OPEN archaic kinds of fun

[METEOR]

METEOR

Meteor left the Doctors’ Caves with a slight frown and too much on his mind. While Meteor hadn’t actually talked with the prisoner (Kane seemed content to ignore Meteor, and Meteor really didn’t give a fuck about engaging the captured labor for conversation), he had talked with Xanti. The cheetah’s report had been thorough (mostly translations of Vale insanity speak, some observations from Xanti post-elemental insanity) and communicated the situation perfectly. Progress was being made, but not fast enough.

For now, there were still enough crabs on Coconut Island. But that would not last forever.

While Meteor calculated all this, he spotted Knox with her nets and her own distracted look in her eyes. He walked right past her, then realized how weird that was, and doubled back. Despite his hooves, the lion trotted silently to catch up with the lioness.

“That’s an interesting collection of materials.” Meteor nodded to the net and its contents. His voice was a bit confused, but mostly curious. Knox had an idea in her head, hadn’t she? Requiem and Vayu knew they needed some goddamn innovation.

His frown mellowed out into a more relaxed neutral expression. Sometimes, he forgot that the cannibals weren’t just automatons who would only do work when explicitly told to do so. They all were motivated to survive, too, and—while he considered it his responsibility as pharaoh to ensure they didn’t collapse into hunger-induced anarchy—that meant they could be trusted to behave in regards to their survival.

Except for narcissists like Viper, of course, but Meteor still hadn’t decided if he should eat that idiot.

“Clearly, you've got a plan for that net and those things. Let's hear it.”