Gorn POV:
After the boss left, we returned to work, though the mood in the cave had shifted. The usual chatter, laughter, and grumbling were replaced with an uneasy silence.
Nobody said it outright, but we all felt it. How could we not? The image of the boss—barely taller than the smallest goblin here—marching off to face danger alone gnawed at every one of us.
Sure, the boss was strong. Too strong for soone her size. But that was exactly the problem.
"Hey," one of the older goblins muttered, breaking the silence. "What are we even doing here? Hitting rocks while she's out there risking her neck?"
A few others grumbled in agreent, though no one t his eyes.
Even the Imps, who usually had more energy than sense, sat quietly off to the side. Their wings drooped as if they
were as ashad as the rest of us.
The thought hit like a hamr: We're useless.
We'd been relying on her too much. Every ti trouble ca knocking, we cowered and let her deal with it.
And every ti she ca back victorious, we cheered and acted like that was enough.
But was it?
"No," I said aloud, surprising even myself.
A few goblins turned to look at , their eyes tired and confused.
"We can't keep doing this," I said, louder this ti. "She's just a kid. A kid. And we're sitting here, letting her do everything because it's easier for us. What kind of pathetic excuse for a crew are we?"
One of the younger goblins raised his hand, his voice hesitant. "B-But she's the boss. Isn't it her job to lead us?"
"To lead us, not babysit us," Tink snapped. "We're supposed to have her back, not hide behind her!"
The room fell into an awkward silence, but I could see the gears turning in their heads.
"He's right. The boss needs soone to have her back to, so that the next ti she leaves she can say with certainty 'I'll leave this to you guys' not 'I'll co back as fast as I can'..." Grumpy added, getting the other ogre's and lizardn to nod their head...
One of the Imps finally stood up, his wings buzzing faintly. "...I don't want her to fight alone anymore."
"Neither do I," another voice chid in. Scarface, the ogre chief said, coming back from outside.
"That runt is doing everything she can and we're here doing nothing? I can see everyti the runt cos back that she's happy we're all still alive. She doesn't show it but she observes everyone whenever she cos back. Are we gonna let her worry about us all the ti? Soone the age of our child? What sort of pathetic excuse are we if we are? It's already happened multiple tis, and only now do we think of this? When danger is just around the corner?" Scarface added, he's right though. We can't keep going like this, and I'm sure the others think so too.
One by one, the others spoke up. So muttered their agreent, while others slamd their fists into the ground in frustration.
"We've gotta get stronger," I said, standing tall. "Not just for her, but for us. We're tired of being weak, of being the ones who always need saving. It's ti we start pulling our weight."
A murmur of determination spread through the room, growing louder by the second.
"We'll train," Boulder continued, his voice rising with conviction. "We'll fight. And the next ti trouble cos knocking, we won't just sit around waiting for her to fix it. We'll stand beside her, shoulder to shoulder."
A cheer erupted, small at first but growing into a roar.
For the first ti in a long ti since long ago, I saw it again, the fire in their eyes. Determination. Hope.
The boss wasn't just going to change us. We were going to change ourselves.
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