Once again 7 approached me. Dark clouds still blocked out the majority of the sunlight, but I was able to take a good look at his shell. Although it was punctured in a few places and it was all scratched up, it was slightly better than the day before. Just like magic, blue squiggles appeared above 7's head when he got closer to me.
"Hey," I said as he slid towards me to block off my path forward. I already had an idea of what he was going to say to me. He was like the tiny voice at the back of my head that kept on telling me what I should or should have done differently.
So, before he even started gesturing about me making a mistake, I spoke first.
"I know... I let her go." I said.
"You should have at least punished her." 7 gestured in response.
"I could have, but it wouldn't have done any good if we killed her or beat her up like she did to you and 11."
"That's true... but why just send her off by herself? You could have gone with her and sent some of us to escort her. Then we can formally speak with them and release her." 7 suggested.
"That's a good idea, but I wanted to give them a message. I wanted to show them that we are not as weak as we look. Giving 60 back is my statement to them. What does giving up 60 for no reason after spending so much energy to kidnap her mean to you?" I asked as I slid forward.
Without waiting for 7 to respond I continued. "It's to show that we can take her back whenever we want. That it will be easy for us to do it. It also shows that we understand 60's importance and that we can both give and take. First, we give 60 without harming her to show that we are peaceful snails. Then if they don't respond peacefully, we will take them out. Understand?"
"But...what do you mean by "take them out"?" 7 asked.
"Great question!" I replied as I looked around and to make sure that 60 was well on her way.
In the distance, 60 had slid to the edge of the leaf. She appeared to be very cautious as she kept looking back across the leaf in my direction. Seeing this, I raised my eyestalk and waved towards her. In response, she quickly turned her head towards the branch and slid off.
'Good. She can't hear us.' I thought as I slid closer towards 7 and whispered.
"Remember when the adventuring team met up with you all on the branch first?"
7 nodded.
"I cut a gash in the bottom of the stem with my teeth. If they try anything, I'll cut their leaf off of the branch and let them fall into the abyss below."
Yup. That was my diabolical plan. It was an evil plan, right? It's borderline genocidal. If the leaf was cut off of the branch, their entire species would go extinct. Okay, probably not their entire species. But if this was a game I would have gained a mountain of exp from it.
...
"Aren't you scared they'll start a war with us as soon as 60 gets back to them? If they start a war right now, we won't be able to react in time." 7 gestured worriedly.
"Don't worry. I gave 60 quite a scare. I'm sure she'll try her hardest to mend the situation this time." I said as I slid next to 7 and patted him on the back with my eyestalk. "Try to give 60 a chance. At the end of the day, she's still our sister. If she tries to betray us once more, I'll personally deal with her." I continued.
After turning down 7's suggestions and giving him an explanation about why I did this and that, 7's concern seemed to turn into sadness.
Looking at 7's now downcast look I sort of understood him. He was trying to be helpful by questioning my actions and providing his own suggestions. But like a hardheaded boss who looks down on his hard workers, I constantly said "no" to all his suggestions. Yup. I was THAT boss.
...
"Look 7, it's great to bring this up and you're not at fault for thinking this way. It's just that I'm stuck in my ways of doing things. Keep it up, buddy. I trust you... and if anything happens to me..." I paused and took in a deep breath. "I want you to take charge and take care of our brothers and sisters," I said reluctantly. "Come on, "deputy leader". Let's go check up on the adventuring team and then go train with the defence team." I gestured.
...
I didn't just give him the responsibility for no reason or to cheer him up. No. During those few days, I had asked myself the same questions over and over again: 'What if I'm gone?', 'What would happen to my family if I can't protect them?' and 'What will they do without me?'.
'I need a solution.' I thought to myself.
I also had a feeling that emanated from deep inside me. It was similar to the feeling that I had felt when I believed that there were more captured snails on the Spiked-shelled snail's leaf. But instead of missing snails, I had a gut feeling that something was brewing - that something big was going to happen soon and my time with my siblings would be cut short.
'I need someone that could take my place.' I concluded.
My body was changing as well during that time. No, it wasn't that I had suddenly grown big. Instead, it was the memory of losing control and biting another snail. Although it was a Spiked-shell snail, I still took a bite out of a snail! I knew that this was going to be a bigger problem in the future and at the point that I couldn't control myself anymore, I would have to leave my family.
'I need someone to protect them from me.' I pondered.
I was certain that I was special. No. I knew that I was special from the day that I was born, but the metallic voice in my head and the boxes and bars that plagued my vision confirmed it. I knew that I was destined for bigger and more dangerous things beyond the leaf and tree was born on.
'I may leave one day to seek my true destiny. I can't stay here forever.'
I really didn't know what was happening to me at the time. I didn't know what was going to happen in the future or what was even happening to my body. All I knew was that I was trapped in a sea of unknowns and mysteries and I knew that I had to find a lighthouse. A sturdy lighthouse that could weather the storms of life. A bright lighthouse that could lead my family in the case that I was gone.
And that lighthouse was 7.
7 was the answer.
...