Author's Notes
You ever hear of the phrase 'is somebody boiling cabbage'? I think I know why, now...
Anywho, on with the story! Jack's starting this time.
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Jack's POV
Simon needed some help with the house, and we needed Thomas for whatever it is he was planning. Since I was the closest, he sent me to go after them. Me. The guy Sarah wants to kill, needs to go separate her from Thomas so he can help build the damn house. Why?
I trudged doggedly on nevertheless, hoping that I could catch them at a good time. And I did... sort of. Good for them, not for me. I found them kissing like their lives depended on it, and that made me feel uncomfortable, as well as mildly scared. It was pretty hot, though...
I inched closer, putting on a brave face. Not sure if I succeeded. It was getting pretty intense with all the hugging and whatnot, so I decided to make my presence known before it got out of hand. "*ahem*...uhh, you guys okay?" They stopped and turned to look at me without letting go of each other. Their cheeks were bright red, but Sarah's eyes told me the many ways she planned to commit murder.
"What is it Jack?" I tried to look her straight in the eye, but there was something off-putting. A sort of smugness. It was weird. "Simon needs Thomas' help with the house. Said we're ready to replace the roof with planks." Thomas nodded, then looked at Sarah. They stared at each other for a few minutes before she let go.
Once we were out of earshot, I sighed and shuddered. Thomas smiled at my reaction. "Why are you so scared of her?" Apparently she hadn't told him much about herself. "She was the best warrior of our clan. Passed every test but one with flying colors. And she is out for my blood." We walked in silence for a few moments before he spoke again.
"What happened? Why does she say you're a criminal?" I sighed. "Everyone thinks I'm a criminal. A murderer." I got my thoughts together before continuing. "I had an older brother. Tall, strong, mean as fuck. He was supposed to become the next king, after my uncle. Well... they found him dead. Poisoned, they said. He was just on the floor leaning against a castle wall in one of the towers"
This brought painful memories. Memories I suppressed before they could do their damage. "Everyone thought this had been my doing. They thought I was jealous of him, and decided to 'get him out of the way'. But I know who did it. Even if nobody believes me, I know." I felt a few tears falling down my cheeks and wiped them away.
Thomas nodded and spoke in a soft voice. "Who did it?" I waited for a second before answering. "He did. Never wanted the job. The only thing that dickhead wanted was booze and ass. He didn't want to be king. Bitch killed himself without telling anyone. But I know it was him. Nobody else would kill our beloved prince."
There was a sheen of water on my eyes, and I couldn't stop the tears from falling. We walked in silence for a while. Just before we reached the house, he stopped and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Thank you for sharing this. Nobody should have to carry such a burden by themselves."
I nodded and wiped the tears away. No reason crying over a dead jackass who never even admitted to being my brother. No damn reason at all.
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Simon's POV
I sent Jack absentmindedly, not really paying attention. Only after he left I realized what I had done. Thankfully, he returned with Thomas unharmed. I was pulling out a batch of nails from the furnace, a clay mold with a set of fifteen iron nails. This means he have 135 nails in total. I also forged up some hammers, otherwise we wouldn't be able to nail the boards together.
Eba was already nailing boards together and then nailing them to the roof.when she gets over her shyness, she can be really efficient. We made Jack stay and help after I got everything sorted out with Thomas. Eba teleported herself and him to the roof while Jack and I stayed on the floor preparing the planks.
It took a few hours, but with the four of us together we managed to finish the roof. Now it was irme to test it. I handed Eba a heavy iron ingot and she extended her arm out over the roof. She was supposed to throw it, and it would land near the center, and we would be able to see if it's safe to walk up there.
She threw the ingot and it made a loud thud. But the roof stayed solid. "W-what do I do n-now?" I looked at Thomas. "Well... take Jack up there. He could walk to the center to test it." He turned sharply towards us. "Hey!" Eba warped back down and tentatively hugged Jack. They both turned red as she warped them up to the roof.
"Alright, now walk around. Jump, even." He nodded, a little shaken up from the warp. He wandered around, stomping the roof here and there, until he was satisfied. "I'm sure this could even hold up an anvil." Thomas smirked. "We probably shouldn't test it." I looked at the storage shed. "Not sure if we can. I used up eleven ingots from all this. We have like three left."
He nodded, and Eba spoke up. "C-can I... are we going mining? Because, if we are, I'd like to-to go... if I can." The three of us smiled. She can be so cute sometimes. Thomas nodded. "Yep, you can come along." Suddenly, Valory poked her head out from the house. "What about me?" Thomas hesitated for a second, but I spoke up before he could respond. "Sure. It'll be me, Eba, and you. I will keep the monsters at bay, you are good at mining, and Eba can warp us out once we're done."
They nodded, but Thomas held me back. "Are you sure? You haven't had the best of luck down in the caves." I brushed his hand away. "I'm sure, man. If I don't go, then I'll never get over my fear." He nodded and I turned to get my stuff, making a mental checklist.
Right. Swords, check. Demo-belt, check. Goggles, always. Pick, check. Torches, check. Lamp-light, nope, no helmet. Sarah'll kill me if I take hers. Right, swords, belt, goggles, torches, pick... food. Okay, I'm done. I think. I hope.
I left the storage shed with all my gear, and noticed Val and Eba were waiting outside. I smiled. "You guys ready?" Eba nodded, a tinge of red on her cheeks, and Valory rolled her eyes. "Since a half hour ago! You are very slow." I walked towards the mine. "Only when I want to be." Then I broke into a sprint, dashing as fast as I can, soon leaving them behind.
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Time leap: ten minutes. Simon's POV
I was sweating, but could still breathe alright. I slowed to a stop at the entrance to the mine and waited behind a boulder. I saw them warp to the entrance, and I smiled. "Took you long enough. Just now you decide to warp?" They jumped at my sudden appearance, and Eba gave a breathless shriek.
"How did you...? When...? Huh? You were..." they stumbled for words for a second, and then they just went quiet, defeated. I waved them inside, lighting a torch as I went. We walked for a few hours, confused. "Where are all the metals? This sediment is perfect for iron formations..." Valory kept muttering this sort of thing to herself, and then we started hearing noises.
Pick noises. Hammering, clinks of metal.
Eba hid behind me, and I drew one of my swords. Valory drew a doubleheaded spear from lords-know-where. We walked slowly, still searching for metal. Then we heard a hiss. And footsteps. I recognized the hiss, and understood the words. Darkness. Darkness. Darkness. On and on, they chanted, every hiss saying the same thing over and over again.
Then we heard a scream and an explosion. Eba turned white, Valory narrowed her eyes and I simply stiffened. Then the wall beside us came down. A girl fell with the rubble and stone, half-burned torch in hand. We jumped back, and I saw the girl was heavily bruised and burnt, but alive. As if in a trance, I pulled out a stick of dynamite, and lit it.
The hole in the wall revealed a plethora of monsters, from creepers to endermen. I tossed the dynamite at them and held on to the girl, protecting her with my body from the blast. Before it went off, though, I felt somebody hug me from behind. Then I was floating in the void. For a split second, I saw an achingly familiar face. Then I was back on the surface.
I looked around. We were outside the house, all of us. Even the injured girl. Eba looked exhausted, and she just plopped down onto the grass. Valory immediately started bandaging the girl's wounds with string. Have to ask her where she gets that stuff...
We slowly picked the unconscious girl up and brought her inside. "I'll go check on Eba. You stay here in case she wakes up." I nodded, and Valory left the house. I sat down on one of the beds and waited. Her breathing was shallow, and soft. I took off my gloves and placed my hands on her burns.
They slowly healed, first scabbing, then vanishing. I only dared cure the visible ones. If she had any under her burnt clothes, then I wouldn't fix them. Too intimate. She wore a simple light green t-shirt, and ripped jeans. There was an iron helmet on her head, which I took off, marveling at the craftsmanship. Almost as good as something a creeper would make.
Her hair framed her face, dark brown against pale skin, and pink, round lips. After a short while, her breathing evened out. After some time, everyone sort of walked in at once. Thomas walked up to me and looked at the girl. "How is she doing?" "Better, I think. I healed her burns, and her breathing seems healthier."
Eba looked at me like I had grown a third head. "Y-you can heal burns?" Flashed her a tired smile. "Yes. I'm pretty sure every mob has some sort of healing-related ability." Sarah nodded. "Skeleton's injuries heal quckily if there is no obstruction in the way." Jack nodded too.
Thomas looked at everyone, then at the spiders. "What about you guys?" They looked at each other. "Well, we have string. We can make bandages. And we don't bleed as much." Valory nodded. Then we all turned to Eba. She shrank back a bit, but mumbled an answer. "W-well... I don't know..." her cheeks were reddening, so we let it go.
After a few minutes I saw her eyelids twitch. The rest of the gang was chattering quietly, but I silenced them comepletely with a raised hand. Her lower lip started to tremble slightly, and I could see her eyes twitching beneath their lids. Her fingers were starting to twitch too.
Then, her eyes fluttered open, revealing beautiful light-green eyes. She stared at me for a few seconds before she blinked. Everyone backed off a little, except for me. I could see panic swell up in her eyes, so I held her hand. "Carefully, you're hurt. If you want to sit up, that's fine, just do so slowly. I'll help you." She hesitated for a second before nodding, and I helped her sit on the bed leaning against the wall.
She looked around, and I saw more panic in her eyes, so I looked at Thomas. "It'd probably be for the best if you get everyone out of here." He nodded and ushered everyone out. Then it was just me and the girl. When I turned to face her again, she looked fine. Actually, better than fine.
She was flexing her fingers slowly, as if testing them. Then her elbows and shoulders. She kept her examination, all the way to her legs. I could hear her murmuring to herself as she ran a hand along her thighs. "No breaks... *flinches* a gash... burn... bruise..." I waited silently for a while. Then, once she was done, she turned to me.
"Hi." I smiled. "Hi. How are you feeling?" She smiled in return. "Alright. I don't think I can run, though. Probably walk." I nodded. "Is it okay if I start grilling you?" She blushed a bit and nodded, smile still lighting her face. "Sure. Nobody's ever asked that before." My smile widened. "Well, Im nothing if not polite."
It took a while, but we had fun. She is a slime, she was looking for iron, and the monsters caught her by surprise. "What's your name?" She hesitated for a split second before answering. "Izabell. But I prefer Iza." I nodded. "My name's Simon, but I prefer Simon." She giggled. "You are the weirdest person I have ever met. I smiled again. "You don't know the half of it."
Eventually, she felt safe enough for me to call everyone inside. About time too, as the sun was starting to set. They milled around Iza for a while. Then I asked them to leave her alone. "Come on, guys, give her some space. We all need rest anyways." They reluctantly nodded and everyone went to their places except for me. I was still leaning against the wall beside Iza's current bed.
Thomas noticed and spoke up. "Simon, where are you going to sleep?" I smiled. "On the floor. I'm used to it, so it's fine." Iza was confused. "You sleep on the floor?" No turned to look at her. "No, but my bed is currently under new management." Realization hit her and she blushed, trying to get up from the bed.
"I'm sorry, I'll get off so you can sleep." I held her back and sat her back onto the bed. "No, no, it's fine. You need it more than I do. Get some sleep, Iza." She looked like she was going to resist further, so I gently pushed her back down. "Fine." Her cheeks were red, and she turned over to get into a more comfortable position.
Pulling my hood up, I sat beside the wall and curled up into a ball. Huh. Like old times. I fell asleep to the gentle sound of leaves rustling in the wind. Just like old times.
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Author's Notes
Yay! Another chapter!
I didn't post this yesterday 'cause I was kind of stuck. And under the weather.
The ending to the last chapter felt kind of awkward, and I didn't know how to start. But, I did it! And I added a new character! Yay!
Anywho, thank you so much for your time, And good day!
~ LeMafiaKreb
P.S, all the characters are seventeen. Just FYI
P.P.S, the lore archive will soon feature backstories on everyone but Thomas. Cuz he's special. :)