Zendran
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TGCP Chapter 63: The Staring One
🕑 Added 2021-04-28 02:14:56 +0000 UTCOne down. Gonna start to work on a 2nd now. Barring any major issues, I should be able to get it done. Wish me luck.
The new Coreless was odd.
It wasnât just in the way that the other Coreless looked at him, as if hanging on his every unintelligible word. It wasnât just in the way that he felt far more dangerous than the others, his every muscle tensed as if ready to burst into motion at a momentâs notice.
It was in the way that he looked at me. Even as they talked, even when I carefully slithered my way across the-female-who-was-not-Needleâs shoulders, it felt as if his eyes never left me. It was an odd feeling, that stare.
It wasnât one that I enjoyed.
I pulled myself in closer, tucking my body closer to the skin-flesh of my Coreless followerâs flesh. If he wanted to attack, he would have to risk injuring her.
The-female-who-was-not-Needle tilted her head towards me, honored by my faith in her ability to take a blow for me.
âAwww, youâre so cute,â she hissed. I hissed back. She moved to guard me further with one of her giant hands, covering my head-scales from the staring oneâs view and giving them a quick scratch. Finally, she was proving useful.
Even the Coreless could learn. Eventually.
The gathered Coreless continued to jabber at one another, having long retired to a strange section of the nest. It was a small room, separated from the rest of the nest by another of the ridiculous moving-walls that they seemed to enjoy so much. Inside, there was a slab of darkwood held up by thin legs of stone and surrounded by other creations that I recognized from the Temple of Feel-Good-Water.
I had to admit, despite the misplaced trust that they placed in some of their creations - particularly the useless moving-walls - the Coreless did have some inventions that I could see a use for. These were one of them. A place to sit, elevated above the floor!
It was almost like a Coreâs pedestal, in a way, and I very much wanted one for myself. That the Coreless would think they deserved pedestals of their own was off-putting, but I was willing to forgive that for now.
As the Coreless sat down in a circle around the darkwood slab, I moved away from my perch on the-female-who-was-not-Needleâs neck, twining myself around the high-backed edge of the fake-pedestal and - coincidentally - placing more space between myself and the staring one.
âWhile it is good to see that you have all made it back safely, I would appreciate reporting back before any future celebrations.â The staring one made his noises at my Coreless, causing them to shrink back into themselves. I hissed. Those were my Coreless he was frightening.
The motion caught his attention, and he pointed a finger at me. âNow, who would like to explain that to me?â
âWell -â
âYou see -â
âValera - â
âItâs a -â
All of my Coreless began to speak up at once, and were immediately silenced as the staring one raised his hand.
âI really donât need to hear from all of you at once. Seeing as Doran appears to be the only one in full possession of his faculties at the moment, why donât I have him explain?â
As the unrepentant one began to jabber back, I twined myself a little more securely around the back of the fake-pedestal and prepared for a fight. Already, I was feeling as if things were going poorly; the way that the staring one, well, stared was making me extremely uncomfortable. The other Coreless that we had met had stared as well, but they hadnât possessed the same aura of danger.
Though I wasnât sure if I could win if he attacked, I wasnât prepared to make it easy. Even now, defeating a Coreless - at least, without extreme difficulty or injury - might have been out of my reach. Defeating this one was...something else.
I was almost tempted to put the extra trait points that I had received recently into [Poisonous Blood], just to make sure I could make him regret it when he made me bleed. If, I reminded myself. So far, he hadnât attacked.
He had only stared.
Menacingly.
I gathered my courage, raising my head from behind the shelter of the-female-who-was-not-Needleâs shoulder and staring back. His eyes turned to meet mine, and I ducked away, beating a tactical retreat.
Iâll get him next time, I thought.
The unrepentant one continued to jabber on, unaware of the battle of titanic wills that was being waged as he spoke. Despite their praiseworthy decision to follow the Great Core, my Coreless had a ways to go in expanding their intelligence and observation skills.
They would learn. Hopefully.
â...and then we happened to find it again fighting a colony of spiders. Valera wanted to keep it because she thought it was cute -â
âAnd it is!â
â-but she also pointed out that it would be a potential way to locate the Core that had created the Infernal Cyclops we encountered. That turned out to be the correct choice, because it actually worked.â
The staring one opened his mouth, causing my Coreless to fall silent. âDid you manage to capture the Core, then?â
Suddenly, all of my Coreless turned away, unwilling to meet the eyes of the staring one. I felt a chill invade my scale-flesh, a sudden sense of danger that pressed against my senses.
â...No, sir. The snake ate it.â
The danger peaked.
âWait, wait, wait!â The-female-who-was-not-Needle bravely shouted, holding her arms up to defend me from the staring one. I hissed in approval, recognizing her desire to die in my defense. Slowly, I began to untwine from the fake-pedestalâs back, moving almost imperceptibly in another tactical retreat. âDoran, you skipped the important part!â
The chill disappeared, the sense of danger fading with it. I froze, waiting to see if her sacrifice succeeded in defeating the staring oneâs ire. She launched into a rapid-fire series of jabbers and hand motions.
â...wouldnât have been able to reach the Core anyway, and the little guy turned out to be more useful than the Core would have been.â
I peaked back over my Corelessâ shoulder, catching the staring oneâs eyes again. This time, they didnât feel quite as dangerous. It was a small change, but enough that I was able to hold myself steady.
I gave him a brave, challenging hiss.
He stared.
I blasted his eyes with a flash of light, forcing him to flinch back for a moment. He shouted, raising himself from his fake-pedestal and clenching his hand into a fist. My Coreless shouted as well, the-female-who-was-not-Needle shielding me from view with her hand again. When it was removed, the staring one was sitting down again. Staring again.
But I had won, we both knew.
I hissed with delight, exulting in my small victory.
âSorry, sir. Iâm sure he wonât do that again,â the-female-who-was-not-Needle jabbered.
The staring one grumbled, ashamed by his loss. âSee that he doesnât. He could blind someone like that, you know.â
âI know, Iâm sorry. He can be a little surly sometimes, but he did save us again and again. Iâm sure that you of all people know how dangerous being a Core Seeker is, and how much of a game-changer the protection of a creature that can see the future could be.â
âI do. Youâll have me on your side, but youâll have to convince the Council of that, as well. He acts closer to a tamed monster than Iâd expect, but thereâs a clear difference between something like Webweavers and...that. The Council isnât going to like having something so dangerous around.â
The unrepentant one responded this time. âWe know. Iâll admit that Iâm not a fan of the little monster either, but the idea does have some merit. Thereâs no real way to prove that we would have died in there without it, but Iâm sure that we would. We were trapped and unprepared. A bigger issue is using it to actually gather more Cores, though. If we just want to clear out the ones around Orken out of a concern for safety, thatâs one thing. Itâs another to prevent it from eating the Cores if it comes close.â
âI see...Well, I may have some ideas on that.â
Comments
bob barker
thanks for busting the balls onto your typing interface. I wish you luck and hope that you keep close tabs on where you place yourself in the burnout cycle.
Scott Frederiksen
Hmmm... what's pops idea? Hmmmmmmm???
JC
Hi dad adventurer! Repent!
