The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Season 2+)

Strangers in the Wood

 Hup sliced through the underbrush with his sword, making his way through the underbrush. He looked at the map in his free hand, holding it up to Lore, who looked down and hunched over to look it over. The stone golem stood up and pointed in the same direction. The little podling huffed and spat a curse at the lumbering hulk of a creature before continuing on. Lore had been refusing Hup a ride and didn't clear the way. It was proving to be rather frustrating for the little podling, whose arms were getting tired and he needed to sit down for an afternoon rest.

He made about clearing an area and collecting what dry pieces of wood he could find. He sat at the base of a tree while Lore went into a hibernation-like state, sitting as still as...well, a rock. Hup shook his head at the golem before starting to build his fire. He took a stone from his bag and ran his blade against it, both sharpening the blade and lighting the fire at the same time. It was looking like soup again for lunch. At least his spoon wasn't being left to waste.

He set the pot over the fire and started to boil some broth. He mixed the leftovers in with some new spices, herbs and fresh water from the creek he'd been following. Given how overgrown this section of forest was, the flowing stream of water was his only source of direction. He couldn't use the stars at night if he wanted to. Though time was of the essence, he refused to travel in the dark. The forest was no place for a podling to simply wander through at night. He could defend himself, but he was still small. A difficult to catch, yet tasty morsel for any large predators in the wood. And it was easier to see gobbler nests in the daylight, which was always a win.

Tasting the soup, he thought the concoction could do with a little more blue-fluxweed. He reached into his bag and looked around for the wrapped package of plants. Pulling it from his bag, he saw he was out, much to his sharing. He would have to go collect some from the nearby riverbed, which meant getting wet, wringing out the leaves, and letting them dry a little before tossing it into the stew. Wet blue-fluxweed tasted awful, no matter how you cooked it. No one really understood why it had to be dry, but it was a simple process to accommodate. Simple, yet it cut into the time he could use to eat and rest.

"Aup jip po la cambpa," he said to Lore, who swung his head over to look at him. The golem gave no indication that he understood Podling, but it looked like he understood the basics of what he was saying? He needed Lore to watch over the camp while he went off to look for the weed.

Hup stood and stretched, arching his back and rolling his shoulders. He walked down to the river bed, heaving a sigh before kicking off his boots and rolling up his pants. He dipped a toe in the water, which was cold to the touch. He reconsidered his options. Get wet and have good tasting soup, or stay dry and have subpar soup? He chose the first option.

He rolled his sleeves up before wading into the water. Keeping his eyes peeled for the slightest blue shimmer of the reflective film that gave the plant its name. They didn't grow in deep water, so he should be finding some in the shallows, yet they continued to elude him. He stood shuffling his feet around in the dirt and sand for a good amount of time. He was about ready to give up when he saw a shimmer. A faint sparkle from the leaf's protective film. He moved towards it but held off. The water was up to his knees and he didn't want to go any deeper. He steadied himself and stretched, reaching his arm out into the water.

It was still too far out, so he leaned a little too far. He didn't realize that there was a bit of a steep drop off from the embankment into the river. When he shifted his weight onto the one foot, the sands shifted enough that he fell into the deeper part of the river. He sputtered and gasped, flailing a little as the sudden rush of cold water ran over him. The suddenness of the fall freaked him out, but he stuck his head above the rushing water and realized it wasn't much deeper than where he was. He spat out a mouthful of water and growled in self-contempt. Looked down into the water and took a handful of the blue herb, grumbling to himself as he stood up and walked back to camp. Now he was soaking wet, cold, and hungry.