Land Down Under (KJDarKnight & Treasure)

Mathias had been moved farther feom the door to discourage him from trying to leave again. But he was still there to his dismay. Propped up on some pillows. A map layed out on what should have been his dinner tray. He was carefully marking something on it with a pencil.
 
Gray silently sighed in relief when he spotted Mathias. Finally! He searched in his pocket until he found his pad and pencil then walked in. He waved, hoping not to startle Mathias, trying to get his attention.
 
Mathias wasn't easily startled, noticing the movement he looked up, he smiled a little "Gray right?" He had seen him a couple times and knew he was friends with Pepper and Peter. Mathias spent more time on the surfacr, he didn't know many people beyond who he worked with
 
Gray nodded and came into the cubicle. He held up a finger to ask for a minute then quickly started scribbling on his notepad. His handwriting wasn't the best since he was trying to write while standing up, but it was legible.

"Hello! I bring a question from Misty. Do the Top Dwellers have a written language?"

He passed the notebook over to Mathias and waited patiently.
 
Mathias curiously took the notepad and read what he wrote, raising his brows. He held it back out to him "sort of. They don't write but I've written down what I've learned with our alphabet" he explained "is she wanting to learn it? Didn't figure she's ever want to go back up there"
 
Gray shook his head and started writing.

"One of the Top Dwellers is with her, acting as a bodyguard? She wishes to communicate with him. I know a few words of the language, but not enough to act as an interpreter. Perhaps you would like to meet him? I think this bed rolls."

He handed over the notepad. This was definitely a slow way to communicate, but it was better than charades.
 
Mathias didn't mind. He was patient. He read over the note "I see...I am sure I could write some things down for her to help I don't have a second copy if my work though" he explained then nodded " I would very much like to thank him. I doubt Id of made it alive without him. I didn't know he was still here"
 
"I will speak to the nurse about moving you. Yes, all three Top Dwellers are still here, though the other two will be leaving soon. They wanted to ensure you were healing well."

Gray handed Mathias the notebook then poked his head out of the curtains. Thankfully, the nurse happened to be nearby, and he waved her down.

"Yes? What do you need now?" she asked Mathias frostily, expecting another fight about him leaving.
 
He nodded and handed his book back. It would be good to see Quefo and his mother too and talk to them before they left.

"Relax not fighting you this time" Mathias said with a bit of a smirk "I want to go visit Misty. I understand she is awake now"
 
"Oh. I suppose that is acceptable," the nurse said, surprised. "Just a moment." She stepped out and moved a couple of the curtains before returning to the bed. She unlocked the wheels and started wheeling Mathias down the curtained corridor, Gray following behind.

The nurse lined up Mathias' bed next to Misty's, giving them a comfortable amount of space between the beds. "If you need anything else, let me know."

Gray tried to catch Misty's attention. "Need to go, back soon!"
 
Misty gave him a nod "thank you Gray..I'll see you later then" she said before looking over at Mathias.

"Didn't expect you to come visit..." she said awkwardly.

Mathias shrugged "might as well. And besides. Needed to give a proper thanks to your friend there" he nodded to Badru. "What's his name?"

"Badru" Misty answered him.

"Badru" he repeated but looked at the big top dweller "I owe you my life my friend" he spoke in his language so he would understand him
 
Badru slowly shook his head. "You owe me nothing. We all needed help. We all gave help." His words were simple, quiet, and sincere. "Little Water Droplet did the most with the summoning machine. The warrior woman killed the gate keeper. We all help when in need."
 
Mathias couldn't help but smile at what he called Misty. It was cute and a fair translation of her name. "You are right. We all played a part" well except he felt he hadn't really "but I was not going to make it out of there on my own power. So I thank you for saving my life"

He glanced at Misty who seemed entirely lost. "I was just thanking him. He said we all did our part but you did the most getting help with the radio"

Misty flushed a little pink "oh...I don't know about that anyone could have done that"

Mathias shook his head "not everyone knows how to use it and fewer could have understood Gray" he said "don't put yourself down. You did good. You got us help and took care of us"
 
Badru watched their exchange quietly. Little Water Droplet's cheeks took on a light pink tinge, and he wondered why she was so embaressed. He'd only spoken the truth. Had Mathias translated wrong? Had he said something inappropriate? His gaze was slightly more suspicious when he turned it back to the man.

~

Gray located the place where Quefo and his mother were staying and knocked lightly on the door. They would be happy to see Mthias, and he had a feeling they'd be even happier to return to the surface.
 
Mathias looked back at him again. Like Peter he understood body language and was pretty good at reading expression. He had after all taught Peter.

"She says that what she did was nothing. I told her she did a lot to help us get out safe" he translated for him. "She asked to learn your language. I will help her learn"

--

Quefo was the one to answer the door. It had taken a bit to figure out how a knob worked but he had it now. He jad seen Gray when they had first arrived but besides that he didn't know anything about him
 
"Why?" Badru asked. "There is no reason." He would be leaving soon, he figured. He did not see how these Grounders would want him to stay, and even if he did stay, it would be more reasonable for him to learn her language. Not that he really thought there would be time.

~~

Gray smiled and showed Quefo a reasonable sketch of Mathias. He pointed to Quefo, made a motion as if his fingers were walking, then pointed to himself. If Quefo followed him, he'd take him to Mathias.
 
Mathias looked at her and translated. Misty looked a bit discouraged by what he said. She sighed "I..just wanted to thank him myself and...I don't know talk to him....but if he prefers I just use you as a translator then I suppose that's alright too..."

Mathias looked back at Badru "she says she wants to be able to talk to you herself. If you prefer she will use me as a translator"

--
Quefo nodded and smiled before saying something to his mother. Looking back at Gray he nodded that they would follow him
 
Badru looked down at her. Why was it so important to thank him herself? He understood already. What more did she want? Was it for him or her? Finally, he asked Mathias, "Why?"

~~

Gray nodded and pocketed his pad. He turned and headed into the city. Thankfully, the medical center was not far, so it would not take long to reach it from where they were.
 
Mathias translated the single word for her

"Oh..I just..thought he might appreciate it" she answered deciding to leave out that she wanted to get to know him. She got the impression he wasn't interested in that. "Can you just ask him why he has stayed by me all this time?"

Mathias sighed and looked back at him again "she said she thought you might appreciate it to hear from her" he explained "and she want's to know why you stay by her side"
 
"Because she needed me," Badru said simply. Was there any other reason to stay nearby? She needed someone to look after, and looking after her distracted him. It worked well for them both, he thought.

Gray led Quefo and his mother through the medical wards until he finally reached the patient's recovery ward. He pointed to the door then knocked on it himself.
 
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