Big Run had officially begun. Grizzco was flooded with employees, from Part-Timers to Eggsecutives alike. Instead of being on-shift like they normally would be during a Big Run, Dapple sat in the alleyway next to Grizzco, thinking.
Ever since Dapple had met The Undaunted Guardian of Marooner’s Bay, going on Grizzco shifts has felt.. weird to them. Although salmonids do respect death as part of the cycle of life, they typically prefer to be eaten & not splatted for their golden eggs.
“Mr. Grizz really wants me to get out there, but.. it feels wrong.” they mumbled to themselves. “& how am I even going to begin to explain that I'm friends with a salmonid?! If only The Undaunted Guardian were here..”
As if it were like magic, a familiar face showed itself, jumping off of a rooftop & landing right next to Dapple.
“Oh- Undaunted Guardian! Hi!”
“..Hey.”
“It’s nice to see you!!” Dapple smiled. “What are you doing in Splatsville though? Aren’t you supposed to be at Marooner’s Bay?”
“The kings said I could come along for Big Run. ‘Big Run, big fun’, as they say.”
“Ohh, neat! I hope you enjoy it!”
“I’m.. sure I will.”
“Barnacle & Dime really is a pretty place, especially at night. I'm sure you’ll like it a lot there!”
“..Yeah.”
It fell silent between the two of them for a moment.
“Aren’t you a high-ranking Grizzco employee?”
“I am! Eggsecutive VP, in fact!”
“Shouldn’t you be out there, splatting my kind?”
Dapple froze. For a moment, they had kind of forgotten their job was to kill salmonids.
“Oh! Um.. I guess I should. That's what Mr. Grizz wants me to do, anyway, but-”
“But you don’t want to because now the act of killing salmonids is uncomfortable because of meeting me?”
“Um- ..yea, actually. I... didn't think you’d overhear that. Heh.”
“Yeah. I did.”
The Undaunted Guardian sat down next to Dapple, sighing.
“When you first came to Marooner’s Bay, I was untrustworthy of you. Despite being unarmed, you still arrived in a Grizzco uniform, which was an immediate threat. However, instead of instantly trying to kill me, you tried to.. befriend me. I thought you had some sort of ulterior motive, trying to weasel information out of me to use against us while stealing our golden eggs.”
She turned to look Dapple in the eye. Dapple returned her gaze.
“Though.. it seems you’ve proved yourself. & even though the kings have their suspicions, they are.. encouraging our friendship. You’re trying your best, &.. I can respect that.”
“You really mean that?”
“Of course.”
The two of them look up at the sky. It was reddened, due to the presence of the salmonids at Barnacle & Dime.
“I should be headed to Barnacle & Dime now. Do what you have to. See you on the battlefield?”
“See you on the battlefield.”
With accurate precision, The Undaunted Guardian leaps out of the alleyway & makes her way to Barnacle & Dime. Dapple watches her leave, with a big smile on their face.