Well...enjoy!
Gilbert and Matthew sat together besides the river, listening to the sounds of the water flowing past them and talking about anything that came to mind. Gilbert took it upon himself to go through Matthew's bag, pulling out anything and everything he could until there was nothing left. Matthew didn't object to him, instead he took some of the biscuits that he still had and was feeding them to Gilbird, who once again had perched in his hair.
"What's this?" Gilbert suddenly asked, shoving something right under Matthew's nose. Matthew went cross eyed trying to see what it was, until he leaned back and saw that it was just his compass.
"It's a compass," Matthew said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. Surely they had compasses here?
"Compass..." Gilbert repeated the word, trying out how it sounded. "What's it do?"
Matthew raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment about how he really thought that they should have them. "It helps you find your way when you're lost."
"Oh, we just use the sun and stars for that." Gilbert didn't stop staring at the compass though, turning it over and over again in his hands. Matthew watched him with amused eyes, completely forgetting about Gilbird on his head.
"You can keep it if you'd like," Matthew finally said. The way that Gilbert's eyes lit up he immediately knew he made the right decision.
"Awesome. So, Birdie, why are you guys here?" Gilbert pocketed the compass, giving his full attention to Matthew.
"We're looking for gold, but we're also here to get land for the Queen," Matthew said quietly, suddenly embarrassed. What if Gilbert reacted badly?
"We all share land here, but we've never torn into it like you and your friends have," Gilbert said with a hint of bitterness that was not lost on Matthew, but Matthew didn't say anything about it.
"We are not 'tearing into' the land. We're just going to be using it properly." Matthew didn't want to disagree but he was going to defend his friends.
"And we're not using the land properly?" Gilbert stood and crossed his arms, a pout decorating his features.
"If you were then everything would be so much more advanced!" Matthew shot back. Gilbert froze and then began to walk away. Matthew panicked a little, he didn't want to lose his new friend over a petty argument.
"Gil wait I didn't mean it! Don't go," Matthew pleaded, reaching out and grabbing Gilbert's hand. Gilbert stopped, but didn't turn back to face Matthew.
"You think that I'm ignorant, and that my people are as well."
"No Gil I didn't say that." Matthew tried to sound normal, but it just came out in a sort of whine.
"You and your friends think that you own whatever land that you land on," Gilbert said as he turned to Matthew, ripping his hand away as if it was on fire, "that this Earth is just some dead thing that you can claim!" Gilbert walked away quickly, almost making Matthew have to run to keep up with Gilbert's long strides.
"You think the only people who are people, are people who look and think like you." High above them a brown bear appeared, and Matthew pulled the gun from his back that had almost been forgotten in his time with Gilbert. Matthew was just going to fire, but Gilbert pulled his gun down and shot him a look. The bear ran off, and Gilbert followed silently.
"Yet if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you learn things that you never knew," Gilbert whispered as they came across the bears cave. It was a mom. Matthew felt a sharp pang of guilt wave over him, he had almost taken away the mother of bay cubs. One of the bears, a small white one, saw them and trotted out of the cave, right up to Matthew. It pawed his leg gently, asking to be picked up. The mamma bear looked at them and almost seemed to nod before she went back to the rest of her cubs. Matthew held the bear in his arms, enjoying the soft fur.
"Matthew, have you ever heard a wolf cry to the moon? Or see the grinning bobcat give his grin?" Gilbert asked, and by the way that Mathew just buried his face into the bears fur, Gilbert knew his answer.
"Come and run the trails that only nature makes, and taste the fruit that only grows wild. Just roll in all the riches of the Earth, and don't think about what they're worth."
Gilbert and Matthew wandered through the woods, seeing plants that they might have never seen otherwise, flowers that were brighter than the sun, and animals that weren't shy. At one point they came to a hill of sunflowers, and Gilbert convinced Matthew that it would be fun to roll down the hill, and surprisingly, it was. Even that small white bear, the one who refused to leave Matthew's side, did it. They swam in the river, going farther than Matthew thought that they could and having more fun than Matthew thought they could have.
"Mattie, how high does the Sycamore grow?" Gilbert asked, making Matthew furrow his brow in confusion. Matthew didn't know the answer.
"Well if you cut it down, then you'll never know will you?" Gilbert answered with a cheeky grin poking Matthew on his forehead. They arrived at a cliff, where Matthew and Gilbert sat right on the edge, feet dangling over it.
"Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?" Gilbert finally asked, just as a breeze filled with red and green leaves flew past them, making the area around them rustle with sound. Matthew smiled and nodded.
"I think that I can."
They stayed together like that for longer than they would have normally, until the sun finally set and there was nothing left to talk about. Together, they went back to where this had all started, where Gilbert's canoe sat and Matthew's bag was still laying.
"You can own the Earth, but all you'll ever own is dirt Birdie," Gilbert said once they finally got there. Matthew looked up into Gilbert's eyes and nodded, understanding what Gilbert meant. Nothing else felt like it had to be said.
The sounds of drums suddenly filled the air. Gilbert stood straight up, listening to them for a heartbeat before he turned his attention back to Matthew.
"I have to go, the drums mean that there's trouble coming," Gilbert explained as he turned away and began to get his canoe ready.
"Gil, will I see you again?" Matthew asked. He sounded like a love struck 16 year old, but he didn't care. He just wanted to see Gilbert again.
Gilbert looked conflicted before he got an idea. He took that iron cross from his neck and placed it around Matthew's neck. Matthew looked confused, looking at the black stone cross against his chest. He looked back up at Gilbert's grinning face.
"You keep that until we meet again," Gilbert smirked and seemed to get an idea. He leaned down and placed a light kiss against Matthew's forehead.
"Kesese bye Birdie!" Gilbert shouted as he ran to his canoe, jumping inside it. He was gone in a second. Matthew was left standing on the bank of the river with a burning red face and a necklace against his chest.
Matthew probably wouldn't have moved if it hadn't been for the small bear, that was still following him around, who started to paw his leg to get attention. Matthew looked down at the small bear and picked him up, figuring that he must be hungry after the day that they had. Face still a nice shade of red, Matthew went back to where his friends were.