[Discontinued] "True devotion." The Lamb x Narinder

Chapter 4: Name

The morning came for Narinder too soon. He woke up a few times during the night; it only lasted a few seconds each time, but during those seconds, he could note a few prominent things. The first time he heard the fire go out, The Lamb was probably going to bed. The second time, there were some noises from outside his tent, probably just an animal, maybe a normal deer. The last time, the noises from outside the tent were closer, and by closer, he meant the thing was rubbing against it.

Narinder got up and crawled outside the tent; he stood up and stretched his back. He looked around his tent and saw… "Great… it peed on my tent." Narinder shook his head, "Just my luck." Narinder started packing his stuff up; he needed to find some water before packing his tent, though, rinse the piss off a bit.

Narinder looked over The Lamb’s tent; it had a tiny little one next to it; inside was the crown. Narinder stared at it for a minute; he could take it. Take it and snap The Lamb’s neck like a twig. Narinder stepped closer, hands shaking as he reached for it, but that’s when he heard a yawn.

Narinder immediately retracted his hand; shit, The Lamb was waking. The Lamb opened his eyes and looked around before noticing Narinder, “Oh! Morning Narinder! Trying to murder me in my sleep?” they chuckled. Narinder is silent, just staring at The Lamb, “Alright clearly you don't want to talk right now.”

The Lamb gets up and stretches, “Oh! I see you started packing, good, saving me some time.” The Lamb starts to deconstruct their own tent while Narinder walks down to a little stream with his tent and tries rinsing the animal pee off. It smelled... horrible...

The Lamb snuck up behind Narinder, "Boo!" he yelled. Narinder had no reaction, just turned with a tired look, "Oh come on...that was a good one." Narinder turned back around and continued washing. The Lamb sighed, "No fun."

After a bit of washing, the tent smelled less horrible, and Narinder folded it up and put it back in the bag.

The Lamb threw their stuff over their shoulder, "Alright let's go."

Narinder huffed and dragged his stuff, following The Lamb while grabbing the map.

As they walked, there were many times The Lamb leaned over to look at the map in his hands, despite the fact they couldn't read it, "I'm reading it to you." Narinder said.

"I know but I want to look too." The Lamb replied as he leaned in again, their shoulder brushing against Narinder's and the back of the head close to his front.

"You're too close." Narinder muttered, pushing The Lamb off.

"Sorry."

Narinder stopped moving suddenly, causing The Lamb to lift an eyebrow, "Why we stop?"

"How have you survived this long?" Narinder asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You can't read a map; how do you not get lost? We stopped because we're at a checkpoint." Narinder points at a tree with a huge X carved into it.

"That was... on the map?" The Lamb asked.

"Yes! Good god..." Narinder looked at the map and pointed to the left, "That way."

The Lamb proceeds to skip, Narinder immediately grabbed them, shaking his head, "Don't do that!"

"Why?" The Lamb asked, "I'm in a good mood."

Narinder pointed at the ground, "Because of that!"

The Lamb looked at the ground, and their eyes immediately widened; it was a bear trap, "Oh shit. Did it also say that on the map?"

"Yes! There's a huge sign to warn us! This whole next section of your trap is going to be littered with traps! You need to be careful!" Narinder yells.

The Lamb smiles, "Aww, Nari cares for me?"

"Shut your mouth, damned lamb." Narinder growls.

The Lamb just laughs as they look around and grab a stick, long enough to be used as a walking cane, "We can use this to look for hidden traps."

"That's not a bad idea... give it here." Narinder reaches for it.

"Aw, why do you get to use it? You already have the map." The Lamb asks, pouting.

"Fine. You use it, but you better use it correctly." Narinder says, giving The Lamb a serious look.

"I know, I know." The Lamb laughs and moves the stick around, scanning for traps as they move.

The forest seemed to stretch on endlessly, with towering trees blocking out much of the sunlight. The only noise being the rustling of leaves and snapping of sticks from the bear traps.

After what felt like hours of silence, they finally emerged into a small clearing. The Lamb let out a sigh of relief, lowering the stick. "Looks like we made it through." he said, grinning at Narinder.

Narinder nodded, "Let's keep moving," he said, "We're not out of the woods yet."

They continued on their journey, the landscape slowly changing around them. The trees began to thin out, giving way to rocky terrain and steep cliffs. The air grew cooler, and the sound of rushing water filled the air.

"According to this, the next landmark should be a waterfall," Narinder said as he looked around. They were on a hill giving them a good view. That's when he realized The Lamb was... gone, "Lamb?" he looked around, "Lamb!?"

"Down here!" a voice yelled. Narinder looked off the hill and saw a small stream.

"Lamb!" he ran over, grabbing The Lamb toward him.

"Aw, Nari got scared~" The Lamb booped Narinder's nose which got him a harsh slap on the face, "Ow..."

Narinder sighed, "You found a stream, maybe it leads to the waterfall, follow me."

The Lamb shrugged and followed him, "You're so smart Nari~ I knew I was right to bring you along~"

Narinder felt his cheek heat up but he wiped it off, "Shut it, damned lamb."

"You keep calling me that, why not give me an actual name?" The Lamb asks.

Narinder paused, considering the question for a moment. "I suppose I never really thought about it," he admitted. "I guess it's just easier to stick with 'Lamb' or 'damned lamb'."

The Lamb raised an eyebrow with a playful smirk. "Well, if you're open to suggestions, how about-" The Lamb was cut off by Narinder.

"Cory... or Lamby."

"Cory?"

"Yeah... I like it... you seem like a Cory to me. And Lamby, guess because... I like to dehumanize you sometimes." Narinder explains.

"Oh... well... ok. Makes sense... makes sense."