Wonderer's Wish World: An Empty Land

It's a (Hunting) Party!

"What," Adam hissed. "Is that?"

Kipo looked up from petting Bipo. She almost lifted her hand from Bipo's skull, but a hard and pointy headbutt from Bipo made her reconsider. "This?" Kipo asked. "You mean Bipo? They're a Bone Dragon."

"WHAT?!"

"A bone dra-," Kipo was cut off as Adam waved a hand in her direction.

"I got that, whatever!" Adam cried. Kipo's eyes widened as he grabbed what looked like an oddly put together knife. "What's it doing here?!"

Kipo blinked, making sure to stand safely in between Adam's knife(?) and Bipo. Bipo, for their part, didn't look like they cared much for anything except how their pets were interrupted.

"Bipo is our friend," Kipo said. "Trust me, they're completely safe, you don't have to worry."

"Says the person who can change into a mega jaguar!" Adam accused. He hesitated, and then looked over to Wirt. Wirt blinked.

"H-Huh? Oh! Well..." Wirt asked, looking from Adam to Kipo nervously. "...Yeah, they won't hurt you. Unless you're a skeleton, I guess. But you're, uh, not... so..."

Adam gave Wirt a judgemental look, but, to Kipo's relief, he lowered the knife. He squinted at both of them.

"Fine," he huffed. "I won't kill it."

"Them," Kipo corrected, and then breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Adam."

Adam looked surprised, right before it melted into one of annoyance. "Whatever," he mumbled. "And I'm not taking care of it-them. Surviving here is hard enough, so you better understand that before you decide to keep a pet."

Wirt and Kipo gave each other a look. Bipo had a little too much independence to ever be considered a pet.

If Adam saw the look shared between them, he didn't comment on it. "I need to go out to hunt," he said instead. "You two...three, stay here. Don't break anything."

"Stay here?" Kipo repeated. "But there's more people to feed now. Don't you need help?"

Adam gave her a suspicious look. "Not that many people. Or did they code a hunger system into you and... your pet as well."

"I... literally have no clue what you just said," Kipo said. "But me and Wirt definitely need to eat. Bipo, uh... I think they're fine."

The three humans looked over to the bone dragon, who was watching the flickering lantern light with their blackened eyes.

"D-Did they eat another dead person?" Wirt asked nervously.

"Wirt!" Kipo cried.

Wirt raised his hands in a defensive gesture. "I-I was only asking?"

"So you really aren't slightly freaked out by a pile of bones that eats dead people?" Adam dryly asked Kipo. Kipo frowned at him.

"I'm not," she said, firmly. Adam shook his head.

"Let's just go already," he said. "The weird pet isn't allowed to come."

"I don't think Bipo wanted to," Kipo noted, but Adam was long gone, finding holes and roots inside the slide to climb up with. Ah. Kipo and Wirt were wondering how they were supposed to get out of here.

Kipo nodded to the slide, smiling reassuringly at Wirt. "It'll be alright," she said. "Let's go."

Wirt only grimaced.

It took Wirt a little longer to climb out the hole than either Kipo or Adam, but before too long, they were out of the bar and starting through the forest. The pink haze swirled around the trees, wrapping itself around the three travelers in a way that reminded Kipo of Fun Gus. She shivered. She needed to get her mind off of that.