Rope-Rope the Jiggling Acrophobe, cont'd
Rope-Rope was frozen outside the door to his more-than-humble abode. He could hear a concise metallic snapping from within, and, after listening for what seemed a Deep Cave hour, an acidic chuckle congealing in his ill-named living room. Something was waiting for him, and it sounded as if it were slowly shearing his possessions. To add one more item to the list of displeasing deductions of his morning of maladies, Rope-Rope was sure he could smell the repugnant pungent wet-fur odour of Barble perspiring. Perhaps the winged stranger had good reason to warn him with an enigmatical order of exodus. Perhaps the smartest thing Rope-Rope could do was run.
But where does one run in a cave with no entrance? Why would one flee if there is no means of escape? The rats and arachnids and the occasional snake burrowed their way down from the stalactites half a mile above the city, but there were no passages back out whence they came. Even if there was a force strong enough in Empty Cave to do so, an attempt to dig through the high roof of the cave would doom the civilians below. Of course, there was always one place that nobody would follow Rope-Rope…
Rope-Rope inhaled deeply as he stepped back from his front door. Above the expectable Barble-stench exuding from his home, in his mind an inexplicable yet inextricable perfume hovered dormant in the air. Extracting movement from confusion, Rope-Rope exhaled and executed his exile.
In a moment of clarity, Postrift rose from the futon, crammed his lighter back into his deep coat pocket and bolted to the door. Sometimes things become far more apparent when they’re suddenly missing, like someone hiding just outside a door. He swung the door open, but not to find a running Rope-Rope. What he found, it seemed, was some sort of grotesque guerrilla gorilla or boorish bear standing in wait of an attack. With a snarling clamour and an arm like a falling sledgehammer, the vehement behemoth took a swing and Postrift was down for the count.
But where does one run in a cave with no entrance? Why would one flee if there is no means of escape? The rats and arachnids and the occasional snake burrowed their way down from the stalactites half a mile above the city, but there were no passages back out whence they came. Even if there was a force strong enough in Empty Cave to do so, an attempt to dig through the high roof of the cave would doom the civilians below. Of course, there was always one place that nobody would follow Rope-Rope…
Rope-Rope inhaled deeply as he stepped back from his front door. Above the expectable Barble-stench exuding from his home, in his mind an inexplicable yet inextricable perfume hovered dormant in the air. Extracting movement from confusion, Rope-Rope exhaled and executed his exile.
In a moment of clarity, Postrift rose from the futon, crammed his lighter back into his deep coat pocket and bolted to the door. Sometimes things become far more apparent when they’re suddenly missing, like someone hiding just outside a door. He swung the door open, but not to find a running Rope-Rope. What he found, it seemed, was some sort of grotesque guerrilla gorilla or boorish bear standing in wait of an attack. With a snarling clamour and an arm like a falling sledgehammer, the vehement behemoth took a swing and Postrift was down for the count.