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The Monk woke up in a shelter ready to set out again with his big brother, Survivor. But there was one small problem... Survivor was nowhere to be seen...

"Hello?" the timid, yellow slugpup, who was almost fully grown called out. "Brother? Are you- Are you there?" he stammered nervously. "Oh no... I'm seperated, again!"

This was not the first time Monk was seperated from his family. Previously, he had jumped into a chasm where Survivor slipped and fell in to, leaving his mother, father and little sister behind. But this time, it was different. He was all alone. No mother, no father, no siblings.

"Well... I have to get going before this cycle ends..." He sighed to himself, leaving the shelter and setting out into the humid environment, far away from where Five Pebbles and Looks To The Moon were. As many hours went by, Monk was doing well on his own, gathering fruit, distracting lizards so they don't eat them, leaving pearls for scavengers at their tolls, the average day for a wandering slugcat.

Night was drawing close and Monk had found himself far from the shelter in which he had woke up in. The foliage sparce, and what there was was some prickly kind of fruit tree, the lush grass was nowhere to be seen, only grains of sand as far as the eye can see. Monk could see 4 superstructures in a sort of square formation, and in the center of them was a large oasis, serving as their cooling source.

As Monk headed to the nearest shelter, which was near a superstructure with what seemed to be the husk of a rustic town on top of it (unlike the sprawling cities which were on the tops of other superstructures), it was starting to get humid... The humidity became warmth, and the warmth became heat.

"Why... Why is it so hot..?" Monk asked to himself, who was sweating while running to the shelter, until an indigo blur picked him up and placed them into the shelter. "You okay? The heatwaves can get pretty brutal for younger scugs like you." the mysterious slugcat asked Monk, his white eyes filled with curiosity. "Who...are you?" the yellow slugpup asked his saviour. "Oh, I'm Nomad. I'm a messenger made by Blossoming Stars Of Beyond, but when I'm not sending messenges, I just hang around the Desert Group's structures." he told Monk. " And you are..?" "I'm Monk... I'm a little bit lost but other creatures seem to be nice to me, so I'm nice to them." he introduced himself to Nomad. "Other creatures, huh? Does that include lizards?" Nomad asked Monk, readjusting his orange and purple bandanna. "Yeah! Lizards are probably the creatures that respect me the most..." he answered, twiddling his little thumbs. "Oh, that's great! I know a guy who absolutely LOVES lizards, he even has little plushies of them in his can!" Nomad smiled as he talked about this mysterious iterator. "Wait... Can... So there's an iterator near us who likes lizards like me???" Monk asked Nomad, starry eyed and inquisitive. "Yeah! His name is Brambles Of Yonder Reaches, we're actually under his superstructure as we speak!" Nomad told Monk, who was overjoyed about having a new iterator friend. "Maybe you should drop by his can next cycle. But for now, let's get some rest." Nomad yawned as he curled into a ball. "Okay! Goodnight, Nomad!" Monk told his new friend as they slept through the heatwave.

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The next cycle had begun, with Nomad and Monk waking up in the shelter after a heatwave. Still dozy, Monk yawned and greeted his new friend. "Mornin', Nomad..." the little slugcat yawned. "So... Why did it get so hot last cycle?" he asked inquisitively. "Oh, that's because when the Desert Group absorbs water from the central oasis to cool their systems, their fans all activate as one, causing waves of burning hot air to be pumped all throughout this area!" "Woah... That sounds kinda scary..." "It is, but once you've been though enough cycles, you get used to it." Nomad grinned as he explained the heatwaves to Monk. "Now c'mon! I've got to let you meet Brambles!" Smiled the indigo slugcat as his scar-ridden body scampered out of the shelter and on to the desert floor, with Monk following close behind.

A few hours had passed, and the duo were wandering the abandoned, ghost town-like structures at the top of the superstructure. "Wowzers... Why did this structure have these buildings instead of the cities like Pebbles, Moon and all the other superstructures I've seen?" Monk asked. "The ancients here were SUPER into tales and moving pictures about lizard herders! They saw them as great heroes, pillars of justice and just looked up to them!" Nomad explained. "So you're telling me, there was a tribe of ancients who basically had an all-cycle, every-cycle wild west LARPing session?" Monk asked, shocked and a little bit amused at the concept of ancients riding lizards and dueling each other at noon with explosive spears. "Hehe, basically!" Nomad chuckled. "Now c'mon, we're almost in the interior of the structure!"

Another hour passes and Monk is simply shocked at how many lizards were in this superstucture. "Okay, most of these look familiar to me, pinks, cyans, reds-" But before he can list another familiar kind, he heard an ominous "Shigrrrrrrrrrr..." from behind him and Nomad, and as they turn around, they are met face to face with a lizard unlike what Monk had ever seen. It had tall, spindly legs built for running, a striped back and a large, hungry, indigo head. "Don't worry, young friend. I've got this." Nomad smirked as he unsheathed a spear, but before he could get the spear fully, Monk scampered off to catch a nearby squidcada and threw it over the lizard's body. "Go get it!" he told the lizard while throwing it, in which it obliged.

Nomad was shaken by this oppurtunity. "Monk, you are a GENIUS!" he smiled as he ran off to find a lantern mouse which he threw after the mysterious lizard ate the squidcada. "How are you doing this so easily???" Nomad asked, stunned at how a mature slugpup can tame lizards as if they were already domesticated. "I'm just used to it by now! Now, I need a second squidcada or lantern mouse, or else we're food." "You mean this?" Nomad asked, holding a squidcada in his paws. "Exactly!" Monk said happily, being given the squidcada and holding it to this new lizard, who sniffed Monk's paws and ate the squidcada.

"There, there... Good lizard..." Monk softly smiled to his new friend, who's tail started wagging slightly. Nomad just stood there, shocked, only managing to say one thing. "Wow... Brambles would REALLY like you. And I'm talking ''making you an honourary messenger'' levels of an iterator liking a slugcat." "Has any iterator done that before?" Monk asked, petting his new lizard who was laying on the floor and growling happily. "I'm not sure, but I once heard that Five Pebbles made a slugcat an honourary citizen! Something about her ''explosive personality''." Nomad smiled, obviously talking about Artificer. "What are you naming your new friend?" "I'm thinking something like Blackberry!" exclaimed Monk, as the lizard happily licks his face in response. "I think he likes it!" Monk laughed. "Blackberry it is then!"

Another hour passes, and the trio are nearing Brambles' can. "Wait... Why can I hear a sort of twangy, energetic melody?" Monk asked, hearing a sort of song nearby. "That must be one of Brambles' music pearls! We're almost there!" Nomad exclaimed, trying to figure out which direction the music was coming from. "North-west, that way!" Nomad exclaimed as he scampered to the music, with Monk and Blackberry following close behind.

In the can, there was a tan-orange iterator in an deep orange robe, a teal bandanna and a cowboy hat in the same deep orange as his robes. He had a golden marking on his head that looked akin to a compass marker on a map but also a golden sun. There were 2 brown chevrons pointing downward on each cheek of his face, and his pitch black eyes had an enthusiastic twinkle to them. He was spinning, flipping and researching lizards as a twangy melody played from a music pearl. As the 2 scugs and their lizard entered the can, he halted his research and turned off the anti-gravity to see who was visiting him.

"Oh, Stars' lil' buddy! What brings ya here today?" he asked. "Brambles, I have someone I'd like you to meet." Nomad said, letting Monk introduce himself. "Hello... I'm Monk. I got seperated from my brother, so I'm trying to just get by without him... And my lizard is Blackberry. I only tamed him this cycle, but he seems to like me! I don't know what kind of lizard he is though..." "Well, ya came to just th' right iterator fer the job! Lemme just go through my lizard encyclopedia t' find it annnndd... There we go! Yer buddy is an Indigo Lizard! Oooohoohohooo, these're one of my favourites! They were bred for th' lizard herders way back when they were still roamin' around as companions 'n steeds! They were considered very dangerous when wild, but a lil' legend like you managed t' tame one! Nice one, lil' fella!" Brambles smiled(albeit with no mouth), holding his flat palm out to Monk to touch.

When the pair finally touched palms, Monk felt a surge of energy go through him, as if he had been upgraded. "Wowzers... Why do I feel like a whole new slugcat?" Monk asked. "Lil' creature, I could tell that you've tamed many lizards in th' past cycles, so I decided t' give ya a lil' upgrade! Think of it like a lil' boost to yer current abilities! You can now ride lizards, such as yer buddy, Blackberry, just like th' great lizard herders of th' past!" Brambles explained. "Also, I have somethin' fer ya. Lemme just... There we go!" Brambles then pulled out a bandanna from the pockets of his robes and tied it around Monk's neck. It was the same teal as his own bandanna, but it had his golden mark on it.

"Wait, I can ride lizards and I have a bandanna now... So what you're saying is... *gasp* I'M A COWBOY SLUGCAT?!?!" Monk asked excitedly. "Couldn't've said it better, lil' fella!" Brambles responded. "*gasp* YEEEEEEEEHAW!!!! ^^" Monk yelled happily, leaping into Brambles's arms for a hug. "Wow, lil' fella, yer just like a mini version of myself!" Brambles laughed. "See, I knew those two would get along." Nomad said to Blackberry, who just nodded his head as a response.

While the two new friends were laughing and playing, a purple and orange overseer beeped to Nomad. "Oop, Stars needs me. Hopefully we meet again soon, Monk!" Nomad smiled to the new friends as he left the can. "Bye, Nomad! Thanks for saving me!" "So long, lil' creature!" As the duo smiled and laughed, Brambles asked Monk a question. "Y'know, I like th' way ya live! Ya tame lizards, yer just a pal t' everything 'n everyone and you literally said yerself that yer a cowboy slugcat! So, how would ya like t' become my messenger 'n lizard researcher?" "I'D LOVE TO!" Monk smiled, his eyes wide and bright. "Then welcome t' the team, Monk 'n Blackberry! This calls fer music!" Brambles exclaimed, putting the same music pearl from earlier back on while Monk practiced his newly-gained lizard riding skills.

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A few cycles have passed since Brambles had essentially adopted Monk. He was training him on lizard riding, spear throwing, lizard taming and many more things, but now, it was finally time for his first cycle as Brambles Of Yonder Reaches' messenger and field researcher! He had packed an overseer to capture footage of the lizards and some pearls in case he meets scavengers.

🧡🌵: "Okay, lil' messenger. Ya ready fer your first research outing?" 💛⭐️: "Yep! I can't wait!" 🧡🌵: "Blackberry, keep 'im safe fer me, okay?" 💜🦎: "Shiigrrri!" 🧡🌵: "Th' goal is to research the Cyan Lizards, those frisky critters keep causin' a ruckus on th' upper left side of my stucture! There's also another creature associated with 'em, with orange-brownish fur 'n what seems to be glowin' cyan bracelets." 💛⭐️: "Ooooh, sounds mysterious!" 🧡🌵: "Sure is, now go get 'em, lizardpoke! Yeehaw!" 💛⭐️: "Yeehaw!" 💜🦎: "Shiiishakriiii! ^^"

As Monk and Blackberry went on their way to the upper left section of Brambles' structure, many of the lizards knew to pay no harm to the duo, due to Monk's bandanna and Blackberry's custom-made riding gear. Just before they could make it to the area where the Cyan Lizards were, they noticed a Rain Deer kneeling down and some scavengers with unique items. They all had the mark of Karma 3, Companionship, on their foreheads. The main scavenger dealing with the weapons noticed the lizard-riding slugcat and waved to him.

🤎🌿: "Hello! Come see what we have!" 💛⭐️: "Uhhhh, okay?" As Monk dismounted Blackberry and made his way over to the scavenger base, the cheery, young scav with her tan-brown fur and large green eyes shook his paw. 🤎🌿: "I am Lichen, you must be Monk, yes? The overseers told us about you!" 💛⭐️: "Yeah, that is me, but why do you want to sell to me in particular?" 🤎🌿: "Because you are the first slugcat that Sheriff Brambles has employed in quite a while! He dosen't really send out slugcats as much as the others." 💛⭐️": "I'm sorry, did you just say SHERIFF Brambles?" 🤎🌿: "Yes, yes! The ancients of Tumbleweed saw him as their leader, so we see him as our leader too!" 💛⭐️: "Ohhhh, so that's what the town on top of his structure's called... Do you guys have anything good for quelling Cyan Lizards?" 🤎🌿: "Oh yes! In fact, we do!" Lichen cheerily said as she pulled out what seemed to be a spear with a long rope attatched to it. 🤎🌿: "Behold! The Lasso Spear! Throw it at a lizard who's being aggressive and not only shall they be stunned, but also pulled into you! That'll be 2 pearls, please!" 💛⭐️: "That's awfully useful! Especially now where these lizards don't abide by 'Sheriff' Brambles' rules, hehe..." Monk handed two gleaming pearls to the cheery scavenger, who handed him the Lasso Spear. 🤎🌿: "Thank you! We'll be there for whenever you need us, Deputy Monk!"
💛⭐️: "You're welcome!" Monk smiled, slightly amused by his new nickname.