The jackal awoke in an unfamiliar room. Seeing this, he jolted up but then got a wave of pain in his head and chest. He flinches and looks around a little. Just a simple bedroom.
Someone must've decided to care of him. He felt some bandages that were wrapped around his chest. He just hums.
"Ah! You're awake!" a slightly hoarse female voice calls.
His ear twitches to the source of the sound and looks over. She was an old, dullish red fox.
The jackal won't deny. He's grateful for the help, despite it making him look weak. But who is he to say now? He's practically back to his old self and most likely doesn't have any other way to gain such power ever again. Especially in this state.
Eventually, she hands him a glass of water.
"Here. You must be thirsty,"
He was a bit hesitant but he still took the glass and drank it.
"Thank you," he says once he finished. He puts the glass on a nearby stand.
The lady nods, "What is your name, sir?"
Infinite..?
No. There's a chance they'd know who he was. If they knew, would they be afraid? They have every right to be, but he needs to heal if he wants to continue. If they knew who Infinite was, then she'd probably call for help.
"My name is...Nil," he tells her.
(A/N: Nil - a synonym to "zero". Also meaning, nonexistent.)
The lady smiles, "My name is Amanda. Now, would you like to tell me how you ended up getting such an injury? You don't have to tell me if you're too uncomfortable to say,"
"Good..." he thinks to himself, "I wouldn't have told you either way,"
It was humiliating, especially to him. He was defeated at the final moments when the plan was taking place. That damn blue hedgehog and red wolf ruined everything.
If only he had just killed him.
Amanda notices his silence and hums, "You don't wish to talk about it, that's okay," she smiles.
"Why did you go out of your way to help me?"
"Oh? Well, I guess I'm just too kind for this world," she says, scratching the back of her head, "I just couldn't leave someone in the alley just bleeding out!"
"Yes. You are too kind,"
He looks away, "Where am I, anyway? What town?"
"You're in Spiral Hill Village. It's relatively small, but we've got quite a lot of buildings. Maybe when you're better, you could take a walk around to get yourself familiar with the place,"
"Spiral Hill Village..." Nil has heard of the place before back in his mercenary days. He just never went there since he never really had a reason to.
Perhaps he could walk around when he's able to. It could help him clear some things from his head, and maybe try to think of a plan and where he should go. Nil has never been one to stay in one place for too long unless necessary, much like the situation he's in now.
Amanda then asks, "Do you have any other questions?" which then broke Nil out of his daze.
"No. Not now, at least,"
She nods and stands up, "Okay. I will leave you alone now. I'll just be walking around town, and if I'm able to find it, I'll pick up a map of the town for you!" she chimes as she walks out.
Nil huffs. How long has it been since someone showed this much kindness to him? At least seven months ago, one month before the war started. The other jackals. Sure they annoyed the living hell out of him sometimes, but they were the very few that he would call his family, maybe.
Nil brushed out the thought, not wanting to think of what happened.
Soon enough, Nil was up and about after a few weeks. The bandages were off too, but he's not leaving yet until he knows of any nearby towns he could run off to, only to run off to another town if he didn't find anything useful.
Amanda let him wander around town on his own since he said he'll also use the time to think to himself, and of course, being the nice Mobian she is, she stayed behind.
It was more of an "I'll go wherever my legs take me to while I just distract myself with thinking," than an "I'll walk around to get myself familiar with the place." Though in general, the place was alright.
At least no one paid much attention to him, which is good. He'd hate to draw attention in an open place he is in right now.
"If only I could find a map of where this town is located. There is a good chance that there is a town nearby that I have been in before," Nil then sighs, "But then...someone there might recognize me. It'd surely slow me down, or maybe I'd end up dying for real,"
Nil starts to wonder if he should really take such a huge risk and if it would even be worth it.
He felt a tap on his shoulder which made his instincts kick in. He snapped his attention to whoever poked him. Instead, he didn't see anyone who could've done it.
"Up here!"
Nil looks up and sees a light blue lemur hanging out on top of a street light. She was munching on a burger.
"Couldn't help but notice ya look a little lost! I can give ya a tour!" she says.
Nil was a bit preoccupied with how she even poked him from up there. He mindlessly accepted her offer.
The lemur finishes her burger and swings down with her long tail and lands in front of him, "My name's Tangle the Lemur! Please to be meetin' ya!" she chimes.
"Nil. Just Nil. Question, how did you even poke me from up there?"
"Oh! My tail, of course!" she points to her striped tail, "It's all stretchy and can act as a spring. Even a hand! Isn't that neat?"
"A tail that acts like a hand...now that sounds interesting," Nil wonders.
"Speaking of hand tails..." Tangle leans to the side and looks at Nil's tail, "Yours look like one too!"
Nil's tail just swishes up, "...no, there's no way. I could've figured it out a long time ago,"
"I don't possess such an ability," was all he said.
Tangle looked disappointed, "Aw man...oh well! Not like it was super important anyway. C'mon! Lemme show you some of my favorite places!" she marches on ahead.
Nil starts to wonder why he even agreed to let her show him around.
"By the way...you an adventurer of some sort? You travel a lot?" Tangle asks.
Nil pauses before answering, "Yeah,"
"What sort of adventures have you been in??"
"Killing wanted guys. Stealing things, only to sell for my own profit. Almost destroying the world," But Nil didn't say any of that.
"Nothing interesting to your taste," was what he said instead.
Tangle turns to him, walking backwards now, "Man, your life must be as boring as mine! For a guy who travels a lot, not anything interesting?!"
He says nothing.
"Well, anyway! You hungry? I can grab ya something to eat,"
"No, it's fine,"
"Suit yourself then," she shrugs, "More food for me!"
Tangle buys herself something from a little stand before showing Nil a little shop she goes to often.
"I keep this store in business since I tend to break their brushes. Gotta use everything I can to make my tail lookin' nice!" she smirks.
"What a waste..." Nil scowls.
"You take care of yourself a lot? Gotta say, your hair and tail are looking clean!" Tangle gives him two finger guns.
In truth, yes. He does take a little bit of his time to brush. He just huffs and looks away as a red tint appears on his cheeks. Too embarrassed to admit it.
"Oh! Here's a cute little cafe! They have the best lattes and cappuccinos anyone could ask for! I come here almost every morning so I can get myself jumping. Try it whenever you can, yeah?"
Nil hums, "I could,"
"And for sides, I recommend the pasta salad! Oh! Or, or..! Cranberry Fluff Salad!" Tangle's getting excited, "How about this? Next time when we meet, we could eat here!"
As long as it helps him remain active in thinking of his next plan, "Sure,"
She springs up, "Yay!"
They come across a mineral museum.
"And this is where my friend works! Come on, let's go say hi!" Tangle then dashes in, "Yo! Jewel!"
There was a small yelp and the sound of some papers falling, "Uh...h-hey Tangle!" the shiny beetle turns around, "Who's your new friend?"
Tangle gestures to both Nil and Jewel, "Jewel, this is Nil. He's never been here before so I'm giving him a small tour! And Nil, this is Jewel. She's the curator!"
"Charmed," Jewel smiles a little.
Nil just nods.
"Anyway, what brings you to Spiral Hill Village?"
"Moving from place to place tends to bring enemies wherever you go. I ended up coming here and took a hefty fall from a roof. A woman was nice enough to let me stay at her place for a while until I got better," Nil partially lies, "So, I'm kind of stuck here for a little while,"
Tangle finishes her little snack she grabbed from the stand from outside, "Huh, so that's what that noise was. I knew I heard something that hit the ground. Well, you look fine now!"
Jewel floats over to them, "I figured you guys would want some tea,"
"Thanks, Jewel!" Tangle chimes as she takes a cup.
Nil decides to take one as well. He looks at the different gems displayed around, "How long have you been collecting these gems?"
"Um...I'm not sure but I know for a while," Jewel hums, "Tangle helped out with this since she'd run into these gems throughout her adventure. Helps me curate the place,"
"The good days," Tangle smirks as she leans back.
Jewel rolls her eyes, "Not when I had to save you from your shenanigans,"
"Oh come on! It wasn't that bad!"
"It was!" she argues back. She then sighs and turns to Nil, "Sorry. I also apologize if she caused some trouble around you. She's been fairly reckless,"
"It's fine. I used to have a friend like that," Nil says.
"O-Oh...um...anyway...are you liking this place so far?"
"It's alright. At least it's better where I'm from,"
Jewel nods, "I see. That's good to know,"
Tangle leans against the table and her tail points at Nil, "So Nil, if you DO happen to find what you're looking for, what do you plan on doing next?"
Nil looks at her. In all honesty, what did he want to do if he does find something he could use? Go back to his old ways, continue as a villain, or go down the long road of redemption?
"I...haven't thought of that yet," he says, truthfully, "In fact, I'm not sure what I'm looking for anyway,"
Tangle blinks, "Oh. Well, I can help!!" she chimes, "I can tag along with you on your adventures!"
"No. For starters, you probably wouldn't handle the dangers,"
"Ehhhh?" her ear lower, "That just adds to the fu- mphhhh!"
Jewel covers Tangle's mouth then turns to Nil, "Are you on a timed schedule of some sort? I can recommend a few places you could head to, and they're not too far from here,"
"Jackpot," Nil narrows his eyes, "Timed, not exactly, but I'd appreciate the recommendations. It's a good boost, and it may be just what I need to continue on,"
She removes her hand from Tangle's mouth and gets up, "Okay, follow me. I have a small map that should help,"
Nil looks to Tangle who motions him to follow her, so he does. Jewel takes out a little map and places it on the table, "So, here we are," she circles one of the towns drawn on the map.
"And here are the neighboring towns and villages," she then points to the others, "Do any of these look familiar to you?"
He hums as he looks over the map carefully. Tangle would soon join in.
"I only recognize this one," Nil says, pointing to one.
"Barricade Town?" Jewel mutters.
"Oh hey, I've been there before!" Tangle smiles.
Nil sighs, "I feel somewhat relieved to know just where this place is located,"
"Sorry, it's not much help... We only have a map that shows the nearest towns and villages here," Jewel looks down, bowing a little in apology.
"Don't sweat it. It's better than nothing," Nil then looks to Tangle, "And seeing where I'm going next when I feel ready, I suppose you can tag along now,"
Tangle brightens up and smiles. She jumps in the air, "Yes!! This'll be so much fun!!!"
Nil sighs, now wondering what he's getting himself into. He just invited an energetic and possibly annoying Mobian on his "adventure," but to be fair, she reminds him of someone he used to know.
He scoffs with a smile, "Maybe a few friends wouldn't hurt,"
Maybe friends aren't just a fleeting illusion after all. Why did he start to believe that again?