Stress Cookies! (Hermitcraft mini story)

Chapter 18 ♥︎

Alex glanced at her and in one fast movement, False swung her leg under his and tripped him up. He tried to catch himself with his arms failing, but the icy slush wasn't much help as his foot slipped up and the rest of him fell down.

"ow."

False pointed her sword at the red figure on the ground with a confident smirk.

His ego actually hurt a whole lot worse than his back, he realized. A part of him wanted to jump up and scramble away from the staring eyes that bore into his head, but a voice snapped him out of it before he could make an escape plan.

"You held up your own! Good first effort, maybe next year someone will beat me." False said with a sturdy but kind voice. "Thanks for a fun round." She said sincerely.

False offered a hand to Alex and pulled him off the ground, patting him on the back as some of the crowd swarmed around her to congratulate her on another win.

Iskall came over and patted him on the back. "Good job. No one can beat False at head on PvP."

"Uh thanks." Alex awkwardly half-smiled, but it was genuine. Iskall nodded, mentioning offering some tips for the snow for next year if he wanted, to which Alex loosely accepted. Iskall wandered towards Mumbo and ruffled his perfectly combed hair, and Mumbo Mumbo shoved him off, poking fun at Iskall's hideous green sweater. For once, Alex didn't feel jealous. A smile tugged at his lips, and he didn't find himself hiding it like normal.

Stress ran up to him. "You did amazing! I knew you could do it!"

"But I lost?" Alex stated, confused.

"Not that silly." Stress grinned, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and looked at the other hermits. "Ya talked to hermits. Doc over 'ere told me ya kept an eye on the drunkard. And you fought with False for a good time!"

"Before she beat me." Alex added, but a chuckle lined it, and he wasn't really upset anymore. Stress grinned and laughed with him.

"I- I didn't actually know I was allowed here. With you hermits. At this party." Alex admitted, his voice lowering.

Stress looked him in the eyes and without saying anything, lunged forwards and enveloped him in a tight hug. He was surprised, but he didn't pull back.

She was much smaller, and the position was a little awkwardly balanced and uncomfortable with his armor and her surprisingly tight grip, but he wouldn't trade the hug for the entire hermitcraft server. One arm was pinned to his side, but crouching down a little bit, he was able to use his other arm to hug back loosely.

"Ya feel welcome now?" She asked.

"Yes. Thank you."

She released him from the hug, and he was sorta glad just because his arm hurt a little. He still appreciated it more than anything.

"Hello miner and/or crafter!" A voice said from behind. Stress recognized it instantly, but Alex gave the stranger a confused glance as he looked over his outfit.

"Hiya Scar! How ya' enjoy ya' self at the party?" Stress asked.

"All is well on this wonderful night!" Scar said in a super exaggerated voice, making stress giggle. "Especially with these cookies that you made," He added, and looked at Alex. "-and because of the wonderful cookies, I wanted to offer you a deal of a lifetime!"