Once Upon A Time In Colombia: Remastered

Genesis Route (1): The Climb

Tucker chuckled, rubbing his arm. "I didn't mean to sit on you."

"It's okay, really."

"So you said you came from the Encanto?"

"Yeah... I'm probably miles away now. It's nowhere to be seen. I can't smell anybody anywhere. And to make matters worse, I can't smell Mirabel anywhere. Anyway, thank you for taking all of this time to hear my stupid sob story." I told him. "Oscar, it wasn't stupid. I wanted to hear your backstory." The grison said. "I wanted to know why you were hiding." I grinned. "Thank you. It's actually kinda convenient that I found someone to vent out my feelings to." Tucker just laughed. "I have no fixed abode. I just roam around these Colombian forests. Or valleys, since we're in a valley right now."

"So, anyway, can you tell me more about... what'd you say you were? A greaser?"

"Grison."

"Right."

"Where should I even start?!" A huge grin spread across Tucker's face, almost as if he's stoked about me asking what a grison was. "We can swim, sometimes we're most active at night... I'm only active when I wanna be. I'm out in the open here in Cocora Valley when grisons are usually near streams or rivers. But I've snuck my way onto human plantations to steal some crops. We're generally carnivores, though, just like you."

I can't really call myself a carnivore, can I? I've never actually hunted before. When I said I ate the rats I exterminated? That was a lie. I'm sorry.

"I get the whole 'skunk' thing a lot. Everyone thinks I'm a skunk." He said. "Well... you have white fur on your back. And you smell the part. In a nice way, though!" I said. I wasn't sure how to say that sentence without sounding like a jerk. But Tucker clearly didn't think so. "We defend ourselves like a skunk does!" Tucker said, turning around and lifting his tail. "Wanna see?"

Eyes widened, I raised my paws, "Ah, no thanks." I couldn't help but laugh, though. I feel like he was trying to make me feel better. He shrugged and stood up straight again. "So, what about you? You're a house cat, right? What cat things can you do?" Tucker asked.

I sighed. If he really wants to know. "Other than purr, meow, eat, sleep, and catch small rodents, there aren't a lot of cat things I can do..."

Tucker cocked his head to the side, that stupid grin still plastered on his face. "Come on, I've seen a jaguar haul a caiman out of the water, there has to be something you can do! Can you swim?"

"I don't do it often, but... yeah, I can swim."

"What about climbing trees? Can you climb trees?"

My heart dropped at that last one. "Ehh..."

"I bet you can climb trees! I've never seen a cat that couldn't climb trees!"

"Well, Tucker, I hate to say it, but there's a first for everything." I said, standing up. "I can't climb trees. I'm not good at it."

"Have you ever tried?"

"Uh..."

"You'll never know if you never try!" Tucker took off towards another wax palm, instead of the one that was right next to us. "Yeah, but..." I started as I followed him up the slope. "You won't risk falling to your death, or breaking one or more nails if you don't try, either!"

Tucker looked at me. He looked like he felt both sympathy and empathy for me. "Hey, listen, I get it. You're afraid of trying something new because you're afraid you'll get yourself killed." He asked. I nodded. "And that's okay. Let me just paint you a picture; let's say you're being chased by an animal that can't climb trees, like, say, a crocodile. Climbing a tree is your only way to make it out of that situation alive. But you can't climb. So you're stuck either running or swimming away from it. Crocs are pretty fast in and out of the water."