The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 6: Dwarves

The carriage rumbled down the dirt road, rocking back and forth with an occasional jolt when a larger pebble hit the wheels. The sun warmed the party with its gentle rays, bringing about a sensation of drowsiness. Sasha had her feet kicked up, chatting away with Verde. Yin and Vao were bickering, as usual. What were they arguing about now? Well...

"Stop."

Vao snickered, leaning forward. He was drunk. "Wot?"

A vein was beginning to pop out of Yin's forehead when Vao did the thing again. "If you don't stop, I'll..."

"You'll do wot?" Vao egged him on. He did it again.

"Stop blowing on my neck, Vao!" Yin screamed. Vao was laughing up until Yin tackled him to the carriage floor, wrestling with his older brother. Salem was about to stop them, but paused. Even though Yin had shouted, she could see the smile on his face.

It was their bond, she realized. They were just playing with each other at this point. With a sigh, she leaned back against the wall of the carriage. Oswald was sitting across from her, having fallen asleep. His sword was set to the side, and his arms were folded across his stomach. Salem still didn't fully trust him. There was no doubt in her mind that he directly referenced the Timelines. But how did he know? As far as Salem knew, she was the only one who remembered.

"Hey, Princess?"

Salem jumped by Yin's sudden call. "Oh... What is it?"

Yin cocked a brow. "Are you okay? You had a really serious look on your face."

Salem chuckled. "Oh, it's nothing. I just didn't eat breakfast, that's all."

Vao grinned, crawling towards his satchel and rifling through it. In an instant he pulled out something red. "I have an apple!" He declared.

"Where'd you get it?" Sasha asked.

Yin glared at Vao. "Yeah... Did you pay for it?"

The thief laughed. "Oh no, I blew all my money on the carriage. I stole this one."

"Don't say that in front of the carriage driver! You'll get arrested!"

Vao tossed the apple to Salem before leaning back on his hands. "Oh relax, mate. He's cool."

"How do you know!?"

"Because there's a reason I got a discount."

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the driver was one of Vao's friends. And there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Vao's friends were a bunch of criminals. Vao started passing out fruit to his party, finally taking his own. They were all apples.

As Yin took a bite out of his own fruit, he snickered. Vao looked at him in confusion. "Wot?"

The cleric hummed before swallowing what was in his mouth. "You know, I'm surprised you didn't bring any horseradish..."

Vao suddenly looked very cross. "Do not bring that up."

Sasha leaned forward eagerly, seeming to forget her conversation with Verde. "Oh, Yin! Tell us!"

"I agree," Salem added curiously.

"Well, you see," Yin began. He was staring into Vao's eyes, knowing it was making his older brother angry.

"I will crush your knob."

Yin ignored the threat. "When Vao and I were in elementary school, we would bring our own lunches. Our uncle was our teacher, and had a tendency to swear a lot in class. Vao went home and used those words in front of his mom."