Repurposed | Quirrel x Sheo x Nailsmith

Chapter Sixteen: In Which Mato Rips Of A Bandage

The brothers searched for Oro's hut all of the next day, and Mato was finding it harder and harder to will himself to keep going. The two of them hadn't split up, (Sheo refused to leave Mato's side, due to the correct suspicion that Mato might lose his confidence if he found the hut alone,) so Sheo easily took note of his brother becoming distracted. He didn't mention this, his brother was already fretting enough as it was, so Sheo just searched extra hard for the both of them. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on who's account you're taking,) they weren't able to find it that day, leading to Mato simultaneously feeling relieved and stressed as he fell asleep that night.

They had better luck the next day.

After wandering deep into Kingdom's Edge and battling an absurdly large amount of great hoppers, they'd found it. It was late afternoon when they did, the two brothers having to travel quite a ways to do so.

Mato, upon seeing the hut, immediately turned tail and ran.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Sheo grabbed him firmly by the arm before he could make any distance.

"Shhh! Don't talk so loud!" Mato whisper yelled. "I don't want him to hear us, and I definitely don't want him to see us either!"

"But isn't that why we're here?"

Mato stared at him dumbly for a moment. "I- Look, I'm tired. We've been walking and fighting all day and my legs hurt and my arms hurt and I can't face him when I'm so exhausted."

Sheo knew for a fact Mato wasn't physically tired at all, Sheo wasn't sure if anything could physically tire him. But, they had endured a full day, and it would be for the better if Mato had a little more time to prepare himself.

So, they found another small cave to set up camp in.

"Are you alright?" Sheo broke the silence after what felt like, (and could've very well have been,) hours.

Mato's voice was uncharacteristically quiet, "No."

Sheo opened his mouth to say some words of encouragement, but Mato cut him off as soon as he noticed this. "Don't lecture me on how I should stop stalling, okay? I know I've already put this off for long enough."

"You're going to talk to him tomorrow, correct?"

Mato huffed, "Yes, and... and I want you to hold me to that."

Sheo could say as many reassuring nothings and promises as he could come up with, but there comes a point where words don't have any impact. They've already had this conversation before, and it'd do no good to repeat it. In some ways, Mato's anxiety had started to rub off on Sheo, but he knows better than to show it. His brothers will either make up, or they won't, and he could talk until morning comes and the time to face Oro is upon them, but no amount of reassurance from him will change the outcome of their meeting.

Sheo faintly smiled, "Then there's nothing for me to lecture you about."

The next day, Mato was very much regretting asking Sheo to hold him to his word. He practically had to be dragged out of the cave as soon as he awoke and had a quick breakfast, and the whole walk he kept trying to turn back.

"Actually, I think I'm starting to get hungry again," Mato tried as they turned a corner. "We should stop for a quick snack. I wouldn't want to face Oro on an empty stomach after all!"

"You had plenty to eat for breakfast," Sheo huffed, recalling that Mato had gone out of his way to chew his food as slowly as possible, and how he didn't speed up until Sheo threatened to eat his food for him.