CHAPTER TEN

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TAKES A VILLAGE TO FAKE A WHOLE CULTURE

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The small gang rode hard, heading to the north-west toward Mason and the army. Angel watched the back of Gameknight999's head with disinterest as they galloped across a savannah biome, since he was leading the party. Bright red hair tickled her face as they rode; she was sharing a mount with Hunter, who was talking animatedly with Stitcher, and the hint of warmth she felt from her companion made her ever so slightly flustered. It had been quite some time since she had been this close to a pretty woman.

It was intriguing to her, the way Hunter's body heat differed from Erebus's when Angel had been close to him. She had been expecting Hunter to be warm, given that she was as close to human as anything could be in Minecraft, and she was slightly disappointed when she learned that Hunter wasn't as warm as she thought she would be. Hunter was still warm, of course, but the lack of heat coming from her was, to Angel, just vaguely disappointing. She would rather blame it on the atmosphere than Hunter herself, of course - it wasn't the warmest day out, but maybe that was just an excuse.

Erebus's warmth, on the other hand, had been very unexpected for her; she had been expecting him to be cold, since he was a monster, but found out that this was not the case whenever she got close to him. The warmth from his body was actually nice to her, in some sort of way - it wasn't overwhelming, like she assumed that someone like Malacoda would be, nor was it barely present. Even now, with her body slightly pressed against that of her ally, she couldn't help but miss it a little. She hadn't felt warm for a while before she had met him.

The whole concept was fascinating to her, but she wasn't able to dwell on it for long. She could see the campsite coming up in the distance, and sat up a little straighter on the horse as the small gang drew near.

"The army... the army, they're here," Herder announced, before raising his arms and shouting to announce their arrival. The howls of his wolves joined him, and Angel smiled softly. This kid, at least, was more than just mildly tolerable for her out of all of the good guys. He seemed quite kind - anyone that enjoyed animals was kind in her mind.

Up ahead, the crimson sun was starting its descent below the horizon. It shone brightly with a harsh glare, reminding her of Erebus's eyes doing the same thing back when she was at the camp. A grimace crossed her face at the thought of the sun itself reminding her of him. It was time to put him out of her mind; she was a good guy now, she was free.

The small gang reached the encampment quickly, and Angel forced a small smile once more as the villagers began to cheer for her.

"Gameknight999 has returned with Angel! Beware monsters..."

"The Users-that-are-not-users will lead us to victory..."

"Our leader has returned..."

The praises from the villagers sounded so fake to her. She hadn't even done anything, she had just gotten captured by the monsters. Reflecting to herself, she realized that they were probably just excited because she was likely going to be a source of information about their plans, and quickly grew dejected again.

"Angel!" called a familiar deep voice. Turning, she could see Mason striding over to her with a smile. "Welcome back to the team, it is wonderful to see you back among us again."

"How's the gang been?" Angel asked, getting off of her horse and preparing herself for the questions that the general would likely ask.

"Surviving," Mason said. "We have had to fight many battles during our search for the last key to the Source, but I'm sure you know all about that. You should get something to eat before we head out."

𝐋𝐀𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄'𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋 || gameknight999Where stories live. Discover now