Craig

In a normal fight, Craig could have taken Chris Donnelly easily. The boy was shorter than him for one, for another he wasn't strong in any sense of the word. If they'd been fighting for real and not just in a game, Craig could have taken him. As it was, he'd almost been defeated and that would have been embarrassing.

Feeling the various bruises he'd sustained pull and ache, Craig pulled a face as he swiftly followed Tweek as they raced out of the forest. They'd lost two people, Terry and Jack, to the Elves. Considering how much damage they'd done, Craig was actually rather impressed with the other boys. They hadn't sustained the losses they'd originally assumed they were going to. That being said, Craig's hit points were low and he had a feeling that concern was echoed by the rest of the boys.

But they'd done it. They'd proven that they were every bit as capable as Cartman and Kenny needed them to be.

Looking to Tweek again, the Noirette felt something swell inside of his chest that he couldn't name. The boy had saved him, which was almost amusing considering how often it seemed like Craig was saving Tweek. Though it was just in a fantasy game and if he hadn't been following the rules he could have turned the fight around in seconds, Craig didn't really care. The fact of the matter was that Tweek had searched for him and pushed himself to do things he wasn't typically comfortable with just so he could save Craig.

That actually meant something.

As they all broke through the tree cover and raced through the dirty trash heaps that decorated Kenny's front lawn, Craig beckoned the fighters around the house, breaking away towards the park. He was glad to see the other boys were excited as well, even though they'd just been through a battle. Though he didn't know quite as much about leadership as he probably should, he knew that if the other boys were tired, they wouldn't do as well.

"Have we received word of how the war is going?" Jesse asked, drawing up beside Tweek and Craig so he could look between both of them. "Because I don't hear any fighting." Wait, what?

At those words, Craig abruptly stopped, causing Brandon to crash into him and those ahead to get a few yards before they realized what was happening. Skidding to a halt, Tweek twitched and hurried back over to Craig's side. "W-what's going on?" he asked, looking around wildly. "Is something wrong?"

I don't know. But he couldn't say that to the other boys so instead, he just pulled out his phone and checked to make sure he hadn't gotten a message from anyone. Discerning that there was indeed nothing; Craig glanced at Jesse before tugging on the edge of his chullo and looking in the direction of the park. He was right, there was nothing coming from that direction, no yells or screams or spells being cast, just silence.

"Something's wrong," he said, furrowing his brows slightly as he tried to work out what it could be. They probably just finished fighting already. Feeling the hand of Tweek tugging at his cloak, Craig glanced down at the violently shivering boy and gave him a well, what do you want to do about it look.

"S-someone would have sent word if –ghn- the battle was over!" Tweek squeaked, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. Absently patting the boy's head to calm him down, Craig looked at the remaining soldiers. "If no one has sent word, th-that means that the fight is still going on or something is wrong!" Nodding slowly in agreement, Craig pointed at Ryan.

"Can you te- I mean, can you send a carrier raven to Terry to see if there's anyone back at Kupa Keep?" Craig asked, glad that Kenny wasn't there to get on him for breaking character. It wasn't his fault that the whole thing could be confusing sometimes. As Ryan instantly pulled out his phone and started tapping away, Craig heard someone clear his throat and he glanced over at Daniel.

"If I man, I say we head towards the park," he said, tapping his Jewish staff against the ground. "If they're there, then we've done the right thing. If they aren't we can take stock of the situation and decide from there."

"B-but what if the High Elf and his soldiers defeated everyone and we're walking straight into a trap!" Tweek yelped, yanking on his hair with one hand while grimacing at the same time. "Jesus man, that would be so much pressure!" Looking up at Craig, as though for answers, the blond yelped, "We're all injured, we w-won't be able to –ngh- survive a surprise attack!"

"Terry says there are only a few guards at Kupa keep!" Ryan called, glancing up from his phone so he could address everyone else. "Apparently they're as clueless as we are." Letting out a huffing breath at that, Craig's expression darkened as he glanced over at Daniel, who was still watching Tweek and him calmly. Well, it looks like we don't have much of a choice, now do we?

Quickly, he glanced down at the vibrating Tweek, who looked fearful now that they weren't caught in the thick of battle. Though he couldn't risk patting the boy's head again, or rather, didn't want to chance making him look weaker by treating him as such, Craig did give him a long, calm look. It's going to be fine, we're going to be okay. Only once Tweek nodded did Craig turn to address the rest of their warriors. "Let's go then, but keep your eyes peeled," Craig ordered.

"You don't have enough h-health to spare!" Tweek squeaked, adding his two cents into what Craig was saying. Nodding, the warriors spread out and started towards the park once more, now at a much more sedated pace. Tweek and Craig both held back, their eyes everywhere, checking to make sure no one was following them or otherwise sneaking up on them. Craig preferred it this way, when Tweek was right next to him, he didn't have to fear another incident like earlier that day at recess.

Besides, they fought better together. It was easier to say that than to admit that he couldn't get the whole playground incident out of his head. He could see the bruise on Tweek's shoulder, definitely in the shape of a hand. It made him feel sick and angry, right now when they were supposed to be fighting, he couldn't be thinking about that.

But it had been because of that moment that Craig had ended up getting into the fight with Chris Donnelly in the first place, even though he knew his chances of winning were next to nothing. It was because he'd seen the boy start to target Tweek and he hadn't wanted that to happen. It was his fault that Tweek had needed to come save him at all and it was because he kept making stupid decisions that were driven by that strange monster in his chest that demanded he keep Tweek safe.

And while he wanted to feel happy that Tweek had saved him, Craig couldn't help but feel guilty because it had been his fault that he'd needed to be saved at all. It's just a game, stop trying to make up for your mistakes by doing stupid shit. Gritting his teeth, Craig forced himself to pay attention to his surroundings instead of getting mired in his own head. It didn't matter anymore. He'd apologized and Tweek had forgiven him and he'd beaten the sixth-grader's ass and he wasn't going to let it happen again. That was all there was to it.

"Ngh- W-what's wrong?" Tweek pushed out in a hushed squeak. Turning to look at him, Craig felt something in him twist at the worried look on Tweek's face. He knew, logically, that Tweek was asking about the game and not about if there was something wrong with him, but it felt the same. Guilt clogging his arteries, Craig defaulted to his usual bored face, not wanting to alarm Tweek and possessing no way of expressing himself even if he did want to speak.

"Nothing, you see anything?" Craig asked easily, looking over Tweek at the scant trees behind him. They were getting pretty close to the park, if he were the Elves laying a trap, he would have started it back here for maximum effectiveness. But there was still nothing and though he wasn't worried in any sense of the word, it was making their warriors antsy.

Tweek let out a frustrated growl before stuttering out, "N-no, there's –ghn- n-nothing." Looking down at the boy, who was clearly worried, Craig lifted a hand to pat the boy's head before thinking twice and instead tugging on his chullo. The blond bit his lip visibly but jerked his head away so he could train his eyes on his surroundings once more. Deciding to follow his lead, Craig turned away as well, struggling to focus on the present instead of the past and the uncertain future.

"Which is why this is bullshit!" At the sound of that voice, all of the boys stopped and looked ahead to the park. Able to easily see over everyone else, Craig could only blink in complete disbelief. Walking forward, allowing Tweek to catch onto his cloak and creep along behind him, Craig stared over at the park, him usual boredom replaced with something approaching confusion. The hell am I looking at?

"No, Kyle, this is not bullshit, this is war!" The basketball court, which should have been a battleground right about now, was currently split down the middle. On one side stood the Elves, all of them in full battle gear. The other side had been devoted to similarly geared up Humans, none of whom were fighting.

And in the middle of the court stood exactly who Craig would have guessed would be there. Kyle and Cartman were almost nose to nose. Kyle looked like he was about to explode and Cartman looked like he might throw a tantrum. At Kyle's side stood Stan, looking angry but not quite as much as his friend. In fact, he almost looked like he wanted to pull Kyle away and Craig for one didn't blame him in the slightest. Next to Cartman stood Kenny, a smirk high on his face and his golden hair streaming behind him in the wind.

"IT'S NOT WAR IF YOU'RE FUCKING CHEATING!" Kyle yelled at Cartman, throwing his arms in the air. Squeaking, Tweek huddled closer to Craig, who simply put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him along as he slowly continued walking towards the park. The rest of their soldiers followed along, none of them quite knowing what to do instead. "THIS IS WHY I DON'T WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU CARTMAN, YOU'RE A FUCKING CHEATER!"

"I didn't cheat!" Cartman exclaimed, crossing his arms and leaning backward, as if disgusted by Kyle's very presence. "If anyone is cheating, it's you, because you're a filthy Jew Elf and everyone knows that Jews always cheat." Walking into the court, standing by the gate as their injured warriors all edged in at the back, Craig lingered by the exit with Tweek, unsure what was about to happen.

"Hey, asshole, being Jewish has nothing to do with cheating! Get it through your fat head!" Looking down at Tweek, who was already staring up at him, a look of fear and apprehension on his face, Craig raised an eyebrow before glancing about for someone he could talk to. Spotting Clyde, Craig walked towards him, keeping Tweek pressed against his side, just on instinct.

"Oh really, well I'd believe it, Kyle, if you guys hadn't already CHEATED!" Cartman yelled right back, his hands balled into fists around his staff. "It was total bullshit that you got the stick and you know it!" Ignoring Cartman and Kyle, Craig edged in next to his friend, whose eyes widened when he saw the Noirette. For once, he didn't try to hug him or Tweek.

"What's going on?" Craig asked softly, leaning over so only Clyde could hear him. From beside him, Tweek let out a squeak and nodded his head ferociously, twitching as he did so. Trying to spot Token, Craig finally spotted the boy near the injured soldiers, muttering spells over them. "We fought the Elves in the forest, why are we not fighting here?"

"Kyle's trying to get The Slums territory on the grounds that Cartman cheated, knowing that he was going to be here. He's not letting it go, dude, they've been going at it for ages," Clyde muttered back, giving Craig a wide-eyed look as if to say, what can you do? Blinking once, Craig turned back towards Cartman and Kyle, the urge to roll his eyes too big to just ignore. Is this for real? Fucking really guys? This is what you're going to do? I just got broken out of detention and probably into even more trouble for this?

"B-but it's not cheating, right?" Tweek hissed, his eyes going from Craig to Clyde then back again in rapid succession. "They should have been guarding it! And it's n-not in the rules! They shouldn't get Princess Kenny's house!" Shaking under Craig's arm, Tweek tugged on his hair and made a soft sound of panic. "Jesus, that's not fair!"

"I know Teacup," Clyde agreed gravely, nodding his head as he watched Cartman and Kyle yell at each other. "I know. But these things are diplomatic, I think. We're not supposed to think they're fair." Shrugging when Craig gave him a flat look, Clyde muttered. "Whatever happens, I'd go over and get healed while you can. Toke's got your Coffee, Tweek, if you want it."

At the mention of getting Tweek his coffee, Craig's mind was made up. Before Tweek could ask Clyde any more questions, Craig guided him away, edging around the gathered boys towards where Token was. The moment the black boy was in sight, Craig let go of Tweek who darted around their warriors till he reached Token, who instantly produced Tweek's coffee from his bag of medical supplies.

Walking over at a more sedated pace, Craig stood to the side as Token healed William, who raised his eyebrows at Craig and jerked his head towards the front, where Cartman and Kyle were still screaming. "You'd think they'd get tired of it," he commented, shaking his head. "Sometimes I wonder how they ever became friends."

"Tell me about it," Craig responded, rolling his eyes. Looking over the heads of everyone else, Craig watched as Kyle waved his arms around angrily, causing Stan to lean out of the way to avoid getting smacked accidentally. Attention drawn from the fight by the sound of Token clicking his tongue, Craig turned back towards his friend, who held out his hands.

"I might as well heal you," Token told him, shrugging. "I assume you're at less than half health." When Craig nodded, the black boy muttered something under his breath and waved his hands in a pattern. As he worked, Craig glanced over at Tweek, who was talking to Jesse and sucking down his coffee like he was never going to see another cup of it. He looked so happy, like he was on top of the world, that the Noirette found himself feeling marginally better as well, even though his entire mood had been rather sour all day.

Touching Craig's upper arm, Token leaned in and murmured, "I prefer you being happy to you looking guilty all the time." Before Craig could ask him what that was supposed to mean or how he'd known, Token was already moving on to the next injured boy. Shaking it off as nothing, Craig walked over to Tweek, who looked up and gave him a wide-eyed expression. Leaning against the fence next to where the blond was sitting beside Jesse.

"Ugh, they sure fight a lot, don't they?" Jesse asked, watching the crowd but talking about the four boys still arguing. "I wonder when we're actually going to fight?"

From the front, Craig heard Kenny say, "Gentlemen, who cares who and who isn't cheating? If you've both cheated then you're both dicks and we can just leave it at that!" Apparently, neither Cartman nor Kyle liked this because both rounded on the Princess, who held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, or you can keep looking stupid."

"Shut up Kenny!" Kyle demanded, his face red and his hair escaping out from under his hat and crown in his anger. "You're just as bad as Cartman! Heck, I bet you were the one who set this whole thing up!" Stan attempted to put a hand on Kyle's shoulder, but the redhead shoved it off, to which the other boy looked hurt.

"Hey, watch your mouth asshole!" Cartman demanded, edging his way in between Kyle and Kenny. "That's Lady McCormick you're speaking to! She is the fairest in all the lands and I will not have you disrespecting her!" Craig felt the overwhelming urge to facepalm. It was entirely asinine, this whole thing, and the best (or worst) part was that technically, he was responsible. Oh joy, more bullshit.

"If w-we already fought in the forest, doesn't that mean that they still did attack?" Tweek asked, gnawing on his fingernails while staring straight ahead at nothing. Letting his hand fall to his side, Craig just managed to brush his fingers through Tweek's wild hair. Tugging on a few of the strands lightly to draw the boy's attention, Craig fixed his gaze on the twitching Tweek.

"I'm pretty sure we're going to have to sit through it," he told Tweek, shrugging. Taking his fingers out of his mouth, Tweek let out a soft involuntary sound and clutched his thermos tightly. Stuffing his hand back into his pocket, Craig returning to listening to the four idiots that were supposedly the leaders of this stupid game.

"Guys." Holding out his hands, Stan gave a sigh and said, "Listen, if we're going to keep arguing about this, we should probably call a moderator. I mean, it's kind of creepy just having these drones hovering over us." Looking up, Craig found that, yes, there was a veritable army of drones all hovering above their heads. Tweek let out a panicked screech at the sound, which unfortunately drew Kenny's eyes.

Though he probably couldn't see Tweek, Kenny smirked and pressed his hands together daintily. "I agree with the Elven Ranger. We must settle this. Why not fight, it would be the most advantageous for both sides, right?"

"No, it wouldn't be!" Kyle growled. "You guys have the advantage, you guys have already taken out our forest patrol!"

"Oh don't give us that bullshit," Cartman complained, his vast robes rippling as he crossed his arms and huffed. "They were out there to try and take our land. It's not our fault that we happened to have a guard there to fight them off."

"Now look who's spouting bullshit!" Kyle snapped right back. "There was no way those people were a guard. You had ten soldiers attack our Elves! The carrier ravens said so, you can't just ignore what the carrier ravens say!"

"They could be spreading fake tidings," Cartman argued back, lifting his chin in defiance. "Besides, it doesn't matter if they did attack your Elves! Your Elves were on my territory which I will not tolerate!"

Kenny gave a loud, long sigh. "You know, I thought we were making progress here. Can't we come up with a compromise or something? This fighting is giving me a headache, I fear I may need a healer if this continues on."

Stan, clearly bent on being the more reasonable one, quickly cut off what Kyle was about to say with, "What are you proposing? Because we're not going to fight over this territory, it's not a fair fight, even you have to admit that much."

From the crowd, the voice of Butters piped up. "W-what about a festival or somethin'?" Craig's eyebrows hiked up at that. What the fuck? These people are so weird. "I mean, w-what if it's a time of peace an'such? W-we could send some people to the Giggling Donkey, seein' as it's not all that far away and get drinks an' food an' maybe even the Bard would come!"

"Oh, Jesus, a festival!?" Tweek squeaked, his fingers going for his hair. "B-but don't we hate them?! What is he talking about, why would we have a festival!?" Many other people on both sides were saying similar things, the muttering rising into a din of sorts. When Tweek let out a moan of abject confusion and fear, Craig quickly knelt down and sat down next to the boy, pressing up against him until the blond stopped shaking. Even though he couldn't see anymore, Craig felt better.

"Why would we have a festival with a bunch of Humans? Kyle demanded, sounding suspicious. "That's bullshit, we hate each other! We should be fighting, not having fun together!"

"Oh Butters, you're so wise!" Kenny trilled, sounding delighted as opposed to Kyle's anger. "Oh High Jew Elf, perhaps you should reconsider! For a day, we could be civil with each other instead of being so hostile. After all, are we not all people of Zaron?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea actually," Stan said, sounding relieved, probably because Kyle was no longer yelling. Well, I guess if it were me and Tweek, I'd feel better if Tweek wasn't upset. "I can send a carrier raven to them right now, we can probably get food from City Wok."

Token, who had been listening silently up until that point, pushed through the crowd of kids till Craig couldn't see him anymore. "If everyone else will chip in, I can probably cover a good portion of the costs. After all, the clergy does have money to feed the poor." Craig snorted at that. Oh man, way to get away with literally insulting everyone else here Token. Sometimes, he forgot how ballsy Token could be.

"I can probably get some food from my family's restaurant," a kid named David called over from the Elven side of the court. There was a rumbling of agreement at that, probably because the food David's family made was good.

It was Cartman, inevitably, that decided to raise a fuss. "But there's no fighting!" he whined, sounding frustrated. "We were going to fight the Elves today and this ruins that!"

"Oh don't worry Grand Wizard," Kenny all but purred, and Craig could feel something icy travel down his spine. "There will be fighting today, after all, we've got to have entertainment, right?"

Tweek let out a squeak at that, but all Craig could do was wrap an arm around the boy's shoulders. Because whatever was coming wasn't going to be good and he would be damned if he was going to let Tweek get caught in it. He's gotten caught in enough after all.

"Very well," Cartman said, with a long and loud sigh. "I suppose it is settled then. Let the first Festival of Zaron begin!"