On an isolated cliff, miles away from the Tallneck…
"Two people are coming over here from the north, they will soon reach the Tallneck and I don't know if they will keep on going after that, I was able to confirm that they have weapons, what should we do?"
"That's weird, the Keads aren't stupid, they woudn't implicate themselves in this invasion and even less send just two people … Keep an eye on them in case they're reinforcement for the Yoseth. If you are sure to be able to eliminate them silently, do it. If they seem too strong and aren't headed for the battlefield then come back, every wing counts."
The cloaked man that made the report nodded, walking towards the edge of the cliff and jumping down, without hesitation.
Matt's POV :
Goddamnit! Why did I do that!? She's not even heading for the Tallneck anymore, she's coming for me!
I don't want her to catch me in that state but if this keeps on going she's really going to transform and then it'll be even worse!
'Aiden, scan everything around me. Find something that will help me keep my distance.'
[Initiating scan…]
[Nothing useful was found. Only some animals and Scru machines are located all around you. Your best bet is to reach the Tallneck and use it for… defensive measures.]
'Just great! Give me the best route to the Tallneck Aiden!'
[I'm sorry sir, I'm not a fucking GPS, if you wish for this function to be added, please download i-]
'Okay okay I got it. Tch.'
"Ma~at~ I'm coming~"
"Astrid! If you calm down I'll stop!"
"N-No need~ I want to catch you~ and taste you~"
"Don't say such things when you want to dry me of my blood!"
The chase continued with Matt's slick maneuvering through the trees and Astrid's unstoppable run as she stayed fixated on him even when he tried to turn invisible or
"I can smell your love~!"
"I can give you some if you stop, please?"
"No~ I want to hunt~!"
"But don't hunt me!"
"I only want to hunt YOU!"
*THUD* *THUD*...
Loud, mechanical footsteps became louder and clearer the further they ran and the machines that observed the strange pair of humans from afar became more and more numerous.
Matt finally stopped jumping from tree to tree as he jumped down and rolled on the ground to keep his momentum.
*THUD!*
Landing not so far was the wide mechanical hoof of the Tallneck, still oblivious, or at least unbothered by their presence.
[You are lucky to still be alive, are you sure this is worth it?]
'Not really no, but I want to make some fun memories.'
[This is a very stupid way to make 'fun' memories.]
'Yeah I know, but that's why it's fun.'
[ -_- …]
'Does the Tallneck have something to hurt me? In particular if I touch it?'
[Scanning Tallneck…]
[The tallneck does not possess any defensive or offensive mechanisms other than its size and endurance. It would be unwise to attack it however as it can send a distress signal to all machines in the surrounding region.]
'Don't worry, I'm not going to fight it...'
[That's a relief sir.]
'I'm going to climb it.'
[You are a moronic creature sir.]
"MATT!"
The target of this shout turned around to meet face to face with his abusive and bloodthirsty girlfriend.
"H-Hey Astrid.. It's not what you think."
"You would rather be first than be with me? Then I can't let you be first."
Astrid dashed passed him, turning her legs into one of a Snow Leopard and leaping halfway up the Tallneck's long mechanical leg. Unlike what Matt thought, Astrid hadn't entered her psychotic state, she had long been able to vent her desires with Matt within Valhalla and her negative emotions on her 'students', the only reason she ran after him was because they were both headed to the same place, and Matt was the faster and nimbler of the two.
She had clearly noticed the misunderstanding but decided to play along, just for fun.
And now she was ahead of the race and Matt could only watch as she jumped and climbed up the leg of the titanesque machine.
"Alright, I need to get up there before her."
He crouched down and jumped up, not even half as high as Astrid, but that's not how he wanted to climb this thing.
'Giant squid tentacles', 'Suction cups'
Long yet thin tentacles slithered out from the back of his colar and the lower part of his shirt, flowing towards the machine's body and latching onto the smooth metallic hide with the numerous suction cups that bloomed out like flowers.
This was the first time he hadn't used them in conjunction with his cloaking mutation, showing the four invisible "hands" to the light of this outside world.
He continued his ascension in a relaxed manner, sucking his way to the top, and yet he wasn't able to close the distance between him and his beloved.
He could only watch her jump from the last metallic plate that was protruding from the neck of the Tallneck onto its head, as he soon reached the top as well.
His collar got grabbed by a slim yet strong hand and his entire view flipped around, quickly finding himself on the "floor" next to an exhausted Astrid. A surface that wasn't very comfortable as it shook repeatedly at every step the Tallneck takes, but still perfectly fine to rest on when you were really tired after a long run.
"Hihi~ Gotcha." She giggled as she turned on her side to face him.
"Ha… haha… Yeah, well played…"
"Today was really fun~"
"Agreed… I love having fun with you."
"Nh… there is no reason to live if you can't have fun, especially when it's with you."
"Hey that's something I said when we were little!" Matt exclaimed as he remembered.
"You remember!?"
"Of course I remember. It was a few months after the hatching ceremony. You kept on training like crazy and didn't stop even when I told you to. Until one day I asked you what you were training for and you didn't answer me, so I told you there was no point in training if you didn't have fun while doing it or while doing something else other than training. By the way, the reason you were training so hard was for me right?"
"Baka! Don't say things like that so easily… Of course it was for you, but I didn't tell you since it was before we… shared our feelings."
"... The air up here actually feels pretty nice." Matt said
"Soo… since I won, can I ask something of you?" Astrid spoke with a triumphant look.
"Hmm I wonder… Did you win? I never said anything about the first one on top of the Tallneck, I just said first one there."
"You! You meany!"
"You're the one that terrified the frick out of me and you also just leaped up here first!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH"
At first, Matt thought this high pitched scream came from Astrid but as he followed the sound, he noticed it wasn't coming from next to him nor below, on the real ground, rather, it came from the sky.
"SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT AAAAHHHH!"
*BOOM*
Something, or rather someone fell right beside them, crashing into the top of the Tallnecks head like a missile, the head which barely moved from the impact.
*Cough* *Cough*
"Ugh, why in the wind's name was Theo up there? I almost got caught, huf… Huf… "
The mysterious person lifted its head revealing the surprised face of a young woman staring at me as she gasped for breath, casually puffing a hanging strand of hair out of her face.
"...Huf… Uhm… Hi?"
1300 words
Now starts the plot of this story, and what better way to start a plot than introduce unknown clans and a brand new girl? :D