Scolding Stone
a young buck gets into a heated argument with a statue that isn't quite as stone-faced as one would expect
"Look, I already told you that this isn't going to work! We tried, and we failed. That's the long and short of it." A young buck with brown fur and wearing a suit of simple armor was gesturing wildly, shouting to nobody in a room full of statues in a variety of poses.
He turned back to face a particular one. a figure carved almost as if to resemble his own image was standing in a defensive pose, staring at him.
"Oh don't give me that. You know we did everything we could to succeed."
the statue didn't move.
"Yes, we did! How could we have known it was guarded? It was supposed to be out in the open, ripe for the taking!" The young buck pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"No, I don't need to take this from you. All you ever do is complain. You want us to do better? Give us some actually helpful information for once!"
He looked back up at the statue, which had shifted into a pose mimicking him, fingers pinching the bridge of its nose.
"Oh, I'm being childish?! Since when have you been the mature one? You're the one who suggested this whole enterprise in the first place, and now that it's gone pear shaped you refuse to back down and won't stop whining about it!"
The statue didn't move. The buck let out an irritated sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them the statue was back in its original defensive position.
"This plan of yours almost got us killed! How the hell are we supposed to want to keep going after that? Do you expect me to ask them to keep going until their limbs fall off? Is that what you want? Us to drop from exhaustion?"
The buck turned away from the statue in a huff.
The statue he was facing now was the same figure, with an exasperated expression on its face.
"Well what the hell do you want from us then? I've done my best to lead these people, but I'm starting to doubt that you actually know what we're doing at all. This entire job has been one disaster after another and we have nothing to show for it except wounds that will take months to heal properly."
The buck felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, and turned to find another statue, its hand raised as if it had just slapped him in the back of the head.
"What the hell was that for?! I'm right and you know it! We've been pushing and pushing for months on end and haven't seen even a glimpse of this supposed treasure! We barely make it out alive most of the time!"
He turned and faced another statue, this one gesturing as if explaining something.
"Oh sure. the same old excuses. 'It takes time for things to work out' yadda yadda yadda."
The buck turned and began to walk away from the statue, "Forget this. I'm taking my crew and going home. Whatever this treasure of yours is, it's not worth it."
The buck blinked and suddenly bumped into a statue with its hands outstretched, as if telling him to wait.
"What? not so cocky now that I'm actually going to leave, are you?"
The buck purposefully closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them the statue was looking away with a frustrated expression.
"You have one more chance. Lead us somewhere with an actual reward or we're done. I'm burning the contract."
The buck closed his eyes again, and when they opened, 2 statues were before him. one was pulling its hands down its face in frustration, the other had its hand extended as if going for a handshake.
The buck smiled and shook the unmoving stone hand.
"I'm taking my crew somewhere to rest for a bit. I'll be back in 1 week to talk. You'd better have something good."
The buck walked into a circle in the center of the room, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and vanished.
After a moment, the statues began to shift, and draw together. crashing and melting into one another until they all became one, which began to shift and crack.
The singular statue shattered, revealing the form of another buck, fur the color of molten gold glowing softly with a faint gray light. He raised a hand, causing another statue to appear, an exact replica of the buck that had left.
He let out a roar of frustration and punched the statue, shattering it.
"Arrogant child! He thinks he can order me around!? Who does he think he is!?"
He summoned another statue and shattered it as well, throwing himself fully into his tantrum.
Eventually, the room was covered with shards of broken stone, and the figure was left in the middle of it, panting with rage and exertion.
A faint clapping came from behind the figure. "You really showed him Aurum. He'll be terrified of what you might do if he ever makes any sculptures of himself."
The golden buck swiftly spun to face the one who had spoken. She was a white fox, with red markings along her eyes and ears. She wore a simple, yet elegant dress which was made with the same colors as her fur.
"What do you want, Meigu?"
"What makes you think I came here because I want something? Can't I come to visit an old friend and dear rival?"
The two stared at each other for a moment, then Aurum turned away.
"So you want to make a mockery of me then? What makes you think I'll give you anything to throw at me?"
"You agreed to this contest, did you not?" Meigu said with a light chuckle, "One would think that would provide me with plenty."
Aurum snarled. "If you're only here to make a mockery of me you can get out. I don't have time for your antics."
Meigu walked up and around Aurum, pulling her tail beneath his chin and tutting as she walked. "This entire game is my antics. If you didn't have time for that you wouldn't have agreed to it in the first place."
Aurum swiped at her tail as she swiftly pulled it away.
"Besides, for once I'm actually here to give you some advice."
Aurum snarled at her. "Advice? From you? Why would I accept anything from one who is more likely to trick me into looking like a fool than help me?"
"You say that as if I'd have to trick you into that," Meigu chuckled, "besides, I don't want my victory to be boring. There's no point to a contest if there's no challenge."
Aurum glared at Meigu, and then threw a fist at her, bellowing with rage. His fist connected, and she shattered into a cascade of flower petals.
"Naughty boy, you know what the rules say about fighting each other directly." Aurum spun, and saw Meigu had appeared behind him, lounging in the arms of a statue he hadn't created.
Aurum snarled, and stared at Meigu, then spat at the ground beneath the statue. "Fine. What supposed words of wisdom do you have for me? I'll be the judge of whether they're worth my time."
Meigu giggled, and crawled down from the statue, flowing almost like water. She walked up to Aurum, once again brushing her tail under his chin. Aurum's face began to flush slightly as he snarled at the mockingly intimate gesture.
"You need to treat your pets better darling. You won't get anywhere by giving them false promises." As soon as the final word slipped from her lips, she once again shattered into flower petals, leaving Aurum on his own.
For a moment, the golden buck thought about what had been said to him. He then regained his composure and spat where Meigu had been.
"They aren't pets. They're my servants" he grumbled to nobody in particular. "And a servant who doesn't do what they're commanded gets removed."
Aurum shifted, and his golden hide slowly turned to stone, which then shattered, leaving the meeting room empty.