[[Update Log: February 28, 2017]]
Wow! It's been a while. Writer's block is just, ergh. And I've been procrastinating as well. The only reason I've finished rewriting this chapter so "quickly" (I did this in three days after deleting the old, ewww version of this chapter that was very cringey) is because the Scratch website is down. And it has been down. But anyways...
Hit it, Mintyyy!
Minty: Yay! Another switch! *flips switch*
So, enjoy!
"Jesse!"
"Hey, wha-?" the brunet yawned, cracking open an eye "Axel? What the-? What time is it?"
"Wake up!" Jesse sat up and stretched leisurely.
"Alright, alright! I'm up!" he murmured as he got to his feet. He leaned against a tree and fought back another yawn, looking blearily at the sky.
Right after sunrise. Great. Because who doesn't want to be up when the birds are thinking of singing? Jesse kicked a sack over absentmindedly, then bent down to pick it up and slung it over his shoulder. He stumbled over to his horse, the white stallion that had helped him escape the Witherstorm with Petra all those months, or years? ago. Sticking his foot in the stirrup, he performed a small jump and hoisted himself into the saddle, then patted the horse's neck while glancing around.
It seemed like Olivia was finishing packing up, and Petra and Axel were mounting their horses. As for Lukas, well, he was trying to to get in the saddle, almost succeeded one time, but gave up and leaned his elbows on it, and rested his head on his hands.
"Hey, Lukas! You planning on staying?" Jesse called, and the blond looked over.
"Uh, no. It's just, kinda hard to get on a horse when it's early, and you're tired."
"Maybe you'd have better luck if you tried from the left side."
"No, I think I got it-" Lukas muttered as he finally managed to straddle the horse. He fingered the reigns and closed his eyes briefly. Jesse felt tempted to do the same but rubbed his sore thigh. He hadn't ever remembered being tempted to fall asleep on a horse. The ground was a bit too far to fall while sleeping for him.
He took a quick check around. Okay, there was Petra, trying to keep her flighty horse from dashing away. Axel was shifting in the saddle, probably eager to get a move on and get home. It had been a long couple of weeks of temple raiding, and everyone was happy with their spoils, but they were all yearning to get home. And there was Lukas… Who looked like he'd fallen asleep. Probably dozing or something. And Olivia, adjusting her ponytails. Alright. So, Jesse guessed, ready to go.
He slapped the reigns, and the stallion whinnied but complied. The four horses followed his lead, and the five teens were all off. They rode in bumpy silence, looking tired at first, but slowly waking up as the sun crept over the mountaintops and began its steady climb to the other side of the sky. Jesse watched as the clouds were painted in light pinks, purples, and oranges, and moved across the heavens like wayward puffballs. The long shadows were forming into cohesive shapes, then shrinking.
After a while of their traveling, the sun had marched overhead, not to its highest point, but somewhere between. The breeze ran playfully through the trees, and birds whistled and chatted above in their strange whistling language. The sun beat down, but sometimes paused to hide behind a cloud then peep back out again as if playing a game. It was a pleasant morning.
"Nice day," Jesse sighed, "I just wish we were back home to enjoy it."
"Yeah. But it's better than riding in the rain," Petra muttered, "Like that one time a few weeks ago. That was a downpour."
"Oh, yeah, I remember that. It was really damp for days afterwards," Olivia said, "It was a nightmare trying to get dry."
"Yeah, and my TNT almost didn't work that day because the temple was too wet," Axel remarked. Jesse waited for Lukas to pipe up, but he was just looking at the horizon, a half-grin on his face. Silence. The birds sang and played, an eagle soared in the distance…
xXx
They had been riding for a few days now. They had passed through biomes over the next few days and were now riding through a desert biome. The sun was no longer playing, but stared down at the five teens in something like a bored glare. It was after noon, and the sand rabbits watched the five intruders cautiously, bolting at the slightest hint of danger from these invaders.
Olivia looked at the shifting sands beneath their feet, "I don't remember the desert being THIS big. How long have we been here, anyways?"
"Uh, it hasn't been that long. We were still in that forest this morning. Or was it yesterday morning?" Jesse said, squinting into the distance.
"Well, whenever it was, I'll just be glad to get home," Lukas mumbled, taking off his goggles and rubbing at the red marks they made on his forehead.
"Same. I guess I've been sorta homesick," Petra sighed, "I mean, it's great to explore new places, but you know, someone said that the best journey is a trip home. I'm starting to believe it." She ran her hand over her face, yawning.
Jesse couldn't blame her. It was pretty hot, and the sunshine was making him tired. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't been sleeping well the past few nights. He didn't know why, he just- wasn't.
"We should play a game or something," Lukas mused.
"We've been talking the whole ride for the past few days. I think we're all out of things to say," Petra replied.
Jesse glanced over his shoulder for a second, then trained his eyes on the horizon again. "Why not? A game sounds kind like fu- hey!" He leaned forward. "I think we're almost home. Look at the green smudge on the horizon. Either that's a lot of cactuses, or-"
"Cacti," Olivia corrected, somewhat absentmindedly.
"Whatever. Anyways, either that's the biggest number of cacti I've ever seen in one place or it's a forest."
They rode on in excited silence, watching as the sand gave way to springy grass, and the occasional cactus to thickly clustered trees. The birds once more swooped overhead and chittered, and a cooling breeze swept through the and oaks. The horses picked up their pace, bobbing their heads. They knew that they were near the end of their journey.
The gates to the village loomed up in the distance, and got larger and larger as they got nearer. Finally, they towered over the teenagers, and slowly opened. There were only a few people milling around, but Jesse knew that the New Order was pretty popular, you know, because of all that saving the world from the Witherstorm business, and word would soon spread quickly of their return.
Sure enough, a few people spotted them and dashed off, yelling what no doubt was a message that the heroes of the town, scratch that, the WORLD, had returned. Something that sounded like an earthquake pounded far away, getting closer and closer. No doubt a crowd. And sure enough, it was. A crowd of screaming fans. Jesse's head ached from the sudden change in the average number of decibels as he tried to wind his way through all the people.
He didn't remember much, it passed by in a blur. He high-fived a few people, smiled at everyone until he thought his face would break, and tried to avoid being jostled off his horse. When they finally got the horses stabled and to the Treasure Hall, they got in and Jesse slammed the door, then barricaded himself against it, panting and eyes wide.
"And that- is the only reason I don't like being viewed as a hero," Petra remarked, leaning against a wall. Jesse nodded, leaning off the doors, and brushing hair out of his eyes.
"I don't understand why they go crazy whenever we come back. I mean, it's not like the world is in danger again. We're just- exploring," Lukas said. He rummaged through his inventory, "Uhh, don't exactly have anything exciting to put here." Jesse shrugged.
"We still have that diamond from the temple we raided a few weeks ago," Jesse replied, taking out the gem and fingering it, "We could use that."
He walked down the hall, friends following wearily, the cool stone a welcome change from the glaring heat of the sun outside. When they got to the hall, Jesse walked up to a pedestal, and placed the diamond on it, friends gathered around. He smiled as it floated there, bobbing up and down.
"So, I think we should head home now," he said, turning away. Jesse started walking down the stairs, tired feet eager to reach home, when a pattering of feet down the hallway.
"This better not be another guy wanting an autograph like last time…" Axel muttered as the owner of the feet came into view.
"I-Ivor?" Jesse stuttered, "I thought you were-"
"Adventuring? Well, yes. But there's no time for that now!" the man explained, "I need to talk to you all on the dining hall at the Mansion as soon as possible."
"Uh, thanks, but I think we'll be fine listening to whatever you have to say here," Petra said, crossing her arms. Ivor's eyebrows shot up like eagles.
"I don't think so," he said, folding his arms, "I meet on my own terms." Then he closed his eyes, "Besides, I need to get my inventory together to find my books."
"Fine," Jesse murmured, "But this better not be something like last time. Don't tell us you've unleashed another world-eating monster in order to get revenge on some people who lied to everyone."
Ivor snorted, "No. That's not the problem." He shifted, "And where would I get those ingredients, eh? I haven't seen one of my crafting books for months."
"I guess it'd be a bad time to tell him we burned them, huh?" Lukas whispered to Jesse, who nodded slightly. It seemed reasonable at the time. It was a misfired prank. That's all.
"Alright, I guess we'd better be moving on then." His green eyes looked up, "It'll be good to finally be home."
xXx
A few hours later, the entire gang had gotten cleaned up and into new clothes. They were wondering what could have been so important as to draw Ivor out of his travels. Lukas ran a hand through his damp blond hair.
"It's nice to finally be able to choose what to wear and not worry about the weather," he said, and the others nodded. Jesse walked up to the doors of the dining hall and threw them open with a bang. Ivor, who was sitting at the table, looked up, startled.
"Jesse. Petra. Axel. Olivia. And Louis-"
"Lukas," the boy corrected.
"Whatever. Anyways, I fear I have some- not-so-cheery news." He waved them over, "Sit, sit." The kids complied, shuffling over uneasily into their chairs. When Ivor said that something was wrong, it usually was. Usually. They hoped that this was the time where he wasn't.
"So, what's the problem?" Petra huffed, "We don't have all day-"
"Well, I'd get to it if you didn't interrupt!" Ivor snapped back. Petra shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Back to the point. I have some bad news." He took in a breath, "Everyone, I fear that a new danger threatens our fair world."
Oooh, cliffie! Maybe? No? Ahhh, well. Here is a good example of my writing. The first chapter is like that "ewww" draft of this. Anyways, keep an eye out for more chapters of "Playing God!"
Annnddd another
QTC: How do YOU pronounce "Lukesse"?
Review Responsessss:
Rabbits rule (Guest): Hmmm, normally I'd agree with you, but I think Luktra is still cute (Heck, almost any ships with Jesse, Lukas, and/or Petra are cute) And thanks for reviewing twice! It's nice to know that I have people who like my story already!
TealEmpress: Thanks for the feedback! I'm not really that the top of my writing game ATM, but I just KNEW that something was wrong with the descriptions.
Emily the Avenger: I can't choose between Jetra and Luktra, though to me, Jetra makes a bit more sense. (WHO HATES LUKESSE?! TREASONNNN xD) And thanks! I don't know how many writers there are here, but there's definitely a lot less than in the Warriors fandom. Can't wait to meetcha all!
KingKahin99: I see what you did there.
NoItsBecky: I had a feeling you would say that ;)
sailor mikuchan: Haha, I get it :3
Guest (Um, a guest?): Thanks! I'm glad you like it!
Cookies to everyone who did anything but just read this story and move on!
(Wow, it really feels odd that people are actually critiquing. I feel like you get way more attention on smaller fandoms... And. I. Love it! Hehe)
~Meowy
