Rebirth of the Wonderbeasts

36 - Old Burrow

CW: Assumed attempted suicide

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Jamack slowed to a walk, panting to catch his breath; his lungs and throat burned with the effort. "First Mute... How can he... Run so fast?" He asked himself, leaning his head back. The Mod Frog closed his eyes, still trying to catch his breath. "Who am I kidding? He's... Had to run probably every day of his life since he escaped."

He let out a sigh, continuing to sprint after Scarlemagne. He knew were he went, because he had him in his peripheral vision earlier, but now he was gone. "First Mute, let's hope I didn't lose him." Jamack mumbled to himself, speeding up into a run.

All he could hear was his feet hitting the ground and his own breathing, but if he focused enough, he could make out the other. The Mod Frog assumed Hugo had to be getting close to where he wanted to go; why he wanted to run this far away, he didn't know.

Forest soon gave way to run down Old World buildings, surprising Jamack a little. He knew that Scarlemagne's palace was in the trees -- hell, it was in a hollowed tree -- but this wasn't familiar to him. He looked around, as if trying to spot some sort of landmark, but he finally saw the mandrill again. "Hugo!" The Mod Frog called out, trying to stop the other from running.

Scarlemagne glanced back at Jamack, breathing; he lowered his ears and jumped. The frog-mute gasped, slowing to a halt; to him, it looked like he just jumped off into a hollowed out building. The Mod Frog's hands trembled and he urged himself to walk forward.

Yes, Scarlemagne was upset over what happened in the clinic, but he couldn't possibly be that upset to jump. That's what Jamack told himself. That's what he repeated to himself, continuously, until he reached the edge of the building before the drop-off. The frog-mute swallowed, looking over the edge; a part of him had expected the mandrill to be all the way at the bottom, unmoving.

Jamack found himself letting out a sigh of relief once he spotted the mandrill to the left, just sitting there on a partly-broken bench. The Mod Frog mumbled to himself, jumping down to Scarlemagne's level; not really saying anything important, mainly talking as if to calm himself down and process what happened.

Hugo was looking down at his arm, not admiring the blood, but more-so just examining it. Jamack walked up beside Scarlemagne, sitting down next to him; they were a little closer together than what the Mod Frog would've liked, considering the important subject matter of why he followed the other, but it's not like it bothered either of them. "Can I see...?" Jamack asked, offering out his hands.

Scarlemagne blinked slowly, setting his arm in the amphibian's waiting hands; he didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say or if he should say anything, so he just kept his mouth shut. He stayed quiet and only followed what was asked of him for fear of something going wrong, just like when he was with her.

"Are you okay?" Jamack asked, beginning to wipe down his arm; the amount of blood on him was slightly jarring, spooking the Mod Frog a little, but it made sense. He'd seen this amount of blood, and more, before, so it wasn't like it was new. Maybe it was the fact that it had came from Hugo, and not a Mod Frog he somewhat knew?

"..." Scarlemagne didn't say anything. "... You know you can speak to me, right?" The frog-mute said, pausing his movements to try to make eye contact. The mandrill's eyes were focused on his arm more than anything else. Not even the old burrow they were in.

The old burrow. Kipo had warned Jamack, and the others, of this place. Fun Gus inhabited the burrow, and she gave multiple warnings regarding him. But not only that, but it was the last place Emilia was last seen; Jamack shook his head, as if trying to clear her name from his thoughts. He didn't want to think about her, and, on a more important note, why wasn't Fun Gus attacking them or saying anything to them?