Rin Goes Scavenging

Rin stepped outside the towering walls that closed Metropolis from the rest of the outside world. He turned around to look back at the oversized structure. It was enormous, to the point where even he couldn’t climb it without great risk. He sneered at the blunt architecture.

Rin had given up on finding a meal inside the city. Not only was it extremely difficult to locate high quality, grasshopper dishes, but the places that actually sold insect meals were horrendously overpriced. He cringed as he recalled the recent memory of witnessing a heartless savage crack open an egg and then proceed to devour its contents with no sort of remorse. It was sickening.

He decided he’d have to resort to finding his own food since he was going nowhere near those Neanderthals’ egg-ridden gruel.

He followed along the paved pathway from outside the gate for a bit to assess his new surroundings. The narrow road cut harshly through the terrain and besides the city, it was the only man-made object to be seen for miles around.

The world outside was a sorry sight. Much of the land was dry and barren. What little foliage remained was shriveling up as if something was slowly sapping the life out of them. Jagged rock formations loomed overhead and a thick layer of red dust had collected over the road from lack of use. This world looked like a decrepit wasteland with nothing to offer except filthy air and a short, painful death by means of the local wildlife. It reminded him much of home.

Despite the grim sight down below, the sky was quite clear today, and the sun was beating down intensely. Rin took off his oversized, traveling poncho and enjoyed the warmth of the rays. Of course, it was nowhere near as satisfying as the sun Lunca had. It was much stronger then this puny excuse for a ball of burning gas, so much so that nadrins could practically live off of the energy it emitted. But this sun was far too weak to sustain him, that’s why he was so desperate for food. The lack of exposure to the sunlight from Lunca had also turned his skin this diseased-looking shade of blue. All nadrins naturally possess pale, white skin tones, but lack of sunlight causes their skin to turn a rather vivid shade of blue, and now Rin stuck out like a sore thumb most of the time.

But... at least they had a sun, even if it was an extremely lame one, it was better than no sun at all. He perched himself on a taller rock and soaked in some of the delightful heat.

Rin’s eyes flickered open with great difficulty. He slowly pushed himself back up to a sitting position and tried to regain his bearings.

“Frak, I must have dozed off,” he said groggily.

The environment had changed drastically in the few short hours of Rin’s slumber. The sun was completely gone, hiding behind the thick layer of murky cloud cover that now dominated the sky. An eerie breeze rattled the whole area, bringing a substantial change in temperature with it.

Rin groaned under the new strain of the cold. His limbs ached and were hard to move now. He probably wouldn’t have even been able to move if he hadn’t been wearing his solar-powered, heat suit. It was the only good idea his people had ever come up with. While the suits weren’t perfect, they generally provided enough heat for them to not be so hindered by small drops in temperature.

Rin shivered slightly as a chilling breeze whipped past him. He quickly grabbed his heavy, traveling garments and wrapped them around him. Being cold-blooded sucked, especially once you find out that other people don’t have to deal this kind of crap normally.

He stood up and climbed his way down from the rock, much slower this time. Cold air or not, he wasn’t going back into the city empty handed. He spotted a larger patch of remaining foliage and headed for it in hopes of finding something of sustenance.

Rin carefully weaved his way through the thorny brush, scowling when a branch cut his face. The plant life had become considerably warped and large spikes were now protruding from them. The whole area was like a giant, gloomy thorn bush.

Feeling uncomfortable on the ground, Rin managed to clamber up into one of the larger, blackened trees. He scanned the area for potential prey, his eyes locking onto a small ball of yellow fur scurrying about in the distance. Carefully, he closed some of the distance between him and the creature. Upon closer inspection, the creature was mouse-like in appearance. Two patches of bright red adorned its cheeks and a zig-zag tail trailed behind it. It sniffed the ground and wandered around looking adorable.

I’m gonna eat it, Rin thought intently as he lowered himself to the ground.