story_wulfen_1_1

Okay but you weren't kidding about that retracted message in the group chat, right?

Does it matter, if you're taking on my 'task', even after I retracted it?

You said 'a final adventure', so I...

Muriel pauses to survey the face before her, and only continues after noticing nothing abnormal.

I thought you were done with geological surveys. I mean, I grew up watching your videos! 'Course I'll be first in line when you bring up retirement!

You make it sound like I'm some pioneer in the field, but you've surveyed way more places than I have.

I didn't think it'd end up being an offline meetup.

I never thought of meeting an online friend in person before... you're the first one for me, BM!

Though...

I didn't expect our meetup to happen out here—

Sunlight filters through the tiny cracks in the canopy, carrying a damp mist wafting around the rockpiles near their feet.

Muriel stares at her map and data on the terminal for a long time before spinning around twice, and finally sets her sights on a lush, dense forest.

Are you sure it's not here?

On those words, Muriel looks up from observing the rock strata patterns on the edge of a weathered shale to glance at the speaker, before returning her gaze onto the rock.

The path we took earlier was a long abandoned transport route that isn't even on the maps. We've been heading southeast, so we should head westwards on our way back.

It rained earlier and the path's slippery, so we'd best be careful.

You already knew we were lost?

Uhuh. I was wondering when you'd notice.

Hah, so you wanted to embarrass me.

Revenge for snapping a pic of me asleep yesterday! And all that nonsense about 'recording a mountain specimen dwelling in its natural habitat'...?

I didn't even get any footage of your weird self-made rations! Don't you think they look like the rock strata we saw this morning?

Huh? How do you figure? Give it back, if you don't want it. No more lunch trades.

Hehe, not happening—

BM is about to respond to Muriel, but slips and falls—she subconsciously reaches for a nearby branch, but it frees itself from the dirt, and even springs out with loose rock in tow.

Mud and sand quickly collapse into a slide, and she can only fall along on it.

Muriel snaps around to grab BM's wrist as her tail anchors them both on a neighboring rock.

Give up the bag, and just hold on tight!

But my stuff...

Who cares?!

Listen, we can figure out your bag later!

BM clenches her teeth and finally lets go of her bag, tightening her grip on Muriel's hand, who leverages her tail to bring them back onto safer ground.

Huge boulders with clumps of mud quickly devour BM's bag as they roll down the slope with a muffled thud upon landing in a gully.

As the dust settles, the two catch their breath on the ground.

Huff... hah, as long as we're fine, don't worry about your stuff. You won't go hungry with me around, right?

There wasn't any important exploration equipment in there, and I have more than enough supplies for both of us.

...Yeah, all good. Just some trail stuff.

BM's face changes. Her fingers are shaking as her gaze anxiously lingers on the backpack vaguely discernible at the bottom of the slope, as if worrying over something more important.

(BM doesn't look so good, but I'm sure rockslides would scare pretty much anyone...)

(Hm? What's that...?)

Muriel follows BM's gaze and notices the backpack's exposed corner with some shiny metal tubes scattered nearby.

She feels a chill run down her spine—Oripathy suppressants.

Quickly she averts her gaze as subtly as she can, and nonchalantly gets to her feet, checking the contents of her own backpack again.

The silence stays for a while.

Sorry... I've become a burden.

What are you saying? It's normal, losing stuff on an expedition.

Come on, let's find somewhere safer to take a break first. We can talk about the rest once you've settled down a bit.

BM lowers her eyes and silently nods.

The next morning, Muriel wakes up to find the spot next to her empty. BM had quietly left the campgrounds.

She does not panic, and only packs up her belongings before searching the nearby mountain path.

Soon after she finds BM sitting on a rock far away from their campsite, blankly staring into the distance seemingly for hours.

What's wrong? You just skedaddled without a word.

...Huh?!

So you found me.

Don't underestimate the explorer you follow.

Hah...

Sorry, I didn't want to be a burden on you.

Muriel silently looks at BM and says nothing.

This 'task' of mine... no, it was never one, really. I just wanted to go out and see someplace I haven't been, I didn't even plan to finish the trip.

But you answered, so I thought... why not go together?

I'm satisfied enough, just having met my fave explorer, and even getting to explore together... I'm really happy.

If only I hadn't messed up.

You saw them, didn't you? Inside my bag... um, the medicine.

Muriel does not reply or deny.

Sorry, I shouldn't have hid it from you, and I used up your supplies too.

Let's just call it quits. I'm dead weight, and there's no need for you to waste any more time with me.

Hah, there's no longer any meaning to my life anyways. One day I'll just explode, and since I've made so many beautiful memories here, maybe I should just die—

What are you saying?

Muriel says nothing else, and simply pulls out a dose of medicine from her pocket, stuffing it into BM's hand without a care for the other party's shocked expression.

Then she turns around and walks straight to the edge of the mountain rift, and calmly takes out her tools to measure and record data.

You... how...?

We're here to explore, no?

Why don't you accept a task from me—an exploration mission, for my dear fan?

If we continue along this vein, we should find some relatively rare ore, but I haven't actually seen it in person to know for sure. Want to help me out?

After a momentary silence, BM chuckles bitterly. She struggles to her feet, and walks up next to Muriel to help out with the surveying work in earnest.

The two speak no more until afternoon as they quietly survey the area. The sunken area rich in folded rock strata frequently stops them in their tracks to regularly review their topographical records.

Later in the day as the mountain mists rise, they set up camp under a rock cliff that doesn't look too worse for wear. The dim firelight casts long shadows of the two against the rock face.

To be honest, I didn't think the one who noticed my retracted message <i>and</i> followed me on this journey would be you.

Huh?

Your style has always been to travel solo, right?

That depends on who I'm traveling with. I mean, I started with your videos, after all...

Wait, wait, wait. Stop gassing me up over here.

You seem like you stumbled upon here by accident, but you've been here before, right?

Yeah. Few months back I chanced upon an old online post with a blurry photo of a fault.

It looked so familiar to me, like I took a video of the area before.

You remember the rock formations you filmed?

Well, some of them.

That one in particular... I was just starting out, crying on my hikes because I couldn't find the ore vein I wanted, and I almost didn't make it back safely because I was short on supplies.

So you decided to come back for round two?

Yeah, I wasn't satisfied. I couldn't and didn't bring anything back from that adventure, so this time I have to.

At least you have that 'recording of a mountain specimen dwelling in its natural habitat' photo now.

Muriel punches BM once as she laughs, and hands her a flashlight, pointing at a small broken formation ahead.

We can take a look from up there tomorrow and see if there's anything new to discover.

BM takes the flashlight and looks at the map, then looks down and returns it.

The firelight flickers just slightly, and Muriel suddenly speaks as if she just made a decision.

Do you still remember the video I posted about the rare cave ore?

So the video I followed you from?

I was so shocked then, finding out that someone who makes such high-quality videos was a follower of mine. Then I became a big fan of yours, too.

Hehe... well, actually. I didn't plan to shoot that one.

I didn't actually find any ore down there at first, it was a failed exploration. I even got lost at the foot of the mountain for two whole days.

When I returned to the city, I had already made up my mind not to make any more videos, and even thought of uploading all my backlog then deleting my account after.

WHAT?! No wonder you were uploading so frequently then!

But you didn't wipe your account in the end.

Yeah, when I got home I accidentally sent a blurry photo into a group chat and my terminal wouldn't stop buzzing from all the message notifications.

Some were asking if I was changing my style to art photography, or maybe I was teasing my next video.

But there was this one person... who replied to me saying 'the composition of this rock strata fold resembles the boundary fault to the south of the mountain'.

He even attached a comparison photo, saying I should shoot with a polarizing filter next time.

I can't remember if I ever replied to that guy... but two days later, using the keywords he mentioned, I found a new lead to the ore vein.

After... afterwards, I actually discovered the rare ore, and that's the video you saw.

All because of a stranger's comment...

Yup.

Muriel... you're so much stronger than I am.

I... don't know about that.

Maybe it wouldn't have happened without that guy's casual comment. I mean, it <i>could</i> have, but that's how my story went.

So, when you talked about your 'final adventure', I thought I should just say a word or two, like that guy did.

Or maybe do something together with you, even.

At that moment, Muriel looks a little dazed.

The protagonist of the stories she told or even still kept secret was no longer her, but the girl in front of her.

She looks at the girl's face, and clearly sees herself reflected within.

She once silently stared at the stranger's comment on the terminal that night for a long time. Years later, in a group chat, she insists on following up on a quickly retracted message.

My final adventure'...

No, let's backtrack on that... it might be the final video, but there's no need to use such pretentious wording...

I'm so mad. My final adventure, and I come back empty handed.

Why is life full of regrets like this?

She had just confirmed her Oripathy diagnosis, and couldn't sleep the entire night.

Fear aside, what she found harder to accept was no longer being able to recklessly travel across the lands...

She could no longer casually collect rock samples in the middle of the night, nor stare at ore all day as if she wasn't on a ticking timer—

All of these 'no longers' came so much sooner than she expected. Sooner than other people, other explorers, other... Muriels that didn't get sick.

For a time she even believed she was no longer part of this land.

But I couldn't accept it... I just couldn't...

The air only carries the sound of firewood softly crackling alight.

Muriel's gaze falls onto the firelight dancing within the rock crevices, and after a long time, asks softly as if they were simply on a regular adventure.

BM, you hungry?

Huh? What's with the sudden... normal question?

Hehe... because we talked so much, and now I'm hungry. How's a midnight snack sound?

We have snacks left?

Wait, don't tell me, you mean that—

Muriel slowly pulls out a flattened lunchbox from the bottom of her backpack, waving it in front of BM.

Duh?

You actually kept it?!

I was going to save it for when we found some ore, but I'm thinking we can have it now, to celebrate.

After all, I put my top-notch exploring skills to use... to find the sneaky runaway BM.

Isn't this just... so sad? It's pathetic...

Only pathetic adventures are worth remembering.

BM nods in frustration, and opens the box—the dry rations made with various ingredients she can no longer recognize as her 'carefully prepared' meal, are now smashed into fragments.

...It really does look like that rock strata section we saw.

At least, the color is... similar...

Right—?

I always felt that if an adventure started so miserably, it should at least end a little better than how it started.

(Chewing)

It's pretty yummy actually. Have some too, BM!

Sheesh... I gave it to you fully knowing it was delicious, obviously!

The two exchange looks, and ultimately fail to hold back from bursting into laughter.

Moonlight merges with the flickering firelight, and the night gradually fades away amidst the duo's laughter.

The morning breeze pours down from the cliff top, ripping white mist into shreds of shadow. BM wakes up early, and quietly gets up without waking Muriel, all curled up next to her.

She follows the path they marked yesterday, her fingers touching the cold, rough rock patterns as her shoes kick up pebbles with dull thuds.

She does not know what she is looking for.

She only has a hunch—there was an abnormal light reflection in the warm-gray rock strata they were recording specimens from yesterday.

Day breaks.

BM is back at that spot.

She stands before the cliff as the sun rises, and bends down, parting the plants growing within the cracks in the rock, scraping loose soil away. Golden morning light happens to hit the mountain pass just in time, and lights up the exposed rock face.

At that very moment, tiny sparkles bloom from the ash-gray layer, as if tiny stars are growing within.

What's this...?

Is this the rare ore Muriel mentioned we might find here? Hah, it's not a rare ore, no, but apatite we've come across before...

In truth, Muriel had woken up even earlier, and quietly trailed BM with her tool bag up the mountain. She stands at a distance away, watching BM's back, excitement along with a tinge of pity in her eyes.

BM does not notice Muriel behind her, with her gaze focused on following the morning light as it swims within the rock texture, as if trying to find something deeper past the rock's composition.

But...

Why does the sunlight make it...?

BM is silent for a moment. She then kneels down, and reaches out to gently rub the apatite shard.

The sun shines down on her shoulders, the morning light slowly adding new tints to the crystal layer. Blue and green lights dance as if gently responding to her coming closer.

BM is momentarily stunned.

The next second, her shoulders shake.

Her elbows and back follow suit. Tears fall almost too suddenly, wetting the rock face and the back of her hands.

Muriel stays still, taking in the silent yet sharp sobs from BM before her. Behind her the breeze sweeps through the mountain valley, and a fowlbeast flies past the precipice as the entire mountainside is bathed in sunlight.