Meant To Be

Chapter Fourteen

Artificer had hardly spoken for several cycles. She still allowed Hunter to hold her close in an attempt to comfort her, but she no longer responded to her words. She was also no longer eating anything, even squidcada, which Hunter had learned was her favourite. It was understandable, though. If she had just gone back to her den before running away from the garbage wastes, she would have found them. But now, it had been four years since she had lost them. Artificer often found herself wondering if she could still find them, but she wouldn't know where to begin. She was still catching prey just as skillfully as ever, but never ate any of it. In other words, she had not handled the news that her children were alive very well. After all, they were out there all alone, probably dying repeatedly without anyone to take care of them. Hunter wished they could just happen to find the pups on their travels, but that was impossible. Unless...? She had been keeping all of her senses active for any trace of them at all times, but nothing so far.

They were rapidly approaching No Significant Harassment and they were most likely going to make it there by next cycle. Well, assuming that neither of them took another death, that is. Lots of shelters lined the border of the superstructure from where the iterator's city used to be, so they could safely walk until the rain began to fall. While they walked, Hunter tried to hold little conversations, even if she knew that the closest thing to a reply she would receive was a small smile. "So, is there anything you wanna talk about?" Hunter asked, once again trying to start a conversation. "...Yeah, I'd like to know what No Significant Harassment is like before I meet him." Surprised to have even gotten a reply, she turned to look at Artificer. "Oh, he's pretty easy going for an iterator. I'm lucky to have been raised by him, even if he was busy most of the time. He makes lots of jokes and never took his work calls with the others that seriously. He preferred to just chat with them and catch up on stuff. I wonder how he'll react when he sees I'm alive...?" Hunter trailed off at those last words and Artificer squeezed her paw comfortingly. "He sounds like a really nice iterator. Much friendlier than grumpy Pebbles!" She couldn't help but laugh at that, remembering how rude Five Pebbles always used to be.

"No Significant Harassment was always good to me, even if I was only ever a tool. He even treated me like his own child! Well, I wouldn't know what a normal childhood looks like since I was raised by an iterator. He taught me how to use a spear from the time I was three years old and showed me how to fight. Honestly, I know everything I do today from him. I owe him everything. Of course, it was hard to learn that I had the rot, especially since it was the fault of my own creator. He tried his best to remove the rot even if it was part of the plan to make me physically stronger, which just showed how much he cared that he was willing to throw all that away to try and make me better. Though I did have one friend who I spent lots of time with. His name is Spearmaster and he was also created by an iterator to be a messenger. We always trained for combat together and showed each other little fighting tricks. I also met a scug named Rivulet who lives with Looks to the Moon, but we didn't really have a chance to chat. Say, what was your childhood like, Arti? Were you raised by an iterator? You said that you live with Five Pebbles, but was that always the case?" Artificer laughed a bit at the nickname, finding it to be adorable. 

"Well, my childhood wasn't very normal either. Well, at least I hope not many scugs had to go through what I did. My parents couldn't keep me because of my explosion powers, so I didn't really have a family. They were part of a small group of slugcats in the garbage wastes that worked in service of the scavengers. I think there were about twenty or so of us. Anyway, I was mostly raised by a throuple of slugcats who had a pup of their own who was my only friend. Their name was Pilgrim. I wonder how they are doing now...? Anyway, it was mostly the same thing just working for the scavs every single day. Well, all of that changed when I was fifteen and got pregnant with my pups. I was terrified since I hadn't wanted or expected them, but I knew I had to have them and be their mother. They were born when I was sixteen and it was the first time I was really happy. They lived for about four months before I was told I had to get back to work, but I couldn't find anyone to take care of them. I couldn't just leave them alone at my shelter, so I brought them with me. It was going okay for a few days before I was assigned with organising the treasury. Diffy tried to take a pearl and then, well, you know..." 

There was silence once again after that as they looked up to see that they were at the base of No Significant Harassment, the metal gleaming in the sunlight. "Wow, I never thought I would see this place again..."