Underland Chronicles: 1 - The Border's Edge (A Gregor the Overlander FanFic)

Chapter 12

Pandora walked behind Pan, steadying him when he lost his balance, which was quite often. Bats were meant for flying, and they were already awkward on their feet, but the many protruding roots of the jungle made it slow going for the whole party. Pandora had seen many of them in movies and on TV, but this jungle was much different. Not only did it have glowing streams with enough illumination to light the area, which eliminated the need for torches, but it did not contain a single tree. The heavy foliage around them that made it impossible for the fliers to go above was comprised of mainly vines.

It was not long before they entered a clearing that was obviously the center of some kind of miniature village. There were several cooking fires, tools lying around, nests resting next to trees as well as several make-shift roofs. Pandora's eyebrows rose when she saw the inhabitants; quite a number of nibblers surrounded Luxa and Aurora. A few of them even came up to Ripred. Pandora then realized they were younger mice, the adults, she guessed by their larger size, were just approaching them now.

"Queen Luxa," an adult said, "it is always a nice surprise to see you and your bonds."

"As it is to see you, Napier." Luxa replied, obviously, and genuinely, happy to be surrounded by the small, excited pups. "We are on our way home to Regalia, but our initial route is blocked by the cutters. I'm afraid we do not have many supplies left, and certainly not enough to feed the shiners!"

"Yes, certainly not," Zap commented. "We require much more than the scant provisions our party carries."

"Much more!" Photos Glow Glow added for emphasis.

"We have plenty here," the nibbler said. "Come and join us!"

The babies squealed with excitement upon hearing that Luxa and her friends were staying, jumping up and down and running into the village, urging them to follow.

"I imagine the first thing you would like to do is eat. I'm sure you are all famished! Then you are free to bathe and rest," the mouse known as Napier said, leading them over to where other nibblers were bringing out baskets full of brightly colored fruits and other foods that Pandora had never seen before.

"So fruit does grow in the Underland," Pandora commented to Howard.

"Yes, the phosphorescent streams provide enough light for the plants here to grow, although you would never want to drink from those!"

"Would you glow in the dark?" Pandora joked.

"No -- it's poisonous," Howard smiled.

"So where do the mice, uh, I mean nibblers, get their water from?" she asked.

"There are pure springs that are safe to drink and bathe in out here. You just have to be careful about the quicksand."

"Oh," Pandora said, realizing there were more dangers in the jungle that looked so full of life, than in the barren rock tunnels.

They all sat near the baskets in a circle and ate quietly, that is, except for Photos Glow Glow and Zap. They sat by themselves, hogging a whole basket of fish and slurping them down with much gusto; Pandora thought that they might be having a slurping contest because their rude lip-smacking was getting louder and louder as they neared the bottom of the basket.

Pandora looked at the fruit she held in her hand, it was small and yellow. When she bit into it, a very familiar taste filled her mouth; she realized it tasted like a plum. Pandora was only halfway finished the fruit when she heard Photos Glow Glow shriek, "Isn't there another basket of fish around here? Zap ate much more than I did. I'm still hungry!"

"Shut up!" Zap complained, "If anyone needs another basket of fish, it would be me. You practically shoveled in two at a time!"

As they became full and their eating slowed, except for the shiners, Pandora noticed the silence that enveloped the group. She wouldn't have minded, they were all so tired from their trip so far, but she was just so curious that she couldn't help but ask. "You guys must travel a lot."