---

Mate Cera

text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text

---

---

Zerius shoved the bits of his eggshell aside and was confused at how nothing had changed. Darkness still enveloped him and he was still alone. The ground was cold, hard, and uncomfortable to stand on. Zerius started to move forward and almost immediately hit his head. Carefully he reached out and felt that the wall was also cold and hard. In a panic he thrashed about, in an attempt to break free of his new prison, but it wouldn't budge. Tired and sore, he moved the remaining shell fragments aside and fell asleep.

A sound startled Zerius awake. While wondering if he should stay silent or make himself known, he heard the sound again and realized it was coming from himself. Disappointed, Zerius began to go back to sleep when a wonderful scent reached his nostrils. He inhaled deeply and moved towards the source, finding himself out in a more open area.

A weak light illuminated a pile of something sweet smelling. He moved towards the light and another pile, but that one smelled disgusting. Small bones with bits of rotting flesh were stacked as high as his chin. The scent made him angry and he swiped at the pile, sending the bones on the top flying. Two more swipes removed the rest of the rot, revealing a bottom layer that was completely picked clean.

Another noise caught his attention, but this time it came from the wall in front of him. He crouched lower to get a better look, but wasn't sure what he was seeing. A small creature looked up at him and clumsily tried to move away; its ten legs seemed confused about how they should operate together. Zerius didn't know what it was, but didn't pursue it when it hobbled over to the nearest bone with a rancid morsel still attached. Instead he looked at the water pooled in a crevice of the wall. He sniffed it and stuck his tongue out to taste it. The cool liquid felt good on his throat and he drank some more.

Zerius stomach made noises again and finally he understood the sound of hunger. He returned to the sweet smelling pile and started eating. Though sweet in smell, the food was dry and withered. He quickly devoured the small amount and then began watching the other creature. Zerius figured if he could catch it, it might taste good - at least it would be fresh. As if the creature heard his thoughts it spun around. Suddenly with a movement too quick for Zerius to follow, the creature shot it's arm out to spear a big beetle.

Zerius looked hungrily at the beetle as the creature awkwardly scurried towards him with it. It placed the beetle down when it got halfway to Zerius and then hurried away. Zerius closed the distance and swallowed the beetle in one gulp. It was better than the sweet dry food. The creature cautiously repeated this process several times before Zerius fell asleep.

There was a small pile of bugs near Zerius when he awoke, but the creature was nowhere in sight. He moved carefully so he wouldn't accidentally squish it if it was still around. Finally he spotted it against the back wall where he first saw it. A couple bones were stacked up that weren't there before and the creature looked asleep. He gently nudged it, expecting a comical reaction, but it barely opened its eyes.

Zerius moved a bug near it, but no response. He thought about moving it, but didn't want to crush it, so he brought a piece of repulsive rot to it. That also received no reaction. Finally when Zerius was about to give up, a drop of water from the crevice above landed on the creature and its eyes fluttered opened.

Zerius dipped a claw into the pool and dropped more water onto the creature. Its first couple legs twitched in reply. He repeated the process a few times before deciding it would take too long to revitalize the creature that way, so he carefully scooped it up and placed it in the water. While it looked better, Zerius was confused at how it survived in the first place if it needed the water. Then he remember the bone pile he destroyed. Quickly he rebuilt it until it reached the crevice's edge and waited until he fell asleep.

Once again Zerius woke up to a bug pile, but this time it was a bit closer.