Chapter Text
The tumbleweed was expertly dismantled into small twigs suitable for fire kindling, which were packed up alongside the dry grass that had been entangled within it. Nothing too valuable this time, but Wilson knew the next one could contain anything. Today, they were hunting for gears.
Wilson stood up to catch another tumbleweed as they blew across the desert landscape covering this part of the island. He grumbled as a quick look-over revealed another one, empty of anything interesting. The sun seemed hotter here, and he had been at this for hours. As the scientist broke the tumbleweed apart, a shadow appeared on the ground in front of him.
"Hey, Wildork!" Willow greeted happily. The sun and fruitless work seemed to do little to dampen her spirits. She held a tumbleweed in her hand up to her face and made an exaggerated scowl behind it. "Who am I?"
Wilson could see absolutely no resemblance to anyone they both knew.
"A spider?" he guessed.
She scoffed at his reply. "I'm YOU! In winter!"
Wilson found the comparison between his luscious-yet-manly beard and that ragged tumbleweed quite rude, and told his companion as much.
"I find your comparison between my luscious-yet-manly beard and that ragged tumbleweed quite rude."
"Whatever, nerd lord," she chirped as she broke the tumbleweed into pieces, completely unrepentant and not even looking at his expertly disapproving frown.
Not that he held it for long. She didn't see it, but Wilson smiled at her joke in spite of himself, and found his spirits lightened. Perhaps, after all, his beard did get the slightest bit shaggy.