Meeting Squirrels
Hunt 1
"Acicul- I mean, Vice President. There's something coming from the ocean."
I took a moment to dislodge my spear from the polar bear's neck, looking up from the hunt with a confused expression. My fellow tribesbuta, a young Peccary named... Clinophyllius, I believe, seemed to be rather nervous. He took the position of this party's scout for this hunt, as his knowledge of shoreline terrain was considered unparalleled. He was pointing towards the horizon, my eyes following the trajectory of his finger towards a small object in the distance. It was approaching at a decent pace, but looked like no sea creature I had ever seen. Nonetheless, it was making our way to us and I was not about to let it steal our game. Considering how far it seemed to be from landing on the shore, I decided it would be fine to take our time with things. I turned to take a look at the rest of the hunting party, who seemed to be off-put by the unknown entity.
"Clinophyllius, thank you for the report. We'll prepare and pack everything we currently have collected before returning to base. We won't be moving the encampment yet, but as always be ready to do so at a moment's notice. Keep your gear on as well, those who get caught off-guard will receive half rations." I did my best to ignore the muffled mutters and groans of my hunters as they re-tightened their masks. With a quick glance, I confirmed their gear was in order.
All Sunwalkers wore similar battlements when hunting, though many tribes made slight variations and modifications depending on where they were from. Each hunter was equipped with a SAP Mask, which stands for Scent Acquisition Partitioner. It was a fancy term some Tunnelhogs came up with, but it was essentially an augmented version of their own scent repelling mask. Instead of filtering out all the smells and pheromones in the air, it allows us to pick out an exact scent we want to pick up for hunting. With our superior sense of smell, this allows us to track down creatures from miles away and is vital for us to thrive. Despite its usefulness, however, the style is questionable. The appearance makes us look more like white birds with long beaks, large green glass eyes, and the cylinders jutting out of the base of the beak on each side aren't very appealing either. Covering our bodies was a white leather fashioned from polar bear skin, allowing us to be both durable and quick on our feet. The leather had two layers, an outer layer for fighting against other Rosebutas and an inner layer for fighting against beasts. The outer layer flowed like a cloak and moved with us like the wind itself, though in reality it was crafted as very thin vertical strips which separate when pushed with something blunt. A large downward conical neckpiece underneath the outer layer served to give a cylindrical appearance to the cloak, making it difficult to tell what the body was doing beneath it. Useful for hiding tools and whatever else you want to keep as a surprise. We took it off when fighting beasts, though. The standard leather inner layer served fine for unintelligent creatures.
I took a moment to compose myself, wondering why I spent so long staring off into the distance like that. We needed to get to skinning, these animals wouldn't prep themselves. While I worked I continuously snuck glances at the creature in the distance, wondering if it would turn the other way.
What we thought was a creature has finally arrived on shore. It turned out to actually be some sort of craft, designed to swim through the sea while carrying creatures inside of its wooden belly. While none of us can tell how it functions at a glance, we still hide amongst the cold to observe the vessel. Speaking with the other tribes informed me that this is not the first time we've seen such vessels, referred to as "ships". But these creatures that have crawled out of the ocean machine are unlike what I know. In some ways they are like us, walking on two legs with arms and hands for dexterity, but their bodies were much smaller than our shortest Peccary. However, though the shape is similar, the details are far different. Large bushy tails, strange triangular facial protrusions, pointed ears, and bare skin even in winter. What baffles me the most is why they would approach such land so underprepared, perhaps they are not as intelligent as I assumed from their vessel. They stumble around in the cold like seedlings, chittering to each other in an unknown language. I have no intention to interact with them yet, as I do not know of their demeanor. For now, my men watch from the distance and stay out of sight. They may spot glimmers of us amidst the trees, but all they'll catch is white ghosts flittering by.
The Tunnelhogs may wish to know of this, but I won't inform them until these foreign creatures have left. The last thing I need is those chatter-y pigs messing up our mission, as they've done in the past.
After some weeks of following them, we finally deemed it acceptable to introduce ourselves. They had taken a smaller party further into the land, while the rest camped by the shoreline. It was clear to us they had no true survival capability in this weather they knew nothing of. We fed them with warm meat and berry, though it was troublesome with our lack of communication. They fortunately seemed to understand us to some extent with simple miming, though it was difficult to calm them down once they got excited. The fluff people, as we've decided to temporarily call them, appear extremely expressive. Relating them to seedlings seemed to not be too far off the mark, but it was rather endearing to watch them with their wide eyes and brimming smiles. It was a good decision to approach them in civilian wear, as our hunting gear may have been too fearsome for them to converse with. That wasn't to say we were unarmed, as we had a few hunters hiding nearby in case of a scuffle. Things never got violent, thankfully, and it seemed we were able to come to an understanding.
We are making our way back to their camp now, judging by where they are attempting to lead us. I truly hope we can find a way to communicate easier, perhaps exchanging knowledge of each other's languages. In a best case scenario, we may even become friends in the future and hunt as brothers. But that's far from now, at this moment the only thing I can do is stop myself from touching their rather tantalizing tails. My god, I had never seen something so, so fluffy in appearance. I can't help but feel bad for my sinful mind when I see their innocent, curious eyes.
Hm. I'll have to cross that last part out of the official report, I went a little too out of line with my thoughts there.
Hunt 2
Some time has passed since we connected with the squirrels. Our efforts to teach them our language have been stressful and trying, but fruitful. A couple of them are capable of simple sentences, though most can only pick out certain words from what I can tell. While it is possible for us to learn their language as well, most of us seem unwilling to bother. As the clan's leading Vice President, I have taken it upon myself to learn everything I can. Starting with their names, they apparently refer to themselves as "Risuners" and call each other curious little nonsense names with no apparent meaning. They don't refer to each other by titles or pod name like we do, from what I've heard so far. I've been able to piece together other bits of information when they speak, though their language is far too fast paced for me to comprehend at times. Beyond this, not too much has gone on. They have spoken to us about their "nuts" and how they wish to exchange "nuts" with us, though the way they speak may indicate "nut" has multiple meanings as opposed to just one. I will have to try and learn more about these nuts of theirs. Another trait that I find important to n
"Vice President, I believe the Risuners have gone to sleep for the night. There has been no motion around the encampment for some time now. It should be alright for us to take it easy."
I stop writing for the time being, washing the tip of my quill in the snow and placing it between the pages. As I close the book I glance over at the only Roli of our current group, Minutifolia. While she was useless in combat beyond being a shield, her nose is well renowned for how accurately it could pick up scents and even the movement of what made the scent. She is worthy of being part of my fold, though I will privately mourn the day she decides to join a Love Harvest. I stash my book away on my person as I stand up from the log I was sitting on. The book was a personal recording of my interactions with this new species, I made sure to update it once every week.
"Thank you, Minutifolia. Feel free to rest as well, you have been on duty for nearly two straight days and more than deserve some shut eye."
"Understood, Vice President." The young Roli walked off, now leaving me by my lonesome as I stared downwards towards the Risuners. They don't know we watch them at night, I'm sure. We keep it a secret as we want them to put their trust in us. However, it is unfortunately difficult to place trust in them. We have precautions in place so they are unable to find anything we don't want them to. Other tribes stay far from this area, Risuner scouting parties are watched in the shadows, Tunnel entrances are well hidden, and everything that happens is relayed back to me with incredible efficiency. Maybe they could find some of the ancient ruins scattered across our land, but that is nothing of value. The ruins have been looted since long ago and now merely stand as the remaining vestiges of our ancestors. Though they do have one memorable use, as such vestiges can make for good camp sites when all else fails.
Just as I began to turn and join the rest of the hunters, I spot a Peccary approaching me. I recognize him as Donetzicus, a new hunter who has been eagerly getting along with the Risuners. I've chatted with him about Risuners on multiple occasions, as he frequently ends up closer to them compared to most.
"Hey VP, mind if I sit with you?"
"Feel free, I'm just relaxing at the moment." I go ahead and place myself back in the spot I was in. Donetzicus dropped to the ground in a sitting position with a gleeful look on his face. The young Peccary has been all smiles since meeting the squirrels, though he's always been a rather carefree individual.
"So, VP, have you tried touching them yet? I mean, we let them feel us all up right? I tell you I've been rubbed before, but man those fleshy hands felt way different compared to a Roli's. I swear I was feeling preeetty excited back there."
"No, I'm afraid I haven't done so. Unlike you, I'm not so eager to fornicate with a different species." I sighed, wondering how that boy had come out of his pod so strange.
"Aw come on, it's a new experience! In fact, I actually got to cuddle up to one before. He, I think it was a he, was so small! I mean, not like Roli small obviously, but still. Way different than a Roli, honestly I found it better. Really I can't help but love them, I mean man they would be perfect for me. The more I look at them with their cute little ears, those big fluffy tails, the soft skin, wide eyes, all of it... I mean VP, doesn't it just make you want to just... Just...
Tear them open?" I watched as his face got more and more aroused by his own thoughts, a feeling of discomfort rising inside me.
"Donetzius, calm. We don't know anything about them, if you can't control yourself I will not hesitate to remove you from this mission. To begin with, they may have a completely different method of mating since they are animals." Despite my words, I couldn't blame him for his thoughts. The creatures are rather alluring and I can't help but wonder what kind of pod they would give birth to. However, from what I could smell, they kept non-virginal females alive in their ranks. In Sunwalker culture, it is considered the highest shame for a Roli to be left alive after deflowering. After a Peccary plants a seed in her, the Roli must be mutilated for the seed to feast on in the pod. A pod without this would have to be fed lower quality sustenance, which would in turn come out as a lower quality Rosebuta. This is extremely rare, of course, as the highest honor for a Roli is to relinquish her life for that of her child's and few would be able to withstand the trauma of being left alive. Though, this must be different for Risuners. Maybe, one day, they would allow me to see their pods for myself.
Donetzius had gone quiet for a bit, cowed by the thought of losing contact with the creatures he had fallen so hard for. I watched him grit his teeth as he reluctantly nodded.
"Understood VP, I'll try to keep it in my pants." I could tell he was lying through his teeth, but I doubted it would be too much of an issue. These Risuners have such an innocent appearance, I could hardly imagine them making a move on him. So long as that didn't happen, I was confident the boy wouldn't end up fornicating with anyone. The last thing I need is a misunderstanding on the scale of attempted murder after all.
"Well, I have faith in you. Now then, I can smell that Majalius has made dinner for us. Seems to be..." I gently sniffed the air and adjusted my mask's filter in an attempt to parse the scent. "Degeneratatouille." I watched him immediately perk up, hopping to his feet with delight.
"Pluck yeah! Oh man, tonight must be a special occasion or something!" He ran off before I could even open my mouth to reply.
I laughed quietly to myself and stood up, taking one last look at the encampment below me. I wonder if they would enjoy our finer meals. I believe those nuts of theirs are edible as well, maybe I could have Majalius invent a new recipe or something. Of course I'd have to find something to trade with, as they seem to value their nuts. Oh, the Rosestones. I recall they always had a desiring gaze towards them. A few of them may be enough to trade with, so I'll have to get some and teach those Risuners about them. But that will be something to do in the morning, my growling stomach requires food now and I will not neglect it.
Hunt 3
We are far into winter now, our communication with Risuners has been solid and steady. They have learned, somewhat, how to survive in this environment. Keeping them safe has been mostly successful, but there was a singular mishap. In order to prevent any alarm, we approached them in common clothes and left our weapons away from their people. Unfortunately, a gap in our defenses allowed a singular polar bear to slip through towards the camp. It nearly mauled one of the Risuners, but we had a Degenerat hunter on duty which appeared and slaughtered it with a longblade. It was a necessary evil, I'm afraid, but I had a feeling we were nearing the end of the time we could keep secrets from these people. From what I was told, it looked like our hunting attire was rather frightening to the poor thing.
In further news, the Risuners are now capable of full conversations with us. Though not perfect, we are able to converse at a casual level. In the future we may teach them our written language, but that will come far later. For now, I took the time to explain things to a certain point. They had many, many questions for us. I was able to handle this, as I already knew about their insatiable curiosity.
They first asked about our willingness to take and give "nuts". As I had assumed prior, this had two meanings. One, was a tree seed that apparently came from their own forest home. The second, was the act of procreation. Explaining the difference in our breeding methods took a great deal of time, especially when it came to our group's Roli. It seems they mostly bred for some kind of entertainment, as opposed to seed birthing. In any case, we agreed that we would give them our "nuts" after I drilled the Risuner method of reproduction into the minds of the Peccaries willing to breed. The tree seed was far easier to deal. It was a quick conclusion for us to take their tree seed in exchange for Rosestones. We only gave them our lower quality Rosestones, higher quality is far too valuable for an experimental trade. Research into tree seed nuts will be done at a later date.
After "nuts" came the questions about us, what we are doing here and how we function. They asked of our ruins, and it was explained that they are ancient debris of a civilization we no longer remember. There was talk of how we are not, despite how we look, animals. Strangely, they knew we were plants, perhaps it was some sort of intuition from their sensitivity for nature. They learned that we are born from plant pods and differ from animals in many ways. I told them of our tribe, how we were not truly normal civilians, but in fact the tribe's hunters known as "Degenerats". We brought forth some Peccaries in their hunting gear to prove this to them. I informed them I was the tribe's leader, the Vice President. In addition I let them know we are not the only tribe, that there are dozens upon dozens scattered amongst our land. How we do not quarrel for territory, how we speak together as a council, and how we are typically nomadic in nature. It was difficult to explain what we had been doing behind the scenes, but we did relent. I told them how we had been purposely hiding certain tunnels and our homes from them. It had to be done, since we do not trust at first sight.
The true difficulty came from their questions about who led us. They apparently believed we were not the highest rank amongst our people. Which... Is true. I somewhat reluctantly informed them that below their very feet laid a civilization larger than anything above our land. Of the Tunnelhogs, how they differed from us, and how they operated in a separate and far more advanced manner. I told them that our council of Vice Presidents deferred to the Grand Overseer. I told them of the other council as well, the council of Overseers that each governed a city to themselves. I told them of our President, who the Tunnelhogs spoke of as the Lovedaughter. Of course, I did leave out our President's grand desire for the extermination of all animal life.
There were many, more minor questions that were answered much easier. But the major ones were quite major indeed, rather stressful for me to be honest. I couldn't quite read how the Risuners felt about most of these things, but I only hope they took it all well. Regrettably, I did have to be the one to tell them the Tunnelhogs would not see them. I explained that the Tunnelhogs are far too reclusive to speak to other species, they would have to somehow build up considerable favor in order to even see one. This... Only seemed to make them more determined. I just hope they don't try to force their way into the tunnels, I don't want to see them hurt.
That is all I have to report, I will update this journal when we reach the next milestone in our venture. Whatever that may be.
Hunt 3.5
"Vice President Acicularis, it is now your time to report."
I stood up and stared into the campfire in front of me. Once a year, the council of Vice Presidents had to meet and discuss their tribe's current ongoings. Unfortunately, this will be the first time I will tell them about the animals we have spoken with. I do not know how the council will react to this news, there has been nothing like this prior. I looked around the campfire, at the council seated on large logs around it. The council consisted of many Peccaries, but a few Rolis sat amongst them. I mustered up the courage and spoke clearly.
"Yes. My tribe in the early year had nothing notable to report. We hunted as per usual, suffered injury within expectations, migrated from the west towards the south, and had no shortage of food or surplus of birth. Three births were confirmed and welcomed into the tribe, they are growing well."
Most of the council seemed to nod their head and continue thinking in their own heads. This was normal, since most reports tend to be nothing of note in this rarely changing land. However, one Rosebuta did stand out, with his eyes glued to me. For a few decades now, the Tunnelhogs had sent their own representative to attend these meetings. This was understandable and their representative had always been quite joyous and expressive, yet not unbearable. This year though, there was a new representative. The young Rosy was their newest overseer and the inheritor of the title of "Overseer Wose". The boy was timid and didn't speak much, just staring at the speaker. Regardless, I carried on.
"However, the coming of winter brought about a great change for my tribe," This caused many heads to turn in surprise, "A number of months ago, we detected something approaching from the horizons. Some of you will recall it as the fabled vessel we have been calling a 'ship'. The great wooden crafts that we have seen in the distance on occasion. Those of you who I have spoken to about this will remember this story. However, I had not told you that this one was approaching us. It would seem, one way or another, the rest of the world has learned of us. These ships let out a horde of an animal we have never seen before. They call themselves Risuners and look like us, yet different in some ways. They have large, bushy tails and stand on two legs. With faces and heads like us, but ears that are pointed and furry. We initially hid much from them, but soon met with them and taught them how to communicate. They are intelligent... To a degree. There's much to learn and explain about them still, but they are more than unique."
The council seemed to be stunned silent by the sudden grenade I had dropped onto them. It took time for them to fully process it, but it happened all at once.
"An intelligent animal!?"
"You taught them our speech!?"
"You left them alive!?"
"What have you done!?"
"A-Are they friendly?"
Everyone quieted in an instance, looking to the small Rosy who had finally spoken up. Unfortunately, that seemed to scare the small Tunnelhog half to death. I smiled and nodded my head, a simple action that relaxed him.
"Yes, they are friendly. Very much so. They seem to love nature and having fun. I believe that we can make friends with them and perhaps, with enough time, convince them to become like us. I have already explained much about ourselves to them. I believe they took an interest in you Tunnelhogs. I know your reclusive nature, but it may be extremely beneficial for you to one day soon meet them. As their representative for us, so too can you be their representative for the Risuners."
The overseer seemed to balk at the thought, yet didn't back down completely.
"I-I... Will have to speak with my council. I can do it, but it may not be until near the end of winter. Sooner, maybe, but I can give no promises. If... If it goes over well enough, I maybe able to bring them to the Grand Overseer himself. Much like we did with you all, ages ago. Just, do keep in mind I do not hold much authority as a new Overseer..."
That was a fair statement, I had no objections so I stayed silent. After a few seconds, one of the Vice Presidents asked a question about their origins. Then another asked a different question about their tails. And suddenly the questions began piling up as high as the tallest of trees. In my mind, I sighed with a sense of encroaching tiredness. I could tell this would be a very, very long meeting...
The Last Hunt
It has been over two months since my last entry. With the acceptance of the Tunnelhogs, the Risuners were permitted entrance into the inner sanctum of /rose/. This was the highest honor, and due to my assistance in communicating with the Risuners, I was put in charge of the guard that would be monitoring them. We entered through the coastal wall, where we were guided by a pair of Tunnelhog Boars. The few Risuners that were allowed to go seemed to be rather surprised by the giant metal doors that surpassed their height by a great deal. Admittedly, I was impressed as well. My experience with Tunnelhogs is limited, even now. The clanking sound of those doors unlocking and opening is a noise that I fear may be now engrained in my mind. The Tunnelhogs were quiet and, despite my previous impressions, very cold individuals. No matter how the Risuners tried to chat them up, the Boars did nothing but move forward.
It was a long walk, down an eerie tunnel. There was much chatting from the Risuners at first, rather normal for them, but as time went on and legs grew tired... Things grew silent. These tunnels, so impossibly smooth, winded on for hours with no logical path. It felt as if only those who lived in these caverns were able to navigate them. The path before us was lit with a single hanging rosestone lamp every so often, just bright enough to see if you squint. I spoke with the four Peccaries I brought with me, but they had little to say themselves.
It had taken a few days for us to finally reach the core. After some time of walking, the Tunnelhogs had directed our group to a system of rails. From then on we rode carts until making it to the capital. It was beautiful. The cathedral was made of beautiful, elaborate stone and glass. There was vegetation blooming on every wall, gorgeous flowers accenting it. Everyone's breath was taken away. ushered inside for business.
/rose/ capital's main religious structure is basically a Gothic cathedral, but I don't believe the term Gothic would exist in this universe, which means I couldn't just have him say that. Instead he's a little vague and unclear. I suppose in this universe it would now be referred to as a Rosic cathedral, heh.
At this time I would like to say that things had gone very smoothly, but truth be told it was not so. We are far enough into this entry that I believe it is appropriate for me to admit my... Sin. As per our nature, Rosebutas have their mating seasons. Tunnelhogs seem to have them on a very strict schedule, almost as if they plan them out ahead of time. Sunwalkers... Do not have this capability. During my stay, I had realized that my flower had begun to emit pheromones into the air. Of course, I took the necessary precautions during this time. I concealed my rose and did what I could to hide what was going on. Despite this, however, the Risuners saw through my ruse. Perhaps it was my pheromones, perhaps it was just their nature, but during one particular day of the visit I found myself inviting one to my chambers. I was simply walking back to my temporary room when one of them approached me. We talked casually, but there was a moment where their tail softly brushed against my chest and... I cannot recall which of the three it was. Perhaps it was their leader. I do not know. What I am aware of is that due to my miscalculations, there was a day's delay on democracy due to... excessive fornication. It took much apologizing to smooth things over with the Tunnelhogs, but we managed to convince them to not turn us away.
Beyond this incident, things were derailed no further. The Risuners met with the Overseers and began negotiations. I was able to attend this meeting, though as only a spectator. The squirrels seemed nervous, being surrounded by so many Tunnelhogs in such an oppressively serious atmosphere. At first it was just a discussion with the Overseers. Introducing themselves, offering trade, so on and so forth. The council seemed to be in overwhelming disapproval at first, they spoke and acted as if someone had dragged a pile of feces into their sacred halls. It was only when the Grand Overseer herself took the stage that everyone seemed to stop bickering. The female child, in her infinite peace and wisdom, spoke to the Risuners. I myself was stunned at her appearance. Tunnelhogs were a completely hermaphrodite subspecies, yet this child was a true female. Perhaps she truly was the link to our Goddess.
In any case, she wisely spoke to the Risuners and made the council's general perception much more positive. After a week or so more of democracy, it seemed things were finally in order. I only spoke directly to the Tunnelhogs a few times, mainly regarding the Risuners. Eventually we had to leave, exiting the same way we initially came in. As far as I'm aware the Risuners couldn't make any of the Tunnelhogs even budge. The Rosies may have been a touch more malleable, but judging by the lack of Rosebuta scent on the Risuners it would seem they still couldn't convince them. Returning to my other Sunwalkers was a simple exchange. They seemed to have grown closer in the time that I was away. Admittedly, I find myself much closer to them as well. Perhaps, after some deliberation, I'll join the Peccaries that seek to visit the Risuner's homeland. I... Wouldn't mind it.
This will likely be my final entry into this chapter of my life. Should I leave for /risu/, my notebook will be given to Minutifolia and she will be put in charge of the clan. At first I considered this a hinderance to my life, but after spending so much time with these people... Perhaps it was a blessing. My faith in my President is truly never wavering. If you are reading this after I have left, I pray for you to bask under warm suns.
My final regards, Vice President Acicularis Fuzuki.