Egg and Soldiers

High Tides

"Please. Please don't tell them."

"They already know."

—

Cub tossed himself onto the couch, sighing. He ran a hand carelessly through his beard, wincing as he yanked on countless knots. With one hand taming his beard, he clumsily turned on his phone, calling the name at the top of his list.

After 4 rings, Scar picked up. "This is GoodTimesWithScar, how may I help you?"

"Scar, it's Cub."

"Oh! Hey Cub! Wassup?" There was some quiet shuffling on the line. "Quiet Jellie, daddy's on the phone."

"Just wondering if you were still available for our meeting." Cub sighed as he flicked a berry out of his beard. The foxes from his new farm got carried away today...

"Meeting? When do we have a meeting?" Confusion crept through Scar's voice.

"Two hours ago. I've been waiting in the meeting room. Scar, are you at your secret project still?"

Silence. "...maybe?"

Cub rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, not today. When can we have a meeting for Concorp?"

Scar muttered to himself, counting days. "Uh, I've got an opening next Friday, does that work?"

"I suppose, but we really need to talk as soon as possible. Sahara is starting it's Sahara Now campaign, and we really need to do something to combat it," Cub pointed out.

"Sahara Now? How recent is this?"

"Weeks, Scar. What on earth has you so distant lately?"

Scar sucked in a breath. "Ah, it's nothin, don't worry! I'll see you next week!"

The line went dead.

Cub growled quietly as he threw himself up off the couch. He supported Scar in all his endeavors, but this 'secret project' took every hour of every day lately. Scar didn't even tell Cub what it was, and he usually told Cub all his secrets!

There was a strong frustration about the whole matter, but even stronger was his fear. Fear that the ConVex were over, and Scar was too afraid to tell Cub to his face. Fear that Cub has done something wrong. Fear that Scar was lying, and he was trying to put distance between the pair on purpose; that was the biggest fear.

He and Scar had been together since as long as he could remember. They both joined Hermitcraft the same year, and had bonded as the newbies. The bond was so instant, Cub always wondered if they had known each other before Hermitcraft. Of course, that was impossible to know, but it was fun to think about. No one remembered their past lives after joining a new server; aside from admin and the occasion oddball case. He couldn't remember a life without Scar, and now he feared it might become reality.

Of course, they would still be living on the same server, so they would see each other around, but it wouldn't be the same. The cold gaze of an old friend chilled Cub to the bone. Maybe it would be better if they weren't even on the same server at all, but there's no real way to induce world-hopping on purpose. The pain dug into Cub's chest as the reality hit him.

Cub and Scar would become mortal enemies. Maybe not on purpose, and maybe not at first, but it would happen. Someone who used to be a friend is more painful to see than an enemy. The memories are far too strong, and only make the divide that much deeper. Cub could just imagine running into Scar in the shopping district, and not being able to act the same around him. The image was so real, Cub burned inside at the thought of never talking to Scar again. He couldn't let this happen.