A new family

I wake up in full anticipation, still lying on the meadow.
Another day on this planet!
First I'll have a breakfast, then delicious berries, and then I'll play with Balli the whole day.

I open my eyes and am surprised to see a girl sitting next to me.
A human girl? What is a human girl doing here?
As she notices, I'm awake, she immedately runs away.
I think about running after her, but she's already out of sight.

Did I see it right? She didn't wear any clothes, did she?
Then I realize, I'm still naked, too. How embarrassing. She must have seen everything...
I should really get some proper clothes in case she appears again.

How is this possible?
All humans died centuries ago. That's what I've been told in the space station.
There is no way anyone could live here. Maybe another cyborg who lost contact to the station like me?
She didn't really look like a cyborg, though.
I didn't notice any ports.

Maybe I was still dreaming. She can't have been real.
So I decide to look for Balli. I can't see it anymore. Where did it go?
Suddenly it comes rolling by.
It has become slim again. A really small ball, even thinner than yesterday when I saw it for the first time.
It must be using up a lot of energy.

But suddenly I notice another Balli.
This one is still pretty fat.
So did Balli have a baby?

The fat one seems very stressed. As I look at it, it gets thinner quickly. How can that be?
Then it rolls away to the side and another Balli appears behind it.

Does that mean they reproduce asexually?
There should be enough food for them at this place.

Just like yesterday, I walk around and the Ballis follow me.
It takes some time, but every now and then a Balli eats so much that a new Balli emerges.

It's so cool to have multiple of them now.
Soon I'll have a complete family of them!

I finally get some berries for breakfast and then continue walking along the huge meadow with them.

Soon I notice a few trees in the distance.
They have very large leaves. Thes seem to be suitable for making clothes.

After a while I made some clothes.
They aren't that comfortable, but they work to some extent.
At least I don't have to walk around naked all the time.

But after a few minutes I take them off again. Being naked was much more comfortable.
What are the odds to meet that girl again? If she even was real...

Soon, as I get closer one of the stone walls surrounding this area, some of the Ballis roll away towards it.

I follow them to see where they are going.
They are pretty fast but it's possible to keep up with them.

Soon I reach the cliff.
There are a bunch of huge rocks, which have some holes in it.
A bunch of the Ballis just enter it.
I keep waiting for a while but they don't come out again.

Maybe they live there?
Maybe their family is in there?

I try to talk and make noises in order to lure them out again.
Calling for them doesn't work.
Knocking at the rocks doesn't work either.
Whatever I do, it doesn't help.

Maybe singing will help. My voice has been very cute on the space station. But I might be out of practice.

I start to sing. It sounds pretty bad. My voice modules must be damaged as well.
But it still works. Kind of...
At least most of them come back out.

Maybe they really live in these little caves.
I'm sure they must be their home.

What would I give to be back at my home?
It wasn't that bad in the space station after all.
It was really nice there when I'm honest to myself.
I had everything I needed. And everything just worked.
But I've been stupid. I wanted to see and explore this planet.

All I got was a crash and I've almost been eaten.
I almost died!
That's not what I had in mind...

No, I shouldn't think about this.
This is a nice planet!
It's habitable. I found these creatures and a enough to eat.
I like it already and it will just become better!

I decide to keep going. Sadly not all Ballis are following me anymore, but still most of them.

After walking for a while, I suddenly notice another creature popping out of the grass. It's definitely not a Balli.
It must be a lizard. It's a bit smaller than me, so it shouldn't be too dangerous.

But then it quickly runs towards me.
Does it want to attack me?
No, it attacks the Ballis. Some of them try to fight back, others try to escape, but they have no chance.
It just attacks one after the other.

Then suddenly it grabs one of them with its mouth and bites.
The Balli immediately bursts like when you bite a berry.
But instead of juice, blood is spilling out.
The rest is squished. It must be dead already.
How can such a cute little creature be such a danger to my Ballis?

As long as it is busy with eating, the other Ballis are attacking the lizard, so it spits out the rest of the dead Balli and attacks the other Ballis.
They are just too weak to really hurt it.

But now the lizard is distracted.
That's my chance!
I just jump on it and grab it with my arms.
It struggles and also scratches my arm, but the Ballis keep attacking it.
Some of them still get hurt by the lizard.
But many are able to get closer and bite it.

Their small mouths aren't too dangerous, but enough of them are biting, so soon the many small bites make it lose a lot of blood and it gets unconscious.
I let go of the lizard. Some of the Ballis are hurt a lot, but no more of them died.

All of the Ballis gather around the creature and start to eat it.
After some time, only bones remain.
And the dead Balli is eaten as well.
So they are cannibals, too...
Some of them are pretty fat now, so I'll probably have more of them, soon.

Now I get how there have been so few of them before.
Without me, most or even all of them would have been eaten by that lizard. And they would have no chance against any stronger creatures.

So they really need me. They need people like me to protect them.
As long as I'm here, I'll be able to protect them.
I won't let such creatures get any closer.

From now on, protecting them will be my task on this planet!
They are like a new family to me!