>>5283144Your eyes sharpen, the corners of your perception flickering with the Halo’s light as you peer through the thicket of lungs and throbbing veins. Covering your bases, you continue to scan the woods even as you spawn a full set of Psy-Platelings, covering yourself and Amara from head to toe, while Julia and Dorian get a single one to augment their Relic-based defenses. All you’re able to catch through the blackened spires is a glimpse of the back of the solitary woman’s head, but it’s enough to trigger a flash of realization.
“Amara, can you hear if that woman’s speaking in memes, or maybe a foreign language, by chance?” You ask, and her ears snap to the side, then forward again.
“I…I think so!” She announces.
As a smile tugs at the corners of your mouth, you spawn a single FuzzBuzz with downy fur birthed in the colors of the Polish flag. You send him off with a simple message, disappearing into the billowing gloom…and you barely have to wait before a shriek of joy echoes through the woodland.
“SHU!”
“One does not simply walk to the Cord.” You say, reaching out to the swarmling you gifted her.
“HA! Stay still, stay silent and I will be there in jiffy-lube!” She immediately replies, and you hear a commotion from the tangle ahead of you as the girl hastily makes her way to your position.
“The other girls have stopped!” Amara informs you as ‘A’ comes crashing through the tangled veins, slapping low-hanging alveoli out of her way until she catches sight of you and your allies. Her bright eyes and lack of corruption betray her Vitruvian nature, but whatever apparent normalcy her physical form possesses is off-set by a brand-new set of mismatched clothes, her patchwork garments seeming stitched from a variety of colorful scraps.
“Adidas-friend!” She yells, grinning from ear to ear. “And with other podia-people! We have whole Foot Locker!
“It’s good to see you, ‘A’.” You say, pulling the shorter girl in for a hug. “I know you’ve met Dorian before, but I’d like to introduce you to my friend Julia and my daughter, Amara.”
“Ah, hello hello!” She says, breaking her hug with you to practically lunge forward to shake Julia and Amara’s hands at once, the odd girl’s wild hair bouncing with the sheer force of her greeting.
“A pleasure to see you again.” Dorian bows. “I’m glad we caught you when we did—were you aware you were being followed?”
“Yes yes, ninja from Leaf Village were sneaking up, and I was about to go morphin-time on them. But then you arrive, and now they too spook!”
“They’re p-pulling back.” Julia whispers to you as Amara relaxes, slightly.
“So, what brings you here?” You ask, keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding woods.
“Oh, I come to lost woods to think! And get lost!” She announces proudly, looking around at the gently breathing trees before declaring- “I am that, right now. But no Skull Kid!”
(Continued)
