a King without his followers

God, where were other guinea pigs? Was he really all alone out here? Honestly Ace was starting to feel absolutely miserable. Everyday was fear, terror. Everyday was dangerous without the backup he used to receive from his family. He was stressed out, tired, all alone. This wasn’t the life for a guinea pig. Life was better if he could run from dangers and forage food with family members, or at least creatures of the same species.

But alas, no guinea pigs around. Just him.

It was starting to get old, running around being all alone. He wanted to share foods with others, wanted to steal foods from others, wanted to snuggle up with like minded guinea pigs and just live a good dominant boar life, okay? Was that too much to ask for?

He moved from one hole to the next, from one bush to the next, always on high alert as he foraged for food. Grass was here plentiful, thank god. Hiding places, too. But it didn’t feel good, it didn’t feel safe. It never did when he was on his own.

---

''Guinea pig speech''
''Wolf speech''

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 Ooooofffff, today was exhausting... and it hadn't even really started yet. For some reason he'd just woken up and he still felt so sleeeepppyyy. Still, he had to go out and do things. Like food things. Berry food things. He could always try to catch something but he wasn't in the mood for chasing down wily prey. Instead he wanted something that wouldn't fight back or run away, something easy for the sleepy knight.

 Like blueberries! Blueberries never did you wrong. Blueberries neeeevvvvveeerrr fought back. They just sat there and let you munch on them.

 So that's exactly what he did. He lay down on the earth, eyes staring blankly ahead while he chewed, cow-like, on his fruit. Berry juice drizzled down his chin and stained the earth as he lay inert beside the bush. He would reach up occasionally to pluck more blueberries to chew on and then he was back to staring blankly ahead with his loud chewing noises. Given the chance, he would demolish the entire bush.

 He could smell that there was something around him. Something small and scuttling but he paid it no mind. Those tiny little critters like rats and hares were usually too fleet-footed for the ample-bellied warrior. So, he kept on with what he was doing.

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The wolf wasn’t the only one that caught the scent of the blue berries. Fruits were a snack to guinea pigs. While full of sugar, they did tend to eat them from time to time. Especially because they were so sweet. Ace followed his nose, making his way over to where the berries would be. But the scent of wolf was high in the air, and Ace did not take well to the predators. He had escaped the last one with his life intact, but how much longer could he keep going being- uneaten?

Reaching the source of the scents he found out someone had beaten him to the berries; the wolf, in fact. The boar stopped under a bush which he used as his hiding spot, watching the wolf from a little distance off. He wasn’t sure if the big creature was paying any mind to him or wanted to go after him, but gosh, did he want the berries so badly. If only that fatass wolf would move!

Ace huffed, annoyed.

If only he was bigger, then he could kick the wolf’s ass. Why did guinea pigs have to be tiny? Ace didn’t want to just let that wolf eat all the berries, though. The little guinea pig started teeth chattering angrily at the wolf from his hiding spot under the bush. Probably not the best idea since a wolf could DEMOLISH a guinea pig.

But Ace dreamed big, ya know?

---

''Guinea pig speech''
''Wolf speech''

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 Munch. Munch. Munch. Mordecai laid there, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by a very tiny creature that lay hidden away. The writer might be able to write what interesting things that the brown wolf thought about during his morning breakfast, but dear reader there was absolutely nothing going on in the knight's mind. He simply enjoyed the fruits of his labor and savored the sweetness that dribbled over his tongue while his tiny tail wiggled back and forth.

 He only snapped out of his dull-eyed reverie when he heard a strange chattering noise. He twitched, shook his head, and then blinked rapidly as he tried to figure out what was going on after he'd been so spaced out. "Hu--?" He looked around, seeing absolutely nothing around him. He lifted his nose to sniff the air but only smelled that same rodent-ish smell from earlier which didn't say much. This place was probably crawling with all sorts of different prey.

 "Is someone there?" Was someone trying to communicate something with him? They must be real good at hiding, then. "Do you want some berries? They're real good!" Oooohh, maybe someone was hiding in the bushes and so terrified that their teeth were chattering! Poor fellow! He didn't mean to scare anyone or hog the entire bush. "There's enough to share." He grinned and looked decidedly less vacant and much more friendly.

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Ace stopped teeth chattering the moment the wolf suddenly spoke. And from what Ace could understand, he wanted to share? What was that kind of nonsense? Wolves did not share. They did not share with small creatures like Ace. Something smelled fishy here. Oh no, wait, that was just the wolf. Juuuuuust kidding.

Still though, the little animal did not trust the big predator that looked so heavy and massive it could easily break Ace’s spine if he stepped on him. No way was Ace going to get anywhere near him. But… the scent of the blue berries was tempting. He did mention sharing, so maybe Ace could give it a try.

Carefully, with his hackles raised and fur puffed up to make himself look bigger than he was (clearly didn’t help around wolves) he stretched out his body almost snake like, and poked his head out from under the bush, taking a few more sniffs at the berries. With his body stretched like that, he could get a little closer without having to move from his hiding spot, and he could easily pop back under there by only pulling in his neck and partially his front feet. Easy peasy.

Ace shot the massive wolf a suspicious glare. ‘’No eat me?’’ he asked the wolf. Just to confirm, you know? Couldn’t be too careful.

---

‘’Guinea pig speech’’
‘’Wolf speech’’

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 Mordecai hadn't really known what to expect when he extended his offer. He knew it wasn't wolf, that much was for sure, but maybe he'd have found a coyote or something? Maybe a deer? There was already one in Event Horizon so why not another talking one here? Of course, that was not what poked its head out from under the bush. Instead, there was some gray and white not-rat thing looking at him with dark eyes.

 Mordecai's own eyes bulged out of his head when he looked at it. What was that thing?! It looked all wrong to be a rat or mouse, they had longer snouts. Was it a rabbit? But no, the ears were all wrong. A mutated rabbit? What's more... it spoke. This tiny not-rabbit-rat spoke! He was so shocked he stopped chewing and just stared for a moment. Intrigued and confused all at once.

 "N-no. I won't eat you..." He couldn't now. It talked. That was the rule, right? He'd also offered to share the berries and it wouldn't be very cash-money of him to take back that offer and start munching on that fellow... now, would it?

 To show his goodwill, the man ripped a large branch off the bush and placed it down on the ground in more easy range of the tiny... thing. He even snapped some of the branches so they would lay flush on the ground. "Um... are you a rabbit-rat?" Because surely a rabbit and a rat had to have a baby to make a mutated one, right?

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When the wolf noticed him and looked his way, he looked shocked. Ace wondered why that was. Was it because he knew the wolf’s speech to a basic extend? But there were many more guinea pigs like him who could speak like a wolf, no? Or was it some other reason he was confused. Again Ace was told he wouldn’t be eaten, and he even was presented with berries, fresh for the taking. HUH. Interesting. Maybe not all predators were as bad as he first thought. This one seemed decent enough.

But then came the question that Ace took VERY personally. What the HELL was a rabbit-rat? Was that a rabbit and a rat mixed together?? He wasn’t that! Gross! He would never associate with rats, and rabbits were sometimes just too big and scary looking to be friends with. They could sit on your face and crush you! What was that word again that he was looking for. God, what did wolves call his species!? OH YEAH.

‘’Guinea pig.’’ he sneered with squinting eyes. How dare he be compared to a rabbit and a rat. Had this wolf never seen a guinea pig before? He inches a few steps closer, body stretching out again, and he snagged up a berry real fast before his body swooped back into itself. Aaaa sweet delight! He could finally eat something sweet. Grass was his main food but a berry here and there was pretty nice, too.

He eyed the wolf suspiciously as he chewed, and then he swallowed. He was a bit of a messy either, so that one berry had already stained the fur under his chin. ‘’Wolf never see piggie before?’’ That wasn’t right- there should be more guinea pigs here, no? Or was Ace really all alone?

Where the hell had he ended up, if there were no guinea pigs here!?

---

‘’Guinea pig speech’’
‘’Wolf speech’’

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Uh oh... The small thing looked upset. Absolutely offended. He hadn't meant to offend! "Guinea... Pig?" He echoed quizzically. He'd never heard of such a term. He didn't know what "guinea" was and ty his didn't look like any pig he'd ever seen.

Of course, he wasn't about to say that and offend the fellow again. Once was enough. It was almost laughable because he could gobble the piggie in one bite and yet he was terrified of offending him. Manners and all that.

This thing was SO STRANGE! There it was inching like a worm! His eyes bulged even wider. Rabbit-rat-snake. But he didn't dare say that out loud.

"No, never. Most pigs I see have tusks and weird noses." He squinted and then cocked his head to one side, looking at the piggie's little muzzle... But no, no tusks or pig snouts there.

His head straightened, how weird...

But cute!
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The wolf looked so absolutely frazzled. Why was that? It shouldn’t be that weird to see a guinea pig! He was one! But he admitted to never having seen one before so- Ace guessed he really was by his lonesome. No guinea pigs, no single one in these mountains. In this world? Wherever he had even ended up. The thought made him quite said, and he plopped down on his belly and just stared for a bit, tasting the berry he’d just swallowed still, but for some reason it tasted less sweet now.

If there were no guinea pigs here, did that mean he could never have a herd again? He could never be a leading boar with lots of sows? That sounded absolutely awful! ‘’No piggies…’’ he mostly mused to himself, in his own speech unable for the wolf to be understood. All the wolf would be able to hear were some soft squeaks.

Oh well, it could not be helped, he guessed. He should eat his sadness away. The guinea pig inched closer to the wolf again and started bunching on some berries, but this time he didn’t move away. He was kind of lack luster and if the wolf ate him in the end, oh well. What was a guinea pig boar without his sows, anyway. Oh, woe is me!

Oh yeah, the wolf was still here. ‘’Live in mountain?’’ Made sense he lived here if he was here, right?

---

‘’Guinea pig speech’’
‘’Wolf speech’’

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Oh no! Now the little pig was sad! From one emotion to the other. Was it because he hadn't seen any others of his kind?

Mordi gave the tiny tiny man a sympathetic look as he lowered his head to the ground to be more eye-level. The piggie made some sad little noises that just broke his heart. "What's the matter?" He asked, unable to take the dejected look on that cute little face.

"I do! North of here in Ichorwood with my pack." Mordecai was always great at giving away too much information. "My name's Mordecai but you can call me Mordi." He wiggled his tail. "What's your name? Uh, do you live here?" Did piggie's have names? Was there a whole herd around of mini-pigs?
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Huh? Oh, he asked what Ace had said. ‘’No piggies.’’ he repeated, with a sad look on his face. Honestly it was annoying wolves didn’t know his language and that he himself constantly had to revert around to wolf speech, but he guessed tat he should give this guy a pass considering he’d never even seen a guinea pig before until now.

The guy literally told Ace where he lived, and the guinea pig stored the information in the back of his mind for later just in case. Most likely to avoid said place, since it would be infested with wolves. Even if this one wasn’t going to eat him, he doubted the other wolves in his pack had the same idea.

Mordecai – as he was called – sure as hell was a chatterbox. ‘’Mordi.’’ he commented, letting the name roll off his tongue. Yeah, that sounded a little easier than Mordecai. Ace wasn’t too sure if he wanted to share his name, but he also assumed it could not really do any harm. ‘’Ace. My name.’’ he told the big predator, taking another berry for himself.

‘’Live mountain. Other mountain. Always have.’’ he added, glancing around the area with a rather worried expression on his face. ‘’This mountain not know.’’ It definitely was a new place, one he had never been before, or he might have remembered anything around him.

---

‘’Guinea pig speech’’
‘’Wolf speech’’

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 No piggies. Oh, so that was the reason he was so sad. Mordecai gave him a sympathetic whine. How sad would it be to be the only one of your kind? Or maybe... maybe not! "I'm sure there have to be some other piggies somewhere. The mountains are a big place." And it went without saying that this little fellow was quiiiiiite small. It would take ages for him to scour the entire mountain by his poor little lonesome. Especially if he had to avoid predators. Although, after talking to the little fellow he couldn't imagine eating a little piggie like this ever. They were far too cute and clever too!

 Ace. His name was Ace. How cute! Mordecai couldn't help but grin at the little fellow. He too, took some more berries in his mouth... except it wasn't just one. He gobbled down a whole branch's worth of berries and stuffed them into his mouth. Juice dribbled down his chin and soaked into his fur. He lived in other mountain? Well, there were a lot of other mountains. This poor guy must have been walking for a while.

 "Wooooowwww, you must've come far. It must be real hard..." he eyed those tiny little feet again, frowned, and then seemed to be thinking deeply about something. "Do you ever ask for help gettin' anywhere? Or, um, do you need help getting anywhere? I can usually travel the mountains in a day or two." How long did it take the little guinea pig? Surely much longer. Maybe Mordi could help him find his family or something. Always the optmistic, he just figured they must be on the other side of the mountainous region or hiding really well.

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A big place. Yeah, it was. There really was no way he was the only one out here. There had to be more guinea pigs somewhere. And if not in these mountains then maybe somewhere else. It made no sense for Ace to have woken up here all alone. Wherever here was. The fact he smelled no guinea pig scents around here was worrisome, though. He settled next to the wolf and took a few more berries, his body jolting out of habit when the wolf crunched down on a whole branch full of them. He froze for a moment, glancing at the guy from the corner of his eye, but it didn’t seem like he was going to chomp on him, so Ace relaxed after a little bit.

Ace could not remember traveling from his home. He had simply woken up here a while ago and there were no memories of travel. He wondered if more creatures like him had experienced the same fate. ‘’Wake here. No travel. No- remember.’’ he tried to explain in his best foreign speech. It still was odd, how that had happened.

‘’You? You travel here? Or wake?’’ How had Mordecai gotten here?

At the offer, he tilted his head a little and wondered. He guessed he could use the help, but he was not all too good at admitting such a thing. ‘’Maybe. First search here.’’ he answered, after a little bit. Ace wanted to scope out these mountains for a little bit by himself. If he could not find anyone within the next week or so, he might seek out Mordecai for help, since he offered. Though, he wasn’t all too certain about going into a territory of wolves to- find a wolf. To a guinea pig that was honestly a suicide mission.

---

‘’Guinea pig speech’’
‘’Wolf speech’’

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 Oooooh! The little piggie moved over right next to him! He was even cuter up close! The little piggie jolted when he munched and crunched on his berries so when he grabbed more, he tried to be more consider and eat in a less mindless eating machine way.

 Mordecai listened to the little Ace weave his, very abridged tale. Hm. So even the little critters sometimes woke up like them, then? "Yeah! I woke up here too like that. I woke up right over there," He swung his nose northward, frowned and then shook his head before turning it nose eastward, "No wait! Thataway!" Yeah, that seemed right... maybe.

 Mordecai nodded his head. "Well, I wish you all the luck in the world. If you need me, I live over in the red forest called Ichorwood. It's hard t'miss." The rotund man said with a friendly smile. He seemed to be considering something for a moment and then he broke off a few more branches and then laid down on the ground. Except he laid in a manner where his head was facing Ace and made him eye level. He used his paws to push the branches near his maw so that he would have an easier time eating. There, lazy eating mode activate!

 "That's much better. I could almost fall asleep like this." He was a big ole lazy sausage sometimes. His tiny tail thumped the ground behind him while he smiled at the tiny little piggie, most amused and happy to be talking to such a cute little critter.

---

Words: 258

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He too had woken up in these mountains randomly after having been somewhere else? Ace was glad he wasn’t the only one, knowing this now. But being without his family still was something so awful. Mordecai went on to say he had woken up over there. Aaaand then he changed his mind and said it was in a different direction. Ace shot him a glance and snorted softly. Mordecai didn’t seem like the brightest, but at least he didn’t want to eat Ace. That was a relief. He wondered if the other wolves in his pack were just like him. If they all did not eat guinea pigs, then Ace would not mind calling wolves his allies.

The good luck was well received, even if the idea of scoping out these massive mountains felt a little hopeless. ‘’Thank yu.’’ he said with broken speech and thick accent, watching afterwards with a slightly tilted head as the wolf broke down several branches with berries and then just laid there… eating. How amusing.

‘’Ya like eating.’’ It was no question, more an observation. Well, ace liked eating, too. He decided to be bold and snapped one berry off the branches which Mordecai had collected, munching on it and grinning at the big creature. One berry wouldn’t hurt, right?

This wasn’t so bad. Perhaps he would find the wolf again another time, hang out with him again like today. Crazy, how one could be so lonely that they started considering other – very dangerous – species as companions.

---

‘’Guinea pig speech’’
‘’Wolf speech’’

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 The guinea pig took one of his berries! How cute! He smiled at the critter, fighting the urge to pat him on his little head. That might be deemed as offensive to the proud little beast, so he refrained from doing so. Instead, he just answered the question with juice dribbling down the side of his mouth and chin. "Oh, yes! Eatin's one of my most favoritest things ever!" He said quite proudly as he pulled off some more of his own berries to nom. He continued to eat for a bit and then added on some more, "I also really like sleepin', that's real fun too! Oh! And fightin's real good too! I'm really good at all three of those things, actually." His three points of pride: eating, sleeping, and fighting. Pretty much in that order as well.

 "Do you like doin' those things too?" Could guinea pigs fight? Did they spar? Or did they just sit around being cute eating all day? Boy, that would be a really nice life.

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Eating and sleeping, huh? He also mentioned fighting, but Ace couldn’t imagine this big bumbling oaf fighting anyone. Especially not when it came to drawing blood. If he liked sparring, then Ace guessed that would suit him more than actual fighting.

What did Ace like? Well. ‘’Eating, sleeping, running.’’ he answered. Honestly it were the main things in his life, and if that was his life- there wasn’t much else to enjoy beside that. He had to fight before, now and then, but he preferred not to. Fighting only happened when his home had been at stake, or his family- if there was a male intruder. Otherwise, Ace preferred to just nap, or hop around, or eat. All of those.

Another berry went in quick enough. And he munched on it thoughtfully. ‘’I visit ya pack? Wolves not eat me?’’ he asked, eventually, after a long moment of silence. Because now, Ace was quite curious about Mordecai’s home. Could Mordecai make sure his family did not eat him? Could Ace us an alliance with wolves to his advantage?

---

‘’Guinea pig speech’’
‘’Wolf speech’’

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 "Heey! That's two of the things I like!" He smiled up at the smol man with a big happy smile, thrilled that they had two things in common now! Oh, well, three things really because they both certainly liked these wild blueberries! It was so neat to be able to bridge the gap between two separate species like they were doing. He felt like he had made a friend here! A bestest friend just like his buddy Crux.

 It even sounded like Ace might visit him which had him practically squirming on the ground in excitement. "Eeyup! I'll make sure to spread the word in the pack." Then he grinned knowingly as he took a bite of a berry. "I'm actually like the beta--" Wait, did piggies know what betas were? "Like the uh, second-in-command-guy-after-the-leader-and-his-mate!" He said quite proudly, puffing his chest and looking quite silly doing it since he was still lying down on his side. He seemed to realize this a moment later as he rolled over onto his stomach with his chest and head on the ground so that he could still be somewhat eye level with Ace. His tongue was blepped as he had those warm brown eyes on the tiny man and said earnestly, "So you'll visit then?" Would he also allow Mordecai to help him wander further around? He could certainly cover much more ground and plus, they'd get to chat more!

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