Of Mice and (Proto) Men [Exemplary]

[Proto Man]

“We’re heading further into the Green,” Proto Man said as the trees rushed passed them. For a lion with three people on its back (one of them being made entirely of metal), Simba didn’t seem to sweat as he almost casually hopped over fallen logs and dipped around obstacles. “To Yggdrasil.”

“Yig-a-what?”

“It’s where the night elves live.”

Once more, Mickey shook his head. “You might as well be speaking a foreign language, Buddy!” He said, punctuating his question with a little lighthearted chuckle as Simba came to a lumbering halt. “What is it?” The mouse inquired as he leaned forward to try and get a better view of what was ahead of them.

“River up ahead.” The lion reported, glancing back at the trio. “None of you can smell that? The water has a very… strange scent.”

Mireya slid down from the lion’s back and nodded along with the speaking feline. “We’re probably near one of the Animus’ tributaries. Anytime it rains, the water picks up a lot of dirt and sediment and always has a really musty smell.” The half-night elf glanced over at her robotic companion. “Do you have the map for this area on you?”

“Yea,” Proto Man replied as he hopped down from Simba. Once he was closer to the woman, he activated his buster arm and aimed it at the ground as he shuffled through a bunch of files on his internal display. Mickey and his lion watched silently as Proto Man smiled and started to power up his hand cannon. In a flash of light, the Proto Buster projected a crude map made of grid lines, with four red dots near the center.

“Can’t you…” Mireya paused as she fumbled for the correct word. “You know?”

“The resolution,” Proto Man muttered as he increased the output settings to as high as they would go. In a few moments, the rudimentary map took on a much clearer identity as the green grid lines were overlaid with rendered grass and trees. Once the image was freshly rendered, Mireya dropped down next to it and traced the path of the nearby blue line on the map.

“We shouldn’t have a problem getting through this one,” she muttered, glancing up at the trio. “We’ll have to figure a way to get around the river proper though,” she explained as she traced a line from the other side of the nearby stream to a point that lay off the map. The hunter kept going, carving a soft line in the dirt for about another twelve inches. “The main body of the Animus should be here, about ten or so miles beyond the initial crossing. Once we figure out how to get across it, Yggdrasil shouldn’t be more than a few hours on foot.”

“What did you say you used to do, Mireya?” Mickey asked as he stared a little longer at the three-dimensional map. “And what exactly are you?” The second question was aimed at Proto Man, who smiled as he clicked off the display.

“Me?” Mireya asked as she discarded the stick. “I was just a hunter… that’s all the options you have when every other society doesn’t want you.”

“I’m sapient robot,” Proto Man responded in a very neutral tone that made it sound as if that should be common knowledge. When he saw the amused and somewhat startled look on Mickey’s face, the preteen machine grinned. “And you’re an anthropomorphic rodent with a talking lion... I think you’re the rarer case.”

Mickey chuckled, a hearty and jovial noise that made Proto Man smile. “Well let’s go, I heard we have a stream to get across.”