Moro emerged from the river bank, covered from brow to boots with a layer of sweat. His hair was sopping wet with dirt-like clumps shaping near the top of his head.
"Clean!" he shouted, rustling the moisture from his body with a viscous shake. Moro laughed off the aching in his shoulders, twisting his left arm around as he made his way towards Helia. But something caught his ear as he was leaving. Moro stopped and looked towards a patch of brush, one of many that littered the river's side, glaring at it intensely. He smiled and closed his eyes, trailing off towards the beaten path that lead home.
"Wet dog" Moro ducked down, spun around, and lobbed a small rock towards the bushes with a smile. The bushes shook and a little girl shrieked in terror, rushing out of her hiding spot. Moro offered her a gruff laughter and patted his thigh, aloof to the child's distress.
"I'm a wet dog?" He questioned, turning back towards Helia once again. The girl's face puffed out in irritation, and she ran after him.
"You're a wet dog!"
"Aint no dog capable of this 'ere splendour, Lacy," He announced with pride, flexing his bare chest,
"But aye see it, though, yeah? That feature ya always be mockin'" He turned his head towards Lacy and smiled, before kneeling down to her height and shaking his hair towards her. The little girl shrieked again and growled under her breath.
"Wha? You tha one so keen on followin' wet dogs around! Don't complain when ya get wet- Ruff, ruff!" Moro's goofy bark put the spring back in Lacy's step almost immediately. The girl giggled and skipped after Moro, trying her best to keep up with his pace.
"Mama calls you a wet dog too," Lacy insisted, "Says I shouldn't be spying on ya!"
"Aye, well then maybe ya should be listnin' to her, yeah? It ain't safe 'round the cliff-side. You liable to be slippin' into the current, and it's a mighty rough pull towards the ocean, Lacy. Mighty Ruff!" He barked again. Lacy scoffed and punched the back of his calf.
"'Course with a swing like that I ain't too scared for ya myself, but yo mama's anotha' type of anxious, girl." "Mama doesn't let me do anything," Lacy complained, "I can't even come down and train with you! That's unfair!" Moro chuckled and patted her on the head.
"Aye, that is a wee bit unfair. But Mama's word is law, you got it? Can't go disrepectin' the wishes o' the woman to brought ya into this world." "I'm not! I just-"
"Ey! No excuses!" Moro interjected and pushed Lacy's head in the direction of her mother's cottage.
"One day it'll be ya own decision to train with whoever, aye? Go let ya mama know there ain't no worry to be had 'ere." Lacy slowed down and huffed loudly, stomping the dirt with every step.
"Fine!" She shouted, making her way down a separate path, "But I'm gonna keep visiting!"
"Aye aye, you and all the other lil' ones, I reckon," Moro whispered to himself, his smile still wide. He stepped towards Helia tower proudly, patting his pocket.
"Bet ya gonna be a little sad if I'm not ta be makin' it back."~ ~ ~
A thunderous chorus rang throughout the library as stack after stack began to topple against one another. A domino effect tore through geography, and didn't stop until it reached deep into
history. In one fell swoop, Moro had chaotically reorganised the Dewey Decimal System. He stood open mouthed with his arm outstretched, clutching onto a book that rested on the highest shelf.
"Ayaaa..." He hissed, hunched forwards over the result of his clumsy quest for knowledge. Moro lowered the book in his hand and read the cover, nodding triumphantly to himself as he offered nearby patrons an innocent smile, while gesturing towards his prize.
"Juani' Archipelago," He said loudly, still nodding. He pursed his lips, closed his eyes tightly and gave one last heavy nod before going on,
"Good bit a' knowledge to be gotten' from the islands!" His posture froze for a moment, and he took one last look at the book's cover before strolling away from the mess he'd just caused, as if
nothing had happened.
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