This Is My Exodus

Chapter 11

I never had someone that made conning fun.

Xalei eyed Chalala, who kept complaining snobbishly about Reurig.

Sure, she could use some work, though. Chickadee is interesting for sure.

"You know," he started. "You surprised me back there with your insults to that guy." He snorted as he quoted her. "Stupid balls!"

She pushed a part of her bangs toward her ear. It didn't quite catch, but it was temporarily out of her face. "Not surprised you'd underestimate me."

"Well, it looks like you're getting the hang of it here in Freta," he complimented seemingly genuinely.

"I know, right? It comes naturally. It's rather elementary, really."

She said that she knew, but her reaction said otherwise. Her eyes went wide and her mouth upturned with no signs of tension. Slightly, her eyebrows elevated.

The partners arrived back in the part of the forest where they had first met Fienna. The appearance had changed greatly, but it had a sort of structure that remained the same. The shape of the trees, the overall vibe, and the thickness of the air remained the same. The trees held identical forms, yet crystal vines dangled, coiling like lichen. A batch of pink crystals on the underside of a branch caught Chalala's eye. She toyed with it with a finger, only to jump back in surprise when a thick liquid oozed from the tip of one of the strands. The liquid was pink like the crystals. It clotted and fell to the ground.

Chalala shook off the invisible germs from her hand and returned to Xalei's side as he walked.

"I could have sworn this forest was in the other direction."

"Freta changes too much, you know." Xalei watched a crystal run away with tiny legs. "This way could be that way. That way can be this way. So on and so forth."

"Ohhh, the all-knowing bunny furry is a poet," she said with mock praise.

"It wasn't meant to be poetic, but thanks!" He squinted, studying his surroundings. "Winding up in the same place isn't good for finding the globule."

Some chattering echoed from the distance. Well, it sounded far away for that moment until they turned around to see creatures talking.

"Didja hear?" A being with an enlarged head and long, skinny neck bent forward to speak. Its eye took up half the side of its face. It didn't have arms. Tentacles sprawled out as its legs.

A creature with many legs, a thing horn, and large lips replied, "Hear about what?"

Chalala blinked in surprise. She tilted her head in that direction to hear the conversation better.

"The rainbow creature found a partner!" the other creature said. "She helped him out fully."

Chalala felt like a magnet had been placed on both her eyebrows. "Fully. So Fienna is gone now?"

Xalei clucked his tongue, shaking his head with a smile. "Darn. She's faster than we are."

"That's good!" Chalala chimed, her expression quickly changing. "That means the human got to go back to the real world! I knew I should have partnered up with Fienna. Hmph! Let's find her. She helped her human get out faster than you are. The nerve!" She flipped her hair for good measure.

Xalei blocked her way from her mission, laughing. "You can't do that!"

A high-looking tree creature added, "Yeah. She's not here anymore."

Chalala's smile fell. "What do you mean?"

"What this kind gentleman means is that she basically leveled up here in Freta." Xalei lowered himself back to the ground. "We can't see her even if we wanted to." He shrugged. "She always bragged about how many humans she helped. Isn't that right, everyone?" He shot them a glance.