With orange hues in the sky above him, and the sun settling down to the West, Ren pulled the old wagon behind him as he made his way down the beaten dirt road leading back to his village— the warm heat blowing through the blades of grass on each side of him. Minding the potholes, Ren put in an effort to keep the ride as steady as he could for the goblin girl he was planning on smuggling through the guarded entrance— his mind rehearsing what he would do and say, so as to appear as unsuspecting as he could.
Going through as many hypothetical scenarios as he could, and coming up with contingencies for each scenario that went askew, Ren's concentration kept his mind occupied— making the time spent walking fly by. What eventually broke the young boy out of his deep focus was the sound of rustling from behind him, that caused him to momentarily freeze up like a grazing deer suddenly becoming alert.
Taking a look at his surroundings to see nothing but open fields of grassy flatlands for as far as the eye could see. Still hearing the sound of rustling coming from behind him, Ren's heart began sinking into his chest upon realizing where the source of the noise was originating from.
'She's… She's waking up?! This soon?!' Ren asked silently to himself, as his eyes widened as he spun around to face toward where the leaves of lettuce were rustling more frantically, inside of the woven basket.
Although he knew it was inevitable that he'd have to explain himself to her, Ren— within all of the hypothetical scenarios he had created throughout the entire time he had been pulling the wagon— had not taken into consideration that she would be conscious during his plan.
Fearing that she would begin panicking from how claustrophobic she must have felt in there, Ren nervously made his way over to the side of the wagon— already hearing her beginning to hyperventilate ever increasingly, as he dug his trembling hands into the woven basket.
"H-Hey, uh…?! I-It's okay; I-I was the one who- OW?!" Ren yelped out loud in pain, before immediately pulling his hands out of the basket. Stepping backwards to distance himself from the wagon, Ren glanced down at his right hand— noticing teeth marks but no blood where she had bit him.
Darting his eyes up, Ren watched with panic beginning to set in as the woven basket toppled over the edge of the wagon— leaves of lettuce and potatoes spilling all over the dirt road, as the goblin girl inside attempted to scramble up to her feet.
'Sonofabitch!' Ren cursed to himself, while watching as the three foot fall creature clutched the white blanket around her small body, as she limbed away as quickly as she could— toward the direction of the woods. 'Should I…?! Should I follow her…?!'
Unsure whether to leave her alone, or to give chase, what Ren was certain of was that the bite mark on his hand proved that she was more than willing to retaliate. Unable to let the goblin fend for herself in the state that she was on, Ren begrudgingly decided to pursue from a safe distance— keeping one hand resting on the hilt of his dagger for insurance, while only having to power walk to keep up with how slowly she was actually limping forward.
"H-Hey, uh…?! W-Where are you going?!" Ren asked awkwardly, while feeling pity for the light green-skinned girl, who he heard groaning and whimpering with each painful step she forced herself to take.
"O-Oi…! G-Get the…! G-Get the hell away from me…!" The goblin girl cursed back at him in a shaking voice, that sounded as though she were on the verge of hyperventilating.
Raising his hands up to his chest and away from his dagger— with his palms facing toward her blanket-covered back— Ren attempted to calm her down by saying, "Woah, woah, woah…! Hey, my friend and I were the ones who rescued you; I was just trying to do what's in your best interest."
Slowly down by a noticeable margin, the goblin girl reluctantly looked over her shoulder while still limping ahead; her yellow sclera eyes momentarily looking at him from the corner of her visions, but she quickly whipped her head forward.
"A-Advocatin' for me bloody, so-called "best interest," would involve yew soddin' off then, yea'…?!" The goblin girl asked rhetorically in an abrasive tone, and took in a few more shallow breaths through her mouth before shouting at Ren, "So why don't yew do just that, and FOCK OFF?!"
Remaining patient with her, simply Ren shook his head softly at her while she was still facing toward the direction of the nearby forest. "You're not making this easy for either of us," he stated, to which earned him a faint chuckle from the goblin girl, who was beginning to murmur incoherently in between rapid breaths.
"G-Good," she muttered back spitefully, and did her best to quicken her pace with Ren still following behind her at an arm's length away from her backside.
"… My name's Ren, by the way; Ren Ashta."
"And IIIIIII couldn't give less of a shite what yer name is, Ren, so just go home— or wherever the hell yew came from," the goblin girl sassed back, which although rubbed the eleven year-old the wrong way, did seem to lighten her mood— if only but a little.
Shaking his head at her again, Ren remained composed as he argued politely, "I can't— not until I know you'll be safe."
Upon hearing the conviction in his low, flat voice, the goblin girl let out an elongated groan. "A-And why bloody not?!"
"I made a promise to that girl who helped save you; I promised her that I'd take care of you," Ren replied, which halted the goblin girl who froze the moment she registered his noble answer.
"Oh my fockin'…?!" She murmured with a dry, and joyless laugh, before finally turning around to look upward into Ren's calm, crimson eyes. "Are yew…?! A-Are yew fockin' with me, kid…?!"
"Uh… N-No, not really," Ren awkwardly replied, as he stared down at the bewildered face of the light green-skinned goblin before him— her brown bangs resting over her forehead, as her small, frowning mouth was parted open just enough for the light of the setting sun to illuminate her sharpened teeth.
Seemingly still in disbelief, the goblin girl had her eyelids narrowed at Ren; seemingly analyzing every detail of his earnest, yet resolved expression— searching for the slightest hint of hesitation that would go against what he had apparently promised.
Taking in a deep breath and slowly sighing, the goblin averted her large blackened pupils away from Ren's stare, and appeared contemplative while simultaneously twitching while seemingly thinking conflicted thoughts to herself.
"L-Look… Kid," she said aloud with an empathic tone in her still trembling voice, and met Ren's stare once more with a slight glimmer of gratitude behind her yellow-eyed gaze.
"I… I appreciate what yew and yer friend did for me— truly, I do," the goblin girl reassured earnestly, while letting the makeshift hold she had created with the blanket over her head slip off— revealing two large and pointy green ears, and two long strands of brown hair on each side of her face, that went down to her small, fabric-covered breasts.
"But… Yew've got to realize that I… I just fockin' lost my entire bloody family to a band of yewr kind! And if that shite wasn't unforgivable enough, those b-bastards each had a fockin' go at me as well…!" She exclaimed hatefully with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, and made Ren wince uncomfortably as she pointed a small finger down to her groin.
"I… I know, and-"
"-I'm not bloody askin' for yee useless sympathy, Ren; I'm tellin' yew all of this, so that yew really understand the bloody gravity of what's goin' on with me, and my fockin' mental," she interrupted bitterly, and remained hotheaded as the hand she was using to keep the blanket wrapped around her tightened into a balled fist.
Suspecting her intentions, Ren's resolve to keep his promise to Bethany overwrote the fear that stemmed from his brain's attempts at self-preservation. "S-So… So you're going after the people who… Who've wronged you then, I'm assuming?"
"Yew're godamn bloody right I am, kid!" She shouted back righteously with tears beginning to trickle down from the corners of her enraged eyes. "I know where those bastards skittered off to; and so once I find them— and I will— I'm gonna splatter their brains all over the FOCKIN' floor!"
'Wow… She's mad; rightfully so, I guess, but…' Ren's thoughts trailed off, as he noticed the way her small chest was heaving with rapid breaths going in-and-out of her clenched teeth. "… Are you that confident in yourself?"
"I… I-I fockin' have to be, don't I?!" The goblin girl asked rhetorically with more desperation in her stammering voice than determination, followed by a momentary glance of doubt passing across her flustered face. "I-It's not like I can let that shite slide, R-Ren…! T-They took EVERYTHING from me! E-EVERYTHING!"
"I… I'm not disagreeing with you— what they did truly was unforgivable, and they'll get what's coming to them," Ren reassured with an understanding voice, and couldn't help but to think back to what Bethany had told him.
"It's… It's understandable to be scared; everyone gets scared, and you certainly have every right to feel that way," Ren empathized, while offering the wide-eyed and infuriated goblin a solemn stare. "And right now, I'm certain that you're more than likely blaming yourself, just as much as you're blaming the ones who've taken just about everything away from you that they could…"
"… But even so, there's one thing they've yet to take from you… Something that you're about to needlessly throw away," Ren added, while bracing himself as he noticed the way the goblin girl was snarling her sharpened teeth at him.
"Oh…?! And what the fock' didn't they take from me, ya' lil' mouthy shite…?!" She growled angrily, as her body shook violently with a flurry of emotions whirling around inside of her.
"Your life," Ren replied shortly, and figured that he was seconds away from being lunged at, so he threw caution to wind by firmly adding, "Is that something your family would have wanted for you? To throw away your chance at starting over?
Ready to step-back at a split second's notice, Ren braced himself to be attacked by the distraught goblin. However, instead of making any attempts at trying to physically assault him, the goblin green instead began trembling more noticeably— her rapid breathing suddenly turned into muffled sobs, as she collapsed onto her knees while burying her face into her palms.
Before Ren could react, she suddenly let out an anguished shriek of despair— her upper body hunched over her thighs, where she proceeded to aggressively take her frustration out by beating her small fists repeatedly into the grassy field beneath them.
With the dry breeze blowing against his back and through his gray strands of hair, Ren felt the light of the setting sun warming his entire back, as he stood before the devastated goblin— allowing her to feel her raw emotions, while his body casted a shadow over her small, blanket-wrapped body.
By the time she had calmed down and was nothing more than a quiet, breathing mess of a girl, the orange hues of the sky had transitioned into bluish-purples— twilight looming over them, as the stars began to faintly twinkle above.
"I… I-I don't know what to do, Ren," she finally croaked out in a raspy voice, while slowly pushing herself back up to sit in the kneeling position— her blood-soaked eyes reflected the sheer volume of hopelessness and desperation she had inside of her, as she gazed up at Ren's calm and collected gaze.
"I… I-I d-don't wanna throw away what's left of my life, b-but… B-But I can't afford to waste time feelin' sorry for myself; not when those bloody bastards are tearin' apart what's left of my family's home," she explained quietly, while sniveling as she let out a shaky breath.
"I see… And do you feel comfortable if I got some of the guards stationed at my village to-"
"-N-No, no…! A-Absolutely not," she quickly protested, and shook her head at Ren before elaborating to him, "If yew divulge to those soldiers the whereabouts of my family's bunker, then… T-Then the whole bloody kingdom finds out, and then the bloody king and his men will start guttin' and pillagin' what's left of my family's legacy…!"
"… I-It'd be no different than what those fockin' rapists are doin' down there, as we speak," she insisted, before growing angry once again by the mere thought of the men who had attacked her. "At least against those degenerates, I might actually stand a bloody chance against them…!"
"Not the condition you're in, no— at least, not alone," Ren replied, as he once again recalled Bethany's warning.
Shocked at what she had just heard, the goblin girl needed a moment to find her quaking voice once again, before asking him with wary eyes, "A-And what is it that yew're insinuatin' there…? Are yew actually offerin' to help me kill your own kind…?!"
Ren frowned upon hearing that, and told her with a hint of disgust in his voice, "Those who committed monstrous acts are monsters themselves— they lost their humanity the moment they preyed on your and your family."
Bewildered with questions of her own regarding Ren's seemingly bizarre acceptance towards committing violent acts at such a young age, the goblin girl would have protested against the idea, had it not been for her quickly coming to the conclusion that the young boy before her would be her best hope at reclaiming her home.
Letting out an elongated sigh, the goblin closed her eyelids shut as she softly uttered out in a somewhat more composed voice, "… Amerika; my name's Amerika," as she slowly opened her eyes— the two staring back at one another, as the twilight sky above them grew darker, and more vibrant with the light of the twinkling stars above.