A Fighting Chance [III]

For the rest of the afternoon, Lucian spent his time marking and cutting shapes out of the leather with his knife. With the larger, reddened skin, he managed to make a pair of leggings and a sleeveless shirt. The somewhat yellowed skin had enough material for him to make a pair of moccasins and a single glove. There was even enough leather leftover for him to craft a sheath for his dagger, which he planned to stitch onto the back of his vest.

"Hm. Hmmmm. Hmm."

He hummed to himself inside the shack, twirling the tiger fur into twine against his thigh with one hand and rubbing the green rabbit with the other. The little guy seemed to have taken a liking to the shack and had only left to do its business on its own Tile and return. Lucian looked at the sleeping creature and spent his time wondering what other beings were out there that Humans had never heard of.

"Hey, Ed. I'm not sure if you'll be able to answer this one, but I'd still like to ask," Lucian began. "If these creatures are from other planets, why have the ones I've seen so far looked so similar to the creatures of Earth?"

[Within the same Galaxy, most living beings have similar features. This is believed to be caused by the Laws that allow that specific Galaxy to function. For example, all Hosts currently within the Land of Nowhere are primarily humanoid, with very few exceptions. The wildlife will be the same, though there may be plenty that Host won't recognize, as Host's planet is not suited for all life within the Enneadic Spiral Galaxy]

Lucian read the message a few times before waving it away. It was much more information than he expected to receive, but it only raised more questions. Even if Ed were to answer those questions, which was unlikely, he would only receive a textbook definition and wouldn't understand. Lucian would prefer to hear the explanation from someone that could explain it in layman's terms.

"That reminds me. Ed, how are the contestants supposed to understand one another?" He asked.

[Hosts do not speak the same language]

"Great. And I doubt that any of these aliens speak English," He complained. After thinking about it, he suddenly felt at an even more significant disadvantage. If he understood correctly, and he was pretty sure that he did, Earth was nothing compared to the other planets. Many were already capable of inter-planetary travel and would have long found a way to communicate with one another. It was possible that most had even taken on a universal language. Lucian sighed and made himself comfortable on the floor.

"I wonder if any of them speak Klingon," He chuckled lightly at his joke before humming himself to sleep.

-----

Lucian woke early the following day. The rabbit was cuddled up next to his shoulder rather than sleeping on the somewhat diminished pile of fur. Careful not to disturb the little guy, he rolled to the side and stretched as he got to his feet.

[1:06:24:55]

"So it's still a bit before six," Lucian yawned and walked out onto the dimly lit Tile. He walked over to the hedge and plucked one of the yellow fruits for a morning drink. He put his back against a nearby tree and sat, enjoying the nectar and the jolting feeling that came with it. "Now, this is a real energy drink!"

The tiredness vanished almost instantly after his first few sips. A shock ran down his body, making his hair stand on end and bringing him to life all at once. After chugging down the liquid, he threw the skin into the void and pissed over the edge.

"Mmm... still not enough daylight to work," Lucian mumbled. While waiting for the sun to come up, he jogged back and forth between the two Tiles and forced himself to remember as much about sewing as he could. Though Lucian had learned many survival and building methods, sewing and stitching weren't in his genre of interest. Making a bag was one thing, but he was still unsure of the shapes he'd cut out the previous afternoon.

"The shirt should be fine, but the pants..."

The sun lit the [Borol] Tile within the hour, and Lucian pulled the already shaped leather pieces from the shack. He started with the shirt since he was confident in making something decent even without practicing beforehand.

After lining the two shirt-shaped pieces of leather together, Lucian tied some of the thinner twines that he'd made through one of the rat's bones and began to stitch the pieces together. It was rough, and the cord was fraying as he went, but it was sturdy enough to hold. After an hour of fighting with the makeshift needle and thick leather, he finally managed to fashion a piece that looked more like a blacksmith's apron than a shirt.

"It's not perfect, but it isn't bad!" He flipped the shirt inside out and was satisfied that the seams didn't look too horrid. To finish it up, he used the bone knife to cut away the bits that weren't quite even. "Good enough for me."

[Unawakened Treasure detected. Does Host wish to activate Treasure using I Psyon?]

"What...?" Lucian looked at the message like he'd just seen a bird with two heads, and then his eyes shifted back to the leather apron. "Do you mean this thing?"

[Garment contains the concept of heat. Must be infused with Psyons to activate this concept]

"You mean... the concept of one of the Laws of the universe..?" Lucian asked.

[Yes]

Lucian looked at the apron curiously, thinking about the fruit concoction that the skin had been drenched in. He looked at the Psyon count in the corner of his vision and thought for a long while before finally deciding to go for it.

"Ed, I want to activate the concept within this garment."

[Initiating Awakening Sequence]

[1%]

[9%]

[21%]

[47%]

[86%]

[100%]

*****

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