That Sinking Feeling 2

Day 5

The ravioli can was a hive of activity.  Simple structures were glued to the tin substrate, a maze not unlike an ant's nest.  Its population had more than doubled over night and with that the demands for food and material had ballooned.  With these new demands, came larger foraging parties, our attention now turns to a descendent of forager.  

A troop of forages were prowling the limits of their world. They traveled in a loose V formation rapid clicks carried news and warnings between the critters.  The all clear ping echoed between them, as they neared the surface.  They swam faster as the water cleared, fresh, and rich in oxygen it flowed past their eager gills.  They swam quickly to leave the barrens. 

The leader's chirp of panic brought the troop to a stop.  Strange refractions was all they knew of the waves passing around them.  The leader had vanished.  Probing clicks pinged the waters, but no answer came.  Flashing her large pincers the deputy pushed her way to the front of the pack.  Tasting nothing in the fresh wastes, she lead the way, following a faint flavour. 

The sent carried them to a towering concave structure.  Here the waters were stagnant and carried the lingering tang from the moulds that flourished in the early days.   A red fleck caught the pack leader's eyes it clung to the face of the white cliff, out of reach.  The leader swam hard, flicking her paddle like third legs at full force. On the last push something gave way.  The world for her changed.

Smells vanished.  The world as she knew it vanished. In it's place a shimmering plain with occasional irregular and out of focus protrusions.  A hum carried through the thin vapours of this odd world.  The scout leader's secondary eye's caught a hint of motion.  She swivelled bringing it into focus.  A black iridescent body with irregular bristles was diving towards her, it was many times the size of a warrior from the ravioli can.   Its spiked legs unfolded as it landed on the impossible world, leaving smooth indents.  It glided towards her, a proboscis tasting the world as it moved.  

Its shadow loomed, fearing the proboscis she reached for the nearest limb and grabbed on with both sets of pincers.  The alien responded to the assault by taking to the air.  It headed directly for White Cliff. 

White Cliff towered over her as the creature buzzed towards it.  It reflected the bright light coming from some unknown point, highlighting the red specks her people knew as food.   In a massive feat of acrobatics it landed on the near vertical cliff face.   The limb she was perched on moved. Bringing a massive maw into view.   The troop leader let go.  With only a fraction of a second to spare.  She fell, landing with a weak splash at the base of the cliff.   

She had landed well away from any of her kin, there scents weak in the fluid.  Up next to the cliff she could taste many an edible thing.  Her summoning clicks echoed from the face behind her, carrying news of unprecidented bounty.   They came slowly, being cautious of new territory.   Caution gave way to greed when the bounty was seen by all.  The swim back to base was slow as the buoyant bounty fought against them. 

It took three foraging parties to mine out white cliff of pasta sauce.  The scouts having lead the way moved on to new lands.