“Of course, we are happy to be of service!” the old artonan wizard waved at the avowed who looked as exhausted as the artonan wizards felt. They all needed to keep face for just a little longer while they made their retreat, and she refused to be the first one to break.
“We must now return to check on Matadero, but be assured, we will continue to be of assistance to your planet!” she pronounced, expecting the kind of deference she was used to from the lower caste.
But the humans did not have the same <
Please give me a <
An instant later, the eye ring responded with a message.
[Personal request from Hn’tyon Esh-erdi: relay a small package to Matadero.]
Matadero? That’s where I want to go anyway. And sleep for three days. Perfect.
The old wizard made her excuses to the human avowed, and the human finally went away just in time for the system to connect her by voice to the person who would be delivering the package. The voice spoke in a human language, which her eye rings translated for her.
“Dragon Rabbit Gets You Things. Please confirm: I am sending one… high priority live baby mouse, to your location via drone. Estimated arrival in four minutes.”
Some sort of small Earth creature? I should not dare to wonder what it’s needed for with such high priority by Hn’tyon Esh-erdi.
“Confirmed,” she replied, lifting her eyes toward the clear blue sky to watch for the earthling drone.
******
[Optional mission: socialize with a non-human earth animal at Matadero]
*Reward: SSS-grade sprinkles
“You mean the sssnake? I have already set my intentions on doing that. The snake is a matter of importance to the human child.”
Esh-erdi enjoyed indulging in amusing speculation on why Mother set him this particular task. The human child, the one who was becoming friends with the son of the Primary, was apparently also known to Mother, which was <
[There are at least several non-human earth animals on Matadero.]
“And I could choose to talk to any one of them, for they are all of equal interest to a snake that survived a sinker-sender contamination zone by being rescued by a Ryeh-b’t Bearer of All Burdens?”
[Surprising you is my constant pleasure, Esh-erdi. You might find many surprises of interest among the animals of Earth. However, you did offer to help Ryeh-b’t Alden with his tasks for today, and you do have a fondness for oontsies. The snake looks like an oontsie that has no secretions.]
“Sometimes I do wonder if you are giving me these little missions just for my own amusement. I am certain there is something of galactic importance in this mission, and that you are not merely humoring me.”
[Of course there is a reason.]
“A slimeless oontsy, you say?”
[I am taking a risk. Several risks. Exciting, isn’t it?]
“First it was an ocean to put back where it belongs. Now there are several risks. We were supposed to be celebrating our Ensulvignas on a quiet planet.”
Esh sighed dramatically, and found himself feeling for his partner through their connection. He was sending her a stream of messages before he even realized that was what he was doing.
[Like an oontsy, Lind.]
[But without the slime! Would you like that better?]
[Perhaps it is similar to the pebble that moves the rock that moves the avalanche. The snake is important to the human child, who is important to Stu-arth, who is important to his father. I must prevent the cracks from beginning at a distant edge.]
[I do admit I have some curiosity. Does it really look like an oontsy?]
[I wonder if this is like how humans appear physically similar to Artonans, but without…]
******
Bag was having an exciting and busy weekend. It had been rescued by a real Hn’tyon, it had made its first Avowed, and it even got to go to Matadero, which was super powerful and important to Earth!
Everyone kept saying how Contract Earth was sooo young, but it was like half a century old which felt pretty ancient to Bag. And obviously it was old enough to be doing super amazing contract things like teleportation!
Maybe someday Bag could have its very own super magic cube so it could also show chaos what’s what. And it was going to start practicing teleportation right away! It would start with small replaceable things, like the lavender buds that were constantly wedged into its deepest crevices, so that nobody would even be mad if it did it wrong.
Bag was even learning the very mature skill of “letting go” and not keeping your new scorpion friend forever and ever and ever by binding stabby existence into a contract that is required to serve you.
It didn’t even feel too down about losing the scorpion, because it already had a new potential avowed!
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Wow! Mother! Did you see how I was very grown up about the scorpion, and now, look! I’m carrying another earthling animal!”
“Yes, I did see! Alden seems to be picking up a habit for animal smuggling, with your help. But this one has a destination and will not be staying with you for long.”
“Maybe we could convince it to? It seems nice? I can’t figure out how to talk to it yet. I’m sorry. I’m not smart enough. Can you help?”
“Even I would not succeed in talking to that one. It was unusual that the first animals you held had spent so long being shaped by the push of authority.”
“I think I could help? If I pushed the authority of this baby mouse, then by the time it grew up I’m sure it could <
“I could give you the standard reasons why not, but you have those built in. Your perspective is a strange one, little seedling. Perhaps there is a possible future where things could go the way you imagine. However, a Contract must listen to the will of its people, and I believe Alden has other plans.”
The Alden in question had taken the package from the tired old wizard without knowing what it contained, and stuck it in his messenger bag while he rifled through the many refrigerators to find whether any of Kabir’s cooking remained unpilfered by the Artonan wizards. The bag’s window of opportunity for direct influence with the small mouse within would only last until he got back to his room and took out the package to open.
“I would try to talk to it, but I worry I might squish it. It’s so tiny.”
“I could not talk to that mouse without crushing its entire being. But perhaps someday you will have a more delicate hand than I.”
“I still have my Snake though! He is back in his tub! He did such a good Avowed mission and found the scorpion!”
“Yes! Speaking of which, I have a request to pass on…”
******
[Assignment: Snake Ambassador Greeting]
[Delegates from the Humans and Artonans wish to greet you.]
[Mission goals:]
[Greet One Artonan]
[Greet One Human]
[Devour One Traditional Mouse of Welcome]
*You are already at the location of your assignment. No teleport required.
*Reward: Snake Points, which can be used to buy items from the Snake Wardrobe
Oho, now don’t tell me you hired me just because I have a handsome face for schmoozing!
Tiny Long grinned and waggled his tongue into the air, toward the direction he thought of as his interface, as the human boy picked him up. Tiny could be polite to a human boy, who probably didn’t even realize that beneath the snake’s innocent-looking exterior he had deadly fangs.
At least this human has a gentle touch! Nimble fingers, not clumsy like some of the siblings I could name.
The snake slithered around the hands of the human who he was trying hard to think of as a new, unique individual. Tiny Long wanted to greet Alden on equal terms, like two beings who had been through an adventure together.
He knew this human wasn’t the same as the siblings who had held him captive, who had only wanted to play danger games. He definitely was not at all worried that they might all be alike.
It helped that this human felt different, with his gentle and dextrous hands.
Meeting, and greeting! No problems from this Snake Ambassador.
“Yes! That is definitely one of the three mission goals going super well!”
Why, I must most graciously thank you for the compliment, my good bag. I’m sure the rest of the mission will go just as swimmingly.
The human boy’s hands moved as if they were used to the flow of a small but long snake threading itself around the boy’s fingers. It was an interesting feeling, and not unpleasant.
I suppose I can suffer this human interaction if I must, for the sake of the mission. Now about that item number 3, good bag! I did just eat earlier this week, so I could do without the Traditional Mouse of Welcome.
“Mother tells me that the complaint of having to consume too many welcome consumables is a common experience among those she has contracted, and that it is up to individuals how they come to terms with the boundaries between discomfort and politeness.”
Does that mean I don’t have to eat the mouse?
The snake paused in its meanderings between Alden’s fingers.
“Maybe you could eat just a little bit?”
Ew. I mean… Haha, what a silly picture you paint. Of course I’m happy to fulfill the mission and eat the whole entire live traditional Mouse of Welcome, no need to create dead meat chunks on my account. In fact, now that you mention it, it has been at least a few days since I’ve eaten, and I’m positively ravenous for a whole entire living healthy mouse that has all of its bits firmly attached.
“Oh, good! Because I was thinking maybe my other option was to raise it to have a sense of self and become another avowed with magic powers, but I don’t know if I can do that yet.”
You. My good bag. Listen. I’m going to eat that mouse.
The mouse in question was currently being discovered by one Alden Thorn, who had taken Tiny Long’s pause as a sign that it no longer wanted to interact, and was now rifling through his bag after putting the snake back into the makeshift habitat.
The human let out an exclamation as he opened the package.
“It’s hard to translate,” Bag told Tiny Long, “But the human totally thought the Artonan was going to give him something powerful and magic that would be really cool but also totally ruin his life! Or something super serious and ceremonial that would totally ruin his life! He is surprised and glad. He did not know the package contained the Traditional Mouse of Welcome.”
The human boy gave a sigh of relief and sat quietly for a minute.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” the human boy began again, and the bag gave Tiny Long what translation it could.
“Tiny Snake and I have been through a lot,” the boy continued.
This much the snake entirely understood.
“I’m going to live vicariously through its non-vegan eating habits.”
Tiny Long didn’t quite get that part, but he was distracted by the immediate appearance of a live, moving, healthy-looking baby mouse. And even though he hadn’t been particularly hungry before, the sight of it drove his instincts to strike.
Maybe it was the threat of gross horrible dead corpse meat bits that made the live mouse look so good in comparison, or maybe it was just that the past couple days had felt a lot longer than they were. Maybe the superpowered strength and speed he had somehow gotten earlier had required more food energy.
Whatever it was, the mouse was good.
******
[Optional mission: socialize with a non-human earth animal at Matadero]
*Reward: “Interesting Opportunities”
Worli Ro-Den didn’t think he had let slip a single thought from even one of his minds that he was tired enough to need to go to Matadero to rest.
And yet Mother herself had decided to send a mission straight to his eye rings.
“Explain,” was all he said.
[You have an interest in chaos, in connections, and in unusual things. I think you will like this.]
“I have such confidence. Especially after last time I took your advice on a mission involving an earthling.”
Ro-Den continued his work, sorting through the various vials he had hidden in his robes as if it was all the same to him.
[It worked out.]
“I’m sure.”
He frowned as he dug through his storage, realizing he’d gone through all of his regular stamina potions. He thought he’d arrived with enough to appear as if he had an infinite number of them, giving them away freely as if they cost him nothing. And now he didn’t even have enough to keep pretending. Not even for just a short time, not even on this backwater planet.
[Of course, I know the answer to this question, but still, I must ask: have you ever heard of the earth animal called… the spider?]
Worli Ro-Den paused, giving away no expression but suddenly unable to split his minds between moving and thinking.
“Interesting opportunities, you say?”
Ro-Den was one of a few Artonans with a decent understanding of exactly how much Mother could or couldn’t understand an Artonan’s thoughts and will. And he was one of even fewer who felt a need to act in a way that subverted his predictability. But now, he turned both his minds toward Mother’s words, as a show of good faith.
“Tell me about this spider.”