Bow Boy

I lifted the creature higher, using its round body as a makeshift shield while the archer pointed his arrow at me.

"Are you a Rust?"

My mind raced. What's a Rust? Was that wolf thing a Rust? If I say no, will he think I'm lying? If I say yes, will that arrow find a new home in my chest?

The longer I stayed quiet, the tighter his grip on the bowstring grew. Those amber eyes burned into mine, waiting for an answer that could get me killed either way.

But before I could stammer out what would probably be my last words, the creature squirmed in my grip. It twisted around, that arrow it had pulled from its body still clutched in one flipper.

The creature then stretched out toward the archer, reaching with its stubby flipper until the tip of its arrow clinked against the one aimed at my heart.

"Peng!" it said cheerfully, tapping the arrows together so their heads kissed.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

"Give me that." He snatched the arrow in one swift motion.

The creature's whole body drooped. Its flippers hung limp at its sides as it stared at its now empty flipper, looking like someone had just kicked its favorite toy into a storm drain.

Ok, I know I've been a jerk to this weird creature earlier, but seeing it so dejected now made my chest ache.

"Hey! What's your problem? Give it back to him."

"No. These are mine."

"Not anymore. You shot it, you lost it. That's how arrows work."

His eyes narrowed. The bow creaked as he now aimed squarely at my head.

"Last chance. Are you a Rust?"

I glared right back at him. "A Rust? A RUST? Listen here, bow boy. An hour ago I was minding my own business. Then some game cartridge decided to eat me, a screen asked me what I wanted - which by the way, I didn't even get to answer - and next thing I know, I'm in this stupid place! Then this piece of work shows up-" I squeezed the creature tighter, "-and that wolf monster tries to eat us both. So no, I'm not a Rust, thank you very much."

The creature contributed a solemn "peng."

I then jabbed a finger toward the sky. "If anything, I got dumped here by whatever's up there because apparently the universe decided 'hey, you know what would be fun? Let's toss this girl a breadcrumb that maybe Inorin's still out there, then laugh as she chases it!"

The archer's bow dipped slightly. "You... fell from the skies?"

"Seriously? That's what you got from all that?"

"Answer the question."

"Yeah, I did. I couldn't make this up if I tried."

The archer studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable.

"If you wish to live, you'll help me with something."

"Oh come ON! I answered your question!"

"This isn't a request."

"Ok, fine, but give this thing its arrow back first."

"No."

I turned away, muttering under my breath. "Stingy bitch."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" I sang out, hugging the thing closer as it made more sad noises.

The archer lowered his bow again, but this time with a dismissive "tch." He slung it across his back and extended his hand toward me.

I stared at it.

"Well?" His fingers wiggled impatiently.

So my choices were either sink in the mud or take help from this jerk? Wonderful. With Peng tucked under one arm, I took his hand.

He yanked me up with surprising strength, then immediately wrinkled his nose. "Your arms are like twigs. Seems like the mud and those strange clothes made you look much bigger from far away."

"Do you just wake up everyday and choose violence?"

He ignored my jab and pulled a cloth from the small bag at his hip. "Here. Clean yourself up."

"Aw, you do care." I snatched the cloth with exaggerated sweetness, enjoying how his face twisted.

I set the creature down to wipe the worst of the muck off my clothes. The moment its feet touched ground, it puffed up like a balloon. Then with one violent shake, mud flew everywhere.

There it finally stood in all its glory. Its body was less round and more vaguely cylindrical, like someone had described a penguin over a bad phone connection and this was the result. Those vacant eyes stared in slightly different directions, giving it a perpetually confused expression.

"Does it have a name?"

"No, but it only says 'peng' so Peng, I guess."

The creature responded with an enthusiastic "peng!" though it was hard to tell if it actually understood or just liked making noise.

After a while, I held out the mud-stained cloth to the archer.

"Here. Sorry about the mess."

He snatched it back without a word and stuffed it into his bag. "Follow me."

I trailed after him through the darkening field, my shoes squelching with each step.

Hold on. I spun around. Where was-

There, about twenty feet behind us, Peng was still by the paddy. Its cylindrical body swayed side to side as those tiny feet worked overtime. With each step, it tilted precariously. When its right foot lifted, the whole body listed left. When the left foot rose, it lurched right. The result was less walking and more controlled falling.

Oh for crying out loud.

I darted back to Peng, who had somehow ended up facing the opposite direction.

"You having trouble there?"

Both eyes swiveled up to meet mine. Well, sort of. One eye tracked perfectly while the other drifted slightly left. It stretched its flippers toward me with an eager "peng!"

"Want up?"

"Peng!"

"Alright." I scooped it into my arms. Its body was surprisingly warm now, like heating blanket wrapped in feathers.

You know, this whole situation sucked. I was muddy, lost, and being led around by some trigger-happy archer. But watching this disaster of a penguin try to waddle after me earlier like a toddler...

Well, maybe not everything about this place was terrible.

I hurried to catch up with the archer, who'd stopped to wait with an impatient scowl. Whatever. He could deal with it.

***

The dirt path stretched ahead like a tightrope between endless mirrors of water. Paddies flanked us on both sides, their surfaces catching the last rays of sunlight. Rows of green shoots poked through the water's surface in perfect lines, so neat they could've been drawn with a ruler.

Peng's warmth seeped into my arms as its head bobbed lower and lower. Its eyes kept drifting shut, only to snap open when it nearly face-planted into my elbow. After the fifth time, it gave up and buried its face in my jacket with a sleepy "peng."

Meanwhile, bow boy here hadn't said a word since we started walking. Just trudged ahead with that stick up his ass, probably plotting new ways to be insufferable.

"So, you got a name, bow boy?"

He kept walking.

"You know, my aunt used to scold me for being this pig-headed. Said that's why I didn't have many friends. Well, that and my face scaring everyone away. But hey, I'm trying to work that. You though?" I grinned. "Let me guess, not exactly Mr. Popular back home, are you?"

His steps faltered.

"…Jiko."

"What was that?"

He turned just enough for one eye to glare at me. "My name is Jiko."

"See? Now was that so hard?"

"Shut up."

"We were making such progress too." I quickened my pace to walk beside him. "So, Jiko, what's this favor you're so desperate for anyway?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me fully, those amber eyes burning with an intensity that made my smile fade.

"I need your help killing a Heavenly General."