Silver :: I make the Clockwork Cuckoos for each newbie. How do you like yours?

|Brindle_Fox244| I like mine a lot. Thanks.

He glanced at Brindle’s conversation with Silver now and then as they ran back to Waif’s ravine. He didn't care about participating himself at the moment, since they already had what they needed to fulfill the quest, but checking up on Brindle’s exchange with this NPC provided something to do on their way to Waif.

Only a few minutes until they arrive. He made sure to head in the exact same direction they came from, so they could ensure they found the ravine again.

He looked at Brindle’s character running between him and Silver. This would be more interesting if this game were actually real. Then he could see and attempt to read the range of expressions that would likely appear on Brindle and Silver’s faces during their conversation.

Movement caught his eye, and he looked to the right. A large group of avatars were walking a few hills over. Probably the same ones they saw earlier. He veered sharply to the left when he saw them peering his way and hoped Brindle would follow. Those players might very well be on the same quest, and Silver’s presence would only encourage trouble from them.

He looked back. Brindle peeled off after him and followed at his heels. She probably wondered what the heck he was doing, assuming she didn’t see those other players yet. And she couldn’t question him about ituntil they stopped running and thus freed their fingers up for typing. Silver came up beside them without protest. He was probably just programmed to follow them until they finished the quest.

He shouldn't go too far in their current direction, though, or they'd lose track of the ravine’s location. They were out of that group’s sight now, so they should be fine.

Steering his avatar back toward Waif, he kept running. They could keep going like this until they were out of that group’s range, then try to orient themselves directly on the path they were taking before --

A dark shape lunged in front of him, and he brought his character to a halt just in time to avoid running into the newcomer. Five more characters bolted over the nearest hill, only stopping when they stood directly in his path.

He tensed as he signaled his character to back off a few paces and look around.

Brindle backed toward him several steps, and Silver followed. He turned back to the group and scowled. Too bad he didn’t see them and retreat sooner, before they spotted him, because now they were suddenly a very big problem.

One of the characters walked forward, a male avatar with dark brown fur and light gray brown stripes down his back. Words appeared in his textbox.

|MrCr0cod1le| Hey, what’s up?

Friendly enough, except for the fact that the rest of this guy’s Set meandered around until they surrounded him and Brindle. ‘Mr. Crocodile’s’ head turned slightly, toward Silver. Obviously, whoever was playing this character had every intent of using Silver if they could.