hyaline
[ noun hahy-uh-leen, -lin; adjective hahy-uh-lin, -lahyn ]
noun
- Also hy·a·lin [] Biochemistry.
- a horny substance found in hydatid cysts, closely resembling chitin.
- a structureless, transparent substance found in cartilage, the eye, etc., resulting from the pathological degeneration of tissue.
- something glassy or transparent.
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Mit and Bud crept into the large cave. They should not have been there, but they were desperate. The Rattin were becoming more aggressive by the day, and it wouldn’t be long before outright war broke out. And there were said to be old weapons in this cave. Forbidden weapons. But if they could be used to stop a war? That was worth the risk.
“Hear anything?” Bud asked. His tail was tucked and his own ears laid back.
“I...do.” Mit said. Her triangular ears flicked and rotated, working much better than Bud’s floppy ones. Although his nose was better, he wasn’t using it too much. For a Doggin, he wasn’t very brave.
“It’s odd.” She continued. “A humming sound coming from the walls. I can’t tell what’s causing it.”
“Monsters? Demons?” Bud asked. “Probably one of those.”
“We’ll find out. And if it is something dangerous, I’ll take care of it.” She said, flexing her claws.
She just hoped he wasn’t paying enough attention to smell her own nervousness. There was a reason Cattin only used their claws as a weapon of last resort, after all.
The two went deeper into the cave and eventually found its end. A massive cavern, easily larger than their village. It was dimly lit with odd red lights coming from the bottom of the unnaturally smooth walls. In fact, the entire place was smooth. Not like stone at all. Bud leaned down and sniffed the floor.
“It’s...metal. Not a kind I’ve ever seen before, either. And it’s everywhere.”
“I wouldn’t be worried about that. I’m more worried about those.”
Mit pointed a paw at the interior of the metal cavern. There were things there. Giant tubes of some smooth, transparent material. Like the glass that nobles sometimes used for their windows, but much clearer. And there were hundreds of them.
Each tube was filled with a pale green liquid with a figure floating inside. The figures were large, and without fur, save for on their heads. And they had distinct paws with five long ends.
“They look like Apein.” Mit said.
“Can’t be.” Bud said. “They’re too skinny to be Apein. And not as hairy. The paws kind of match though.”
“Hands, Bud. Apein call them hands.”
“Close enough. What do we do with them?”
“I don’t know. Are they even alive?”
The two looked at each other. They approached one of the tubes. They pressed against them, smelling and listening for signs of life. The figure was indeed alive, if only just. And there was something else. Bud felt something that Mit apparently did not. An odd longing, like he wanted to meet whoever was in that tube. His tail moved, wagging slowly.
“Should we do something?” Mit asked.
“Yes!” Bud said, a little quicker than he probably intended. “I mean, we’re here for something to help us fight, right? And these...whatever they are, are big. And they built a place like this. They must know something that can help, right?”
“Okay? Look around and see if there’s something we can use to free one of them.”
The search commenced. The cavern was filled with things that neither could identify. They examined the tubes closer and found a part of it dimly lit. Mit tapped it, and it came to life. Symbols she could not even begin to identify flashed on the small rectangle. She sighed and began randomly tapping them, hoping for something to happen. And something did.
A voice came out of the tube, speaking in an unknown language. The glassy tube buzzed and whirred. The liquid emptied, vanishing into the floor. The figure collapsed, not moving. Both Bud and Mit gathered, watching, hoping something would happen.
Then the figure moved. Its eyes opened wide and it took a big, deep breath. The glass lowered, although there did not seem to be anything lowering it. The odd Apein looked around, wide eyed with obvious panic. It said something in the same language as the tube did, but in a much deeper voice. Then it saw Bud and Mit.
Its eyes landed on the small Doggin and its mouth curled up, baring large, flat teeth. Mit hissed at the threat and backed up. Bud did not. He approached the large creature.
“What are you doing?” Mitt asked. Her fur was standing on end and her claws were out in full force.
“I...don’t think he wants to hurt us.” Bud said. “Don’t ask me why, but I just know.”
The creature held out its, his, hand and Bud approached. The long fingers went right to Bud’s head and began to move. Bud’s eyes rolled back in his head and his tail wagged furiously.
“What...what’s happening?” Mit asked.
“I don’t know, but whatever it is, is amazing.” Bud said dreamily. His tongue actually lolled out of his mouth. The Apein seemed absolutely thrilled about this.
“Well maybe you can use...whatever you’ve got going on to communicate? We need their help you know.”
“Uh-huh. I’ll get right on that.” Bud said.
Mit sighed. She just hoped whatever these creatures were, were worth the trouble.
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Not sure if this is going to actually go anywhere or not. Probably not, but there's always a chance, right?
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