my younger years when I had to kill an armored troll to gain my chitin. I writhed on the ground, breathing heavily and grabbing onto the same scales in front of me. It really hurt, but it was manageable compared to growing stingers. I focused on breathing while my muscles jerked and spasmed from the pain of rebuilding themselves again.
My teeth fell out first, and that was when I knew this was going to be a rougher time than I bargained for. All my bones were changing to the hard scales of the worm we killed. My teeth growing in as blood coated my mouth and tongue. I coughed and choked on my own blood as Argus and a few others helped to keep me from laying down. My tongue and it's muscles dissolved and grew anew with the rest of my body. I had to use the elastic chitin, to keep some semblance of form. It was the only thing thing that was staying at this point. My old stingers fell away as new ones grew in its place. I tried to grab the corpse again, only to have my armor fall cling to it as my arm spasmed, tearing it off.
Argus had to sting me with my healing stinger, so that it wouldn't go to waste since I had to wait three days for everything to fill back up. The worst part had to be ordering three giants to quickly carry away the hissing explosive stingers. They were thankfully far enough away when the stingers exploded, but those lives were lost. My new tongue hung past my chest with more blood still dripping down it. Not once did I not feel like my entire body was on fire, as my nerves were exposed to open air. I kept thinking the previous transformation was the worst one yet, and here comes another just to prove me wrong.
The only solace, was that it wasn't a blinding pain from stingers growing in wrong. It hurt more than anything I felt before, but at least I wasn't having my brain actively harmed. Argus thankfully kept track of the time this was taking, while I just curled up no longer in danger of drowning from my own blood.
Two long, painful hours passed. I finally had control over my body again, and looked at the black sand under me. A small mark that stood out against the rest of the dull brown of the ruined buildings around us. I coughed up any last bits of blood and chunks that stayed clinging to me. The meat of this worm was now useless, since my blood tainted it. Well, useless to anyone that couldn't stomach it. I felt true hunger for the first time in a couple decades. The feeling of my body being absolutely empty, and completely drained.
It took effort to to crawl into the open mouth of the corpse. I bit into anything I could sink my teeth inside. Scix was cutting ribbons of flesh, while Argus helped to bring it over to me. They were both concerned, but I helped them to understand I was alright. The main problem was that my chitin grew back soft, and it might take days before it properly hardened back up. My body readily digested the innards, as I started to feel better. I was too easy to kill like this, so the escort lined up around the mouth of the corpse. There was enough flesh for us to eat for the next couple days. I just had to connect with Douglas, and have him explain the situation.
After sending him the message, I made it seem like I was busy trying to find a proper way to hunt these Burrow Worms, instead of just crawling around inside one of their corpses. With Argus and the escort, I would be fine until I recovered completely. I couldn't let anyone see me like this, not while I was this soft. It wasn't that I didn't trust others to protect me, more that any accident might hurt. Even my antenna were raw and fresh, as it grew new armor over itself. I was probably going to put on a decent bit of weight, and potentially a little taller.
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The two days that passed were uneventful, save for the stray packs of whispering wolves that showed up now and then. They ran from my escort without any issue, and I was able to focus on resting. I got frequent updates through Douglas, and the other parts of my Hive. I stepped out of my rotting home, and into the light of the Underground once again, early in the morning as I squinted feeling so much better.
My body felt light, but solid at the same time. I took a second to look my chitin, frowning because I couldn't properly make out the color they were supposed to be. I was completely caked in gore and blood. I was probably as strong as the worms, which made me a little stronger than the fiends, but not by enough to make too much of a difference. The real boon was that I could feel out things through the ground with a kind of tremor sense of my own as my bones acted like ears to some extent.
I thought about teleporting to my room to be cleaned up, but figured the teleportation would take the gore and such off naturally. I also didn't want to waste something I could only do so few times. Besides, it was time to see how much I improved after spending so much time in that vulnerable state. I scratched at the gore on my upper arm, to confirm my chitin was still black. When I turned it the right way, it would catch the light and turn a very dark purple with small sparkles. An interesting development, but I could look into it more later.
I confirmed with Argus, and Scix that they were okay to continue on for another hunt. With their consent, we went back towards the charred body we left behind two days ago. We found it rotted, with other creatures already making their homes inside it. After we were done hunting, I'd let the new generation of giants gain new stronger shells. They should be fine as long as they cocoon and emerge with already on them. Thinking about it, I could potentially prepare a cocoon web myself. Something to go into and emerge after everything is done. It might just be easier than suffering through the transformations, but I wouldn't know what I might emerge as. It feels like a one time thing, and I would neither be able to go back, or cocoon again.
I weighed the benefits to not having to suffer through another episode of gaining strength, and still growing stronger. I concluded that I would need to eat a dragon, as they stood at the peak of strength and defense with their scale and muscle. If I ate one, I might even gain horns to encase my antenna and keep them safe forever. Until then, I'll just have to suffer with everything that came with growing stronger. I let out a small sigh of reluctance, before ordering my escort to kill and eat everything inside the corpse. There might be something useful in it.
The escort happily did so, while I sat on top of it waiting for them to finish. I took the time to lick the gore off my hands, surprised to find that the edges were a purplish pink. It did look stronger now, and more beautiful than before. Still, it wasn't strong enough. I needed to be able to crush anything in my way. To destroy anything that might harm my Hive, and devour it to better protect those within it. After the scavengers were picked clean, we marched towards the closest pod.
There were six in this pod, I felt them through my bones, as they moved about underneath the ground. I recognized the two from the pod we fought a couple days ago. I marched my wings, and felt them stop for a moment. A grin creeping on my face, as I donned my mask and combat form. I used hypnosis to force them to focus only on me again. All six decided to try attacking at once, as they remembered me! I stepped to the side, allowing one of them to swallow me whole. I could feel the walls of it's insides trying to crush and digest me.
I expected this, and happily assured Argus, and Scix that I was fine and to not let any escape. Their response was to light the entire ground on fire while the worms bellowed in anger. I pushed against the fleshy walls, as the acid ate at the gore on me. It was cleaning me, as I prepared to get fresher gore on me. I swiped, then clawed as I skewered the fleshy walls, rending a hand full of gore each time. Finally I met where the scales were held by the flesh. I did not stop, and tore my way out as the worm flailed into its companions.
They weren't used to pain, they were the biggest strongest things here. Of course they would be afraid of diving through the fire to safety. Fire burned them, and there was no need when they could stay in their spots just as they were. They lashed out at each other as the one that continued to flail and wail managed to land on the fire writhing. Argus kept the fire from touching me, so the worms took swipes as they focused on me again.
I stayed just outside their range, while Scix continued to work on one of the worms. Argus was staying back, controlling the flames with the others as best she could. I moved back and forth, weaving between the the worms lashing at me. I moved further away until I was only being attacked by one that could hardly reach me. I moved forward, marching my wings just to make them angrier with each drum. The hypnosis making me more and more aggravating to them. Finally the closest lunged at me, and I was able to grab their teeth and jump on top of them. The fire burned beneath them, as I punched through its head plates. My arms were ringing from the strain of striking, repeatedly. Argus let the fire die down beneath the now dead worm. Four more remained.
Scix worked his way through the second to last one, as I killed the others with the same method. Once the scale fell away, he was able to finally do real damage. Chunks of flesh fell away with his stinger carving into the creature. Scix knew about arteries, and made certain to cut into them before flying away. The final worm came at me, as I moved to the side, letting it's scales scrape against my upper arms. My lower arms coiled, before punching a hole straight through it, to pull out the brain. I felt alive again!
It had been far too long since I had such a life or death struggle, far too long since I could actually enter a battle unsure whether I would win or not. So much time spent on Richard, and taking care of the people. I sat back on the bodies, feeling my hands tremble from the excitement. I hadn't felt this happy since I killed the fiend without losing any limbs. This was what I did my entire life, before Richard found me. It was all so much simpler back then. There was no need for lies, no need to manipulate those. It was only my kin, and myself. I cannot tell what the others think about me, I do not know what is happening with them at all times. That uncertainty bothered me so much, but I had to trust them.
The people at the lizardman village were a part of my Hive, but I couldn't let them see me weak. Everything revolved around strength, and as always I needed to protect my Hive. I had to, because I was the strongest, the most capable. I took a breath to calm myself. There was no point in worrying over so many little things. I had to accept that the people around me were honest. They had no reason to lie, unless they discovered the lies I told them. I looked at my hands, realizing there was no way I could be considered a person anymore. It hurt me on some level, and I would need someone to talk to. I needed a person to tell me what they truly felt they were, what made a person a person.
I moved, and lifted one of the worms, hoping that my escort of five hundred could carry one by themselves. Thankfully they were able to with Argus guiding them on when to step. I grabbed another, still struggling, but dragging it by it's tail. The things were easily thousands of pounds of meat and armor. It was going to take until night to move all six of the bodies to the village, but at least I could trust that same village to break it down. There should be enough food to last us for a month or two.
I started moving with the help I had. The fresh gore slowly drying on my chitin once again. I didn't bleed this time, so it should be safe to eat.
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Richard Adams
Two long days of getting the shit kicked out of me, as I fought the warriors of this Tribe. My body was covered in bruises and bumps, as I managed to block strike after strike. I used the arm with my Alchemy to block again and again. It would not tire, and I could stop any pain and fix it so long as it wasn't wounded. Even bruises and scrapes were quickly fixed as I could close the smallest cuts. Even though the others were fighting, I could tell these lizardmen were going harder on me for some reason.
I didn't mind too much, since I was now able to block the attacks of their strongest hunters. I didn't even bother trying to strike back, since they were much stronger than me, and any move forward would result in them tripping me with their tail. My nights were filled with helping Lewis collect samples, and breaking them apart, and putting them back together with alchemy. It was extremely helpful to learn how it worked, and with the notes in Oswald's journal, I was able to understand roughly how they all worked together.
I think what really hurt the most, was my pride. Mimi was out there, challenging who knows what, trying to bring us food to eat. By this point, all the food that was harvested last season, would be running out and the stores were being tapped into. We sent a lot of food back on the caravans to the Northern Kingdom. Mainly as a part of some trade agreement, that Oswald very briefly mentioned to me at one point. I really did miss him, but I promised not to sulk anymore.
The warrior I was fighting decided to be a bastard, and pushed forward with their tail wrapping around the back of my leg to trip me. I fell back, managing to block as they pummeled into my shield. I had to move my arm so they couldn't knock my guard away, and I had to wait for the moment to get back up. I kicked at their shins, and they turned their attention to my exposed legs for a split second. I pulled free from their tail, getting into a kneeling position as they started striking with another barrage. I recognized it when the approved of something I did by this point. I was starting to understand their body language, even if we still needed Robert to actively translate.
I tackled into the lizardman, as he puffed up his chest to meet me. I felt a strike against my back, gritting my teeth to not cry out. They'd beat you harder if you showed signs of pain. I shoved him away panting, covered head to toe in sweat. The warrior with a scar over his eye nodded. I decided to call him Scar because of this. It just felt natural to have someone with both eyes, and a scar over one to have that name. Plus, he scared the fuck out of me when he got serious. He nodded, letting his weapons rest at his sides to show we were done with training for a bit. I let my weapons fall to my side, without dropping them.
I learned they really hated it when you dropped weapons of any kind. To them they were like a treasure, made worse by the fact that Mimi gave it to them, and she was their goddess. I walked over to the bucket of water we had nearby drinking to cool myself off. Training was as brutal as ever. I sat down drinking while Scar joined me. He tapped our cups together as a sign of comradery. I smiled at him, and he croaked by vibrating his neck a little. I laughed with him, drinking all of my water in one swig.
Then we saw the others stopping their training. I saw their jaws drop, as the other gang members just stared in disbelief. I could only see buildings from my vantage point, and got up with Scar to see what was wrong. We quickly ran over, only to stop when we saw it. Mimi was dragging an entire Burrow Worm by herself, with her escort carrying another just behind her. She was completely covered in red blood. The elder came rushing over, as he spoke to the others. They quickly nodded, before rushing towards her. I ran with them to help Mimi and her escort carry the two things into the village. She just dropped them off and left without another word, which left me feeling a bit hurt that she didn't want to say anything to us. Then I saw more beetles coming to meet up with her escort.
They went back the way they came, and it dawned on me, that she wasn't done bringing everything she killed back to us. I chased after her, I couldn't let her be alone. Not while she was doing this to herself. She flicked her ears to look at me, then past me. Whatever she saw she glared at, but I kept running towards her, stopping right in front of her when I was out of breath. "Hey wheeze been a while cough hasn't it?"
She looked down at me, before turning away and starting to walk again. I swallowed hard, but followed after anyway.