It only took her a moment to extract the small fairy from the container. With a soft prod she defted like a balloon, in spite of not actually being filled with air. Tixies were a bit weird that way; everything they did was learned by the individuals to better interact with the more “fleshy” races.

  Tyna was a particurly animated Tixie who loved to exaggerate everything she did. Apparently she was around plenty of children at some point and had never chosen to change said habits, though Zarine wondered if it was conscious or not. Again, they were weird that way.

  “Are you okay? Sorry it took so long to get you out of there.” She asked while holding her tiny friend out on her palms.

  Tyna shook her head.

  “No, I’m fine, Rina. I’m pretty tough!” She puffed out her chest proudly before zipping out back and forth around the clearing they were in.

  “ Where are we though?”

  “I’ve no idea. I think we might be where we wanted to go, more or less. But until we get out of this forest, it’ll be hard to find anything. Well, no use worrying too much yet, let's see what we have for supplies.”

  Remembering the extensive training course with a shiver, she went to the pod and propped open the door. The survival kit was behind the back padding and was undamaged.

  “Oh, good.” She muttered to herself.

  “Now let’s see if ‘Mr. Captain Superstar Williams’ kept these up to date.” The survival kit was in a lightweight metal case that popped open easily with a satisfying click. Upon first inspection it was pretty standard, a small med kit, thermal bnket, rge knife, locator beacon with scanner, water condenser with thermos and a small ser gun.

  The other stuff wasn’t nearly as good though. She found a rge bottle of cheap whiskey, a bottle of oddly colored rge pills just belled “Pain Killers”, a package of nutrient bars belled “New and Exciting Fvours!” on its package in bright colours, and the worst survival guide she had ever seen. It was just a single square card with the words “Just remember to WOBBLE” on the front.”

  “What the hell is this?”

  W.O.B.B.L.EObtain WaterObscure shelterBuy foodBeat up wildlife, asserting your dominance will keep you safeLight everything on fire, someone is sure to notice!Exist so you can go home

  “Who thought this was a good idea? Most of this isn’t even helpful!” She gave an exasperated sigh.

  “I’m going to kick that guy in the shins if I ever see him again.”

  The nutrient bars were just as weird, with the first three that she picked out being Cayenne Pepper, Vegemite, and “Mango Ravioli Sunrise”.

  “Why! Who thought this was a good idea?”

  “Seems fine to me.” Tyna piped in, while rummaging through the assorted fvours.

  “How about this one? You love Steak and Gummy Bears!”

  Zarine shuddered at the combo.

  “Not like that, I don’t. Some things just aren't meant to be mixed when it comes to food. Albeit, that's one of the least offensive ones that I can see.” She added, making a note to feed “Alfredo and Durian” to the captain when she finds him.

  After some time, checking through the supplies and patching herself up with some bandages and cream from the first aid kit, the two decided to venture out. Food and water were not a concern yet, particurly because the Tixie didn’t actually need to eat or drink, but shelter was still an issue.

  The forest itself wasn’t devoid of life either, there were many tracks from various animals, and she could hear what she assumed were birds calling to each other. She could make out the prints of several different animals, from small lizard-like ones, to very rge dinner pte sized hoof tracks.

  “What do you think could have made these?” She asked her glowing companion.

  “Something really big!” Tyna gestured, spreading her arms wide exaggeratedly. “I think whatever it is, it’ll have horns or antlers, look at the trees up there!”

  She followed where the little fairy was pointing and saw scratch marks up in the trees a good twenty feet up, nearly enough to reach some of the lower branches. Whatever it was, it was huge and was hopefully a herbivore.

  The only other tracks that were easy to make out were the smaller lizard-like ones, they reminded her of chickens. Except, there were lots of them, too many for her to tell how many. Another thing she didn't want to encounter.

  As if to spite her, there was a croaking sound in the bushes behind them. Zarine pulled out the small ser pistol while Tyna flew behind and hid on her shoulders.

  “Oi! Shove off!” She shouted at the bush,trying to intimidate whatever was hiding. Undeterred, the small creature hopped out and croaked at her. Like she had guessed, it resembled a small lizard or dinosaur. Its throat was bulging and it had eyes like a chameleon, but it stood upright and used its thin tail for bance. Zarine was put off by how derpy the small creature looked.

  “Go away!” She shouted again, but it only tilted its head to the side before croaking at her again awkwardly. She fired her gun between them but the critter only hopped back a few feet before coming back.

  “Rina, I don’t like this, let's get out of here!”

  Before she could answer, the creature opened its mouth wide and its tongue tched around her gun. Zarine yelped, nearly letting go of it but managed to hang on. In spite of its size, it had nearly a ten foot long tongue and now see the set of razor sharp teeth. “What the hell!?” she shouted, now very disgusted with the small creature. She tried to pull her gun away but the creature braced itself and kept pulling.

  The two struggled for a moment before she managed to pull hard with her weight. Rather than lose the tug-o-war, the creature suddenly retracted its tongue, pulling itself to Zarine like a rocket. It was now biting down on the gun trying to rip it out of her hands. Zarine shrieked while trying to shake it off, firing erratically. Finally she smmed it into the ground, dazing it, before flinging it off into the bushes.

  She waited with the gun ready, listening for the creature. She could hear it groaning weakly and loosened her grip. Suddenly there was another croak in the distance. It was further off but was followed by another, and another, and another until that was the only sound she could hear.

  “Fuck!” She holstered the gun and quickly gathered what she could from the camp into a small sling backpack. Moments ter, her and Tyna were fleeing off into the opposite direction.