I can't help it. I smile. Finally, a way to work off some of this restless energy.
The ground shifts again nearby, and as I look, more creatures are emerging from the sandy soil, as if Alice's fall has attracted them. Another starts crawling toward her, then another.
I jump down to the ground and nearly lose my balance. The soil has changed from its spongy quality to a loose, sticky soil that clings to my clothing and boots. Alice is covered in it as she frantically scrambles in the slippery pit, trying to get away from the pincers of the predator. "Kaspar!" she cries.
"I'm here." I stick a hand out, and she has trouble reaching it, so I heave forward and haul her bodily against me. One of the pincers scrapes against her leg as she flies out of the pit, which only seems to agitate the bugs more. Alice clings to me, and I carefully detangle her arms from my neck as the thing approaches. It's about the same size as Alice, and when the pincers wave at me threateningly, I plant a boot in the thing's face.
It skids backwards only a little and hisses at me. Clearly, it wants to fight.
Fantastic. I want to fight, too.
I half turn and press my back to the boulder. "Climb up, Alice. It can't get you up there."
Her hand presses on my brow, then my horn. One small boot shoves against my face a moment later, and then Alice is crawling atop the rock.
"Stay up there," I caution her. "I won't be but a moment."
"What?" she cries. "Get up here!"
"I will," I promise her. Eventually. First I'm going to have some fun. I eye the creature hissing at me. It's stopped its approach now that Alice is out of reach, and I suspect I'm too big for it to pick on. Too bad because I'm itching for a fight. I take a half-step forward and slam my boot into the bug's face again. Another one snaps at my tail, and I grab it by the pincers and fling it backward. The two bugs keep coming after me, and I try a few different things—punches, kicks, tossing them backward. It's a good way to work out my aggressions, and I don't mind the cuts and abrasions I'm getting on my arms, because I'm lost in the moment.
I fling one away, and the second latches onto my leg, trying to snap bone with its pincers. I grab the pincers, one in each hand, and pry them apart. I keep on prying, too, as the thing squirms and its insect legs flail in my grasp. The pincers snap, the head of the thing collapses, and it goes limp. I fling it away, feeling rather pleased with myself, and watch as the other bug scuttles after the corpse of its brother.
More bugs appear, too. The ground is flooded with these pit-trap creatures, it seems. I count a dozen, all headed for the carcass of the dead bug, before I turn back to the boulder. No wonder we're not seeing a lot of creatures down on the ground. Not if the ground is littered with hiding predators like these.
I hop up on the boulder, brimming with adrenaline. I feel fantastic, the air in my lungs cool and sweet. I'm keyed up, ready to take on the world.
Alice is huddled into a ball, covered in dirt and shivering.
I sit down next to her, giving her a moment. "There's a lot of them out there," I say helpfully. "The good news is there's now one less."
"It almost ate me." She quakes even harder. "I almost died."
That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm sure she's feeling banged up at the moment. "I wouldn't let you die." I brush a bit of the dirt off her skin, and to my surprise, she burrows against me, seeking comfort. I put my arms around her, holding her tight. Funny how Alice is so small, yet she fits perfectly against me. I hug her close, waiting for her trembling to stop.
Of course, I'm still humming with adrenaline, and as the moments tick past, I grow very aware of Alice's bare back pressing against the arm I have slung around her. Of her soft skin brushing against my chest. Of the hand she puts on my stomach, and how I wish it was moving just a little lower.
There's nothing like a good keffing to work everything out of your system, but something tells me Alice won't be in the mood. There's a distant crunch, and Alice shudders, pressing her face against me. I glance over at the bugs, and it looks like they're now swarming over the spot where the fallen one was. Sandy holes litter the landscape around us.
I rub Alice's back. "If you're not too thirsty, maybe we'll stay here tonight. "Avoid our friends with the pincers."