Twitterpated (Bambi x Ronno)

Chapter 5- Social Study

The moldy, waste-dripping ceiling that stretched far into the dark labyrinth made Bambi realize just how much he missed the sun. He wiggled himself under the crevice, stepping down into a wet corridor that stretched as far as Bambi could see. The water underneath them moved like a stream, traveling off to its exit point, however far it happened to be. He was grateful, at the least, for the numerous tiny suns that seemed attached to the wall, shining down their sunlight to banish the darkness.

"Woah," his vision captivated by the light, as he shook the mulch out of his tail, "I thought there was only one sun." The bright object brought such wonder to him that he briefly forgot he was slathered in wastewater.

Shaking the wet sludge off himself, Drexel gave the deer an odd look. "You mean the... lightbulbs?"

"Bulb," Bambi said slowly, staying on the light like a moth.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, I think," the deer quickly snapped out of it, shaking his head. "This is all very new to me." It took great effort to block out the festering hot stench in his nose, and he prayed in time he would grow used to it. The fascination with the lightbulb was a feeble attempt to find something else to focus on, in addition to whatever cold muck his hooves were dipping in. "So uh," he stopped with a cough forced up his throat, "what did you say this place was?"

"A sewer," Drexel noted, leaning over the deer's shoulder to look at the water, "it's a system of tunnels that take people's waste for them."

"People?"

"Another word for Man, remember?" The dove chirped as they walked, "they really have it made in the cities. If they want something, they get it. And if they can't get it, they make something that does."

Bambi started the long journey, walking as he followed the grey river. A part of him was slightly interested in learning more, for the sake of understanding his surroundings. He had millions of questions, yet debatable how many of them could be efficiently answered. "How long are these tunnels? I'm worried about Ronno."

"Honestly," Drexel winced, "they go on really far, but if we follow the stream we should find the exit."

Keeping his head down, Bambi looked feverishly at the clumps of soiled gunk piling in the water, "I think I could've gone my whole life without knowing any of this was here."

The dove nodded in agreement. "It's a gift to live far away from the city. The farther, the better."

"City?"

"We birds call it the 'breeding grounds,' heh. Cities are like towering shadows, trophies meant to enforce the power of Man." Drexel shuddered, "I'm lucky to be a bird, we mostly go unnoticed in the city, or they just don't care."

"You've been in one?" Bambi went wide-eyed as he listened. "And they don't try to hunt you?"

"I guess not. Maybe they just don't do it there, but they're still the most dangerous creature alive."

The young buck grimaced as he stepped over a cluster of mold and blackened waste, "you seem to know a lot about those things."

"Oh totally, birds have been core witnesses to some of the craziest events in history," Drexel said, a hint of pride in his voice, "most people know they cannot catch us, so they ignore our presence. This allows us to get close to them, not too close, but close enough that we see and hear what they do." He chuckled. "Sometimes they even feed us."

"Feed you?" Bambi narrowed his eyes, "I thought Mans- uh," he corrected himself, "people... were bad."

"Well sure they are, but I've seen plenty of nice ones who are actually quite kind," said the dove, "I've known some birds who are kept as pets by them, and it's surprising, but people aren't all violent."