Rebirth of the Wonderbeasts

9 - Dragonfly

Originally posted March 28th, 2022

//

"Puck, there you are buddy," Jamack said, rushing over to the otter mute with Scarlemagne in tow.

"Ah, Jamack, what do you need? Came to try your hand at coaching stage fighting again?" Puck asked, tilting his head a little.

"Kipo needs to spread the word to every mute group. Tell them we plan to have a meeting about building habitats here in Las Vistas." Scarlemagne said, causing the otter to look over to him; he lowered his ears a little.

"R-Right, well, we're going to need a week at the least to plan a play-" Puck started.

"No, no, no, this is an important meeting. We can't spend time on this, Puck. Please spread the word to the Humming Bombers and Scooter Skunks, yeah?" Jamack interrupted.

"Right. R-Right away." Puck nodded, scampering away to the other TheaOtters.

"I bet you the Timbercats would be the first to willingly come to Las Vistas, seeing as they're out of a home. I wouldn't want to stay at the place where my leader got turned into an animal." The Mod Frog said, nudging the mandrill.

"Do you mind if we visit them? I haven't seen Snugglemuffin ever since Song was a Mega Monkey.  And if he was at Prahm, then I doubt it's great that you last saw your friend divebombing into a building." Scarlemagne said, scratching his neck.

"I suppose we could, but do you think you can walk that far?" Jamack asked, a hint of worry glazing his words.

"You act like Pepin doesn't exist!" The mandrill said with a laugh. "Ah, but... His wing is broken." He added, tapping his chin.

"I could find us a dragonfly." Jamack offered. "But we'd need to tell Kipo that we're leaving."

"Oh, tch, that's simple. Listen, you go get that dragonfly and I'll go tell Kipo." Scarlemagne said; Jamack nodded and the two left in opposite directions.

--XXXX--

The Mod Frog let out a heavy sigh, loosening his hold on the dragonfly's antennae. "Are you calmed down now? Hm? Because First Mute, you made it difficult." He said to the dragonfly; he didn't expect a response of any sort, but the other mute tilted its head slightly. "... Whatever, you finally let me grab you, at least," Jamack said, rolling his eyes.

"Jamack, Kipo agreed," Scarlemagne said, jogging up to the frog. "Were you talking to the dragonfly?" He asked, pointing a finger at the other.

"... No," Jamack muttered, glancing at the dragonfly.

"Mh, I'm not judging you. I do that with Pepin, as you possibly heard." The mandrill said, nodding towards the bug.

Jamack hopped onto the dragonfly and offered his hand out to the mandrill. Scarlemagne took it and sat behind the frog. The Mod Frog tightened his grip on the antennae and the dragonfly took off; the monkey-mute grabbed the other mute's shoulders.

--XXXX--

"So, what did those three frogs say? You had to leave earlier because of them." Scarlemagne asked.

"Oh, Mrs. Sartori, Kwat, and Harris wanted to congratulate me for saving them... Although all I did was tell the flies where they were. But, I guess, it sort of counts?" Jamack explained. "She said she considers me part of the Mod Frogs. Though, she wants Kipo to give me a suit, rather than her."

"Well, what's so different about Kipo doing it?" The mandrill questioned.

"Mrs. Sartori gives you a suit and tie because it's a reward. A reward for meeting her expectations. Someone like Kipo, who has hardly set foot into the Mod Frog base, doesn't count. She's not... High enough in Mod Frog status to give me my suit and tie officially." The Mod Frog continued. "Yes, she saved mutekind and we owe her, but... Giving a Mod Frog their suit and tie isn't as simple as that. She can't just give it to me." Jamack said, glancing back to the mute behind him.

"With the Mod Frogs working under you previously, I'd assume Mrs. Sartori would accept you to give me a suit. She said that Kipo could give me one, but I'm not sure if she entirely meant it. I don't know if I'm making sense... At the very least, you'd be able to give me a new suit- Hey! That's what you can owe me!"

"What do you mean 'owe you'?" Scarlemagne narrowed his eyes in confusion, despite the frog not looking at him.

"I carried your unconscious body, and flamingo, to get help. Though, I'm only joking, saying that you owe me." Jamack said with a laugh.

"Hm... It doesn't sound like that bad of an idea." The mandrill responded.

--XXXX--

Jamack pulled lightly on the dragonfly's antennae, lighting it down near Timbercat Village.

"Scarlemagne? What are you doing here?" A Timbercat walked over to the two of them.

"... Sorry, I'm not good with names, you are...?" The mandrill said, trailing off.

"Ruffles." The cat said with a nod.

"We came to visit. I haven't seen Snugglemuffin ever since Song was a Mega Monkey." The mandrill said with a closed smile.

"I... I need to ask Molly if we can let you in, one moment." Ruffles ran off into Timbercat Village. Jamack and Scarlemagne stood where the cat-mute left them.

"Do you think they don't trust me?" The monkey-mute looked over to the Mod Frog.

"O-Oh, well I- Hm... I believe they just have a hard time adjusting, your majesty-" Jamack paused, turning away from the other mute. "Sorry."

"You already apologized and explained yourself. Is it really necessary that you apologize even though you already have? I get that it's an accident, Jamack." Scarlemagne lowered his ears, placing a hand on the frog's shoulder. "I don't mind it. Sure, it's odd because I'm not used to it, but it doesn't make me uncomfortable." The mandrill reassured.

Jamack sighed and turned back. "It just reminds me of my early years in the Mod Frogs, that's all..." He muttered, scratching at his pencil mustache.

"I'm confused. You want to get back into the Mod Frogs, but you hate your younger years in the organization?" Scarlemagne raised a brow, taking his hand off the other mute's shoulder.

"It was strict, that's all." The Mod Frog said, fidgeting with the end of his tie. "Look, Ruffles is back..." He said, looking over to the Timbercat and forcing a smile. "Well, what did Molly say?" The mute asked, neatly folding his hands together.

"She agreed. You're welcome into Timbercat Village. Excuse the mess, we're still attempting to repair things." The cream-colored cat opened his arms and stepped out of their way, welcoming them into the village.