Flirting with Disaster [Abe]

[Erik]

Another trade caravan, another day of profits for Dekethorn.

Reveling in the joy of another victory over silly Deku merchants, he was watering himself down while sitting by the side of the road with a couple of bags at his feet. They never even say him coming, and it was a glorious day for him. Not his best haul, but it was quite a good day.

"Mwee Hee Hee, suckers!" He declared as the water felt refreshing down his snout, and at his feet.

[abe]

Abe watched, walking down the dirt path, as a caravan drove past. It sped through, obviously in a hurry to get somewhere. Inside, Abe could see a few terrified Deku shrubs fluttering around on the inside of the caravan. They drove past too quickly, however, for Abe to ask them what the matter was. He shrugged it off, and continued down the path.

Not a ways far from where he was coming, he saw another Deku shrub, though this one looked less afraid and more menacing. He was drinking water on the side of the road; likely it was, Abe guessed, that he was attempting to cool off from the hot day. Abe beckoned to him, waving from a afar, and stopped just short of him. "How are you?" He politely asked.

[Erik]

Dekethorn looked at the one traveler. One human, it appears. Not particularly threatening. Better than a squad of Hylian Knights any day. It didn't seem like he was fully aware of Dekethorn's recent robbery. However, with little fear Dekethorn felt he could be honest. Or at least not be manipulative at all.

"Hello traveler!" he jovially responded, laying down in the grass, wary in case the human spontaneously grew a brain and put 2 and 2 together. "Since you asked, I am fantastic. Today is a good day to be a deku I declare." Well, that was dependent on who you asked. Those merchants may say otherwise.

[abe]

Abe was, as customary for him in any given situation, very curious as to what the truth behind this particular Deku was. Though it may be something that people often did, it wasn't likely that a Deku Shrub would go on a walk and stop on the side of the road to drink. Besides, this was the first time Abe had actually ever seen a Deku in person. However, deciding it would be best not to jump to the point in his curiosity, Abe addressed him amiably.

"Good to know you're well," he said, and offered the Deku a slight smile. Though he wasn't planning on jumping to his point, he did decide it would be wise to at the very least investigate. "Any chance you saw what happened with that caravan just now?"

[Erik]

Dekethorn knew Abe was catching on. He wasn't stupid after all, just cautious. Dekethorn, in an attempt to be intimidating, got up angrily and marched over to Abe, looking up at him. Dekethorn, being only a deku, came up to about...waist...ish high on Abe, but he felt taller.

"I know what you're thinking, and that is a dirty accusation you're making there!" he stated with great anger in his voice. "Are you accusing me of robbery or assault on an innocent caravan!?" he followed up a furious snort, deku nut included, directly into the ground, where the nut promptly shattered. He was clearly upset by this accusation, despite it being completely accurate.

[abe]

Abe didn't really take a step back, primarily due to the fact that someone so short simply didn't intimidate him yet. That could change, and Abe was open to that change, as he was always on his guard. However, it showed no signs of doing so, and he therefore stood his ground as the Deku approached him.

Staring the shrub right in the eye with his own piercing, purple eyes, Abe spoke. "Well, yes. It's an accusation I'm making. Now, did you do it?" He was blunt, which was rare of him to be honest, though when things got serious, Abe did as well. He was a man of personal justice; while the law wasn't what he followed, he followed his own personal code of conduct, and what this Deku might have done crossed the line.

[Erik]

Dekethorn got up as close as he could to Abe's face before unleashing a nut right into it. As long as they were having a staredown, he may as well take advantage. Afterwards, regardless of the nut's contact, he ran around Abe like a man who just had a little too much caffeine.

"Well yes, it was me. Those idiots didn't even see me coming. Easy prey. Why, you gonna steal it back?" He taunted Abe, expecting him to make a move towards him and attack, which Dekethorn was quite prepared for. However, Abe would likely notice that he left the bags unattended.

[abe]

Such maliciousness in one Deku shrub, and it was hard for Abe to believe that someone could so willingly attack something as humble as a merchant caravan. Surely the evil in this shrub's heart was well-founded, and if so, Abe could easily understand, but to reach out and do such a terrible act would require due explanation, and even then, it would not atone for the crimes he had committed.

Abe wasn't, naturally, a lawful person, but he did believe in moral standards and the good in the hearts of all men, including races other than men, and hoped that this Deku had reasonable explanation regardless of that. It was still a deplorable act, and Abe regarded the Deku with a careful expression that indicated an inner anger in his being. "Stealing it back would make me as deplorable as you are," he began, not attempting to directly insult him. "But I would, at least, like to know why you would do something like that."

[Erik]

Dekethorn was upset, pouting that Abe hadn't challenged his taunts. Apparently he wasn't too lawful but still visibly upset. Dekethorn started to slow his taunting run and moved out toward his gear slowly. His eyes gave a grin that his snout couldn't.

"You didn't see it? Their faces as they ran? It was absolutely terrifying. They were ready to cry almost. I haven't been so glad in weeks." He tried to provoke Abe further by firing a deku bubble directly at him.

"Come on fool, try me. I'm on a roll, and could use a good opponent. Merchants are fun to scare, but they rarely fight back." He readied himself after the bubble, anticipating Abe to finally attack him.