"Well, no one's going to force you to eat," James said quietly as he poked away at his fish. Though he did suspect that Maahes's refusal might've had to do with something he'd mentioned earlier. Since Maahes was thousands of years older, he'd said his biology was different. Maybe that meant he needed different food, or didn't need as much, or something along those lines. James decided not to press the matter at the current time, but he planned on asking Maahes about it later. Preferably when Tasha wasn't boring through him with her glare.
@Lael @saen @falconergal9086 hmmm does anyone wanna stir up conversation or conflict or something? or shall i (or does anyone wanna BRAINSTORM IN THE DISCORd for it lol)
As the group finished up their meal, there was a peculiar sound heard beneath them. It was almost like... a scurrying? James began to look around the fire, trying to figure out where it was coming from, and as he looked over to Maahes, a his stomach dropped. Just next to Maahes, he saw a dozen of the giant rock-eating beetles begin to pour out of the ground as they dug up through the dirt.
They were roughly the length of his hand, and they were long and hard-shelled. Their grey coloring made them a little hard to spot in the firelight, but James immediately stood up. They looked aggravated.
"Maahes! Everybody! Up!" he ordered hurriedly as the stone mites only multiplied, pouring out all over the ground around them. He felt two or three painfully sharp pinches at his ankles and shook them off of him. "Gah! Hurry!"
Even before he shouted his name, Maahes had already been getting to his feet. His instincts were sharp from the time he had been serving under Ra. The only way to survive something like that was by remaining constantly alert and ready for some sort of foe. These bugs, though not what he had dealt with in the past, were exactly the type of thing he was prepared for.
Tasha leapt to her feet the moment James did, following his gaze to the beetles that she'd heard but hadn't noted as a danger. They'd already begun to race up her legs and bite at her boots and she shook them off.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Seung let out a cry of surprise and backed away, while Tavis swatted at the ones around him.
"What kind of bugs are these?" asked Seung, his gaze flicking nervously between the group and the beetles. There weren't many bugs where he came from because his world was so cold, but the sight of any could send him running to the other side of the room.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
"I'd guess that they're not good ones," Maahes drily replied, keeping his eyes trained on the bugs. The temptation was there, but would the risk be worth the price? His essence was demanding a change, and if he only made the change on some of the higher planes, he could effectively prevent this group from seeing his true form. If he was lucky, the bugs would be able to see on a higher plane than the group gathered, and the site of a giant monstrosity towering over them would send them off in a flurry of terror.
James hurried over to his horse, patting it in an attempt to calm it down. "They're called stone mites," he said as he shook another few off his feet. "And it looks like we're right by a hill, so I suggest we move camp. They bite when they're aggravated."
Tasha swung up on her steed, the horse snorting and prancing to avoid the beetles. Normally she'd lead the beast, but the mare would be easier to control from the saddle than the ground.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
As they hurried away in the dark, the firelight behind them grew dim. The quiet sounds of chirping bugs and the occasional calls of nocturnal birds echoed through the forest, but very soon, they were away from the bugs and they were... alone, again. Hopefully, there would be no more bears, and no more bugs, and just silence, so they could sleep.
Eventually, they came upon a clearing; a field of wild, patchy grass. James decided that that was a good enough place to sleep for the night, and wasn't going to bother building another fire if they weren't cooking anything.
"Aaaaalright, everyone," he finally said. "Let's get comfortable and rest for the night. Just in case something else decides to pop up, we'll sleep in shifts. I'll take first watch. Seung, you're still sick, so, don't worry about it. We'll cover for you. You need your rest."
He sat down and shifted uncomfortably, trying his best not to look perturbed by James calling the first shift. He could have easily done the first and conveniently have "forgotten" to wake the others for their respective shifts, though he knew this would result in James being upset with him. He would just have to make do with the next best option.
He went to lay down, rolling over on his side so no one could see his face. "I can take the second shift," he said. He readjusted his hood to make sure it did a decent job of covering his face. Now all he could do was wait.
But waiting, when you had countless memories that you didn't want to think about, could be quite the challenging task.
@Lael or @Featherstone i'm gonna move this forward in a bit but if either of your characters wanna say something before they all hit the hay!! feel free to say something!
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