This chapter is significantly shorter than the last so i understand if its kind of underwhelming lol. But like the last chapter was 12k words so i think that makes up for it. And it isnt THE shortest chapter, that still belongs to chapter threee at 6k. but yeah like this may be boring compared to all the action before, but again, the last chapter was a whole lot so i think that you guys will live
Sorry this took so long. a lots been going on and Ive been working on really editing past chapters bc there are so many mistakes i missed. There will probably be some here too just bc of who i am as a person and also bc this hasnt gone thru like any major major editing. i havent edited the last chapter yet just because its SO LONG but otherwise the stories gone under some mild revisions like grammar issues i missed, wording issues, pacing problems, etc. its by no means perfect and probably isnt even really that noticeable but still
ALSO remember that WIP i had that was basically a ref fr my headcanon jesse for this story? if u do i finally got around to coloring it:
*** https : DOUBLE SLASH jawd DOT tumblr DOT com SLASH image SLASH 188662514569
im also on the mc:sm amino if any of you are on there. im posting my other mcsm related art there along with this story. im at is fruitpackette under the username jawd. hmu there if you want! (or here, im not picky lol)
sidenote: the berries they wash off with are buffaloberries or soap berries, you can use them like soap
Shrouded by the sudden darkness of a tunnel lit sparsely by remnants of mined glowstone deposits, Jesse's minecart slammed into lukas', lurching both her and Reuben forwards. All three of the minecarts occupants in front of Jesse turned to look at her. She stared back.
"Is… is everyone okay?" She asked a bit lamely, brushing rubble from herself.
There was an extended silence before Axel let out a sigh, turning to face forwards, "...I mean I'm not dead. I guess that's pretty good."
"Ditto. Ditto with the not dead." Olivia groaned, sinking down into her cart and snapping her goggles to her sweaty forehead from where they had rested over her eyes. The lenses were tinted black with smoke and a lin layer of debris.
"I just can't believe that Petra comes down here all the time." Lukas said breathlessly, attempting to smooth back his wild hair. "This place is awful."
"Petra's a bit more hardcore than I thought." Olivia mumbled
Lukas gave a short chuckle after a moments silence. "Your throat's going to be sore later, Axel."
"Why?" He asked slowly.
"I'm just sayin'," He shrugged, and Jesse could see his cheeks pulling up into a grin from where she sat at the rear. "Wasn't that you doing all that screaming before? Sounded like you were shredding your larynx."
"Oh, yeah! I heard that too!" Olivia turned to the blond, a sly smile overtaking her features as she looked back to Axel and poked him in between the shoulders. "Really high-pitched, kinda like a squeaky piston—"
"What?" Axel interrupted, sounding incredulous. He squinted at Olivia who squinted back, Lukas smiling from behind the two. "No, shut up."
"Yeah, nevermind must have—" Lukas concealed a laugh with a cough. "Must have been something else."
"We were just lucky to make it out of that alive. That's more that's more than most people can say. Their bones are probably still sizzling away in that lava down there…"
Lukas looked behind him. "Jeez, morbid."
Jesse shrugged.
There was a moment's pause as Lukas turned to face forwards once more before Jesse spoke again.
"Hey, you know how you have those experiences you remember and reminisce about for the rest of your lives?" A faux saccharine tone coated her words.
"...Yeah?" Axel prompted when no one spoke.
Her voice dropped. "This? Isn't one of those. Let's never discuss this ever again."
"I can agree with that." Olivia nodded.
Jesse didn't want to ever see a ghast again. They had been notably easy to bring down when she'd put together they weren't fireproof or resistant to their own attacks, but the sheer amount there were in the Nether was enough to give her shudders, what with their beady black eyes and pale twisting tentacles. She had seen enough tentacles for one day to last her a lifetime.
The minecart system consisted of numerous bridges with power rails at several intervals. She realized belatedly it purposefully had challenges to be completed, likely so people couldn't misuse it. It didn't seem like it had been maintained in years, however. Mobs crawled the place, areas were destroyed by ghasts, glowstone lights were shattered, and the tracks felt old and unreliable.
Her dominant arm ached from overuse of her heavy sword. The adrenaline had been keeping her going, but as it subsided her wrist was beginning to throb on top of the weariness she already felt from attempting long, arching slashes on the Wither. She was lucky she hadn't sprained anything. She would need to build up her strength in her arms; Jesse would be the first to admit there was a major lack of muscle in that area. What she knew of forms she couldn't make up for in a properly trained arm. She'd only ever stuck to the lowest weighted training sword, never upgrading to heavier ones to build muscle, they had been too expensive. The one she'd had was a gift axel and olivia, who had to pitch in together to even buy it for her.
They approached a junction, power rails becoming few and far in between as they began to slow, eventually lurching to a stop inside a suspended landmass supporting tall, intersecting arches of nether brick.
They stumbled out of the carts, Jesse helping Reuben out, then Olivia, who's legs seemed to turn to jelly the moment she attempted to exit. The two girls supported each other, Jesse giving Axel a hard look until he reluctantly helped Lukas, who was trying to step out but looked dizzy enough to fall down face first the moment he tried to stand.
Jesse shook away her lightheadedness, taking deep breaths to fight the nausea that stirred inside her.
"Can you throw up, like, inside your body?" She said as Reuben clicked his hooves against the dark brick impatiently, apparently unaffected.
"Uh-huh." Olivia nodded. "I know because I just did. About five times."
Up the stairs, the netherrack seemed to amass like coral over the structure they were on. Growths sprouted from the nether brick that curved high above them. Old, rusted iron fences scattered across the bowed brick in an indiscernible pattern, and Jesse wondered mildly if they once connected the arches into a dome.
"Woah, look at this place." Jesse said, letting go of Olivia who stumbled away to look over the tracks leading in from all sides.
"All these tracks converge at this point. You could probably get anywhere in the world from here, assuming these all lead back to their own Nether portals." Olivia looked around in wonder
"And there's our portal." Jesse pointed, looking to the entryway of obsidian that had congealed with netherrack and sharp looking fragments of iron.
"This is what Gabriel was talking about?" Lukas looked over the swirling, purple haze.
"That's our way out, then. Let's go." Axel stepped over a two by one glass walkway that was built over a small pool of lava, sticking his hand in the swirling purple experimentally. He had to crouch slightly, the nether wart growing from the ceiling of the cave-like entrance built up around the portal skimming the top of his head.
"It must lead back to the surface." Olivia mused.
"The surface is also where that creature is." Lukas said, making Axel pull his hand back like it was on fire.
"He's right" Jesse took a step towards Axel, "We have no idea what we're walking into. It could be dangerous."
He turned to them then back to the thin purple miasma, rubbing the back of his head.
"Well we can't just stand here and not even try it." Olivia reasoned weakly, "Regardless of what could be on the other side."
"That's true…"
"All right, I'm gonna go." Axel announced, facing the portal once again. "I'm going. I'm going right now."
Jesse pulled Reuben back from attempting to join Axel, hefting him into her arms and watching the other expectantly.
"Like, right-right now. Um." He began to pat over his jacket. "I just need to make sure I have everything I'll need."
He looked around, "I think I put the uh, thing… over in the, um…"
Jesse shifted Reuben to one arm, setting him down and walking over to reach up and pat Axel's shoulder with a smile. "You got this, Axel."
He smiled back, looking to the portal, "That's right, I do got this."
"Whatever's on the other side? Has no idea what it's got coming." She said, letting go of him to punch his shoulder lightly.
"All right, here I go." He said, casting one last look to Jesse, "Thanks, Jess."
"I'm right behind you." She gave a single reassuring nod..
"Be safe up there, you big oaf." Olivia approached his other side and gave him a playful shove.
"All right, all right. Ready or not, here I come." He edged into the purple haze, stepping through the portal as one would step into an overly hot bath—slow and faultily. He disappeared, the image of him rippled away like a reflection in a pool of muddled water. Reuben made a low whine in the back of his throat, peering up at Jesse. She smiled, setting him down despite his protests.
"It'll be fine, Reuben." She said, stepping forward and into the portal, her hair standing on end as goosebumps erupted over her body as a sensation similar to falling washed over her. She looked behind her, the red of the Nether losing color and brightness as the figures of Olivia and Lukas faded away.
She was then abruptly pulled forwards into chilled air. Engulfed in darkness, she squinted against the bright moonlight shining into her eyes, the sound of falling water surrounded her. She nearly fell face forward into a pool of water as she stepped off the obsidian, managing to regain her balance as her feet splashed into a cold pond. She frowned down at her feet. Her leather boots were going to fall apart at this rate.
A nasally yell captured her attention, and she spotted the prone body of Axel shoving at a zombie.
"Get it off of me!"
"Hold on!" She shouted, sloshing through the water hurriedly and grabbing the zombie around its middle, spinning it away from them with a grunt. It splashed through the shin-length water, hitting the wall of the tall rocks encasing the lagoon. It had barely made it a few feet from the stone before Jesse was in front of it with her sword, slashing across its legs and plunging the weapon into its back as it went down to its knees. It burst into a warm vapor, splashing water over her.
"Oh, man. That was close." She said, looking over the chunks of rotting flesh floating in the water. "Eugh."
She tucked her sword back into place, turning to the boulder Axel had loudly bellyflopped behind in a panic as he emerged, looking around.
"I'm never going first again." He commented bitterly as he waded through the shallow water, wringing his jacket out. The acute sound of the portal activating had them turning towards it, two pairs of feet plonking into the water as Lukas and Olivia emerged, the former holding a struggling Reuben who was apparently not a fan of the physical effects of portals.
"You guys okay?" Lukas asked, carefully making his way through the cold water and towards the shore where she and Axel had waded over. The taller boy had unbuttoned his jacket, leaving him shivering in his white linen shirt as he shook the article of clothing out, squeezing it. Jesse sat next to him on a low rock, emptying her boots out for the second time that night.
"If by okay you mean not cold and wet, then no." Axel grumbled.
"We're fine." Jesse answered, inspecting the bandages over her feet before pulling her shoes back on.
"Where are we?" Olivia asked, joining them at the bank.
"In the dark. In the middle of nowhere." Jesse answered bluntly, walking up the steep incline out of the lagoon. Reuben jumped from Olivia's arms to run to Jesse's side.
"Maybe we should bed down for the night." Lukas said, following Olivia and Axel as they left the muddy brink behind the shorter girl. "It's dangerous to be out when it's this dark."
"I thought we were headed toward a temple." Axel said, jacket slung over his shoulder.
"We're looking for a giant building. It should be pretty obvious." Olivia added, pulling loose the laces of her boots and shaking them out as she walked.
"Ivor said—"
"Oh, 'Ivor said.' Well then maybe this is the temple." Axel gestured to the surrounding nature.
"What?"
"Take it easy, Axel." Jesse said, turning back to look between the two as Lukas moved to stand next to her. She rolled her eyes.
"He called me stupid." Axel said defensively.
"No? I didn't?"
"But you wanted to."
"No, I didn't."
Axel stuck his pinky in his ear. "Huh? Did you say something?"
"We have to build a shelter—" Jesse moved between them.
"I... thought that was what I said, but—"
"I'm agreeing with you, Lukas."
"Oh."
Axel sighed. "It's getting dark and stuff, I guess."
"Axel, it's been dark." Olivia commented snidely.
"Why do you only say yes when Jesse says something?" Lukas asked, crossing his arms. Jesse nearly reached around and smacked him for egging the other on.
"Why do you always stand next to her?" Axel shot back.
"I don't."
"Guys—"
"I say we build a treehouse." Olivia said loudly, shoving them both from each other. Jesse looked at her gratefully as Axel shifted his attention away from Lukas with a frown.
"That'll take forever, and we'll be exposed while we do it." he said, brows furrowing. "We just need a—a quick 'n dirty hut."
"Look, whatever it is, we've gotta do it fast," Lukas interjected. Axel said nothing, but crossed his arms and pointedly avoided eye contact with Jesse who was giving him a look.
"What?" Lukas asked, looking from Axel to Olivia, who rolled her eyes.
Hand on hip, Olivia turned from the blond to face Axel. "In a hut, we won't know what's coming until it's knocking at our door."
"A treehouse is gonna be spider town. I—hate—spiders." He enunciated each word with a chop of his hand.
"Jesse?" Olivia said, turning to their designated tiebreaker.
The shorter only shrugged. "Why don't we just build a hut. It won't take as long."
"What about a combination?" Lukas suggested. "You know, a tiny wooden shack."
"She asked Jesse, not you." Axel nearly growled.
"We don't have time—" Jesse started, raising her voice and drowning out Lukas' reply, silencing him, "—to go collecting supplies. We just need something fast."
The other girl started to protest. "It's not—"
"That's it, Olivia." Axel cut her off. "Jesse made the call."
"We should get started. Here will work fine," Jesse said, approaching a little nook in a short crag they could build into.
Completed, it resembled a shoddy little hut made of ugly dirt bricks. The underside of Jesse's fingernails were caked with earth, her dirt-stained hands matching the others'. Lukas had layered reeds over the bumpy roof. 'In case of rain.' He had said. They had spread pine needles over the floor, offering some amount of cushioning despite how they stuck into their skin. Jesse remedied this by finding the fattest leaves she could and spreading them out in five different mats in the cramped shelter.
Axel had put together a crooked door, and Lukas and Olivia collected enough fallen, dry logs to make into a fire using the flint and steel. There was an air hole centered in the ceiling above their fire which Axel hadn't been happy about, but Olivia assured him the smoke would keep spiders away from it. Nevertheless, Jesse laid a vent of sturdy sticks over the opening in a checkered pattern, packing dirt around it to offer some meager protection.
It wasn't a half-bad hut in Jesse's opinion. It was cosey as far as dirt shacks went, and it was the warmest she had been all night, forest fires excluded. Axel had laid his jacket out to dry, and all of their wet shoes sitting in line by the door.
"All this work and we're still eye level with monsters that are trying to kill us," Olivia muttered into her knees, the sound of far-off groans and the distinct noise of bones clacking together from archers in the distance making her glance at the door
"It's done, it's over. We aren't talking about it anymore." Axel said, shivering in his thin shirt and sitting as close to the fire as he dared.
"We could have maybe done like a multi-level thing, but," Lukas sighed, ignoring Axel's glower, "It's too late now."
Jesse looked at Lukas, stroking Reuben who lay dozing in her lap. He blanched at her stare, looking away.
"I mean, I guess—It's... It's cool."
"Let's just keep it together, guys." She sighed.
Olivia sat adjacent to the fire, legs stretching out in front of her as she undid her wild twin braids, hat and goggles placed next to her in a neat pile. Goosebumps riddled her exposed arms, they had ripped Jesse's old shirt down the middle for her to drape over herself like a raggedy shawl. It wasn't pretty, but it kept some of the chill off her.
The fire projected long shadows on the surrounding walls, crackling and hissing whenever Jesse disturbed the glowing logs with a stick. It had been difficult to start at first; the heat from the meager flame seemed to be sucked into the frigid air before ever reaching their frozen hands. They spent some time huddled around it, adding more wood and sparking the tender alight with the flint and steel. It had seemed to extinguish as if unsure of itself, sending feeble sparks to die in the air. But after a time it managed to grow until the heat warmed them, orange flames casting low light through the small space. It would need to last through the night, and they agreed to take turns staying up and nursing it as well as keeping watch.
Jesse stared bleary-eyed into the fire, hand ceasing its petting and coming to a stop over Reuben's back. Olivia, in all her short-sleeved glory, had saddle up next to her and they leaned against the other. Axel had joined them on their side of the hut, warming his back, his half-dried jacket over his lap as he inspected it after the rough night it had gone through. Lukas was left curled up alone on the other side, arms hanging over his knees as he inspected the pine needles in front of him.
Jesse tried to keep her eyes open, but it was so hard; she was so warm and comfortable. Soon, that was all that she was aware of; the soft pine needles and leaves underneath her, the warmth of the fire, Olivia's side pressed into hers, and the sound of crickets. Her eyes began to drift close, blissfully unaware of anything going on around her.
She jerked awake at Axel's loud voice, startling Reuben back into consciousness with her sudden movements.
"Oh, man!"
"What?" Olivia groaned, on the cusp of sleep herself.
"I'm gonna tell you something. You have to promise not to freak out."
Jesse pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes for a moment. "What is it."
"I... have cookies." He said, holding out a handful of intact, if a little soggy, shortbread cookies.
Jesse raised an eyebrow at him, leaning down to hide a yawn in her pulled up knees.
"One for me." He said, "One for Olivia," He handed her the baked good with a flourish, making her snort, "One for Jesse."
She accepted the wet treat with a smile, "Thanks, Axel."
Jesse stopped the cookie just short from her lips as Axel paused and gave a quick glimpse at Lukas, tossing the last one next to her.
"And one for Reuben."
The pig scrambled out of her lap and quickly gobbled it down, immediately rolling into his back and passing back out.
"Sorry Lukas, I only have four." He pretended to shrugged helplessly.
"...Oh, no it's all right. I'm not that hungry anyway." He cleared his throat, "I'll just... grab something in the morning... or something."
Jesse looked down at her cookie, guilt settling softly over her chest. Regardless of her opinion of the rest of The Ocelot's, they were Lukas' friends, and he had no clue if they had made it out or not. He had chosen to be here, helping them. She remembered both times she got caught up in the tractor beams. The horrible sensation that covered her body followed by a sense of total dread. She shook her head, not dwelling any further on their fates.
She stood to her feet, her tired and bruised body groaning in protest as she walked around the fire. She stopped just before the blond, holding out her cookie.
"Take it, Lukas."
He looked at her in surprise, before an awkward chuckle escaped him.
"No, no. I... I-I can't do that."
"I insist." She bent down and took hold of his hand, placing the treat in his palm. He looked at her before turning his gaze to the side.
"Thank you, Jesse."
"Sure thing." She grinned tiredly.
"Here, um," He hesitated before breaking the wafer in half, offering it to her. "You shouldn't have to go hungry just because of me."
"It's fine, Lukas." She held a hand up, stepping out of cookie-giving range, "Don't worry about me, I'm not very hungry. Too tired." It wasn't a complete lie.
"Well, If you're sure."
"Very." She gave him a nod, a note of finality in her voice as she walked back to her leaf-mat, moving Reuben who had taken up her spot in his slumber.
"That was for you, Jesse. Not him." Axel said, sitting down next to her with his hands propped up on his crossed legs. She leveled him with an impassive stare, and he turned from her to glare at Lukas.
It was quiet, calm even as all but one of them ate their meager dinner. Jesse blinked through the drowsiness hanging off her like a beckoning blanket, knees pulled close in front of her as she nudged the fire with a stick she had picked up from the pile of backup kindle placed neatly in the corner closest to her. Reuben was on his side, pressed up against her as he snored softly.
She realized her eyes had closed when Olivia's voice broke the uniform silence punctuated only by the crickets.
"If you had to," She said. "Which would you rather fight—a hundred chicken sized zombies, or ten zombie sized chickens?"
Jesse opened her eyes, finding the girl looking at Lukas. A smile crept its way across the shorter girl's face, "Choose wisely."
Lukas laughed under his breath, ignoring Axel who was standing with his arms crossed despite Jesse's attempts to make him sit down and stop being weird. The blond stared into the crumbling embers of the fire.
"Uh… thats a good one. Let me think."
"How can you guys joke at a time like this?" Axel started, looking over them, "Petra is still out there, she's all by herself. There's nothing funny about that."
"Petra wouldn't mind at all. She'd want us to keep our spirits up." Jesse pulled at his hand, signaling again for him to sit down already, but he only moved out of arm's reach, back facing them.
"If I were her, I'd… I dunno. It feels wrong."
"Fine, then uh, we should get some rest. We gotta start looking for this temple as early as we can." Lukas said, standing and brushing away the pine needles that stuck to his jeans and moving to his leaf-mat as he shrugged his jacket off, draping it over his back like a sad little blanket. "Now, my guess is if we start at the portal and kind of split up—"
"What're you doing?" Axel turned to look at him, voice dripping with animosity.
"...Did I do something to you?" Lukas asked, posture changing into a defensive one, "I'd really love to know, because you keep getting on my case for what seems like no reason."
"Okay, let's calm down." Jesse looked between the two, settling on Axel, "He's just trying to help."
"See?" Lukas held his hands out toward her.
"I'm sorry Jesse, I'm not gonna sit here and listen to this guy tellin' us what's what—"
"I'm just trying to get ready for tomorrow." Lukas had crossed his arms, a prominent tone of incridulity seeping into his words.
"You're the only one wearin' that stupid jacket, don't tell us what to do." Axel said mildly.
There was a tense pause before Lukas stepped forward, grinding out every word. "Take—that—back."
"Can't. Wouldn't." The taller circled around the campfire to face him despite Jesse and Olivia's annoyed protests. Neither one of them wanted to deal with two bickering boys at what was likely three in the morning.
"You know what? I get to wear this jacket because I know how to build, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to break things."
"Your threats don't scare me now that we know how you really are."
"Jesse your friend is way out of line!" He abruptly whipped around to face the girl whose hands were currently massaging her temples. "I wasn't going to bring it up, but I can only take so much."
"Let's just drop it!" She stood suddenly, moving past a now awake Reuben to push against both their chests
Axel backed up a hair as Olivia moved to stand next to her, looking done and tired enough to absolutely maul one of the two boys.
"Don't be like that, guys—" Axel started.
"Just. Drop it." Jesse said definitively, giving them both hard stares.
"This tool—'
"Take is easy, Axel." She warned.
"Easy? He threatened me!"
"He's not gonna do anything!" She said to him in disbelief.
Lukas opened his mouth to speak but Axel rounded on him before he could.
"Oh keep your mouth shut. Haven't you done enough damage for one day?" He said, getting in the other's face and shoving him, "Petra might be dead because of you."
"Calm down, Axel!" Olivia grabbed his arm but went ignored.
"I don't have to take this." Lukas looked away, breaking eye contact with him and leaving a smug looking Axel in his wake as he approached Jesse. "Listen, why don't I just leave and let you guys hash this out."
"You can't leave, it's dangerous out there!" Olivia objected.
"I can take care of myself." He said, then raised his voice so Axel would hear his next words, "It's what Axel wants, right?"
"Let him leave if he wants to leave." Axel crossed his arms.
"You're not going anywhere."
"But, Jesse—"
"That's enough!" She snapped, "We're all on the same team now. He's staying!"
It was quiet, Axel moving to the opposite side of the hut and sitting down with a huff. Olivia sat as well, followed by Lukas and then Jesse. She moved slowly to her mat, giving them hard looks before turning her gaze to the fire with a long breath.
It was quiet. Olivia was looking between the boys and Jesse was practically glaring into the fire, Axel refusing to look at any of them.
"Zombie sized chickens." Lukas broke the tense silence. "That's what I would fight."
Olivia looked to him, hesitant as Axel turned to him sharply before quickly backing down at Jesse's challenging stare, turning away from her with a harsh sigh.
"Zombie sized chickens," Olivia repeated. "Why's that?"
"Because I'm starving…" He answered weakly, looking into the crackling fire as Jesse reached over to gently place another log over it and snatch her hand back, fingers dancing out of reach from the licking flames. Olivia yawned, leaning back on the palms of her hands as Jesse shifted around onto her side, cushioning her head with a curled arm.
"...I'll take first watch." Axel spoke up, not looking at them.
"Second." Jesse said.
"Third." Olivia followed.
"Fourth, then." Lucas finished off.
Soft breathing was quick to fill the shelter space as Olivia slumbered and Jesse dozed off next to her, the two almost shoved together in the limited area. Jesse couldn't help but linger on how they probably should have tried to make the hut bigger as she tried to keep her eyes open, Olivia breathing into her ear and Reuben snoring against her stomach.
Thunder rolled overhead, tumbling above them through the clouds, spreading out into the night and hailing the promise of rain to the land below. She was nearly lulled to sleep by it before the sound of her name brought her back to her surroundings.
"Stop it, let her sleep." Axel whispered, leaning against the solid wall of the nook they had built into, absently moving the embers of the fire around with the long stick they had designated as the fire stick.
"Sorry, I was just—"
"What is it, Lukas?" She said, voice low with drowsiness.
He looked surprised to see her tired eyes staring across at him were he lay huddled under his jacket.
"...Thanks for keeping me around, Jesse."
"Yeah," She tried to smile despite her drooping eyes, hoping it didn't come out as a grimace. "Of course."
"Quit it." Axel said, nudging her foot with his.
"Quit what?"
"Fraternizing."
She moved her arm from under her to rub her hands down her face, letting out a breath. "Axel, you're my friend and I love you, but please shove it."
He mumbled something Jesse couldn't hear.
"What was that?" She raised her voice a smidge.
"Nothing!" He whined, jabbing roughly at a burning log.
She sighed, bringing her arm back underneath her head. Thunder rumbled, followed by small drops of rain that fell through the smoke vent, sizzling over the heated wood of the fire. a few drops grew into several drips which grew into a steady downpour of rain.
"Think it'll hold?" Axel asked quietly, looking up at the ceiling of their dirt and stick shelter.
"It should, yeah," Jesse answered, eyes closed as she let the monotonous sound of the falling rain, interrupted only by soft rumbles of thunder, drift her off. "With Lukas' roof, I think we're good."
"Yeah. We should be fine, I think." Lukas chimed in.
"That was… it was good. Your idea. The rainproof thing." Axel cleared his throat, not looking up from the fire.
Jesse smiled a little to herself as Lukas replied, voice unsure. "Oh, um. Thanks, Axel."
"Yeah, well don't expect anything else from me." He grumbled.
"Wouldn't dream of it." He said.
"You guys," Olivia spoke, voice muffled from where her face lay in her arms. "Shut up."
"Sorry, 'Liv." Axel said, placing the fire stick down and crossing his legs once more.
She mumbled something indiscernible, turning into her other side so her back faced them.
Jesse drifted into consciousness and then back out. The world was a blur, and random images seemed to float aimlessly around in the pool of her thoughts. Hair from a shifting Olivia tickled her nose momentarily, bringing her back to the outside world, but after a second she was once again lost. Her hand found its way to the amulet that had fallen out from the inside of her overalls. She could feel an overbearingly dark presence trying to look at her, staring her dead in the eye with a single, bright light, but she couldn't keep focus. The whole world simply felt low resolution, a bad quality photograph. Confusion blossomed in her chest at the heavy feeling that had slipped over her like a weighted blanket as she fingered the necklace. She knew that sooner or later she would need to fully wake up. To stare reality in the face. But for now, she lay, body heavy, and retreated into wallowing blackness.
Her watch came and passed without incident. And it felt like only minutes had passed before she found herself being shaken from a dreamless sleep.
"Up, Jesse. Let's go." Olivia's voice sounded amplified as Jesse groaned loudly, turning onto her side as the sunlight from the open door attempted to blind her. A cold snout pressed against her neck and she shot up, glaring blearily at Reuben who was chewing through a mouthful of rain-wet grass ripped from the ground outside and looking up at her innocently..
Axel ducked through the doorway with a large cupped leaf, pouring water over the smoldering embers that hissed loudly and filled the hut with smoke.
"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!" He called cheerfully.
She coughed, waving the air in front of her as she stumbled from the shelter and out into the early sun. She dramatically fell to her hands and knees, uncaring of the wet grass soaking through her pants.
"Why couldn't you morning heathens have waited until I was fully awake to start the day?"
"You wouldn't get up," Olivia said, passing her. "Now come on, I'm heading down to the portal to wash off. We both smell like smoke and I don't even wanna think about the layers of sweat and grime covering us."
"It's cold though!" She whined.
"Good, It'll wake us up then."
"You're already awake, you're just doing this to be mean to me."
"Trust me, I'm exactly seventy-eight percent asleep right now. I just know how to hide it." She said, flashing her a dull look before turning and walking down a long slope. "Come on, Jesse. You too, Reuben!"
Jesse ambled after her, suppressing a yawn and already missing the warmth of the hut. They made it to a stream leading into the pond by the portal. Stepping through a thick wall of trees and brush, the two settling on its banks. Jesse looked into the water, reflection barely visible aside from the copious amounts of hair sticking every which way. Pulling her lips into a thin line, she brought her hands up and ran her fingers through the wild locks that had fallen out of her braid and hung around her face, grimacing at the greasy strands that smelled of campfire smoke. She had gone to sleep with her baldric strapped to her and was regretting it immensely with how her back ached. Combined with the already present pain from running through the woods with a heavy pack on, being tossed around like a ragdoll by the Wither, and sleeping on hard ground, she currently wanted to die.
"Here." She heard Olivia say, looking in time to catch her ripping her old shirt down the middle and tossing her a half. "This thing has run its course, I think. Might as well use it one last time."
She tiredly thanked her, leaning further over the water and dunking the yellow cloth in, scrubbing it between her hands to remove any and all grime before wringing it out and slapping it down on a rock. Olvia had already abandoned her vest, boots unlaced and kicked off, and pants rolled up as she stepped calf-deep into the running water. She was cupping her hands under the surface and bringing them up to her lips, gulping down the cold liquid.
"Wouldn't it be better to do this at the portal? Didn't you say that's where we were going?"
"The portals loud." She said between breaths, dropping her hands and proceeding to submerge her half of the shirt and washing it clean. She brought it to her dirt smudged face with a sigh. "It's probably freezing down there in the shade too. Here we at least have some sun."
Jesse simply nodded, too tired to argue as she doused the cloth once more and began wiping her dirty cheeks, furiously rubbing over her sweat-dried, oily face.
Watching Olivia move her goggles down to hang around her neck and toss her hat off, Jesse pulled apart her wild braid and shook her hands through the now wavy locks, setting her clip down over Olivia's hat. Moving to her knees, she took a breath and plunged her head into the chilled water with only a moment's hesitation, scrubbing the tips of her fingers over her scalp. She resurfaced at the sound of Axel's voice, squeezing her dark hair out and shaking water from her face, the cold shocking her systems awake.
"Is it safe to come out?"
"Yes, Axel. You are safe," Olivia called as she tied her hair back into a low bun. "You really think we'd strip in this kind of weather?"
"Well I don't know!" He emerged from the trees, green jacket pulled over his body and holding a fat leaf close to his chest. "Got a surprise for you guys."
"And what's that?" Olivia made her way to the shore, legs splashing through the water.
"Tada!" He opened the leaf, presenting a cluster of bright red berries to them.
"Buffaloberries!" Jesse cried out with a smile.
"Fresh from the bush." Axel approached them, sitting down and setting the berries in front of him.
"This is perfect, Axel!" She pivoted on the ground to stretch over and grab a handful, tossing a few of the tart fruit into her mouth. She crushed the rest in her other hand, shimmying out of her overalls and kicking them to the side, running back to the stream. "Oh, we are going to be so clean."
Jesse lightly dipped the berries into the water, pushing up her shirt sleeves and lathering up her skin with the steadily growing soap-like foam.
Once all of them thoroughly cleaned, including Axel after Jesse threatened to kick him into the stream and Reuben who had found his way to them covered in dirt, they sat under the warming sun eating the remainder of the berries.
She winced as she bumped the shell of her ear whole combing her hair back with her fingers, clipping it away from her face as her blistered toes weaved into the cool grass, bandages discarded.
"How's your ear doing?" Olivia asked, leaning back on a hand.
"It's been better." She said. "And more whole."
Reuben rubbed up against her with a low snort, looking guilty.
"It's not your fault, bud. I'd rather have a small chip in my ear than you."
"We should'a come with you." Axel looked to the side.
"Oh, stop it." Jesse scowled. "Listen, everything turned out fine didn't it?"
"If your definition of 'fine' is the entirety of Beacontown being destroyed, then sure." The other girl commented.
"You know what I mean, Olivia."
"Hey, I'm just saying. Nothing's really going well. I mean, Lukas had the right idea by leaving."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"He got up and left sometime during his watch last night."
"Lukas left...?" Jesse asked weakly, noticing for the first time that morning the absence of the blonde. "What?"
"He was gone when we woke up." Olivia shrugged. "I thought you'd noticed."
"Coward just up and left while we were all asleep."
"Well, he was there when my watch ended." Olivia said. "He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to flake out on that, so he probably hasn't been gone long."
"Your point being?"
"Her point being that maybe he's just off somewhere." Jesse cut in.
"Not actually my point, but close enough."
Axel rolled his eyes. "Jess, just because some guy likes you doesn't mean you're obliged to stick up for him."
"What are you even talking about, Axel," Jesse gave him a blasé look. "Of course he likes me, we're like friends now or whatever."
"What am I talking about? What are you talking about? And what sort of friend," He help up quotation marks with his fingers, "Totally ditches on you?"
"You don't know that he ditched."
"Oh yes I do. Some friend you got there, huh Jesse?"
"Hey… guys…"
They all turned to an awkward looking lukas who was rubbing an arm, not meeting their gazes. Reuben squealed and ran up to him, circling around his legs with happy little oinks.
"Well hi there, Lukas!" Jesse smiled and waved at him, side-eyeing Axel with a smug look as she stood with Olivia.
"Yeah… Hey, I um… I picked some apples." He cleared his throat, giving Reuben a pet. "You guys more than welcome to some if you want. Y'know, feel free, there's enough for all of us"
He smiled a little at the pig bumping his head against him, gently brushing him away with a few words and approaching the group, extending an apple to Jesse. A grin overtook her features as she took the offered fruit from him.
"Thanks, Lukas."
"You got up early and found an apple tree? That still had apples?" Olivia look surprised, accepting one of the small apples from him as well.
"I figure we have to eat." He shrugged, attempting to hand one to Axel. "I like to get an early start."
"While I'm sure we all sincerely appreciate the effort," Axel pushed away the other's hand, a contemptuous smile on his face as he stood. "I already got us breakfast."
"Axel." Jesse said.
"A handful of berries isn't breakfast." Olivia said around the bits of apple in her mouth, shaking her head at him with an exasperated roll of her eyes
"Think of it as an… additional meal then." Lukas tried, leaning down and placing an apple in front of Reuben who tore into it with the gusto of a man on the brink of starvation.
Lukas once again offered Axel the fruit, who paused before snatching it from his hand with a grumbled, "Thanks."
"I thought you left." Jesse said, swallowing.
"Yeah. Me too." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. It was Axel's turn to give her a smug grin, bumping her shoulder. She bumped him back with a glare, nearly knocking him over.
"I tried to do some thinking, but it was too cold without the fire. And then it started raining again." He laughed to himself mirthlessly.
Olivia gave a grinning Axel a glare as well, elbowing him in the ribs with a look that said this is your doing.
Lukas noticed, and waved his hand a little in a dismissive manner. "No, it's all right. It's just—It's been a long night. And morning."
Axel snorted. He was elbowed again.
"I'm resourceful, you know. People always say that." He started, then turned to look at Jesse. "And I am a good friend."
He shot Axel a look, who merely crossed his arms. "Most of the time, I'm a good friend. Now, yesterday, I wasn't at my best for one second, and it's suddenly like none of that even matters. It's like I'm the worst person to exist. You guys can think what you want of me, but one thing still matters; Petra still needs us. I let her down once. It won't happen again."
"Hey," Jesse said, punching his shoulder. "You're cool with me, Lukas."
He smiled, rubbing where she hit him. "Thanks, Jesse."
"You know what? Me too." Olivia added, giving him a half grin as she set her hands on her hips.
Axel released a long breath, kicking a rock in front of him. "If you're all right with them, then I guess I can live with it."
"Okay. I'll take that." Lukas shrugged, his lips quirking up ever so slightly.
"We're all on the same team. We have to help each other." Jesse smiled, looking between Axel and Olivia before settling on Lukas.
"I'm glad we're on the same page. Thank you, Jesse."
"You don't need to keep saying thanks to her." Axel said.
"I could be wrong, but I think that's none of your business."
"Quit it you two." Jesse said, beckoning Reuben to her side, tossing him her apple core when he kicked his front legs up onto her thigh and snapped at it. "Jeez, Reuben. Just ask next time."
Brushing at the dirt-covered prints his hooves had left on her, she looked around, "All right, let's get going team."
sorry again this was probably boring lmao. ill try to come back and spice it up hopefully along with editing it more thoroughly. review and lmk of any glaring mistakes i missed!
