Their battle was made mercifully short by the fact that there were just so many of their own. Hector had the worst feeling that there were hordes of these creatures just waiting to get in their way. It would be just his luck to find himself having to wade through miles of nettlesome shadow creatures just to get where he needed to go. As the conflict died down, it became apparent that one of their number was missing. Hector had no idea who it was they were concerned about. They had so many people, it was hard to keep track of which ones were still around, and there seemed to be a whole new bunch of them on hand for some reason. He was briefly concerned that they were so quick to write off whoever it was that had gone missing, but he did have to agree that there was little point in chasing him to parts unknown, especially when they were supposed to be doing something important.

Soon enough the rabbit found the magic macguffin they were supposed to use. Hector really couldn't care what it was as long as it got them where they needed to go. Following the others, he was distinctly unmoved by the new locale they found themselves in. Wonder and whimsy had never held his attention much, and this world had irked him enough he couldn't care less how breathtaking the environment might have been. They were here to talk to a caterpillar, or more likely a horrifying creature masquerading as a caterpillar for some unfathomable reason, and that was what Hector chose to focus on. They found their quarry eventually, and he launched into a long winded explanation. They were informed he was here to explain things to them, so Hector supposed this was to be expected. As far as he understood it, it all seemed to boil down to them needing to kill a bunch of things before they could proceed. No doubt said things were all hidden behind wave after wave of trivial, tedious underlings before providing them a long and aggravating showdown personally. Sometimes Hector hated to be proven right.

When prompted to ask questions, Hector seized the opportunity to ask one of his own. [b]"Are you aware that this world of yours is similar to one described in a popular novel in our world? If so, do you have any idea why?"[/b] It was the painfully large elephant in the room, so Hector felt they may as well address it with the one person that would appear to have all the information in this world. Hector wasn't truly expecting a satisfactory answer, whether the caterpillar had one to give or not, but it needed to be said. He wasn't even sure if it would be better to hear that the similarities were coincidental, or that there was some weird special reason for everything, considering the implications that might have for them all. All he could do was await an answer.

[@The Jest]