Magolor hadn't been lying when he said the spring wasn't far.
They had been walking for around two minutes when they stopped in a large room. The path continued, but along the edge was a large pool of water. There wasn't any smell – belatedly, Bandana Dee realised that the caves didn't stink at all, apart from the occasional smokiness that was definitely caused by Landia. He didn't mean to deliberately let Magolor know he doubted the cleanliness, but he must've hesitated because Magolor sighed and dangled the lamp over the waters. It looked clear.
Embarrassed, Bandana Dee got a closer look at it. It also looked deep. Bandana Dee couldn't see the bottom of it. He voiced this opinion out.
"It is," Magolor affirmed. "Nice, huh? Easy to drown someone in it, too."
Startled, Bandana Dee swivelled around. He couldn't see Magolor's mouth, but Bandana Dee was sure he was mischievously smirking. Kirby laughed at him.
Huffing indignantly, Bandana Dee turned back to the pool and scooped some water up with one hand before pouring it into his mouth. It tasted sweet to his dry throat.
"How'd you manage to have this big spring underground, though? And it's clean, too." Kirby leaned over the edge, seemingly fascinated by his own reflection.
"It's from the mountain nearby." They were near a mountain? There was one, Bandana Dee recalled, but it was a ways off… that was how far out they were, he supposed. "Other than that, no idea."
"No idea?" Kirby prodded the water surface like he was testing the water. Bandana Dee took a last gulp of it.
"Like I said, Landia's the boss. He was already here before I came." Vague wording. Bandana Dee decided he shouldn't pry. "The food and water was all set up by then, too. I didn't have any part in creating this underground place."
"And you didn't ask?"
"I did, and he told me to mind my own business."
In response to that, Kirby laughed again. This time, Magolor shot him a withering look but said nothing.
Bandana Dee grimaced. He had only met the dragon a couple of minutes ago, but that sounded very Landia-like. He wasn't very friendly. Bandana Dee wondered if that was because that was just the dragon's personality or whether that was just how dragons were. Different species were inclined to different types of personalities, after all.
Splashing water onto his face, Bandana Dee watched the water still and looked at his reflection. He didn't look horribly scratched up – he certainly felt the part, though – and his bandana was only slightly torn on one side. On the other hand, he had a useless dangling hand and a distinct lack of any weapon. How pathetic did he look?
The water suddenly rippled and Bandana Dee heard Kirby gurgling water down directly from the spring. Magolor made sounds of disapproval but made no movement to stop the pink puffball.
As if he had read Bandana Dee's thoughts, Kirby slid back to land and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You look a lot better now, Bandy," he hummed. "You look a lot less pale now!"
Had he looked pale? "Really?"
"Yes, really."
Wouldn't he still look pale? "...Really?"
"Really-really." Kirby wildly gestured at Bandana Dee while beaming up at Magolor, who was still making a disturbed, scrunched-up face. "You think so, too, right, Nocom? He looks so much better than he was just now. He's not pale like paper anymore."
"His name is Magolor, Kirby." "Nocom" had been derived from Magolor's temporary name, "No Comment", which Kirby had dubbed him. Even after their encounter with Landia, Kirby hadn't bothered fixing his appellation.
Apparently Bandana Dee was the only one bothered about it, because Magolor ignored it completely. "He looks the same."
Kirby gasped in mock horror. "He does not! Have a look!" And then to Bandana Dee's actual horror, Kirby slink over and pinched his cheeks. Bandana Dee flailed in vain before becoming limp. Never mind. "Look at this! This vibrant shade of tangerine!"
"Uh, yeah, I'm sure," Magolor said, not sounding sure in the slightest.
"Look!"
"You do know I don't see colours the same way you do?"
Kirby's pinching immediately stopped. Bandana Dee almost didn't even register it. They blinked in unison.
Bandana Dee spoke up for the both of them. "What?"
"Why are you so surprised? I just can't see some colours properly." Magolor swung his lamp – not enough for it to be dangerous, but enough to make Bandana Dee worried. "Specifically, I'm pretty bad with reds. That includes orange, and the like. So, yes, to me, he looks as horrid as he did when I first saw him."
Oh, so Bandana Dee had looked pretty pathetic.
"Can you even see Landia, then?" Kirby asked, sounding absolutely dumbfounded.
"Yes, I can. I'm not blind."
When Bandana Dee spoke with others, he had always assumed they saw the world the same way as he did – not in the figurative sense, but in a literal sense. Now that someone was openly telling him they didn't see colours as he did… it caught him off guard. Heck, did he even see colours like Kirby did? Maybe they were sharing two completely different views. He didn't know much about puffballs. Maybe Magolor could see a colour they couldn't.
Kirby was frowning like he couldn't wrap his mind around it. Like a child who couldn't understand a concept. "Then what about Landia? Can he see us? Maybe he thinks I'm an onion. Bandy, do you see the same colours as me?"
"I… don't know," Bandana Dee replied. Honestly, he didn't, now that he thought about it. So far they hadn't encountered any inconsistencies, but unless they put a specialised chart for them both to see at the same time they wouldn't know the truth. Now he was curious about it…
He shook his head more times than necessary, hoping to clear his mind. He had an actual mission here. Not a good time to be distracted.
"He doesn't see colours as well as you do, either," Magolor was saying, "but I've only managed to gather information about it when he's annoyed. From what he's said, he probably has tritanopia. I offered to make him some lenses if he let me look for the materials. He said no."
First, they had to get out of here, which was what they were already doing. And then, Bandana Dee had to get back to the castle and report what he'd learned from Landia.
"You can make lenses, Nocom?"
"Before coming here, I mostly worked around as a mechanic. Studied up a bit on science, too, though not as much."
"That's neat! Bandy, what do you think?"
"It is," Bandana Dee said absentmindedly.
"He should be considered normal." Magolor gestured to Bandana Dee, all the while sounding very proud he was explaining something for someone. "Waddle dees' vision are considered the universal standard, since it's shared with a lot of other species. There are a handful of creatures that can see a few more colours, but I can't name any of them. They're few and far between."
Figures, if waddle dees' vision was considered the universal standard. Being colour blind would've been a handicap in a few ways. Bandana Dee felt slightly better about his species at a whole. They had absolutely no defensive capabilities but at least they weren't halfway to being blind.
Kirby's mouth had adjusted into an 'o' as he listened to Magolor. Surprisingly, it was… surprising. Kirby had never come off as professor-level of genius, but so far he hadn't been particularly unknowledgeable about a subject. Bandana Dee shook it off. Everyone had their limits when it came to knowledge; the important thing was broadening them.
Magolor was rambling on about a hard-to-perceive red-green colour when Kirby swung around to Bandana Dee with brilliantly shining eyes.
"We should write this down. And make a textbook out of it. It's very important."
Magolor stopped talking and looked miffed that he had been interrupted.
"Is it that important?" Bandana Dee prompted, making the most guilty look he could muster to let Magolor know he felt bad.
"Very." Kirby nodded vigorously.
"Okay. Um, later. When we get back."
"You have to get back first," Magolor pointed out sourly. "Done dawdling here? I'd prefer it if you guys left at earliest convenience. I have things to do."
Without even waiting for their reply, Magolor began hovering towards the next tunnel. Bandana Dee nudged Kirby a bit more accusingly than he had meant to. Kirby looked back at Bandana Dee blankly before tugging on the waddle dee's good wrist and pulling him along to follow after Magolor.
"You have things to do?" Kirby continued, looking up at the stalactites. "Even in these caves?"
Bandana Dee had been curious, too. He knew they technically didn't have any relationship with Magolor or Landia apart from the fact that they had accidentally intruded into their… home? Magolor definitely had quite the life before coming to the caves, and Landia had been some sort of guardian. And now they were both in a secluded cave. Surely there were tons of other places with much better prospects for the both of them. They had next to nothing in an underground cave.
He wanted to ask, but that would be insensitive and Magolor probably wouldn't share anything about himself directly. He had pretty much avoided all personal questions.
"There are plenty of things to do if you find them." Evasive again. Kirby hadn't helped much. To be fair, Bandana Dee didn't need any of this information – it was mostly just curiosity that wanted to be satisfied.
After that, Kirby sealed his mouth shut and stuck to humming.
Of all things he could choose to be petty about, Bandana Dee was beginning to become tired of the repetitive appearance of the caves. It was just tunnel after tunnel. Bandana Dee rubbed his eyes. If he thought about it hard enough, maybe they were even the same width. And height. Actually, they were all starting to look the same.
Also, the cracks between the rocks were blurring together. Bandana Dee rubbed his eyes, but they just seemed to meld in together even more. Even Kirby's outline was starting to look fuzzy.
He stumbled, but his feet quickly skittered to keep up, so it would have sounded like he just tripped up on his own feet. Nevertheless, it caught the attention of those traversing in front of him.
Magolor stopped. "How are you doing?"
Bandana Dee shook his head as if to tell them not to worry. "Just a bit tired."
"Does your head hurt?"
Yes, now that he had mentioned it. "A bit."
"You aren't exposed to psychic powers much, are you?" Bandana Dee blinked uncomprehendingly. "If you're not used to them, then Landia's telepathy might have put a stress on your brain. He was yelling a lot too. Hmm." Magolor put a hand up to where his chin would be under his scarf. "Given how much he was yelling, it's possible you'll pass out in the next few minutes. Let's get going."
"Wait – " Bandana Dee's words caught halfway in his throat. "I could pass out?" His balance felt topsy-turvy.
"Yes, maybe. Do you think you can climb? There's a steep path here."
"I could carry him," Kirby enthusiastically suggested.
"No, I can pull him."
"Why you?"
"I float."
Thankfully, Kirby sulkily let Magolor pull Bandana Dee by his uninjured wrist. His gloves were softer than Bandana Dee had imagined – actually, he hadn't imagined anything about them. He felt overly conscious of the fact that he had a useless hand that couldn't stabilise himself should he slip again.
He turned to Kirby, who was pretty much now just a pink blob. "Can you go after us?"
"I will not drop you," Magolor said indignantly.
"I didn't… no, just in case."
"Okay!" Kirby might've done a salute.
Magolor began to pull Bandana Dee upwards, and the waddle dee almost tripped on his footing again, this time for a justifiable reason. The path considerably steepened; his head steeped into shock and suddenly, everything was clear again. In a moment or two he'd probably feel the adrenaline rush. He was tempted to use his bad hand to support him on the way up, because Magolor wasn't being exactly deft, but Haddle would rag on him to no end if he further injured himself. He could lie about it, but there was something about Haddle that made people not want to lie to the doctor.
On the bright side – no pun intended… maybe it was – visibility was improving. The lamp Magolor carried was still their main source of light, but natural light bounced off the rocks and only got brighter as the path went up. Bandana Dee's breath hitched. They were getting out. And he'd been worried about not getting back.
He felt a bit silly for worrying so much. Just a while ago, he was worried he'd be stuck there for days, but they had a pretty smooth ride out, save for the small bumps that were stubborn Magolor and grumpy Landia. And he'd learnt so much. He was actually pretty glad he had fallen down the earthquake – he just hoped the rest of those who had gone hunting were all safe.
They could be crushed under the rocks in Landia's caves and he wouldn't know.
Goosebumps crawled over his skin. It wouldn't be Landia's fault… he couldn't blame Landia. Especially not after the dragon let them go, for reasons unknown, even though they were anything but not-suspicious. After all, Landia wouldn't have caused the earthquake if those people bothered him. And they were trying to take over the castle, too, so it was Bandana Dee's business even if it weren't for this fiasco.
"Your face says you're thinking a lot." Magolor turned back and might've quirked a brow. He might have. He actually didn't have any visible brows. "Don't, please. Landia had you under a lot of mental stress. Thinking too much will only worsen your condition and hit you when you don't expect it."
Bandana Dee almost stopped. He hadn't been expecting that from Magolor.
"He's telling you to be a dumb and not think about anything," came Kirby's voice, feigning that of a wise old man's.
"Basically."
Bandana Dee looked at the both of them flatly. "...All right."
It was phrased harshly, but there was truth to their words. It wouldn't help for him to overthink things, anyway. Because there wasn't anything he could do about the things he worried about – the other minions' safety, and the like – until he got back to the castle. They might even have sent out a search party already. It hadn't been a day but it had way overstretched their hunting time slot.
...And here he was, thinking too much again.
The ground softened under his feet as he moved up. There was a lot to do when he got back.
28 June 2018
There was some other stuff I wanted to include in this chapter, but I was feeling so unmotivated it just ended up... not happening? I pushed it to the next chapter, anyway. Just have Magolor pretending to threaten to drown Bandy and make peace with it.
I don't normally like to ask, but please leave a review if you have the time.
Speaking of reviews, big thank yous to Jet Engine, Destiny and merendinoemiliano for reviewing each chapter! Thank hoo. You'll receive your good karma soon – I know it and I am never wrong about this.