Dingo Bingo IV
“What are you shouting at me for?” the dingo woman asks after a pause. She growls. “You mental? I’m the predator here, you witless fool, and you’re the one that needs to play the role of the prey. Get that through your tiny skull.”
You mull over the choices for a moment, but, you end up deciding to take a third route ultimately… by combining the two options into a single one!
She comes toward you again, and you react swiftly by doing what you’ve seen kangaroos do in videos - and what feels like it’s the most natural reaction for you: you stand at your full height, using your tail for added balance, and you thrust your legs out full stop. Your large feet smash into the dingo, knocking her backwards with enough force that she topples onto the ground.
It’s a strange sensation, and an even stranger even to witness.
You’re shocked at the fact you just double kicked someone in the gut like that, but you’re even more shocked at how far she zoomed backwards from the impact. You’ve never done anything like that before, so witnessing it is definitely a new one for you - but it’s also admittedly satisfying to watch her fly back and then crumple onto the ground. She looks utterly dumbstruck by the fact you just kicked her like that, too, and like she’s kind of in pain.
‘Whoa,’ is all you think, and you stand there for a moment, watching her.
“…ow,” she mutters, as she lies there, clutching her chest.
You feel a bit of pride at how you just kicked a dingo - basically a predator that wanted to literally EAT you - like that, but you let that pride slide away after a pause because you don’t want this to turn into some messy affair.
“Look, I don’t want any trouble,” you say. “I don’t want to have to worry for my life, and I don’t want to fight you, so why don’t you stop acting crazy and we start over?”
It takes about a minute or two for her to clamber up to her feet. She’s gritting her teeth, and after a long pause, she eyes you with a fixed scowl. She looks upset by this turn of events, and you wonder what she’ll do now.
“You… got some nerve,” she mutters. “You think cuz you kicked me once that I’m gonna turn tail and scamper off? What the hell are you smoking?” She growls at you and starts to stagger toward you, her fingertips turning into full claws. “Stop breaking the rules, you asshat. You’re not supposed to fight back, this whole thing is a damned game, and if you think I’m gonna let you--”
You interrupt her by doing the same thing again, standing up and balancing on your tail as you lash your feet out and again kick her square in the gut. The force knocks her for a loop all over again, and she once more topples onto the cave floor in a heap. You kind of feel bad for her, but, you don’t let that show, since you’re also not in the mood for any more shenanigans right now.
She grumbles and sputters after this second double kick. It’s almost comical watching this once-terrifying dingo woman feebly pick herself off the ground.
‘I feel like I’ve gotten zapped into Looney Tunes,’ you muse. Only instead of Wiley Coyote and the Roadrunner, it’s you the Kangaroo and a Dingo.
It takes a bit longer this time for the dingo to get up, but, when she does, she hovers there, rubbing her midsection after being gut kicked like that. She seems to be much more leery of you, and, as you watch her face you, her expression is one of stunned silence. It also appears that she’s now being much more careful with her words, and she isn’t coming at you a third time.
Yet, that is. You aren’t about to lower your guard yet, oh no.
“Alright…” She grits her teeth again and groans. “You’re not playing the same thing I am, I guess.”
“I’m not playing anything,” you say, and you shrug. “You’re the one talking about eating people here. In case you forgot, I’m not an actual kangaroo, and, uh, you’re not an actual dingo. So… I dunno what you’re expecting will happen.”
She huffs. “Look, it’s nothing personal. I’m just doing what a dingo does--”
“But you’re not a dingo,” you say again.
“Oh for the love of…” She glowers at you. “I’m AWARE of that fact, you bastard. What my POINT is that this whole insane world,” she sweeps an arm around to emphasize this statement, “isn’t the real world. We’re not ourselves here, so why the bloody hell would I be acting and thinking rationally? Where’s the fun in that when I’m a damned wild animal? There isn’t any. You’re the one trying to be all moral and shite, and it’s pissing me the hell off. So stop it.”
“Nah,” you reply. “Don’t want to.”
She scowls. “Listen, you stupid--”
You mimic the same action for a third time in the end, and you end up knocking her for a loop with yet another double kick. She topples down again, and this time, she crumples with a higher pitched whining noise. This, you HOPE, is enough to get this to stop, and while you remain on guard, you watch her expression shift to one of sheer defeat as she struggles to stand.
“Okay…” she mutters. She tries to pick her body up, but flops down on the ground again, whimpering. “Damn, that hurts… ow.”
You watch on, and after a long pause, you can feel in your chest that she isn’t going for a fourth attempt anytime soon, if at all. She remains downed and looks up at you weakly, still gritting her teeth, but her expression is one of frustration and confusion, and humiliation now, instead of smugness or anger.
“You win,” she says. She tries again to get up, but falters and collapses. “Dammit. I can’t even get up, this HURTS. You nailed me good.” She grumbles and lies there. “Piss off, would you? I’m done. No more chasing you or Erin, no more playing predator. I promise I’m finished, cuz I frankly don’t feel like getting my arse handed to me on a platter anymore. Thrice is enough, thanks.”
You feel a swell of relief at hearing this, but, you don’t speak, nor move just yet.
You instead begin to ponder what you could do next - you feel like you have a few possible options, and you’re not entirely sure what the best one would be.
You could move on and look for Erin, naturally. With the dingo incapacitated, it leaves you time to search for her without having to worry about the dingo trying to hurt or eat you. Or, you could perhaps finish her off to be DOUBLY sure - but that doesn’t feel like it’s the right choice, so you discard it. Instead, your second option is… you could try to help her up and check on her.
It might be dense, but, you feel a little bad, and you don’t want to be heartless. You like to be the bigger person when you’re able to, and now is the perfect chance for it.
‘Hmm… but is it worth it for her?’ you wonder.
What do you do next?
Written by Hollowpage on 08 September 2020