The Abstraction Chronicles: The Abstract

Chapter 8: Weird Animals Teach Me How To Fish

I must say that I didn't particularly expect to meet a village of half squirrel rabbit animals yesterday, but I'm starting to get used to the many surprises that I've been having with the Abstract. Running from the Dwellers again with Cynthia and I exhausted the little furry dudes she calls them gave us a nice treehouse to sleep in for the day. We're supposed to meet with Alfur today regarding our next step on the map. The local community was able to stitch us some comfortable clothes seemingly overnight. I was given camo pants and a T-shirt that read "To be or not to be." I bet someone here really liked the idea of Shakespeare.

"Time to go!" Cynthia calls out as she walks into the room looking refreshed for once.

She doesn't seem like we had been put through hell the last couple of days with camo shorts and a shirt which read, "Scouts Honor" on the front.

"Nice shirt!" Cynthia snickers.

"You don't like the great poet and playwright?" I say jokingly. "He wrote some great

plays."

"Nah, they were boring." She says as she makes for the door. "Alfur said to meet him on the square."

"Where's that?"

"I guess where the treehouses meet-up."

"Alright?" I say getting up and walking out the door with her. Yesterday, I was far too exhausted to notice, but this place is amazing. Think of the greenest leaf. That still wouldn't be as vibrant as the colors that I was seeing.

"It's beautiful!" Cynthia says as we start down a walkway about 10 meters from the ground supported by wooden logs. There's a sort of melody surrounding us from the wildlife. Multiple types of birds that I'd never seen before are chirping within a rhythm that reminds me of the classical music that my mother used to force me to listen to. The rabbit/squirrel-like things that we still didn't know the technical term for were walking around bustling about their day.

*Meowra*

Looking down the same white fur blue-eyed rabbit squirrel thing is looking up at us. "Oh!

Look it's the same one from yesterday!" Cynthia says with glee as she bends down and rubs behind the creature's ears. Emitting a low purring sound that surprised her she continues to rub behind its ears a bit longer before standing back up. "I wish I could keep him."

"Keep dreaming," I say with a half-smile. Waving its little arm, the animal starts a mixture of walking and hopping as it gestures for us to follow it. Following the animal Cynthia

and I a few minutes later reach an open conclave of treehouses. It was a spherical gathering of walkways that stretched out into various lanes of houses built into the trees. In the middle is a large tub of water in a glass-like container. In the tub, I can make out fish swimming around inside of it. Around the tub are animals sitting on while fishing with their paws along the rim.

"Do you want to try?" Looking down Alfur was looking up at us with his cat-like orange eyes while leaning on his short brown stick, he was using as a cane.

"Uhm, I think I'm good," I say while putting my hand up apologetically.

Looking at me with an eyebrow raised Cynthia says, "Yes!" As she agrees a nearby rabbit/squirrel hybrid suddenly snatched up a fish from the tub with a wobble of its stool. Taking one look at it, the animal begins to chow down on the fish. Getting a look of minor disgust Cynthia turns to Alfur and says, "On second thought I think I'm good."

Chuckling Alfur says, "I understand, raw fish isn't for everyone." "What do you call yourselves by the way?" I ask.

"We are the Temmels, one of the first creations that inhabited the Abstract many years ago. This place within the Abstract is called Outpost and it's for our safekeeping that it was created. Now, what brings you here to us?"