A Higher Standard of Living

A Higher Standard of Living is the fourth episode of Tales of Dikuda. It's also the fourth episode of the first season.

Summary
Uuzoo runs into troubles with Krrah, who seeks to gain entrance into the city, willing to use brute force to reach that goal.

Episode in Detail


Krrah, trying to get her claws on "the goat", approaches the South Gate of Dikuda and tries to get into the city, where she is stopped by the still new member of the guard force: Uuzoo. Not bothering with any question for an ID or allowance to enter the city, Krrah tries to enter, but is then forcefully stopped by the snake from entering the city. Enraged, Krrah then attacks the snake and subsequently the two get into a serious fight, during which Uuzoo orders her partner, the otter SwayHan, to call for backup and to close the city gates.

Whereas Uuzoo sticks to using her skills, Krrah prefers to play dirty, going so far as to throw dirt into the snake's eyes to disorient her or taunting her. After a while of fighting, Krrah uses an energy projectile, fired from the space between her horns, to blow up the city gates. Uuzoo, injured by the explosion finds herself in the grasp of the bird, who then carelessly drops her to the ground and, as she flies off, introduces herself to the other, revealing her name to be Krrah.

As Uuzoo tries to collect herself and get back up, she is approached by a red panda, ZeChow, a fellow guard, who berates and belittles her for her performance during the fight. It's only when he notices Ryahno standing behind him that he stops and leaves, trying to act as if nothing happened.

Ryahno then approaches the snake, asking what is hindering her currently in performing her job well. In the conversation it is revealed that Uuzoo barely owns any warm spare clothing, even wearing her guard uniform to sleep in order to keep warm. Ryahno, unhappy with the news, tells her to take two days off work.

The next morning she shows up at Uuzoo's home, where she finds the snake asleep in a makeshift bedding, after letting herself in with the spare key she owns. Confused by the state she finds the home in, she wakes the snake and asks her about it. Uuzoo reveals that she was saving up all money, just in case she got fired, as she was feeling like she didn't do a good job. Surprised by the explanation, Ryahno disagrees with the snake. She then tells her to get ready to purchase some much needed things at the mall.

The two leave to the mall then, where Uuzoo finds herself overwhelmed by what she's seeing, as it's her first time in a mall. As they make their way through the building, Ryahno receives an emergency call from the Southern Gates, informing her that Krrah broke into the city. She arranges for Ahrow to handle the situation.

While the two browse the stores for winter clothing, Krrah breaks into the mall and causes a commotion. Uuzoo faces the bird once more and the two are about to engage in another fight, when Krrah notices the presence of Ryahno nearby and panics, quickly disengaging and fleeing the scene in a hurried manner.

Later on as Ryahno and Uuzoo arrive back at the snake's home, the former gifts Uuzoo a black and gray colored scarf, which she had secretly purchased for her.

Characters
The following characters appear in this episode (in order):


 * Bueh (not mentioned by name)
 * Krrah
 * Yin Uuzoo
 * SwayHan
 * ZeChow
 * Kuraz Ryahno
 * Paci Ahrow (mentioned)

Trivia

 * In this episode Krrah's name is mentioned for the first time, even though she previously appeared in episode 2.
 * According to the text mentioning that the gate was obliterated "last month" by Krrah, one month passed in between episode 2 and 4. Later in the text it is also mentioned that Krrah had "nightmares of burnt feathers last month," very likely caused by the fight with Ryahno.

Links

 * Official link to the episode on Tumblr.