Dove had been struggling lately. He had not been moving as fast as he used to and had to stop more frequently. Poor diet combined with whatever injury he suffered was taking his toll on him.
Penny watched as he hobbled over the top of the slope, walking with an awkward gait. "How are you feeling?"
"Diarrhea isn't great, not going to lie." He shifted his pants. His eyes expressed his discomfort. "Started bleeding again."
"You need to stop?"
"No." Dove's eyes were sunken. Tired. Exhausted. "We can keep going."
"We can stop if you need us to."
"I said we can continue going." Snippy. Tired. Burning from both ends. He was not being honest.
"Understood." Penny order the droid to continue forward. "What would you like to talk about today?"
"Not sure. Just want to keep moving."
"How come?"
He swallowed. He knew. "I don't think I'll be able to keep this up much longer."
"How come?"
"As I said, I'm dying. I don't think it's so slowly anymore." Dove held his stomach as he slowed down. "I… I don't know anymore. How long I have."
"What happened?"
"Sleeping Geist. Dropping six stories, even with aura ruptures some important things."
"Is the Geist what killed Russel?"
"Yeah. Since it was made of stone, when it burst, the whole golem dropped on him. Saved me the effort of having to bury him and finding a headstone."
"Morbid, but understandable."
"Don't you know it." He stopped to breath in the chilled air. A pained hiss left his mouth. Unsteady breaths.
"Sorry."
"It's fine. Bout time I told you."
"I would like to ask, however, why do you not have a grudge against the grimm for his death?"
His eyes closed. Acceptance. A tired man knowing that it is no longer a fight worth fighting. "There's no point. The one that did was dead, and the rest of them aren't any better than mosquitoes."
"Would that not still make them pests?"
"Yeah. But it's pretty pointless trying to travel the world to kill all mosquitoes."
"I understand."
He shifted his much lighter pack. "Maybe I will take a break. How about a break."
"Sounds good to me, Dove."
PP: Testing, testing, one, two.
DV: Good Day PP. How may I help you today?
