Wonderer's Wish World: An Empty Land

The Chase... and Capture

The tunnel Kris and Norman descended into was dark, though Kris could somewhat make out the faint outline of torches against the wall, long extinguished. They did nothing to light the way in the dark wet tunnel Normand and Kris found themselves in. Norman seemed a little hesitant as they both started through, but Kris knew they couldn't waste a second. After all, the trapdoor clicked open just seconds after it was closed. They needed to hurry up.

Norman snapped to attention, and Kris picked up the pace, intending to lead Norman... somewhere, but to their surprise, Norman pushed pass them and started running like he knew where he was going. Kris watched him, a little surprised, before hurrying up themselves. Norman seemed to know where to go.

Or so Kris thought. It only took a couple twists and turns for their light to completely disappear, and when it did, Norman stopped. Suddenly.

Kris crashed into him painfully, and they both fell down onto the hard rocks. Kris winced, and Norman cried out in pain. But why'd he stop in the first place?

"I-I couldn't see Finn anymore!" Norman explained, but in sounded more like a complaint. "I couldn't do anything!"

"Hey, there they are!" someone in the darkness yelled, and Kris and Norman turned in the direction they heard it. It wasn't hard to find, beams of light shone onto Norman and Kris like a spotlight. It reminded Kris of miners. Was that what this town was? Kris scowled. The darkness down here could have worked in their favour, but not when their attackers had lights to see.

This time, Kipo didn't even bother speaking, she turned away quietly, and Gale stopped the screen on his own. He let out a huff of annoyance when he did, but Kipo ignored him, picking up the boa and setting it on the table, none too gently.

"You don't have to... whatever," Gale said, giving up when he (rightly) assumed Kipo won't listen.

Kipo's brow furrowed as she rifled through the box. She knew time was paused and, technically, she had a lot longer than a few seconds, but she still felt herself selecting the little figurines urgently. She made sure to chose them carefully, but her hand was still shaking as she set them on the table.

"Ah, I see your thinking," Gale hummed. "The diligent Owl, that-."

"You don't need to do that," Kipo interrupted quickly. "The Owl and the Bat can lead them, right? Through the dark?"

Gale looked disgruntled, and when he answered, he sounded more annoyed than usual. "Yes."

"Alright, that's what I thought," Kipo said, nodding to herself. She points at the next figurine lined up. "And the tiger is an attack animal, right?"

"That is correct."

"And the sloth... what does that do?" Kipo asked. She has a suspicion, but she wasn't sure.

"The slothful Sloth," Gale said, dramatically, and Kipo sighed. It seemed the second she gave him an inch, he took a mile. "Will not be awoken by anything. Until its purpose is served, or perhaps, it is killed, it will sleep. Once it is placed, it cannot be moved aga-."

"Ah, I see!" Kipo said, pleased. "That's good, better than I thought, actually. Yeah, I've decided on these four."

Gale stared at her, and suddenly, Kipo felt a cold dawning on her. She didn't really know Gale, but also, she kind of did. He was sarcastic, selfish and... Kipo felt she should say something good to round it off, but she couldn't really think of anything. The point was, he had a personality. Usually. But when he was silent, like this, Kipo was suddenly reminded that she didn't know Gale at all. She was annoyed with him (she'd never tell him that), and sometimes, she thought he was kind of funny, but it was at times like this when Kipo got the sense that maybe she should look a little closer at his grumpiness.