A/N: Hey! Sorry this chapter's so l o n g, so I hope you don't mind. Hopefully it will be... not boring...
Have fun, I guess.
~Whisker
There's something about blanket forts. Maybe it's the cosiness, or maybe it's the feeling of having a place of your own – a kingdom, if you will – to feel safe and secure, surrounded by things like cushions and teddy bears that give off a sort of oddly calming air.
No matter who or where you are, a tiny house made of blankets could always make you feel out of harm's way.
Even better if it was dark outside, and you had only the dim, golden glow of a torch to illuminate your den.
This was the first time that Dab had experienced the joy of a blanket fort, and he was greatly enjoying it.
Dan had set up the chairs around the table so that when he spread out Dab's duvet over it along with the blanket he'd been using to keep him warm at night on the sofa, everything was completely covered.
He'd set the momentum conserver on top of the covers to make sure they couldn't slip off, gathered every cushion and pillow in the house to stuff in the darkness under the table, and placed a torch on its end - supported by a few books and a leg of the black chair – to light everything up. He'd also retrieved the slightly well-done toast from the oven, of which he had been attempting to make before Phil called, and was currently enjoying himself, nibbling the blackened crust. The toast probably would've burnt if the power hadn't gone off.
It was certainly cosy, and it was even cosier once Dab had gotten together some things from his room that he wanted to bring into his den: the llamacorn he loved so much, a few books and even Drago (to sit outside and guard. There wasn't enough room under the table for him, and Dan wasn't too keen on having him there, either).
To his surprise, Dan found that he could fit under the table, too, as long as he sat with his legs bent in such a way they looked like the letter W. And even then he had to hunch his back, but it was worth it for the joy of being in a blanket fort.
He leaned back on a blue cushion from the sofa and watched as Dab slipped in, through the blanket curtains, and sat himself down on the floorboards.
He seemed to be enjoying the fort, too.
"Thanks for letting me stay up, Uncle Dan," Dab smiled.
"That's alright," Dan chuckled, "And you don't have to call me 'uncle', either: just 'Dan' will do."
Dab grinned and nodded his head,
"OK, unc- I mean, Dan," he chirped, "You're much more fun than Phil."
Dan raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side, curiously.
"What do you mean?" He asked, "I thought you liked Phil?"
"Well…" Dab mumbled, awkwardly, looking away, "I kind of do… but he's always really strict and never seems happy anymore."
Dan considered this out-of-the-blue statement for a while, and even though he knew that how Phil had been acting recently wasn't normal, he couldn't help but agree.
"He's not always like this," he said, attempting to somewhat justify his friend's temper.
"He was like this last time," Dab reminded him.
Dan swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck, apprehensively, poring over his thoughts of last time and remembering that he wasn't with Phil for a few days of it and didn't know what he was like during the time he was left home with Dab.
"It was after you left for a bit, mostly," the kid continued, "I suppose he really missed you. Why did you have to go and leave anyway?"
"I'm not sure he'd want me to tell you," Dan replied, recalling how irritated Phil had been when he'd told Dab about Erica and what she'd tried to do back in February.
Dab's face fell in dismay. It seemed he really wanted to know what the whole thing was about, and Dan supposed he'd have to tell him one day. After all, he was there for most of it; he had a right to know.
"Well… if you really must know, I guess I can justify it later," he hummed and saw Dab look back up to him, inquisitively. He heaved a sigh and prepared his words in his head before averting his eyes to the floor,
"We had a fight," he started, and paused for a few seconds before carrying on, "…I'd thought that it was him who got us both stuck here – because we didn't know how to get home at that point, remember?"
"Yeah, dad told me where you're from," Dab nodded, "Go on."
Dan bit his lip and resumed his account,
"I got really mad at him. It was late and I was tired and-" but then he shook his head, annoyed, "No… there's no way I can excuse it. It was awful: I hurt him and left him alone and that can't be rationalised by any means. I went and brooded in the park and it was only when I caught sight of him one day that I went back. I realised it wasn't his fault, you see, that night, and came back to the house to knock on the door, but it was in the early hours of the morning and, of course, there was no answer, but I assumed he was mad at me anyway, so I returned to the park…"
"You could have stayed with the Pancakes," Dab put in, "So you didn't have to sleep outside."
"But I didn't think of that at the time," Dan shrugged, "You tend not to think of these things when your mind's all jumbled up. He seemed to cheer up after I got back properly, though, didn't he?"
"A little bit," Dab concurred, "He was still quiet, though."
"Not as bad as this time, then?"
"Definitely not. He just always seems to be annoyed at everything this time."
Dan sighed, loudly, and flicked his fingernails as he thought. He expected it could be down to the responsibility of having the house to care for along with the child, besides being anxious about February repeating itself.
Yet, in hoping it wouldn't turn out the same again, it seemed it was starting to.
"Maybe he's just… nervous. He's got a lot to worry about," Dan reasoned, remembering Sunday, too, "I'm sure he'll get better."
"Are you worried about him at Granite Falls, Dan?" Dab asked, quietly, and Dan nodded in reply.
"He'll be fine," Dab said, confidently, "If he runs into Erica or anyone, he can just frown at them and they'll be gone in no time."
Dan sniggered. He decided Dab was probably right, and his friend would get better soon. After all, surely Phil Lester could never be down for long.
Dan picked up the torch from the floor, held it towards his face and grinned,
"How about I tell you a scary story about a doctor and the plague..?"
12PM, the Campground, Granite Falls.
It was pitch black outside and the air was bitter.
A chilly breeze drifted through the tall trees, the only light was from the moon – and even that didn't do much to help – and Phil was currently wide awake, sat cross-legged on the grass outside, staring at the campfire.
It was very serene outside, even if very cold, and Phil had to wrap his arms around himself to keep warm, even though he had a thick coat on.
After 5 hours of rest, he'd been woken for no particular reason and decided, instead of going back to sleep, that he should get some more fresh air.
He'd managed to not wake Dil, too, in the process of getting outside, even though his long, thin, gangly legs were a tad awkward to move sometimes.
He pulled his collar over his nose and breathed a heavy breath into it to warm his face. He didn't want to sleep. He was too paranoid about finding Tabitha.
Besides, what if she was in danger? No use sitting around doing nothing if he could be out trying to help, Phil thought, and shakily got to his feet.
A walk would warm him up if nothing else.
His breath catching, he began to wander down the path, away from the campsite, past the bench and barbeque, past the moose statue, and toward what looked like the darkest part of the forest.
He almost wanted to get lost.
At least it'd be exciting.
He realised that he'd never succeed in finding Tabitha if he didn't push his limits and venture as far into the trees as he could possibly go.
Sleepy-eyed, Phil stared through the woods and followed the very long path further into them.
He could just about see something like a roof poking out over the treetops, so he decided that that was a good thing to head towards. Besides, if he got there, maybe there would be a park ranger or somebody who had maybe seen Tabitha around.
Thinking about it, Phil realised he looked such a mess that any park ranger would probably take him inside, wrap him in a blanket, give him a warm drink and tell him to rest.
No matter how appealing that sounded, though, Phil stayed loyal to the task at hand, which was finding his Sim.
He was getting worried about her now, too.
Of course he was – he was a considerate person, and even if he was tired, hungry and cold, he knew that he had to do everything in his power to find Mrs Howlter.
He started to hum a song to himself as he trekked down the dirt path, the occasional crunching of twigs, leaves and stones being the only sounds around, though sometimes accompanied by the chirping of crickets.
The trees towered far above, casting eerie shadows down to the ground, the glow of the moon just about managing to shine through the gaps in the leaves, though it still wasn't quite light enough for Phil to see where he was putting his feet.
He hoped for the best, that he wouldn't stand on a shard of glass, sharp stone, or fall straight into a ditch, as he lifted his eyes to the gigantic trees.
He knew that Dan would have been terrified if he was here. Dan didn't particularly like trees when it was dark.
It was with this thought that a sick feeling started to fill his stomach and he felt himself get slightly dizzy, but he took it as nothing and carried on, though his legs seemed to wobble more with every step.
Looking to his right, he saw a mass of rocks and, beyond them, a fallen tree. Its vast trunk stretched for quite a way, and the moonlight was shining down on one particular part of it, and it just looked too appealing to walk past, so Phil shrugged to himself, wearily, and changed his path to head toward it.
It was as he got past the aforementioned rock pile that he noticed a dim glow to his left.
It flickered a bit as he watched it shine off the sides of the trees, and seemed to change colour sometimes.
Phil didn't know whether he was just imagining this odd light, but nonetheless made the risky choice to explore further, and curiously yet nervously slipped behind a wide tree trunk and, as silently as he could, peered around the corner.
His eyes widened and he had a moment of confusion where he didn't know how to react. His throat seemed to tighten and he took a nervy step backwards, wringing his hands before he finally figured out how to respond.
"Tabitha!"