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"Wonderful." Gold leaned forward slightly, the word more growled than spoken. "Lou umei cul." His lips curled into an annoyed grimace.
“I must agree,” Kayin said. “However, I am taking a liking to you, so I think I’ll keep you.”
"You're taking a liking to me?" Gold couldn't keep the doubt out of his voice. "You could have fooled me."
“That was the goal,” Kayin said amusedly. “Really, I do think you’re quite funny.”
"Huh. Is your go-to strategy always to annoy and threaten the people you've taken a liking to?" Gold asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"It is when they're a threat to me," Kayin retorted. "I try to keep myself safe, thanks."
"So I'm a threat to you?" Gold laughed. "I find that hard to believe." From what he'd seen, Kayin was a very dangerous person when they wanted to be.
“Yes! I saw what you did with that amulet,” Kayin pointed out. “I’m not going to take any chances.”
"I suppose." Gold shrugged. The amulet was definitely a powerful magic. It had helped him get out of many tough scrapes before. "So… Why exactly have you taken a liking to me? I don't think I've done anything all that likable."
"You're feisty. And strong. Funny," Kayin listed, then shrugged.
"Feisty?" Gold repeated, staring at Kayin in shock. He had never been called 'feisty' before. "How am I feisty?" Gold continued, trying not to sound too disbelieving.
"You don't put up with people's shit," Kayin said. "You're. . . spunky, is the word for it."
"Huh." Gold leaned back slightly. "Thanks, I guess." He didn't know how Kayin's compliments made him feel. Weird, that was for sure. "How much longer until we get to a town?" He continued, changing the subject as naturally as he could.
"An hour, maybe. Possibly longer," Kayin said mildly. "Play it by ear, is what I think."
"Alright, fine." Gold sighed and shifted slightly into a more comfortable position. He was getting a bit tired from all this up and down and excitement. Gold wanted to sleep… but he was on a dragon. There was no way.
"What do you mean, alright fine? I can't do anything about it," Kayin said, digging an orange out of his bag. After peeling it, she ripped off a piece and offered it to Gold.
"I know you can't. I'm just accepting my fate." Gold sighed heavily. He was very surprised when Kayin offered him an orange, but he took it. Oranges were good, and he was realizing how hungry he was. Hungry and tired. Such a wonderful combination. "Thanks."
"Sure, yeah," Kayin said, leaning over and peering at the ground passing beneath them. "We'll have to stop soon for water."
Gold ate his piece of orange in silence, giving Kayin a grunt of acknowledgment at their words. He would rather they stopped for a nap, but water would do.
"You sound like a hippopotamus," Kayin said, smiling slightly. "Do you know what those are?"
"I sound like a what?" Gold nearly choked on the remainder of his orange. "No, I don't know what those are. Was that an insult?"
"Yes, that was an insult. They're like cows, sort of. Water cows. They sound hilarious. I can't believe you've never heard of a hippo."
"Of course it was. I should have expected that." Gold sighed heavily. "And you should have expected I'd never heard of that… whatever you called it. We've already established that I'm an ignorant fool who knows nothing of this place I've been dropped into."
"I don't know what animals you have where you're from," Kayin pointed out. "And yes, you are an ignorant fool. You should be glad I found you, not somebody else."
"Fair point," Gold sighed. "I suppose I should be glad, but I'm really not." He opened his mouth to say something else about how unhappy he was that Kayin had found him, but was interrupted by a yawn. That was a bit embarrassing. Gold quickly covered his mouth and hoped Kayin hadn't noticed. He didn't need her to have one more thing to laugh at him about.
"Well, you don't have to stay with me. I didn't kidnap you," Kayin said, watching Gold mildly. "You can go to sleep you know."
"It made sense at the time to go with you," Gold grumbled. Soon after, it had stopped making sense, but he was already in too deep to back out now. "Go to sleep on the dragon? I think not." He would have been a little more okay with falling asleep on the dragon if he had something to hold him onto the dragon, so he knew he wouldn't fall. But the only thing there was Kayin, and there was no way Gold was asking him to hold him.
"I already said I wouldn't let you fall. Why don't you believe me? I've done nothing but help you," Kayin said, irritation tinging their tone.
"I know, I know you have," Gold let out a long sigh. Kayin had said that multiple times, but… he still couldn't believe it. He knew he should probably believe it, but… he just couldn't. "I'm sorry…" Gold mumbled, looking away from Kayin.
"You don't have to apologize," Kayin said, their expression softening. "I get it. I mean, I'm not royalty or anything, but I get the trust part of it."
