He waved his paw at the Goblin vaguely.

The Goblin seemed to hesitate, it looked behind as though considering whether to make a run for it. Then it seemed to make a decision and stepped toward him.

"Why?" said Rain.

"Because you aren't the Dire Beast. The witch was wrong."

He blinked at the Goblin who had spoken in a clearly female voice.

"Wait, it's you, isn't it? The one I chased here…"

She nodded.

"You know I was trying to kill you right? I needed to avoid attention and couldn't risk letting you go."

She set her lips in a line and nodded again. "I know."

Rain dropped his paws in disgust.

"Then why are you here? I wouldn't do this if I were you."

"Because you are strong and you think and speak. Chance you are the better option for me than dying remains of a Goblin tribe."

Rain was about to scoff at that but his own experiences hanging on the coattails of others and relying on their good will made him pause.

"I could just eat you."

"It's a risk yes. But that is life in a dungeon. Life is always always a risk."

"True enough I guess. But what makes you think that I'd want you around me."

She seemed to be caught unexpectedly by that and spent a second thinking furiously.

"Because I can carry stuff."

"Really? That's what you're going with? You know this isn't very believable. If I wanted revenge I would consider fooling my target into thinking I am benign and then get them in their sleep. Is that what you wanted? It is, isn't it?!"

The Goblin shook her head furiously, then with something approaching resignation she withdrew a small knife from a string on her hip and hurled it far out into the lake. She watched forlornly as it sunk out of view. Then she turned on the surprised wolf and marched toward him with arms outstretched to either side.

Rain had to admit she was very brave, she clearly looked ready to die, but he wasn't about to start trusting her.

"Stop, don't come any closer."

She paused, then continued walking.

"If you come any nearer I'm going to kill you."

She stopped.

"I don't understand your motivations. Don't you want me to die? Look what I did to your tribe! Don't you care? I eat Goblins for gods sake."

"I don't care, not really. Gobbos don't make tribes for ties, they make them so they can fight better. I was born in a litter of five, we were left to fend for ourselves, my brothers and sisters all killed each other." She shrugged. "The top Gobbos use us as playthings, the witch uses us for blood sacrifice, and the rest of us backstab each other everyday in the hopes of being one of the top. That's how it is in a Gobbo tribe. No love lost... I… don't think it is good."

"Still, they were your people."

She shrugged. "In the dungeon, when a big monster comes and kills us, you decide either to keep your head down or get revenge. All the Gobbos who like revenge are dead now."

"...I see."

She grinned "You should know that If I wanted you dead I would have slit your throat while you slept in that tent."

Rain glared at her. "Doing wonders for my trust here."

"It's true, even if you don't want to hear it."

"You're right I don't want to hear it. Look maybe you can stay around, but there's going to be conditions."

"I'm fierce, conditions don't scare me."

"This first one might."

"No it won't."

He strode forward until he was standing in front of her, she still had her arms outstretched.

She looked up at him warily. He had grown taller, but he was still relatively short, still, he was about five inches taller than the diminutive Goblin who was on the short side for her kind.

He leant down until his breath blew at her long slightly curled black hair.

"You stink."

With that he grabbed her by the arms and launched her into the lake.

She flew through the air with a scream until she landed with a ker-plunk!

The Goblin spluttered to the surface.

"Fuck-fucking fucker fuck you you fucking fuck head fuck!"