Sal's POV

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"Should I?"

"Should I…"

Sal's head wrinkles a little as his claws start to nervously scratch the tree.

"Perhaps I should!"

A long pause.

"...Think about it a little more."

Giving a long, heavy sigh, Sal closed his beady eyes and furrowed his forehead. His matted fur, long, stiff, bristles running from various shades of brown, gray, and white, and hints of evergreen dotted his unevenly layered body.

"Maybe, I should-"

Another long pause.

"Go and- scout the place out."

With a flickering determination that would disappear in a wisp of smoke from a gentle breeze, Sal slowly climbed down the tree, as if he could go any slower.

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Limbs that were wobblier than pudding, somehow, in a miracle, managed to support Sal's bulbous, plump body. His pencil-thin arms and short, stubby legs, his belly soft as a marshmallow, his elongated, thick neck paired with his tiny head, his claws capable of slashing and gouging out the eyeballs of a ferocious predator were all a combination that made one scratch their head.

If Sal's skeleton was discovered by a lab, the first word that comes to mind was: homunculus. Parts of the body scourged from other animals, uneven mangles of bone and muscle messily bonded together… Accidents always happen, and Sal looked like a huge one.

And currently, the abomination of a nightmare was-

"I don't think I can do that right now!"

Sal stopped right in his tracks midway down. The sun glistening high in the sky was barely visible from the thick foliage, covering the land below in shadow and shade.

Neversouly gripping the tree trunk, Sal felt sick in the stomach. Bursts of pain followed by the urges of screeching in agony, Sal wanted to wait, but he couldn't.

"I can't afford to expose myself like this, I can't! What should I do?!"

No one answered. The routine of chirps and buzzing from insects were all he could hear.

"I really don't know what to do," Sal whispered, choking on his words.

Another spasm of pain rang through his body.

"..."

Sal firmly clenched the tree. "You know what, everyone has to risk it sometimes!" The fake calmness and willpower were merely a cover for his underlying panic as he spoke, "I'm going, no matter what!"