Page 54 of Emerald

Zha’s eyes flare with annoyance, and I can see zha clenching zha’s teeth. "You know, you have a lot of nerve. I may not have your giantmonkey caterpillararms, but I've gotten pretty good at using what I've got." Zha's voice is steady but heated, and there's a flash of pride there that surprises me.

I expect zha to be glowing yellow at this point and it’s ridiculous. False yellow is the worst.

But what do I know?

"And what exactly did you use?" I ask, more curious than condescending this time. "Your wit? Charm? I'm sure that's what really won the beast over."

Zha scoffs, rolling zha’s eyes dramatically, and the way zha’s lips purse makes my tusks clack in amusement. "Very funny, Kroaicho. But no, it wasn't my 'charm,' as you call it. I used a trap. Dug a pit, lured it in, and let gravity do the work. Not everything has to be solved with brute force."

I pause at that, genuinely impressed despite myself. Zha's voice is still biting, but there's a fierce intelligence behind it. I hadn't considered that zha would use strategy over direct confrontation. "Interesting," I mutter, the sound grudging. "That's… not bad. Resourceful."

Olivia raises an eye fur at me, zha’s lips twitching. "What's this? A compliment? From you? Should I be honored?"

I huff, attempting to imitate zha’s eye-rolling and cringing as a result. "Don't get used to it. Just because you managed one clever trick doesn't make you invincible."

Zha laughs, but it's a dry, humorless sound. "Yeah, no joke. Look, I don't need your approval, okay? I'm not out here trying to impress you." Zha turns back around and starts walking again, the mushroom light bobbing ahead of zha. "I'm just trying to survive. Same as you."

I take a step, then a thought occurs to me. “How did you get it out of the trap? Where is the trap?”

Zha doesn’t answer, just keeps stomping off ahead of me. The cave walls light up purple again, but it quickly dies back.

I take another long look at the creature and recognize the wounds as coming from my own claws.

My mouth opens to confront zha about the lie, but then I clack it closed. Suddenly, I find it amusing again.

I watch zha for a moment, my annoyance fading slightly into something more complicated. The back and forth with Olivia… it's always like this. A constant push and pull, each of us batting at the other. And yet, there's something almost enjoyable about it, as much as I hate to admit it.

Zha doesn't back down and doesn't turn away from a challenge. In some strange way, it's… refreshing.

But still, I can't let go of the irritation entirely. The fact that zha wandered off alone grates on me. I shake my head, clicking low under my breath as I trudge after zha, the weight of the carcass shifting slightly in my grip.

We continue in silence for a while longer, the winding tunnels becoming more familiar as we near the main cave. My mind drifts to my crystals, my hoard. The thought of returning to them, admiring the new additions, brings a flicker of orange contentment. But it's fleeting. I can't enjoy my treasure properly while Olivia's reckless actions still linger in the back of my mind like a thorn.

By the time we reach the cave, the air has cooled significantly, and the dim light from the bioluminescent mushrooms fades as we enter the open space. I toss the carcass onto the ground with a dull thud, not caring where it lands. Olivia, clearly exhausted, barely spares it a glance before slumping down onto a nearby rock, zha’s head resting in zha’s hands.

My eyes flick to zha for a moment, but then I turn my attention to my hoard. The crystals I gathered earlier are still scattered across the ground where I'd tossed them in my earlier fit of rage. I kneel down, carefully gathering them one by one, dusting off the dirt, and arranging them with the precision and care they deserve.

"These," I say, holding up one particularly beautiful shard, its surface glimmering faintly in the low light, "are the finest I've found in weeks."

I glance over at Olivia, expecting some kind of response, maybe a snide comment, or at least a flicker of interest. But zha is just staring at the ground, eyes half-lidded, looking utterly uninterested. A wave of irritation pulses through me.

"You could at leastpretendto care," I mutter, holding the crystal up a little higher. "This is rare material, even by my standards."

Olivia doesn't even look up. Zha just waves a hand dismissively, still slouched on the rock. "Yeah, that's nice, Kroaicho. Really. I'm sure your shiny rocks are very impressive."

My skin flashes dark purple in annoyance. "They're not just 'shiny rocks’, human. They're—"

"I’ve been pretending my whole life, Kroaicho,“ Olivia interrupts, cutting me off mid-sentence, zha’s voice edged with exhaustion. "Surely here in this stupid cave I can let all of that go? I'm hungry. And tired. I don't really care aboutmaterialism, alright?"

I open my mouth to snap back at zha, to ask what that word means, but then I catch myself. Zha sounds genuinely worn out. The sharpness in zha’s tone is more from fatigue than actual malice, and I suddenly feel a pang of guilt. I sigh, turning back to my crystals and setting the last one down with more care than I did earlier.

"Well, if you're so hungry," I grumble, "you could've just said so."

Olivia shoots me a flat look, but doesn’t respond. Zha just slumps further, looking more miserable by the second. I glance over at the carcass, knowing it will take a while to prepare. Too long, especially with Olivia in this state.

With a resigned sigh, I rummage through one of the small alcoves in the cave, pulling out a handful of dried lichen. It's not the best of meals, all things considered, but it'll have to do for now.

"Here," I say, tossing the bundle of lichen toward Olivia. "Eat this. It will satisfy you until you can eat the creature."

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