Vintage Trash

What was it the odd chicken wanted? Oh, right, trash.

Mute should’ve eaten him when she had the chance, but the absence of the reputable shopkeeper would likely bring her far more trouble than she would be bothered with.

The leggy oviraptor practically jumped her earlier- far too trusting she won’t take a bite out of that luscious plummage of his- and just babbled and rambled on unbothered that he’d need materials and what not. Something, something, he wanted her to do some chores.

At first Mute only mildly feigned interest in hopes he’d scram sooner than later so she could spend the day ignoring his request, but giving it a moment of thought, maybe it wasn’t too bad to play along. The shopkeep had connections and others are usually quite enthusiastic conversing with the fella. Gaining him as an ally would be nothing but beneficial and make the search for information a lot easier.

Oh, perhaps he’d reward her. He must be rich with that shop of his. With the promise of some sort of reward for the generous help, she suddenly wasn’t so opposed to lend a claw herself.

Usually the cryo would just call her lakeys to do all the work for her while she sat and watched, but once she found her way into a cluster of those tall and odd stone shelters, a humble townscape, a tiny spark of adventurous spirit grasped her. She nearly forgot what it was like to wander uncharted territory. The forest and open plains were her home, but these empty abandoned houses felt like a playground to explore.

It was refreshing to jump through open, broken windows and chew on left over furniture that hasn’t yet rotten away. It made her feel like a hatchling again, ferocious with sharp teeth woefully entertained by breaking things.

Oh, but that’s not what she’s here for. Not to play, fight, hunt or claim. She was merely meant to pick up some garbage for the chicken. If he wanted trash at least she’ll look for the prettiest trash she could find. Maybe he’ll actually be happy about it. Mute couldn’t hold in the light cackle as she imagined: her giving him some shiny piece of scrap, him rejoicing and rewarding her plentiful.

Too bad most things she found were lackluster at best. A few broken mugs and utensils, a few deflated bike tires, some plastic bags that irritatingly keep wrapping around her legs- little annoyances more than things to keep.

The bigger buildings hold more promise she found, as she stalked into an old mall. It’s almost like a lush cave, covered in moss, fern and tree roots digging downwards through the roof creating wooden pillars on the inside. It reminded her of the forest, although it didn’t stink that much of rot as this place.

The food sections have long been scavenged, eaten, spoiled or grown into their own kind of lush vegetation, and kicking the empty cans and cartons around only amused the cryo for a fleeting second.

Trash everywhere, but not really the kind Mute would like to bring back. She only halfheartedly accepted the shopkeepers request, but since she’s already made the effort to come here, she’d like to impress too.

Section after section, aisle after aisle, there just wasn’t anything of worth. She played with the thought of throwing a ton of bricks and debris into one of those moving crates and drag that back- and perhaps that wasn’t that bad of an idea.

Moving on, her gaze snapped to the products that remained the most colourful. Toys and trinkets! A lot of them untouched still, although the weather and ages have gotten to them already. Mutes legs moved between fallen shelves of plastic toys, broken RC cars and rotting plush animals, as she picked up toy after toy and dropped them again. Most were either moldy or have gotten so fragile with the years, they snapped and broke between the carnivores teeth.

Mute nearly gave up on this section until she caught glimpse of the backroom. Is that- Yeah, a crate full of stuffed animals! Seems they have never reached the shelves and were partially still wrapped in a thin layer of shrinkwrap foil- although parts of the plastic has long rotten away or have been ripped or chewed. Still, beneath the layers the surprisingly good condition of the stuffed animals is revealed. Not quite pristine, but far better than the ones overgrown with moss and algae.

Mute was delighted by the empty beady eyes of those furred fellas. She picked up one of the old plush animals with her maw, a goose who clearly has seen better days, to test if this could be the quality trash she was looking for. Chewing on it for good measure and shaking it about till she heard the aging seams rip apart, she haphazardly dropped it back in the pile.

The goose looked like it has been sent through a paper shedder, which probably isn’t that far from the truth. Delightful!

These definitely were some quality trash and sturdier than the ground stuff anyway.

Mustering the wooden crate, Mute mapped out the best route to get this back to the annoying chicken. This is honestly quite the impressive haul, so he better have something good for her in return.

Bristling her feathers for a moment, knowing this will be some proper excercise for the day, she lunges and bites down hard on the wooden rim of the box. And pulled. Few steps at a time between pulls, she dragged the box less than gracefully out of the mall between shattered glass and rotten goods.

If anyone bothered her while she tugs, pulls and shoves this surprisibly light but clunky crate full of fur and cotton over broken asphalt and through narrow alleyways, they’re dead. If anyone sees her and later decide to run their mouth about it, they’re dead.

Dragging a box full of ages old animal hides resembling other animals wasn’t really on her bucket list for the week. It’s a little more work than she would’ve liked, but she’s already halfway through and she wasn’t exactly one to give up on a task she already started.

She knew she was strong, but dragging this box out of the city drained her endurance, but also her patience. This was daunting work, she wanted to get this over with.

“Oh, what an impressive haul! This would do well on the store front, thank you!” The shopkeeper celebrated as he saw the loot. He must’ve seen her hard at work and waddled up to meet her. “These stuffed animals are quite popular, you know. We just need to get this to-”

“I did my part.” Mute boldly interrupted him, exasperated from the physical work. This wouldn’t need an explanation, but she wasn’t that eager to stay and have a chat right now. A nap, a nap would do well right now.

“Wha- how. Ah- excuse me, but how do you expect me to get this back to my shop?”

“Figure it out.” Mute ran her tongue along her sharp teeth, perhaps as a threat for him not to bother her with stupid questions. “Because I will take my leave now.”

“B-but-”

“Listen here and listen closely.” She turned to snap at him, missing his neck by just a sliver. Composing herself, flexing her strained neck she took a deep breath before continuing. “If I you feel the need to speak to me further, visit me at my base. Make sure to bring worthy compensation for doing your dirty work because I ain’t gonna carry any more stuff around. Got it?”

The cryo merely turned back around and left before she could see the shopkeepers response.

(1294 words according to Google Docs)