When Worlds Collide (MxM)✔

Chapter 29 - How About That Weather?

-Terra-

Kairn'ver residents evacuated when the weather anomalies started. Droves of them moved to the countryside, hoping to avoid the devastating wind spirals that had sprung up from the Underwood Jungle.

Never before had their skies done such damage. On occasion the ground fog might last over a week, soaking Terra and rusting metal goods. But this was the first time the wind was strong enough to destroy anything. There had even been a day when it got devastatingly cold, killing off the unsheltered Kairn'ver livestock as white flurries fell to the ground.

Terrans didn't know how to survive these events. All they knew was to migrate.

The Tear'ain Kingdom had more advanced technology, with better housing and better heating in case of another cold front. So King Toca permitted that the Kairn'ver residents be housed near the border, marking the first time in centuries that the two kingdoms had to help one another so much.

Meanwhile, Inventor Aino had to train a whole platoon of royal inventors. Now that there were more of them, they could split their tasks. One group focused on ways to help survive the strange weather patterns, while the other worked on methods to fight the humans in the jungle.

If it weren't for the vortexes carrying away their homes and food stores, then they could have more efficiently focused on the human threat.

Every now and then a group would emerge near the edge of the jungle, inching closer to Kairn'ver, with their guns and green clothing. While they stood out against the blue-green grass and rocky red terrain, it didn't matter one bit. These beings were able to take down every Carnivore that came to fight them from a distance. And without the ability to communicate, negotiations were pointless.

Inventor Aino, once a lone but respected scientist, was now constantly working with his team. Leading them in the best way to draw up blueprints, and how to share ideas for improvements.

In a way, it reminded him of working with Inventor Kade, who had been missing for over a month now. A lot had happened since his departure. The weather, the humans, the migration, and now the tightening alliance between the two Kingdoms.

Tear'ain welcomed the carnivores, though cautiously. Once news of the human threat reached them, they were able to put aside their differences in light of a common enemy.

Meanwhile, Inventor Aino was working tirelessly to make a new weapon. The handheld guns he'd developed so far weren't producing as much velocity as the weapon that Kade had. Therefore, the humans still had a greater advantage.

Twice, King Nyx had sent scouts to try and talk to the humans. Offering food, and other goods to see if they could communicate through bartering. But each time the scouts went missing or were found dead in a clearing and stripped of their belongings.

These humans weren't interested in negotiating.

This was an invasion, and Kairn'ver was on the losing end. With Tear'ain next on the list if they didn't turn things around.

One night, Inventor Aino stood atop the eastern wall, facing the direction of the jungle. For the past few days, multiple groups of humans had inched closer toward the city. The citizens had abandoned the outermost edges, and the area looked desolate. He could only imagine how many humans must have ransacked the buildings by now, just as Inventor Kade had warned they'd do.

"Do you think he's among them?" King Toca asked, joining Aino on the wall.

The red sun had started to set, leaving a star-studded sky and only a handful of torches to light the city.