Post by slomoto on Nov 30, 2008 13:09:01 GMT -5
Ridgy wandered in the woods in search of the tree he and Espio had found earlier. Well, not that, as much as he was deep in thought. 'I should really learn not to get lost in the woods whenever I get lost in my head...' was on the surface of his mind. As he glanced left and right, he spotted out of the corner of his eye the same tree he'd found earlier. "All-right, this will get the ball rolling for sure!" He reached up and peeled off another piece of bark. "Well, the smell hasn't quite improved." Ridgy made a face. He suddenly felt a bit weary and brought his hand up against the tree trunk trying to keep himself standing. "That..won't do..." he said to himself indicating his more relaxed position didn't help him get over it. Then his legs slid out from under him and he fell, landing chin first against the grass, knocking himself silly.
"Hey, are you okay?" A voice said from just above him.
Ridgy, with his eyes still closed replied. "Yeah, sort of thing happens all the time."
The voice laughed. "You always say that."
Ridgy got up and dusted himself off. When he opened his eyes, a grayish figure blurred into crystal clarity. It was a male opossum. In many ways he just like Ridgy, except he was much older, taller and a great deal brawnier. He wore on his head a pith helmet identical to the one Ridgy was wearing. It was Ripper Didge. It was..
"Dad?" Ridgy was overwhelmed with a lot of emotions, but mostly a great feeling of happiness. He began to run towards him, but he didn't make more than a couple of steps before he stepped on his own foot and tripped again. Ripper grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him upright. "Now now, son, no need to get too excited.
"But..." Ridgy protested "It's you, and...but...how?"
"That's not important," Ripper said dismissively, letting Ridgy back onto his feet. "What are you doing out here?"
"Well....I saw there was something wrong with the trees."
"No, I mean, why are you AWAY from those Echidnas? Weren't they planning on helping you get to the bottom of this?"
Ridgy looked down and scuffed his foot on the ground, looking every bit like the belligerent child "Awwh, I thought....well, they have someone sick with them. He seems to be in serious trouble. I can't bother to put that aside just so I can bother them about this one dead tree."
"It's not just this dead tree. Look." Ripper walked past Ridgy's tree to another tree and ripped some of the bark clean from that. "This one looks the same, doesn't it?"
Ridgy's brow raised. "I guess it does."
Ripper discarded the piece of bark and walked up to Ridgy putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "You're not just concerned about just this one tree, Ridgy. You're an archaeologist. You're in search of the big picture."
Ridgy nodded but kept his head down, looking distant. "I-it still doesn't make this more important than someone's life."
"Why is this fellow sick, Ridgy?" Ripper asked bluntly.
Ridgy paused. "I...don't know, and the wise man there doesn't either."
"Look again." Ripper took Ridgy's hand and held up the piece of tree bark up to his eyes. "This tree is sick, and that fellow is sick. They're both sick."
Ridgy's head perked up. "Yeah...you're right. Maybe both of those things are connected somehow."
"Exactly," Ripper explained. "There's no point in giving up now. You're on the right track I assure you. Now all that's left is the source. Find the source, son. Find the answer."
"Yeah, I'm going to find the answer! Thanks dad!" Ridgy turned around, and Ripper was gone. Ridgy blinked. He wasn't standing. He was on the floor in the exact position he was in when he fell down in front of the tree.
"I guess it was all a dream." Ridgy stood up and dusted himself off, taking a glance around the trees. Next to the tree he was standing, there was a fallen piece of tree bark in just the same shape as the one Ripper had taken off the tree. Ridgy walked over and picked it up. "Maybe Athair can figure something out with this."