Chapter Text
Chapter Two: In which Slake practices their coping mechanisms, and Ono complains quite a lot!
Ono was unfamiliar with the outside of Nakama’s walls. Somehow they seemed completely different from the inside. The grime was greeny-brown instead of sootish black. The ground was dirt and grass instead of dirty cobblestone. There were trees. And bushes. He heard a frog croak. It was all horribly wrong. There must be a flaw in the universe for a pigeon of a man like Ono to ever leave his garbage roost. What was he to do, eat seeds? Forage? Poop in a hole?
He glared at the back of his tall companion. Slake made it all look easy, of course. They wore that heavy metal armor paired with a giant pack on their back. Ono dragged the weight of his things. Slake took long, heroic strides. Ono had a much shorter and spineless pace. Slake cheerfully announced the journey to New Estra was only a few days of walking. Ono grieved for his pedicure.
They knew they ought to be grateful to Slake. It wasn’t any person on the street who’d smuggle a friendly acquaintance out of one city and invite them to lay low in their home. Slake wasn’t any person of course, Ono had known that from the moment they spotted them across the casino floor two years ago. They were a hero. A legendary one, even. Slake was known around the world for being the strong, honest, and kind-hearted adventurer that helped take down Torva. Traits like that would get someone robbed or gutted in Nakama.
Where does one grow up to be a hero? Ono wondered.
He considered asking, but his breath was rather heavy, his feet were sore, and with his mood he wasn’t sure how intently he’d listen to the answer. They reached a clearing, and Slake pointed out the sunset.
It was beautiful, objectively. Pink and orange streaks contrasted handsomely with the summer green of the trees. Peachy hues bounced off of Slake’s olive cheekbones, their smile making a perfect pair of dimples. Their hair was longer now, Ono noticed. He swore it was cropped short last time he saw them, but now wavy tufts flew in the wind. It settled into a cute crescent curl at the nape of their neck. By the time Ono remembered to look back at the valley, the sun had just set. They had missed it.
Must have been his bad mood.
***
Slake took them well off trail towards a familiar clearing. They had used this several times, usually with Maeri, Laika, Corbin, and Alden. This time they planned to return alone since Maeri and Laika had business at home and Corbin and Alden continued on to visit Ilfra. So far Ono wasn’t so bad of a travelling companion, they kept a decent pace and had been pretty quiet. Slake had been expecting complaints and suggestions of piggy-back rides, but they figured running away from your home was a lot to take in.
Making camp was simple enough. Slake enjoyed this part of travelling, usually. They sought to teach Ono how to start a fire or put up a tent. Curiously however, the showing ended up more and more as the doing as Ono kept insisting he be shown again how to stack the logs or place the tarp. Slake of course obliged, and all of sudden they had stacked all the logs and had secured all of the tarp, entirely on their own. After realizing they had done all of the work for both tasks, Slake clenched the bridge of their nose tightly. That scamp had tricked them again!
The pair ate by the fire. Slake demonstrated the delicate art of roasting a sausage, and Ono took part for once. He smiled after the first bite but it didn’t reach his eyes. He looked tired, his gaze pointed far out into the trees as he chewed mechanically.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Slake offered.
“About the sausage? Well I suppose it is quite interesting. What is that kick? Cumin, maybe?”
Slake gave a long look to their evasive companion as they took a slow ripping bite of sausage. Ono rolled their eyes and bit off some of his sausage more gingerly. He took his sweet time chewing, looking up thoughtfully, before swallowing and looking back at Slake with wide eyes.
“I was mistaken…” Ono began. Slake’s eyes lit up, listening eagerly.
“It must be paprika!” He declared, holding one finger in the air. The light in Slake’s eyes died and they released a hearty sigh.
“So it’s gonna be like that, huh?”
“Whatever are you suggesting?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Slake patted the air in a ‘whoa there’ gesture. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
They moved to start cleaning up, tossing the roasting sticks in the fire. Slake was not unfamiliar with guarded interactions. They were friends with Fran and Corbin, a pair of master deflectors. In the community art space people expressed feelings in a wide variety of ways. Not everyone needed to talk. Slake supposed they just…wanted Ono to talk, maybe. Or maybe they just wanted to be the person that Ono talked to. They weren’t sure.
“Where’s the other tent?” Ono interrupted their thoughts.
“What other tent?” Slake answered quickly, before they realized.
There is no other tent.
SHIT-
“Slake you scoundrel! I’m a perfect gentleman and we’re to share a bed together? So soon??” Ono clutched their chest in a mockery of wounded modesty.
A deep and rather intrusive cocktail of embarrassment, frustration, and some secret third thing swirled in Slake’s gut. They were dark green, from their ears to their collarbones.
“I! I…I bought you dinner first!” They turned even darker “Wait, shit-that implies-NO!”
Ono, the rat bastard, was smiling from ear to ear. “And I always imagined you would’ve asked more….honorably.” They rested their head on their hand and twiddled with their earring playfully.
“There’s two! TWO bed rolls in there!! I split my bedding and there’s room for two!” They held up two fingers and shoved both in front of Ono’s smirk. “There will be NO sharing!” They stomped and threw themselves into their half of the tent before they could be embarrassed any further, throwing the flap closed behind them. Huffing, they rubbed at their temples.
Think calming thoughts…they're just messing with you!
Then, Slake remembered that they had not set up watches for the night. They clenched their fists and came back out of the tent.
“And you take first watch!!” They did their best to slam the tent flap behind them. They rubbed their temples some more and did some brief breathing exercises.
However their calm would not come so soon, since they realized that Ono had never camped before, and likely didn’t know what a watch was. Slake kicked their pillow and opened the tent flap to step out again.
“And that means you watch for monsters and you wake me up in a few hours!!”
“There are monsters in this forest?” Ono looked into the darkness of the trees.
“I guess we’ll find out!!” They flipped the tent flap closed for a third and final time. They removed their armor in rough, jerking motions, letting it drop to the floor.
“‘A perfect gentleman’…that guy!” Slake grumbled to themselves. They felt absolutely, universally, completely and entirely stupid. They were usually the calm one of the group, but something about Ono wound Slake up. They felt like a boiling pot or a bunch of lightning bolts in a can.
Idiot.
The conversation kept playing over in their head as they settled down in their bedroll.
‘Bought you dinner’…why did I say that? They placed their arm over their eyes.
‘I always imagined you would’ve asked more….honorably.’
Wait.
They’d…imagined?
No, no way.
Was Slake crazy?
Yes, I must be.
Did they remember that right?
Absolutely not, impossible. There’s no way.
Slake must’ve remembered it wrong, or Ono was just making a joke. Yeah. Again, there’s no way. Ono was just messing with them. They were a trickster and a thief. They wouldn’t make up scenarios in their head about seeing Slake or… being with Slake. They let a long groan into their pillow.
Yeah, no. That was crazy and definitely didn’t happen. And even if it did happen, there was no reason Slake needed to read into it or even think about it at all! The hero rubbed their eyes.
No, the honor of hopeless imaginings was reserved for someone as naive as them. It wasn’t a crush, certainly not. But in the short time Slake knew Ono they had experienced practically every emotion available. It was stressful and frustrating and…exciting. Slake had only known Ono for what, a total of two days? They were screwed. They must have been lonely or something to feel like this.
Maybe I should look into getting a roommate.
At least it wasn’t a crush.
Idiot.
***
Ono was unfamiliar with monsters. Humans that behaved like monsters, yes. But not monsters themselves. They kept themselves far away from captured creatures like the Lucky Lamia, never daring to risk an encounter. However the forest was their home, not his, and Ono certainly did not want to be caught for intruding. Thankfully, the trees remained quiet beyond the occasional cricket twang. And if Ono jumped a foot in the air each time they heard a frog croak, then at least Slake wasn’t awake to see it.
They had fallen asleep some time ago. Ono wasn’t sure how they did it. In their shoes, Ono wouldn’t have trusted them at all, certainly not while he slept!
Had he stolen from Slake yet? He tried to remember. Spent plenty of their gold on a palenquin…and maybe a drink? There was, of course, the ring. But while Ono had every intention to take it from Slake’s fingers at the casino, they chose to give it to him instead. It didn’t count as stealing if it was offered, Ono guessed. Maybe that was why Slake trusted him, then. They hadn’t gotten to know him yet.
The ring felt a bit heavy on their finger now. Slipping it off, they placed it in his pack with other trinkets. It was likely for the best that he didn’t wear any fine accessories anyways. He’d rather not be a mark for bandits. It was a shame though, Ono did look rather dashing in fine jewelry. It felt nice to wear and be surrounded by beautiful things. They had kept the ring thoughtlessly at first, but it became more treasured as signs from the Killoni became less frequent. A memento from the last time his priesthood felt…right.
The mood was getting maudlin. Slake had chosen to help him, and it wasn’t a habit of Ono’s to question what to take from people.
No point in gaining a conscience now.
It was…fun to be with Slake. They took Ono’s bait more often than most, making for winding, contentious, and wildly entertaining conversations. They had been on many adventures, and Ono could not pretend he wasn’t curious. He wondered how Slake would tell stories of their escapades. Would they be humble? Focus on their friends' achievements? Or would they gloat? Ono couldn’t imagine much gloating from Slake, they seemed too easily embarrassed. Just a mild joke had them flushed dark green earlier.
He was surprised by that. Slake had saved the world, but an insinuating comment is where they crumbled.
They are a very interesting person, indeed.
***
Slake didn’t need to worry too long about their wide range of emotions concerning Ono because it quickly all refined down to one: frustration. On the first full day of travel his complaining came in full force. They griped about walking.
“Now shouldn’t the fine hero consider carrying a damsel such as myself?”
“C-Carry you? Carry you?! No.”
“But my poor feet!”
And they griped about the food.
“Nothing hot for lunch?”
“Will you build the fire?”
“And add callouses to my soft hands?!”
And they griped about the trees and the hills and the bugs and the leaves and the sun. The SUN of all things!
“Don’t you have the sun in Nakama?!”
“Yes, but I don’t have to be out in it!”
Slake gave up. It was impossible to convince that pigeon of a man to appreciate the beauties of nature…or to at least be a good sport about it! For the remainder of the trip they did their best to ignore Ono. They’re best wasn’t very good however, and there was plenty of bickering between the pair on the road.
“You drag me to the base of yet ANOTHER hill! What is a gentleman as myself to do?!” Ono pressed a hand dramatically against their forehead and leaned against a tree.
“This is the last one before camp.”
“And one I shall not make unfortunately. I will perish walking up that hill, I promise you. I will turn into dust anOUHP-”
With a casual and silent regard, Slake tossed Ono over their shoulder and began walking up the hill. They did not have the time nor energy for another argument.
“What are you-what so, so now I’m some bag of trash you’re taking out?!”
Slake eyed Ono, surprised and amused to catch him even a little off guard. He’d been begging to be carried this whole time, and now they finally gave in and he was flustered!
“Were you expecting bridal style?”
“I…you know what? I honestly couldn’t tell you.” Slake felt Ono pressing a bony elbow into his back. “Maybe piggyback?”
“If I put you down now it’ll be because you’re walking, not to switch positions.”
“So assertive!” Ono huffed and retreated their elbow. “Well, I suppose it’s not so bad up here. I think I’ll stay perched on your shoulder if that’s alright with you.”
“Just to the top of the hill.”
“Where we plan to camp?”
“No.”
“Boo!”