Way of the Slugcat

Using Your Head

"No no no no, not this again!"
"Sorry, Thorns." Night sighed. "I completely forgot about this one..."
A crowd of scavengers blocked the slugcat's path. Unlike before, they seemed to be guarding the entrance to something behind their toll. The raindeer skull marked the toll's center. It's antlers looked extremely frail, and the weight of the pearl strings hanging off of them certainly did not help. The scavengers below seemed aware of their predicament, as they were actively avoiding stepping underneath its shadow. One scavenger, a dull brown one with gleaming yellow eyes, had taken it upon itself to try and fix the situation. However, the paper-like strands of red that it was using to secure them did not seem ideal for the task.
"It is alright, Night. No one is perfect." Thorns replied. "Any ideas on how to cross without a pearl?"
"Actually..." a mischievous smile crept onto Night's face. "I do! Oh, yes yes yes, it is all coming together!"
Thorns scooted closer to his friend, pushing blades of grass out of his way so he could more accurately read his expression. He leaned forwards with intense curiosity. Night seemed to be very excited about this plan!
"Alright, so...
Do you see how the skull's antlers are being weighed down by those pearls? They look just about ready to snap off in a strong breeze. Also, I recognize the material that brown scavenger is using to 'repair' them. It is simply paper coated in crushed fireweed seeds, and as a result it is highly explosive. They use those to make explosive spears and bombs. Anyway, I'm thinking that if we can find some fireweed growing around here somewhere, we can throw it at the paper and cause an explosion large enough to knock the antlers down, causing a distraction that will allow us to sprint around the toll unnoticed. How does that sound?"
By this time in the explanation, Thorns was smiling.
"That sounds amazing!" He exclaimed. "And you just came up with that on the fly?"
"I suppose I did. Oh! Hold on, there is a problem with it... fireweed may be an explosive, but it's also a lightweight plant. How are we going to throw it over there?"
The two slugcats thought for a moment, both gazing at the toll that lay ahead. The scavengers all seemed to be on edge. They startled at the smallest of things, such as their companion stepping on a twig or a light breeze rustling a plant nearby.
"I have got it!" Thorns exclaimed. "We wrap the fireweed around a rock and throw the rock!"
"Brilliant!" Night agreed.
"This is going to get very interesting. I am glad to have a smart friend like you, Night."
The black slugcat flinched. His eyes immediately moved away from Thorns'. "O-oh. I-I guess so." Night stuttered. He turned his gaze even further from Thorns, half-heartedly scanning the scavenger toll. His gaze seemed distant.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes. I am just fine." His friend muttered. "Alright, you go find the fireweed and I will find a..."
"...a rock?" Thorns tilted his head in confusion. Night was not the type to pause mid sentence. He followed his friend's line of sight above the toll, where a pink noodle-like bug was hovering. It looked down upon the scavengers with curiosity, it's tiny body slowly descended into the toll. A couple of scavengers spotted the bug and quickly moved away, allowing it space. One of them, however, seemed absorbed in sharpening its spear.
"Get out of sight, quickly." Night muttered, his eyes having widened.
"What? Why?" Now, the white slugcat was even more confused. Night took a paw and lowered his friend down into the grass, out of sight from watching eyes. Luckily, the slugcats could still see the happenings at the toll. They watched as the bug hovered closer to the distracted scavenger, attempting to get a better view on what it was doing. It was actually kind of cute, Thorns decided. Its cute, tiny wings, adorable little nose, and itty bitty feet dangling from its body combined with its childlike curiosity almost made Thorns want to go over there and pet it!
The other scavengers waved their hands in the air and stomped their feet, trying to get their friend's attention. Even the brown scavenger fixing the skull had abandoned its task and was now slowly creeping away from the scene.
The pink bug hovered ever closer to the scavenger. It lowered its body down further, seeming interested in the stone that was being used to sharpen the weapon. It's tail now lightly touched the scavenger's shoulder, and the creature looked up to see what was there.
It's eyes jolted wide open at the sight of the bug. In one swift movement, it took its spear and hurled it at the curious little thing. It's newly sharpened tip penetrated it's skin easily. It let out a weak honk as its body went limp and fell to the ground. The scavengers in the back immediately ran for cover, scattering in every direction. The one who had stabbed the bug, however, simply stared at the corpse with disbelief.
"Aww. Poor thing." Thorns commented. Night only chuckled.
A humming sound filled the air. It sounded similar to the pink bug's cry, only deeper and more prolonged. A sort of fury could be detected within the call, the type that sends shivers down one's spine. The type that informs the observer that something has gone terribly wrong.
The buzzing of wings drew closer. Thorns glanced upwards to see a bug five times as large as the smaller one. It was the same shade of pink and had a similar body structure to the previous, including a long trunk-like nose protruding from the front of its head. Thorns watched in amazement as the nose curled backwards to reveal a wickedly sharp needle beneath its skin. It paused for a moment in the air, then lunged towards the lone scavenger.
"NOW!" Night bellowed. He bolted out of the grass and made a beeline for the hole behind the toll. Thorns followed quickly behind him. They dashed past the scavenger, whose eyes were staring with terror at the sky. Not a moment after, the bug's needle had impaled the creature straight through its head. Thorns looked over his shoulder to see the bug recoil and lunge forwards again, this time piercing the scavenger's chest. It did so again, and again, and again, over and over and over, without showing a grain of hesitation. A chill ran down his spine at the brutality of this strange pink creature.
The smaller one must have been its child. Thorns guessed. I should have known!
"That's two of our ideas in a row that have been foiled by luck!" Night huffed as the slugcats crawled through the hole. Thorns was glad to have the situation behind him out of sight.
"At least this time it was good luck." He commented.
"I understand that. I suppose we should count our blessings in a world such as this one. Still, I would have loved to see if your idea with the rock would have actually worked."
The two continued crawling in darkness for a couple of minutes. Slowly, the tunnel's walls started to change from dirt into stone. When they emerged onto the other side, the landscape had completely changed. The room around them had a square-like shape to it, much less natural than any other room Thorns had seen. However, time and nature had beat it into submission, rusting the walls and infesting the floor with squiggly, bulbous plants. Black stems protruded from the rusty red tops of the plants, some reaching all the way up to the ceiling. They almost looked like nectar bulbs, but they had long been warped beyond the norm. Thorns crept up to one as Night continued to the other end of the room. His nose cautiously approached the fruit's skin, taking whiffs of its almost nonexistent odor. It smelled like... a plant. Just a plant. His black eyes looked the thing up and down, attempting to detect any more clues of its identity.
"This way, before the scavengers show up." Night called.
"Wait, what is this? I vaguely recognize it, but..."
"It is not food, not helpful, and not dangerous. I spent an entire cycle ripping one open, only to get caught by the rain."
Thorns didn't have a clue how to harvest nectar from the normal bulbs, so he doubted he would be able to figure out its warped cousins within the time that he had to spare.
"One of these cycles, I will come back for you!" He told the plant. It did not respond. Thorns shrugged and headed off towards Night.

"We should stop somewhere and rest." Night announced as they entered yet another tunnel. This one was angled vertically, forcing Thirns to climb his way up instead of crawl. "I know of a shelter nearby."
"Hmm. I think we should keep going." Thorns retorted. "I do not smell the rain yet, nor did I see clouds while we were outside."
"May I remind you that if we die, we will be sent back to before the vulture incident again?"
"Yes, but we know exactly what will happen up until we die, so it is not a big deal if we are sent back. It just might be painful...why are you smiling?"
Night had reached the top of the tunnel. His black muzzle stared down at Thorns, his lips curved into a grin.
"Because you are learning! I am so relieved that you understand." Night seemed to be holding much of his excitement in, as was customary in most situations. Excitement led to stupid decisions, and stupid decisions most often broke taboos. Still, Thorns could not help but smile back at his friend's excitement.
"I am relieved that I have such a great teacher." He commented. Night's smile faded.
"What is it? Did I say something?" Thorns asked as he exited the hole.
"No, no, it was not you. I just... I had a teacher like that once. She... is in a situation. I can no longer visit her."
"I am sorry, Night."
"Don't feel sorry for me. I'm fine. It is she who is in a crisis."
"Is there anything you or I could do to help?"
"Thorns, I am not even sure if she's still alive."
He had so many questions. So many. And yet, the one who could provide them was not the kind to talk. Thorns sighed as he watched Night's gaze grow distant, out into the landscape that spread out before them. Hills of harvester machines, blocky ruins of storehouses, and support beams holding scaffolds by the skin of their teeth presented themselves to all who cared to look. The sun neared the horizon, bathing the world before it in hues of scarlet red. Beyond all the buildings and mechanical corpses, endless fields of crimson grass swayed gently in the wind. It seemed as if that never changed. It was one constant in an ever-shifting world. The grass would always sway, the sun would always set. Night would always have his secrets.
"I should tell you more about her."
"What?" What is he up to this time?
"When we go to rest, I will tell you more about my teacher. You had better listen, Thorns, because I will not repeat myself after I tell you."
"R-really?" Thorns squeaked. Finally, FINALLY, he would get some answers! After all this time of Night dodging his questions and keeping his mouth shut, Thorns could finally start filling in his question marks with actual words. He spun himself in a circle out of sheer enthusiasm, grinning from ear to ear. "Well in that case, let us go find a shelter right now!" With that, the white slugcat bounded down the most promising looking path.

Knowledge
Both a prize and a tool.