Flicker: Mama, what's that big, lumpy berry down there?
Skitter: Is it new moss, Papa? It doesn't look like our moss.
Mama Bird gave a sharp cry. "Shush, little ones! It's not a berry, and it's certainly not moss. Stay away from the edge! You don't know what might be down there."
Papa Bird gave a stern chirp. "Precisely. Keep your wings tucked. It smells... unfamiliar."
Sasha, a sleek vole, peered over the edge of a root. "Is it breathing?"
Pip, a tiny mouse with a twitching nose, scoffed. "Of course it's breathing. Don't be dim, Sasha. How else would it generate such a magnificent amount of stink? It smells like old berries."
"Well, you're the one poking it with your nose," Sasha retorted. "If it rolls over, you'll be a pancake."
"Nonsense. I'm assessing the threat level. See this leather pouch? Too rigid to eat. And this hard, shiny slate? It's making a little noise like a trapped cricket."
Flicker: Papa, can we fly down and peck at the shiny stick?
Mama Bird: "Absolutely not! That shiny stick might peck back!"
Sasha: The Moss Lord warned us about the shiny things. They whisper secrets and ruin the harvest.
"This isn't just moss, Sasha," Pip whispered, his whiskers practically touching the strange creature. "Look at the feet. They're covered in a thin, pale bark, but it has strange ties! And that bright blue colour... it's simply vulgar."
Skitter: The blue is pretty! Can I have a blue feather like that?
Papa Bird: "I said stay back! That blue is clearly a warning!"
Sasha: The blue is the least of it! I saw it drop that square thing that glows. What if it's an egg? A giant, silent egg that hatches into something with teeth?
"It's too flat for an egg," Pip declared, though his voice wavered. "It's clearly a message. A warning. From the... the Up-World!"
Sasha let out a frantic chittering noise. "The Up-World? Pip, stop making up names for things we don't understand! Just get away from its ear! I can hear its insides rumbling."
Pip leaned in close to the strange, lumpy ear. "It's mumbling! It said... 'Due tomorrow'!"
Flicker: What's 'Due tomorrow'? Is it a worm?
Mama Bird: "Leave it alone!"
Sasha: Run! It's hungry and planning to eat us!
Elara muttered, her voice rough, her head throbbing. "... just five more minutes..."
Pip gave a frantic squeak. "Too late! It's awake! Code Red! Code Red! It heard us!"
Sasha frantically leaped away. "She heard you mumble, Pip! Run!.
Mama Bird: "Children, into the nest! Now!"
Elara's eyes fluttered open. Her vision was blurry at first, but then she focused on a tiny, whiskered face just inches from her own, staring intently.
"Wha...?" she whispered, her hand instinctively shooting up and brushing Pip off her chest with a startled yelp. She slowly pushed herself up, her eyes wide, scanning the lush, unfamiliar forest. She saw Sasha frantically chittering away into the canopy. She heard the distant chirping of birds, the rustle of leaves.
Shaking her head vigorously, she dramatically flopped back onto the mossy ground. "No. No, no, no. Definitely still asleep. This is that 'stress dream about your biggest fears' my therapist warned me about." She closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to wake up in her dorm room.
But when she opened them again, the forest was still there. Pip was still there, peering out from behind a particularly large acorn. With a resigned sigh, Elara sat up properly.
Scooping up Pip gently in her hand, she spoke to him like a normal, non-verbal pet, still clinging to the dream theory. "Hey there, little guy. You look like you're having a bad morning too. Maybe you need a nice warm bed and a tiny cup of cocoa."
In Elara's palm, Pip went rigid, his tiny rodent brain completely overwhelmed. He managed to squeak out a terrified, strangled sound. "Unhand me, Up-World Giant! I have vital Moss Duties to attend to! The Burrow depends on my continued—"
As Pip was mid-protest, Elara's fingers, still numb with disbelief, loosened. Pip squirmed free, and Elara, startled by his sudden movement, tried to quickly lower him. In her disoriented state, she lost her balance, tumbling sideways and landing awkwardly with a sharp thud.
A jolt of pain shot through her palm as she braced herself, a jagged rock digging into her skin.
"OW!" she cried out, clutching her hand. Blood welled up, bright red against her pale skin.
She stared at the cut, then at her bleeding palm, then back at Pip who was now frantically running in circles, squeaking.
Her voice rising, a frantic whisper, she muttered. "Wait a minute... OW! That... that actually hurt! That's... that's not how dreams work!"
She scrambled backward, pushing herself to her feet. Her laptop, her phone, her papers—all scattered and useless, silent testaments to a world now utterly alien.
"WHAT?! This isn't a dream! This is real!" Panic flared, a cold dread seizing her. "No! I need to get out of here! Where's the street? Where's the campus?!"
She started running, blindly pushing through thickets of unfamiliar plants, tripping over roots and vines. The laughter of nearby Monkeys echoed through the trees, their voices sounding like high-pitched, mocking chitters.
Kiko: Look at the big, clumsy thing! It's running the wrong way! Does it not know about the thorns of the Bramble Patch?
Jojo: It smells like fear! And old berries! Should we warn the Elder about the new, noisy monster?
Elara ignored their taunts, her heart hammering against her ribs. She was desperate, pushing through ferns, splashing through a shallow, muddy stream. Suddenly, she skidded to a halt,she froze, dare not to move.
Right in front of her, curled around a mossy rock, was a snake. Its scales were a vibrant emerald green, and its head was lifted, its tongue flicking out.
Elara gasped, taking a giant step back, her eyes wide with primal fear.
The snake, however, didn't hiss or coil to strike. Instead, its large, golden eyes were fixed not on her, but on its own tail. It looked immensely stressed.
"Oh, for the love of the sun," the snake muttered, sounding thoroughly exasperated. "Not again. Slink, you are a predator! Why are you so coiled up? Straighten! You look like a pretzel! A threatening pretzel, but still!"
Elara stared, completely forgetting to be terrified. The snake was having an argument with itself.
The snake, noticing the sudden silence and the giant figure looming above it, let out a squeak so high only a mouse could truly appreciate it. It quickly uncoiled and started trying to back away, moving too fast and bumping clumsily into the mossy rock.
Slink: Oh, excuse me! I am so sorry! I am having an absolutely terrible morning for an ambush predator! I didn't see you there, huge, towering entity! Are you… are you alright? You look like you just finished a very long, sweaty run! My apologies for blocking the path! I'm heading over to—wait, no, I'm supposed to be threatening things! Uh... Hiss! (The hiss was weak, like a deflating balloon.)
Elara just stood there, panting, her mind reeling. The fear had evaporated, replaced by confused, shaky amusement.
The snake tried to slither into a crevice that was clearly too small. "Right, yes, heading off! Just a quick errand! Definitely not running away from you! You have a lovely, non-fatal day! I promise I was going to threaten a beetle, not you! Goodbye!"
With a final, frantic wriggle, Slink managed to squeeze himself halfway into the rock, leaving only the very tip of his nervous tail twitching rapidly in the open air.
Elara stared at the twitching tail, then at her bleeding palm. The pain was real, but the danger was just... profoundly awkward.