*Chariots of Fire begins to play*

A complete orchestra plays a symphony of stirring, dramatic music in my head as I dive off the tree to be reunited with my partner, Greenie.

Everything slows down in slow motion as we draw closer.

Oh, you ugly goblin, you. I've missed you!

This was a beautiful moment.

A true tear-jerker of a scene if this was a movie. Two long-lost friends, finally meeting each other after their destinies had torn them apart.

We were like soldiers who found each other after a long battle, tasting the sweetness of surviving one more day in the wild. Spreading my wings wide to slow my descent, I give a happy call as I get closer and closer to Greenie.

"Aaawrkkkkkk!"

In my heart, I imagined the scrawny goblin looking up with his arms opened wide to welcome me back.

It was so good to see you Greenie! It's been too-

Ack!

NOOOOOOO!

Right before I was about to land on his shoulder, I veered off and landed a good ways away from where Greenie was standing by the tree.

Knock-knock.

There was the source of the knocking that had woken me up.

It was the sound of Greenie's spear knocking against the hollow wood of the tree as it fell to the ground. The second knock was coming from Greenie quickly picking up the spear and leaning it against the tree again. It was like watching the same gif repeating over and over again. Greenie, propping his spear on the tree trunk. The spear, slipping down and until it hit the dirt ground.

He hadn't been knocking on the tree knowing I was there.

Why was the spear repeatedly falling to the ground, you might ask? Didn't Greenie have the option of setting his spear on the ground?

Research Analyst Raven will answer! Hmm..Observing how Greenie kept that wood stick close to him at all times, it probably had to do with a goblin's survival instincts to keep weapons close. This habit could be compared to the prehistoric neanderthals who used spears to hunt their food in the stone age.

Wow, nice work, Analyst Raven! I applaud myself.

Weird tidbits of information like this came with the territory as a market research analyst. One of my former clients, a toy company, had been looking to develop a caveman character. They wanted to sell plastic toy-versions of neanderthal weapons like spears and bows. No matter which way you spin it, it didn't sound like a good idea. Which it wasn't. Turns out the boss of that company was a history buff that wanted to create some new revenue for the company, and decided that this idea was it. He had pushed through his peoples' pleading to not go with this idea, until he agreed to listen to an expert's opinion.. That was me. I was the expert.

An additional theory to Greenie's spear was that it may also have some sentimental/cultural value. Greenie used the wood stick with care, decorating it with bird feathers he'd found.

Well, that concludes my findings! I push up my invisible glasses on my beak. Man, I wish the boss could see me now. What dedication to my work! I hadn't lost my touch!

...............Now, going back to why that spear kept knocking on the tree. And why I had decided not to land on him..

While one green hand was busy going through the motions of picking up the spear each time it fell, the other hand was occupied.

Because Greenie was urinating. With a clear arc of golden pee splashing down in a thick stream.

On the tree I was hiding in.

He'd been peeing on the tree while I was asleep.

That took my excitement down from 100 to 0 real quick. There was no more dramatic reuniting music playing in the background of my mind.

This wasn't a beautiful moment at all.

Seriously gross.

Seriously.

Yuck. I was a lady at heart, okay!

At least the loincloth covered what I didn't want to see. I'd never had time for a boyfriend in my past life. The only thing I did was travel between work and home. In school, all my time was spent studying. It wasn't possible for a man to slip into the tiny slivers of time I had left between work.

There was no way I was going to let my first time seeing any sort of male genitalia be a goblin's.

Though I was glad to see him.

Hearing the sound of trickling water as he continues peeing, I wait for Greenie to finish.

.........

I shouldn't feel disappointed.

It was better to change the subject.

How did Greenie find me?

Luck alone couldn't have helped him, when the status had said it was unreliable. It felt like we'd used a lot of his luck already in our encounters with the giant snake and the wolves.

Was there some sort of bond between us as master and pet?

Hopping behind another tree, where I can't see Grennie, I focus on bringing his ugly image up in my head.

Maybe there would be some magical bond that would come up, linking me to him.

Grnnnh. Focusing hard on thinking about Greenie, I rub the tips of my wing feathers above my temples like a fortune teller. In my mind's eye, I can feel Greenie's location, out behind me where he was last peeing.

Yes, I can see it!

Opening my eyes wide open, I stop rubbing.

Now time to confirm if it worked.

With a flutter, I come out from behind the tree, only to see Greenie gone from his spot.

Seems like I'd deceived myself. It didn't work.

Where was Greenie?

"Kieiiii?"

Greenie pops his head out from the other side of the tree I'd been hiding behind.

What kind of strange hide and seek was this?

I was sick of that game.

A night of playing it with a pack of angry wolves would do that to you.

Greenie crouches, staring at me. He bares his teeth at me in what I think was a goblin smile. Two strong wing beats, and I flutter onto Greenie's shoulder.

He rubs his head against my smaller one, the relief coming off him in strong waves.

I missed you too, Greenie.

When he sets off again, using his spear to push the low branches and thick bushes out of the way, I breathe out a sigh of relief.

Soon, I fall asleep to the rhythmic swinging motions of his shoulders as he walks.

.

.

.

.

I was glad that I hadn't agreed to become his pet. A pet owner couldn't be the one losing their own pet. Since I was the owner and Greenie the pet, the situation with the wolves would be similar to a pet running away from their owner, I guess?

Ding~!

[After overcoming a trial together, your pet feels closer to you than ever before. Would you like to upgrade your bond? Y/N]