The Journey Around The World, In Order To Save Spring

Take This, Suckers!

Amaruq analysed the situation. They were surrounded by loads of tiny ugly monsters. That sucked blood. Like little mini-vampires. But man, were they UGLY. They had faces only a mother could love. Could they fight of so many of these creatures? "Only one way to find out," he said to himself. "Huh?" Atsuguk asked, confused. "Do you guys have your spears?" Amaruq asked the two. "No." "They're at the camp," Taggak and Atsuguk answered, respectively. Thunderstorm used his lightning speed to get to the camp and returned in a flash. He tossed the bronze spears to his teammates.

"There," he fixed. He decided to test his Transformation Mode again. He pressed the button on his watch. When the faceplate rose up, he turned the dial to a tiger head symbol and pressed it down. A flash of yellow illuminated the area before Amaruq appeared again. Except, he wasn't bald anymore. His whole body was covered in orange and white with black stripes. He now wore a mask and gloves and his watch morphed into a wrestling belt as well. "Let me tell you something, goat-suckers," he began loudly at the little gremlins, "Rath is gonna beat you guys up!"

The trio then proceeded to fight against the tiny monsters, Rath using his fists and body and the wolves using their spears to block and thrust. The trio easily beat up the smaller opponents, defeating them one after the other. Amaruq thought about his clothing. It was a basic luchador attire complete with a belt. He had chosen it because he unlocked Rath back in Mexico, so he wanted to commemorate the event and country. Plus, Rath knew some sick wrestling moves, so it was all in line. The trio stuck together, back to back. Being separated in a sea of these critters would be a death wish. They were bloodthirsty. Literally.

It wasn't long after that Rath timed out back into Amaruq. "Aww, man..! 10 minutes already?" He asked before thinking on what to do next. His friends were getting tired, he could see it in their weak stabs and their laboured ribcages. He would have to do it. "Amaruq... Triple... Split!" He said as three versions of himself came out of a glowing golden circle. Quake did an Earth Uppercut, hitting many of the monsters from below. Blaze made many fireballs and launched a Fireball Attack at the unsuspecting enemies. His spheres burning into their hides, making them yelp and retreat.

Ice made a huge wave behind him with his hand. He moved his arm in front of him, launching the Wave Slap and smacking a dozen of the creatures away. His friends appreciated the relief, watching the three Amaruqs beating up the ghastly dwarves. It must have been so nice to have supernatural powers, but for once they were glad he was the one doing all the work. Ice lifted his arm in front of him and concentrated. The ground rumbled as he summoned water from underground springs. The ground was torn asunder as multiple Water Geysers burst into the air, as the goat-suckers were skyrocketed. After that was done, Ice and Blaze went back into Quake.

Amaruq breathed heavily, clutching his stomach. That sure took the wind out of him. The trio fell into their backs, trying to rest after using up all that energy. Amaruq looked up at the night sky. He could see Alioth and 19 other stars he couldn't remember the names of that made a huge constellation. Ursa Major, the Great Bear, and the Big Dipper which was a part of its asterism. It was fascinating how Ptolemy discovered it. He looked to his friends, and thought. They probably couldn't name one constellation in the sky. He giggled. It was funny, yet lonely, how Amaruq couldn't find someone he could share his knowledge with. To talk to someone who knew as much as him.

He sighed. Whatever, it wasn't that important anyway. Spring was way more important. His train of thought was broken by a hiss. The trio quickly stood up and looked around. The little grubbers were back. Well, at least. The ones which survived. "How persistent are these guys?!" He heard Atsuguk ask exasperatedly. "I was about to ask the same thing," he replied. Taggak was silent as always. He was tired of fighting. Maybe there was a way to end this quick? He gasped. Now there's an idea! He quickly rotated the dial on his watch. These squirts were in big trouble now. Way big trouble.

The evil grins on the critters' faces were erased as their heads looked higher and higher up. The three-foot tall gremlins stared at the face of the 120-feet tall humanoid staring back at them. With a simple lift of his leg, Way Big stepped on them, careful not to actually kill them. He may be the enemy, but he wasn't evil. After being done, he turned back to normal. "Woah, that was so cool! You were practically OP," Atsuguk complemented him. Amaruq just shrugged, "Eh, it was nothing. By the way, I named that form after you." "R-really? Gosh, thanks," the youngest stammered, blushing. He didn't think he would have such an honour.

"Yeah, remember when you said 'He's not just big, he's WAY big!' that day I first became him? Well, guess what? He's literally Way Big now," he proudly explained. Atsuguk nodded at that. It wasn't intentional, really, but he still felt much obliged by the idea. It touched that little corner deep inside his chest. His heart, he realised. Atsuguk was friendly to everyone he meets. That would make you think that he had lots of friends. But this was untrue. He had many people he was on good terms with, yes. But friends? True friends? No. He only had two. These two, the ones on this trip with him.

He speculated that this could be one of the reasons why they were chosen for this trip. With their close bond, the possibility of in-fights, mutiny or general discord would be nigh zero. By the end of this trip, their team would be stronger than ever. Smart of his uncle, Atsuguk thought. He had to give him credit. "Come on, let's go back," Taggak said as he walked in the direction of their temporary camp. The two followed suit, eager to eat the llama and get some much needed rest. They had a long night. The meat was delicious, as always. Amaruq really knew how to spice his food.

He learned how to cook from his dad, who had to teach himself when he found out his son couldn't eat most raw foods. His mom couldn't cook as she was usually busy hunting. She broke the norm of their tribe that said females stay at home and males do work outside. His dad wasn't a hunter, he was a craftsman, which was why he could stay with his son frequently enough. He didn't go out of the encampment much. He missed his dad. He missed that familiar familial warmth. His dad's smile always brightened his day, and he had a feeling that it was the same way for his dad.

He looked at the other two. They didn't have dads. Not anymore, at least. Atsuguk's died when he was very young, and Taggak had never had one since he could remember. But Taggak was the ward of their alpha, Inuksuk. Was Inuksuk as affectionate with Taggak as his dad was with him? He would never know. Taggak himself doesn't seem like the type to touch people very much. But Amaruq knew not to judge a book by its cover. For all he knew, his friend could be a jerk with a heart of gold. If that was true, he wanted to be the one to crack his hard shelly exterior and show him there was nothing to hide from. If not him, then, Atsuguk would be a fine replacement.

He would still be satisfied if the blue-eyed boy would be the first to do it. After they ate their fill, they all bid each other good night and went to their individual furs to catch some Zs. It reminded Amaruq of his own bed back in Canada. His one was right next to his dad's. But there were times when he was small, and would have nightmares. During those nights, his dad would notice and invite him to sleep on his dad's bed. Tukkuttok's son would fall asleep in his strong arms while he whispered sweet nothings into his ear and caressed his son. His dad's soft comforting would put him to sleep. Deep, sweet sleep.