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`Ew! Go away! Get them off of me!` Meme screeched when the rice-sized creatures refused to listen, `I said off!` Oblivious to her hysteria, their pint sized legion changed forward on their single joined pairs of legs, pooling from the brilliant-orange flowers' pours.
`Quit being so loud! They're not even touching you!` Among Meme's squirming to fend off the army, Ellie yanked her shoulder back, tugging her away from the milky transparent beings' path so that she nearly lost her balance on a submerged tree root. `If you're going to cry like a baby, and mess with every living thing in the forest, and constantly complain about the moisture levels running your 'youthful face`, don't follow me.`
`Don't be selfish. What else am I supposed to do?` The reply flew out, almost second nature.
`I. Don't. Care.`
Meme blink slowly; Nope, the words did not mean anything to her this time around either. Her wrist rolled around so that the limp palm was skyward, her other hand resting on her hip. `Don't be jealous, it's every ill becoming of you. It's not my fault I'm-` Wide eyed, Meme shirked back, kicking her leg awkwardly. Her determined enemies persisted, charging up her leg. Their tiny claws, though relatively huge compared to their bodies, weren't able to spread wide enough to pinch her peach-perfect skin, but their six legs were enough to make her scream high pitch needlessly.
`That's what you get for wearing sandals out here.`
___
The two resumed their trek, with their only other obstacles including winged bugs and the overly large flowers that ate them; these types of flora
some of the rotting carcass scented leaves' left their impression in the girls' nose long after they passed.
`Can we go home, now? It's near time to eat.`
`I already told them I would be passing on dinner today.` Ellie tapped her hunting knife against the deteriorating tree trunk, checking for any stray critters that would snap out at them.
`What!? Why didn't you tell me before we left?`
`You're the one that followed me.`
`You should at least have the decency to tell me before I go blindly following you!`
Once content that she was safe, Ellie continued onward; the tree nearly triple her height. `You'd be lucky if I decided not to stay over night.`
Meme ran after, carelessly stepping upon the decaying tree, rising dust pockets followed in her wake as she stepped over. She was certain Ellie wouldn't deliberately leave her, or get them lost, but tempting her further would not get her home sooner. She had the common sense to know that here, at least, Ellie had superior. `I don't understand why you would choose this for a living.` Her tone, for once, was not smug, trying at a civilized conversation for once. Ellie took note.
`You have it backwards. I enjoy studding new things, I do this for fun. It just so happens you can make money for it,` She shrugged, sheathing the blade. For the first time during their trip, she walked slower to be at level with Meme. `It's a bonus, I suppose.` Meme replied with a nod, afraid that anything else she might say would insult to the rarely had casual conversation. `Look here...` Ellie fumbled past Meme, her loose strap backpack bumping against her back. She quickly closed in on a group of shrubs. `The big furry one is from the Coniferous family - you can tell by it's furry look. The smaller is called Aragonite Cnidaria. When it-`
`And what of the thing between them?`
Ellie smirked; too entuned with her fascination to care that she'd been interrupted. `When Aragonite Cnidaria comes into contact with a threat, it extends tentacles to sting and 'defeat' its opponent. It's competition, each attempting to claim the area.`
`They're plants. How can they tell what is an enemy?` Ellie sighed, as if the answer was overly obvious, and sat down in front of the bout. From her backpack she retrieved a book, sketching the spectacle; how the thick, watery veins of the Aragonite licked around the fur shrub, leaving slimy trails in its wake. All too soon, those paths would dry, looking like a plastic wax with pink and purple glitter shimmering over the surface. Ellie had to erase several times to keep up.
Meme still didn't get it, but no longer inquired. Instead, she took advantage of the time to rest, leaning her back against a tree a few fold her own width- the floor was all dirt with the thick canopy absorbing the sunlight. It occurred to Meme then that this was the place likely to fade into night fast - it was already dim from the cover. `When were you planning to head back?`
'I didn't find anything new- We can go back when I'm finished with this.`
__
Something was wrong. Maybe because Ellie couldn't find the moon, or that there was a heavy Earth scent of soil or that Meme, too, laid on the ground, right in front. In the pitch black, Ellie couldn't see her, but she felt the roughness of the lace hem around her long skirt. `Wake up! Did we decided to sleep here?` Meme's eyes opened quietly, reorienting herself to complete consciousness.
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