Chapter Text
Out of anything else on the surface, human kitchens have been one of their favourite places to visit, even after hundreds of times. They smell great too, some more than others, but they are all nice in their own ways. It’s interesting to see what kinds of dishes the humans can come up with.
Yet, Dwarf sits on the ground, almost like a statue, not making a single sound. Earlier they heard alarmingly familiar voices from outside the house, which aren’t from humans, or animals, but from a group of shadow brutes. If there is anything they know, it’s that no amount of love they have for cuisine can overshadow their distaste for these people.
And they’re here again, because these groups have been appearing more frequently for some time, to take whatever treasure they can find from the human dwellings. It is weird, and kind of intimidating. It’s becoming increasingly unsafe for them to go into town.
It would benefit the humans to get them to stop, but they don’t have the energy, or the enthusiasm. The contract says they can’t attack them on the surface so they’ll have to deal with it. None of them can harm them either, though that wouldn’t stop them from trying. In that case it’s better to just be out of sight.
They’re awfully outnumbered most of the time, too. There’s a few of them outside now. They can hear the clinking of chains and the brutes talking about the nice things they got fade away in the distance. It seems like they’re on their way home now.
“Wait!” Krobus calls out. It’s so obvious that it’s him, because his ghostly voice is meeker than the others.
The strange thing is, the wave of shadow brutes began to flood in a couple days after he ran into them, and gave them that little lecture. He also scolded them for the same thing the brutes are looting. For all they know he probably got them to give the necklace back so that his friends could have it instead. He’s probably here to ask them to share or something. Dwarf remembers how tempted he was with that necklace.
“Um… hey guys.”
They can’t see a thing, if they dare look out the window they could be spotted, but they can listen just fine. Krobus seems a little shy, for some reason. It doesn’t make sense to be insecure around your friends.
“What are you doing?”
“Look, we just got these,” one of the brutes responds.
“Oh, these look valuable…”
The clinking makes it sound like he’s being given something. So can he just get his share and leave already? They’ve been waiting for too long, the humans might start waking up soon at this rate.
“However…” More clinking. Did he just give it back? “We have to talk about something.”
“What?”
Krobus goes on about something, like the humans being able to notice when something is missing, just being confrontational like he was before. The only difference is, he’s a lot more polite here and now. And he also talks a lot faster, and he talks a lot more…
“I’m… I’m only saying, this seems too much of an impulsive thing to d—”
“Why don’t you settle down?” Another brute interrupts him.
“Everybody is doing this, and this will be good for our economy.” The other brutes are taking turns speaking, but Dwarf can’t be bothered to distinguish between them.
“Um, I don’t know… I just think you could get into trouble for this.”
That’s the silliest thing to say to someone doing this kind of thing. They could get caught, obviously, but those who know how to get away don’t have to worry about things like that.
“We know the risks, you don’t have to worry about us.”
In retrospect, Krobus doesn’t point out that the humans would feel disappointed by having their stuff taken. That seemed to be the leading argument when they both ran into each other. The question is how he could ever hope to reason with them, seeing how they would be baffled by such an outlook.
“Don’t tell me you actually care what these humans think.” The brute doesn’t sound angry, just more or less unsettled. When they catch on to his intentions though, they won’t be very happy.
“I didn’t say I cared. I know some things about them— I like to think about it this way… if you learn more about them, you can be safer out here.”
“I see what you mean. Speaking of which…” Is it worth it to keep waiting? One has to wonder if there is something Dwarf can use to get rid of them. “We were just wondering… how long have you been living on the surface for?”
They’re making it about him and going off on tangents now. Actually, it’s not like they mind, they kind of want to listen in and know what his deal is too. It’s strange enough that he shows any regard for humanity.
“A long time… why?”
“Because we just want to make sure that, you know, you’re not getting weird ideas or anything. We know you’re all alone up here, and surrounded by humans…”
From the way they’re acting around him, it feels like he’s sort of enigmatic to them as well. Dwarf can’t see their faces, but they sound fairly reluctant. If they keep seeing him as an outsider like that they won’t be relying on anything he tries to argue. Was Dwarf wrong about them being his friends?
“Don’t worry, I’m okay.”
“That’s good.” Dwarf hears the jewelry clinking in the brutes’ arms. “You know, we’re about to leave with this stuff, anyway. You can have this one.”
They must be testing his loyalty for good now. Dwarf gets up and reaches closer to the nearest window, while making sure no one spots them.
This time, Krobus doesn’t even glance at the bracelet they’re offering, and just looks sheepishly to the side. He looks like he has no idea what to do. It doesn’t feel good to be in this kind of predicament, but he sort of had it coming.
“What’s wrong? No human will see us if we just leave now.”
They lean to look at their expressions—careful to not be on their line of sight. Based on how the bunch looks at him, it seems like they’re becoming increasingly suspicious, and angry.
It’s either he sticks to his principles or protects himself. The latter is the wisest choice here. If he takes the jewel, he can just give it back or something.
“… No, I don’t want it. Sorry.” However, it seems like even in the face of danger, he will resist temptation.
“Alright, tell us why.”
What is Krobus trying to prove again, that taking stuff is bad or whatever? He’s going to let himself be harmed over that? Dwarf would be too paranoid to even make sound around them. Which reminds them, if the scene is getting more tense, they should back away and just come back the next night. He’s definitely asking for whatever awaits him.
But then it begs the question, are they leaving him behind because he deserves it, or because they’re too afraid to do something?
“It’s… pointless, I don’t need it.”
If they go back knowing Krobus could show courage when they wouldn’t try, it would be difficult for them to sleep.
“Don’t you love jewels?”
Dwarf gets up and rummages through the drawers. They look for something disposable, but also something big. A plate. It would be a reckless decision to break something while trying to be stealthy, wouldn’t it? But it would be effective at scaring and getting them to run away, and somewhat stress-relieving.
Even if it would benefit him to end the interaction, it’s time to start thinking about how to never deal with a situation like this again. It would be dreadful to have to go through this every now and then, and always wait it out. It’s already quite late to do any meaningful snooping.
“I do, but would you take food if you’ve already eaten?”
“You’re not convincing anyone. We can tell you’re repulsed by our offer, which is saying a lot.”
“What’s the matter with you?” Another one chimes in. “Are you really going along with human stuff now? Is that true?”
They turn to face the window, ready to throw. The brutes are facing away from the house anyway, so it doesn’t matter if they can be seen from the outside. Krobus could spot him, but what is he going to do? The group closes in on him, almost cornering him despite his efforts to reason with them.
“You’ve become so disconnected. I’d pity you, but it seems like you’ve made up your mind.”
“Well, I believe you’re jumping into conclusion—” The moment he looks to the side, he sees them. Standing in plain sight, holding a plate to toss.
It must look alarming from his perspective, but it’s honestly a favour for him, and it’s not like it will cause any serious harm. If anything, Dwarf is the one at the most risk here.
His mortified expression towards them causes a brute to turn their head around. By reflex, they shatter the glass before they have a single chance to look behind them.
The noise would clearly wake up up some people. The brutes were smart to take off the second they heard it, Dwarf can already hear a human groan somewhere. They crawl out of the destroyed window, slowly make their way through the mess of glass shards—it’s still good to be careful—and book it.
Only having the opportunity to glance, they never had a chance to fully catch Krobus’ reaction—but they know they will talk again very soon.