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The breeze was calming and carefree against the light of the sun, and for just a moment, Krita wondered if he could finish his quest right then and there. Dozing was a calm and rest-easy sort of place after all, a ruin to the failure of giants everywhere, and it put a soft grin on Krita's face.

Plenty of grass for the wandering beast that Krita's community had named their waddling thing, and soft soil for digging new holes. Everyone knew holes were the secret to a strong community, because within them was both the power of death and life. With each thunderous step through this happily broken place, Krita's mind was torn.

[i]"Settle here? Keep going? Krita's community really smells bad, mmmmmm...! But Golby the Biggs is expecting Bobblings for his crew?? Krita is many things, but Krita isn't rude or dishonest, that would be just the worst."[/i]

The chittering smell of Krita's right-hand Bobbling, who Krita liked to call Right-Hand Bobbling for that exact reason, caught the leader off-guard. He hopped forwards, just a little, his stumpy beige limbs making a soft 'patter' against the metal flooring the community had installed over their carrier's head. With a sneer he carefully tried to save face, spinning around on the spot in such a way that the red scarf he always wore began to blow in the breeze (something Golby had once told him via the community's HOBO would make him look heroic and kingly).

Right-Hand Bobbling made a soft 'ooh' noise, and Krita was pleased.

[i]"Krita the Best Boss Ever, No-Excuses-For-Realsies, the watchers have been smelling bad. It's upsetting the eggs. Two eggs just wilted."[/i]

Krita paused in his dramatic pose, the temporary halo caused by his especially shiny cap vanishing as he looked at Right-Hand right in the eyes. Right-Hand awkwardly shuffled backwards, skinny grabbers held close to his cylinder of a torso.

He never liked giving Krita bad news, because it always made Krita sad.

[i]"Krita thought Krita told the nesters to be careful where nesters put the eggs? Krita picked the watchers for watching because watching means smelling bad so Krita's community don't get eaten even once more than needed? The eggs are important, Right-Hand! Krita's community needs to look after the eggs!"[/i]

[i]"Right-Hand knows it No-Excuses-For-Realsies, but Krita's community has been walking for days with no sign of Golby the Biggs and the promised ship, thanks?? Too much stress and no room on the waddling thing so there's too many eggs and too many Bobblings and it smells really bad everywhere, No-Excuses-For-Realsies! All the community is asking for is a week off, so maybe Krita can maybe just tell Golby the Biggs to build the crew another time, thanks?? Please, No-Excuses-For-Realsies...?"[/i]

Krita tapped his chin, a handsome flap of meat that accentuated his charmingly spherical frog-face. With scarf billowing in the mild breeze, he had to confess that Right-Hand Bobbling had a point (though he would never admit it out loud).

They [i]had[/i] been travelling non-stop for days, and the feedback from the rest of the community had been exceptionally less-positive than normal. Rations were running low, the rate of eggs eventually becoming egged was way too high, and with only one carrot left for their ride there were fears that they'd be forced to veer wildly off-course if it had to go looking for its own food.

That or walk, and Krita had grown used to striding across the world on a giant machine-beast of his own discovery, even if they had stolen it using their carrots. Which they had also stolen.

All in all, it was an awful situation, and Dozing was such a lovely place to doze...

But then Krita smelt it. Saw it. Felt it.

What had panicked the watchers, and what everyone else would be panicking about as well as soon as they could distinguish the scent amidst the noise. Just out of view besides his perch atop the waddling thing, just beyond a particularly conveniently shaped piece of rock that Krita would probably have put down to divine intervention if Bobblings were inclined to believe in gods beyond their own mind-blowing capacity for following simple instructions that made them the true inheritors of the world.

[i]"REST THE WADDLING THING! REST IT, SO SAYS KRITA!"[/i] he screamed in the quiet language of his kind, and the entire community stopped their chattering and stinking with immediate effect. To a non-Bobbling, of course, the sound would be practically inaudible from any notable distance, but to the Bobblings it was really quite stunning.

The carrot team reared the carrot, and with awkward disappointment they failed to stop their carriage from effortlessly snatching it up to eat. It tended not to walk around for a while when it ate, though, so Krita was thankful.

He had bought them time, and maybe that would be enough to save their lives.

For there, just out of sight of the main body of the community's noble steed, in a wide open clearing, stood a pair of terrible giants. Krita desperately held in his breath, afraid of even daring to move for fear that they might be exposed.

[i]"What... what is it Krita?"[/i]

[i]"Right-Hand Bobbling, it's the biggest and most monstrous biggs any Bobbling has ever seen, like an ugly bug thing, except it probably wouldn't even taste good?? Krita is happy Krita discovered it and also Krita is preparing two dramatic speeches, one in case the waddling thing spends enough time eating for Krita to think of a clever and daring plan or Golby the Biggs shows up."[/i]

Right-Hand gulped, grabbers shaking.

[i]"And, No-Excuses-For-Realsies, the other one?"[/i]

[i]"Well, Right-Hand, Krita needs Right-Hand to pass on the message for Krita's community to prepare to run or burrow for every single life and egg as quietly as possible, because if the big dumb waddling thing does something big and dumb and loud or Krita's community does something not big but also dumb and loud, Krita's speech will be about how brave and dumb and fun every Bobbling was and hopes that the survivors find a new king who is the Second Best Boss Ever, No-Excuses-For-Realsies, to go and make the special Bobbling Kingdom in the special peaceful place, just like Krita promised, okay?"[/i]

...

Right-Hand just nodded, waddling off as fast as his stumps would let him to warn the others, and Krita stroked his chin.

The odds were not in his favour, but he had the beginnings of a plan...