5.12

Haiko seemed to hold within her the key for decoding Kalter at a fundamental level. Watching the two of them interact was completely different from the reserved, cold and otherwise unwelcoming nature she usually possessed.

With the official tour of the Lakeside Hovel over, and the light fading fast, August left the three of them to their own devices. He set out towards the water’s edge, with Ladybug in toe, and called out to Neptune as he reached the shallows. The monster angled towards him, emerging from the water as it approached their position. August knelt down beside him, catching the monster’s head before it could butt into his shin and gave it a nice scratch.

“I’m going to need your help—both of you, okay?” August said. “We’re going to catch some of the other [Mitikos] to eat.”

Neptune clacked its jaws together at his words, and he took it as a good sign. Unlike Ladybug, who seemed to subsist entirely on ambient Mana, Neptune actually had a need to eat food and given that they were expressly noted as eating their own species, it didn’t take much convincing.

“Here’s the plan,” August said, lining out their strategy and trying to discern how well the monster could take more complicated orders.

Once he was sure that they were at the very least on the same page, he reached over and patted Ladybug on the head.

“Ready?” August said, hitting her with a burst of [Tame].

The two creatures let out a trill and a clack, respectively, and then Neptune vanished beneath the waterline. August picked Ladybug up and dropped her on his shoulder for a better vantage point before pulling his [Bamboo Spear] out of his inventory.

“Make sure you don’t hit Neptune, okay?” August cautioned.

Ladybug let out an almost offended trill and settled her with another burst of [Tame]. There was a splash of water ahead of them, and then two distinct ripples broke away from the spot, heading for the shore. The one closest to them was Neptune, having crashed into his chosen target before turning tail and swimming back towards them.

Neptune crested the waterline, twisting in the water until he was facing the second—and somewhat larger [Mitikos]. It crashed into Neptune head first, sending him sliding back in the shallows with a crack—a flash of white passed by August’s cheek. Ladybug’s chain-spike passed through the [Mitikos], from head to shell and out the other side, sending water scattering away from the impact.

Neptune has reached level 4.

Neptune investigated the dead monster, apparently curious about its sudden demise, before catching hold of one of the larger monster’s legs. Neptune wrestled the dead monster towards them, Ladybug helping out by slowly reeling in her chain. Out of the water, he found that the [Mitikos] was actually a bit larger than he had first assumed—easily enough to feed them.

“Good job,” August praised, giving each of them a moment of attention before pausing. “How much do you eat, Neptune?”

Neptune turned back to the larger [Mitikos] and then sunk its jagged jaws into the thing’s leg, and then after a minute of frantic effort, tore it off entirely. Neptune took its prize and moved further into the shallows, ignoring them.

“Okay,” August said, bemused. “Thanks for the help?”

August spent a moment trying to get a hold of the corpse before catching hold of the still embedded chain and using it to pick it up—it was far heavier than it looked, but he managed it, crab walking it back up to the encampment—Rittan met him halfway, apparently spotting him from his place by the huts.

“May I assist you, August?” Rittan said, already stooping to take hold of the body.

“Thanks, man,” August sighed.

“I was watching the three of you,” Rittan said, load hefted up onto his shoulder. “That was a rather impressive show of cooperation.”

Ladybug trilled at the words, earning herself a brief scratch from one of the man’s many arms.

“I wasn’t sure it would work, but they seem to take orders pretty well.” August admitted, “It’s a bit big—I don’t think we’ll end up eating it all.”

“Indeed, perhaps Neptune will eat the leftovers,” Rittan said easily, “Would you like me to prepare it again?”

“Yes, please,” August said, clapping his hands together in thanks—he really didn’t want to cut the monster up. “I’ll get started on the fire.”

They split ways at the [A-Frame Hut], Rittan placing the body down by the door and setting off with his [Flint Axe] for a larger piece of wood to use as a cutting board. August pulled the shade up and stepped inside. He set about preparing the fire, placing the kindling and other more substantial fuel from his inventory at the bottom of the fire.

His [Hand-Drill] was starting to look pretty worn, the friction plate was fine enough, but the stick itself only had a couple of days left before it would need to be replaced. From his place inside the shelter, August could hear Kalter and Haiko speaking to one another.

“You said that he was the first one here, but it has been less than a week in all,” Haiko said curiously, “How is it that he has managed to gain the trust of these monsters so quickly?”

“In the same way that he can summon us, he has other mana manipulation techniques,” Kalter said seriously, “I watched him use one of them on the thing in the water—Neptune—once it was complete, the monsters disposition changed instantly.”

“Pulling us out of Limbo would require immense knowledge, resources, and skill that only the most well trained Gaian scientists could accomplish,” Haiko said, sounding bemused. “Making a monster friendly is more palatable, but it’s still unfathomable that he can simply use these techniques naturally and without training.”

“I’m aware,” Kalter admitted. “At first, I thought that he was a plant—placed here to guide us through some kind of experiment, but it’s become clear that he has no idea about Gaian culture or how they would interact with their creations. He didn’t even know what a PDI was until Rittan informed him—he sleeps without one!”

August frowned; getting dragged for his lack of knowledge about their customs was something he could do without. He tossed a branch into the growing fire with more force than was necessary, sending embers scattering through the air. He couldn’t wait for the day when his apparent superposition of hapless Human and Gaian spy would stop being brought up.

“That would have been my next question,” Haiko said, bemused. “If he was truly a Gaian, he would not risk sleeping without one—that should be proof enough, certainly?”

“I don’t know, Haiko,” Kalter murmured, “This was easier when Gaians were Gaians, and humans didn’t exist.”

“I suppose so,” Haiko hummed, “Rittan, you’ve returned—what have you done to that poor log?”

“We had something of a disagreement,” Rittan said, amused.

“Where did August go?” Kalter said.

“I believe August is readying the fire,” Rittan said, “I will be attempting to prepare the monster he caught—would you like to join us inside?”

August deliberately broke a branch in two, the sharp noise carrying far enough to be heard by the three of them.

“Certainly,” Haiko said. “I’ll admit I am curious about a great many things, and now seems the appropriate time to discuss them.”