The Origins Of Wonderbeasts

Ritchie ~ 2

The boy had black hair and wore a simple black t-shirt and jeans, though he had a cloak made of wolf fur, with the head fully intact, on. In his hands was a long stick with a red scorpion-like stinger on the end, pointed towards Ritchie. Ritchie gave a nervous smile.

"Since I'm not a mute, do you think you could stop pointing that at me and let me down?" Ritchie asked, pointing at the stinger. Ritchie watched as the boy cut the rope with the sharp stick, causing him to fall head-first onto the road.

Whispering "ow" repeatedly, Ritchie rubbed his head. While he sat on his knees nursing his wound, he watched as the boy grabbed the rope and then tied it around his waist. He seemed very used to the surface, leading Ritchie to believe he had lived there his whole life. He had heard stories of humans who refused to go into the burrows when the mutations first began. Some of them must have survived and had kids.

Ritchie doubted that many of them survived, but he was glad that some did. And this person could help him get back to his burrow. They seemed to know about the surface, and Ritchie knew absolutely nothing. And they were both humans, so they should look out for each other right?

"Hey, do you think you could help me? I'm trying to get back to my burrow, but I don't know where it is." Ritchie said, standing up. The boy turned and glared at him, his lips in an unchanging frown.

"So you're a burrow person." Was all the boy said in response. Ritchie nodded, waiting for them to answer their question. The boy looked him up and down, before responding. "I don't have time to babysit, go find it yourself."

"Hey!" Ritchie said as the boy began to walk off. He was a little taken aback by how rude he was, since most people he knew were rather nice and quite friendly. Sure, the surface was dangerous, but that's all the more reason to help each other. Safety in numbers and all that.

"Hey, wait! I really, REALLY, need your help! Please!" Ritchie yelled after him, desperately trying to get his attention again. The boy stopped, turning towards him with an even harsher glare than before. He rolled his eyes, walking back towards Ritchie somewhat.

"Here's some advice, don't yell on the surface. Up here we call that ringing the dinner bell." Was all the boy said, turning back around. Ritchie's face fell into a frown, and he turned to his right.

"Well, I don't need you anyways!" Ritchie said loudly, walking forwards. Suddenly he was pulled back by his hood. He turned to see that the boy had used his stinger-stick-thing to pull him back away from some vines.

"That's death ivy, are you trying to die?!" The smaller said, his glare unchanging. Ritchie then watched as a butterfly the size of his head landed on the ivy, dying instantly. Ritchie gulped as he heard the other boy mumble "he won't survive five seconds".

"Fine, I'll get you home, but that's it." The boy said, letting go of Ritchie's hoodie. Ritchie smiled at him happily, turning towards him and away from the death ivy. The boy rolled his eyes once again, but they seemed a slight bit less angry.

"I knew you were a nice person!" Ritchie said, his smile never fading. The boy glared, turning away from Ritchie and beginning to walk away. Ritchie quickly began following him, not wanting to lose the only person willing to help him.

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The boy had brought Ritchie to a small campsite, with a fire and a few giant spider legs he was cooking. Ritchie had never liked fire, and it was considered very dangerous in the burrow. His younger brother once accidentally set a book on fire and was banned from the library for life. Ritchie desperately hoped his two brothers and his dad were okay, along with everyone else in the burrow.

"Here, eat. Up here on the surface, you never pass up a meal." The boy said, handing Ritchie one of the spider legs. Ritchie hesitantly took a bite of the leg, surprised at how it tasted quite good. It was crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. The two began eating the legs, having two each.

"Hey, I just realized we never introduced ourselves. I'm Ritchie, what's your name?" Ritchie asked after they both finished eating. The boy was silent for a while, thinking about how to respond. Ritchie became curious on what the answer would be. Would he even get an answer?

"Mario. My name is Mario." He finally said, not meeting Ritchie's eyes. Ritchie smiled lightly, turning away from Mario and looking up through the hole in the ceiling of their campsite. His eyes and smile widened upon seeing the shining stars above. He brought one of his hands up and traced a few of the constellations above him. He gasped excitedly upon seeing a particular one.

"Sagittarius! That's my birth sign!" He said excitedly. "It's supposed to be an archer who's a centaur, though it's usually just represented with an arrow. I guess if you squint you can kind of see an archer."

"It's night, be quiet." Was all Mario said in response, lying down on the ground to sleep. Ritchie did the same, though he continued to gaze at the sky. Despite never getting to see the stars before, Ritchie knew a lot about astronomy. It was his favorite subject, and he was very happy to finally see real stars instead of the paintings they had in the burrow.