squashed in like sardines

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

"I'm not leaving you behind!" she snapped back, jaw set in a stubborn cast. Hissing in frustration she let him drag a bucket from her grasp and tossed the other herself, though very reluctantly - what was the point if they still had to go back? The gourds would still be here another day.

Speeding up when she noticed that he had no trouble keeping up, Maea focused on the terrain ahead of her. Leaving the path meant a snarl of trees and brambles, gnarly roots and jagged rocks that slowed down any attempt at getting on with any great speed. But she had the lay of the land and guided them with sure steps through the woods until the landscape opened up.
The dried up river had carved a jagged scar in the ground, only loosely covered with grass. Narrow yet deep, it was a bit too much to jump across, so Maea skidded down one side, and then hurriedly scaled the other - trusting that Amun would ensure she had her back free.

"Come on!" she called once she was clear; getting to her feet she reached out a hand, ready to haul Amun up on her side if needed.

A glance over to the other side showed a mass of rolling, bouncing, tumbling figures approaching through the underbrush. Twenty, fifty - she didn't bother counting, it was way more than they could take on without a plan.

"Can you get metal from the ground?" she asked, shooting her brother a quick glance. She hadn't brought a bow, nor any other weapon.

Stupid.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Amun

You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes
You're going to have to make a few compromises

Amun narrowed his eyes at Maea. Pressing his lips together and nostrils flaring, he snapped right back at her. "I need you to trust me when I say I have it under control." At that moment a gourd came hurtling out of the darkness and he channeled his frustration into slamming it away. It splattered over him as it practically exploded.

Keeping up with her, he kept his eyes on the trees and glanced behind him every now and again, but it seemed they'd earned a temporary reprieve. When he saw the riverbed, he came a stop until she was across, then scrambled down and up the dried up bed. He took her hand, though his footing was sure and he jumped up the last bit.

Shaking his head at her question, he grimaced. "No, it has to be in contact." Still, he slammed the end of the rod into the ground and tried to attract more ore. It came back slightly longer than before, so there must have been trace metals in the earth from something or other. He tossed it to her and the raised his palms and started firing at the oncoming squash. The scent of sizzling gourds filled the air as his lightning took out the closest targets.

For now we're happy if not overjoyed
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

"I know you do! I'm still not leaving you alone with these!"

This was hardly the place to argue about it, though, so Maea bit back the rest and hurried along. Once the scar of the river was between them and the gourds she relaxed a little, and accepted the rod Amun gave her. With that in hand - batting away guilt for taking his weapon along with every approaching gourd - she joined him at the edge and began to dispatch their pursuers.

The vampiric plants were coming at them in numbers now. Bouncing and tumbling, they began to roll down the ditch and grunted, grumbled and struggled to get up on the other side, but kept rolling back down to the bottom due to the incline. Maea grinned and shot a triumphant look at Amun. "See? It works! Definitely slows them down," she beamed. A flicker of pride, a touch of renewed confidence.

Except, as more and more gourds kept rolling down, the ditch filled up. And soon it wasn't exactly steep anymore, nor empty.

Smile fading, Maea stared in mounting horror at the gnashing, scrabbling river of pumpkins she had created. Like some deranged ball pit where leaping in would mean a death of a thousand paper cuts.

"Uhm... Amun?" She took a tentative step back. Intimidated by the seething mass of teeth below.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Amun

You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes
You're going to have to make a few compromises

Gritting his teeth, Amun didn't respond to Maea's comment. Instead he just focused on trying to slow down and take out the oncoming gourds as quickly as he could. Even with his efforts, though, the ditch started to fill up as the squash started to climb over one another.

"I see it!" he growled. "If you're not going to teleport out like I asked, then look away for a moment. And use the rod to conduct the electricity from your palm." His left palm continued to fire bolts of energy into the mass. However, his right arm came up and pointed directly into the center of the horde. He fired a flashbang, hoping that whatever senses they used would be disoriented.

For now we're happy if not overjoyed
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

Maybe it was the sensible thing to do, teleporting out, but Maea couldn't. She just couldn't. The idea of leaving alone and then having to wait, not knowing if or when he would be back... She shook her head in mute refusal. She wasn't going anywhere.

But she did close her eyes, and turned the face away. She did close the connections in her palms, and let the electrical current run along the metal rod. Even through closed lids she saw the flash of light, and the scent of unseasoned pumpkin pie that followed might have made her hungry, had she caught the smell. But alas, the sensation was lost on her.

Unfortunately these efforts only had a marginal impact. For every pumpkin they dispatched, two more took their place until the other side of the bank was nothing but a seething mass of rolling bodies. Seriously spooked now, Maea blinked at the sight and disconnected one hand from the rod, let the electricity die out and fumbled for Amun's arm. Wanted to grab hold and just tear away from there as fast as she could.

"We should.. leave, yeah? Can't we just.. outrun them?" She never tested how far she could run. Or how fast. That he was quick she knew, but... was it quick enough?

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Amun

You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes
You're going to have to make a few compromises

The flashbang didn't really work as well as Amun had hoped, probably because squash didn't have senses like normal creatures did. He'd had similarly difficulties with the tangleweeds after all. Keeping up his efforts with his lightning blast, he took a step back as the first wave of gourds managed to spill out of the ditch.

Gaze sliding over to Maea, he opened his mouth. Then he froze. "I'm an idiot. I forgot I can teleport too!" His free hand started reaching for the compass he kept in his pocket. Before he could grab it and activate it though, a veritable pile of the gourds swarmed over him, knocking him to the ground and ripping him free from her grip.

They began to bite and mash against him. Sputtering, he activated his phasing upgrade to try and remove himself as best he could. His now intangible hand reached into his pocket so that when his upgrade ran out he could immediately grab the compass and get out of there. Rolling away from the mass of gourd as best he could, he shouted to Maea. "GO! I swear I'm right behind you."

For now we're happy if not overjoyed
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

"You can can do what!? - Amun!" The gourds came rushing over the edge like a buttermilk and pumpkin colored tide, and Maea screamed when he disappeared under the mass. Bowled right over. In an instant she had lost her grip on him and had to stagger back as gnashing teeth and slithering vines lashed at her own legs, barging on and on until she couldn't even see where her brother had disappeared.

She fought to stay put, to get back to where he had been, but it was impossible. Teeth cut into her arms and legs, jostled her this way and that - "Amun!" she called again, a note of panic taking over.

Then she heard him. And it was the hardest thing she had ever done - but she obeyed.
"The Fields!" she called back, and disappeared -

- only to reappear at the edge of the rolling farmlands. Sheep scattered in bleating terror when she showed up in the midst of their flock, but she paid them no heed. Nor did she care that a vampire gourd still had its teeth lodged in her leg; she hurled it to the ground and stomped its face in with a wet crunch. Then looked around, spinning wildly in circles as she looked for Amun.

A second passed. Then another. To Maea, it might as well be years.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Amun

You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes
You're going to have to make a few compromises

Trying to ignore the bites and impacts (not feeling pain helped) Amun gritted his teeth. When his phasing ran out half of him was out of the pile of gourds. Praying that Maea had heeded him, he activated the compass and pictured the Hollowed Ground.

And promptly found himself laying on the ground outside the Temple. Rolling to his feet and stomping on the few squash that had come along for the ride, he initiated a scan even as he broke into a sprint. His Ascended speed was stretched to the limit as he dashed to the Fields.

Leaking fluid, he ignored the various injuries he'd sustained. As soon as he hit the edge of the farmland he started bellowing. "MAEA! I'm okay, where are you?!" His scan reported back that nothing permanently had been damaged so he ignored his own body and just searched for her.

For now we're happy if not overjoyed
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

A minute passed. Two. Five. A tremor started up in her that had nothing to do with injuries or pain, but everything to do with the sight of her brother disappearing under the attacking gourds.

The fields lay still and silent around her. Gradually, sheep began to return, and dipped their noses to the ground to graze on the sparse vegetation. Their woolly backs would have been a sign of peace and prosperity, in some other life. Now they just made her feel lonely.

"... Amun?" Even to her own ears, her voice sounded frail. Small, somehow, and barely audible. A sheep looked up; a mild eyed ewe who flicked her ears at the pale girl, then went back to eating.

Silence.

Then another sheep raised its head. And a third. A distant sound just within her ability to hear reached the girl, and she spun around. "Amun? AMUN! Over here!"

She started running. As fast as she could, breath stuck in a throat that didn't need it, feet pulsing a rhythm that her heart could no longer play. When he came into view, a sob tore in her throat, dry and choked; she ran straight up to him and slammed her arms around him. And held on, tight tight as tremors shook her small frame.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Amun

You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes
You're going to have to make a few compromises

As soon as Amun's ears registered the distant sound of Maea's voice, he adjusted his course. Somewhere, he found an extra burst of speed as he dashed the remaining distance to her. When he saw her, a smile broke out even as his arms and legs kept pumping. It was a bit too late before he realized that with them both running at each other full tilt they were bound to collide.

Not able to stop or switch directions quite fast enough, he temporarily activated his phasing upgrade. It was just enough not to bowl her over, though her arms were able to grab his neck. Twisting, he reached for her as well. As soon as he skidded to a halt and his body became fully corporeal again he would scoop her up and spin her around.

For now we're happy if not overjoyed
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

Somehow they both came to a stop, and that was all that mattered. Maea was not aware of the world spinning or that it took a while before her feet reached the ground again, only that Amun was there and in one piece and - well, not exactly breathing, but capable of it if he wished to.

For a time, she only clung to him. Wordless, as the panic coursed through her mind and only gradually ebbed away. It hadn't fully dawned on her just how vital his presence had become, until she had a taste of what it might mean if he didn't come back. He had... but those minutes of waiting and wondering...

Gods, it was just as bad as she had feared.

"Don't make me do that again. Please." A hoarse plea barely made it past her lips before wilting in the cool Leafchange air. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking, not even when she closed them around his torn shirt.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Amun

You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes
You're going to have to make a few compromises

Letting out a huff of air, Amun set Maea down. Stepping back, he swept his gaze over her to make sure she was mostly unharmed. As she spoke, though, he shifted so he could grasp her hands in his own. He didn't try to remove them from his shirt, just squeezed them. "Don't blame me, blame the gourds."

Taking a deep breath, he moved forward again so he could rest his forehead against hers. "I am sorry for not communicating more clearly." Pausing, he closed his eyes. "We got out. I was safe. We were both safe. It was a lot of gourds, but we handled it." Opening his eyes, he sighed. "Do you believe that?" He bit his lip.

For now we're happy if not overjoyed
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

She heard him. It wasn't that. She didn't blame him for the gourds - why in Caido's name would she do that? She shook her head, not in disbelief or to deny that they handled the situation - though it didn't exactly feel like they had come out on top.

"Don't make me leave without you again." A margin of strength returned to her voice, but as she looked up to meet his gaze, foreheads pressed together, her eyes were darkened by a fear that went beyond a battle against animated vegetables.

"I can't... I can't do this without you. So. I'm not leaving you behind again. Not ever."

Jaw clenched determination put steel in her tone. She shook him slightly by the grip on his shirt, gently but insistent. As if it might make the point hit home a little better.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Amun

You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes
You're going to have to make a few compromises

As Maea clarified what she'd meant, Amun hesitated. Sighing, he rocked back a bit and shook his head. Releasing one hand, he reached up to brush goop off her forehead and then from his own. "I can't promise that," he informed her in a quiet voice. "I cannot promise to be by your side every moment of every day."

Staring into her eyes if she'd let him, he pressed his lips together. "I can promise to always come back, to make it out of whatever mess I find myself in, and I can ask you to do the same. But there are times when the right course of action is going to be for us to split up."

For now we're happy if not overjoyed
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid