Hey fellow car aficionados,
So, picture this: I'm cruising through a roundabout, all is well, when suddenly my clutch decides to take an unscheduled vacation and stays depressed. Yep, pedal to the metal but not in a cool way. I let the car roll to a stop, hazard lights flashing like a Christmas tree. After about 15 seconds, my clutch reluctantly decides to return to its original position. Phew, right? Wrong!
I press the clutch again, and boom, same story. This happened three times, and after a couple of restarts (because what else can you do in a roundabout? 😅), the clutch finally behaved. I then managed to drive the 30 minutes to my hotel without further drama.
Here's the kicker: I need to drive 1000 kilometers back to my hometown in two days! My trusty workshop is waiting for me, but it's the weekend, and finding an open shop in Germany is like finding a unicorn.
Has anyone else experienced their clutch going on strike like this? Any quick fixes or advice to make sure I don't end up stranded in the middle of nowhere?
Thanks in advance, and may your clutches always be cooperative! 🛠️🚙

I have two very slim but long troughs at the front of my house which were here when we moved in. The dimensions are approx. 3m x 26cm. One trough has one half of it in deep shade and the other half in full sunshine for most of the day, and the second trough is in dappled shade. I've bought some bulbs from vendors which I was told would grow in the shade but so far only the one bulb which is in the full sun position has grown. 26cm is such a limiting space and as a novice gardener it's taking me a very long time to sift through the information online to find anything that can grow in such space and light limiting conditions. What options do I really have? Ideally I'd like evergreen plants/shrubs as they would be the easiest to maintain and would provide year round interest.

I’m looking for a story I forgot the name of. It’s fantasy/romance where the mc has forgotten who she is and a man is helping her get to her destination. The girl has some magic powers I think. The only thing I remember is that the cover had a tree with a light side and a dark side. I read this sometime during 2017-2019 I think. I would really love to read this story again!

Hi,
I don't seem to be able to connect a wireless Shenzhen Smart Wifi Camera to AgentDVR. It is one of those light bulb cameras. I purchased it from Temu and the "brand" is Ease Life". I can connect to the camera from the cellphone app and from their website www.ehomeease.com In AgentDVR I tried setting up via the network wizard. I picked the camera from the list "Shenzhen: Smart Wifi Camera" and the username "admin" password "admin". I get a network address of "192.168.1.1:80" which has "unknown httpd: error" above it. The ip address of the device is actually "192.168.1.3" as assigned by my router. If I use "192.168.1.1:80" it tells me Camera login failed: check username and password. This seemed a bit encouraging.
If I manually enter "http://192.168.1.3:80" it tells me nothing is found. I looked for the Shenzhen cameras on the website and found "rtsp://admin:admin@192.168.1.20:554/stream1" and when I try manually entering that it also says nothing is found.
It looks like "192.168.1.1:80" is correct but I have the wrong password? Any help would be appreciated as I am not sure what to do next.
By the way the camera has a Model of "D100" on the box. I didn't find that in the Shenzhen list.
Many thanks,
Greg

☯️
Three monks sit around a pot of vinegar, each have a taste. One hates the bitterness another hates the sourness the third smiles with a look of delight and says. It is bitter and sour but being able to taste is a sweet gift of life.
.......
A tree does not choose where its seeds was sprouted. A trees branches grow in the direction to gather light its roots delve in search of water
Stratagem the path you swim so your destination isn't on the wind.
As the eternal moment ceaselessly parades,
you have a purpose, You have a play.
Embodied witness,
The universe in a grain.
A cauldron burning of scalding yearning don't let them steam away.
Carpe Diem my love
Via con dios sweet inspiration
Muse me, Move me, freedom imbued Let love flow through me
The hunger for life The taste of tears blood and sweat

With all the scientific instrument breakthroughs we now have some that can track movement of atoms.
I was thinking about how we could contain Photons without degradation. If we could confine the Photons in a optical confinement chamber and track how photons interact in the chamber with matter we could use the information to create better photon confinement to prevent scattering and degradation.
It would not be like a limitless light bulb because light bulbs bleed light. The improved confinement of the photons could lead to other major scientific breakthroughs in other fields like solar technologies.

Pollution and carbon emissions aren't pleasant for anyone, so here's a list of eco-friendly cities prioritizing nature and sustainable living.
Pollution and carbon emissions aren't friendly for anyone. So here's a list of cities that prioritize nature and sustainable living. No city is perfect, and many still have a long way to go before they can be considered truly sustainable.
However, these cities benefit both the people's quality of life and the conservation and protection of our planet and environment.
The sustainability of our planet is in jeopardy now more than ever before. This is due to the rising population and technological advancements that change how we live our lives.
Furthermore, It's becoming unpleasant, from the production of dangerous pollutants to the extradentary levels of waste.
Also, Governments and municipal governments worldwide feel the heat from their population—particularly Generation Z, who are well-known for campaigning for environmental reform.
And pressing countries to seek new methods to become more sustainable and address this global issue.
We've compiled a list of cities leading the way toward moving toward sustainable living and making the world a greener place. The world's greenest cities are listed below.

1. Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen has been labeled the world's greenest city for various reasons. To start with, all of their buses are transitioning from diesel to electric power.
Furthermore, more of their roadways are being designed expressly for bicycling, and also, electric bikes are being supplied at a reasonable cost.
Again, another fascinating thing about Copenhagen is that two-thirds of its hotels are eco-certified, signifying that they adhere to the highest levels of sustainability in terms of energy, food, and design.
They also have vending machines that use recycled stuff and receive a deposit at many of their restaurants, and they sell cuisine made with organic ingredients in many of them.
By 2025, This beautiful Copenhagen city aspires to be carbon neutral. With all of these extraordinary achievements, it's difficult not to believe that this is one of the most eco-friendly cities globally.

2. Zurich, Switzerland

Here are some statistics demonstrating why Zurich is near the top of our world's most eco-friendly cities. It is interesting that renewable energy sources now account for more than 80% of their electricity. Also, over 40% of the garbage in the city is recycled.
Finally, almost 70% of their hotels are certified as sustainable. They have bikes all across the city, just like Copenhagen, giving them away. Zurich is undoubtedly a green city from which all other cities can learn.

3. Amsterdam, Nertherland

Amsterdam is innovative and environmentally conscious in areas other than its well-known "coffee cafes." It's known for having more bikes than people (bikes are piled on top of each other in the streets!), and it's also known as the world's most bicycle-friendly capital city.
Bicycling ensures a healthy population and dramatically cuts carbon emissions and pollution.

4. Bristol, UK

Bristol was the first British city designated as the European Green Capital. It's an honor bestowed upon a community for its efforts in addressing urban environmental concerns.
Furthermore, It is also known as the most environmentally friendly city in the United Kingdom. Bristol has good air quality, and the number of bikers on the road has increased.

5. Stockholm, Sweden

This site has done its fair share of modifications to assist its residents to live a more sustainable lifestyle, with 14 islands and more than 50 bridges.
The large city aims to phase out the use of fossil fuels by 2040 and is doing it by enacting new rules that promote a greener society – with European Union assistance to help it grow smarter.
Furthermore, bio-fuel, made from sewage waste and used to power automobiles throughout the city, is gaining popularity.
Stockholm is one of the eco-friendly cities. They are capable of repurposing any waste heat from its 30,000-seat stadium. Recovering heat might help warm over 1,000 flats more efficiently using sustainable ways.

6. Berlin, Germany

Berlin is a mad, wild city, but it's also known for its unconventional approach to environmental preservation.
Also, Berlin has more parks than any other European city, and it integrates green spaces nicely into the urban landscape.
Following World War I, inhabitants became far more self-sufficient and appreciated their green spaces than they had previously, learning to cultivate their food, a trend that has been handed down down the years.
Furthermore, with the advent of electric vehicles, Berlin has erected over 400 charging stations throughout the city, encouraging residents to consider switching vehicle types.
Moreover, locals do not perceive the necessity to own automobiles and instead choose to share to save the environment.

7. London, Uk

One of the significant factors contributing to London's eco-friendliness is the city's approximately 3,000 green spaces and parks, which account for 40% of the city's total area.
London is among the eco-friendly cities in the world. The IESE Cities in Motion Index 2020 classified the city as the most environmentally friendly globally. By 2050, London aspires to have zero greenhouse gas emissions.
They're putting money into hybrid diesel-electric buses. They expect that by 2037, all 9,200 of their buses will be emission-free.

8. Portland, Oregon

Believe it or not, 25% of city workers commute by bike, carpool, or public transportation, which has significant environmental benefits. As a result, the number of dangerous automobiles has decreased.
Furthermore, the city has an estimated 250 miles of bike trails, demonstrating how easy and safe it is to move around. Cycling is the primary mode of transportation for 8% of the city's population.
Furthermore, Portland generates 2,434,840 tonnes of garbage and recovers 1,235,924 tonnes, which is incredible for a major metropolis. In addition to the preceding, the city employs 33% renewable energy.

9. San Francisco, California

San Francisco's green movement has been reshaping the city in recent years. Also, San Francisco is one of the eco-friendly cities, recycles about 77 percent of its garbage.
In addition, the city was the first in the United States to outlaw the use of plastic. Furthermore, another impressive green statistic in San Francisco is that 13.8 out of every 10,000 residences uses solar energy, more than double the national average.
Also, San Francisco is one of the best locations to visit without a car. You may walk all around this environmentally friendly metropolis.

10. New York City, New York

As shocking as it may seem, New York City has also been named one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities. Heating and water conservation are becoming more critical in their housing buildings.
In addition, more residents in New York City are driving low-emission vehicles, and businesses in the city are taking more environmentally friendly steps. In New York, urban gardening has grown very popular.
Furthermore, small gardens are planted on balconies, terraces, and rooftops.

11. Capetown, South Africa

By making substantial environmental strides, such as using energy from South Africa's first commercial wind farm, altering the city to provide bike lanes, and supporting farmer's markets, Cape Town is leading the way for the entire continent of Africa.

12. Paris, France

Paris is known for being one of the eco-friendly cities, named after an international treaty on climate change. In the ten years between 2004 and 2014, the city's greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 9.2 percent.
More measures to promote sustainable transportation and assist create a more sustainable city are being implemented by the city.

13. Helsinki, Finland

If you want to visit a place or city that values the environment's friendliness and the planet's long-term environmental viability, then Helsinki is a place to go.
The capital, located on a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, combines metropolitan areas and tranquil reservoirs.
Furthermore, tourism is one of the most important contributions to Helsinki's economy, which has increased environmentally friendly lodging.
Indeed, approximately 75% of hotel rooms in the city have been certified as eco-friendly, and those that haven't fully committed to the cause have some environmental plan in place that covers all aspects of the business, from food and water to waste management and energy consumption.

14. Tokyo, Japan

With the Olympics set to take place in Tokyo this summer, the city has announced that all of the energy required to power the Games would come from sustainable sources. By 2030, the city hopes that half of all new automobiles sold will be zero-emission vehicles.
Tokyo likewise intends to use renewable energy sources to power 30% of the town. They also continue to lead the globe in having one of the lowest-emission public transportation systems.

15. Vancouver, Canada

People flock to Vancouver because of its proximity to the mountains and wildlife, so it's no surprise that it's one of the world's most environmentally conscious cities. Vancouver is a top performer in CO2 emissions and air quality, and it is home to Greenpeace.

16. Reykjavik, Iceland

The city, believe it or not, has a population of only 126,100 people, which is one of the primary characteristics that enables easy and adaptable improvements to make it a greener area.
Reykjavik intends to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 by boosting walking and cycling, and public transportation usage.
Furthermore, the promotion of public transportation is motivated by the city's desire to continue introducing hydrogen buses, which are now used by barely 4% of the population. The city has set a target of trebling this by 2030 to ensure that this happens.

17. Singapore, Singapore

Singapore has been named Asia's most environmentally friendly city due to its sustainability efforts. By 2030, Singapore plans to have at least 80 percent of its buildings be green.
The city aspires to be one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities in the future. Singapore being one
However, they are currently regarded as Asia's greenest city. It is one of the best-known towns in the world for its abundance of trees.
Used water that has been cleansed and treated accounts for over 40% of Singapore's water supply. With so much innovation, this city will undoubtedly become a sustainability leader for many years to come.

18. Montevideo, Uruguay

Montevideo's long-term aim is to save its natural ecosystems and rural areas. Over 85% of Uruguay's electricity is generated from renewable energy sources.

19. Grenoble, France

Grenoble has been named the European Green Capital for the year 2022. Between 2005 and 2016, the city's greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 25%. By 2030, they aspire to have reduced carbon emissions by half.

myprofile steam
​
I am selling Ti8 and ti9 and ti10 Immortals and Collector's Cache and not buying them.
​​
Buyer goes first, no exceptions unless you have a reputable rep
All conversations will be saved for safety and record.
Steam Rep: Steam Reputation
Buyers go first, add me now if interested for 30 days cooldown, make sure to leave a comment on my profile . 20% reserve fee required at the time of reserving cache sets.

August 2023 Collector's Cache 

Hero	August 2023 Collector's Cache	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Snapfire	Snailfire (Very Rare)	35$
Marci	Brightfist (Rare)	20$	3 Sold!
Spectre	Crescent Huntress	12$
Kunkka	Sea Spirit	12$	1 Sold!
Abaddon	Spectral Shadow	12$
Wraith King	Tyrant of the Veil	10$
Primal Beast	Primeval Abomination	10$
Storm Spirit	Beast of Thunder	10$
Legion Commander	Triumph of the Imperatrix	10$
Dawnbreaker	Astral Herald	10$
Jakiro	Ancestral Heritage	10$
Dazzle	Dezun Vipe	8$
Hoodwink	Tomo'kan Footsoldier	8$	1 Sold!
Alchemist	Taur Rider	8$	1 Sold!
Death Prophet	Darkwood Eulogy	8$

Diretide 2022 Collector's Cache II 

Hero	Diretide 2022 Collector's Cache II	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Void Spirit	Sublime Equilibrium (Very Rare)	30$	3 Sold!
Anti Mage)	Brands of the Reaper (Rare)	25$	1 Sold!
Treant	Grudges of the Gallows Tree (Rare)	20$	2 Sold!
Legion Commander	Bird of Prey	15$	2 Sold!
Phantom Assassin	Darkfeather Factioneer	12$	2 Sold!
Pudge	Cursed Cryptbreaker	10$	1 Sold!
Doom	Dawn of Darkness Foretold	10$
Brewmaster	The Wilding Tiger	10$	3 Sold!
Night Stalker	Feasts of Forever	10$	3 Sold!
Techies	War Rig Eradicators	8$	2 Sold!
Huskar	Sacred Chamber Guardian	5$
Vengeful Spirit	Acrimonies of Obsession	8$	1 Sold!
Clinkz	Withering Pain	8$
Alchemist	Darkbrew's Transgression	8$
Oracle	Transcendent Path	10$	5 Sold!
Silencer	Grand Suppressor	6$	1 Sold!

Diretide 2022 Collector's Cache I 

Hero	Diretide 2022 Collector's Cache	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Primal Beast	Dark Behemoth (Very Rare)	55$	4 Sold!
Invoker	Angel of Vex (Rare)	20$	4 Sold!
MARCI	Blue Horizons (Rare)	20$	5 Sold!
Hoodwink	Shadowleaf Insurgent	20$	11 Sold! - 1 left
Spectre	Spoils of the Shadowveil	10$	4 Sold!
Faceless Void	Chines of the Inquisitor	10$	4 Sold!
Ursa	Trophies of the Hallowed Hunt	8$
Riki	Scarlet Subversion	12$	3 Sold!
Terrorblade	Forgotten Station	10$	3 Sold!
Monkey King	Champion of the Fire Lotus	10$	2 Sold!
Snapfire	Whippersnapper	12$	6 Sold!
Chen	Hounds of obsession	8$	3 Sold!
Clockwerk	Seadog's Stash	8$	1 Sold!
Phoenix	Crimson Dawn	8$	1 Sold!
Undying	Dirge Amplifier	10$
Witch Doctor	Deathstitch Shaman	8$
Dawnbreaker	Starlorn Adjudicator	15$	8 Sold!

Aghanim's 2021 Collector's Cache 

Hero	Aghanim's 2021 Collector's Cache	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Ogre Magi	Pyrexae Polymorph Perfected	15$	4 Sold!
Phantom Lancer	Scales of the Shadow Walker	10$	3 Sold!
Clockwerk	Apex Automated	10$	4 Sold!- 1 left
chen	Perils of the Red Banks	5$	3 Sold!
Broodmother	Widow of the Undermount Gloom	10$	5 Sold!
Mars	Forgotten Fate	5$	3 Sold!
Alchemist	Cosmic Concoctioneers	15$	5 Sold! - 1 left
Abaddon	Blightfall	10$	2 Sold!

 Nemestice 2021 Collector's Cache 

Hero	Nemestice 2021 Collector's Cache	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Doom	Litany of the Damned	10$	2 Sold!
Dark Willow	Twilight Hex	5$	3 Sold!
Enigma	Astral Terminus	5$	4 Sold!
Enchantress	Caerulean Star	8$	2 Sold!
Winter Wyvern	Defender of the Brumal Crest	12$	8 Sold!

Collector Cache Sets 2020 1 + 2 

Hero	The International 2020	Price(USD)	Reserved/Sold
Faceless Void	Claszureme Incursion	65$	5 Sold! - 1 left
Keeper of the Light	The King Of Thieves	10$	4 Sold!
Rubick	Carousal of the Mystic Masquerade	10$	3 Sold!
Skywrath Mage	Secrets of the Celestial	10$	4 Sold! - 1 left
Phoenix	Blaze of Oblivion	8$	3 Sold!

Collector Cache Sets 2019 

Hero	The International 2019	Price (CSGO keys)	Reserved/Sold
Pudge	Dapper Disguise	15$	3 Sold
Warlock	Tribal Pathways	10$	1 Sold
Clockwerk	Directive of the Sunbound	10$	2 Sold
Bloodseeker	Fury of the Bloodforge	20$	4 Sold
Broodmother	Automaton Antiquity	10$	4 sold
Wraith King	Grim Destiny	12$	7 Sold- 1 left
Tusk	Distinguished Expeditionary	12$	2 Sold
Venomancer	Verdant Predator	15$	6 Sold - 1left!
Batrider	Prized Acquisitions	8$	3 Sold
Huskar	Pursuit of the Ember Demons	15$	7 Sold- 1 left
chen	Priest of the Proudsilver Clan	10$	7 Sold- 1 left

Collector Cache[1] + [2] Sets 

The International 2018	Price (CSGO keys)	Reserved/Sold
Stonemarch Sovereign [Wraith King]	15$	3 Sold - 1left
Pattern of the Silken Queen [Broodmother]	3$	1 sold
Shimmer of the Anointed [Nyx]	5$	3 Sold!
Loaded Prospects [Brewmaster]	5$	6 Sold

my profile steam
Inventor

First: https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/14vo5lb/troublemakers_deaths_pity/
*previous:* https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1d3yvie/troublemakers_parabellum/
......
Go'mon stormed through the castle corridors. He'd sensed something slip beside him during his encounter with the vampire lord. It wasn't just that damned top hat with the thief's prints. No, it was more subtle than that, it was the sound of a gossamer chain rattling against cloth. He scanned every square inch of the hallways as he walked, slowly twirling the Warhammer in his off-hand as he calmly held the pistol muzzle-up towards the ceiling. He'd barely gotten a glimpse of what almost looked like mist as he stomped through the grand halls with paranoia-fueled, seething anger. Abruptly turning a corner he fired the revolver at what he thought was that pesky invisible parasite.
The shimmer shuddered and he switched to the visible spectrum to find out it was just a tapestry in front of a heating vent.
Go'mon let out an enraged scream, tearing the tapestry apart with his bare hands after casting his weapons aside in a fit of rage and impotence. The visage of Monarch D'vinn looking out from the top of a bombed-out hill in battered armor at the shattered remains of the once human-occupied city, being shredded like single-ply latrine paper by go'mon's molecularly edged cybernetic claws. Having spent his rage on the tapestry, he panted dramatically as his heart pounded in its cask. Turning around he let out another furious scream, howling madly as he scanned the hall with thermals. His Hammer and revolver had disappeared without a trace.
The sudden blare of a Klaxon made him pause as he adjusted his armor, forcing himself to calm down as he examined his molecularly edged claws. The main enemy was at the gates, he should go meet them.
...
Cassius' Heart pounded as he took shallow breaths, Go'mon's backplate inches from his own chest as he held onto the Hammer and Pistol for dear life. As the general strutted outside, Cassius moved in perfect synchronization, his left leg rising with the general's before being placed down in sync. He'd been practicing for weeks with the security droids at the mansion, practicing to keep inches from their backs without touching their metal carapace. Now he strutted behind perhaps the second most powerful being he knew like a silent specter. As Go'mon slammed through a door, breaking it into splinters, Cassius lifted his right leg and rotated out of the way just as Go'mon's tail would've brushed against his Calf, giving him away. As the General strutted out into the middle of the courtyard, Cassius used the various straps attached to his gambeson to affix the weapons to his waist before grabbing his Kama and weighted chain from a small pouch at his belt.
Cassius tossed the weighted end of the chain over the wall of the castle after a short run-up, wrapping the gossamer chain around his hands with each rapid step he took up the wall. Reaching the top, he unhooked the weight from the small bar he'd tossed it around quickly disentangling his hands from the chain. He groped the air on the outside of the wall until he touched the enchanted ladder the Top-Hats had left him. Sliding down the ladder, he spotted Drake sitting astride Barney in the middle of the street. The rest were nowhere to be seen but that indeed was part of the plan. Sprinting over, Cassius leaped onto Barney behind Drake and slipped Go'mon's revolver into the empty holster at his belt. Drawing out no reaction save for a few words from Drake, who didn't turn his head lest he give the gambit away.
"Good work Cassius, Fall back and get a gas mask on. We still don't know what's in those canisters because they inked out the labels."
Cassius slipped off of Barney's back and slipped into a nearby building before De-cloaking as he pressed himself against the wall next to a Warmonger who passed him a spare gas mask. He pulled it on and checked the seal before sitting against the wall as his legs jellied beneath him. His mouth was dryer than the scrubland as he accepted a Volunteer's canteen, drinking heavily through a port in the mask as he rode out the adrenaline crash. He glanced over to where their fighters had pried open a sewer access hatch and were dropping in, the smell of sewage souring the air. A few warmongers closest to the opening had comically attached wooden clothesline clips to their noses.
...
Caz lay atop the second-tallest building in Golgatha, trash and debris piled up around her for camouflage ash she drew a bead on the strutting Go'mon. Her god-given eyes were able to see the purple miasma that rose from him like mercury vapors. She didn't even turn her head as she softly asked.
"Distance?"
The man with Heavy cybernetic augmentations pulled casually from a large pouch of grain alcohol, camera-lense eyes extending from his face as he chewed on a bullet thoughtfully. Slowly he stated.
"One thousand five hundred and sixty-seven meters, If you're keeping it under auto-ignition velocity, you should be able to hold it one mil above and..."
The sound of the bullet in his mouth getting chewed filled the air before he stated.
"Two mils right, wind fluctuates between us and the target, expect a half minute of angle deviation."
Caz adjusted her optic, bringing the point of aim directly onto her crosshairs. The man next to her had called himself "an Olympian" an old sect of bionically enhanced warriors from even before the betrayal wars. In the small amount of time she'd gotten to know the man, she'd found him palatable at the very least, soft-spoken with a touch of crazy, it was refreshing. She tried to ignore the artillery-sized rifle he laid behind, the barrel itself bigger around than a drainage pipe, a suppressor of equally massive size almost protruding over the edge of the building. She watched from the corner of his eye as he pulled the breech open to the side and selected a shell thicker and longer than her forearm with a fused tip. He rammed it into the gun with the same ease she loaded her flechettes with.
They both had different jobs despite sitting on the same roof. She'd take care of anything on two legs, and he'd handle anything that had an armored skin. From her vantage point, she watched as the Agri-bots moved into position, planting their artillery pieces against the ground in preparation to fire. They weren't using High explosives much to Remin and Destrier's chagrin, but with their attack plan, they couldn't risk collapsing the sewers. They were instead armed with a chemical weapon known as "CS Smoke" which would obscure visual sightlines for anyone with unaugmented vision. Lucky for her and the Olympian, that wouldn't be an issue with her clear-sight and his advanced optics. She slowly swiveled her focus onto Drake, keeping the center of the crosshair off him as she watched him.
Sitting astride Barney, Drake looked every bit the warrior he was. His dark helmet and armor were almost lost in the dark night. But the red shock of his Helm's mohawk could not be mistaken, glowing brightly against the darkness. As his palm came to rest on the pommel of his sword, she saw something entirely different for a moment.
A warrior in battered, rusty armor, the flesh falling from his bones as a pair of white lights gleamed behind the helmet. A skeletal hand held a rusty sword in its sheath, Its pale, emaciated steed's head hanging low, milky eyes soulless and empty.
But as soon as she saw it, the image faded and she swiveled her crosshairs onto the castle's inner courtyard. A small, dim red light blinked on the side of the Olympian's skull as the Geknosians organized into fighting lines. Hulking Geknosians in overbuilt power armor manned emplaced turrets and the looming Gas generators. A small feed from the Olympian's perspective overlaid itself on her scope before minimizing to one corner. She watched as his crosshair fell onto one of the two Gallicks. The horseshoe-shaped APCs presenting their bulk to the gate as a bulwark. Caz switched her aim to a heavily armored Geknosian, slowly dialing the small wheel on the forend of her rifle to half-power, just under auto-ignition velocity. The geknosian seemed to get uncomfortable as her crosshairs landed on his chest, fidgeting at the controls of their AA plasma Beam-cannon.
The moment the Agri-bots fired their artillery, she'd remove him from the gene pool and take that AA gun out of the fight so Destrier could get into position.
...
Destrier and Remin ran last-minute checks on the small fleet of two-wheeled land vehicles the Top Hats had called "Dirt bikes." The variable electric powerplant produced little to no noise, even now, powered on and ready to roll they didn't even humm. Stepping back, Destrier let the forearms of his power armor clamshell close as he retook the hand controls. Contrary to popular belief, the hands of power armor weren't at all like gloves. A handle with a pressure sensor for each finger was clasped in his hands, allowing him to manipulate the hands of the armor like his own. Destrier turned his head, helmet whirring on its bearing as he watched Remin mount one of the Dirtbikes, the black scimitar strapped to the suspension of the bike within arm's reach. The old man's Mongolian lamellar draped over either side of the bike like fabric, small metal plates clinking and clattering softly as he pulled his fabric-wrapped helmet back on. Destrier clomped over, hardly noticing the backpack with over two hundred rounds of 13x110 mm HEP.
Remin looked up with a grin and met Destrier's arm halfway in a forearm-gripping handshake, their metal hands clanking together as they slid their arms back into a grip around the base of each other's thumbs, then to a normal handshake before waggling their fingers at each other.
Destrier chuckled softly and looked up at the sky, night vision lenses making it appear stuffed to bursting with stars.
"What's on the black samurai's mind?"
Remin asked softly, head tilted back to also look at the stars between the rooftops.
"Well... I'm looking forward to the fighting to finally being over... Maybe I'll finally be able to settle down and invent something with Martha..."
Remin chuckled softly.
"A noble goal... I'd expect nothing less from you Destri... I'm actually hoping to catch a ride back to human-controlled space. I'm too old for this shit, I want to settle down and live out the last years of my life in peace..."
Destrier nodded in agreement, slowly turning his gaze back to the helicopter, blades slowly turning in preparation for takeoff.
"How old are you Remin? I don't think I ever asked."
The old man paused, thinking for a long time.
"Oh... I'd say I've made it past a century at this point. Got a cybernetic heart when I was a kid thanks to a car accident, Ol' things been keeping me going far past when I shoulda dropped."
Destrier nods and laughs softly.
"Damn, and I thought you were only in your fifties."
Remin laughed in agreeance, setting his hands on the handlebars.
"I don't blame ya, I feel like it. Especially now that my legs aren't filled with creaky arthritis."
Destrier sighed softly, gently punching the old man's shoulder as softly as he could in his power armor.
"See you on the other side old man... whether that be the living side or the dead one."
"Here's to hoping it's the former not the latter."
Destrier chuckled his agreement and boarded the helicopter, making the landing gear compress slightly as he put his weight on the flight deck. Unhooking the feed chain from the side of the backpack, he clipped it into the Ma-deuce's feed chute. It whirred as the heavy cartridges were funneled down the chain and into the gun with a click and a clatter.
...
Barney shifted from one leg to the other beneath Drake, Death's chosen reaching down and gently patting his neck fondly as he softly whispered.
"Just a moment longer boy... There's someone I need to talk to."
Drake closed his eyes, letting the Darkness envelop him for a moment before opening them again.
He looked at Death, who was casually swirling a glass of black bourbon thoughtfully.
"You said you wanted to talk to me right before the battle?"
Death nodded and slid the glass of black bourbon his way.
"I did, I want you to drink this before you go into battle."
Drake picked up the glass, inspecting the pitch-black, inky liquid curiously. Before sniffing it and coughing as his eyes water.
"No offense, But I think something died in your liquor bottle."
Death laughed jovially, pouring his own glass from a red crystal decanter.
"That's because this is made from the blood of my predecessor. I thought i might as well get it out of the way."
Drake suspiciously looked at the glass.
"Okay, what happens when I drink it?"
Death paused, slowly swirling his own glass of black bourbon pensively. Then, he slowly knocked his own back, eyes dilating wide before returning to normal.
"Well, It should allow you to control your power, bypassing the decades of training most need."
Drake gave Death a side eye, sniffing the foul drink one more time asking.
"What's the catch?"
Death frowned, then set his glass down.
"Considering that it's going to completely restructure your magical and circulatory pathways. It's going to hurt like nothing you've ever felt before. It also may or may not bind your guardians to your soul."
Drake's head snapped up.
"Guardians... you mean my parents?"
Death nodded softly.
"Guardians, souls that loved someone so much that they remained on after death to watch over them. Your parents loved you... loved you enough to stand by your side even in death... and before you give me some bullshit about this not being what your parents would want... Remember, they'll always be at your side until you die one way or another."
Drake slowly swirled the bourbon before nodding softly, bringing it to his lips, he downed it in a single gulp. It burned on its way down, the tingling feeling intensely spreading throughout his body and to his fingertips in a moment. His nerves burned, and his very being felt as though it was being scalded by burning hot water. But as he set the glass down on Death's desk, he smiled softly. There was a warmth to the pain, like a cold rag against a feverish forehead. The sting of a garlic poultice applied to a fresh whip-wound. It was the crack of his father's wooden sword against his knuckles during their sparring, the sweat that would drip into his eyes on long evenings working the fields. Drake opened his eyes slowly, no longer sitting in Death's office, but his own soulscape, looking at the long-neglected buildings halfway through construction. But he wasn't alone.
Drake smiled at his mother and father. His mother gave him a soft smile as she touched the scar across his face, the wound in his cheek where a gauss slug had torn it open, then, she took his hand to gently touch the scarred wound where Garravan's knife had pierced his hand. His father just sat cross-legged, drinking a stout mug of scrub tree tea with a proud smile on his face. drake looked between them before holding out his hands.
As his parents took them, they dissolved into motes of light that drifted into his chest. His veins burned, and his eyes and nose bled. His entire existence felt like a blistering inferno as the ground of his soulscape rumbled, small, red flowers the color of blood and the shape of gunshot wounds popping up from the ground. But even as the pain grew, and grew, and grew, He found himself simply laughing, grabbing what felt like an invisible pair of chains and pulling up on them as he stood.
The ground erupted in the middle of his soulscape, a massive, gnarled oak tree sprouting from the ground. Its sturdy trunk protecting a small patch of pink carnations interspersed with curly-petaled white Gardenias. Drake felt something form atop his head and reached up, feeling a thorny crown, he gently pulled it off, looking at the black-petaled roses fondly before returning it to his head. The thorny veins grew down from the crown, snaking their way deep into his flesh only to bloom into what felt like new muscles and tendons that weren't attached to his physical strength. Looking at his upturned palms, he curled his fingers, a steady, smokeless pale flame popping into existence in his palm with next to no effort.
As the pain subsided, Drake closed his eyes, relishing its departure before opening them to the shocked and concerned face of Death. Drake gave him a curious look and Death coughed softly as he composed himself before speaking.
"Look, I know I can hide pain well... But that smile you get when you're hurting is capital C Creepy."
Drake touched his grinning face with a soft laugh, wiping a trickle of blood from his nose.
"Well, guess I can add that to my achievements list, Creeping Death out with a smile."
They both chuckled softly at the joke before Death sighed softly.
"You should get back to them, they're almost ready."
Drake nodded and stood, stepping over to the door.
"Wish me luck."
"Good luck, my Champion. Give them hell."
Drake smiled softly and stepped out the door. When he opened his eyes, he was back in the real world, staring up at Go'mon who'd perched himself atop the castle wall, eyeing Drake hungrily.
Giving Go'mon his signature grin, He reached up and depressed a countersunk button on the side of his helmet.
"Hit 'em"
Drake stated, the sound of artillery rocking the city as Go'mon's hungry look quickly turned to rage. There was a loud, screeching whistle as the artillery shells streaked in, blanketing the area in stinging fog. Drake drew his sword, extending thorned vines of power into it as the blade ignited with pale flames. Barney snuffled excitedly and roared as Drake nudged him forward, the Dinosaur leaping over the wall in a single bound. The final battle for Golgatha had begun, after this, they would either be free...
Or they will have died free.
......
Part 112: will be linked here upon completion.

The following is my current build geared towards tanking, with a focus on evasion and dagger use. Understand this is not meant to be the most optimal tanking build, and is instead a fun and challenging means I have found of achieving the same objectives as a tank would require, while also having the combat flow and attack patterns of a rogue.
For starters, what is an evasion tank? As the title would describe, it's simply a style of tanking that emphasizes dodging over blocking to mitigate damage, while still maintaining the attention of the enemies so your group can take them down. The benefit of dodging is it typically opens up your enemies to exploitable backstab opportunities that you can take advantage of.
To begin with, let's discuss the armor, stats, and skills that establish the foundation of this build.
https://enshrouded-skill-tree.vercel.app/?shortCode=66656c2f558f458f7f7745ad
Now I will go through what the key skills are and how they work for this playstyle. I will first address what will likely be the most contentious ability, Merciless Attack, and damage return aside, the point for this ability for me is simply because it's the only real way to get any sort of I-frame advantage in combat. When you break an enemy's guard and engage a Merciless Attack, most of the enemies won't engage you while this animation plays through. Your group is also now free to hit the group of mobs around you.
Parry power and Opportunity are both good to have, as they augment skills you will already be using, but they give access to Backstab Damage which, combined with Backstab Mastery are where this build is going to start coming together. Grab the early Dex passives, then follow the Ranger tree to the end for Ranger. This path has two purposes, the first of which is to give us some dexterity to support the dagger use, but then also endurance and stamina regen as well as a 5% bonus to crit chance/damage. Finally, this pathway helps fill in an element of range for those pesky fliers and archers. (Side note, as a tank, I typically keep a bow on me with flare arrows and a stock of 200 iron arrows just in case. The Flare Arrows can help not only light a way forward but also help a lost ally find their way to you)
Updraft is more utility-based and there for use out in the open world, however, Counterstrike is something I feel every good tank should have. This leads into Jump Attack II which I have seen come in very handy with a good 2-hander. Similarly to Evasion Attack, it is a block breaker so it will help set you up for those useful Merciless Attacks. Next, we take Shickwave and Bash. These abilities scale off of our strength so in addition to boosting our Jump Attack damage, we now have added stun bar increase and damage from parry scaled from strength.
Lastly Nemesis for threat generation, Tower and Warden for damage mitigation, and Battle Heal for passive combat healing. For the weapon path, I go for slashing and piercing as I focus on daggers as my main weapon and the 2-hand axe as my sub/AoE weapon. This will also give you access to Veteran and the Warrior's Path, both melee damage and crit change by 10%.
Now let's move on to gear and weapon preference. Here I lean towards the daggers for single target and 2-handed axes for AoE damage. Utilizing dodge mechanics can set up backstabbing attacks when in lock-on. For gear I currently use the Radiant Paladin helmet for the crit chance bonus. This helps keep Battle Heal proccing. The Soldier Breastplate for stamina and health, the Assassin gloves for added backstab and dagger damage, the Warden Trousers for damage mitigation and health, and finally the Radiant Paladin Boots for health regen.
Finally, Dodge vs Blink: Here is where I could potentially see this build diverging as there are arguments to be made for both regular Dodge and Blink. The first for me, being Dodge is superior for setting up reliable backstabs, as when locked on and engaged in a side roll, your character will roll around to orient you facing their back. However, the flip side is that Emergency Blink can get you out of bad situations where you ate a block you shouldn't have and now have an unlucky incoming tank buster from a boss and you need to dodge. Emergency Blink will break a stunned state and allow you to dodge. In the current state of the Hollows since I don't use Nemesis there, I would suggest working in Emergency Blink.
Footnotes: I plan to revisit the Life leech Rings since the attack speed of the daggers might very well make them viable for survivability. Also please be aware this is not a solo build While I did test some of the damage and crit-based healing in a solo setting, most of the real stress testing came with running this with a group of at least three other players. If anyone would like a video tutorial, showcasing how this build works within a group setting I would be happy to put something together.

tl;dr

Japanese women live the longest; traditional "ama" divers catch crustaceans by hand.
This inspired my chicken soup of the sea: rice, shrimp and mackerel.
Can you guess which causes the longevity?
PIC: How to tell when a shrimp is perfectly cooked
https://preview.redd.it/ioy13ankti5d1.jpg?width=602&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6561f8cd0dfa03e90f4fe35fa229651f459359e

Summary

Ama (海女, "sea women") are Japanese divers famous for collecting pearls, though traditionally their main catch is seafood.[1] The vast majority of ama are women.

An optimal diet should imitate the diet of the world's longest-lived people: Japanese women. What sets Japan apart from runners-up such as South Korea is high shrimp consumption.
Longevity is sexy:

• Tokyo Fish Market, 1964
• Japanese ama divers, with a diet primarily consisting of sea food, had impressive occlusions #mewtivation
• Japanese Ama divers, 1950s

I cut the seafood-rice diet down to the absolute minimum:

An elimination diet, also known as exclusion diet, is a diagnostic procedure used to identify foods that an individual cannot consume without adverse effects.

An optimal elimination diet follows the pattern of recovering from an upset stomach:

1. For fluid, drink hot water with a pinch of sea salt "tea".
2. For fuel, start with white rice congee. After #6 add brown rice, pre-soaked.
3. For fresh, have 50g frozen sea meat (shrimp) per day. The rest can be canned.
4. For fat, have a can of ocean fish (mackerel etc) per day. Watch the mercury.
5. For fruit, have a small orange with the plain rice (vit c).
6. For veg, lightly cook some spinach leaves with the shrimp (vit b).
7. For snack, have dried seaweed sheets and a handful of mixed tree nuts soaked overnight.

Take it one step at a time. These are sequenced in order of short-term priority to stay productive. Everything is low-FODMAPS except the nuts.
1-4 are like a healthier version of chicken soup: Both are high in methionine, salt and rice.
Methionine stops hunger. Eating less extends lifespan dramatically:

The exact manner by which calories are reduced changes across studies, but the animals’ calorie intakes are generally reduced by as much as half their normal levels. Depending on the species, the most promising results have shown lifespan extensions between 50 and 300%.

This diet can probably cut your calorie intake in half without trying, and your food budget as well.
A strong baseline makes it easy to detect harmful foods. You can thrive on just this, but why limit yourself? Establish a performance baseline, then introduce a new ingredient.

Intro

When I was a young man, I regarded cooking as a chore and simply wanted to eat healthy to gain muscle without wasting time. As a result, I ate a lot of Campbell's Chunky Soup and crackers. Not great for my sodium intake.
I sympathize with those who insist that a "minimum viable diet" should mean something simple and repeatable such as beef, potatoes and greens. Sounds great! If you're looking for lazy cooking, just learn some simple pressure cooker recipes. It does get more complicated than "throw tasty things in pot".
I might've continued as a culinary barbarian, had I not made some bad life choices, chief among which was taking a light course of Accutane, which is proven to cause Inflammatory Bowel Disease by aging epithelial stem cells. This caused my gut lining to gradually age, until I must now eat mush like an old man.
The struggle to find foods that didn't incapacitate me lead me to elimination diets and a journey into true minimalism, the meaning of which I hadn't appreciated before: not minimum cooking effort, but minimum digestive difficulty.
My eventual solution happened to align with the diet of the longest-lived people in the world – the Japanese. (Well, the women are longest-lived. The men work and drink themselves to death.) Apparently, the secret to their longevity is eating a lot of shrimp and rice. White rice is considered hypoallergenic, and shrimp induces satiety via methionine, permitting calorie restriction.
Doctors have been unable to label my condition with any specific diagnosis, despite extensive tests and endoscopy. So I believe my solution is generalizable to those without specific problems, who nonetheless find themselves plagued with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
The less energy the gut must spend on digestion, the more energy the brain has to focus productively. Ancestral hunter gatherers could afford to lie around after a big meal; office workers not so much.
Even healthy people may be interested in the productivity benefits of easy digestion. Soylent is popular for this reason. The aquatic ape diet is healthier, easier to digest, and much cheaper.
Soylent costs about $225 per month. In a typical day I eat:

• for fuel, 4 handfuls of unenriched rice = 43g * 4 = 173g = 621 calories = .50 USD
• for fresh, a handful of frozen organic shrimp = 52g = 52 calories = 7.70 RMB = 1.06 USD
• for fat, 200g canned mackerel (or similar) = 312 calories = 6.5 RMB = .9 USD
• for fruit, small oranges sell for about a dollar each, so $2 for two = 90 calories
• for veg, spinach costs $2 and lasts 10 days, so .20 USD = 14 calories
• total calories = 1089
• $total = 4.66 USD daily * 30.4 days = $142 per month

As you can see, the AA baseline diet is slightly more expensive per calorie, but higher satiety so one eats less. If cost is a concern, you can easily cut to one small orange per day, dropping the price to $111 per month. Or replace oranges entirely with a vitamin c pill, which costs under 10 cents per dose. Then the cost would be $84 per month.
Most people don't want to eat minimally, and that's fine. However, those who hate cooking can keep the minimal ingredients at home, then indulge at restaurants. Or travel with Soylent and never miss a meal.

7 steps

Omnivore

Humans are omnivores. Thus a proper minimal diet will consume both plants and animals. Among mammals, even herbivores are usually opportunistic carnivores. Compensating for pure vegetarianism or carnivory complicates things considerably, as icebound Eskimos and smooth-brained koala vegans demonstrate.
Given omnivory, a minimal diet has three major requirements:

1. Fuel: either eat enough carbs and fat, or burn your own fat.
2. Fresh: for volatile water-soluble vitamins and animal protein.
3. Fat: for fat-soluble vitamins and well-being.

These are listed in order of priority.
One can get water-soluble vitamins from lightly-cooked meat, if one eats the right animals or organs in sufficient quantities. However, it is usually easier to get them from fruits and vegetables.

1 Fluid

The Romans paid legionnaires in sea salt, leading to the expression, "Worth his salt". Without sea salt, humans develop goiters.
During a severe IBS episode, you often stop eating. That is fine, humans can fast for weeks. Just drink sea salt "tea" until your gut calms.
This staves off dehydration, but gets quite hungry. When ready to rise and cook, proceed to the next step. Until then, have a toothpick and relax. (Chewing on something is a good way to stop eating.)

2 Fuel

The first step of recovery is to have some bland white rice congee. It is usually the easiest thing to digest. (If not, try soaking or pick another grain.) Starch fuel prevents starvation, conserving body fat on skinny chronic IBS sufferers. You need enough calories to stay active.
Put a 1-2 handfuls of rice and generous water into the pressure cooker, then cook until congee.
Plain white rice does get boring. So alternate white with brown rice. Brown rice has insoluble fiber, which is hardest to digest. So start with just a pinch of brown rice in white, which will change the flavor of the pot enough to fool your brain. If you can tolerate insoluble fiber, then increase the ratio. Gas is a key sign you can't.
If you're constipated, increase the ratio of brown rice. Fiber keeps you regular.

3 Fresh

The next step is to consume healthy fresh meat. The healthiest sea meat is shrimp. Just a handful will induce satiety via methionine. Briefly auto-warm them in the pressure cooker until they curl into a c-shape, not o. (This is safe, because saltwater shrimp parasites can't transfer to freshwater hosts.) Eat the shrimp before cooling, and save the broth for the next rice pot.
Wild meat is healthier than farmed, and saltwater is healthier than terrestrial. Humans are primarily a littoral species, even today. Our hairlessness is an aquatic adaptation (hippos, elephants); chimps can't swim. Our other closest relative, the pig, is semi-aquatic like us, and shares many anatomical features such as nose shape and eye color. Pigs, not chimps, are the main animal source for organ transplants into humans.

4 Fat

Fat is the second hardest to digest, but the most rewarding. It's what puts a smile on your face and heat in your extremities. Fat soluble vitamins degrade slowly, so canned food is fine. Mackerel is incredibly cheap and delicious. At 13% fat, it is sufficient but not overwhelming to weak guts. The bones are easy to eat around. Save the broth for the next rice pot.
Watch the toxin accumulation. Maximum is 200g mackerel per day, due to arsenic. Try alternating with other fish, such as tuna, sardines and salmon.
If you have fat malabsorption, try putting cholestyramine powder in the rice pot preceding the fatty meal, and look into UDCA. Eating fat is essential to enjoy life. Hence the expression, "Fat and happy."

5 Fruit

Fruit poses two digestive challenges: fructose and insoluble fiber. We can dilute the former and minimize the latter.
Apples have lots of insoluble fiber, making them chewy. Oranges have little, making them juicy.
Fruit is full of concentrated sugar, and the fructose in particular can irritate weak guts. Sugar provides short term energy. Thus an orange complements a pot of white rice congee.
By itself, the congee is bland starch, which provides long-term energy and filling comfort. Eat the orange as appetizer, then the congee as main course. Having this twice per day is a treat.

6 Veg

Vegetables contain even more insoluble fiber than fruit. One solution is to cook them to mush, but this destroys their b-vitamins, the main reason to eat them.
The solution is to use a soft vegetable that can be eaten raw and is high in vitamin b. Parsley and spinach both work, and go nicely with shrimp. Just throw them both into the pot on auto-warm at the same time.

7 Snack

With diets, cheating is always a danger, so one should try to fulfill cravings with healthy snacks. Dried seaweed have the salt, crunch and complex flavor to satisfy the potato chip craving. A handful of mixed tree nuts soaked overnight satisfies the desire for something more substantial, and puts the pot to good use.

Beyond AAD

Congratulations, you've completed the Aquatic Ape diet! Now you can add whatever works for you.
Having a strong baseline means it's easy to tell when something makes you feel worse. Similarly, being malnourished makes it easy to tell when you eat something that was previously missing. Malnourishment is not a pleasant baseline, so I recommend the former!
I'm sure you're eager to get to the steak and potatoes. The Weston Price Foundation has many great recipes for healthy indulgence.

Regimen

Morning

1. handful of unenriched white rice, pressure cooked to congee, eaten before cooling to avoid resistant starch. Small orange appetizer first.
2. clean pot and dish
3. 200g of wild-caught organic canned fish (no additives)
4. in leftover broth, pressure cook longer a handful of white rice with pinch of organic tricolor brown rice (to fool blandness perception)
5. clean pot and dish

Between meals:

• chew on a toothpick to distract from hunger
• pinch of sea salt in hot water

Afternoon

1. handful of unenriched white rice, pressure cooked to congee, eaten before cooling to avoid resistant starch. Small orange appetizer first.
2. clean pot and dish
3. handful of spinach and handful of wild-caught saltwater shelled shrimp (no additives) auto-heated to c-shape, not o-shape (that's overdone)
4. in leftover broth, pressure cook longer a handful of white rice with pinch of organic tricolor brown rice (to fool blandness perception)
5. clean pot and dish

The shrimp induces satiety for intermittent fasting.

Travel

Travel is tough. Suggestions welcome. Here's what I've got:

• bring toothpicks and sea salt
• buy hot white rice and water
• dry foods: pemmican, jerky or Soylent
• wet meat: canned fish, steamed shrimp
• vit b & c: spinach, lemon juice, small oranges

Details

Continued here due to length.

This is just a loose 20 minute ago theory, but when i pieced it together it was quite compelling, so i'd thought i share.
This was my train of thought/research..
'the answers i already know', F spoke widely about grammar and punctuation so how about 'the answer's i already know', meaning 'the answer IS i already know'. Had he left out the apostrophe? So i thought about it and came up with KNOW to KNEW.
I toyed with KNEW, new and old, turnover a log, thought about how the unintended clue was in the preface of one of his books where he was towing a boat on The Madison. and then thought how about CANOE?
Give the poem to a child... the answer's i already KNOW - KNEW - K-NEW - CANOE.
So i looked up CANOE, and one of the derived terms is CANOE BIRCH, so i went to that page and it says 'The Native Americans used the bark of this tree for building canoes.'
So i thought ok let's go with this... one of the other definitions of BIRCH was
'A stick, rod or bundle of twigs made from birch wood, used for punishment. Synonyms: makepeace, switch'
The STICK was in the chest photo.
ROD is a fishing rod.
The BUNDLE OF TWIGS was when he didnt have anything to light a fire so he wadded the map.
He spoke about corporal PUNISHMENT from his father.
MAKEPEACE which is another name for a bundle of twigs, relates to 'go in peace' in the poem.
And SWITCH was what his father punished him with.
That's quite a positive collection right there.
The birch tree is WHITE, and it's long been thought that the blaze could be white, and it would 'anything that stands out' in a forest full of pine.
What if we meant to be looking for an AMERICAN WHITE BIRCH tree in a forest full of pine? (or even his actual turned over dugout CANOE that looks like any other log?)
If you've been wise and found the blaze - if you KNOW/KNEW and found the blaze.
Let's look at what evidence we have, the picture with the downed logs over the chest don't appear to be a BIRCH tree and neither do the others around it. However we don't know for sure that it's as simple as being directly under the blaze, what if there's a BIRCH tree further up the hill and we have to look quickly downhill to find the treasure? He did say he wasn't sure it pointed in any of the cardinal directions so downhill can't be fully ruled out. He also said 'i KNOW it's still there'.
The pine tree that fell over the chest doesn't completely satisfy the answer to the blaze, and there is doubt, which in turn opens up other possibilities, such as this.. an AMERICAN WHITE BIRCH or more romantically/spiritualy his hypothetical OLD dugout CANOE that he made and left back there each year. Roll over a log. Plus in some tribes Chiefs were buried in their canoes to escort them to the afterlife. (beam me up)
I like it, it ticks many boxes and it was fun researching again like the good ole days,
What's your thoughts? Please be as brutal or nice as you like. Cheers.
edit: added ROD, other thoughts and typos as usual.

My arms were getting weak; my fingers started to tremble. It was late at night, and I was sketching my design for a client. Despite being a designer for more than five years, I felt that something was lacking. My designs weren't bad, but they didn't have the 'wow' factor I wanted. The problem was not with my skills, but my creativity.
Around this time, a friend introduced me to the concept of the growth mindset. The theory is simple: your abilities aren’t fixed, they can grow. A light bulb went off in my mind. I realized that it wasn't my creativity that was stagnant; it was my mindset.
Thinking back, I was too afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone. I stuck to designs, themes, and colors that felt familiar. I realized that in order to grow creatively, I needed to change my perspective. I needed to see failures as opportunities, not as a dead end.
So, I decided to experiment with my designs. I picked colors that were out of my comfort zone, tried different themes, and even incorporated different design principles. The first few designs were far from perfect. They were messy and irregular. But I embraced them. It was my learning process.
The result? My creativity began to flourish. Each new design was a step out of my comfort zone and an opportunity to learn and grow.
And you know what's funny? My most appreciated design so far turned out to be the one where I incorporated elements I initially thought were 'out-of-my-league.' It was a hit with the client, and now it's one of my proudest works.
The point of this long-winded tale, my friends, is that growth mindset isn't just a fancy term flung around in psychology discussions. It's a real, applicable mental model that can help improve your creativity and bring about a positive change in your life. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, take risks, and step out of your comfort zone.
P.S. Just a disclaimer, I wasn’t actually sketching until my hands trembled (I do take breaks, you know). I just amped up the drama to make you realize how implementing mental models in your life is as thrilling as this story sounds. Remember to stretch those fingers!

Greetings flutter community, i have been figuring out how flutter exactly works and have been hitting a few roadblocks and i hope following questions help to shed some light. I hope this is the right place to ask this.
1) RenderObjectWidget vs StatelesWidget
Text inherits from StatelesWidget and internally uses RichText which inherits from RenderObjectWidget.
Are only RenderObjectWidgets drawable whilst StatelesWidgets are made up of RenderObjectWidgets or other StatelesWidgets?
And as a followup, for a statelesWidget the internal generation is like this
StatelesWidget -createElement()-> StatelesElement -get renderObject-> RenderObject
but for a RenderObjectWidget the creation is in the Widget
RenderObjectWidget -createRenderObject()-> RenderObject
-createElement()-> RenderObjectElement
Does a StatelesWidget not need to have a RenderObject so it acts like a transparent wrapper for the renderer?
2) Build
As far as i understand flutter first creates the Widget tree, it then transforms this tree into the 3 tree structure.
The element tree contains the state for an element and passes it to the widget to build it (BuildContext).
But if the widget tree is built before the element tree how does it get the Element reference in the first build?
Does flutter build it twice at first render or can it create the element tree without the widget tree?
3) Structure
For the elements in the tree, Element elements are general and can link multiple type of widgets to their corresponding renderobject.
Does every Instance of RenderObjectWidget have a dedicated RenderObject and every item that inherits from StatelesWidget doesn't have a renderObject?

load order (do tell if anything is "unusual" in this load order)
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp
Skyrim Project Optimization - Full ESL Version.esm
Vanilla Script MicroOptimizations.esl
LegacyoftheDragonborn.esm
Occ_Skyrim_Tamriel.esp
Skyrim Extended Cut - Saints and Seducers.esp
RealisticWaterTwo - Resources.esm
BSAssets.esm
AnimatedShips.esl
Lux Orbis - Master plugin.esm
FlyingCrowsSSE.esp
BSHeartland.esm
BS_DLC_patch.esp
Campfire.esm
Animated Ice Floes.esp
evgSIRENROOT.esm
Occ_Skyrim_AnniversaryFreeCC.esp
Lux - Resources.esp
Lux Via.esp
Wyrmstooth.esp
Heels Sound.esm
Schlongs of Skyrim - Core.esm
RASS - Visual Effects.esl
Vanilla Scripts Enhanced.esl
SimplyOptimizedScripts.esl
Fertility Mode.esm
iWant Widgets.esl
AnimatedCarriage.esm
EVGAnimatedTraversal.esl
TrueHUD.esl
NoRecoil.esm
Environs Master Plugin.esp
Lux - Master plugin.esm
TES4WaitMenu.esl
EnchantmentArtExtender.esl
Dodge_MCO-DXP.esl
DodgeFramework.esl
ZaZAnimationPack.esm
Acheron.esm
PamaFurnitureScr.esp
PamaPrisonAlternative.esm
SkyUI_SE.esp
PrisonAlternative_Executions_Riften.esp
DBM_CoSRetexture_Patch.esp
Cloaks_SMP_Patch.esp
Immersive Sounds - Compendium.esp
Obsidian Weathers.esp
SMIM-SE-Merged-All.esp
Vibrant weapons EAE.esp
UIExtensions.esp
Relationship Dialogue Overhaul.esp
RDO Updated.esp
LessMergedTree33.esp
Northern Roads.esp
ESOimports.esp
Lux Orbis.esp
JKs Skyrim.esp
Northern Roads - Lux Via patch.esp
Cutting Room Floor.esp
AI Overhaul.esp
SoundsofSkyrimComplete.esp
MysticismMagic.esp
Dawn of Skyrim.esp
Lux Via - plugin.esp
Bandit War.esp
Jampion NPCs.esp
NW_Sons_of_Skyrim.esp
NW_Sons_of_Skyrim - My fixes by Xtudo.esp
Northern Roads - Additional Roads.esp
Neugrad.esp
Undeath.esp
Northern Roads - Rocks Patch.esp
SeranaDialogAddon.esp
Odin - Skyrim Magic Overhaul.esp
Northern Roads - JKs Skyrim patch.esp
Settlements Expanded SE.esp
SkyTEST-RealisticAnimals&Predators.esp
Stormcrown.esp
Embers XD.esp
NewArmoury.esp
Whiterun Has Walls.esp
Whiterun Has Walls - Higher Walls.esp
UndeathFixes.esp
Betterfoodeffects.esp
SeagullsofSkyrim.esp
Northern Roads - ESO Imports patch.esp
SnowhawkRuins.esp
Mists of Tamriel.esp
Lit Road Signs.esp
Vampires Masquerade.esp
Northern Roads - Lux Orbis Patch.esp
Northern Bathhouses.esp
JKs Skyrim - AI Overhaul Patch.esp
Northern Roads - Lux Via - Lux Orbis consistency patch.esp
wavetest.esp
Northern Roads - CRF patch.esp
Less Trees - Cell data patch.esp
WiZkiD Hunter's Camp Overhaul.esp
Immersive Horses.esp
TKAA.esp
RaceMenu.esp
RaceMenuPlugin.esp
CBBE.esp
RaceMenuMorphsCBBE.esp
BlendedRoads.esp
Bijin Wives.esp
Vampire Clans and Bloodlines.esp
Innocence Lost - Quest Expansion.esp
waterplants_lily.esp
Northern Roads - Snowhawk Expanded patch.esp
ADogsLife.esp
moretodo.esp
Northern Roads - Skyland HD Roadsigns Patch.esp
DealingwithBackstories.esp
Whiterun Has Walls - City Exterior.esp
DiverseWerewolvesCollection.esp
Bijin Warmaidens.esp
Bijin NPCs.esp
Brows.esp
CommunityOverlays1_0T30.esp
CommunityOverlays2_31T50.esp
SFO_SkinFeatureOverlays.esp
CommunityOverlays3.esp
TheEyesOfBeauty.esp
TW3Eyes.esp
BarbarianPaints.esp
KSHairdosSMP.esp
DBM_SMIM_Patch.esp
MoreWerewolves.esp
Northern Roads - BS Bruma Patch.esp
ESOImports - JKs Skyrim Patch.esp
PaPunishmentPack1.esp
ADarkDestiny000.esp
khajitdave-necromanticsummons-v02.esp
Northern Roads - Settlements Expanded patch.esp
RavenCastle.esp
CWRepairs.esp
moretosayfalkreath.esp
Northern Roads - Lux Via - ESO Imports patch.esp
Environs - Whiterun Watchtower.esp
Northern Roads - Undeath patch.esp
PrisonAlternative_Executions_WindHelm.esp
Northern Roads - Legacy of the Dragonborn patch.esp
SunHelmSurvival.esp
LeapsOfFaith.esp
Northern Roads - CC Fishing patch.esp
[SunJeong] Ninirim Collection.esp
Environs - Tundra Farmhouse.esp
Northern Roads - CC Farming patch.esp
alcoholiceffect.esp
NotSoFast-MainQuest.esp
LostLand.esp
Northern Roads - Neugrad Patch.esp
The Amazing World of Bikini Armors REMASTERED.esp
(Pumpkin)-TEWOBA-TheExpandedWorldofBikiniArmor.esp
moretosayriften.esp
Lux Orbis - USSEP patch.esp
moretosayrorikstead.esp
mtsfollowerbanter.esp
IntuitiveDragonRideControl.esp
Northern Roads - USSEP Additions.esp
ACLine_Whiterun.esp
Northern Roads - CC Tundra Homestead patch.esp
BeyondSkyrimMerchant.esp
CBBE 3BA Vanilla Outfits.esp
TAWOBA Remastered Leveled List.esp
[COCO] Shadow Assassin.esp
[COCO] Lolita.esp
[COCO] Demon Shade.esp
SimpleItemSpawner.esp
XPMSE.esp
3BBB.esp
SOSPhysicsManager.esp
Unmasking Sybille.esp
Shadow of Skyrim.esp
PrisonAlternative_Executions_Solitude.esp
moretosaywhiterun.esp
Northern Roads - Environs - The Ruined Tundra Farmhouse Patch.esp
moretosayriverwood.esp
Northern Roads - CC The Cause patch.esp
moretosayshorsstone.esp
AstridReborn.esp
Northern Roads - Floating Plants Fix.esp
Northern Roads - CC Myrwatch patch.esp
Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim.esp
Dynamic Activation Key.esp
Simple Hunting Overhaul.esp
Schlongs of Skyrim.esp
SOS - Smurf Average Addon.esp
SOS - VectorPlexus Muscular Addon.esp
SOS - VectorPlexus Regular Addon.esp
[COCO] Scarlet Rose.esp
[COCO] CaressofVenus.esp
[COCO] Mysterious Mage.esp
[COCO] Pinpup Cheongsam.esp
[COCO] Fairy Queen.esp
[COCO]SinoAlice Snow.esp
[COCO] 2B Wedding Outfit.esp
[COCO] Mulan.esp
[COCO] Gothic Babe.esp
Insignificant Object Remover.esp
SonS_HDT_patch.esp
MCMHelper.esp
Footprints.esp
Footprints - ENB.esp
SimplerKnock.esp
ChildrenOfLilith.esp
Moonlight Tales Special Edition.esp
Real Feeding V3.esp
Werewolf Hunger.esp
Werewolf Footstep FX.esp
Additional Dremora Faces.esp
BnP -Eyepack.esp
Kynreeve Armor.esp
KozakowyVampireArmor.esp
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RandomVampireAttacksDisabledSE.esp
Vampire Lines Expansion.esp
VampiresHaveClaws.esp
mihailtalkativefalmers.esp
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Dirt and Blood - Dynamic Visuals.esp
Dirt and Blood Expanded.esp
Dynamic Sprint.esp
EVGConditionalIdles.esp
moretosaycityguards.esp
guardencounters.esp
ImmersiveInteractions.esp
moretosaygeneric.esp
moretosaykarthwasten.esp
moretosaywinterhold.esp
NPCs React To Invisibility - Bow of Shadows Patch.esp
NPCs React To Invisibility.esp
Precision.esp
priestsgrantblessings.esp
secretofrorikstead.esp
SmoothCam.esp
SprintSlide.esp
TrueDirectionalMovement.esp
AHZmoreHUD.esp
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ASS_IconsAddon.esp
BetterThirdPersonSelection.esp
BOOBIES_ImmersiveIcons.esp
dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp
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FiresHurtRE.esp
Immersive Death Cycle.esp
LootingAnimations.esp
MaximumCarnage.esp
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NPCs Take Cover.esp
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scar-adxp-patch.esp
Northern Roads - More to Say Shor's Stone patch.esp
Northern Roads - CC Saints and Seducers patch.esp
Skyshards.esp
Stress and Fear.esp
ValhallaCombat.esp
ValhallaBackStabFix.esp
WICourierNPC.esp
DX Necromancer Robes.esp
DistantDragonRoars.esp
evgSIRENROOTtraversalpatch.esp
Murmurs and Mead.esp
TheCleverPrisoner.esp
Radiance.esp
ECSS - Beyond Skyrim Music Patch.esp
ProjectilesMCO.esp
Action Based Projectiles.esp
ExpertPierce.esp
Innocence Lost QE - USSEP Patch.esp
Belethor's Sister.esp
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Lords of Coldharbour.esp
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mihailtalkativespriggan.esp
JS Rumpled Rugs Redux SE.esp
InnBath.esp
FEC.esp
C.O.I.N.esp
C.O.I.N. - The Cause Patch.esp
C.O.I.N. - Beyond Skyrim Patch.esp
Immersive Equipping Animations.esp
DBVO.esp
KWTelescope.esp
Smoking Torches And Candles.esp
ImprovedAlternateConversationCamera.esp
ShadowSpellPackage.esp
StrangeRunes.esp
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Book Of Shadows.esp
Realistic AI Detection 3 - Medium Interior, Medium Exterior.esp
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Stellaris.esp
Vulcano.esp
Necrom.esp
Flames of Coldharbour.esp
[COCO] Lace Lingerie Pack.esp
[COCO] FlyinDance.esp
[COCO] Twilight Sorceress.esp
R959Classes.esp
R959ClassesCommunityPack02.esp
R959ClassesPriestTree.esp
Cinematic Dragon Soul Absorbtion.esp
Shout.esp
AnimatedEatingRedux.esp
AnimatedEating_Coffee Patch.esp
Attack_MCO.esp
exhaustion_incremental_fatigue.esp
exercise_incremental_growth.esp
LootandDegradation.esp
SekiroCombat_II.esp
CarryYourCarcasses - SHO.esp
SimpleCampfireAdditions.esp
Simplicity of Snow - BSBruma Patch.esp
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Simplicity of Snow.esp
SkillsOfTheWild.esp
SoS_Obsidian_Patch.esp
SunHelmDiseases.esp
SunHelmWyrmstoothPatch.esp
FNIS.esp
toggle compass hotkey.esp
Animated Ice Floes - LotD Patch.esp
Embers XD - Patch - Beyond Skyrim - Bruma.esp
Embers XD - Patch - Goldenhills Plantation.esp
Embers XD - Fire Magick Add-On.esp
Even Bigger Moons.esp
Mists of Tamriel for Obsidian Weathers.esp
MoonGlow.esp
Simple Snow Improvements - Skyrim.esp
The Dark Arts.esp
UndeadFX.esp
NPCs React To Necromancy.esp
MovementMCO.esp
Imperious - Races of Skyrim.esp
Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim.esp
Apocalypse - Ordinator Compatibility Patch.esp
Odin - Ordinator Compatibility Patch.esp
Sacrosanct - Vampires of Skyrim.esp
Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
Northern Roads - Alternate Start patch - Lux Via version.esp
Bijin AIO.esp
nwsFollowerFramework.esp
RealisticWaterTwo.esp
Skyland Watercolor - Slow Green-RW2-iNeed.esp
RealisticWaterTwo - Waves - Wyrmstooth.esp
RealisticWaterTwo - Myrwatch Patch.esp
RealisticWaterTwo - Beyond Skyrim Bruma.esp
Lux.esp
Lux - Legacy of the Dragonborn patch.esp
Lux - RWT Patch.esp
Lux - USSEP patch.esp
Lux - Brighter interior nights.esp
Lux - Lux Orbis - Lux Via - Brighter Torch.esp
Lux - Beyond Skyrim - Wares of Tamriel.esp
Lux - Bittercup Patch.esp
Lux - Bloodchill Manor patch.esp
Lux - CC Fish patch.esp
Lux - Dawnfang CC.esp
Lux - Dead Mans Dread Patch.esp
Lux - Elite Crossbows.esp
Lux - Farmer patch.esp
Lux - Forgotten Seasons.esp
Lux - Ghosts of the Tribunal CC.esp
Lux - Goblins CC.esp
Lux - Goldbrand CC.esp
Lux - Hendraheim patch.esp
Lux - Nchuanthumz Dwarven Home patch.esp
Lux - Necrohouse patch.esp
Lux - Neugrad patch.esp
Lux - Pets of Skyrim CC.esp
Lux - Saints and Seducers Extended Cut patch.esp
Lux - Shadowfoot Sanctum patch.esp
Lux - Sirenroot patch.esp
Lux - Undeath patch.esp
Lux - Staff of Hasedoki CC.esp
Lux - The Cause patch.esp
Lux - Tundra Homestead patch.esp
Lux - Umbra CC.esp
Lux - Vigil Enforcer CC.esp
Lux - Wyrmstooth.esp
Lux - Live Another Life patch.esp
Northern Roads - Lux patch.esp
PowerAttacks.esp
JaxonzMCMKicker.esp
icepenguinworldmapclassic.esp
Immersive Patrols II.esp
[Caenarvon] Magecore.esp
Miriel.esp
[Imp] Modular Mage.esp
evgCLAMBER.esp
Hwybee Silver Desire.esp
RoyalVanguardArmor.esp
shadowman_lovingfamily.esp
OStim.esp
SexLab_Solutions.esp
AK_RM_PubicStyles_All_In_One.esp
AK_RM_PubicStyles_All_In_One_M.esp
Devour.esp
OBody.esp
OPubes.esp
RaceMenu Overlays Hieroglyphics.esp
AnubAnimObj.esp
AnubAnimObjAdaptedFurniture.esp
Immersive Wenches.esp
NibblesAnimObjects.esp
OCum.esp
OInflation.esp
ORomance.esp
ORomancePlus.esp
OSmp.esp
OSSA.esp
OStimNPCs.esp
OVirginity.esp
SexLab-AmorousAdventures.esp
AA_OStim_Sequences.esp
SLALAnimObjBillyy.esp
OStimCommunityResource.esp
OProstitution.esp
BakaFactory OStim Port.esp
OSimpleDefeat.esp
SimpleSlavery.esp

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- - - - -
It had been a few weeks since Altier was brought to the run-down shack that his black-scaled companion likely called home, and he could now comfortably say he was accustomed to the…household’s routine. The kobold typically left at the crack of dawn, returned a little after noon, and occasionally left again to forage until nightfall. When the weather was bad or there wasn’t a particular need for something, they half-heartedly chased their rabbit around for a bit, which usually ended with a bout of quiet petting while everyone got ready for the night. It was always amusing to see the energetic side of what he had come to know as a relatively lazy loaf of an animal. As for the routine of the ferrorabbit in question… Well…it was at least more interesting than expected.
Hoppit would begin his own series of activities as soon as his caretaker left—the first of which being a check of every nook and cranny in the shed. He sniffed at anything that caught his interest, varying from morning to morning, but he gave every object or corner its due attention. Once he was satisfied with that, he would eat some of the ragged plants that made up most of his diet, take a drink from his bowl, then jump onto the tro— table and plop himself down, his ears pivoting towards the door. It was hard to say if the lounging spot had been established before Altier’s arrival, but it was somewhat amusing to pretend that the little rabbit was standing guard over his core—if it wasn’t for one particular part of the morning ritual, that is.
Indeed, the ferrorabbit had a habit of licking the obsidian orb that sat in the middle of the room, which thankfully didn’t seem to perturb the system enough to give Altier a headache. He was confused when it first happened, but it was commonplace enough now that he barely acknowledged it. A part of him liked that he was getting attention as a core, even if it was delivered via a strange grooming method. The closest he got to being acknowledged as something other than ‘the dungeon’ was through an unfortunate misunderstanding that he could never properly rectify. He supposed that was hardly worth thinking about now, though; too much time had passed for there to be anyone left to correct. The little oddity of his mornings would have to suffice.
There wasn’t much to comment on as far as the rest of the day’s happenings. Hoppit would end his loafing by shaking his head and ears in a way that filled the silence with soft clacks, give the core a customary tongue bath, then jump off the table to nose his way out of the shed through a hole that was hidden by the storage cart against the wall. Where the rabbit went was anyone’s guess, but he always returned before anyone noticed he was gone, and often did so while covered in small cuts and scratches. Any blood from the lacerations was quickly licked off before it could be seen by the kobold, and in the event that the scaly caretaker happened to return earlier than expected, Hoppit would scurry over to the bundles of blankets to finish the cleanup in secret.
Today looked to be following the usual pattern. The kobold left bright and early with various gardening tools and a wooden pail, and Hoppit had since set off into the great unknown for one reason or another. Hopefully, he returned less injured than usual. It was frustrating to admit that Altier had begun to grow rather fond of the fluffy creature, and seeing the thing come back hurt was bothersome. Was it off looking for food? There wasn’t a whole lot given to it, so that was a possibility, and it could be getting into fights over whatever it found. That still didn’t explain why the animal was so thin, and Altier didn’t have enough to go off of to think of a potential solution. He wanted to help it in some way, like by summoning a creature to act as an escort, or maybe just by manifesting something edible like he once could. No, he could only stare at the ‘Synchronizing…’ that occupied his menu, wishing he had more information to work with.
He never thought he would miss the bombardment of notifications and their lingering presence that filled the edge of his mental vision; at least with that he could surmise enough to hazard some kind of action. Even knowing why the menu was acting the way it did would be a start. Yet, try as he might, there wasn’t a history for him to reference anymore, and he had nothing to work with. He was confident the last message had asked him to ‘accept’ something, then took his befuddled ponderance as an answer, but he was no closer to an explanation for what it wanted, nor why it prompted him in the first place. He just didn’t have another experience to compare against, since nothing like that had ever happened before. Not that he was ever in much of a position to allow it.
The entire purpose of having Altier inhabit a core was for him to become a dungeon of Decay, which entailed all the skeletons, poisons, acids, and whatever else came to mind when one pictured the concept. ‘Living’ creatures were something he only had the chance to experiment with near the beginning of his new existence, though he never dabbled past the first few insects before transitioning to the mindless undead. Having a thinking, feeling, breathing entity touch his core was a rite reserved only for the adventurers and soldiers that bested his trials, and that was usually a painful experience. Now, he had spent what he could only guess was hours being held by a kobold, followed by having a rabbit bump against him, and neither felt like what he came to expect. Instead, both had led to a completely novel reaction from the system. The strange circumstances put him at a bit of a loss as to what it all meant for him.
Sure, he could dismiss the deluge of errors from his companion’s involvement by pointing to the numerous ‘corrupted’ messages before it, and Hoppit was a part of mostly unexplored territory, but the lack of clarity nagged at the back of his mind constantly. Being exposed to activity after potential decades or centuries of unchanging solitude made him despise the informational dead end. If he couldn’t make sense of the rabbit’s circumstances, then he didn’t have much hope of deciphering the reason for why his system was misbehaving so terribly. He also didn't know much about the one who owned the decrepit holdings he was housed inside.
He still wasn’t sure what drove the kobold to take him from the cave. His suspicion of becoming traded goods fell flat after the first week or so, and he hadn’t noticed any cult-like behaviour, which was promising. Granted, a lack of nefarious behaviour didn’t mean there was a lack of nefarious intent, but he didn’t get the impression his companion held that either. The kobold itself didn’t seem quite settled on an opinion of his core, though it was up for debate if the hesitation was due to knowing what he was or not. They seemed to mull something over before bed each night, yet never reached a satisfactory conclusion, staring at the obsidian orb through weary grey eyes until they eventually forced themselves into sleep.
Whatever the underlying reasoning for his abduction was, he had observed enough to know that the kobold didn’t deserve to live in destitution. As beaten as the shed might be, they cared for it as best they could, and did so without a single groan or grimace of complaint. The floors were cleaned with a tattered rag and fresh water, dust was removed regularly, and any stray mess that Hoppit made was dealt with promptly. They even took the time to wipe off his core, which was possibly where the ferrorabbit got the idea to start licking him. The only time Altier had seen discontent from the kobold was when they didn’t find much during their foraging, and thus couldn’t give any treats to the excited and bouncy herbivore.
He wasn’t aware that a creature’s face could make such a painfully broken expression, and he was quick to decide that he never wanted to see it again.
Vexingly, his metaphorical hands were tied; a dungeon could only influence their Domain, and given the state of his system, not even that option was available to him. All he could do was glare at the rotting wooden beams that held up the roof and remember when such an issue didn’t exist. It would have taken a mere flicker of thought and a paltry sum of mana to mend the struts when he was a proper dungeon. He could even outright reinforce the structure by weaving in other materials, leaving the appearance as it was while making everything stronger than iron. Well, he once could. Working with other affinities was something that came to him after absorbing the coloured motes left behind by adventurers, and the accursed stone that stole his mana had taken that ability as well.
An attempt was made anyway, his will ordering the deteriorated wood to absorb any trace metals from the ground, but it was no use. He couldn’t feel the iron or stones beneath the shed like he would have been able to before, all but confirming his suspicion that his connection to the Earth element had slipped away. Nature was much the same; the only way he knew when Hoppit had returned most days was from the subtle noise and the essence of injury. The other attributes—Air, Flame, Luma, Shadow, and so on—were ones he never experimented with to any real extent, so it was less noticeable when he lost his grasp on them. Perhaps they faded early. Either way, all he had left was a waning cognizance of his own alignment, and that wasn’t of much use to him. If he had any appreciable mana income, then perhaps he could do something, but he wasn’t even sure what the upkeep of his current Domain might be. It was entirely possible that he was running on a deficit, which would offer a reason for why his system had been so—
[Do#$@n Ex@#d$%^&d! CRe@#r H-H-H-HoPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP—]
[Errrrrrr—]
[Sy$%^hroni%^$zing…]
[Creeee-tu— Hoppit ha@$ esttttb-hed terrrrrrr-ity f^#% t$e dun@&$n!]
- - - - -
“Well then,” he mumbled to himself, taking in the strange scene behind the shed. For one, he could actually view a small distance beyond the structure now, and two, there was a rather proud-looking Hoppit sitting on his haunches before a pair of significantly less prideful examples of the species. They looked quite a bit bigger than the lazy loaf Altier had come to know, yet they were more cut up and dejected than his furry friend. That answered where the injuries had been coming from, he supposed. Hoppit was probably running off to bash heads with whatever animal population existed here beforehand, and they had only just reached a consensus on who was in charge. Impressive.
One of Hoppit’s ears turned back towards the shed, his head following suit as he gave a lagomorph’s approximation of a ‘Look what I did!’ smile. Altier blanked out mentally, but didn’t have time to question anything before the new leader of the local rabbits imperiously pointed a paw towards the surrounding forest, which was equally surreal to witness. Most surprising of all, the…subordinates? The other ferrorabbits did as commanded, keeping their forms small as they took off into the foliage. Soft clacks came from Hoppit’s pleased shake of his head, then he too left the area with only a slightly lopsided bounce to his stride.
The man-turned-core could only gape at what he saw. Were animals always so…expressive? Had Hoppit heard him? What in the world was happening? Why had Hoppit’s personal conquest led to Altier’s Domain expanding?
He lamented not having fingers, nor temples to rub with them. His system was a garbled mess of errors and inconsistent messages, his residence was falling apart at the seams, his companion was someone who abducted him from the dungeon, yet never did anything past that, and his first real experience with an animal was turning out to be more confusing than he thought possible.
All of this was after an unknown amount of time spent commanding legions of undead to strengthen the very people who he would later learn had lied to and manipulated him, making him into a nightmarish entity just to bolster the power of their forces. He almost missed the days spent gazing out of a mossy window. At least then he knew what to expect.
Nothing made sense anymore.
= = = = =
The soft sound of roots ripping free from soil suddenly stopped, only to be followed by a dull thud of Ceele’s palm slapping against the ground to catch her fall before she landed on her rear. She righted herself with her tail and tossed the stubborn weed into a pile with the others. No matter how many mornings she did this, they always seemed to replace themselves faster than she could remove the pesky things. A sigh slipped from her muzzle as she set about grabbing the next one embedded in the vegetable garden.
Aches and spreading stiffness flared up, but went ignored as she neared the end of her duties, though she was well aware that they would come back with force once she tried to settle down for the day. The impending soreness was an inevitable byproduct of spending so much time working. Still, she knew that if it wasn’t for the kindly old couple that allowed her to call their shed home, she would still be sleeping beneath the stars while making sure nothing tried to get at her Hoppit. Even if it was just a part of the deal, they were owed this much in return, and she would see it done properly.
The sun bore down on her back as she did her usual tasks, which was a departure from the slightly overcast weather as of late. It looked somewhat promising when she checked in the wee hours of the morning, yet as her gardening duties dragged on, so too did the intensity of such a clear sky. A disappointed glance at the empty wooden bucket on the edge of the field was quickly corrected. She hadn’t thought to refill it at the river after watering the crops, and her parched throat was making its protests known, while also reminding her that there wasn’t much water left at home either. One more thing to take care of when she was done.
A gruff cough brought her attention towards the old kobold resting his back against a tree some distance away, safely shaded from the unforgiving rays beaming down. Her displeasure at having yet more to do was hastily wiped away. She was undecided on what to think of the detached audience, but looking so sour while upholding her side of the agreement wouldn’t reflect well on her. Hopefully, he hadn’t seen it. Not that she could tell if he did; he always had the same expression when he watched her work. The elder kobold’s arms were crossed, a finger tapping absently against his bicep, while his tail sat motionless on the grass, the muddy red colour of his scales standing out amongst the greens and browns. ‘Makis,’ was his name, assuming her memory served.
Makis had taken to observing her every so often, usually propping himself against this or that at a distance, the unwavering scowl being as unnerving as it was belying of his age. Somewhat loose skin sagged a bit around his jowls and neck, yet the rest of his face was still taut from how much time he spent examining red-hot metal, and his arms were marred with countless burns and cuts from his profession. He held an oppressive aura, though the crinkles around his eyes and muzzle suggested he smiled as frequently as he glowered, even if Ceele was yet to see the former. There was only the same judgmental expression aimed at her when he was around. She could only hope that he didn’t take offence to some unintended slight, but she didn’t know him well enough to say what might be considered one.
They hadn’t spoken since she took up residence on the outskirts of his land. His wife was the one to introduce them, but it was quickly established that he had no intention of being a chatty individual. He led Ceele to the shed hidden amongst the trees on the edge of the property, then dismissed her with only a grunt coming from the elderly kobold. She supposed that it was for the best. Her experience in socializing was centred around convincing others to employ her, and there hadn’t been much of an opportunity to expand her horizons while living a life on the road. If that had been the end of their interactions, she would have swiftly written the terseness off, but he appeared every few days, taking up residence beneath the shade as he watched her work, never speaking a single word. At least he didn’t openly protest her presence, yet she figured that would be easier to manage. He wouldn’t be such an enigma then.
There wasn’t a whole lot she knew about him besides his penchant for ‘supervision,’ and anything beyond that was what his wife had volunteered during the rare opportunity they had to chat. She was told that Makis worked the smithy out front, and although he had retired from doing so in an official capacity, she could still regularly hear his hammer as she tended to the garden, so she figured he kept himself busy most days. It made her wonder what was so interesting about a vagrant like herself, but when there was so little else to do, she could see how anything could be made worth the attention. It was just him and his wife living in the once bustling home, after all; the couple’s children had long since grown up and made families of their own.
She noticed his gaze shift elsewhere as she tugged yet another stubborn intruder from the soil, his arms falling from across his chest and the perpetually worn displeasure melting to that of curiosity. He wandered off shortly after, and she had to make an effort not to fall onto her tail as the pressure on her shoulders unexpectedly evaporated. Did something happen?
Ceele shook her head free of the distracting thought. It wasn’t her business if he grew bored with watching her work. As long as no one voiced any complaints, she could only assume that she was doing a satisfactory job. Maybe he finally decided that he didn’t need to be so watchful because she was doing well! That could be it, right?
A glance at the somewhat sloppily maintained garden erased the false confidence from her face, but she was just as quick to focus on finishing up, unwilling to allow darker musings to fester. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anything else that needed her intervention. The weeds were all uprooted, the soil was appropriately dampened, and her check for pesky insects or wildlife turned up nothing to worry about. She was free for the rest of the day!
…Or she would be free—as soon as she finished the last of her tasks, anyway.
The black-scaled kobold got up from her crouch unsteadily, shivering and wincing from the pins and needles in her legs. She would have to remember to stretch more often; it was far too easy to forgo that kind of thing just to make the overall work go slightly faster. Her hand reached out to grab the pile of weeds and put them into the bucket as she ran through what needed to be done before she could properly relax. Hoppit’s food needed to be washed, she needed to bathe, and they were running low on water anyway, so she would have to visit the river. Just the thought of dragging herself into the forest again made her muscles protest, but she wouldn’t have the energy to do it later. She forced the smile that had started to fall and took the first of many steps.
- - - - -
The river wasn’t too far away, only taking a few minutes of traipsing through the dense woodlands until she reached her destination. It was an idyllic little spot. The trees thinned out to allow a grassy bank along the water, and there was an appreciably gentle slope from shallows to depths, making for a convenient place to take care of various needs. She had discovered this place during her travels, and it was where a kind older woman found her.
Ceele was washing off at the time, with Hoppit safely taking shelter from the outside underneath the bundled blankets while he waited. The trickle of the stream brushing against rocks covered the sound of footsteps, so she was rather surprised when an aged voice called out to ask if she was okay. Her first reaction was to distance herself and apologize—the why didn’t matter, but she had learned that most people were more lenient of her presence if she seemed apologetic for it, and she usually was. The elderly kobold just laughed at her scrambling, tacking on an assurance that there was no need for modesty. The woman was blind, apparently, which explained how Ceele’s blackened colours hadn’t deterred her.
Strangely enough, there was a comforting sense of ease around the one who introduced herself as Hira. It was a sort of presence that Ceele could only vaguely remember, and it drew her close enough to speak as she finished bathing. The conversation wasn’t anything profound, of course—they hardly delved deeper than surface-level small talk—but Hira lost her smile as she listened to the younger kobold. By the end of it, the old woman posed a series of questions with a dark inflection to her voice, and Ceele struggled to find an answer.
‘Are you tired of looking for something that only slips away? Are you tired of running? Do you really want to be scared and alone?’
If the silence bothered Hira, then it didn’t show. She had simply held out a hand and offered Ceele a way of life that didn’t involve wondering where she would be spending the night, nor entailed cowering in the brush while fearsome predators roamed freely. It would be a simple existence of few fortunes, but it was safe, and it was honest. All she had to do was say yes.
Ceele denied it at first, partially because she knew most people despised Hobbit's species, and partially because she couldn’t shake the offer being too good to be true. Hira was quick to propose a compromise; Ceele could take residence in the gardening shed that had fallen from use, and to satiate the nagging sense of an unfair deal, she would be put in charge of maintaining the garden itself. All Hira wanted was to ‘see’ her favourite space bloom again, since she couldn’t take care of it anymore. The black-scaled kobold stared longingly at where Hoppit was, his little body shivering from the prolonged cold and fear that he would be hurt if he left the blankets hiding him. It was with a heavy guilt that she accepted Hira’s offer, keeping quiet about her true reason for doing so.
That was in the past, however, though she thought about it every time she stopped by and saw the smooth rocks where she and Hira first met. Eventually, she might gather the courage to admit that she was housing a ‘pest’ and beg for forgiveness. Until then, she would just work her hardest to prove it wasn’t a mistake to give her a home. That her endless efforts weren’t meaningless. That Hoppit deserved to be more than a ‘pest.’
That Ceele was more than something she had no control over being.
She cleared her head a bit and started on the reason she came all this way. Her dress was rather easy to wash in the meandering water, and the trees provided a suitable place for it to dry in the sunlight and light breeze. The weeds were fine with a thorough rinse near in the shallows, but taking care of her own hygiene required her to wade farther in, though it only came up to her chest in the middle of the rill. Still, she could scrub off the soil and grime, which was all she really needed. Perhaps some simple soaps would help rid her of the pervasive black that stained her skin and scales, but that was beyond her meagre means for the time being, as well as being mere wishful thinking.
She worked past the dreary mindset that settled in when she allowed it, focusing on how serene the river was. The soft birdsong from the trees helped make for a peaceful experience, and she could feel the somewhat chilled liquid basically pour into the aches and pains throughout her body, washing away the stiffness from spending so long under the unerring sun. It was nice to escape reality and let thoughts drift while held buoyant by calmer waters.
Yet the bliss was short-lived. Even if winter was gone, spring was still far from warming the waters enough for her to laze about for too long. She dragged herself from the soft current and fetched her dress from the low-lying branch she left it to dry on. It was still a touch damp, but it wasn’t anything a bit of time in front of the fireplace wouldn’t fix.
Ceele was only a short distance away from home when she heard a gravelly male voice, but it was the flicker of sight between the trees that made her drop what was in her arms and lunge into a sprint.
Makis stood just outside the gardening shed, a ferrorabbit held at arm’s length by rusty crimson hands placed on the scruff and haunch, the rabbit’s little ears flattened as fear filled its tiny face. Her eyes widened further when she noticed the small stains of blood in his light brown fur. They found out about him. Ephemeral claws of blackness clutched at her soul, ripping the very fabric she was made of as an unseen beast smiled, eager to take yet one more thing from her. Her Hoppit. Her baby. Her everything.
“Hoppit!” she shrieked, her words all but tearing out of her throat in desperation. Frozen blood coursed through her veins, yet poured into exhausted limbs. She broke through the treeline with no regard for the branches slashing against her flesh, panic making each sting fade before it could be processed. The grizzled glare of the older kobold snapped towards her, his usual scowl picking up an actual air of intensity that she never thought could be absent, the promise of violence lurking in his eyes. She skidded to a stop a few paces away, the lump in her throat threatening to clog her airway. “S-stop hurting him!”
“Didn’t,” he barked back, his tone even yet firm. “Cuts ain’t me. I’d’a done worse if’a had ta mind ta.”
The blatant declaration snapped her from blind panic, although his apparent anger didn’t do her fear any favours. “B-but… Then how…”
“‘Hoppit.’ Named it, did’cha?” he grunted, ignoring her confusion and bobbing the rabbit to get her attention again. His gaze shifted back to the animal, the flames of ire cooling slightly. “I was wonderin’ why yer plots ain’t dead yet. Suppose this critter’s why.”
One of her hands hesitantly reached out until she pulled it back, while the other clutched at her chest to stop her heart from hammering against her ribs. She couldn’t act rashly. Not while her baby was in his arms. “I—”
“Soft thing, ain’t it,” the elder kobold commented curiously, cutting her off.
“Y-yes?” she returned reluctantly, struggling to stop herself from lashing out to reclaim the ferrorabbit in his grasp.
“Like fine silk.” Makis tipped and tilted the animal, inspecting this and that with a deep-seated frown, all while Hoppit silently looked to her for help. The pit in her stomach grew. She needed to get him back, but how?
Ceele swallowed the dense dread as she tried to formulate some sort of plan, stumbling over her words and forced smile. “I-it’s nice! Isn’t it nice?”
His eyes snapped back to burrow into her own with hatred. “Wasn’t a compliment, girly.”
“B-but you—”
He released Hoppit’s lower half to jab a claw at the various spikes around his body, plying them with minimal force. “Look. See this? These’r suppose ta break bone. ‘Specially when he’s stiff like this. Ain’t no way I should be able ta bend ‘em. He’s barely more than a walkin’ carcass—all skin ‘n stick. He’s gonna get picked up by a wandering pecker if he keeps pissin’ about out ‘ere. It’s a wonder he’s still kickin’. What’cha feeding ‘em?” His gaze dropped from her face to the rest of her, disgust curling his muzzle into a snarl. “N’ver mind. I can guess.”
She felt the dampness build at the edges of her vision, unprepared to not only worry for Hoppit's immediate health, but also to face such harsh criticism while she was so vulnerable. “I… I try to make sure he has…”
Makis crouched to release the ferrorabbit onto the ground, Ceele dropping to her knees the moment he did. The terrified lagomorph wasted no time, bolting towards his adoptive mother and leaping into her arms, shaking uncontrollably. The rust-coloured ‘bold stared as she started soothingly stroking the animal’s back.
“Yer given’ em the weeds, aren’t ya?” he stated rather than asked. She gave a teary nod when her voice wouldn’t respond for her. The old kobold drew a breath, letting it go in an exasperated sigh as he stood back up, his expression becoming more impatient than antagonistic. “What else?”
“I— Um…”
“What. Else?”
“W-whatever I c-can find!” she sputtered out. Hoppit tried to hide against her neck, prompting her to tighten her hold. She couldn’t stop herself from shrinking, the guilt and confusion pulling her head down. “R-roots, vegetables, fruits… I give them as often as I can.”
His glare continued unimpeded, his cadence cold. “That it?”
There were a million things Ceele wanted to say. A part of her wanted to beg him not to kick them out of the first safe place she had in longer than she could remember, but she couldn’t find the words. She wanted to deny the judgmental tone that stabbed into her insecurity surrounding how good of a job she was doing with Hoppit, but the deadened void in her chest swallowed her pride whole. She knew he was right to critique her. That she was failing in the only thing that mattered anymore. That the feeling of loss would return.
“I try,” she whispered through the beginnings of a sob. “I try to find more, but he needs someone around, and I have to work the garden, so there’s only so much time I can spend looking. He won’t even eat all of what I bring back…” Tears dripped off her cheeks as she aimed a desolate smile at her furry friend. “He wants to make sure I have some too.”
“Yer killin’ em,” Makis pointed out plainly, crossing his arms. “He’ll be dead ‘fore the summer at this rate.”
“I know!” she shouted, forcing back the memories of insidious murmurs that lurked in the back of her mind, eager to creep into her ears again. The hate-filled stares that followed her, the rumours that arrived in towns before she had the chance to make an impression, and the guilt that loomed over her like an executioner's axe… “I know I am… I just… I don’t know what he needs. I don’t know how to make him happy…but I try. I’m trying…”
“…Yer an idiot, girly.”
She looked up to see the elder kobold walking away without another word. Her eyes fell to Hoppit, the ferrorabbit pressing himself against her as much as he could. He was small, thin, soft, and growing weaker by the day, but he never let it keep him down for long. No, he always showed his best for her, giving her joy that wasn’t provided anywhere else. She saw the thin cuts and dried blood, though she didn’t know where they came from, nor how he got out of the shed in the first place. But that was okay. Hoppit was okay, and she had Hoppit, so everything was okay, right?
…But how much longer would everything stay okay? How much longer until her efforts weren’t enough, and she was left desperately reaching for fading memories of what once was? How much longer until she killed her baby too?
How much longer until she was alone again?
Soft footsteps drew near, pulling her from the spiralling thoughts that threatened to gnaw at her soul. Damp, blurry eyes fell on Makis returning with a small wooden crate, the older kobold stopping a few steps away. He dropped the box, a deep, rattling thud produced as it impacted the ground, making Hoppit flinch in her arms. Ceele blinked as she kept him calm, then blinked again, looking up at the man for answers.
“The name, girly,” he spat in irritation. “Ferrorabbit. Ther’ Earth aligned creatures; they need metals. They don’t care where they get it, but they need lots of it. Iron, copper, tin, lead—raw crystal, if they can find it. You name it, they’ll take a chunk out of it. It's why they bother farmers so much; the best soil’s usually top’a gem deposits, ‘n the little bastards have no issue burrowing deep to get it. Dries up the element’s energy ‘n makes the crops weak.”
Ceele’s mouth opened and closed, each unsuccessful attempt to speak making her feel smaller and smaller. More and more lost. Why was he telling her this? How did he know? What was in the—
He kicked the crate with the side of his foot. “Scraps. Don’t’cha look at me like that. I’m a smith, girly. I might be old and retired, but I still work a forge. Now, this ain’t anything pure—it’s just slag and hunks—but I’m sure the critter won’t mind. Your little gardenin’ project pays off, ‘n I’ll see which of my contacts can get in some better ore.”
She ripped her eyes away from the box and met the perpetual scowl of the old kobold, seeing a warmth behind the hostility that she had never noticed before. “…Why?”
He scoffed in amusement, which looked somewhat menacing on such a hardened expression. “Yer a touch stupid, girly, but the missus adores ya, ‘n yer a good worker.” A shadow of a smile formed on his face. “Hira spent more evenings asking ‘bout how the plots are doin’ than I got time in the day. She’d bite my head off if I noticed a critter like that sufferin’ and didn’t lend a hand. ‘Specially when it’s obvious you ain’t tryin’ ta hurt the thing.”
“B-but the garden… Isn’t he a problem?”
Makis rolled his eyes, turning with a dismissive wave of his hand. “If he was, he’da killed it by now. I’d say he’s been keepin’ the others clear ‘n got scratched up for the trouble. That’s more reason to feed ‘em right in my eyes; pay the poor bastard his dues.” He paused after a few steps, shooting her one last incredulous glance. “‘N the rabbit’s right. You’re not much better off than he is. Eat. Before the missus takes my head, preferably. I ain’t need ta hear her worryin’ over you more than I already do.”
And with that, he walked off back to the house, leaving Ceele to sit stunned on the ground with Hoppit quietly nuzzling into her.
“Hoppit…?”
The ferrorabbit perked an ear and gently licked her collar. Fresh tears ran rivulets down her face, yet they didn’t weigh her down. They felt freeing. She adjusted her hold on the rabbit and held him out, taking in the small cuts and numerous other injuries she had never noticed before. He stared back at her with worried eyes.
“You’ve been busy, huh?” she cooed quietly, doing her best to keep her voice from cracking. He shrunk in her hands. “I told you to stay home, baby. What if something happened to you? I wouldn’t know where you went, and…”
Her protests died out as she saw what was unmistakably guilt on his little face. She brought him back to her chest and cleared her throat.
“It’s alright, Hoppit. If… If you want to help momma, then we can work together, okay? Just…please don’t go off getting hurt… I don’t know what I’d do without you…” The rabbit didn’t reply, and she was pretty sure she had never heard him make any sounds that weren’t his happy little ear clacks, but she chose to interpret the nuzzling as an agreement. “Such a smart boy…”
She took a breath and wiped off the excess moisture from her cheeks, setting Hoppit down on the ground. “Let’s bring Mr. Makis’ gift in, and then I need to go get more water so we can clean you up, okay?”
He bounced his way to the door of their home, waiting patiently for her to lug the surprisingly heavy crate into the shed. He was even still behaving himself by the time she returned from picking up the things she dropped in her haste. There wasn’t a single protest from the ferrorabbit as she washed over his wounds with warm water, nor when she asked him to wait as she cut up a small salad for him using an extra portion of her rationed vegetables. Finally, once everything else was gone, she tentatively sifted through the box until she found a chunk of something that didn’t look so sharp, then offered it to Hoppit skeptically.
As startling as it was to see him bite through metal without issue, she couldn’t help but tear up again at how pleased he looked with the bizarre addition to his diet. He munched through the first piece, then stared at the box while pawing at the air, asking for more. She obliged through wet laughs, feeling lighter than she had since he first gazed at her from his burrow, alone and afraid, just like she was.
Her little baby was happy, and that made it okay.
Next
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A/N: Thank you to my Patrons, new and returning! No Thanks, Emmanuel, and Megathor join the others who get to read 1 chap ahead!