Chapter 5

The next morning, I heard voices as I was waking up. I put everything in my ender chest except my pick axe and my second ender chest. Those I put in the top left of my inner inventory, aka, nothing in my hotbar. I went down to the bottom floor and saw everyone, plus a new person.

"Hey Lucky. How's it going?", Karl asked.

"Ok. Who's the new person?"

"This is Orion. Orion, this is Lucky Fire.", Karl introduced. I shook Orion's hand.

"Nice to meet you.", we said together, then grin at the synchronicity.

"So, I think you've met everyone that you need to. Orion's usually not here very much, so don't be surprised if you don't see him for a while. Oh hey Lucky, you haven't seen the temples for Mianite, Ianite, and Dianite yet. I also don't think you've had a full tour of Tom's island and Karl's. How about we do that today?", Sparky said.

"Cool. Sounds fun." Sparky led all of us to the direction of Ianite's temple first, which was... under water... I'm not used to lots of water. The islands I've been to have been divided by like, river sized amounts of water. Big oceans like this sketch me out.

"Oh come on Lucky, don't tell me you're scared of water.", Tom said. I stayed silent. "What, really?", he asked.

"Lucky, you'll be fine. There's a conduit set up so you can breathe and see under the water.", Sparky said.

"Any pufferfish?", I asked.

"Not around here, no." I took a deep breath.

"Alright, fine. Lead the way." Sparky jumped into the water first, then the others. I hesitated a bit. Sparky took on a gentle look.

"Alright Lucky, here. Take my hand." He offers his hand. I stare at it for a bit, then finally take his hand and go in the water.

"Jeez it's cold..." Sparky chuckled.

"You'll get used to it.", he said. We then went under. I held my breath and closed my eyes out of instinct. "Lucky, breathe. Remember, the conduit helps us be able to breathe and see, so you can open your eyes too." I slowly opened my eyes and let out my breath, then breathed in. Whoa...

"Dude, this is epic!", I said, and being under water, my voice is very funny sounding. The others chuckled and agreed, then we got going. When we got to the front of the temple, "Whooooaaaa, this is amazing! Did you build this yourself?"

"Yup. With the annoyance of the drowned attacking me a lot too. It took me a while, but I finally got it done. I'm glad you like it. Let's go inside. I think you'll like the inside even better." He led the way in.

"Wow, the inside is amazing too. I love the Ianite engraved in the wall. Pretty cool way of including an element of her in here.", I said.

"Well, this whole temple is inspired by her. She's more End themed, so like, different styles of purpur blocks, End stone, etc. would be best suited for a temple dedicated to Ianite.", Sparky explained.

"I see. Very interesting.", I said, not looking away from the image of Ianite on the wall.

"Uh... Oh, this chest on the floor is for offerings to our lady." I reluctantly looked away from the image of Ianite and looked at the chest.

"Oh, like what?"

"Good question... ender pearls seemed to be the thing, but she doesn't like people ending her, as she calls them, 'friendermen'."

"Hmm... what other things could we give then?", I muse aloud. Sparky shrugged as he shook his head. "I'll think of something.", I assured. He smiled and nodded, then we went to Karl's island next. I'll get the full tour and a tour of Mianite's temple. Sparky and I were still holding hands, unknown to either of us. We'd gotten used to it by now. Karl led the way this time and wow, the garden is really pretty. "Hey Karl, mind if I come to the garden sometimes and sit among the flowers?", I asked.

"I don't mind at all. I'm glad you like the garden." I smiled, actually feeling really good for the first time since I became alone. A genuine smile. Sparky, Karl, Tom, and Dec didn't miss it.

"You're actually smiling.", they said happily.

"That's a first.", Tom said teasingly. I playfully gave him a look, then we resumed the tour. Then the temple.

"Wow, it's beautiful, and huge.", I said in awe.

"Yeah, the inside is really nice too.", Karl said as we went in. Yeah, he's not kidding. He showed me where his chest was for Mianite.

"So, what do you give to Mianite?", I asked.

"Good question... I never figured something out." I took on a thoughtful look.

"Tom, do you have an idea what to give Dianite?", I asked.

"He likes flowers and cake... really, I expected something more Nether themed. He's supposed to be the god of chaos. Mianite the good one, and Ianite's balance. But it seems to be the reverse for the guys. That's partly why I switched to Ianite.", Tom explained.

"Right, Sparky told me before... hmm, then try something Nether themed Karl?", I guessed.

"I could try. Maybe Nether quartz?", he questioned.

"Eh. This whole place is made of Nether quartz, and besides, it's not like it's hard to come by. Oh, Blaze rods?", Sparky suggested.

"Ooo, I like that. Blaze rods are pretty useful. Potions and the like. Yeah, I'll try that. Also, they're a little tricky to get too, with the Nether fortresses being a little difficult to find.", Karl agreed.

"Alright, let's get to Dianite's temple.", Tom said impatiently. Sounds like he wants to get this over with. We followed him to his island. Karl, luckily, had some boats at his island. This is when Sparky and I realized our hands were still together. We let go quickly, not saying a word, hoping no one else noticed, and got into boats. When we got there...

"Um... what's this shape supposed to be?", I asked. Sparky snickered.

"It looks like a sloth, doesn't it?", Sparky asked.

"Something like that.", I mused.

"Listen here you two! It's a skull, alright? Like I said earlier, I thought Dianite was supposed to be all Nether themed and chaos-y, but turns out it's not that way...", Tom objected. Sparky and I grinned at each other.

"Sure Tom.", we said together.

"Ok, just because you two seem to be an item, doesn't mean you can both make fun of my skull together..."

"We're not together, we're just friends... besides, I don't need anyone. I'm just fine on my own.", I argued.

"Lucky's right. I also don't need anyone like that. I've done well on my own this far. She's just a roommate on the top floor. We both also respect each other's space.", Sparky agreed and added.

"Sure, tell yourselves that. But let's go in." He led us in and it's actually pretty nice. It's not too bad.

"The temple's pretty neat. I like it.", I said.

"Thanks. I worked hard on it."

"I don't doubt that. I appreciate your hard work."

"You do?", Tom asked, surprised.

"Well of course. I appreciate everyone's hard work on their temples. You all did a great job."

"Thank you.", they all said. We all went up to Tom's beach and sat on the towels, looking out at the ocean.

"You're surprisingly nice and cheerful today Lucky... what gives?", Tom asked.

"Whaddaya mean?", I asked defensively.

"You complimented everything and even offered to help find something to give to Ianite and even suggested that Mianite's offering be Nether themed. I was even surprised to see that you're really sketched out by the ocean, needing guidance from Jordan to even go in the ocean. I think you're becoming more comfortable around us, becoming yourself even. You know what I think? I think you put up a front in front of us. All defensive and loner type when really you're soft and nice. Am I right?", Tom asked.

"I'm not soft... I like battle, I like to use swords, I like wearing armor and defending myself from enemies. I'm hardened by all the battles that I've gone through. I even like using a bow and arrows. Sadly my bow broke and I never made a new one... Nice? I don't know about that. You think what you think."

"I can make you a new one.", Sparky offered.

"I can do it. I have the materials.", I said, a little short with him.

"Alright." I sighed exasperatedly at myself, got up, and went to the water toward Sparky's island. Well, mine too now I guess. I barely heard Karl's "Now look what you done, you made her leave." comment. I parkoured over the lily pads until I couldn't reach the next one. I sat on it and dipped my feet in the water.

'What's the matter Lucky?' I heard Ianite ask telepathically.

I sighed deeply. 'A lot of things... things I don't know about...'

'Would it help to talk in person?'

'I'm sure it would...' Then all of sudden I was teleported to Ianite, who was on Sparky's beach, where she and I talked before. I sat on the towel immediately.

"Now, what's on your mind?", Ianite asked gently.

"Everything... Tom said that I'm becoming soft and nice because I complimented everyone's temples and Karl's island garden and offered help with a couple things. That riled me up, so I gave a sharp answer to Sparky's offer to make me a new bow because mine broke a while back. Now I'm regretful of my tone to Sparky, and... I just don't know who I am anymore... Ianite, who am I? Am I the tough, rugged, battle-ready girl I think I am, or am I something more?", I asked wearily.

"Well Lucky... the way I've seen you, you've been kind. I've also seen you defensive. I think you're so defensive because you've never interacted with other people for 16 years. Now that you've met and befriended other people, you're starting to slowly come out of your defensive shell and show your kind side. It's also a good thing that you feel bad for your tone to Sparklez. You should apologize.

"As to being tough, rugged, and battle-ready, well, sometimes. When you battled those zombies and the enemies from the Naglfar, you were fierce, but in everyday life, you're not really tough per se. As Tom said, you put up a 'front'. What I think, is that you're kind hearted. Lucky, you don't need to be defensive. Let down your guard around these guys.

"I will warn you however, is that these guys like to prank one another, so you might be the subject of a future prank. Don't be surprised if something's not right some day. So, I guess be aware of certain things. You also showed a vulnerable side at the ocean going to my temple. You allowed yourself to be scared and you allowed yourself to take Sparklez's hand in comfort and you kept ahold of his hand the whole time, actually becoming more comfortable as time went on. Before you ask, yes, the others did notice, as you may have gathered by Tom's comment at his beach."

"Ugh... just great. Neither Sparky nor I need the teasing... It's as you said, Sparky only offered his hand so that I'd be more comfortable going into the ocean to your temple. Wait... you saw everything? But you're not usually here... Are you always with us? Are you always following, to make sure we do well?"

"That's my little secret.", Ianite said, grinning mischievously. I grinned back.

"Alright then, secret keeper.", I teased. She giggled at me.

"See. Your guard is down and you're being very not tough or rugged." I gave a half smile.

"Yeah, I guess, but it's easy to be, with you. ~I panic internally that I said that. I quickly think of something to add to that so that she's not thinking I'm being weird~ Maybe it's because you're the only other female among all the guys.", I added quickly.

"Maybe. You know, it was kind of tiring being the only female among many men. Actually, I'm glad you arrived Lucky. Talking to you is very refreshing. I mean, Sparklez is really nice to talk to. He's super nice, but it's not the same as talking to another female. You know what Lucky, we should get together often so that we have time to not be around men all the time. How about twice a month?"

"Sure, that sounds good. Twice a month it is. Um, I think I'll go though, I need to apologize to Sparky, like you suggested."

"Oh, um, ok. I'm glad we got to talk about how you were feeling. Glad you're feeling better.", Ianite said, very confused. I inclined my head slightly, then went toward Tom's island. Sparky actually was approaching. I just waited at the shore.

"Sparky, I need to apologize for being short with you. It wasn't fair to you. I'm sorry. I appreciate your offer of making me a new bow, but I think I would rather do it myself this time. You've helped me so much this far." He smiled kindly.

"Thank you Lucky. I accept your apology and understand your desire to make your own new bow. Now, why did you leave so abruptly?"

"Can we sit on your beach here in the middle of your island?" He nodded and we sat on the towels in the middle of his island. Um, oops, our island. I need to get used to saying that. "So, it was partly Tom and partly me. Tom being Tom, and me having been short with you. I was upset with myself a little bit. I really need to get used to the fact that I have friends, there are other people other than me, I'm not alone anymore, and that I can talk to you at least. I don't know about the others yet, but I know you're a good person to talk to."

"You can talk to Karl, Orion, and Dec. I mean, Tom's a nice guy, he just likes to tease a lot. So, deep talk with him at your own risk, I guess. ~I chuckled which made him chuckle slightly~ So, are you ok now though?"

"Yeah, I'm all good. Thanks Sparky." He smiled.

"You're welcome, any time." We stood up and he held his arms out for a hug shyly. I hugged him.

"Well, it's becoming dark, we should head in." He nodded and we went in the tower. "Hey Sparky, teach me how to enchant sometime. I'd like to see what I can get on my bow."

"Sure, it's pretty easy. We could do that tomorrow if you want."

"Sounds great. I'll make my bow before I go to bed, then we can enchant tomorrow." He grinned and nodded. I inclined my head slightly, then bid him a good night and went up to my room. I laid on my bed, staring out the window. Well, today was emotionally eventful. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

A/n: Ianite knows Lucky likes her. Ianite's just not letting Lucky know she knows. Also, Ianite was confused because Lucky just ended the conversation very fast. She thought maybe Lucky would want to talk even a bit longer, but Lucky was all rushed at the end. That's why Ianite was confused.