Getting to the Gold

"...So uh...what happened to your leg?" The Golduck mutters, clearly attempting to hide his sympathy and pose it as a mere curiosity. His eyes were on your bandaged leg, but the moment he perks them towards your eyes, they simply dart back down.

You smirk, exude a sigh as you equally inspect the limb. "...Well, had a pretty rough fall and landing when fighting an Aerodactyl."

"The hell is an air-oh-dacktail?" The duck grunts as he continues to bounce a leg and stare up at the ceiling.

It earns a chuckle out of you, but you better explain, "Alright, so, imagine a feral that's even more of a tempered hot-head than Jack over there. And maybe make it...three or four times my size. It's a giant grey dinosaur with winged arms and has a roar that can shake an entire canyon."

"Tch. You're pullin' my leg, pooch. If that were true, you'd be dead meat." Gold retorts.

You answer while keeping a hand to your own leg. It was a miraculous triumph, if not also a lucky one. You were glad that the worst you sustained was just a hurt leg after the chaos. "Oh I thought I would be too. But the only reason I fell is because I knocked itself out against a wall when riding along its back."

The duck actually drags his attention back onto you, this time unafraid to look you in the eye. "Pff...you rode the damn thing?"

"After sneaking up on it while it was asleep." You shrug but meet your gaze with him. "...Not the most holy of tactics, yeah; admittedly I tried to knock it out with the strongest move I could, but I think that only made it lightly dizzy and woke it up."

"So what was your big plan after getting on it? Crashing it into a wall?" The duck asks. The more you spoke, the more interested he seemed to get, going as far as to sit up now.

You oblige and admit the truth, "To be honest, I didn't have a plan at that point. I kind of just went full-on instinct from then on. It was mostly luck that it ended up working."

Gold actually laughs to that, getting a hearty belly quake by it with a hand slumped on his chest. "Qwuah! Khahah! I thought you were supposed to be the smart one!"

In the moment, you let the bird have his laugh as you rub at your nose, still smirking, but content with your luck. You hoped the noise wasn't enough to wake Jackal up, but the big Typhlosion was simply snoozing away still. At most, he simply rolls onto his side in his sleep."...Well, smarter than Jackal maybe, but in the end I'm just getting by like everyone else. I'm just some guy that spent too long in the woods."

"Lived by yourself too then...?" The duck slows down in his chuckling to eventually ask. It didn't take great insight to see his surprise, let alone the ounce of empathy.

"That's right. And I can't even say for how long. It's not like I counted the days or anything, I lived away from a community from even before the infected started to crop up." You reply, all before explaining your living situation to Gold, recounting on setting up defenses when coming across your first infected feral, the close calls you've had with encounters, and the lack of resources getting you to venture out further than your place of comfort. It seemed the more you talked about the outside world, the less cocky and more morbidly curious the Golduck became.

Eventually, the water bird mutters, "....Jeez...the world out there sounds absolutely fucked. I thought it was bad around the lake, especially being near that bog. But you're telling me every place is this bad, or worse?"

It wasn't your intention to ever scare him, but considering his lack of knowledge of the wider world out there, it would be dishonest to sugarcoat anything. Still though, you recall the good people you've met along the way and mention, "Not every place. The world itself is still in a dark time, but...there's still some great beauties to it. I never thought I'd see the places I've been too so far, and even with dangers out there, people still hold on to their communities. Like this one place, Redeemer's Grotto. It's an entire city built within this mountain. Towers and stone walkways, everywhere you look up or out. Torches and glowing crystals illuminate the streets, and I couldn't even begin to tell you how many people they had living down there; not just living, but thriving. It was...impressive, but also reassuring. It means there's still a world for us. We just have to learn how to live through it and overcome it."

Gold actually remains silent despite his rather intrigued expression, scooting up closer even to you at the edge of his moss bedding. You recall the different sights and locales of Redeemer's Grotto, before also talking of Darcy and her husband in the canyon city they lived in, how they have a chance to rebuild their own community now. The more you detail, the more lost in your words Gold becomes.

He speaks out to halt your reminiscing, "...Wow...what I'd...give to see somethin' like that. I can't believe that many people are out there and can make a city like that. I've never seen one."

You smirk and off-handedly comment, "Maybe I can show it to you sometime."

Gold immediately perks up at that. "...Ya mean it? Er-" He crosses his arms and huffs, "I mean, tch, yeah right. Now you're just pullin' my leg. How do I even know anything you told me's the truth?"

"I guess ya can't." You bluntly put it. "But it feels good for me to finally tell someone all of this. Jackal's been with me the whole way, so he can back up anything I've told you, at least in his own words. Be it Redeemer's Grotto, the canyon town, the trip here, the venture of the bog."

"As if I'd ever wanna talk to that fat meathead!" Gold grunts, giving a glare to Jackal from his bedding.

You snicker and admit, "Well, he's definitely a hothead, and a bit stubborn, but he's good when you get to know him. Or rather, when he gets to know you. The first time we met, he tried to kill and eat me actually, heh."

"Yeah, sure, I bet- wait really?" Gold double-checks what he heard with a tilted head.

"Totally." You recall the fight in the burning building of Jade Gorge. "Right from the start, he was the only one in town, proclaiming it as 'his territory' and saying he gets to eat whatever's in it. I guess that includes me and anyone who walked in there."

"So why go with him at all if he tried to kill you? Is he just following you to eat you later?" The bird responds, having a bit of confused trust in your words.

You shrug, smile, and sigh. "Cause I set out to help I guess. He got himself injured, so I just...helped him. Maybe his plan was to try and eat me, but we've been through some dangers together that I know he won't do that to me. At least, as long as I don't prompt him to. There ain't much of a world to save if I find this cure if I tried to snuff out anyone I met, right?"

Gold just rests his elbows on his knees upon hearing that, going quiet again.

Still, you continue some, "He means well now. I know he's got my back and I've got his. It's why I defended him when you attacked him, but I didn't go out of my way to eat or beat you down did I? It's-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I get what you're sayin'." The duck growls to silence you.

You flick an ear and really look upon him. It takes a second, but you sense a tinge of guilt of his face and voice. "...Somethin' the matter?"

"...No, ain't nothin'." The bird retorts. There was an odd silence between the two of you as he seems to stew over his own thoughts for the moment, leaving you to simply wait until you recline again uncomfortably to try and sleep. However, after a few minutes, Gold mutters, "Well, guh, fine...there was maybe...somethin'."

"...Do tell." You answer with eyes closed still.

Gold fidgets on his bedding, unable to find the right position to relax along with being unable to find his own words. "You...guh, before you told me all this shit, I thought about, y'know, while you guys slept..." He groans lowly in his throat and rolls his eyes, "...about eating the two of you and bein' done with ya."

You just smirk, and while there was an honest threat in there, it was hardly surprising. The greed of the bird was obvious, but you figured with both you and Jackal, you could have taken him on. Still, the risk factor was there, and you were glad to avoid it. "Sounds about right."

"Wh-" The Golduck sits up again. "S-So you just, so you're just okay with that...?!"

"I mean, not really, but I'd rather risk my life in here with you than out there with some feral I can't talk down." You reply, finally peeking an eye open.

Gold just deflates, actually blushing some in either embarrassment or annoyed anger, but he retains his spot. "...You're fuckin' crazy and weird, man."

"Probably."

The duck scoffs and first...before muttering in an understanding chuckle, shaking his head at himself. "...Lucky you, crazy mutts aren't my thing. Not good for the palate, y'know?" He looks up at the ceiling again and mutters, "Still, you get to see the world and meet all kinds of folks. I wonder what it'd be like to leave this place."

"You can come with us if you want." You suggest. While Gold isn't your first pick of who you'd like to tag along, you'd be stronger in numbers, his typing would be advantageous, and you feel as though you're genuinely helping him get out of this situation he's in. He may be safe for the time being in his lake home, but if ferals funnel him in here, he will likely perish from backing himself into a corner like this. But he wanted to see the world, just like you do, and with enough luck and motivation you can crack through that pride of his and help him learn some damn selflessness for once.

He quacks in surprise at your suggestion and huffs, "A-As if! I ain't some escort! I can leave by myself whenever I want!"

"That's true..." You mutter, thinking on how to word this. "But it'd be nice to have someone as strong as you to come with us. We're going to go see a psychic to help us with the cure actually, and you seem to have some understanding of that with that gemstone mind of yours."

"You mean the one you broke?" The duck snarls, tapping at the cracked ruby of his forehead.

"Yeah, that one. If anything, us devoting ourselves into protecting you would help pay you back for cracking it. Right? You can lord over Jackal if you need to."

Gold perks up brightly to that. "I can make him do anything I want...~?"

"Well maybe not anything, but I'll stop him if he tries to do anything against you. Plus you'll get to see the world and what it has to offer with us. Together, we'd fend of any feral and keep pace, seeing what's out there." You lean a head in. "Plus we meet all kinds of people."

"...Heh, ever meet lonely women~?" Gold muses at the thought.

"Plenty, actually." You give a white lie.

The Golduck smiles to some fantasy now playing out in his head and mutters, "...and they'll see us as heroes if we succeed with a cure or whatever~?"

"Probably."

"...."

"...."

"...."

The duck ponders it over before grunting, "...Fine. If y'all are leaving tomorrow morning then...maybe I can...y'know..."

"Think it over." You suggest, easing down for sleep. "You have the night to think on it. But I think I need to get whatever sleep I can. I don't need to be tired and limping tomorrow."

Gold peers over at you, with that hint of guilt again, and he actually shimmies himself over along the moss bed to give some space. "If you uh...want a pillow, you can at least rest your head here then."

"...Looking out for me already?" You smugly muse before scooting yourself next to the moss bed. You certainly weren't going to complain if it meant a slightly better rest. Having your head at least be cozy for the night without the worry of ferals was more than enough for you to sleep easy. But... "You know, I think there's enough space for the both of us to lay on it, if you don't mind having-"

"Don't push your fucking luck, mutt." He threatens when rolling onto his side, facing his back to you.

It seems as though Gold was still taking the bedding all for himself, but a pillow was at least a pillow for you. Your cheek meets the soft and cool surface of the moss, feeling it lightly squish from being damp...but you didn't mind it. It was softer than anything in the wild that you'd find, plus the moisture kept it oddly comfortable.

With enough time, fatigue begins to take your vision and mind; you mutter a loose 'goodnight' to Gold, even though he does not reciprocate back...

1. Waking up the next day...