Every living creature in the world needed to eat something, no matter the environment, no matter the conditions. It was a painstaking fact that all needs had to be met, so matter what stinking, filthy corridors they had to crawl through to meet it. After the disgusting experience of unclogging a passageway, the trio was forced to endure a few hours of Ronno's complaining. He always had something new to say, going such lengths that Drexel was nearly quivering with pressure, mere seconds away from viciously attacking the deer from above. It was only when the pangs of hunger befell them both that Ronno finally said something other than a hostile quip.
"I'm hungry." The fawn groaned.
Drexel ruffled his feathers, trying to cool himself in the humid air. "Well that makes two of us."
"Three!" Bambi perked up, happily trotting along in the green water. "Two comes after three, right?" His bouncing movement made Drexel stumble, as the bird was nesting on his head.
His partner pushed ahead, kicking a splash of muck at the annoying fawn. "Shut up, and what are we supposed to eat down here anyway? I don't think anything's edible."
"Not to us, anyway." Drexel said absently.
The group stopped in their tracks, Ronno turning around to face the dove. "Wait, are you saying there's more down here?"
"More what?"
"More things like us." The deer raised an eyebrow, leering at the bird with a questioning eye. "We aren't alone down here, are we?" The dove hesitated back slightly at Ronno's advance, nervously shifting his tail around.
"Well..." The dove trailed off, sweating under his plume. "Humans tend to... flush things. There might be a couple fish or two or... alligators."
"An alli- what?" Bambi cocked his head.
"These uh- these giant reptiles that... eat stuff." Drexel sighed. "They're big, and extremely dangerous. I really dread coming across one down here."
Ronno stiffened at the news. "There's deer eating beasts down here and you didn't tell us!?"
"I thought it'd be fine!" Drexel jumped into the air, hovering in front of the stag's face. "It's a rare occurrence and frankly, I didn't want to give you two anything else to worry about!"
"Typical man dumping evil monsters into the sewers." Bambi scoffed, pulling a disdainful look. "Whatever, if we can handle dogs, we can handle... whatever these things are."
"They don't dump them." The dove glided over, landing on the fawn's back. "At least not always. They just sort of end up down here, no one really knows why."
"So we should at least find something to eat before..."
"We became their meal?" Ronno cut off his sentence with a sarcastic jeer. "Great idea, princess. And word of advice, I don't think these things are aware of your royal standing." Said the fawn, bitterness leaking off his tongue.
"Can you give it a rest, please?" Bambi turned his head around at him. "I'm starving too, you jerk."
"Jerk? I'm dying here!"
"Then just hold on!" The young prince pled, getting increasingly aggravated by his companion. "I'd... rather you didn't die down here."
"Yeah," Drexel agreed. "Because we'd have to drag your body."
"Drex!"
"What?"
While Bambi struggled to keep the two from ferally ripping one another to shreds, they climbed through the sewers until the path stepped up to a hardened ground. Drexel called it "concrete," and said it was a solid sign they were nearing the way out. Regardless, the three animals were just happy to get out of the rancid water. The corridors became drier, but also darker, with towering walls leaking some foul substance.
"This looks like a good place to rest." Drexel said upon entering a clearing. Three branching paths marked the way ahead, each one with their own vile smell to greet them. Taking one sniff of the way ahead and physically recoiling, Bambi hastily agreed and let the bird down. Jumping to the floor, the dove began scanning the ground, searching for something.
The pair of deer watched the bird work, eventually turning to one another. "Well, I'm going to bed." Ronno said dismissively. "If you want to take a walk in these disgusting areas, be my guest."
"You aren't hungry?" Bambi tilted his head, flashing his concern.
"Hungry? Please," the darker fawn spun around, whipping Bambi's face with his tail. "I could go for days. You're the one that's always whining about your pretty little stomach." He added the second sentence so his words would drown out the echoing noise of his stomach growling. The gaping feeling of hunger was burning inside him, forming a hard rock in his gut that cut him as he moved.
The younger deer watched him walk away. "Okay then..." he looked down slightly. "Well I'm gonna go look, cause I'm hungry, and Drexel probably is too."
"You won't find any."
"Says who?" Bambi ignored him, approaching one of the branching paths. Eyeing it for a moment, the fawn puffed out his chest and raced ahead, disappearing into the darkness.
Drexel and Ronno were left alone in their new place of refuge. The deer idly watched the bird work, observing how he picked small items off the ground and brought them to a pile. Seemingly able to feel the burning eyes into his back, Drexel spoke up. "I'm making a nest."
"With what?"
"Anything I can find, I guess." Said the dove with a sigh. "I just... can't really sleep anywhere without one."
"Well good luck with that." Ronno folded his legs underneath him, lowering his aching body to floor. "I'm gonna sleep."
"What about Bambi? He just ran off alone."
"Eh, he'll be fine." The stag yawned, arching his back to stretch his tightened muscles. "Crazy fawn can hande dogs and stuff, why should we be worried?"
Drexel turned to him, staring up into the deer's eyes. "Ronno, it's the sewers. What if he runs into an alligator?"
"You said they were rare."
"Rare maybe, but they're still here!" The bird tweeted. "And what if he falls into a pit like you did, and-"
The deer bristled, snapping in an instant. He darted straight over to his challenger, gritting his teeth. "I did that on purpose! I was trying to die!"
"Well Bambi isn't! Do you really want him to perish out there?"
"Bambi can suck my-" he started to say, then stopped himself. Anger flared through him in every angle, pushing forward every insult he could spit. Yet there was something else inside him, a flicker of agreement that responded to Drexel's words. Hesitating before the bird, the fawn stumbled and glanced to the side with a worried expression. "Well... he," came his stutter. "Ugh, dammit!" He cursed into the air, racing after his partner. Drexel merely shrugged and went back to building his nest.
-.-.-.-
"Bambi!" Ronno called angrily, speeding along the passageway and repeating the name out loud. "Bambi! I swear if you're dead I'll kill you!" Ignoring the inconsistency of that statement, he charged at full speed through the darkness, instinct being his only guiding light. "Bambi you worthless sack of dirt, where are you!?"
The name echoed all throughout the louder he called it, probably for all the creeping things in the sewers to hear. He rounded a corner, which he only realized the existence of once his nose slammed into the wall and turned to see a faint light ahead. Lashing furiously at the stabbing pinch in his muzzle left by the impact, Ronno sprinted ahead to the beacon. He appeared at a ledge, looking down on a massive pit of molded waste that stunk of every filthy thing to ever grace the world. "Ugh-" he recoiled, mere seconds from violently vomiting. Pushing through the smell, he peered into the pit.
There he was, the great princess, with his face shoved in garbage. Bambi had jumped down, scavenging through the mess for anything their bodies could stomach. "Hey dingbat!" Ronno called from above.
Bambi was startled to attention, his ears and tail shooting upward as he jumped in place. "Aaahh! Wha-" he looked around in a panic before spotting the other fawn. His fear changed into annoyance, giving him an agitated look. "Do you have to yell? You scared me!"
"Did you jump down there?"
"No, there's a ramp." Bambi gestured with his tail at a sloped -yet oddly rigid- structure of concrete that connected the two layers.
Ready to argue back, Ronno turned and spotted the ramp mere inches away from where he was standing, patiently waiting for him to descend down. "Oh," he blinked. "Well... still! You look like a filth-covered gopher down there."
"I don't see you helping." The prince flattened his head, anger boiling inside him.
"I don't need to!" Ronno bit back, walking down the ramp to meet him face-to-face. "I already told you I could survive far longer without food!" He sneered those last words, a smirk peeling on his face.
Bambi approached him, bristling with hostility. "Survive? You're thinner than me!"
"You're the thin one you walking stick! Maybe you shouldn't be so obsessed with your royal image, actually look at yourself sometime."
"Excu- what!?" The deer physically paused at the statement, aghast at the words he was hearing. "What is the matter with you!? All I've wanted to do this whole time is help you!"
"I don't need your help, I already told you that a thousand times!"
"But I want to help you, you stupid idiot!" Bambi snapped, his fur spiking up. It was the loudest he had ever spoken in his life, causing Ronno to rear back in surprise. The darker fawn was completely dumbfounded, blinking absently at the sudden volume.
"Why are you being such a jerk?!" The prince continued, starting to corner Ronno. "Why are you such a jerk to to begin with!? What did I ever do to you, what did anyone ever do to you?!"
"Oh that's a loaded question!" Ronno began flaring, insecure at the shifting of power. "You have no right to know anything about me!"
"The only thing I know about is that you're just a massive bully!"
"And you're a self-centered, silver muzzled pretty fawn who was born into a royal throne!?" Ronno sneered. "You're really enjoying all that power that was fuckin' handed to you for free, huh?"
"Handed to me?! Do you have any idea what I've lost in my life?" Bambi was screaming now, something unheard of for the prince.
"Do you know what I've lost!?" His partner yelled even louder. "Do you have idea what it's like to be born alone and cold with nothing!?"
An explosion of mold and water erupted from the trashy mass behind them, a massive alligator ramming itself through the barricade. The argument was interrupted as both fawns were knocked over by the wave, their screaming words able to be heard for miles, the perfect lure for any predator. The creature was utterly monstrous, roaring through the air as it attacked with unhinged ferocity.
Ronno hit the ground a couple feet away, washed over with the filthy water. Alarm blaring through his body and rocketing his heartbeat, he shook the water from his head in a panic, unable to get a word out over his own screams. Bambi fell onto as his back as muddied trash splattered onto him. It sealed with a sickening hiss, trapping the fawn to the floor. "Aaahhh!" He flailed, desperately trying to tug himself free.
The ramp was right there, mere inches from Ronno's landing. The alligator was distracted, it was the perfect chance to run. He spotted his way out and was filled with resolve, springing up quickly and jumping toward it.
"Ronno!" Bambi cried out from his capture. "Help!"
The terrified stag looked back at his helpless partner, frozen with horror at the threat behind him. The powerful alligator hissed through the water, molded sludge draining out of its teeth as it spotted Bambi. Look back at the horrifying animal, Bambi felt frozen, paralyzed at the sight of the reptile looming toward him. The alligator scanned the trapped deer, not understanding the prey before it but knowing it was food nonetheless. Twitching its tail, the predator lunged forward to snap its jaws. His life flashing, Bambi shut his eyes and braced himself.
Before he could even realize what he was doing; in a moment of unthinkingness, Ronno jumped off the ledge and sailed down onto the creature's head. The alligator recoiled in surprise, flinching at the sudden disturbance. Flailing into an uncontrollable frenzy, the predator entered a destructive panic as it tried to shake its attacker off. Ronno could only keep his footing atop the animal's back for so long, a sharp jerk of its head sending the deer flying off into the water. With only a few seconds of borrowed time, Bambi furiously tugged himself free, taking all his strength to pull his torso from the mold that sealed him to the floor.
Dazed from where he was thrown, Ronno shakily tried to stand with the fuzziness in his head. His vision cleared quickly, prompting a moment of relief that was instantly replaced was frozen shock. He was cornered, and the alligator was mortally pissed off. The reptile rolled in the water, sending a cascade of splashes and flinging trash across the room. Rearing tall, the creature turned to face the other deer, growling with hatred.
Bambi jumped into action, grabbing slathered ball of trash on his teeth and flinging it at the creature. It bounced off its neck, making the alligator hesitate and turn around. "Ronno!" He called, voice breaking with panic and adrenaline. "Just run! Run to the ramp!" The scene ruptured into madness as all three animals scrambled for their targets; Ronno making an insane dash like he was fleeing the fires itself, the giant alligator nearly tripping over itself trying to snatch the elusive animal, and Bambi who was paralyzed in shock watching the entire thing unfold.
"Running!" Ronno shouted into the air, jumping off the alligators back. He landed across the room and sprinted for the ramp. "Running!" Not a single coherent thought entered his mind as he blindly ran, nearly clipping Bambi in his uncontrolled direction. The two fawns barely escaped the attack with their lives, jumping up the ramp and fleeing the scene into the dark corridor. Even with the alligator left behind, Bambi didn't stop running until a piece of elevated concrete tripped his legs, spiraling the deer to the floor. As the prince hit the ground, Ronno quickly ran over him, tripping up on the other's body like a perfect speed bump. Now with both fawns collapsed to the ground, they laid still in blood-pumping exhaustion, each trying to slow their rapidly fleeting heartbeats.
"Well." Said Ronno first, lying on his side breathing heavily. "That... could've been ugly." He propped up on one leg, looking over his shoulder. "You okay?"
Bambi didn't answer for a moment, the small animal was quivering in fear. Sewer water was draining off his fur onto the concrete, forming a green puddle underneath him. "I..." He breathed, finding his voice. "Yeah... I think so." A short pause came, until a realization piqued Bambi's ears. "Wait a minute," he looked up at the darker fawn, awe spreading in his eyes. "You just saved my life."
"I- what?" Ronno gave a confused look.
"You saved me," Bambi stood up, his body small and apprehensive as he approached his rival.
Alarm flashed across Ronno's body as he realized his own actions. "W-well, I-" he stuttered, tensing up and looking to the sides. What was he supposed to say? His mind panicked, desperately scrambling for an answer to brush off the prince and keep his own appearance going, but every avenue of thought had blanked. Hot flush burned under his fur, refusing to make eye contact with the other fawn creeping to him. It was hard enough finding an answer, but the closer Bambi got to him, the more flustered he became. "Look I- what do you want me to say?" Ronno tried to hide his smile, looking to the floor. "I... didn't want to see you go like that. Just because I give you this once doesn't mean-"
"Thank you." Bambi said gently, glowing with gratitude. He smiled contently, giving Ronno a thankful nuzzle in his shoulder. It was a simple gesture of affection, a small token of his appreciation.
A small gesture that completely shut down all thought process in his partner. Ronno froze as if he were standing in the brightened lights of death itself, an electric shiver pulsing through his body. "Yeah, well." He snapped out of it quickly, pushing Bambi back with his hoof. His image had slipped for only a moment, only now could he regain the composure to get himself in order. "Let's get back to Drexel and stop wandering off in unknown directions."
"Alright!" Bambi giggled, prancing to Ronno's side. "We'll have a funny story for him anyway."
"A funny story of you almost dying."
"And a hero saving me in the nick of time!"
"Uh, sure." Ronno grimaced, turning his head away. "If... that's what you want to call me." He picked up the pace, walking ahead and eager to put the prince behind him. Like a loyal duckling, Bambi happily trotted behind him, oddly upbeat after the near-death experience. They traveled for a few moments, walking in silence until Ronno spoke without thinking.
"You know, I don't... actually hate you." He felt the need to say, keeping his eyes to the ground. "You're pitchy, annoying, and I find you incredibly obnoxious to be around." His nervous words floated back to his brighter companion, who was listening in with a concerned expression. "But I..." Ronno said, having trouble speaking. "I don't... hate you. I honestly don't. I wouldn't to see you... die to something like that."
Bambi let silence encompass them both, before he leaned into Ronno's ear. "I don't hate you either."
"Unng," Ronno groaned at the invading voice. "Let's just go."
Neither of them spoke again until they reached Drexel, armed with an aggressively entertaining story to assault the dove with. Tension still remained between both deer, but something had noticeably changed in the tone. The difference was unclear to them, but both understand that things were no longer the same. Bambi couldn't stop staring at Ronno with glowing admiration, the memory of his rescue now driving into his mind never to leave again. Ronno was dismissive of any attempt Bambi made to include him in the retelling to Drexel, but the darker fawn seemed uneasy. Uncertainty was boiling in his mind, taking into question everything he once knew, and illuminating Bambi to him with a light he had never seen before. What was the matter with him? He couldn't understand what was happening, but for some irritating reason, Bambi just wouldn't leave his mind.
