Currently, all John wanted to do was lay in his bed for an unhealthy amount of time. To just… sit around for a while. But, he forced himself to get up and face the day regardless, knowing that doing nothing would be worse than facing his problems head on.

Getting up and making sure to take some care of himself, John ate some breakfast before scuttling out of his room and heading to his job, relieved when the only people waiting to talk to him were Doremi, Sola, and Fizz. The fact that Fizz was there made John assume that either the dungeon’s oddness was Fizz’s fault - and, really, John wouldn’t mind that - or that Doremi and Sola found Fizz trying to eat something blatantly poisonous in the dungeon.

Either way, John assumed Fizz did something.

“So, what’s the verdict?”

John asked, sitting down in his chair while the three others sat down on three chairs in front of him. Doremi seemed confused, but Sola explained it easily.

“The dungeon’s strange… And filled with things never seen before… But, it’s safe to delve in. It’s a neutral dungeon and that hasn’t changed. We’ll be able to open it by the end of today, if nothing too drastic has happened.”

Doremi nodded in agreement.

“It’s filled with baked goods-” John glanced at Fizz, who quickly looked away, “-and although it’s incredibly unorthodox, the chances for new material are far better than before. It might not be good for blacksmithing like the spider’s exoskeletons were before, but it’ll bring a lot of tourism to the town if people find out.”

John smiled, but sensed something odd.

“So, if I may tackle what I assume is the main issue…” John gestured at Fizz, “...Why is he here? No offense to you Fizz, but still. And if it’s about his blatant tax fraud, then don’t worry about it, he found a loophole but isn’t doing anything illegal.”

Doremi tried not to smile too obviously, knowing that John’s reaction will be good. Sola, on the other hand, had no issues with the grin on her face. Fizz started explaining idly, knowing he couldn’t really lie after telling Doremi and Sola the truth. Mentally, Fizz prepared for John’s reaction.

“So, I snuck into the dungeon not too long ago in order to collect some materials.”

Fizz started, tactically avoiding John’s exasperated gaze.

“I might’ve given the dungeon a strawberry cake in the hopes that it would, I dunno, do whatever it did to the pastry spider…”

Fizz continued, and John tried not to sigh. Sola found the dynamic entertaining, while Doremi was wondering if something bad would happen.

“...An’ I might’ve given it a contract that it signed by using a spider, and perhaps I set up a little bakery in it, and maaayyybbee I’ve been using that little spot for the past while.”

Fizz said sheepishly, finally looking at John. John had his head in his hands. Fizz finished.

“I think I could call me n’ the Insect Dungeon friends.”

John muttered something about management as he dropped his hands to his side. Doremi and Sola sympathetically nodded, understanding some of what John had to suffer through when he inevitably had to inform some higher up about the dungeon.

“I assume you two already know how ridiculous this situation is?”

John softly asked Doremi and Sola, deciding to mentally deal with the problem later and see what he can do in the moment. Doremi and Sola silently nodded, while Fizz was looking awkward in his seat.

“Fizz… do you understand why miners don’t just toss in gold into a Rock dungeon with the hopes that the dungeon will start making gold?”

John asked Fizz. Fizz shrugged, and John continued.

“It’s because dungeons have a knack of twisting or pushing things to be in their favor. The dungeon might copy the look and feel of it, while twisting part of it. It’s a miracle that an Insect Dungeon - such as the one we have - hasn’t managed to poison you.”

After a moment of silence, John allowed himself a little chuckle. He added.

“Although, maybe that’s just because you’ve ingested so much poison from the place already that you’re immune. Honestly, who can tell?”

John cleared his throat.

“Point is, something’s fishy. You don’t make friends with dungeons, unless they’re getting more out of this than you are. I don’t believe the theory that they’re fully sentient, but I do believe that they have basic goals: Kill adventurers, get magic, make better defenses.”

Fizz considered it for a moment.

“So… why did it let me bake in its’ core room, then?”

Stolen story; please report.

John hadn’t considered that, and neither did Sola. Doremi, however, was optimistic in her view of this.

“Well, maybe it likes you or something! I’ve heard of dungeons randomly being a bit nicer to some than they are to others. That could be it!”

John just sighed.

“Well, regardless, I’ve got to compile all of this as a report. Doremi, Sola, keep delving. See if things change, and report to me if they do. Fizz, uh…”

Fizz twiddled his hands awkwardly.

“Fizz… Just don’t get yourself killed, alright? I’ll allow you to continue baking in the core room - ridiculous as that is - as long as you just don't’ get hurt. I don’t want to see you hurt. Now, all of you, politely leave. You know how it is; Gotta get things done fast.”

Doremi and Sola gave a thumbs up and left, while Fizz put down a muffin. John stared at Fizz, Fizz stared at John. Giving in, John ate the muffin; Strawberry jelly, not bad.

“Fizz, if you teach the Insect dungeon how to make jelly and it makes a slime monster, I’m going to blame you for all the adventurers’ that lose their clothes to acid.”

Fizz just laughed and walked out of the room.

“Alright! I’ll try not to!”

John sighed for the tenth time that day, starting to write down the report.

Meanwhile, Tido was trying to look for something his crows could eat. Too much sugar would upset them, not enough protein would make them unhealthy, and if it tasted bad, his beloved pets just wouldn’t eat it. He was lucky that the inn John set all of them up with had a good spot for his crows, although a little cramped.

Idly checking his beloved crows to make sure they’re in good shape, Tido idly talked to them.

“I’m glad you two don’t fly away from me. What’d’ya think of a meat bun for lunch today? You two like meat buns, right? That bakery has a few.”

Kraa - his favorite crow, with a bit of a nip on both his wing feathers - made a sort of gurgling noise. Cwoh joined in, and Tido smiled.

“I’ll take that as an agreement, then! Meat buns it is.”

Tido made sure to refill both of their water bowls before leaving, but left the pen unlocked in case they wanted to get out. He was certain that they could get out regardless, but didn’t want to cause any unneeded property damage. Walking through the streets of the fairly pleasant town, Tido enjoyed his stay.

Since all he had to do was transport Sola and Doremi, and maybe grab materials if they asked him, he had the rest of the time to do whatever he’d like. He preferred to spend that time tending to his crows. He noted that the bakery was closed, but that’s alright. His crows wouldn’t mind if he got something different. Heading to the butcher instead, Tido greeted the butcher.

“Good evening, miss! I was wondering if you had any particularly protein-filled meat.”

She nodded and meekly gestured to the selection. Tido whistled; He was impressed. Even if she hadn’t hunted it herself, this was a good amount of meat. Carefully selecting the kinds that he knew his crows loved the most, he paid the price for his small selection and left the shop to start looking for good seasoning, and maybe some nuts or berries. Oranges would be nice, too.

He may have spoiled his crows just a little bit in his search for a ‘quick lunch.’ He wanted them to be happy, after all! Besides… Sharing a meal with them was one of his favorite pastimes, considering how pleasant they were to exist near. Continuing to collect a good amount for Kraa and Cwoh while avoiding things like chocolate, peppers, and mushrooms, Tido idly wondered about the meaning of it all.

He enjoyed his life, yes, but he knew he could ‘be more.’ That he could be better. He thought about what his life could’ve been while he cooked the meat and boiled a few eggs. Plating up two large bowls for his crows and a simple plate for himself, Tido remembered how he met Kraa and Cwoh.

He had been adventuring with a party - as most kids his age were doing at the time - and got separated from them by a particularly sudden rockslide. He hated it; the loneliness, the cold, the fact he couldn’t figure out a good way out. When he looked up, two large black birds had been flying circles above him for a while now.

Scavengers? A threat? He wasn’t sure, but he loved animals. Something he remembered well was the birds he’d feed before he started this dumb quest. Hell, he even kept some bird food on him at all times in case he saw a neat bird… Deciding that he’d rather ignore his issue for a little moment instead of go deeper into his panic, he got out his jar of bird food and sprinkled it out in front of him. The sound caused the two birds above him to curiously dive down.

Tido’s eyes widened when he noticed just how massive these crows were. He knew that sometimes animals came out bigger, smarter and stronger from magic lines or something, - he hardly paid attention in school - but he didn’t know it’d be that big.

He sorta just sat there in awe, his backpack resting beside him with the jar of food in front of him. He didn’t really resist when they came closer and started eating the food from the source, he sorta just watched. Instead of flying off when the food was finished, they had settled down next to him.

Somehow, Tido found himself rambling to them, his fears of the mountain and worries about going home just spilling out. It was easier to tell the animals instead of other humans; he didn’t expect them to fully understand half the nonsense he was spewing.

Well, that was until one of them just picked him up with its’ claws and started flying off. No matter how much Tido loved birds, he couldn’t help but panic. He froze up like a stiff log while the bird flew him off to who-knows where, before getting put down on the path.

“...Wha… What?”

Tido sorta just stood there. After a few moments, the other crow flew over with his backpack, putting it down next to him. Tido looked up at the two crows. One of them had already begun flying away. The other - the one that set him down originally - was staring at him.

It had a small bit of both its’ wing feathers missing, for some reason. Tido gave it some of his jerky before it flew off.

“...”

From that day onwards, Tido learned an unreasonable amount of information about crows in order to learn more. He returned to that mountain, week after week, bringing food. Plenty smaller crows had begun to befriend him as well as the bigger ones, and he kept as many trinkets from them all as he could. The day came when he had to leave to accept a job at the dungeon association as a simple intern…

…And the crows had followed.

What a sweet memory. Tido looked at his beloved crows while they ate the food, occasionally dipping some of the bread into water to make it easier to eat. Smiling, he ate his own meal, even if some of it got stolen from him.

Tido decided that even if he could’ve been a different person or got a different job, he wouldn’t dare to.