Chapter 9: Nickel For short, it's

 "Mikey, Mikey, Mikey, Mikey." A green finger poked his cheek like a broken metronome. Mikey groaned. "Five more minutes," he muttered, blindly grabbing for a blanket that wasn't there. "Zou're on your staff." His eyes shot open. He twisted around—yep. The sacred stick was wedged under his spine like it was trying to assassinate him in his sleep. "Oh no. Did I bend it?"

 "It'z a stick."

 Mikey rolled upright, blinking. The stump they'd sheltered in was still damp, glowing faintly from weird moss. Nickel stood over him, arms crossed, unimpressed. "Morning," Mikey said, smiling like he hadn't just been accused of staff abuse. "I'z need your staff." "Excuse me?" Mikey clutched it to his chest. "We talked about this. You'll get one from the blacksmith lady—yours, custom-made. Full goblin-sized." "Zou want to check outside yourself?" 

Silence.

 "Fine," Mikey grumbled, handing it over like a mother giving away her firstborn. "Be gentle. It's emotionally fragile." Nickel took it with a sigh and jabbed it through the roots, testing the muddy ground beyond their hollow. Something cracked. Something sloshed. "Clear." "You just poked my heirloom into mud." Mikey retrieved the staff, holding it like it had been through a war. "It'z still a stick." 

They climbed out into a forest that looked soggy and half-hungover. Bark dark with rain, leaves dripping onto already-soaked earth. Nickel dropped down first, landing with a splash. The mud shot halfway up his knees—though "knees" was generous. "Blegh." "Chin up, swamp man." Mikey thudded to the ground behind him. "We survived another forest horror without being tree-snacked. That's a win."

Nickel gave an eyeroll at Mikey's much too high enthusiasm. Pulling his leg from the mud, Nickel trudged onto semi-dry ground, the canopy blocking some hints of rain. Mikey already there waiting. "Alright, where to first?" Nickel took out his map, his eyes scanning the paper. "Ze river should be up zis way." Mikey's footsteps echoed from the forest. Nickel's head shook as he sighed. "Zhat's not ze way I pointed."

A few hours later

"Nickel, are you sure it's the right way?" Nickel lifted his wrist to eye level, showing the compass. "Whatz you zink?" Mikey dropped his shoulders, audibly sighing. "It feels like we passed this like 4 times already. You're telling me we," Mikey raised his hand, pointing towards a tree. "Haven't passed this tree at least 4 times?" Nickel kept walking as he ignored Mikey's complaint. "Ze're in a forest; every tree looks the zame." A tree from behind nickel shook at his words.

"But that one has exactly 33 branches!" Nickel slowly turned around, looking into Mikey's eyes. The faint light coming from the leaves ahead showing Mikey's genuine face. Nickel's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, eyes bouncing from the tree back to Mikey.

"How do you?" Nickel sighed, "Fine, i'z check." Nickel walked up to the tree, mentally counting the branches as he got closer. Below the trunk, Nickel looked at it, not noticing anything different. He stopped for a second before reaching down, taking a scoop of moss in his hands. Below the green patch being a cut, slightly filled with water. 

Mikey, seeing Nickel pause, peeked over his shoulder. "Something wrong?" "I zhink zour right," Nickel spoke, a hint of disbelief in his tone. Mikey cracked a smirk. "Of course I am; I was chosen by the king." Mikey said, starting to rant on all the stuff he definitely did and didn't read in a book. Nickel tuned out Mikey as he took out his compass, flicking it. The compass spun in a circle before landing at north but slowly drifting off. 

"Ze compaz iz off." 

"It's probably because of the moistyness." 

"Zhat's not a word."

"Half of what you say aren't words."

"Zouche."

Nickel stood up and began walking backwards, stopping every so often to check for marks. Mikey following him. "Wouldn't walking backwards also get us in circles?" Nickel spoke as he dug for another mark, "If we find ze other marks, we knowz where not to go, which iz showing uz where we want to go." "ahh"

Mikey didn't understand any of it.

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The sound of running water filled Nickel and Mikey's ears. Mikey's eyes lit up as he ran forward., "Nickel, you were actually right!" Nickel rubbed under his nose, smug at the rare praise. "It'z nozing really, bazic goblin tracking." From behind him, Nickel heard a crunch. While nickel look Mikey walked forward. Mikey stood over the riverbed. The somehow crystal-clear water shimmering. "Nickel, do you think we can drink this?"

From behind, Nickel walked out of the woods, quickly knocking away a stray branch. "Uh? I zhink zo, water iz rain, and rain iz good." Nickel grabbed his chin as he explained. Mikey nodded, taking in his words, "Makes sense to me." Both somehow forgetting the whole "FOREST OF DEATH" deal, they've kind of been dealing with this the whole time.

Honestly, the princess is lowkey doomed.

Mikey bent over the river, the crystalline surface showing off his own reflection. "Hey there, handsome," Mikey's reflection clicked its tongue. Ignoring the oh-so-handsome boy on the surface, Mikey looked down. On the bottom of the river, a glint caught his eye, deciding to wade into it. 

The cool water ran smoothly against mikey's pant leg, washing off the mud from the pair's previous trekking. Mikey continued, slowly moving towards the glint. As he approached, the water splashed closer to his face, eventually reaching his waistline. Mikey's leather straps turning a darker brown. His white shirt failing to prevent water from flowing onto him.

Nickel looked up from his map, seeing Mikey waist-deep in the water. "Zhat are zou doing?" Mikey leaned in, his finger wrapping around a semi-curved object. Its semi-smooth but rough surface scratching at his fingers. Lifting it up, he turned to nickel, "I found a bone, i think?; maybe we could get dual daggers!" Mikey began walking forward, "Ooh, what if we…" Nickel tuned out Mikey's rant. Looking off to the bushes. "Ooh, what if there's other stuff in here too?" Mikey tossed the bone onto shore before looking back into the water.

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After Mikey finally finished his underwater exploration, he climbed ashore, his boots squishing against the ground. Mikey shook his boots of water as he turned around. Seeing Nickel still on the other side. "What are you waiting for? Come on." Mikey waved his hand, gesturing for nickel to come over. "What are you waiting for? Just wade through." the goblin looked around. "The water isn't cold or anything." Nickel turned towards him, his ears turning slightly darker green. "Goblins don't have ze, phzyiology to wade zrough rivers." Nickel said, eyes darting for some kind of crossing.

Mikey looked at nickel, then at the water, then to nickel, then at the water, before bursting out laughing. "Ha, YOU'RE TOO SHORT TO CROSS!" Mikey yelled while pointing at the goblin, said goblin finally walking over a fallen tree trunk. With his hands extended as he walked, Nickel responded. "AM NOT SHORT, IZ MY DNA'Z!" Nickel jumped off the log, ears turning a dark shade of green. Mikey on the ground laughing. Nickel lined up a kick, hitting Mikey in his side, the wet clothes only dampening the attack.

Finally out of his fit, Mikey stood up, wiping a tear from his eye. "Ho, oh man." Mikey stood up, clutching his stomach, Nickel standing in front of him, annoyed. Gesturing to his hand nickel asked, "what did you find?" Mikey grabbed the object from the rocky shore line. "I think it's another tusk?' From his back pocket Mikey took out the other, this one having slightly less shine than the other. "Huh?" Nickel raised his eyebrow, "Why'z it at a lake, zough?" 

"Better question, imagine dual daggers with these." Seeing mikey about to go on another rant nickel turnt around, looking on the riverbed for something else. Mikey went back to the water, staring at his reflection. "Hm, what if i?" From beside him nickel grimaced. "Zhats genuinely disgusting." Nickel's lip curled at Mikey's actions. The boy putting the tusk in his mouth, "look, I'm the demchalk." Nickel shook his head at Mikey's antics.

The boy turning back, noting a reflection not of his own

 "I foundz zomething!" Nickel leaned down, his hands grasping a piece of dark green fur. Stepping around nickel spoke, "zou think ze venstalk waz here?" Hearing no response nickel turned around.

"Iz zomething wrong?"

The wet thud of a paw on stone rang behind him. Nickel turned, eyes widening.

In front of Mikey being a vhenstalk with a broken tusk. The other conveniently placed in Mikey's face. Mikey dropped the tusk into his hands. Crouching into a lower pose and putting his hands out. "N-nice kitty?"

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Hint: It's not a nice kitty

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sup guys, when this releases, it's going to be on my birthday (18th), so woooo, happy birthday to me. also if you want to go deeper, it's going to be my golden birthday (turning 18 on the 18th, so yay!)

leave a comment, twin; i like reading comments.