An Ally

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow it down,” I speak into my own mind. It’s a strange sensation.

“That’s strange...” The voice goes.

The drill in my torso stopped.

“Do you want to create a coalition with me?” I desperately asked.

“Sure,” it says.

“You don’t have any questions?”

“Nah.”

“But you should be hesitant right?”

“Nope, you seem like a good guy.”

hahahahahahahah

“Let’s form a coalition then.”

Index, I want to form a coalition.

Coalition has been formed. The Muscle parasite will migrate to the user's body.

“Do you have a name?” The muscle parasite asked. “Mine’s Jonte.”

“Hmmm, call me Loco.”

“Loco. I’m taking the right wing.”

“Fine by me,” I said.

I felt my right wing separate from me. He grew into a perfect copy. Strangely I still had control over the wing.

“You still there?”

“Yup.”

“I can still control my right wing?” I say as I flap it up and down.

“Yeah, but I can take control of it whenever I want, see.” He morphed the wing twice as long. Bending it like clay, the same way he’d done earlier. He turned the wing back to its original shape.

He stayed silent after that, as if he’d never existed in the first place. I wonder how many parasites could fit onto one body. Could it be possible to have a body only composed of parasites? That would certainly be freaky.

I need to go kill poe...

“Why?” Jonte asked.

“What?” I asked.

“Why do we need to go kill?” Jone asked.

“Because we have to level up and complete the quest,” I said.

“Why?” Jonte asked.

“Because…”

Index, why should I do the quest?

Is motivation found insufficient?

Not for me.

Answer is found… not sufficient.

Stage one has ended. Stage two will progress.

Alert! Alert! Alert!

Due to the actions of certain parasites Stage 2 will begin. Parasite hunters have been released. I suggest you go out and gain experience at the fastest rate you can, else you will die. I hope this is enough motivation for you.

Parasite Hunter

A parasite hunter is a parasite with only one purpose, slaying other parasites.

Worthy points of knowledge:

Can see if a host carries any parasites. Becomes stronger for each parasite they slay Parasites become 50% weaker around parasite hunters. Slaying a parasite hunter will release a signal telling every parasite hunter of your location.

“Well fuck,” I said, “now we have hunters on our back. Is this enough motivation for you?”

“Yup,” Jonte said as if it’s not a big deal.

A voice I hadn’t heard since that mad cat attacked us appeared behind me. It’s my brother. His wing is bleeding, deep gashes running through it. The blood soaked into his wings. His face shows too much maturity for a child.

“I’m so glad you’re still alive,” he walks towards me to nudge his head against mine, I jump back. He looks confused, but his face quickly turns into one of sorrow. “It killed mama and sis. My sister wouldn’t jump, she just didn’t... that’s how the cat got her.”

“Jonte,” I say to Jonte, “can you kill him?”

“Of course.”

“Do it.”

My right wing turns into a sword. My brother shrieks. The sword cleaves through his head. It topples down, beak still open.

10 Xp gained.

Level 4 reached.

“That was easy…” I said, still thinking about how long it took me to kill a bird, one that was still in its egg. “You seem really strong, almost too strong. Are there any drawbacks to you?” I ask to jonte.

“Yup. After I fight too much I get sleepy. About that, I need to go to sleep. Good luck surviving.”

“No you can’t just go to sleep like that,” I hurriedly said.

He doesn’t respond. Jonte is already asleep.

That seems like a gigantic drawback, having to sleep in the middle of a fight. I need to keep that in mind and only use him when I really need to.

The blood pours out of my brother's head. He lived a short life. The wild really is brutal. Your mother didn’t value the life of a grasshopper, and I don’t value yours.

I need to go. If I learnt anything from this experience it is that blood attracts that cat with two tails and right now there’s a lot of blood around. I skit away from the dead bird's body. The grass doesn’t look as giant anymore, but that scares me even more.

My eyes are constantly scanning my surroundings. I’m too young to fly. I’m a bird stranded to the ground, practically anything could kill me without Jonte. And he’s gone right now. My priority needs to be finding a safe place.

My train of thought is cut loose by a familiar sight. It is a blue legged centipede. It’s seen me, and it’s sprinting straight for me. I’m apparently big enough for a meal now.

I break into a skit away from the centipede. Screaming and cursing allst the while. It’s about to reach me, and tangle around me, when a bird of my species dives down and grabs me, the same way I was grabbed as a grasshopper.

“How can such a young and innocent chick know so many swear words?” The adult bird says to me.

“innocent,” hahahahahahahahahahah

“My mother likes to swear,” I lie straight out of my beak.

“What a terrible mother,” he says, bluntly and brutally.

“Why?” I challenge him.

“Children shouldn’t swear.”

“Why?”

He pauses for a moment. He doesn’t know why. His bird brain is incapable of deducing why.

“Because that’s just how it is. Now stop asking questions.”

There we have it.

He flies me high in the sky. My heart beats loudly and I feel my feathers turn ticklish. I close my eyes, trying to turn all the attention away from the ground. I couldn’t be gladder that he’s clenching me.

We fly in circles. The cold air massages my face. The grey clouds are above us. He keeps singing the same song, almost waiting for something. It really is a beautiful song.

“Where are we going?” I ask him, curious as to why we’ve flown in a circle three times.

His face jerks down, and he breaks into a smile.

“I’m here to meet my wife and my soon to be three children. Well, I mean, she has three eggs that are about to hatch. But I’ve forgotten what tree we live on. I’m just waiting for her to sing with me so I can fly over to her. I’m going to be a father, a really good father.”

Oh.