Chapter 3: Caterpillar Cacophony

And deeper into the forest they went. Deeper, and deeper, until the sun began to set lower and lower, and the scent of night made itself apparent. They saw no stars past the thickness of the branches and leaves. They just continued down the path. They met not a single soul other than that of animals and beasts like stray Goombas or Scuttlebugs dangling from trees, but though such monsters held mindless destruction close to their hearts, they were effectively harmless due to Len's godlike powers and Riba's wooden spear.

As they ventured forth, Riba found himself getting hungrier and hungrier. Along with the rumble of his stomach, he heard another rumbling coming close. He immediately drove his gaze forward. "What is that?" He asked. Could it be a hostile animal? A huge beast? He put his back up against Len's. It sounded like the rumbling was coming from all around.

"Hmm..." Len mumbled, closing her eyes. She then opened them quickly after a few seconds. "It's a stampede."

"What?!" Riba shouted. Then, a giant yellow caterpillar creature with a flower on its head dashed out from behind the bushes. There was a big smile on its chubby face. It almost looked sewed on with how it didn't falter or move. "Aaah!"

Riba ran, with Len just sliding across the ground. Many more of the caterpillar creatures trotted about the small opening. Riba and Len tried to evade them. Riba didn't know what to do. They could trample him!

"Hmph. Playful little creatures, aren't they, these Wigglers?" Len asked. Riba then felt something touch his ankle. Turning around, it was just as he feared... a Wiggler had brushed up right against the unprotected skin! A million worrisome questions came up in Riba's mind. Was it poisonous? Did it lay eggs in his skin? Did it suck his blood? Would it develop a bad rash? Instinctively, he screamed and kicked it away with a dry squishy sound like if you squished a dog toy. The Wiggler went flying, and the flower fell off of its head, the stem snapping in two.

The other Wigglers stopped their directionless crusade, and all looked at Riba. "That is, until you bother them," Len followed up. The Wiggler's eyes narrowed in the blink of an eye, and collectively the flowers on their heads wilted away. Steam shot out of their heads, they turned red, and those perfect sewn-on doll smiles turned into big toothy frowns.

"Uhhh... good Wiggler?" Riba guessed. The Wigglers ran right for him, and he dropped his spear, as he dashed around in circles. Len sighed, and floated up in the air above the chaos. Riba yelled for help, running away from the angry Wigglers.

"Hmph... Insects," Len scoffed, crossing her arms.

Riba looked up, panting like a dog from exhaustion. "Wh-who was that... directed towards???" He asked, almost out of breath.

"Oh, not a single one of you in particular," Len answered. She uncrossed her arms and shot them behind her, creating more of those black hole hands.

"Hey, don't lump me in with these guys!" Riba shouted, dodging a hand as it crushed one of the Wigglers. Another came in to push more away. But the first one was not about to give up so easily. It got up from the ground and chased down Riba at speeds faster than the others. Riba didn't think he could outrun it. So instead... he picked up his spear from the ground... and shot it forward with a war cry. He shut his eyes tight.

SHANK.

Riba opened his eyes, still in fear, to see that he had driven the spear through the Wiggler's mouth. He held up the spear, with the Wiggler's limp body stuck on it like a kebab. He looked to Len. "Well, I guess I know what we're eating tonight."

"I don't eat," Len replied.

A late supper is better than none at all. So Riba and Len set up a fort out of twigs and leaves, and began to cook the now browned, crisp Wiggler over a contained fire. "A dash of pepper, a pinch of salt..." Riba said to himself, sprinkling both of those things onto the Wiggler.

"Why in the world did you bring salt and pepper shakers on a perilous journey?" Len asked.

"Well, you never know when you'll have a face to feed," Riba explained, turning to Len, this big smile on his face. "I guess it may just be a habit. Mario was always hungry every day of every week, but he had next to no idea how to cook any real meals! So I had to do it for him. I've become quite the chef over the past few years." Riba's smile dropped slowly, and he looked to the ground.

"What's wrong now?" Len asked.

Riba wouldn't say it, but he really missed Mario. He didn't think it was as fun cooking for himself. Len certainly wouldn't eat anything. "It's just... I want someone to share this with."

Len rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll eat."

"Really?" Riba asked, perking up.

"Yeah, but only if it means you'll step up your game tomorrow. We haven't even made it that far into the forest because you have no idea how to take care of yourself," Len scolded. "You have to try harder, if you want to see your Mario again."

Riba nodded. "Yeah."

He cut off a piece of Wiggler with his machete. (He never leaves home without it). He then gave it to Len. She sniffed it, and then craned her neck down and took a bite out of it. She made a sound while biting that could only be translated as "nomf."

"I have utensils, you know," Riba offered, rummaging through his knapsack. Len raised up a hand, still eating with her other one, completely pigging out. Although she couldn't say a word through her gluttonous feast, this told Riba he shouldn't bother.

Riba ate some of the rest of the Wiggler, until he could eat no more. Len was just ogling the part he hadn't eaten. "Do you... want some of it?" Riba asked. Len lunged forward and snatched it out of his hands. "I guess that answers that..."

Riba thought he heard something through her snorts and loud chewing, almost like a word. She then licked the remaining morsels off her fingers when she was done. "Come again?" Riba asked.

Len looked away with a cute frown. The most emotion Riba had ever seen her display, and it was a negative one. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Thanks."