I'm standing in silence with Xyle and his crew for like two minutes and all he's doing is staring at me! Yes I'm an actual goblin. Get over it!
"If you don't need anything else," I say to break the silence, "I'm going to keep looking around for more stuff. I'm missing a lot of things to this convoluted puzzle map of mine."
"... Why don't you join our party?" Xyle suddenly says. Excuse me!?
"Wait! What!?"
"A lot of things in this cave system is a puzzle for almost every room." He continues. "Most of them are written in these glyphs and I know for a fact that three of them are for our trial."
Interesting. I'll admit to that. "So you essentially need an interpreter then? Is that what I'm hearing?" I ask.
"That too. I have another idea for you but I'll get to that another time. This challenge isn't a race, after all." His face says something else but I guess I'll have to roll with something.
"... Fair enough, I suppose." I answer. "I guess we can start by what you noticed."
With a big smile he starts rambling about the details he saw in each of the rooms he passed getting to this point. Some I could tell were just pointless warnings meant to pull certain adventurers astray while others sounded like traps which didn't fit his area at all. Most of what was going through my mind was a giant puzzle game of simplicity. These sounded more like a trials chalice with actual danger. Something I think he wants to go through with me as a guide through it.
"... Hm~."
"What's up, Tess?"
"... It sounds like I need to back track after this. I didn't get a chance to go through all of the first room on my end because of… A sudden development. I'm going to go through your segment to find out what I can get done and what I'm missing."
"Sounds good. What can we do in the meantime?"
"... You're really pent on having me in you circle?"
"Hey! Watch your mouth!" One of the others interrupt. "You're talking to the high sector hero! Show some more respect, you little…!!?"
"Of course I do!" Xyle interrupts her. Wow.
"What!?" Another member argues. "I am not going to get a fail for this for a dumb goblin! I'm going with Talisman's group. I've had it with you going on and on about how this one is different. This one can do it. This one is smarter than you think… I'm so sick of how obsessed he is with one goblin!! And I can guess the rest of you are too! It's almost as if he's in love with it! Gross!"
Bleh! I don't like that idea anymore than you lady, but still. The fuck did I miss!?
"... You… w-wait! Wait for me!!"
"Hey, me too!! I'm coming too!"
… I… I have no words. He chased AWAY his fan club by means of nerdom. And maybe bragging about another girl that happens to be the most unpopular being.
"I can explain that." He knows me well enough it seems.
"Please do. But later. I gotta go get this done."
"W-wait! What about the…!"
"Forget it. Did you forget we still have our competition to do and you seem to be thinking more about my trial more than yours."
"What!?"
"Don't get me wrong. I didn't say we couldn't be in the same team, but I would rather you work on your own for a while before we move on to that."
"Wait wait wait. How about I promise to do that. Go about my normal trial and we can still do a team up since the things I found happen to require a fighter adventurer to reach it." He pulls out a glass plate that seemed to fit perfectly in the band I just picked up. I reach for it on instinct and he pulls it away from me with an odd expression on his face. "Only if you agree to work with me. Because I need you to do something for me too."
Figures. "Tell me why they left complaining about me when I didn't do anything."
"After you tell me what your trial is."
"After you tell me why you want to partner with me."
"After you tell me why you don't."
"I don't have a reason to."
"We haven't seen each other in almost a year after we got here! I was worried sick after the gods told me you came with!"
"...What!?"
"... I missed you, Tess. You're the only one I know here and I don't want to be left in this world by myself. You know I wouldn't be able to do much by myself and your the only one I know that will help me stay in my right mind."
"... No offence… but this sounds like a you problem."
"... Well I want to be your teammate. Like when we were in class at school you would always be the one carrying the group's. You were the one that knew how to work around the rough edges. You were smart. The smartest one in the class. All through middle school, junior, high school."
"I had a life to keep together after junior high, dude. I lived on those grades."
"... Wha… uh…"
"Look. I'm flattered you think so highly of me, but now is not the time to be getting emotions over a happy reunion, Xyle."
"..."
I take the glass from him while he's distracted thinking and get ready to head back out.
"Why were you crying earlier?"
I freeze. Excuse me???
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
Tessa's ears fall and her face turns to mild shock as she looks over her shoulder to him.
"... You don't cry unless something scares you into hating yourself. You've done it a few times before. What… or whoever made you think you were less than cool… is wrong."
"... That's not something I need to hear from you right now. I cry when I disappoint others. If anything, it allowed me to force my limited petty insecurities that come with being a goblin. But you wouldn't really get that since you haven't been one since before all of this. You have more important things to worry about that have nothing to do with me. So please keep the small talk to a minimum and stay on task."
"... Why don't you want to talk about this!?"
"Now is not the time, Xyle!"
"When can we actually talk!?"
"When you can get the world to not hate goblins. When you can get the world to view everything in a more equal stand point. When you can actually try to understand what the world is like outside of the walls of the castle through the eyes of an outsider that is only seen as a bad omen!"
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
Silence.
I hear Malcum's voice and it snaps me back to a calmer state of mind. A bit calmer than what I'm used to. I take a breath and look to Xyle calmly and empty. He looked as lost as a scared puppy.
"... This isn't a good time for these things. If you want to know so badly, take the time to find me in the goblin alley after this is over. Right now I don't have the luxury to talk to someone with a status as great as yours as you should already know from your last team. Now I'm going ahead."
I turn to walk out and hear Xyle yelling at me to wait for him. Ignoring him, I leave the room to be greeted by the creatures that flew around the next room. I didn't take a single thought to smack each and every one of those that came down at me to attack. I could see their flight pattern. How they glide past each other with ease. It wasn't easy telling which one was coming first but the moment one dove I picked up on it that second it fell. I felt like I was getting guided by the hand to dance through them down the hall. I felt that same feeling I had when Malcum awakened in me. An off feeling. An unstable rhythm in my chest. An uncomfortable darkness that felt inviting.
Before I realized it, I was at the other end with the creatures hanging from the sides trembling as they watched me walk by them. They made a path for me to pass.
"... Whoa…" I hear Xyle from behind me. I turned around to find him standing in the center platform wide eyed like he saw something amazing. "... I guess you really don't need me to protect you."
"Who the heck said I need protecting?" I snap back. Not intended, honest.
"Now you definitely have to be part of my team. I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Seriously? What is with you. Even I think your weird for saying that to me."
Xyle just continues to banter as we continue through the hall until we reach an open room and the last of my nerves!
"Alright fine. I'll join you! Just shut the hell up already! God. No wonder you team ditched you. You're a fucking imbecile!" I then look in front of me and see the room before us fill of eyes of disturbance. I instantly felt guilty.