>>5808650“He’s… He’s fine. He’s just a little old. Likes to sleep in a bit.”
Her tone was defensive, but her voice was quieter, softer than you’d heard it before.
“That’s not true,” you said, gently as you could. “He’s at his limit… Sick, dying.”
“N-not fast, though,” Zith-Zi countered.
“A few more months, or years, maybe,” you said, not truly having any inkling of the creature’s biology.
This goblin… She valued freedom, right? Independence? It seemed a likely guess as any.
“…But not good years. How long until he can’t fly? Can’t even walk or crawl? Would YOU want to live like that, trapped in a tent al day?”
Zith-Zi looked back at you and… Gods, were those TEARS? They didn’t last long, and her tone was certainly not so gentle any more when she spoke, but…
“You’ll fix him up, then?” she demanded. “I help you with your stupid little whatever-this-is, and you’ll give me something for Hershy? To make him… Healthy again?”
Sensing weakness, you pounced—prey become predator.
“It’s a deal.”
Of course, that meant you’d have to figure out how to accomplish such a feat… But one thing at a time. For now, you had to swallow back your pride, and a bit of bile, as the goblin-girl spat in her hand and proffered it in, unmistakably and unfortunately, a gesture she expected you to mirror. You did likewise, drooling into your palm and grasping her small hand in yours, and she pumped your arm so hard she nearly pulled you down to her level.
“Don’t screw me over,” she growled. “Got it?”
“Y-yeah,” you mumbled. “Understood.”
You exited the tent together, rejoining your friends and hers. The negotiations had taken a lot out of you, and the sun was long set. Out amidst the goblins, who held a raucous party to see off their bandit-queen, you found yourself listing , tipping sideways in your seat until finally you were caught by Logan Pearce, who you had slumped into.
“About bedtime, isn’t it?” he asked you.
What did you do?
>Went to sleep, and left early the next morning for Hawksong, with Zith-Zi in tow and your time in the Goblin Wastes over at last>Stayed up a little later, using <Daylight> to force your metabolism to allow this—you wanted to learn a bit more about these goblins, and your new traveling companion>Took the last dose of shirin to keep yourself awake and alert, and perhaps to spur on a vision…>Write-in 